7: arrival at the academy

After hiding from view in the same alley where I woke up, I summoned my runes to review the two memories I obtained.

Name: Jonathan

True Name: Soul Appropriator

Rank: Dreamer

Core: Inactive

Memories: [Fallen Guard Armor] [Traitor's Tooth]

Name: Fallen Guard Armor

Description: [Armor representing the last follower of the divine guard of a goddess whose head was severed by a brazen human.]

Rank: Ascended

Type: Armor

I lamented not being able to see the enchantment descriptions like Sunny could with her special eyes, but oh well, I could steal her drop of ichor but I don't want to suffer that pain.

Immediately after ceasing those thoughts, I summoned the armor. White sparks surrounded my body, and after several seconds, black armor with golden lines in places surrounded and covered me. The armor conformed to my marked body and covered every part. It was a full-body armor set including boots and a helmet, all made of a hard but flexible mineral that didn't hinder movement.

I dismissed the helmet and kept the rest, then turned to my other memory.

Name: Traitor's Tooth

Description: [A dagger made from the teeth of a corrupt guardian who betrayed his master and met death at the hands of a human.]

Rank: Awakened

Type: Weapon

I summoned the Traitor's Tooth, its appearance a long dagger with blue venom drops oozing from its tip, featuring a single-edged black blade and a brown handle.

I stashed it away and began to walk out of the alley to find someone and figure out where this place was.

Upon exiting the alley, I spotted a couple of people walking through the ruined streets, but when I tried to approach and they noticed my armor, they bolted without looking back. I understood that maybe, just maybe, I was intimidating with this armor on, but their fleeing truly posed a problem.

I couldn't speak to anyone during the entire time I wandered the slums, so I ignored the rest of the people I encountered and continued on my way to unfamiliar places.

After a while of walking through the dirty streets with no direction in mind, I saw an orb, an orb behind several houses to my right. I kept walking and circling through the streets until I was a few houses away from where that mysterious white orb lay.

What I found was a police station, and as I approached the orb, still several dozen meters underground and ahead of where I stood, an officer greeted me at the station door, looking at me strangely, and I understood why—here was a 17-year-old boy in imposing armor that appeared out of nowhere in the slums.

"Hello, sir, I wanted to report that I woke up from my nightmare, apparently I didn't manage to arrive on time before falling unconscious a few streets from here, woke up in an alley and my clothes were a mess so I put on my armor that I got in the nightmare."

I think I spoke too quickly because the officer had a confused and somewhat cautious look on his face, but then he entered the station and gestured for me to follow him.

"Tell me, kid, what's your name, how old are you, and do you want someone to explain what you can do now that you're a Sleeper?"

Something seemed odd about the situation but I attributed it to my common sense from my previous life, so I answered everything.

"My name is Jonathan, sir, I'm 17 years old, and I came here to inform you that I am now a Sleeper and wanted to know if someone could be assigned to take me to the academy."

The officer noted some things on his communicator and then spoke.

"Alright kid, I want you to wait in the other room, apparently there's a boy who just woke up from his nightmare and you'll be taken to the academy together by the awakened who's looking after the boy, they'll call you in a while to meet them."

He pointed to a room a few meters away and I went, it was spacious with many chairs near the walls and in the center of the room, I took a seat in a corner and waited to be called.

***

After about 10 minutes, I heard the same officer call my name and when I went, he escorted me to a dining room where a somber-looking awakened awaited me with a smile that made me feel somewhat uneasy.

He had dark brown hair and deep blue eyes, dressed in black with a shoulder badge adorned with two stars, I supposed indicating his rank as an awakened.

Approaching alone as the officer left after indicating the awakened, he spoke to me.

"Hello kid, I was informed you just passed your nightmare and woke up in an alley, is that right?"

I nodded, sat down, and told him what I mentioned to the officer at the police station entrance.

"And when I came here to request a transfer to the academy, the officer made me wait for you and another sleeper, when will the other one arrive?"

"The other kid will come when he finishes his bath, do you want to eat while you wait?"

I nodded and he gestured for me to go get the food. When I arrived with the lady serving the food, she filled my plate with something I thought was noodles and meatballs.

I sat down and began to eat... The uncomfortable silence was killing me, despite being relatively normal in my other life, I didn't really have many friends and spent most of my time reading novels and watching videos, also exercising but not interacting much with people, so I didn't know what to talk about and ate in silence.

After the longest 15 minutes of a meal in my life, both lives actually, I saw a short boy about 1.60 meters tall with pale skin and brown hair, and I also saw something that left me stunned, it was his chest, there was a faintly glowing white ball there.

After he sat down and snapped out of my thoughts, I knew that what I saw on the awakened and the sleeper's chests were their soul cores.

The boy spoke.

"Hi, I'm Isac, just Isac."

"I'm Jonathan, nice to meet you Isac."

Silence, when the silence was about to become uncomfortable again, the awakened spoke.

"Pleasure to meet you both, Isac, Jonathan, I'm Maiten awakened, I'll explain your options from now on."

So Maiten, a character not mentioned in the novel, must not be very important, but still I listened.

"Let's begin, According to protocol, I'm obligated to inform you of a few things. It's mostly a formality. First off, regarding your Nightmare..."

He looked at both of us and then continued.

"You have the right to receive free psychological counseling. No matter the traumatic experience you may have gone through, you shouldn't be ashamed to ask for help. Your minds are as important as your bodies; it's right to keep them healthy. Are you interested?"

I didn't know what to respond. I thought for a moment and declined.

"No, I don't need counseling."

I declined because I knew it would be too much trouble and consume too much time, and time was essential for me, as I had to learn to fight and survive in this world.

The boy named Isac responded after I did, he also declined counseling.

Then, Maiten awakened spoke of another matter, the last one, I suppose.

"So, that's basically it. There are some additional obstacles to overcome, mainly related to your family, but... well. I've read your file and it didn't mention you having family, so we'll skip that part. You don't have any, so I know it doesn't apply. The only thing left is to decide how you'll be preparing for your first journey to the Realm of Dreams."

He glanced at his watch and his expression changed slightly, I couldn't quite tell what it expressed, but I noticed the change.

"I must hurry, your luck is exceptionally bad. There's not much time. First and foremost: you're free to do as you wish. No one is forcing you to make a particular decision. That is to say, you can choose to prepare on your own or not prepare at all until the lights go out."

He looked at both of us for a moment and then continued speaking:

"However, I would advise against that. As Sleepers, you also have the right to enroll in the Awakened Academy. You'll be provided with food, lodging, and a wide variety of preparatory classes. At this point in the year, you may not learn much, but it's better than nothing."

"So, what do you want to do, shall I take you straight to the academy or somewhere else you want to stay if it's not the academy?"

There was nothing to think about, I had known for a long time what I wanted to do.

"I'll go to the academy."

I said, but Isac still had to speak.

"I'll also go to the academy."

In the end, Maiten drove us in his high-end PTB and took us to the academy. A PTB was a special car used by wealthy people and government officials. It was fast, and we arrived at the academy in comfortable silence.

Neither Isac nor I or the awakened spoke during the journey, which wasn't very long since we arrived shortly after leaving the slums.

Getting off the PTB, I looked back at the awakened who bid us some final words before leaving:

"I wish you luck in your stay here and in the Realm of Dreams, I hope we all meet again as Awakened, goodbye boys."

I thanked him before watching him drive away in his PTB.

Looking back, I saw those immense gates and two more people waiting about a dozen meters from where Isac and I stood.

I knew they were two of the three main protagonists of the novel, Sunny and Nephis