Chapter 1936: Adulthood

Chapter 1936: Adulthood

The months before the winter solstice were precious and short, so the staff of the Academy —and Orum, who had somehow found himself playing the role of an instructor — wasted no time.

The Sleepers were trained and educated according to a gruelling schedule. The system was not very sophisticated, yet, but they were already seeing good results. The youths were learning how to use their new powers, absorbing knowledge about the Dream Realm, and getting to know each other — which would help them fight side by side with fellow Awakened in the future.

Of course, teaching them was not a simple affair. Each Sleeper possessed a unique Aspect, after all, and had received a varied level of prior training. Evaluating their potential was similarly not easy.

Nevertheless, four of them emerged as undisputed standouts early on.

The first one, quite unsurprisingly, was Smile of Heaven — the girl who had received a True Name in her First Nightmare. She was bright and beautiful, and there was something subtle about her that made people feel warm and at ease in her company.

More importantly than that, however, was the fact that she was strong — shockingly strong, in fact. Her Aspect remained a mystery to Orum, since she had never said anything about it, but her extraordinary talent was apparent even without it.

Her physical prowess, martial technique, combat intelligence, and willpower were all incredible, making Smile of Heaven a natural leader among the Sleepers. It was just that her personality was not exactly serious enough to settle in that position, and she didn't seem interested in authority and status, either. So, she was more of everyone's favorite person than the leader of the pack.

Instead, two boys were competing for the title.

One of them was, naturally, Anvil. The serious young man was excellent in all regards, his conduct was flawless, and his battle prowess was exemplary. Added to the immense fame of his family, it was no surprise that other Sleepers looked up to him.

Interestingly enough, he seemed more interested in knowing weapons than he was in wielding them — although his combat technique was still stellar. His Aspect granted him a high affinity to metal, which he used to skillfully control a flying sword

or enhance his swordsmanship in a number of ingenious, and quite insidious, ways.

Both Smile of Heaven and Anvil showed a level of physical strength and endurance that Orum couldn't quite explain, and honestly found a little monstrous. However, he was happy to see the new generation thrive in the perilous world they had been born into.

The second candidate for the title of the very best among the crop of Sleepers, however, was a complete surprise. It was the brazen youth with grey eyes whose amusing remarks had made the entire class chuckle during the first combat class.

The young man had come out of nowhere and had no background to speak of. Nevertheless, he was truly a genius at all things having to do with swordsmanship and combat, easily holding his own against the scions of the most prestigious families and defeating them one after another.

His talent stood out starkly even when compared to the most excellent Sleepers in his class... perhaps of any Sleeper ever, really. His technique was rough, sure, but it was improving by leaps and bounds every day. It was to the point that Orum almost felt exasperated and insecure, unsure if he would have anything left to teach the rascal in a few more months.

'Oh. So she does remember, after all!'

He hesitated for a few moments, feeling glad, then finally asked the question that he had wanted to ask for a long time.

"How is your mother doing, by the way?"

Ki Song turned away and faced the sleeping pod, her slender figure silhouetted by its pale glow in the darkness of the chamber.

Her voice sounded even when she answered:

"She is dead."

Her words struck Orum like a hammer. He froze, paralyzed by the immensity of she had said, and afraid to comprehend it.

A sharp pain pierced his heart, making him shudder.

The young woman sighed, and then said quietly:

"She died not long before my First Nightmare. The being that lived in the volcano emerged and attacked the Citadel, so... she decided to fight it instead of running away, to protect the Gateway and the people anchored to it. The people she was trying to protect, though, all decided to hide and leave her alone. The cowards."

Ki Song pressed a button, and the lid of the sleeping pod opened.

Turning to Orum, she looked at him calmly.

Her face was not the face of a teenager. Instead, it was already the face of an adult.

"The next time we meet, I will be an Awakened. See you soon, Uncle Orie."

A few weeks later, she returned to the waking world and fulfilled her promise.