Chapter 8. The Wrath of the Demon (Part 3)
Editor: Cherish
This chapter was sponsored by anon’s $18 donation.
— Ha-ha-ha! — Tae Hyun had a bitter look on his face, his scream echoing all over the house.
‘Why did I get beaten by that jerk?’ If it was someone from the comic book world, he wouldn’t be so upset.
But now he wasn’t beaten up by a big guy, but a regular hobo.
‘Hobo of kimchi jjigae.’ Tae Hyun looked at Kang Yu with bitterness in his eyes.
Kang Yu was happy with that reaction and smiled at him.
— What? Do I look crazy reacting like that just because of kimchi jjigae?
— No… no! — Kang Yu had hit the bull’s-eye, and so Tae Hyun hurriedly took his eyes off.
Kang Yu continued with a satisfied look:
— You… you just don’t know anything— and there’s no way he could have known.
Because he was able to live for ten thousand years because of his feelings and decisions.
Or because demons live for an unlimited amount of time.
Although they do not eat or drink, they can exist forever.
It’s possible that Kang Yu, who is now half full of Magi, could live forever.
However…
There’s still a human half of him.
He remembered, with his soul and body, what it’s like to enjoy delicious food and drinks.
But you can’t find and feel that feeling anywhere in the Nine Thousandth Circle of Hell.
Because demons are strangers to that feeling by nature.
Accordingly, he couldn’t satisfy his desires either.
He prevented himself from losing his passion and mind in every way.
For ten thousand years, maintaining a healthy mind and survival in the endless battles that were carried out by the immortal demons, was his main goal.
To exist as a man in the devil’s world was like torture.
He was never satisfied.
Thirst never went away.
Hell was felt by Hell because of the blazing pillars of fire and the vast desert surface.
He associated Hell with emptiness.
— You live in a wonderful family, but you can’t understand it, just as you can’t understand the value of the air you breathe in.
If the air disappeared, the man who couldn’t stand without air for even a minute would die. Except that no one is grateful for the air.
Regret only comes when something you are used to becomes inaccessible.
— Ex… excuse me! I was wrong! — Tae Hyun didn’t know what that guy was talking about.
But now he couldn’t have done anything better than rubbing his hands to say sorry.
— Okay, I’ll accept your apology, — Kang Yu said and grabbed Tae Hyun by the side.
— Aah! Save me!
— Don’t worry, you won’t die.— He didn’t feel sorry for Tae Hyun, but even though he already had blood on his hands, he didn’t want to kill him.
It was all for one reason only:
— I’m tired of it.
Even though murder was the norm in Hell, it was nothing than a serious criminal offense on Earth.
Of course, if you just let someone go, there could be worse problems, but Kang Yu will take care of that now.
— With… thank you! — Tae Hyun bent his head, happy to hear Kang Yu’s words that he wouldn’t die.
Kang Yu looked at Tae Hyun’s bent head and smiled quietly.
— Although, it would have been better if you had died.
Tae Hyun stopped making any noise.
— You’ll understand soon enough. — Kang Yu said and called for Magi.
It was the Power of Fear.
The person to whom this power of Orobas is applied becomes afraid and turns into a puppet that won’t resist even in his thoughts.
It’s not a force that takes a lot of Magi, but it was picky about the conditions.
‘It’s hard to achieve complete intimidation.’ It’s not easy to intimidate a person enough that fear is entrenched in his soul.
It’s a force that could only be used under conditions that were perfectly matched to those of today.
‘I need to give it a try.’
— Ahhh… — The power would definitely reinforce the fear already in place.
Tae Hyun wet his pants and looked at Kang Yu like a madman.
— Now you’re going to live with that feeling for the rest of your life, — said Tae Hyun with an ominous grin.
— No… I don’t… want to…— Tae Hyun’s heartbreaking voice told that he didn’t have the strength.
Kang Yu shrugged his shoulders and answered calmly:
— If I did well, it wouldn’t make me feel any better. — The phrase Tae Hyun previously said to Han Sol now came back to him like a boomerang.
— Well, go now. Don’t tell anyone what happened here. — Kang Yu lazily waved for him to shoo, like swatting at a fly.
The guy was under his control.
Even under torture, he won’t tell anyone about anything.
Tae Hyun, who looked completely smashed, staggered out.
Han Sol, who saw him come out, walked towards Kang Yu.
She came up to him and bowed low.
— Thank you, Kang Yu. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have been strong enough…
This was the man who saved her from the goblins not so long ago.
And now, he saved her from Tae Hyun, who tortured her for several years. She didn’t know how to thank Kang Yu…
It was not a deed that could be repaid with just words of gratitude.
— Kang Yu, I will thank you for your help in any way I can,— she said in a clear and sincere voice, and bowed again.
Kang Yu turned away and smiled a little.
— Let’s clean up first, because the house looks like a real mess.
— Ah, just a minute, I…
— The two of us can do it quicker, — Kang Yu said and started cleaning.
Han Sol followed his example.
During the cleaning, she asked carefully:
— Where do you live?
— Ah… — Because of the unexpected question, only a heavy sigh came out of his mouth.
‘I guess my room is gone.’ He hadn’t paid his rent in five years, so someone else must have moved into his little room.
Only now did Kang Yu realize that he’s really a tramp who doesn’t even have a place to sleep.
‘Okay, first we need to find a place to live.’ That wasn’t a big concern for him.
Now, compared to the past, he had great power.
