Descent of the Demon Master

will mean nothing to you if you become one this way.
I didn't oppose you when you raised a fuss about becoming an idol because I genuinely thought you enjoyed singing, not because you wanted to become a star.”

Kang Eun-Yeong's voice became smaller.
“O-okay…”

“Chairman Hwang did say he wanted to support you a little more, but I declined his offer.
Someone who becomes famous that way won't last long, after all.”

“…I got it.”

“Don't rush it, Eun-Yeong.
You're still young.”

Hearing that, Kang Eun-Yeong desperately fired her last salvo.
“What are you talking about?! Everyone makes their debut around my age, you know! If I wait any longer, they'll call me an ahjumma!”

“As long as you have the ability, your age doesn't matter,” Kang Jin-Ho replied firmly.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong listening on the sideline nodded sagely.
“He's right, Eun-Yeong.
Your oppa is speaking the truth here.”

“But, Mom!” Kang Eun-Yeong cried out when her own mother didn't take her side.

But Baek Hyeon-Jeong's reply came bundled with a slap on her daughter's back.
“I'm also against you becoming a singer like that.
Listen, stealing someone else's opportunity is not right.
Do you have any idea how much my heart ached when other guys didn't go out with me back then?”

“What happened? Why didn't they go out with you, Mom?” Kang Eun-Yeong asked while frowning at the pain coming from her back.

“What can I do when they say it's unfair to other girls with me in the picture?”

“Uh-whew…” Kang Jin-Ho sighed at that reply.

But Kang Eun-Yeong unwisely smiled and asked, “Ah! Is that why you married Dad?”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong's cheeks twitched for a moment then.
“…Kang Eun-Yeong.”

“Yes, Mom?”

“You make your own dinner tonight!”

“Ah?! Mom! Wait, why are you getting upset over that, Mom?!”

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head and left his family behind to enter his room.
He immediately switched his computer on and began searching online.

[Easy Victory for Park Yu-Min!

The rookie star gamer Park Yu-Min won a landslide victory in the first round of KGL's Group B preliminaries!

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The match took place on the 'Battlefield of Stars' map.
Yun Min-Sang resorted to a line rush in the opening minutes as his opening salvo.
However, Park Yu-Min patiently defended against the raid and overwhelmed Yun Min-Sang with his now-trademark quantity tactic.

With this victory, Park Yu-Min has now earned his first promotion and a win in the…]

Kang Jin-Ho grinned while reading the article.

“Yeah.
It’s not like I’m a bad gamer.”

Yes, Park Yu-Min was simply too strong.

Some people were born with a particular set of talents suitable for a specific field.
Rather than talent, Kang Jin-Ho relied on his cultivation to jump into the world of gaming.
On the other hand, Park Yu-Min managed to reach his current height purely with his innate talent and all the hard work he had put in.

Kang Jin-Ho closed the internet browser, then logged into his Galaxy Craft account.
It had been a while since he last played this game.

***

Jang Jeon-Gu, a pro gamer competing in Galaxy Craft, muttered while staring at his monitor, “You know, I haven't seen that player lately.”

His fellow pro gamer, Bak Yeong-Tae, tilted his head.
“Who are you talking about?”

“KILLYM.”

“What kind of an ID is that? Kill why am?”

“Don't tell me that you haven't heard about KILLYM until now?”

“Yeah, it's my first time hearing about them.”

Jang Jeon-Gu chuckled in dismay.
“Dude, I'm guessing that you haven't checked the Battlenet rating lately.”

“Why should I waste my time doing that? The best players don't have high ratings anyway, right?”

Jang Jeon-Gu shook his head.
“Nah, this player is different.”

“Oh? What is so different about them?”

“Their rating.
It's 2,500.”

“Eh?” Bak Yeong-Tae nearly fell out of his chair at that revelation.

Jang Jeon-Gu chuckled at that reaction and asked, “How high did your rating get, Yeong-Tae?”

“I did get to around 2,000 way back when.
I couldn't reach it again after going pro, though.”

“So, you do understand how absurdly high the rating of 2,500 is, then.”

“But there aren't all that many differences between players once you go past 2,000, right? Besides, a high rating doesn't really guarantee that you're a good player.”

