The Prince Who Absorbs Abilities With a 'Click' - C36 [Dropped by Author]

Chapter 36: Labyrinth Top Merchant Comes to the Dungeon (1)

The cat figurine, which had suddenly disappeared, reappeared.

When it returned, it was holding a sword I had never seen before.

“Oh….”

A white light shimmered around the sword.

The sacred aura emanating through the screen felt almost real. Anyone could tell it was a holy sword.

‘Real Farm definitely feels like a game.’

Other games felt like living worlds but Real Farm resembled a scene from a fairy tale.

A chubby teddy bear watering plants and a cat figurine carrying a holy sword—these sights were far too unrealistic to exist in reality.

And yet, they had an oddly endearing charm.

‘It’s not really a game, is it?’

That couldn’t be the case. If Real Farm were truly a game, the crops wouldn’t be delivered.

Still, the thought of these stuffed animals moving around on their own felt slightly unsettling.

As I stared at the stuffed animals, the cat started walking toward the center of the farm.

When it reached the exact middle, it planted the holy sword firmly into the ground.

The effect was immediate.

[You have placed the ‘Divine Holy Sword’ in the farm.]

[The effect of the Holy Sword activates!]

[It repels harmful insects and ghosts.]

[It grants a chance to imbue the crops with divine power.]

The gnats that had been pestering the teddy bear just moments ago disappeared in an instant.

With all the pests gone, peace returned to the farm.

Even the teddy bear, who had been busy chasing away the bugs, resumed tending to the farm.

‘The effect is good.’

Should I buy the Swordmaster’s Legendary Blade too, while I’m at it?

The Swordmaster’s Legendary Blade had appeared earlier among the decoration options.

Unlike the holy sword, which repelled pests, the legendary blade was said to repel birds.

I considered purchasing it for a moment but then shook my head.

‘No, it’s too early to drive away the birds.’

I decided not to buy the legendary blade yet.

After all, the only birds that appeared were sparrows.

They weren’t having any meaningful impact on the crops, and besides, the birds were still useful.

Most notably, for seeds.

Currently, the teddy bear was planting grape seeds, and the seeds being planted were obtained by catching sparrows.

Since I could acquire seeds from birds, there was no need to block that opportunity.

‘Still, I wish something related to mana would appear.’

The Sage’s Blueberry was known to generate or restore mana circuits.

If so, what effect would the grape seeds currently being planted by the teddy bear have?

I could only hope they had a mana recovery effect since I desperately needed mana potions.

‘Before that, I should start preparing myself.’

Edwin had gone to fetch his daughter.

He had promised to teach me magic in return for curing his daughter, but her treatment was already a given.

Afterward, I only needed to focus on learning from Edwin.

To make the most of this opportunity, there was something I needed to do now.

‘Unlocking my mana circuits is the priority.’

Even if I awakened my mana, it would be useless without pathways for it to flow through.

Fortunately, I still had two Sage’s Blueberries left.

Even after using one for the treatment, I’d have one remaining.

The decision wasn’t hard.

I popped one Sage’s Blueberry into my mouth. Sweet juice filled my tongue.

‘I thought it would taste special, but it’s just like an ordinary blueberry?’

Its surprisingly normal flavor made me doubt if it was really a mythical-grade item.

But that was just the beginning.

“Urgh!”

Suddenly, an excruciating pain surged through my entire body.

“T-This is…!”

Something was moving inside me.

No, it felt like thousands of needles were piercing my veins.

‘Is this the pain of creating circuits?’

It seemed like the pain was from forcibly opening pathways for mana to flow.

“Grrraaah!”

The pain was far worse than I had anticipated.

How had Kang Ha-yoon endured this?

When I looked at Kang Ha-yoon, I never imagined such pain could exist.

I was wrong.

“…….”

I bit my lip to stifle the screams threatening to escape.

I couldn’t afford to make any noise here.

In the palace, rumors spread faster than words.

Even though a single scream wouldn’t reveal that I had opened mana circuits, it was better to be cautious.

‘Please… let it end….’

