Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 11

Surviving as the 5th Prince of Hellmanguk – Episode 11

011

Adol Smith.

A Royal Knight of the Lionel Kingdom, a reserve member of the 3rd Knights Order, salutatorian [top graduate] of the Royal Military Academy, the eldest son of the Smith family, and a mop-head.

Born into a family that had been blacksmiths for generations, it was only natural that he took up the sword from a young age.

The moment he first held a sword, the mop-headed boy instinctively knew that he had more talent in wielding it than in forging it.

Adol thought he was a genius.

Until he was accepted into the Royal Military Academy.

In that place, filled with those who believed, or had believed, themselves to be geniuses, he felt suffocated. Fellow students seemed more talented, mastering better mana cultivation techniques [methods of harnessing internal energy], and diligently training while consuming various elixirs provided by their families like snacks.

When he first saw someone called a monster among his peers, he felt a sense of despair that he would never be able to surpass them, no matter how hard he trained. Because of that, he didn’t touch his sword for a while.

But he couldn’t just sit around forever. Like most commoner cadets, he had a family that was supporting him by squandering their savings.

Adol picked up his sword again.

After grueling efforts, he graduated from the Royal Military Academy’s Knight Department as the salutatorian and joined the 3rd Knights Order. Regaining his confidence, he cautiously thought that even if he wasn’t a genius, he was at least a prodigy.

But little did he know that there was another sky beyond the sky [a higher level beyond what he knew]. The nobles Adol had seen during his time at the academy were just the tip of the iceberg. The real ones were different.

The direct heirs of families inheriting their legacies.

Only the most discarded among them join the 3rd Knights Order. Yet, even so, his performance in the preliminary evaluations was always barely above the bottom.

– ······ 5th Prince······.

– ··· Quite······ Formal······.

– ······ Why··· a beggar?

Whispers in his ear.

Adol slowly opened his eyes.

The sunlight was blinding. Shielding his eyes with his hand, he began to sort out what was happening.

While the entire 3rd Knights Order was away on a mission, a conflict arose among the reserve members left at the garrison. The cause was the absurd fault-finding of the noble-born children. Telling the smelly guys to train in the corner? That’s how the sparring started.

‘······ Defeat.’

Adol brought his hand to his beaten jaw.

There was almost no pain, but the throbbing, tingling sensation was very irritating. They must have poured cheap recovery potion on it.

“Yo, Adol. You awake?”

A close friend from his academy days, nicknamed ‘Button Nose’ because of his round, large nose, spoke to him.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. The result would have been the same even if it was someone else. What’s the big deal about shade when the weather’s chilly, hahaha. It’s better because it’s warm.”

“Is this your potion? Why is it so tingly?”

“Aren’t you grateful? I mixed it with water to save some. Pay me back with a proper one when you get the chance.”

“You thief.”

“Hehehe.”

“But why is it so noisy?”

Frowning, Adol half-raised his body and turned his head towards the direction Button Nose was pointing.

A boy was visible.

‘Black hair? Royalty?’

A face Adol had never seen before.

Even though they were reserves, could there be royalty that he, a Royal Knight, didn’t know… Ah! There was one.

The ghost prince of the Emerald Palace, Evan Lionel.

He didn’t recognize the face, but he couldn’t fail to recognize the swordsmanship Evan was practicing.

“Lionel Formal Swordsmanship?”

Adol watched Evan with the heart of an academy instructor who would relentlessly nitpick.

‘There’s nothing to point out······.’

There was nothing to criticize in Evan’s ability to freely link the 6 forms that make up [Lionel Formal Swordsmanship].

The only thing to nitpick was his stamina.

The fact that his arms were trembling was the only flaw. But even in that state, Adol was amazed that Evan was drawing the correct sword paths.

“Isn’t he pretty good? At that level, he could work as an assistant instructor in the recruit training center, right?”

“Yeah. But his stamina is like he hasn’t held a sword in a week. Did he put down his sword and is now picking it up again?”

“Well······ He probably learned from the seniors 5 years ago? They must have taught him well.”

“But why did he suddenly pick up the sword again?”

“I heard a rumor that the 5th Prince was injured here because of the 4th Prince a while ago. Maybe he’s burning with revenge?”

