Chapter: 237
When Cecil awoke from a long sleep, the outside was already brightly colored.
He frowned at the sunlight streaming through the window and realized his body was a wreck.
What on earth happened? Holding his forehead, he recalled the events of yesterday.
He remembered going into the dungeon to tackle it.
He remembered coming outside and falling for Lucy Allen’s provocation.
Consumed by rage, he charged at Lucy Allen with the sole intent of defeating her, disregarding honor and duty.
And then he was thoroughly toyed with, reaching a state of trance.
“Cecil, my prince.”
At the voice from beside him, he turned to see an elderly gentleman.
The very person who drilled the basics of martial arts into young Cecil and who handled various dirty jobs for the Bedford Duke family.
“Nabil.”
Although he had many names, the priest called Nabil for Cecil was bowing with his top hat placed on his chest.
“What brings you here?”
“The queen has sent me. I have something to convey.”
The moment Cecil saw Nabil’s leisurely smile, he had a rough idea of what he was about to say.
“Do you wish to hear it now?”
“Sure.”
As Cecil nodded, Nabil opened his mouth.
However, what came out was not the polite voice that had filled the room just moments ago.
The sharp, almost tearing feminine voice was that of the Second Queen, Cecil’s mother, whom he had heard daily since childhood.
“You foolish and dull prince. You’ve messed up again.”
Foolish and dull. Nabil had softened his words; the actual wording was likely much harsher.
“Not only could you not impress the Allen family’s young lady, but you also picked a fight and resorted to shameful tactics, only to end up in a crushing defeat. How can you be this incompetent? It would be better if a doll was there instead of you.”
Continuing his tirade against Cecil, Nabil spoke as if he had known Cecil’s weaknesses since childhood.
As usual, listening to him, Cecil noticed something strange. He felt surprisingly indifferent to the criticism.
It was true that he was accustomed to such harsh words, but his mother’s scorn had usually etched sadness and anger into his heart.
However, today was different. Amidst the venomous words, his heart was surprisingly calm.
“I figured you were up to some nonsense, but such a result is all that remains. The only fitting title for you is Pitiful Prince. That’s enough. You can stop now. Both you and your even dumber lackeys. Stand back. I’ll handle it myself.”
Has my emotion vanished?
No. Just look at how furious I was when I heard Lucy Allen’s provocation last night. That wild fury was definitely real.
Even now, just recalling that moment ignites a fire within me, so my feelings haven’t disappeared. But why?
…Could it be?
Compared to her mocking words, my mother’s jabs feel like nothing? Has my mind decided that?
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Cecil let out a self-mocking laugh.
“Do you understand? You prince without any talent aside from swinging a sword. Just quietly sharpen your sword. That’s all you’re good for.”
With that remark, Nabil finished his speech, cleared his throat, and returned to his original voice.
“So, it has come to this. For now, focus on your training.”
“Got it. Understood.”
“Now, this is my personal opinion, but I found it quite impressive that you succeeded in infusing personality into your magic.”
Nabil’s words were sincere.
It was indeed true that Cecil had an exceptional talent, but infusing personality into magic surpassed mere talent.
Little wonder that the otherwise critical Second Queen recognized Cecil’s skill.
“Then what are you doing? You lost, after all.”
Cecil knew he hadn’t forgotten what he achieved in his zen-like state. After living his life as a mere warrior, how could he not see the greatness of this feat?
Yet, his lukewarm response stemmed from the fact that the result after creating a miracle was a defeat.
Lucy Allen. The descendant of the hero Benedict Allen. The monster who had risen to the divine level of the continent in just half a year so easily thwarted Cecil’s miracle with his shield.
“That was just a matter of a poor opponent.”
“That’s true.”
Cecil also understood that if his opponent hadn’t been Lucy Allen, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand that attack.
But so what? In the end, Cecil’s miracle had merely been a tool used to prove the value of Lucy Allen, the jewel.
“Nabil. I want to ask you something.”
“Yes, my prince.”
“If I were in perfect condition, could I have won against Lucy Allen?”
Nabil paused for a moment before answering.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t witness the duel with my own eyes.”
“Right. I figured so.”
Seeing Nabil’s guilty expression, Cecil made a light response, as he had already concluded in his mind.
Even if I were in perfect condition, I would have lost to Lucy Allen. If I ended up like this after a miracle, what does condition even matter?
No. If I had been in perfect condition, perhaps the miracle would have never happened, and I would have been toyed with completely. I would have been stomped under her sneering laughter.
