Chapter 518: Training (3)

“D-dad?!” Elena gasped loudly at Knight Wiggins standing by her doorway. She even rubbed her eyes in disbelief. However, no matter how many times she did that, the figure of Knight Wiggins did not disappear from her view. Elena's jaw dropped to the floor. “Dad? Is that really you?”

Knight Wiggins grinned back at her. “It's been a while, Elena.”

“B-but, how... Why are you here?” Elena blinked her eyes in confusion before hurriedly changing her expression. “...My apologies for forgetting my place. Welcome to South Korea, Knight Wiggins.”

“No, wait,” Knight Wiggins shook his head. “You should call me dad, Elena. As you can see, I'm not wearing my mask.”

“...Oh?” Elena finally figured out why Wiggins seemed so different from his usual self. His trademark white mask was nowhere to be seen. “What happened to your mask?”

“I took it off,” Wiggins casually replied.

“I'm sorry?” Elena's eyes trembled in shock.

That mask was a symbol of pride for Knight Wiggins. So much so that he had never taken it off ever since becoming a knight of the Round Table. That was par for the course to him, though. Becoming a knight meant one must abandon their previous life, after all!

Revealing a face that no longer existed was a shame for a knight. Even so, Wiggins still chose to take his mask off.

Elena couldn't get a hold of herself from this inexplicable and sudden change. “B-b-but, why?”

“I've come a long way to see my daughter again, so it won't do for a mask to get in the way and hide my face from you. And I didn't want to hear you speak so formally to me, either.”

“...Huh?” Elena stared dazedly at Wiggins. 'Maybe... He fell off the bed this morning and hit his head?'

The Knight Wiggins Elena knew was not this kind of man. Wasn't he intensely proud of being the core member of the Round Table? Wiggins was even ready to sacrifice his own family for the sake of his organization, too. Didn't he and Elena often clash on various matters, including trivial things, because she was never a fan of the Round Table's methods? So, why...?

'Did he really say he came a long way to see me?'

The usual Knight Wiggins would never say such a thing. Never! But now that he said it, Elena was... Simply put, she thought that...

'That's a bit... cringe, isn't it?'

Shudddddder!

Elena shuddered as goosebumps broke out on her skin. She couldn't help but think that was a bit too cringe for a father to say to his grown-up daughter.

Wiggins sighed under his breath after noticing the cramped expression on Elena's face. “I didn't expect a heartwarming welcome from you, but... Is it necessary for you to make such a disgusted face?”

“N-no, that's not it, Dad.” Elena sobered quickly and shook her head.

Trying to explain this awkward situation would take way too long. After all, Elena would have to explain basic things like the relationship dynamics between a father and his grown-up daughter. And right now didn't seem particularly well-suited for such a lengthy conversation.

“F-for the time being, why don't you make yourself at home, Dad?” Elena tried to usher Wiggins inside her hotel room. “Let me get you something to drink.”

“I'm fine, thank you. Before that, can you take this first?”

“Huh?”

Knight Wiggins brought out a large box from behind him, then handed it over to Elena.

Elena's confusion intensified as she looked back at her father. “What... is this, Dad?”

“It's a present, of course. For you.”

Elena's expression crumpled once more. Of course, she enjoyed receiving presents regardless of the occasion. However, could she still feel that way when her father's present, whatever it was, was contained in a large box covered in a pink heart-pattern wrap, topped off with a pink ribbon? Especially when she was a bit too old for such a color scheme?

'What's gotten into him?'

Elena was pretty sure her father was trying to mend their estranged relationship, but something about his attempt seemed a bit... No, make that very, very peculiar. She did her very best to keep a straight face while accepting the gift box. “Thank you, Dad.”

“You're welcome.”

“...Uhm, okay. So..” Elena stared at the box, a hint of fear creeping into her expression. 'Hang on. The gift inside can't be a cute doll... Now can it?'

Knight Wiggins asked in an expectant voice. “Aren't you going to open it?”

Elena sobered up quickly and shook her head. “I'll do that later, Dad. I don't think now is the right time to open presents.”

“Yes, you have a point. It seems I didn't think this through.” Wiggins slowly nodded.

