Ch.18018. Side Quest – The Lion King’s Mana Cultivation Method

After leaving Professor Horizon’s laboratory, Gilbert unbuttoned the top button of his cadet uniform, which was damp with cold sweat. Though he had somehow achieved his goal, the aftereffects of the magical pressure were worse than he’d expected.

In the game, it had seemed trivial—just a status effect message—but experiencing magical pressure in reality was no small matter. He felt nauseous, as if suffering from internal injuries, and his legs were so weak they trembled unless he consciously exerted strength.

Nevertheless, he had accomplished his objective. The sub-quest trigger still worked, allowing him to properly accept the Lion King’s Mana Training Method quest.

However, something unexpected had occurred. Professor Horizon’s threat of expulsion from the Academy if Gilbert failed the quest still rang in his ears. When he opened his mission window to check, expulsion from the Academy was clearly stated as the penalty for failure.

Gilbert tried to recall if there had ever been a failure penalty for the Lion King sub-quest during his many playthroughs of Tactical Combat. Despite having explored every possible branch and choice, this had never happened in all his gameplay sessions.

He realized with certainty that this place was not a game. His provocative final words to Professor Horizon had clearly led to this outcome.

I need to be more careful with my actions.

Gilbert shook his head and went to find his Class 1 homeroom professor.

Professor Horizon had given him a week, and Gilbert had just confirmed the countdown timer in his mission window. The professor must have taken some measures immediately after Gilbert left his research lab.

Though this was a quest he had never failed before, now that an unprecedented penalty had appeared, even he couldn’t be certain how the quest progression might change. He judged it best to save time to better respond to variables.

Upon reaching his homeroom professor’s office, he knocked lightly. A voice from inside granted him permission to enter.

Stepping inside, he saw an interior that was neatly organized, unlike Professor Horizon’s research lab. Military books and various weapons lined the room, revealing something about the character of its occupant.

“Cadet Gilbert.”

“Good day, Professor.”

Gilbert bowed his head to the Class 1 professor who was writing something at her desk.

“Is this about what I think it is?”

“Yes, it is.”

“We’ll need some time to talk.”

The professor set aside her paperwork and gestured toward a reception table. Gilbert pulled out a chair where she had indicated and sat down, while his professor took a seat across from him.

Gilbert observed his homeroom professor as she crossed her legs and swept her long hair back. In contrast to her fiery red hair, her cold blue eyes shone sharply, as if peering into one’s soul. Her long arms and legs seemed well-suited for swordsmanship, and her particularly solid lower body was one indicator of how rigorously she trained.

Gilbert briefly recalled what he knew about his homeroom professor.

Briana Tepeo Malkirav.

As the eldest daughter of the historic Malkirav Viscount family, her swordsmanship was renowned as one of the sharpest on the continent. Even Class 1 knights struggled to parry a single strike from her, and her swordsmanship atop a war beast could truly be called artistry. She was invariably mentioned in any discussion of the continent’s premier swordsmen.

For Gilbert, Professor Briana held special significance. When he was a newbie who had just started playing Tactical Combat, he had tried countless times—over a thousand attempts—to become her direct disciple. That experience had formed the foundation for who Gilbert was today. In a true sense, she was like his master.

“I heard from Professor Horizon. You did something quite audacious.”

Though there was almost no inflection in her voice, Gilbert could read her subtle emotional changes from his thousand attempts. Her manner and speech seemed cold and emotionless, but he knew she had a warm heart that always considered her cadets.

It was simply her outstanding skills and the battlefields she had traversed from a young age that made her appear so cold. The grief of losing comrades who had been laughing and talking just moments before, in places where hundreds or thousands died daily, was too much for a teenage Briana to bear.

“It was unintentional,” Gilbert said without changing his expression. Though it had been a clearly intentional act, he couldn’t admit the truth.

Briana’s ice-cold eyes flashed as if trying to read Gilbert’s thoughts, but she soon withdrew her gaze. Whether intentional or not, that wasn’t what mattered. In Briana’s opinion, what Professor Horizon had conveyed was unreasonable and excessive.

