Carian Knights
They were magical knights who served the Carian royal family.
Each of them had been personally awarded a medal by the Lunar Queen. Every single one was a hero capable of defeating ten thousand enemies alone—without exception.
But as the royal family declined, the heroes vanished one by one, until even the Carian Knights themselves became hard to find.
And the one standing here—Moongrum, Carian Knight—was the elite of the elites who had survived. He was far stronger than an ordinary Carian Knight. You could guess as much from the fact that, in the game Elden Ring, he guarded the gate for the Lunar Queen.
As a hostile NPC in Elden Ring, Moongrum often showed an astonishing upper limit—and an equally ridiculous lower limit.
At his peak, he could parry every strike and execute the Tarnished, pulling off miraculous clutch reversals with only a sliver of health left.
At his worst, he would wander around like an idiot and get inexplicably killed while still at full HP.
In player-held NPC tournaments, Moongrum's absurd plays earned him the nickname match-fixer, and his title became Carian's Richest Man—because the money he earned throwing matches was supposedly enough to buy all of Caria.
But here, in this world he had been summoned into, he wouldn't act like a fool just because of some AI quirk. Here, he was a magical knight capable of defeating ten thousand foes.
All that explanation was just to say one thing—
"Solar Flare!"
A dazzling flash burst across the courtyard. Caught off guard, Moongrum's eyes were struck by the light, and he instinctively grabbed his helmet.
The Carian Knight's visor was hollowed out, more decorative than protective—probably because they rarely needed close combat.
Moongrum swayed slightly. Just as Gapar smiled, the knight straightened up again.
That fast?
Not only had he recovered, he raised his sword—and a deep-blue magical blade began forming along it.
Gapar had seen that move from Leon before. Great Carian!
Dodging the powerful spell, Gapar wondered why Solar Flare worked so poorly this time. Before, it blinded enemies for dozens of seconds, even minutes. It never failed.
Yet against Moongrum, it barely made him wobble.
That wasn't strange. Moongrum was elite among elites. Though his stats weren't as high as his similarly named colleague in the Shadow Realm, his resistance to status effects far surpassed ordinary mobs.
As for Gapar—if his stats were shown like in a game, his Intelligence would barely meet the minimum requirement to cast spells. Usable, but definitely not strong.
Magic couldn't be strengthened through physical ability, after all.
So Solar Flare had little effect on Moongrum.
Not good enough?
While circling at the edge, Gapar waited for his mana to recover and fired Solar Flare again.
This time, Moongrum didn't even sway. Through the helmet you couldn't see his face, but he must have closed his eyes before the flash.
So dungeon monsters could adapt to adventurers' fighting styles too.
Gapar's expression looked like someone whose favorite overpowered strategy had just been nerfed—his sadness was three or four stories tall.
Then he snapped out of it. He didn't have to rely on Solar Flare to fight. Why sulk?
He had just been having too much fun throwing flashbangs earlier.
Bang!
The Sword clashed with the Carian Knight's blade, sparks exploding.
Gapar's arm shook violently. Moongrum stepped back one pace—purely in terms of strength, Gapar had the edge.
The sword saint sheathed his blade. In the next instant, the sky-filling sword-light that once shredded the City of Flesh in the Battle of Val appeared again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Moongrum's response was simple—raise his shield.
Gapar's Starburst Stream forced him to slide nearly half a meter back.
Moongrum stood firm, using an ordinary shield as if it were an Iron Wall.
But a medium shield couldn't block everything. Outside its coverage, cuts appeared on his shoulder and leg armor.
Just as Gapar prepared to press his advantage, Moongrum swung his shield, forcing him back.
In that gap, Moongrum's sword glowed again.
…?
Gapar moved to interrupt—but misjudged.
It was Carian Piercer.
Faster than Carian Greatsword.
Gapar's protective aura shattered. The thrust even left a shallow cut on his waist.
The last time his aura broke was when a Death Rite Bird smashed him—and that blow had been even stronger.
