Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 543

“Oh? Yu-min hyung?”

Parks Yu-min, entering the practice room, smiled brightly at the familiar greeting.

“Jeong-woo, it’s been a while.”

Choi Jeong-woo took his hands off the keyboard and mouse and stood up. He then rushed to Park Yu-min and bowed deeply.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you since you left the team.”

“Yeah. It’s great to see you.”

Park Yu-min gave a bright smile.

Choi Jeong-woo was a trainee when he was a pro gamer.

‘The tables have turned.’

Back then, there was a huge gap between Choi Jeong-woo and Park Yu-min. Choi Jeong-woo was just another trainee. He dreamed of going pro, but he didn’t quite have the skills to make it.

On the other hand, Park Yu-min was a top-tier pro gamer who had been at the top for a while.

But now, the situation was reversed.

Park Yu-min had become a trainee coming for a tryout, while Choi Jeong-woo was a pro gamer trusted by the team.

Park Yu-min smiled, amused by the changed dynamics.

“I tried to contact you a few times, but I wasn’t sure if I should dare to contact you…”

“What’s that about? You can contact me if you want.”

“Still, someone like me, a nobody…”

Park Yu-min waved his hand, seeing Choi Jeong-woo constantly bowing his head as if he was overwhelmed.

“Why are you like this? You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“…You’re still the same, hyung.”

Choi Jeong-woo grinned.

Park Yu-min was always like that.

Like celebrities, pro gamers tend to change when their status rises.

There were many who had terrible personalities. Add to that the structure where the best gamers inevitably get more power, and a hierarchical society was created that individuals couldn’t do anything about.

Some gaming teams demanded strict etiquette and behavior, almost like the military, and there were many places with severe injustices.

But that never happened where he was.

It was because of Park Yu-min, the gamer who represented the team.

Even at the top, Park Yu-min never passed his work onto others. Instead, he would secretly do things that trainees were supposed to do.

It was because he didn’t want to make the trainees, who were always exhausted from excessive practice, suffer.

‘He was an angel, an angel.’

That’s how much the trainees liked Park Yu-min.

Now that the Galaxy League was abolished, it was an era where former pro gamers were doing personal broadcasts. Thanks to that, stories about how tyrannical the once-great pro gamers were behind the scenes were pouring out.

Even though it was an era where fans frowned upon and withdrew their support for the bad sides of pro gamers they had idolized, Park Yu-min’s status was actually rising.

Because only good stories kept coming out. Even former pro gamers were putting Park Yu-min aside and only praising him, so new nicknames like Park Yu-minism and the leader were being attached to him.

‘He deserves it.’

Choi Jeong-woo smiled contentedly.

Park Yu-min was a person who deserved it. He was human, so he would feel jealous when others gained popularity, but he never felt that jealousy when it came to Park Yu-min.

“But what brings you here? Did you come to encourage us?”

“No.”

At that moment, the coach walked in from the back, smiling.

“He’s here for a tryout.”

“Huh?”

Choi Jeong-woo turned to Park Yu-min with surprised eyes.

“He’s in the top ranks of Challenger, so he’s qualified enough.”

“Wow! Hyung, really?”

“Yeah. That’s how it is.”

“…Hyung, you’re amazing. How did you get to the top ranks in two games?”

Choi Jeong-woo looked at Park Yu-min with truly surprised eyes.

From a layman’s point of view, games may seem to have something in common, but for gamers who actually play, they are completely different.

Soccer and basketball are both ball sports, but can a star player who was at the top in soccer reach the same level in basketball?

With natural athletic ability and physique, they might be able to reach an upper level, but the highest level is impossible. Even Jordan was an emperor in basketball, but he was just an ordinary minor league player in baseball.

But a tryout?

“Hyung, really… Wow! You’re still Yu-min hyung.”

“No. I’m not at that level yet, but the coach kept telling me to come. I’m still far behind.”

“It’s worth giving you a tryout. And we can’t let our Yu-min be taken by another team. If you debut with another team, I’ll be burned at the stake on the internet that day, you know.”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

Park Yu-min could only smile awkwardly at Choi Jeong-woo’s agreement.

“So, what’s your position?”

“Mid.”

Choi Jeong-woo’s expression became subtle at the word mid.

It wasn’t because it was his position.

“Huh? Mid? Then I have to do the tryout?”

“Yeah. Get ready.”

There was a slight anxiety in Choi Jeong-woo’s gaze. The mid of their team was Kwak Hyun-tae. He was practically the team’s ace, but what made him anxious wasn’t Kwak Hyun-tae’s skills.

‘He won’t go easy on him.’

A ruthless personality.

The bold confidence and the will to crush opponents that a skilled young ace has.

Could Park Yu-min really handle that dynamic, like a wriggling fish?

“I really liked you when you were a pro gamer, Park Yu-min sunbaenim [senior].”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“But this is a different game. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

The coach spoke up the moment Park Yu-min hesitated to answer.

“You, watch your mouth.”

