Odin's Curse

Brave young man, go create a miracle to save the princess in the castle!

Hurry up and slay a giant dragon.

Gawain felt no stir in his heart at Merlin's encouragement. Judging by how the dragon in the crystal ball contrasted with the castle's outline, and using the proportions from movies he had watched before, it was probably fifty meters tall even if it was not quite a hundred.

What did that mean? It was on the level of colossal monsters like Godzilla and King Kong.

Only a human god like Ultraman could possibly defeat it.

In fact, the Roman mythological hero Hercules, or Heracles, had once defeated the Titan giant Antaeus. Antaeus was Gaia's son, while the gods of Mount Olympus, led by Jupiter, or Zeus, were all descendants of the Titans.

Heracles defeating a Titan undoubtedly proved that he possessed the power of a god and was qualified to become one.

"A dragon of that size must be a hundred meters long. It would take a hero with the strength of a god—no, at least one as powerful as the pagan gods—to defeat it."

Gawain shook his head and tactfully declined Merlin's proposal.

Although he had completed Sir Ector's knight training course, Sir Lancelot's Method for Slaying Dragons, and received full marks in the dragon-slaying class, it had ultimately all been armchair theory. He had never put it into practice.

After all, the course had always been theoretical instruction and theoretical examinations, never actual combat.

Any warrior capable of slaying dragons in Camelot already qualified to become one of Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. He would not come to Sir Ector's castle to work as an instructor just to pass the time.

If they actually caught a dragon for live instruction and an on-site exam, the students and teachers present would lose more than their grades. They would lose their lives.

Gawain had once suspected whether the book, which went by such titles as Sir Lancelot Teaches You to Slay Dragons with Ease and <One Hundred Dragon-Slaying Techniques of the Knights of the Round Table>, had really been written by Sir Lancelot. Perhaps Sir Kay had obtained Lancelot's licensed IP and deliberately published it under his name.

After all, the book's older edition had been titled <Sir Kay's Guide to Teaching Even Cowards to Slay Dragons>. Perhaps it had not sold well, so it had been republished under the more famous name of Sir Lancelot.

The book sold extremely well in Camelot under Sir Lancelot's name. Whether they were full knights, squires, or even the young masters of ordinary wealthy families, who did not dream of slaying a dragon, claiming its treasure, rescuing a princess, marrying her, and inheriting a throne? Naturally, they had to buy a copy.

Ordinary people rarely encountered dragons, but if they truly did meet one, then so long as they were fully prepared, could they not follow the procedures in the book and slay it in a standardized, assembly-line fashion?

Of course, the dragon could not be too big, and it had to obediently cooperate according to the textbook's requirements.

In the Central Plains dynasties, which practiced the imperial examination system, the most popular type of novel was the scholar-and-beauty romance.

The usual formula was this: an impoverished scholar traveled to the capital for the examinations, spent the night at a temple, and happened to meet the prime minister's daughter. With her financial aid, they fell in love and secretly pledged themselves to one another. The prime minister's wife tried to break them apart, but with the maid acting as matchmaker, the protagonist ultimately passed first in the imperial examinations, overcame the difference in their family status, and lived happily ever after with the heroine.

Camelot likewise had stories about knights rescuing princesses, defeating dragons, and inheriting kingdoms. The specific details might differ, but the structure of the tales was broadly the same.

In such a cultural atmosphere, it was only natural that Gawain's Dala Bengba's Song had become wildly popular.

The songs of bards told countless knightly tales of that sort. Arthur himself simply did not have a princess, or else the king whose daughter was snatched away by a dragon in this book would not have been King Lot of Northern Europe or King Charlemagne of the Franks. It would have been Arthur of Camelot.

To defeat a dragon required a hero as mighty as a god. In Greek mythology, such heroes were Heracles and Perseus; in Celtic mythology, they were Cú Chulainn, Finn, and Diarmuid.

What level was Gawain at? Being self-aware, he knew that he was only around Jason's level—and currently, a low-spec version at that.

"You are a hero as mighty as a god, Gawain. You have already defeated a god—a pagan god."

Merlin smiled. As Christianity's influence across Britain grew ever greater, "god" was often automatically understood to mean God. Thus, it was no longer suitable for bards to use gods as a measure of bravery in their praise. They could only add a prefix and call them pagan gods.

"You mean the Green Knight. Yes, I did defeat him, but I relied on more than my own strength. I had Arthur's sword, and I had the aid of the oaths of ninety-nine Knights of the Round Table. Only then could I defeat my enemy."

Gawain himself understood just how much his status as a hero who had defeated a god had been watered down.

It was like Jason and Heracles completing the Argo's adventure together, then claiming to be richer than a nation merely because an ordinary man had added his wealth to that of the richest man in the world.

The Green Knight had offered no resistance at all. He had voluntarily presented his head to be cut off. Gawain had indeed "killed" a god and severed the god's head, but the other man immediately revived and demanded the right to return the blow a year later. Gawain's trial had not been completely successful.

