Chapter 29
"Sir Karl, has the legend come true? Are you… truly the chosen one in our prophecy?"
Philip swallowed hard. Years ago, Duke—then the village's strongest swordsman—had entered the cave in search of the sacred sword. He had failed.
What about Karl?
Each person who challenged the cave's trial faced a different test. So unless the challenger spoke about it, no one could know what they had seen.
"No. I'm not the legendary knight you people are looking for."
“…!? Then what exactly did you do in that cave for over a month?”
Duke scanned Karl with a look full of doubt.
"A month? Has it been that long?"
"The treasure of our ancestor who fought the evil dragon to save the world! Did you see Nigelling!?"
An elder who had just shouted at Philip now raised his voice at Karl. They said even Duke hadn’t been able to lay eyes on the sword. Maybe Karl had.
The crowd grew agitated, shouting.
"Yes. I saw it. And I refused it."
"What…? You're asking us to believe that you turned down the chance to become the legendary knight?"
Karl simply smiled.
"Believe it or not, that's your choice. But I am not the master of Nigelling."
There was not a trace of falsehood in Karl’s firm gaze.
After all, his last memory from the cave was of rejecting both the forced fate and the sword Nigelling.
“…You speak lies so easily. What about the secret techniques of our ancestors? You may fool the others, but not me. If you hand over what you found in the cave now, I’ll let this go without incident."
While everyone else stayed silent, a man named Muller stepped forward, face flushed with rage. Karl only stared at him indifferently.
"Ridiculous."
That short remark scratched at Muller's pride.
"Ridiculous?"
"Weren't you the one who couldn’t even enter the cave due to lack of qualifications in the first place?"
"I was about to go in! You just slithered in like a rat while I was finishing my preparations!"
"Oh?"
Karl looked genuinely intrigued by the claim.
"We've protected the treasure inside that cave for generations! It’s our ancestors’ legacy!"
"And that gives you the right to claim it?"
"Yes! We are the rightful heirs! You don’t know what kind of sacrifices we’ve made to protect it!"
Muller, now yelling in desperation, seemed almost possessed—his eyes gazed into the past.
"You're right. I don't know."
Karl’s response was curt. Muller’s expression twisted further.
"To you, an outsider, everything must have been easy. But we’re desperate. So tell me—where is everything you got from inside the cave?"
"There was only one sword. And I refused even that. That’s all."
"So you choose punishment. If words won’t work, I’ll beat the truth out of you."
"Muller! What are you doing!? The legend doesn’t belong to us! And Sir Karl really didn’t come out with anything!"
"Brother, what do you know about him? So now outsiders are more important than your own people?"
"I'm not defending Karl! I'm saying we are the keepers of the legend, not thieves out to steal it!"
"Two hundred and fifty years! Our ancestors, we—I—spent that long guarding this cave in this tiny village. And you want me to just walk away empty-handed? I can't accept that!"
Muller drew the sword at his hip.
"Last chance. Hand it over. Then I’ll let you leave this village unharmed."
Karl, still standing calmly, looked at him coolly.
"I already told you. I have nothing."
That was the spark.
Muller, having lost all reason, snapped. The twenty men surrounding Karl immediately drew their swords.
“Don’t kill him! We need to know where he hid the treasure!”
With that, the first attacker lunged forward. Each of them was skilled enough to join a decent mercenary band.
Karl sidestepped the first swing and kicked the wrist of the second attacker, then retreated swiftly.
…My body feels light.
The last thing Karl remembered before passing out was the message:
[Fate: Free Knight has been granted.]
As he adapted to the lightness in battle, the villagers quickly regrouped and surrounded him again, each swinging their weapon.
Karl broke through diagonally to the right, swept a man’s ankle, and twisted his wrist in the opposite direction.
Crunch!
A terrible cracking sound echoed as the man collapsed, screaming. With far less effort than before, Karl was producing far greater results.
“Haig!”
The name of the fallen echoed. Without missing a beat, Karl elbowed another in the jaw and shattered the knee of a third.
