Zanac POV
"Twenty eiiight… twenty niine… thir-tyyy—"
With the final count, I couldn't hold it anymore and collapsed onto the floor.
Huff… huff… huff…
Slowly, I rolled onto my back. Doing this many push-ups is my limit for now.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself and think about what I had actually done in the last three days… and the simple answer was, nothing.
It's not easy getting used to this new body and accepting my identity as a prince. I can't even act out of character or do anything too exaggerated compared to the past Zanac.
Even if no one questions me because of my royal status, it isn't worth attracting unnecessary attention.
So I've just been laying low, something surprisingly easy, since this kingdom practices male primogeniture. It means the firstborn male inherits everything, so nobody expects anything from me unless my brother dies or I suddenly display extraordinary talent that catches the nobles' eyes.
And with the age gap between us, people are even less interested in me. Which is perfect, I have the ideal opportunity to slowly train and cultivate myself without drawing anyone's eyes.
Speaking of drawing eyes… I still haven't properly met my new family. Not that I'm eager to see their reactions while I silently judge them.
Being a royal comes with many perks, one of which is the absence of any "family dinner" tradition unless notified. The king eats whenever he's free from work, and the rest of the family isn't close enough to spend time together casually. And honestly, it's convenient for me.
The good thing is that my father isn't very interested in what his children do. I think it's some kind of royal test, letting the heirs struggle on their own to prove themselves.
Ramposa III, the king, has five children with three different women.
The first daughter, first son, and second daughter were born from the Queen. Then comes Zanac, meaning me, the fourth child, born from the second queen. And finally, Renner, the fifth child, born from the third.
Both my mother and Renner's mother are dead. I suspect the first queen's hand in it, since my mother's status had started rising after giving birth to a boy. And there's also a rumour that the king grew too attached to the third princess's mother and fell into deep grief after her death.
While I don't care about her past actions I have to take precautions for her future ones if she decides to remove me thinking i am hindering her son path of king.
Still the person I need to be most cautious about… is Renner. The future yandere. She hasn't met Climb yet, at least in my memories there's no sign of him at all.
Even knowing her future betrayal, I don't actually hate her. She's seen as a psychopath for sacrificing her entire kingdom just to protect a single man, but when you think about it… isn't that normal in a twisted way? In the end, she would only ever be treated as a political tool, married off against her will, and when she's in danger, nobody would risk their life to save her. So why should she sacrifice herself for them?
Honestly, even I wouldn't. If I don't become strong enough to face Ainz, then I'll abandon this kingdom and run. I don't actually care what happens to them.
Sigh.
[Points: 3]
It seems I can finally test my luck. I hope I get someone OP, but even if I don't, at least give me something useful, not trash.
I immediately used the points. As the counter dropped back to zero, a glowing card materialised in front of me.
Jin (Samurai Champloo)
A character card, huh. I would've preferred Kagetoki Kariya, using ki would have been insanely helpful in this world but Jin is still a solid pull. Calm, disciplined, extremely skilled with the sword.
Let's see how much this template affects me.
Yes, I'm going to assimilate him. He might seem like a good option as a subordinate, but I need to increase my combat power as much as I can. Especially when I don't even know my level, HP, MP, or anything else.
Sadly, there's no convenient "status screen" in this world to show me all of that.
Still, if I compare myself to the characters I know from the story, I can more or less estimate my level.
Speaking of those characters… I should probably gather information about them. I need to check whether this world is the same as the canon timeline or if I'm already dealing with an AU. Even the smallest butterfly effect could ruin everything before I even realise it.
And here I am the biggest butterfly.
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Mushoku Tensei characters level in overlord