Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 137

“He is a monster incarnate.”

The white-bearded old man looked at the young man who had clashed with him for a full 100 days without a single day of rest.

The young man had gained enlightenment after the ordeal of the past 100 days and was now lying face down on the floor, unconscious.

“Perhaps, I am facing a true legend, the likes of which this continent may never see again.”

He, who was once called the first Grand Master and the father of knights, had become a Legendary Knight not only through his own efforts but also by a fate bestowed upon him by some unknown, great power.

Of course, looking back then, it was an unavoidable choice, and he still believed that moving according to fate was the best course of action.

However, he did harbor a slight regret for not being able to forge his own path by his own will.

But this friend named Karl Meyer, standing before him, had been pioneering his own destiny from the very beginning.

And every path he took was becoming a legend.

“Well, then. Shall I also lend a hand in shattering this thing called fate that has wielded me as it pleased?”

The old man smiled faintly and placed his hand on the back of the sleeping Karl.

And at that moment, a white light began to flow into Karl’s body.

“Now, what do you intend to do? Will you take my soul as well?”

The first Sword Master smiled brightly.

And his body, which had been standing ramrod straight just moments before, slowly began to scatter into light.

“May you achieve what you desire.”

With those last words, he vanished from the plaza as if he had never been there from the beginning.

***

Training with the old man was truly arduous.

It was a continuous series of penances with no foreseeable end, enough to make Karl, who had endured years of grueling training and real combat, faint.

However, Karl knew well that this moment was an unparalleled opportunity for learning.

Unlike Karl, who had learned from various people without a proper master and grown, he was someone who had reached the supreme state of Grand Master through orthodox means.

The First Knight, Cain Bellatrix.

That was the name of the old man who was the master of this tomb and who had left everything to Karl and departed.

The concept of aura, the concept of Master, all could be said to have originated from Cain.

Karl recognized that he had obtained an enormous fortuitous encounter.

‘Come to think of it.’

From the moment he opened his eyes, he felt a refreshing energy circulating throughout his body.

An unidentifiable feeling.

However, Karl felt that this energy, which harmonized with him without any sense of incongruity, was similar to the old man’s power.

‘Did he leave a gift?’

It was a colossal power of a kind that could never have arisen on its own.

Karl recognized that the old man had bestowed some grace upon him.

Karl, who had risen, slowly bowed towards the place where the old man had been.

Once, twice, three times, and after a total of nine bows, Karl substituted his gratitude with a final lowering of his head.

‘I will consider you my master.’

The moment Karl inwardly expressed his gratitude to Cain, the cave was engulfed in a brilliant light.

[Will you advance your class according to the system’s arrangement?]

These system bastards, in a way, had a rather consistent side to them.

Karl chuckled and shook his head.

“I will not.”

Previously, this one phrase would have brought down all sorts of harassment from the system, from gravitational pressure to various other torments, but this time, no kind of pressure was imposed on him.

Merely.

[User has refused the designated 2nd class advancement. Special class advancement conditions have been met. Advancing to Free Knight (Unique).]

A second class advancement to Free Knight (Unique) felt like a forced fit.

Rather, Karl thought that this seemingly clumsy second class advancement was better, as it made him feel that the system couldn't control his life as it pleased.

After this class advancement, there was no physical reconstruction like last time.

Even without such external changes, much had already changed due to Cain’s teachings.

“Uhm!”

The brilliant light that had enveloped the cave disappeared, and just as he felt a very slight dizziness, Karl found himself standing on the tombstone he had first entered.

The place that had clearly been a giant steel tombstone when he entered had now turned into ordinary earth.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but looking at his comrades strewn about nearby, it seemed that only a fleeting moment had passed here.

“Euheoeoeoam.”

Absurdly, what brought Karl, who had awakened from a very long dream spanning over half a year, back to reality was Diogo, yawning languidly with a somewhat foolish expression.

“No, Commander, why are you like that? By the way, why am I sleeping here? Are we resuming the search?”

“No, the job is done. We’re returning.”

Karl smiled at Diogo’s foolish expression and then turned around.

“Yes? What did we do to be returning? I don’t think I did anything other than take a nap…?”

Karl, leaving the foolish-looking Diogo behind, began to descend Mount Peto.

The others, who had also fallen asleep and awakened like him, hurriedly followed Karl.

“My lord, let’s go together!”

Diogo, who had been making a foolish face just moments before, also rushed breathlessly after Karl.

***

“There is an increasing number of people who voluntarily wish to become servants of God.”

“That is a good phenomenon.”

Patrick had shed his spider mask and grandly created an anti-imperialist alliance called Postasia, but their fundamental nature hadn’t changed.

They, who used to wear spider masks and use people as sacrifices for human offerings, were still continuing their work.

However, now they were officially gathering volunteers under the name of “servants of God” and preparing them as sacrifices.

Outwardly, they deceived people as if they were creating a utopia, while behind the scenes, they sought to obtain dark power by offering living sacrifices.

They selected those likely to become sacrifices through a screening process, as if these servants of God were chosen ones, and outwardly made it seem as if they were being treated well.

They provided good clothes, good food, and good houses, making everyone wish to become a servant of God.

And when they disappeared, they attached the absurd pretext that they were working separately in a sanctuary.

Nevertheless, those who were uneducated and driven to the brink were mesmerized by the outward appearance and yearned to become servants of God, as if ready to offer everything they had.

And in such a Postasia, a man wearing a robe was walking around.

“…”

Indifferent eyes.

