Descent of the Demon Master
Chapter 1105. Confrontation (5)

Chapter 1105. Confrontation (5)

Rumble, buzz...

The Master’s sword was subtly trembling.

Wiggins’ unblinking eyes remained locked on the tip of that sword. He must, since that weapon was targeting his throat.

That sword seemed to be resonating, its faint cry barely audible.

‘As expected of the Master!’

The air of dignified authority oozed from the Master pointing his sword toward Wiggins.

Although Wiggins' standards had recently gotten much higher after witnessing even stronger powerhouses, the Master of the Round Table still possessed something those people lacked.

Like exquisite wine that had matured inside a barrel for years, the Master boasted this dignified class built up over many decades.

‘Having said that, I’m sure Chang Min and my lord will have a hearty laugh at this notion.’

...Which made sense, considering those two were considerably older than the Master.

It could be down to the difference between the Eastern and Western martial arts. Whatever the case might be, the air the Master gave off was so different from what Chang Min or Kang Jin-Ho possessed that they might well be from different planets altogether!

That was why Wiggins needed to pursue this path of martial arts, not the other side’s!

“Alright, I’m co...!”

Just as Wiggins cried out, the ground below his feet gave way.

“...Kuk?!”

That was precisely the moment he tried to kick the ground and accelerate forward. Unsurprisingly, he lost his balance, although it was only for a brief moment.

Even though his fluster only lasted a blink of an eye, something that didn't even last a second in terms of actual timespan, such a distraction was still enough to decide the outcome of a duel between high-level experts.

“Hmph!”

The Master reached Wiggins' position in that blink of an eye, slapped the latter's sword away, then pointed his blade just below the chin of the former representative Knight of Britain.

The Master smirked softly. “Checkmate.”

Wiggins sourly retorted, “...Don’t you think this is a little cowardly?”

“A bit too feeble to be an excuse, wouldn’t you say?”

“Urgh...” Wiggins groaned before nodding in acceptance. A defeat was a defeat, after all. “This... isn't as easy as I thought, Master.”

“Of course it’s not,” the Master grinned while retrieving his sword. After sheathing his weapon, he casually shrugged. “This problem can only be resolved by diligent and focused training, after all.”

“Hmm...”

Wiggins was currently trying to latch on to something new.

The 'magic swordsman' class was responsible for plunging countless promising warriors into the pits of despair. In short, it was as demonic as a class could get. However, as long as one could reach the pinnacle of this legendary class... They could stand at the top as a powerhouse stronger than anyone!

However, Wiggins already knew the truth.

‘That's just a myth. It doesn't exist in reality!'

Break the reality of the situation down, and it’d become clear that no such class as ‘magic swordsman’ existed.

What did Wiggins mean by that?

A magic swordsman was a warrior who could use magic while simultaneously swinging their sword around. In that literal sense, Wiggins would certainly be called a magic swordsman.

However, if that qualifier, ‘simultaneously’, was to be applied quite literally, no one in the modern era could be seen as a magic swordsman.

Neither the Master nor Wiggins managed to find the true answer to this quandary. Neither man could use magic and sword simultaneously. They could certainly cast magic spells and swing swords afterward, but that was it.

Casting magic while swinging their weapons was impossible even for them.

This problem arose from the different fundamental applications of magic and swordsmanship.

Both schools of combat utilized mana, but the way of utilizing it differed too drastically. As such, it was impossible to cast magic while swinging a sword and vice versa.

It was possible to push the enemy back with a quick sword swing before casting a magic spell. What was impossible was preparing a spell by distributing some of the mana currently used to sheathe the sword in aura.

In short, the modern-day magic swordsman was nothing more than a warrior who knew how to speedily switch between magic and swordsmanship. And the Master of the Round Table had reached the pinnacle in this school of martial arts.

He cast magic without incantations. And he could switch to his weapon in the blink of an eye, too. If someone who wasn’t a magic swordsman fought the Master, it must’ve felt like they were dealing with a swordsman and a mage at the same time.

This was the pinnacle Wiggins dreamed of reaching. However...!

The Master chuckled. “It seems you’ve figured it out.”

Wiggins nodded. “Yes. This is...”

“Indeed. Indeed.” The Master casually shrugged again. “I wouldn't have known had I not encountered your Assembly Master. ‘It’ being the fundamental weakness, a limitation, of doing things this way.”

