HP: The Arcane Thief (LitRPG)

"For all intents and purposes, the Prince should have been dead. But he managed to cling to life for more than an hour. It is unexplainable how he managed to move his body in that condition to reach the hospital, or how he still had a brain that was functioning enough to think of going there." Disbelief was apparent in the general's tone. But such was the situation.

The Princess couldn't take it anymore. Covering her face, Antilla wept bitterly.

The Pain.

It was back.

The same pain she felt when sister died. The same pain when she thinks about father's health.

Why did it hurt just as much?

She hadn't even met him until a few days ago, and she didn't even know he was her Nephew.

'Then why... why does it still hurt like this?'

The princess didn't know, but she had been unconsciously longing for family. Her mother passed away early, and Royal Father had always been busy. In such a situation, her sister had been the one to actually raise her and take care of her.

The loss of her sister had been a huge blow to her.

So, when she realized that Axel was actually her sister's son, she had already thought of him as her last family.

That's why, upon listening to the harrowing details of Axel's past, its impact on her could be imagined. The more she comes to know about his past, the more vividly she can feel the same pain he must have been through.

And yet, she can't stop. Not yet. She has to know more. She has to know it all. After all, there are things that need to be done after that.

The princess took her time, trying to regain her composure. After a while, she wiped her tears.

"Pardon my weakness, General. You can continue."

"In my opinion, you're showing incredible strength right now, Princess."

Princess Antilla was a really empathetic person. She can't even stand to see a stranger suffer, let alone if the person is of her own blood.

"Through some divine miracle, the prince survived," continued the General. "But, it was at a high cost."

Antillia's gloved hands balled into fists. "What were the damages?" She asked, already knowing it wasn't going to be simple.

But since he was in just a great condition right now, she decided there shouldn't be anything serious.

"In this situation, the damage depends on three factors. Mind, Treatment, and Age," said the General as the princess nodded, listening anxiously.

"First of all, he suffered no damage to his mind. Not even a little bit."

The princes gasped. "No damage to mind...?" She repeated in disbelief.

Since the Kraken members often use Painifera, and due to her special 'pain resistance' training, she has some knowledge of these situations.

Usually, when Painifera, or the Crutiatus of this degree is inflicted on a person, the recipient of most damage is the mind. It is because the pain caused is so unbearable that the victim's mind simply can't bear it. It is far past the pain threshold of most of the people. So, even after a Painifera sting victim is administered with the antidote, they still can't escape some degree of mental damage if their minds are weak. It depends on how fast they're relieved from the pain.

But what Axel experienced, was far, far more intense degree of pain than the Painifera sting, and for a far longer time. And that too, when he had no training in mind arts.

The General nodded in affirmation. "Indeed. He was of sound mind when he woke up. He even showed no panic when he found out about the results."

"That's... that's...."

"Unbelievable? Mind boggling? Sea drowning?" The general supplied, also quite shocked himself. "It is, indeed. His pain tolerance has reached a degree where no injury can make him flinch."

Such a skill was quite useful on the battlefield. Pain is something everyone feels. Even the most powerful people. But him being immune to it opens quite a lot of fields in his.

"... Heart breaking." finished the princess. Antilla knew that Axel's mind might be stronger due to his genes. But that and pain tolerance are completely different fields. Most of his pain tolerance is due to the harsh situation he faced from childhood and his strong determination to live. Moreover, he took the situation calmly, as if this was a normal occurrence to him. That's what's most heart-rending to her.

"What about the rest of the damages?" She asked, drawing a shaky breath.

The General shook his head regretfully. "I'm afraid he wasn't as lucky in terms of the other two. The other reasons that make his survival unexplainable are his Treatment and Age."

"First of all, since he somehow had to drag his own body all the way to the Sanitorium, there was a delay in treatment, which caused a lot of damage.

He lived in a kingdom called Britain. Its magical counterpart has made several strides in development, but in the medical field, it is still quite primitive. So, even though the Hospital went above and beyond in the Prince's treatment, unfortunately, with the damage that had been done, there was little they could do to heal him."

