Act I
"Ma'am can I ask who you are, and why we are here?" I was a little confused, after I woke up my clothes were stained with something that looked like charcoal dust and smelled like rotting garbage.
That was why I was immediately put through decontamination, it was like a small car wash but for people. I spent an hour there being scrubbed clean by robotic arms, sprayed with all kinds of things and then groomed by said soft rubbery robotic arms and then given fresh clothes from my luggage while the clothes I wore were burnt.
Now we were in a kind of officers cafe on top of the police station, a whole meat pie and a large mug of thick green tea was infront of me. While the very attractive woman in front of me only drank a small cup of thick black coffee.
"Eat, and drink your medicine tea. You have just become a ranker, your body needs to consume much more than before, so it can stabilize." She said simply, her eyes telling me to do what she asked, I nodded and then took a spoonful from the pie.
"Mmm. . . That's good~" I moaned as I ate the pie, it was filled with pork, beef, and cheese. The sauce was honey mustard, I kept eating quickly emptying the plate of pie.
That was when I felt my throat choke full, I went for my tea downing it in deep gulps. I almost threw it up because of how bitter it tasted but in the end I still kept drinking until the entire cup was empty.
"They're already preparing for seconds." She simply said as I saw her own cup was empty.
"Alright I know you have questions, Ranker Daniel Dawn, but before you ask them I should tell you a few things." She spoke with a measured pace as I met her pale green eyes.
"Firstly I am Constable Ellaine Emmer, Silver rank hero of Dawn City, Lady of the Jade sword." She spoke in a very practiced manner.
"That is how you will introduce yourself to other rankers and important civilians in the future Daniel Dawn, it's considered a social insult if you don't, especially in formal settings." Her words made me nod and then thoughtful before I gathered what I would say next.
"I am Daniel Dawn, Iron ranker of Dawn city, Merciful sun." As I spoke the constable Emmer smiled, but then her mouth twitched as she heard my dream name.
"You have a dream name?" She asked, her voice less practice, a new firmness appearing in her tone. It made my heart grow heavy as I saw her green eyes.
"Yes, the dream gave me the name Merciful sun." There was a moment of odd silence but then it was broken as our meal and drink was refreshed, this time constable Emmer was given a meat pie much bigger than my own.
"Do not share your dream name this easily for now, only do so when you reach bronze rank and be recognized as a city hero or else you would not have an easy time." She advised before she started eating her own pie, within minutes it was gone.
"Within the day you will be enrolled at Dawn academy, and will be prepared until you take your Winter challenge." She paused as she took a sip of her coffee.
"Once you enter the Academy, you will be questioned about your experiences in the first dream challenge and after that they will give you access to a personal therapist." There was another pause, I waited but after she took another sip and didn't talk again I realized it was my time to ask my questions.
"Why are you advising me, Constable Emmer? I can guess you're from one of the Governal offices, but I didn't know they did things like these for new rankers." I did my research about the city of course, but even so most information was restricted. Even the lessons in the equivalent of high school in this world only focused on general academics, survival skills and basic combat.
Much like in my own world they didn't teach students much about social studies especially on the basics of how the city actually works. I always thought those were academy lessons so I didn't think about them too much but now, it made me curious if my first impressions of this world were wrong and that this world was much more of a dystopia than my last world was.
"They do, I am a constable from the Dawn City Ranker Affairs Office, or DCAO. It is our job to handle things relating to rankers, I was assigned to be your handler and help you transition from a civilian into a ranker and eventually a hero. . . or kill you, if you failed your first challenge." She paused again as I looked at her in shock.
"I understand, thank you for coming and staying." I told her with a smile, I'm glad she came, I honestly wouldn't have minded dying, but if I became some kind of Horror and started killing everyone in that room? I don't think I would forgiven myself.
"Ha! I spent almost a year in the dream challenge, I can't imagine. . ." Cough* Cough* Constable Emmer started coughing as she sipped and listened to me. Her eyes looked sharp as she looked at me.
"You've been asleep for only one day, Ranker Daniel Dawn. I only arrived at this peace officer station three hours before you woke up." I looked at her, why is she lying? I clearly spent almost a year in the Dream challenge. She frowned as I looked at her, but then she sighed before doing something to her caller and then a holographic screen appeared infront of me.
"Look here this is a calendar, what do you see?" I looked at the screen she showed me and saw that the date was March 4, in the year of 2226 AD.
"How?!" My thoughts escaped my mind as I said them outloud. I left the orphanage on March 3 in the late morning, so all that time I only slept a lot more than I usually do. I looked at the time and it was 2:36 AM, then I realized something and bowed.
"I'm so sorry ma'am! You must have been sleeping when you got called to. . ." My words stopped making sound for some reason, and then I looked at my throat trying to scream but nothing came out.
"It is fine, do not worry about me Ranker Daniel Dawn, now I will put this away if you promise to be quiet and only answer if I ask you something, and keep your questions short." Constable Emmer spoke, her words sounded clear as every noise around us disappeared. She was holding a small rusty iron bell, I gave her a nod which made her smile as the bell disappeared.
