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.
âSo itâs here too.â
The head of ăYamata no Orochi,ă 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.
âThe problem is what form itâs in and whereâŠâ
[?âs Egg cries out.]
[?âs Egg wriggles.]
[?âs Egg isâŠ]
The messages were blaring.
YuWon furrowed his brows as he felt the Eggâs wriggling movement from inside his inventory.
âI got it, I got it.â
[?âs 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 hadnât 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.
âSince my Heaven-Slaying Star is complete, it really is just this guy left.â
This nameless Egg was a reward he had gotten after finishing the Tutorial. Although he hadnât expected anything grand, he ended up getting an egg that he didnât 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 ăYamata no Orochi.ă
âThis might grow to become the natural enemyâŠâ YuWonâs eyes sparkled as he looked inside his inventory, âOf the Outer Gods.â
* * *
Percival guided YuWon into the castle.
âHis Majesty wishes to see you.â
By âHis Majesty,â he meant the one currently being treated as Britainâs king, Lancelot.
As one of the High-Rankers of The Round Table with Merlin, Lancelot was the second person to receive the title of âKing of Knights,â after King Arthur.
âAlthough itâll be difficult for him to see you today, could you give us some time?â
âSeems like His Majesty is swamped with his duties.â
âHe is quite busy due to matters of the nation.â
There was no reason for YuWon to decline.
âSure.â
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 YuWonâs companion and wanted Mamos to go to the castle as well, the reply that he got in return was cold.
âHow dare a disgusting demon like him try to enter?â
It was a reply that had no room for negotiation, and so YuWon was the only one who entered the castle in the end.
âWhy are you so quiet?â YuWon asked Arthur after getting into his room.
Although he must have been filled with emotions, Arthur hadnât talked a single time after entering Britain.
ââThis place hasnât changed at all.â
âAre you talking about the castle?â
ââYes.â
âIt looks to be an old building.â
ââIt is old. Itâs at least older than me.â
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.
ââAlthough it looks like all the other places have changed.â
âAre you talking about outside the castle?â
ââBack when I was here, it felt more like a countryside town.â
A countryside town? It wasnât something YuWon could imagine properly. The Camelot of the present was one of the top five biggest cities in the Tower.
ââBut why did you come here? I definitely remember Olympus warning you.â
âDidnât you say you had someone you needed to meet?â
ââYou mean Merlin?â
âYes.â
ââYou came all the way here just to meet that one friend?â
âDidnât you request it of me? That you must meet him again.â
Even though YuWon hadnât said anything wrong, Arthur still felt something was off.
ââAlthough thatâs true⊠I didnât expect you to be so stubborn. I thought you were more the calculative type.â
Although he hadnât been with YuWon for a long time, Arthur had a decent eye for people.
âDid I look like that?â
ââThatâs 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.â
Shwoooâ
Arthurâs soul left ăKyneÄă and circled around YuWon. He stopped in front of him and asked YuWon a question.
ââWere you a bit more emotionally driven this time? Why? Because of me?â
âAlthough that had something to do with itâŠâ
ââThen?â
âYou saw me wrong from the start.â
Even at the sharp cut off answer, Arthur just reacted as nonchalantly.
ââWell, even if you have the talent, since you donât have the experience, itâs understandable that you are driven more by emotion.â
Arthurâs mood became brighter as he continued to talk.
ââBut if you want to be a Ranker, you canât fight with your emotions. You need to maintain your heart like a calm pond without ripplesâŠâ
âThat isnât it.â It looked as if he would continue to talk for a long time, so YuWon cut him off. âIâm saying I didnât come here without any thought.â
ââWhat?â
âWatch me closelyâŠâ YuWon observed the Britain that could be seen far below outside the window. âAs I flip Britain upside down.â
* * *
Reaper Scans
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.
âIâve finally made it here.â
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.
âHmm~ hahh.â
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 thenâŠ
Rustleâ
Thwip, drop, dropâ
A branch fell on his head, and then the leaves, and then the dust and sand that were mixed in with them.
Shoooâ
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.
