Duke’s Son: Re

Chapter 32

“Then, is there another lion’s head here besides you?”

– Huh! You have finally opened your ears! You have no idea how frustrating it was answering a deaf person until now!

“So you cursed me out of frustration?”

Jaehyuk had realized after becoming awakened.

He was tormented by what was known as the lion’s curse.

The effect of the curse seemed to be the drop in stats and the inability to gain experience.

‘Thanks to the delay in my awakening, I ended up getting help, but…’

There was no way the curse was cast with good intentions.

If it wasn’t for the mysterious being named Iris lifting the curse, the situation would have been quite frustrating.

– Indeed! I cast a curse upon you!

“Why are you so proud? Do you want to get killed?”

Jaehyuk struck the lion statue with its sword hilt.

– Ow!

『”The Will of Lion’s Castle” was taken aback.』

– D-did you just hit me?

“The response is delightful. Can stone feel pain?”

– It pains my heart, it does! For a young boy with barely dried blood on his head to strike the ruler of this dimension! There must be a limit to rudeness!

‘Ruler of the dimension?’

A gate could also be called a different world or alternate dimension.

The ruler of a dimension usually meant the owner of a gate.

And gate owners came in various forms.

Monsters, beings from another world, spiritual beings, or mysterious objects could be gate owners.

‘They said the more difficult it is to communicate with a gate owner, the harder it is to find quests… No wonder the quest for Lion’s Castle hasn’t been cleared for 200 years.’

Gate owners often provided clues or became the goal of a quest.

But the owner of Lion’s Castle appeared as an old and worn statue, leading to a lack of attempts to communicate with it.

‘But that’s not all of it.’

There must have been more than a few who spoke to the statue over 200 years.

Yet, no one cleared the quest.

This meant there were conditions to be met to conversate with the statue.

“Just tell me what you want. You spoke up because you have business, didn’t you?”

Jaehyuk spoke curtly.

He was joyful and excited to be the first human to receive a quest from Lion’s Castle, but he didn’t show it.

He feared showing eagerness might relinquish his lead.

– Hmm… I thought you were a big-hearted and honorable knight for letting weak creatures go after being attacked. Contrary to my expectations, you have impudence in you.

‘Letting weak creatures go? Ah.’

It seemed that the act of sparing the orcs in front of the statue had met the quest occurrence condition.

He had delayed his awakening, and it brought him luck.

For Jaehyuk, it was a stroke of fortune he wished to exploit.

He focused on the lion statue speaking of pride.

“You were the one who cursed me first. It nearly killed me, so do you think my words would be kind? I’m only listening because I’m nice.”

– What… you mean I almost killed you? Did that boy, who swung his sword alone every day, really fight a powerful monster? I hadn’t imagined in my anger that my curse would endanger you. I’m sorry.

This smells suspicious.

Just like Baek Dojin and Chae Dahui, it had the scent of an innocent soul.

The disposition of the lion statue seemed closer to good rather than evil.

– How did a feeble boy who fainted swinging a sword alone end up fighting powerful monsters?

“To save people.”

– That’s chivalry! At first, I thought you were mad, swinging your sword until your arm fractured. Thankfully, I didn’t misjudge you.

“You can get injured while training, but calling me mad because of that…”

– Across hundreds of years, I’ve watched hundreds of thousands of aspiring knights. You’re the first to fracture an arm while swinging alone without any incident. It’s typically just spraining a ligament.

“An aspiring knight…? Was this originally a knight school?”

Seol Soo-ah had also mentioned it.

There were remnants of training facilities left in Lion’s Castle.

– Indeed. Thousands of knights born here have practiced chivalry across the continents. Yet, like all civilizations, Lion’s Castle could not withstand the flow of history and fell. It’s been hundreds of years abandoned and forgotten by people.

Was the lion statue remembering the memories and pains endured over the long years?

Its voice was imbued with various emotions.

– Lord Reindhart, even though he later made it a sacred place with the legend of the five seconds… sometimes, I still yearn for the distant past.

‘A god?’

Jaehyuk widened his eyes.

S-rank gates often gave quests related to myths or legends.

With colossal rewards following, it was treated as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

‘Could such a precious opportunity befall me?’

He had heard it was rare for even top-tier players to experience it in a lifetime.

As his fingertips trembled, Jaehyuk saw a notification pop up.

『A quest is occurring.』

The will of Lion’s Castle longs for the glorious past.

Show an exemplary ceremony on the stage he watches.

Quest completion reward (1): Varies depending on rank evaluation.

Quest completion reward (2): Consecutive quest occurrence.

“… Ceremony?”

The Kang family had produced the strongest swordsmen for generations.

At their peak, they commanded hundreds of followers, most of whom were martial artists using blades as their weapon.

The strict spirit like a blade was essentially the symbol of the Kang family.

‘This is my specialty, isn’t it?’

Su-reung—

Jaehyuk, drawing his sword hilt slowly as if in boredom, stood with a straightened posture.

Swiftly, he aligned the dark blade with the body’s center and tapped forward, back, left, and right a few times in quick succession.

Boom, boom, boom!

While his steps resonated powerfully enough to shake the stage, his upper body did not waver.

The blade and his gaze remained fixed as if nailed in midair.

The sound of his stamping feet and the fluttering of his hair were the only proofs of his movement.

Whirr.

As the grip loosened slightly, the sword floated in the air.

Boom!

As Jaehyuk lightly grabbed the hilt that had flown up to his eyebrow level, he moved his left hand behind his waist.

He used the Kang family’s ceremonial rite to conclude the short ceremony.

‘Is it done?’

Finishing with a grand sheathing, he looked up at the lion statue.

-…….

There seemed to be no response.

