I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 9: Vanadain (2)

The first thing he saw was the familiar Kate and her serf army, but Rene gasped at the change in her appearance.

An angelic blonde crusader atop a large, black warhorse.

She was a crusader, not a paladin, because of the leather armor she wore, but even so, Kate’s beauty was overwhelming.

She was extraordinarily beautiful even before she became a champion, but now her face seemed to glow.

‘Wait, is it because she leveled up?’

It was a possibility.

‘Then what about Rene later?’

“Heir?”

Yoo-seong reflexively looked back at Rene, and Rene tilted her head as if to ask what was going on.

The actual face and aura was that of a wicked witch, but the behavior was the cute Rene.

“Um, nothing.”

I’ll see when she levels up later.

Looking back at Rene, Yoo-seong smiled with satisfaction.

The sight of Kate on a warhorse, holding the flag of Camelot, made my heart swell with pride.

Of course, the serfs sitting next to Kate did look a bit out of place, but looking at it differently, it gave off the feeling of a virgin leading the people. It was a sight that made me think, “Isn’t this a good thing?”

Anyway, here’s Kate and the serf troops.

Rene gasped again as the new troop appeared, and her eyes widened in amazement at the figure at the head of the line.

“Wow! Elves!”

It was.

Better than a serf unit, but still a low tier among basic infantry units, but in front of the ordinary-looking archer unit, there stood a figure who naturally caught the eye. A man with beautiful, long blond hair, a handsome appearance, lake-blue eyes, and long, pointy ears – anyone who saw him could not help but exclaim, ‘Wow! Elf!’

‘That’s Vanadain.’

Elves, the race of the forest.

Like any fantasy monarch that draws from all sorts of myths and legends, as well as existing subcultures, there are also elves, whose features are also commonly associated with the phrase “Wow! Elves!”, they had all the things you’d expect to see.

Good looks, virtually immortal, amazing bow skills, agile, noble, high character, high affinity with spirits, and a rare race that’s hard to come by because they’re so few and far between.

‘But there’s an elf in charge of the archers.’

A grin spread across Yoo-seong’s face.

He, too, is an elven archer, not an elven warrior.

‘He’s golden again, so I wonder if all heroes are golden.’

Or maybe he drew an SSR again.

Either way, it wasn’t bad, so Yoo-seong looked at his new troops with a smile on his face.

Meanwhile, when Rene expressed her admiration not only through her face but also through her voice, the elf archer, Vanadain, let out a snicker.

But Rene was not offended by this display of defiance, and instead called out again, “Wah! Elves!”

That’s understandable, because the way he snorted like that was truly like an elf in a story.

‘ What a dashing little fellow.’

But Yoo-seong wasn’t too interested in the dashing beauty, so he turned his attention to the archer troop that had arrived.

The archer troop was really just a basic archer troop.

Unlike the serf troops, who were just wearing their own tattered clothes, they were dressed in uniforms, and while they didn’t look particularly armored because they were made of plain cloth, they still looked like a regular army.

Dark green tops, almost black, with plain green pants, leather shoes, and leather hats pressed to their heads.

Each had a bow in his hand, a dagger at his waist, and a quiver of arrows on his back.

‘Vanadain weapons themselves aren’t particularly unique.’

The only difference between him and the archers was that he wore green hooded cloaks and carried large bows with emblems on them.

Then he said,

“Humans, how long are you going to stare?”

Vanadain said, looking at the Yoo-seong, as Rene’s and Kate’s eyes widened.

“Vanadain, you have no business speaking to the Heir, and you should watch your language.”

Kate spoke with a directness and ferocity that made Vanadain snort with amusement, but he didn’t retort and looked away.

‘Wow, Kate can get angry too. But does he already know Kate? Judging from her behavior, she doesn’t seem to be the type to be overly angry.’

Nodding once, Yoo-seong looked back at Vanadain and said.

“Vanadain, my name is Cheon Yoo-seong. This is Rene Baltois, the king’s mage.”

“Rene Baltois, the heir’s mage.”

Rene, excited by Yoo-seong’s introduction, to be precise, by the phrase ‘the king’s wizard’-flushed bright red in the cheeks and nodded yes, and Vanadain snorted again, before placing his right fist over his left breast.

“I am Vanadain, son of Isilia. As an ally of Camelot, I will aid the Holy King’s successor.”

An ally of Camelot.

In that moment, Yoo-seong understood why Vanadain had adopted such an attitude and tone of voice.

It wasn’t simply an assertion that as a high elf, he could not bow down to a lesser race of humans; it was more of an assertion that he was not my subordinate, but an ally, and therefore on equal footing.

