Inside, the building was spacious and well-lit. Leon saw hundreds of young men and women, Sleepers just as unfortunate as he was.
He could see the excitement on some faces, fear on others.
Once inside, Leon observed all of them. Everyone was well-dressed and had baggage with them.
Him, Sunny and Nephis seemed to be the only exception. All the young folk conversing with the rest — every one of them wanted to talk to fellow Sleepers.
'This is going to be a breeze. What could these kids possibly do to me?'
He thought as his lips curled up.
Leon walked forward without hesitation and got into many conversations with other Sleepers.
Most of them were dull and boring, like how they had so many Memories, or how they fancied another person.
By the end of it all, Leon had grown bored and decided to avoid conversing entirely.
He tried to check how his companion Sunless was doing, and what he saw nearly made his mouth drop.
Sunny was getting slapped around by multiple girls.
Most just called him a pervert and left.
'What the hell is he doing?'
He could hear Noah laughing as he continued to stare at Sunny.
Leon tried to make sense of Sunny's actions. To a normal person, this seemed like madness, but to Leon — with his Aspect — it was obvious.
Seeing how Sunny seemed to try and steer the conversation away from him, Leon thought:
'Ah, so he's trying to get them to... think he's weak?'
That was the best possible conclusion he could come up with.
'Or maybe... he likes it?'
If he could fear right now, his body would have shuddered.
Another conversation sparked some interest as his ears perked up.
"Ascended? You have received an Ascended Aspect? What... what was your appraisal?"
"Oh. It was 'Excellent'."
Leon was unimpressed.
'Did he survive a titan though?'
he thought while smirking.
But then he heard Sunny's voice.
"Ascended, excellent? That's it? What's the big deal?"
Leon's eyes twitched.
'This idiot...'
***
"Uh... friend, you must not know a lot about the Spell. Caster's results are truly remarkable."
One of the guys said.
"Mind you, he's a Legacy!"
"Are you trying to pull a prank on me? You call this remarkable?!"
Sunny said.
The bewilderment in the eyes of these Sleepers was slowly being replaced by hostility.
"Listen, friend. If you don't think that an Ascended Aspect is remarkable, then please share with us your own amazing results! What, pray tell, was your Appraisal?"
Sunny smiled with utter contempt.
"I would let you know, my Appraisal was, uh... it was "glorious"! Yes, glorious. And the Aspect I acquired was of the Divine rank."
He continued.
"Mind you, I'm not some lofty Legacy. Pfft! I'm from the outskirts. I've never even received combat training. All that training and he only got an "excellent"? What did he do during the Nightmare, pick his nose the whole time?"
Finally, with a polite smile, Caster spoke:
"Glorious? That is interesting. Would you mind telling us what your achievements were in the Nightmare?"
"Sure, no problem! First of all, I killed an... uh, an awakened tyrant."
Leon, who was watching the whole thing from a distance, simply sighed.
"This guy..."
He muttered.
Noah chuckled.
"It's all true Leon."
Leon's eyes widened slightly.
"He actually killed a tyrant, no wait, his aspect is divine?"
He asked while looking at Noah.
Noah shook his head.
"Just make sure you are close to him. He's probably gonna end up becoming one of the strongest."
Leon looked back at Sunny, failing to understand how such a short bra—guy would become so strong. After returning from the nightmare, he had only remembered to be nice to Sunny, but had forgotten why.
The people around the legacy all gave weird looks to Sunny.
After a few more insane claims by him, one of them eventually said.
"This guy is either insane or purposefully messing with us. Listen here, shorty. Have some decency, okay? Who would believe such a lie?"
Caster was about to say something before Leon intervened.
"What? You guys don't believe it?"
Everyone's attention turned to Leon.
Leon grabbed Sunny's shoulder and spoke.
"Mind you, Legacy folk, Sunless here will be stronger than any of you once he returns."
Everyone shot him incredulous looks.
