#47 Can I Step Out Too?
‘KingCar’ was the official fan club name for the SS-rank Awakener King. Their official color was pearl black. They were the hottest fan club right now, riding high on momentum after King's recent ranking battle victory and aggressively expanding their ranks.
Lately, the main topics in the KingCar group chat were always ‘King’ and ‘Choi Kang-ho.’ The chat buzzed nonstop with sparkling discussions on their interests.
One peaceful afternoon, just like any other, a new obsession burst onto the scene.
The KingCar group chat exploded.
Soon after, a second photo hit King's SNS.
Up to this point, they figured it was just some adorable little kid.
But then another post from King dropped.
It struck them right in the heart.
...
Papapapow!
Snatch!
Seol-a came dashing over desperately and snatched the chunk of meat from King's hand. She stood there frozen, meat clenched in her mouth, staring at King and Kang-ho—then toddled back to Kang-ho at full speed.
Kang-ho scooped her up effortlessly. With no kid clothes handy, he'd dressed her in one of his old T-shirts, which draped down to her ankles. She seemed pretty pleased with it.
“I've seen old fairy tales about foxes turning human, but I never thought they were real,” King said, putting down his smartphone.
“......You never get tired of that, huh.”
“Hahaha. Kids these days.”
King laughed heartily, but Kang-ho looked dissatisfied as he pointed at Theo.
“You taught that idiot too.”
Theo was snapping selfies with a serious expression.
Just then, the group chat lit up.
“......?”
Something felt off around then.
Han Yu-wol. Kang-ho recalled that Han Yu-wol was Park Jun-woo's disciple.
Kang-ho chuckled and replied.
“......”
The ripple effect was insane.
Anyway, best to play it vague.
Still.
Season's already here? Kang-ho muttered, looking away from his phone.
“Q1 test season already.”
“Yeah, looks like it, hyungnim.”
King nodded and showed his smartphone.
“Gonna be a bunch of SS-rank promotions this year.”
Awakener tests happened four times a year, divided by quarter. They evaluated achievements, mana capacity, combat power, and rankings for promotions or demotions. It was also debut season for unregistered Awakeners without ranks.
“Lots of strong ones this year. Sword God's Sword Demon's debuting one, Bow God's too.”
King continued gravely.
“Plus, top S-ranks are gearing up for mass SS promotions.”
Kang-ho nodded.
“Gotta hustle to protect my rice bowl.”
Just as King clenched his fist—
Theo, who'd been snapping photos, finally spoke up.
“Yeah?”
“......”
“......?”
Kang-ho and King exchanged glances, then turned to Theo.
“Why?”
Theo blinked at Kang-ho's question.
Theo trailed off, eyes rolling as he trailed off.
He had a point. Theo was once the Demon Realm's No. 4 lord. Even after Baal wrecked him, life here was... lacking.
Kang-ho was a monster. The kind even the Demon Realm might only have one or two of. After getting demolished by Baal, tangling with this guy would be real trouble, so he'd bowed his head.
King was solid too—Theo even taught him his clan's mana training method since he liked the guy.
But what grated was King's popularity. Explosive public adoration.
Theo was Demon Realm's No. 4. A celebrity everyone knew, on the verge of fan explosion.
Here? Back-of-the-head guy with 10 SNS followers.
Impossible.
Theo resolved: Time to show how great I am. And... see if I click here too.
He'd been quietly recovering power via mana training. Even a pacifist demon wants to gauge his level.
“......”
Kang-ho eyed him, then turned to King, then out the window.
“When's the application deadline again?”
“Few days left. Debut apps are pretty lenient.”
Kang-ho stared at Theo, shrugged.
“You made him like this, so you handle it.”
Kang-ho figured he'd pegged this demon. After dealing with two-faced humans, a straightforward demon seemed better.
“But kill anyone and you're crippled.”
Theo flinched at Kang-ho's casual tone.
“Whoa, hyungnim, dropping death threats so calmly,” King said admiringly.
Kang-ho shelved his suspicions on Theo. Time for citizenship or whatever—easier to boss around. With returnees and otherworlders common, he needed a guarantor. His SS-rank license would cover it.
* * *
“Eh... not great.”
“That's meh too...”
King shook his head.
“Sounds like herbal medicine. Why obsess over ‘Demon Realm’?”
“......?”
King tilted his head at Kang-ho.
“For real?”
Kang-ho nodded blankly at King.
“Eek, demon?”
“Doesn't seem like one from what I've seen.”
“I see...”
King rubbed his eyes. Demon Realm dungeons with demonic energy had surged lately, sparking fears of demons returning.
“But no demonic energy at all.”
“Yeah.”
King pondered, nodded. Kang-ho was his hero—his word was law.
“Anyway, hyungnim, codename needs to be simple and cool. Demon Realm stuff? Total turn-off.”
“Yup. Short, badass. Bad examples first.”
King pulled up his phone.
“S-rank 8, CarromMan. Carries a cue stick like his name. Matches concept, but tacky, right?”
Theo nodded.
“S-rank 10, Electronic Man. Electricity guy, but that outfit? Hopeless.” Yellow with lightning prints.
“A-rank 15, Drill Boy. Drills on hands. See the pattern?”
“Exactly. Too literal screams lazy. Good examples?”
King pointed at himself.
“King. Cool, right?”
Theo nodded.
Then frowned.
“Phantom. Sounds legit?”
Made sense.
“Ghost. Pretty cool?”
Theo nodded, entranced—till Kang-ho pitifully eyed Seol-a, who was gnawing her meat chunk happily. She looked up and beamed, making Kang-ho smile unwittingly.
He'd been smiling more lately. Things were weirdly off-kilter, but ironically, more reasons to grin.
“Hoo......”
Bzzz—
His phone vibrated.
“Hm?”
Carron. World Rank 3 from Belgium.
Serious matter.
“Why's Carron......”
Kang-ho muttered; King perked up.
“Carron, hyungnim?”
“Hm?”
“You know World Rank 3 Carron too?”
“Ah—”
Kang-ho grinned faintly.
“Kinda.”
“......”
Kang-ho's eyes narrowed slightly.