Button Nose tapped his head.

Only then did Adol remember hearing the rumor that the 5th Prince had lost consciousness because of the 4th Prince.

“But is there a reason to come all the way here to train?”

“Hmm······ Does he want one of us to supervise his training?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Hehehe, me too.”

Adol, who had just joined the 3rd Knights Order, also knew the rumor that the seniors who were the 5th Prince’s bodyguards were falsely accused and executed.

‘I must never get involved.’

Firmly resolving himself, he turned his gaze away from Evan and completely stood up.

“Going to train?”

“I have to.”

After a simple stretch, Adol touched his tingling jaw once and glared at the nobles who were lying in the shade, giggling.

Button Nose patted his shoulder, which was gripping his sword tightly, and vacated the spot.

Adol slowly raised his sword above his head.

The beginning is always [Lionel Formal Swordsmanship].

He lightly unfolded from the 1st form to the 6th form, then gripped the sword handle so hard that it felt like it would crumble.

‘Today, I must······.’

The four stars located in Adol’s heart resonated. Mana began to spread throughout his body along with his heartbeat.

[Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship], consisting of 6 forms in the first half and 6 forms in the second half, for a total of 12 forms. The first half shares the same forms as the formal swordsmanship. The form names are also the same.

‘Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship 1st Form: Mountain Split!’

But its power is on a completely different level.

Swaaeeek- Paang!

A sonic boom that tore through the air erupted around Adol.

2nd Form: Shadow Cut.

3rd Form: Flash Thrust.

4th Form: Crush.

5th Form: Lion’s Roar.

6th Form: Iron Wall.

The first half of [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship], which had reached a mature level in his hands, unfolded.

‘Now, the 7th Form. Destruction’s······ Storm!’

The first form of the second half of [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship], which breaks the opponent’s defense with storm-like consecutive attacks. One must be able to inflict 12 consecutive attacks to achieve the minimum level of accomplishment.

That’s all Adol could do at the moment.

Today, he squeezed the mana in his heart to take one step further.

But.

‘Damn it! Another failure.’

The 13th consecutive attack, perfect for being countered in a real battle, unfolded. Afterwards, Adol, who had lost momentum, somehow finished all the forms in the second half and lowered his sword.

‘What’s the problem?’

It wasn’t a problem of magical power.

The academy classmate who was called a monster could inflict 24 consecutive attacks even when he was the same 4-star knight as himself.

Adol, who was slowly unfolding the 7th form again, suddenly felt someone staring intently at him and slightly turned his head.

‘The 5th Prince!’

Evan, sitting on a simple chair in the shade created by a parasol-wielding attendant, was staring intently at him.

‘Wh-what is it?’

Their eyes met.

Still, shouldn’t he, as a Royal Knight of the kingdom, give a light nod? While Adol was caught up in such thoughts, fortunately, Evan turned his gaze away first.

Adol breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

He had resolved not to get involved, but he couldn’t help but be bothered by Evan staring at him so intently. When he glanced at Evan out of the corner of his eye, he was getting up from his chair. It seemed he was going to resume training.

Adol watched Evan raise his sword.

And.

‘It’s not formal swordsmanship!!’

His eyes widened in shock.

Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship 1st Form: Mountain Split!

The small sonic boom from the wooden sword Evan swung down echoed loudly in the 3rd Knights Order’s training ground.

It was like a firefly in front of the sun compared to what Adol had unfolded, but it was clearly the Mountain Split of the Guardian Swordsmanship.

The entire 3rd Knights Order was enveloped in silence.

“Was he a mana awakener?”

“Th-that’s······.”

“No······ way.”

Skillfully unfolding [Lionel Formal Swordsmanship]?

‘It’s possible.’

Perhaps the bodyguards taught him with all their heart 5 years ago.

Handling mana?

If the bodyguards had taught him [Lionel Formal Mana Cultivation Technique] in the past as well······.

‘No, this doesn’t make sense.’

You shouldn’t accumulate mana in your heart before your body is fully formed. If you make a mistake, your still immature heart could be damaged.

