Allen, no, Arthur knew that his body was strong, but he didn't know how to use his powers, and thus he needed a lab rat. But the question was, who?
He got an idea and went to the dungeon.
The air there was damp and heavy.. Chains clinked softly as he walked past the cells. Soon, he found a bald and muscular man, sitting in chains. The man froze the moment he noticed Arthur.
'After some digging, I found that this guy was a knight under a marquis. One day he got drunk and raped the young miss who was only 16… Sigh, bastards like him exist in this world as well… And here too, such crimes are only punished when the victim has high status. Well, since he is a knight, he must be strong. I can use him to understand my powers. The first thing I should master is healing magic.'
"C-CROWN PRINCE, d-do you need something?"
Arthur showed a face full of disdain and dragged him to the training chamber.
After a while, he was able to learn healing magic and understand some properties of attack magic.
He gathered mana in his hand, intending to use an attack spell on the knight. For a brief moment, the mana responded smoothly.
THUMP
Arthur felt a heavy pain at his mana core and immediately fell down. His grip on the mana broke instantly.
'Aah! What the hell??? Did the previous injury damage my mana core? It feels as if my body is being sliced into pieces with a knife…'
The pain spread through his entire body, sharp and unstable, as if the mana inside him was clashing instead of flowing.
The knight was bewildered seeing the strongest person struggling to even cast a basic spell. He instinctively wanted to take advantage of this situation but quickly rejected that idea, as it was nothing different than a death wish.
Arthur spent hours there trying to relax and somehow stabilize his mana core using breathing techniques. Even though it wasn't very effective, he was eventually able to use attack spells again.
However, the stronger the spell, the more intense the pain became. It was like a double-edged sword.
He tried various attacks on the knight and repeatedly healed him. Each attempt gave him a slightly better understanding of how unstable his mana had become. After torturing him like this for a whole day, he finally killed him.
'So this is what it feels like to kill someone?'
'If I have to ensure my survival, I must not show any mercy to my enemies.'
'At least I can attack and defend myself now, but this pain is unbearable. So I have unknown enemies who are possibly stronger than the peak me, and I'm not even able to use magic for long? What the hell happened to me earlier? I think it's about time I ask my siblings for details.'
Arthur was meditating in his room when he heard a knock.
"Come in."
A young and beautiful woman with silver hair, cold eyes, and a calm and mature face entered the room and bowed.
'This is Seraphina, she's 23 years old, the second oldest. She is cold, strong, and intelligent, and was the closest to the original Arthur. She should be perfect for me to get some information.'
"I called you because I forgot what happened that day, do you know the details?"
"Brother, that day you were leading the seventh legion in order to terminate high-level monsters. When you were on the outskirts of the capital, you noticed a few merchants surrounded by several monsters, so naturally you went to help them. But it was a trap, there was a huge blast, and about 80% of your army was wiped out."
"Oh?"
"Right as you entered the intended area, you stepped on a mana-elevating bomb."
'I've read about those, they temporarily increase the mana in your body, pushing it beyond its natural capacity. They are useful in life-threatening situations, but the side effects are severe, as the mana is not your own.'
"Even though they are useful for the weak, they are equally deadly for the strong, especially you…"
"It made me suffer from mana poisoning and cracked my mana core?"
"Yes, it was a surprise you didn't die and only went into a coma for three days."
"Do you know who those merchants were?"
"One merchant was captured alive and brutally tortured until he revealed the name of his organization, and was instantly killed due to backlash, preventing him from saying anything more. It seems they were members of the Veil of Ashes, a secret organization that was formed solely to kill you. Seeing how expensive mana-elevating bombs are, the organization must have high-level backing and funding."
"Naturally, there are a lot of nobles who want me gone."
"Yes, moreover only a few knew about the exact timing of your monster hunt beforehand that day, so we can track the traitor who leaked the information."
"Very well then."
"Don't let the other nobles know about the specifics of my injury."
"Alright. Oh, and father wanted to talk to you."
After a while, Arthur visited the emperor, Caelus Drakenhart, who was sitting on his grand throne. He had the same golden hair and eyes, his presence heavy and commanding, reflecting years of battle and dominance.
'According to the memory fragments, Arthur didn't address his own father properly and openly argued with him, sometimes even defying his orders without facing consequences. I should stick to my character.'
"Greetings, father."
"It was the first time I saw you in such a state. Anyways, do you have any leads?"
"I do, I'll soon find the traitor and send you a detailed report after that."
"Arthur, I assume you still haven't realized this, but you have developed a god complex… There are many things you aren't aware of and still you take those hidden dangers lightly. This ego of yours will take you down one day."
'I completely agree with him, the original Arthur was too overconfident, failing to notice that a whole organization was built just to kill him? But well, I have to stick to my character.'
"I'm just confident in my own strength."
"It's useless trying to argue with you. I've said what I wanted to, and you should remember my words. Catch the traitor and send me a report later."
At night, senior knight Hale was guarding the treasure room when he heard footsteps.
"Who goes there?"
He saw Arthur approaching him.
"This loyal and faithful knight greets your highness, the crown prince."
"Loyal and faithful? Haha, what a nice joke."
Hale's face became pale, anxiety clearly visible.
"I-I didn't understand, your highness."
"Quit your pathetic acting. Only a few senior knights knew about the timing of my monster hunt beforehand, and one of them clearly leaked that information to the organization."
"What organization? Your highness, this is clearly a misunderstanding! Why would it have to be me out of all the other knights?"
"Well, I had the shadow watchers secretly observe all those knights."
Hale's heart started beating rapidly as he clearly knew what that meant. Shadow watchers were a group of highly trained assassins that worked under the royal family. They used a special technique that made their presence undetectable, regardless of how strong the target was. They were experts in silent killing and spying.
"You were caught delivering information regarding my current health to Count Kelthis's men. I'm sure you were the one who informed him about my hunt that day as well. Stop trying to deny it, as I don't need any reason to kill a knight. Instead, if you tell me everything you know, then your death will be painless."
"I'm actually speaking the truth, I am indeed the count's spy, but neither I nor Count Kelthis know anything about the secret organization. The count was contacted by a masked man who asked for intel about you, and in return said that the crown prince would be eliminated, allowing the nobles a chance to rebel against the royal family, and he would be made a marquis."
'So he was used as a pawn by the organization and higher nobles. Still, he is a count, and I can't just go and kill him without any proof.'
"Tomorrow I will hold a meeting, and you will confess to everything in front of the nobles, and in return your crimes won't be made public and your honor will remain."
Hale knew that his death could not be avoided, but if he had a chance to keep his reputation, he had to accept it.