The Youngest Prince Copies Skills with Skeleton Soldiers

Chapter 01 - The Youngest Son

In a room where the only light came from a lamp on the table.

In the darkness, with only that single lamp to rely on.

A man in a black uniform knelt in the direction of the light.

“I greet the Family Head.”

No answer came from behind the light, but the man opened his mouth calmly.

“The First Son’s achievements have progressed even further, and he has recently established a Bone Wyvern Platoon in his undead private army. With this, he has become the first among the young masters and ladies to seize control of the skies.”

“The alliance between the Second Daughter and the Third Daughter remains solid. As both possess great talent in spirit sorcery, they are endlessly seeking out spirits who were powerful in life to incorporate into their private armies.”

“Furthermore, the Fourth Son’s Bone Giant unit has left even me in awe. Numbering over 100 in total, their size is comparable to that of great trees. The pressure they exude was truly like a castle wall.”

All the sons and daughters were growing stronger, burying themselves in piles of corpses day and night.

Within this family, Millesdusk, that was only natural.

Only then could they obtain the position of Young Family Head, and eventually inherit this family as its Head.

No, the moment one fell behind, it was no different from death.

They were all blood kin, and at the same time, competitors.

Though their maternal bloodlines were each different, they were the direct descendants of the Family Head who had surpassed the limits of mortals.

Each and every one of them was a monster of potential, capable of standing at the peak of the tower known as the mortal world.

They were undeniably strong individuals who could never be underestimated, no matter how young.

Also.

“Lastly….”

And there was a mere babe who had been dropped amidst this battlefield.

“This is the report concerning the Youngest Son.”

An unfortunate child, born when all his siblings had already grown and established their own power bases.

The youngest child, caught in a murderous competition with not a shred of sibling affection.

It was the way of this family for those of lower rank to scheme to pull down those above them, and for those of higher rank to trample on those below.

There was no such consideration as moving the starting line forward just because one started running late.

To make matters worse, the Youngest Son had yet to show any talent whatsoever.

If there was a silver lining, it was that he was able to continue living because he wasn't even worth paying attention to.

The Youngest Son had been living as quiet as a dead mouse with a presence close to nil, but recently, one thing had come up that was worth reporting.

“It seems the Youngest Son is interested in bone sorcery, perhaps intending to follow in the First Son’s footsteps. However, he is still at the level of a single skeleton soldier.”

Scraape─

A sound came from the direction of the light.

It was the sound of a finger stroking the table on which the lamp sat.

…It was the first time.

The first time the Family Head had ever shown any reaction during a report on the successors.

As I swallowed a dry gulp of saliva.

A low, deep voice echoed from beyond the light.

─In detail.

A monotone voice.

To the listener, it was like a revelation.

“Yes, the Youngest Son succeeded in creating one skeleton soldier…. but it was a little peculiar.”

The man ransacked his memory, wracking his brain.

“Usually, bone sorcery creates white bones, as the name suggests, but the Youngest Son’s skeleton soldier was said to be red.”

Scrape─

Another sound came from the table.

A hand appeared in the faint light of the lamp and then quickly vanished.

It was an ash-gray bone hand.

“It seems that… since he was born inheriting the bloodline of his mother, a Vampire Queen, that influence may be affecting his black magic.”

My report ended there.

However, there was still a lingering point concerning the Youngest Son.

“Today is the day. The day the family’s Executioner tests their achievements.”

This was a kind of reminder.

The minimum growth standard set by the family for each age.

If their skills met it, they received a corresponding reward.

If they did not, they had to pay a corresponding price.

In Millesdusk, failure meant death.

It was a disposition befitting a great family of necromancers, where contributing in death was better than in life.

“If he falls short of the standard again this month, the Youngest Son will no longer be a member of the family.”

─The Executioner’s test.

Tap, tap.

The tip of the bone hand tapped the table.

─Observe the contents and the process in detail.

The rhythm was strangely cheerful.

But whether it was pleasant or unpleasant.

The peak of ten thousand demons had commanded, and one among the ten thousand obeyed.

“As the Family Head wills.”

Click─

The lamp’s flame went out.

He crawled out of the darkness and stood under the light.

