Chapter 943: Ending (3)

Kang Jin-Ho entered the empty field first and took up his position. Soon, the Master of the Round Table slowly walked up and stood in front of Kang Jin-Ho.

These two men shared something in common. Two things, in fact. One, they didn't seem all that tense right now. And the people watching them were a lot more tenser than they were!

However, despite the "relaxed" demeanor, Kang Jin-Ho and the Master only intensely stared at each other, not even sparing a moment's glance in the other people's way.

"This is a nice place," the Master broke the silence first. "I didn't think such a place existed in Korea, so I…"

"Hold on," Kang Jin-Ho suddenly raised his hand and cut the Master off. Then he turned his head to where his companions were and gestured at Lee Hyeon-Su.

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed under his breath, then rushed toward the side of his Assembly Master.

"Okay, you can continue," said Kang Jin-Ho.

"…" The Master faltered a little before groaning grandly. "How about learning some English…?"

"...I can speak a bit, but it's always better to be sure, right?"

"Well, yes. I agree with you on that."

The Master became a little nostalgic about his past while scanning Kang Jin-Ho standing a little ahead of him.

'How long has it been?'

He couldn't quite remember the last time he got to "compare notes" on his martial prowess with a fellow expert. This strangely feel-good tension began filling his heart up.

'Once upon a time, this used to be my life.'

Back then, he constantly fought, experienced victories and losses, and whipped himself again and again to become better than before. To become stronger. To become a winner!

Once upon a time, the Master was another martial artist striving for those ideals. However, what about now? Could he call himself a martial artist now?

'I… am not sure anymore.'

If the definition of a martial artist was someone who mastered a martial art of some kind to acquire inconceivably greater strength than most normal people could ever dream of acquiring… Then yes, the Master should still qualify as a martial artist.

However, if the yardstick for determining one's status as a martial artist was whether one mastered their martial arts to actively participate in the fierce world of do-or-die, then… The Master had no right to call himself a martial artist.

At best, he was no better than an administrator. Or the chief operating officer of a company.

'Hmph. Isn't that a surprisingly elite-sounding title?'

Some people might enjoy having such titles appearing before their names, but not the Master. Or, more correctly, not at this minute.

'Since when did it stop?'

The Master was trying to remember when the people around him stopped emitting the distinct scent of primal savagery.

What an ironic thing that was. The Round Table was definitely an organization of martial artists. But it was incredibly difficult to pick up any scent of martial artists from the members. The new recruits still emitted that whiff, but sooner or later, they'd become "assimilated" with the atmosphere of the Round Table and lose that scent for good.

Only the masks covering the participants' faces and the antiquated but still impressive eponymous table separated the Knights' conference from a meeting of a corporation's high-ranking executives. And no one would've noticed the difference if that did happen.

That was how the Master had been living his life until now. All while forgetting about his roots as a martial artist!

Even though they talked big about being the Round Table and whatnot, at the end of the day? What was so different about what they did compared to things the regular governments or armies did?

The only difference was the type of power being utilized, but the way all these entities sought to use their military might to achieve their goals was pretty much the same.

The Master's duty was deciding where the military might of those affiliated with the Round Table would be used on. And that "might" always excluded his.

'Of course, it's not as if I'm dissatisfied with this arrangement.'

When young, martial artists might want to keep living on the edge. However, once they got older and found themselves in higher rungs in the hierarchy, they might want to settle down to a life not too different from the Master's. At least, that was what he thought.

But now…!

The Master's gaze locked on Kang Jin-Ho. The sight of the latter standing there proudly by himself was enough to force the Master into tightly clenching his fists.

This man, Kang Jin-Ho, was different. The smell of primal savagery, the smell of a beast, still wafted from him.

As a matter of fact, this smell was so strong that maybe the Master should've said it was a heavy stench of raw blood instead.

They were currently in an era where blades went into hiding against firearms.

In this day and age, one had to hide their identity as a martial artist if they wished to assimilate into society. However, Kang Jin-Ho somehow managed to retain his nature of a martial artist. And he stood tall and triumphantly before the Master's eyes.

It was as if a martial artist of the ancient past was dropped in the middle of the modern era! And this sight burrowed so painfully into the Master's heart.

'Maybe I… I am…'

Maybe it was time the Master acknowledged the truth.

