Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 718

“Yumin’s been on fire lately, hasn’t he?” Coach Oh Jin-hyung’s playful remark made Park Yu-min smile awkwardly.

“It’s just luck.”

“Don’t you ever say that anywhere else. If the guy who hit number one in solo queue says it’s luck, then every gamer in Korea who’s losing sleep over games might as well just give up.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Seeing Park Yu-min at a loss for words, Oh Jin-hyung smiled gently.

‘He’s really something else.’

Oh Jin-hyung had to admit he’d been seriously mistaken. Park Yu-min had been a gamer for a very long time. Back in the Galaxy days, when he reigned as a top player, he was one of the most experienced players.

In e-sports, where a pro’s career is shorter than that of a traditional sports player, if you’ve been a gamer for more than three years, you’re considered a veteran.

That’s why he was mistaken.

When you think about it, Park Yu-min isn’t even twenty-five yet. Considering that most e-sports players peak physically around twenty, hit their prime in their early twenties, and start declining after twenty-five, Park Yu-min should still be in his prime.

He hadn’t properly assessed Park Yu-min because he was in a different game and had a relatively long career compared to other players of different ages.

‘He can stay in his prime for a few more years.’

Now he was sure of it.

Since joining the practice room, Park Yu-min had been growing voraciously. As if he’d finally found an environment where he could properly unleash his abilities, he conquered solo queue and was putting on a crazy performance in scrims [practice matches against other teams].

“Hyung, you were amazing.”

“Stop it already.”

Choi Jung-woo was more excited about Park Yu-min’s performance than Park Yu-min himself.

“No, that solo kill earlier was insane. They’re the number one team, you know. We won easily thanks to you. This should have been a broadcast match, not a scrim.”

“It would have been different in a broadcast match.”

“Come on, would it really be different?”

Park Yu-min’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Jung-woo.”

“Yes?”

“Being good in the practice room doesn’t mean anything. If you’re a pro, you have to show it in real matches. You know how many guys disappeared after being called practice room gods.”

“Come on, hyung, you’re different.”

“Jung-woo.”

“…Okay, I get it. I was a bit carried away.”

Park Yu-min chuckled, and Choi Jung-woo, who had been feeling down, grinned.

‘The atmosphere is good too.’

Oh Jin-hyung smiled contentedly.

Teams that are doing well always have a good atmosphere. And even in that good atmosphere, there needs to be a certain level of strictness.

Until now, his team had been lively, but lacked professionalism. Park Yu-min was filling that gap. From the team members’ perspective, Park Yu-min, a senior player and their idol from their school days, joined the team and practiced harder than anyone else, which naturally changed the team’s atmosphere.

Without needing to point things out or get angry, an atmosphere of self-motivated hard work was created.

Moreover, their skills were improving rapidly, so how could they not be motivated?

“Coach.”

“Yeah?”

Choi Jung-woo asked with an expectant look.

“Who’s starting mid for the next match?”

“Hmm…”

Oh Jin-hyung hesitated to answer.

‘The time has come.’

It was actually overdue.

Skill-wise, Park Yu-min had already surpassed the existing starter, Kwak Hyun-tae, a long time ago. Kwak Hyun-tae himself had admitted it. So, naturally, Park Yu-min should be the starter. But Oh Jin-hyung was having trouble finding the right timing.

‘This is no ordinary matter.’

When Park Yu-min’s name was added to the summer roster, the community went wild. Park Yu-min’s ardent supporters, the Park Yu-min Church, were literally going crazy.

Some couldn’t sleep with joy that Park Yu-min was restarting his pro career in a different game, while others felt betrayed that Park Yu-min had abandoned Galaxy and chosen another game.

The community was in chaos, divided between the positive and negative factions. But as time passed, the positive opinion that Park Yu-min was still continuing his pro gamer career settled in. Now, everyone’s focus was on how well Park Yu-min would perform.

‘The pressure must be immense.’

Although he had a calm face, Park Yu-min was still human. If you looked at it objectively, he was the type to be a bit more timid than the average person. It must be hard enough to try a new game where he’d never achieved results, but how much pressure would all those people’s expectations put on him?

If he couldn’t overcome the pressure, he could collapse in an instant.

That’s why Oh Jin-hyung was still cautious.

“Coach, you know our ranking is in danger now, right?”

“You’re bragging, you punk! You’re a pro, and instead of thinking about improving your own skills to climb back up when the ranking is falling, you’re thinking about changing team members?”

“Come on, this is a team game. I’ll work hard too, but it’s better if the team gets stronger.”

“Tsk.”

Oh Jin-hyung frowned.

But deep down, he thought Choi Jung-woo was right. This was a team game.

‘Hyun-tae is the problem…’

Park Yu-min’s form had completely recovered, while Kwak Hyun-tae’s form had plummeted.

It was only natural.

For a pro, skills are important, but mentality is also crucial. Mentality is what allows you to fully utilize your physical abilities and understanding of the game.

But right now, Kwak Hyun-tae’s mentality was in tatters.

A competitor he thought he couldn’t even compare to was rising above him endlessly. Kwak Hyun-tae was too young to keep his mentality together while watching that.

