The Heavenly Demon Approves (1)
The video began at the exact moment Hwaryong stepped inside the building. She cut down the low-level mobs that popped out one or two at a time with effortless grace, looking exactly like the protagonist of one of those so-called “peerless” games.
“Was this game even supposed to play like that?”
“Normally, no way.”
Revenge was famous as a martial arts game with beautiful production values, but it was far better known for its brutally punishing difficulty. Just skimming the reviews made that clear—plenty of people gave up and demanded refunds after getting completely blocked by trash mobs. No matter how much stronger a player’s character was compared to the average enemy, it was only a relative advantage. It wasn’t overwhelming. Faced with an endless wave of enemies, helplessness was inevitable. If you couldn’t fight strategically, your stamina and internal energy would run dry and you’d get beaten to death by a mob. In Revenge, simply reaching the boss room on your first try earned you the praise “You have talent.” That was the kind of game it was.
“She’s good.”
Yuryong could only marvel as he watched Hwaryong snatch bullets out of the air with one hand. He himself was a serious martial arts enthusiast who had once climbed as high as rank 16 in Hwaryong Muin. There was no way he could fail to understand just how incredible what she was doing so casually truly was.
Before even twenty minutes had passed, Hwaryong finished clearing every last mob and stepped straight into the boss room. After the cutscene that must have played dozens of times, Hwaryong and the boss clashed. No—clashed was the wrong word. The more accurate term was crushed. The domination didn’t stop there. The second boss. The third map and its boss. Even the special agents and jiangshi that appeared in the fourth map. Hwaryong suppressed them all as easily as if they were common trash mobs.
What truly left Yuryong speechless was the way she fought the final boss of the laboratory. The battle between the two women looked less like a struggle and more like a single elegant dance. As if two performers were executing perfectly choreographed movements to create a work of art. Yuryong could tell that Hwaryong was the one directing the entire scene. She had taken every ferocious attack from the laboratory boss and turned them into something beautiful. He couldn’t even imagine trying to copy it. Just how vast must the gap in their realms be for something like that to be possible? And the finishing touch was flawless. Hwaryong hadn’t killed the laboratory boss. She had successfully saved the woman by drawing out the poison that had been injected into her own neck.
“Did she just expel the poison using Fajin?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Dad, do you understand what she just did?”
No. He didn’t understand it at all. Were the martial arts that person used and the ones he practiced even the same thing? He had felt the same way when he watched the video of her defeating an Outer God. She really was someone he desperately wanted.
Yuryong licked his lips.
“Harin. That person… she wouldn’t happen to be interested in playing Hwaryong Muin, would she?”
If a player of that caliber joined his sect, they would undoubtedly secure an overwhelming advantage in the next territorial war.
“I’m not sure. She might not even know a game called Hwaryong Muin exists.”
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you to talk to her. Please?”
Yuryong grabbed both of Harin’s shoulders and pleaded earnestly. His faction’s influence had been shrinking lately because rival sects were gaining power. At the moment, his greatest concern wasn’t cooking or business—it was how to restore his lost territory.
Harin, who also played Hwaryong Muin, understood her father’s feelings, but she couldn’t bring herself to promise anything. She averted her eyes. She was the one who had received help from Hwaryong one-sidedly. It would be far too shameless to ask for yet another favor. She could casually bring up the topic of Hwaryong Muin, but whether the Heavenly Demon would show any interest was entirely up to her.
“But Dad. We’re part of the Righteous Faction. Is it really okay to recruit someone who plays with a Heavenly Demon concept?”
“Winning is all that matters.”
He used to talk so much about justice and chivalry. The moment things got urgent, all principles went out the window. Apparently stung by Harin’s cold gaze, Yuryong made an awkward excuse and fled the room as if running for his life.
Left alone, Harin paused the video and leaned back in her chair.
I wouldn’t mind if Lady Hwaryong started playing Hwaryong Muin too. If she were by their side, it would be like having a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses. What would it be like if Lady Hwaryong participated in the territorial war? She would probably sweep through everyone like an unstoppable force. Imagining that scene, Harin decided she should at least mention Hwaryong Muin once.
I woke up to a noisy sound and looked out the window. The sun was already setting. Since I had fallen asleep right before three in the afternoon yesterday, I must have slept about five or six hours. I reached out with Void Grasping and pulled the vibrating smartphone from across the room, then answered the call.
“Who is this?”
“Lady Hwaryong, it’s Decade. You remember we agreed to do the Ten Matches today, right? There’s only thirty minutes left and you haven’t logged in yet, so I called to check.”
Was it already that time? When I checked the clock, it was already past six-thirty. Huh. It wasn’t often that I slept this deeply.
“I’ll log in right away.”
“Okay. I already made the room, so just come in whenever you’re ready.”
I ended the call and immediately logged into Apis. The moment Decade saw me, he broke into a bright smile and told me that the video I uploaded last time had blown up. Apparently I had become so famous that any video related to me drew in massive crowds the instant it was posted.
