A 'knight'.
In a way, that could be considered a common enough title. But the story dramatically changed when the modifier 'Of the Round Table' was attached at the end.
The people in this part of the world had no idea. They had no idea what it meant to be a knight of the Round Table. In European martial societies, a knight wasn't merely a position of envy. And it was more than just a position of power, either.
No, being a knight was an honor. A source of pride. A proof of one's endless service to humanity! So many scions of renowned European families aspired to become a knight like Wiggins one day. Unfortunately, reality was always a cruel mistress.
A knight could be seen as the top title in European martial society. As one could imagine, acquiring that title was not a cakewalk. First of all, being strong was not enough to secure a seat at the Round Table.
Indeed, overwhelming strength alone did not guarantee the knight title. Other knights in the Round Table must agree that the potential candidate possessed the right qualifications first. As such, sometimes a vacant spot would remain unfilled for a long time until someone qualified rose through the ranks first.
Only those who broke through an intense competition could even have a hope of acquiring the title of a knight of the Round Table. Even then, meeting all the qualifications still didn't guarantee a spot. Each representative country only got one seat in the Table. So, even if a candidate was deemed worthy by everyone, they couldn't become a knight if one of these two conditions counted against them: One, if someone with better qualifications existed in their nation. Or two, the sitting representative knight of their country had taken the seat not too long ago.
All these factors should make it abundantly clear that the title of a knight of the Round Table could only be bestowed unto a capable individual favored by lady luck who had put in the hard yards to get this far.
That story obviously applied to Wiggins. The amount of effort he put in to become the knight would easily exceed most people's imaginations.
Even the faintest hint of a bone in one's closet would prevent a candidate from becoming the next knight of the Round Table. And, even after the candidate had safely negotiated one process, another test would immediately begin.
Only those who never let their guard down and continued to polish themselves were deemed worthy enough to acquire the noble title of the knight of the Round Table.
The candidate had to be strong. They must be dignified. And they must excel in every aspect.
The Round Table's fearsome information-gathering capabilities didn't miss a single flaw in the candidate's life and character. The candidate needed to be acknowledged by anyone and everyone as a noble person throughout their entire life.
When Wiggins looked back on his life, he couldn't help but think of it as an utter nightmare. A real Hell on Earth! He had to constantly mind how strangers perceived him and remain extra careful with his conduct. And he also had to remember that the world was watching. Even though polishing and refining himself over and over again never had been easy for him, Wiggins still pulled his socks up and got on with it.
Wiggins could still remember the day of the conferment of his knighthood. How could he forget that incredible ecstasy welling up deep inside his heart? That feeling of being on top of the world? Indeed, the sensation of that cold mask touching his facial skin and the powerful emotions washing over him at that moment would forever stay with him.
'Yes, that's what it felt like...'
This strange remorse sneakily wormed its way into Wiggins' heart.
Despite all those emotions etched into his memories, Wiggins still cast everything aside and willingly came here. Even though he had dedicated his entire life to becoming a knight of the Round Table!
However, did he regret his decision? No, of course not.
The former Knight Wiggins smirked odiously. He wasn't having second thoughts about his actions. If he regretted something, it wouldn't be about throwing away his knight title but becoming one in the first place.
That was because the young Allen Wiggins didn't know the truth back then. He had been blinded by the brilliant halo of prestige surrounding the title of knight. Looking back now, it was clear to him that his younger self had no idea what he should do after becoming a knight. The only thought bubbling in his head back then was becoming a knight and offering his services for the betterment of humanity. That was all.
Yes, he had the will but remained utterly clueless about what knights of the Round Table did or the life they would be forced to lead. Even if the position of a knight was cloaked in the veils of mystery, Wiggins made a grave mistake of not even considering what being a knight could entail.
And now, he decided to leave everything behind and walk away. His status, his rank, his former life... All for the sake of starting anew in this place!
However, there was this one thing he couldn't leave behind. He couldn't do that even if he wanted to, anyway. And that was the martial prowess he had to polish and refine to become the knight of the Round Table!
The power that earned him the evaluation as Britain's strongest warrior!
“Fuu-woo...” Wiggins sucked in a deep break. 'Hah. How long has it been?'