How could it make sense to demand a cadet with academic curiosity prove his hypothesis just because the professor was annoyed at being directly challenged? And to limit the time to one week with the threat of expulsion if he failed—Briana was barely restraining herself from storming into Horizon’s office.

In reality, the message Professor Horizon had sent to Professor Briana and Headmaster Lucas wasn’t as aggressive as Briana thought, but it did imply such intentions. Additionally, it included an “instruction” to allow Gilbert to leave the Academy for a week.

The Grand Sage rarely wielded his position arbitrarily, but occasionally his behavior toward Headmaster Viscount Lucas gave Briana the impression that he looked down on others. Despite his indeterminate age and the continent-wide respect he commanded, it was an aspect she disliked.

“Cadet Gilbert.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Professor Horizon has never taken back his words once spoken.”

“Is that so?”

“Do you still not grasp the severity of the situation?”

Briana’s eyes narrowed slightly—an unconscious gesture when she was displeased. Gilbert was relieved to see that even in reality, her concern for her cadets remained unchanged.

“No, I understand completely. Then I have no choice but to prove it.”

“There is no alternative. A mere cadet has contradicted the Grand Sage’s opinion.”

Gilbert inwardly smiled at her reprimand, which he hadn’t heard in a long time. Her words and tone seemed to scold him for being an insignificant cadet who had shown impudence to the Grand Sage, but knowing Briana’s character well, he could tell she was expressing both her dissatisfaction with Professor Horizon and her concern for him.

“I am reflecting on it thoroughly.”

“Good. The arrangements for you to leave the Academy have been made, so you may go.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“You’re misunderstanding something, Cadet Gilbert. Now, please leave.”

Briana glared at Gilbert for his unnecessary comment before returning to her desk. Gilbert smiled slightly at her retreating figure, bowed respectfully, and left.

Once he obtained the Lion King’s Mana Training Method, he thought it might be good to aim for becoming her direct disciple, just as he had done before. There were many advantages to becoming her disciple, but the most interesting was how it would affect his relationship with the Imperial Knight Seraphina.

As Briana was a renowned swordswoman on the continent, she was also the master of the exceptionally talented Seraphina. In other words, becoming Briana’s direct disciple would make him and Seraphina fellow disciples. Seraphina, with her strong desire for talent, would provide even more support to a protagonist who had passed Briana’s stringent standards.

For Gilbert, currently bearing the title of “scoundrel,” this was an attractive option. At least a capable scoundrel was better than an incompetent one. Despite his excellent performance in the entrance mock battle, many still viewed him unfavorably.

Being Briana’s direct disciple would help dispel such views, and it would also easily resolve the conditions set by his father, the Count of Lithuania.

With one more reason to clear the sub-quest quickly, Gilbert turned toward his dormitory room.

‘Wait.’

A sudden thought made Gilbert’s face harden. With a serious expression, he stared at Professor Briana’s firmly closed office door. Like Imperial Knight Seraphina, Briana was a character classified as “unromanceable.” This had been officially announced by the developers and confirmed by players who had examined the game code.

But the reason was different from Seraphina’s.

It was true that Briana had no romance route, but unlike Seraphina, it wasn’t because one didn’t exist.

The reason Briana was classified as unromanceable:

She dies heroically during the main story.

***

Though Gilbert had just remembered that Briana would die, there was still time. The tutorial had barely ended, and the main story hadn’t yet begun.

Besides, to prevent Briana’s death or do anything else, he first needed to avoid expulsion. He had exactly one week, and his destination was about two days’ travel from the Academy, so there was no time to waste.

He would have preferred to use a teleportation magic circle, but for this quest specifically, traveling directly would be better for the future.

Hurrying back to his dormitory room, Gilbert hastily packed some clothes and left the Academy.

His first destination was the place where the Lion King Terodamas was said to have fallen in battle.