The Princess looked at the horrific projection of Axel after the torture. Oh how she hoped she could have been there.

If only she had known, if only her sister had told her, if only she could somehow prevent it, she would gladly sacrifice anything.

"And the last factor is... his age. He was too young," continued the General.

"...That's right, he's only 16 right now!" Antilla realized. Age is an important factor. There is a reason why she was only trained to experience pain after she was 18.

Teenage years is the time period of rapid magical and physical growth. Their body gets stronger, and their magical quality experiences a huge leap till their maturity.

Usually, in situations such as these, the only reason the wizards are fine after the Crutiatus or Painifera is because their magic unconsciously protects their bodies from serious damage. The older you are, the less damage you'll suffer from the curse. Even a few months can make a big difference.

"When did this happen…? Tell me, when did this incident happen?!" She asked urgently.

"It happened around three years ago, princess."

"Three years?! That means… he was only 13?!" Antilla gasped.

That is such bad news! It means that there is no way his body would have been able to handle that level of torture.

The General hesitated. "Princess, about that, the Prince actually lied to you about his age. He was actually born in 1980 in the outside world calendar, meaning that he is only 13 years old right now."

"What?!" Antilla's brain short-circuited. "How is that possible?!"

He is only 13 years old right now?! How is that possible! It made no sense.

How can a thirteen year old look that old? How does a thirteen year old have those skills? That power, dexterity, magic? That maturity? For god's sake, he destroyed an army of Monsters single handedly. How could he be only 13? If anything, he should be far older!

"Princess, the Crown Princess only left Atlantis 14 years ago, and there was no way the prince could have been born before that without anyone's notice. Also, the orphanage records can clearly prove it. There is no doubt that the Prince is only 13 years old."

Antilla realized that she had overlooked the dates. Her sister had indeed only left Atlantis 14 years ago, and there is no way Axel could have been born before that. That can only mean…

She blinked, her eyes glazing over. "This means… he was only 10 when it happened?!"

Gods of Sea! He went through all that at that age?! That would have totally destroyed his body!

The General sighed.

"That's why it is so surprising that he survived. But the prince hadn't even reached his magical maturity yet, which resulted in his magic quickly running out not long after the torture began, meaning he had to survive the rest on his own.

And since his nerves, tendons, and muscles weren't developed enough to handle the destruction spell without the protection of his magic, his body received severe damage as well.

After staying unconscious in the Hospital for three days and three nights, he woke up in the morning of the fourth day. But, since the right treatment couldn't be provided at the right time..." The general sighed. "He was, in essence, permanently crippled." he said, as the results after the treatment were showcased.

"???What???"

"It is true. Anyone else with his condition should not have been able to move. All the nerves in his body were fully corrupted with the curse's magic. Each movement would have felt like a minor painifera sting. In the report, it is clearly written that the patient is recommended "full-time bed rest and full-time house-elf service", basically advising to not move at all for the rest of his life and have a servant take care of all of his needs."

How is this possible? Antilla just stared blankly at the word that had been translated into Atlantian text. She couldn't understand at all.

"But then… how is he…?"

"Still able to move? That's why I used the words 'anyone else with his condition'. The prince had already taken pain far higher degree than this."

Only Axel was able to do it, because he was the one who could. He was the person who has already survived the damage of more than a hundred thousand gpu. Thus, the pain was moving, without make an ordinary person simply pass out with effort was quite easy for him. This is also one of the many reasons why the General evaluated his pain tolerance in high regard.

"That's why, the prince decided he was not going to stay bedridden even if it meant enduring unimaginable pain."

The princess shook her head. "No… that can't be right…" she murmured, once again in denial.

She had thought that the pain was only temporary, and then he was somehow healed. After all, she HAD seen him show an extremely high level of physical abilities in the trial that happened just a few days ago. "There is no way he was permanently damaged, is there? He seems to be in top condition right now. How was he able to clear the Academy trial in record time if he was crippled?"

