NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 698 The Sword in the Stone-Second Half
698 The Sword in the Stone-Second Half
The second test finally ended after two days. Of the 10,000 participants, only eight, including Artorius, qualified to take the final test, the Test of the Sword in the Stone. This group was given priority to undergo the trial.
Without delay, on the fourth day of the examination, Daniel led the priority group to the eastern woodland, where the Lake of Avalon is located. The test required the presence of witnesses and examiners, a group composed of neutral factions and representatives from various lords across Britain. These people accompanied the participants to the Lake of Avalon.
The breathtaking scenery left them in awe when the group arrived at the lake.
Captivated by the magical sight of the lake's mirror-like surface, various exclaims of amazement and breathtaking ensue as the scene of pixies dancing upon the mirror-like lake and the vibrant flowers blooming around its edges. This scene is like the scene of the enchanted forest as if they had stepped into the pages of folklore and fairy tales.
"Welcome to my humble abode, the Lake of Avalon," Daniel said warmly, gesturing toward the sword embedded in the stone. "The sword is over there. Only the worthy may draw it from the stone." He then walked over and stood beside the Sword in the Stone.
"Each person will have only one minute. Once the sand in the hourglass runs out and you still cannot pull out the sword, you will fail the test," Daniel explained.
"Let the Test of the Sword in the Stone begin," he announced, signaling the start of the trial.
The test began with great anticipation. Now that all the witnesses had seen the Lake of Avalon, where Merlin resides, they were eager to gain the favor and support of this powerful wizard.
This was because the local lords of Britain were highly skeptical of the truth. The moment they received the news, they began their own investigation. They discovered that it came from Ealdorman Norman, known as The Snake. As a result, they didn't place much credibility in the report.
As his nickname suggested, Ealdorman Norman was a notorious schemer who would do anything to achieve his goals. However, the magical scene of the Lake of Avalon convinced the lords otherwise. The idea that a treacherous local lord like Ealdorman Norman could fabricate such a miraculous spectacle was inconceivable. Everything they had witnessed was too extraordinary for a mere schemer to pull off.
The first participant of the Sword in the Stone test stepped forward. He was a towering figure, and his large, bulging, muscular frame made him look more like a mountain. His imposing stature alone made it clear to everyone that he could fight a bear with his bare hands.
The mountain-like man grasped the sword and began to pull with all his might. Yet... the sword didn't budge an inch. Frustrated, the mountain-like man gritted his teeth, channeling every ounce of strength from his massive body. But no matter how much he strained, the sword remained steadfast.
"Grrrrrrrrr! Raaaaarghhh! Urggggg!" vain bulging, his pupil wide, blood pumping until his face flushed red, the giant man roared, using every muscle in his body in a final attempt to dislodge the sword. Still, it refused to move.
The sand in the hourglass dwindled quickly, and soon, it was completely depleted.
"Time's up! Brodir the Mountain has failed!" Daniel announced.
Grunting in frustration, the mountain-like man made one last desperate attempt, pouring all his strength into pulling the sword. But it still didn't budge. Exhausted, he finally let go of the sword and collapsed to the ground, utterly drained.
"Next!" Daniel shouted as he flipped the hourglass, signaling the next participant to step forward.
The next contender tried with equal determination. Despite exerting all his strength, the result was no different. The sword didn't move, and he ended up in the same state as Brodir the Mountain. His strength was spent, forcing him to rest.
The test continued as more participants attempted to pull the sword, but the outcome remained the same. The sword showed no signs of loosening, no matter how hard they tried.
Some witnesses began to suspect that the wizard was playing a trick on them. However, they didn't dare provoke him and continued taking the test as instructed.
Among the witnesses was Morgan Le Fay, who had accompanied the group to the Lake of Avalon. Watching the scene unfold, she narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the sword embedded in the stone. She sensed a powerful enchantment enveloping both the sword and the stone. It's a spell designed to assess the participant's mind.
