001 Cat Wizard

On an ordinary day, you awaken in a familiar bed and see a familiar room, yet somehow know, with an inexplicable certainty, that this is not your home.

It is not even the modern age, but an ancient one.

And yet... you know this place far too well.

You keep trying to recall what happened yesterday, only to discover that you possess two separate sets of memories.

In both of them, you died.

You are certain that you have crossed into another life. Because your memories have merged with those of this body, the place feels so familiar to you.

But why... why does this body bear the same name as yours?

Even its face is almost exactly the same...

He is called Roland, and so are you. Only, he has just turned sixteen this year.

Have I crossed into the body of myself in a parallel world, or was everything I once experienced nothing more than a dream?

Who can say whether Zhuang Zhou dreamed of a butterfly, or a butterfly now dreams that it is Zhuang Zhou?

This is a hunter's cabin in the mountains. Inside are a bed, a simple sleeping pallet, a desk, and a bookcase.

At the desk sat a youth with sharp brows and bright eyes, handsome and spirited.

He had black hair and black eyes. In this world, such hair and eye colors were rare, though not unheard of.

After muttering to himself for a while, he picked up the book on the desk and began to work in earnest.

He was currently apprenticed to a wizard, though still an uninitiated novice. If he could not advance to the rank of lesser apprentice today, his master would turn him into "human medicine" and feed him to his master's pet.

The book was called Hand Notes of Aleye. Roland quickly settled into it and read with complete absorption.

This book is the cultivation method my former self's master gave me. As long as I follow its words and contemplate that so-called Foolish Buddha Aleye, I can gradually comprehend the Great Way.

This world probably has no concept of Buddha or the Dao.

At least, in Roland's predecessor's memories, there were no such gods.

Still, because the Foolish God Aleye is a benevolent progenitor of all gods, one who delivers the suffering and saves the oppressed, and because the many good deities beneath him often listened to him speak of truth, Roland, upon reaching this passage, casually referred to this great being who loved to preach and teach as the Foolish Buddha Aleye.

Roland thought to himself, Based on this book, my former self has been cultivating for three months already. In another ten days... perhaps he could break through the bottleneck and enter the realm of a lesser wizard apprentice.

But I only have one day left.

Today is the first day after Roland's arrival here, and perhaps the last day of his life.

According to memory, if he has not met his master's requirements and advanced to lesser apprentice by tonight, he will surely die.

Coming back to himself, Roland turned the page in his hands.

This page described an amusing little tale that occurred when Foolish Buddha Aleye first came into being.

Roland read it carefully. It said:

Once upon a time, there was a small town called Valeria.

In that town stood a castle called Valeria Castle.

The town had three thousand inhabitants. In the castle lived a baron of outstanding swordsmanship, as well as a steward who knew a little magic.

Rather than call him a steward, it would be more fitting to call him the baron's closest friend. The two of them spent their days together, exploring forests and hunting for treasure.

Three months ago, the two led a party into the Tawny Fernwood. When they returned, the steward suddenly went mad.

After coming back, the steward spouted nonsense, then that very night fled with all the treasures found during the expedition.

In a fit of fury, Baron Hall found the steward's son.

He said, "I have no more affection left for your father."

Then he said, "And I have no reason to protect you any longer as your lord."

Then he revealed his true purpose: "That Cat Witch has had her eye on you for quite some time. Today is already the third time she has asked me to let you become her student... If I agree, she will help me find the Holy Grail I have long sought in the Tawny Fernwood."

It turned out that a wizard had recently come to Valeria.

Unlike the steward, who only knew a little magic and was merely a half-baked imitator, this wizard was the real thing.

If one could study under such a wizard, the future would be limitless.

But the rumors surrounding this wizard were terrifying.

According to legend, it stood more than twice a man's height, its eyes like lanterns, yet it liked to scamper over walls and trees like a cat.

Thus, everyone called it the Cat Witch.

To keep it from eating people, Baron Hall offered it two sheep every day.

Beside the Cat Witch lived a giant troll with a blue face and jutting fangs. Rumor had it that the troll was about the same size as the Cat Witch.

Recently, the troll had fallen ill and needed human medicine. And the wizard just happened to declare that she would be taking on apprentices.

The ignorant people in town all spread the rumor that the wizard was not really looking for apprentices at all, but for suitable human medicine to cure her pet's illness.

That rumor... was true.

The baron then said, "In truth, if you had not followed me from childhood and served me for so many years as my sword-bearing attendant, I would already have sent you there yesterday... I am still hesitating."

The baron was not lying. He truly was still torn over what to do with the boy.

Although he no longer had any affection left for the steward, he still had plenty for this boy.

And it was no small affection.

In this world, a lord would usually choose gifted children, or children from his own kin, to serve as his knightly attendants, and they were meant to be raised and trained.

But it was rare for a lord to take in a sword-bearing attendant.

For to bear the sword was to bear authority.

Generally, only lords with no male heirs, yet possessing exceptional skill, would take in sword-bearing attendants and pass on all they had to them.

A sword-bearing attendant was usually the lord's adopted son.

