The Prince Wants to Retire

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The Crown Prince Wants to Retire

1. An Unwanted Rebirth! (2)

I pondered hard about smashing the Emperor Faction, the culprits who made my previous life a torment.

Before leaving the Imperial Palace, I scribbled down their weaknesses, thinking of how to take down as many of them as possible.

As a result of my contemplation, the first objective I had to fulfill before departing was set.

“I must definitely take care of the Chancellor.”

The Chancellor, who currently enjoys the Emperor’s favor.

He was the main culprit behind my hardships in my previous life and a key pillar of the Emperor Faction.

Originally, he was a genius who pulled the Marquis family, which led the Emperor Faction, down and raised the Viscount family to its marquisate.

It was said that he was known for skillfully balancing the opinions of the Aristocratic Faction, Neutral Faction, and Emperor Faction instead of the Emperor himself.

However, the biggest reason for his fame was his so-called integrity.

He was so squeaky clean that it’s rumored the Emperor himself conferred the Marquis title to him because he distributed most of the achievements to his followers.

But that was all a big lie.

“Integrity, my foot….”

Kariel gritted his teeth and spat curses at the Chancellor.

He remembered thinking he was a man of integrity back in his youth, not knowing better.

“It was just a mask.”

The Chancellor was slick and greedy, as if he had thousands of crafty serpents coursing through his veins.

His true nature would be revealed after the Emperor’s death.

In the name of representing a weak person like me, he sought to divide the Empire and fill his own pockets.

Crack!

Kariel clenched his teeth again, burning with fury at the Chancellor.

If it weren’t for him, I would have suffered a third less in my previous life.

“Phew… Let’s stay calm.”

Kariel, knowing that his anger would only cause him more trouble, tried to meditate and suppress his wrath.

The mass of fire energy inside him easily adapted to the emotion of anger, and if he got too worked up, it could become dangerous.

“Your Highness, I have brought the books you requested!”

“Come in.”

At the voice from outside, Kariel commanded to let them enter.

Following his orders, the attendant came in with a mountain of stacked books on a cart.

“Is this all of it?”

“No, I believe there should be at least four more loads of books like this.”

Kariel was momentarily speechless at the thought that the enormous stack filling the room would quadruple.

However, he quickly nodded and ordered them to leave.

“That’s a lot.”

Kariel said this as he began to devour the most basic texts.

While he wished to invite professors from prestigious academies for advice, doing so might expose his information.

He preferred to look into things himself for his own peace of mind.

“…Hmm.”

Looking at the overwhelming amount of books, he briefly thought, “Should I consult the professors about the less important information?”

But he quickly shook his head.

There were too many clever ones in this capital.

Anyone who was somewhat intelligent in the Empire was drawn here, meaning they’d likely piece together the information Kariel wanted to keep hidden.

Ultimately resolved to do his research alone, he listed out his most important tasks in order.

1. Werewolf Body Technique.

2. Identify who the beings I need to contract are.

3. Find ways to restrain the fire energy.

4. Discover the detailed locations and contracting methods for the beings.

These four main tasks were to be handled, starting from the easiest one.

The most clear clue among the information granted by the gods was related to the Werewolf Body Technique, so he began searching for that first.

Being in the Imperial Palace library, it was no surprise that there were quite a few high-level texts.

Kariel first chose the Encyclopedia of Monsters and slowly flipped through the pages.

“Whoa, indeed, monsters are no joke.”

Thinking back to his previous life, Kariel nodded.

Remembering the turmoil during the Monster Wave still sent chills down his spine.

The counts of the borders had warned multiple times, yet due to the damn rebellion and invasions from neighboring countries, there was no proper preparation.

Because of that, they had to evacuate, nearly falling victim to the capital’s siege.

Looking back, it was painfully frustrating.

He had tried to prepare for the monsters, only for everything to fall apart due to that damn rebellion and foreign invasions.

“Ugh!”

Anger surged again, heating up the fire energy within him.

Kariel immediately closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.

He repeatedly chanted to himself, “Stay calm.”

