Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1106

“Ugh.”

Lee Hyun-soo stretched, yawning widely.

‘Alright, that should be all for today’s work…’

His eyes scanned the neatly organized documents.

‘This is definitely helpful.’

He now understood why Wiggins had sent him here. Though he didn’t want to admit it, experiencing the Round Table’s system was indeed valuable.

He was starting to get a sense of how to manage things when he began running the General Assembly.

“Hmm.”

Lee Hyun-soo pulled out his phone.

“[Hello?]”

“How’s it going on your end?”

“[How do you think? We’re dying here.]”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled wryly. The person on the other end was Lee Hyun-joo.

“[When the Assembly Head was here, there were no problems, but now that he’s gone, things are starting to fall apart.]”

“Just hang in there. The trainees will be back from their training soon.”

“[If it weren’t for that, I would have already quit. We should be okay for about three or four days, so don’t worry too much.]”

“Worry? There’s someone there who can handle things well.”

A groan came from the other end.

“[Putting us aside, how is it going on your end? Is it worth learning from?]”

“There’s so much I want to apply. I think I’ll have a lot to do when I get back.”

He was already tweaking the system in his spare time after work, but he hadn’t been able to make any major changes yet. He needed to overhaul the General Assembly’s system when the trainees returned.

‘It’s always like this.’

Well, wouldn’t everyone be the same?

Changing, changing, and changing again—that’s how things develop and improve. Sometimes, you might go in the wrong direction and regress, but overall, you move forward.

Of course, Lee Hyun-soo would be worn down in the process of those changes.

“[Hang in there.]”

“Yeah, sure.”

“[And I heard there are a lot of blond beauties there. If you get caught doing anything stupid, I’ll rip your head off.]”

“[I’m hanging up. I’m busy.]”

“Okay.”

Lee Hyun-soo hung up and smiled awkwardly.

‘I can’t even go outside, what blond beauties?’

Oh, well, there is one.

The Master’s secretary is quite….

‘No, no. Let’s not think about it.’

He was always prepared to die, but he didn’t want to die by Lee Hyun-joo ripping his head off.

‘She doesn’t sound like she’s joking.’

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled and got up from his seat.

“Hmm.”

There was a lot to do.

He had finished all the tasks the Master had assigned him, but if that was all he was going to do, there was no reason for him to have come all this way. If he just slacked off after finishing his work quickly, nothing would change.

He needed to grasp the overall situation of the Round Table in his remaining time.

He had to get anything he could. Like licking the stick of a completely finished ice cream, Lee Hyun-soo analyzed the Round Table over and over again.

‘It’s all about alliances in the end.’

Alliances mean combining forces. You can become part of the same group, but you can’t become family. In the end, alliances can always fall apart.

The General Assembly was already allied with the Hong King faction. But who would think it was safe just because they had an alliance?

A strategist must prepare for all situations.

In Lee Hyun-soo’s mind, he even pictured a scenario where the Master betrayed them and became hostile. He had to produce the best possible outcome even in that situation.

To do that, he had to look at as much information about the Round Table as possible while he had access to it.

‘It’s astronomical, really.’

The more he looked, the more amazed he was.

The Round Table’s financial power far exceeded that of the General Assembly. Thinking about it, it might be obvious. The General Assembly was a new faction with less than fifty years of history.

It had only been involved in the world for less than thirty years. In that short time, they had amassed wealth comparable to a major corporation.

On the other hand, the Round Table had a history of well over a thousand years.

“The connection with the state is important.”

The Round Table had several businesses. However, those businesses were publicly known to be owned by others.

That would be impossible without the consideration of the state and the EU.

Just like the General Assembly, the Round Table also had close ties with the outside world. Lee Hyun-soo, who had always thought that the outside world and the Murim world [a world of martial arts practitioners] should be completely separated, felt foolish, as the boundaries were already blurred in other places.

‘Lee Hyun-joo did a good job.’

If she hadn’t insisted on incorporating the General Assembly, it would still be the same as before. And wouldn’t they be scrambling to do something now?

Having reliable colleagues was definitely a good thing.

Just then.

Knock knock.

“Yes, come in.”

The door opened, and the Master’s secretary entered. Seeing her long platinum blonde hair, he couldn’t help but smile.

‘Oops, I shouldn’t smile.’

He might get his head ripped off.

“The Master is looking for you.”

“Is the training already over?”

“I don’t know about that. I was just instructed to bring you.”

“Okay. Just a moment.”

Lee Hyun-soo organized his computer and got up from his seat.

“Where to?”

“I will escort you.”

“Ah, there’s no need for that…”

“It’s only natural.”

The secretary smiled and led the way.

‘Ha, geez….’

I shouldn’t keep feeling like this.

Lee Hyun-soo forcibly suppressed the fatherly smile that kept appearing.

Was he happy because he was with a beautiful woman?

That wasn’t it.

‘This is how it should be.’

Lee Hyun-soo was a fairly important figure in the General Assembly. And an important figure in a large organization like the General Assembly should be treated accordingly.

