I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 72: Storyteller’s Night (2)

The Knights of the Round Table were the greatest knights of humanity who ushered in the age of mankind alongside King Arthur.

The man was claiming to be one of them.

‘Kay Iberius.’

While the surname Iberius was unfamiliar, the name itself was one even Yoo Seong knew.

One of the thirteen Knights of the Round Table.

King Arthur’s foster brother.

One of the founding members of the Round Table, who served Arthur the longest alongside Bedivere.

Normally, Yoo Seong’s knowledge would have ended there.

This was because Fantasy Monarch offered little information about the Knights of the Round Table.

However, since waking up in this world, Yoo Seong had made it a point to gather and read as much as possible about King Arthur and his knights.

As a result, he now knew a great deal more about them.

The Tall Knight.

A clever and eloquent storyteller of Camelot.

A handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes.

The weakest among the Knights of the Round Table.

But also a brave knight who defeated the mighty beast Cath Palug.

So beloved by all that even Robin, who admired Arthur and Gawain, would still say his favorite was Sir Kay.

“To the glory of Camelot.”

When Yoo Seong naturally paid his respects to Camelot, Kay smiled and mirrored the gesture.

“To the glory of Camelot.”

“I am Cheon Yoo Seong.”

“Yoo Seong. A name meaning ‘star,’ isn’t it? A fine name.”

Kay’s smiling face was so charming it seemed even a man could be captivated by it.

It felt refreshing.

Perhaps that was why, even though his words seemed casual, they carried a certain weight.

Sir Kay, the Knight of the Round Table.

With renewed composure, Yoo Seong asked him, “What is going on?”

“Hm?”

Kay reflexively repeated the question, then gave an awkward smile and waved his hand dismissively.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just… an unexpected question. Usually, people go, ‘Wowww!’ and collapse from excitement. I mean, I’m a Knight of the Round Table.”

“Oh… I see.”

Considering the stature of the Knights of the Round Table, it wasn’t hard to believe. But Yoo Seong couldn’t shake an odd feeling.

Kay seemed to grow awkward as well, scratching the back of his head.

“Well, I suppose a lot of time has passed. Speaking of which, how long has it been?”

“About 500 years.”

It had been approximately 500 years since King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table vanished during their expedition.

Hearing this, Kay gave a bitter laugh and muttered quietly, “So, it lasted a little longer than Merlin predicted…”

Five hundred years.

A time worthy of their sacrifice.

Even if it had been extended by just fifty years—or even five—the knights and Arthur would have risked their lives for it.

Kay took a deep breath, then brightened his expression once more and looked at Yoo Seong.

“So, you’re the inheritor of this era’s light. A new candidate for the Sacred King.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“You’re so formal. Relax a bit. Come closer. I’ll answer your questions.”

With a beckoning gesture, Kay invited Yoo Seong to sit beside him. After a brief hesitation, Yoo Seong stepped closer, and Kay put an arm around his shoulder as they sat on a nearby rock.

Pointing to himself, Kay said, “I am the Kay of the past. Whether or not the Kay of this era exists, I’m a past version of him. Fixed in this land by Morgana’s magic. In simpler terms, a projection. Something like that.”

It seemed Kay himself hadn’t traveled through time.

“So, there’s much I can’t tell you. There are restrictions I had to accept to make this meeting possible. I can’t reveal where we are, what happened to Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, or much else.”

“I understand. Then, what can you tell me?”

Yoo Seong’s calm question prompted another bitter smile from Kay.

“For example, about the ‘Frontier.’”

The task Yoo Seong was currently undertaking.

“With each Frontier expedition, the castle expands, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Every expedition is a test. Passing the test is the price. Paying the price breaks one of the castle’s seals, expanding its domain and restoring some of its functions.”

Kay’s explanation clarified why the spiders that had fled during the first Frontier were no longer present.

“Then the monsters in the Frontier—are they real?”

“They’re real and not real. They disappear after the test ends, but during the test, they can absolutely kill you and your knights.”