‘I see.’

In any case, it didn’t matter much to Yoo-seong whether he spoke back or showed respect, as all he had to do was show up when he was called and fight as he was told.

Besides, he was a long-lived elf, so it wouldn’t hurt his prestige to be a little disrespectful.

“Yes, please do.”

Vanadain lowered his fist and nodded as Yoo-seong smirked.

“You too.”

Still, with such a straightforward answer, he was probably just pretending to be defiant rather than actually being defiant.

Finished with his thoughts, Yoo-seong looked back at Kate, who had already dismounted from her steed and approached him.

“Kate, are you acquainted with Vanadain?”

Instead of answering immediately, Kate pursed her lips like Rene, then narrowed her brow.

“Um……I’m not really sure, actually.”

“Huh?”

Not sure?

Yoo-seong repeated, and Rene blinked curiously as well, and Kate smiled her usual benevolent but somewhat wistful smile.

“We are all spirits who once lived in the Holy Kingdom of Camelot. But……when we think of the past, we can only recall vague and unclear memories.”

Rene swallowed hard at Kate’s words, and Yoo-seong nodded slowly.

It was what he had expected when they first appeared.

“The spirits of Camelot……So you mean you existed in the past?”

I asked a little more specifically, and Kate nodded.

“Probably.”

People who lived there in Camelot’s past.

The serf army would have been the commoners of Camelot, and Kate and Vanadain would have been the knights and officers of Camelot.

‘So there could be knights of the round table later on?’

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Mankind’s greatest fighting force, defending Camelot.

But that was still a long way off.

Yoo-seong looked at Kate and asked.

“Kate, what are you like when I’m not calling you?”

“Well, I’m not really sure about that……actually, I just have this…… feeling that I’m relaxing in some castle or something.”

‘Something like a sleeping state.’

It was while Yoo-seong was contemplating the state of the spirits that Kate realized the situation.

Kate looked around for a moment, then leaned a little closer to Yoo-seong and asked.

“More than that, Heir, surely you didn’t call us here for battle?”

“Uh, I’d like to talk to you, and I’d like to know more about you.”

“I see, and I appreciate your interest. But, Heir, what you need to summon and maintain us is your mental strength, and summoning us in a non-combat situation like this one, rather than a combat situation, will take much more of it.”

“If you wish to summon us, do not summon all of us, but only those you wish to summon, for it will still be less draining.”

Kate chimed in, followed by Vanadain.

Kate nodded in agreement, then spoke.

“You’ve already called us to battle several times in a short period of time. I hope you will allow us to leave, as it would be too much for the Heir.”

What was needed to summon and maintain the legions was Yoo-seong’s own mental power.

I felt a little dizzy, whether it was because I was conscious of it after hearing the story, or because, as Kate said, more mental energy was consumed in non-combat situations.

“Okay, then, can I ask you one last question?”

“Sure.”

“Do you know anything about good karma? They say that the higher your good karma, the stronger the power of the Holy King becomes.”

Kate narrowed her eyes and seemed to consider the question for a moment, then smiled benevolently.

“The Holy King of Camelot is the protector of the human world. Good deeds done for the good of men will be the strength of the Holy King- accumulating Virtue will strengthen not only your physical abilities and chivalry, but also your divine power and destiny.”

The words ‘good karma’ were unfamiliar to me, but the mechanism of accumulating good karma to become stronger was something I remembered.

‘I see.’

Yoo-seong himself was currently level 4, but his physical abilities were comparable to a level 7 or 8 knight in Fantasy Monarch.

I thought it was quite excessive, even if it was the result of compensation for the enhancement of the Legion’s combat power, but it was understandable if you considered that his physical abilities had been strengthened once again thanks to his virtue, as Kate said.

‘If it also strengthened my chivalry and divine power, it would be a much larger correction than I thought……’

I didn’t have any skills that utilized magic or divine power yet, so I didn’t see much of a difference, but if I leveled up and acquired skills such as Aura Blade, I would be able to feel the effects of the Good Karma modifier more clearly.

“What does it mean to have a stronger destiny?”

“Literally. The power of your collective good karma will guide your destiny in a favorable direction.”

It was a somewhat literal story, but I was able to understand it somehow.

‘Guide destiny…….’

I wondered if there was such a thing as kismet or unexpected good fortune.

Either way, it was good to hear, so Yoo-seong nodded.

Yoo-seong would have saved people even if he didn’t receive good karma value, but he received it so he was more motivated.

“Alright, then, we’ll talk again another time.”

“Yes, Heir.”

