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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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“Shinwoo, so what happened?”
“Master, what was the outcome?”
“I don’t know, refu. It seems like things went smoothly?”
“Explain what happened!”
“Master, please tell us!”
The next day.
Hye-ji and Jung Ah-yeon bombarded me with questions.
I had nothing to hide, so I briefly explained what happened at the professors’ meeting.
Except for the part about the coat, which I kept vague.
Hye-ji knew about the coat, but Jung Ah-yeon didn’t.
After I finished explaining, they both fell into deep thought.
“So, that’s what happened.”
“Shinwoo, what ability did you awaken?”
“I don’t know. How would I know?”
The numbers above their heads increased simultaneously.
And two shards appeared.
I still couldn’t understand how it worked.
[From what this one can see, the shards appear depending on the physical distance between you and the person who regressed.]
‘So they appear when they’re close and don’t appear when they’re far away?’
[That’s right. But the range doesn’t seem to be very wide.]
‘It doesn’t really matter since I’m a melee character anyway. But it’s a shame they don’t appear from a distance.’
It was probably because I was a melee-focused player with abysmal ranged skills.
‘These days, they teach shooting and coding at Taekwondo dojangs. I should’ve gotten an early education.’
[Can you even do that with your brain?]
‘Don’t attack me with facts, damn it.’
Hye-ji spoke, interrupting my thoughts,
“Shinwoo, so what are they registering your ability as?”
“Just physical enhancement, I think.”
“Will that even work? Physical enhancement is basic for Hunters.”
“This one agrees.”
“I don’t know. They told me to write that, so they better make it work. They’re getting paid for it.”
They’d probably reject it outright.
Just physical enhancement without even knowing what the actual ability is?
A Middle Eastern guy wearing AirPods claiming to be a refugee would be more believable.
Just then, the classroom door slid open.
The doorway was wide enough for several people to pass through easily.
But it wasn’t wide enough for the person who was walking in.
He had to stoop to enter.
Curious, I examined him.
He was an old man.
But he wasn’t an ordinary old man.
He was wearing a tattered dobok, his muscles bulging beneath it, crisscrossed with countless scars.
His long white hair was unkempt, a white beard flowing down his chin, and his skin was tanned.
His appearance suggested that he had lived a difficult life.
And then there were his eyes. Eyes that were sharp and piercing, despite his age.
His gaze was so intense that it seemed capable of piercing through anything.
Everyone in the classroom fell silent under his imposing presence.
Like herbivores trembling before a predator.
And there was another strange thing about him.
Despite his large physique…
He moved silently.
He walked as if he was floating, his steps making no sound.
The combined effect of his appearance and demeanor created a pressure that wasn’t quite as intense as Old Man Kang-hyuk in serious mode, but enough to make everyone tense.
[He’s a giant. Is it safe to assume he’s human?]
‘He’s clearly a pro. What’s he doing at this shitty academy?’
Thinking about how shitty the academy was, a perfectly normal thought, I looked at Hye-ji and Jung Ah-yeon.
Hye-ji had a “What kind of animal is that?” look on her face.
Other than that, she didn’t seem bothered, which was typical of her.
But Jung Ah-yeon was different.
Her eyes were sparkling with excitement.
Like a sasaeng fan who had just met her idol.
The old man reached the podium silently.
He glanced around the classroom and spoke,
“Greetings. This one is called Kang Jin.”
Silence filled the room.
They exchanged glances, confused.
But his next words…
“And this one is known to the world as the Heavenly Demon.”
…were enough to cause an uproar.
The students were amazed by his sudden appearance.
“The Heavenly Demon, a top-tier Hunter, is here?!”
“Mom, I met the Heavenly Demon today!”
“Wait, when did the Heavenly Demon become a man?”
“You idiot! The Heavenly Demon has always been a man!”
“That’s the real Heavenly Demon! It’s not a figurine!”
I was also curious why he was here.
