Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 12

12.

The stormy day had passed, but the events of yesterday spread like wildfire throughout the Imperial Palace.

Ken, who was preparing breakfast, spoke about the atmosphere within the palace. “There are many rumors that His Highness has gone mad.”

He sounded hoarse, as if he hadn’t slept well.

I shrugged. “Why am I mad?”

“Because you imprisoned the Second Prince’s knights and locked up the deputy head attendant, maids, and servants in the detached palace. Thanks to you, I had to prepare breakfast in another palace.”

Ken’s complaint wasn’t about the rumors insulting me, but about his own inconvenience.

“You lack loyalty.”

“I am not yet Your Highness’s man.”

I smiled faintly at Ken’s blunt reply. “You’re not my man. You’re just someone whose life is mortgaged to me.”

Ken’s cheek twitched. I brushed off his complaint. “I’ll be hiring people soon, so just suffer for a few days.”

“Yes.”

Listening to Ken’s reply, I ate my breakfast as evenly and plentifully as possible, as always.

Today marked the end of the third consecutive week of training for the ‘Starting is Half the Battle’ F-rank quest.

In that time, I had been lucky enough to unlock two skills through F-rank quests.

‘Karen and the original owner of this body didn’t know about the status window at first, so they couldn’t actively utilize it, but I’m different.’ My memory of the status window, which was the foundation of the protagonist’s abilities, was particularly clear.

‘The more bonus stats I invest and the more quests I unlock, the higher the chance of getting quests with good rewards.’

After finishing my meal, I headed straight to the training grounds with Gail.

The training grounds were to the right of the garden, and I had never used them before.

The other princes and princesses open the training grounds in their palaces not only to themselves but also to their knights and mages.

On the other hand, no one used my training grounds. Gail didn’t need them, and it was my first time training.

“Was it always this big?”

Gail replied briefly, “The Crown Prince’s training grounds are the largest, except for His Majesty’s.”

I shrugged. “Well, it’s good if it’s big.”

Then, I slyly said to Gail, “I’m planning to start training with spirits in earnest… but I guess all I can rely on is the *Spirit Arts* book my mother gave me. I’d appreciate it if Gail could spar with me appropriately.”

The difference in skill between Gail and me is honestly embarrassing to even put into words.

But Gail is the only one who can spar with me.

Although he is directly under the Emperor, many knights are already siding with the princes and princesses based on their origins and judgments.

And me? Of course, Gail is all I have.

Gail nodded without hesitation at my request. “Of course, Your Highness.”

Gail drew his sword from his waist. As if he had expected it, it was a wooden sword, not a real one.

“A spiritist starts by summoning spirits so quickly that the opponent cannot perceive it.”

Gail’s aura changed.

He was clearly just holding a wooden sword and doing nothing, but I felt pressure all over my body.

“It is important to summon spirits naturally and instinctively in any situation.”

‘Sylph, Undine.’

I summoned all the spirits I had contracted with at the same time.

Two sylphs [air spirits] and an undine [water spirit] appeared.

Gail exclaimed in pure admiration. “Then I will attack once.”

Gail nodded at my words.

No matter how great my talent may be, I didn’t think for a moment that Gail would be affected by my attack.

‘It’s an A-rank skill, but they are all only level 1. I haven’t even tried using them yet.’

I had been focusing only on the Breath of Wind and spirit contracts.

It was time to start using skills and increase their proficiency to raise their levels.

The skill usage was imprinted in my mind from the moment they were unlocked, so I didn’t have to worry about it.

‘Wind Chains.’

I used the attack skill first.

The sylphs flew away with a whoosh. They were quite fast. The sylphs’ bodies turned sharp and attacked Gail’s sides.

I didn’t specifically order them to do anything, but just ‘thought’ about it, and the sylphs read my thoughts and determined the direction of the attack.

-If your affinity is high, the spirits will share the spiritist’s consciousness and move instinctively. That’s why it’s important to become close with the spirits you contract with. Regardless of whether they are lower, middle, upper, or highest grade, if even one spirit can share consciousness, the spirit will move as if it were one body.

My mother cited sharing consciousness with spirits as the most important aspect of spiritism.

Sharing consciousness is much faster and more efficient than giving verbal commands.

‘What a terrifying talent.’

I finally realized how amazing S-rank talent was as I watched the sylphs fly.

And Gail felt much the same way.

* * *

“You handle spirits much more naturally than any spiritist I have ever seen.”

Gail’s breathing was consistently calm.

I was sweating profusely all over my body, and my breath was catching in my throat.

‘This is no joke.’

It was incomparable to exercise. Every time I used a skill, mana [spiritual energy] flowed from my mana core to the spirits.

‘I need to build up my stamina more.’

I focused on Gail’s words while catching my ragged breath.

“Turning the sylphs into blade shapes to attack is a method that Your Highness’s mother often used, and Your Highness is also using it excellently. However, the way you used the undine was disappointing.”

