The classroom was spacious and tastefully decorated, far more elegant than Caspian had expected. Wooden shelves lined the walls, filled with old books, maps, preserved plant specimens, bone fragments, strange mineral samples, and carefully labeled Dream Realm artifacts sealed behind glass.
The room smelled faintly of old paper and dried herbs.
Sunny and Alice entered with him, both unusually quiet.
Caspian paused just inside the doorway.
He couldn't see the instructor.
But he could hear him.
Slow heartbeat, slow breathing, still.
Behind the wide wooden desk at the far end of the room, partially hidden by stacked scrolls and books, sat a gloomy-looking old man.
The moment he noticed them, he perked up instantly.
"Three in a row? It must be my lucky day!"
He stood up energetically.
He was a lively old man with messy grey hair, absentminded eyes and a pair of bushy eyebrows that seemed to jump around on their own.
"I'm Awakened Julius. You can call me Teacher Julius. Sit down, sit down! What are your names?"
They obeyed.
"It's Caspian."
"It's Sunless."
"It's Alice."
Julius stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Oh! Caspian! The name of a prince of a fantasy book, before the spell that book was considered a classic you know?"
Caspian smiled faintly.
Interesting.
Then Julius turned to Sunny.
"Ah! What an ominous name you got there. But that is good, very good. After all, we have to deal with a lot of ominous things!"
Sunny shifted awkwardly.
Then Julius faced Alice.
"Alice, a common name, but not for that less important, after all, common things are the things that makes us feel safe."
Alice blinked slowly.
Sunny looked around and asked:
"Uh… I'm sorry, Teacher. Did we come too early?"
"No, no… you're right on time."
"Are other students late?"
The instructor grunted with incredible contempt.
"No one else is coming. Those brutes are only interested in swinging their fists and swords around. Very few are smart like you three and know the true value of knowledge…"
Caspian couldn't help but think of his father.
The same disdain for recklessness.
The same quiet reverence for preparation.
"Say, young ones… why did you choose Wilderness Survival, of all things?"
"My father, awakened Alexander, told me that this class was very important, no matter how strong you are, if you can't survive, strength is nothing."
Julius beamed.
"Ah! Alexander, I remember him, he was a student of mine too, he is good man, very clever, a good advice."
Then he looked at Sunny.
"The Awakened that monitored me during the First Nightmare, Master Jet, had advised me to study it above all things."
"A very wise advice! That Master truly knows what's important… wait. Did you say Jet?"
His eyes widened.
"Soul Reaper Jet? That murderous savage?! Hm. Who would have thought that a barbarian like her would know the value of intricate knowledge."
Caspian's brows lifted slightly.
Soul Reaper Jet.
He knew of her.
Everyone did.
"Teacher, do you know Master Jet?"
Julius leaned closer and carefully looked behind his back before answering:
"Who doesn't know the Soul Reaper? She might not be the most powerful Awakened out there, but she is certainly one of the most feared. That's because her Aspect Abilities disregard flesh and target soul cores directly. Which means that no amount of armor, damage resistance and physical protection can stop them."
Caspian's mind flickered briefly to Stargaze embedded in the crescent of his armor.
Would it protect his soul?
Would it interfere?
He would want to test that, if it didn't placed his life in danger of course.
"The only good thing is that she's young and not likely to become a Saint anytime soon, or even ever. Yes, luckily, there's a very low probability that she'll ever advance."
Sunny frowned.
"Why?"
"Because of her problematic personality, of course! Who would want to help a psychopathic killer become a Saint? You need a team of outstanding companions and a lot of support to attempt conquering the Third Nightmare. Soul Reaper Jet isn't… wait!"
Julius froze.
"Why am I gossiping with you? You're too young to know such things! More than that, it's not in my character to badmouth others behind their backs!"
He coughed.
Then looked at Alice.
"Sorry Alice, my little chat with your classmate took longer than usual. Why do you want to take this class?"
"I simply want to survive at all cost, I need to survive after all."
A flicker of pity crossed Julius' face.
"Poor girl, but you are right, we need to survive...good job."
He clapped his hands.
"Let's get back to your curriculums. What other courses are you children taking?"
"I'm taking this and battle class, with most of my classes being this one."
"None. For the next four weeks, I'll be fully concentrated on Wilderness Survival."
"Same."
Julius stared at them.
Then slowly grinned.
