Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1141

‘I’m tired.’

Han Jin-sung trudged along, heading towards the orphanage.

His shoulders felt like they were carrying a ton of bricks.

While the other kids returned to the orphanage as soon as their after-school classes ended, Han Jin-sung, being a senior in high school, couldn’t keep up with his studies with just the classes alone.

That’s why he stayed behind to study more on his own before heading back.

There was a study room at the orphanage, but like most orphanage study rooms, it wasn’t a place where one could seriously focus on studying.

And maybe because he hadn’t developed the habit, he couldn’t concentrate inside the orphanage either.

Han Jin-sung raised his hand and massaged his shoulder.

He could feel the knots in his muscles with his own hands.

‘About a month left now, huh.’ That damn college entrance exam.

He didn’t know why the college entrance exam, which everyone else took, felt so difficult for him.

Before he started studying properly, he thought that if he just worked hard, the amount he had to study would decrease, but studying was a strange thing; the more he did, the more there was to do.

He was also worried about whether he would be able to finish the target amount within the remaining month.

“Huuu.”

Han Jin-sung raised his head and looked at the orphanage.

‘I don’t know if this is the right thing to do.’

Going to college.

It was just a natural choice for others, but for Han Jin-sung, it was something that required a firm decision.

‘Even if I take out a student loan for tuition….’

While tuition might be the biggest problem for others, for Han Jin-sung, it was a secondary issue.

Making a living while attending college was no easy task.

Seeing friends with parents not worrying about such things made him feel relatively deprived, but what could he do?

‘But not going to college is also a problem.’

He would regret it for the rest of his life.

The choice he made to go to college might be something he would regret later. But if he chose not to go to college, he would regret it even more.

Then it was better to choose the option with less regret.

‘It’ll all work out somehow.’

For now, he needed to focus on what he could do now. Just studying was overwhelming enough.

Han Jin-sung opened the front door of the orphanage and went up the stairs to the living quarters.

“I’m back…”

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“Ajaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Han Jin-sung’s pupils shook.

‘What? Did I get the time wrong?’

That couldn’t be the case.

Han Jin-sung’s gaze turned sharply to the clock. The time was half past eleven at night.

No, then it was right?

But why were these little kids not sleeping and running around here? And in someone else’s living quarters?

“Wh-what? What happened?”

At Han Jin-sung’s voice, all eyes turned towards him. But that was only for a moment. Soon, the children lost interest and started running around again.

“Jo, Jo Mi-hye! Where’s Mi-hye?”

Jo Mi-hye, who came out of her room, looked at Han Jin-sung with a calm face.

“What? Why aren’t they sleeping?”

“They said they won’t sleep.”

“…Why?”

Jo Mi-hye shrugged.

“What about the teachers?”

“They’ve gone home.”

“All of them?”

“Uh-huh.”

“O-oh, what are we going to do?”

Jo Mi-hye turned her head and pointed to one side. Han Jin-sung’s gaze followed her line of sight.

“Huh?”

The figure of a person, both familiar and unfamiliar, came into his view.

A man leaning against the wall, watching TV.

A man patting a whining child with one hand and feeding snacks to the other children with the other.

“Jin-ho hyung?”

“He said he’s staying the night, so he sent all the teachers home.”

“Is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I-is that so?”

Well, yeah.

Kang Jin-ho was practically the director of Seongsim Orphanage.

There was a director in name, but everyone knew that Kang Jin-ho was the real director here.

If such a person told them to go home, there was no reason for them not to.

“So, is that why these kids are going crazy?”

“They’ve found their paradise.”

Dada dada dada dada dada dada!

Han Jin-sung made a disgusted face as he listened to the sound of footsteps piercing his ears.

‘I really can’t understand it.’

Every time he saw the kids, he felt like his common sense was being shattered.

Basically, isn’t physical strength supposed to increase as one grows?

Usually, physical strength grows from childhood, peaks in one’s twenties and thirties, and then gradually decreases from then on, that’s common sense.

But that common sense didn’t match reality at all.

Anyone who has raised a child would agree.

Children don’t get tired.

They show an unbelievable amount of activity with crazy output, then suddenly collapse as if their battery has run out, and after recharging for a short time, they start running around at maximum output again.

“S-stop.”

Han Jin-sung made a disgusted face at the formidable output.

“Hy-hyung!”

“You’re here?”

“The kids! Do something about the kids! They all need to sleep now!”

“They have school tomorrow! If they do this, they’ll sleep in school tomorrow.”

“Really?”

Kang Jin-ho put down the snacks and snapped his fingers.

“Okay, go to sleep now.”

“Okay!”

What was that?

As soon as Kang Jin-ho finished speaking, the children left the room as if they were hypnotized.

Usually, they would whine or shout that they wanted to play more?

‘Terrifying.’

Looking back, he also seemed to have tried to keep his word when Kang Jin-ho said something, even if the sky was falling when he was young. He didn’t know why he did that though.

Anyway, fortunately, the little kids’ rebellion was suppressed in an instant.

Han Jin-sung, who watched the children leave, approached Kang Jin-ho with a half-dazed face.

“When did you come, hyung?”

“Earlier in the evening.”

“What brings you here?”

“…I got a lot of nagging, so you don’t have to do that too.”

Jo Mi-hye nodded.