His favorite weapons felt so unfamiliar in his grip. Wiggins briefly wondered how often he got to wield his weapons after earning his knighthood. Couldn't be more than a handful of times. Then again, that made sense. A knight of the Round Table would have to stay glued to their desk. The amount of work they had to oversee could easily overwork a regular person to death.
Trying to deal with the literal flood of work meant a knight of the Round Table rarely, if ever, got to participate in a battle and freely swing their swords. So, it'd be safe to say a knight was closer to a supreme commander of an army instead. And a supreme commander wouldn't jump into an active warzone with a rifle in hand, now would he?
Wiggins sometimes wondered why a knight candidate was required to possess a level of martial arts surpassing a certain threshold. Maybe it was to nurture the required level of stamina and concentration necessary to handle all the nonsensical amount of work.
He was grateful for all the training, though. A high level of martial prowess was absolutely necessary to continue with his new life here, after all!
It was true that the West's martial arts fell some ways behind their Eastern counterparts, but depending on the martial artists involved, that common sense could easily be flipped on its head.
“And so, it's up to me to prove that notion is true, huh?” Wiggins leisurely lowered his hands. In one hand, he held a longsword, while in his other hand was a 'cane', which was actually a wand.
There was no rush. He had blocked off all escape paths, anyway. Besides, the complexions of the Yeongnam Branch folks staring at the wall of raging flames were as pale as human faces could get.
Wiggins casually shrugged his shoulders. “I'm guessing you've never seen anything like this before.”
“What have you done, you bastard!” Director Choi roared, his previous relaxed tough guy act nowhere to be found now.
Wiggins began exaggeratedly waving his arms. “Isn't this so bizarre? Yes, Eastern martial arts always get evaluated higher than the West's, but does that automatically mean Korea's martial arts are better than Britain's? I'm quite certain that's not the case, so why did you remain so ignorant until now?”
“...What did you say?” Director Choi grimaced.
“Why haven't you investigated the difference? Let's be honest here, shall we? You can't call yourselves 'strong' in any appreciable measure. The only way for the weak to survive among the strong is to investigate and investigate some more to unearth as much information as possible. So, why have you been so lackadaisical until now?” Wiggins slowly shook his head. “For sure, you are all way too dull-witted. You lack sharpness. Is it possibly because Japan and China are your neighbors?”
From the perspective of an outsider like Wiggins, Koreans seemed to possess this strange aspect to them. Should he call it... easy-going? Too relaxed?
Wiggins heard from somewhere that South Koreans were so impatient and hot-headed that they gave the Italians a run for their money. But the Koreans he had been in contact with seemed shockingly slow to respond to external stimuli.
As an example, they seem to take potential ICBMs from their northern neighbor freely flying over their heads for granted. Even the two global powerhouses right next door baring their fangs didn't get much of a reaction from the populace as if this matter didn't involve them.
Was it really because Koreans were dullards, to begin with? Or did they subconsciously choose to bury their heads in the sand since there wasn't much they could do about these situations? Wiggins had no answer to this question.
“Well, the best cure for ignorance is pain,” Wiggins muttered quietly while walking lazily forward. He even casually shook his weapons around, too.
Director Choi's expression contorted hideously as he stared at Wiggins leisurely closing the distance. He might have attempted to flee from this encirclement if it weren't for the walls of flames. Most normal flames would've singed his skin a bit, and Director Choi didn't mind that sort of negligible injury. However, his senses warned him that minor burn wounds would be the least of his problems if he decided to break through those flames.
'However! Wiggins is alone!'
Director Choi grimaced deeply. Wiggins was probably strong. No, he had to be. A former knight couldn't have been a weakling, after all!
Even if that was true, Wiggins was all alone here. A lone lion would never dare attack a cackle of hyenas. A wrong move would turn a once-mighty apex predator into a hard-fought lunch for the hyenas since that was the law of mother nature.
Director Choi had to acknowledge the unknown ability capable of creating such intense walls of flames. That didn't mean he believed a lone former knight could fight against so many of the Yeongnam Group's finest warriors and still survive.
“I will commend you for your bravery, but...!” Director Choi chewed his words out. “But you don't know the first thing about combat tactics. As proof, you cut off our retreat even though there's no need for that!”
