Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Shed Skin of Ascension
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The bigger the rumor, the harder it is for the person at the center to hear it.
Just like the eye of a typhoon is the calmest place.
Prince Ragna was exactly like that right now.
"The soul of the Founder King scolded His Highness the Prince."
"The Founding Ancestor's set straight the wastrel tendencies that even His Majesty the King couldn't fix."
"The legend that Arcana is a kingdom founded by the dragon's descendants is true."
The prince, oblivious to all the circulating rumors...
was busy plotting his escape just before the massive explosion.
Lately, I've been thinking this more and more.
'Maybe there's no special reason for Arcana's destruction?'
'Perhaps the developers just wanted to show players a flashy tutorial event for the quest scenario, and that was it?'
A nation founded by the dragon's descendants.
A pure-evil wastrel prince born from the start.
After assassinating the king, he gets killed by the heroine.
And finally, the kingdom perishes.
For players just starting the game,
maybe they created the [Extinction of the Fallen Kingdom] quest scenario just to hook them with something stimulating right away?
'Since the kingdom vanishes the moment the game begins anyway, they littered the palace with legendary and mythic items.'
I've played this game for 10 years, so I know.
How absurd the display items in this palace are.
Even the imperial palace of the Empire doesn't plaster legendary and mythic items all over the place for ceremonial use.
High-grade items like those are securely stored in the royal or imperial treasure vaults from the start.
'It's been about five weeks since I possessed this body? The signs of the massive explosion should be starting soon.'
Just like omens before a great earthquake.
The moment small animals start fleeing far from the capital.
Before that, escape to the holy site in the northern rocky mountains, which survives even the massive explosion.
Taking as many people as possible.
Then rebuild the kingdom afterward and live well.
'Originally, after the king died, he planned to use the coronation as an excuse to head to the holy site, but...'
The king's death was an assassination by the prince, which I canceled, so the coronation is off the table now.
No choice but to leverage my wastrel image.
"I will report Father's recovery to the Ancestor at the holy site altar. Prepare to move."
I announced this to all the nobles in the throne room council chamber.
"We obey Your Highness's command."
They all accept without complaint.
Even though it's the wastrel prince's order, they find it reasonable.
But the real bomb drops now.
"We will devote all our strength to showing our sincerity to the Ancestor."
I deliberately lowered my voice.
To signal something ominous.
The nobles' faces gradually stiffen.
They sense the bomb now, right?
"Every single citizen of the kingdom, without exception, must show their sincerity for Father's recovery."
"...!"
"...!"
Everyone's faces turn pale.
Some low-ranking nobles fail to control their expressions, gaping at me.
A scholarly middle-aged man with graying hair, Prime Minister Marquis Ruindra, asks me steadily.
"Your Highness, are you commanding that every citizen of the kingdom, without exception, gather at the holy site to pray for His Majesty the King's recovery?"
"Indeed. Only that level of sincerity will move the ascended Ancestor to cherish ours."
You all think it's absurd too, right?
Being a sociopathic wastrel prince has its perks at times like this.
No need to persuade them even for the most outrageous orders.
They just resign themselves with a "Yeah, figures."
"Even the nameless hamlets in remote valleys must be scoured entirely and brought to the holy site.
Those who disobey this order will be deemed traitors who do not wish for Father's recovery, and I will show no mercy whatsoever."
I went hard on purpose.
Even so, it's impossible to gather every single citizen of the kingdom to the safe rocky mountain holy site.
Some will try to weasel out somehow, and it's physically impossible for the kingdom's army to round them all up.
'Still, this is the one path to save as many as possible from the massive explosion.'
From my position, no better method comes to mind.
Seeing the low-ranking nobles pale...
Yeah, I really gave a crazy, absurd order.
'Just hope they don't revolt.'
But revolt carries far greater risk.
I trust the nobles will grit their teeth, swear under their breath, but still choose to drag their entire domains on a holy site pilgrimage.
Good thing the king is still alive.
Prime Minister Ruindra observed the prince from a distance.
The prince was bustling around the palace, leading attendants and royal guards.
"Pack up all the ceremonial armaments here too. They'll decorate the holy site altar."
"Yes, Your Highness! Gather everything here without missing a single piece!"
"Yes!"
After issuing his absurd order, the prince was up to strange antics.
As if trying to move the entire palace to the holy site.
Even ordering them to pack every miscellaneous item.
Thanks to him, even the royal guards set down their spears and focused on packing.
Whispers from the lower-status folk reached Prime Minister Ruindra's ears.
