Chapter 32
Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Lion's Aspiration
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"So, besides you, there's another lion's head here?"
-Oh! Your ears have finally opened! Do you know how frustrated I've been dealing with a deaf person all this time?
"Frustrated enough to curse me?"
He learned after awakening.
That he had been suffering from the Lion's Curse.
The curse's effects were probably stat reductions and no experience gain.
'Thanks to that, my awakening was delayed, and in the end, I got some help...'
There was no way the curse had been placed with good intentions.
If the enigmatic being named Iris hadn't lifted the curse, the situation would have been quite stifling.
-That's right! I placed the curse on you!
"What's with the brazen attitude? You trying to die?"
Jae-hyeok struck the Lion Statue with his scabbard.
-Kyek!
[[Lion's Castle]'s will is shocked.]
-Did... did you just hit me?
"The reaction's spot on. Do stones feel pain too?"
-My heart hurts, my heart! You young punk with no dried blood on your head, laying hands on the dimension's master! There's a limit to rudeness!
'Dimension's master?'
Gates were also called other worlds or alternate dimensions.
The dimension's master usually meant the Gate's owner.
And Gate owners came in various types.
Monsters, otherworlders, spirits, or even unidentified objects.
'They say it's harder to discover quests the more difficult it is to communicate with the Gate's owner... So that's why Lion's Castle's quest hasn't been cleared in 200 years.'
Gate owners often provided clues for quest clears or were the objective themselves.
But Lion's Castle's owner appeared as a worn-out, shabby statue, so few would have even tried communicating.
'Of course, that's not the whole story.'
Over 200 years, surely more than one or two people had spoken to the statue?
Yet no one had cleared the quest.
It meant specific conditions had to be met to even converse with the statue.
"Get to the point. You started talking because you have business with me."
Jae-hyeok spoke curtly.
He was thrilled and excited to be the first human to receive Lion's Castle's quest, but he didn't show it.
He worried that showing eagerness might let the owner seize the initiative.
-Hmm... I thought you were a great knight with vast courage and high pride for sparing frail creatures who attacked you. But unlike my expectations, you have a cheeky side.
'Sparing the creatures? Ah.'
Killing the orcs in front of the statue but letting them go seemed to have met the quest trigger condition.
He'd only done it to delay his awakening, but luck was on his side.
And Jae-hyeok had no intention of letting this hard-earned luck slip away.
He noted that the Lion Statue spoke of pride.
"You cursed me first. I nearly died because of you—do you think I'd speak nicely? I'm only listening because I'm nice."
-Gasp... nearly died? You, who swung your sword alone every day—did you fight a powerful monster? I didn't know my curse in a fit of anger would put you in danger. I'm sorry.
Something smelled off.
The pure scent like Baek Do-jin or Chae Da-hee.
The Lion Statue's disposition seemed closer to good than evil.
-How did a weakling who fainted after swinging a sword alone every day end up fighting a powerful monster?
"To save people."
-You practiced knightly virtue! I thought you were mad swinging your sword until your arm broke today, but fortunately, I didn't misjudge you.
"You can get hurt during training too. Calling that mad is a bit..."
-I've watched tens of thousands of knight aspirants over hundreds of years, but you're the first to break an arm just swinging a sword alone without any accident. Usually, it stops at a sprained ligament.
'Knight aspirants...? Was this place originally a knight academy?'
Seol Su-ah had mentioned it.
Traces of training facilities remained in Lion's Castle.
-Indeed. Tens of thousands of knights born here practiced knightly virtue across the continent. But like all civilizations, Lion's Castle couldn't withstand the flow of history and fell into ruin. It's been abandoned and forgotten by people for hundreds of years as well.
Was it reminiscing about memories and pains from long ages past?
The Lion Statue's voice carried various emotions.
-Later, when the God from human days wrote the legend of the Five Seconds, it became a holy site... Even so, I sometimes miss the distant past.
'God?'
Jae-hyeok's eyes widened.
S-grade or higher Gates often gave quests related to legends or myths.
They were treated as once-in-a-lifetime opportunities with immense rewards.
'No way I'd get such a precious opportunity?'
Even top players rarely experienced it once in a lifetime, he'd heard.
As Jae-hyeok's fingertips trembled, an alert appeared in his view.
[A quest has occurred.]
[The Aspiration of Lion's Castle]
The will of Lion's Castle yearns for past glory.
Perform an excellent drill on the stage it watches.
Quest Clear Reward (1): Varies by grade evaluation.
Quest Clear Reward (2): Linked quest occurs.
"...Drill?"
House Kang had produced the strongest swordsmen generation after generation.
At its peak, it commanded hundreds of retainers, most of whom were swordsmen wielding blades.
The blade-like discipline was House Kang's symbol.
'This is my specialty?'
Sling-
Jae-hyeok slowly drew the hilt—as if bored—then straightened his back.
He swiftly aligned the jet-black blade at his center, then stepped forward, back, left, right several times.
Thud, thud, thud!
His steps shook the stage with immense power, yet his upper body didn't waver in the slightest.
The blade and his gaze were fixed in midair like nails driven in.
Only the stomping feet and flying hair proved he was moving.
Swish.
His hand lightly released the hilt, sending the sword floating in the air.
Thud!
After the final step, Jae-hyeok caught the hilt falling to his eyebrows in reverse grip and swung his left hand behind his back.
He ended the short drill with House Kang's family rite.
'Did it work?'
