Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1082

Wooooooom!

The magic circle emitted a white light.

‘An interesting sight indeed.’

The Master mused, observing how the gate clearly showcased magic’s place in the modern world.

To those unaware of magic’s existence,

the gate was revolutionary. It allowed for instantaneous travel across distances that would take hours by conventional means. If gates were to become widespread, it could trigger a logistics and transportation revolution.

‘On the surface, that is.’

But the reality was different.

Creating and opening a gate of this size required two mages of considerable skill to inject mana from both sides. At the very least, a mage of Wiggins’ caliber was needed. And there were fewer than ten such mages in the entire world.

In other words, using the gate for transportation meant keeping one of the world’s ten rare talents as a gatekeeper.

Of course, it would be great if this could generate profit.

But that wasn’t the case either. Mana was needed for each transfer through the gate, and the amount consumed was proportional to the distance traveled and the mass being moved.

Moving one or two people was easy, but moving the equivalent of two or three trailers would deplete even the Master’s mana.

‘All that glitters is not gold.’

That was the truth.

And magic’s position in the modern world was similar.

Magic was originally the power to perform miracles.

It could create fire where there was none and water where there was none. Magic was the forbidden path humans chose to reach the realm of the gods.

But now, magic had lost its value.

Science had perfectly replaced magic. It was more useful and versatile.

In the end, magic in the modern world was no more than a magic trick to surprise people.

Perhaps the same was true for martial artists?

Wiggins, who emerged from the light, reached out to the Master.

‘You don’t look so good? Or are you not happy to see me?’

‘Why would I be happy? It’s just annoying.’

‘Master, you seem a little more aggressive than before.’

‘It’s all thanks to you.’

Wiggins chuckled.

There was a unique comfort here that he couldn’t find at the General Assembly. Most of that comfort stemmed from the Master’s presence.

The two headed to the Master’s office in silence.

‘Have a seat.’

‘Yes.’

‘Black tea?’

‘Thank you.’

The Master, having served the tea, sat opposite him and quietly observed Wiggins.

‘Is there something strange?’

‘It would be faster to list what isn’t strange. I never imagined those words would come out of your mouth.’

‘I can’t argue with that.’

Wiggins smiled wryly.

Both the Master and Wiggins were magic swordsmen.

Magic swordsmen were an extremely rare class. Not only were there few who aspired to be magic swordsmen, but even fewer who could be called true magic swordsmen.

Based on the Master and Wiggins, there were only two. Even with a generous standard, there were no more than five. For Wiggins, the Master had been the only magic swordsman he could learn from since the beginning.

But Wiggins was not the Master’s disciple.

He had never sought guidance on martial arts. He might have received guidance on his duties as a Knight of the Round Table, but it was no exaggeration to say he had not learned anything from the Master as a martial artist.

‘What wind has blown you to say such things?’

‘It’s not so much that I’ve made a new resolution, but rather that I’ve just discarded something within me.’

‘Discarded?’

‘Yes.’

Wiggins nodded.

‘I discarded my pride. The Lord said so. If there’s something to discard, you have to discard it, and if there’s something to fill, you have to fill it. So I discarded it.’

‘You’ve been in the East for a while, and now you’re spouting strange things.’

Wiggins smiled.

The Master shook his head, looking at Wiggins. In the past, he had still felt a youthful vigor by the Master’s standards, but now Wiggins was so slippery that even he found it difficult to deal with him.

‘You’ve only learned bad things in Korea.’

‘That’s not true. That’s why I’m asking for your help, Master.’

The Master’s lips twitched.

‘Do you know what you’re saying right now?’

‘Yes, Master. Of course, I know.’

Wiggins smiled.

‘It’s too late to form a master-disciple relationship, but a disciple like him is rare.’

‘Stop it, it’s disgusting. A disciple should have a bit of freshness, what would I do with a dark old man as a disciple?’

‘……Didn’t you usually say I was still young?’

‘That’s just something I say.’

Wiggins shrank back, looking slightly shocked.

‘Have some tea.’

‘Yes.’

Wiggins’ face softened as he took a sip of the tea.

‘It tastes good.’

‘I don’t think I’m particularly picky about food or drink, but tea from my hometown evokes a strange feeling.’

‘The moment you say that, you become an old man.’

‘I apologize. It’s just the taste of black tea.’

The Master and Wiggins looked at each other and chuckled.

‘You know it doesn’t make sense, right?’

‘……Is there any reason why it shouldn’t?’

‘Teaching you is not a pleasant thing. But that’s not important. What’s more important is that I don’t have anything to teach you.’

The Master said quietly, looking at Wiggins.

‘You are the one who established your own school. I may be a little ahead, but there’s not a big difference. So what can I teach you?’

‘Even something small is fine,’ Wiggins said firmly.

‘I need that little bit now. As a senior who has walked the path first, and as a martial artist I respect, please show me the way.’

‘I don’t understand.’