Even in a family that honed darkness and befriended the dark on the continent.

It was not easy to shake off the fear of utter blackness.

***

“General Manager. Did something happen inside? You are sweating a lot.”

“…It was nothing.”

I wiped my forehead with a handkerchief and spoke urgently to my subordinate.

“Go tell the Vice Head Butler and ask if we can place more of our personnel among the maids and butlers serving the Youngest Son.”

“…But General Manager. The Vice Head Butler will be displeased. As it is, of all things concerning the Youngest Son, the Head Maid─”

“It is an order from the Family Head.”

C-crack─

For a moment, it was as if I could hear the sound of his body freezing as my subordinate’s movements came to a halt.

“I-I will go at once….”

The General Manager of the Millesdusk Intelligence Department, which handled information not only within the family but across the entire continent.

He wiped his face and looked back at the gates of hell from which he had just emerged alive.

“For the Family Head to show interest in a child…. And so suddenly, in the Fifth Son, who was deemed to have no talent….”

Why on earth?

Did he notice something?

Or could it be….

“If he has begun to move, we will know soon enough.”

The House of Millesdusk, called the origin of all black magic on the continent.

One of the four great families that divided the continent.

Could he, who was only ten years old, reveal his own ambition in this battlefield?

***

I opened my eyes.

Outside the window, the night was still vivid.

A crescent moon, shaped like a fingernail but much larger than one, welcomed the young master of the night.

“Good morning, Young Master.”

The Head Maid, who had stayed by my side from sunrise to sunset, greeted me.

It was the thirty-second morning I had greeted since entering this game.

Perhaps because of this half-blood body that inherited the blood of vampire royalty, I was used to the night.

Not that I would burn to death upon contact with sunlight, though.

“The current time is 21:05. Breakfast is ready. Shall I bring it in right away?”

Did she serve in the military somewhere?

The woman, who seemed more suited to be a soldier than a head maid, asked me uncomfortably with her stiff movements.

The true identity of the head maid before my eyes was an agent of the Millesdusk Intelligence Department.

Her job was to stay by my side and report to her superiors on what the Youngest Son was doing.

“Please.”

“I will bring it.”

Of course, the reason I knew this was simply because this was a game, and I was a player.

A game. A damned game at that.

The Head Maid left the room.

Sighing, I looked at the mirror.

‘Of all people…’

I was supposed to be ten years old.

But perhaps because I was a vampire half-blood, my growth was strangely fast.

Already looking to be in my late teens, my physique was robust and my skin was pale.

Of course, that didn't mean I looked healthy.

A slightly healthy corpse.

My skin was just about that, to the point where the capillaries on my cheeks were visible.

My eyes were red, as if carved from rubies, and my hair was black-purple. It was the symbol of Millesdusk.

Millesdusk, the family of black magic sorcerers that represented the continent.

Actually, even that was fine.

Millesdusk was a faction I often played among the great families.

I knew the individual characters and detailed geography like the back of my hand.

That was why I could only sigh.

“Why the hell am I the youngest?”

The youngest latecomer of Millesdusk was never a playable character in the first place.

Originally, the player would start by choosing one of the other sons or daughters.

As they progressed through the game, they would simply decide the fate of the youngest child during the course of the story.

“I was always on the side of keeping him alive, but he always ended up dying somehow, didn't he?”

Whether killed by another family, or by someone from his mother’s side.

Or killed by his own siblings, this youngest punk always found a way to die.

What the player had to consider was when, where, and how the youngest should die to be most useful.

But a month ago, the story changed.

“The youngest… no, I have to think about how I can survive.”

For the first few days, I couldn't believe it and just stayed in this room.

Exactly one week.

It didn't take much time for me to realize that this unrealistic situation that had befallen me was not some dream I couldn't wake from, but reality.

I was strangely calm and my mind was clear.

I felt no emotions like fear or denial of reality.

It was then that I delved into the foundation of Millesdusk's power, black magic sorcery, to learn something, anything.

Thus, from the familiar field of bone sorcery, I learned the most basic one.

「Skeleton Soldier」.

“O Undead of White Bone. Heed my call.”

Swoosh-

With the feeling of mana draining away, a pile of bones was summoned from thin air.

