Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1153. Advancing (3)

Vroooom, rumble...

Several buses drove in a convoy on a busy stretch of road early in the morning, their destination somewhere south of Seoul.

One of the passengers, Bae Jae-Min, frowned deeply as the road began clogging up from the cars belonging to the morning commuters.

‘This is why I can never get used to living in Seoul...’

He had no desire to act like a country bumpkin any time soon. Even then, the sight of heavy traffic jam going nowhere fast made him think this place was not fit for human habitation.

At least he wasn’t behind the wheel, which was one saving grace in this situation!

Bae Jae-Min couldn't understand how all these people using their personal cars to commute to work every day endured this soul-killing frustration and boredom.

‘Is it because I’m a Martial Assembly member, though?’

When he thought about it, that could be the answer. Almost no one commuted in their cars to the Assembly’s HQ. Living on a mountainside with fresh air and clean water while occasionally working but mostly training meant the Assembly members had no opportunities to experience what the rest of society had to deal with every single day.

‘But that means the Assembly has been isolated from the world, doesn’t it?’

A bitter grin spread on Bae Jae-Min’s face.

The way the Martial Assembly viewed the surface world was fairly similar to how a fox would stare at a fruit dangling from a branch well out of reach.

The truth was that the Martial Assembly and its members held this elitist mentality.

They believed they were different from the ordinary masses. That they were superior. They could easily blend in and take over the surface world anytime they wanted to but chose not to because the martial world was obviously ‘superior.’

Such an outrageous mindset had taken root in the hearts of so many martial artists. Even though they all secretly knew that every member of the Martial Assembly was a societal outcast who couldn't blend in with ordinary people!

That elitist mindset might have worked in the past.

Before the world welcomed scientific progress, mastering martial arts allowed you to experience things ordinary people wouldn’t even dare imagine, after all!

You could've leaped over a river in one breath. You could smash a boulder with one punch.

People sometimes called such martial artists Taoist gods or nobles with reverence and fear.

That was how charmed life was for the ancestors in the past. However, what about now?

Ordinary people rode on planes to fly across the skies. They traveled on high-speed trains to move even faster than most martial artists.

Martial artists, capable of running faster than horses and could travel across rivers without using boats, were now slower than ordinary people.

Even though they could feel the gap widening, there was nothing martial artists could do to fix it after isolating themselves.

The only option left was to turn away from the brightness of the surface world and continue inhabiting their shadowy martial world instead.

That was the situation for the Martial Assembly before Kang Jin-Ho’s arrival. But his presence and antics heralded genuinely gob-smacking transformations within this organization.

‘Is this how the ones opening the ports and borders for foreigners felt back in ancient history?’

Kang Jin-Ho threw open the firmly shut gateway of the Korean Martial Assembly and forcibly dragged everyone hiding behind it into the surface world.

‘It’s unbelievable if you think about it.’

Not even six months ago, Bae Jae-Min would have never imagined he’d be commuting to Seoul for his job!

Back then, he thought his life would more or less be about coasting along while doing things the Assembly asked him to and acting all high and mighty to irritate his acquaintances.

Of course, other than his job description and the address of his workplace, not much had changed even now. But those little changes were still enough to excite Bae Jae-Min to no end.

Those who lived ordinary lives would never understand how he felt. They would never feel the excitement of the boundaries of their world widening considerably.

Even though the widening of his world didn't equal a larger territory of activity, having more places to travel to would always qualify as a Good Thing.

‘Except for traveling in these slow-ass buses, that is!’

Bae Jae-Min sighed softly under his breath but sobered up when someone called out his name.

“Oii, Jae-Min?”

“Mm? Yes, Deputy Gwok?”

Deputy Section Chief Gwok Hyeon-Tae was peering at Bae Jae-Min while smirking softly. “Hey, man. What happened to your house hunting?”

“I can only do that on my off days, you know.”

“You must've taken a look at a few places by now, though.”

“I have, but none really took my fancy, sir. Places nearby all cost an arm and a leg, while the alternatives pose a problem with commuting even if they are more affordable.”

“What’s the problem? When you’re getting paid pretty well?”

“You make more than I do, deputy.”

“Hah, don’t remind me, man. You wouldn’t say that if you had kids. All my salaries go into keeping my two brats fed, you know?”