Having finished with a flashy sheathing, he looked up at the Lion Statue.
-......
No reaction.
Jae-hyeok noted the quest clear reward was 'varies by grade evaluation.'
'Was my drill not even worth grading?'
As he frowned,
-...Whew, excellent!!
The Lion Statue, silent for a moment, sent praise.
-A perfect drill! You properly expressed sharp discipline like a blade and heavy presence like a knight's steps! Especially the flashy yet dignified finish—I loved it!!
[Amazing Feat!]
[You impressed [Lion's Castle]'s will with a splendid drill demonstration.]
[All stats increase by 2.]
"You've got an eye for it."
The more intense reaction than expected pleased Jae-hyeok.
More than the stat increase, the Lion Statue's response delighted him.
During House Kang's peak events, hundreds of swordsmen performed the same drill.
It had looked incredibly cool in young Jae-hyeok's eyes.
It was one reason he took pride in his family.
He was glad the Lion Statue recognized House Kang's value.
"So, does this complete the first quest?"
-Huh? What are you talking about?
The Lion Statue, who seemed ready to applaud, turned serious.
-A drill shines brightest when many participants move in perfect unison. What I want to see is a drill performed by a thousand excellent knight aspirants filling the stage, all in one heart and mind.
"...A thousand?"
-Yes. Only then can it recreate the sky-piercing momentum of old Lion's Castle's discipline.
"......"
No, damn it.
Even gathering the entire first-year class wouldn't reach a thousand?
'I'm not the principal or chairman—how am I supposed to round up a thousand students for a drill?'
Even the principal or chairman couldn't pull that off.
Lion's Castle students were players, not soldiers.
They'd rebel, asking why waste leveling time on useless drills.
'Should I round up orcs instead?'
As he thought absurdly in shock, the Lion Statue presented a new option.
-You look utterly lacking in confidence, young human. If it's impossible with your status, bring another human before me. If that one is as good, proud, and hardworking a knight as you, I'll deal with them.
"Don't make me laugh."
Jae-hyeok grinned chillingly.
"I nearly died from your curse, yet I decided to hear your request. So you should show at least some sincerity, right?"
-Wha? Hmm...
"No deals with any other humans. Don't even talk to anyone else until I complete the quest."
It was a bit exaggerated, but sincere.
Jae-hyeok had no intention of letting a heaven-sent opportunity slip or forgiving the curser without conditions.
He'd discarded naivety on that day eight years ago when he vowed revenge on his father.
-V-Very well. I'll consider your position. Finding a human worth talking to isn't easy anyway...
The Lion Statue was so innocent it was easy to handle.
'After 200 years alone, it can't help being pure.'
The Lion Statue, covered in moss and full of cracks.
Jae-hyeok suddenly pitied its wretched appearance.
He had Butler Hwang by his side, yet eight years had been lonely and painful.
He couldn't fathom how the Lion Statue had endured 200 years alone.
He peeled the moss from its eyes and vowed.
'I'll fulfill your aspiration with my own hands.'
To soothe its solitude, even a little.
And to achieve my revenge.
***
-I turned on the news about Young Master, and the Lord's expression softened. Congratulations once again on awakening your bloodline skill. It's truly, truly fortunate you were rewarded for your hard efforts. (Teary-eyed cheering penguin emoticon)
"Butler Hwang's overdoing it."
After washing up and checking his messages, Jae-hyeok grinned widely.
He knew full well his father wouldn't have heard the news, but it still felt good.
Seeing Butler Hwang happy warmed his heart too.
'I'll work harder to share good news more often.'
After replying and setting down his phone, he accessed [Community].
It wasn't a simple website but a system-supported service.
[Use Community only in safe locations.]
[Welcoming Player 'Kang Jae-hyeok.']
'I'd heard rumors, but experiencing it is amazing.'
The scenery Jae-hyeok saw didn't change.
It was the exact same dorm room he'd been sitting in moments ago.
But this was a virtual space.
His real body was in reality; only his consciousness had transferred.
[Kang Jae-hyeok, South Korea, Male, 16, Level 10, Knight (Growth Type)]
[Profile Public Status]
Confirming the info in the upper right of his view, he set his profile to private and picked up his phone from the bed.
An anonymous bulletin board invisible in reality appeared on his phone screen.
As a board used by players worldwide, it was incredibly active.
New posts updated every second in dozens of categories.
'They said languages display in your native tongue, and it's true.'
He understood why so many players were addicted to Community. The convenience was top-notch, and the info volume surpassed imagination. Of course, 99% was crap.
Spotting his name mentioned occasionally, he chuckled and used the search.
Reinhardt, Third Princess, Iris.
Even with three keywords, there was only one result.
[Buying way to bypass farmers to Zone 9 (1/2)]
Not a post, but a chat room.
'Reinhardt' had a private tag.
"They said entering a chat room transfers your consciousness to the room owner's space...?"
Just in case, he checked the mirror.
Thanks to the private profile, his face was masked, and his build differed from reality.
Satisfied, he clicked the chat room's enter button.
[500,000 points required to enter chat room.]
[Pay points and enter?]
...?
Community points outweighed gold in value.
Because sources were limited.
'Isn't 500k points burdensome even for National Treasures?'
And this was just entry fee?
He felt the room owner's strong intent to keep out riffraff.
"Hmm..."
Swallowing a groan, Jae-hyeok checked his points and was startled.
'Why do I have so many points?'