The baron continued, "For the past four years you have been unfailingly loyal. My lady has treated you like a son, and my daughter like an elder brother... I have thought long and hard, and I have decided to give you a choice."

As for the steward's son, Baron Hall had raised him as his adopted son.

To raise the steward's son as an adopted son... that was highly unusual.

There must have been some secret behind it.

Many people believed the steward's son was actually the baron's illegitimate child.

And the steward's son had long suspected the same himself.

But what Baron Hall said next today made him feel that he and the baron probably had no blood relation at all.

For the baron asked him to replace his steward father and continue the expedition into the Tawny Fernwood.

The youth had never been to the Tawny Fernwood, but he had heard many dreadful rumors about it.

Yet the baron believed that if the boy went with him, nothing would happen.

Moreover, the baron was quite certain that this boy, like his steward father, could serve as the party's guide through the Tawny Fernwood.

Or rather, the baron believed that as long as the boy was with the party, they would be able to leave the Tawny Fernwood smoothly.

The baron spoke very frankly about the dangers of exploring the Tawny Fernwood.

Over the years, although the old steward always accompanied each expedition and guided the way home, people still often died in the fernwood. And there were also many who returned insane, just like the steward.

The baron also patiently told the boy that he would certainly be able to bring him back alive.

Those who returned alive were still many. So this was indeed not a choice made to send him to his death.

Thus, the boy's life was guaranteed.

Finally, the baron painted a grand promise before him, and given the baron's character, he would certainly fulfill it in time.

Baron Hall had always been extraordinarily generous. On every expedition, his party not only received very substantial rewards; whenever treasures were found, the baron shared all of them with the adventurers.

The baron did not keep a single treasure for himself.

He repeatedly explored the Tawny Fernwood for only two reasons.

One was to see the legendary Fern God.

The other was to borrow from the Fern God's ruins the rumored Tawny Holy Grail.

The Tawny Holy Grail's greatest use was in brewing medicinal potions.

And the baron's lady suffered from a grave illness that required such potions.

For all these years, Baron Hall had poured out every ounce of his effort in order to cure his wife's illness, and then fulfill the promise he once made to her: to travel the world together.

If anyone could help Baron Hall realize that wish, he would spare nothing.

If that person were his adopted son, the baron would surely marry off his daughter to him, and would even find a way to grant him the fief as a dowry.

These words suddenly gave Roland a deeply ominous feeling. "Isn't this supposed to be the story of Aleye's birth? Why is it like this?!"

Cold sweat streamed down his face as he continued turning the pages, where it read:

On one side, he was to be handed over to the Cat Witch as human medicine.

On the other, he could save the baron's lady, who treated him like her own son. And afterward, inherit everything the baron possessed.

Faced with such a choice, the boy ought to have chosen without hesitation to save the baron's lady.

But no one knew what the crazed steward had told his son. The boy would rather die than take a single step into the Tawny Fernwood.

The baron was deeply disappointed. He locked the boy in a room in the castle and then left.

That night, the dreadful Cat Witch climbed up the castle and into the boy's room.

After entering, the Cat Witch kept wiping away its saliva and forcing itself to endure the urge to eat him immediately, before carrying the sleeping boy away.

Yet the boy was not destined to die, for after examining his body, the wizard suddenly changed her mind.

The first time the wizard saw that boy, she already predicted he would make excellent human medicine.

But she never expected that she would truly be moved to take on an apprentice.

At the time she said, "Damn it! To think I found someone with seven-element talent in a place like this!"

For a long time, the wizard wavered between using him as medicine or as a disciple.

In the end, she gave the boy one chance.

The wizard said, "You are utterly useless on the path of wizardry. Being able to advance to lesser apprentice in this lifetime would already be a miracle. But in magic, you are a genius! You can understand any spell at a glance and wield it with ease.

"Among all the contemplative methods I know, only this Hand Notes of Aleye suits you. Practice it. If you can step into the gate of magic and become a lesser wizard apprentice within three months, I will find another way to deal with the matter of the medicine."

Three months passed quickly.

On this final day, which is to say yesterday, the boy had risked his life to swallow a medicinal herb. When he woke, the whole world was different...

Thus ends the tale of how the Foolish God Aleye came into being... or, as you would call him, the Foolish Buddha Aleye.

So, honorable Foolish Buddha Aleye, do you now understand all the causes and consequences?

Today is the first day of your descent into this world.

You are still very weak, as weak as the sheep... or perhaps the little mice... that the Cat Witch eats every day.

On this final day before the deadline, struggle with all your might to survive...

With a snap, Roland shut the book in his hands.

This book is called Hand Notes of Aleye. It is a contemplative method. As long as one follows its contents and contemplates Foolish Buddha Aleye, one can gradually comprehend the Great Way.

Roland pressed his lips together and, drenched in sweat, said, "According to my former self's memories, the contents of the book should be obscure ancient divine speech. They are all descriptions of the Foolish God Aleye.

"But why is it that, in my eyes, every description of that Foolish Buddha Aleye is full of things related to me?!"