"The Founder King's soul guided His Highness. It revealed the way to cure His Majesty the King's mana exhaustion."
"Exactly. Whew, now we can finally relax."
Ruindra frowned.
'The Founding King's soul descended in dragon form to discipline the prince? Absurd nonsense.'
No high-ranking noble believed it.
They all saw it as the prince's staged farce.
At least it was positive that the wastrel prince was attempting something political.
'It's been a week without him lifting a whip? No stepping on maids' heads, no tortured attendants...'
Ruindra didn't believe the prince's personality had changed.
But if he'd resolved to correct his behavior himself, that was enough.
His ruthless cruelty that saw humans as less than human.
If properly controlled, it was the makings of a fine ruler.
Just like the king, bedridden now but not before...
"Indeed. Our Arcana Kingdom, enduring for thousands of years, won't crumble so pointlessly."
Ruindra smiled in satisfaction.
Though it meant massive financial waste, the prince finally showing political dignity was encouraging.
The prime minister trailed the prince's movements from afar.
"Pack this annex too."
"Yes, Your Highness! What should we pack?"
"The whole thing."
"...Your Highness?"
"Take the entire annex. Obviously, don't dismantle it."
"Ah, understood! You heard him! The earth mages take this annex!"
Ruindra muttered quietly.
"It's good he's resolved to bear the crown's weight, but... he seems even more extravagant in squandering the treasury than before..."
Fortunately, no signs of revolt.
The nobles aren't thrilled, but figure one dirty holy site prayer trip beats rebellion.
'Yeah, cheaper than revolt.'
Watching their kingdom vanish in the massive explosion from the safe holy site? Their loyalty to me will skyrocket.
I ordered them to take every item that triggers Discernment Eye.
To them, it's just cumbersome ceremonial gear, so they won't get why.
But each one's worth more than its weight in gold.
Packing items beats packing gold.
Not that I skipped the gold and jewels.
Of course, I packed those thriftily too.
"What if thieves steal everything while we've emptied the kingdom?"
Irrefutable logic.
The reason for taking a whole annex...
The palace itself was a legendary item.
How is this not mythic (S)?
No matter how I think, the devs just crammed stuff in because Arcana vanishes from the start anyway.
'In a way, this is a blessing in disguise?'
Since I'm the one benefiting.
The omens of the massive explosion, the mass panic of small beast packs, haven't started yet.
Pack as much as possible before then.
Leaving them means they all vanish—too wasteful.
'Grabbed everything C-grade or higher. Now just luxury goods.'
I scoured the palace like a comb for days, checking for missed legendaries or mythics.
Discernment Eye, a mod I enabled for easy gaming, became my unique skill with possession.
How do I level this up?
Lying on a bed lit by a mana lamp, pondering future plans.
Knock knock.
A knock sounded, and the door creaked open.
Maybe Maid Marian?
I sat up and was shocked to see the visitor's face in the mana lamp's glow.
It was the king.
"F-Father?"
The king pressed a finger to his lips, signaling silence.
I hurriedly rose from bed and knelt on one knee.
"Son, stand and follow quietly."
"Father, your illness is severe—how...?"
"Quietly."
The king turned, and after brief hesitation, I donned one mythic cloak and followed.
It looks like a plain cloak, so natural.
'Slim chance, but prepare for a traitor assassin disguised as the king.'
But I felt foolish soon enough.
Knights at every corner saluted upon seeing the king.
Dad, if you're going to do this, why the "quietly" pose?
'What's going on? He could barely get out of bed.'
Maybe shock therapy because the wastrel prince was acting filial lately? Thinking I'd finally shaped up?
Or shocked at the holy site pilgrimage draining the royal treasury?
The king led me to the deepest basement at the palace center.
A place nonexistent in the prince's memories.
End of a rugged underground cave untouched by human hands.
A metal door engraved with glowing silver patterns.
"I heard you're suddenly preparing a holy site pilgrimage."
"...Yes."
"You had a dream, didn't you. Finally..."
'It's here!'
My intuition kicked in.
This is a quest in game terms.
"Finally, the time has come to pass the royal secret to you."
The king closed his eyes, placed his hand on the silver door.
Blinding light burst, and rumble—the door opened.
A vast cavern beyond.
Goosebumps covered me.
A massive creature's bones.
Enormous head and build, folded wings.
It was less a living thing, more a colossal structure.
"Son, greet with reverence."
"Father?"
"This is the shed skin left by our Founder King, the Ancestor who established Arcana, upon her ascension."
Kingdom's massive explosion.
Kingdom turned to sea...
No way.
That was the cause?