Contrary to whatever Headmaster Smith’s expectations were, no incident took place. The gathered youngsters simply ate lunch. Nobody trash talked Wolf and Wayde for sitting with the beggars. The only remotely interesting thing that happened was that the beggars insisted on Wolf and Wayde picking whichever fruits they wanted. Once the two youths took an apple and a pear the urchins settled with what was left.

Here, you take what you want and we’ll settle for the leftovers. That really is the core of the beggar’s mentality, Wolf thought as this scene took place. Now are they beggars because of the way they think, or do they think the way they do because they are beggars? This was another question Wolf asked himself.

For most people it was an extremely useless exercise in logic and they would just say that these children were shaped by their environment without sparing it a second thought.

Mages on the other hand had a very different way of thinking, and gave an odd answer to questions like this. In magic, everything stemmed from the mind, and Mages believed this extended to mundane life as well.

If you act like a rich man you will eventually become rich, even if you are a beggar today. However, if a person acts like a beggar, it was only a matter of time before they became one. This logic caused several fundamental character flaws in most Mages, which made them and their descendants very toxic towards the lower classes.

They lacked humility, for humility was a sign of not thinking big enough. They were self centered and self important. Whether by coincidence or because their reasoning was correct the end result of this behavior was that people treated them as if they were more important than they really were.

For instance Ninth Order Sword-Sages and powerful Body Forgers weren’t granted noble titles without performing merit first, whereas an Archmage was a Viscount the moment they could cast a Tenth Order spell. Even if the only thing they had ever achieved was tormenting the poor.

So, was it a good thing or a bad thing these youths acted the way they did?

Wolf wondered, but ultimately didn’t come to a conclusion. He had long ago decided that he was going to be himself and not someone else. If he became smug and obsessed with money and fame, well so be it. Wolf didn’t find it likely, but he knew it wasn’t impossible. The only thing he knew for certain was that he wouldn’t change for no good reason. As for worrying about it now, it was useless.

Once the youths were done eating, they were taken back to the quarters in which they had spent the previous night. The results of the entrance exam will be announced the next day before breakfast.

Wolf and Wayde went back to their dorm and once they were alone the two of them started talking. To be more exact Wayde did the talking at first, since Wolf only felt hostility towards this young man.

Fortunately, the first thing Wayde did was explain his origins.

“My noble grandfather was Edgar Northshield the Ninth,” Wayde began his real introduction. “He was assassinated in a plot by his brother and nephew. After the successful assassination my granduncle staged a coup to rob my father’s eldest brother of his birthright and became the new Duke. Granduncle was old and all of this was done for the sake of his son and the rest of his lineage. He didn’t want them to become a branch family, so they plotted together with the hated elves to depose my noble grandfather.

“My father survived the purge due to luck. He was but a child following his mother on a diplomatic visit to neighboring Silverhound. There, the two of them applied for asylum and imperial protection, which they promptly received.

“Unfortunately there was nothing to be done about father’s lands and title. It’s not like this was the first ever coup staged in one of the duchies. You know what they say, once everything is over the victor is a hero, while the loser is a villain. That’s what happened here as well. The branch family was backed by that damn Lonely Eagle and his whore empress of the elven empire. At the time our human race had no World Power of its own, so we had to swallow the humiliation and pretend that we knew nothing about this alliance.

“Father hoped that with the rise of the new Emperor he would get justice, but that didn’t happen. In fact he thought that the Emperor’s letter ridiculed him. The Emperor told him that if he was capable he should win back the duchy with his own hands. The letter ended with a sarcastic ‘I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.’ At least, that’s how Father understood the words.

“He left home in outrage and founded a mercenary company with the purpose of taking back the duchy, but all he managed to do was get himself killed before I was four.” The bitter way in which Wayde spoke about his father was a clear indication that he didn’t respect the man one bit.

Wolf could see where he was coming from. The man really sounded incompetent.