The same guy asked Leon,
"Are you saying this loser could beat Caster? The legacy?"
Leon smiled mockingly, as he stared at Caster.
"My my, legacy this, legacy that. Then why is he here?"
Silence.
"If his clan was that confident, he'd be training somewhere private. Not lining up with us."
The boy seemed to be at a loss for words.
Leon glanced at Caster, and could tell he was enraged by the twitch in his eyes.
Leon smiled again.
"Relax. If Sunless is lying, you'll find out soon enough."
Before the others could speak, Leon grabbed Sunny and rushed away.
***
As Sunny and Leon were walking away, Sunny looked at Leon.
"What was that?"
He asked.
Leon looked at Sunny and grimaced,
"No, you tell me Sunless, what was that?"
Sunny froze.
Leon continued:
"Getting yourself slapped by nearly everyone, getting called a pervert, and now trying to piss off a legacy."
Sunny clicked his tongue.
"Mind your own business fool, I have my own plans."
"Oh and what plans would those be?"
Sunny stayed silent for a while and then groaned.
"I need them to think I'm weak."
'So he wasn't a masochist?'
Leon stayed silent, but before he could open his mouth to ask, he heard Noah's voice.
"Don't question him further, he can't lie, his flaw forces him to answer honestly if directly questioned."
Leon's eyes widened.
He sighed.
"Well, remember what Master Jet said? You can't survive alone. Right now, you're probably the only guy I can trust if we end up together."
Sunny seemed to be satisfied with that answer and didn't question him further.
***
The two then walked to a deserted corner in the big hall as they waited for the induction ceremony to begin.
"Hey Sunless?"
Leon spoke.
"What?"
"The divine aspect, awakened tyrant, was it real?"
Sunny's lips curled up.
"Of course, fool. I killed the tyrant by just spitting at him."
Leon raised his brows, impressed.
"That's incredible, Sunless. I didn't even think divine aspects existed."
Sunny glanced at him sideways.
"You believe me?"
Leon smiled faintly.
"Not really. But I don't think you're insane enough to make such claims either."
Sunny chuckled softly, as if he was amused.
"You can call me Sunny by the way."
"And you can call me Leon."
Leon then saw someone else nearby. It was a quiet girl who looked delicate.
Her clothes were tidy and neat. She had pale blonde hair and big blue eyes.
But Leon then noticed her gaze, and understood she was blind.
Even Sunny seemed to notice the girl but turned away quickly.
'There's no way she survived a nightmare while being blind, which means it's probably her flaw, quite a terrible one at that.'
"Leon."
Noah's voice cut in, quiet for once.
"Keep an eye on her."
Leon frowned.
"Why?"
Noah didn't answer immediately.
"...Some people don't look dangerous until it's too late. People like her remember who stood close, it's even better if she chooses you."
Leon frowned slightly.
Before he could decide what to do, a loud noise echoed throughout the huge room.
"I am Awakened Rock. Sleepers, welcome to the Academy."
Leon turned towards the stage, where he saw a tall man dressed in a blue uniform.
"In less than a month, you will be summoned to the Dream Realm. Some of you might think that you are well prepared. You're wrong. The Spell is merciless and cunning. The moment Awakened begin to think too much of themselves, they die. I've seen countless Sleepers like you lose their lives. I've also seen experienced Masters lose theirs. Even saints are not assured to survive."
'Great motivation.'
Leon thought.
"In the following four weeks, we will do everything in our power to increase your chances of survival. You will receive training from the best instructors in the world. However, don't be misled by their fame: in the end, whether you return from the Dream Realm alive depends only on one person... you. The responsibility to survive is yours, and yours alone. "
'And Noah apparently.'
"You are not children anymore. It's a shame, because you ought to be. But the Spell has decided otherwise. You have been to the First Nightmare, so you already know what it's like. Your parents, your teachers and your friends can't help you anymore..."
