chapter 2
2: Changing Daily Routine
Another morning has come.
As I wake up, the maids enter the bedroom and take care of all my preparations. I walk to the dining room, sit at the ridiculously long table, and eat a meal that I know I won’t be able to finish.
This way, I have almost nothing to do all day.
All I do in this mansion is sleep, eat, and groom myself.
When I was younger, I had various teachers, but after a year or so, no one came anymore. I guess there was nothing to teach me, a boy who grew slower than a caterpillar.
Even so, I was taught etiquette for a long time. Even now, I’m occasionally checked to see if I’ve forgotten anything, but everyone in the mansion probably thinks it’s pointless for me to remember it, since I never go out or even have any plans to appear in front of people.
On the contrary, I think it was a good thing. Thanks to the fact that I had nothing to do, I had time to think, and that’s how I was able to develop my judgment, mixed with servility.
If I hadn’t been able to do even that, I would probably be living a life like a doll right now.
But from today on, things will be a little different.
“Zeel.”
“Yes.”
Zeel, the butler who is in charge of this mansion and who has been standing right next to me, bows his head respectfully.
I have a small favor to ask of this poor man, who was born into a family of servants who have served the royal family for generations, but who has been assigned to take care of the useless crown prince.
“I’m going to the library.”
“As you wish.”
Even though I have nothing to do, I do read books occasionally.
Since I’ve been away from the word “study” for so long, it didn’t really mean anything to me, but I read them anyway because I had nothing else to do.
I’m sure Zeel thinks it’s just like any other day.
I entered the library and ordered all the servants who had been following me out of the room. I usually don’t mind, but today they were just getting in the way.
“Let’s see.”
I looked around at the bookshelves that lined the room, which was about half the size of a party hall, and brought up my individual information (visual record) in my head.
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Car-Mine Colorless Ji Garland Le Carlo-Ziggle Arley
Race Human/Race
Soul Level 1
Vitality 100/100
Spirit 100/100
Status: (All ability level values are decreasing)
(All ability level values will not increase)
(Individual information is in a hidden state)
Strength 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Speed 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Durability 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Stamina 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Intelligence 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Magic 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Mental Resistance 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Magic Resistance 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Magic Attribute
Light 0-0 (0/6-7)
Darkness 0-0 (0/6-7)
Fire 0-0 (0/6-7)
Wind 0-0 (0/6-7)
Metal 0-0 (0/6-7)
Earth 0-0 (0/6-7)
Water 0-0 (0/6-7)
Skills
Offensive Skills:
Defensive Skills:
Support Skills:
Recovery Skills:
Attribute Skills:
Special Skills:
Unique Skills: (【All Ability Decrease】【Ability Fixation】【Individual Information Concealment】【Skill Release】)
Race Skills:
Bloodline Skills:
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And I failed when I tried to change these values. The values didn’t move at all.
I was getting worried that maybe this wasn’t about being able to freely increase the values, but rather that I had only gained the qualification to increase them by becoming an adult, when I suddenly noticed the weakening effect (bad status) of the unique skill.
I tried using 【Skill Release (Mana Unlock)】 to erase them and then tried again, and it worked.
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Car-mine Colorless, the Garland Le Carlo-Jiggle-Arley
Race: Human, Human Race
Soul Rank: 1
Vitality: 100/100
Spirit: 100/100
Status: (All ability level values are decreased)
(Individual information is concealed)
Strength: 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Speed: 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Toughness: 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Stamina: 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Intelligence: 2-7 (2-7/6-7)
Magic: 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Mental Resistance: 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Magic Resistance: 1-1 (1-1/6-7)
Magic Attributes
Light: 0-0 (0/6-7)
Darkness: 0-0 (0/6-7)
Fire: 0-0 (0/6-7)
Wind: 0-0 (0/6-7)
Metal: 0-0 (0/6-7)
Earth: 0-0 (0/6-7)
Water: 0-0 (0/6-7)
Skills
Offensive Skills:
Defensive Skills:
Support Skills:
Recovery Skills:
Attribute Skills:
Special Skills:
Unique Skills: ([All Ability Decrease], [Ability Immobilization], [Individual Information Concealment], [Skill Release])
Race Skills:
Bloodline Skills:
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I figured out a few things.