Elena was even more confused at how easily Wiggins admitted to his mistake. Her father, at least to her memories, would never do that. Wiggins might come across as an exceedingly rational and objective man in other people's eyes, but not to Elena. To her, he could be shockingly emotional and authoritative.

'Why did he change like this, though?'

Elena grew slightly nervous. She should be happy about her father's transformation, but humans weren't supposed to change this much literally overnight. In that case, how could she not be nervous?

“Very well. We can celebrate our reunion at another time,” said Wiggins as he settled down next to the dining table in the middle of Elena's hotel room. “Right now, I require accurate information on the ongoing situation.”

“Before all that...!” Elena hurriedly sat on the opposite side. “Just why... How did you come here, Dad? Don't you have a ton of work left back home?”

“I'm sure someone else will deal with them.”

“D-dad?!”

Knight Wiggins looked truly liberated as he leaned back in the chair. “As you implied a second ago, I can't waste my time dealing with work that ties me to my desk when people need me to act. Anyone can do those tasks, but only I can handle this crisis.”

“...Did you get the Round Table's cooperation?”

“Well, we don't have any regulations that expressly prohibit the members from shirking their duties and going somewhere. Like another country, for instance.”

“Oh... my god?!” Elena held her head in disbelief.

What Wiggins said just now was no different from admitting that he had abandoned his duties as a knight of the Round Table! Not only that, but he also neglected to inform the Round Table what he was up to!

“Dad?! What have you done!”

Wiggins tutted softly. “I did what needed to be done.”

“What... needed to be done?” Elena frowned in dismay. “Dad, what are you even..”

“Elena, listen,” Wiggins quietly called out to his daughter. Elena sensed the weight contained in his voice and quickly clamped her mouth shut. “Let me repeat myself. I did what needed to be done. It's the appropriate course of action in this situation.”

“...?”

“You're right, Elena. We can't wait forever for the Round Table to make its decision. Reaching a consensus is a good idea. However, if the process of reaching that consensus takes too long, and those needing to be rescued can't be rescued anymore... What good would that consensus be?”

“D-dad...” Elena's voice began trembling in shock. “You... You know what you're saying right now, don't you?”

“Of course I do.”

“The Round Table will never accept this, Dad.”

“So what?” Wiggins remained unperturbed as he replied. “I joined the Round Table, believing I was doing the right thing. However, this latest crisis made me realize something invaluable, Elena. I wasn't obeying the Round Table's orders because they were right, but... I've been trying to fool myself into believing that the Round Table's orders had to be right.”

Wiggins stopped talking there, his voice getting heavier.

Elena faltered slightly. “Even so...”

“Don't be mistaken, Elena. I'm not saying my current actions are righteous, either. The Round Table could be looking at a far bigger picture than my eyes can see. However...!”

“Y-yes?”

“If the Round Table wishes to criticize and punish me for actively trying to rescue its agents, then the justice and righteousness I've been searching for cannot be found with them. In that case, it will not be the case of the Round Table casting me away, but I will be leaving the Round Table instead!”

Elena's gaze wavered.

'Dad...!'

Wiggins used to be like this in the past. For the sake of something he believed to be righteous, Wiggins would stop at nothing. However, joining the Round Table changed him. After acquiring the sacred, noble title of the Round Table's knight, he began to prioritize the process over results instead.

It felt quite weird to see the father only existing in her memories coming to life like this. After failing to find the adequate-enough words to express this feeling, Elena decided to just smile and move on.

“Dad... How about dinner?”

“Since it's been a long time, I'd dearly love to take up on your offer. Unfortunately, I'll have to take a rain check for now, if you don't mind. I don't think we should be wasting our limited time doing that,” Wiggins muttered while standing up. “After all, I need to meet that man as quickly as possible.”

“...Dad?”

“Take me to Kang Jin-Ho. I wish to personally speak to him.”

***

Yi Myeong-Hwan quietly closed his eyes.

The world was made up of energy. Obviously, what one could see wasn't everything there was to see. Energies that science couldn't detect just yet overflowed in this world.

The path of cultivation started with learning to sense these energies. The martial arts of the surface world were all about training one's physical body, but the martial artists of the hidden world trained their qi. n(0)vel(b)(j)(n)was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.