'Do I have any of those in this life? I guess not.'
"Now we will talk about the difference between Nightmares and the Dream Realm—"
***
Leon listened to Rock's entire speech attentively.
With a few quiet remarks from Noah, the picture about the dream realm became clear.
He soon stood in front of his dormitory door, and to his surprise, Sunny was right beside him.
Sunny looked frustrated.
Leon grinned.
"I guess we're neighbors, eh Sunny?"
"Unfortunately."
Sunny said as he stepped into his room.
Leon chuckled and entered his own.
He took a shower and took a moment to relax on his bed.
"We have a lot to do, Leon."
Noah sighed.
"Who was that girl Noah? What do you mean dangerous?"
Noah sighed.
"Just trust me, Leon, make sure you're close with her, that's all I can say."
"And what do you mean Sunny can't lie? Is that really his flaw?"
He asked.
Noah stared at him.
"Yes."
"Well it doesn't sound too bad. Although being forced to answer a question feels dangerous."
Noah sighed and walked toward the nearby window.
"Trust me, it's much worse than you can imagine."
Leon rubbed his temples and summoned his runes.
Memories: [Crown of Ember]
His jaw tightened.
"Aurelia."
He didn't read further.
The crown formed in his hands — crimson, radiant and unbearably heavy.
Leon closed his fingers around it.
"Thank you."
The crown vanished.
***
Leon left his room for supper as he met with Sunny on the way.
Both of them filled their trays with extravagant meat, and other delicacies. Their trays formed a small mountain.
They both found seats next to each other, or rather Leon insisted on it, and then they began devouring their food.
They had looks of pleasure on their face, while the people around them stared at them with a hint of disgust.
Leon didn't mind it, and neither did Sunny.
"It's time for my interview, I'll be off then."
Sunny spoke.
Leon nodded.
"Good luck man, don't spout too much nonsense."
Sunny scoffed and left him.
Leon sat there as he thought of checking the crown's description.
But he didn't want to. He knew he would have no use for the crown right now anyway, so he was reluctant to summon the crown again.
A few moments later, Leon found himself in an interview room.
He was offered psychological counselling, but soon refused it.
"Would you mind telling me about the type of Aspect Ability you received, as in combat, sorcery, utility?"
"I'd say my aspect is mainly focused as utility? It basically lets me see more."
Leon said with a dejected look.
The interviewer tried to cheer him up as she continued her questions.
"That's alright. Are you able to directly deal damage with your Ability?"
"No, my aspect itself can't even hurt a fly."
Leon pretended to grow more and more depressed, as if he were about to break into tears in front of the interviewer.
In the end, the interviewer personally wanted to give Leon some psychological treatment.
As he politely declined and made his way out, he returned to his room and fell asleep immediately.
***
The next morning, Leon freshened up and headed back to the cafeteria.
Once again filling his tray, he searched for a seat, and noticed the blind girl from earlier.
Leon inhaled deeply and walked towards the table.
"Excuse me, miss. Do you mind if I sit here?"
The blind girl didn't respond, but she straightened her back as if she had heard it.
'This is going to get annoying.'
"Uh.. Hello?"
The girl finally lifted her head towards Leon.
"Are you.. speaking to me?"
"Who else is here?"
"I wouldn't know, I'm blind after all."
His eyes twitched.
'This...'
Leon didn't change his expression and kept calm, he didn't need to — not like she could see it.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't notice."
He said in an apologetic tone.
"It's alright."
She said with a sad smile.
"So um, do you mind?"
"Oh, u-um.. o-of course, please sit."
Leon took a seat opposite her.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Leonar by the way, but you can call me Leon."
The girl widened her eyes, and answered in a hurried tone.
"M-my name's Cassia, but please call me Cassie."
'Hmm. She seems kind, maybe she's hiding her true personality?'
"Hey, Cassie..."
