Descent of the Demon Master - Chapter 45. Time Moves On (2)

Wolbaek15-19 minutes 21.07.2022

The long-haired man turned away and left the alleyway.

Han Se-Yeon regained her wits and quickly approached the woman kneeling on the ground. “Are you alright?”

But then, the woman suddenly raised her head and yelled, “Are you people crazy!?”

Han Se-Yeon was taken aback. "I'm sorry?"

“How can you let them go?! Shouldn't you call the police first or something?! Are you all insane?!”

Han Se-Yeon was flabbergasted and could only stare at the woman in a daze.

The latter continued to yell, "Why did you let them leave?! Wait, are you in cahoots with them?! Is that why you deliberately let them go?"

"L-listen here, lady!" Han Se-Yeon tried to defend herself, but...

"I'm going to sue all of you!" the woman yelled at her once more.

And that was when Han Se-Yeon helplessly looked at Kang Jin-Ho.

But he simply shrugged his shoulders…

‘See? I told you so.’

"Oppa! Oppa! Get up! Get up already!" The woman began shaking the collapsed man violently. "What happened to all that big talk, Oppa?! Is this all you actually amount to?! Hey, can't you hear me? Get up already!"

Kang Jin-Ho groaned at this spectacle and addressed his friends. “Let's go.”

“Mmhm...” Han Se-Yeon nodded and quickly followed him.

But the woman wasn't finished with them just yet. “Hey, you! Where do you think you're going?! Stop!”

Jeong In-Gyu replied to her this time, "Why should we?"

"You let them get away, didn't you?! In that case, how can you just leave?! I'm going to sue you all, you hear me!"

He poked his tongue out at her. "Suit yourself, lady!"

Once the group left the alleyway, Han Se-Yeon tutted in disbelief. “Wow, what was up with that woman?”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled. If the other party always accepted your goodwill as just that, a gesture of goodwill, everything would be wonderful, and there wouldn't be any conflicts in this world. Unfortunately, the world wasn't always so nice. If every person was righteous and lived their lives in a logical manner, societies wouldn't have to invent laws or regulations.

“By the way, it got pretty scary back there, right?” Han Se-Yeon shuddered slightly.

Jeong In-Gyu nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It was only a little scary at first, you know? But it got super scary in the middle. I couldn't stop shaking myself."

"And Jin-Ho, you are really good at fighting, too."

“Anyway, let's just go to the karaoke lounge.”

The group of high school kids resumed their journey to the karaoke lounge. However, Kang Jin-Ho continued to glance behind him.

'They are in this era, too.'

He had finally discovered a trace of true martial arts. The cultivation and combat techniques had survived and were being passed down even now. This knowledge brought a deep grin to Kang Jin-Ho's lips.

***

“I'm home,” Kang Jin-Ho announced while stepping into the house.

The long and hard battle between his parents ended in his father's victory. Under the condition that any remaining money would be left in the mother's control, the family went with the father's wish and bought a nice house with a garden and a lawn. The thing was, though, Kang Yu-Hwan didn't lose anything from this deal since he never had the sole authority to make decisions on the family's finances in the first place. Kang Eun-Yeong even called this deal a stroke of genius on her father's part.

“...Welcome home, son.” Baek Hyeon-Jeong stood there with her arms crossed as she stared unnervingly at Kang Jin-Ho.

He slightly tilted his head. “What's the matter, Mother?”

“How are your studies lately? I was worried when your grades fell after the accident, you see...”

"It's alright, Mother. I've been trying hard."

"I tried not to say anything, but you're a high school senior now. Don't you think it's about time you take your studying more seriously?"

“I am, Mother.”

“I see. I'm nagging you for no good reason then, aren't I?”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong hadn't brought up the matter of her son's poor grades until now. Her consideration meant the burden of getting better grades didn't wear Kang Jin-Ho down for the past year or so. He was genuinely grateful to her for that.

He glanced around the living room. "Where is Father?"

