A week had passed since I came to this world.
During these seven days, I spent most of my time training this incredibly weak body. At the same time, I also tried to gather as much information as possible about the affairs of the empire and the world around me.
So far, everything was almost exactly the same as I remembered from the game.
This world was divided into four continents, and a total of seven different races inhabited them.
Humans, Elves, Beastmen, Dragons, Dwarves, Demons and Fishmen.
All seven races had existed since the world's formation, and each had its own empires and territories.
However, the Fishmen had severed contact with the outside world for reasons that remained unknown.
Humans, meanwhile, had grown considerably stronger through the development of new powers and technology.
During the last Holy War, the Sun God had bestowed his blessing upon a man named Justus Crown.
With the blessing of the Sun God, Justus emerged victorious from the Holy War.
After the war ended, Justus united humanity under a single banner and established what would become the strongest human empire in history.
However, once peace returned to the world, humans began migrating to different regions.
Over the following few hundred years, numerous empires were established.
Many rose.
Many fell.
But four empires managed to survive every crisis thrown at them.
And that was how humanity came to dominate the Wild Continent.
Currently, however, the Holy Empire was experiencing major issues.
There was an ongoing power struggle between the various noble houses.
The Arcanum Family and the House of Poison were neighbouring ducal families and had been allies since the founding of the empire.
The other major ducal families, however, were far less friendly toward one another.
The Eclipse Family.
The House of Blades.
The Beast Hall.
And the Blood Crest.
These factions had been at odds with each other for years.
Everything was almost exactly as I remembered from the game.
The story itself began in a rather familiar way.
Like countless other novels and game-based stories, the protagonists and heroines would eventually attend an Imperial Academy where they would learn magic and swordsmanship.
As the story progressed, various incidents would occur around them.
Those incidents would force them to grow stronger.
Eventually, they would become powerful enough to face the major threats of the world.
But I wasn't planning to follow that cliché route.
I wasn't going to behave like some random extra or villain who was forced to attend an academy simply because the plot demanded it.
I had my own plans.
I would need enormous amounts of money to purchase rare materials, artifacts, and other resources that could accelerate my growth.
While gathering information about the current situation, I discovered something particularly interesting.
The First Princess, Aurielle, had apparently been suffering from an illness since last year as well.
Even the Imperial Doctor had been unable to treat her.
According to the information I gathered, she rarely left her quarters, and no one was permitted to meet her without explicit permission.
So the princess is already sick.
Just like in the game.
"Knock, knock."
I heard someone knocking on my door.
"Young Master, Master has called for you."
"Wait. I'm coming."
It seems the things I requested have finally arrived.
"Click."
I opened the door.
"Please lead the way, Sam."
"Of course, Young Master."
After wandering through the enormous mansion for nearly ten minutes, I found myself standing in front of my father's study.
"Knock, knock."
"Come in"
I opened the door and entered.
The study looked exactly like what I would expect from a medieval-style noble's residence.
A large desk stood in the center of the room, surrounded by shelves filled with books and documents.
Behind the desk sat Duke Gabriel Arcanum.
He was known throughout the empire as a Sword Saint.
However, according to the game's story, his strength had already declined considerably.
During a battle against an SSS-Class beast on the northern borders, he had suffered a grave injury to his mana core.
Even though he survived, the injury had permanently affected his strength.
"What happened?"
My father looked toward me.
"The items you requested have been collected."
He paused.
"However, I want to know something first."
His expression became suspicious.
"Why did you order so many poisons?"
Well How am I supposed to explain that what he considers poison is actually a collection of precious ingredients?
If processed correctly, those substances could be used to create elixirs capable of increasing my spiritual energy.
Spiritual energy was an ancient cultivation method that had long since been abandoned.
The people of the Eastern Continent once practiced it.
However, because cultivating it was incredibly difficult, the practice had gradually disappeared.
According to the ancient theories of this world, it had once been similar to Earth.
Then, at some unknown point in history, different races began appearing.
And along with them came Mana.
Mana allowed humans to quickly acquire supernatural abilities.
As a result, people abandoned the old path of cultivating Qi and began relying on Mana instead.
But I knew how to cultivate it.
"Why did you order so many poisons?"
My father repeated the question.
I quickly came up with an excuse.
"Dad, I'm planning to study medicine."
His eyebrows rose.
"You want to study medicine?"
"Can you tell me why?"
"I just want to learn the basics of medicine."
I maintained a serious expression.
"If I get injured somewhere in the future, I want to at least be capable of treating myself."
"But you can always receive treatment from a house physician."
He looked unconvinced.
"So why bother?"
"The house physician won't be with me on the battlefield or wherever else I might go."
I shrugged.
"Right?"
Gabriel fell silent.
He seemed to think about my words for several minutes.
Eventually, he sighed.
"Fine."
"You can take the items from Sam."
"But remember not to do anything stupid."
"Sure."
I smiled.
"I'll keep that in mind."
My father then added something else.
"Also, starting tomorrow, you'll be learning swordsmanship from the captain of the guards."
"Be prepared."
My eyes lit up.
"Really?"
Then I remembered something.
"Dad, I wanted to ask you something."
"When can I start learning magic?"
My father shook his head.
"You cannot learn magic until you form a mana core remember."
He looked at my body.
"And your body is still extremely weak."
"I suggest waiting at least six months before attempting to learn magic."
I nodded.
I knew that it was impossible to use mana at the moment because of not having mana core
"I'll focus on physical training and swordsmanship for now."
"Good."
I stood up.
"Then I'll leave now."
"I'll see you at the dinner table."
"Yes. Go on."
He paused.
"And remember what I said."
"Be careful with those poisons."
"Yes, yes, Dad."
I waved my hand.
"I'll be careful."
I left the study and headed toward the head butler to collect the items I had ordered.
Once I received everything, I quickly returned to my room.
I knew my father was still suspicious about the poisons.
After all, what could a ten-year-old child possibly know about medicine?
But I wasn't an ordinary ten-year-old.
I knew how to create pills through alchemy.
The developers had included numerous different ways for players to build their characters.
Cultivation was one of them.
And I knew exactly where to find one of the most valuable ancient martial arts.
The Eastern Region.
More specifically...
The Mist Forest.
An ancient martial art was hidden somewhere inside that forest.
Of course, the developers had made acquiring rare skills and martial arts unnecessarily difficult.
Those damn developers.
I clenched my fist.
"If they ever fall into my hands..."
I gritted my teeth.
"Damn, I'll beat them senseless."
I took a deep breath.
"Anyway, I should start processing those poisons."
I began arranging the equipment and materials I had received.
Soon, I became completely absorbed in my work.
I didn't even realise when evening arrived.