“If we upload any video about you right now, it’ll easily get millions of views!”
“Is that so? That’s good to hear.”
“This is all thanks to you, Lady Hwaryong. So I want to repay you somehow.”
When I saw Decade pounding his chest and saying he would give me anything—cash, whatever, just name it—I couldn’t help but sigh. He had done the same thing last time. Had he learned nothing? The word “anything” seemed permanently stuck to his tongue. At this rate, he was going to need to get properly burned before he came to his senses. Still, I had no intention of refusing something that was being offered. The only problem was that nothing came to mind right now. I was perfectly satisfied with my current life. Food, clothing, and shelter were more than adequate—they filled my heart with happiness. What could possibly be lacking?
“Nothing comes to mind at the moment. Would it be all right to put it off until later?”
“Of course!”
Then I would think about it carefully. However, Decade, you should know that I am not the kind of person who refuses such offers. I hope you won’t regret it later when I wring you dry to the bone.
“The broadcast is about to start. Should I open the chat window next to you?”
“Please do.”
After talking with all those random kids last time, I realized that conversing with people who weren’t afraid of me was actually quite enjoyable. They hid behind anonymity and threw out all sorts of rude and ridiculous comments. Usually, people in front of me either acted extremely polite, trembled in terror, or screamed in rage. This was the first time rudeness had come from a place of familiarity. So there was no reason to refuse another conversation this time.
“It’s a bit early, but shall we begin?”
“Let’s do that.”
The news that Decade and Hwaryong would be doing the Ten Matches was announced on the very day she defeated an Outer God. People who had gone wild watching her solo an Outer God were thrilled at the chance to see her again, but they didn’t have high expectations for the match itself.
One side was a monster among monsters who had soloed an Outer God just days ago. The other was a has-been who used to be a pro gamer a few years back but now couldn’t even climb out of Challenger, let alone play in the pro league. People weren’t even debating who would win. The discussion had already moved on to how many times Decade could even land damage on her.
That public opinion was clearly reflected in the point betting taking place on Decade’s stream. Even though the bet was simply whether Decade would win a single match during today’s Ten Matches or not, the ratio of points wagered was 95 to 5. And that was only because some people were screaming “one shot at life” and betting on the long odds. If real money had been on the line, the ratio would have been even more one-sided. It didn’t even need to be said.
“Everyone! I’m still a former pro, okay? A former pro! There aren’t that many people in Apis who are better than me!”
Decade insisted that if he went all out, he could at least win one round, but nobody believed him. Even his longtime loyal viewers weren’t betting on him winning—they were betting on whether he could shave off half of her HP. There wasn’t a single person on Decade’s side. Even Decade himself didn’t believe what he was saying. Claiming he could beat a monster like Hwaryong sounded ridiculous even to him.
“Ah, I forgot to mention one thing I haven’t told you all yet.”
“What is it?”
“I do not plan on choosing the Heavenly Demon today.”
A small commotion broke out in the chat, which had come expecting to see Hwaryong play the Heavenly Demon. Decade was just as confused. If she wasn’t going to play the Heavenly Demon, then what was she planning to pick? She was practically synonymous with the Heavenly Demon concept. For her to say she wouldn’t use it…
“Then what are you going to play?”
She’ll probably pick one of the strong signature characters. She prefers martial arts playstyles, so maybe the Fist King or Divine Spear? Or perhaps a Demon Path character? No matter which one she chooses, it won’t be weak. After all, the foundation of those characters was their martial arts, and there was no way Hwaryong—who had mastered those arts to the extreme—could possibly be weak.
“I intend to play the Whip Master.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“Do I look like the kind of person who jokes?”
She wasn’t, but still—Whip Master? Wasn’t she underestimating him too much? The complaint rose all the way to Decade’s throat. No matter how you looked at it, the Whip Master was trash. First of all, the difficulty was insane. A whip was already an unintuitive, high-skill weapon, and adding the unique traits of a signature character on top of that meant regular players wouldn’t even dare touch it. And even if someone overcame that difficulty, the performance was still terrible. When Pice Scovia tried to promote every character in the pro league, the only one he gave up on was the Whip Master. Even the player considered the world’s best Whip Master user couldn’t escape Challenger. That was the reality of the class.
Difficult to play and bad performance. A completely worthless character if you ignored its appearance. That was the Whip Master. No matter how good Hwaryong was, there had to be a limit if she played that class.
“You won’t change your mind later, right?”
He couldn’t miss this opportunity. The gap in skill was huge, but a bad character didn’t automatically make things easier. The difference between him and Lady Hwaryong was that vast. Still… maybe, just maybe, he could scrape out one round if the opponent was using a garbage class like Whip Master?
Watching Decade desperately rack his brain for strategies, Hwaryong smiled. On the other hand, the chat window was burning hotter and faster than ever before.