"Mr. Merlin, this is Arthur's court. A great many Knights of the Round Table have gathered here, and every one of them is brave, fearless, and extraordinarily powerful. Surely there must be a hero among them capable of fighting a dragon. Right now, I am unarmed. I do not even have a sword. Empty-handed, I am no match for a dragon.

"Besides, you know that the story of Dala Bengba's Song was all made up by me."

No matter how inflated Gawain's confidence became, it would never reach the point where he believed he could defeat a dragon comparable to a god or stand alongside a great hero like Heracles. Thus, his voice inevitably grew quieter as he said that final sentence.

"So you mean that if you were confident, you would fight the dragon?"

Following Gawain's words, Merlin instead turned them against him.

"It does not have to be a hundred percent. I just need some hope of winning against it. Five percent, no—twenty percent."

When Gawain said fifty percent, he felt Merlin's scrutinizing gaze and hurriedly changed his words.

"I see. This castle has the king's armory. It contains not only the king's holy sword, but also holy lances, shields, and all kinds of weapons. It is enough to arm you to the teeth."

Merlin casually resolved Gawain's first problem: having no weapon.

"Didn't Uncle go out hunting? Didn't he take the holy sword with him?"

Gawain asked in confusion. Excalibur was the symbol of the king. Although bows were more useful for hunting, it was not strange to personally take the field against larger prey.

Who went hunting without bringing a weapon?

"There are two Excaliburs—no, more accurately, three. The story you know best is how Arthur pulled a sword from a stone and was acclaimed king. That was the first sword symbolizing royal authority, nicknamed the Sword in the Stone.

"When Arthur dueled a knight and violated the spirit of chivalry, the sword broke. Thus, he had to seek a second Excalibur, the current Excalibur, also known as the Sword in the Lake. It was forged by elves in Avalon and bestowed upon Arthur by the Lady of the Lake.

"There is also a sword called Gallatin. All three swords are Excaliburs. Only the last was intended by Arthur as a sword for his successor.

"This is an old tradition. When a king ascended the throne, there were three ceremonial swords: the Sword of Mercy, which had no point; the sharp Sword of Justice; and the Sword of the World. So long as you uphold your oath, given your deeds at Camelot Court and the knights' recognition of you, so long as you keep your oath, even if you cannot wield Excalibur, you can still take up the holy sword through the strength of the Knights of the Round Table."

Merlin gave Gawain a simple introduction to Excalibur. Gawain, meanwhile, found himself in a dilemma. If all the conditions he had raised were truly resolved, then he would have no choice but to bravely go slay a dragon—or die trying.

In Arthurian legend, Gallatin seemed to be the holy sword Arthur gave Gawain, the sword Gawain himself wielded.

Some said it was the Sword in the Stone that had broken long ago. Others said it was a sword, like the Sword in the Lake, bestowed by the Lady of the Lake.

"Is the sword left in the castle Gallatin?"

Gawain asked. Even though he did not want to go dragon-slaying, he was still interested in the sword that belonged to him in the stories.

Since the Sword in the Stone had broken, and the Sword in the Lake was the king's personal sword, the one remaining in the castle had to be Gallatin.

"No, Gallatin is with the king. The one in the castle is the Sword in the Stone that broke long ago. Come to think of it, it should be almost repaired by now."

Merlin rubbed his head as he thought, and Gawain's expression darkened. "Almost repaired? What if it has not been repaired?"

"Then I can only trouble you to fight the dragon with a broken sword." Merlin spoke unconcernedly. Seeing Gawain's unpleasant expression, he continued, "A broken sword can be reforged. In the age of chaos, when one branch of the Celtic gods, the Tuatha Dé Danann, first arrived in Ireland, they brought four divine treasures from their homeland, the Land of Heaven, into the mortal world: a stone, a spear, a sword, and a cauldron.

"That stone was one of the Tuatha Dé Danann's four treasures. It was called the Stone of Destiny. When it was time to choose a new ruler, every candidate would step forward in turn and touch the stone. When the one ordained by fate touched it, it would scream, selecting the true king for the people of the land.

"That is truly divine right of kings.

"By inserting the Sword in the Stone into this stone, you can use its power to restore the sword. Gawain, come with me. Then pull the Sword in the Stone out. I think it can hardly wait to come out."

Merlin waved at Gawain, and an alley appeared from within the room. Gawain followed behind Merlin and looked ahead. A huge stone stood in the center of the room, while all manner of weapons collected by Arthur were arranged on racks around it. A sword was embedded in the stone's center.

It was the first Excalibur Arthur had obtained.

"Go on, pull it out, Gawain!" Merlin said with a smile.

Gawain looked at the holy sword buried in the stone and was suddenly overcome with uncertainty. Could he truly pull the Sword in the Stone out, just as his uncle Arthur had?

Did he truly possess the ability to bear the fate of this land and all life upon it?