The path of cultivation began by learning how to absorb the abundant qi flowing in the world, followed by storing it in one's dantian. This was a principle Yi Myeong-Hwan had been following since he started cultivating. However, his worldview had been crumbling down recently.

Slowly, oh-so-slowly... Yi Myeong-Hwan absorbed qi in the surroundings. He breathed in and out carefully and gradually entered a state of suspended animation. And then, he slowly attracted the external qi. Unfortunately, this was where his problems began.

The cultivation technique Yi Myeong-Hwan was familiar with until now taught him to send the gathered external qi into his dantian first. Somewhat ironically, the first place he sensed qi was also his dantian. Absorbing qi through his skin and sending it to his dantian via his meridians had been omitted from this learning process.

Until now, he didn't question this way of doing things. However, the story had drastically changed now. This new cultivation method was a completely different kettle of fish compared to his previous method!

'Okay, take my time and do it slowly. Take it easy...'

Cultivating through this demonic art was like going back to the beginning to relearn everything. While telling himself he was an adult learning to walk again, Yi Myeong-Hwan slowly and gradually gathered qi toward him.

Before the external qi sneakily rushed toward his dantian, Yi Myeong-Hwan quickly redirected it toward his baihui point in his skull. His body immediately resisted the unfamiliar movement of qi.

Yi Myeong-Hwan thought he could finally understand why demonic cultivation techniques were called as such. This way of doing things was simply way too unnatural, like walking backward. Human bodies were designed to move forward, so trying to walk backward would cause several issues. One would have to consciously think about moving their legs one at a time and then force their body to listen to their command.

Yi Myeong-Hwan was basically in that situation. Qi entering his body naturally wanted to head to his dantian, so forcing this energy to travel to his baihui point first felt like an act of pure unnaturalness, for the lack of a better term.

Yi Myeong-Hwan's body continued to resist. And that resistance came in the form of extreme pain.

“...Kuk!”

His body trembled and even began spasming. Since he had been practicing this method for a while, the pain wasn't as extreme as the one he felt back when Kang Jin-Ho forcibly injected essence qi inside his body. Even so, it was still so severe that Yi Myeong-Hwan was having a torrid time enduring it.

However, he gritted his teeth and sat through this pain. Breaking his posture and moving during the qi circulation was a one-way trip to the land of qi deviation. If Yi Myeong-Hwan didn't want to die, he must never budge from this spot!

He continued to force his qi toward his head until it finally relented and headed to the baihui point.

'That's it! Right there!'

All the qi gathering in the crown of Yi Myeong-Hwan's skull began buzzing and resonating. When his head vibrated, it felt like the entire world was being sucked into an earthquake. Despite all the vibration, Yi Myeong-Hwan tried his best to direct the gathered qi toward his dantian. However, the qi vehemently resisted his attempts as if it was rejecting this unnatural pathway.

“Kuuuuuuk!”

Blood began seeping out from his lip as his teeth dug into his flesh. However, Yi Myeong-Hwan had no mental leeway to care about that. Compared to the pain blitzing his skull, something like a split skin was too insignificant to even be called 'pain' after all!

As Yi Myeong-Hwan sat through this intense pain... qi suddenly began moving as he wanted to.

'..!'

As if the gathered qi couldn't find any other pathways, it slowly sank past the baihui point and seeped into the major meridian connected to it.

'Y-yes, I'm almost...!'

That was when all the external qi accumulated in Yi Myeong-Hwan's baihui point explosively slammed into his dantian like a bolt of lightning!

Yi Myeong-Hwan's consciousness threatened to quit on him as the sensation of a vicious explosion going off inside his body filled his brain. However, this feeling was not pain... but absolute bliss. This was the sensation of pure... liberation!

His consciousness grew fainter and fainter, but then...!

A quiet but threatening whisper entered Yi Myeong-Hwan's ear. “Get yourself together.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan's dimming consciousness snapped back with vengeance at that voice. That voice unmistakably belonged to none other than Kang Jin-Ho!

“Do not let your guard down just because you succeeded this once. You still need to get more familiar with this method. So, take your time. Slowly and gradually..”

Yi Myeong-Hwan listened to Kang Jin-Ho's guidance and slowly circulated his qi.

Finally... Finally! He had succeeded in taking his first step in the demonic arts!