Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 115

As night deepened, Kang Jin-ho returned to the hospital. He quietly slipped into the ward and looked at the head nun, who was resting in bed.

‘I need to treat her.’

It felt like he had recklessly consumed alcohol, but since he wasn’t feeling any effects of intoxication, there was no issue with proceeding with the treatment.

Kang Jin-ho placed his hand on the head nun’s abdomen and began to remove the spreading cancer cells. He eliminated all the toxins that were slowly regenerating in the areas he had previously treated. After spending a considerable amount of time addressing the areas he hadn’t touched before, he finally withdrew his hand.

“Hoo…”

Kang Jin-ho took a deep breath.

Perhaps because he had done it once before, it wasn’t as taxing as the last time, but he still couldn’t help but feel his body slump. The fact that his clothes were drenched in sweat was also bothersome.

‘She’s improving.’

As the head nun’s condition improved, Kang Jin-ho’s own skill was also increasing.

Since he couldn’t focus solely on training like he used to, this treatment was also serving as a form of practice.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been quietly observing the sleeping head nun’s face, turned away. After leaving the ward and going up to the rooftop, Kang Jin-ho gazed at the night view of Seoul below.

‘Have I really not changed?’

He thought he was adapting well to this world. However, Park Yu-min’s words had completely shaken his perception.

He had never pushed away anyone who approached him. But as Park Yu-min had pointed out, he had never been the one to initiate contact or try to adjust to others.

If there was an exception, it would only be in Park Yu-min’s case.

“I thought I had changed…”

In the past, he was like a hedgehog.

After the accident, he couldn’t help but be afraid of people getting close to him. Because of his disabled body, he couldn’t help but be afraid of how others would perceive him, and he rejected their gazes.

The situation didn’t change in the Central Plains [a fictional martial arts world] either.

His disability had improved slightly, but he was always aware that he was different from the people there.

Perhaps the reason he became a public enemy of the world as the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign was also due to that. When he thought about it, the fact that he couldn’t make a single trustworthy friend or subordinate even after living there for decades was also his fault.

So, he had thought this life would be different.

He had made friends, and he had a family. There were people he had to worry about, and there were people who worried about him.

However, Park Yu-min was talking to him as if she was seeing his old self, even while looking at him now.

Then, has he not changed at all?

‘Do I need to change?’

If it were a while ago, he wouldn’t have had these thoughts.

However, in Han Se-yeon’s case, he had learned that his attitude could cause those around him to suffer.

Then, should he be the one to adjust?

How should he adjust?

“Huu…”

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

Living with other people was not easy.

Things that other people did so casually felt incredibly difficult for Kang Jin-ho.

Has he really not changed?

Kang Jin-ho didn’t think so.

The fact that he was standing here now was proof of that. If it were his old self, he wouldn’t have worried about his own way of life, no matter what others said. And he wouldn’t have spent time and effort treating others.

“It’s just a little slow.”

He was changing little by little. It was just that the world’s changes were too fast for him to catch up.

Kang Jin-ho, who couldn’t get a grasp on things, sighed deeply and went down the stairs.

“Is something wrong?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“I’m just feeling that way.”

Baek Hyun-jung looked worriedly back and forth between Kang Jin-ho and the rice cooker. After experiencing a shortage of rice yesterday morning, Baek Hyun-jung, with the determination that she couldn’t feed her child instant rice, had cooked a whole pot of rice. But today, her son had barely managed to eat a bowl and was already getting up from his seat.

“What about this rice?”

“Is rice the problem!”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Jin-ho doesn’t have an appetite! My son is going to become skin and bones.”

“…A bowl of rice in the morning is enough.”

His wife must think of Kang Jin-ho as a piggy bank that gets better the more she feeds him.

“Aren’t you going anywhere today?”

“Yes.”

“Good, that’s good. Even if it’s a vacation, we should have dinner together as a family.”

“Yes.”

They had just eaten breakfast together, but he had a feeling that something was missing. Well, if she says that morning and evening are different, then they must be different.

After helping his mother clear the table, he finished preparing for work.

“Okay, then we’ll be going now.”

“Yes.”

“Rest well. If you go out, call us.”

“Yes.”

After his family left the house, Kang Jin-ho, left alone, looked around with slightly dazed eyes.

‘What should I do?’

The advantage of having a long vacation was that he could focus on treating the head nun, but the disadvantage was that he had nothing to do because the vacation was so long. Spending time at the orphanage was also something he could only do for a day or two. If this continued, the children would think that Kang Jin-ho had gotten a job at the orphanage.

‘Hmm…’

When he thought about what he mainly did before joining the military, the word ‘game’ popped into his head.

“After a long time?”

Kang Jin-ho, thinking that games were the best way to clear his complicated mind, went into his room and turned on his computer. When he launched a game after a long time, there were a lot of updates.

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at the scene.

It was like installing a new game, even though he hadn’t turned it on for only three months. It took more than five minutes for the update to finish and the game to finally launch.

“Shall we start?”

A smile formed on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

“He’s online!”

“Who?”

“Hey, KILLYM is online.”

“What? Really?”

The practice room of the Sneak Fox game team, which was in the middle of practice, began to stir.

“Really?”

The people who rushed over to look at the screen all exclaimed when they saw the ID ‘KILLYM’ on the connection list at the bottom.

“It feels like it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen him?”

