"Prince Krai's ability is..."
Everyone fell silent, holding their breath as they waited for the religious leader to announce the result of my coming-of-age ceremony.
Just like them, I waited for the announcement with a heart beating wildly.
In this world, one's ability determines their fate.
For example, if you are born into a low caste but gain a high-level ability during the ceremony, you can easily change your standard of living a thousand times for the better.
On the other hand, if you are born into a high caste but receive a low-level ability, you can be immediately cast aside by those closest to you, unwilling to bear the shame.
My name is Krai Helmut, the third prince of the Helmut Kingdom. The Helmut Kingdom is one of the great kingdoms of the World of Malaka.
With a population of more than ten million, the Helmut Kingdom is one of the most densely populated kingdoms in the world.
The Helmut Kingdom was founded by a hero who once saved the world from destruction. Thanks to the bloodline of the first king, the royal family has always been the best among the best.
However, in every case, there are exceptions. Just like what happened now—I, Krai Helmut, became the only member of the royal family to obtain a trash ability.
"Master of Chaos..."
Crack!
As if struck by lightning in broad daylight, I froze in place, staring down at the ground in despair.
"Trash will always be trash. Even the ability you got is useless, hahaha." "Tsk! I was planning to marry him to my daughter, but seeing this result, why would I?" "What a waste of time. If I had known, I wouldn't have come."
The nobles in the room began mocking me without hesitation. Even though I was a prince, they no longer looked at me that way the moment they learned that I had obtained a useless ability.
Master of Chaos. The name of this ability sounded cool, but it was often called a trash ability because it couldn't be used in battle.
Those who possessed the Master of Chaos ability couldn't even use magic. One could only imagine how terrible that was.
Thump, thump!
I turned to look at my father, trying to see his reaction. The father who had always smiled warmly at me now wore an expression of disgust as he looked at me.
It hurt, yet there was no blood. I wanted to say something, but in the end, I swallowed the words that had almost passed my throat.
"Krai."
"Yes, Father."
"Let's go."
Thump, thump!
Short but clear—I knew what was going to happen to me next.
Normally, Father would say, "Let's go home," not "Let's go." And because the word home had been replaced by go, it meant I would no longer be able to return to the palace.
'Hah… so in the end, I'm going to be thrown away,' I said in my heart with a bitter smile on my face.
"Move."
"Understood, Father."
Even though I was fully aware of the fate that awaited me, I still obeyed my father's command.
We left the religious hall and departed in a carriage pulled by magical horses.
I peeked out the window and saw unfamiliar scenery that I had never seen before. I was sure of that, because I had done the same thing on the way there.
"Father, I—"
"Enough! From now on, don't call me that!"
Father glared at me angrily.
Gulp!
My body felt as if it were being pressed down by a ten-kilogram weight, making it hard for me to breathe.
"…"
"From today onward, you are no longer a member of the royal family. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
There was nothing I could do to oppose Father's decision. He was the person I had admired the most. I had always dreamed of becoming a great man like him. But now that dream had shattered, along with the severing of the bond between us.
Should I still call him Father? No… it would be better to change the way I address him to King Helmut.
"K–King Helmut, will we still be able to keep in touch in the future?"
King Helmut took a deep breath, then shook his head firmly. "Even if the apocalypse comes, we will never be associated again," he said coldly, without the slightest hesitation.
It was painful to hear him say that, but there was nothing I could do but clench my teeth.
"I understand, King Helmut."
"Take this!" King Helmut suddenly threw a ring toward me.
I caught the ring and examined it carefully before lifting my gaze to look at King Helmut.
Seeing him ignore my gaze, I gave a sad smile and put the ring on the middle finger of my left hand.
'Is this a farewell gift? Goodbye forever, Father.'
King Helmut did not say another word for the rest of the journey. When we arrived near the Forest of a Thousand Monsters, the carriage stopped, and I was forced out by King Helmut's guards.
King Helmut did not even look at me as I was dragged closer to the forest.
'That's right. Father is already dead to me. So why should I still expect his attention?' I took a deep breath, then turned around and stepped into the Forest of a Thousand Monsters.
The eerie atmosphere that filled every corner of the forest could not shake my heart, which was filled with anger. I walked aimlessly through the forest until I finally came to my senses and slumped down under a large tree.
I lowered my head, staring at the ground in overwhelming sorrow. Without realizing it, my tears began to fall and pool on the surface of the soil.
I remained in that position for about fifteen minutes before starting to feel slightly better.
"I can't be like this. I have to do something to survive. Even if life without an ability is extremely harsh, I have to get through it!" With new determination, I resolved to struggle and survive in a world that depended entirely on abilities.
I couldn't imagine someone without an ability living comfortably in this world, but if I tried hard enough, I was sure I could live as an ordinary person.
With that in mind, I decided to look for the nearest village and move there.
However, when I became fully aware of my surroundings, I realized that I was still deep inside the forest, far from the outskirts.
According to a book I once read, the Forest of a Thousand Monsters is the dwelling place of ancient, sacred, and divine monsters.
It is said that ancient monsters are equal to, or even stronger than, sacred and divine monsters. However, their numbers are very small because, as the name suggests, ancient monsters are creatures that have existed since ancient times.
No one knows since when exactly, but even the oldest record from one of the human kingdoms, dating back ten thousand years, states that ancient monsters had already existed long before that.
In other words, ancient monsters are far older than ten thousand years. Just thinking about it made my legs tremble.
"This is bad. I need to get out of here immediately!" Panic surged through me as I searched for a way out of the Forest of a Thousand Monsters.
But the forest was like a massive maze that seemed impossible to escape in a single day. I didn't even know whether I was walking toward the exit or deeper into the heart of the forest.
Awooo!
I flinched when I heard a wolf's howl very close to my location.
"What should I do? I don't want to die and end up in a wolf's belly!"
In panic, I looked around until I finally spotted a glimmer of hope in the form of a natural cave that looked surprisingly well-kept.
"But wait, since it's a cave in the middle of a forest, it could be the den of a wild beast."
Awooo!
"Forget it, I'll take the risk!" I ran into the cave, continuing deeper inside it with extreme caution.
Not long after, I felt relieved, as the cave turned out not to be as dangerous as I had imagined.
"Yaaawn! After waiting for a hundred thousand years, have you finally appeared?"
"Who's there?!" I immediately became alert, scanning my surroundings with a wary but composed expression.
…
To be continued...