I Became the First Prince - Chapter 4

“No one is acquainted with such old techniques,” said the uncle. “Then how do you store mana in your body?” I asked with curiosity. I couldn’t grasp what he just said. If the knight does not make a mana heart, what is mana’s point in our body? It’s not like you can make mana rings like a wizard.

“We do.” He said without looking at me.

“What?”

“The knights use mana by weaving rings like wizards.” I don’t know what part of it just made me laugh.

“It wasn’t a story for you to laugh at.”

It was as if a child changed the world’s precious heirloom into candy and was bragging about it. He looked a tad confused. His expressions not so clear, and his eyebrows were drawn together. I realized something wasn’t right.

* * *

During my time at the royal palace, a lot had changed. I was stuck for four hundred long years, and they were enough to change the common sense and systems that I was familiar with. It is an old saying that knights crossed the realm of superhumans through mana hearts. It was already 200 years ago that the knights began to use mana more efficiently by connecting several rings instead of one heart.

“Why?”

Are you saying that you can make troublesome mana hearts and make multiple rings?

“It’s easier, quicker, more stable, and stronger.”

“Ha.”

Even if I agree that the mana chain is efficient, it didn’t make sense to me to engulf the fact that the notion of mana heart no longer thrives. It was hard to accept this. Some people heightened to superhuman status via mana hearts. Their achievements were never trivial to be convinced that the practice had died.

“It is about 220 years ago that all the continent’s top ten Sword Masters were taken over by the knights who climbed through the rings.” His tone was a little stern.

“And what does that imply?” I asked.

“ It implies that there is nothing that makes no sense. Geomgi pulled out a ring that had the property of breaking the heart. No one has made mana hearts since then. Its concept died with this.” It is about that time that famous martial arts scattered across the continent abandoned the tradition.

“100 years ago, when Count Eli, who insisted on Mana Hearts until the end, fell completely, Mana Hearts became a substandard tool for mercenaries.”

By the way, is there an idiot who uses the mercenaries and low-level means? I was embarrassed, so I just smiled politely.

The uncle clicked his tongue. Many people have grand visions in Jicheon, and why did I learn such old-fashioned techniques? He said as if he had seen through me. And seemed to know what was going on in my head.

“How would I have known that!”

“It’s strange, common sense is unknown.”

The uncle’s face was awful. I wasn’t very fond of him since I met him, but now I had told myself that I disliked him intensely. The uncle handed me a book.

* * *

“The Mana Chain Basic Theory,’’ written by “Burno Bourdorf,” the eighth successor of the 16th disciple ‘Werner Rachel,’ the founder of the mana chain, ‘Ernest Altringen,’ and compiled by Gregory Hessler.

I surely did not like this book after reading its title, and I did not want to open it, but I could not help it, and some inside reflex of mine began it immediately.

However, to fill in the blanks of the past 400 years, I had to read it even though I obviously detested it.

“Times have changed. Really.”

From Sword Beginner to Runner to Expert and Master, the words of the knight I knew had become obsolete. The new age was full of unfamiliar concepts. [Circle] for wizards, [Chain] for knights, and the number of rings for dividing the status of knights.

[Single Chain], [Double Chain], [Triple Chain], [Quad Chain], [Penta Chain].

These unfamiliar words were used to refer to the status of small knights. And the knights that brought down the top 10 Sword Masters of the continent 220 years ago were [Quad Chain].

“It’s not even Penta, a quad…”

I was so immensely proud of the mana heart inside my body. It was a feat. But now, it felt like just another useless lump in my body. “Ha.”

I was confident when I came into the body of a fat man even though I lost all the power I had accumulated for hundreds of years.

The knowledge of hundreds of years of the prosecution was nothing like the power I lost. In fact, I was able to make mana hearts. I had succeeded in overcoming humble qualities, and I had a strong belief that I could always get back to the tremendous strength I had, given the right time. But this was a separate matter. I was skipping through the pages of the book. They had turned pale yellow and had a characteristic odor that tells you that the book is old. Its pages were fragile. I continued to think while my hands simultaneously turning the pages.

「Basic concept of mana chain ductility」.