If Jo Mi-hye had nagged, he would have been beaten to the point of having his bones and flesh separated.

Because Han Jin-sung always got it.

Han Jin-sung, who had put down his bag, sighed and sat next to Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho, who had been staring at Han Jin-sung, opened his mouth with an indifferent face.

“You look tired?”

“That’s how it is for all seniors in high school. Hyung, do you want some coffee?”

“Hmm, should I?”

As Han Jin-sung was about to get up, Jo Mi-hye pressed down on Han Jin-sung’s shoulder.

“It’s okay. I’ll make it.”

“…You told me to go to hell when I asked you to make me just one cup.”

“You can’t compare oppa and Jin-ho oppa.”

Jo Mi-hye stuck out her tongue and went to make coffee.

“How’s studying?”

“Well, I’m working hard….” Han Jin-sung scratched his head.

“I guess I don’t have the natural talent like hyung or Mi-hye. There’s a limit no matter how hard I try.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Han Jin-sung.

Tainted energy was accumulated in his body.

Well, it was understandable.

Tainted energy was something that naturally accumulated as one lived in the world. When tainted energy accumulated, one’s clarity would be clouded and one would become tired.

That’s why those who didn’t learn martial arts would create a peaceful state through sleep and rest to discharge the tainted energy. Not completely, though.

But Han Jin-sung was currently in a state of absolute lack of sleep and rest.

If the situation wasn’t like this, he could advise him to rest a little, but how could he tell a senior in high school to rest? Even if that was the right advice, Han Jin-sung wouldn’t listen.

Kang Jin-ho reached out and grabbed Han Jin-sung’s head.

“Ah, why? I’m not a kid.”

“…Just stay still.”

“Huh?”

Swish.

Kang Jin-ho instantly extracted the tainted energy accumulated in Han Jin-sung’s body. In the past, the process of extracting tainted energy required various preparations or a noisy process, but at Kang Jin-ho’s current level, there was no need for such things.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t bother to answer.

He wanted to avoid the hassle, so he carefully extracted it so that he wouldn’t feel it much. He would probably feel refreshed by tomorrow morning. This was all Kang Jin-ho could do for Han Jin-sung right now.

If he taught him a light martial art like a simple mind technique, it would be possible to always maintain optimal condition and improve learning ability, but that was not the direction Kang Jin-ho wanted.

Power must always be accompanied by responsibility.

He didn’t know how Han Jin-sung’s life would change because of the martial arts he taught him with a light heart. Kang Jin-ho wanted to avoid such a result.

And….

‘Even without that, I can do it.’

Those who have learned martial arts are not necessarily superior to those who have not. It was not the martial artists who developed and managed the world, but ordinary people.

The martial artists were just beings who lived parasitically in the world they had created.

That’s why Kang Jin-ho wanted the children of the orphanage, and the people around him, to live lives unrelated to martial arts. In the past, he didn’t even want to stay away from martial arts.

He didn’t intend to bring up the idea of fair competition or privileges. Because true fairness didn’t exist in the world.

He just wanted them to live their own lives.

“Huh?”

“Why?”

“No. Um… It’s nothing.”

Han Jin-sung twisted his neck this way and that. He seemed to realize that his body had changed.

“Take breaks while you do it.”

“Easier said than done.”

Han Jin-sung was about to say something more, but he closed his mouth. Then he sighed.

“Sorry, hyung.”

“For what?”

“They say people get sharp when they’re tired. My answers aren’t coming out very well. I shouldn’t be like that. Sorry.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed and looked at Han Jin-sung.

‘He’s like this too.’

It looked good on the outside.

He was considerate. And he had a good heart.

Just a moment ago, Jo Mi-hye had shown the same reaction. In his eyes, there was nothing to apologize for. Other ordinary kids would have openly shown their annoyance.

But these kids apologized themselves.

Was it because they matured early? Because they were mature?

That wasn’t it.

Even if that was true, it was a problem. A child should be like a child. There was no need for a child to mature early. When a person acts in a way that is appropriate for their age and thinks in a way that is appropriate for their age, they are the happiest.

To mature early and become well-rounded early meant that the sharp parts were being worn away by being beaten by the world.

“Are there any difficult parts?”

“No, hyung.”

Han Jin-sung hesitated before continuing.

“It’s just that you’ve done so much for me, it’s almost too much. The academy is really good, and there are no problems with going to school.”

“What about school?”

“It’s comfortable since then. Very comfortable.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

That was a relief. He would be able to concentrate during the remaining month.

“I just need to work hard. I have to get into a school in the Seoul area somehow. Going down to the provinces is a burden.”

“Okay.”

“For now, I’m thinking of going to the outskirts. But that’s only if I work hard and do well.”

“It’ll be hard to go to school if you go to the outskirts?”

“Ah, about that….”

Han Jin-sung scratched his head.

“I’m thinking of leaving the orphanage when I get into college.”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho opened his eyes wide and looked at Han Jin-sung.

“Hey!”

At that moment, Jo Mi-hye, who was bringing the coffee, shouted irritably.

“You’re saying that again.”

“How can you say ‘hey’ to your oppa?”

“Oppa deserves to hear that!”

The hand that put down the tray with the coffee was rough. A few drops of coffee splashed onto the tray.