The princess was simply too confused as she brought up the picture of the bloodied Axel and the ripped Axel just a few days ago. "If his body was really permanently damaged, how did he transition from this, to this?" She asked, comparing the two pictures of Axel.

The General shook his head. "That's what I tried to find. For all intents and purposes, this should have been the end for him. But the Prince did not give up. He went to a local Mage academy called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The Princess's brows "What? In such a condition?! Won't using spells be..."

The General. "Using any use of aetherical power would be extremely impossible. And that did seem to be the case," he said, bringing up all of known information on Axel's first year.

"In the beginning, he could even cast the basic spells that other students could easily do. Despite the pain, he would practice extra hard in order to master each spell. Somehow, he managed to avoid drawing attention to himself throughout the first year. But when seeing through the videos, his condition is apparent."

Antilla looked through various videos of Axel's first year. In most of them, he was accompanied by a blonde girl. In each of them, even though Axel seems to be trying his best to hide it, it can clearly be seen that he is in pain, his movements stiff and slow. "How long did this go on?" She asked.

How long did he have to bear this pain? How long did he have to cast magic in that condition? How long did he have to suffer?

"Around one year. Somehow, the prince was able to heal himself after that."

"One year?! A fresh wave of tears flooded Antilla's eyes. "How did anyone not notice?!"

"It may be due to the abilities the prince developed during his days on the street. But it seems that the prince has tried his best to keep his distance from people."

So, not only did he have to go through that torture, he also had to bear the continuous pain throughout the year while having no medical help.

Just because someone decided it to torture an eleven year old for their sick satisfaction.

Antilla finally wiped her tears. This was it. She had controlled herself to know about all of it. Now, it was time. The water around Atlantis seemed to churn, bubbles rising everywhere.

"Who was it?" That's all she asked, her voice eerily calm, as opposed to the water outside.

Who was this or who were they? What could they possibly get from torturing her Nephew? Just what had done to incur such a punishment? No matter what, no living being deserves to be treated this way.

The General lowered his head. "I.. could not find that out yet, princess. Since the prince is now famous in the outside world, someone had dug up all the information on him. Every memory that had witnesses has been uploaded in the outerworld deepnet, But, there is no information about that event. It would seem that there are no witnesses… alive."

"But…" The General hesitated. "With the Prince's personality and his nature, I doubt the perpetrator is still alive. With his current combat power, there are very few people in the outerworld who could be his match."

Antilla bit her lip, calming her anger as she recalled what had happened to the scar-faced man. Her dear Nephew had definitely not shown mercy for that one, taking his sweet time torturing the man before killing him. He is a boy, no.. a man who can take care of himself. He has been for the past 13 years. It would be presumptuous of her to think he would need her help when he is already strong enough to take his revenge for himself.

"Nevertheless, please do send out investigators. Even if there are no witnesses, that doesn't change anything for us. I want to know exactly what happened, and who the perpetrators were, no matter if they are alive or dead."

"I have already made arrangements, princess."

The princess sighed as she finally got up. "You have my gratitude for all this information, uncle," addressing him informally like she usually does. "There is still a lot I would like to learn about my new Nephew, and there is a lot that needs to be done now that we have a new heir to the Royal throne. But for now…" the princess shook her head. "I can no longer wait."

"I need to meet my Nephew."

The general smiled, nodded encouragingly. "I will have Division Head Tenebrous personally accompany him here this instant."

The General made a call, but it couldn't connect. "What?"

The General's eye twitched, suddenly realizing something. There are very few reasons why a call doesn't connect. "One minute, princess." In order to not alarm the Princess, the General excused himself in order to make a few more calls.

"What's the matter now?" The princess was very extremely jittery. She couldn't wait to see Axel. She was already wondering, what would she say to him when she does meet him? How would he react? Does he already know that he is her Nephew? If yes, then why did he not tell her? Why did he decide to stay here?

"Uncle, why is it taking so long?" Asked the Princess, wondering if she should go meet Axel instead of summoning him here. But, at this moment, the General returned to the room, his face extremely grave.

"Ahem…Princess, there has been a situation."

....