Chapter 1: Knight of the Dawn
Camelot, the impregnable fortress, the holy city impervious to evil magic.
This city reached its zenith during King Arthur's reign, becoming a symbol and an emblem—yet even now, at the end of King Uther's era, it remains exceptionally prosperous compared to other parts of Britain.
Noah Blake walked along the busiest street in Camelot, absorbing the unique atmosphere, and couldn't help but feel a wave of contemplation.
Truly a place where the Age of Gods had not fully ended. Compared to the ordinary ancient times, with the blessings of the divine era, many things here were different.
For instance, food never rotted, every year brought abundant harvests, people possessed stronger physical constitutions, diseases rarely broke out, and there were scarcely any natural disasters posing significant threats.
Such divine protection was utterly unreasonable.
Yet if he recalled correctly, by the middle to late period of King Arthur's reign, the Age of Gods in Britain began to wane. Food started to spoil, the land returned to normal, newborns had weaker physiques, and diseases and natural disasters emerged...
Though some claimed King Arthur did not understand the people's hearts, Noah found it hard to believe that Arthur's downfall had no connection to these generations who, having lived under divine protection all their lives, suddenly lost it and struggled to survive.
As for the lack of effective strategies from King Arthur at the time... it was hardly surprising. These people had lived under divine protection for generations, but so had King Arthur and the rulers before him. Some might have foreseen the decline of the Age of Gods, yet Arthur likely never anticipated the magnitude of its impact.
Reflecting on such matters deepened Noah's inner sigh.
Although mystery was undoubtedly fading now, it had yet to cause any large-scale repercussions.
Thus, the Camelot—or rather, the Britain—of today was entirely different from the one he knew.
Indeed.
Noah was one of those born with knowledge, what one might call a transmigrator.
In his previous life, he lived in a more modern era. After death, he found his memories intact, born anew with an innate understanding of the local language, and grew up once more on this land.
In this life, his parents died at the hands of magical beasts when he was young.
He was rescued and adopted by a knight, who raised him to adulthood. Now, he was twenty years old.
The old knight, who nurtured him and taught him the ways of chivalry, expressed his final wish on his deathbed: for Noah to return to Camelot, uphold his legacy, and once again become a knight under the king's banner.
If all went well, Noah felt this return would fulfill the old knight's dying wish.
Of course.
The old knight probably never imagined that while Noah had returned, he did so with a mission to assassinate the new king...
Ah.
At this thought, Noah shook his head slightly.
It couldn't be helped. He had been in this world for over twenty years. As a transmigrator, he had never seen any trace of a system. Aside from his innate comprehension of the local language, he never possessed any cheat abilities.
Although his talent as a knight surpassed that of the old knight, it wasn't strong enough to defy rules and logic.
Nor had he ever encountered anything like the Fairy's Blessing or trials of holy swords.
Thus, a few years ago, during a battle against magical beast invasions, he suffered severe injuries and was coincidentally saved by the exiled Morgan. As repayment, he became her knight...
Yes, that Morgan.
The very same Morgan from the Arthurian legends—King Arthur's sister and the notorious witch.
When Noah first learned she was his savior, his feelings were complicated.
But the moment he saw Morgan's face, he cast all thoughts of Arthurian legends aside.
When he initially discovered that crops in this world yielded abundant harvests regardless of type, he didn't think much of it. After encountering magical beasts, he merely assumed this might be a fantastical version of the Arthurian legends.
But Morgan's face... he recognized it instantly.
After all, this was the very face jokingly called "Saber face" by fans in his previous life—the face of Artoria Pendragon, the King of Arthur from the Fate series!
It was at that moment Noah realized he had transmigrated into the world of Fate!
And specifically into the Fate world during King Arthur's era!
Since Morgan was exiled and couldn't move freely across Britain, Noah began operating covertly as her knight on British soil.
Naturally, Morgan provided him with certain benefits.
These advantages allowed Noah, whose innate talent was already decent, to gain considerable fame across Britain while still in his early twenties.
Knight of the Dawn.
This title had become relatively well-known even among knightly circles. Thanks to this reputation, when Merlin organized the sword-pulling ceremony to select a new king after King Uther's death, Noah received an invitation to Camelot.
Precisely because of this event, Morgan—who had likely seen through Merlin's tricks—didn't doubt Noah's ability to pull the Sword in the Stone. She directly ordered him to attend, pledge loyalty to the new king, and seize an opportunity to assassinate the monarch...
To be honest, had Morgan asked him to assassinate anyone else, Noah would have given it his all within his capabilities, even knowing success wasn't guaranteed.
Though their interactions were limited, Morgan had genuinely saved his life and taught him how to refine magical energy. The sword he wielded was her gift, and she'd even taught him some simple yet effective magecraft following King Uther's wizard purge.
If Morgan truly demanded anything of him, he wouldn't hesitate to repay his debt.
But assassinating the new king—that is, King Arthur—presented a critical problem.
Despite their limited contact, judging from Morgan's reaction during their last discussion about the new monarch... Morgan herself seemed uncertain whether she truly wanted Arthur—Artoria—dead.
Her hesitation consequently extinguished Noah's motivation to risk everything.
Procrastinate—he'd just keep putting it off.
Let's wait until Morgan sorts out her own thoughts.
As for before that...
With my current abilities, it shouldn't be too difficult to secure a position as a Knight of the Round Table under King Arthur.
If Merlin actually discovers something, I could always try becoming a double agent while mediating the sisters' relationship... Anyway, since they haven't sorted out their own family matters, just go with the flow.
As an outsider, being too enthusiastic would only breed resentment.
What if the new king isn't King Arthur?
Hah, how could that be!
Though Merlin is currently standing by the Sword in the Stone spouting nonsense like "Whosoever pulls this sword from this stone is rightwise born king of all of Britain," Noah knew perfectly well that Artoria was chosen by Merlin and King Uther—the destined ruler who must be both human and beyond human.
Artoria's very existence was unique.
Moreover, Merlin had been teaching her in dreams for so long.
Even Morgan, who inherited the power of Britain and was the legitimate heir, had been exiled.
Hell, even this Sword in the Stone was prepared by Merlin!
Someone else pulling it out?
If anyone else could pull it out, I'd eat this Sword in the Stone along with the rock beneath it right now!
Watching Merlin hypocritically inviting famous knights from across Britain to try pulling the sword after his speech, Noah merely scoffed inwardly before settling in to wait.
Of course, he wasn't waiting for his own turn.
He knew perfectly well he was just there to make up the numbers.
He was waiting for everyone else to finish so he could stay behind and maybe exchange a few words with Artoria before she pulled the sword, just to get familiar with her.
But Artoria would only come to pull the sword at the very end, after everyone had failed and the ceremony had concluded. Before that could happen, Merlin called Noah's name.
"Knight of the Dawn, Noah Blake, why don't you give it a try too? Good luck."