âI-I-I-I⊠Iâm sorry!â
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.
Tumbleâ
âAck! UghhhâŠâ
Thankfully, she fell on her backside and didnât get injured much.
Pendrac quickly got up from his spot and approached the maid.
âYouâre sorry?â he said with a chilling voice. âAbout what?â
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.
âI-I dropped a branch⊠on sir knightâs headâŠâ
âYou know well,â Pendrac nodded with a satisfied expression.
Seeing his kind expression, the maidâs 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.
âIf you did something wrongâŠâ
Shwingâ
âYou must be punished.â
The sword was slowly pulled out from the scabbard.
The maidâs face went pale.
Seeing the maid slowly step back, Pendrac wore a sickening smile.
âDonât worry too much. I wonât cut off your head for something like this. Yeah, letâs seeâŠâ Pendracâs gaze swept past the maidâs arms and legs. âWhere should IâŠâ
Thwip, drop, dropâ
A pile of leaves and branches fell on top of Pendracâs head, even more than the previous amount. There were so many that it looked like they made up Pendracâs hair.
âMy goodness, what a blunder.â
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.
âI apologize. Mistakes happen more now that Iâm old.â
âApologizeâŠ?â
Pendracâs eyes flashed with anger.
A young maid and an old gardener. Even if he cut them down, it wouldnât be hard to manage the consequences since he was one of the Knights of the Round Table.
âWell, itâs good that you know your wrongdoings.â Pendrac moved his sword. âEspecially for you, Iâll only take two of your legs.â
Shwingâ
The sword slashed, aiming for his legs. It was going to cut them clean off.
The maid who was startled couldnât move but to scream, and the old man didnât react and just stood there.
However, what occurred next was unbelievable.
Clangâ!
It sounded as if the sword had hit a sturdy steel block.
The old manâs legs didnât get cut. Rather, a small crack appeared on Pendracâs sword.
âSo the cost for the sin of dirtying your hair is two legs?â The old man narrowed his eyes. âThen, letâs see what your sins weigh.â
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, Pendracâs eyes went wide.
âYou⊠Are youâŠâ
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 âKing of Knightsâ Arthur. Titled the âGreat Magician,â the Ranker who had been guarding Britain for the longest time.
âMerlin?â
âSo you at least know my name.â
Pendracâs 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 Britainâs military might.
But he had just tried to slash that Merlin.
âI-I-I⊠I apoloââ
âLooks like you know you should be sorry.â Merlin smiled and nodded with a pleased expression.
Seeing his kind face, Pendrac thought for an instant that this could end peacefully, since Merlin wasnât injured at all either.
However, that expectation disappeared in an instant.
âIf you did something wrongâŠâ
Pendrac felt as if he had heard this before.
âYou need to be punished, right?â
It was the same thing Pendrac had said to the maid just then.
* * *
âTsk, tsk.â Merlin clicked his tongue as he walked through the garden. He muttered the phrase he had been repeating a lot recently, âItâs the end times, the end times.â
He also muttered something along the lines of âKids these daysâ and then said the same things he had heard from his own elders when he was growing up.
âIs that right?â
âIt is true.â
A reply came from the empty garden.
Merlin stopped walking and turned his body. In that place stood a young man.
âDo you have business with me?â
âI do.â
âThis is my first time seeing you.â
YuWon didnât drag it out and directly introduced himself, âI am Kim YuWon.â
Merlin mumbled YuWonâs name multiple times before asking, âAre you perhaps the new player who just came up?â
âYes.â
âI feel like Iâve heard your name before. Lancelot, did that guy invite you?â
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.
âSure. Why were you looking for me? It looks like you searched for me on purpose, so it doesnât seem that you only wanted to see my face.â
âItâs about King Arthur.â
Merlinâs expression froze.
Arthur.
As a long time had passed, that name had become Merlinâs weak spot.
âIf you want to ask me about that friend, then go back. I donât want to remember someone who I was purposely forgetââ
Shwingâ
As YuWon had pulled out half the sword, Merlinâs gaze wavered.