“Phew…”

Only after managing to suppress the intense anger coursing through him did Kariel dive into the book about monsters.

The Encyclopedia of Monsters he was reading didn’t merely list characteristics.

As expected for a book meant for royalty, it contained detailed information about each monster.

Among the details were descriptions of the powers they utilized.

“Surely, the Mana Cultivation Method is worth researching as well.”

Kariel murmured, nodding to himself.

Having once researched extensively into mana to quell his fire energy, he valued the Mana Cultivation Method of monsters above all.

Being from outside this area, Kariel viewed the monsters without prejudice regarding their techniques.

Yet, with the eruption of the Monster Wave, he delved deeper into the mana utilization of monsters, discovering that their mana usage surpassed that of many humans in some respects.

Of course, mages and scholars were not pleased with Kariel’s observations.

After all, it might seem insane for the Emperor to study the techniques of those primitive monsters.

“Scholars are boxed in with their thinking…”

Kariel clicked his tongue, muttering to himself.

Then, he pulled out an old book that compiled all the mana usage methods of the continent.

Most were things he was already familiar with, but there were a few intriguing ones.

“Definitely interesting.”

Kariel murmured again, turning the pages.

Even the scholars could hardly estimate how many methods had emerged in modern mana utilization.

Of course, despite the numerous techniques, they ultimately fell into two categories.

Mana Cultivation Method.

Mana Refinement Method.

These two long-standing methods had evolved into various methodologies over time.

Humans and Elves favored the Mana Refinement Method.

Most races known as monsters, excluding humanity, leaned towards the Mana Cultivation Method.

The reason humanity chose the Mana Refinement Method was simple.

The pros and cons of each method were distinct, and the benefits of the Mana Refinement Method chosen by humans were as follows.

1. It’s safe.

2. It’s convenient for processing.

So, what about the benefits of the Mana Cultivation Method picked by monsters?

1. Enables rapid strengthening.

2. Quick recovery rate.

3. Simple.

Since the advantages were glaringly distinct, so too were the disadvantages.

The Mana Refinement Method took longer to strengthen and accumulate mana and was a complicated process compared to the Mana Cultivation Method.

On the other hand, the Mana Cultivation Method was inherently imperfect.

That meant it accompanied a certain degree of risk.

Monsters chose the Mana Cultivation Method because from the moment they were born, they faced dangers.

Their lives resembled a battlefield at every moment, making the Choice of the Mana Cultivation Method a necessity for survival.

Conversely, humanity and Elves did not face such an urgent threat, opting for the Mana Refinement Method to minimize risks.

Thus, for someone like Kariel, who was weak to begin with, learning the Mana Cultivation Method could be even more dangerous.

However, since even those who had mastered the Mana Refinement Method to its limits and renowned scholars could not find ways to control Kariel’s fire energy, this path remained.

‘I’ll bear the risks.’

I can’t let myself be dragged along by the fire energy for the rest of my life.

Resolutely, he flipped through the information on Werewolves but was disappointed with the results.

“Nothing special after all.”

Kariel sighed, shaking his head.

Since he had already gathered information in the past, nothing noteworthy immediately popped up.

“I’m sure I investigated Werewolves back then…”

According to what he’d learned from scholars, the mana control exhibited by Werewolves was not significantly different from that of Orcs and other monsters.

Their powerful bodies formed the basis of their Mana Cultivation Method.

And using that to employ combat techniques.

With all this knowledge, Kariel was left puzzled.

Most of the information in the Encyclopedia of Monsters was material he was already familiar with, and as he flipped through it with a bored expression, he suddenly stopped.

“There was a race among the Ancient Werewolves that utilized a unique form of mana application.”

His eyes widened at the sight of that sentence.

“Right, I didn’t look into the ancient era.”

Kariel muttered, flipping to the next page, but only found a simple concept – nothing more detailed.

“The Ancient Werewolves’ martial arts that maximizes physical abilities and hones instincts, rather than typical combat techniques.”

As a technique that had been lost even among the Werewolves, materials were scarce.

If it hadn’t been for the hint given by the gods, Kariel might have passed it over as unremarkable.