Clatter-clatter-clack-

It formed a small vortex, assembling from the toes up, and finally, the skull was attached.

C-crack─ Clatter─!

Contrary to the spell, a red one came out.

This time, too.

“Last time, I made it really slowly in case the other sons and daughters were paying attention. But this speed is what makes it useful.”

I felt it when I first tried to learn bone sorcery.

For me, the sorceries in the game were close to skills, just like they were on the outside.

It wasn't that I could use them as soon as I read a skill book like in a real game, but.

It was good news that it took far less effort to train than others.

And I could see information about the skill like this.

── 「Red-blooded Skeleton Soldier」 ──

[Description]

: A skeleton soldier created by a vampire noble using bone sorcery. To a vampire noble, blood is mana, and mana is blood. Since the two are the same, blood naturally seeped into the bone marrow.

[Difficulty]

: Lowest

[Classification]

: Bone Sorcery

[Heart]

: No heart or blood has been injected yet.

──────────────

It was strange.

The description of this skeleton soldier was very strange.

And I needed this morning to explain this.

Speak of the devil.

My ears, far superior to an ordinary person's as a vampire noble, detected her footsteps.

“Young Master. You’ve waited long.”

The Head Maid came with a food cart laden with plates.

And of course, with what I had asked her to prepare.

“Did you bring the ogre’s heart and blood I asked for?”

“Yes. I was able to obtain them through a family merchant for the purpose of ‘material acquisition’. Luckily, it was removed not long ago, so it is as good as fresh.”

Her words were not a lie, as thick blood was still dripping from it.

A half-blood was still a vampire.

I had never particularly felt a thirst for blood, but I took a bite of what was offered here.

It was delicious.

Annoyingly so.

“Leave. I will eat my breakfast alone.”

“As you wish.”

The Head Maid obediently left.

I picked up the bottle of blood, the plate, and the face-sized heart on it.

Just as she had said, it was a raw heart, without any preparation.

“She could have asked why I wanted something like this.”

The Head Maid performed her task cleanly and left without another word.

I felt foolish for having prepared all sorts of excuses.

Was she not even bothering because I was going to die anyway?

“I don’t know if this will work, but…”

The reason I prepared these things today was purely for a test.

Solely for the sake of a test.

One that my life depended on.

“Alright. Show me what you can do.”

First, I held the heart in my hand.

Then, I looked at the red-blooded skeleton soldier I had made.

The place where this should be was, of course, the chest.

It was firmly blocked by ribs.

But for some reason, it felt like an empty space to me.

I felt that something needed to fill it, and I had a hunch that it was in my hand.

Sluuurrrp─

The ogre’s heart was sucked in as if fitting into a groove.

Thump─

At the same time, my own heart began to beat violently.

Along with it, messages cluttered my vision.

[An ogre’s heart has been transplanted into the 「Red-blooded Skeleton Soldier」.]

[The conditions have been met.]

[The 「Red-blooded Skeleton Soldier」 will now change its body to match the heart.]

C-craaack─!!

CRUUNCH─!! CRACK─!!

The blood-red bones began to break and reconnect at will.

“What the. How big is it going to get?”

I didn't know where its final destination was, but the process was gigantification.

The skeleton soldier had long since surpassed its original size and became gigantic.

It already looked to be at least twice my height.

‘Is it about 3 meters tall….’

Whoooosh─

Red fleshy lumps gradually filled the gaps between the bones, leaving no empty space.

By the time the minute hand had not even made a full circle.

Flash─!

Before my eyes stood a red undead ogre, its baleful eyes gleaming.

── 「Red-blooded Undead Ogre」 ──

[Description]

: A Red-blooded Skeleton Soldier that has been transplanted with an ogre’s heart and has been reborn with a body that matches the heart. Blood is the entirety of a living creature. With the information stored in the blood, the skeleton soldier was reborn.

[Unique Skill]

: Colossal Strength

[Classification]

: Bone Sorcery / Beast Sorcery

──────────────

“Ha.”

A dry laugh escaped me.

“Now I know why only the Youngest Son wasn't unlocked as a playable character.”

It was because he was too much of a cheat.