It was a test, but also a deadly reality.

Injuries were real, and death was a genuine risk during the Frontier.

“Who created this seal?”

The violet barrier encasing the castle.

Kay shrugged as if the answer was obvious.

“Merlin. And Morgana.”

The king’s wizard and the witch of chaos.

Like the Knights of the Round Table, they were monstrous figures among humanity.

“Was it necessary?”

“Most likely. As a mere swordsman, I don’t fully grasp the magic of those two, but without the seal, the castle couldn’t have been preserved.”

Kay’s answer didn’t clarify the mechanics or purpose of the seal.

Realizing he wouldn’t get more on that topic, Yoo Seong shifted gears.

“I have knights of Camelot by my side. Their memories are sealed as well.”

“That makes sense. I don’t know exactly who they are, but their souls probably owe their existence to this castle. As the castle’s seals are broken, their seals will likely break too.”

Kay’s words implied the seals were meant to preserve both the castle and the spirits of the Army of Light.

“How many stages are there to the Frontier?”

“I don’t know. I’m not the one who created the seals—Merlin and Morgana did.”

“Monsters are invading from beyond the uncharted lands. How many monsters are beyond them? And why are they attacking?”

Kay furrowed his brow at Yoo Seong’s question, then let out a bitter laugh.

“So, you didn’t even know about the Wall.”

“The Wall?”

From the context, it didn’t seem to refer to the violet barrier surrounding Yoo Seong’s castle.

When Yoo Seong tilted his head in confusion, Kay let out a long sigh and explained.

“There is a massive Wall surrounding the human world. The monsters come from beyond that Wall.”

Yoo Seong couldn’t immediately comprehend Kay’s words.

This world consisted of five kingdoms and one empire, their combined territories forming a vast continent.

And now, there was supposedly a gigantic Wall encompassing the entire human realm?

“It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. The advent of the Ominous Stars era likely means that cracks have begun to appear in the Wall.”

The monsters weren’t merely crossing the Wall.

They were entering through cracks in it.

Yoo Seong was shaken.

According to this explanation, the Wall wasn’t just a metaphor but a literal, colossal barrier.

“How could such a Wall exist? No, why was such a Wall necessary in the first place?”

Had it been built to repel monsters, like Qin Shi Huang’s Great Wall?

At Yoo Seong’s question, Kay wore a wistful smile and said,

“The Wall… it was necessary to usher in the age of humanity. A temporary measure to conceal the light. As for why the monsters are invading—well, it’s the same as always. They seek the light.”

The light.

Yoo Seong suddenly recalled fighting kobolds near Lotho Forest.

Among the nonsense they shouted were mentions of light and fire.

“The light, you mean?”

“The light of humanity. The fire of civilization.”

What the world beyond the Wall had lost.

What Arthur had sought to hide—or rather, protect—by constructing the Wall.

“That’s as much as I can tell you. Time’s up.”

Kay glanced up at the sky as dawn broke, then turned back to Yoo Seong.

“I mentioned earlier that the Frontier is a test, right? So why do you think I’m here?”

Kay’s mischievous grin made Yoo Seong furrow his brow.

“Are you the test?”

“Correct.”

“…So, I have to defeat you, Sir Kay?”

A Knight of the Round Table?

When Yoo Seong asked, Kay’s grin widened mischievously as he nodded.

“Well, something like that—”

Swish!

In an instant, Yoo Seong lunged with a dagger.

Kay narrowly dodged the strike, his figure shifting sharply to the side.

It was a hair’s breadth escape.

Looking at Yoo Seong in shock, Kay hugged his arms as if to comfort himself and said,

“Did you seriously just stab at me so naturally? I got goosebumps.”

“Pity. I was hoping it’d be easy.”

Yoo Seong meant it.

Facing a Knight of the Round Table wasn’t going to be simple, no matter the circumstances.

Hearing this, Kay chuckled wryly and adjusted his stance.