Regardless, he felt satisfied.

“I’ve got the direction now.”

He grinned as he stated that.

The detailed information could be found elsewhere. Exploring the Werewolves should yield some valuable leads.

One concern was that if this was from so long ago, there might not be much documentation left.

‘Let’s hope something remains.’

Trusting in the Imperial Palace Library, which boasts the largest collection in the continent, Kariel pushed the books on monsters aside.

Rather than search for info on Ancient Werewolves now, he decided to find out the next order of business.

“There’s certainly plenty.”

Sighing softly, Kariel began to carefully peruse the stack of books relating to the mythic era.

At least he could save time by only seeking out the ones connected to fire-related beings.

“Was there this much?”

From the mythic era to ancient times, there had been many fire-related beings.

Moreover, the heroes tied to the empire’s foundation were also quite abundant.

Thus, he aimed to find the most prominent of them first.

“I thought I’d easily find the God of Destruction…”

Kariel muttered, furrowing his brow.

His expectations were that finding a being with the title ‘Destruction’ would be simple, as a demon god to boot.

Yet, there was no mention of the God of Destruction anywhere.

“If you’re going to tell me, just give me the whole story. What a stingy brat.”

Frustrated, Kariel sighed while cursing the gods.

Ultimately, giving up on tracking down the God of Destruction, he started looking for fire-related gods, and surprisingly enough, he was able to find clues about others faster than he expected.

The Behemoth that swallowed the sun – Skoll, the wolf that devoured the sun.

The Guardian of Hell’s Gate – Garum, Hellhound of Hell.

Shard of the Fire Spirit King – Ignis or Selim.

However, a problem persisted: it was challenging to obtain materials for these others.

Skoll was shunned by those who worship the Sun God.

Due to the Dark Mage Rebellion, many sources regarding Garum had been lost, as he’d become feared for being a Hellish being.

At least the Shard of the Fire Spirit King had no such issues, but both beings had also become elusive since ancient times, so there was little documentation available.

“Surprise, surprise.”

It wouldn’t make sense for the gods to allow me to easily overcome this incurable disease.

Scratching his head, Kariel made a face of annoyance as he flipped through the pages.

During this, he came across a significant name in the last book about fire-related myths.

“The Lord of Muspel”

The fire giant and king of Muspel who ended the mythic era.

A being so formidable that even the empire worshipping fire viewed him with caution.

Yet, he was always one of those beings that marked the ending of historical texts associated with the mythic era.

“A being that could even destroy the realm of gods…”

Kariel briefly thought of the god who had toyed with him, wishing to borrow even a fragment of Surth’s power.

Just as he absentmindedly flipped through information related to Surth, he spotted a small but legible print among the many titles ascribed to him.

“The God of Destruction”

“Huh?”

Kariel wondered if he had misread and looked again closely at the book.

It stated that among those who survived the mythic era, there were some who referred to Surth as the God of Destruction.

“Is Surth really the God of Destruction?”

Kariel muttered in disbelief.

“Really?”

He couldn’t believe it, and while expressing his disbelief, he suddenly sat up wide-eyed.

“The Imperial Palace Treasure Vault!”

As a thought struck him, Kariel’s eyes became wide with excitement.

Coincidentally, one of Surth’s relics was stored in the palace.

Although it was cursed and there were doubts about its authenticity, it would be a win-win situation for him.

“I have to try it.”

He murmured, a thick smile spreading across his face.

But suddenly, he tilted his head in confusion.

Mythical artifacts were mostly lost or sealed in hard-to-reach locations.

Truly, only a few had ended up in the treasure vaults of nations, and amusingly enough, one of Surth’s artifacts was in the Empire’s vault.

And it could help recover his ailment?

At that moment, Kariel felt everything from the “Contract Holder” the gods gave him to Surth was interconnected, causing his expression to twist.

“Did he… plan this?”

He looked up at the sky, muttering towards the god who was watching over him.

But no answer came.

“Ha…”

Feeling like he was still being toyed with, Kariel finally clutched his neck and lay on the bed, unable to rise for a while.