Director Choi was confident of being right. Yes, this Wiggins bastard possessed mysterious and dangerous techniques. However, he most likely had never commanded a combat force before. An intense wall of flames like his would've served as a perfect demonstration to lower the enemy's morale, yet Wiggins chose to cut off the escape paths, too. This meant his enemies now had no choice but to try and kill Wiggins. Rather obviously, they would now give their all to achieving that goal!
“Courage not backed up by wisdom is nothing more than foolhardy nonsense,” Director Choi growled loudly, then pointed at Wiggins next. “It's time you pay for your reckless bravado! Everyone, kill him!”
Wiggins smirked insidiously as he studied the Yeongnam Branch's martial artists inching closer to him. “Heh, combat tactics, is it...?”
He suddenly felt a bit bitter about his current state where he was debating tactics with some random nobody. He never imagined finding himself in such a situation while still being a member of the Round Table. Although he had already willingly cast all of that aside at this stage...
Still, he couldn't help but think that had he stayed with the Round Table, a small fry like this Director Choi would've never had a chance to brazenly run his mouth off.
“Oh, well. I'm sure my lord will pull me along to a lofty place sooner rather than later.” Wiggins casually shrugged his shoulders. If Kang Jin-Ho failed to do that, though... Wiggins' choice would be meaningless. “Well, then...”
Just as Wiggins got ready to engage the enemy, though, Elena's sharp yell struck him in the ears first. “Dad!”
“...Oops!” Wiggins hurriedly turned around and sheepishly smiled at his daughter. “My apologies. I temporarily forgot that you were here.”
“How can you forget about your own child?!”
When he heard her, a genuinely-happy smile quickly bloomed on Wiggins' face.
'My own child, huh...?'
Not too long ago, even his daughter had to refer to him as Knight Wiggins, not 'dad'. Back then, he thought he'd have no issue dealing with his daughter's cold and uncaring gaze. However, he was proven wrong yet again.
'Nothing in this world is worth cutting your ties with your blood relations...!'
The strongest, most unforgettable impression Wiggins got from watching Kang Jin-Ho wasn't the latter's freakish strength. There was nothing to get shocked about in that regard since Wiggins already knew Kang Jin-Ho was monstrously strong, to begin with.
No, what impressed Wiggins the most was how Kang Jin-Ho tried to hold on and pay attention as much as possible. Any normal person in his shoes would've buckled under the weight of leading the Martial Assembly and dealing with China's and Japan's attempts at keeping him down and eventually would've tried to distance himself from his family.
That would've made things more manageable and convenient, after all.
People in such situations would've given up living on the surface world and focused solely on making things in the hidden world work first. At least, that was what Wiggins would've done. That was the smartest way to handle this situation, after all!
However, Kang Jin-Ho didn't do that. While enduring incredible pressure heaped mercilessly on his shoulders, Kang Jin-Ho held onto everything. He somehow pulled off the impossible by establishing the life of 'regular person' Kang Jin-Ho alongside the life of 'martial artist' Kang Jin-Ho.
'Indeed, he's an incredible man.'
Wiggins was forced to abandon his family in order to withstand the pressure of being a knight of the Round Table, so what Kang Jin-Ho did left a powerful impression on him. More importantly, though...
If Kang Jin-Ho could do it, then Wiggins should be able to do it, too. Even though things would no doubt get much harder and trickier than before, Wiggins thought that was still better than missing out.
Wiggins quickly walked back to Elena's position, then placed his hand reassuringly on her head. “I'll be done soon, so be a good girl and wait, okay?”
“...Dad, I know you don't have to pat me on the head to make the spell work.”
“Hah, kids these days...” Wiggins chuckled, then playfully ruffled Elena's hair. When he took his hand away from her head, though, a transparent barrier suddenly materialized around Elena before her body began levitating in the air. It was as if she had entered a humongous soap bubble.
“My apologies for the lengthy preamble, gentlemen,” said Wiggins, then spun around on his heels to face the Yeongnam Branch martial artists. He then raised his wand higher. “Now then, let's quickly wrap this up, shall we? I'm not much of a fan of wasting time, you see?”
Bang!
Wiggins powerfully slammed the pointy end of his wand on the ground.
