Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1088. Charging Forward (3)

“I loathe to admit this, but my abilities are a mess,” said Wiggins, his voice calm and contemplative. “I’ve tried to learn far too many things, my lord. And that includes sword and magic techniques. Once upon a time, these two things served as a foundation for me to surpass others. Now, though, they are nothing more than fetters holding me back.”

Everyone listening nodded in silence.

A man who could do two things well was far more useful than another person who could only do one thing. However, that was only true when both people boasted a similar level of capabilities.

Compared to a person boasting 100 points of proficiency in one thing, a man with 100 points of proficiency in two things was obviously superior. However, what if the latter boasted only 80 points in those two things?

Then the situation would change somewhat.

The advantage of mastering both only meant something if you could keep pace with others mastering only one.

Attaining complete mastery of both swordsmanship and magic would make you far, far superior to those mastering only the sword or magic. However, what if you had not attained such mastery in either of those disciplines? It meant you were taking on training several times harsher and heavier in load compared to your peers.

Initially, it might have been doable. Wiggins was a genius, after all. A man who possessed latent talents others couldn’t dare imitate.

But he was a human being at the end of the day, and all humans were bound to run into the “wall” sooner or later. In martial arts, overcoming just one wall was enough to push a person's mental strength to the absolute brink. And it could even lead to heart demons, too.

But Wiggins had to overcome two separate walls because he mastered two different paths. That didn’t sound like something a sane person should subject themselves to.

Wiggins was no fool, so he knew this, too.

Geniuses like Wiggins usually operated this way. They instinctively knew something was up even before their heads could calculate and comprehend. In this case, that “something” was how impossible it'd be to overcome the wall in his current state.

However, a dullard who gave their everything to crawl from the dirt would not know that. To them, the wall was something they could not have foreseen or calculated ahead of time. They couldn't even tell if it was possible to overcome it or not. As such, they would resort to ramming against the wall with everything they had.

But Wiggins wasn’t like that. He knew.

His head understood it even before finishing its calculations. He understood the truth through his senses and instincts even though logic failed to explain it.

...And that was why he knew. He knew the wall blocking his path right now could not be overcome through effort alone!

“My lord, a person facing a wall they can’t overcome has only one choice left.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “Stopping your journey?”

“On the contrary, sir. It’s actually to look back,” Wiggins grinned brightly. “Martial arts are just another means to enhance the status, the level, of the person mastering them. In that regard, my goal could be seen as a little different from yours, my lord. You have gone all-in in your pursuit of martial might. However, I wish to be a strong person. That is my goal.”

Wiggins' smile gradually grew bitter as he spoke.

“In the past, I deliberately picked up many techniques others treated as mere tricks. If it's impossible to reach the end in one road, I figured I could become a strong person by knowing many disparate things.”

However, one couldn't do anything “conclusively” by doing this. The proof was in Wiggins' current situation.

Even though he was praised for being a jack-of-all-trades and the most helpful person in the organization, Wiggins was not seen as the frontline combat personnel.

‘Indeed, it’s rather vague, isn’t it?’

Wiggins chuckled helplessly.

His position in the Martial Assembly was vague. Undefined. He could occupy that strange spot bridging the gap between Vator and Chang Min, but was he considered a crucial combat force like those two? No, he wasn’t.

In that case, wasn’t he better than Bang Jin-Hun at least?

That was true. Until recently, that was!

The story had changed now. Although Wiggins was proud of being stronger than Bang Jin-Hun, he could also see that the former Assembly Master was rapidly getting stronger, even now. Sooner rather than later, Bang Jin-Hun would surely reach a realm that Wiggins could not hope to compete against.

This feeling was akin to a marathon runner injuring his ankle and sitting there in despair while knowing that the people behind him would soon run past and overtake him.

It wasn't just Bang Jin-Hun, either. Pretty soon, some people from the Demon Flames would surpass Wiggins, too!

Watching people's growth was an enjoyable activity. But it'd feel rather different if such growth eventually left you behind.

Wiggins wasn't nice enough to celebrate the people he taught surpassing him. If others made progress in their martial arts, he should, too, to match theirs.

Earnestly celebrating other people's growth was only possible when one also experienced growth that helped them maintain a similar gap as before.

That might sound like something only a petty-minded man would get hung up on. But that was how Wiggins honestly felt. And that was why he asked that question.

