'Is this heaven?' I thought.
Right now, I was taking a hot shower in the police station. Roy had sent me here to clean up, just like Jet did with Sunny.
While the water poured over me, I took a moment to check my body.
I was pretty thin. From what I'd gathered, I was an outskirter too, so that kind of made sense.
Still, at least I wasn't as short as Sunny.
My genes seemed to have gone into overdrive in this body because I was taller here than I'd ever been in my old world. Around six feet… maybe even more. That was just a guess though — I wasn't exactly measuring myself right now.
My thoughts drifted back to my runes.
I had four attributes.
The first one was purely for convenience: [Scholar's Vision] — it let me see the enchantments and tiers of the memories I possessed. At least it was something that made my life easier.
The next was [Crimson Ally], which allowed me to drink blood to heal faster, satisfy hunger, thirst, and fatigue. It sounded absolutely disgusting, But it was very useful so i wasn't complaining much.
Then came the best ones: [Titan's Corpus] and [Aesthete].
Titan's Corpus was pretty self-explanatory — it made my body much stronger than a normal human's. Probably the reason I'd been feeling so much stronger since waking up.
Aesthete, on the other hand, was terrifying in its own way. It let me analyze and learn fighting styles at a ridiculous level. With training, I could self-learn someone's combat style just by observing. Pretty convenient… though it still required actual practice to pull off.
All in all, my attributes were good. I was satisfied with them.
Then came my flaw.
It was simple: all the physical pain I felt was tripled.
Bad flaw for someone like me, but it could've been worse.
Still, coming from a modern, pampered life, I knew it was going to be hard. Thinking I could somehow survive without ever feeling pain was just delusional. This was Shadow Slave. I'd be heading into the Dream Realm soon.
Pain was inevitable.
I sighed.
That was just an act, though. Inside, I was scared shitless.
A useless, cowardly, weak person like me had no chance of surviving in this world. And I knew it.
Realizing I was wasting too much water, I turned off the tap and sighed again.
This kind of self-trashing talk was normal for me. It had gotten so common my brain just shrugged it off.
"Yeah, you're going to say this shit to yourself every other day," it would say. "What should I do about it? Start caring?"
'I miss my headphones.'
I didn't like being alone with my thoughts.
People online, monks, whatever — they all said you should sit alone with your thoughts to "understand yourself." I already did that, even when I wasn't alone. Doing it while being alone just made me more nervous about the future.
Caught in that cycle of thinking, I almost forgot about the troubles related to that fucking realm.
I dried myself off with a towel. My eyes landed on the mirror in front of me.
The person staring back wasn't how I remembered myself. Dark brown hair. A sharp jawline. Bone structure less chunky than before. My skin was pale — maybe even as pale as Sunny or Jet.
This guy sure was hot.
___
Wearing a police-issued tracksuit, I stepped out of the shower and headed for the cafeteria.
Roy was already there, a plate of food in front of him.
I sat down, and he offered me the plate.
I was hungry and curious about how it actually tasted, so I dug in.
While I ate, Roy just watched me. When I was almost done, he finally spoke.
"Alright. As per protocol, I'm supposed to tell you a few things. Concerning your Nightmare, you can receive free psychological counseling if you want. Are you interested?"
I paused mid-bite and said, "No." What would they even do? I could probably give myself counseling just by lying in bed.
In the story, Jet had asked Sunny about his experiences, supposedly to be nice. Roy, on the other hand, looked chill enough, but he followed the protocol minimally and moved on. What he said was far less than what Jet had mentioned, though both covered the same basics. Didn't really matter — I already knew all this stuff, and it was better if it ended quickly.
"Alright. Since I've read your file, the additional stuff regarding your family doesn't really apply to you. The next thing is for you to decide how you'll prepare for the Dream Realm. There isn't much time left." He paused, then went on.
"You can prepare on your own, or not prepare at all — it's your choice. As a Sleeper, you're entitled to enroll in the Awakened Academy. You'll be provided with free food, lodging, and prep classes there. I recommend going, even if it's late in the year. It's still better than nothing. Do you understand everything so far?"