A 'knight'.
In a way, that could be considered a common enough title. But the story dramatically changed when the modifier 'Of the Round Table' was attached at the end.
The people in this part of the world had no idea. They had no idea what it meant to be a knight of the Round Table. In European martial societies, a knight wasn't merely a position of envy. And it was more than just a position of power, either.
No, being a knight was an honor. A source of pride. A proof of one's endless service to humanity! So many scions of renowned European families aspired to become a knight like Wiggins one day. Unfortunately, reality was always a cruel mistress.
A knight could be seen as the top title in European martial society. As one could imagine, acquiring that title was not a cakewalk. First of all, being strong was not enough to secure a seat at the Round Table.
Indeed, overwhelming strength alone did not guarantee the knight title. Other knights in the Round Table must agree that the potential candidate possessed the right qualifications first. As such, sometimes a vacant spot would remain unfilled for a long time until someone qualified rose through the ranks first.
Only those who broke through an intense competition could even have a hope of acquiring the title of a knight of the Round Table. Even then, meeting all the qualifications still didn't guarantee a spot. Each representative country only got one seat in the Table. So, even if a candidate was deemed worthy by everyone, they couldn't become a knight if one of these two conditions counted against them: One, if someone with better qualifications existed in their nation. Or two, the sitting representative knight of their country had taken the seat not too long ago.
All these factors should make it abundantly clear that the title of a knight of the Round Table could only be bestowed unto a capable individual favored by lady luck who had put in the hard yards to get this far.
That story obviously applied to Wiggins. The amount of effort he put in to become the knight would easily exceed most people's imaginations.
Even the faintest hint of a bone in one's closet would prevent a candidate from becoming the next knight of the Round Table. And, even after the candidate had safely negotiated one process, another test would immediately begin.
Only those who never let their guard down and continued to polish themselves were deemed worthy enough to acquire the noble title of the knight of the Round Table.
The candidate had to be strong. They must be dignified. And they must excel in every aspect.
The Round Table's fearsome information-gathering capabilities didn't miss a single flaw in the candidate's life and character. The candidate needed to be acknowledged by anyone and everyone as a noble person throughout their entire life.
When Wiggins looked back on his life, he couldn't help but think of it as an utter nightmare. A real Hell on Earth! He had to constantly mind how strangers perceived him and remain extra careful with his conduct. And he also had to remember that the world was watching. Even though polishing and refining himself over and over again never had been easy for him, Wiggins still pulled his socks up and got on with it.
Wiggins could still remember the day of the conferment of his knighthood. How could he forget that incredible ecstasy welling up deep inside his heart? That feeling of being on top of the world? Indeed, the sensation of that cold mask touching his facial skin and the powerful emotions washing over him at that moment would forever stay with him.
'Yes, that's what it felt like...'
This strange remorse sneakily wormed its way into Wiggins' heart.
Despite all those emotions etched into his memories, Wiggins still cast everything aside and willingly came here. Even though he had dedicated his entire life to becoming a knight of the Round Table!
However, did he regret his decision? No, of course not.
The former Knight Wiggins smirked odiously. He wasn't having second thoughts about his actions. If he regretted something, it wouldn't be about throwing away his knight title but becoming one in the first place.
That was because the young Allen Wiggins didn't know the truth back then. He had been blinded by the brilliant halo of prestige surrounding the title of knight. Looking back now, it was clear to him that his younger self had no idea what he should do after becoming a knight. The only thought bubbling in his head back then was becoming a knight and offering his services for the betterment of humanity. That was all.
Yes, he had the will but remained utterly clueless about what knights of the Round Table did or the life they would be forced to lead. Even if the position of a knight was cloaked in the veils of mystery, Wiggins made a grave mistake of not even considering what being a knight could entail.
And now, he decided to leave everything behind and walk away. His status, his rank, his former life... All for the sake of starting anew in this place!
However, there was this one thing he couldn't leave behind. He couldn't do that even if he wanted to, anyway. And that was the martial prowess he had to polish and refine to become the knight of the Round Table!
The power that earned him the evaluation as Britain's strongest warrior!
“Fuu-woo...” Wiggins sucked in a deep break. 'Hah. How long has it been?'
