Culture values the idea of "the fox dying with its head pointed toward its mound" and "falling leaves returning to their roots." Kay was raised in a fairly traditional family in his previous life, and he took this seriously. It was like how he used to go back to his hometown every year for the holidays, no matter what. Even though he didn't have many relatives left there, he always felt that something was missing if he didn't go.
It was the same after coming to this world. He was an adult with a fully formed set of values, so even though his parents and family in this life were incredibly kind to him, Kay wasn't truly a child, and he always kept a little emotional distance. He was afraid—afraid that truly accepting his family here would cause him to forget his family and friends from the other world. Although he wasn't sure if that would actually happen, a nagging doubt remained in his heart.
Especially when Kay's secret ability (often called a 'cheat' or 'game system' in fantasy novels) awakened, his desire to go home grew stronger. Speaking of this ability, Kay didn't know where it came from. All he knew was that it activated when he was ten years old. During his first independent hunt with King Uther, after he successfully killed a half-grown wild boar, his ability awakened.
Kay's power was very unique, and even a little sinister. Initially, Kay was completely repulsed by it.
Kay's ability was simple: "Kill for Experience." Kay wasn't sure if his description was accurate.
But after killing that boar, he could feel a surge of energy flow from the animal into his body. This energy made Kay stronger, more agile, gave him a clearer mind, faster thinking, and a better memory.
At the same time, a familiar status screen, like those found in online video games or novels, appeared in his mind. The panel was simple, displaying only a few lines: three attributes—Strength, Agility, and Spirit—and an energy bar. Anyone who had played games or read similar stories would understand it.
What truly worried Kay was the energy bar.
Every time Kay killed a creature, the energy bar would increase slightly. Once the bar was full, Kay would gain one point that could be allocated to any of the three attributes.
Furthermore, the amount of energy Kay could absorb varied depending on the target. Generally, it followed two rules. One was related to the intelligence of the object Kay killed; the higher the intelligence, the more energy Kay could plunder.
This made humans one of Kay's best potential targets.
The second rule was related to strength. Whether it was an animal, a monster, or a person, the stronger they were, the more energy Kay could plunder.
This ability also had the potential to steal the victim's own skills. However, this was based on chance, much like a monster dropping gear or skill books in a game. Generally, the drop rate was very low, and many abilities were useless to Kay or simply could not be learned. Kay could choose to claim some of the acquired abilities and use energy points to enhance them.
This secret power gave Kay a terrible feeling because it constantly encouraged him to kill.
But Kay quickly adjusted his mindset. He was a former soldier and then a police officer, so his psychological fortitude was strong. He quickly reasoned that this ability was, essentially, just a weapon. Weapons are never inherently evil; they have no morality. The danger lies only in the person using the weapon.
Kay's experience from his previous life gave him enough confidence to use this 'weapon' responsibly.
After adjusting his attitude, Kay began to view his ability more calmly, and then he saw hope of going home in it! With this secret ability, he had the capital he needed to find his way back!
So, starting at age thirteen, he systematically began planning his return journey.
First, he considered magic and sorcery, as, no matter how he looked at it, his crossing over was a supernatural event, and using supernatural power to resolve it seemed the best approach.
Unfortunately, King Uther had been heavily cracking down on sorcery and magic since Arthur's birth, causing both to virtually disappear from Camelot. Kay had no place to study them, even if he wanted to. So Kay had to change his plan: he had to leave Camelot.
He trained diligently, strengthening himself to prepare for his departure. Finally, at age eighteen, he crushed the knights from every kingdom in a grand tournament, becoming the champion knight. He proved his capabilities, and then at the knighting ceremony, he seized the opportunity to request permission to travel the world.
Although King Uther was reluctant to let Kay go and even ordered him to stay confined, Kay was very similar to Uther in one respect—they were equally stubborn. Finally, one night, Kay, who was still under Uther's confinement, simply left a letter and ran away.
In the letter, Kay didn't mention wanting to go home. Instead, he claimed he wanted to travel the world and, as a comfort, promised to return in ten years.
Kay figured ten years should be enough time to find an answer. If he could return, the ten-year promise was just a reassurance, allowing Uther and the others time to cope with the possibility of his never coming back.
If he couldn't return... well, ten years was certainly enough.
After that came Kay's decade of world travel.