"Interesting."
Instead of retreating, Gapar charged in, landing an identical wound on Moongrum.
By Sein Dungeon standards, Moongrum was about C++ rank. Maybe not stronger than Gapar, but still a worthy opponent.
Freed from his sometimes-godlike, sometimes-trash AI, he showed exactly how a true Carian Knight fought.
Five-hit straight sword combo, shield guard, Glintblade Phalanx, Carian Piercer / Swift Slash / Greatsword, Great Carian, Glintstone Pebble…
His techniques covered both close and long range. Especially Piercer—whenever an enemy dodged or rolled, he almost always used it, perfectly catching recovery frames.
From afar, he spammed Glintstone Pebbles mixed with Swift Pebbles, plus sudden Phalanx shots. Annoying beyond belief.
Wait… did he even use those in the game?
Even if not, Wade probably taught him using spell pages here.
His build was perfect for fighting people—even bosses.
If his opponent weren't Gapar, he would likely win easily. Even Leon, if careless, might stumble.
After dodging another Phalanx volley, Gapar grew irritated.
His aura couldn't completely block mid-tier magic. Getting hit gave him a strange stiffness, like paralysis building up. Was that a spell effect too?
He couldn't keep this up.
"Slash—!"
Using sword energy as cover, when Moongrum raised his shield, Gapar dashed forward like lightning. One strike left a huge X-shaped wound on the knight's chestplate.
Moongrum was nearly finished.
Under Gapar's storm of attacks, cracks appeared. Finally, Gapar knocked his sword away—
Shing—
Gapar sheathed his blade, crouched low, preparing the finishing draw-cut.
A technique learned from fighting the demi-human sword saint. With his stronger body, this strike could split mountains and seas.
He drew the sword—
A perfect killing blow.
Light flashed on Moongrum's shield. Beneath the helmet, he smiled.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang through the courtyard.
Shield… striking weapon.
Gapar's eyes widened—his sword nearly flew from his hand.
His attack had been parried?!
Worse—he was frozen in forced stagger.
Parries using Sein Dungeon techniques caused special effects—forced stun. Just like how imitating Lion's Claw couldn't replicate their true effects.
So he could only watch as Moongrum grabbed his shoulder and stabbed his heart.
Execution.
Moongrum at disadvantage… tiring… Moongrum wins.
You could always trust Moongrum. Caria's Richest Man would always choose the most dramatic ending.
---
"You met Moongrum? He didn't let you pass, right?"
After reviving, Gapar found himself back in the classroom with the Sorting Hat. There was no bonfire, yet resurrection still worked.
Magic, I guess.
"Don't blame him. His duty is guarding the seal. Students can't wander into the research area—it's dangerous."
Gapar was still thinking about that parry.
First time in years he'd lost to someone weaker overall. Partly carelessness, partly Moongrum's real strength.
So—
"My blood's boiling!"
"If you really want to see the research area, I can tell you Moongrum's weakness—hey, where are you going?"
Before the Sorting Hat finished speaking, Gapar dashed out, eager for round two.
Weakness? No thanks. Against strong foes, fight head-on.
Strange—you didn't say that when teaching Leon.
When Gapar returned to the courtyard, he went all out immediately. Aura condensed, he slashed a crescent blade of energy forward.
The knight raised his shield—
—and got split in two. Blood splashed everywhere.
"…Huh?"
Gapar froze.
He one-shot Moongrum?
Impossible.
Looking closer—this wasn't Moongrum. Just another knight in identical armor, far weaker.
Where was Moongrum?
After losing once, the seal's guardian became an ordinary Carian Knight.
Defeat Moongrum—special reward.
Defeat a normal knight—nothing.
The Raya Lucaria Academy, as a transition area between Sein and Val, wouldn't be cruel enough to keep Moongrum here permanently.
Gapar sighed and touched the floating seal.
Maybe whatever lay beyond would comfort him.
The seal rippled. Magic words appeared:
[You are not qualified. You are not qualified.]