“Huh? Surely it’s not as bad as you make it out to be, sir?”

“Really now? You think it’s not that bad, eh?” Gwok Hyeon-Tae cackled playfully.

Bae Jae-Min chuckled alongside his senior. “Shouldn't you be house-hunting as well?”

“What, in Seoul? Forget it, man.”

“Why not, sir? You should've already saved up enough for a decent place around here, right?”

“Hah, would you listen to this clueless bachelor talk? Listen here, man. Money ain't gonna be enough to solve all my problems. What about the school my kids are attending right now? What about my wife's job? Unlike you, I can't just find a one-room apartment somewhere and move in tomorrow and live happily ever after.”

“I guess you have a point, sir. You’ll eventually have to move, though.”

“Yeah, that’s true... But that will have to wait. For now, I’m playing the part of the Gireogi Dad. Hah, I could only spend time with my wife on weekends during the last three years while staying in the Assembly's dorms, you know? So to think I'd get transferred to Seoul just as we bought a new house!”

“Then, why did you volunteer for this job, sir?”

“What do you mean, why? Of course I gotta jump on this chance! Don’t ask the obvious, will ya?”

Bae Jae-Min chuckled again without saying anything.

Gwok Hyeon-Tae gruffly grunted. “In any case, we gotta do something about this, man. Commuting on buses like this every morning is not a viable long-term solution.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Bae Jae-Min nodded to express his agreement.

Ordinary people spending two hours in the mornings and evenings to commute would've led to problems with their stamina, but the ones riding in these buses were martial artists. So, the physical side of things shouldn't be an issue for them. Actually, it might be safer to say there would be no problem whatsoever in that regard!

However, that did not mean there wouldn’t be other types of problems.

It wasn't as if their office hours in MK were short. So, spending four hours every day on commute alone would pretty much make it impossible to do anything else.

That was why every worker here was currently searching for a place to stay near MK's HQ.

Gwok Hyeon-Tae groaned. “I ain't gonna lie, I'm kinda lost here. I figured I'd spend the rest of my life near the Assembly's HQ and never imagined stuff like this happening to me.”

“Not just you, sir. It’s probably the same story for everyone.” Baek Jae-Min chuckled wryly, then stealthily glanced at the other bus riders.

Unsurprisingly, their expressions... were pretty good.

Even though trying to live a new life would result in a few missteps here and there, everyone was still satisfied with these changes.

‘I’m not surprised, really.’

They all must’ve various personal reasons for feeling happy. But the most important reason, the most powerful motivating factor, must’ve been the knowledge that they were no longer a part of the workforce people considered as the Assembly’s freeloaders. No, they now had become a part of the wave that led the Assembly’s charge into the future!

Even Bae Jae-Min was deeply proud of himself.

Gwok Hyeon-Tae suspiciously narrowed his eyes. “Hey, by the way? Have you been pulling your weight at work?”

“Of course, sir. I’ve been doing a perfect job so far.”

“...This punk. You’ve grown a bit too full of yourself, eh?”

“No, I really mean it, sir. I've been doing a perfect job. I mean... Considering all the torture we went through during the training, I better do a perfect job or else. I'm too scared of instructors chasing me down if I don't, you see...”

“Speaking of which, I heard that the higher-ups are planning to send those who fail to pull their weight back to the training program.” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“Seriously?”

“That’s what I heard on the grapevine, okay?”

Bae Jae-Min’s complexion paled slightly.

‘You gotta go through that hellish program again?’

He’d unhesitantly decline the offer even if it meant his death!

Of course, it wasn't as if Jaegyeong's newbie training program had been physically taxing. Although the schedule was tight and lessons lasted way too long, such a level of exertion was still no worse than light exercise to these martial artists.

What proved truly torturous, though, was the actual act of sitting down and learning something.

Martial artists like Bae Jae-Min were far more familiar with learning and experiencing things with their bodies, so wrestling with books and computers for hours on end every day proved to be one of the worst forms of torture.

Bae Jae-Min somehow endured through sheer determination of wanting to become someone useful. Even so, he'd dearly love not to go through with that experience again if he could help it!

“Looks like there’s one more reason to work even harder, sir. To avoid getting dragged back into that program!”

