10: Rewarding

Pushing my thoughts away, I turned off the shower and was soon dressed in a second pair of the academy uniforms. Laying in bed, thinking about the future, I looked at the clock one last time before turning off my bedside lamp and falling into a deep sleep.

-------

Waking up to sunlight was both amazing and annoying. Sure, it was the natural way to wake up, but I want to sleep, dammit. It was only seven in the morning after all.

Crawling out of bed I stumbled into the shower before braving the cold water in an effort to wake up faster. I had a lot I needed to do and only a month to do it. There is no time for cozy showers and silk pillowcases.

'Well, maybe one or two cozy showers every now and then.'

Slapping my face hard, I needed to get serious; there was actually no time left. And if I wanted to survive longer than a year in my favorite story, I needed to exceed my own expectations by miles.

I needed experience, memories, and knowledge to survive. Memories would be hard, but I am sure I would get a few to choose from today. Experience and knowledge could only be accumulated, which meant I needed to submerge myself in fighting and learning as much as possible.

Drying myself off and getting changed quickly, I made a mad dash towards the cafeteria for breakfast. Passing numerous slow students on the way, I was amazed they had so much leisure.

'Ignorance is bliss.'

Sure, everyone here survived their trials. But that is only because they were fair to their participants. Not only was the Dream realm disturbingly lethal, it was already well established as such in the waking world.

Feeling the wind in my still damp hair, I arrived just in time to see the food being placed on the buffet line. It was slightly crowded already, and everyone made a beeline to their favorite foods before sitting down and eating rapidly.

While rudimentary, the body of a Sleeper was already being passively enhanced by their essence; thus, Sleepers in general needed less rest and sustenance to function at full capacity.

Not so surprisingly, everyone important was already here and devouring breakfast. Sunny and Cassie were in a corner of the cafeteria, eating in silence by themselves. Nephis was also eating alone; however, she was surrounded by a lot of fanboys (and girls), including Casters Posse, asking about her family and trial.

'Nephis is the only one I haven't met yet; now would be as good a time as any.'

Walking over to her table, all eyes were on me after what happened yesterday. Even Caster and his dogs were glaring at me as I approached the table.

"Move." I said, staring at the same kid who tore my tracksuit yesterday. It wasn't anything personal; he was just in the seat directly across from Nephis.

"Make me." He mocked with a vicious grin.

It seems like he thinks Awakened Rock could still protect him after what I revealed yesterday.

I was tired of causing trouble. I really didn't want to bully the weak, but he is literally asking for it.

"You all heard him, right?" I questioned the surrounding students.

"He asked me to do it."

Grabbing his head, I forcefully removed him from the seat and dragged him to a different table while he struggled. And because he asked me for it, his friends couldn't stop me without damaging their reputations.

Throwing him onto the floor, I quickly ran back to take his old spot.

"Move your feet and lose your seat, am I right? Anyway, it is nice to meet you, Nephis. I am Atlas, and I would like to challenge you to a fight. You are obviously the strongest and most experienced Sleeper in our ranks, and I would like to use this month to learn by fighting a worthy opponent."

Watching silently, she glanced at the still-rising Sleeper I had tossed away before looking back at me.

"Why did you do that? Are we not all fighting on the same team?"

'I didn't think she would care that much.'

"Yes and no, I am sure that you yourself are more aware of internal strife than the next person. Sometimes people like to create trouble for the fun of it or to further their agendas; these individuals need to be removed from your path so you can accomplish your own goals."

Nephis continued to stare at me, silently mulling over my words before nodding in agreement.

Suddenly, a loud commotion resounded from the other side of the room. A teleprompter had quickly become the main focus of attention. A list of the Sleepers names had just been released, ranking them from weakest to strongest. It was likely deduced from the interviews everyone had with the administrative workers.

Thankfully, the top three places were within everyone's sight, even with the crowd forming around the list.

First Place: Atlas

True Name: Pillar of Heaven

Second Place: Nephis

True Name: Changing Star

Third Place: Caster

With an ugly expression on his face, Caster stood and quickly concealed it before congratulating Nephis. Sparing me a slight glance, he left the table, his posse trailing close behind him.

"Congratulations on obtaining a true name, Nephis. Or should I call you Lady Changing Star? If your trial was anything like mine, then it must have been miserable."

Nodding in agreement, Nephis went quiet for a while, poking at her food.

"Just Nephis is fine, Pillar of Heaven."

'What a conundrum.'

"Just Atlas is fine; I need to go now to get breakfast before our classes start. We can spar after class if you would like; I will be in the training rooms until dark."

Rising up, I walked to the back of the line at the buffet. I wasn't a bully looking to hurt everyone in my path, just Caster's group. Stacking a couple plates of eggs and bacon, I walked over to sit with Sunny and Cassie.

And they have already left...

'damn.'

-------

After breakfast, I walked to the administration office to claim my reward. Hopefully, they pulled out all the stops in their reward for me. I needed something good, especially if I was already tangled up in Sunny's fate.

