Excalibur is a sword originally embedded in a rock. Or in some other versions it is a sword handed directly by the Lady of the Lake.
But neither of those, and the sword is stuck at the bottom of the lake? The legend is completely mixed up.
[If you try to pull out that sword, it will drain your mana. Furthermore, it will take away your life force. Only someone with the strength to overcome all of that can draw the sword. If you try to draw the sword without knowing your place, it will simply suck away all your life force, leaving you in deep water from which you cannot escape when you regain consciousness.]
Selena swallowed hard at Nimue’s explanation.
Truly a sword that chooses its master to the extreme. Enough to kill those who are unworthy.
‘…But this is underwater.’
Even if someone was qualified, would it be possible to draw the sword underwater?
Is there really someone who can accomplish a difficult task on land underwater?
Why were the two different legends mixed together, and why does the sword require a task that no one seems capable of accomplishing?
The words Frondier had said kept going around and around. Selena’s head kept spinning.
But time clearly passed during all this.
The amount of time a person can hold their breath underwater is limited. Nimue looked up at the sky for a moment, as if bored, and then said,
[…Then let’s go back. The master you’re waiting for won’t come,]
Whoosh!
At that moment, the water of the lake surged violently. Selena, Nimue, and Merlin looked at the sight.
It was Frondier. He was holding something like a hammer in one hand and soared up, then
Bam!
Thud-
“…”
He slammed into the ground and rolled around like a dog.
The moment of emerging through the lake’s surface was indeed magnificent, but Selena held back her words.
“Yikes, I thought I was going to die.”
The line that followed was far less cool. Selena pursed her lips and approached him.
At the moment he rose from the lake, it seemed like he was holding something like a hammer in his right hand, but now it was gone.
In other words, Frondier’s hands were empty.
Selena asked, looking him over.
“…Did you fail?”
“Huh? Fail?”
“Not being able to bring out the sword…”
“Ah, right. I tried to grasp it just in case, but my strength was drained. It wasn’t something I should mess with.”
Frondier admitted it freely.
At that, Selena felt relieved. Frondier was not dead. He wouldn’t get scolded even in Mantang.
[Hmm, I see. You knew your place.]
Nimue looked down at Frondier, who was lying sprawled out.
She saw his empty hands. Well, it would be strange to bring out the sword. Perhaps it’s commendable that he gave up his greed and returned alive.
[Didn’t I tell you? That sword is not for you to take.]
“Yeah. You did.”
Saying so, Frondier stretched out a hand. While lying down, he raised his hand towards the sky.
“It doesn’t matter.”
And then.
With his other hand, Frondier broke the necklace he was wearing.
[What…?]
The moment was incomprehensible at first.
But as the black liquid flowing from the necklace gathered in Frondier’s outstretched hand, forming thin, thread-like strands that began to take shape,
Nimue’s eyes widened. Her smile vanished. Her mouth opened in astonishment.
A smile as big as the one Nimue had lost appeared on Frondier’s face.
“I told you.”
Frondier grasped the completed object in his hand.
A round pommel, a grip suited for both hands, a blade with a concave center, a guard, and a blade that emitted a golden light.
[What, no, how…!]
It was the sword meant to be pulled from a stone by a hero, the sword that the Lady of the Lake would personally hand over.
Excalibur.
“I came to ‘find’ the sword.”
He never said he came to take it.
* * *
There was never an intention to draw Excalibur from the start.
The ‘real’ one isn’t mine. It’s the sword that the protagonist of this game, Aster Evans, will eventually hold in his hands.
I wouldn’t steal the sword that’s meant to become his major weapon. That would be foolish, impossible, and unnecessary.
After discovering Excalibur in the lake, curiosity got the better of me, and I tried to grasp the sword.
…It truly did not budge an inch. Rather than being stuck, it felt as if it had become one with the ground at the bottom of the lake.
Moreover, the moment I touched it, I felt my mana draining and gave up. At the same time, I was certain.
This sword, no one can draw it. Not even Aster Evans.
It was the moment a hypothesis in my mind turned into conviction.
Having ‘witnessed’ it was enough. I used Menosorpo and checked Penelope’s cloth. Since I had consumed a Dragon heart earlier, this cloth would replace my mana until it was completely exhausted.
‘My uses for Menosorpo have increased.’
It was thanks to Menosorpo that I could leap from the lakebed to the surface.
Within the range of the rune, the Weaving weapons moved freely, so I wondered if holding onto one could enable flight?
It was a simple thought, but it turned out to be possible. The problem was, only Mjölnir worked.
Other weapons, even when I tried to move with them in hand, couldn’t support my weight. If it was like this in water, it was hopeless on land.
‘Gram’ barely made my body twitch, and while Artemis’s bow and arrows did get me off the ground, I almost ran out of breath first.
‘Its almost out.’
The length of Penelope’s cloth tied around my hand had shortened to about the length of my forearm.
During this time, Nimue muttered in confusion.
“It’s impossible. That can’t be. There’s no way anyone could draw that sword! It’s impossible, for anyone…”
Impossible. For anyone. Nimue herself said so.
“That’s right! It’s a fake! Yes!”
Nimue exclaimed, pointing directly at me.
“…Hah.”
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. A bright, white laugh.
From the soles of my feet to the top of my head, I accepted her words. It felt as if my entire soul resonated with Nimue’s words.
And so, I let out a laugh as genuine as it could ever be.
“Yes, it’s a fake.”
I voiced a sincere word.
I’ve never been prouder of that answer.