Raven sighed and asked, "Ma'am Lyra, are there sponsorships for people like me?"
Lyra gave him a weird look. "Why do you need sponsors?"
Raven replied, feeling embarrassed, "For my circumstances."
She smiled. "Don't worry, because the government got you. First of all, you are free to do what you want. No one is forcing you to make a certain decision. That is to say, you can choose to prepare on your own, or not prepare at all. Party until the lights go out."
He wasn't familiar with partying in this world; even if he wanted to, he didn't have money to party. Raven was broke, so he crossed out this option in his mind.
Lyra continued, "However, I would advise against that. As a Stargazer, you are also entitled to enroll in the Orbiter Academy. You'll be provided with food, lodging, and a wide choice of preparatory classes. This late into the year, you won't be able to learn a lot, but it's better than nothing."
She was silent for a few seconds, then added, "More importantly, you will get acquainted with most of the people who will enter the planets in the Singularity Realm with you. Some of them might arrive on the same planet as you and become your companions for life."
'And some may end up trying to end that life once we're inside the planet,' Raven added, reading between the lines of what Ma'am Lyra had said.
"So, what do you say? Do you want me to take you to the Academy?"
Raven thought about it. Entering the academy would solve his problems right now, and he didn't have any other options to consider either, because he was simply broke.
'I will be able to learn more in the academy,' he thought.
He looked down at the empty tray and made a decision. "Yes, I want to go to the Academy."
After some time had passed, Raven was sitting in the passenger seat of Ma'am Lyra's PTV. It was just like a car from his world, but it didn't have wheels. Lyra told him that it used magnetism to move. He would have been impressed by this world's technology if there weren't monsters, air pollution, and uninhabitable areas. Alas, he didn't care for the advanced tech.
He was looking out of the PTV window. It was nighttime, and there were some PTVs on the road going in the same direction. He looked towards the sky, where the black dot moon hung, creating a serene night.
Raven, without turning his head from the window, asked Lyra, who was focused on the road. "How did the black dot appear on the moon?"
Lyra replied, "It appeared 127 years ago along with the Orbits."
She continued, her gaze on the road, "You will find out about this anyway, so I'll tell you. That corruption also comes from forbidden knowledge. So, if you know about things you aren't supposed to know about, you will get corrupted by just knowing about it."
'So I will get corrupted just by knowing about why the black dot appeared,' he thought, reading between the lines.
Raven said, "Are there ways to erase memories?"
"Abilities like that are rare, but they do exist, and if one knows about things they shouldn't know about, then it's already too late depending on the corruption level. Their brains might explode or they might mutate into a monster right away," Lyra replied.
'I have to control my curiosity then; this will be hard,' he thought.
Lyra stole a glance at him and continued, "Since we both come from the slums, I'll give you some advice that I myself needed back when I was a Stargazer. Whether you listen to me or not is your business."
Raven turned his head, waiting.
"First: once you're registered in the Academy, they'll offer you psychological counseling again. There will also be a valuable reward for sharing your experiences in the Trial and the details of your Appraisal. You'll be able to receive a Neula shard, maybe even several of them."
He grew wary. "Are you trying to convince me to get counseling again?"
Lyra shook her head. "No. I'm telling you to refuse."
Surprised, Raven raised his eyebrows. "Why?"
There was a pause before she answered, "You're too green to understand, but out there in the Singularity Realm, Orbit Creatures are not the only danger. Once you grow powerful enough, humans will become an equal threat. The less they know about your Prism, the better."
'As expected,' he thought.
"The easiest way to defeat a powerful Orbiter is to use their limitation against them. That's why young fools in the Academy are encouraged in various ways to share the details of their Abilities. I'm not saying that the WOA will leak your information, but once two people know a secret, it's no longer a secret. And there are a lot of people working for the WOA."
'That makes sense,' Raven thought.
"Thank you, Ma'am Lyra."
She gave him a nod.
"Second, there will be a lot of courses to choose from. All types of combat training, deep dives into Orbit Creature categories and vulnerabilities, basics of various types of sorcery, artifact study, and so on."
Raven gulped. He had been agonizing over what weapon to choose and train in. It had to be one that worked with his abilities, and five weeks was not enough to master a weapon, but at least he would have a basic understanding.
"Disregard all of that. The only course you have time to attend is the Wilderness Survival course."
He frowned. "Why?"
Lyra glanced at him. ""It's different for kids who grew up in the city; they learn a lot of useful stuff in school. We don't have that background, though, do we? What was the biggest threat to your life during the Trial?"
Raven thought about it. On the surface, the most dangerous thing he faced was the Desert Reaper, followed by the guard... Leo's knight. But actually, what almost killed him in the end was... "The heat."
Lyra smiled. "Clever. You've only learned to survive in the city, but the planets in the Singularity Realm are almost entirely wilderness, some are even uninhabitable. Do you know how to make a fire? How to procure food? How to find safe areas in uninhabitable planets? No, fighting monsters is important, but it'll be useless if you die of hunger or exposure to the elements. Trust me. I've learned it the hard way."
Raven nodded. It was so obvious, yet he never even thought about these seemingly simple things. His past habits and experience blinded him; even in the trial, the guard took care of making fire, cooking food, and spotting safe areas.
Human brains were like that: once accustomed to a certain way of living, it was hard to see past the already familiar routines. It was lazy thinking at its worst.
At that point, Ma'am Lyra had stopped the PTV and opened the door, getting out. Raven followed her and was momentarily stunned, staring at the colossal metallic gates in front of them.
This was... the famous Orbiter Academy.