“Personally I think Father was acting like a spoiled brat,” Wayde said, trying to sound unbiased. “I’ve also read that letter the Emperor had sent him. I didn’t think that the man was ridiculing Father at all. In fact what I read could be summed up like this: Solve your own problems, you have my blessing. I wish you good luck. And if I was an Emperor, I would also prefer to have a Duke who was competent enough to stage a coup and win against the person currently in power, over a man who’s asking for my help to settle his own family matters. Then again, it might be just my strange way of thinking.

“In case you didn’t know,” Wayde changed his tone a bit, “a Duke is supposed to be the Emperor’s eyes and right arm in military campaigns. A man who needs to ask me for help in maintaining his own household is not fit to be my eyes and settle the matters of my race. Because of that realization, I’ve decided that I’m going to do everything I can to become a True-Namer of the Second Order at the very least. Then, with that power, I’m going to take back what’s rightfully mine.”

Wolf listened to Wayde’s story. Once the story was finally finished, Wolf asked the question that’s been on his mind almost since Wayde began the short explanation of his circumstances.

“You don’t seem to like your father?” he asked.

Even though it had nothing to do with the struggle for power, this was the most important question Wolf had to ask.

The initial dislike he’d felt towards the Northshield youth had disappeared after the initial misunderstanding about his past was cleared up. Even more importantly, the fact that Wayde’s relationship with the Duke of Northshield was antagonistic made him Wolf’s ally.

“I wouldn’t say that. I didn’t get to meet the man,” Wayde answered hesitantly. He was still trying to figure out Wolf and for now being honest was his best option. “Father was a seventh son and only five when his family was executed. He survived because he was outside of Northshield when the coup took place. From what I've managed to gather, his mother took him there to dump him, since he didn’t show any extraordinary talent. I mean who needs a seventh son? Seventh daughter you can marry off, but seventh son is someone who you have to feed. Doubly so since Father wasn’t outstanding in any way.

“After the coup Grandmother went mad from grief and died soon after. With her gone, Father was left alone, begging for help from others while slowly squandering the money he had left. When he was thirteen he married a woman of questionable origins and sired me. Then rather than settling down and being a father, he decided to try his luck at warfare. Can you imagine it, he decided to gamble on leading professional warriors at the dawn of this age of turmoil, with no experience whatsoever? Naturally, he got himself killed after less than two years of campaigning. He never even got back home to visit his wife and child.”

Wayde sighed. “It’s hard to have respect for a man like that. Even more so once you find out that he originally had quite a bit of wealth on him, even after the coup. Wealth which he wasted on indulging himself like a prince. Then he settled down, but only to leave his family behind two years later. A family he’d founded with a former prostitute he’d bought from a brothel. The man sounds like he was an incompetent fickle child if you ask me.”

There was no point hiding the truth about his mother, nor his origin. As soon as he’d made a public appearance Wayde knew that his family history and origins were bound to spread in less than a month. At least if the story came from him it wouldn’t be as exaggerated and he could do damage control.

“Compared to that man my mother is a saint, may gods bless her soul,” Wayde said respectfully. “Despite all the humiliation she had to go through. Despite being left with a helpless child, she did the best she could to raise me all alone for a couple of years. Fortunately Mentor found out who we were in the nick of time and saved us.

“Mother was forced to go back to her old trade to take care of me. And as times grew harder, her customers were becoming more and more violent. They often refused to pay her. When Mentor appeared he and I made a deal. He would take care of us, feed us, give us clothes to wear and find tutors for me. All I had to do was work hard and study. When I grew up he promised to provide me with aid in taking back my lands.

“If I manage to reclaim my birthright, his family would be raised to the status of Marquess in my duchy of Northshield. Not just that, they would become the first house under the ducal family. If you look at it objectively, it’s a considerable profit for his family at a reasonable price.

