“Meowww.”
Isiah stretched her arms in her apartment.
Her tail rose high into the air.
Starting tomorrow, she would have to go back to school, so she had planned to make good use of the day.
Wheeeeng.
When she pressed the power button on the PC located in the corner of the room, the fan inside the case began to spin powerfully.
“Nya…!”
Isiah had been in a very good mood lately.
It was because ‘Dark Knight’ had returned.
He broke the month-long silence and uncovered the dark secrets of an ugly laboratory, once again making his presence felt.
‘Of course… I knew he’d return! A person of noble spirit.’
She, who frequently perused internet communities, knew better than anyone how much ‘Dark Knight’ had been criticized.
As usual, Isiah entered the largest community, ‘Hero Korea.’
Everyone was in a festive mood.
Many others besides Isiah welcomed the return of ‘Dark Knight.’
——————————–
[Welcome to Dark Knight’s Return, but lol]
I feel so moved as a member of the knighthood lol. I thought he wasn’t coming back, but here we go!Damn.
I hope he stops doing that teasing nonsense now;; All those trolls—just ban them already.
Well, what the hell kind of research facility is this? Like, out of a movie or something lol.
Recommend- 34628 Disrecommend- 628
(Comments)-7441
[1st Comment]
[If you’re Korean, you should definitely support Dark Knight. Otherwise, it’s gonna be a disaster!]
[Is it true that Dark Knight reached S-rank?]
-[Is that a moonshot? It’s probably A-rank.]
-[I saw it on XTube.]
-[Do you really believe that? lol In that case, I’m the president.]
-[Oof.]
[But why didn’t he return earlier… How are the people who suffered from crimes without Dark Knight?]
-[What did you assign to Dark Knight? Besides, he isn’t officially a hero anyway.]
-[Even if I do, think about the victims’ families. Wouldn’t you be angry?]
-[What do you mean you know? What a blow.]
-[‘How’ → ‘What do’]
[†Dark Knight Fan Café ‘Knighthood’† welcomes the return of Dark Knight]
-[Ah, please just stop advertising it publicly.]
-[He might retreat again after reading this lol]
-[He’s really a hero, lol.]
-[Honestly, he seems like someone who would be perfect for Happiness Corp.]
-[Not taking money and getting hate from people — and still returning? He’s tough. Is this the true spirit of being a hero?]
.
.
.
——————————–
‘People must have deeply realized the value of Dark Knight by now, right?’
Isiah already felt as if she had become one with ‘Dark Knight.’
When he was criticized, it hit her like a stab in the heart.
When he was praised, it felt like she herself was being celebrated.
“Grrr.”
Swinging her tail side to side, Isiah felt immense happiness.
Tap tap, thud.
Isiah was operating her PC.
It was time to restart the ‘Dark Knight’ search project.
Though he rarely leaves any trace, this time ‘Dark Knight’ posted data on ‘Black Side,’ revealing the corruption of the lab to the public. To Isiah, however, this was a huge trace.
Once connected, the ‘Black Side’ boasted of perfect anonymity and untraceability due to its policy of going through servers in more than ten countries worldwide.
Though difficult for regular investigative agencies to trace, this was meaningless in front of Isiah. She traced it backward, exploring the origin of the routing.
‘Found it!’
Republic of Korea.
Seoul.
She had determined the location of the PC that uploaded the video.
“Huh? This place…”
It was Salus PC café, only ten minutes away from the Academy.
It was also very close to her home.
‘Now that I think about it, the trail ended near the Academy last time too. Maybe he really lives around here?’
Isiah felt her heart race with the possibility of discovering his true identity.
She checked all the CCTV cameras near the PC café.
Most of the people going in and out were Academy boys or middle school students. Adults were occasionally seen as well.
“Mewww.”
Isiah’s excitement quickly faded.
There were too many candidates. There was no way she could narrow it down.
Just then, a familiar boy caught her eye.
‘Shinnoda?’
Though the image quality wasn’t great, she was certain. His striking appearance stood out.
‘He doesn’t seem like the gaming type…’
As she thought that, an alarming thought occurred to her.
“Meww!”
What if…
What if Shinnoda was ‘Dark Knight’?
‘No, no! There’s no way!’
Isiah dismissed the thought as a fleeting fantasy.
There was no way a boisterous kid like him could be the noble-spirited ‘Dark Knight.’
‘Still, you never know… Should I try to test him?’
It was a nothing-to-lose situation, and he was the most plausible candidate she’d seen on the CCTV. The reason this crossed her mind was because his strength transcended the student level, and despite being a freshman, he had extensive combat experience.
“Meow. Meow.”
*
“So, will you enter into a contract with me?”
At the question from the Devil who introduced himself as ‘Shaks,’ Kang You-jin hesitated.
‘Even though I’ve come to this state, should I keep living by clinging to a demon?’
He was once someone who aspired to be a hero.
Of course, the innate ‘justice’ within him rejected allying with a demon.
“‘Seed of Evil’ is a skill created to collect negative human energy.”
The Devil cheerfully continued,
“I promise. When the skill reaches A-rank, you’ll be able to use the collected negative energy to go anywhere. Then you’ll gain nothing but pure power.”
“Let me ask you one more thing. Was it you controlling me when I killed that delinquent?”
At the time when he got into a fight with the delinquent, Kang You-jin simply couldn’t contain his anger.
It was unusual for him, someone who never even showed his irritation on the surface.
“It was entirely your own will. Demons cannot lie. You can trust me.”
At the Devil’s certainty, another string of his conscience snapped.