"Wonderful! This is wonderful! You're such astute children! Don't you worry. In four whole weeks, I will make you three immortal…"
---
The next four hours were brutal.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Alice and Sunny looked like their brains were melting.
Caspian absorbed information faster — not because he was smarter, but because he had been prepared. His father had drilled him in survival basics for years.
Still.
Even he struggled.
The curriculum was insane.
Flora classification. Water purification in contaminated zones. Improvised shelter structures depending on Dream Realm biomes. Beast behavioral patterns. Wind direction tracking. Soil reading.
Dead languages.
Dead.
Languages.
Caspian raised an eyebrow at that.
"The Spell already translates, why we need all of this?."
Julius snapped immediately.
*The Spell is not a translator for human intent, is a translator for words! Do you guys think it has the time to express the intricacies of human speech? Let's say you're seeking shelter in a ruin and find an inscription that reads "certain death ahead". There are thirty words for death in the rune language! Just by knowing the runes, you'll be able to deduce what kind of danger there is!"
He was uncompromising.
By sunset, they were mentally destroyed.
They had missed lunch.
Missed dinner.
Caspian returned to his room and slept like stone.
---
The next day Caspian was in a large dojo with his fellow Sleepers who, under the guidance of Instructor Rock, were going through the motions of the introductory combat class.
Today was mainly dedicated to testing their general competency and abilities. After that, the Sleepers were going to be separated into groups based on their level, such as novice, advanced or expert, as well as their weapon of choice. Some would be assigned a personal tutor or paired together.
Currently, Sleepers were taking turns delivering their strongest punches to a wide plate attached to a special measuring machine. After each strike, the machine would display a number corresponding to the Sleeper's physical strength.
In theory, a machine like that was not hard to build. However, considering that many of Sleepers had combat-oriented Aspects that enhanced their might in a variety of ways, it was actually a marvel of engineering and durability.
Their technique and training also affected the final result.
Most people were getting numbers ranging from ten to fourteen. It was considered a good result, something that only the most athletic people could reach. However, a lot of Sleepers, obviously those with enhancing Aspects, were able to achieve a score of fifteen or even sixteen.
Caspian wondered how much he would get, he drank a bit of blood before leaving his room.
It was Nephis turn, Caspian got more serious and focused on her to see how much did she get.
The slender girl approached the machine and, without much preparation, delivered a sudden, crushing blow.
After a short pause, the machine displayed the result: sixteen. Caspian felt a bit disappointed.
After that, only him and Caster remained, the legacy went first.
His fist flew faster than any other sleeper, Caspian was very impressed
The machine trembled and took more time calculating. Finally, two numbers appeared.
Twenty-one.
Everyone gaped at the display, stunned. More than a few admiring looks were thrown at Caster, who simply bowed and took a step back. Instructor Rock smiled.
"Not bad. Caspian, you are the last one, let's see if the top sleeper of this batch can strike hard."
Caspian sighed and placed himself infront of the machine, and hitted it with all his might, a loud crash sound echoed, it took some time, but the results came back.
Thirty-four.
Thirty-four, Caspian didn't thought he would get that much, but not even him knew how much did he expected, after all he had drank a saints blood not so long ago, he had 157 Moonlight shards, whatever that was, and that had to add the qualities of Velpam's core, he was like 2 sleepers in one, 2 very powerful sleepers.
There was silence, then Rock's laught broke it.
"Incredible! Just 1 more point and you would have tied with the current record for sleepers."
What, the record was at 35? What kind of Monster sleeper did that? They were sure it was a sleeper?
"Now, we will move to sparring and evaluate your general level of training. I need two volunteers to begin."
Nephis was the first to step forward and walk to the center of the ring. A couple of seconds later, a tall and extremely muscular Sleeper followed and faced her.
"The rules are simple. Make your opponent's back touch the floor or throw them out of the ring. Use whatever abilities and techniques you find appropriate."
Watching Sleepers fight each other was not only entertaining, but could also provide Caspian with knowledge of their powers.
The tall guy attacked without wasting any time. His muscles bulged, threatening to tear the soft fabric of his white dobok. He advanced like an unstoppable mountain, sending a vicious kick flying.
… A second later, he was lying on the floor with a dumbstruck look on his face. Nephis didn't even change her stance.
Instructor Rock gave her a cheerful look and grinned.
"Next."
What followed could only be described as a massacre. One after another, Nephis managed to defeat almost every single Sleeper present in the dojo. She didn't seem to be faster or stronger than them, but each time someone entered the ring to fight her, they would inevitably end up beaten and thrown to the ground.
