A reaction had come. It was the reaction he was waiting for, and the Egg fulfilled its role this time as well, just like last time.
‘So it’s here too.’
The head of 《Yamata no Orochi,》 obtained from the test on the 1st Floor.
The [Holy Fire,] which had been nestled within the Heavenly Demonic Cult in the murim of the 10th Floor.
And now in Britain on the 25th Floor.
The vestiges of the Outer Gods were rooted in more places than he initially thought.
‘The problem is what form it’s in and where…’
[?’s Egg cries out.]
[?’s Egg wriggles.]
[?’s Egg is…]
The messages were blaring.
YuWon furrowed his brows as he felt the Egg’s wriggling movement from inside his inventory.
‘I got it, I got it.’
[?’s Egg is urging you to hurry.]
Did this mean its incubation was nearly completed? Its head seemed to have gotten bigger as it sent quite a bunch of different messages.
Well, since it hadn’t eaten for a while, it must have been quite hungry. YuWon had told it he would soon let it eat an Outer God, but a lot of time had already passed since then.
‘Since my Heaven-Slaying Star is complete, it really is just this guy left.’
This nameless Egg was a reward he had gotten after finishing the Tutorial. Although he hadn’t expected anything grand, he ended up getting an egg that he didn’t even know what was inside it. Whether it had a chunk of gold or a bomb that would explode, that was something no one knew.
But YuWon had decided he would definitely hatch this guy. He had made this decision after it greedily ate the corpse of 《Yamata no Orochi.》
‘This might grow to become the natural enemy…’ YuWon’s eyes sparkled as he looked inside his inventory, ‘Of the Outer Gods.’
* * *
Percival guided YuWon into the castle.
“His Majesty wishes to see you.”
By ‘His Majesty,’ he meant the one currently being treated as Britain’s king, Lancelot.
As one of the High-Rankers of The Round Table with Merlin, Lancelot was the second person to receive the title of “King of Knights,” after King Arthur.
“Although it’ll be difficult for him to see you today, could you give us some time?”
“Seems like His Majesty is swamped with his duties.”
“He is quite busy due to matters of the nation.”
There was no reason for YuWon to decline.
“Sure.”
The castle was large with many empty rooms. YuWon was assigned one of them.
He had separated from Mamos beforehand. Although Percival thought he was YuWon’s companion and wanted Mamos to go to the castle as well, the reply that he got in return was cold.
“How dare a disgusting demon like him try to enter?”
It was a reply that had no room for negotiation, and so YuWon was the only one who entered the castle in the end.
“Why are you so quiet?” YuWon asked Arthur after getting into his room.
Although he must have been filled with emotions, Arthur hadn’t talked a single time after entering Britain.
“—This place hasn’t changed at all.”
“Are you talking about the castle?”
“—Yes.”
“It looks to be an old building.”
“—It is old. It’s at least older than me.”
He seemed to be deep in reminiscing. After existing as an Undead for over a thousand years, he had finally smelled the scent of his home.
“—Although it looks like all the other places have changed.”
“Are you talking about outside the castle?”
“—Back when I was here, it felt more like a countryside town.”
A countryside town? It wasn’t something YuWon could imagine properly. The Camelot of the present was one of the top five biggest cities in the Tower.
“—But why did you come here? I definitely remember Olympus warning you.”
“Didn’t you say you had someone you needed to meet?”
“—You mean Merlin?”
“Yes.”
“—You came all the way here just to meet that one friend?”
“Didn’t you request it of me? That you must meet him again.”
Even though YuWon hadn’t said anything wrong, Arthur still felt something was off.
“—Although that’s true… I didn’t expect you to be so stubborn. I thought you were more the calculative type.”
Although he hadn’t been with YuWon for a long time, Arthur had a decent eye for people.
“Did I look like that?”
“—That’s right. Exceedingly so. All your actions had a goal, a reason, a plan, and had certainty. You had the skill to back it up as well.”
Shwooo—
Arthur’s soul left 「Kyneē」 and circled around YuWon. He stopped in front of him and asked YuWon a question.
“—Were you a bit more emotionally driven this time? Why? Because of me?”
“Although that had something to do with it…”
——————
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“—Then?”
“You saw me wrong from the start.”
Even at the sharp cut off answer, Arthur just reacted as nonchalantly.
“—Well, even if you have the talent, since you don’t have the experience, it’s understandable that you are driven more by emotion.”
Arthur’s mood became brighter as he continued to talk.
“—But if you want to be a Ranker, you can’t fight with your emotions. You need to maintain your heart like a calm pond without ripples…”
“That isn’t it.” It looked as if he would continue to talk for a long time, so YuWon cut him off. “I’m saying I didn’t come here without any thought.”
“—What?”
“Watch me closely…” YuWon observed the Britain that could be seen far below outside the window. “As I flip Britain upside down.”
* * *
Translator – Jreaming
Proofreader – BringTheRayn
* * *
The Round Table had a total of 150 knights. They were all Rankers, and the closer they were to the 1st seat, the higher their rank was.
The 149th knight of the Round Table, Pendrac. He was the knight that was most recently chosen to be in The Round Table.
‘I’ve finally made it here.’
It was a seat that was given to him not long after he became a Ranker. It was thanks to the effort he put in by making his name known in the lower floors and entering into The Round Table early on before he became a Ranker. Although it was the lowest position, he had put his name in with The Round Table. Just that was enough to set his life on the royal road.
“Hmm~ hahh.”