“Hey, I was just saying…”

“It’s not about skill. You wouldn’t even have a job if it wasn’t for Yu-min, you know. Remember that our team was able to stay afloat thanks to Yu-min.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kwak Hyun-tae shrugged.

A mumble that sounded like, ‘Could I not have debuted as a gamer if it wasn’t here? I would have done it somewhere else,’ was heard, but the coach didn’t bother to point it out.

No matter how much they talked about valuing character on the outside, in the end, pro gamers were all about skill. If you had the skill, you could survive anywhere. No one knew that cold reality better than him.

So now it was time for Park Yu-min to show what he could do.

“Yu-min, get ready.”

“Yes.”

“It would be good to see your macro [overall strategy], but macro is obvious. That’s for later. Let’s start with the laning phase. Mid lane.”

“Yes.”

Park Yu-min took out his equipment from the bag on his back and steeled his resolve.

‘Just show what you can do.’

Park Yu-min grabbed the mouse, heading towards the computer that still looked unfamiliar.

“I’ll give you another tryout in a week.”

“…Yes.”

“It’s always like that. Who can show their full potential during a tryout? You know that.”

“Yes.”

“You did well enough. Just relax a little more next time.”

“Yes.”

“Okay, good job.”

Park Yu-min bowed his head at the coach’s words.

“Thank you.”

“Okay. See you next week. I’ll text you.”

“Yes, coach.”

As Park Yu-min turned and walked out, the coach looked at him with a pitiful gaze.

‘He’s always been weak under pressure.’

If Park Yu-min had a little more tenacity in his personality, his evaluation would have been twice as high. Even in the past, he often failed to catch opponents he should have caught because he couldn’t overcome that pressure.

He understood.

A different game, and now an older age for a pro gamer. He wouldn’t be able to crush others from a higher dimension like he did when he was young. So, the personality flaws that weren’t apparent when he was doing well were now becoming more visible.

Moreover, since he already had achievements, he would feel two or three times the pressure. So, his hands wouldn’t move as he wanted.

However… even if he solved that, it was questionable whether he could debut again. Something more fundamental…

“Coach, I’ll be right back.”

As Choi Jeong-woo rushed out, the coach reached out his hand.

“Hey! You! We have to set up scrims [practice matches] soon, where are you going!”

“I have something to do over there, please tell them I’m sorry. I’ll buy them meat later.”

“You, it’s not like you’re the only one who’s sorry…”

The coach chuckled, watching Choi Jeong-woo already running far away.

‘Still, our Yu-min is lucky with people.’

Whether to become the best with a difficult personality and lose people, or to not become the best with that personality but gain people.

He couldn’t judge which was right. However, one thing was certain: there wasn’t a single person in this industry who wanted Park Yu-min to fail.

Anyone who knew him.

“Hyung! Hyung!”

Park Yu-min turned his head and looked at Choi Jeong-woo, who was chasing after him.

“Oh? Jeong-woo?”

“Hyung, why are you in such a hurry? I didn’t even get to say goodbye properly.”

“…No, do you really need to say goodbye?”

“Still, that’s not right, hyung. Let me buy you a coffee… No. Buy me a coffee, hyung.”

Park Yu-min chuckled.

“Why did it suddenly change to ‘buy me’?”

“Thinking about it, you’ve made a lot of money, hyung, so it feels presumptuous for me to buy you coffee.”

“…It’s good if you buy it.”

“Really? Then I’ll buy it.”

“It’s okay. I’ll buy it. Let’s go.”

Park Yu-min led Choi Jeong-woo into a nearby cafe. After receiving their drinks and sitting down, Park Yu-min looked at Choi Jeong-woo with a slightly awkward expression.

“Did you come to comfort me?”

“Hey, hyung. Comfort? What comfort? Am I even qualified to comfort you?”

“It’s true that I failed, though.”

“Hyung, honestly, it’s not easy to do that well in two games.”

“You did it.”

“I wasn’t even a speck of dust compared to you in the Galaxy League. And even now, I can’t even dream of having the same status as you did back then. I’m just a common player. But you were at the top in that field, and you’ve even reached the pro level in this one.”

“Thanks for the words. But… I don’t think I’m at the pro level yet. I realized that today.”

It wasn’t humility. Park Yu-min was a bit discouraged right now.

As he played games and climbed the ranks, he had played games with pro gamers often. They were decent enough to play against, so he thought he was ready, but that wasn’t the case.

‘Come to think of it, it’s natural.’

Wasn’t he like that in the past? When he played against amateurs in public matches, his mindset was different from when he played against real pros. The only amateur he faced with all his strength was Kang Jin-ho.

“Jeong-woo.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“What do you think is my problem?”

“Huh?”

“What do you think I should do to get better?”

Choi Jeong-woo closed his mouth. It was not an easy question to answer.

Moreover, the person in front of him now was someone who was once his idol. Giving advice to such a person was not an easy task.

But he had to do it now.

Because that was how he could help Park Yu-min.

“Hyung, in my opinion…”

“Yeah.”

Choi Jeong-woo swallowed hard and opened his mouth.