Female Apprentice: "You mentioned before, after escaping from the laboratory, you’ve been drifting nearby. Haven’t you ever encountered that Mist Sea Beast?"
"Encountered it, but I’m quite lucky, it’s never noticed me."
"Is it really luck?" They pondered.
The female Apprentice shook her head: "Forget it, luck then. At least we dodged this calamity, I’m going to check on Cindy."
The female Apprentice grumbled "When will Ferro return?" while heading towards Cindy.
The fatty Apprentice followed, even though the grilled fish was put out prematurely, it was done enough to fill the stomach a bit.
The purple-robed Apprentice didn’t leave, quietly scrutinizing this mysterious Soul: "You... well, I’ll just call you by name, Cindy mentioned you’re called Reynaud, correct?"
The soul was silent for a moment: "There are some memories I can’t remember, but the name Reynaud is very familiar to me. You can call me that."
"Reynaud, I don’t care what you’re thinking, and don’t play dumb with me. Right now, we’re the only ones who can help you. I don’t want any more surprises before Lord Ferro returns, not even a scare."
Although the apprentice in the purple robe didn’t say it explicitly, his words clearly implied that the previous behavior of the Mist Sea Beast suddenly approaching the reef was blamed on Reynaud.
Reynaud had mingled in the Wizards’ Realm before and understood the other party’s thoughts. After all, they were all hiding well, and he was the only one defenseless by the sea, making it most likely to attract the Mist Sea Beast.
Reynaud couldn’t refute this, so he silently accepted it.
The apprentice in the purple robe gave Reynaud a deep look, then turned and walked back to the campfire. After taking a few steps, he suddenly thought of something and turned back to Reynaud:
"You’ve been sitting here looking out into the distance. What are you thinking about?"
Reynaud shook his head: "I don’t know either. I just feel like I’ve forgotten something important..."
The apprentice in the purple robe: "Your soul has been hovering in this energy-stressed and unstable Mist Belt. It’s normal to lose some memories from when you were alive due to the influence of the field. If those memories are still deep in your consciousness, they’ll come back to you sooner or later."
The apprentice in the purple robe said no more and returned to the campfire.
Reynaud quietly looked at the mist-shrouded sea in the distance: "What on earth have I forgotten? Or... have I forgotten someone?"
...
On the other side, in the Wilderness of Dreams.
When Cindy mentioned "Number 1," Angel didn’t react at first. After a while, he suddenly remembered someone.
During the New Star Competition, there was someone he had marked as the "hot-blooded protagonist of the novel," also known as "John’s comeback," a contestant with maxed-out luck.
- ’Number 1’ Reynaud!
"The number 1 you’re talking about is Reynaud? Are you sure it’s that Reynaud from the New Star Competition?"
Angel’s inquiry was tinged with urgency, which puzzled Nis and the Ironclad Granny. Did this Reynaud have some connection with Angel? Otherwise, why did Angel suddenly get so excited?
Cindy nodded: "Yes, it’s Reynaud. Even though he doesn’t remember his name, he remembers Number 1 and vaguely recalls some scenes from the New Star Competition."
With Cindy’s confirmation, Angel felt a sudden "swish" in the depths of his mind, and some memories suddenly surged up—
During the New Star Competition, at Fangling Hall.
"Come with me." It was Shan speaking. She took Angel’s hand and led him to Nausicaa’s room, peering inside secretly through the window.
Through the window’s silhouette, two figures could be faintly seen inside. One was Nausicaa, and the other was Reynaud.
"Reynaud went to see Nausicaa as soon as he arrived today. I noticed his mood was quite unusual." Shan chuckled: "Didn’t you feel the strange atmosphere between them? I think maybe Reynaud has feelings for Nausicaa. Who knows, he might be about to confess to her right now."
Angel knew Nausicaa’s personality well; if Reynaud really confessed, she would definitely reject him.
Besides, Angel felt the atmosphere inside lacked the subtle sensation of a confession, and instead, it seemed somewhat heavy. Curiously, Angel pricked up his ears and eavesdropped on their conversation.
As he just wanted to confirm whether Reynaud was confessing to Nausicaa, Angel listened to one sentence and then withdrew.
That sentence didn’t sound like a confession at all; it was rather a peculiar statement.
Reynaud, with a seemingly relaxed surface yet a sad undertone, told Nausicaa, "Aren’t you curious why my nickname in the New Star Competition is ’Number 1’? The origin is actually simple: my lab number is 1."
After the memory fragment of Fangling Hall flashed by, another memory scene emerged in Angel’s mind.
It was a conversation between him and Nausicaa—
Nausicaa leaned on the window sill, smoke gun in hand, exhaling a cloud of flower-scented smoke.
After a brief silence, she spoke: "There is something I’ve been hesitating about."
"Is it related to Reynaud?"
Nausicaa nodded: "Indeed, it involves him. He... invited me to do something, and I’m pondering whether I should go."
Angel: "Is it dangerous?"
Nausicaa: "In the Wizards’ Realm, there are risks in everything, depending on whether you can bear them."
"Can you handle it? Or, if you pay the price, what will you gain?"
"I don’t know because it’s an unknown forbidden area. The risks could be immense, or there might be none. Reynaud escaped from that place. His goal is to destroy it, while my goal is something inside."
The memory scenes continued to swirl, finally reaching the end of the New Star Competition—
At the Transmission Hall in Sky Mechanical City.
Angel looked at Nausicaa: "You’ve decided to follow Reynaud."
Nausicaa nodded: "Yes, there is something I need there, and I must go."
"Is it very important to you?"
"Yes, very important. It’s the first goal toward achieving my ultimate dream."
Angel didn’t try to dissuade Nausicaa; he respected her decision: "Then, I wish you good luck in obtaining what you need."
...
"Angel, Angel?" Nis nudged Angel, who was lost in thought.
Angel gradually came back to his senses: "Huh?"
"I’ve been calling you for a while, and you haven’t responded." Nis squinted, "Could it be that you have some unspeakable relationship with this Reynaud?"
Angel gently shook his head: "I know the contestant named Reynaud. My brother Lyon learned a lot of combat techniques from him."
Angel wasn’t lying. During the New Star Competition, Reynaud often visited Fangling Hall. He was generous and open, and knowing Lyon was going to climb the Sky Tower, he taught him many combat techniques. Therefore, Angel had quite a good impression of Reynaud.
"That’s it?"
"Yes."
Nis and Ironclad Granny exchanged glances, clearly disbelieving, but since Angel didn’t want to say more, they didn’t press further.
Angel then turned to Cindy: "You said Reynaud doesn’t remember his name. What’s going on?"