The Prince Wants to Retire

So what are the advantages of the mana cultivation method that monsters have chosen?

It is possible to become strong quickly. Recovery speed is fast. It is simple.

As the advantages are sharply different, the disadvantages were also clear.
The mana purification method took a long time to become stronger and required a complex process compared to the mana cultivation method.

On the other hand, the mana cultivation method was incomplete, meaning that it involved more risk.
Monsters chose the mana cultivation method because they faced danger from the moment they were born.
In their fierce battlefields, where every moment was a struggle, they had no choice but to choose the mana cultivation method to survive.

On the other hand, humans and other species did not face the same level of danger, and thus they chose the mana purification method as a way to minimize risk.
Therefore, if Kariel were to master the mana cultivation method, which is more dangerous, it could become even riskier for him, as he was already weak.

However, even those who mastered the mana purification method to the extreme and renowned scholars were unable to find a way to control Kariel’s fire, and thus there was no other option but to endure the risk. 

You can’t drag on your life being pulled by the gun forever.

Kariel searched for information about the werewolves with the mindset of accepting a certain level of risk, but was disappointed with the results.

“Nothing special, as expected.”

Kariel sighed and shook his head.

Since he had already learned about it in his past life, nothing came to mind right away.

“I’m pretty sure we looked into the Were-Wolves back then too…”

According to the scholars he worked with in his past life, the Were-Wolves’ use of mana wasn’t much different from that of Orcs and other monsters.
It was based on their powerful bodies and used a mana maturation method, along with combat techniques.

Most of the information in the monster encyclopedia was already familiar to Kariel, so he flipped through the pages with a bored expression until he suddenly stopped at a certain sentence.

“There was a race of ancient Were-Wolves that used a unique form of mana manipulation.”

Kariel’s eyes widened at the sentence.

“That’s right, we didn’t look into the ancient period.”

Kariel muttered as he turned the page, but there was only a brief description without any detailed information.

“The ancient Were-Wolf martial arts focus on maximizing physical abilities and honing instincts, rather than the typical combat techniques.”

It was a rare technique even among the Were-Wolves, so there wasn’t much information available.
If it weren’t for the hint given to him by the god, Kariel would have just passed over it as unremarkable.

Despite this, Kariel was satisfied.

“I have a direction now.”

Kariel grinned.

He could find some information about the Were-Wolves as he delved deeper.

The only concern was that if it was too far back in time, there might not be much information left.

“I hope there’s enough left.”

Trusting the Imperial Palace Library, which boasted the most books on the continent, Kariel pushed aside the books on monsters and began to look through the books on ancient history.

“There’s quite a lot of them.”

Kariel let out a small sigh as he began to sift through the books related to the mythological era.

However, it was possible to save time by only searching for individuals related to fire.

“There were this many?”

From the mythological era to ancient times, there were many beings related to fire.

Moreover, there were also a tremendous number of heroes related to fire that formed the foundation of the empire.

Therefore, he started searching for the most overwhelming beings.

“I thought it would be easy to find the Destroyer.”

Karriel murmured as he frowned.

As a being with the word “destruction” in its name, and with the epithet of “Destroyer,” he thought it would be easy to find.

However, there was no existence named the Destroyer.

“If you’re going to reveal it, reveal everything, you petty god.”

Karriel cursed the god while he let out a deep sigh.

In the end, he gave up on finding the Destroyer and began searching for gods related to fire.
Surprisingly, he was able to find clues to other beings much faster than he had anticipated.

The creature that swallowed the sun, Skoll.

The gatekeeper of hell, Gareum, also known as the Hellhound.

The fragments of the Lord of Fire Spirits, Ignis or Selaime.

However, the problem was still that it was difficult to obtain information on other beings.

Skoll, who was rejected by those who served the sun god.

Gareum, the gatekeeper of hell who disappeared due to the war of black magic.

Although the fragments of the Lord of Fire Spirits were available, both beings had disappeared from records after the ancient era.

“Well, I guess that’s that.”

The author of the gods couldn’t just let him easily overcome the Flame Disease.

Kariel scratched his head and turned the pages with an irritated expression.

Then, in the last book of the fire-related myths, he found a name.

“The Lord of Muspell.”

A giant of fire that ended the faraway mythological era and was the king of Muspell.

An existence that was feared even in the empire that worshipped fire.

However, since he was one of the key figures that ended the mythological era, he was always the final presence to decorate the history books related to the mythological era.

“An existence that can destroy even the world of gods…”

Thinking of the god who had humiliated him, Karriel wished for even a momentary use of Surt’s power while he searched for information related to Surt.

It was then, amidst the numerous titles that referred to him, that he saw small letters written:

“The Destroyer.”

“Huh?”

Karriel looked at the book again, thinking he had read it wrong.

According to the book, there were those who called Surt the Destroyer among those who survived the mythological era.

“Is Surt really the Destroyer?”

Karriel murmured in confusion.

“Is it true?”

Carriel stood up abruptly, looking incredulous.

“The imperial treasure warehouse!”

The thought flashed through his mind and his eyes widened.

As luck would have it, one of Surt’s relics was stored in the imperial palace.

It was cursed and its authenticity was questionable, but he had nothing to lose.

“Let’s give it a try.”

Kariel muttered to herself, a broad smile spreading across her face.

But then, he suddenly frowned and looked up.

Relics of mythical beings were typically lost or sealed away in hard-to-find places.

And yet, the one relic of Surt happened to be stored in the imperial treasure warehouse.

But would it really help him recover from his illness?

The feeling of everything, from his reward as a “contractor” to Surt himself, being connected, made Kariel’s expression distort.

“This bastard… Did he plan this?”

He muttered to himself, looking up at the sky and the god who was supposedly watching over him.

But there was no answer.

Sensing that he was being played until the very end, Kariel couldn’t get out of bed for a while.