His favorite weapons felt so unfamiliar in his grip. Wiggins briefly wondered how often he got to wield his weapons after earning his knighthood. Couldn't be more than a handful of times. Then again, that made sense. A knight of the Round Table would have to stay glued to their desk. The amount of work they had to oversee could easily overwork a regular person to death.
Trying to deal with the literal flood of work meant a knight of the Round Table rarely, if ever, got to participate in a battle and freely swing their swords. So, it'd be safe to say a knight was closer to a supreme commander of an army instead. And a supreme commander wouldn't jump into an active warzone with a rifle in hand, now would he?
Wiggins sometimes wondered why a knight candidate was required to possess a level of martial arts surpassing a certain threshold. Maybe it was to nurture the required level of stamina and concentration necessary to handle all the nonsensical amount of work.
He was grateful for all the training, though. A high level of martial prowess was absolutely necessary to continue with his new life here, after all!
It was true that the West's martial arts fell some ways behind their Eastern counterparts, but depending on the martial artists involved, that common sense could easily be flipped on its head.
“And so, it's up to me to prove that notion is true, huh?” Wiggins leisurely lowered his hands. In one hand, he held a longsword, while in his other hand was a 'cane', which was actually a wand.
There was no rush. He had blocked off all escape paths, anyway. Besides, the complexions of the Yeongnam Branch folks staring at the wall of raging flames were as pale as human faces could get.
Wiggins casually shrugged his shoulders. “I'm guessing you've never seen anything like this before.”
“What have you done, you bastard!” Director Choi roared, his previous relaxed tough guy act nowhere to be found now.
Wiggins began exaggeratedly waving his arms. “Isn't this so bizarre? Yes, Eastern martial arts always get evaluated higher than the West's, but does that automatically mean Korea's martial arts are better than Britain's? I'm quite certain that's not the case, so why did you remain so ignorant until now?”
“...What did you say?” Director Choi grimaced.
“Why haven't you investigated the difference? Let's be honest here, shall we? You can't call yourselves 'strong' in any appreciable measure. The only way for the weak to survive among the strong is to investigate and investigate some more to unearth as much information as possible. So, why have you been so lackadaisical until now?” Wiggins slowly shook his head. “For sure, you are all way too dull-witted. You lack sharpness. Is it possibly because Japan and China are your neighbors?”
From the perspective of an outsider like Wiggins, Koreans seemed to possess this strange aspect to them. Should he call it... easy-going? Too relaxed?
Wiggins heard from somewhere that South Koreans were so impatient and hot-headed that they gave the Italians a run for their money. But the Koreans he had been in contact with seemed shockingly slow to respond to external stimuli.
As an example, they seem to take potential ICBMs from their northern neighbor freely flying over their heads for granted. Even the two global powerhouses right next door baring their fangs didn't get much of a reaction from the populace as if this matter didn't involve them.
Was it really because Koreans were dullards, to begin with? Or did they subconsciously choose to bury their heads in the sand since there wasn't much they could do about these situations? Wiggins had no answer to this question.
“Well, the best cure for ignorance is pain,” Wiggins muttered quietly while walking lazily forward. He even casually shook his weapons around, too.
Director Choi's expression contorted hideously as he stared at Wiggins leisurely closing the distance. He might have attempted to flee from this encirclement if it weren't for the walls of flames. Most normal flames would've singed his skin a bit, and Director Choi didn't mind that sort of negligible injury. However, his senses warned him that minor burn wounds would be the least of his problems if he decided to break through those flames.
'However! Wiggins is alone!'
Director Choi grimaced deeply. Wiggins was probably strong. No, he had to be. A former knight couldn't have been a weakling, after all!
Even if that was true, Wiggins was all alone here. A lone lion would never dare attack a cackle of hyenas. A wrong move would turn a once-mighty apex predator into a hard-fought lunch for the hyenas since that was the law of mother nature.
Director Choi had to acknowledge the unknown ability capable of creating such intense walls of flames. That didn't mean he believed a lone former knight could fight against so many of the Yeongnam Group's finest warriors and still survive.
“I will commend you for your bravery, but...!” Director Choi chewed his words out. “But you don't know the first thing about combat tactics. As proof, you cut off our retreat even though there's no need for that!”