“Naturally, I’m aware that he’s just trying to take advantage of the situation, but I don’t care. Grandfather had many alleged friends. Many people knew who we were and what our circumstances were like, yet nobody came to help. Not even to offer a scrap of bread,” Wayde said bitterly as he seethed hatred. Veins in his neck were visible as he fought down the surging negative emotions.

“Not only that. Those so-called friends and allies came over to take turns on the legitimate Duchess. Then they’d beat her up without paying, saying she should feel honored for being allowed to work off her husband’s debts,” Wayde’s eyes were turning red as he spoke about this, but then he forced himself to calm down.

“Because of all those people I feel even more grateful to our benefactor, even though I am aware that for Mentor this is just a low cost, high risk gamble,” Wayde concluded, leaving Wolf confused.

The youth had listened to the story carefully. He’d immediately connected the dots and concluded that Wayde was the grandson of the man for whose sake Archibald had gotten injured and left everything behind.

He seems like a decent person, Wolf thought as he looked into Wayde’s eyes. There was hatred, despair and honesty in there, and yes, there was expectation as well. This Wayde is the last living descendant of Father’s bosom friend. There’s a darkness leaking out of him, but it had only become visible because of the story he had just told me. Wayde seems to be haunted by his father’s shadow and the hatred he feels is a huge burden to him.

Wolf analyzed the youth standing before him, while disregarding the fact that he came with his own baggage. Didn’t Wolf also have hatred and thirst for vengeance? It went so far that earlier in the day Wolf was considering killing Wayde because he believed him to be the descendant of the Duke of Northshield.

Now that Wayde’s story was over, Wolf didn’t know what exactly he was expected to say.

He felt awkward. The youth standing nervously in front of him had shared some really important and embarrassing secrets. Did he expect something now? If that look of his could be trusted, he most certainly had a lot of expectations.

“I wish you the best of luck,” Wolf said firmly. He decided to play it safe and say the same words the Emperor did. Besides, Wayde had just said that those were good words.

Hearing Wolf say those distant words, Wayde felt his heart quiver. This potential True-Namer was the first ally he’d ever wanted to make. Yet the first thing Wolf had to say was “I wish you luck”? Was Wayde’s story too pathetic? Was it wrong to try and buy this man’s trust with the only thing he had right now, which was the truth?

Sure, Wayde was fishing for sympathy and righteous indignation, but he did so by stating things as they were. He didn’t mind lying and deceiving his enemies and strangers, but he firmly believed that honesty was important with friends and allies.

While Wayde was on an emotional and mental rollercoaster Wolf continued talking after taking a short moment to gather his thoughts. “If there is anything I can do to help, feel free to ask. I’ll do whatever I can, as long as it’s within my ability.”

YES! Wayde shouted on the inside, almost jumping with joy.

He suppressed the reaction perfectly. After being forced to act around everyone around him, if Wayde couldn’t perfectly mask his emotions when he needed to he’d be an idiot. A dead idiot.

When he was a child he acted to console his mother and to help her survive. As he grew up he kept acting to stay safe from perverts. When he was found by his mentor he had to further improve his acting. The man stressed that Wayde had to be able to conceal his true thoughts and bide his time for decades if necessary. And now, if he’d appeared happy after telling such a story, he would definitely leave a bad impression on Wolf.

“Thank you,” Wayde said with heartfelt gratitude and graveness.

The youth felt like he’d just forged a relationship that would define the rest of his life and his feeling was spot on. He didn’t mind that his new ally was the same age as him, even a bit younger. Wolf had limitless potential. That green ten written on the black wall was still fresh in Wayde’s mind.

Two boys talked a bit more before bidding each other good night. Wayde went to his bed, while Wolf went to the corner and sat in a comfortable, meditative position. It was time for him to check his gains after using that magical contraption.

If Wolf hadn’t misunderstood anything, he knew what his first True Name was. Thanks to those visions, it was apparent that Wolf’s first Mind Hall was the Mind Hall of Death.