Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 135

On the day Karl saw the letter sent from the vassal family, he had requested Anne to investigate the incident.

However, the only information she found was the location and topography of Mount Peto; there were no special details.

Dagadak, dagadak.

It wasn't something that would be resolved by going quickly anyway.

There was no need to hurry.

On top of the slowly moving Silver, Karl lay down with his clasped arms above his head, looking at the sky.

‘Come to think of it.’

He was 22 when he returned to the West Continent after all that commotion in the East Continent, so five years had passed in a flash.

In those five years, which were short if you considered them short and long if you considered them long, he had experienced countless things.

Karl, who had recently spent a hectic time in the domain, had put effort into creating a vast sphere of influence that organically connected Collo and Arthur Domain.

Along with that, he sifted through the knights who had flocked like clouds to newly establish the Knights Hospitaller.

The Knights Hospitaller were organized with many skilled knights to combine combat capabilities and, true to the knight order's name, were made to carry out relief activities by

including personnel capable of medical practice.

It consisted of 300 personnel, including 200 combat personnel and 100 non-combat personnel.

The selection for this Knights Hospitaller included Kirk and his comrades, who were former mercenaries and had experienced battle with Karl, as well as Duke and the villagers from Luton Town.

In addition to founding the new knight order, Karl also created Rangers by combining some Druids and special operations units active in the northern mountainous regions.

Along with the growth of its own armed forces, the Arthur and Collo Domains were currently bound in strong alliances with the nearby Holy Knights, Alcantara Knights, Mercenary Guild, and the Vatican's 3rd Holy Knight Order, growing to the point where they could be called an asymmetric power, at least in the north.

Ultimately, the reason Karl could leave the castle as if absconding in the night like this was

because he had completed this organization to some extent.

Even for him, who rarely thought things were difficult, the past year spent buried in documents and domain affairs had been by no means easy.

“It seems to be around here.”

Karl, who had been lost in various thoughts, sensed that he had arrived at the mountain indicated on the map.

“Do you feel anything?”

“Well, it still looks like an ordinary mountain so far.”

If a sage of Emilio’s caliber couldn’t feel it, it meant that what surrounded the mountain was not a magical device.

‘Since a quest has appeared, it means it’s something prepared by the system.’

Karl knew this mountain was special, but there was no way to explain it.

Even after the party arrived at the mountain and wandered around for almost half a day, he couldn’t find anything unusual about the mountain.

“Is this mountain really special? Others who came here said they fainted as if falling into a deep sleep or disappeared. But we’ve been here for half a day already and nothing’s wrong, right?”

Like Diogo’s grumbling words, according to the letter, everyone who visited this place had fainted as if overcome by sleep.

However, Karl and his party had not been affected at all even after half a day.

“By the way, what exactly is our lord looking for?”

While the knights were talking about various things, Karl’s mind was filled with thoughts about the mission’s content.

Find the Tomb of Peto.

Karl pondered the meaning of "tomb."

‘Mount Peto….’

Perhaps this entire mountain was a tomb.

“Search again from the beginning.”

“…We’ve scoured this not-so-large mountain for half a day as if looking for lice. What could possibly be found….”

“There is. Definitely.”

Thanks to Karl’s conviction, the members, despite their doubts, began to search the entire mountain as if looking for lice once again.

When they had meticulously examined every detail from the very top to the bottom, to the point where there was nowhere left to search, the sun was rising in the once dark sky.

Was the approach wrong?

No.

This mountain was definitely a tomb.

Karl, watching the slowly rising sun, plopped down in a clearing on the mountainside with his members.

It was the moment when the tired party was immersed in the warmth of the sunny spot.

“Good….”

Karl too, intoxicated by the comfort the sun provided, rested his arm and gazed at the sky for a moment.

Hmjit.

The moment his gaze was momentarily stolen by the clear sky and sun, the presence of the 30 comrades who had been with him just moments before vanished without a trace.

According to the lord who sent the letter, the disappeared comrades would awaken safely near the entrance of the mountain.

‘Figuring this place out first is the priority.’

The party members had disappeared, but Karl was still here.

It meant the system was allowing only Karl.

Karl, who slowly got up, scanned the sunny clearing where his comrades had disappeared.

He hadn’t noticed it before, but looking at it from a different perspective, there were no plants around.

Unlike other places, only this place felt uniquely managed.

Karl, having roughly made a judgment, took out a shovel that had been dormant in his subspace without any hesitation.

“Let’s see.”

The moment he powerfully struck the shovel, raised high in the sky, towards the ground.

Kaaang!

A clear metallic sound echoed through the mountain.

“Here it is.”

From then on, Karl began to clear away the dirt covering the metal.

At the speed of a Master-grade knight’s shoveling, the dirt floor of the clearing was cleared in an instant.

[The soul of a great knight slumbers here.]

The floor revealed after the dirt was cleared was a single, giant tombstone.

If the entire mountain was a tomb, this floor felt like an entrance honoring the master of that mountain.

Karl slowly stepped onto the tombstone and scanned the floor.

The mission was to ‘find,’ but surely the mission wouldn’t be resolved just by finding.

[The content of the ongoing mission will change.]

[Quest: Find the Legend of Peto.]

Karl ignored the changed system window and continued to scan the area around the tombstone.

“Is it here?”

