Torren was tired. he's been tired for about 4 days now, a lot from staying awake 4 days but there was another, more sinister kind of tired lurking beneath: The Spell.
He was both terrified and relieved 4 days ago when the unnatural desire to sleep kicked in and he realized, like many other youths around this time, that he was a carrier of a nightmare seed, the beginning of the path of ascension (the good part), and incidentally also the beginning of nearly nonstop battle with nightmare creatures (bad).
But 4 days ago wasn't when Torren first entered this wonderful world, and no it wasn't 17 years ago either. It was 4 months ago.
'nonononononoNONONONONO' is what he remembers his first thought being after the reality set in, to him this had to be some sort of horrible nightmare, of all places to go to after death, it had to be Shadow Slave? might as well jump off a building now, its a better death than any nightmare creature will give you: stabbing, mind enslavement, starvation, freezing, burning, soul damage. Compared to those options a fall didn't seem so bad in comparison.
But besides the fact that there were no buildings tall enough to fulfil his early thoughts, there was another reason he decided to stay in this world. A mix between fear of death and his stupid determination.
'its not all bad' he thought 'I can think of at least two other worlds that are worse than this so that's.. something. Besides if you take out the nightmare creatures, unfairness of the spell, immanent destruction of the waking world, brewing war between god like humans... ok you know what I'm going to stop thinking about this.'
'Lets take a step back from the bad and think about the good. Background isn't bad, dead parents is a bummer but that means less connection to lose to the spell, and I even inherited this nice house'
Since transmigrating to this world Torren had learn a few things about his previous hosts life. His dad died before he was born but his mother was a military awakened who amassed a decent fortune before she died, most of which was reinvesting into he memories that went with her, but the house she left paid off combined with the death gratuity from the military means he had enough money for a while.
With enough information gathered on the lay of the land, Torren began to think about my next steps, thankfully he had religiously obsessed over shadow slave for years so he was better off than most:
'Okay I'm 16 years old, within the range of the nightmare spell's infection, worst case scenario I get infected today, best case two years, second worse I don't get infected at all. Assets to my name are: a house, a good amount of money, but pocket change to legacies, and my knowledge of the power system and universe'
'In the ancient times, before the spell, there was still a path of ascension. aspects and flaws are present in all Sunny's nightmares and he even learned about the mechanics and taught Rain'
'The Spell is too big of a cheat for me not to use it. but I can still use my knowledge to my advantage'
And with that thought Torren began to meditate. When he first came to this world he felt an unnatural shift inside him, like a energized feeling in the back of his mind. Sensing soul essence is a feat extremely difficult for most people, but perhaps because he wasn't from this world there was still that lingering change in energy for him to hold onto.
Torren is someone who, in his past life, could become extremely focused and with danger as his motivator and seeing a glimpse of hope, he continued meditating through the rest of his first night in this world.
A week later through diligent meditation he could sense essence at will, and through intense focus he could even move it a little.
'Not much in measurable power but not a bad start if i do say so myself' he thought to himself while making breakfast, eating actual eggs instead of the nutrient paste he has been eating all week, giving himself a small reward for his hard work as of late.
'Speaking of measurable combat power, I need a fighting teacher and to cram in as much knowledge as I can, from least important to most important it should probably go: Survival skills, combat, first aid, navigation, nightmare creature behavior, and dream realm lore'
First order of business was finding a martial art to practice, a teacher, and some way to gain real combat experience.
He looked into the Dreamscape for a bit, too expensive. For a non awakened to enter it would take soul shards along with the cost of the pod itself. He cant afford that right now. And so it came down to finding a martial arts teacher. Dojos in Shadow Slave were unsurprisingly more common and intricate than on his previous earth.
A few days of looking for a teacher later, mixed with essence training, body training and cramming of course. Torren finally decided on one that would suit him best. A dojo lead by an older awakened named James Striker. Torren decided on this dojo because it suited his needs: A experienced sensei able to correct his form, and a useful style adaptable to many weapons, focusing mainly on the sword with katas that include slicing bashing stabbing and blocking.
And with that he grinded and grinded. Practicing sword strikes in the early morning until his arms gave out, learning theory on a variety of topics later in the morning, learning from Striker in the afternoon, practicing survival and medical skills in the evening, practicing more katas in the evening, and finally at night, he cycled and moved soul essence to different parts of his body until his mind and soul were exhausted, falling into sleep.
And the next day he did it all over again. months past of grueling focus but he didn't care, he knew he needed every advantage possible so he continued grinding. All leading up to today, where he went up to an officer and said what started it all.
"As demanded by the Third Special Directive, I am here to surrender myself as a carrier of the Nightmare Spell."
Not caring about the horrified look on the guys face nor the questions he was being asked Torren fell into the deepest sleep of his life.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial…]