“You’re more to my liking than Arthur was. You’re closer to Lancelot than Gawain. Anyway, like I said, this is a test. While you could die for real during it, the tasks I offer are never outright impossible. At least, not from me.”

Yoo Seong also rose, straightening his posture.

Kay observed him and continued speaking.

“Yoo Seong, the successor of Arthur. Do you know about the stages of Chivalry?”

“Yes, I do.”

Chivalry is divided into three stages.

The first stage is the manifestation of chivalry: realizing what chivalry truly means.

The second stage is the development of chivalry: chivalry being the essence of a knight’s soul, this stage involves fully understanding and advancing one’s own chivalry.

The third stage is the realization of chivalry: implementing the inner world—a microcosm—built through the earlier stages into reality.
It involves creating a temporary transformation of the world with one’s mental imagery.

Many knights reach the first stage.
This was considered the minimum qualification to be a knight.
But the second stage was rare.
Knights who reached this level were deserving of respect just for that alone.

As for the third stage, knights who achieved it made history.
In the current world, there were only ten knights known to have reached the third stage of chivalry.
Such was the rarity of the third-stage chivalry.

Yoo Seong’s own chivalry was currently at the first stage.
What he had experienced in Fantasy Monarch was the pinnacle of the second stage.
The third stage? Yoo Seong had yet to even witness it.

But it was different for the Knights of the Round Table.
They were the ones who had reached the pinnacle of chivalry.

“So, successor of the light. You’re aware that all of us Knights of the Round Table have reached the third stage of chivalry?”

“Yes.”

“From now on, I will demonstrate the third stage of chivalry.”

The third stage of chivalry transforms the world.
Like a magician’s domain, it colors a part of reality with the knight’s essence.

“My chivalry is The Storyteller’s Night. Using the belief of people as its material, it transforms fantasy and fiction into reality. That is my soul, my microcosm.”

The transformation had already begun.
No grand declarations or incantations were necessary.

The dawn sky darkened to black.
Beneath a cascade of stars, a cold breeze swept away the mists.
What remained was a meadow bathed in brilliant moonlight, accompanied by the distant sounds of insects.

Kay naturally drew his sword, pointed it at Yoo Seong from a distance and declared:

“I have granted you a portion of my power. Now, imagine it. Envision your future self, strong enough to defeat me, a Knight of the Round Table.”

This was the trial prepared by Kay of the Round Table.

Imagine it.
Your future self.
Experience the strength you will one day achieve.

If Merlin had seen it, he would have remarked that it was an overly gentle trial.
Kay’s test was meant to illuminate the path forward.

But it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
To imagine one’s future self, stronger than they were now and to form that into a complete image—this was no simple task, especially when the opponent was a Knight of the Round Table.
A vague image of future strength would never suffice against such a foe.

Yet, as Kay explained, Yoo Seong unintentionally smiled.
For Yoo Seong, imagining himself stronger than he was now was incredibly simple.

The reason was straightforward.
He already knew.
He had already experienced it.

Yoo Seong did not imagine his future self.
He recalled his past self.

The Black Knight 09.
The Lord of the Black Wolves.
The strongest knight in the history of Fantasy Monarch.

The world transformed—no, it quaked.

Yoo Seong’s hair grew longer.
A pitch-black suit of armor appeared, and over it, a cloak fashioned from the pelt of a black wolf draped across his shoulders.

In his hand was not a blade of silver, but a cursed sword forged from the fang of a dragon.
On his left arm, not Gareth’s shield, but the Fairy King’s shield gleamed.

“Uh, excuse me?”

Sweat formed on Kay’s brow.
He swallowed dryly as he gazed at the pitch-black aura around Yoo Seong, flickering like dark flames over his entire body.

What the hell?
What is with this guy?
Wasn’t he supposed to be the Holy King? Is he a Demon King instead?
What in the world is that?

Yoo Seong inhaled deeply.
He looked at Kay and propelled himself forward, his foot slamming into the ground.

“One step.”

The cursed sword cleaved through space.