Fate: The Forged Arthur Pendragon

"What are the side effects of learning multiple combat techniques at once?"

"Lucan told you to eat more, and to eat well?"

"Are you going to die?"

After completing his day's lessons in the castle square, Suya passed a team of cavalrymen preparing horses and supplies in the manor. He found Merlin, who was distributing food to another team of cavalrymen.

As former manor staff, she was quite familiar with the place. She had even managed to find a surprising amount of supplies in the manor, despite it having been plundered two or three times by rogue soldiers.

At this moment, hearing Suya's questions,

Merlin's expression was peculiar. She thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"Hmm, I'm a mage, not a combat professional. I don't quite understand where your power comes from."

"You guys are strange too, you know. It's just ordinary slashing, running, and jumping, but as your training time gets longer, you jump farther, run faster, and your slashes get more impactful."

"However, from what I know—"

"Professionals, through arduous training and continuous practice, can eventually master a power called Combat Techniques. Each time a combat technique is learned, it's a huge self-improvement."

"Those who learn one to three combat techniques can be called Apprentices."

"At this stage, the physical attributes gained through practicing combat techniques are between F- and F."

"In layman's terms, it's the span of a normal human's progression from starting professional training to completing arduous training."

"When both Strength and Agility reach the F-rank standard, and the number of mastered combat techniques exceeds five, one can be called a formal Professional. For a swordsman, this would be a Junior Swordsman."

"When the number of mastered combat techniques exceeds ten, and physical abilities reach the E- rank standard, it's possible to sense a special something called 'Ki'."

"A swordsman who has given birth to 'Ki' is called a Senior Swordsman, and once 'Ki' is fully mastered, they are qualified to advance in title and become a Master-level in the eyes of the secular world."

Hearing this,

Suya silently counted the number of combat techniques he had learned on his fingers.

Mount, Roll, Throw, Dirty Tricks, Quick Step, False Clock.

In just one day, he had already mastered six combat techniques.

But he hadn't become a Professional-level Junior Swordsman.

And Merlin's description of the wonderful feeling of physical improvement through continuous training during combat technique practice—he hadn't felt that either.

In other words,

Humans in this world actually train themselves and improve their strength by learning Combat Techniques.

But because Suya learned too quickly, he mastered the Combat Techniques without going through the process of 'training'.

Missing this link meant his physical attributes couldn't improve, and values like Strength, Agility, and Endurance couldn't be boosted.

So,

How was he supposed to improve himself?

Sit-ups?

For a moment, Suya didn't know if learning so quickly was a good thing or a bad thing.

His previous battle had already made him realize that the thousands of skills he had replicated from his past life couldn't directly translate into effective power in this world; at most, they helped him draw inferences from other cases.

And now, if he didn't follow the rules of this world, how else would he gain power?

The standard for becoming a Professional Swordsman was physical attributes reaching F-rank.

The standard for becoming a Senior Swordsman was physical attributes reaching E- rank.

And the standards for becoming a Master, Hero, or Legendary would likely be even more exaggerated.

What was he to do, missing this path of improvement?

"Gurgle~!!"

Just as he thought this, a sound like a tyrannosaurus roar suddenly rumbled from Suya's abdomen.

The sound was like thunder from a clear sky, startling the surrounding knights, who all turned their heads.

Dagonet, who was passing by with a food tray, thought the enemy had arrived. His eyes widened in horror, and he instinctively slammed his feet to a halt, then abruptly vanished from plain sight, still holding the tray.

Seeing everyone looking at him, and knights queuing far behind him, Suya forced a stoic expression, quickly took a food tray from Merlin, and casually walked to a small round table specially prepared for him, putting the tray down and sitting.

On the tray were a smoked fish, a large piece of green cheese, and a bowl of steaming hot cabbage soup.

These were all items Merlin had led people to search for in the cellar earlier that morning. The manor's original various vegetables, fruits, beef, milk, and cheese had all been plundered by the rogue soldiers. Only these deeply hidden ingredients were found.

They weren't very delicious, but luckily, they were plentiful and filling.

"Since it's come to this, let's eat first."

After thinking through it fruitlessly and deciding that he probably wouldn't be able to get anything more out of Lucan today, Suya could only suppress his worries and begin to eat.

Only,

Ten seconds later, as Suya elegantly set down the glistening, licked-clean plate, he frowned, looking at his stomach.

"Strange, why do I get hungrier the more I eat?"

Suya looked up, silently picked up his plate, and stood again, returning to Merlin, who was distributing food.

"Merlin, another serving, please."

Merlin looked up blankly. Didn't we just meet ten seconds ago?

Are you eating?

Or are you perhaps vacuuming it down?

And why is your plate so clean, not even a single fishbone left?

Merlin blinked, but ultimately resisted the urge to complain, and handed Suya another serving of food.

It's fine... after all, as a King, he should have such an appetite!

However...

Ten seconds later,

Merlin stared, dumbfounded, at Suya, who reappeared before her, his face slightly flushed with a hint of embarrassment.

"Um... Merlin, another serving, please! Ah, no, ten servings."

Bourn's Territory.

At the entrance of Sir Ector's Manor.

Half an hour before the unit's departure—

The knights, who should have been leading their horses to gather here, ready to depart, now turned back, a look of urgency on their faces, running towards the manor after informing each other of an emergency order.

Nearly a hundred people gathered in the small square where food was distributed, all staring blankly at the small round table in the center of the square.

At this moment,

Their King sat at the table, using a pair of strange small sticks with one hand, continuously picking food from his plate and putting it into his mouth, making satisfying chewing sounds.

The King's movements were exceedingly elegant. Even using such unfamiliar eating utensils, he appeared more noble and graceful than any noble the knights had ever seen.

Only...

"Gritch—!!!"

"Crunch—!!!"

"Clack clack clack—!!!"

It was as if a tractor was wildly clattering through the square.

Horrifying sounds of bones, meat, and fibers mixing, being ground by teeth, kneaded by the tongue, and swallowed by the throat, continuously emanated from the King's mouth!

"Rumble—!"

Accompanied by thunderous roars,

The knights didn't understand what kind of monster could make such sounds.

But more than that,

What terrified them, shifting their emotions from astonishment and stupor, was—

The towering stacks of plates beside the King, like a small mountain, piled over three meters high!

At this moment,

Ten knights stripped off their armor, wearing civilian clothes, and ran to the manor's well with stacks of plates piled up to their chins;

Ten knights frantically washed plates by the well, even though the plates had already been licked so clean they shimmered;

Ten knights constantly shuttled between the kitchen and the square, carrying out pot after pot of food, and returning to the kitchen with pot after pot of empty large pots;

Ten knights in the kitchen were exhausted, panting like bellows, their eyes red, continuously adding firewood and pouring ingredients into the pots.

Merlin, the King's prophet and steward, who was responsible for directing the scene and constantly moving through the crowd, suddenly looked up. She saw dozens of knights who had just run over, their faces blank, and she looked like she'd seen a savior.

"Quick!"

"You, yes, you!"

"—Knights!"

"Take off your armor, grab your tools, and quickly go clean! Watch out for oil on the floor! I want it cleaner than your faces!"

"Huh, the serving knight, what's wrong with you? Ah... Damn it, the serving knight collapsed! Quick, you, fill in for him!"

"And who can tell me where those two scoundrels, Lucan and Dagonet, ran off to!?"

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Merlin let out a near-breakdown wail.

She looked at Suya, who was enjoying his meal with gusto, her face helpless and terrified.

Why,

Why,

Why are you eating more than a real dragon?!