"It'll be a little while before he closes his shop and comes home."

At that, Kang Jin-Ho sighed, "Even though we told him to be less hands-on..."

Baek Hyeon-Jeong shook her head. "If a man stops working all of a sudden, he'll rapidly grow old. That's definitely not good, Jin-Ho."

"Mother, it sounds like you don't want an old man as your husband."

"Son, just take a look at what your father is like already. Now, imagine what it would be like if he gets older."

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled as he replied, “But there is nothing wrong with him, though?”

"I'm just relieved that you look like me, son!"

Kang Jin-Ho touched his face. After he started cultivating again, his physique gradually transformed and became a well-balanced, ideal version of a human body. That meant his facial features had changed a lot in the past year or so, too. This change was so gradual that the people around him failed to notice it, but the relatives that hadn't seen him for a long time would definitely find it difficult to recognize him.

One of the things he was thankful for was his facial features not completely changing from how they used to be—he was glad that traces of his old self still remained.

Kang Jin-Ho was heading to his room when the front door opened all of a sudden, and the lengthiest groan he had ever heard came from his younger sister's mouth as she walked inside.

“Uh-whewwwwww...”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow and looked back at Kang Eun-Yeong. Her facial features had also changed somewhat in the past year. But that was because he personally had a hand in her transformation. He just couldn't stomach her asking for plastic surgery with her excuse being her impending public debut. The procedure wasn't all that difficult, anyway. He simply had to inject some qi directly into her face and balance her features out a bit more. Thanks to his intervention, she had become far prettier than before, even though the changes weren't as pronounced as Kang Jin-Ho's.

The good looks of both Kang Eun-Yeong and Kang Jin-Ho prompted their friends to enviously talk about the Kang family’s DNA and other nonsense.

Kang Eun-Yeong stopped Kang Jin-Ho from going into his room. "Oppa?"

“Yeah?”

"Did you know that I'll be in the team trials soon?"

“What's that?”

“It's a trial to see if I'm good enough to enter the group that’s scheduled to debut pretty soon.”

“Is that so?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

Kang Eun-Yeong sighed, “Can't you, like, ask Chairman Hwang for some help?”

"Mm?" Kang Jin-Ho frowned a little. What did Hwang Jeong-Hu have to do with Kang Eun-Yeong's trials? "What are you talking about?"

"Other kids all have backers, you know? It's like, only a handful got there with their pure talents alone. There aren't that many spots available, and it's really tough with my skills alone."

Kang Jin-Ho resolutely shook his head. “No can do.”

“But Oppa!”

“That is off-limits...”

"How come? I'm telling you, everyone else is doing it, so why can't I?!" Kang Eun-Yeong asked in exasperation.

Kang Jin-Ho quietly stared at his sister before asking a question of his own, “In that case, what happens to the girl whose spot you have taken away?”

“Well, she will...”

"It wouldn't matter if you got the spot through your own skills. But if you got it through some other means? Isn't that the same thing as you stealing someone else's opportunity? Tell me, will that sit well with you?"

"Everyone else has already been doing that, though!" Kang Eun-Yeong shot back at him.

Kang Jin-Ho continued, unfazed. "And then, will becoming an idol at any cost make you feel satisfied afterward?"

“...”

“Are you thinking of resorting to underhanded means as long as you can become a singer? Was that your plan when signing up with the agency?”

Kang Eun-Yeong bit her lower lip. "Well, no. But..."

Kang Jin-Ho's expression turned even more grave. “Did you spend the last few years training deep into the night three times a week just to chicken out now and ask for someone else's help?”

“...”

“You better give up on such a dream now. Your life as a singer will mean nothing to you if you become one this way. I didn't oppose you when you raised a fuss about becoming an idol because I genuinely thought you enjoyed singing, not because you wanted to become a star.”

Kang Eun-Yeong's voice became smaller. "O-okay..."