‘Since I’ve already spilled blood in a moment of madness, I can’t go back now.’
The fact that Shaks couldn’t ‘lie’ was itself a lie.
In reality, ever since he gained the ‘Seed of Evil’ skill, Kang You-jin had been receiving powerful subliminal messages to ‘corrupt,’ but the Devil had omitted this detail.
“I agree to the contract. I can’t spend the rest of my life in jail like this.”
“The contract is sealed.”
Were he to explain how Kang You-jin came to agree to this deal, the story would be long.
Somewhere on a street in Seoul,
a young man was being chased by the police.
“Stop right there!”
“Kang You-jin! If you don’t stop, I’ll shoot!”
Kang You-jin, who had committed his first murder.
He beat his opponent until his face was completely caved in.
Naturally, he was promptly caught.
Lacking any experience in hiding the body and unaware of how or even what to clean up, he quickly became a prime suspect.
When the police came knocking at his door, Kang You-jin, terrified, cut off his electronic ankle bracelet and fled.
“Shit, how did I end up in such a situation…”
To escape the police, he headed toward the narrow alleys of a bustling nightlife area.
And he slipped into a dark side street.
“Hahk, hahk.”
Kang You-jin, breathing heavily.
Somehow, he managed to evade the police.
In front of him, the ghost of an old man dressed in hanbok hovered.
It was a ghost he had previously contracted through a skill.
His ‘Necromancy’ skill allowed him to possess his body with the ghost and utilize its combat abilities or knowledge to some extent.
The ghost was looking down on Kang You-jin with a cold stare.
[Such a weakling. If I still had my body, I would’ve beat you to death and thrown you into a coffin. Weren’t you hoping to become a hero?]
Kang You-jin had contracted with a ghost who was an ancestor from his family line.
Contracts couldn’t be made with just anyone, considering character, bloodline, etc, — there had to be some correlation between the user and the ghost.
The ghost was a military official who passed the military exams during the Joseon Dynasty, holding the position of Sajik, and had a staunch personality.
“Huhuhuhuh… What else am I supposed to do? I’ve tried! I studied hard at the Academy and graduated at the top of my class. Then, all of a sudden, they said I can’t be a hero—what did they expect me to do?!”
Kang You-jin, wiping away his tears.
He raised his head, trying his best not to let the tears fall.
[If you have the intention and the ability, opportunities come like the wind. But how could you lose control of your temper and murder someone? Is this the path of the hero you aspire to become?]
Kang Ja-su, Kang You-jin’s ancestor, didn’t empathize with or console him but instead blamed him.
Back in the pre-modern era, it wasn’t uncommon for people to face injustices like these.
“Shit. When opportunities come like the wind, huh? I’m treated like a potential criminal, my career path is completely blocked—what kind of opportunity will come my way?”
He vented the frustration that had been bubbling up inside his chest.
[How could such a person emerge from our family? I will no longer bestow my power upon you.]
The ghost gracefully disappeared.
A translucent window appeared before Kang You-jin’s eyes.
[Your contract with ‘Kang Ja-su’ has been terminated.]
“Ha, ha. It’s over. My life is completely over. There’s no way to go back…”
Having failed to become a hero and now destined to become a villain, even his necromancy skill was acting up.
He had fled in a hurry without bringing any money.
All he had was the sword he had carried with him.
Kang You-jin felt his prospects were utterly hopeless.
‘Maybe I should die… If I commit self-immolation in front of the National Assembly, they might amend the laws a bit.’
The negative emotions had peaked inside his head.
He suddenly noticed a peculiar vitality growing within his body.
The alley, littered with piles of discarded trash.
Gazing into a broken mirror lying there, Kang You-jin gasped at the reflection he saw.
Hakbyeekan — the black and white eyes.
The white part of his eyes had turned black, the black part a bright yellow.
“What… What’s wrong with my eyes?”
Kang You-jin carefully thought back about anything unusual about himself.
There was only one.
“Seed of Evil.”
Right after he spoke these words, a skill window appeared.
————-< Skill >————-
◈ Name
Seed of Evil
◈ Grade
016 D
◈ Description
Suffer and hate.
You will gain strength.
+Devil contract possible
When contracted, additional stat boost applies to skill proficiency.
Additional stat: 2016
———————————-
2016 additional stats.
Considering that it takes 1000 stats to climb one rank, that was enough to boost it to two higher ranks.
“When did my proficiency rise this high? No… Does it mean I’ve suffered this much? And what’s this contract thing? It’s new.”
A lively voice echoed in his head.
“Just like what’s written, when contracted, the additional stats will be applied to the skill.”
“Aaaah!”
Kang You-jin was startled and fell on his butt hearing the unfamiliar voice in his head.
The entity introduced itself as the creator of the ‘Seed of Evil’ skill and a devil. Furthermore, it reassured him that it had no intention to harm Kang You-jin, and once the time came, it would leave.
Kang You-jin, mentally cornered, ended up entering into a contract with the devil.
“Ha… Ha.”
Looking at the skill window, Kang You-jin laughed.
The skill, which had barely increased despite all his efforts, had now jumped two ranks.
“In this way, I might be able to contract with a new, more powerful ghost.”
With the rise in ‘Necromancy’ rank, Kang You-jin’s spiritual vision had greatly expanded.
Coincidentally, he felt the presence of a strong wandering spirit through his spiritual sensors.
Though it was generally understood that such spirits should not be possessed, for Kang You-jin, who had let go of everything, this was merely a meaningless story.