Wiggins slowly nodded. “Yes. There is a gap.”

“Yes, you could certainly call it that.”

Switching between the two was just that, switching.

No matter how smoothly a car's gear changed, its momentum would inevitably slow down as the cogs were shifted around.

The same idea applied to a magic swordsman, too.

It didn’t matter how perfectly one switched between two attack methods, an opening would always present itself during the switch. Such a thing wouldn’t pose much of an issue when the combatants involved were of lower realms. They wouldn’t be good enough to exploit this opening, after all.

However, what if one's opponent had reached the pinnacle of their chosen martial art?

“A man like your Assembly Master can easily take my head off in the blink of an eye, Wiggins. All he has to do is target that opening. Unfortunately, I've come too far down this road to stick to only one way of fighting.”

Wiggins frowned slightly. “...I see.”

This issue wouldn't have occurred had one polished their swordsmanship or magecraft to their absolute limit. Unfortunately, Wiggins and the Master spent their entire lives polishing the ways of combat as a magic swordsman. It was too late to stick to one school of combat now.

That wouldn't be transforming oneself for the better but more like destroying it, instead!

That left the only option of sticking to what they were already familiar with, but...

‘But there isn’t anything we can do about this opening.’

In mathematics, things were usually approximated close to equal their limits. But that didn’t apply in the real world. One could try to reduce the gap as much as possible, but the fact that this gap exists would not change.

Transcendental experts only half a step away from attaining godhood should have no problem exploiting such a gap.

The Master and Wiggins couldn't advance any further due to the limitations of the school of martial arts they had chosen.

Wiggins sighed. “So... this was the issue.”

“Yes. We couldn't have known about it since it was a matter of common sense, so to speak. How could we have foreseen it when experts strong enough to exploit such a gap must appear first?”

Wiggins slowly nodded in agreement. It felt like he had latched onto something crucial here.

The reason why he couldn’t surpass the wall wasn’t due to the limitation of his talents. Even before he became aware of it, Wiggins had come face-to-face with the fundamental limitation of the martial arts he had chosen.

“Master, how did you overcome this wall?”

“If I had overcome it, I wouldn't be doing this,” the Master replied while lightly tapping the hilt of his sword, his expression bitter. “I tried to do the impossible. I believed that by reducing the gap as much as possible, I'd one day reach a realm where there is no gap to speak of. So, that's what I did. I reduced it more and more. But... the gap didn't disappear in the end.”

Wiggins wasn’t surprised to hear that. “Time” as a concept was dependent on who felt it, after all.

If no one alive could exploit the Master's opening, that opening was as good as non-existent, something that nominally existed but might as well it didn't. However, if someone was powerful and speedy enough to exploit it, then well...

Whether that opening was short or not no longer mattered. It simply existed to be exploited now.

“As such, I do not recommend this path, Wiggins.”

“Then, what...?”

“Your job is to figure that out,” the Master replied with a deep grin.

He wasn’t trying to torment Wiggins. And he certainly wasn’t trying to dump the responsibilities of figuring out the answer on the shoulders of the younger man.

The Master couldn’t provide the answer Wiggins was looking for. Why? Because he also hadn’t found it despite spending his entire life pondering and obsessing over it.

“This is everything I can show you. Persist on this path, and you will eventually reach where I am. However, in my opinion, that is not... Mm.”

“Do you believe this is an incorrect solution?”

“Although I do not wish to admit it, yes. If I was as young as you and still at your realm, I might have searched for another way. Simply polishing your martial arts does not mean everything will be good, Wiggins. Think about this for a moment. What do you need to win a grand prix with a race car that’s not quite as quick as your opponents’?”

“...?”

“Improve your driving skills? Come up with the best racing strategy? Hire the best mechanics and pit crew money can buy? No. The best way is to make your car go faster. If you can’t overcome the fundamental limitations, nothing will matter. No solutions will work.”

Wiggins sighed deeply while listening.

He finally could see a direction to move but the path before him didn't exist. Overcoming this wall was akin to building a bridge to cross a massive canyon, but how should he do that? He couldn't think of a way.

“Don’t be in a rush, Wiggins.”

Wiggins snapped out of his thoughts, then stared at the Master. “I’m not in a rush, Master.”

“Yes, you are."

“...”