Pendrac walked around the castle garden and smelled the flowers. It was sweet and refreshing. It felt like this flowerbed and the beautiful garden were all his.
It was then…
Rustle—
Thwip, drop, drop—
A branch fell on his head, and then the leaves, and then the dust and sand that were mixed in with them.
Shooo—
The good feeling he had disappeared, and a chill filled the air.
Pendrac lifted his head.
He could see a ladder and a young maid on it. She was probably tending to the garden.
“I-I-I-I… I’m sorry!”
Was she just about 20 years old?
The maid with freckles on her face hurriedly climbed down the ladder while repeatedly apologizing as she descended. She ended up falling off it.
Tumble—
“Ack! Ughhh…”
Thankfully, she fell on her backside and didn’t get injured much.
Pendrac quickly got up from his spot and approached the maid.
“You’re sorry?” he said with a chilling voice. “About what?”
The maid hurriedly stood up.
Although it was the first time she was seeing him, he had the insignia of a sword on his chest, which symbolized being a Knight of the Round Table.
“I-I dropped a branch… on sir knight’s head…”
“You know well,” Pendrac nodded with a satisfied expression.
Seeing his kind expression, the maid’s expression also started to get brighter.
All the knights of Britain learn chivalry. That meant protecting the poor and facing the strong in battle.
She might be forgiven.
But that hope quickly faded.
“If you did something wrong…”
Shwing—
“You must be punished.”
The sword was slowly pulled out from the scabbard.
The maid’s face went pale.
Seeing the maid slowly step back, Pendrac wore a sickening smile.
“Don’t worry too much. I won’t cut off your head for something like this. Yeah, let’s see…” Pendrac’s gaze swept past the maid’s arms and legs. “Where should I…”
Thwip, drop, drop—
A pile of leaves and branches fell on top of Pendrac’s head, even more than the previous amount. There were so many that it looked like they made up Pendrac’s hair.
“My goodness, what a blunder.”
Pendrac craned his neck. He saw pale white hair, a face full of wrinkles, and clothes made of ragged cloth.
The one who dared to mess up his hair was the old gardener who managed the garden.
“I apologize. Mistakes happen more now that I’m old.”
“Apologize…?”
Pendrac’s eyes flashed with anger.
A young maid and an old gardener. Even if he cut them down, it wouldn’t be hard to manage the consequences since he was one of the Knights of the Round Table.
“Well, it’s good that you know your wrongdoings.” Pendrac moved his sword. “Especially for you, I’ll only take two of your legs.”
Shwing—
The sword slashed, aiming for his legs. It was going to cut them clean off.
The maid who was startled couldn’t move but to scream, and the old man didn’t react and just stood there.
However, what occurred next was unbelievable.
Clang—!
It sounded as if the sword had hit a sturdy steel block.
The old man’s legs didn’t get cut. Rather, a small crack appeared on Pendrac’s sword.
“So the cost for the sin of dirtying your hair is two legs?” The old man narrowed his eyes. “Then, let’s see what your sins weigh.”
Only then did Pendrac sense something was off.
He had thought the old man to be just an ordinary gardener. However, there was no way an ordinary gardener could have blocked his sword like it was nothing.
At that moment, Pendrac’s eyes went wide.
“You… Are you…”
There was only one person in Britain who was a Ranker and also looked that old.
The one who created Britain and The Round Table with the “King of Knights” Arthur. Titled the “Great Magician,” the Ranker who had been guarding Britain for the longest time.
“Merlin?”
“So you at least know my name.”
Pendrac’s face froze.
Merlin was someone that not even Lancelot, the current king of Britain, could mess with. As a High-Ranker with a decently high ranking, some even joked that he was half of Britain’s military might.
But he had just tried to slash that Merlin.
“I-I-I… I apolo—”
“Looks like you know you should be sorry.” Merlin smiled and nodded with a pleased expression.
Seeing his kind face, Pendrac thought for an instant that this could end peacefully, since Merlin wasn’t injured at all either.
However, that expectation disappeared in an instant.
“If you did something wrong…”
Pendrac felt as if he had heard this before.
“You need to be punished, right?”
It was the same thing Pendrac had said to the maid just then.
* * *
“Tsk, tsk.” Merlin clicked his tongue as he walked through the garden. He muttered the phrase he had been repeating a lot recently, “It’s the end times, the end times.”
He also muttered something along the lines of “Kids these days” and then said the same things he had heard from his own elders when he was growing up.
“Is that right?”
“It is true.”
A reply came from the empty garden.
Merlin stopped walking and turned his body. In that place stood a young man.
“Do you have business with me?”
“I do.”
“This is my first time seeing you.”
YuWon didn’t drag it out and directly introduced himself, “I am Kim YuWon.”
Merlin mumbled YuWon’s name multiple times before asking, “Are you perhaps the new player who just came up?”
“Yes.”
“I feel like I’ve heard your name before. Lancelot, did that guy invite you?”
Merlin talked about Lancelot, the current king of Britain and the guildmaster of The Round Table, as if he was talking about a young child.
In truth, since he talked like this even when Arthur was king, no one criticized him for it.
“Sure. Why were you looking for me? It looks like you searched for me on purpose, so it doesn’t seem that you only wanted to see my face.”
“It’s about King Arthur.”
Merlin’s expression froze.
Arthur.
As a long time had passed, that name had become Merlin’s weak spot.
“If you want to ask me about that friend, then go back. I don’t want to remember someone who I was purposely forget—”
Shwing—
As YuWon had pulled out half the sword, Merlin’s gaze wavered.
“That sword. Where did you get it?”