Could Kang Jin-Ho help Wiggins overcome this wall? Now was the time to wait for the answer.

Kang Jin-Ho quietly studied Wiggins’ expression before finally breaking his silence. “Is that what you want? For me to help you?”

“...Of course, my lord.”

“Regardless of what you might end up going through?”

“If you had asked me that a little while ago... I might have given you a different answer.”

Wiggins certainly desired greater strength. At the same time, though, he thought not getting stronger shouldn’t affect him all that much.

What he ultimately desired wasn't the improvement of his martial arts, but the strengthening of himself as a person. Being able to “wield” an organization larger and more fearsome than the Round Table would signal that his strength had gotten even greater than his past self, after all!

He wasn’t trying to fool himself with that mindset. Wiggins genuinely believed that.

However, such a thing was no longer sufficient enough to satisfy him. At least, not anymore.

‘Because I can see others surging far ahead of me!’

Vator had gotten stronger.

Saying that about a man who got beaten black and blue by Kang Jin-Ho might seem like a joke, but that was the truth. Vator had gotten incredibly strong. And he was still getting stronger.

But that much was fine. The big man had always been stronger than Wiggins, anyway.

He and Vator were fundamentally a different breed. Wiggins knew he couldn't throw his everything into his martial arts and doggedly pursue one end goal. That was not him.

People who could do that as if it was their second nature were the heroes qualified to stand at the top. Like Vator. Like Kang Jin-Ho!

What caught Wiggins’ attention, or in this case, who, was actually Bang Jin-Hun. And the people like him.

‘Obviously, I can’t say it out loud!’

What Wiggins meant by that was this feeling of inferiority eating away at him. And the source of that inferiority was Bang Jin-Hun!

‘How bizarre is this?’

Wiggins had no reason to feel inferior to Bang Jin-Hun when objectively speaking, he was superior in every measurable metric.

Whether that be intellect, ability, current martial might, various sundry skills, or even his looks, no one would dispute that Wiggins far surpassed Bang Jin-Hun.

Maybe he fell a little short on the leadership charisma index compared to Bang Jin-Hun. But that was mostly due to this place being the East. In the West? Wiggins should be head and shoulders above Bang Jin-Hun in that regard, too.

But that was precisely why it felt like a sharp dagger had been thrust right below Wiggins’ chin. It felt like a man who was demonstrably lagging behind was steadily creeping closer and closer.

Wiggins would look away, thinking that would be the extent of the encroachment, only to turn his head back and find that Bang Jin-Hun had made even more inroads in the meantime. The anxiety he felt when that happened was truly indescribable.

Wiggins didn’t want to get overtaken.

It might sound childish, but it was this very childish pettiness that served as the motivation pushing Wiggins forward.

“Before all that, may I ask you a question, my lord?”

Kang Jin-Ho briefly nodded. “Sure.”

“Acting all unreasonable and the like because I don’t want to lose... Is such behavior acceptable for a martial artist?”

After Wiggins asked that question, he glanced at the others. The folks in the peanut gallery didn’t seem to understand the question itself. In that case, what about Kang Jin-Ho?

Even he was tilting his head in confusion.

“...!”

Wiggins frowned. As he thought, it was not wise to ask Kang Jin-Ho something like...

“I don’t get it, Wiggins,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“I see. My lord, it’s fine if you don’t...”

“Isn’t that how all martial artists behave, anyway?”

“...I beg your pardon?” Wiggins muttered in surprise while staring at Kang Jin-Ho.

“If you are planning to be a reasonable person and not some man-child, getting a job in a regular company might be a better bet for you. If it’s you, getting a high-ranking executive role in a global corporation should be a cakewalk, right? If not, you could always start your own business, too.”

Wiggins dazedly nodded. Kang Jin-Ho was... sort of right? No, not ‘sort of’, he was completely right.

“But we can’t think or behave as rationally as that. And that’s why we’re here, aren't we? Including those guys, too.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “Is that a good enough answer for you?”

Wiggins chuckled slightly. “Yes. Thank you, my lord. Please make me stronger than before. I’m prepared to do anything. Whatever it is, as long as I can overcome this wall! I’ll even chew on worms if I have to.”

Kang Jin-Ho expressionlessly stared at Wiggins. “Nice determination. But the direction of it is all wrong.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You just uttered something idiotic, Wiggins. There is no such thing as a method to become stronger.”

