The Terminally Ill Prince is the Mad Dog of the Underworld (Novel) - Chapter 14

Chapter 14. When a Genius Meets a Renowned Sword Family’s Martial Arts

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I straightened my back, sat on the floor, and closed my eyes.

Feeling the regular heartbeat, I imagined blood pumping from the heart, flowing through blood vessels to the extremities.

This was a method taught similarly in most mental techniques.

‘Feel the lungs expanding and contracting with breath.’

Like soldiers randomly sprawled in a barracks without a commander, the disorderly mana within my body began to stir with the changes occurring inside.

‘You’ve been comfortable, right? Good days are over, you b*st*rds.’

I kicked the mana’s metaphorical backside, gathering them into the heart and lungs. But perceiving the liver, kidneys, and spleen was not easy.

I recalled the vital points I’d stabbed countless times as an underworld blade wielder. These became a map of the human body’s blood vessels and organs.

Wasn’t it said that an excellent swordsman must be as knowledgeable about the human body’s interior as a doctor? In that sense, I was no better than a quack doctor, having learned without proper foundation.

‘But a decades-experienced quack doctor can be more skilled in some areas than a properly trained novice doctor.’

As the mana gathered in the five organs and began to coil, the heart’s beat became stronger, and breathing became more relaxed. I might not know exactly what happened to the liver and kidneys, but I could feel a hot vitality rising.

‘Next are the blood vessels and muscles.’

Like clearing a path in a snow-covered village, I created new channels, recalling the essence of the Ocean Circulation Technique.

I drove mana through each channel like a military march, grabbing the heads of those not listening. At this moment, I was no different from a nasty sergeant.

‘Look at this.’

But what was happening? As circulation continued, something’s presence grew, blocking the mana’s flow in various blood vessels.

Like rocks or aquatic plants blocking a water path, the route was instantly blocked, and mana stagnated.

‘Is this related to the incurable disease?’

I’d heard of diseases with a cold energy that weakens the body. The disease I supposedly had might be similar in nature.

‘This is troublesome.’

Large amounts of mana.

High-density concentration.

Smooth circulation.

The conditions of a good mental technique were this simple. What mattered was the efficiency and harmony achieved in each process.

‘Some unknown energy is interfering with this.’

I’d successfully understood the technique’s essence and smoothly connected complex pathways.

But if there are obstacles blocking that path, they must be removed.

‘It’s not going smoothly. The only method is to consume a more proper medicinal supplement and use its power as momentum to break through.’

This was merely a temporary solution. If it could be resolved this way, I wouldn’t be called terminal.

Still, I felt I could resolve this particular visible symptom by my own power.

‘Not now.’

Primarily, it was more important to complete the mental technique’s entry, even if efficiency was somewhat reduced.

‘It’s blocked so disgustingly, damn it.’

I could clearly feel blood vessels that had never had mana flow through them.

Fortunately, my perception and sensitivity to mana remained intact during this process.

‘Seeing this, there must be something to good bloodlines.’

The blood of a family that has produced outstanding swordsmen across generations. A talent incomparable to ordinary people.

If I were to compare this process of observing Allenbert’s body through mental techniques to a blade… it would be like polishing, oiling, and sharpening a sword neglected for a long time.

Troublesome but effective. I could feel vitality returning and my physique changing.

‘I am being reborn.’

With experience, excellent mental techniques, and a remarkable body, I could surpass years of others’ achievements in an incredibly short time.

Perhaps as a side effect, waste materials began escaping through sweat pores, emitting a foul odor.

‘Wow, what a rotten smell.’

Would it smell like this if sewage flooded a back alley in the slums?

I wanted to open the window immediately, but it was actually welcome. It meant my previously murky interior was being cleansed.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t bathed since waking.’

Could I be this dirty?

But in my current state, just entering and leaving water would certainly make me perfectly clean.

“…”

I opened my eyes after completing a long circulation.

The darkness had lightened. My improved vision was capturing every detail in the dim light.

I stood up and threw off my clothes, heading to the window without bothering with the filthy garments that seemed unwashed for years.

Swoosh!

I drew the curtains. Like a mirror painted with mercury on its back, the window reflected my form with the darkness behind me.

My hair was glossy, my face sharper and more defined without previous puffiness. Lean muscles had formed on my previously skinny body.

After just one circulation, entering the Ocean Circulation Technique had suddenly elevated my physical condition.

Crack!

Forming mana around my fist, I felt strength enough to crush a walnut shell in one blow. Had I ever felt hand pain from excessive grip strength? I was experiencing it now.

“Unbelievable.”

Opening the window, a cool sea breeze entered, sweeping away the stench. My heightened skin sensitively detected the wind’s flow while preventing cold’s invasion.

“Wow, the stars…”

It was the same night sky, but now I could see several times more starlight. Stars hidden in darkness were now visible.

It seemed my vision had doubled. Good eyes are a warrior’s weapon.

“This is the level achieved just by mastering the most basic mental technique?”

Rudan’s words about Grünewald being a top martial family in the kingdom were no exaggeration. In fact, “tremendous” would be an understatement.

To summarize in one sentence-

In less than a night, I had reached a 2nd-tier level from a sickly boy’s body.

