Chapter 2: The Butterfly Dream

One day, Zhuangzi had a dream.

In the dream, he became a butterfly, fluttering among the flowers. But when he woke up, he found himself to be Zhuangzi.

At that moment, Zhuangzi pondered:

"Was I Zhuangzi who dreamed of being a butterfly? Or was I a butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi?"

And in the present.

There was someone who had the same dilemma as Zhuangzi.

"I am a human...?"

The ruler of the demon race, a transcendent being who had reached the realm of a demigod.

That was the identity of the Demon King.

But what about now?

He was merely a human, and a life of failure for 30 years with nothing to show for it!

"Grinding my teeth! Did I live this foolishly?"

His character was weak, and he was easy to exploit. Just recalling it made his anger boil.

He wanted to deny it. If he could wake up from Kim Min-cheol's dream, could he return to being the Demon King?

But...

His pride was hurt. Even if it was all a dream, running away with his head down was not befitting of the Demon King.

"I am the Demon King!"

Even if bound by the flesh and the world turned against him, standing up and fighting was the dignity of the Demon King.

Since it was a dream, he decided to wander the flower fields like Zhuangzi's butterfly.

No matter how much hardship came like a tidal wave, he would endure it.

In the end, he would dismantle the system and seize the world.

****

Knock, knock, knock...

"I've come to take your blood pressure."

A nurse approached, ready to check his blood pressure and temperature in a professional manner.

"Not necessary. Human."

"Huh?"

The Demon King acknowledged his mistake. After all, this body was Kim Min-cheol's, and he needed to follow some rules to avoid being treated like a madman.

At least when referring to others, he decided to avoid using the word "human."

"I mean, it's not necessary. I plan to be discharged as is."

"Oh my... Are you in your right mind? It's only been three days since the accident. You need to rest!"

She babbled on.

It was noisy. Min-cheol glared and said,

"Don't touch me."

He barely held back the words, "A worthless human."

The nurse retreated with a frightened expression.

'Grr...'

Pain spread through his body, as the nurse had said, the injuries from the car accident were still severe. But he endured it.

Physical pain could not defy his will.

He gathered his belongings. During this time, the nurse called the attending doctor, apparently judging that she couldn't stop Min-cheol on her own.

"Mr. Kim Min-cheol!"

The doctor approached with a shocked face.

"You shouldn't be moving like this. You haven't even finished your tests. Do you want to suffer from aftereffects?"

"It doesn't matter. If I'm in pain, it's my pain, isn't it?"

"T...That's..."

It wasn't a wrong statement. However, the doctor couldn't just let Kim Min-cheol go. If something happened to such a patient later, it could lead to legal trouble.

"I'll write a waiver. Then there won't be any problems, right?"

The doctor was speechless at his attitude.

Swish, swish...

After signing the waiver, he was able to be discharged. He took a taxi at the hospital entrance and headed home.

A 200,000 won per month studio apartment.

It was messy, probably because he lived alone. The first thing he did was to draw the curtains. From now on, there was nothing good about being seen by others.

"Hmm..."

He drew out his mana.

It emitted a faint blue light, nothing compared to his prime, like the light of a firefly.

If he wasn't disappointed, he would be lying. However, he couldn't give up like this. He still had a means left.

Mana Circulation.

A type of magic circle, it could be considered a central element in the creation of artifacts. Mana Circulation allowed for the manifestation of magic with minimal mana, but it required expensive materials to create.

Click!

The Demon King turned on the computer.

Whirr...

A tool of civilization he had never used before. However, he could use it without any trouble thanks to Kim Min-cheol's memories.

Tap, tap...

He checked the balance in the bank account.

- Bank of Korea

- Deposit: 323,000 won

A tear-inducing balance. It was a clear example of how Kim Min-cheol had lived as a pushover.

He couldn't say no. If a friend asked for a favor, he would even borrow money from loan sharks to lend it. There was no way he could save money.

Another issue, unpaid wages.

Kim Min-cheol was a proper office worker. However, he worked overtime like it was a daily meal and hadn't received his salary for months.

The Demon King took out his phone. Thanks to the car accident, there were cracks on the screen. After charging it, the phone turned on.

- 6 missed calls

- 4 unread messages

All from his boss, who seemed angry about his unauthorized absence. The messages were full of curses. The Demon King pressed the call button.

Click!

"Hey! Kim Min-cheol, are you in your right mind? Why aren't you coming to work! You brought in a stupid, slave-like guy, and now he's messing things up?"

He started with curses. The Demon King replied in a cold voice.

"Where are you?"

"What? Hey, Kim Min-cheol, why are you being so short with me?"

The place was noisy. It seemed to be a bar, and he had a rough idea of where it was.

"Wait. I'll come find you soon."

Click!

The Demon King hung up. He put on some clothes and headed to the city.

****

Moonlight Carriage.

The name of the bar where the boss often went.

Creak...

Opening the door, as expected, he saw the boss drinking from early in the day.

Thud, thud...

He walked unhesitatingly to where the boss was. The boss, busy drinking with local loafers, didn't notice his approach.

"What was that call about?"

"There's a stupid, slave-like guy at the company who doesn't even get paid. I told you about him, right?"

"Ah? So why is he—"

"He suddenly stopped coming to work without any notice. I thought he quit and moved to another job, but he called a while ago. Well, he wouldn't just quit without getting his money, right? Haha."

"What did he say?"

"He said he's coming to find me."

The boss spoke freely without the person in question being there.

"So what are you going to do? Are you going to pay him?"

"No way. Am I crazy to pay him? I'd rather throw the money on the street. Hahaha."

The Demon King picked up an empty soju bottle and kicked the table.

Bang!

"What... What is this?"

"Ah!"

The human underlings looked at him with shocked eyes, unable to process the sudden change.

Smack!

"Aaaah!"

There was a creature on the ground, clutching its head and writhing.

"One more."

Smack!