Taking in the scenery I was soon back at the administration buildings. The same administrative worker was waiting outside to guide me in.

"Welcome back, Atlas, Pillar of Heaven. Are you ready to choose your rewards?"

"Of course, I just hope that I have too many good options to choose from."

Turning around with a smile and nod, she led me deep into the building. The Awakened Academy was huge, and the administration building only took up three percent of the space in the academy. But even that one percent was somewhere around fifteen acres of land—quite a lot considering each building had multiple floors.

Getting into an elevator, she clicked on the second-to-lowest floor underground. This building in particular had three above ground stories, including the base level, and four underground.

Elevator music was playing for the duration of our forty-second descent, slowly driving me insane.

'Elevator of Solace.' Chuckling at my shit joke, the administrator looked at me before facing the door again.

With a shudder, the elevator came to a stop, opening up to reveal the bunker-like level of the academy. At first glance, a mixture of stone and metal covered the walls, floor, and ceiling. The room was expansive, with nine foot-tall ceilings and rows of columns to hold the five floors above.

Master Leorio was seated in his same stylish suit and glasses with two other individuals, likely the government memory couriers.

"Hello again, Atlas, Pillar of Heaven. It has only been a day, but a lot has happened on our end. I have contacted the higher-ups, and they have decided upon six total memories, of which you can choose three. We have taken into account your flaw, which has made selecting six suitable memories a bit of a challenge."

Taking a seat opposite Master Leorio, I stared at the papers laying across the table. The six memories each had a report written about them, listing what they were and what they could be used for.

The options were all incredible, promising a great return on investment if chosen. Inevitably, the thought that I would be sent to the Forgotten Shore overwhelmed me. Or any place similar to it, really.

The unconquered lands were hellish and promised pain and misery, no matter the memories provided. Focusing on what I would need if I were to go to someplace like the Forgotten Shore, I slowly started to narrow down which memories I should take.

After pondering my options for a solid thirty to forty minutes, the three options that stood out the most were finally transferred into my possession. The feeling of the memories themselves being deposited into my soul sea was unique, to say the least.

"Thank you, Master Leorio; these should save me a lot of trouble going forward."

Of course, a nice set of armor and weapon memories would have been fantastic if I could use them. Alas, these memories had the highest chance to carry me through tough times.

Following the admin worker back to the elevator, we slowly ascended while listening to the same horrible music we heard earlier. Trailing her to the exit, I thanked her for the help before sprinting to class.

I wouldn't want to be late on my first day, after all.

I couldn't help but peek at my memories as I ran, having second thoughts about taking them instead of the others. As I neared the building, I realized I was stressing for no reason; the memories I had acquired were the best fit for me.

And boy were they magnificent:

Memory: [Nimbus Cloak]

Memory Rank: Dormant.

Memory Type: Garment.

Memory Description: [The Nimbus Cloak appears as a soft, lightweight cloak that resembles a wispy cloud. It feels cool and slightly damp to the touch, 

with a shimmering, ethereal quality that seems to shift and change like real clouds.]

Memory Enchantments: [Weightless Insulation].

Enchantment Description: [The Nimbus Cloak provides perfect thermal regulation, keeping the wearer comfortably warm in cold environments and cool in hot environments. 

It also offers slight buoyancy, reducing the wearer's weight and making it easier to move swiftly and lightly over difficult terrain.]

This was a memory perfect for keeping me somewhat isolated from the elements, and it worked in both the hot and cold while making me somewhat faster in turn.

Memory: [Selfish Wealthy Man's Food Jar]

Memory Rank: Dormant.

Memory Type: Tool.

Memory Description: [In the midst of the end, a wealthy but selfish man hid his food. When others came to steal his stash, they were unable to find it. Instead, they ate him.

Leaving only his tattered clothes and an unassuming leather-bound jar.]

Memory Enchantments: [Deep Pockets].

Enchantment Description: [Can store and preserve up to thirty pounds or five cubic feet of items, whichever comes first.]

This memory took the longest for me to decide on; it was like a watered-down version of the Endless Spring. The main difference is that this could hold a variety of items, albeit in much lower quantities than the Endless Spring.

And last but not least:

Memory: [Giants Mallet]

Memory Rank: Awakened.

Memory Type: Tool.

Memory Description: [An incredible mallet crafted from a rare wood that is as hard as steel. The mallet is as large as it is strong]

Memory Enchantments: [Tough].

Enchantment Description: [The Giants Mallet must be strong to survive a giant's grip.]

A "weapon" that I could hopefully swing around for a long time, as well as the only Awakened memory offered to me. Master Leorio had explained that this memory was specially selected by the higher-ups to try to compensate for my flaw. Which I am very thankful for, to be honest.

While doable, punching and kicking monsters has much less efficiency than using a weapon or tool to fight. And while there is nothing I want more than to give my new memories a test drive, I only have twenty-nine days left to memorize wilderness survival skills before I return to the Dream realm.