Seriously, this stuff is really bad for my heart.
Once upon a time, in the underground web novel scene, stories about protagonists getting kicked out of a hero's party, gaining power, and seeking revenge were all the rage. And by "underground," I mean exactly that.
Sure, mainstream novels and such had their share of tales where the hero gets revenge on the party members who cast them out.
But given the nature of revenge stories, adding some adult spice made them explode in popularity compared to the tame mainstream versions. Take, for example, plots where the protagonist beds the princess, saintess, or hero who betrayed them and turns them into personal slaves.
Even so, whether it was the inherent limitations of adult content or just mass-produced churn killing the hype, these stories faded fast like a summer fad. That's when one work reignited the revenge genre's fire.
A romance might get a pass, but this was a modern fantasy revenge tale starring a female protagonist. And it was adult-rated to boot.
It nearly stayed just another meh story at first, but around the 20th chapter mark, the first true revenge scene revealed its brilliance. With stellar writing from the jump and hefty chapter lengths teasing hints along the way, it exploded as the spiciest revenge tale out there.
And no wonder—it doled out brutal satisfaction. If the target was a woman, basic protocol was chopping off limbs and selling her to a brothel. For men, it was slicing off their manhood and auctioning them off to the seedy underworld crowds with those tastes.
The descriptions were so vivid that even the male revenge scenes had me wincing like my own ass was on the line.
Normally, I'd be off reading some academy story, but this one hooked me enough to seek it out.
Of course, my one friend obsessed with femdom hyping up the protagonist Seo Ji-hyun and insisting I read it didn't hurt either. Hell, I'd get home from my part-time gig, flop into bed, and stay glued to it until I passed out.
So, like always, I dozed off mid-read... and never saw it coming.
"So, you're agreeing to this too, right, Vice Guild Master?"
I enjoyed the novel, sure, but it wasn't even my top pick, let alone top three.
"What the hell, no answer?"
Hell, I wasn't even deep into part 3—I'd barely finished part 1.
"Whatever, I'll take that as a yes. Seo Ji-hyun. It's settled."
And I'd never once left a single comment on the author's posts, not even the 5,700-character ones.
"The guild has decided it can no longer support you."
Of all places, I end up possessing the early-game main villain—the one whose betrayal sparks the protagonist's awakening.
"Pack your things and get out by tonight. You've done enough."
"...Yes. Understood."
No matter how I tried to deny it, the brown-haired woman in the sleek black modified priestess robes right in front of me was a dead ringer for the protagonist Seo Ji-hyun's illustration the author had posted just two days ago.
And here I was, possessed into the vice guild master of Crystal Guild—the early villain in this insane spicy revenge fest. Her fate? Hands and feet hacked off, dragged around like a dog for the protagonist's amusement, then fed to monsters as fodder.
Insane.