Alex considered his situation, then thought about the coup in which he had been framed.
"I wasn't involved in my family's schemes, but who was it that framed me? I didn't even have any enemies. Ever since I regained my past-life memories, I have tried to avoid royal family affairs as much as possible so why target me?"
He then thought of his mother.
"She hasn't cared about me for as long as I can remember. Why was I reborn into a royal family? Wouldn't it have been better to be born into an ordinary family?"
Alex felt that being cast out of the royal family might have been the best thing to happen in this life.
The next morning, Alex went to the cafeteria and saw his unit already eating.
He joined them after all, he would be here for who knew how long.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Alex."
The other soldiers looked at him. They had assumed Alex came from a prominent family and were initially wary, but they had seen him work hard on the battlefield. Yesterday, they hadn't had a chance to speak.
"Hello, my name is George," one soldier introduced himself, and the others followed.
Alex learned that everyone had joined the army through their country's martial arts assessment. All were at the 2nd-rank warrior level, with a few at the peak of 2nd rank.
"Why did you all join the army?" Alex asked. "Wouldn't it be better to stay in your home country and attend a martial arts university?"
Everyone looked at him in surprise. George stared at him strangely and asked,
"Alex, you're from a rich family, right?"
Alex noted their expressions and realized there might be something he didn't know.
"Yes, I was wealthy. But what does that have to do with it?"
George looked at him and said,
"You never applied to a martial arts university."
Seeing Alex shake his head, George was even more surprised.
"Don't you know? Everyone who studies at a martial arts university also has to serve at a military base to fight monsters. It's just that we didn't get into university, so we joined the military directly to increase our strength."
Hearing this, Alex was shocked. He thought of his life in the palace—how he hadn't even tried hard to practice after learning he had no talent for martial arts. No one had ever told him he could apply to a martial arts university.
He had only heard that martial arts universities required extremely high talent, and that if you didn't have it, you shouldn't apply. He feared that failing the entrance exam would make him a laughingstock and embarrass the royal family, so he had never considered it.
Alex could only smile bitterly at how he had lived for over eighteen years in this world.
The others saw his bitter smile and assumed he must have had family problems that prevented him from applying.
Alex looked at his colleagues and saw their expressions. He decided to explain about his talent.
"My talent wasn't good, so I lost hope and never applied. I didn't think I could pass the martial arts entrance exam."
Hearing this, everyone was even more shocked. How could someone be so afraid of failure that they wouldn't even try for an exam that decided their future?
Seeing their reaction, Alex knew they thought he was simply afraid. They couldn't understand that being a royal family member came with different responsibilities if he damaged the family's image, the punishment would be severe. Yet, he had still been punished for a crime he didn't commit.
After all, he had only been twelve when he regained his memories, and that hadn't helped him with martial arts or understanding this world. Even in his past life, he had just been a teenage boy.
Alex sighed at the mess created by his naivety. If he had made a few friends and learned more about the world, things might have been different. At least he could have joined a smaller university.
If he hadn't been in the country, they wouldn't have been able to frame him. At least he would have had his freedom but now, he had lost it.
The other soldiers looked at Alex with complex expressions. Here was a twenty-two-year-old who knew nothing about the outside world, thrown directly onto a life-and-death battlefield.
At the same time, in another part of the base, Lieutenant Andrew stood before General Walter, the officer who had first received Alex.
"General Walter, you called for me."
General Walter gestured for him to sit.
"What do you think of the new recruit, Alex?"
Lieutenant Andrew looked at the general with confusion but answered honestly.
"General, I can't analyze his behavior after just one night, but from the recordings I saw, he saved at least ten soldiers yesterday. That qualifies him as a good person."
General Walter nodded, then pulled out records of Alex's past.
"Now look at these details. Tell me how much difference there is between the person you saw yesterday and what's written here."
Lieutenant Andrew studied the documents but couldn't reconcile the Alex described with the one he had observed. He looked up at the general.
"General, do you think someone framed him? And that his presence here was arranged by someone else?"
General Walter met his gaze.
"It looks like he was framed, but it also seems someone wanted him specifically in this base as if they were manipulating events to ensure he ended up here."
Lieutenant Andrew looked puzzled.
"Why send a boy whose strength is only at the 2nd rank? If they wanted him dead, it would be easier outside the base."
General Walter had wondered the same thing.
"Keep a close eye on Alex. There might be someone who benefits from his death—or whose death might be blamed on someone else. Prepare that boy; I want him to survive until I find my answers."
Andrew left the office.
General Walter took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, this is General Walter from Base 7. Is the leader available?"
A voice replied from the other side.
"General Walter, the leader, has gone to the battlefield and will be back in over two weeks. You can contact him after a week. Would you like to leave a message, or is this an emergency?"
General Walter listened.
"It's fine. Not an emergency."
He ended the call, then dialed another number.
"Matilda, where are you? Can you come to my office?"
As time passed, Alex remained unaware of his superiors' suspicions. Even he didn't understand why he was being targeted. For now, his focus was entirely on training.
Alex had been drilling on the training ground for over three hours. He looked at the other soldiers in his unit, who were also exhausted, but Sergeant Wyatt viewed them with dissatisfaction.
"You can't even hold your own against 2nd-rank warriors for more than a few rounds. You've been in the military for months, yet none of you have broken through to the 3rd rank."
His eyes shifted to Alex, who was in a similar state, but he addressed everyone.
"I want all of you to break through to the 3rd rank by the end of this month. I don't care how much time you spend training, I want results. At least half of you should reach the 3rd rank. You have access to the best resources available, yet you can't even endure a few minutes in the gravitational chamber."
Alex, who had been training intensely for over a month, had already broken through to the late stage of the 2nd rank.
"Panel."
Name: Alex Roshar
Strength: 6225
Speed: 495
Talent: Fire, Water (fragment 3/4), Wood (fragment 1/4)
Martial Art: Starfall Sword Art (intermediate 30%), Spear Martial Art (beginner 25%)
Cultivation Technique: Stormlight Infusion Method
Realm: 3rd-rank warrior
"My strength has increased, but it looks like advancing in martial arts will take more time. As for talent, it's still only slightly better than a normal warrior's. Should I reveal my 3rd-rank strength so the military will allocate more resources?"
He considered the idea.
"Or I could stage a fake breakthrough in the gravitational chamber. If there are cameras inside, it might be risky but I have to take the chance."
Alex got up and walked toward the gravitational chamber. He entered and looked at the regulator controlling the gravity levels. Typically, peak 2nd-rank warriors could withstand up to level five.
"I'll start at level five, then increase to level six. They'll think I'm using the higher gravity to push myself. Then I'll raise it to level seven but I'll have to make sure my expression shows struggle so they believe it. After that, I'll quickly shut down the chamber."