Her gaze fell on the engraving on the stone, which read: Only the Worthy can pull out this sword. This suggested that the sword probed the participants' minds to determine their worthiness. As for what kind of people or quality is defined as worthy, even Morgan Le Fay didn't know.
On Daniel's side, he watched the participants with a warm smile, feeling a small sense of satisfaction as they struggled and failed. Perhaps this was the guilty pleasure of someone overseeing a test, akin to a teacher grading exam papers back in the modern day?
The test went on until the seventh participant stepped forward. It was Artorius, a young boy around 15-16 who lacked any visible muscle and was the smallest of the group attempting the Sword in the Stone trial.
Everyone looked at him with doubt, their faces devoid of any expectation that the boy would succeed. Some even joked that he should fail by default, mocking his thin and small stature as unfit for a warrior. Especially compared to the stronger participants who had gone before him.
But Daniel didn't share their dismissive view. In fact, he was looking forward to this moment. The Sword in the Stone... or the Excalibur, was an artifact he had actualized from a card in his mindscape. Its description clearly stated that only Rare-rarity creatures or above could wield the sword as equipment. Moreover, it required mana to activate. Of course, Daniel had no intention of using his own mana to fulfill the cost; he wanted to see how things would naturally play out.
Artorius took a deep breath and grasped the sword. As expected, the sword didn't budge. Daniel shrugged inwardly. Of course, he thought. Even if you meet the rarity requirement without paying the mana cost, you still won't be able to pull it out.
It was clear to him now that the card's description also played a role when he actualized it into reality.
Suddenly, Daniel's heightened senses as an archmage detected a faint mana wave. It came from the direction of the witnesses. He quickly turned his gaze toward the source.
What he saw stunned him... a beautiful goddess-like woman with striking purple hair, a few loose strands peeking out from beneath her hooded robe. Her familiar face struck a chord in Daniel's memory; it was the face of someone he knew well.
"Envy?..." Daniel whispered her name under his breath, his voice barely audible.
A flood of warmth and a profound relief surged through his heart. He had finally found her in this era. Now, he could wait here for Merlin, alongside Envy, knowing that Merlin would eventually appear.
And when Merlin did, He'll beat the shit out of that guy before imprisoning him. But before that... Daniel would ensure Envy's heart wouldn't belong to anyone else, not even Merlin!
Amidst the crowd of witnesses, the sound of steel sliding through stone echoed, drawing the attention of the crowd.
The sword began to slide out of the stone, leaving the crowd stunned silence, their mouths agape.
As the blade emerged completely, the engraved words on the stone glowed brightly: "Only the Worthy may pull out this sword." It was as if the message demanded to be burned into the memories of everyone present.
When the sword was fully drawn, the stone began to crumble. The crumbled stone turned into golden motes of light scattered into the air before being drawn into the sword, like streams of water flowing into a lake. The blade shone brilliantly with a golden radiance as it rested in Artorius's hand.
Watching this, Daniel let out a small, knowing smile. It seemed this Artorius boy might be the "Rare or above" creature described in the card. Daniel didn't feel any sense of loss. On the contrary, he found it amusing that this Artorius boy appeared to be the Arthur of the Arthurian legend.
Meanwhile, Morgan Le Fay stood frozen, utterly stunned by the turn of events. She had never expected this outcome. She had used her magic to corrode the enchantment on the stone and the stone itself, hoping to ensure the sword would come out of the stone when it was fully corroded, humiliating that stuck up Merlin in front of the crowd.
Her plan was simple: the stone would disintegrate under her spell, leaving the sword behind and forcing Merlin to endure public embarrassment and social execution! But now, the sword had emerged out of the stone effortlessly, and the stone had transformed into golden light. This wasn't what she had intended at all!
This chapter should have been updated about 3 to 4 hours ago. But the internet connection seems to have another plan for me. As a result, the update didn't go through, and I didn't check it.
So here you go. I'm very sorry for this inconvenience.