Chapter 6: A Father

The first secret to the strength of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is extreme emotion.

The more intense your rage, the more immense the inner power granted by the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

However, beware. Rage leads to murderous intent, and murderous intent can turn a person into a Demon.

Whether you become a Demon feared even by the heavens, or a Demon King who rules over demons, is your choice. And the second…….

When you check the details of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, you see lines this cringe-worthy.

But Yohan couldn’t just dismiss those words.

After hearing the thugs talk about killing the old man, he was filled with rage—and as a result, he grew stronger.

Originally, Yohan’s internal energy was worth 30 years, and his mastery of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was only at the 1-star level, but with just a single surge of anger, his power increased by another 30 years—even if only temporarily.

He hadn’t reached the 2-star level yet, but thanks to those 30 years’ worth of strength, his energy made a small circuit inside his body.

The so-called Small Heavenly Circuit.

His physical abilities were maximized, and he’d passed the initiation stage to become a true superhuman.

“Hoo…….”

But it weighed on his mind.

Would he become a Demon, or a Demon King?

He remembered the countless villains from the old martial arts novels he used to read in the military whenever he was bored, the ones always called the Public Enemy of the Martial World.

Those who had learned Demonic Arts or fell victim to Juhwaipma, losing their sanity and becoming murderous fiends, only to die pitifully as villains, shunned by all.

If he wasn’t careful, he could become one of those villains himself.

‘If that happens, what about the game? What about my kids, who’ll have to go through it? No, worse—what if I lose my mind and hurt my own family…….’

“No, no! Don’t even think about it.”

Yohan shook his head violently, forcing the negative thoughts out of his mind.

“I just have to do well. Just me. Mind control. Huu….”

Of course, it wasn’t easy, but somehow, he’d manage.

You think he’s being too carefree?

That’s just how the Yoon Family is.

“Dad, I’ve blocked off the mart!”

While Yohan was lost in thought, Junga had used Blocks to seal off all the entrances to the mart.

Except for the door made of Blocks that only Junga and those she allowed could enter.

“All done.”

“By the way, that Block… can you make as many as you want?”

A Block with enough defensive power to stop a hail of bullets.

If it could be made infinitely, wouldn’t that be the ultimate cheat code in this game?

They could build a Great Wall to block any attack from Orcs or other monsters, any time.

“Nope, it’s 100 won per Block!”

“One… hundred won?”

“Yep, it costs a hundred won to create a Block.”

“What! Are those bastards trying to bleed us dry? Did you spend all your allowance already?”

“Come on, Dad! I barely saved up any allowance! Of course I used your card!”

“…What? My card?”

‘What is this kid saying?’

“You know, the card you gave me to pay for cram school. I thought I was going to die, so I registered your card and used it.”

“Ah… I see…”

‘A kid almost died and used money to survive. I can’t even scold her for that…’

Yohan smacked his lips and thought.

‘So how many Blocks has she used so far? Maybe a hundred? At a hundred won each, that’s… ten thousand won. Not bad, I guess? Still, it feels like money’s just slipping away for nothing…’

“What? You too, Dad? I spent money too. Dad, each bullet costs a hundred won! I forgot to mention, I also registered the credit card you gave me for errands.”

“…Yeah, well done, you brat.”

‘I’m the idiot for handing out cards everywhere. But when did Jeonghu even register it without me noticing?’

Yohan stopped, mid-thought.

“Wait… What about Sejeong’s car?”

“Oh, that’s a cash item—forty thousand won for one. It’s not like Sejeong has money, so obviously…”

“Enough.”

“Yes, sir.”

At Yohan’s stern look, Jeonghu shut his mouth.

‘So… just for this one round, we spent over forty thousand won.’

Yohan’s mouth felt even more bitter.

It wasn’t just the money already spent, but the fact that they’d probably have to play a second, maybe even a hundred more games in the future.

Where would they get the money for that?

Sure, the ones behind this came to destroy the world and are making everyone play their game.

But if that’s the case, shouldn’t they at least collapse the monetary system? Isn’t this just making capitalism run even more rampant?

‘Maybe this is how they’ll drive Earth even further into ruin.’

With a sigh, Yohan walked home with his kids.

Gunshots echoed from all directions.

“You said the game is… Battle Survival, right?”

“Yeah. Pretty much everyone plays it these days.”

“Is it as popular as Star?”

“Nah, not that much. Star is a folk game, you know? But if you get a bunch of kids together these days, they’ll play Battle Survival. Some play LoL and Overhit, too… Oh, and FIFA.”

“Soccer game? They still make those?”

“Of course.”

“Haha, those are the unluckiest kids.”

Yohan clicked his tongue.

‘A soccer game, huh… Did a soccer ball pop up when the game started?’

“So that’s why everyone’s shooting.”

Of all things, FPS survival games were trending.

In other countries it might not matter, but in the Republic of Korea, every adult is a military veteran.

Tons of people have experience with live-fire drills.

‘Hand them a gun, and the military pride will explode.’

Yohan figured he’d probably be the same if he had a gun.

His mouth felt bitter.

