7: Art of War

"Hurry up; it's not nice to keep a beautiful lady waiting."

I am fucked.

-------

After three straight hours of fighting and seventy to one hundred bruises, post-Pinnacle, I can officially say I am a master of combat. Of course, it didn't seem like it while I was crumpled on the floor like a used napkin. But my gains were enormous, and this was just the first training session.

Having one of the most experienced Masters in the whole series show me what to do and not do was paramount to receiving another aspect. Not only was she comprehensive in her teachings, but I received beatings when I failed, further reinforcing the lessons. With my Prodigy attribute, it was only a matter of time before I caught up.

'Prodigy rapidly enhances my learning; Pinnacle keeps me standing to be able to learn more. If only Mind and Body were so straightforward in some of their applications.'

"You did great... for your first time."

With a victorious and sly smile, Jet handed me a damp washcloth and a bottle of water. Thanking her with a glare, I quickly sat up and downed the whole bottle, using the washcloth to wipe the sweat off my face. Besides the deep purple bruises, my body was already starting to recover from exhaustion. The same feeling permeated my head, clearing the haze and enhancing the recovery of my mental fatigue.

Sunny was, of course, still strapped down; his nightmare would continue for a total of three days. By now, he should still have two days to go.

"So, ready for round two? Or are you already out of stamina?"

Sighing lightly, I rose to my feet, ready for round two.

-------

Just like that, two days passed in the blink of an eye. Sleeper Sunless and I were already on our journey to the Awakened Academy via Master Jet's PTV (personal transport vehicle).

I was riding shotgun, as I needed the leg room, with Sunny in the back seat, mumbling about life not being fair or something ridiculous.

Jet had already given us the talk about refusing therapy and limiting the information we gave the officials. Life tends to be easier the less someone can exploit you. She also reinforced the idea of taking wilderness survival courses multiple times, Sleepers died to environmental hazards more often than same-class Nightmare creatures.

"So Sunny, how was your Nightmare?"

Startled out of his mumbling stupor, he stayed silent for a minute before gritting his teeth.

"It was exactly what I expected it to be. How was yours, Atlas?"

Just as I expected, Sunny had tacked on a question of his own to deflect away from himself. His flaw was horrible for his character this early on, and he also had yet to fully understand how to work around it.

"Well, not too bad, I suppose. Most of it I can't remember, and the stuff I can remember is nothing short of spine-chilling. I even fought a monster that stood limbs up as pedestals, placing the people's heads that it killed in the palms of their own hands."

Utterly mortified, Sunny had to push his jaw back in place before it dislocated itself. Master Jet had a much more composed reaction, only raising her eyebrow with a slight twitch in her eye.

The rest of the car ride was quiet after that.

'My bad.'

-------

Arriving before a set of colossal metal gates, we were finally at the Awakened Academy. The building was massive and extremely well guarded, which showed just how valued it was as a whole. This was where every Sleeper was funneled through, even the Legacy children. Although that was mostly for networking purposes.

Master Jet seemed to struggle before turning to Sunny and I.

"Make sure to come back alive, and try to take care of each other. Nobody can survive on their own, that is simply the reality we face, so find people you can trust. It's not every day that outskirt rats get the chance to be more than just that."

'Well, that's unexpected. She must be really looking forward to our date.'

"Of course I will come back, you have a promise to keep after all."

After saying my final words, I waved her goodbye and, despite his displeasure, guided Sunny inside by the shoulders.

Just ahead of us was a silver haired girl listening to music via her headphones. She was approaching the registry building, where our next stop was as well.

Taking in the greenery prevalent at the Academy, I was suddenly nostalgic about my old life. Sure, it was lifeless, but the world had much more to offer than Nightmare creatures. But I would still take this life one hundred times over if I had the choice.

Approaching the registry for incoming students, I was in awe of how many people were subjected to the Trials so late into the year.

Somewhere around one hundred students filled the prestigious building, ranging from fifteen to nineteen years of age. Everyone was seated and spoke with tensed voices while waiting for the induction ceremony.

 The logistics of the Academy were a constant headache for the administrators since the rate at which the Spell infected people were infected was always chaotic. There was no orderly structure for batches of Sleepers to undergo any type of standardized education on a shared schedule; some of them had a full year to prepare for the Dream Realm, some only months, some even mere days.

That's why these induction ceremonies were held each month at the beginning of the year and then every week once the winter solstice began to loom near. Some of the Sleepers in the hall had to wait days to be inducted, while Sunny and Atlas had lucked out and were delivered to the academy just hours before the scheduled event.

Most had some form of backpack or luggage containing personal items for the duration of their stay at the academy. In lieu of this, the three newcomers had gathered quite a bit of attention because of their lack of belongings.

All Sunny and Atlas had were the clothes on their backs, with Nephis having at least a communicator and headphones.

"Well, Sunny, I will see you in wilderness survival class. I am off to have some fun."

With a delighted expression, he waved me goodbye, probably happy that I wouldn't draw as much attention near him. Before Sunny had a chance to start up his plan of acting like a lunatic, I needed to see a few people.

Wandering the room, I observed the Sleepers; every one of them wanted to talk with fellow Sleepers. They wanted to discuss their Nightmares, their future journey into the Dream Realm, and everything in between. They wanted to ask questions. They wanted to be asked questions. They wanted to discuss something important or just chit-chat about stupid things.

Everyone wanted to share because everyone was scared.

Scared of fighting, scared of monsters, scared of death itself.

And the only way to get over that fear was to learn and grow strong enough to kill said creatures. Whether that be from personal experience or the learned experiences of others.

His eyes fell on a particular group of Sleepers. There were five or six of them, gathered around a tall, confident young man.

The young man had brown hair and a gentle, handsome face. His eyes were green, with a hint of friendly humor. His posture, figure, and attentive gaze betrayed someone who had gone through extensive training. Everything about the young man screamed of nobility and strength.

'That must be Caster.'

Caster was a powerful existence, one of the strongest people on the Forgotten Shore. A useful asset too. His most glaring weakness, obviously, was his flaw, which accelerated his aging significantly while he used his Aspect.

Of course, he had a memory capable of reversing or at least making it easier to cope with his flaw.

Noticing my gaze, he nodded his head with a bright smile and supreme confidence. Turning to his friends, he said a few words I couldn't hear in the somewhat loud hall before walking towards me.

"Hello, fellow Sleeper, I am Caster, of the Han Li clan. Your physique is impressive, are you also from a Legacy clan?"

Peering down at him, I smirked a little. This was the elitist kid from the novel who called regular people scum and mongrels. As a regular person in two lives now, how could I allow such pleasantries with an individual such as this? Not all Legacy clan members were elitist pricks, but the ones that were would get what was coming to them eventually.

"Disgusting."

Shock and disbelief painted his face and those around him; the surroundings instantly quieted down. A mocking smile adorned my lips while my gaze became increasingly piercing.

"Oops, did I say that out loud? For what it's worth, I'm not sorry, it was just a minor slip of the tongue. Surely someone as great as you cares little about what a plebeian has to say. See you tomorrow, Carter."