And in this day and age, where “Heavenly Demon” had become a vulgar joke, he was a male one, no less.
[A Heavenly Demon in this era?]
‘These days, Heavenly Demons are mostly female. And the male ones are all third-rate.’
[Don’t talk nonsense!!! The “Chun” in Heavenly Demon refers to Heaven (天)! Not “cheap” (賤)!]
‘If you don’t believe me, search on Nopia right now.’
“Heavenly Demon! What brings you here?!”
A student, unable to contain his curiosity, shouted.
A small smile appeared on the Heavenly Demon’s face.
As if he had been waiting for that question.
“This one is here on behalf of my distant relative, Kang Pil-yong.”
So he was Professor Pil-yong’s distant relative.
Now that I thought about it, Professor Pil-yong was also quite bulky.
[They’re relatives, but there’s a huge difference in their hair volume.]
‘Professor Pil-yong must be lacking inner energy.’
“And…”
He cleared his throat and his eyes suddenly turned sharp.
That alone was enough to instill fear in everyone.
They looked at him with a mixture of awe and fear.
He finally continued,
“This one heard that there’s a mere insect here who defeated martial artists and brought shame upon this place of learning.”
A sudden declaration.
I wondered…
‘Who the hell defeated the martial artists?’
[Who else could it be but you?]
‘Oh shit, it was me.’
No one answered.
The Heavenly Demon growled, annoyed by their silence,
“Answer me. Who is it?”
I felt sharp gazes piercing the back of my head.
It was the first time I realized glares could be physically painful.
Hye-ji next to me gave me a worried look.
Jung Ah-yeon had an “I knew this was coming” expression.
Unable to endure the intense scrutiny, I sighed and said,
“It’s me.”
“You.”
He turned his gaze towards me.
I asked, since I’d been called out anyway,
“So, what’s the matter?”
“You’re insignificant.”
That pissed me off.
[He’s not holding back at all.]
‘We just met, and he’s already insulting me?’
He continued speaking, oblivious to my annoyance.
“How dare you, a mere insect, humiliate martial artists and bring shame upon this sacred training ground!”
“Just to clarify, they were the ones who started it.”
I was confident in my statement.
They were the ones who picked a fight first.
I was innocent.
“Champi Fist Technique.”
“Ah, shit.”
I wasn’t innocent.
[Karma’s a bitch.]
‘I thought they’d have forgotten about it after 13 chapters.’
Jung Ah-yeon was looking at me smugly.
At the same time, the Heavenly Demon’s aura intensified, focusing solely on me.
“The honor of martial artists has truly fallen if they’re losing to someone like you.”
“Are they even martial artists if they’re getting crushed in a 25-round match? They’re just punching bags.”
“Hmm. It seems you at least have the basics.”
“The matches are already over, so why are you here? Did you come here to fight?”
He scoffed at my provocation.
“Hmph. This one wouldn’t waste his time fighting an insect like you.”
“Then please proceed with the class.”
Of course that scoff quickly turned into a grimace.
“How dare you, a student, talk back to me?”
“Hey, if you’re here as a substitute teacher, at least do your job. Are you getting paid to slack off? Are all Heavenly Demons like this nowadays?”
“Heavenly Demons? This one is the only Heavenly Demon in this world.”
It seemed he didn’t really understand what “Heavenly Demon” meant these days.
I decided to educate him.
“There are countless Heavenly Demons. And these days, they’re mostly female, with awful male characters. Why are you calling yourself a Heavenly Demon when you’re clearly a man?”
“Shut up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
[This one prefers a pink Heavenly Demon.]
‘I’m more into girls with black hair.’
Just like his distant relative, Professor Pil-yong, a vein popped out on his forehead.
However, there was a difference.
His bulging muscles emphasized his rage.
Professor Pil-yong hadn’t reached that level of muscle control.
Many of the students, except for Jung Ah-yeon, flinched under his imposing presence.
Even though his anger wasn’t directed at them.
