With the support of the Dream Speakers, Celeste designed a systematic and scientific training regimen for Kai. She understood that he couldn't absorb everything at once. Each night, a new skill was introduced and practiced intensively, with clear percentage indicators appearing in Kai's mind.
In the First Week: He learned the ART OF VANISHING for Stealth & Movement.
His first lesson was how to move soundlessly across various terrains (rubble, broken glass, metal), how to use shadows and blind spots, and how to control his breathing and heart rate. The Dream Progress Bar started at 0%. After each night of diligent practice, it increased by 0.1%, then 0.2%.
When Kai first tried to apply it in the real world, his footsteps were still clumsy. But after successfully evading a Hungry Ghost by hiding, the percentage suddenly jumped to 3%. The life-or-death pressure burned away all theory, turning it into reflex.
By Week 2: His lesson was the SURVIVOR'S EYE for (Identifying Herbs & Toxins)
His lesson involved identifying various plants, fungi, and yeasts by their shape, scent, and habitat. Their uses for staunching bleeding, reducing inflammation, or causing hallucinations and paralysis.
He learned to distinguish each type. The progress increased steadily from 0.01% -> 0.02% each time he personally chewed a leaf to apply to a cut and felt the pain subside immediately; only then did the knowledge truly become his. The indicator jumped to 0.2%. The real taste and actual effectiveness were things books couldn't give him.
Week 3: He learned about using various tools AND traps (Hunting & Trapping)
The lessons covered: The principles of setting snare traps, spike traps, how to predict prey paths. How to use basic tools, calculating trajectories. Kai practiced with virtual models, progress reaching 3%.
He tried setting various traps for small animals in the real world for the first time. And when he used a trap to take down a bird, the percentage soared to 4%. The feel of the wind, the real distance, and the weight of the bow were invaluable lessons.
Week 4: He learned about using the BLADE (Close Quarters Combat)
Lessons: Lethal thrusting and slashing stances with a dagger, how to evade attacks, utilizing agility. Kai struggled with virtual dummies, progress only 0.5%.
When one of the hangers-on in Lom's group suddenly attacked to steal food, instinct won. Kai unconsciously used an evasive maneuver and a counter-attack from his lessons. When he entered the dream, he saw the percentage immediately increase to 2%. Real danger was the harshest teacher.
Week 5: Was the lesson on life-saving KNOWLEDGE
Lessons: Techniques for bandaging, stopping bleeding, handling fractures, shock, and dehydration. Kai was already proficient in first aid from being bullied before, so he quickly reached 10%. After once slipping, falling, and perfectly handling his own wound, the percentage rose to 15%. Pain was a catalyst for memory.
Week 6: The HUNTER'S SIGHT (Ranged Combat)
Lessons: Enhancing archery skills: shooting moving targets, shooting through narrow gaps, shooting in low-light conditions. The training was extremely arduous, the percentage increasing sluggishly from 0.01% to 0.02%.
Real-world verification: When using the bow to issue a long-range warning, dispersing another group of scavengers without a direct confrontation, he understood the true value of range. The percentage increased to 0.9%.
With each passing day, Kai grew not only stronger but also wiser. He understood the rule: "Dreams can give us aspirations, but reality is the mountain we must climb." The combination of theory from the Dream Speakers and bloody reality was forging him into a completely new entity of survival. And Celeste, from afar, happily watched that growth, knowing she had given him not weapons, but the means to forge himself.
He looked up at the starry night sky through the holes in the roof, where a Trash-Dragon might be flying. "Thank you, Celeste," he whispered in his heart. "You gave me not just strength, but the wisdom to use it."
On the ship, Kai's Essence Prism suddenly vibrated with a long pulse, emitting a strange, cold indigo light – the color of calmness in danger and iron determination. Celeste knew that a new, greater challenge was about to begin. And this time, she fully believed that her friend was ready.