Jaehyuk focused on the quest reward being “depending on rank evaluation”.

‘Was my ceremony not even worth evaluating?’

Just as he wrinkled his brow, –

-… Excellent!!

After a moment of silence, the lion statue praised.

– It was a perfect ceremony! You expressed the military spirit sharply as a blade and weighty as a knight’s stamp! Especially the splendid yet dignified conclusion was to my liking!

『Amazing achievement!』
『With an impressive ceremony, you amazed the will of .』
『All stats increased by 2.』

“You have a keen eye.”

The reaction, more intense than expected, made Jaehyuk happy.

He was more pleased with the lion statue’s response than the stat increase.

During peak Kang family events, hundreds of swordsmen would perform ceremonies just like this one.

To young Jaehyuk, it was magnificently impressive.

It was one of the reasons he took pride in his family.

He was thrilled to think the lion statue recognized the Kang family’s value.

“So, is the first quest resolved with this?”

– Huh? What do you mean by that?

The lion statue, about to applaud, present a stern expression.

– The value of a ceremony shines more when many participants have their actions in unison. The ceremony I wish to witness involves a thousand aspiring knights filling the stage as one.

“… A thousand?”

– Indeed. With that many, one could recreate the soaring military spirit of the ancient Lion’s Castle piercing the sky.

“…….”

What the hell?

Even bringing the entire first year wouldn’t make a thousand.

‘How can I gather a thousand students for a ceremony when I’m not the principal or director?’

Even the principal or director couldn’t impose such a thing.

Students of Lion’s Castle were players, not soldiers.

While leveling up was their priority, engaging in a ceremony would cause an uproar.

‘Should I gather up orcs then?’

The absurd idea occurred to him as the lion statue offered a new option.

– It seems you lack the confidence, young human. If it’s something your identity cannot accomplish, bring another human before me. Should they be as virtuous, proud, and diligent a knight as you, I shall make a pact with them.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

A chilling smile spread across Jaehyuk’s face.

“Though I nearly died due to your curse, I decided to heed your request. Then, you must at least show some sincerity, shouldn’t you?”

– Oh? Uh…

“No dealings with humans other than me. Until I clear the quest, don’t even talk to anyone else.”

Though there was a bit of exaggeration, his words were genuine.

Jaehyuk had no intention of missing the opportunity fallen from the sky, nor of forgiving the lion who cursed him without conditions.

From the day he vowed revenge for his father eight years ago, naivety had left him.

– Hmm, true. I shall consider your position. Anyway, finding a human worthy of conversation isn’t an easy task….

The lion statue, as naive as it was, felt effortlessly manageable.

‘It must be innocent from spending 200 years alone.’

Covered in moss and filled with cracks, the lion statue.

Jaehyuk suddenly felt pity for its desolate appearance.

He had Steward Hwang by his side. But even with that company, eight years had felt lonely and painful.

For the lion statue to endure alone for 200 years, he couldn’t even begin to imagine.

Removing the moss from its eyes, he made a promise.

‘In my hands, I shall fulfill your wish.’

To alleviate your solitude, if only a little.

And also, to fulfill my vengeance.

***

– I’ve tuned into the news relating to the young master, and it seems to have put our lord’s mind at ease somewhat. Congratulations again on awakening your bloodline skill. It’s truly a relief that your relentless efforts have been rewarded. (Accompanied by a tearful cheering penguin emoticon.)

“Steward Hwang, really. Such exaggeration.”

Coming out from his bath, Jaehyuk smiled as he checked the message.

Though knowing well his father wouldn’t have heard the news, it uplifted him.

Seeing Steward Hwang happy was also heartwarming.

‘I’ll work hard to keep sharing good news.’

After sending a reply, he put his phone aside and accessed the 『Community』.

It wasn’t just a simple internet site, but a system-supported service.

『Ensure you are in a safe place when using the Community.』
『Welcome, player ‘Kang Jaehyuk’.』

‘I’ve heard rumors, but experiencing it firsthand is fascinating.’

Jaehyuk noted the scenery around him hadn’t changed.

He was still sitting in his dorm room from moments before.

Yet, this was a virtual realm.

His physical body remained in reality, but his consciousness had been transferred.

『Kang Jaehyuk, South Korea, Male, 16, level 10, Knight (Growth Type)』
『Profile set to public』

After confirming the information visible in the top right, he switched his profile to private and picked up his phone from the bed.

An anonymous board appeared on his phone’s screen—unseen in reality.

Active as expected for a board accessible by players worldwide.

Each category updated with new posts every second.

‘They say languages appear in your native tongue, and it’s true.’

It’s easy to understand why players become addicted to the Community. The convenience is superior, and the volume of information is vast. Though, 99 percent was nonsense.

Seeing mentions of his name and chuckling, he utilized the search function.

Reindhart, third Princess, iris.

Even after entering three keywords, just one search result appeared.

It wasn’t a post but a chat room.

‘Reindhart’ was tagged privately.

“It was mentioned that entering a chat room transfers consciousness to the space where the host is…?”

Just in case, he checked the mirror.

Thanks to setting his profile to private, a mask covered his face and his physique was different from reality.

Pleased, he clicked the entry button for the chat room.

『Entering the chat room will cost 500,000 points.』
『Would you like to pay the points and enter?』

“…?”

The value of Community Points far outweighed gold.

Because the sources of acquisition are limited.

‘Even for a National Treasure, 500,000 points would be burdensome, wouldn’t it?’

Yet this was just the entrance fee?

The host’s desire to keep unwanted guests away was palpable.

“Um….”

Swallowing his hesitation, Jaehyuk checked his points and was thoroughly surprised.

‘Why do I have so many points?’