He took a moment to pause
"I couldn't help but notice, everyone seems to avoid you, why's that?"
"Oh, um.." Cassie seemed to hesitate
"It's because I'm a walking corpse."
Leon continued to stare at Cassie with an indifferent expression.
He stared at Noah who narrowed his eyes.
'She sounds useless... what is Noah thinking about?'
"That's...stupid"
Leon said, as he stared into Cassie's blue eyes.
"You don't think I'm useless?"
Cassie asked.
"For now..."
Leon simply froze as the words left his mouth.
Cassie froze as she stared in the direction of Leon with a slight frown.
"For now?" she asked.
Leon widened his eyes slightly, realizing his thoughts had slipped up yet again thanks to his flaw.
"What I meant was..."
He paused before coughing.
"No, I don't really know much about you except for your blindness, but I can say you are strong, or rather... will be."
Seeing Cassie's confused look, he continued.
"The Spell is fair in its own twisted way. People don't get broken for nothing. If it took your sight, it probably gave you something terrifying in return."
Noah said, prompting Leon to copy his statement.
Cassie looked down, and then she started sobbing.
Leon frowned.
"Um, why are you crying? I mean... I apologize if I hurt you."
'Why is she crying?'
Cassie shook her head.
"No, no."
"It's just... You're the first person to look at me like a human."
She said while tears streamed down her face.
Leon was stumped.
'What now? Maybe let her cry it out?'
He was never one to feel lonely, even before his transmigration, as he was too busy trying to survive, so he couldn't understand Cassie's feelings right now.
After a while Cassie seemed to calm down.
Leon took a deep breath.
Noah wanted Leon to completely invade her mind. Noah knew Leon was capable of that much, and considering how starved Cassie seemed to be for some closure, it would have been an easy task.
But Leon hesitated. Aurelia's smiling face flashed in his head.
'Not again...'
Noah leaned closer to Leon's ear, whispering.
"I know you don't want to use her. Then how about you befriend her and help her. That way, it wouldn't be using her right?"
Leon sat up straight again after hearing Noah's words.
"Cassie."
"Yes Leon?"
"Wanna be friends?"
He froze again, thinking about his choice of words.
'Am I being too direct?'
Cassie's mouth opened,
"But... I'm-"
Leon let out a dry chuckle.
"You seem to misunderstand Cassie, I don't pity you."
He paused, taking a look at Cassie's expression.
"Join me, I'm not planning to stay weak. If you walk with me, you won't either."
Noah let out a sharp breath.
"Trust me, she doesn't need your help for that."
Cassie's eyes widened.
"Of course, don't answer me now, I'll be joining you on the cafeteria every day from now on, so tell me your answer in a week."
'I'll make her strong, that way, it won't matter why I approached her.'
Before Cassie could reply, Sunny sat beside Leon prompting her to remain silent.
Leon smiled as he pointed at Cassie.
"Sunny, this is Cassie, and Cassie, this is Sunny."
Cassie smiled and bowed slightly,
"Hello."
Sunny frowned, and greeted her back.
At that moment, a sudden commotion drew their attention.
Leon looked at the crowd that gathered. He then saw the huge screen they gathered at.
On the screen, names were displayed along with rankings from strongest to weakest.
He looked at the leaderboard and burst out laughing.
Cassie turned towards Leon.
"I assume you got a good ranking Leon, and I'm placed last, aren't I?"
Leon turned to face her.
"Yes Cassie, you're last. I'm actually ranked higher than Sunny."
He began laughing again.
Sunny facepalmed while Cassie smiled.
"So what number are you?"
"I'm ranked third..."
Cassie's breath stopped.
"...from the bottom."
Cassie's smile froze as she stared in his direction.
Sunny sighed.
Far away from them, the silver-haired girl Nephis, saw her name ranked first along with her true name and exhaled slightly.
She kept skimming through the leaderboard and found Leon's name at third last.
She frowned.