Chapter 7 - Mental Education

Paranormal ability users—superhumans—are vanishingly rare in South Korea.

Among them, those who wield two distinct powers are rarer still.

My abilities: telekinesis and instant teleportation.

On paper, that's two marquee-level gifts, the kind of pedigree that should make me a golden-spoon superhuman.

...Golden spoon. If only.

Truth is, my powers are more like cheap plating.

Both come with factory defects.

Take teleportation. After I jump a kilometer, the fatigue of having sprinted that same distance slams into me all at once. Yesterday I tried a long-range hop and slept the clock around—proof the glitch is real.

Compare that to the Teleporter in the original web-noon: he owns only one power, but it's restriction-free. Poof, anywhere, anytime.

Same flaw mars my telekinesis. Imagine the flimsy claw in a plush-toy machine—weak, wobbly, good for lifting a stuffed rabbit but useless against a struggling human. Right now it's keeping my phone suspended in mid-air, nothing more.

Of course, pinning someone down is impossible; flicking objects away is easier—like swiping a prize that refuses to be grabbed. My only real perk is a pseudo-charge attack: store power long enough and I can deliver one decent hit. Pair that with a teleport and I've cracked a few villain skulls.

Still, defective is defective.

Yet hand me a single gun and even bottom-feeders like these are more than manageable.

"W-what do you think you're doing!"

Inside the hostage-filled building, the panic in the bastard's voice was obvious. I answered casually.

"If you're going to act like animals, someone needs to teach you manners."

I fired. The distance was long, but the bullet flew true and buried itself between his eyes. Lucky for me, his mask wasn't bullet-proof; he hit the floor like a sack of cement.

Unwavering accuracy—Egostic brand.

I'd pre-cleared the bullet's path with telekinesis, so sue me—still counts as my power.

Thank heavens for feeble telekinesis. Without it, a lousy marksman like me—army qualification aside—could never have landed that shot.

Only after three bodies dropped did the rest finally aim their guns at me.

Aren't you supposed to be my followers? Hilarious.

Stalemate. While my phone hovered overhead, still streaming, I glanced at the chat.

*

[He just killed three people LMAO]

[That felt so satisfying fr fr]

[Weren't they on the same side?? Why kill them lol]

[This needs an R-rating, look at all that blood]

[Shit I think my brother's in there]

[Egostic you madlad, is this guy actually good??]

[One-shot one-kill damn]

[Crazy bastards—this is real life, not a game]

[Where are the Heroes? A Villain's doing their job lol]

[To everyone inside, stay strong!]

[Free Kim Seonwoo Free Kim Seonwoo Free Kim Seonwoo Free Kim Seonwoo]

[Mods anyone? Ban that spammer]

[Even half his face is handsome 😭😭😭]

[So many lunatics here—this is a real terror site]

[Watching live Villain terror and people simp for the manager lol]

[Someone screenshots this and we're national embarrassment]

*

...Even a quick look made me dizzy.

I turned back, surveying the scene. The hostages had stopped screaming; now they cowered, hands pressed to ears. Gunfire will do that.

Most looked to be in their twenties or thirties, men and women mixed. Could be an office building—no idea.

While I speculated, one of the gunmen shouted at me—ill-mannered prick.

"Egostic! What did we ever do wrong? Why are you doing this?"

Hearing him roar grated on me. Had these idiots not sold my name, I'd have ignored this whole mess—Hero work, not mine. (Though any Villain plotting mass casualties would've met me first.)

Still, the fool had no clue what he'd done wrong, so I enlightened him.

"Wrong? You've done nothing wrong."

I twirled the pistol. Several flinched—funny how they won't shoot their 'idol.' When even the hostages jerked, I felt a twinge of guilt...

"Well, if ignorance counts as wrong, then you're guilty as charged."

As I spoke, I levitated the guns I'd stashed beneath my coat.

Eyes bulged at the floating arsenal.

What, you thought I'd shoot one-handed forever?

I'm a telekinetic, morons.

"You're all traitors. Summary execution."

The suspended weapons fired in unison, each aimed a different way.

Hostages shrieked as my followers dropped, the crack of gunfire echoing through the hall.

Maybe reeducating them with bullets was a bit extreme...

Lesson learned—hopefully in their next life they'll be more careful.

I batted away a bullet headed my way. Even weak telekinesis can nudge a slug off course—especially when you know it's coming.

"Ah... aah..."

One person remained standing after the rest had fallen.

My last follower, alone among the bodies of her fallen comrades.

The reason I'd spared one was simple.

[Oppa! You have to spare that woman!]

Seo-eun had mentioned someone who could be useful. Someone we'd marked from the start as a potential ally.

Lee Su-bin, if I remembered correctly. According to Seo-eun, she hadn't even wanted to be here—the other followers had dragged her along against her will. Even after arriving, she'd apparently stood frozen in place, never laying a hand on anyone. Still, participating in terrorism made her guilty regardless.

After shooting everyone else, I smiled and walked slowly toward her.

Step. Step.

"Ah, aah... p-p-please..."

As I approached, she trembled violently.

She didn't even try to shoot me anymore. Maybe she'd realized it wouldn't work?

Finally, I reached her as she shook like a broken machine.

"Hng, hngh..."

Standing before her as she teetered on the edge of tears, I reached out and grasped her chin.

With my other hand, I removed the mask covering her face.

As the mask came off, her features were revealed.

My first thought upon seeing her face was...

'...She's pretty?'

Yeah. Pretty.

I hadn't expected that. The sudden appearance of a beauty left me slightly flustered.

Her eyes glistened with moisture as she looked up at me—a sight designed to trigger anyone's protective instincts. ...Wait, that's not what matters here.

Refocusing, I spoke to her.

"Do you regret what you did, or don't you?"

At my gentle question, she answered through violent trembling.

"I-I-I regret it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, hic, sob."

Why is she acting like this? Am I eating her alive or something?

Even her crying was somehow radiant, shaking my composure, but I steadied myself. Now wasn't the time for this.

Steeling my resolve, I asked the question that would shatter her mental state.

"What exactly are you sorry for?"

"Wh-what?"

"What are you sorry for?"

I asked again with a bright smile, and her legs finally gave out beneath her.

"Ah, aah. We, we did all this without, without Lord Egostic's permission, and, and—"

"And?"

"And, and also, ah, aah, hng, hngh. I-I'm sorry. Please spare me. Please spare me. Sob, waaaah."

Suddenly she stopped mid-sentence and burst into wailing sobs.

Why is she like this? What did I even do?

She's the bad person here, yet somehow I feel like the villain.

...Wait, am I the villain?

Her crying filled the silent building.

*

[lololol if you just watch this part without context Egostic looks like actual human garbageLOLOLOL]

*

...Reading that comment in the chat window made my stomach turn.

I never thought I'd be called human garbage for this reason...