…Sigh. Ultimately, Lucy Allen’s nasty personality led to my realization, yet I can’t feel even a shred of gratitude.
Though I consider it the kindness of a warrior, the moment I think of her arrogant smile, my blood boils.
“Was it not bad? That damn girl.”
One day. I will make her cry.
With that stubbornness, Cecil got out of bed and summoned Nabil for a quest.
He needed to grasp the feeling of the aura he used last night to surpass Lucy Allen.
As he moved with his heavy body, thoughts of the First Prince had already vanished from his mind.
*
The day after my duel with the Second Prince, having received an appropriate trial from Luca, I stepped outside the academy, prepared to test out my new skill, Shock Transfer, acquired after clearing yesterday’s quest.
Shock Transfer is a passive skill regarded as essential for tanky frontline roles, especially for a holy knight like me.
Take damage in the front. > Divine power recovers. > That divine power recovers stamina. > Take damage again. > Divine power recovers…
This routine can be established.
Of course, this routine isn’t infinite. Since the efficiency of Shock Transfer isn’t that great, a threshold exists.
However, it certainly enhances the frontline’s durability to a noticeable degree, so I thought it’d be a big help…
Reality, however, was cruel.
After entering the dungeon outside the academy and moving around for a while to test the skill, I didn’t feel great.
It wasn’t that divine power wasn’t filling up, but the amount was minuscule.
No matter how much a novice skill holder I was, this was too much. It was far less efficient than I had expected.
What the hell went wrong? As I pondered, a thought crossed my mind.
Could it be? But I have to check it.
“Did you wet yourself in front of a girl?♡ Why not crawl on the ground and beg to be taken in like livestock?♡ Oh, is there even a place that would accept a disgusting cowardly orc?♡”
Inviting an orc to help with my experiment using provocation, I lowered my shield and received its punch to my face.
Puhah! The sound echoed as I felt divine power recover. It wasn’t even too painful since the stat difference between the orc and me was considerable.
Ah.
Damn it.
So, Shock Transfer in reality only applies to physical impacts on the body?
Blocking with a shield doesn’t count as taking damage?
It was different when it was a game. In games, a shield was just a type of armor. Unless you were doing a just parry, it would only decrease damage by a certain amount.
Thus, my HP would clearly drop, triggering Shock Transfer accordingly.
But reality is different.
If I block a sword with my shield, the physical damage is negligible. There would be a slight impact but that’s it.
Other attacks are the same. As long as the attack doesn’t touch my body, the damage transmitted is minimal. Hence, the recovery is minimal as well.
To sum it up, unless the defense is breached, Shock Transfer is meaningless?
What kind of insane logic is that! If my defense is breached, it means my life is at risk! What use is Shock Transfer in a situation where I could die in one hit!
…Sigh. No wonder I felt that a Shoddy God would give a good skill against a mere Second Prince.
I thought it was a mistake that he adjusted rewards according to difficulty, but I guess he gave a decent reward after all.
Damn it. After thinking it was an incredible skill, I discovered it was crap, and I smashed the orc’s head with my mace again.
However, that alone didn’t alleviate my frustrations. My anger couldn’t be resolved with just one orc.
To the orcs in this dungeon: blame the Sloppy God! If he hadn’t instilled expectations in me, this massacre wouldn’t have happened!
*
Perhaps because I easily cleared the dungeon, the reward given by the Shoddy God after this trial was not something extraordinary.
I just got a slight increase in stamina, strength, and wisdom.
While stamina and strength were alright, wisdom increasing seems a bit suspicious?
Is it a prank? “Oh, you caught on that I scammed you,” right? This feels like it!
Damn Shoddy God! Don’t pull pranks on your apostle! Maintain your dignity!
As I ranted against the Shoddy God in my mind, I quickly moved back to the academy streets.
I was planning to conduct further tests on Shock Transfer with grandpa in practice mode.
However, my objectives got derailed when one of Alsatine’s subordinates, who had been waiting in the center of the plaza, approached me.
He brushed past me casually and slipped a piece of paper into my hand.
It was a note sent by Karia.
“Employer! Your popularity has skyrocketed because of the recent events!”
Popularity has soared?
Is that true?
I don’t know why, but the academy kids would run away in fear when they see me!?
Is it a joke that says my stock has risen?
“And because of that, someone from the Second Queen’s side wants to meet the Young Lady. Please come by the shop when you have time.”
…Oh.
Already?
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