The Master held Wiggins' gaze for a moment or two before voicing his observation. “I'm not surprised that you're in a rush. After all, you can see people surging well ahead of you, and there are people rapidly catching up to you, too. Although this advice might sound laughable, when you are in a rush, take a step back and relax. Anxiety will only weaken your mind, Wiggins.”

“...”

“Now, take a deep breath.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Go watch a movie. Or go on a date. Read a book if you want. Knocking back a mug of cold beer in a local pub might be a good idea, too.”

“Master? I don’t quite follow...?”

“I’m trying to say you shouldn’t drive yourself to the edge.”

Every word the Master said stabbed painfully into Wiggins.

“Yes, it’s important to give your best. And being diligent and dedicated is also crucial. However, that’s not the end of the story. Rest is just as important as effort, Wiggins. Especially when you’re driven to the absolute edge. That’s when you need the R&R the most.”

“Mm!”

“Look at you. It’s not as if you’ve been slacking off.”

“What... do you mean by that, Master?”

“Isn't it difficult for you to stop training because of how pressed you feel? And isn't it difficult to relax without thinking about anything?”

“Yes, that is difficult for me.”

“See? You’re taking an easy way out here.”

Wiggins blinked his eyes in confusion. How did those two concepts even correlate?

“Doing something difficult takes real effort, Wiggins. Taking an easy way out is obviously the opposite of that. And do you know what's the hardest thing for you right now? Taking a break. You can't rest while this anxiety is eating away at you. If I flip that notion around...”

The Master smirked.

“The best and the hardest thing for you right now is getting some rest.”

Wiggins pouted slightly. “Master...? I think I finally figured out what you might have chosen as your career had you not walked on the path of martial arts.”

“Oh? What is it? Like a CEO of a global corporation?”

“No, it’s a barrister. Or a con artist. A profession that uses your gift of gab to pull the wool over your victims’ eyes.”

“...”

Wiggins sheathed his weapon while shaking his head. “Still, I understand what you’re trying to say.”

“Good. Get some rest. And ask others for help, too.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“What your Assembly Master has said is right. But he probably didn’t mean you should seek me out. Don’t try to find the absolute and definite answer, Wiggins. Just reach out to people. Even something like that can become the clue you’ve been searching for.”

“I see. I’ll definitely remember that, Master.”

“Now, then. Let’s return to my office, shall we?”

“By the way?”

“Mm?”

Wiggins smiled wryly while heading toward the exit of the training area. “Isn't it a bit too cruel to say to a widower that he should start dating again?”

The Master cocked an eyebrow. “Huh? Listen to this fella! Are you still saying that after all these years? How many years has it been since you lost her? Trust me, no one will criticize you for resuming your love life now.”

“Kuh-hum. That is not going to happen, Master. Besides, my daughter is the most important...”

“You know, Elena said this to me one time.”

“Excuse me?”

Wiggins’ head snapped toward the Master.

The Master theatrically shook his head. “She said it's back-breaking to mop up after her father's mess every day, so she'd rather prefer he finds someone new in his life. And as soon as possible, too.”

“...”

“If you're unwilling, how about taking your butler to Korea, at least? To think you'd dump the task of running your household on your daughter's shoulders! Tsk, tsk! What era are we living in, again?”

“...Thank you for your advice, sir.”

Wiggins told himself to urgently find a solution to this problem after returning to Korea. He'd dearly love to avoid the possibility of his daughter kicking him out of her place... Especially at his age!

“Now, then. Since we’ve sorted out the matter with your martial arts, it’s now the time to deal with the real matter at hand.”

“Of course.”

The real matter at hand, he said. That was to squash the Round Table, which had begun writhing and squirming progressively more and more.

Wiggins’ expression instantly transformed into something much more slimy.

‘Things will get more entertaining, then.’

As expected, one would shine the most in their preferred field of expertise!

The Master sneakily asked, “By the way, that young man? I mean your disciple.”

“My disciple? Oh, you meant Mister Lee.”

“Yes, him. Can't you lend him to us full-time? I promise you, the compensation will be..."

“No can do, sir,” Wiggins decisively cut the Master off. “In a certain sense, that brat is more important to us than an expert at the highest peak of cultivation. We won’t exchange him even if you offer us every Knight in the Round Table.”

“Urgh...”

The Master ruefully smacked his lips.