Alista and Fors were seated in the Academy canteen, enjoying the morning meal—a notable upgrade from their previous rations.
"Finally, good food after a long time," Fors sighed contentedly, spearing a piece of fruit.
Alista smiled. "Yeah, finally no rat meat." He lowered his voice. "Are you planning to tell your True Name?"
"Nope," Fors replied immediately. "You?"
"Yeah, I am planning on telling it," Alista confessed.
Fors looked at him, surprised. "Why are you telling it?"
He looked at her, his expression carrying a new layer of imperial confidence, a direct byproduct of his [Black Emperor] Aspect. "Well, an Emperor should have followers, right?"
Fors laughed, shaking her head. "Well, be careful about the pressure that name brings."
Alista nodded, but his attention was drawn away. Artemis—the Valor Clan princess—was approaching them. She walked straight to their table and sat down opposite them.
Fors looked confused and wary. "Who… are… you?"
Before Artemis could speak, Alista smoothly introduced her on her behalf, referencing her name and lineage.
Fors's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but she quickly recovered. "Well, I am Fors, his… long-time friend."
Artemis laughed, a bright, genuine sound. "Well, you guys are good."
They finished their meal with the new, intriguing addition. The moment they were done, Fors dragged Alista to a secluded corner of the hall.
"What the hell is going on?" Fors demanded, her voice low and sharp.
"What are you speaking about?" Alista asked innocently.
Fors leaned in. "In the Novel, there is no Madoc's daughter."
Alista's eyes widened, finally realizing the depth of the anomaly. "Maybe she got killed during the Solstice and was never mentioned?"
"Or," Fors countered grimly, "the Plot has changed so much that Madoc's daughter is now alive and a major player. By the way, are you going to ask her about it?"
Alista threw his hands up. "How the hell should I ask that? Like, 'How are you born when you weren't supposed to exist?' ."
"That is your… business," Fors said dismissively.
"So, how are you helping me?" Alista asked, knowing her track record.
"Well, I will not disturb you," Fors said with a small, unhelpful smile, and promptly left.
Alista sighed, knowing Fors too well. Her idea of not disturbing him was simply waiting for the inevitable chaos to unfold.
Later that day, Alista was summoned to an office for his assessment. He was sitting across from a familiar face: a blond woman wearing a ponytail, who introduced herself as Clara, the Awakened officer responsible for monitoring him.
After the introduction, Clara got straight to business. "Would you mind telling me about the type of Aspect Ability you received—is it classified as combat, sorcery, or utility?"
"It kind of relates to Combat," Alista replied vaguely.
Clara raised an eyebrow. "Kind of…"
"It is hard to classify," Alista insisted, not wanting to reveal the full complexity of [Bribe] or the [Black Emperor] Aspect. The conversation continued with generic questions until Clara paused.
"Is there any other thing you would like to say?"
Alista used the opportunity he had planned for. "Yeah. I received a True Name."
Clara, hearing this, paused dramatically, her pen hovering over the paper. "Really?"
Alista nodded.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice now tight with professional curiosity.
"Blood Emperor."
Clara meticulously noted it down. As Alista left, she gave him a parting, somber warning. "It seems you will be facing hardships."
Alista went straight to his room and collapsed onto the bed, enjoying the luxury of the provided comforts, letting the new identity sink in.
Alista woke up early the next morning. He washed up, bursting with energy, and hurried to get breakfast.
The cafeteria was already crowded. After filling his plate with a large amount of delicious food, he sat down at his usual corner table. Soon after, Fors and Artemis joined him. Alista watched as the two girls chatted easily, like old friends. He smiled inwardly—Fors was a social butterfly when she wanted to be, even if she claimed she was "just observing."
"You came early, as usual," Fors said, teasing him about his newfound energy.
Alista nodded.
Artemis looked around the bustling room. "Did you see your rankings?"
Alista and Fors replied simultaneously, "Not yet."
'I told them my True Name,' Alista thought. 'Let's see what my rank is now.' Curious, he moved his gaze up to the large screen displaying the Academy's newest Sleepers.
The Sleepers in the canteen were already restless.
"How… how can this be?!"
"I'm not seeing things, right?"
"What kind of a monster is he?!"
"Where are these guys coming from?"
Alista looked up and saw the source of the commotion. On the screen, a few lines of the ranking list were visible:
Name: Alista Tudor
True Name: Blood Emperor
Name: Nephis
True Name: Changing Star
Name: Artemis
Name: Caster ...
Alista scanned the screen. "It seems I have been ranked No. 1," he stated calmly.
Fors and Artemis immediately confirmed the ranking. Artemis's jaw dropped for a moment. She looked at Alista with undisguised scrutiny. "You received a True Name on your First Nightmare. It seems you are truly special."
Alista smiled at her, but he noticed something was off—she was sizing him up, calculating his worth and threat level. He then felt the intense stares of others, especially the glares of Sunny, whose curses Alista could almost hear, and the cold, mild glances from the autistic blowtorch, Nephis.
Alista focused on one thought: 'Act Cool, Act Cool…'
He looked at Fors. "Did you check yours?"
"Exactly middle," Fors confirmed, shrugging.
Artemis spoke, her calculating look softening slightly. "Fors said you and her are from the outskirts, right? This is still a stellar achievement."
After parting ways, Fors and Alista walked toward their Wilderness Survival Class.
Suddenly, Fors facepalmed herself. "Oops, we forgot about one thing!"
"What is it?" Alista asked.
"That idiot also joins this class from today," Fors muttered, referring to Sunny. Alista remembered: Sunny was also joining the Wilderness Survival class starting that day.
Artemis immediately went inside a private room and made a call using a secured communicator.
The voice that answered the call was male and authoritative. "Artemis, did you spot the target?"
"Yes, Morgan," Artemis reported. "He even has a True Name from the first Nightmare." Artemis quickly recalled everything about Alista Tudor.
Morgan was stunned into momentary silence. "Monitor him as much as possible. If he proves to be a threat, kill him. But first, make absolutely sure how he is related to the current issue that is going on in the Bastion."
Artemis confirmed the orders and cut the call. She looked out the window, her blue eyes distant.
"What are you, exactly?" she whispered to herself.
=======
Kindly give reviews