“Tsk, tsk. What a disappointment you are.”

“...I’m sorry?”

Gwok Hyeon-Tae tutted loudly. “Thinking you can live off on what you've learned for the rest of your life is the quickest way to fall behind everyone. In this world, you won't survive unless you keep improving yourself.”

“...Yes, you’re right.”

“Isn't that the same story with us the martial artists? What would happen if you stopped training just because you got your hands on a good cultivation technique and surpassed everyone in the beginning stage? Wouldn't you get left behind by your peers? And eventually drop out?”

Bae Jae-Min slowly nodded. What Gwok Hyeon-Tae said was common sense in the martial world.

“You think the story here will be any different? For now, it's only us working here, but folks from the second round of the training program will join us. And more newcomers will keep showing up periodically after that. Imagine what might happen if they do better jobs than us. We're gonna get pushed out, man. That means we gotta study and improve ourselves until the day we quit this job.”

Bae Jae-Min couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

‘Dang. Nothing is easy in this world, huh.’

There was a time in Bae Jae-Min's life when he was proud of being a martial artist. Even though he had to drop out, didn't he still endure the unimaginably punishing training regime? Regardless of what his next assignment was, he was suitably confident of pulling through with his unrivaled tenacity.

However, experiencing the wider world had completely shattered that pride into bits and pieces.

This story should more or less be the same for others, though.

Although people's professions were different, they still tenaciously gave their all to make the best of what life had given them.

“We’ve arrived,” said Gwok Hyeon-Tae. “Let’s get out of this thing.”

“Yes, let’s.”

The passengers flooded outside the buses soon after the vehicles stopped in front of MK's headquarters. Bae Jae-Min joined this flood and stepped on the sidewalk.

A grin subconsciously floated up on his face when his eyes took in the sight of the building's facade. He still couldn't get used to the fact that he was now commuting to this brand-new structure instead of the Assembly's ancient building way out in the sticks.

Looking at this brightly sparkling building made him feel like a kid about to enter a wealthy friend’s home or something like that!

“Good morning!”

“Good morning to you, too!”

People he ran into while entering the building energetically greeted him. Such vitality was absent from them in the past, though. Bae Jae-Min remembered everyone being so... inattentive toward each other while working in the Assembly’s administration.

‘Or, more like everyone was busy ignoring each other.’

Humans were such odd creatures, weren’t they?

The Assembly's administrative staff was made up of dropouts from the martial path. Since everyone viewed themselves that way, they lacked much respect for each other as well.

The irony of this situation was that, despite being dropouts themselves, they still disrespected their fellow dropouts. They all carried this baseless belief of being a bit more special than their peers.

After concluding the training program and transferring to MK, however...

They all regained their previously lacking enthusiasm. Bae Jae-Min couldn't remember the last time everyone greeted each other during the morning commute with wide smiles like this.

‘This is how you're supposed to live, now isn't it!'

Thinking this way might seem strange, but the truth was... Bae Jae-Min was having fun. He finally understood what it was like to live. So much so that he was even subconsciously whistling, too!

“...! Uh, Chief Lee! Good morning to you, sir!” Bae Jae-Min discovered Lee Hyeon-Su not too far away and hurriedly bowed.

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked slightly. “Mm, Bae Jae-Min?”

“Yes, sir, that’s me!”

“This is good. You, come up to my office.”

“...Sir?”

“I said, in my office. Now.”

“...!”

Having fun, my ass! Did Bae Jae-Min jinx himself just now?

Why did he have to run into Lee Hyeon-Su first thing in the morning? And get dragged to his office, too? Even though Bae Jae-Min had been such a good boy lately!

“C-Chief?” Gwok Hyeon-Tae cautiously asked, “Did Jae-Min do something wrong?”

“Uh...?” Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head a little. “What was your name again?”

“It’s Deputy Gwok Hyeon-Tae, sir.”

“Right, right. That’s it. You come to my office, too.”

“Sorry?” Gwok Hyeon-Tae asked, his expression rapidly cramping up.

Unfortunately, Lee Hyeon-Su remained adamant. “I said, come to my office.”

“...Understood, sir.”

Bae Jae-Min glanced at his senior with a face that said, Well, at least I’m not alone, so that’s good.

What a relief it was that he wouldn’t die alone today!