The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

Episode 17: Rookie Adventurer Bern (15) – Hierarchy

Episode 17: Rookie Adventurer Bern (15) – Hierarchy

The ‘cleansing’ grew more efficient as time passed.

At first, Bern had to assist by subduing the monsters and tossing them before Blanca, but eventually, Blanca herself could unleash intermediate magic like a common strike, slaughtering the monsters on her own.

What began as Bern tossing food scraps for Blanca to catch transformed. Now, Blanca hunted with Blanca’s own ferocity, and Bern with Bern’s own efficiency (the duty of guarding against fire now fell to Renya), the monsters, quite literally, were decimated with an almost frightening thoroughness.

“Come, partake! This Renya, as you see him, possesses a certain… aptitude for the culinary arts!”

The sky, painted a sable black, was evening.

Bern accepted the skewered meat offered by Renya, his throat tightening at the aggressive aroma.

Bern’s body, a product of the duplicate spell, was maintained by the Crown Prince’s mana supply, making regular meals an unnecessary chore as it would be for others.

But consuming sustenance, though not especially efficient, still aided, however slightly, in mana restoration, and, more importantly, his capacity to perceive taste remained unblemished.

*Crunch.*

The instant he bit down, a fiery heat bloomed, rich with oily savor.

The wild game’s inherent toughness and pungent odor stimulated the senses, though not to a nauseating extent.

A peculiar powder sprinkled upon the meat quelled any unpleasant gaminess with surprising effectiveness.

Bern tilted his head, puzzled.

A taste, both foreign and strangely familiar, stirred some dormant memory of his previous life.

‘Pepper… is commonplace here, so that can’t be it. More akin to *mala* sauce, perhaps, less aggressively spicy but intensely fragrant?’

Blanca, who hadn’t appeared particularly expectant, took a bite of the skewered meat and widened her eyes in surprise.

“You didn’t just season this with salt?”

“It is *Sharbi* grass.”

“…Isn’t that poisonous? The one that stings the skin and makes your eyes water if you get it too close?”

“Indeed it is.”

Renya’s placid nod prompted an incredulous expression from Blanca.

Renya chuckled, adding an explanation.

“A rural wisdom born of lean times, you see. Steeped in water, then dried and ground to a powder, it becomes a spice perfect for masking off-flavors, like now. Even if the ingredients are a bit… rough, the big appeal is that it makes them palatable enough to get down your throat.”

“No ill effects on the body, then?”

“Depends on how long it’s soaked, but this one’s been in for over two days, so it’s fine. Truthfully, I prefer it after only a day in the water, then dried. But when people eat that, they all cry like their mouths are on fire, you know? Ah, but conversely, there are those who savor the taste, sweating buckets as they eat it!”

“To deliberately eat something painful… some peculiar tastes you’ve got.”

Blanca shook her head, but for some reason, Bern couldn’t help but smile.

He could picture the situation perfectly.

“Sometime, I’d like to try that, the day-soaked one. Could I ask you to make it?”

At Bern’s words, Blanca looked utterly incredulous, while Lenya’s face lit up.

“Of course! I’ll do my utmost to craft something to your satisfaction, esteemed sir! Sharbi itself is a rather common herb, so it’s easy enough to acquire!”

“Are you sure, Bern? What if it makes you sick?”

“Isn’t that part of the thrill of adventure?”

Bern felt immensely content, sitting around the campfire with his companions, grilling meat and passing the time with idle chatter.

It was as if the exhaustion eating away at his spirit amidst the endless tide of work was finally being healed.

Lenya, sensing the relaxed atmosphere, began to overdo the flattery, even more than usual.

“By the way, the two of you possess strength beyond my comprehension. I’ve undertaken my fair share of quests as an adventurer, but I’ve never seen anyone hunt down so many monsters with such ease.”

Blanca shook her head at Lenya’s words.

“Bern, maybe, but I’m not nearly as impressive. Even if you only consider the rank of a mage, I’ve only reached level 3.”

“Is that different from the adventurer rank?”

“Completely. Adventurers are ranked by achievement, so it’s skill plus results. Mages are purely a matter of attainment.”

True to her experience as a receptionist, Blanca launched into a clear and pleasant explanation.

Knowledge of magic alone, but inability to actually use it: 1st Circle.

Able to wield basic spells helpful in daily life: 2nd Circle.

Capable of practical spells for use in combat: 3rd Circle.

Magic itself imbued with a unique nature, allowing a mage to display their individuality: 4th Circle.

Moving beyond simply using existing spells, able to transform their shape or create entirely new ones: 5th Circle.

“Anything higher than that are beings above the clouds, someone a common person would never see in their life. Realistically speaking, even just being a 4th Circle is enough to be treated like an elite, sought after everywhere.”

“But isn’t that just one difference between you and my sister?”

“That one difference is unbelievably vast. Take Karina from before, for example. Her magic itself was specialized for ice. Limited to ice spells, her magic consumption would be halved, and the power doubled, no? And that’s the bare minimum.”

If a 3rd Circle mage and a 4th Circle mage were to cast a low-level spell at the same time, and the 3rd Circle mage used 10 units of magic to produce 10 units of effect, the 4th Circle mage could use 5 or less magic to produce an effect of about 20.