Every time they faced each other in solo queue, he got crushed, and the scrim evaluations were also different. And crucially, the team members preferred playing with Park Yu-min over Kwak Hyun-tae.

He was just a kid who had turned twenty.

A kid who had been praised as a rising star was suddenly pushed to the back. The shock must have been immense.

‘That guy is really ruthless in that regard.’

There was a reason why Park Yu-min was a natural pro.

While watching Kwak Hyun-tae’s mentality crumble right next to him, he would comfort him with words, but he would never go easy on him in the game. Rather, he was crushing him thoroughly.

Seeing that ruthless side of him, it seemed like he could be trusted…

“Yu-min.”

“Yes, Coach.”

“What do you think? Do you think it’s okay to play now?”

Park Yu-min didn’t answer and fell into thought.

“Hyung! What’s there to think about? You’re the unofficial number one right now. If you show even 80% of what you’re doing now on broadcast, it’ll be a huge hit.”

“You just stay quiet.”

Oh Jin-hyung said firmly, and Choi Jung-woo pouted.

‘It’s the truth.’

He could tell from playing with him. Park Yu-min was the real deal.

It wasn’t because this person was Park Yu-min, whom he admired and respected, that he was making this assessment. Even if Park Yu-min was a rookie he’d never seen before, Choi Jung-woo’s assessment would be the same if he showed this kind of performance.

He knew what the coach was worried about, but to him, it was just unnecessary concern. In the end, pros speak with their skills, and Park Yu-min’s skills were more than enough.

“Honestly, I think it’s still a bit difficult…”

Park Yu-min said calmly.

“I do want to raise my form a bit more before meeting the fans.”

“Is that so?”

“But when I think about it, that form… it feels like there’s no end to it. It was like that before too. Even when other people said, ‘Your form is good,’ ‘Your form is on fire,’ I always saw flaws and felt like I was lacking. So, I should assume that the moment I reach the form I want will never come.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“If it’s greedy to prepare perfectly before going out, then it doesn’t matter if I play right now.”

Oh Jin-hyung stared at Park Yu-min quietly. There was no wavering on Park Yu-min’s face.

“You’re not feeling pressured?”

“I’m always pressured. I’m always scared, and I’m always nervous. Every time I step onto the stage, I’m so scared that my vision goes dark. But if I avoid matches because I’m scared, I should leave this industry. We didn’t become pros to be good in the practice room.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Oh Jin-hyung smiled gently.

‘He’s definitely become stronger than before.’

Park Yu-min was a great gamer before too. But now, he was becoming a great person, not just a great gamer.

‘I need to trust my player first.’ Worrying too much was also a problem.

He couldn’t keep Park Yu-min in his arms and protect him forever. In fact, it wasn’t Park Yu-min who needed help, but him. Now was the time when his team needed a turnaround.

They could only aim for the championship if Park Yu-min, the key player, performed well.

“Can you play in the next match?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, let’s do that then.”

Park Yu-min nodded.

“Wow! So, hyung, you’re starting in the next match?”

“Yeah.”

“The community is going to explode.”

Choi Jung-woo chuckled.

If Park Yu-min played and showed a good performance, there would be another renaissance in the gaming community. He was already looking forward to how many memes would be created.

“Is the community the problem? We’ve come this far, we need to win the championship too.”

“That’s a given. We’ll win the championship.”

Park Yu-min looked at Choi Jung-woo as if he was dumbfounded.

“Why are you so sure?”

“If hyung plays to his full potential, it’s weird if we don’t win the championship. If hyung just shows his skills, we’ll definitely win. If we don’t win, blame us, not hyung.”

“I was going to do that anyway. You guys better not slack off and do your best. If anyone messes up the match for Yu-min’s debut, you’ll get all the hate you can eat in one day.”

“…I guess so.”

Choi Jung-woo shuddered.

If he messed up the match, he was already terrified of how much the Park Yu-min Church would harass him.

Park Yu-min got up from his seat.

“I’ll go make a call before the next scrim.”

“Okay. Don’t be late.”

“Yes.”

As Park Yu-min walked out, Choi Jung-woo opened his mouth.

“He’s a really amazing hyung [older brother or respected senior].”

“I agree.”

Oh Jin-hyung also agreed with that statement.

He was much younger than him, but he was a man he could truly respect. It wasn’t about his talent for the game. What was important was his tenacity and drive to renew himself over and over again to achieve his goals.

He seemed timid on the outside, but inside, a furnace was boiling.

That passion was something anyone could learn from.

“You punk, you should work hard too. Try to be half as good as Yu-min.”

“That’s not easy. Hyung is like a superman.”

“He’s the same person, you punk.”

“He’s the same person, but I think everyone has a different capacity. If you ask me if I can become the best player in the world, I’d say yes, but if you ask me if I can beat hyung, I can’t answer that.”

It was nonsense.

But he seemed to understand what he meant.

‘He’s really something else.’

Oh Jin-hyung looked at the door Park Yu-min had gone out with a satisfied face. He was already excited about how many people would be surprised when that guy made his debut again.