[He who seeks to inherit the legend, break the wall and enter.]

Karl, who found a phrase that seemed to mean something, lifted Léctĭo and, gathering a full measure of golden aura, struck it down towards the stone monument.

Kwaaaang!

With an explosive sound as if the mountain would fly away, the stone monument, which seemed to be made of iron, burst apart, and stairs beyond it were revealed.

“Should I consider this something like a dungeon?”

It felt the same as when he had changed his class to Free Knight in Luton Town.

Karl, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances, descended the stairs slowly with his senses heightened to the extreme.

[Anomaly detected. Recognizing user.]

As Karl slowly descended the stairs, a system window flickering in red repeatedly appeared and disappeared before his eyes.

‘What’s the anomaly?’

[User does not meet the conditions. Initiating forced expulsion procedure.]

To summon him all the way here and now try to forcibly expel him because he didn’t meet the conditions, what kind of ridiculous situation was this.

He thought he had gotten somewhat used to it recently, but this trash game never allowed Karl an easy path.

Deolkeong, Deureureureuk.

A sound similar to machinery was heard from somewhere, and the stairs and walls began to adjust.

Karl felt that the stairs he had been descending had suddenly turned into flat ground.

Like a designer folding and unfolding space in a movie about entering a dream, the stairs Karl had been moving on had now become a flat floor.

“You’re trying all sorts of things.”

Karl let out a sneer with his characteristic expressionless face.

In the space that had now transformed into a wide clearing, five statues made of steel revealed themselves.

The statues, which moved smoothly as if they were human despite being made of steel, each exuded an extraordinary aura.

[Guardian system activated. Initiating target elimination.]

An ominous window popped up, and the bronze statues lunged at Karl.

Each entity was roughly a Superior-grade knight on the verge of becoming a Master.

“Just… this much?”

Karl had grown by enduring all sorts of trials after coming to this world.

It meant that five mere Superior-grade statues were no match for him.

Karl, watching the five entities flying towards him, cut down all five statues with a single light horizontal slash of his aura.

By now, Karl’s martial prowess had surpassed even that of ordinary Master-grade knights.

[User's martial prowess level is abnormal. Reorganizing system.]

What now?

Karl immediately lunged forward.

The plaza was blocked, and there seemed to be no more space to advance.

[Karl Meyer Style. 2nd Form. One Point]

His sword converged into one, executing an extremely fast thrust forward.

As Karl advanced towards a single point of light with his sword, aura swirled around him.

Kwaaaang!

Upon colliding with the light, the outer wall blocking Karl’s path burst apart.

And beyond the shattered wall, a corridor was connected.

[Warning. Warning. Follow the legendary route. Abnormal movement path. Reckless conquest deviating from the movement path may be dangerous to the user.]

Karl laughed out loud, genuinely.

It was perhaps the loudest he had laughed since coming to this world.

Through various situations, Karl became convinced that the more he became an anomaly, the more troubled the system became.

Thus, Karl quickly passed through the corridor.

Fire flew in from somewhere, and spears of ice also flew in.

Arrows flew, and bronze statues launched attacks.

In some situations, there were moments when even Karl, a fully-fledged Master, felt his life was in danger.

Kooung.

Another bronze statue blocking the front of a giant stone gate collapsed.

And Karl arrived in front of the giant stone gate.

[The Legendary Knight slumbers here.]

Interpreting the phrase written on the giant stone gate through the game’s system, it seemed to be the path for the second class advancement of the Legendary Knight.

Presumably, someone who had undergone the first class advancement as a Legendary Knight should have come here, received recognition, and opened the stone gate.

However, Karl had already twisted the first class advancement course.

From the moment the mission first started, Karl’s very existence was a bug.

So the system must have hastily adjusted the difficulty.

In addition to that anomalous start, Karl had twisted the situation even at the point of class advancement.

And Karl faced another inflection point.

Hoo-eup.

Karl, who took a deep breath, unleashed a sword strike filled with pure aura towards the stone gate.

Kwaaang!

The moment the stone gate shattered from the powerful blow of aura.

[System adjustment completed.]

Karl, along with the system window that popped up, sank into darkness.

***

Karl, who had lost consciousness in a darkness like an abyss and then opened his eyes, shot up.

‘Where is…?’

It was a familiar space.

No, it would be more accurate to say it was an unforgettable space.

Because this was where he had first arrived in this world and opened his eyes.

Second round is possession, third round is reincarnation, something like that?

Karl thought that the darkness that had just befallen him might have been the moment of death.

If the system was a god, then he had gone against God’s will and defied heaven.

All sorts of thoughts filled Karl’s mind.

“Karl, what did you just say? I’ve never heard those words before.”

It seemed it was the point where he had already lost his temper and cursed a mouthful in Korean.

Seeing Serna’s reaction, everything up to this point was the same as the past.

Karl, who had been possessed, couldn’t accept reality and had shouted in Korean.

Karl, from his now hazy memories, knew well what the mother of the boy in front of him would do.

She would scream, look at him as if seeing a monster, and leave this room….

Warak.

“My baby, my beloved Karl. Oh, my God.”

It was warm.

When was the last time he had felt someone’s embrace to be this warm?

Thus, Karl briefly closed his eyes in his mother’s warm embrace, a warmth he had never felt before in his life.