Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 45

Kang Jin-ho gripped the handlebars of Geumdong. Originally, it was a bike he was only going to use temporarily until his ordered bike arrived, but he had grown attached to it and had been riding it ever since.

It was a bicycle that had been through a lot in the past year.

The pedals had broken countless times, and he had to carry spare chains. The spokes of the wheels had all broken, and he had to buy new wheels. Nevertheless, the frame alone had stubbornly held up until now. It was truly a masterpiece.

Kang Jin-ho rode Geumdong toward school.

Kang Jin-ho parked his bike in a place that was easily visible.

Acting Chairman Jo Gyu-min had insisted on parking the bike in the chairman’s office until the end of the school year, but Kang Jin-ho had firmly refused.

It was one thing to do it once or twice, but doing it every day was not something a person should do. Carrying the bike up was not a big deal, but he hated attracting the attention of others every time he went in and out of the chairman’s office. The feeling of receiving special treatment brought Kang Jin-ho a sense of discomfort rather than pleasure.

Jo Gyu-min and Kang Jin-ho agreed to lock Geumdong tightly with a specially ordered chain.

Thanks to this, a new roof was installed in the old bicycle storage, and the students who commuted by bicycle were happy.

Kang Jin-ho headed to the classroom.

“Oh, Jin-ho, you’re here?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my, senior, you’re here? I sent you a message?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry I couldn’t reply.”

“Senior, are you free this weekend?”

“Sorry, I have to study.”

“Jin-ho, hi!”

“Yeah, hi.”

Kang Jin-ho greeted everyone as he headed to the classroom.

It was a completely different scene from when he used to go to school.

Kang Jin-ho, who had transformed as if he had undergone a complete metamorphosis with the power of martial arts, had a handsome face and had grown taller.

“You’re here?”

As he entered the classroom, Jeong In-gyu greeted Kang Jin-ho.

“Yeah.”

“The mock exam results are out.”

“The results are already out?”

“This time, the school did it on its own. The teachers must have graded it.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho sat down in his chair.

The time left until the college entrance exam was now only two months.

The senior classroom had become a strange place where tension and playfulness coexisted.

“Ah, fifty days left!”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“How are your grades?”

“They’re okay.”

“Really?”

Kang Jin-ho opened his book with a blank expression.

In fact, Kang Jin-ho’s grades were not very good. His internal grades had surpassed his previous scores, but his mock exam scores did not reach his internal grades.

It meant that he was keeping up with the classes, but he was not studying on his own.

“Huh?”

“Why?”

“You’re looking at a senior book?”

“Yeah.”

“You were looking at a sophomore book until recently. But now you’re a senior?”

“I can’t keep looking at a sophomore book until the college entrance exam is over.”

Jeong In-gyu said with a serious face.

“No, I thought you were studying for a retake from the beginning.”

“…Do you want to die?”

“Yeah, there shouldn’t be a retake. But these days, a retake is a must, and a third retake is an option, they say.”

“So, are you going to retake?”

“No. How can I do this for another year?”

“Stop whining and study.”

“You’re poking at a sore spot.”

Kang Jin-ho waved Jeong In-gyu away and opened his book.

It had been a month since he started the senior year curriculum. He had to finish the remaining curriculum and take the exam within the next month or so.

It was all as Jo Gyu-min had thoroughly planned.

If he had focused solely on studying, he could have learned at a much faster pace, but Kang Jin-ho still had no great attachment to studying.

It was enough for him to not fall behind others.

In the past, his father, who had been subtly interested in Kang Jin-ho’s grades, had stopped paying attention after opening the cafe.

It seemed he had judged that even if his grades were bad, it wouldn’t be a problem for Kang Jin-ho to make a living. Thanks to this, Kang Jin-ho was not under pressure about his grades, but he also did not receive the fuss that other families did.

At home, Kang Jin-ho was not much different from when he was a sophomore.

But it was not the same at school. Scratch, scratch.

Even though class had not started yet, the classroom was quiet, and only the sound of studying could be heard.

‘The college entrance exam…’

Kang Jin-ho looked at the torn calendar.

The college entrance exam system was something Kang Jin-ho did not like at all. But if there was a test that had more discriminating power than the college entrance exam, that was not the case either.

‘Is it called the college entrance exam to make us conform?’

Since he was born in Korea, he could not avoid the college entrance exam. If he had to take it anyway, he would just have to try his best.

The door opened, and Park Yu-min came in.

“Oh? It’s Park Yu-min.”

Jeong In-gyu approached Park Yu-min.

“You won yesterday, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Now you’re a complete pro gamer. It’s good that you don’t have to worry about college.” Park Yu-min smiled.

“Hey, I wish I was good at games like you so I wouldn’t have to take this exam.” Kang Jin-ho clicked his tongue.

“Don’t bother the tired kid and go to your seat.”

“Hey, honestly, isn’t it true? He doesn’t have to take the exam. And no one will say anything if his grades are bad.”

“Then you should play games for fifteen hours a day.”

“It would be nice if all I had to do was play games.”

“Without a single day off.”

“You have to play games like a machine, fifteen hours a day.”

“That would be a bit tough.”

“Even among those who do that, only a very small number become pros. And among those pros, only a very small number can go to tournaments.”

“…”

“Even someone who was once called the best will quickly fall into the abyss if they become a little lazy.”

