Chapter 1: The Dumbfounded Great Lord

"Young Master Kaios is awake! My Lord is awake!"

A tall, sturdy figure ran out of the room, shouting as he went. On the spacious, luxurious bed, the young Lord Kaios, who had just turned eighteen, sat up. Frowning, he rubbed his head and looked at his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror not far away.

He had short black hair and an Eastern face. His frame was large, with long arms and legs, but he was devoid of much flesh, making him appear rather gaunt. If he straightened his back even a little, the ribs on his sides would become clearly visible.

Kaios's frown deepened. Aside from being a little too thin and looking somewhat sickly, his reflection was actually quite handsome.

The problem was...

This wasn't him.

Indeed, the soul residing in this body was no longer the original young Lord. Instead, it belonged to a young man from another plane—Earth—who had died of a stroke while preparing for his third attempt at the postgraduate entrance exam.

His mind held no memories of this body. However, given the situation—the various objects in the room, his current appearance, and the words shouted by the burly man who had just run out—he could roughly guess that this was likely another world.

Although he had no memories of this body whatsoever, he had perfectly understood what the burly man had shouted. It was a language he had never learned, nor even heard of, in his previous life.

It seemed that some abilities were instinctual and had not vanished along with the original owner's consciousness.

Soon, footsteps echoed from the corridor outside. Clearly, a large group of people was rushing over.

He began to quickly analyze his situation. Judging by the burly man's shouts, "Young Master Kaios" and "Lord" should both be referring to him. The man had also announced that he was "awake," which meant he had previously been asleep or in a coma. The original owner's consciousness must have perished during that state, allowing him to take over the body.

His reflection looked very young, probably under twenty. Therefore, the burly man had shouted both "Young Master" and "Lord" at the same time, implying that it hadn't been long since he was promoted from a "Young Master" to a "Lord."

There were no wounds on his body, and coupled with his ghastly thinness, he wondered if the cause of his coma was the sudden onset of an illness.

"Oh my god! Master, you're really awake! May the Profound King protect us, the Saint King manifest, and the Celestial King bless us. This is truly a great fortune!"

The first to enter was an elderly man with slightly dark skin and neatly combed hair, dressed in an exquisite dark robe. He looked somewhat like a Latino from Kaios's previous life. The moment he saw Kaios sitting by the bed, he appeared extremely agitated and pleasantly surprised.

Following closely behind him was the tall figure Kaios had seen sprinting out the moment he woke up, wearing the exact same joyous expression.

Naturally, Kaios did not recognize these two. But making a preliminary judgment based on their facial expressions, eyes, and tone of voice, they seemed genuinely happy that he had awakened.

However, for some unknown reason, Kaios also caught a trace of nervousness on the robed elder's face.

Just as Kaios was pondering how to properly respond, the robed elder shouted toward the door, "Bring her in!"

Immediately after, two Silver Armor Guards wearing silver visors marched into the room. They were dragging a woman who was tightly bound by golden chains.

"It's all because of this wretched slave! She caused you to fall into such grave danger, Master. Please deal with her! Even condemning her to a Spirit Burst-Devouring Body would not be too much!" the robed elder said resentfully, glaring down at the girl who had been forced to kneel on the floor.

Kaios noticed that when the robed elder said this, a trace of pity flashed through the eyes of the tall and sturdy young man behind him. Meanwhile, the woman on the floor struggled incessantly, letting out muffled whimpers.

"How long was I unconscious?" After careful consideration, Kaios spoke his very first words since arriving in this Otherworld.

Even though it was his first time hearing his own voice, and he was speaking this novel language, there was not the slightest sense of incongruity or unfamiliarity. It was truly miraculous.

"Master, you have been in a coma for exactly two days. Master Qin and Dominic the Great Mage both came to take a look, but neither could do anything," the robed elder said. "Fortunately, you are blessed with great fortune and pulled through."

"Was I in a coma because of her?" Kaios looked at the woman on the ground.

Hearing this, the robed elder paused for a moment. He glanced at the woman and said, "At the time, only Sharvella and you were in the room, Master. Naturally, she cannot absolve herself of the blame..."

Kaios suddenly ordered the two Silver Armor Guards, "Make her raise her head."

The two guards immediately let go, releasing their hold on the woman.

The woman named Sharvella instantly raised her head, revealing a devastatingly beautiful Eastern face. She was drenched in tears, looking delicate and wretched. Her large eyes gazed at Kaios as tears streamed down endlessly. However, because her mouth was gagged with a strip of cloth, she couldn't make a sound. She could only whimper continuously, clearly desperate to speak.

Even though Sharvella currently had disheveled long hair, tear-stained cheeks, and a haggard, sorry appearance, this single upward glance was still enough to make Kaios's heart skip a beat. This woman's beauty was far too striking. Those eyes, in particular, made it hard for anyone to look away.

"Let her speak," Kaios commanded again.

One of the Silver Armor Guards immediately removed the cloth gagging Sharvella's mouth. Following that, Kaios heard the woman's slightly hoarse, tearful, yet incredibly pleasant voice.