After that we spoke some more, she explained to me what I needed to do and where I can get more help while I'm in the academy and then she asked about my first Dream challenge, my Aspects and Arcana after which she gave me advice about them and promised me that she would look for people that knew more about them.
"Only tell your Virtue to people you trust Ranker Daniel Dawn, it is after all the weakness of a Ranker and not everyone can be trusted with your weakness. That also applies to the ability you gained from your dream name, it is best for you to be the only one that truly knows about it." Those were her last advice before she led me to her armoured car and then it drove us to Dawn Academy.
Act II
"From what you told me, you fought with a spear and a bow?" Constable Emmer asked as we sat inside her car, there was traffic and it wasn't like we were both in a hurry so we didn't use the tunnel highways or the sky roads.
"Yes, but mostly the bow, I only fought two Horror's in the Dream challenge and both times I had people covering for me as I pelted the Horrors with arrows especially this one." I explained as an ivory tipped arrow appeared on top of my hand, it felt much lighter than before. I wonder if that's because I'm a Ranker now.
She looked at me and then the arrow and then nodded, she motioned for me to disperse the dream essence and I did.
"Valley of evil. . . This is just a guess, but I think the reason you had such a high evaluation is because you ended the threat to the valley before it became a problem." I gave her a confused look, what was she saying? As if being able to hear my thoughts she smiled and continued.
"You stumbled on an Iron rank warrior while she was struggling with an iron rank Horror. You saved her, if you weren't there she would have either died or been too wounded to continue her warrior's training." I nodded at Constable Emmer's words. I didn't like them but continued to listen.
"Which means she would not have found that young Bronze horror, and from the description you've told me about that Great evil hungry spirit they're probably infection type Horrors. If you did not kill that Bronze Horror and it kept hunting during winter, by spring you would have been forced to fight a horde of iron rank horrors." I felt faint at her words slumping down on my chair as I felt my strength leave me.
If what Constable Emmer said was true, I got really lucky. I was one mistake or more likely one hunting stroll away from not being able to wake up from my first Dream challenge. . . No, I might have even died, especially because that damn bear might have been living near the shelter before Kafla found it.
"Ha! You survived Ranker Daniel Dawn, don't think about it too much now, just be happy you're alive and you did not become a horror." With that a quiet appeared, especially as a call came in for her that she needed to answer. I looked at the folder in my hand and continued to read it.
I was hoping I could find some information about my parents and sister, but there was nothing about them in my file, I couldn't even find their names. Because for some reason I forgot their names, even before I gained back my memories from my past life.
Also there were a lot of redacted sections in the file, I wonder if there's a full file somewhere that I can get. Maybe I can try the registry office, still it was odd that the file didn't mention my family name or an address.
"Yes. . . Yes, no, Maybe, I'll decide once he completes his winter sleep." After those words the phone call ended, I was looking at Constable Emmer she noticed and then motioned for me to speak.
"I want to ask, can you help me look for my family?" I asked, as she looked at the folder I was holding, she frowned and then after a moment of thinking she nodded.
"I would assume that's your personal file, and that your orphanage director gave it to you. I'll see what I can do, but it's better for you to forget about your biological family." That sounded really bad, I felt my chair was less comfortable from her words.
"I'm not being callous Ranker Daniel Dawn, there's a reason why the City Registry Office would redact the files they give orphanage directors." She looked into my eyes, as if she was measuring something or atleast trying to see something, but then she gave a tired breath.
"In your case it's probably just another bureaucratic mistake, they happen more often than everyone in the city administration wants to admit." She said lightly as she sent a message to someone as I saw her typing on her caller.
"Let's see your 15, sent to Lady Rose Orphanage at the age of 8. . . What was your original hair color, eye color and blood type?" She asked, making me think, as it was hard trying to remember my blood type.
"I had brown hair, blue eyes and I think O positive." She nodded, typed a few more things and then stayed quiet, I took the hint and stopped talking. In the end another call came and she told me she had an office friend looking for the information I wanted.
Act III
"I'll check on you once a week for the rest of this month. After that I would only visit whenever I can. . . Be good, and try to become stronger, the city always needs more heroes." That was Constable Emmer's last words as she drove off, I was left alone infront of a large red painted metal gate.
I turned around and saw someone waving at me, I approached the man. He was wearing a white security uniform with gold and red accents. He was holding one of those heavy rifles that can fire .90 cal bludgeon bullets.
"Hello ranker Daniel Dawn! Welcome to Dawn academy, here's your brochure, just read it and it'll explain most of what you need to do next." He said as he handed me a rather large folded piece of paper, before speaking to a mic on his chest. After that a doorway opened inside the gate, big enough to let one person in and out.
I looked at the guard, he nodded and then motioned me forward so I did. Going through the intimidating gate, and as I walked I realized how thick the gate was. As it took me more than a minute to pass through a pure segmented red painted steel hallway inside the gate.
Thud* I looked back and saw the small entrance was gone, with no indication of the small entrance existing but a few clear lines. It made me smile as I turned around and looked at the Academy, and I was not disappointed.
"I guess it's university life for me again." I said to myself as I felt the weight of my luggage, and then looked at the brochure in my other hand. I guess I need to go to the guidance office first?