"Chairman Hwang did say he wanted to support you a little more, but I declined his offer. Someone who becomes famous that way won't last long, after all."

"...I got it."

“Don't rush it, Eun-Yeong. You're still young.”

Hearing that, Kang Eun-Yeong desperately fired her last salvo. "What are you talking about?! Everyone makes their debut around my age, you know! If I wait any longer, they'll call me an ahjumma!”

“As long as you have the ability, your age doesn't matter,” Kang Jin-Ho replied firmly.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong listening on the sideline nodded sagely. "He's right, Eun-Yeong. Your oppa is speaking the truth here."

“But, Mom!” Kang Eun-Yeong cried out when her own mother didn't take her side.

But Baek Hyeon-Jeong's reply came bundled with a slap on her daughter's back. "I'm also against you becoming a singer like that. Listen, stealing someone else's opportunity is not right. Do you have any idea how much my heart ached when other guys didn't go out with me back then?"

"What happened? Why didn't they go out with you, Mom?" Kang Eun-Yeong asked while frowning at the pain coming from her back.

“What can I do when they say it's unfair to other girls with me in the picture?”

“Uh-whew...” Kang Jin-Ho sighed at that reply.

But Kang Eun-Yeong unwisely smiled and asked, “Ah! Is that why you married Dad?”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong's cheeks twitched for a moment then. “...Kang Eun-Yeong.”

“Yes, Mom?”

"You make your own dinner tonight!"

“Ah?! Mom! Wait, why are you getting upset over that, Mom?!”

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head and left his family behind to enter his room. He immediately switched his computer on and began searching online.

[Easy Victory for Park Yu-Min!

The rookie star gamer Park Yu-Min won a landslide victory in the first round of KGL's Group B preliminaries!

The match took place on the 'Battlefield of Stars' map. Yun Min-Sang resorted to a line rush in the opening minutes as his opening salvo. However, Park Yu-Min patiently defended against the raid and overwhelmed Yun Min-Sang with his now-trademark quantity tactic.

With this victory, Park Yu-Min has now earned his first promotion and a win in the...]

Kang Jin-Ho grinned while reading the article.

“Yeah. It’s not like I’m a bad gamer.”

Yes, Park Yu-Min was simply too strong.

Some people were born with a particular set of talents suitable for a specific field. Rather than talent, Kang Jin-Ho relied on his cultivation to jump into the world of gaming. On the other hand, Park Yu-Min managed to reach his current height purely with his innate talent and all the hard work he had put in.

Kang Jin-Ho closed the internet browser, then logged into his Galaxy Craft account. It had been a while since he last played this game.

***

Jang Jeon-Gu, a pro gamer competing in Galaxy Craft, muttered while staring at his monitor, “You know, I haven't seen that player lately.”

His fellow pro gamer, Bak Yeong-Tae, tilted his head. “Who are you talking about?”

“KILLYM.”

“What kind of an ID is that? Kill why am?”

"Don't tell me that you haven't heard about KILLYM until now?"

“Yeah, it's my first time hearing about them.”

Jang Jeon-Gu chuckled in dismay. "Dude, I'm guessing that you haven't checked the Battlenet rating lately."

"Why should I waste my time doing that? The best players don't have high ratings anyway, right?"

Jang Jeon-Gu shook his head. "Nah, this player is different."

“Oh? What is so different about them?”

"Their rating. It's 2,500."

“Eh?” Bak Yeong-Tae nearly fell out of his chair at that revelation.

Jang Jeon-Gu chuckled at that reaction and asked, "How high did your rating get, Yeong-Tae?"

“I did get to around 2,000 way back when. I couldn't reach it again after going pro, though.”

“So, you do understand how absurdly high the rating of 2,500 is, then.”

"But there aren't all that many differences between players once you go past 2,000, right? Besides, a high rating doesn't really guarantee that you're a good player."

“Nope. I did have a match with him before.”

“Okay?”

Jang Jeon-Gu gravely nodded. "And that player was really something else."