Nephis moved with the calm precision of a battle machine. Her technique was clean, graceful and ruthless. No matter what type of attack was thrown at her, she was able to either predict or instantly react to it, then deflect and turn it against the attacker with the minimum amount of effort.
It didn't matter whether her opponent was poor, rich or a Legacy. Everyone would end up dealt with in a matter of seconds.
What's more, through the whole process, the composed expression on her face didn't even change once. It was like Nephis was made out of metal.
A ruthless killing machine, Caspian thought.
Finally, Caster and Caspian were the last two remaining — once again. However, Caspian didn't seem to be perturbed by the miserable failure of every other Sleeper. With a soft smile on his lips, the young man stepped into the ring.
Caster and Nephis faced each other. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and then Caster slightly bowed.
"Lady Nephis. Please excuse me in advance."
What is he going to... Caspian started to think before being shocked.
In a fraction of a second, Caster covered the distance between him and Nephis and delivered a devastating blow. However, despite his astonishing speed, she managed to react in time, slightly turning her body to deflect the strike.
But it still wasn't enough. Although Nephis had managed to avoid being hit squarely in her center of gravity, Caster's fist ended up connecting with her shoulder, sending the girl into a spin.
Not wasting any time, Caster disappeared again. His plan was very simple: while Nephis was still under the impression that the enemy was in front of her, he was going to use his unnatural swiftness to circle around and attack from the back.
The young man appeared behind the oblivious girl, ready to finish the fight with one decisive strike. Just as he planned, she seemed to be preparing to attack in the direction he had been seen just a split second ago. Gratified, Caster shifted his weight, putting it all into his fist.
However, at the last moment, Nephis suddenly changed her stance and threw her elbow back with frightening force.
Caster's eye widened. It was all a feint!
And now that he had committed to a strike, there was no simple way to stop. No matter how fast he was, he was still subject to the laws of inertia. The elbow was approaching his face with a profound feeling of inevitability.
And yet, Caster still managed to avoid it, even if it was just by a hair's breadth. His speed advantage was just too big.
He then proceeded to trip and push Nephis, sending her flying to the ground. However, just before she was about to his the mats, the young man carefully grabbed the collar of her dobok and gently pulled, slowing down the fall and allowing Nephis to land on the floor without any impact.
Lying on her back, the girl blinked a couple of times and looked up at him. The whole altercation lasted no more than two seconds.
Two monsters... Caspian thought to himself.
Instructor Rock grunted and gave Caster a nod. Nephis slowly rose to her feet.
"Last combat, Caspian, your turn."
It was his turn, now he would fight Caster, Caspian entered the arena, and the last battle began.
But i'm also a monster...Caspian said to himself to gain confidence.
Caster started the same way that with Nephis, but Caspian answered fast too, he knew something Caster don't, when he fought earlier, Caster's heart pounded as fast as a car engine in one of those old movies, for other people they wouldn't knew that, and it wouldn't make a difference, but for him and his enhanced hearing? When he used his aspect he was like a lighthouse in his sensorial map.
Seeing his first attempt didn't go as planned, he returned to prepare another attack, this time, he advanced in zigzag, his fist aproached by the left, but suddenly, another fist aproached from the right.
How?! Caspian didn't sensed that, with attacks from both sides, he managed to evade both, barely by lowering his body backwards, but it made him lose a bit of his balance , then he saw it, the mysterious punch from the right it wasn't from Caster, it was from Velpam, the treacherous fiend had been too silent lately, he was preparing an ambush, he couldn't touch him, but he could project himself and confuse him by believing it was an enemy attack.
Caster saw that opening and threw another punch, but Caspian wouldn't fall so easily, he contorted his body, practically having his upper half beetween his legs, and grabbed Caster's ankles, whose fist, which should have aimed for his face, passed above it, Caster tried to retreat once again, but Caspian had him grabbed tightly, and like a spring, his legs aimed up, and his knees closed at both sides of Caster's head, and pulled him back, changing their position on the air, making Caster fall, while Caspian sat on him from the inertia.
Caspian had won.
After instructor Rock anounced his victory, Caspian stood up and tried to give his hand to caster to help him stand up, for a moment, he saw hated and disgust in the legacy's eyes, but it was fastly covered by a mask of sportsmanship and accepted his hand and said.
"You are not the first place for nothing it seems..."
He smiled, but his hand was holding Caspian's a bit more harder that it should be.