During these ten years, Kay traveled all over the world...
That's not exactly accurate; Kay's travels hadn't extended that far. Over the decade, he had only explored Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa.
But in these places alone, Kay met many people and experienced many events, many of them bizarre and fantastical. These experiences dealt Kay a significant blow.
He determined that the world he was currently in was completely different from his original one!
For instance, in Northern Europe, he met the Asgardians. At first, Kay didn't pay it much mind, but after touring Asia Minor and returning to Asgard, Kay generally guessed who he had encountered.
Or rather, gods...
Kay wasn't very familiar with Norse mythology, but he had watched the Marvel Thor movies! He knew that Frost Giants, Fire Giants, Dwarves, and Asgard were all elements of Norse mythology! Combined with his experiences in Asia Minor, it wasn't hard to figure out.
Although he hadn't met Odin or Thor, combining all the clues pretty much confirmed that Asgard was the prototype for the Norse myths. Later, he realized it was normal that he hadn't met Odin and Thor, because although he wasn't sure of the exact period he was in, it had to be before Christ's birth.
Kay hadn't even found the Jewish people in the Middle East yet... meaning the birth of Jesus was still a long way off... so it was definitely B.C.
Thinking about it that way, it was perfectly normal that Odin hadn't been born yet. Oh, speaking of which, there was a funny anecdote. This time, when Kay returned to Northern Europe from Asia Minor, he stopped by to visit his friend, Buri, the King of Asgard.
Buri wasn't home at the time, and Buri's son, Bor, hosted him. Kay accidentally let slip a question, asking if there was a child named Odin in Asgard...
Bor was very honest and actually went out of his way to search, only to find no child named Odin. Curious as to why Kay wanted to find a child named Odin, Kay could only make up a story, saying that he'd heard in a certain place that a child named Odin was destined for great things in the future.
Bor actually believed this story and decided to name his first child Odin...
And so, the name of the future Allfather of the Gods was set.
By that time, however, Kay was already somewhat numb, so he wasn't very excited.
Could he really tell Bor that he had not only encountered the legendary Olympian Gods in the East but also accidentally cuckolded Zeus? And that in the more distant Sumerian region, he had met the legendary Gilgamesh and fought a war alongside the first Hero King against the ancient Egyptian gods?
All in all, it was these bizarre and fantastic experiences that made Kay fully realize this world was completely different from his original one. At least in his world, all the people mentioned above were figures of mythology!
Before, Kay's arrival and encounter with Uther and Arthur could be explained away as a historical misunderstanding. After all, in his previous world, Arthur's existence was questionable; he might or might not have existed, so perhaps he really did exist?
But when those figures of myth stood before Kay in the flesh, the conclusion was easy to reach.
Kay had previously thought he only needed to travel through time to return to the future, but now it seemed he might need to travel not just through time, but across entire worlds.
However, Kay didn't give up. After ending his Asia Minor trip, he decided to continue traveling east. After all, no matter what, that was the closest place to home. But the subsequent blow was even greater.
Kay set out for the East with Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and others. In the end, only Kay and Gilgamesh returned; Enkidu and all the accompanying warriors perished. The road to the East was filled with countless monsters and the horrifying disasters caused by mysterious forces. Kay and Gilgamesh were purely lucky to return alive.
The path home was completely cut off!
---
Lost in these thoughts, Kay unknowingly drained an entire flagon of wine. Just as he turned to grab another one, a cloak was placed over his shoulders.
It was Morgana. She hadn't gone to sleep. She was so happy tonight that she couldn't sleep from the excitement. She accidentally found Kay drinking on the terrace. Seeing him drinking outside so late, Morgana was afraid he would catch a chill, so she brought him a cloak.
Kay had been completely absorbed in his own world and hadn't noticed Morgana arrive.
"It's so late; you shouldn't be drinking... it's not good for you," Morgana said, still a little shy, even though Kay's actions tonight had practically confirmed the relationship between them.
Kay looked at the beautiful Morgana, and a sense of absurdity suddenly washed over him. In his previous life, he was just a small police officer—little money, busy, and dangerous work. It was genuinely hard for a nice girl to like him. Now, he had such a beautiful woman deeply devoted to him. What did he have to be self-pitying about?
With that thought, Kay smiled and buried his longing for his homeland deep inside. If he couldn't go back, then he would live this life well... probably.