[Mystic Realm Spearmanship 100/100].(T/N: Lets just use this one instead of the demonic whatever one)
Li Xiang finally felt a great weight lift from his heart. After fifteen long days, the torment of constant beatings was finally about to end.
After watching the club performances last night and returning to his dorm, he had once again thrown himself into the Land of Shadows.
It took seven deaths, waiting for the long night to fade, and watching the sun rise from the east and climb to its peak before Li Xiang received the full rewards of Scáthach's training. The side quest *Haunted by the Wraith* was now officially complete.
Scáthach gazed at him silently, her expression somewhat distant. Her thoughts wandered to a boy from many years ago.
The same effort. The same talent.
She still longed for the day when her own death would come.
"You've mastered Mystic Realm Spearmanship. As per tradition, I shall grant you a gift."
Li Xiang looked up, surprised, only to see a hand stretched out before him.
Slender and pale.
It touched his forehead.
There was no warmth—just a faint chill, like the dew you'd find after waking up on a misty morning.
He waited for a moment, widening his eyes and glancing around, but nothing changed.
His mana hadn't increased. The system didn't notify him. No Conceptual Weapons or Noble Phantasms appeared.
So... was the gift just a tap on the forehead?
'You're the Queen of the Land of Shadows! The one who splits the boundary between life and death, a god-slaying legend in Celtic mythology!'
He remembered the Gáe Bolg she had gifted to her previous apprentice, Cú Chulainn.
'Isn't the youngest disciple supposed to be the favorite? What's going on?'
Frustrated, but still needing to save face, Li Xiang put on a smile.
"Thank you, Master."
He dispersed the projection of his spear and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
Scáthach nodded without a change in expression.
Though she was a peerless beauty who could bring down cities with her smile, she always remained cold and distant.
Li Xiang couldn't help but think this.
"Now, it's time for the trial of the Celtic warrior. I will send you into a memory," Scáthach said.
'Another memory?' Li Xiang thought. 'Is this one of those "memory within a memory" moments? Like Inception?'
Just as he was about to say something, Scáthach raised her hand again and slapped his forehead.
'It's over. Don't tell me the Celtic warrior's trial is to survive one of Scáthach's slaps?'
That was Li Xiang's final thought.
His vision plunged into darkness.
He was falling.
Sound disappeared. Light vanished. It felt like he'd been thrown into a void that didn't exist.
He tried to speak, but the surroundings were like a black hole, swallowing everything.
Even his thoughts began to dissolve.
This seemingly endless journey—one that made him lose all sense of time—suddenly reached its conclusion.
A familiar voice, as though from a lifetime ago, filled his ears.
Opening his eyes, he found himself surrounded by the smells of sweat, iron, and earth. It felt like he was crammed onto a crowded bus at 8 a.m., being pushed forward by a sea of people.
'Master, am I really your favorite disciple?'
Li Xiang was beginning to doubt his life choices.
"Hey! Who just stepped on my foot?!"
He shouted loudly, but his voice was drowned out by even louder ones.
Countless people were shouting the same thing.
"Merlin! Merlin's here!"
Li Xiang looked around in confusion, but his view was blocked by the towering figures around him—just heads upon heads.
'Merlin?'
Which Merlin?
The chaotic noise of the crowd was starting to irritate him.
If it was Merlin, then this memory—this place—was...
Suddenly, the crowd stopped moving.
Li Xiang scanned his surroundings, and his eyes were drawn to a large rock on a hillside.
A simple rock, with a sword embedded in it.
The Sword in the Stone.
Li Xiang immediately started pushing his way through the crowd.
"Sorry! Excuse me!"
"Hot water coming through!"
After getting his pants and shoes trampled in all sorts of ways, Li Xiang finally made it to the front, where his view was clear. He began searching.
'Where's Artoria?'
But with so many people, it was impossible to spot her.
Disappointed, he turned his attention back to the Sword in the Stone. He could just wait. Artoria would eventually come to pull it out, and then he'd see her.
The silent crowd was suddenly interrupted by an unknown voice.
"Whosoever pulls this sword shall be the rightful king of Britain!"
Knights rushed forward.
The one leading the charge wore heavy white armor. Without hesitation, he drew his massive knight's sword from his waist.
A brilliant slash cut through the air.
The other knights cursed and instinctively retreated.
With a cold grunt, the heavily armored knight, who didn't seem to be slowed down by his gear, rushed forward, grabbed the sword's hilt, and pulled.
The sword didn't budge.
"This is impossible!"
The knight shouted, but no matter how hard he tried, the sword refused to move.
Disheartened, he let go of the hilt.
Another knight immediately rushed forward, ignoring him entirely, and eagerly placed his hand on the sword.
It was no use.
One after another, the knights attempted to pull the sword, but it stood silently amidst the crowd, waiting for its rightful owner.
Li Xiang shook his head. 'This was all planned by Merlin. There's no way anyone else could pull out the Sword in the Stone.'
'Tch.'
'That old trickster Merlin set this up to boost Artoria's fame and give her a legitimate reason to inherit the throne. It was all predestined long before she was even born.'
"Foolish. Ignorant. Pathetic."
Li Xiang suddenly heard a strange voice. He looked toward the source and saw a tall young man standing not far to his left.
His armor gleamed under the sunlight, and his cold gaze pierced out from beneath his golden hair.
"It's nothing but the game of an old gentleman with poor taste, and these fools are falling for it like moths to a flame."
Those words made Li Xiang squint his eyes.
'An old gentleman with poor taste? Isn't that Merlin?'
The same Merlin who had pretended to be a magical girl online to fool Doctor Romani, threw Fou around carelessly, and had a history of romantic entanglements.
'Does this guy know Merlin?'
But weren't people in this era supposed to revere Merlin as Britain's greatest mage?
'Who is this guy?'
'Kay?'
Li Xiang couldn't be sure.
If his guess was correct, this must be the town where Artoria was raised.
If there was anyone who knew Merlin well, aside from Artoria, it would be her foster brother, Sir Kay.
And his slightly sharp tongue matched the description.
Casually, Li Xiang approached the young man. The moment he got closer, the man noticed him.
'Sharp senses.'
Li Xiang put on what he thought was a sincere smile and asked, "Sir Knight, why don't you give it a try? I think you're much stronger than the others."
"There's no need. I have no interest in indulging Merlin's dreams."
'This has to be Kay!'
Li Xiang was now certain. If anyone could mock Merlin like this, it was Kay.
"No one can pull it out. It's nothing but a useless ornament," Kay said coldly as he watched the other knights make fools of themselves. "In an age of knights, strength should be proven by the sword in one's hand. Talk of kingship is just empty words."
Li Xiang nodded in agreement.
Aside from this spectacle Merlin had orchestrated with the Sword in the Stone, Artoria's rise from a small village to the throne of Camelot had been the result of her own immense strength, her nearly invincible Round Table knights, and Merlin's assistance.
But unforeseen circumstances had destroyed the peace she had worked so hard to achieve.
The scandal between Guinevere and Lancelot, discovered by Agravain, had led to Agravain's death at Lancelot's hand. This marked the beginning of the Round Table's disintegration, and Artoria's ideal of kingship faced its greatest challenge.
With mounting internal and external pressures, Mordred eventually garnered the support of many nobles, leading to the downfall of her reign.
"Let's go. Don't waste time here. The knight's battle is about to start."
'Knight's battle?'
It was only then that Li Xiang remembered his purpose here. He had come to face Scáthach's trial.
Could this knight's battle be part of it?