Chapter 119: If You Had A Second Avalon, Then It Would Work
The third treasure mentioned by Vivian was entirely different from the previous two.
Whether it was the tree or the needle, both were crucial to the Lady of the Lake's magical realm, yet neither was closely guarded.
After all, unless one possessed Alchemy skills on par with Noah's, taking or damaging the needle was impossible.
As for the tree, it stood on the island at the heart of the Lady of the Lake's great lake—the very center of her magical realm. All the Ladies of the Lake lived around this great tree, and it was utterly inaccessible to any intruder unless every single one of them fell.
Thus, there was no need for guards.
But this third treasure was different.
Its location was exceptionally concealed, surrounded by numerous defensive and alerting barriers set up by the Ladies of the Lake. After Vivian led Noah and the others through these barriers and traversed a passageway formed by intertwined branches of various trees—resembling the entrance to a vast forest—they encountered several Ladies of the Lake acting as guards.
"Vivian."
Initially, the Ladies of the Lake were highly vigilant upon seeing intruders, but upon recognizing Vivian, they relaxed and hurried over.
"Poor Vivian, having to stand so close to Merlin all this time. You've probably spent more time near him today than in all your long years combined."
"Exactly! In the past, even the longest meetings between Merlin and Vivian were brief, and we kept them far apart. But today, they've been so close for hours... Ah, poor Vivian."
Hearing this, Noah glanced at Vivian and Merlin, who were standing several meters apart... Was this considered close?
Merlin, seemingly sensing Noah's confusion, walked over not with shame but with a smug expression.
"Your Majesty, whenever Vivian and I met before, the Ladies of the Lake would keep me over a hundred meters away. I could only vaguely make out Vivian's form—her voice was what I knew best. But this time, the situation is clearly different!"
Merlin laughed triumphantly, utterly delighted.
Just as the Ladies of the Lake hadn't bothered to lower their voices around him, Merlin made no effort to hide his words from them, much to their irritation.
Noah had witnessed similar interactions multiple times since arriving at the Lady of the Lake's magical realm.
He had no idea what Merlin had done to these Ladies of the Lake in the past to create such animosity, yet despite their mutual hostility, they still left Merlin a sliver of leeway—unlike the Fairies.
This made Noah suspect that something significant must have happened between them.
However, he had no interest in asking.
He simply watched Merlin trade barbs with the Ladies of the Lake until Vivian finished delegating tasks to them. Only then did the maiden-like spirits withdraw.
Then, Vivian led Noah, Merlin, and White to the location of the final treasure.
"We're actually quite close now."
"Originally, this object was simply embedded here, but later, our ancestors of the Lady of the Lake clan set up this great barrier just in case."
"And now, we are entering the interior of the barrier..."
As Vivian spoke, she led Noah and the others through a stone tunnel.
While traversing this tunnel, it felt as though they were walking through a corridor of time and space, with the sense that space was continuously distorting throughout the process, then connecting to a new space.
Logically speaking, given the original size of the Lady of the Lake's magical realm, after passing through this corridor, the destination should have been a very small cave.
But halfway through the corridor, Noah saw light at the end.
When Vivian finally led them through the corridor, what greeted their eyes was not a cave, but a small lake.
The small lake was such that the opposite shore could be seen at a glance, surrounded by trees. These trees grew exceptionally well, their branches intertwining above the lake, shattering the sunlight that filtered down from above into fragments, causing the golden radiance to fall like dust, making the entire area seem to glow with a golden luster.
Vivian arrived here, then light shimmered in her hands, and her heterochromatic eyes lit up. Accompanied by three verses of an incantation, stones emerged from beneath the water in the small lake, forming a path that led straight to the center of the lake. At the heart of the lake, on a pedestal made of gold, was embedded a Holy Sword intertwined with gold and blue.
Only where the Holy Sword rested was there a beam of light descending directly from the sky. Bathed in this light, the Holy Sword seemed like the most brilliant gem on earth, cherished by the world.
"Excalibur... Of course, you can also call it the Sword of Promised Victory—though it is said to be one item, it should actually be considered two treasures: Excalibur and its scabbard, Avalon."
"This is the final treasure of us, the Ladies of the Lake."
Seeing this, Noah wasn't particularly surprised. He walked over to Vivian's side and then posed a question to her.
"Earlier, you said you didn't want me to take the tree because it was the core of your Lady of the Lake magical realm. And you said you didn't want me to take that needle because it was the celestial gate of your Lady of the Lake magical realm—but why don't you want me to take this Holy Sword?"
Hearing Noah's question, Vivian shook her head.
"If you can pass the trial of Excalibur, then taking it away is actually what we, the Ladies of the Lake, hope for."
"But if you don't intend to undergo Excalibur's trial and only seek the sword's recognition... although I can't stop you from taking it, in my heart, I would rather you didn't."
Oh?
Noah was somewhat intrigued by Vivian's explanation, and so Vivian began to elaborate.
"If you can pass the trial of Excalibur, then what you will obtain is Excalibur itself. When fully unleashed against special enemies, it is undoubtedly..."
"Anti-Star Armament is special equipment created by the stars to deal with external threats."
"But if you do not choose the Trial and only wish to gain this sword's recognition—then after obtaining it, its glory alone could easily destroy mountains and cities. However, that is all. Without passing the Trial, you cannot unleash this sword's true power."
After saying this, Vivian turned around and met Noah's gaze.
"However, aside from the earliest legends during the dawn of the Age of Gods, where someone used this sword to confront an external enemy known as the 'White Giant,' no one has ever passed the Trial of the Excalibur."
She paused.
"During the dawn of the Age of Gods, this Excalibur might not have required a Trial but actively chose to confront the 'White Giant.' But now, it's different."
"In the process of guarding this sword, even I have witnessed many who chose to undertake the Trial. They were all Heroes, all capable of becoming legends—yet they all failed."
"And after failing, though they did not die, they lost even the qualification to gain the Holy Sword's recognition."
Noah smiled.
"So, is this Trial very complex?"
Vivian shook her head.
"The content of the Trial appears very simple. After initiating it, you merely walk step by step along this path, take one hundred steps, and then arrive before the Holy Sword—that is all. However, during this process, the energy of the Excalibur will continuously attack you from the surroundings."
"At first, some could withstand such attacks, but after fifteen steps at most, no one could hold on any longer. According to the legends of us, the Ladies of the Lake, even gods would fail after reaching the fiftieth step."
At this point, Vivian seemed to feel somewhat stifled, so she added a remark.
"However, there is one thing here that is hard to say whether it's laughable or just a joke."
As she spoke, her hand pointed toward the direction of the Holy Sword.
"Legend has it that the scabbard of the Holy Sword, Avalon, possesses the most powerful defensive capability in the world. It is an absolute defense that even the self-destruction of the 'White Giant' cannot breach, and the radiance of the Excalibur cannot shatter. If one had Avalon, they could likely pass the Holy Sword's Trial directly. But Avalon and the Holy Sword must be together to activate the Trial; otherwise, it only grants recognition. And if you first gain the Holy Sword's recognition, you cannot initiate the Trial again... Perhaps this is a joke the stars played on us, thinking this sword's power is too overwhelming."
Hearing Vivian's words, Noah smiled.
"So, as long as you can find a second Avalon, you can reliably pass the Trial, right?"
Vivian was amused by Noah's words. Thinking he was joking with her, she nodded.
"Pretty much. With Avalon's defensive power, if you had a second one, you could indeed pass the Trial."
Hearing this, Noah discussed with Mary, who indeed possessed the second Avalon—the one from their world—and then he nodded.
"In that case, let me choose the trial."