Smiling softly, as if satisfied with Yoo-seong’s words, Kate raised her right fist over her left breast.

The serf troops behind her did the same, as well as the archer troops beside her.

“Glory to Camelot.”

“Glory to Camelot.”

The troops chorused in time with Kate’s declaration, and Vanadain, who had been narrowing his eyes, raised his fist.

“Glory to Camelot.”

“Glory to Camelot.”

The last to join in was Rene, who looked a little timid and raised her fist over her chest.

Yoo-seong smirked at the sight of Rene, then turned to face everyone and raised his fist.

“Glory to Camelot.”

Kate, Vanadain, and the rest of the army vanished in a flash of gold and a blur of light.

When they were gone, Rene, who had just exhaled with renewed admiration, glanced back at Yoo-seong.

“Do you have something to say?

“Uh……can I ask you a question?”

What could she possibly want to ask?

For a moment, Yoo-seong felt a little lost, but then he smiled and nodded.

“Sure.”

“Where did the……heir come from?”

The legions that Yoo-seong summons are the spirits of Camelot.

So who is Yoo-seong, and where did he come from?

A descendant of Camelot?

The hidden descendant of King Arthur?

Rene’s question made Yoo-seong pause for a moment, but then, as always, he made a quick decision.

“I’m from another world.”

“Another world?”

“Yes, another world.”

He’d already revealed his very alien name, Yoo-seong.

What’s more, Rene was Yoo-seong’s own sorceress.

She was the partner of the Goddess of the Lake, so if King Arthur had Merlin, the Yoo-seong herself had Rene – the same thing.

It was better to tell her outright than to hide it and risk a strange misunderstanding.

And this time, he wasn’t wrong.

Rene looked surprised for a moment, but then nodded in understanding.

To her, Yoo-seong had been a savior sent by the Goddess of the Lake in the first place, so it sounded more plausible that he was from another world.

“Uh, so it’s just……uh, the land of the gods?”

“Well, something like that.”

“Wow.”

Rene’s mouth dropped open in pure admiration at Yoo-seong’s words.

By the look on his face, she was going through all sorts of delusions in her head.

“Let’s go back to bed.”

“What? Oh, yes!”

Rene, who had been roused from her reverie by Yoo-seong’s words, followed behind Yoo-seong, who had already begun to lead the way.

* * *

As soon as the sun rose the next day, the group was on the road again.

The distance to the city was relatively short, only two or three days, but since they didn’t know when or where the kobolds would appear again, it made sense to make as much haste as possible.

We were about half a day into our journey when.

“Ow!”

“Help!”

Yoo-seong’s head snapped up at the distant screams.

It was unmistakable, coming from over the hill.

“Heir?”

Robin and Edgar, who were also knights and had developed their senses, looked back at Yoo-seong to see if he had heard the same thing, and he nodded quickly, halting the evacuees and climbing up the hill.

“Kaaaak!”

“Kahhhh!”

In the distance, the procession of refugees was being chased by a group of kobolds.

The evacuees numbered only a dozen or so, but the kobolds, at first glance, numbered well over twenty.

They were still some distance away, but it looked like they would catch up any minute.

We must save them.

Making an instant judgment, Yoo-seong glanced back.

Robin and Edgar were gritting their teeth, watching a group of kobolds about to attack the procession of refugees, and Rene, who had come up behind them, was panting and breathing heavily.

“Serf troops, archer troops, rally.”

At Yoo-seong’s command, there was a flash of gold and a blur of light, and the legions took shape.

Robin and Edgar had seen them once before, but they were newly awestruck, and the refugees, who had never seen them before, stood at the bottom of the hill, staring in amazement.

But Yoo-seong didn’t care about their reactions, and gave a quick order.

“Rene, you and the serf troops will guard the refugees on the hill. Archers attack the kobold horde following the refugees. Kate, Robin, and Edgar, you will join me in attacking the kobold horde from the front.”

Having finished his orders, Yoo-seong turned around.

-Papat!

A sharp sound rang out, and two arrows flew back-to-back as if they had been shot almost simultaneously.

“Keek!”

“Keek!”

And the two kobolds that had been closely following the refugees fell.

-Papat!

Another shot.

And two more kobolds fell.

It was Vanadain.

He took down the four kobolds in an instant and fired his arrows again with an indifferent expression, while Rene and Robin shouted almost simultaneously.

“Whoa! An elf!”

Yes, this was an elf, an elf archer.

Yoo-seong, who laughed out loud without realizing it, got on the horse with Kate, and Kate started the horse as if she couldn’t lose to Vanadain.

And again, papapap!

The cheerful sound of arrows rang out one after another.