"Young Master... no, Master... I would absolutely never harbor the slightest thought of harming you! If you truly fell into danger because of me... then please, only punish me. Do not take your anger out on my family. They are all your loyal servants..."

The robed elder standing nearby furrowed his brows upon hearing this. He instructed the two Silver Armor Guards, "Take her away. Master just woke up and cannot endure such noisy clamor!"

The two Silver Armor Guards looked at Kaios almost simultaneously. He gave a nod. "Take her away for now. I'll deal with this later." After a brief pause, he added, "Give her some water and food, and wash her face."

"Yes, sir." The two Silver Armor Guards hauled her out as ordered. Sharvella clearly picked up on Kaios's gentler tone; she stopped struggling and screaming, allowing herself to be carried away quietly.

From the guards' voices, Kaios also realized that they were both actually female.

"Master..."

The robed elder seemed to want to say something, but Kaios rubbed his forehead and cut him off. "I feel a bit tired. If there is nothing that must be dealt with immediately, I want to rest for a while."

The robed elder could only respectfully back away. However, just as the tall, sturdy servant prepared to follow him out, Kaios pointed at him. "You stay behind."

"Yes, sir." The sturdy servant immediately stopped in his tracks and stood back inside the room.

The robed elder shot a glance at the sturdy servant before continuing to back out of the room with small steps, keeping his face toward Kaios until he finally closed the door.

Kaios stood up from the bed. His knees buckled, and he nearly sat right back down. Startled, the sturdy servant hurriedly moved to support him, but Kaios waved his hand, gesturing that it wasn't necessary.

Maintaining his balance, Kaios took a deep breath and said, "I need to compose myself."

Then, he walked slowly toward the window on the other side of the room. He pulled the curtains open a little wider. As he gazed at the scenery outside, he said, "After waking up this time... I don't remember anything."

Having said that, he turned back to look at the sturdy servant and, sure enough, saw a look of astonishment on the man's face. "Young Master, you don't remember anything?!"

Kaios nodded and sighed. "I don't remember anything since I woke up. I don't even remember my own name, let alone yours or anyone else's. I have no idea what happened before or why I'm here. My mind is completely blank... But for some reason, when I look at you, I feel a heartfelt sense of intimacy and trust."

Using amnesia as an excuse was the safest preliminary response strategy Kaios could come up with after comprehensive consideration.

However, after exchanging a few simple sentences with the robed elder and Sharvella, he had changed his mind. The amnesia excuse was naturally still going to be used, but he planned to interact with people one by one first.

Judging from the robed elder's behavior and words, there was a high probability that he held a position like a housekeeper, making him the most suitable target for gathering information. Yet, Kaios had caught a trace of deliberately concealed nervousness in the man's expression, and his various reactions betrayed an inexplicable sense of urgency.

As for Sharvella, she was indeed breathtakingly beautiful, but Kaios wasn't about to let lust completely muddle his mind. Since she was the only one with the original owner before his coma, keeping his guard up against her was a must. Still, even if she was somehow connected to the original owner's coma, it probably wasn't an active assassination attempt.

Compared to those two, this sturdy servant—whose back he had seen the moment he opened his eyes—seemed far more straightforward. Based solely on his reactions and the fact that he was guarding the room and was the first to notice his awakening, Kaios figured he was likely someone with a relatively simple personality and a high level of loyalty to the original owner. Therefore, he chose to extract information from him first.

Of course, through his previous simple probing, he had discovered that the two Silver Armor Guards clearly obeyed his orders over the robed elder's. This saved him a lot of trouble. Otherwise, even if he wanted to speak with the sturdy servant first, he would have definitely had to feign compliance with the robed elder for a while.

As soon as he finished his carefully crafted speech, the sturdy servant was predictably shocked at first, but then revealed a deeply moved expression. "The Noke family has been loyal servants to the Li family for nine generations! Harvey Noke has been Young Master Kaios's loyal servant for eighteen years! Naturally, you can feel Harvey's loyalty, Young Master!"

"Harvey? Is that what I usually call you?" Kaios asked.

"Normally, you call me 'Big Guy'! Ah! But you are no longer a Young Master... I should call you Master! I always forget..." Harvey patted his head in frustration.

Kaios chuckled. "It's fine. I permit you to keep calling me Young Master. What about you? Do you prefer I call you Big Guy or Harvey?"

"You can call me anything, Young Master!" Harvey said happily.

"Harvey, did you say your Noke family has served the Li family for nine generations?" Although he had already confessed his amnesia, Kaios didn't immediately ask basic questions like "Who am I?" or "Where is this?" Instead, he used the information Harvey provided as a starting point to avoid making him feel too jarringly unfamiliar.

"Yes! Ever since the first generation Disper Great Lord set down roots here, our Noke family has been the Li family's loyal servants, warriors, and followers! Furthermore, we were among the Disper Great Lord's very first batch of Contracted Servants bound by a Soul Contract!" Harvey said with immense pride.