"Hey, is that old man still alive?"
"I don't know. What do you think?"
"I don't know either. We'd better check on him."
The sound of voices echoed, waking Alexander from his slumber. His head throbbed with an unbearable pain as he struggled to open his eyes.
Suddenly, countless memories and fragments of experiences—ones he had no recollection of—flooded his mind like a bolt of lightning. These memories shattered into pieces before settling within his thoughts.
'Where am I?'
'What happened to me? Wasn't I supposed to be asleep in my room after exhausting myself with office work yesterday?'
As confusion clouded Alexander's mind, the fragmented memories that had just settled within him slowly took shape.
'Wait... Am I the Great Master Alexander—the strongest person in the world?'
Alexander quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed two young men standing before him. Their expressions revealed shock and disbelief as they stared at him.
He then looked down at himself and realized he was now in the body of an old man. 'Am I not supposed to be the Great Master, the strongest being in the world? Why do I look like an old man on the verge of death?'
"Old man, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Where are we right now?"
"We're in a cave in the northern region of the Mong Kingdom."
"The Mong Kingdom...?"
As Alexander tried to recall information about the Mong Kingdom, a memory surfaced in his mind.
This world was divided into twenty kingdoms, with the Mong Kingdom being the smallest among them.
Despite its size, the Mong Kingdom could not be underestimated. It possessed a formidable army and skilled martial artists, which had allowed it to survive until now.
In the past, there had been numerous kingdoms, but wars over territorial disputes had led to their destruction. Many were forced to merge with victorious kingdoms, leaving only twenty nations standing today.
"Old man, what were you doing alone in this dark cave?"
"Nothing… Perhaps I was just lost."
"If you'd like, you can come with us to the nearest village."
Seeing no other option, Alexander nodded in agreement. After all, he didn't remember much about this place, and many of his memories still seemed fragmented and incomplete.
As he stood up to follow the two young men, a sudden ding echoed in his mind, and a glowing blue screen appeared before him.
Ding!
[Synchronization complete!]
---
---
[Mission: Obtain a Disciple]
[Reward: Ultimate Body Opening Elixir ×1, Healing Potion ×1]
Alexander's eyes widened as he stared at the blue screen displaying his status. 'Is this like the system I've read about in fantasy stories?', As he scanned his status, his gaze fell upon the mission displayed at the bottom.
'Obtain a disciple? The reward is an Ultimate Body Opening Elixir and a Healing Potion?', He couldn't help but wonder about the mission and rewards, as well as the fact that he seemed to be just an ordinary human at the moment.
"Old man, are you coming or not?"
One of the young men called out to him upon noticing his silence. Snapping out of his thoughts, Alexander quickly responded.
"I'm coming."
He then followed the two young men out of the cave. As he walked, a new blue screen appeared, displaying the profiles of the two individuals before him.
'Ultimate Body Opening Stage 1?', Alexander noted that both young men had achieved the Ultimate Body Opening stage 1, which signified they were martial artists.
As he tried to recall the power rankings of this world, another memory surfaced in his mind.
In this world, martial artists were categorized into several stages. The very first stage was the Ultimate Body, while the highest known stage was the Great Master of Aura.
Only one person had ever reached the final stage—the Great Master Alexander, the strongest being in existence.
As more memories about power rankings flooded his mind, another realization struck him. The Great Master Alexander had ten incredibly talented disciples, each of whom had risen to prominence on a global scale. In fact, they had become rulers of various kingdoms.
'If the Great Master's disciples were so powerful and successful, then why did they abandon their master?'
Just as these questions filled his mind, a blinding light pierced his eyes.
Stepping out of the cave, Alexander found himself surrounded by a vast, dense forest.
He stood in awe at the breathtaking sight—it resembled an enormous tropical rainforest.
"Where is the nearest village?"
"About 100 miles from here, old man."
'That's quite a distance… Can we even reach the village before nightfall?', For an ordinary human like Alexander, walking that far—especially through a thick forest—seemed like an exhausting and dangerous task.
Just as he pondered the long journey ahead, the two young men retrieved their horses, which had been left outside the cave.
"Old man, you seem like an ordinary mortal. Come, hop on. This horse can carry two people."
Alexander looked at the horses, and, as expected, another blue screen appeared.
Observing the horses' status, he realized they also had ranks, categorized as Tier 1 Beasts. Without hesitation, he mounted one of the horses.
"Clocky, let's go.", One of the young men patted his horse's back, and it immediately took off at an incredible speed toward the village.
The wind howled past Alexander's ears as he tightly gripped the horse, trying to maintain his balance.
'This is way too fast! It's like riding a speeding motorcycle!', He hadn't expected the horse to move at such high speeds. Perhaps the journey to the nearest village wouldn't take as long as he had feared—especially with such extraordinary steeds.