The Master sank deep into the sofa.

‘Even if that’s the case, there are plenty of stronger people than me around you. So there’s no need to ask me for guidance, right? Why don’t you ask your Lord…’

‘That wouldn’t make sense.’

‘Hmm?’

‘The answer must be found within myself. If my goal was to overcome this wall, I would have done so. But to go further, I need to establish what’s inside me.’

‘……So you’re going to use me as a reference book?’

‘If you feel bad about it…’

‘No, it’s not that. There’s nothing to feel bad about. It’s always a pleasure to be a reference for posterity. It means that the path I’ve walked is being recognized. But…’

A look of concern appeared in the Master’s eyes.

‘It won’t be easy, you know?’

‘Of course, it won’t be easy. But I have to do it.’

‘Hmm.’

The Master smiled without realizing it.

‘He’s on fire.’

Of course, he would be. In the past, there was no one who could stimulate Wiggins. The feeling he had for him was not competition, but admiration.

Knight Levo constantly checked him, but Wiggins never thought of Knight Levo as his opponent.

In other words…

‘He has an annoyingly high pride.’

Although Knight Levo ended up like that, he was one of the best swordsmen among the Knights. Even he couldn’t stimulate Wiggins.

‘Is your tail on fire?’

Judging by his stiff expression, he seemed to have hit the nail on the head.

The Master laughed as if he was amused.

‘Seeing you so motivated makes me feel excited too. Emotionally, I want to help you with all my heart, but…’

The Master shook his head.

‘Realistically, it’s impossible.’

‘Why is that?’

‘I don’t have time.’

The Master said with a sigh.

‘Even though I look like this, I’m the Master of the Round Table. And you’ve left the Round Table. I’m already so busy that it’s impossible for me to spare time for someone who has left the Round Table.’

If he was at least a member of the Round Table, he might have found a way. But with the Master’s current position, it was impossible to push aside his work and allocate that time to Wiggins.

And that wouldn’t help the development of the Round Table at all.

So, even if it was a pity…

‘Ah, if it’s that kind of problem, it’s okay.’

‘Huh?’

‘Surely you didn’t think I would make this proposal without thinking about that?’

Did you think about it?

‘No, well, of course not, but…’

Wiggins said in a confident tone.

‘I can solve that problem for you. In other words, wouldn’t it be possible to secure time by reducing the amount of work that is currently concentrated on the Master?’

‘That’s right. However, I have to give work to the other Knights…’

‘Not the Knights. We’ll handle it here.’

The Master’s eyes widened.

Wiggins smiled with satisfaction at the Master’s reaction.

‘If it’s work that doesn’t contain information that’s difficult to share, I’ll handle it. Please use the remaining time for me.’

‘Even if it’s work, are you going to do it yourself? If you want to overcome the wall through training, you won’t have enough time even if you give it your all?’

‘It’s important to overcome the wall as a martial artist, but it’s also important to maintain the dignity of a human being. I’ve discarded my pride, but that doesn’t mean I’ll become a human who only focuses on martial arts.’

‘Hmm.’

‘And I didn’t exactly say that I would do it.’

‘Huh?’

‘There’s a talent who is better than me in this situation. Someone whose career itself is optimized to create a group focused on one person.’

‘……You’re going to pass it on?’

‘Of course not.’

Wiggins smiled.

‘He’s also trying to do a training on how a systemized business works. He was originally planning to go to a company, but no matter how I think about it, the Round Table would be twice as good in this field. There’s no better place than the Round Table to learn how to connect external businesses and the martial arts world, right?’

‘……That’s true.’

‘So it’s a win-win. I’m happy to learn, the Master secures time and gets the best talent to reorganize the Round Table’s system, and the talent can learn other work that he doesn’t know. There’s nothing more perfect than this.’

‘It feels like you’re just taking what you want. And putting aside the others, will the Lord allow you to turn such a talent to the Round Table and leave your position?’

‘Yes. He told me to do as I please.’

Now I don’t know what’s what.

Wiggins seems to have become a bit strange after going to the General Assembly, and Kang Jin-ho, who sends his own talent to the Round Table to use as he pleases, is also very strange.

‘Well…’

Didn’t I give up on understanding them in the first place?

Then, rather…

‘Then let’s do this.’

‘Yes.’

‘Tomorrow, please visit the Round Table with the Lord and that talent. It seems like there are a few people who need to be convinced.’

‘I’ll check the schedule.’

‘And…’

‘Yes?’

The Master said with a slightly worried face.

‘Is that talent really someone you can use as you please?’

‘Ah, you don’t have to worry about that.’

‘••••••Huh?’

Wiggins smiled.

It was a wicked smile that the Master had never seen before.

‘You won’t find a human who has been trained as much as him anywhere. He has surpassed humans in a different sense than the Lord. As for work, I’m no match for him.’

‘……I’m very much looking forward to it.’

It was the moment when one person’s fate was decided against their will.