Ch.17017. Side Quest – The Lion King’s Mana Cultivation Method

The history professor Gilbert visited was a special figure even at the Demeia Academy, where all the famous people from the continent gathered.

While Headmaster Lucas and Professor Alexander were the pillars of the previous generation, the history professor was from an even earlier era, often called the living history of the continent.

His name was unknown, his origins were a mystery, and no one could even guess how long he had lived—a person of unidentified background.

It was only known that he had lived for a very long time, and that the breadth of his knowledge exceeded human limitations.

One who explores truth beyond the horizon of knowledge.

A great sage living in this era.

People called him Horizon.

Professor Horizon was also the author of “The Chronicles of the Lion King” that Gilbert had borrowed from the library. Since Lion King Terodamas was such an ancient figure, not much information about him remained. Being the last king of a fallen kingdom, his story had been largely erased from history, surviving only through oral tradition.

The only person capable of compiling all these stories and materials into “The Chronicles of the Lion King” was Professor Horizon, who had lived for so long. The first trigger needed to obtain clues about the Lion King’s mana training method was precisely this book.

Gilbert composed himself in front of Professor Horizon’s research room, which he had visited countless times in the game. In the game, selecting predetermined items and dialogue options would unlock the sub-quest, but he wasn’t sure how it would work now that it had become reality. Determined to obtain Lionheart, Gilbert knocked on the door with slight nervousness.

Knock, knock!

“Come in.”

Despite his indeterminable age, his voice was clear and powerful. Judging by his voice alone, he sounded like someone who had just entered middle age, with a certain dignified quality.

Carefully opening the door, Gilbert saw numerous ancient books stacked on shelves. As he walked through the space filled with the scent of old parchment, he felt as if he were traveling back through the traces of time.

Gilbert discovered Professor Horizon sitting at his desk and bowed his head respectfully. Even the delinquent Gilbert within him wouldn’t dare raise his temperament before a sage of such continental renown.

With his long white hair flowing freely, Horizon greeted Gilbert with a face marked by the passage of time. His eyes, surprisingly youthful and sharp compared to his wrinkled face, lit up with interest, as if he hadn’t expected a student to visit.

“Ho ho. I didn’t expect a student to visit. So, what brings you to this old professor?”

“I’m Gilbert Lion Heart, Professor.”

As Gilbert bowed his head once more and introduced himself, Professor Horizon’s eyes showed a peculiar gleam.

Gilbert was certain then. This person knows who I am.

“Well, well. William’s son, I see. To think that stiff fellow got married and raised a grown son. The world is indeed interesting. Ho ho ho.”

“You know my father?”

“Of course I do. William left quite an impression during my long tenure as an academy professor.”

Horizon’s eyes turned toward the past as he stroked his long white beard, which was as white as his hair. They say the young look to the future while the old look to the past.

Gilbert, acknowledging that the conversation had started flowing, redirected the topic. He hadn’t come here to listen to stories about the Count of Lithuania. He already knew enough about what kind of person his father had been just by looking at his accomplishments.

He had no interest in hearing stale stories from academy days.

“Professor.”

“Oh, I apologize. When you get old, reminiscing about cherished memories becomes a small pleasure. So, what brings Gilbert to this old man?”

“I had some questions while reading this book you wrote.”

Professor Horizon cast an interested glance at the book in Gilbert’s hand, recognizing it as his own work, “The Chronicles of the Lion King.” Although he had compiled numerous books over the years, it was quite rare for an academy student to seek him out directly like this.

“Ah, yes, I remember. The Chronicles of the Lion King. Well then, what questions do you have, Gilbert?”

This was where it began. The starting point for the dialogue options to accept the sub-quest began right here.

Gilbert gathered his thoughts before asking his question.

“I found your Chronicles of the Lion King fascinating, Professor. It gave me the feeling of seeing the life of the conquering king who subjugated the continent with a single sword at a glance.”