What was hindering my growth was [All Ability Decrease (Mana Control)] and [Ability Immobilization (Mana Lock)]. By canceling these out with [Skill Release], I can make growth possible. And if I activate [Ability Immobilization] again , I won’t be able to change the values.
[Ability Immobilization], strictly speaking, was probably the key to making sure my growth didn’t go up by mistake.
Whether this [Ability Immobilization] only immobilizes my current ability values, or if it can completely cancel out skills received from others–support magic (buff) or impeding magic (debuff)–will probably be a future challenge.
And I’m also curious about the fact that it’s a constantly activated skill (passive skill) while also being an actively activated skill (active skill). Normally, I would think that a weakening effect would either be permanent or completely erased, but is that not the case?
Well, then, as a test, I’ll just pull out a random book from the nearby bookshelf and look through the contents. It was something that recorded the simple history of this country.
As I took the book to the table and continued reading, there were many parts I didn’t understand, but I was certainly able to comprehend and memorize it.
Until now, I could only understand one out of a hundred things I read, and it took even more effort to memorize it, but is this all it takes to raise my intelligence by just 1?
I tried raising my intelligence by just one more and reread it, and I was able to read much faster than before. If the 3rd rank is the average in the world, then this means I’ve finally gained the comprehension skills of an average person .
I put the book back with a slight feeling of boredom and left the room because I felt an unusual pain in my head. I was relieved that I had chosen not to raise my intelligence stat all at once.
It is said that geniuses hear one and know ten. It is said that heroes hear one and know ten and create a hundred. Or it is said that they know nothing and create a hundred from ten.
In other words, geniuses and heroes have so much comprehension and imagination that they gain a vast amount of knowledge and experience just by looking at something.
I, who only gained the intelligence of an average person, got a headache, so if I were to change the stat to the 5th or 6th rank right now, I would probably die because my head’t be able to process the information.
I finally understood why my talent killed my talent. If a baby had such an ability, it would have died before it even became aware of itself.
It was also the moment I realized that the talent that had put me through this had certainly protected me.
In the end, I ended up skipping even the tea break (midday tea break) that day and lying down in my room until evening. I was almost unconscious rather than lying down.
According to what I heard later, I didn’t wake up even when they called out to me, and it even developed into a commotion to call the magic doctor.
In the end, they decided that I was just tired and had no problems, so they left me alone until I woke up at night—with a servant always waiting by my side.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, how are you feeling?”
“He says he’s fine.”
“I apologize for the intrusion.”
These were the words that Zeel said to me when I was relaxing in my room after finishing my meal and bath.
Ever since then, Zeel and the maids have been following me around because they’re worried about me. It’s incredibly annoying. I know the reason, so just leave me alone.
Well, I guess it can’t be helped from the servants’ point of view who don’t know that.
Even though I’m under house arrest, I’m still the Crown Prince who is first in line to the throne. No matter what the reason, if anything happens to me, everyone in this mansion will physically lose their heads.
And it wouldn’t just be a simple death sentence, but a capital punishment where they would be killed in agony along with their relatives—no, not everyone, because there are those who have served the royal family for generations or are of similar or equal lineage.
I can understand that when I think about it, but I get tired of being told the same thing over and over again.
“I’m going to bed. Leave. I don’t need a night watch either.”
“That’s not possible. Your Highness the Crown Prince is the treasure of the country and the next king. If anything happens, His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen will also be saddened.”
“You, is that your intention?”
I looked straight at Zeel. The face of the butler, whose words and actions could be described as perfect, was well-proportioned, and no matter what happened, he didn’t change his expression, giving him an inorganic beauty. I looked straight into those eyes that I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
Zeel, who had been meeting my gaze for a while, averted his eyes just a little.
Don’t say something you don’t mean.
“Leave.”
“But”
“I won’t say it three times. Or can’t you hear my words?”
When I met his gaze again, Zeel bowed and left the room.
After watching him leave, I turned off the lights in the room and slipped into bed.
As soon as I closed my eyes, drowsiness came over me, and I gave in to it without hesitation.
Well, let’s try various things tomorrow as well.