Yet, his mind only felt sheer terror instead of feeling happy that he had reincarnated in a world in which he knew a lot of things. He had a solemn expression on his face; he almost thought that perhaps it would have been better if he had never been reincarnated instead of being reincarnated in this disgustingly dangerous world.
'Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, DAMN it,' he roared internally as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth without even realizing it.
He would have preferred any other story or world, and I mean just any different one, even if he were given a choice a thousand times. This was the one world he would absolutely and obviously not pick to be reincarnated in, no matter what.
He began to curse the bastard son of a bitch who reincarnated him in this world. The reason behind his terror and hopelessness in this world? There were countless. It wasn't the problem that he had reincarnated as extra; even if he were the main character, it wouldn't make a fucking difference.
As an extra, one might wonder whether they should or should not interfere with the timeline and the events of the story, allowing the main character to do his thing and save the world, etc.
He slowly walked closer to the window as pure sunlight illuminated his figure. His gaze inadvertently went towards the high blue sky filled with countless white clouds.
He recalled the words, 'The day the sky turns red when crimson sky cracks and reveals the darkness above. The golden light that illuminates the world shall end it all. The light that shall not spare anyone.'
'Yeah, no one but the two main characters shall survive the calamity, and I mean no one,' thought Axel to himself.
As for seizing the opportunities of the two main characters? It was impossible. This world is set up simply so that only those who deserve it can take the opportunities that belong to them. Even if someone else does take it, it's useless to that thief.
There were two central characters in the story, and they can both be said to be equally important.
The 4th prince of the Suncrest Great Kingdom, the other being the summoned heroine of the Suncrest Royal family, or I should say "The Valkyrie."
Yes, a fucking power couple, but it's far, far more complicated than that. They each go through so much shit that it's hard not to pity the two of them. The resilience of the two characters throughout the story is undeniable, making it impossible for readers not to connect with them.
The author was a damn sadistic bastard that put the main characters into one tragedy after another without any rest. However, Axel doesn't know if things would still unfold in the same way.
It's easy to read a story about a character being reincarnated into a story, but the reality hits far, far differently when you're actually in that situation yourself.
Every 1000 years, the Suncrest kingdom performs a summoning spell that summons a human from a different world who has an innate advantage when becoming stronger compared to the other inhabitants of this world. The Valkyrie is one of the reasons why the Suncrest Kingdom is the strongest of the three great kingdoms.
But none of that mattered; it was almost impossible to survive in this world without absolute strength at your disposal. Every organization, every faction or trade, and everything depended on power. If you have enough power, you are right. If not, you are wrong. That was the philosophy of this world that no one dared to deny—only power governed as the absolute law.
He let out a tired sigh as if his mind was drained, thinking about all the future dangers that he would face. His blatant interference in the storyline would also change many things he knew about. But that was a luxury he wasn't willing to die for.
Saving the world? Bullshit. Who gives a fuck about that. He could barely survive in this world's last calamity, even if he reached the peak of power this world had to offer, so how could he think about saving anyone else? He wasn't an evil person, but he wouldn't put his own safety at risk to help anyone; that was out of the question.
But it's not that simple; if he doesn't try to save the world, he might not even survive, considering what's coming at the end.
And to stop the coming catastrophe, he had to get stronger; he had to become the strongest, and that's absolutely impossible to do as a mere human in this world. Humans had the worst potential out of all the species in Eldarion, the most downtrodden, pathetic race in this entire world.
He needed the potential to become stronger, and to do that, he needed to integrate himself with the bloodlines of one of the other powerful races. However, there was a problem, considering the information he remembered, his current situation, and the amount of time he had at his disposal until the start of the academy.
There was only one choice left for him: he had to take away the opportunity from the guy who would later go on to become one of the biggest villains; there was a demon plant in a tiny village; he had to get that and later on, he had to snatch the demon bloodline from him as well.
'I guess I could only try and become the bad guy as I grow stronger,' thought Axel.
'That is only if I survive the countless times that I might need to put my life in danger, that is. Well, I already died once; what could go wrong?' he added.
He started to make a list of everything he could do and needed to do in the future. He wrote down some things in a magical pen and paper of this world. Fortunately for him, he could understand and communicate in the native language of the kingdom with the others, even though he doesn't remember a single thing about the body that he is inhabiting right now.
A few of his short-term goals were written in English so that no one else would understand them, even if they were to find them.
The first was to obtain the bloodline source of a demon.
Second, train in combat for 1 year, as much as possible, until the opening of the academy.
Third, after turning 18, he needed to enter the academy, the only place he could walk on the Seeker's Path and become stronger in the shortest time possible.
Fourth, prevent the fall of 'The Obsidian Trade.'
'The Obsidian Trade' was something that was barely mentioned when the 4th prince was dealing with the intense politics of the Suncrest kingdom. It had fallen due to the schemes of multiple corrupt nobles and maybe some rival merchants; he wasn't entirely sure of it.
Even though his family status isn't too high, having this much backing would help him a lot.
So, he was inclined to protect his advantages. Not to mention that everyone in the mansion genuinely seems to care about him. There were probably some spies hidden, which he would deal with later on.
Time passed, and night came. He ate as much as he could without overloading his body; he needed to restore his health as soon as possible. The next day, in the afternoon, his father came back, and he went straight to Axel's room.
The moment his father entered, Axel's eyes landed on him. He was a tall and healthy-looking middle-aged man. Just one look and anyone could tell that he is pretty powerful as a warrior. This makes sense since, in this world, you would have no power or resources unless you are strong enough to have them.
The man had black hair and blue eyes; his beard was perfectly shaped, giving him a sharp aura of nobility that radiated from him in every action. Yet, when that man's eyes landed on Axel, his mouth opened as if wanting to say something, but tears gathered in his eyes. Axel also felt a strange emotion in his chest.
Or maybe it was the lingering feeling of the original one of this body. The man gritted his teeth slightly and walked towards him in slow steps. Axel also arched his eyebrows. he was feeling emotional; it wasn't too intense, but the feeling was there nonetheless.
Tears kept falling from the middle-aged man's eyes as he placed his hand on top of his head. He caressed his head and said, "I'm so glad that you have woken up, my son. Welcome back."
He seemed to want to hug him but held himself back, seeing that his son was primarily confused. A pang of guilt swept through his being, and another dark memory tried to surface in his mind, but he suppressed it. He asked his son in a worried voice.
"Do you not remember anything?"
"I'm sorry, um, but I don't remember anything," said Axel.
Daniel had already heard that, but seeing it as the actual truth only pained his heart even more; still, he was glad. There was already no hope that his son would ever wake up, not with the declining state of their merchant group. So, even with his lost memories, it was a blessing that his son had gotten out of the coma.
He also sensed a slight awkwardness in his son's tone and said in a firm voice,
"Call me Father."
Axel looked at the man who only radiated genuine warmth for him and said reluctantly,
"Uh, yes…father."
Daniel laughed in response and cleaned the tears from his face. He reassured his son that it didn't matter if he lost his memory. They can make new memories from now on. He wanted to talk more with his son, but it seemed Axel was feeling awkward. So, he decided to take the slow approach. It was better to let his son slowly get used to everything. Who knows, his memories might come back naturally.
Daniel left a gift for Axel when leaving and asked him to drink it; it was something that would help him regain his health. Axel was inspecting the glass bottle his father left behind; it was a basic health potion.