A New Soul, A New Problem, and a Very Handy Slime.

The pounding headache was the first thing that hit me. It felt less like pain and more like my brain was trying to expand past my skull.

Then came the memories. They weren't mine, but I knew them instantly.

My actual memory, the one that belonged to me, was a gray, exhausting blur. It involved endless spreadsheets, the fluorescent buzz of an office at 3 AM, and the crushing pressure of a boss who demanded 120% effort and gave 0% appreciation. I remembered feeling my heart flutter awkwardly, a wave of dizziness, and then... darkness. Overwork. Classic. I had quite literally worked myself to death at thirty-two.

But the memories flooding my consciousness now were different. They were colorful, dramatic, and pathetic.

They belonged to Elian Aethelgard, the fourth prince of the Kingdom of Aethelgard. Aethelgard was once a proud realm, famous for its powerful mages and warriors who held back the aggressive Volkanian Empire to the North. But those glory days were generations past. Now, it was a decaying kingdom, beset by political corruption internally and surrounded by ambitious neighbors like Volkania and the wealthy Merchant Republic of Sylvaria to the East.

Prince Elian, however, was not part of that proud history. In a royal family famed for its magical aptitude, Elian was the anomaly. He possessed virtually no mana. In Aethelgard, being mana-less was worse than being a commoner; it was a mark of shame, especially for royalty. His two elder brothers, Crown Prince Cedric and Prince Reginald, were renowned greater magicians, leading armies and magical research. His elder sister, Princess Isolde, was a high-ranking warrior whose skill with a blade was feared even across the border. They were distant figures, separated from Elian by talent, duty, and the rigid expectations of the crown. While they might have felt some sibling affection, the intense pressure and Elian's public failures made expressing it impossible.

Elian’s life had been a misery of mockery. His cousins, the dukes' children, led by the cruel Lord Valerius, delighted in humiliating him. His so-called "friends" were opportunists who used him for his title and laughed behind his back. The final straw had come during the recent Spring Equinox ball, where Valerius had publicly tripped him during a dance, causing Elian to crash into a buffet table. The laughter of the court had rung in his ears for days.

Driven by shame and despair, the original Prince Elian had taken his own life.

I sat up abruptly, gasping for air. This wasn't my cramped apartment. It was a dusty, dilapidated room in what looked like a neglected hunting lodge.

"Your Highness! You’re awake!"

An elderly man with silver hair and a deeply lined face rushed to my bedside. He wore a faded, meticulously pressed butler’s uniform. This was Sebastian, Elian's only loyal retainer, the man who had managed his household and practically raised him when the rest of the royal family looked away.

"Sebastian," I rasped, my voice cracking.

"We were so worried, Your Highness. When you... fell ill... and then the King's decree..." Sebastian’s voice trailed off, his eyes filled with worry.

The decree. That memory surfaced clearly.

King Theron, frustrated by his "useless" son's public embarrassment and seeing him as a political liability, had used his suicide attempt as an excuse. He had stripped Elian of his royal duties in the capital and appointed him lord of Oakhaven—a name that sounded prosperous but was actually a cruel joke. Oakhaven was a forgotten, barren village on the western edge of the kingdom, neglected for decades.

It was essentially exile.

"Explain the situation, Sebastian. Don't hold back," I said, trying to mimic Elian's voice, though it felt strange in my throat.

Sebastian looked surprised by my directness but complied. "Oakhaven is... dire, Your Highness. The land is exhausted. Nothing grows well. The villagers are..." He hesitated. "They are weak. There is no surplus food. Many have zero body fat and are succumbing to malnutrition."

He lowered his voice. "And because the previous administrator was incompetent and the village is so remote, Minister Grogan took control. He presents himself as your helper, but he’s a leech. He holds all the keys, controls what little grain we have, and uses his position to line his own pockets while the people starve."

I narrowed my eyes. The original Elian had been a puppet, too cowardly to stand up to Grogan. But I wasn't that Elian.

As Sebastian spoke, I felt a strange pulse in my head. It wasn't the headache this time. It was something else. A notification.

[SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]

[WORLD KNOWLEDGE BASE (EARTH) SYNCING...]

[MAGIC AFFINITY DETECTED: UNKNOWN (DEEP BLACK)]

[UNIQUE SKILL DETECTED: 'ECLIPSE SLIME' (UNIQUE/GROWTH)]

[PASSIVE SKILL DETECTED: 'STATUS APPRAISAL' (ACTIVE)]

The words floated in my vision like a game interface. This world had magic, but it seemed I had been granted something different. The system explained the magic world I was now in: Aethelgard used a system based on elemental mana (Fire, Water, Earth, Air). My siblings were all top-tier Earth and Fire users. Prince Reginald, the warrior, was a "Pro-Level" swordsman on a scale that went Beginner > Basic > Mid > Advanced > Pro > Top. The "Top" title was legend-tier, inherited by very few in history.

I blinked, testing the skills. I looked at Sebastian.

[Name: Sebastian] [Role: Butler/Retainer] [Condition: Healthy, Loyal] [Level: Apprentice-Level Warrior]

Useful. Next, I checked myself.

[Name: Elian Aethelgard] [Title: Prince/Lord of Oakhaven] [Condition: Malnourished/Weak] [Magic: Deep Black (Unknown)] [Skills: Earth Knowledge, Eclipse Slime]

And the Slime? I extended my hand. A blob of jet-black, slightly viscous liquid materialized from my palm. It was surprisingly heavy and felt neither hot nor cold.

[Item: Eclipse Slime] [Type: Unique Mimic] [Capabilities: Shape-shifting, Indestructible Structure, Absolute Shield. Currently linked to User.]