"Merlin, do you really think I can pull it out?" Gawain said wistfully. "I am merely a child who has yet to establish any merit, who has no deeds to his name. Even if I have received the world's respect and won glory because of my uncle, I...

"When I came to Camelot, everyone knew I had come to inherit Arthur's land and wealth. It seemed as though I had come here from the beginning to become king. In truth, I simply could not get by in the Northern European kingdoms anymore."

Looking at the Sword in the Stone, Gawain came to a realization. Once he pulled out the sword, what he would enjoy would not merely be power, but responsibility as well.

"Prince Gawain, I have heard a little of your story!"

Merlin nodded respectfully to Gawain, approached him, and slowly said, "Why did you not tell your uncle Arthur the truth? Prince Gawain, son of King Lot, is also a renowned warrior in Northern Europe. You already had deeds of your own. You gave up the chance to become king, and that noble act would earn the knights' recognition as well."

Separated from the continent by the channel, the British Isles could watch the turmoil in Europe with a smile while the mainland was engulfed in war. It was an exceptional geographical position. Any nation wishing to attack Britain needed a powerful navy, which meant the Kingdom of Camelot, located on the British Isles, naturally tended toward isolation.

News from European nations could spread quickly across Europe, but news from Britain to Europe, or from Europe to Britain, was always delayed by a great deal.

As the heir to King Lot, the strongest king in Northern Europe, Prince Gawain's valiant deeds had long reached the court of the Kingdom of the Franks. Yet throughout Camelot, no one knew anything of Gawain—not even Arthur.

Such was Camelot's isolation. Even Gawain's father, King Lot, was regarded by the people of Camelot at this time as nothing more than a barbarian king.

They had not realized at all that Camelot, a kingdom that had only recently ended a war, whose population had dwindled to its limits and needed time to recover, could not muster a large-scale army that rivaled the pirate king, King Lot.

"That hardly counts as a deed. I did not stop my father or the elders. I did not stop my brothers. Nor did I gather innocent infants. I merely refused to take part. If I spoke of it, I would be disparaging my father, my family, and my people's reputation in order to curry favor with Camelot. Yes, some people would inevitably see it that way. I am not a hero, but a cowardly weakling. Even the gods see me that way."

Memories from the past surfaced in Gawain's mind, carrying the intense emotions of his former self. That unwillingness filled his heart.

The Vikings lived on the Scandinavian Peninsula, where it was cold year-round, the land was scarce, food was in short supply, and the environment was exceedingly harsh.

If Britain's land was poor compared with places like France in Europe, then Northern Europe barely had any agriculture worth mentioning.

Competition. That was a truth Gawain had understood since childhood.

From birth, Vikings had to learn how to endure every kind of brutally harsh competition.

As infants, they had to learn to fight at the same time they learned to walk. As youths, they had to learn wrestling and hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, archery, and how to handle ships. Even their daily amusements consisted of boxing or games that tested offensive and defensive techniques.

War gods like Odin and Thor were worshipped by all Vikings. For warriors, the best ending in life was to die on the battlefield. Only then would their souls be taken by the Valkyries to Valhalla.

The Scandinavian Peninsula was mostly bitterly cold, yet Vikings rarely fell ill. That was because sickly Vikings were thrown into the sea by their companions.

Those who were often ill and unhealthy were regarded as "weaklings" chosen by the gods. Being with the strong brought good fortune, while being with the weak brought only misfortune. The weak could never ascend to glorious Valhalla and deserved only to descend into hell after death.

In such an extremely harsh environment, only those who were strong enough could survive. Only the cruel could naturally become Viking leaders and kings.

Gawain understood his father, King Lot, and had never resented him.

Because in an environment like Northern Europe, such culture and customs were the only way for a tribe to survive.

Raiding and plundering were better than farming; that was common sense to these Vikings. Thus, as king, one had to be strong and could never indulge in soft-hearted mercy.

But understanding was not the same as agreeing. Tacit acceptance did not mean approval.

"Mr. Merlin, I do not know how you heard about me. I only want to say that it has all passed. The mighty Viking warrior Gawain of old never existed from the very beginning. He disappeared the moment he boarded the ship to Camelot. Only I remain. At the tribal assembly's ceremony, Gawain was cursed by Odin. He was stripped of his courage and can no longer become a great hero like Arthur or Sir Lancelot."

After speaking, Gawain placed his hand upon the hilt and tried to pull the sword free. Yet the holy sword, seemingly bound tightly to the earth and fused with the stone, did not move in the slightest.

Gawain's heart sank at once.

As expected, he could not pull out the Sword in the Stone.

Odin, did I dig up your ancestral grave or something?

Why are you targeting me like this?

Are these the memories of the former Gawain? Is this a trial from the Sword in the Stone?

Gawain wanted to release the hilt, but scenes from the past rose one after another before his eyes.

They were memories Gawain had tried desperately to forget, yet had never truly forgotten.

His glorious and unbearable past.