“That’s excessive praise for an old man with his days already numbered. I’m delighted beyond words to hear you found it interesting.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Because of that, I’ve developed some curiosity about the Lion King. You wrote that his end came due to betrayal by his trusted retainers, but the reason for their betrayal wasn’t mentioned.”

“Are you asking from a historical perspective? Or are you interested in the unofficial history?”

“I’d like to hear both.”

“You seem more studious than you look.”

Horizon smiled pleasantly as he searched his memories. Compiling the life of the Lion King had been a mere whim. It might have been better to leave it alone, but he couldn’t—simply due to his capricious nature. In reality, few people wanted to know about the king of a fallen nation, and many thought his tales were too far-fetched.

“From a historical perspective, it was because of his actions. King Terodamas had a cousin brother who was ambitious. However, as long as Terodamas, the legitimate heir, was alive, there was no way for him to succeed to the throne. Terodamas was praised by his people as a great ruler, having personally conquered numerous territories as a conquering king. He naturally commanded high respect from his retainers. However, it was known that he had no heir. So what could his cousin brother do but one thing?”

A king without an heir.

A kingdom on the verge of continental unification.

As Terodamas’s cousin, he must have felt urgent. It was no exaggeration to say there was no way to overthrow a king who had achieved continental unification. Even though it was said there was no heir, it wouldn’t have been a problem after achieving the kingdom’s long-cherished dream of continental unification.

That’s why Terodamas’s cousin plotted rebellion, and being skilled at manipulating people, he succeeded in his treason.

This was the official history briefly recorded about the Lion King.

“So you’re saying it was because of his power-hungry cousin’s rebellion?”

“Yes, that’s right. Well, that concludes the official history. Now let me tell you the story hidden in history. Let’s see. The overall narrative is the same. King Terodamas was an exceptional king, on the verge of achieving the great feat of continental unification. As in the official history, he was highly respected by his people and retainers. But that was the problem.”

“Was being too exceptional the problem?”

“You have good insight, don’t you? You’re just like William in that regard. Yes, that’s right. As you said, Terodamas’s excellence was the problem. Think about it—a man who could split land and rivers with a single sword was the king. Moreover, he had good character, so how could people not fear him? People didn’t think of him as human.”

A king who was nearly perfect, without flaws.

Politically and militarily, he was evaluated as beyond the category of humans.

People fear the unknown and tend to avoid it.

At that time, Terodamas was such an existence to his retainers, and the unofficial history claimed that the retainers who feared him betrayed him and rebelled.

Gilbert, privately delighted that the content he already knew was being revealed, waited for Professor Horizon to finish speaking. The professor mixed in various personal opinions as he unfolded the unofficial history, and Gilbert nodded appropriately, waiting for the story to end.

“Human greed is interesting, isn’t it? Ho ho.”

“It was certainly an interesting story. I also thought that unofficial histories indeed use provocative material.”

“Seeing that you call it provocative material… it seems Gilbert doesn’t acknowledge the unofficial history.”

Gilbert could immediately recognize that this was the branching point.

“It’s for several reasons.”

“Reasons, you say. What are they?”

“The first reason is the Lion King’s abilities.”

“Abilities?”

“Yes. Whether in official or unofficial history, the Lion King stands as an ideal human figure. Military prowess, political acumen, character—he possessed all three, making him nearly perfect. I find it hard to understand how such a person couldn’t notice signs of rebellion. If so, there are two possibilities: either he was arrogant enough to know about it but thought he could handle it, or he was too dull to notice it at all.”

After pouring out his prepared words and ending with a slightly mocking expression, Professor Horizon’s gaze changed. Just showing a bit of the original delinquent Gilbert’s personality seemed to have a good effect.

Confident that the conversation gimmick had worked so far, Gilbert continued with the rest of his story without giving Professor Horizon a chance to interject.

“And one more thing. I personally think the description of the Lion King’s end is also incorrect.”

“Why is that?”