My whole body felt like it was burning in molten metal.

From my fingertips to my toes and even my scalp, the pain was sharp and unbearable.

I silently prayed for it to end, enduring the agony as best as I could.

How much time had passed?

My clothes were drenched in sweat. Beads of sweat dripped from my hair as if it was raining, and I couldn’t stop the groans escaping my clenched teeth.

“Huff!”

Then, suddenly, I felt something burst within me.

It was as if a blocked channel had been cleared all at once.

Cough—

Dark crimson blood spilled from my mouth with a cough. At the same time, a cool sensation coursed through my body.

‘I can feel it….’

It felt like something within me had opened up.

“Hah… hah….”

Panting heavily, I collapsed onto the floor.

My body was soaked in sweat, but instead of pain, I now felt refreshed.

‘But is this really okay?’

Even for someone as healthy as me, the process involved unbearable pain.

Could someone whose mana circuits were already damaged and teetering on the edge of death endure such agony?

‘Maybe it’s different once the circuits are already formed?’

After all, both Kang Ha-yoon and I had endured the pain. Besides, Edwin’s daughter was a magician.

If temporary pain could heal her body, this opportunity was too good to pass up.

Confident in my reasoning, I waited for Edwin to return.

Before Edwin came back, I harvested the last remaining blueberries and had them delivered by courier.

Shortly after:

“I’m back, Your Highness.”

Edwin returned to the palace.

Given that he was moving his daughter, I expected it to take longer, but Edwin was back surprisingly quickly.

Then again, the words of a prince who wasn’t even of age yet might not carry much weight.

‘That must mean he’s in a hurry.’

From an outsider’s perspective, it would seem reasonable to question the truth, yet Edwin had believed my words without hesitation.

“This is my daughter, Edel. Normally, she would show proper etiquette, but I apologize for her condition.”

“It’s fine.”

I gestured at Edwin, who bowed his head.

Edel, slung across his back, was clearly not in a normal state.

Her face was pale, her entire body soaked with sweat, and even breathing seemed like a struggle.

If she weren’t breathing, it wouldn’t have been strange to mistake her for a corpse.

“Hm?”

But apart from his daughter, Edwin had brought nothing else.

“Edwin, do you not have any other belongings? You’ll be staying here from now on….”

My request wasn’t complicated.

I had asked him to bring his daughter to the prince’s palace and, once she was treated, to swear his loyalty to me.

That meant living by my side, yet he hadn’t brought anything.

“I’ve already stored my simple belongings in my inventory, and everything important is right here, so there’s no need to worry.”

As Edwin spoke, he pointed to his head.

In short, he was confident that everything important was in his mind.

“Huh….”

If someone else had said that, I would’ve thought it arrogant, but coming from Edwin, the empire’s future premier magician, it oddly made sense.

‘That level of confidence is acceptable.’

It was better than lacking self-assurance.

“And I’ve prepared the oath document.”

For now, my stray thoughts ended there. I had no time for distractions.

Edel’s time was running out.

Having experienced the pain of consuming the blueberry myself, I knew better than anyone how much agony it brought.

It was best to proceed while Edel’s condition was still manageable.

“Lynette.”

Lynette and the maids revealed themselves at my words.

“Move Miss Edel here to a spacious room.”

Luckily, the prince’s palace was entirely empty. To be specific, the 8th prince’s palace was.

The number of maids was smaller compared to other princes, and there weren’t any knights, leaving an abundance of rooms.

‘Should I feel glad about this or sad?’

In any case, things would change after this event.

Following my command, Lynette and the maids began moving Edel.

A little later, Edel was comfortably laid on a bed in an empty room.

Even though the room was empty, the maids had kept it meticulously clean with daily care.

I turned to Edwin, who was behind me.

“Would you please wait outside, Sir Edwin?”

To be honest, the treatment wasn’t anything grand—it was just feeding her a blueberry.

It would be over with a single action, but it wouldn’t look good to make it seem so simple.

Wouldn’t it be better to show that I, as the prince, worked hard to treat his daughter to ensure Edwin’s loyalty?