A slow smile spread across my face. Exile to a desolate village with a corrupt minister? This wasn't a punishment. This was an opportunity. I had a kingdom to build.

My first order of business was simple: The purge.

We called a meeting of the village council in the drafty manor hall that afternoon. Minister Grogan arrived late, a stout man with a greasy mustache and a self-satisfied smirk. He was accompanied by two brutish guards.

"Your Highness," Grogan drawled, not bother to bow. "So good of you to join us. I trust you've recovered? This village is a complex machine, you see. I have everything handled, if you’ll just sign these ledgers..."

I glanced at the ledger. Status Appraisal showed [Status: Falsified Accounts/Embezzlement].

"Minister Grogan," I said, my voice cold. I stood up from the simple wooden throne. "I've reviewed the accounts. And I've reviewed the state of my people. The only complex machine here is the one you’ve built to steal from them."

Grogan’s smirk vanished. "Now see here, boy! This is my administration! Without me, this whole village collapses!"

"This administration ends now," I said.

The two guards stepped forward, drawing their rusted swords. Sebastian immediately moved to my side, drawing his own short sword.

"Sebastian, stand back," I commanded.

"But Your Highness—"

"This is my burden," I said. I raised my hand. The Eclipse Slime surged out, not a blob this time, but instantly morphing. It solidified around me, forming a sleek, stylish suit of matte black armor that felt as light as silk but as rigid as steel. Simultaneously, a jet-black blade, sharp enough to cut air, formed in my right hand.

The guards attacked, their swords swinging. I didn't even have to dodge. Their blades struck the black slime armor with a dull thud. Status: [Damage: 0].

With a single, swift motion, I brought my black blade down. It sheared through their rusted swords as if they were butter and stopped just short of Grogan’s fat neck.

Grogan fell to his knees, blubbering. "Mercy! Your Highness! I was only doing what was necessary!"

"Justice," I corrected him, "is what is necessary." I turned to the two guards, who were now staring in terror at their broken weapons. "You are dismissed. Leave Oakhaven and never return."

I then looked at the village elders who had been forced to watch. "Minister Grogan will be publicly tried and his stolen grain redistributed. From this moment on, Oakhaven is under my direct rule."

The execution of justice earned the immediate, stunned gratitude of the villagers. The grain was distributed, and for the first time in months, the people of Oakhaven didn't go to bed hungry. But I knew this was only a temporary fix.

"The real challenge is food production," I told Sebastian as we surveyed the barren fields. "The current farming methods are rudimentary. I need to implement proper crop rotation, fertilizer techniques, and irrigation." My [Earth Knowledge] skill was already providing me with detailed agricultural data—information hundreds of years ahead of this world’s current state.

"But that will take months, Your Highness," Sebastian sighed. "The planting season is almost over."

"Which is why we need talent," I said. "Knowledge is only useful if you have the people to implement it."

My first priority became scouting for individuals with specific magical aptitudes that could speed up the process. I took Sebastian with me and traveled to the edges of the Oakhaven territory.

One late afternoon, we were passing through a sparse wood when we heard shouting. I signaled Sebastian to stay quiet as we approached.

A pair of rough-looking men, likely bandits or former guards of Grogan’s, had cornered two young children near an old stone bridge. The older child, a boy who looked no older than twelve, was standing defensively, wielding a thick, broken tree branch like a sword. He was shouting defiance at the men, protecting a younger girl, perhaps eight, who was huddled behind him, clutching a small, green-glowing sapling with both hands.

Status Appraisal activated.

[Name: Kael] [Condition: Starving/Determined] [Talent: Sword Master Candidate (Potential: Top-Level Warrior)]

[Name: Elara] [Condition: Frightened/Weak] [Magic Affinity: Plant (Advanced)]

My breath caught in my throat. This was exactly what I was looking for. A potential Top-Level warrior and an advanced-tier Plant mage. If the girl could nurture crops and the boy could defend them... Oakhaven’s future was secured.

"Hey, kid! Give us the brat and maybe we let you live!" one of the men snarled, raising a rusty dagger.

"Never!" the boy, Kael, shouted, swinging the branch. He was surprisingly fast, but against two armed men, he stood no chance.

The second man circled around, aiming to grab the girl, Elara.

I didn't think; I acted. "Sebastian, cover the girl!"

I blurred forward, the Eclipse Slime responding instantly. As I ran, it surged from my hand, morphing from my black suit into a dynamic, protective dome of matte black shield that expanded around the siblings. The first man’s dagger struck the dome and shattered.

The second man, startled, lunged at me. The Slime responded, forming a whip-like tendril of black steel that snapped out from my forearm, wrapping around his wrist and disarming him instantly.

With the children protected, I turned to the two bandits. They were facing not a weak, mana-less prince, but a man armed with the knowledge of another world and a weapon that defied this one's logic. This time, I wouldn't need to kill. The display of absolute power was enough.

The black slime suit solidified, its surface shimmering slightly. "You have five seconds to start running," I said, my voice calm but terrifyingly cold. "Or my slime gets hungry."

They didn't need a second warning. They turned and bolted, leaving their broken weapons behind.

I deactivated the slime dome and approached the children. Kael was still holding the branch, staring at me with a mix of fear and awe. Elara was peeking from behind him, the green glow of her plant magic fading as she saw the danger was gone.

I knelt down to their level, letting the slime armor retreat into a simple black ring on my finger.

"It’s okay," I said softly, mimicking the best human smile I could manage after years in an office. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm Prince Elian, the new Lord of Oakhaven. And I have a job for two very talented people like you."

The journey to building a utopia had officially begun. I had my village, I had my knowledge, I had my OP cheat... and now, I had my first true citizens.

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