“Really?”

"Yup. He was so good that I still get shivers when I remember our matches. I thought Yu-Min was good when I first saw him, but this KILLYM person is in a whole other realm. I'm telling you, if you see him in action, your jaw will hit the floor, dude."

Bak Yeong-Tae remained doubtful as he retorted, "If that player is so good, why waste time among the amateurs? Why not debut as a pro?"

"That person probably has no need for that. I'm guessing that... Maybe they are rich and just want to play games for fun but happen to be talented in it. Something like that."

"That'd be so wild if it’s true..."

“Anyway, I saw that person online pretty regularly before, but not so much lately.”

Bak Yeong-Tae pointed at his monitor. "Really? But I can see their ID right now, though. It looks like they just logged back in."

"Eh?" Jang Jeon-Gu urgently snapped his head back to the monitor. He could see that the ID 'KILLYM' had appeared on his friends list. "They’re here! I'm gonna ask them for a match!"

“Come on, man. Don't forget that you're a pro, dude.”

"No, man. You don't understand, being an amateur or pro doesn't matter to this person. They’re really that good!"

Bak Yeong-Tae sneakily moved closer to Jang Jeon-Gu. “Fine, fine. I guess I'll see what the fuss is all about, then."

As the two pro gamers chatted away, a familiar voice addressed them from behind. “I'm going home now, everyone.”

Jang Jeon-Gu looked away from his monitor. “Okay. See you later, Yu-Min. Take care on your way back.”

Bak Yeong-Tae also chimed in. “Did the team captain say he's giving you a ride today?”

Park Yu-Min nodded. "Yes, he did."

“Good. Nice work today. Congratulations on your first major win.”

“Thank you. See you later.” Park Yu-Min bade them farewell, then grinned faintly after spotting a certain gamer ID on Jang Jeon-Gu's monitor—KILLYM.

That ID was created by his friend on that fateful day after Park Yu-Min had taken him to the cleaners. That friend swore that he would discard everything and start from scratch. The change in his gamer ID had also been a part of his transformation.

Park Yu-Min chuckled a little and asked Jang Jeon-Gu, "That player is really good, isn't he?"

“Yeah, they’re really good at this. Have you fought with them before? Can you win?”

“Actually, I'd say it was 50-50 before. But I've lost more matches against him recently.”

Jang Jeon-Gu was taken aback. "Seriously?"

"I can't use my personal tournament build against him in casual matches, after all.”

Jang Jeon-Gu nodded in understanding. "Ah, that's true. In that case, it'd be safe to assume that you two are on a similar skill level, then? Whoa. If that person is good enough to rival you, who happens to be the hidden ace up our team's sleeve, is it safe to assume that they’d make their debut as a pro gamer sooner or later?"

“Nah, I don't think he will,” Park Yu-Min replied with a soft chuckle.

“Why not?”

“He said that me debuting as a pro and winning matches is good enough for him.”

"Mm? Wait, you know who this player is?" Jang Jeon-Gu tilted his head.

"Yes. I've chatted to him online before."

"Ah, I see. I thought you knew this person pretty well, judging from how you talk about them, you see. Don't mind me, then."

“Okay, I won't.” Park Yu-Min nodded.

"Oh! He accepted my challenge! Time to have a go at them now! Bye, Yu-Min!" Jang Jeon-Gu excitedly cried out before quickly waving his hand.

"Bye." Park Yu-Min waved his hand back and exited the team's building. He looked up and saw the dark evening skies above. The days he had to stay late into the night had grown recently, but he didn't mind it.

“By the way, when will he change his ID?” Park Yu-Min smirked to himself.

KILLYM, was it? That was supposed to be “I'll kill you, Park Yu-Min.”

His friend seemed so mature, and he would sometimes be way too pragmatic, but that dude could actually behave so immaturely, too.

“I better step up my game if I don't want to lose.”

Park Yu-Min muttered while climbing into the waiting car.