Normally, it would be better to use a mana pact first to solidify the agreement, but the current situation wasn’t ideal.

‘I’ll settle the pact after the treatment.’

This could be considered an act of generosity on my part.

“……”

At my request to wait outside, Edwin hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.

“I understand, Your Highness. I trust you.”

He took one last look at his daughter Edel’s pale face and then slowly spoke.

“Everyone except Lynette, leave.”

Before Edwin left, I gave orders to the maids as well.

Leaving Lynette was deliberate.

No matter how much I was treating her, wouldn’t it be inappropriate for a girl to be left alone with a man in such a sealed space?

This was my way of being considerate of Edwin.

Soon, everyone except Lynette exited the room.

“Hmm.”

I examined the girl lying on the bed.

‘Edel…….’

Her pale complexion was as white as a blank sheet.

Her lips were a bluish hue, and dark shadows loomed under her eyes.

Even the faint sound of her breathing was labored and weak.

The thin pulse on her slender neck beat faintly, like a thread.

No matter how I looked, she seemed to be on the brink of death.

‘She looks around my age.’

Losing one’s life at such a young age with so much ahead was unacceptable.

From this point on, I intended to save her.

“Lynette, please remove Miss Edel’s clothes.”

“……!”

At my words, Lynette’s face turned bright red in an instant.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“I… I didn’t think Your Highness would have such… tastes….”

“……”

I let out an involuntary sigh.

“What are you imagining? Her clothes are in the way of the treatment. Don’t look at me like that.”

In truth, Edel was wrapped tightly in thick clothes.

‘Is this really happening?’

What exactly was the image Lynette had of me?

At this rate, wasn’t my reputation already in the gutter?

At my explanation, Lynette let out a relieved sigh and began removing Edel’s outer garments.

Her exposed arms revealed scars, as if lightning had struck her skin.

‘Are these injuries from her mana circuits backfiring?’

I needed to feed her the blueberry, but Edel was unconscious.

Naturally, she wasn’t in a state to chew it herself.

“It can’t be helped.”

I took the blueberry out from inside my clothes.

‘Never thought I’d end up doing this.’

The last remaining Sage’s Blueberry was destined not for Edel’s mouth but for mine first.

I placed the blueberry in my mouth and carefully chewed it.

The sweet scent filled my mouth but I didn’t swallow it since the blueberry wasn’t for me.

I continued chewing until the berry turned into juice.

Then, I gently let the liquid drip between Edel’s lips.

“Gasp!”

Lynette made a strange noise from the side, but I ignored it.

Shhk—

At that moment Edel’s entire body began to glow with a soft blue light.

The scars on her skin started to fade away gradually, like starlight washing over her.

‘Is it working?’

Her breathing seemed to stabilize little by little, showing no signs of pain.

Then.

“Umm……”

With a faint groan, Edel’s eyelids twitched slightly.

“Looks like it worked.”

Though she regained consciousness, her eyes hadn’t fully opened yet.

Having been ill for so long, she would need a complete recovery, but my role ended here.

I had resolved the most critical issue; the rest was up to Edwin.

“Before that……”

I fixed my gaze on Lynette, who had covered her face with her hands.

“Don’t ever speak of what happened here.”

“Yes, yes…!”

I absolutely wanted to avoid any misunderstanding about “the prince saving someone with a kiss” spreading around.

And imagine if that reached Edwin, the father.

‘Just thinking about it is dreadful.’

“Hm—how intriguing.”

In the zombie-infested city of Balderheim, someone observed from the sky.

“It seems like a new dungeon has been born?”

A woman with enormous raven wings hovered in midair.

Her identity? A merchant affiliated with the Labyrinth Guild.

The Labyrinth Guild was famous for dealing only with dungeons of exceptional reputation and prestige.

But the zombie city she was looking at… no, this dungeon was more than qualified to trade with her.

After all, it had turned the entire city into monster territory in just one day.

“Let’s see what remarkable entity is behind this.”

With her black wings slicing through the sky, she descended slowly toward Balderheim.