“Still, he…”

“You’ll be playing when you go to college.”

“Well, yeah…”

“He’s already living a social life from this age. While you’re going to college, going on blind dates, drinking, and playing, he has to play games for fifteen hours a day.”

Jeong In-gyu put his arm around Park Yu-min’s shoulder.

“Yu-min.”

“Yeah?”

Jeong In-gyu clenched his fist and shook it.

“Fighting!”

“…Huh?”

“You must be having a hard time too.”

“What are you talking about?”

Park Yu-min chuckled and went to his seat. Even though he had become a pro, he still had to graduate from high school.

Kang Jin-ho picked up his pen and opened his book.

He was the same.

He had experienced senior year in the past. At that time, he thought that doing his best was everything, but now it was different.

The important thing was efficiency.

If he was just thinking of getting a decent score, he could just study as he had been doing.

Kang Jin-ho aimed to get a better score than in the past.

‘Because otherwise, it would be meaningless.’ If he did not get a better score than in the past, the time he spent in the Central Plains [a fictional, often martial arts-focused world] would be in vain.

Kang Jin-ho could not stand to see that.

Kang Jin-ho received his report card.

“25th place…”

Considering that his previous rank was in the 50s, it was a huge improvement. But even so, it did not reach his rank in the past.

He thought that it would not be difficult to improve his grades since he had martial arts.

However, fifteen years of being unemployed and decades of living in the Central Plains had taken away most of the knowledge he had learned.

Kang Jin-ho had to quickly catch up on the knowledge that others had slowly accumulated over 12 years in just one year.

It had been a year since he started studying. In that one year, Kang Jin-ho had climbed from 250th place to 25th place, a whopping 225 steps.

But it was not a satisfactory score. It will get better.

When he took the mock exam, Kang Jin-ho had just started the senior year curriculum.

Once he finished all of this and did a final review, his grades would improve even more.

“1st place.”

His goal was always 1st place.

Kang Jin-ho’s belief was that if he had not started, he would not know, but once he started, he had to aim for 1st place no matter what.

Lunch time.

Kang Jin-ho went outside and sat on the stadium bleachers.

“I’m getting tired.”

It was not a problem with his physical strength. The constant battle with letters was draining his mental strength.

His body was fine, but his head kept feeling blank.

He was like this, and he was recovering his body with Qi circulation [a concept in traditional Chinese medicine involving the flow of vital energy], so how hard must it be for the other kids?

‘Come to think of it, how did I manage to endure this?’ Kang Jin-ho looked back at his past self.

At that time, he studied several times harder than he did now.

It was at a level where there was no efficiency and he was just killing time, but at that time, he definitely had more passion than he did now.

‘Two months?’

According to his past fate, Kang Jin-ho would get into a car accident in two months. And he would become paralyzed in his lower body and live alone.

In other words, a new life that Kang Jin-ho did not know would begin two months later.

Kang Jin-ho thought about the life to come. In a way, his life so far had been nothing more than a rehearsal for that life.

There were variables, but since it was a life he had already experienced, he adapted quickly.

But from college life onwards, a life that he did not know at all would begin.

‘First, I have to go to college…’

Kang Jin-ho stretched and got up from his seat.

“Hey! I just got here, how can you get up!”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head.

Han Se-yeon slowly approached and sat next to Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho also sat back down.

“You look tired?”

“I’m tired. I feel like I’m going to die.”

“Take it easy. Your grades are good too.”

“Don’t say that. No matter how good your grades are before, if you mess up on the day, it’s all over.”

“That’s true.”

“It’s so unfair that twelve years of my life are being evaluated in just one day.”

“There’s always another chance.”

“Don’t say unlucky things!”

“It’s a lucky thing to say.”

Han Se-yeon chuckled and patted Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder.

“Come to think of it, your grades went up this time, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re 25th in the whole school, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve worked hard. This older sister is happy.” Han Se-yeon stroked Kang Jin-ho’s head.

Kang Jin-ho didn’t care and looked at the sky.

“What are you looking at?”

“The sky.”

“You always look up when you’re bored.”

“To feel it.”

“Feel what?”

“That I’m here.”

“You’re saying weird things again.”

“No, I’m not.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“By the way, where are you going to college?”

“Wherever my grades allow.”

“Your grades keep going up, so if you want, you can go to a Korean university, right?”

“I’m not going there.”

“Why?”

“It’s too far.”

Han Se-yeon frowned.

“Other people are desperate to go to that university, but you’re saying you’re not going because it’s too far?”

“There’s Jae-kyung University nearby, so I’m just going to go there.”

“Get a grip. With your current grades, you can’t even get into Jae-kyung University.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you so confident? Are you relying on your grandfather?”

“If a school can put in a student who doesn’t have the grades, then it’s not a school, it’s a cram school.”

“That’s true. The entrance exam is a really sensitive issue.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

He had his own way.

Everything so far had been preparation for it.

“Let’s go in.”

“Okay.”

As Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat, Han Se-yeon followed behind him.

“By the way, Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yeah?”

“Study hard.”

“Why?”

“Jae-kyung University is okay. For me too.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Like you said, it’s close and it’s a bit worse than Korea University, but it’s good for getting scholarships and the image is good.”

“Isn’t Korea University your goal?”

“I’m just saying. I’m going in.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled as he watched Han Se-yeon run away.

“How silly.”