Even if they possessed similar amounts of magic and used magic of the same grade, true competition would be impossible.

Furthermore, this magic specialization wasn’t a fixed multiplier, but rather became more efficient the more skilled the mage became.

She explained that this was why mages typically specialized in certain elemental magic, and either didn’t bother learning other magic, or were hesitant to use it even if they did learn it.

“4th Circle. So, the easiest way to reach that ‘nature imbued’ level is to continuously use a specific elemental magic and specialize your magic that way.”

“Oho. I just thought it was like a warrior constantly using their favorite weapon, but it’s different! It’s quite profound!”

“It’s not really all that profound.”

“No, this Renya! I’ve had a major epiphany today thanks to you, Sister! So, if you keep using fire magic from now on, you’ll be able to gain specialized magic for it, right?”

“That’s…”

Blanca fell into thought at Renya’s question.

The elemental specialization she had just explained was knowledge Blanca knew, but was unable to bring herself to act upon.

As she’d mentioned before, firing fireballs in this kind of forest was less reliable than simply reinforcing her body and swinging her sword, and when one frequently performed rough and dirty work, healing magic became an everyday necessity as well.

More than anything, the Blanca of the past had possessed a staff that boosted the potency and efficiency of her magic, which meant that even while casting a motley collection of spells, she hadn’t felt particularly inconvenienced.

But the Blanca of now had no staff, and furthermore, she had companions who could take on other roles, negating the need to do everything herself.

Perhaps, in that case, it would be better to ignore the miscellaneous and become a mage specialized solely in flame. No, that was surely the fastest path to strength.

“…”

Even while understanding this with her head, Blanca couldn’t easily reach a decision.

Of the four spells she’d learned, only *Rock Burn* had she acquired herself by purchasing the scroll.

The others – *Tree Burn*, *Body Strengthen*, and *Lesser Wound Mend* – she had learned from her mother.

Abandoning two spells that were, in a sense, heirlooms, didn’t sit well with Blanca.

One couldn’t simply say she could use them again after reaching the 4th Circle, either, because she’d heard tales of senior mages who’d attempted similar things and suffered drastically diminished abilities due to magical corruption.

Still.

‘…I can’t indulge in sentimentality.’

Protecting the spells she received from her mother was important, but even more so was defeating the lich and freeing her.

Besides, she needed to grow stronger quickly, if only to repay Bern.

As she thought this and was about to nod in agreement,

“I don’t think you need to,”

Bern, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, interjected.

“In a sizable group, mages can show off their skills in the right places, so becoming a specialized mage isn’t a bad thing. It’s relatively easy to train them too. But Blanca, you’re an adventurer, aren’t you? Rather than purely chasing firepower or efficiency, it’s better to have as many different options as possible.”

In the first place, many mages want to learn a variety of spells, but can’t because they lack the aptitude.

Bern thought it was a waste for Blanca, who knew and used spells from different fields like offense, healing, and enhancement, to take a specialized route – it would make much more sense for her to learn multiple offensive elements like fire and ice.

“Ah-ha! Brother is right! A wide range of abilities is an adventurer’s greatest strength! Now that I think about it, I said something foolish! I’m sorry, sister!”

“Ah, no. I’m alright.”

Blanca struggled to suppress the flutter in her chest.

Bern’s words, words she’d secretly longed to hear, had set her heart racing for no good reason.

She was almost shocked at how easily she was swayed by the words and actions of another.

Bern, meanwhile, was lost in his own thoughts.

‘What I said just now was general enough, so it’s probably fine, but still… it’d be strange for a pure warrior who can’t even cast the simplest spell to offer advice on magic. The Aspiration Ring has its benefits, so she’ll get stronger just by hunting… but…’

Then, Blanca’s sword caught his eye.

Based on the story Blanca had told him, this was likely the very sword her mother had cherished and maintained during her lifetime.

Until now, Bern had been the one rampaging at the front, leaving Blanca no opportunity to wield the blade. But she had mentioned bolstering her body and using the sword when casting fire magic proved difficult, so she must have at least a rudimentary grasp.

It was difficult for a swordsman to advise on magic, but there was no issue in providing advice about swords.

[Really? To a mage? What if she tries to do both halfway and ends up failing at both? A spellsword—all flash, no substance!]

‘Not that it directly applies to me, but I’m sure some crown prince somewhere who followed that fruitless path would be extremely disappointed to hear that.’

[Er, well. That’s just, like, generally speaking, you know? If the teacher is good, what *can’t* you do?]

Shifting his focus away from Lucidra’s swift rhetorical turn, Bern spoke.

“Since we’re on the topic of strength, how about we combine training with our requests? Blanca, Renya. For both of you, that is.”

“Pardon?”

“Ooh! If Sir Bern were to impart his wisdom, this Renya would be honored to receive it! Should I start with nine bows of reverence?”

“That isn’t necessary. Blanca, are you alright with this?”

Blanca’s eyes darted back and forth before her head gave a shy, almost hesitant nod.

A smile touched Bern’s lips.

The judgment of warriors and mages differs, yet their strength is generally considered to be of similar rank.

And the power that ‘Adventurer Bern’ could bring forth was, at best, the upper echelon of the 4th Circle.

In order to defeat a lich who had surely reached the 5th Circle, it was necessary to strengthen his comrades as well.