The world had gone mad, and now, who knew when the second game would start, making things even crazier.

So, the Yohan family—and probably people all over the world—waited anxiously for the second game to begin.

And then…

-Thank you for waiting. The second game is about to begin.

-If the first game was a tutorial, from now on, you could say this is the real deal.

-Be careful. More diverse and powerful monsters will appear.

-From the second game onward, missions will be given.

-The person who kills the most in each region will receive a reward of 500 million won.

-Remember. “The person who kills the most.”

-You have four hours.

“It’s here.”

Having spent days hiding and unable to open the mart, Yohan jumped up from the sofa and threw open the living room window.

Sure enough, a massive dome-shaped barrier was forming.

And countless red lights were falling from the sky.

They said the monsters would be more diverse, and there were definitely more lights falling this time.

“Hmmm…”

They’d prepared as best they could, but it was still an unwelcome notification.

Yohan sighed and looked back.

Click.

“Huu…”

He saw his family taking deep breaths, checking their abilities and weapons.

Yohan stared at his own hand.

He summoned the Heavenly Demon Spear through the system window.

‘Right. Survive, no matter what.’

He just had to survive again this time.

“Dad, what if we just stay home and hold out for four hours?”

Just as he was steeling his resolve, his second daughter, Seoyoung, spoke up, making Yohan’s eyes go wide.

“That… actually sounds good.”

“Yeah. No need to fight, right?”

“Wow! Sis, you’re a genius!”

“Big sis is the best!”

Seoyoung, who’d come up with the answer, scratched her cheek.

“It’s… something anyone could think of, though…”

“No, no. Only our family’s pillar, our eldest daughter, could come up with that. The idiot eldest son and second daughter couldn’t do it!”

“Ugh!”

“What! Why are we idiots? It’s Dad’s fault!”

“Haha, Dad’s still better than you.”

The youngest, Sejeong, giggled at her family.

Seoyoung, the only and unrivaled genius of the Yoon Family, couldn’t bear to look at her family and turned to gaze out the window absentmindedly.

And then she jumped in surprise.

Ever since this game started, it seemed like all they did was get shocked.

“Dad…”

“Yeah, what is it, my eldest?”

“…It might be dangerous if we stay home.”

“Huh?”

Yohan turned his head.

At that moment—

KWAANG! CRASH! RUMBLE!

With a tremendous roar, several villas not far from their home collapsed in an instant.

KRUUUOOOOHHHH!

It wasn’t anything else.

There was a monster as big as the villas themselves.

It looked a bit like one of those Four Heavenly Kings statues you’d see at a temple, or maybe like King Kong.

But its appearance didn’t matter.

KWAARK!

BAM! CRASH.

KWA-AAAH!

BAM BAM! CRASH!

That gigantic monster was rampaging madly.

It was destroying every building it could see, as if possessed by pure rage.

Its strength was as monstrous as its size.

“…We’re screwed.”

“Oppa!”

Jeonghu, stunned, let out a curse without realizing the youngest was listening, and Seoyoung shouted in shock.

Yohan snapped back to his senses and looked around at his family.

“Hey, kids!”

“Yes?”

“E-Everyone out! Run!”

“W-What about the house?!”

“Forget the house, just survive! Go!”

“Yep!”

Everyone bolted out of the house as one.

“Isn’t the difficulty suddenly way too high?!”

“Seriously. How are we supposed to beat that…?”

“I think they sent it down to force people like us, who’d try to just hide, out into the open.”

“Maybe so…”

Yohan scratched his head in frustration.

Even with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, there was no way he could handle that thing.

He had no confidence at all.

“Jeonghu, drive. Let’s go.”

“Yessir!”

Jeonghu jumped into the driver’s seat and turned the key.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“…The engine won’t start.”

“T-That can’t be! Try again!”

“I-It’s not working!”

The engine made a noise like it was about to start, but wouldn’t turn over.

Meanwhile, the monster’s roars and the sound of collapsing buildings were getting closer.

‘Is it coming this way, of all places?’

Everyone’s faces slowly filled with despair.

“W-What do we do? Should we just run for it?”

“Dad! Want to take my car?”

“Yours is too small. Well, at least you could escape…”

“Dad, Dad! What do we do?”

Dad, Father, Dad!

His children’s voices pierced Yohan’s ears.

He looked up at the ceiling.

A piloti structure—just a few pillars supporting the old villa, looking like it could collapse at any moment.

It might be just an old villa now, but when it was new, it was the only building in the neighborhood with an elevator, and everyone envied it.

Back then, he’d worked himself to the bone saving up, barely able to buy it even with a loan.

And after ten years.

Now it was truly Yohan’s family home.

They might be dreaming of a bigger house, but this was the roof over their heads for the past decade.

A house of memories, of both joy and sorrow.

“…Like hell! With even the real estate office closed, if we lose this house, we’ll be out on the street in no time!”

Yohan’s eyes widened.

“We fight! Or at least, we hold it off! If we can’t, we lure it away and protect our home!”

He got out of the car and planted his feet on the ground.

A father who couldn’t let his family become homeless was about to make his stand.