Tightly closed lips.

Handsome features.

Dark brown hair.

The man with a sturdy physique was walking the streets, scanning people’s faces.

‘What’s so good about it?’

To the man, this place was strange.

It felt like, what should he call it, a whirlwind of madness.

Perhaps because it was a place where desperate people from all over the continent came, the longing in their hearts felt like it was raging in this small city.

Marco, the man who was observing his surroundings with his mouth shut, was trying to understand the existence of humans while wandering the world.

‘I don’t want to understand.’

He, a half-human, half-elf born when his elven father raped his human mother in his childhood, had been abandoned by both his mother and father and had grown up wandering the world.

Kkoreureuk.

He was hungry.

It had been quite some time since he had eaten, as the travel money earned from occasional mercenary work and various odd jobs had run out.

“Uhm.”

He felt his head spin from the extreme hunger that washed over him.

‘I should sit down for a bit.’

He sat down on the street and slowly caught his breath.

“Mister, are you hungry? A servant of God must help people.”

Next to him, who was sitting and soothing his tired body and hunger, a small girl squatted down and looked at him.

“This.”

The child handed him a warm piece of bread she held in her hand.

Gulp.

To beg from a small child, Marco shook his head.

“You eat it.”

“No, I’m a servant of God, so I have lots to eat. This is for the hungry mister to eat.”

The girl’s bright eyes were truly pure.

At the child’s kindness, Marco found himself smiling, something he rarely did.

He had been abandoned and had no affection for either humans or elves, but he didn’t dislike the pure kindness of a child.

“Thank you, I’ll eat it well.”

Marco took the bread the child gave him and took a large bite.

The bread was truly delicious, as if it had been baked not long ago.

It was good quality food for the first time in a long while.

“Cheer up, mister.”

The child patted Marco’s shoulder with her tiny hand.

Marco found her actions quite cute and chuckled, nodding his head.

“Only chosen people can become servants of God. The Arthur Domain, where the Knight of the Lighthouse is, is a place where people aren’t hungry and are happy, so try going there.”

The child, with a worldly innocent expression, said something uncharacteristic of a child and left.

Marco laughed, finding it a bit absurd.

He had heard stories about the Knight of the Lighthouse, Count Karl the Savior, on his way here.

‘Rumors are just rumors, though.’

He was someone who had experienced countless times how ugly the truth behind rumors could be.

By the way.

The child just now said she was a servant of God.

Coincidentally, the request he had received from the Order this time was an investigation into the servants of God.

Umul umul.

He popped the remaining piece of bread into his mouth and cautiously walked in the direction the child had gone.

***

“To become a servant of God is to be granted the honor of dedicating everything one has to Lord Decarabia. Lord Decarabia has eyes that see all things and will provide you with eternal blessings.”

The figure, dressed in a white robe and speaking majestically like a true messenger of God, distributed warm food to those gathered, known as servants of God, and conducted a kind of spiritual education for them.

People were initially lured by the food, and later by the continuous education, and soon transformed into believers with a blind faith in Postasia.

“Who will go to serve as a faithful servant today?”

“I will do it!”

“No! Please let me do it!”

Having become fanatics, they clamored to be chosen, unaware of their predetermined fate.

“Me too, oop…?”

Just as a girl, who looked to be about eight years old, was about to raise her hand high, her parents, who were beside her, covered her mouth.

“Be quiet…!”

The child’s parents knew well that no one who had left to serve as a faithful servant had ever returned.

By the time the child’s parents noticed something strange and tried to leave this place, they realized that they were already surrounded by watchful eyes everywhere.

“Oh…! It is commendable that a young child has the heart to serve as a faithful servant.”

The man in the white robe had already witnessed the brief moment when the child first raised her hand and then had it lowered by her parents.

“Ah, the child is young.”

“I know, I know very well. There is nothing a child cannot do in the service of a faithful servant. You have nothing to worry about and just need to believe in Lord Decarabia.”

The moment the man in the white robe smiled as he spoke, his eyes turned yellow, and his pupils disappeared and then returned.

In that fleeting moment, the child’s parents felt a chill and unknowingly hugged their child.

“No… we… we cannot live without our child.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to worry? You will be able to see the child again soon. What are you doing, not taking her away.”

“No… not our child! No!”

Even though the parents screamed, a group of more than 10 people had already separated the parents from the child, and the parents began to be dragged away somewhere.

“Mommy, Daddy, why can’t you be faithful servants?”

“That, my dear, is because Lord Decarabia has specially chosen you.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

At the words of the man in the white robe, the girl forgot about being separated from her parents and smiled brightly for a moment.

And that day, the girl, with all her blood drained, became a pale corpse and was discarded in an incinerator.

As they had said a little while ago, they also killed the parents so that they could meet their child, and threw them next to the girl.

“…”

Marco was looking at the girl who had given him warm bread about two weeks ago.

The girl, who had a worldly pure smile, had all her blood drained and was discarded on top of a secret incinerator.

“…”

He thought that for the first time in a long while, an emotion called anger was boiling up from within him.

Even though he hadn't formed much connection with people for many long years, he was feeling a forgotten emotion in the face of the death of the girl who had approached him with pure goodwill, without any malice.

“Arthur Domain, she said.”

It seemed he would be going to the place he had thought of visiting someday a little sooner.

After all, the branch of the Order that had requested him to investigate Postasia was there.

And that day, Marco, who was secretly leaving this place, departed for the Arthur Domain with two families whose escape coincidentally overlapped on the same day.