“Undine?”

Gail nodded at my question. “Yes. It’s like a shield, but it’s too inefficient.”

I couldn’t argue. It was a defense skill called Water Barrier, and I hadn’t unlocked any other skills.

Gail explained briefly. “After you become completely familiar with attacking with wind spirits and defending with water spirits, it would be good to train to switch the roles of the spirits.”

I nodded for now at Gail’s words.

Unlocking defense skills with wind spirits and attack skills with water spirits are things that I cannot arbitrarily execute.

‘Drawing the skills themselves is only possible when you succeed in high-difficulty quests. With quests of the current grade, unlocking skills itself is a matter of luck.’

In the end, the only option is to complete more quests and collect more bonus stats.

The hopeful thing is that I have a teacher named Gail and that my skill level and my level have increased due to the new training.

Aroon Cal Leord (Lv10)

-Lowest-Rank Spiritist

-Crown Prince

Talent

-S Companion of the Wind (Lv2)

-S Guardian of the Water (Lv1)

Skills

-S Breath of Wind (Lv10)

-A Wind Chains (Lv3)

-A Water Barrier (Lv3)

Quests

-F Gain Gail’s Acknowledgment of Perseverance: Train every day for two months without rest

└Bonus Stat: 30

-F Starting is Half the Battle: Train continuously for one month, train continuously for two months

└Bonus Stat 5 for each goal achieved

Current Bonus Stats

-30

There were many changes in the status window. My talent as a spiritist is definitely considerable.

And finally, a level-up reward was given.

-Level-up Reward: Total of 30 Bonus Stats Awarded

When I selected the reward, the current bonus stats changed from 30 to 60.

I took a breath and turned my gaze to Gail.

“Gail.”

Gail replied calmly. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“I need to have an audience with His Majesty after lunch.”

Gail’s face momentarily stiffened, but he quickly returned to his original expression. “I will prepare it.”

My father is a very busy man.

Recently, rumors of the imminent Second Conquest War have been rampant within the Imperial Palace. Now, beyond the capital, the provinces are filled with the atmosphere of war.

‘According to the original story, I am expelled from the Imperial Palace around this time.’

My father, unable to tolerate my incompetence, would strip me of my title as Crown Prince and banish me from the capital under the guise of training.

I definitely wrote it that way, but honestly, I couldn’t be sure.

‘This world is a living, breathing reality… and considering the setting of Ron Cal Leord that I created, he has no interest in me at all. It’s likely that my rivals used some kind of trick.’

It was the first novel I had ever written, and honestly, there were many parts where I just glossed over plot holes.

Gail and I returned to the palace and had lunch together. Ken still complained, but I lightly ignored him.

After finishing lunch, I headed to my father’s office with Gail.

I was somewhat nervous, but I decided that the Emperor’s authority was necessary, so I braced myself.

“It’s quite far.”

I said to Gail after walking for a long time without arriving.

Gail replied briefly. “We will arrive soon.”

“I know that Father is quite busy, but will he allow an audience?”

“I have already sent word. I think we will have to go and see.”

Although it is a son meeting his father, officially it is the Crown Prince visiting the Emperor during his working hours. No matter how much of a Crown Prince he is, it is not easy to have an audience with the Emperor without making an appointment in advance.

The Emperor is busy discussing state affairs with numerous nobles.

‘Moreover, with the Second Conquest War imminent… even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.’

Nevertheless, I deliberately went to see my father.

If today’s meeting fell through, I planned to make an appointment in advance tomorrow.

Soon, I arrived at the palace where my father worked.

As expected of a palace with the Emperor’s office, it gave off a splendid and magnificent feeling.

The palace was crowded with nobles I didn’t recognize, their aides, knights, and servants.

The nobles glanced at my face and seemed quite surprised.

Gail opened his mouth briefly. “This is His Highness the Crown Prince.”

He was pointing out the fact that no one bowed to me or showed respect.

Only then did the nobles and people briefly bow with unpleasant expressions.

I chuckled.

‘My situation… am I really the Crown Prince?’

I ignored the nobles and strode up the stairs. Everyone was waiting to have an audience with the Emperor, but I walked as if to show off.

“Father, it is I, your son.”

Everyone’s mouths dropped open.

My actions were clearly disrespectful and unimaginable considering my previous behavior.

‘Father values ability when evaluating people. He can’t not know that the highest-grade wind spirit and the highest-grade water spirit were summoned in my palace. He is someone who would meet me even out of curiosity.’

It wasn’t an action without any basis.

I also wanted to clearly let the nobles who were ignoring me know that I was the Crown Prince. Hiding my abilities is different from this matter.

I wanted to make it clear to everyone, at least, who the Crown Prince was.

Just as Gail was about to stop me, the office door opened.

The final boss, Ron Cal Leord, no, my father, said with a blank face. “Come in.”

The first gamble paid off.