Let’s be honest.

Lee Hyun-soo’s position in the General Assembly far exceeded the position of the Knights in the Round Table. However, the treatment Lee Hyun-soo received in the General Assembly was incomparable to the treatment the Knights received in the Round Table.

But it wasn’t like that here.

Here, Lee Hyun-soo was definitely treated as an important figure. Even if they weren’t providing anything special, the respect and deference in the way they treated him were evident.

Lee Hyun-soo, who was worn out by his subordinates at work and by his superiors because of his personality, couldn’t help but smile at even these small considerations.

‘Was I asking for a private jet or billions of dollars in annual salary?’

Those were things that the Knights naturally received. Of course, he couldn’t ask for everything they received since the General Assembly and the Round Table didn’t have the same financial power, but they should at least give him a car! A car!

Even if he didn’t have a driver, at least a company car!

“Tsk.”

Lee Hyun-soo clicked his tongue without realizing it.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled wryly and opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry, but what’s your name?”

“It’s Michelle.”

“Ah, Miss?”

“Just call me Michelle.”

“Okay, Michelle.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled awkwardly. He had been seeing Michelle for quite some time, but he still didn’t know her name. He had been busy, but it was more accurate to say that he hadn’t been very interested.

“I’m sorry, but… are you a Murim practitioner?”

“Didn’t you know?”

“Ah, my martial arts level isn’t that high…”

“Of course, I am. I need to be able to protect the Master in times of crisis.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s funny that I’m protecting him, but this world is unpredictable.”

“I agree.”

That’s why Lee Hyun-soo also assigned bodyguards to Kang Jin-ho. This wasn’t a world where the strong always won. There were plenty of ways for the weak to put the strong in danger.

If you surround yourself with people, you can at least avoid such crises.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

“The Master has been more comfortable since Director Lee came. You seem to be very capable.”

“Haha, you’re too kind.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled broadly.

‘Yeah, give me some praise, give me some praise.’

Koreans are stingy with praise. It’s as if they have a disease that makes thorns grow in their mouths if they praise someone. It’s hard to hear that you’ve done well, even if you have.

But these people are honest with their emotions. So, he could enjoy this kind of treatment.

“What’s strange is that Director Lee is too capable. I can’t understand why someone like you would come to the Round Table for training.”

“The fields are different.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I’m learning a lot too.”

“That’s good then.”

As they walked down the hallway, it felt like they had come quite a long way.

‘How is the basement this big?’

The fact that they could create such a large underground space was a testament to the Round Table’s power. If the General Assembly had to do such a construction, they wouldn’t be able to do anything else for several years.

It was so big that he still had trouble navigating the Round Table on his own. Due to the nature of the basement, he couldn’t tell where anything was.

“Can I ask you something?”

At Michelle’s words, Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

“Of course.”

“What kind of person is Assembly Head Kang Jin-ho?”

“Uh…”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head.

“That’s a difficult question. It’s hard to define him as ‘this kind of person.’”

“Hasn’t Director Lee been serving him for a long time?”

“No. It hasn’t been that long. It’s only been about a year.”

“It seems like you have a very deep relationship for that short amount of time.”

“Time isn’t important. Is time that important when it comes to trusting and believing in someone?”

Michelle smiled brightly.

“That’s true. I haven’t been the Master’s secretary for very long either.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“But I have a slightly different thought.”

“Huh?”

Michelle shrugged.

“I still think time is important. Trust is determined by personality, but how much someone has worked for you is also an important factor. In that sense, I don’t think I’m very trusted by the Master yet.”

“Oh.”

I wanted to say no, but that would be nothing more than a polite gesture.

“As you said, time will solve it.”

“I believe so too. Well, here we are.”

“Ah!”

Michelle stopped on one side of the hallway and pointed to a large door. It was a place he had never been before.

“What is this place?”

“It’s a lounge. Let’s go in.”

“Ah, okay.”

Lee Hyun-soo tilted his head slightly and approached the door. He didn’t think he had been called to a place like this before?

Before Lee Hyun-soo could even check inside, he felt a strong force pushing him from behind.

“Ugh!”

Thud!

And soon, the sound of the door closing pierced his ears. Lee Hyun-soo, instinctively feeling that something was wrong, quickly raised his head.

A face that was familiar yet unfamiliar came into view.

Knight Kramer.

He was smiling at Lee Hyun-soo.

“Uh… Michelle?”

“It’s a shame. If we had more time, as you said, I could have gained the Master’s complete trust, but it seems I have to stop here.”

“Haha…”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled awkwardly.

The situation was going to hell.

“You must be Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Ah, yes. It’s nice to see you again, Knight Kramer.”

“Your tone is different from before. How about speaking a little more confidently?”

“…Is that okay?”

“It wouldn’t be.”

Knight Kramer smiled.

“Well, this place is completely soundproof. So, it’s okay to resist. From now on, I plan to restrain you. Shall we start by twisting that mouth of yours?”

Knight Kramer jumped up from his seat and approached Lee Hyun-soo.