“Yeah, really.”

“He went to the military, so it seems like it’s true? Did it take about three months?”

“I guess so.”

As people were buzzing, the coach tilted his head and walked over.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Coach, the number one ranked player is online.”

“What’s so special about the number one ranked player?”

“This guy is special.”

“Huh?”

The coach peeked his head out and checked the ID.

“Isn’t that the ID that used to monopolize the number one spot? They said it was a pro gamer’s smurf account [an alternate account used by a skilled player].”

“He’s not a pro.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Usually, a pro’s playing time matches up with broadcast matches.”

“Huh?”

“Usually, a pro gamer’s smurf account wouldn’t be online during opening ceremonies or media days, when pro gamers have to attend. But he plays games. He’s an amateur.”

“Really?”

Park Woo-sung, the coach of the Sneak Fox game team, looked at the screen with a subtle gaze.

“Let’s challenge him to a game.”

“He doesn’t accept challenges often.”

“I know, just challenge him.”

“Yes.”

The person sitting in the seat clicked on the ID and sent a challenge request.

“He doesn’t usually accept custom games…”

But today, for some reason, the request was accepted.

“Huh?”

“What’s going on?”

“If he’s on vacation after going to the military, isn’t he playing games to get a feel for it? Then it makes sense that he would accept. He wouldn’t want to lose rating by going into ranked games.”

The previous KILLYM was like a fossil.

He was a player who was naturally in first place, always stuck in the number one spot like a title on the rankings. Because of that, pro gamers naturally considered the second-place player as the number one and played games.

There were talks that the top-tier gamers might be able to reclaim the number one spot if they played seriously on the battle net, but the gamers had to help each other practice in tournaments and practice rooms, so they couldn’t play their best in normal ranked games. As a result, the number one spot was always KILLYM’s.

Since he hadn’t logged in for the past few months, his ID was put into a dormant state, and others were able to take the number one spot.

“How long has it been since the ‘Kill-Bok-Jeol’ [a made-up term combining ‘kill’ and ‘return’ implying his return to dominance] ended, and he’s already slithering back.”

“Yeah. The ‘Kill-Je-Gang-Jeom-Gi’ [a made-up term combining ‘kill’, ‘dominate’, and ‘occupy’ implying his return to dominance] is going to start again.”

“…What are you talking about?”

The coach, who didn’t understand the kids’ jokes, tilted his head.

‘Should I explain it with dad jokes?’

Just as everyone was falling into contemplation, the game started.

The people who had been quietly watching the screen from behind until the end of the game began to speak as the game was nearing its end.

“He died a lot.”

“He hasn’t played a single game. His control isn’t the same as before in the old meta [the current popular strategies and tactics in the game].”

“But he’s still got some flashes of brilliance. His sense hasn’t died.”

“If he absorbs the meta, he’ll be in power again. Ah, he said he’s on vacation? Then the ‘Kill-Bok-Jeol’ won’t end for two years.”

Park Woo-sung looked at the screen with a serious face.

‘How should I interpret this?’

The fact that he didn’t win against a pro gamer wasn’t a flaw. The problem was that the game was played properly. Usually, when an amateur plays a game against a pro, there are cases where they win or lose, but if a pro decides to play seriously, the outcome is usually one-sided.

Since the coach was watching, they wouldn’t have played casually. The fact that a game that matched up well came out, even though he lost, meant that the opponent’s skill was close to that of a pro.

“He hasn’t played games for three months?”

“Yes. He hasn’t logged in.”

“Did he level up a smurf account?”

“Then he wouldn’t use that build. That was popular at the beginning of the year.”

“Hmm…”

Then, the story was that even though he hadn’t played games for three months, he was able to have an equal match against a current pro gamer.

“He’s something else. Is there any way to contact him?”

“He doesn’t answer calls. He ignores all messages.”

“Other game teams have contacted him several times to recruit him, but he doesn’t seem interested.”

“Really?”

Park Woo-sung clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.

“And he’s in the military right now. Even if we try to recruit him, we have to wait a year and a half.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

After hearing those words, Park Woo-sung was finally able to give up.

“Hey, but we don’t know what will happen in the future, so send him a message. If we can become friends, let’s try to get close.”

“Yes.”

“That’s a shame.”

Park Woo-sung looked back at the screen several times with regret before turning his body.

He had to give up cleanly.

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho pondered while looking at the screen.

‘I lost.’

Originally, he wasn’t someone he should have lost to. If it were his old self, he could have easily won, but the aftermath of not playing games for three months was significant.

‘I’m only this much…’

It wasn’t arrogance, but considering that his body was different from others, even if he stopped playing for three months, his skills would definitely decline at a slower rate. Yet, he couldn’t win against an opponent he could have easily won against before.

Then, what about Park Yu-min?

It had been over a month since Park Yu-min had left the practice room.

‘I need to get her back in soon.’

Kang Jin-ho, thinking that there might be a problem with Park Yu-min’s career as a player if he dragged it out any longer, sent a rematch request.

‘That’s that…’

The fact that he lost made him angry, which was an unavoidable problem for a human. Kang Jin-ho gripped the mouse tightly. It was a game he started casually, but now he was fired up.

Someone might say it’s just a game, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t give in when it came to something that involved competition.

“If I lost it, I have to get it back.” Of course, he meant his skills.