''Duke?'' Alex thought in surprise. ''That means that this world, or this country at least, operates on an
aristocratic basis probably. As far as I remember, a duke was pretty high up in the chain ofmand.''
''Additionally, he said he was a High Mage. He said Mana Sources are important for Apprentices to
be Adepts. I can guess with quite some certainty that Apprentices probably reflect Mages in the
First Realm, while Adepts are Mages in the Second Realm. The Third Realm should logically be a
Mage, which would make the Fourth Realm a High Mage, probably.''
''ording to what he said, the hedgehog and the octopus are creatures of the Third Realm. The fact
that he is in the Fourth Realm also exins how he could take care of them.''
''This is probably a real big-shot! Fuck, I can''t believe I greeted him with a yo!'' Alex thought.
"I''m sorry for my earlier disrespect, Duke Whirlwind," Alex said with a respectful tone.
Duke Whirlwind smirked a bit. "You know, it''s customary to refer to a duke as your grace," he said.
"Oh, I''m sorry, your grace," Alex said. "I haven''t talked to any nobles before. Please, excuse me for my
negligence."
Surprisingly, the duke chuckled for a bit.
"You really don''t get under people much, do you?" Duke Whirlwind asked.
"No, I don''t, ehm, your grace," Alex said.
The duke chuckled again.
"You know, the your grace thing is antiquated. No one talks like that anymore. Referring to me with my
title or simply by sir is already enough," the duke said with a slight smile.
The duke had been rather cold towards Alex at the beginning, but after he saw how innocent, gullible,
and na?ve Alex was, his mood brightened a bit.
It was rare to see a youngster that didn''t try to lick his boots to get into his good graces.
"Oh, okay," Alex said, uncertain of how he should proceed.
"What''s your name, young man?" Duke Whirlwind asked.
"I''m aargh!" Alex tried to say, but before he could even think about his name, a pain came from his
mind. Alex grabbed the side of his head in pain.
Duke Whirlwind was surprised when he saw Alex''s actions. The young man was genuinely in pain.
Even his veins were seemingly popping out of the side of his head. This was a sign of pain and stress,
and something like that couldn''t be faked.
"Are you injured?" Duke Whirlwind asked neutrally. The young man obviously wasn''t critically injured,
which was why he wasn''t very worried about him.
"No, it''s just something that happens from time to time," Alex said as he took a deep breath.
"My name is Shang," Alex said.
"Shang?" Duke Whirlwind repeated with interest. "I''ve never heard of such a name. What about your
last name, or is that yourst name?"
"That''s just my name," Alex said with a defeated voice.
He really didn''t want to abandon his old name, but there was really nothing he could do.
How long could he even remember his old name?
By now, Alex hadn''t thought of his actual name in forever. Whenever he thought of it, the pain would
return.
This meant that essentially no one, not even he, had spoken out or thought about Alex''s name in half a
year.
When Alex wanted to introduce himself, his mind automatically went to the part in his mind where his
actual name was located without even thinking about it.
It was like a closed door, suffused with powerful electricity.
Alex knew what was behind the door, but whenever he touched it, he would get hurt.
How long would it take for him to forget what was behind that door if he could never check it?
How long would it take until the door seemingly vanished into obscurity?
Alex knew that he still knew his name, but he actually didn''t truly remember his name since he couldn''t
think about it.
This feeling was difficult to describe.
"Shang is my entire name. I don''t have a first orst name. I am only Shang," Alex said.
Duke Whirlwindbed his beard in interest. "Someone with only one name. Are you from a farmer''s
or criminal''s family?" he asked.
Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.
Alex sighed.
"I don''t think I have a family," Alex said. "Ever since arriving in this world, I have been alone."
These words sounded very different to different people.
To Alex, it was the truth. This body had probably been created out of nothing. So, logically, this body
couldn''t have a family. He also hadn''t met a human since arriving in this world, making him alone.
However, these words would be interpreted by different people differently.
Someone might think that Shang had had a sh with his family in the past, separating them.
Someone might think that Shang''s family had died.
Someone might think that Shang was an orphan.
Someone might also think that Shang was simply a weak-willed child drowned in misery.
How did Duke Whirlwind interpret Alex''s words?