Maybe he wanted to be like Kang Jin-Ho. Maybe the life he wanted to live was not the one he currently had, but the one Kang Jin-Ho was leading right now!

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" The Master suddenly raised his voice.

"Sure. I don't mind," Kang Jin-Ho casually shrugged.

The Master quietly sucked in a deep breath before asking the question burning a hole in his head. "I've been informed that you're not as young as your appearance suggests."

Indeed, to Kang Jin-Ho, his outer appearance meant little in relation to his mental age. Age to a returner was nothing more than a set of numbers representing how long their current physical body had been in use. No more, no less.

The Master was certain that some returners must've lived for centuries. Maybe even millenniums, too!

Kang Jin-Ho cocked his head to the side. "So? What about it?"

"...In that case, how did you manage to retain your youth until now?"

What a vague question that was. However, Kang Jin-Ho still understood what the Master was trying to ask. That didn't mean he understood why the Master would ask him that.

Retain his youth until now? Kang Jin-Ho found that question rather odd.

"I'm not sure," said Kang Jin-Ho. Since he didn't understand, that was the only reply he could provide. Of course, that didn't mean he didn't have anything to add to his reply. "Shouldn't you be asking that question to yourself? Why ask me?"

"...I don't follow?"

"Only the people who feel their age find others around them as youthful. In other words, those who still feel young don't call the others younger than them youthful."

"…" The Master was immediately rendered speechless.

Kang Jin-Ho continued to speak. "Especially when you're talking about martial artists. After all, it's funny to see an expert obsessing over being young when their physical specs easily outstrip a young man in his twenties. So, the way I see it, it's not your age that's making you feel like an old man."

"...In that case, what does it all mean?"

Kang Jin-Ho casually shrugged again. "It's your job to figure that out."

Now that was an argument so shockingly reasonable that it verged on being absurd!

Then again, it wasn't as if the Master had chucked that question out to get a clear-cut answer, anyway. From what he could tell, Kang Jin-Ho seemed like the type to instinctively pursue logic but wasn't quite astute enough to logically explain the knowledge stored in his head.

Despite the low expectations, though, what Kang Jin-Ho said still slammed painfully into the Master's psyche.

'It's not my age…?'

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes and gazed at the Master. "There's no need to think too hard about it."

While saying that, he extended his hand to the side. The space there distorted, and Kang Jin-Ho's hand slipped inside.

The Master confusedly observed this spectacle in silence.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

'...Subspace?'

Wasn't that one of the Western techniques?

Kang Jin-Ho using subspace was not all that shocking to the Master. After all, martial arts were still martial arts regardless of how disparate the foundations and framework were.

An expert at Kang Jin-Ho's level shouldn't have any trouble mastering techniques like subspace.

What surprised the Master was the fact that Kang Jin-Ho went to the trouble of mastering the technique in the first place.

Every martial artist suffered from a type of "reluctance."

Those who mastered Eastern martial arts would only think about countering Western martial arts and never once think about integrating it into their repertoire. It was the same story for the West's martial artists.

Even though they acknowledged that the Eastern martial arts were overwhelmingly superior in hand-to-hand combat than the Western counterparts, they resolutely refused to incorporate the knowledge from the East into their teachings. Instead, they chose to research the ways to counter the perceived weaknesses.

Even the wet-behind-ears young ones focused only on improving themselves but never entertained the thought of learning the ways of the other side.

However, here was Kang Jin-Ho, a man who had already attained a godly realm of strength, one mighty enough to establish his own faction. Yet he still unhesitantly accepted techniques from the other side and mastered them!

This flexible mindset sent a fresh shockwave in the Master's thought process.

Kang Jin-Ho pulled out the Azuremourne and the Crimson Destiny from subspace.

The Master also quickly thrust his hands into his own subspace to extract a longsword and a staff.

Rather coincidentally, both men seemed to prefer wielding weapons on both hands. Kang Jin-Ho wielded dual swords, while the Master went for a sword in one hand and a staff in the other.

"W-well, then! I'll excuse myself now," said Lee Hyeon-Su before beating a hasty retreat. He soon reached Wiggins' side, then curiously asked his teacher. "What is that staff-like thing, sir?"

Wiggins solemnly replied, "Do you remember what I told you in the past?"

"Sorry? About what?"