It wouldn’t be hard to get a new place to sleep with his strength.
— Because of some problems, I don’t live anywhere yet.
— Huh? I mean…
— Well, at this point, you could say that I’m a person without a specific place to live, — Kang Yu said, shrugging his shoulders.
Han Sol frowned and pondered.
— If so… — Because of her thoughts, her cheeks have become scarlet and her voice came out a little quieter. — Until… until you find the house, do you want to stay with us? — In her agitation, she clenched both her hands.
In fact, she hasn’t been acting like the most sane person.
He’d certainly done a lot for her, but she’d only known this guy for a little over a couple hours. An offer like that certainly wouldn’t have crossed the mind of a sane person.
‘I know, but…’ She wanted to get to know Kang Yu better.
She was interested in who he was and how he lived.
To be more specific, Han Sol was interested in him.
‘Hmm…’ Kang Yu’s eyes were lit up.
An offer he couldn’t refuse.
Now, for someone who has nowhere to go, a home to relax in would be a starting point for getting used to the Earth.
Her family may live in bad conditions, but it didn’t matter to him.
‘And money… I can make it.’
If anyone told you that the most important thing on Earth is power, know that the most important thing is money.
In a capitalist society, money is something godlike.
— Thank you, then I’ll stay with you for a while.
The excitement made her face blush even more red.
Only now did she realize that what she did was really crazy.
— Han Sol, please take care of me.
(P.P.: It’s a classic phrase in Korea when someone does something for you.)
— Yes, okay!
They shook hands with each other and nodded their heads.
— You can use the room my brother used to live in.
— Okay. — Kang Yu nodded and went into the room that the girl showed.
‘There are two priorities.’
He needed to earn money to live and accumulate Magi, which can be used instead of the sealed Man Ma Jung.
The several hundred powers he possessed were an effective way to win simple battles.
For an easy life in the future, he needed to increase the number of Magi that he can safely use.
‘Tae Hyun’s level is good, too.’ Even though that guy’s speed and strength was, his fighting skills weren’t, so it wasn’t hard to beat him.
But if you meet someone who’s higher in level and combat skills, Man Ma Jung’s sealed power could pose a problem.
To accumulate Magi is a necessity.
‘As well as money.’ While reading the articles on the internet, he saw an article about the Player’s ways of making money while hunting monsters.
— Han Sol, do you have a Mana stone?
— Yes. I’m at E level, so that’s not so expensive.
— Can I have a look at it?
— Of course. — She nodded her head warmly and took out a snow-white shining stone from her bag.
Kang Yu took her E-level mana stone and thought about an article from the Internet.
‘The darker the stone, the higher its owner’s level.’
It turns out that was the case with the Gate, too.
The F-gate was a snow-white gate, and the higher the level, the darker the shade.
The higher the Mana stone level, the more powerful it is, the more expensive its price on the market.
The method of income for the Player was the hunt for monsters to get Mana stones
Kang Yu, holding an E-level mana stone in his hands, closed his eyes.
He focused on reading the information inside the stone.
‘I can’t feel the Magi.’ He remembered a moment when he was devouring the energy of goblins.
Even though it was weak, the goblins’ bodies contained Magi.
He expected that the origin of goblins and mana stones were the same and that there would also be Magi in the stones, but he was wrong.
The Mana stone contained energy other than Magi. It was called “Maryok”.
(P.P.: In fact, it’s just “charms”, “Mana”. But as long as the previous ones are untranslatable, this one can also be untranslatable).
‘Where do you get the Magi from then?’ When he recently used the Power of the Devourer, he could not even think that the monsters have Magi, and could not specify at the time when he took it, and now it was too late.
‘We’ll have to find out.’ That was the first task so far.
Monsters having both Magi and mana stones that could be converted into real money was an important fact.
By hunting monsters, he could achieve his two goals at once.
— Han Sol, is there a Player Support Center around here?
— No. You have to go towards Seoul.
— Yes, I see. Can you please tell me how to get there?
— Yes. I have some business at the center myself.
— And you?
— Yeah. I realized I don’t have skill and power. Even if it takes time, I’d like to learn before my next trip to the gate.
There was a university in Korea that supported new players and provided safe promotion to rank 2 of level 10 as well as special skills.
However, because of the high tuition fees, low-income players like Han Sol often couldn’t afford it.
But recent experiences showed that if you didn’t know how to use a special skill, entering the gate was comparable to suicide.
— Hmm… — Kang Yu squinted his eyes.
‘Shouldn’t I help her?’ With his strength, it wouldn’t be difficult to help raise Han Sol’s level.
Actually, her level was the higher one, as he only had fighting skills and all kinds of powers.
If he took another man hunting, it wouldn’t be burdensome.
‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘It will lower the efficiency rate.’
Maybe later. Now, considering her skills, the harm would be many times greater than the benefit.
He doesn’t need a party where everyone gets in each other’s way.
He had good feelings toward Han Sol, that’s true.
She was the first person he met when he returned to Earth, and the first girl who prepared the kimchi jjigae he’d craved for him.
But after calculating all the losses, there was no reason to take her with him.
‘We have to work separately.’ After all, he was still a calculating person.
No. To be more precise, ten thousand years in Hell have made him calculating.
In Hell, full of strong demons, he had been a weak man at the bottom. To survive in a place like this, he had to become…
Scheming.
Of course, over time, the number of devoured demons increased and he became respected, but habits do not disappear.
‘First, I have to get my strength back.’