Not Ready

After returning to the castle, Artorius and Mordred found Scathach. The training began once again, and it was a delightful experience.

Their lives fell into a routine.

Daily training. They pushed themselves to exhaustion and then headed to the holy spring for Medb to fill her stomach with bath water. Afterward, they returned to continue training.

In addition to their spearmanship, they also studied magecraft. Artorius was thrilled to delve into Scathach's magic workshop.

The magecraft classes were conducted separately. Mordred was not happy about this, but there was no other choice.

Due to her poor foundation in magecraft, studying with Artorius was like a kindergartener attending high school classes.

So while Scathach instructed Artorius, Mordred continued practicing her spear techniques. It worked the other way around as well.

This way, Scathach had the opportunity to spend time alone with Artorius.

Although it didn't serve much purpose at the moment, it might prove useful in the future.

===

In the blink of an eye, the seventh day arrived, and Artorius and Mordred were about to awaken.

At this moment, Mordred was diligently practicing spear techniques on the training grounds.

In the span of seven days, she had made significant progress. Not only did her spearmanship improve by leaps and bounds, but even her previously weak magecraft abilities also saw an improvement.

Meanwhile, in Scathach's magic workshop.

She thoroughly taught Artorius the first rune, which represented the concept and usage of 'wealth'.

"Only seven days, and you've completely mastered a Rune. You truly have remarkable talent," Scathach remarked while looking at Artorius, surrounded by a frost-colored rune.

When it came to talent in spearmanship, among her disciples, there were perhaps one or two who could compare to Artorius.

As for magecraft talent, there were also one or two individuals who could be mentioned.

However, to possess both talents simultaneously at the highest level was unprecedented, with Artorius being the only one.

This sense of destiny's calling made Scathach hold him in even higher regard.

"What is your so-called grand plan?" she asked earnestly, looking at Artorius. "It's about time you shared it with me."

"You're quite impatient, Teacher." Artorius smiled cheerfully, then continued, half-jokingly and half-seriously addressing Scathach, "If my plan doesn't align with your intentions, what would you do, Teacher? Or perhaps, if my plan surpasses your capabilities, what would you do?"

As he spoke these words, he looked at Scathach with a playful yet serious gaze.

Unlike Merlin, Morgan, and Vivian, in Artorius's plan, Scathach was crucial and irreplaceable.

Her understanding and mastery of 'fate' were profound. To usurp fate, her assistance was indispensable.

On the other hand, Morgan, Merlin, and Vivian could be substituted or even absent.

Therefore, when it came to Scathach, Artorius was more cautious in his approach.

===

Regarding what Scathach said—'I've already obtained what I wanted' from before, he analyzed and contemplated it earnestly. In the end, he reached a conclusion.

What she wanted was the pleasure of teaching and nurturing someone.

After all, she was a legendary teacher.

There was a saying, 'To obtain the world's talents and educate them is a triple delight.' In other words, as long as she could educate an outstanding youth like Artorius, Scathach would be all smiles.

As a famous teacher in the Age of Gods, although she wasn't as outstanding and famous as Chiron, she definitely regarded 'children with an innate talent for teaching' as a source of joy in her life.

Not to mention, he was not just any ordinary youth, but an extraordinarily talented one.

This point was something Artorius could confirm.

As for the other 'things she wanted,' Artorius could only rely on speculation.

What did Scathach want to gain from him?

Or perhaps, Scathach had already gained something from him.

Emotions?

Happiness?

The thrill of battle?

Or something else entirely?

Surely it couldn't be love.

Even someone as intelligent as Artorius couldn't know for sure because there were too few clues.

So he needed to probe further, to delve deeper into Scathach's innermost thoughts. To unearth, acquire, and even control the secrets, emotions, and heart of this unparalleled and unique woman in the world.

The best outcome would be to completely win over Scathach, to make her obedient to him like Mordred.

If that wasn't possible, at the very least, he needed to establish a strong and intimate relationship.

A partner? A lover? Such a relationship might not be that solid for Celts like them.

What Artorius wanted was to become the 'supreme' and 'sole' figure in her heart. It didn't matter if it was brother and sister, mother and son, teacher and disciple, or lovers; any positive relationship would suffice.

After all, Artorius had grand plans, and he needed to ensure that his plans would go off without a hitch.

Using emotions to manipulate the other party was also one method.

Although it didn't seem to be going smoothly at the moment.

As he contemplated in this manner, he spoke probing words and looked at Scathach, waiting for her response.

"How much you desire determines how much you must be prepared to sacrifice."

Scathach didn't directly answer his question. Instead, she said that sentence and then asked him.

"I am always prepared to engage in a war, even at the cost of my life... But what about you, Artorius?"

"..."

"It's clear that you lack such determination... you're not ready."

While Artorius remained silent, Scathach answered for him.

"We will meet again."

After Scathach spoke those words, everything in front of Artorius became increasingly blurry until the next second. He regained consciousness, returning to his senses, lying inside the tent.

'A week is neither long nor short, and... what did she mean by 'you're not ready'? Determination huh...'

Artorius thought to himself, then turned his head to look at Mordred. The latter seemed to be a little more dazed than him as if not fully awakened from the dream.

"Little Mo, snap out of it."

"Brother... Oh."

Mordred looked at Artorius with a silly expression for a while before finally coming to her senses. "Land of Shadows, Scathach, training..."

Thinking of this, Mordred jumped up in an instant and quickly put on her clothes, rushing outside.

"Little Mo?"

"I'm going to test it out!"

Once Artorius also dressed and walked out of the tent, he would understand what Mordred's 'test it out' meant.

It was spearmanship.

Mordred casually picked up a spear from the camp and effortlessly wielded it, smoothly executing techniques and moves with ease. Although the techniques were simple and not varied, they gave off a sense of power, fear, and even an unstoppable aura.

"It's not a dream after all! My spearmanship has really improved!"

Feeling simple happiness from this, she revealed a brilliant smile under the sunlight.

'How wonderful, with an increase in strength, I can better assist my brother.'

Thinking of such things, Mordred felt extremely happy, as if she were a contented little kitten after being thoroughly petted.

After receiving Artorius's promise—"we will continue to head to the Land of Shadows and receive training from Teacher Scathach."—Mordred once again made a firm resolution to learn earnestly and respond to her big brother's trust and affection.

This joy continued until the afternoon.

Their group finally returned to their home, the white city shining under the sun, Camelot.