After Breakfast, Awner and Sunny made their way toward the Wilderness Survival wing.
Awner wasn't interested in the full curriculum — monster tracking, edible plant identification, improvised shelters. None of that mattered right now.
He only needed three things:
a basic understanding of Nightmare Spell mechanics,
swimming,
and how to build a small boat for Forgotten Shore.
Everything else, he could learn later… or from Sunny.
The classroom was unexpectedly beautiful: wide windows spilling golden light across polished wooden floors, shelves lined with old maps, survival manuals, and odd trinkets from long-forgotten Annulations. It felt more like a scholar's study than a survival dojo.
It was also completely empty.
Sunny paused at the threshold, thinking he had walked into the wrong room.
A sudden rustle came from behind a desk.
"Come in, young men!" a voice chirped.
A lively old man popped up like a startled crow — messy grey hair shooting in every direction, eyes slightly unfocused, eyebrows twitching like they had a life of their own.
"I'm Awakened Julius. You may call me Teacher Julius. Sit, sit! Names?"
Sunny sat obediently.
"It's… Sunless."
Awner gave a nod. "Awner."
Julius clapped his hands. "Excellent! Let's begin!"
Awner barely stayed ten minutes. Julius glanced at his schedule, realized Awner was also signed up for combat later, then shooed him off before he could get dragged into a three-hour lecture on "primitive knot structures."
Awner took the opportunity and slipped away — he had dinner to destroy and other classes to explore.
Sunny, on the other hand, was trapped until sunset.
By the time Julius dismissed him, Sunny felt as though his brain had been roasted over an open fire and served to wolves. His stomach growled mournfully.
Dinner? Lunch? Gone. Absorbed by Julius's endless enthusiasm for "the elegant geometry of raft construction."
Sunny POV
In his room, Sunny let out a long breath and closed his eyes.
His shadow bent obediently and slipped beneath the door.
Instantly, a different world bloomed in Sunny's mind — the hallway, dim and empty, polished floors reflecting faint dorm lights.
The shadow slithered across the ground, hopping from one darkness to another like a mischievous cat. Sunny drifted through conversations of passing Sleepers, picking up bits of gossip, none interesting enough to linger on.
Then the shadow reached the hallway intersection.
Left: elevators.
Right: girls' dormitory.
Sunny froze.
…Oh no.Oh yes.
All sorts of forbidden, sinful, extremely detailed images filled his head.
'No. Absolutely not. That would be depravity. Immorality. Ethical collapse.'
A pause.
'…But the door might be open?'
Sunny groaned internally.
If someone asked him later — and knowing his reputation, someone would — he wanted to be able to say, honestly:
"No, I did NOT spy on a girls' dorm
He clenched his jaw.
'So… I won't. Right? …Right?'
Combat Class
His shadow slipped instead into the combat dojo.
Sleepers were gathered around Instructor Rock — a massive man who looked carved from a mountain rather than born. They were testing raw physical strength.
One by one, students stepped up to punch a reinforced plate attached to a measuring device.
Most results were between ten to fourteen.
Those with enhancing Aspects hit fifteen or sixteen.
Sunny hummed.
'I'd probably hit ten. Maybe eleven if I'm lucky and didn't skip breakfast… oh wait, I did.'
Then Nephis stepped forward.
Her movement was so clean, so practiced, that even Sunny — who barely knew martial arts — recognized the beauty of the technique.
The machine flickered.
16
Sunny frowned.
'That's it? She's a True Name holder! Come on!'
Then Caster approached. Sunny prepared to watch but saw nothing — the punch was too fast.
The machine trembled violently.
21
Caster smirked, clearly pleased.
Sunny rolled his eyes.
'Show-off.'
Awner's Turn
The dojo went quiet as Awner stepped up.
Caster's eyes narrowed.
Nephis tilted her head, studying him openly.
Awner exhaled.
Then punched.
His technique was raw, unrefined… but the power behind it shook the machine.
The device hesitated, calculating.
Then:
21
A quiet gasp rippled through the room.
Caster's smirk faltered.
Instructor Rock's lips curved almost unnoticeably.
"Not bad," he said. Internally: He didn't even use his Aspect.
Sparring Begins
Rock clapped once.
"Next — sparring. Rules are simple: pin your opponent's back to the floor or push them out of the ring. Any technique or ability allowed.
Two volunteers."
Nephis stepped forward immediately, calm, collected, terrifying in her quiet confidence.
A mountain-sized Sleeper followed her. Poor idiot.
What followed wasn't a fight.
It was execution.
Nephis dismantled every opponent — not with brute force, but precision so surgical it bordered on art. The slightest shift of her weight, a perfectly timed counter, and down they went.
Awner watched, fascinated.
He tried to learn from her, but honestly… it looked too effortless to make sense.
'How the hell does that even work? Is she reading their souls? Their thoughts?
Finally, Awner stepped forward.
A wave of whispers rushed through the dojo.
"Two True Names…"
"Is this even allowed?"
"Holy—"
"Who's going to win?"
Sunny subconsciously clenched his seat, rooting for Nephis without knowing why.
Nephis locked her eyes on Awner, sharp and calculating.
Awner slipped into a stance — one he had only practiced a little, but it felt natural.
Rock dropped his hand.
Fight.
Nephis moved first — fast, hawk-like, aiming straight for Awner's face.
Awner's senses expanded, Void Gaze sharpening everything.
He blocked.
Dodged.
Parried.
Her technique was perfect.
His defense — instinctual, raw, but frighteningly quick.
Fists flew. Kicks blurred.
Two minutes felt like twenty.
She could not break him.
He could not catch her.
Awner felt a grin forming.
"I can do this all day," he said before thinking.
Ten seconds later, he was flat on his back, staring at the ceiling.
Nephis stood above him, breathing hard, gaze cold and unreadable… and then she silently stepped away, expression steadying as she prepared for her next opponent — Caster.
Caster vs Nephis
Caster bowed lightly.
"Lady Nephis. Please excuse me in advance."
Then— he vanished.
Sunny nearly choked.
'What—?!'
Caster reappeared mid-strike. Nephis twisted just enough to avoid a fatal blow — but his fist clipped her shoulder, sending her spinning.
Before she recovered, Caster disappeared again, circling behind her, ready to finish the match.
At the last instant, Nephis snapped an elbow backward — a trap, a perfect deceptive counter.
Caster's eyes widened.
She had anticipated him.
He narrowly avoided the blow, tripped her, and — shockingly gently — caught her dobok to soften the fall.
She hit the floor with no impact.
Two seconds.
That was all the fight lasted.
Sunny stared in disbelief.
So that's an Ascended Aspect… that's cheating. Straight up cheating.'
Nephis slowly stood.
Caster bowed again.
And the rest of the Sleepers stared at him like he was a god descending from a higher realm.