"That a magic swordsman is not something you should strive to become?"

"...Oh. Yes, I remember."

Wiggins sighed under his breath. "Trying to master two different schools of anything simultaneously is not easy. No, it's incredibly difficult. However, you know what's even tougher than that? It's utilizing the techniques from both camps at the same time."

"I, uh, guess so?"

"Using a sword and casting magic at the same time during a battle is akin to playing a piano with one hand and a violin with the other. And playing two different songs, to boot."

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't immediately picture that scene. At least he could understand one thing from that explanation. "That sounds like an impossibility."

"Yes, it is. Since ancient times, the wisest way to use both hands in combat is to wield a sword in one hand and a shield with the other. That's possible because the roles of both weapons are clearly defined. However, that's not the case for a sword-and-magic combination. That is why wielding both is such a challenge. And messy, too."

Wiggins sighed again, his expression one of complicated emotions as he stared at the Master.

"Even then, I still persisted in mastering both schools. Do you know why?"

Lee Hyeon-Su quickly replied, "From what I remember, you told me that you arrogantly believed you were a once-in-a-generation genius when young. No, forget arrogance, I think you called yourself a truly detestable little punk worthy of a good beating."

"...I said that?"

"Yes, sir. That's what you said."

Wiggins narrowed his eyes and stared suspiciously at Lee Hyeon-Su. However, Lee Hyeon-Su expertly maintained an expressionless face.

"Although that doesn't quite sound right… Let's say it was," said Wiggins.

"Sure, sir."

Although he had his suspicions, there was no material evidence to prove guilt! Wiggins could only ruefully smack his lips before continuing with his explanation.

"Well, those accusations aren't completely wrong. I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's still true. However, that is not the full story. Even if I had been an arrogant brat, I still wouldn't have attempted to pioneer this path all by myself… Had there not been a role model to look up to."

Wiggins pointed to the Master with his eyes.

"Now, take a good look. The man you see before you is the only magic swordsman currently in existence. The Master of the Round Table is the only one who has reached the seemingly insurmountable realm of simultaneously wielding both sword and magic."

"Ohh!" Lee Hyeon-Su grew wide-eyed as he studied the Master in the distance.

In Lee Hyeon-Su's eyes, Wiggins was a genius. Despite calling himself an "arrogant brat" to downplay his past achievements, Wiggins still held all the qualifications to be an arrogant man.

But the profession of a magic swordsman was something even a man like Wiggins evaluated as not worth the trouble.

According to Wiggins, not choosing the path of a magic swordsman and focusing exclusively on swordsmanship or magic could have made him twice as strong as he was currently.

But now, Wiggins was saying the Master was the only existing magic swordsman in this world. Which indicated that the Master had reached the realm that Wiggins believed he had failed to reach.

Lee Hyeon-Su muttered quietly. "...So, the Master of the Round Table is someone amazing, then?"

"Yes, he is. You could say he's a… self-made success story. In a various sense of the term, actually. As an individual, he's a legendary martial artist. When seen from a nation's standpoint, though, he's more like a natural calamity."

"I'm sorry?" Lee Hyeon-Su blinked his eyes in confusion after failing to understand.

Wiggins chuckled bitterly before explaining what he meant. "All thanks to the Master's presence, many young British hopefuls never got a chance to develop their true talents and had to disappear into the ether. The quagmire of the allure of magic swordsman had drowned them all, you see?"

"Ohh!" Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly nodded after finally understanding what Wiggins meant.

Just like Wiggins in his youth, other people witnessing the Master's heroic feats would've wanted to become magic swordsmen themselves. The idea was alluring enough to ensnare the young Wiggins, so it must've been just as bad for other young people, too.

However, even Wiggins failed to reach the pinnacle. In that case, the mere mortals wouldn't even have a hope in hell of success. Choosing this path would've eventually resulted in them falling well behind their peers.

'However, if I flip that around…'

Didn't that mean the pinnacle reached by the Master was as radiant and inspiring as it could get? So brilliant that it acted like a burning flame attracting all the moths nearby?

Lee Hyeon-Su now viewed the Master of the Round Table in a new light.

What would that old man with a head full of white hair show them now?

"They are about to start. Let's back away for a bit, Mister Lee."

While watching the two titans begin their exchange in the distance, Wiggins and Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly backed much further away.