In a mere instant, four villagers were rolling on the ground, incapacitated.
“Why haven’t you left the village?”
During the brief standoff, Karl asked a question.
"Because it's our fate."
"Who decided that fate?"
"Well, our ancestors, of course…"
"So you're saying your ancestors shackled their descendants?"
"It’s not a shackle…"
The man answering Karl’s question visibly lost confidence. And Karl started to understand—just barely—why they lived like this.
"The noble intent of your ancestors has faded. All that remains is greed."
“…!”
Muller's face twisted.
"Don’t speak of things you know nothing about!"
At that moment, Muller and the others moved. Karl evaded the attacks with ease, incapacitating them one by one.
Impossible… This can’t be real. How can anyone wield a sword like that? He must be the chosen one of the legends.
Muller’s thoughts spun in rage.
"I’ve been wronged! I’ve been cheated! IT’S NOT FAIR!!"
That was when it began.
Muller’s eyes turned blood-red.
His heart pounded violently, like an animal's. His vision blurred—as if poisoned.
Growl…
Muller turned toward one of the nearby villagers.
“M-Muller, sir…!?”
Hearing the strange noise, the man turned—locking eyes with Muller.
"GRRAAAAAHHH!!"
In a flash, Muller's mouth stretched into a beastly muzzle—and he bit down on the man’s neck.
“AAAAAGHH!!”
A chunk of flesh was ripped away in a split second. Everyone turned their eyes toward Muller in horror.
Now fully transformed into a beast, he leapt toward his next target.
"Brother!? Please, get a hold of yourself!"
BOOM!
"Does that still look like your brother?"
Blocking Muller’s charge was Karl, who muttered quietly.
"A beastification, huh…"
It was similar to the beastmen he had seen before. And whoever had created those monsters… was clearly interested in this place.
"No centuries-old secret stays hidden forever, I suppose."
“GRRRRRRRR!!”
Muller, now fully feral, charged. Drool dripped from his jaws as he bared his fangs.
Karl swung his sword at Muller’s claws.
CLANG!
"Hm…?"
The familiar iron sword, which had been with him since the East Continent, screamed with strain.
CLANG! CLANG!
Despite having lost his mind, Muller moved even faster than the Dalton monster Karl had once faced. Forced to clash again, Karl met an unavoidable claw with his blade.
KAAAANG!
“…Guess there’s no choice.”
Karl’s sword finally snapped in two. He frowned and widened the distance.
Muller, sensing the momentum shift, lunged faster.
“Hmph!”
Karl blocked with what remained of the broken sword, but it was difficult to defend with something so short. Muller’s attacks only grew more intense.
Eventually, the rest of the sword shattered.
At that exact moment, the beast flew toward Karl, aiming for his throat.
Do I sacrifice an arm?
Just as that thought crossed his mind— A sword he had never seen before appeared in his hand.
Without thinking, Karl raised it and blocked Muller’s claws.
BOOOOM!
The shockwave was enormous—hard to believe it came from a mere sword clash.
It’s… strangely light.
Despite its light feel, Muller had been sent flying. It was as if Karl had struck him with a massive, heavy object.
Swish.
Karl gently swung the sword at the ground. The earth split open, soil spraying upward.
It was light to the user—but in reality, it was a massive greatsword.
[Léctĭo: A transformed version of Nigelling, the legendary sword once wielded by Pagurd, the hero who slew the evil dragon Sephni. Current weapon details unavailable.]
A first. A weapon whose details the system couldn’t even reveal.
So… I own the sword now after all.
Karl had assumed he’d forfeited the sword along with the fate of Legendary Knight, but it seemed the sword had chosen him while he was unconscious.
He wasn’t complaining.
“GRRRRRR!!”
Muller, who had been thrown back by the clash, now charged again at full speed.
Karl gripped the mighty sword firmly.
A tough opponent. A sword that wouldn’t break.
Good.
As Muller came charging, Karl hurled himself forward to meet the beast head-on.