Director Choi was confident of being right. Yes, this Wiggins bastard possessed mysterious and dangerous techniques. However, he most likely had never commanded a combat force before. An intense wall of flames like his would've served as a perfect demonstration to lower the enemy's morale, yet Wiggins chose to cut off the escape paths, too. This meant his enemies now had no choice but to try and kill Wiggins. Rather obviously, they would now give their all to achieving that goal!
“Courage not backed up by wisdom is nothing more than foolhardy nonsense,” Director Choi growled loudly, then pointed at Wiggins next. “It's time you pay for your reckless bravado! Everyone, kill him!”
Wiggins smirked insidiously as he studied the Yeongnam Branch's martial artists inching closer to him. “Heh, combat tactics, is it...?”
He suddenly felt a bit bitter about his current state where he was debating tactics with some random nobody. He never imagined finding himself in such a situation while still being a member of the Round Table. Although he had already willingly cast all of that aside at this stage...
Still, he couldn't help but think that had he stayed with the Round Table, a small fry like this Director Choi would've never had a chance to brazenly run his mouth off.
“Oh, well. I'm sure my lord will pull me along to a lofty place sooner rather than later.” Wiggins casually shrugged his shoulders. If Kang Jin-Ho failed to do that, though... Wiggins' choice would be meaningless. “Well, then...”
Just as Wiggins got ready to engage the enemy, though, Elena's sharp yell struck him in the ears first. “Dad!”
“...Oops!” Wiggins hurriedly turned around and sheepishly smiled at his daughter. “My apologies. I temporarily forgot that you were here.”
“How can you forget about your own child?!”
When he heard her, a genuinely-happy smile quickly bloomed on Wiggins' face.
'My own child, huh...?'
Not too long ago, even his daughter had to refer to him as Knight Wiggins, not 'dad'. Back then, he thought he'd have no issue dealing with his daughter's cold and uncaring gaze. However, he was proven wrong yet again.
'Nothing in this world is worth cutting your ties with your blood relations...!'
The strongest, most unforgettable impression Wiggins got from watching Kang Jin-Ho wasn't the latter's freakish strength. There was nothing to get shocked about in that regard since Wiggins already knew Kang Jin-Ho was monstrously strong, to begin with.
No, what impressed Wiggins the most was how Kang Jin-Ho tried to hold on and pay attention as much as possible. Any normal person in his shoes would've buckled under the weight of leading the Martial Assembly and dealing with China's and Japan's attempts at keeping him down and eventually would've tried to distance himself from his family.
That would've made things more manageable and convenient, after all.
People in such situations would've given up living on the surface world and focused solely on making things in the hidden world work first. At least, that was what Wiggins would've done. That was the smartest way to handle this situation, after all!
However, Kang Jin-Ho didn't do that. While enduring incredible pressure heaped mercilessly on his shoulders, Kang Jin-Ho held onto everything. He somehow pulled off the impossible by establishing the life of 'regular person' Kang Jin-Ho alongside the life of 'martial artist' Kang Jin-Ho.
'Indeed, he's an incredible man.'
Wiggins was forced to abandon his family in order to withstand the pressure of being a knight of the Round Table, so what Kang Jin-Ho did left a powerful impression on him. More importantly, though...
If Kang Jin-Ho could do it, then Wiggins should be able to do it, too. Even though things would no doubt get much harder and trickier than before, Wiggins thought that was still better than missing out.
Wiggins quickly walked back to Elena's position, then placed his hand reassuringly on her head. “I'll be done soon, so be a good girl and wait, okay?”
“...Dad, I know you don't have to pat me on the head to make the spell work.”
“Hah, kids these days...” Wiggins chuckled, then playfully ruffled Elena's hair. When he took his hand away from her head, though, a transparent barrier suddenly materialized around Elena before her body began levitating in the air. It was as if she had entered a humongous soap bubble.
“My apologies for the lengthy preamble, gentlemen,” said Wiggins, then spun around on his heels to face the Yeongnam Branch martial artists. He then raised his wand higher. “Now then, let's quickly wrap this up, shall we? I'm not much of a fan of wasting time, you see?”
Bang!
Wiggins powerfully slammed the pointy end of his wand on the ground.
