FATE: The Man with Divine Keys

With trembling eyes, Merlin looked at Arkhan, feeling the overwhelming superiority from the realm of higher intelligence.

He tilted his head down, his eyes vacant, his expression lifeless, as if he had turned into a gray photograph.

"It seems the result is quite clear now..." Arkhan said, looking at Merlin as though he had turned into stone. "I'm sorry, Merlin, but you've lost this second round."

"What's all this about?!" Merlin suddenly snapped back to reality and shouted, "These can't even be considered problems! It's just sophistry!"

"How can you call it sophistry? Shouldn't a monkey run away when it meets a hunter? Who says the bag must be filled with apples and beans? When have you ever seen someone lift themselves up?"

Arkhan shrugged with indifference.

"These are all perfectly normal questions; it's just that a certain Britain's greatest mage couldn't find the right answers. Lily, what do you think?"

Artoria thought for a moment and nodded, "I think... Teacher is right."

"See, even Lily agrees with me..." Arkhan smirked at Merlin. "O Great Mage, do you have anything else to say? Or are you planning to back out?"

If it were any other time, Merlin might have actually backed out, as he had done this sort of thing before. However, this competition was about his honor as a mentor, and Artoria was right there, watching him. If he did something like that, he would be thoroughly despised by her.

So, even though he was reluctant, Merlin could only nod in resignation.

"You win this second round."

"Good." Arkhan grinned.

Although Merlin rarely simulated the emotion of anger, right now, looking at Arkhan's face, he inexplicably wanted to punch him. He was even more convinced of his earlier judgment—this guy was more shameless than he was!

'I don't believe you could keep going with these inhuman questions, let's see how many more you can come up with!' Merlin thought with glee and a wicked smile appeared on his face. He then declared the match for the next round. "For the third round, let's have a sword fight!"

A faint light flashed, and a small wooden sword appeared in Arkhan's hand.

On the other side, Merlin held a radiant Excalibur Galatine in his left hand and a dazzling Excalibur in his right. Countless swords, like peacocks spreading their feathers, appeared behind him, almost obscuring the entire sky.

"Come on, let's begin this fair and just battle!" Merlin said with a joyful smile, his frustration easing.

"Merlin, you've gone too far!" Even Artoria couldn't hold back her anger anymore and furrowed her brows.

"Winning by reasonably applying the rules, how can that be too far?" Merlin's smile looked even more pleased. "If Arkhan is not satisfied, he can always use his own weapon. I won't stop him."

Artoria was getting angry, ready to scold Merlin severely, but suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Arkhan shaking his head.

"I lost this round..." Arkhan said, dropping the wooden sword he held. He smiled at Merlin. "You won, Merlin."

Merlin felt a bit regretful; he had wanted to give Arkhan a good beating this time. But it didn't matter; winning was what counted.

At least he had pulled one win back.

"Now it's my turn..." Arkhan said, his smile unchanged. "Just like before, three questions, and if you answer two correctly, you win."

'This guy couldn't be...' Merlin felt a sense of foreboding.

"First question, why do pigs fly?"

"Huh? What kind of question is that? I've never seen a flying pig!"

"You fool, it's because they eat the magic grass that makes them fly."

"What???"

"Second question, why do tigers fly?"

Merlin pondered for several seconds and finally caught on.

"Because they also eat the magic grass that makes them fly!"

"You idiot, it's because they eat that flying pig!"

"What the hell?!"

"Third question, why do dragons fly?"

Merlin's eyes were spinning like mosquito coils as he mumbled, "Uuhh... because they eat magic grass... No! It's because they eat that flying tiger!"

"Fool, dragons can fly naturally!"

"..."

===

The next two rounds did not proceed because Merlin admitted defeat outright.

As Merlin left, he appeared like a lost soul, his eyes devoid of their usual sparkle, muttering incessantly to himself, "14 peaches... 15 peaches... 4 numbers... 8 numbers... adjacent... not the same..."

Watching Merlin's haggard figure, Artoria couldn't help but feel a hint of worry. After all, for her, Merlin had been a mentor figure and dear friend for over a decade. Seeing him in such a state tugged at her heartstrings.

"Don't worry, someone as carefree as him will bounce back in no time." Arkhan approached and comforted her.

Artoria nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Teacher, was your method of winning a bit... despicable?"

To be honest, she believed that none of those questions could be answered by a normal person.

"Despicable, huh?"

Arkhan smiled down at Artoria, easily reaching her head due to his nearly one-head height advantage. He gently patted her head and continued:

"This is the first lesson I'll teach you, Lily. When facing different opponents, you need to employ different tactics. Deal with despicable people in a more despicable manner, and confront tricky people with even greater tricks.

Remember, act like a lion but think like a fox.

The image of a king should be bright and honest, earning the love and respect of the people. But your methods should not be the same, because you'll definitely be facing some dirty scoundrels. So, you must use dirtier tactics to defeat them, or else you'll disappoint the people's expectations."

"But, I don't understand. I don't know how to use the... dirty tactics you're talking about."

Artoria had been raised with the most orthodox knightly education since childhood—justice, righteousness, trust, humility, and compassion. Over a decade of upbringing had made these values almost a part of her life's creed. Therefore, at that moment, she didn't know how to comprehend Arkhan's references to 'despicable', 'tricky', and 'dirty'.

"It's okay; I'll teach you all these things in the future. Since you've called me teacher, I can't let you down." Arkhan smiled, though there was a barely perceptible hint of guilt in his eyes.

"Umu..." Artoria softly hummed in response, lowering her head. In her azure eyes, a hint of complexity flickered.

===

A month later, explosive news spread like wildfire throughout all of Britain.

The day of the king selection was approaching. The location was none other than Tintagel! 

Countless knights rode their horses through the night to reach Tintagel. Everyone was eager and ready to showcase their skills at this grand event.

Not everyone's goal was to claim the sword in the stone.

Some intended to demonstrate their strength and win the favor of the future king. Others were merely curious, wondering after more than a decade of vacancy, who would ascend to the throne. There were also those mysterious figures with unknown origins, lurking in the shadows and quietly observing this royal gathering.

With various motives in their hearts, all these individuals gathered in Tintagel, a remote town on the outskirts of Britain, for the liveliest moment in its history.