"Yeah," I replied.
After confirming I'd attend the Academy, he took me there via his PTV.
We didn't talk much during the trip, though he did wish me "good luck" before leaving.
Now, I was standing in front of the Academy gate. I was alone.
The gate opened, and a thick sheet of metal descended, forming a long bridge.
I was led into a large hall, where maybe a hundred students were gathered, talking among themselves.
I stopped at the doorway.
'Fuck, this is scary,' I thought. And for good reason. Hundreds of people, and I was about to walk in alone. Awkward didn't even begin to cover it.
I'd consider myself socially anxious. I didn't know what to talk about with strangers, and I hated talking about myself with anyone I wasn't close to.
I decided I would enter the room, no matter what, after counting to five.
5…
4…
3…
2…
1…
Without thinking further, I opened the door and stepped in.
A few students glanced at me, curious who had entered, but they quickly lost interest.
Before looking for people I recognized, which were only 4, I decided to find a secluded corner first.
Once I spotted a quiet spot in the corner, I stood there and scanned the room.
And then I saw him… Sunless the Goat, standing in all his short but heavy glory.
He was tiny, but he seemed to be watching Caster's group.
'So this is that scene, huh?'
As Sunny approached Caster's group, I spotted Nephis standing all alone, However ignoring her.
From what I remembered, Cassei was sitting off in a secluded corner by herself.
So that's where I looked. It didn't take long to find her — especially since I already knew exactly how she looked.
And honestly, The descriptions hadn't done her justice. She was beautiful. Way more than any actress I'd ever seen.
Maybe that was personal bias. Toward her, specifically. Who knew?
Like most people, I used to hate her at first — the whole betraying Sunny for Nephis thing. But I eventually grew fond of her character… or something close to it.
Though now that I was actually here, in this world, I don't really think I have any reason to idealize them anymore. They weren't characters I could just spectate from afar — they were real, like me.
I debated whether to approach her or not, but she was just… sitting there. Menacingly.
'Should I go talk to her?' I thought, anxiety creeping in.
But then a thought struck — why should I?
Did I even need to get close to the main cohort? If yes, then why?
Sure, an obvious advantage would be participating in the second Nightmare with them — that would definitely make survival easier. But did I really want to follow them around like a dog?
Even more importantly — was I even capable of doing that?
It was always easier for me to talk to people when they approached first. That way, I only had to respond or ask a few questions back — no pressure to carry the conversation. The opposite was pure hell though.
Maybe I should just sit nearby. She'd notice me or something.
After thinking about it for a while, I realized I wasn't cut out for that either. The thought alone made me feel awkward… and scared.
And before I could do anything anyway, Sunny went and sat in front of her. So that was that.
I sighed inwardly and decided to just stay in my corner.
Most of the young people were already in groups, chatting and laughing. Predictable — in a place like this, having allies was a survival advantage.
Still, watching them, I suddenly felt… out of place.
Even though the hall was full of people, if you looked closely, I was the only one standing completely alone.
Knowingly, I became hyper-aware of myself. Was I standing weirdly? Did I look nervous?
I tried to look relaxed — straight posture, deep breaths, all that stuff I'd read online. "Recognize your emotions," "Stand tall," "Project confidence."
After a few minutes of waiting, a tall man in a dark-blue uniform appeared on stage.
"I am Awakened Rock. Sleepers, welcome to the Academy."
Cliché name, I thought.
He was tall — and, just like Sunny had described, built like a bear.
The room went silent. Everyone was paying attention now.
While writing this chapter i was wondering if you found Talion's persnality a little weird/boring in a way? Or the most obvious one, Simply annoying. I understand if you do, There isn't really enough stuff for you to understand it properly for now so it might come off as typical neet who doesn't know how to talk to girls and others right? Well maybe you should atleast read all of academy arc to atleast understand a little more? (Praying emoji) Thats just a suggestion though, take it as you would.
See you in the next chapter. Hopefully.