“This is crazy, good grief.”

Reaching a state where one can utilize mana stored in the heart is considered achieving the 1st tier.

At this level, one can join a neighborhood organization in the underworld and cause trouble, or serve as a soldier in the military. Thanks to a much stronger body compared to those without mana.

In short, the 1st tier is the starting point to survive as a hired blade anywhere. Of course, most die or retire with some body part damaged before reaching the 2nd tier.

‘Those who spend days drinking and causing trouble can’t become strong.’

The 2nd tier is the level of a skilled practitioner adept at manipulating mana. Veteran soldiers with years of battlefield experience or those on the path of knighthood are at this level.

‘At this level, you can swagger as a leader commanding subordinates in back alleys.’

This was the stage where the orphan boy Karzan, who gathered downtrodden orphans to dive into the underworld, had been stuck for years.

I was a rare sword genius, but I didn’t possess the talent of automatically accumulating mana just by breathing.

‘The world is so unfair. Damn it.’

A person’s bloodline and social status don’t necessarily determine their qualities.

But it’s an undeniable fact that knights born with good bloodlines show remarkable growth in excellent environments.

How could a swordsman from the streets achieve the same accomplishments as one from a prestigious family with the same inherent talent?

Excellent masters, proper direction, good support, medicinal supplements consumed like breathing, outstanding martial arts that minimize trial and error and maximize efficiency… The difference in origin creates such an extreme disparity at the starting line.

But.

‘When others enjoyed these advantages, it was frustrating. Now that I’m in that position, I want to wash my mouth clean?’

Humans are such cunning beings.

‘At this point, I’ve reached around the 3rd stage of the Ocean Circulation Technique.’

Many insights remain unmastered. Surpassing the 6th stage would allow me to advance another tier.

Most importantly, the profound depths in the martial arts of my distant ancestor, Duke Vitenfeld, remain unexplored.

“This is satisfactory.”

With 2nd-tier level mana, I’ve already recovered martial prowess that would be hard for peers to match.

Of course, compared to noble house children who’ve consumed medicinal supplements and practiced mental techniques for years, my mana is quite insufficient.

But right now, what’s most important is that I’ve gathered my internal mana into a ‘usable state’.

‘The battle between a warrior who can use mana and one who cannot is one-sided.’

To the extent that even an immature practitioner could overwhelm an underworld blade wielder with years of experience in strength and speed.

Properly learning mental techniques and accumulating mana is this crucial.

‘And I’m not some pathetic street thug who gets beaten by strong novices.’

Even with my untrained current body, if I could wrap just a bit of mana around myself, I’d have the confidence to somehow kill an average knight.

Blade wielder Karzan always lived fighting at a disadvantage. …In other words, this more than makes up for the years Allenbert wasted.

‘How much stronger can I become?’

In my previous life, I gained a flash of insight in a desperate situation facing death.

Because of that, I was a late 6th-tier swordsman who briefly invaded the 8th-tier realm in a very narrow area.

The 8th tier is an extraordinary realm that could easily enter a kingdom’s top 10 masters, something unimaginable. But combining my previous life’s talent with this life’s opportunities, I might reach it someday.

“If that happens, I can achieve both Karzan’s revenge and Allenbert’s long-cherished wish.”

The muttered words were surprisingly cold, even to myself.

‘Allenbert.’

Did you want to become the family head?

Did you want to live freely?

Did you want dignity that no one would dare ignore?

Did you want to escape your terminal fate?

‘…Or did you simply want to make your mother happy?’

Whatever you wanted, I will achieve it.

I’ll meet mother and crush every scheme my brothers might devise.

I’ll extend your short remaining life indefinitely.

If your soul is cowering somewhere, hiding from Karzan, watch from there.

“Anyway.”

I pushed the smelly clothes into a corner and wiped my body with a dry towel.

“This is disgustingly sticky. This won’t do.”

Like a righteous phantom thief, I quietly left the room and went to the annex’s bathroom when everyone was asleep to wash.

‘I’ll make Peter do the laundry tomorrow.’

I’m seriously into task delegation.

“Hehe.”

I chuckled like a village idiot while bathing. Gaining 2nd-tier power in one night – what is this if not genius?

‘Come try and pick a fight with me.’

Then the whole world will know of tonight’s great miracle, right?

I’m a man thirsty for attention.

* * *

Allenbert’s strange actions immediately after waking from his fever were reported to his brothers without omission.

“The head butler had a private audience with father late at night?”

“Right after Young Master Allenbert left the library.”

“How coincidental.”

A man playing chess, receiving the sea breeze, had his hand stop in midair. A white, beautiful hand, but covered in calluses.

“What’s so significant about that weak child’s actions?”

Contempt for a weak sibling was evident in his twisted smile.

“…Would the head butler make such a fuss? He’s the most cautious man, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Something must be hidden. The head butler doesn’t move for trivial matters.”

Placing the chess piece down, the young master spoke.

He was a man who never hastily dismissed even the most minor matters. …So meticulous that no one dared not fear his persistent nature.

“What could a puppy gain in one night? We should investigate.”

“I’ll assign people.”

“No.”

The second young master spoke.

“Call the youngest.”