“...?”

“No, wait. There is a way. And everyone already knows it. It’s just that nobody is willing to do it gladly. If you’re lacking something, fill the void with something else. If you have too much, throw some away. That is how you progress. Simple.”

Wiggins shuddered ever so slightly.

Vator received what he lacked from Kang Jin-Ho, which was internal energy in the big man’s case. And that led to his explosive power-up.

In that case, what about Wiggins?

“...My lord, are you saying I must throw something away?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “At least you understand.”

“But...” Wiggins grimaced, his hands trembling.

All the things he was holding on to were the foundations supporting him. In that case, what could he even discard?

“My lord, I...”

“A weakling can’t make this choice.”

“...?”

“You already know what you need to discard, now don't you?”

Wiggins’ lips parted before closing again like a goldfish’s mouth. He already knew what to discard?

Was it his swordsmanship? Magic? If not those, then...

That was when he sobered up. He realized the answer was neither of those. The thing he must discard before everything else was...

“...It’s my pride.”

Wiggins’ head slowly faltered.

Kang Jin-Ho calmly muttered, “You are not facing a wall, Wiggins.”

When he heard that, Wiggins’ head snapped back up.

“Overcoming such a wall is easily doable. It’s just that you can’t do it alone.”

“...Ah!”

Wiggins’ expression subtly distorted.

“You thought that if you can’t do this alone, you aren’t strong enough? That you can’t prove your strength? Wiggins, you’ve greatly underestimated this path if you thought you could climb it with such an insolent mindset. If you’re serious about becoming stronger, you must be ready to wallow in mud and unhesitantly chew on excrement.”

Wiggins suddenly plopped down on the spot, his dazed gaze drifting lower and lower until he could only see the dirt floor below.

Regular people would never understand what happened. But the martial artists watching this scene could easily guess what was going on with Wiggins right now.

“...Oii. Is it really fair for him to do that after a few words of advice?” Bang Jin-Hun muttered sourly, his expression conveying how dissatisfied he was at this sight.

Vator usually was the first person to chide Bang Jin-Hun, but not this time. Even he was frowning in irritation. “Damn. Even though I still haven’t broken through after getting beaten up half to death!”

Bang Jin-Hun tutted. “You know that’s your fault, right? Director Vator?”

“What was that?” Vator threateningly raised his fist before lowering it while groaning loudly.

‘I don’t like this at all. But...’

Right now, Wiggins was in the process of surpassing himself. He was experiencing “Hua Tou.”

In Buddhism, Hua Tou was seen as an act of finding a “clue.”

That might not sound like much, but finding a clue indicated that one would eventually find an answer by putting in enough effort.

A martial artist on the level of Wiggins trying to become even stronger was not much different from being dropped into the middle of a nameless desert blindfolded. Since that was the case, knowing which way to walk was half the battle already won.

Vator grunted again. “This feels rather unpleasant.”

Bang Jin-Hun sourly smacked his lips. “Geez. I wanna interfere so bad...”

Even Chang Min, who had been watching with disinterest until now, muttered in slight irritation. “If it weren’t for my liege, I’d have blown that Westerner away already!”

As for Lee Hyeon-Su, he watched this spectacle unfold with a content smile on his face.

‘I swear, you can search every corner of this world and still not find anywhere remotely as off-the-wall as this place!’

Who would be as openly jealous as these people while witnessing their supposed comrade going through an enlightenment process?

Their honesty was making Lee Hyeon-Su tear up. And their malice almost made Lee Hyeon-Su cry!

One thing was for certain, though. And that was, with this event, Wiggins would get to take one more step forward. As for what might happen next...

“You. It’s your turn,” said Kang Jin-Ho while turning his head toward the peanut gallery’s location.

Vator and Chang Min smartly stepped aside to avoid Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze, leaving only Bang Jin-Hun in the middle. Understandably, his complexion began paling almost instantly.

Bang Jin-Hun pointed at himself. “Me, sir?”

“...”

“Hang on a minute. Really?”

Vator encouragingly grabbed Bang Jin-Hun’s shoulder. And when the latter wordlessly looked up at him, the big man generously smiled. “Go on, now.”

“...”

With the face of a cow being dragged into an abattoir, Bang Jin-Hun trudged into the training area.

...And then, his tragic screams echoed in the surroundings for a while.