“Nope.
I did have a match with him before.”

“Okay?”

Jang Jeon-Gu gravely nodded.
“And that player was really something else.”

“Really?”

“Yup.
He was so good that I still get shivers when I remember our matches.
I thought Yu-Min was good when I first saw him, but this KILLYM person is in a whole other realm.
I'm telling you, if you see him in action, your jaw will hit the floor, dude.”

Bak Yeong-Tae remained doubtful as he retorted, “If that player is so good, why waste time among the amateurs? Why not debut as a pro?”

“That person probably has no need for that.
I'm guessing that…
Maybe they are rich and just want to play games for fun but happen to be talented in it.
Something like that.”

“That'd be so wild if it’s true…”

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“Anyway, I saw that person online pretty regularly before, but not so much lately.”

Bak Yeong-Tae pointed at his monitor.
“Really? But I can see their ID right now, though.
It looks like they just logged back in.”

“Eh?” Jang Jeon-Gu urgently snapped his head back to the monitor.
He could see that the ID 'KILLYM' had appeared on his friends list.
“They’re here! I'm gonna ask them for a match!”

“Come on, man.
Don't forget that you're a pro, dude.”

“No, man.
You don't understand, being an amateur or pro doesn't matter to this person.
They’re really that good!”

Bak Yeong-Tae sneakily moved closer to Jang Jeon-Gu.
“Fine, fine.
I guess I'll see what the fuss is all about, then.”

As the two pro gamers chatted away, a familiar voice addressed them from behind.
“I'm going home now, everyone.”

Jang Jeon-Gu looked away from his monitor.
“Okay.
See you later, Yu-Min.
Take care on your way back.”

Bak Yeong-Tae also chimed in.
“Did the team captain say he's giving you a ride today?”

Park Yu-Min nodded.
“Yes, he did.”

“Good.
Nice work today.
Congratulations on your first major win.”

“Thank you.
See you later.” Park Yu-Min bade them farewell, then grinned faintly after spotting a certain gamer ID on Jang Jeon-Gu's monitor—KILLYM.

That ID was created by his friend on that fateful day after Park Yu-Min had taken him to the cleaners.
That friend swore that he would discard everything and start from scratch.
The change in his gamer ID had also been a part of his transformation.

Park Yu-Min chuckled a little and asked Jang Jeon-Gu, “That player is really good, isn't he?”

“Yeah, they’re really good at this.
Have you fought with them before? Can you win?”

“Actually, I'd say it was 50-50 before.
But I've lost more matches against him recently.”

Jang Jeon-Gu was taken aback.
“Seriously?”

“I can't use my personal tournament build against him in casual matches, after all.”

Jang Jeon-Gu nodded in understanding.
“Ah, that's true.
In that case, it'd be safe to assume that you two are on a similar skill level, then? Whoa. If that person is good enough to rival you, who happens to be the hidden ace up our team's sleeve, is it safe to assume that they’d make their debut as a pro gamer sooner or later?”

“Nah, I don't think he will,” Park Yu-Min replied with a soft chuckle.

“Why not?”

“He said that me debuting as a pro and winning matches is good enough for him.”

“Mm? Wait, you know who this player is?” Jang Jeon-Gu tilted his head.

“Yes.
I've chatted to him online before.”

“Ah, I see.
I thought you knew this person pretty well, judging from how you talk about them, you see.
Don't mind me, then.”

“Okay, I won't.” Park Yu-Min nodded.

“Oh! He accepted my challenge! Time to have a go at them now! Bye, Yu-Min!” Jang Jeon-Gu excitedly cried out before quickly waving his hand.

“Bye.” Park Yu-Min waved his hand back and exited the team's building.
He looked up and saw the dark evening skies above.
The days he had to stay late into the night had grown recently, but he didn't mind it.

“By the way, when will he change his ID?” Park Yu-Min smirked to himself.

KILLYM, was it? That was supposed to be “I'll kill you, Park Yu-Min.”

His friend seemed so mature, and he would sometimes be way too pragmatic, but that dude could actually behave so immaturely, too.

“I better step up my game if I don't want to lose.”

Park Yu-Min muttered while climbing into the waiting car.