“Terodamas spent his entire life on the battlefield. That’s why people called him the Lion King, and that’s why he is the Lion King. Yet you wrote that he readily gave his life to a general who had taken an arrow for him. If I combine this with the two reasons I mentioned earlier, he’s not the Lion King. More like the Pushover King.”

Gilbert calmly spoke and observed Professor Horizon’s reaction.

The sub-quest could only be undertaken by choosing such confrontational dialogue options. The funny thing was that this conversation was only possible once, and if the quest wasn’t accepted at this time, it would become a limited quest that could never be received again.

As Gilbert anxiously watched Professor Horizon, who was silently staring at him, the professor suddenly burst into laughter.

Gilbert inwardly rejoiced while maintaining an outward calm.

“So what Gilbert is saying is that this old professor’s Chronicles of the Lion King is nonsense?”

“That wasn’t my intention. I just thought that the Lion King, who spent nearly half his life on the battlefield, wouldn’t have shown such a lukewarm reaction.”

“That’s the same thing! Ho ho, I never expected someone to directly challenge this old man’s academic perspective. Even the continent’s renowned scholars accept it as official history.”

Professor Horizon’s eyes flashed with anger.

In that gaze was both irritation at Gilbert for directly denying the historical text he had established, and curiosity about the audacious academy student.

“Very well, Gilbert. If that’s what you think, try to convince me. If you do, I’ll give you whatever you want.”

“Is that necessary? I have academy schedules to attend to. I don’t need to prove anything to Professor Horizon. I merely shared my subjective perspective.”

At this point, the quest acceptance was practically complete, but Gilbert didn’t readily accept it. In the game, after accepting the quest, he would immediately leave the academy to complete the sub-quest, but currently, that was impossible for Gilbert.

The quest would take several days to complete, and if he left the academy without permission, the consequences were all too predictable.

“That’s true. Very well. I can accommodate that much. But it’s right to set a deadline.”

“I didn’t say I would do it.”

“Insolent brat. Do you still think this old man is joking? You’ve essentially thrown down a direct challenge to me!”

An invisible force began to constrict Gilbert. Though startled by this experience he hadn’t encountered in the game, he tried hard not to show it outwardly.

The reason he was called a great sage wasn’t just his knowledge and long life, but also the military power he possessed. Even though his strength had likely diminished with age, his mana control was still formidable enough to weigh heavily on Gilbert.

Any ordinary academy student would have immediately knelt at this point. Even for a protagonist character, this would have been unavoidable due to the vastly inferior magical ability compared to the opponent.

But Gilbert was barely able to withstand without kneeling. This was because his meager magical ability and physical attributes, which had begun to exceed the human limit of 90, precariously balanced each other.

Professor Horizon, who had been glaring at Gilbert as he clenched his teeth so hard that blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, quietly withdrew his magical power when he saw that Gilbert wouldn’t yield.

“Well, well. You’re just like William in that too. A temperament perfect for dying away from home.”

“That’s not something for you to worry about, Professor.”

“Your manners leave much to be desired. Fine. So, Gilbert, do you refuse this old professor’s offer?”

“Since it wouldn’t be profitable to refuse, I must accept.”

“Can’t stand losing, can you? Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll give Lucas advance notice, so bring evidence that can convince me within a week. If you do, I’ll do whatever you want within my power. But if you fail…”

Gilbert wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He felt sick to his stomach, but he had to accept the quest nonetheless.

“I’ll have you expelled from Demeia Academy. There are plenty of reasons. You directly challenged this old man with your paltry knowledge, so you’ll pay a corresponding price. You should know well how a nobleman who fails to properly complete the Proof of Blue Blood is treated, so I won’t elaborate. Now, go ahead and try your best.”

[Sub-Quest – The Lion King’s Mana Training Method has been forcibly accepted.]

[Related quest information is being updated.]

Along with Professor Horizon’s dismissal, a translucent notification window appeared before Gilbert’s eyes. He had managed to receive the sub-quest as planned, but things had taken an unexpected turn.