The concept that completely destroyed a vision of my time was described as a recipe in a second cookbook. I looked at it with utter contempt and hate in my eyes.

However, this was not the case.

“It’s not a bad trick, is it?”

Just skimming through one book forced me to accept that Mana Chain had replaced Mana Heart.

Mana chains certainly had the potential. Nevertheless, when I finished reading, I couldn’t help but laugh. My concerns no longer remained.

“Altringen, Altringen.”

I closed the book and glanced over the cover. The title on the rustic cover was unnecessarily elaborate. 「One of the founders of the mana chain, ‘Ernest Altringen’ …, one of the names on the front row caught my eye.

“Somehow, the name was familiar.”

A long time ago, a man was not a prosecutor or a wizard, but a hybrid. He picked out a great sword, asking who would fit the name [Sword Castle]. He devised a different technique to quake the mana concept, and his last name was [Altringen]

“So, what did he do?”

* * *

Uncle’s gaze was still the same the next day. He had some kind of beef with me, and I could sense it with every inch of his presence. It was like he was looking at a prodigal son who ruined his future by an irreversible mistake. A long time had passed, and we had not talked. I was sure he would ask me about the book. Finally, breaking the monotonous silence, he asked,

“Can you understand now?” I nodded. “Then, you know how foolish you were.” There was a flavor of sarcasm in his tone.

“I was impatient, but not foolish,” I said abruptly, and vainly tried to conceal the irritation. He looked sour. His eyes stuck on me for a minute, and then he asked, “You haven’t read the book., have you?” “I read it. Many times,” I said insistingly. “Then, you didn’t grab the meaning properly.” He said as if he was sure of it.

“I understood what I needed,” I said abruptly.

The uncle stepped back, his arms crossed and eyes straight into my eyes. I could not stare him back, so I looked the other way again, telling myself that I certainly did not like him.

“Okay. Enlighten us with what you learned!” He said sarcastically with the corner of his mouth a little lifted.

“Mutual complementarity, rotation, and resonance between rings.”

I listed a few short words to the uncle. It was a summary of the mana chain softening method that I organized in my own way the night before. “Hmm!” The uncle’s gaze turned to the escort knights looking at me from a distance. “Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s all useless to you anyway.” “Exactly. What should I do now?” Lee Chae came to the uncle. “I don’t think I made a mistake.” I regretted right after saying this. The eyes of the uncle saw the fools of the world.

“Isn’t there something you want to admit, or is it still unknown?”

His voice was indifferent and showed no sign of concern. It showed how insignificant I was before him. I was faced with that explicit contempt.

“No, both.” I just laughed and again regretted it. The uncle did not answer. He just stared at me with a firm face as if he didn’t like my laugh. I asked, “This is not the same mana heart.”

* * *

Stupid!

Bale Balahard clicked his tongue while staring at his nephew.

“ What makes you think that you are special?”

His nephew did not answer, but Bale knew what was going on in his thinking process. “Some of the mercenaries are like you. They mistake themselves for being a hero, those who have not let their pasts go away. They dwell in there, and this blinds their reality. “Do you know how they all are?”

The nephew did not answer. He was as if he had nothing to say. “They couldn’t cross just two rings, and they all fell out.” Bale wanted his nephew to realize what a blunder he had made. He wanted him to learn from it and not just escape reality. “Double Chain. If you beat the double chain knight.” Don’t make your sister sad. “As per your mother’s wish, I will guide you.” “I don’t know what the outside house is like.” Is it worth it? His nephew seemed to ask that.

He stretched his shoulders and straightened his back in a challenging manner. He looked like a giant every time he did this. “I am Bale Balahard, commander of the Northern Third Corps, Captain of the Black Lancers and Countess of the Kingdom. It is one of the Five Gifts of His Majesty following, and a knight of four rings.” He was as fierce as the storm, and his voice had a tinge of pride in it. Visor! The court knights pulled their swords out all at once and pointed them at the uncle. He didn’t even blink.

“That’s the name of the one who stands behind you.” The nephew realized one of the names that symbolized his uncle. His eyes shone, and he tried to hide the bright smile that tried to spread across his face. “You were an article in the Quad Chain.” His plump cheeks obscured his expression. “Don’t make another noise.” He was smiling.