The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual. Normally, I'm a late sleeper and an even later riser, but since I went to bed early yesterday, getting up wasn't much of a problem.
Yesterday's outburst already felt distant. My head was clearer and my chest was lighter now.
After showering and getting ready, I headed to the dining hall. It was crowded, but no one paid me any attention, which suited me just fine. I wasn't much of a breakfast person anyway. Mornings and heavy meals never went well together, and I wasn't that hungry.
I grabbed a small plate of food and turned to find a seat.
'Damn. I should've expected this.'
The only empty spot left was across from Cassie. A social worker stood beside her.
With no real choice, I walked over and sat down.
While my brain usually went into overdrive in situations like this — which for most people like me would end in visible awkwardness — I'd trained myself well enough to never let it show. I'd rather deal with it internally than let people see me being anxious or weird.
Sitting with her wasn't ideal, but it wasn't unbearable either.
I started eating quietly, focusing on my plate. That's when someone's voice broke through the background noise.
"Hey, mind if I sit here? It's the only empty seat."
Sunny stood there, tray in hand.
"Not really," I replied and quickly went back to eating.
This was expected. In canon, both he and Cassie were supposed to sit together in silence. I was just the extra here.
He sat beside me, and I chewed in silence, thinking about how quickly that little exchange had gone. My mind wandered to Cassie again. She'd probably already seen my attributes.
'I wonder what she thinks about them…' It really didn't matter much, but i was a little curious.
A sudden commotion pulled me out of my thoughts.
I already knew what it was, but still turned to look. Most of the Sleepers were gathered around the big screen — the rankings had been posted, from weakest to strongest.
I scanned from the bottom up and found my name near the very end.
'Of course. Fucking last place.'
Well, technically not last — Cassie didn't really count as a participant. So in practice, yeah. Last.
I wasn't someone who liked attention, but I did like to show off my abilities. Who didn't enjoy being admired, even a little? But with the state I was in yesterday, and without any reason to reveal too much about my abilities, I'd basically lost my chance to rank high — maybe even first or second.
That felt like a wasted opportunity.
Holding back always sounded cool in stories but I was definitely not the kind of person who could do that.
The commotion grew louder. Naturally, it was because of Nephis. She'd ranked first… And she had a true name too.
Everyone started whispering about it.
"A Sleeper with a True Name? That's impossible!"
"It's technically possible. Smile of Heaven got hers in the First Nightmare, I think. But still…"
"Maybe she lied in the interview?"
"Are you stupid? If it was that easy to fool the administrators, that crazy pervert from yesterday would've been in first place instead!"
I couldn't help but laugh quietly at that last comment. Unfortunately, it slipped out loud enough to be noticed.
'Fuck.'
Cassie looked up at me. Since I was sitting right across from her, she was basically staring into my face now — well, "staring" might be an exaggeration, but still.
Sunny gave me a quick glance too, then turned away.
'Yeah… he's probably annoyed now, isn't he?'
After a few moments, Caster approached Nephis and started talking to her.
Their conversation went pretty much as expected — him trying to act nice and confident, and her making it awkward.
I could relate.
At least I knew how to respond properly, though.
Probably.
___
I'd applied for Wilderness Survival and Combat classes. Best approach, all things considered.
My Wilderness Survival class was first, so after breakfast I got up and headed there. Sunny was supposed to come too, but since I'd eaten earlier, I had a few extra minutes. I reached the classroom and stepped inside.
An old man sat behind a wide wooden desk. According to the novel he was supposed to be Professor Julius.
I was still standing by the door when the professor perked up at my entrance.
"Come in, young man!" he called.
"I'm Awakened Julius — though you can just call me Teacher Julius. Sit, sit! Don't just stand there gawking. What's your name?"
His energy caught me a little off guard, but I did as told and took a seat.
"Talion," I said.
"Talion, huh? Good name." He nodded approvingly before continuing. "So tell me, why'd you pick Wilderness Survival? Not the most popular course, you know. Most students prefer hitting things with swords over learning how to not starve to death."
Was he… annoyed about that last part?
Ofcourse he was.
"The environment can be as deadly as Nightmare creatures," I said. "I want to increase my chances of survival."
I could've given a flashier answer, but I kept it safe. It was probably what he wanted to hear anyway.
That earned a wide grin. "Now that's the right mindset! Smart boy. You're sharper than most of your batch. Don't worry, Sleeper Talion — by the end of these four weeks, I'll make you damn near immortal."
'A four-week crash course on immortality? Yeah, I'm sure Sun Wukong would like to subscribe to your newsletter, Prof.'
"Uh—thank you?" I managed. What else was I supposed to say?
He just laughed heartily. "Don't look so stiff, boy. You'll get used to my sense of humor. So—what other classes did you take?"
"Combat," I answered.
Julius gave a satisfied nod. "Good. Learn to survive and to fight."
Sunny showed up a few minutes later and got the same breezy introduction. Class started after that.
The study session lasted a few hours and I paid close attention. Fortunate for me, I'm decent at memorizing from a good teacher. I didn't dare throw Julius too many questions—Sunny was nearby and the man seemed patient but strict—but I had no real doubts about the material.
After a while it was time for Combat. I left Julius's room and changed into my dobok. Sunless (unfortunately or not) was stuck with Professor… I didn't know how long he'd be kept.
But since Sunny had used his aspect to spy on the combact class in canon, He would probably be free in like half an hour or so aswell.
The Combat classroom was tense. I stayed toward the back. Awakened Rock was our instructor. After his short intro, it was time to test everyone's strength.
Students took turns punching a metal plate while scores popped on a screen. The average scores hovered around 9–12; a few hit 16 thanks to enhancing Aspects. I wondered where I'd fall—Titan's Corpus had beefed up my physique, after all.
This was the moment to use Aesthete properly. I analyzed each student's stance and movement, paying particular attention to the high-scorers.
With Aesthete active, watching felt like observing a slow-motion film, I could analyze every detail exceptionally well. It didn't make me a fighter by itself, but it let me dissect actions and understand how to replicate them.
Then Nephis went up. She didn't take much time to prepare; she simply launched a clean strike and scored a 16.
'Is Sunny spying on us right now, then?'
In canon this was around the time Sunny got here, so he must be watching right now.
As more students tested, my turn crept closer. Nerves and excitement warred in my chest.
'What will I get?' I imagined the scene where I'm some unknown weakling and suddenly hit a 17 or 18. The image of surprised faces was stupidly satisfying.
Caster followed after Nephis, and got a score of 21. That got everyone gasping and being surprised.
Even Teacher Rock smiled.
After that a few more sleepers went and then it was finally my turn.
My chest tightened, but I ignored it. Walking from the back to the machine felt like stepping into a spotlight I didn't want. People watched—sort of. Attention was diffuse, like everyone was listening but not really. That should have been predictable though, I was second last in the rankings so no one really paid much attention to me.
I gave myself a quick mental pep-talk—something along the lines of "You can do this," or "Fuck it, punch hard and leave," or even "Show them how cool you are." Then I decided to copy Nephis's style. She was the best at hand-to-hand among the Sleepers, so it was an obvious choice.
My fist blurred. It shot through the air and hit the plate with a force and speed that surprised me—maybe on par with Caster's, maybe more. I couldn't tell. Time stretched for a fraction of a second.
And then the score came.
Hehe, a cliff hanger! What score do you think he got?
Not much to say right now so, see you in the next chapter!