He wasn''t sure, but he guessed that Shang had probably lost his family in the past.
"That would exin why you don''t have ast name. Who gave you the name Shang?" Duke Whirlwind
asked.
"It was a man. I talked for him for a bit, and he bestowed the name upon me. There was no other name
I could use, so I epted his name," Alex said, carefully navigating the question with deceptive truth.
Maybe the God was known in his world?
Maybe the God was not very popr in this world?
What if someone knew the God and tried to experiment on Alex to find out more about the God?
Alex didn''t want to talk about the God.
There were simply too many unknown variables.
Duke Whirlwindbed his beard in thought. "That''s quite an unbelievable story, but I can''t sense any
falsehooding from you."
"There''s no reason for me to lie to you," Alex said.
Duke Whirlwind nodded.
"Why are you in my garden?" he asked.
"That''s a difficult question to answer," Alex said. "The first thing I remember of this world is this
wilderness. It''s like this was where I started existing. I don''t know anything about the world beyond this
garden."
"However, I think I know the reason why I am here."
"I think I''m supposed to train in this wilderness and be more powerful before entering human
society again," Alex said.
Alex had decided to go with a mixture of memory loss and training.
His answers were vague enough that awyer could interpret Alex''s word in many different ways,
allowing him to get out of any future questions by continually adapting the meaning of his words.
Duke Whirlwind raised one of his eyebrows as he keptbing his beard.
Then, Duke Whirlwind spoke more confusing words.
He was casting another spell.
Alex became more nervous since he didn''t know what that spell would do.
When the Duke finished his spell, Alex felt some Mana enter his mind.
Casting the spell hadn''t taken more than a second.
After a second, the Mana left Alex''s mind again.
Duke Whirlwind''s expression changed into a concerned one.
"Something''s wrong with your mind," Duke Whirlwind said. "I don''t have enough knowledge in the field
of Soul Magic, Mind Magic, anatomy, Flesh Magic, or any other rted Magic Category to pinpoint the
issue."
"I can just say that something doesn''t feel right when I nced at your mind."
Alex''s eyes widened.
"You can read my mind?!" he asked in shock.
Duke Whirlwind slowly shook his head. "No, I''m not nearly powerful enough to do that. I also don''t
specialize in these fields. The spell I used simply sends Mana through your mind. I can see what form
the Mana takes when it goes in and when ites out."
"I don''t know what happens inside your mind, but I can infer some things based on how the Mana
looked when it came out again. Some of the Mana came out differently than expected, which means
that some things in your mind are not as they are supposed to be. That''s the extent of what I can find
out."
"So, I lost my memory?" Alex asked.
"That''s a possibility," Duke Whirlwind said. "Your mind has been changed, either by a person, by an
injury, by trauma, or by whatever."
Alex looked worried, but he was actually ecstatic inside!
This was just the excuse he needed!
With this, he could simply say that he lost his memory, and even doctors and powerful Mages would be
able to confirm his words.
It was perfect!
"Can my memory be recovered?" Alex asked.
"Unlikely," Duke Whirlwind said. "You would need someone very proficient in Mind Magic and Soul
Magic. Such powerful Mages only work for the truly wealthy Mages. It would even prove to be a heavy
strain on my finances to summon someone like that."
Alex sighed again, but he was actually happy that basically no one could take his excuse away from
him.
"Anyway, you said you wanted to be more powerful?" Duke Whirlwind asked.
Alex nodded. "Yes, sir," Alex answered. "I think I can''t practice Magic, but I also don''t want to be a
normal person. I want to be powerful!"
Duke Whirlwind nodded.
"I think you made a very wise decision in the past," he said. "I don''t know if you have been born in my
territory or not, but whatever the case, you are in the best territory for your goal."
"What do you mean, sir?" Alex asked.
"My close friend is the most powerful Physi in the world, and he has an academy for warriors and
simr jobs not far from here. My presumption is that, before you lost your memory, you probably came
here to train yourbat experience before applying to the academy. It''s a good decision."
"The academy''s entrance exams are notoriously difficult for a reason."
Alex became a bit uncertain. "Should I train more for the entrance exam?"
Duke Whirlwind scoffed.
"You took down a High-Rank Ice Spear Bear."
"That''s more than enough to join the academy."