The standard is to learn basic swordsmanship from around the age of 8 to create a vessel, and start training in mana cultivation techniques around the time puberty begins. In terms of timing, Evan couldn’t have learned mana cultivation techniques from the bodyguards.

‘Could it be self-taught?’

That’s the only thing he could think of. It’s crazy. Training in mana cultivation techniques without someone to watch over you is like a time bomb waiting to explode.

Adol wanted to run to Evan right away and take him to the temple to check his physical condition.

Up to this point, Adol somehow understood Evan’s skillful unfolding of formal swordsmanship and handling of mana.

But.

‘Guardian Swordsmanship doesn’t make sense!’

How could Evan, who had been holed up in the Emerald Palace, suddenly appear after nearly 5 years and unfold the 1st form of the Guardian Swordsmanship?

Adol recalled Evan staring intently at him as he unfolded [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship] a little while ago.

Soon, he came to an absurd conclusion.

‘He saw me and copied me?’

Adol felt sorry for thinking of his academy classmates, the top graduates, as monsters.

The real monster.

Was right there.

***

“Cough!”

Foul blood flowed down his lips.

It was because he overdid it, having just created his core. It was the price of using the 1st form of the Guardian Swordsmanship in a state where his body wasn’t even fully formed.

His arms were bruised black. The capillaries, still in the adaptation stage to mana, seemed to have burst. Eventually, he dropped the wooden sword he was holding.

“Prince Evan! Ack! Look at all this blood.”

Only after hearing that sound did Alphonse come rushing over in a fluster. He wiped the blood flowing down my lips with a towel.

Wasn’t this the one he used to wipe my sweat?

“Towel, st, ugh-”

His hands didn’t have the strength to resist, so he was wiped with the towel. He must be doing it on purpose.

“Oh my, look at the bruises on your arms. Let’s go back quickly. I’ll bring a healer like the wind [very quickly]. Should I carry you on my back?”

“I’m fine. Pack up your things and follow me.”

Besides his arms, the parts where mana had swept through were throbbing severely, but it wasn’t to the point where he needed to be carried. Leaving Alphonse, who was busily packing his things, he moved his feet towards the Emerald Palace.

‘I overdid it for nothing.’

He was just going to briefly unfold the forms of [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship] without using mana and go back.

But······.

Even though he learned it as a skill, he had mastered the theory of [Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship]. Watching the mop-headed knight train made him feel like he was going to die of frustration.

It was similar to the feeling he had when he watched national team soccer games on TV in his past life, feeling like his chest was tight.

‘Especially when transitioning from the 6th form to the 7th form.’

No, why can’t he do that?

He couldn’t help but think that.

To satisfy his frustration, he used mana to unfold the Guardian Swordsmanship to try it himself.

The result was······ his arms were wrecked after just one form.

Honestly, he thought that the mana would scatter in the middle and he would only be able to imitate the form in a plausible way. Just like in soccer, isn’t it different from what you imagine and what you actually do?

But he really succeeded.

‘Maybe I do have a talent for swordsmanship.’

Looking back, when he sparred with the 4th Prince, he somehow grasped the position where the guy’s wooden sword would hit him.

His body couldn’t react, so he couldn’t avoid it, but he got hit in a way that hurt the least.

······ Still, there was something unsettling about attributing it solely to talent. It seemed that learning a skill wasn’t just about having the theory engraved in your head.

It wasn’t a problem he could come to a conclusion on right now. He needed more information. He concluded his thoughts by continuing to pay attention and ponder over it.

‘I wonder if he’s okay?’

He recalled the atmosphere of the training ground, which had been enveloped in silence after he reproduced the 1st form of the Guardian Swordsmanship. He was a little worried because it seemed like things had gotten much bigger than he expected.

He turned his gaze to his tattered arms.

‘Is it fortunate that it turned out this way?’

Most people will think that he became like this because he clumsily followed the 1st form of the Guardian Swordsmanship and misused mana.

“Prince, but when did you start mana cultivation? I’ve never seen you do it······. I’ve heard that it’s very dangerous to even get bitten by a mosquito during mana cultivation! If you tell me next time, I’ll protect you so that not even a fly can enter the room!”

“You seem more dangerous than a mosquito.”

After giving a snort to the Alphonse who was pretending to be hurt, he trudged on.