“How dare you compare yourself to a Heavenly Demon!”
“They’re supposed to be incredibly strong and unbeatable.”
He seemed pleased with my answer and calmed down a bit.
But…
“Yes, a good answer. Then do you know the ultimate technique that earned this one the title of Heavenly Demon?”
“Heavenly Demon Death Beam.”
His satisfaction was short-lived.
[Shouldn’t it be Heavenly Demon Mirror Ball?]
‘That’s Master Katt’s AoE attack. It’s not his ultimate.’
The number above his head went up.
And a shard appeared.
It must have been because he was close to me.
I looked into the shard and saw the Heavenly Demon firing a death beam from his finger at “me”.
The Heavenly Demon Death Beam hit “me” directly in the face.
[That looks fatal.]
‘That bastard was seriously trying to kill me.’
I immediately tilted my head to the side as I returned to reality.
The death beam pierced through the back of my chair, and the red number above his head went up.
“Ho. You dodged it.”
“Seriously, were you trying to kill me?! And it really was a death beam.”
“Shut up! This is merely concentrated qi emanating from this one’s fingertip!”
Having faced a near-death experience, I felt no fear anymore.
My heart was filled with only two things:
Rage and annoyance.
“Like I said before, the concept of a male Heavenly Demon is absurd.”
“Very well. This one also has something to say regarding that.”
“What is it?”
“This one recently discovered this thing called the internet.”
“It’s called the internet, not ‘this thing called the internet.’”
[He seems older than this one. His pronunciation is awful.]
‘Seriously? At your age? You have no shame!’
Hearing his outdated pronunciation made me blurt out,
“Why is your pronunciation so old-fashioned? Are you about to kick the bucket?”
“Shut up! This one is still young and strong!!!”
“Let me know if you need help. I’ll get you some dentures. Though I won’t go for the Ostem brand, it’s too expensive.”
He gritted his teeth and continued,
“Anyway, this one wanted to see just how great this ‘Heavenly Demon’ truly is, but what I found was… disturbing.”
“…Did you seriously search for it?”
“This one trembles with rage whenever he sees those who dare call themselves Heavenly Demons.”
His fists, veins bulging, trembled with anger.
“Insignificant creatures, mocking the title of Heavenly Demon with their cooking, illusions, child-rearing, and blacksmithing!”
“At least those are male characters. This isn’t that platform, so go somewhere else.”
“Shut up!!! Lately, women with pink hair and revealing outfits call themselves Heavenly Demons!”
“That’s just the current trend.”
He hadn’t raised his voice yet.
He seemed to be tolerating it up to this point.
But his next words were delivered with a roar that echoed through the classroom.
“And green monsters, plants, women using magic who aren’t even martial artists, they all call themselves Heavenly Demons! This world has gone mad!!!”
“Why the hell did you even search for that? It’s basic knowledge not to search for yourself if you value your mental health.”
Ego-searching is insane.
There were countless authors who had gone insane from it.
Again, it’s a crazy thing to do.
“This is truly deplorable.”
“I see. That’s why I only recognize one true Heavenly Demon.”
“Are you referring to this one?”
“No. The Heavenly Demon standing before me is nothing compared to the true Heavenly Demon.”
His anger intensified.
It seemed like he couldn’t accept being called a fake.
“Who is this true Heavenly Demon?!”
“Michael Jackson.”
I proudly declared his name.
Because Brother Michael Jackson is the true Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon scoffed,
“You think some Yankee is a Heavenly Demon?”
“…What?”
He was mocking him.
My blood boiled.
[…Are you alright?]
‘Is this bastard crazy? How dare you insult Brother MJ!’
My fury reached a critical point, overriding all logic and reason.
He continued mocking me, oblivious to my internal state.
“How can someone like that be so gre-”
I cut him off with a roar.
“Shut the fuck up (喝)!!!!!!!!!!!!”
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I will never forgive the music industry for slandering my GOAT Michael Jackson