Grey stood before the massive and seemingly indestructible red gates of the Awakened Academy. The Academy was, in fact, a city within a city.
It was built like a fortress, with a high wall made of hard alloy, a deep moat, and numerous large-caliber turrets placed in certain positions to create a deadly dome that suppressed the air.
It was said that no nightmare creature, not even colossal titans, could breach its defenses.
Snow fell slowly to the ground. It was cold, and silence reigned in front of the Academy gates.
Aside from Grey and Sunny, there was only one other person: another new Sleeper, if he had to guess.
She was a tall and slender girl, around his age, with light gray eyes and a distant look on her face.
She had strange silvery-white hair, cut short and carefully styled to one side. Like him, she was wearing a police tracksuit and carried no personal belongings.
On her head, she wore a pair of old headphones, listening to music quietly as they waited.
(Copy-pasted from a novel to fanfic, yes. 😆)
That girl... Why does she feel so familiar?
As if sensing his gaze, the white-haired girl turned her head and looked at the two boys in front of the academy gates.
Her expressionless and beautiful face stared at him for a moment until a slight touch of confusion showed on her otherwise blank face.
She raised her right hand towards the device in her ear, and before she could do anything else, the large gates creaked as they swung open.
The girl just froze with her hand in the air, inches from her face, and then turned her gaze towards the gates, before starting to walk.
What was all that about? Maybe, should I talk to her? I feel so strange looking at her...
The girl and Sunny had already begun to walk towards the gates, the girl leading while Sunny followed several steps behind, and finally, there was Grey, who hurried his pace and positioned himself beside Sunny.
As he walked, he recalled the words of máster Jet.
***
In the car used by the government agents, called PTV, none of the three spoke much. Grey just watched the snowflakes fall on the city.
Beside him, Sunny did the same.
Jet briefly glanced back and began speaking to them:
"Listen, since the three of us seem to be from the outskirts, I'll give you three pieces of advice."
There was a pause as Sunny and Grey turned to look at máster Jet from the back seats.
"When you arrive at the academy, you will be offered psychological counseling again."
Sunny interrupted her.
"Máster Jet, are you trying to make us take the psychological course again?"
Jet laughed and looked into Sunny's eyes for a moment.
"No, I'm trying to tell you to refuse."
She turned back forward, while Grey and Sunny wore expressions of confusion.
Meanwhile, Jet continued:
"It may seem strange, but you are still too inexperienced to understand this, but in the Dream Realm, nightmare creatures are not the only danger."
"Once you become powerful enough, humans will become just as much of a threat. The less they know about your Aspect, the better."
That's how it is.
"The easiest way to defeat a powerful Awakened is to use their Defect. That's why young fools at the Academy are encouraged in various ways to share the details of their Aspects."
"I'm not saying the government will leak your information, but once two people know a secret, it's no longer a secret. And there are many people working for the government."
Both seemed to have come to the same conclusion, perhaps in different ways, but both knew that nightmare creatures were not their only enemies.
"Thank you, máster Jet." They both said at the same time.
She nodded.
"Secondly, there will be many courses to choose from. All sorts of combat training, deep dives into the categories and vulnerabilities of nightmare creatures, basics of various types of sorcery, artifact study, etc."
Grey stared more intently at Jet, his eyes slightly glowing without realizing it. He was eager to learn everything he could to avoid being in the same situation he found himself in during his nightmare.
Weak, powerless, ignorant, and scared of everything.
"Ignore all of that. The only course you have time to attend is Wilderness Survival."
He blinked.
"What?" They said in unison for the second time.
"It's different for city kids, who learn all sorts of useful things in school and from their tutors. But we don't have that advantage, do we? What was the biggest threat to your life during the Nightmare?"
Grey thought for a moment about everything that happened in his nightmare; nothing seemed more dangerous than that giant abomination.
However, he also thought about something else that almost killed him; hunger and knowledge.
Hunger was the main thing that caused him discomfort, sapping his strength and weakening his mind.
However, the lack of knowledge played too much against him. First of all, it had made him commit silly mistakes, like making noise when he shouldn't have, running into a cursed forest, and falling into a trap created by a sealed terror.
But what bothered him the most was that he knew absolutely nothing about anything.
Without memories, he didn't know how to respond to situations that required experience or even basic common sense.
Without memories, he was behind in any field compared to others.
He felt powerless not knowing anything and had a craving for knowledge.
"The cold." Sunny responded beside him.
Grey considered his response as he thought about Sunny's.
The cold of the forest had been countered by the warmth in his body after the explosion in the prison, so it wasn't really a danger for him.
'I should reconsider that.'
Jet looked at Sunny and nodded.
"Smart. You only know how to survive in the city. But the Dream Realm is mostly wilderness. Do you know how to make a fire? How to get food? How to find a safe shelter? No. Fighting monsters is important, but it will be useless if you die of hunger or exposure to the elements. Trust me. I've learned the hard way."
Grey listened carefully to everything Jet said. After all, who better to learn from than someone who has already been through it all?
At that moment, máster Jet stopped the car and opened the door. Following her, both were left astonished in front of the large academy gates.
"This is where I stop." She said, looking sadly at the academy. "I've already warned you, someone will come to get you."
Sunny turned to look at máster Jet.
"What's the last piece of advice?"
Jet nodded.
"Remember: no one can survive in the Dream Realm alone. It's not an opinion, it's a fact. Try to get along with each other."
Then she suddenly smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"You've done well to survive so far. Make sure you stay alive in the future too."
Then she got back into her PTV and left. Just like that, she was gone.
***
**Note:**
I think with this, I could make Sunny not so... distant with Grey, maybe he'll speak to him a little, but won't try to avoid him entirely, what do you think?
Also, is the pace of this too slow? Should I skip the academy and move quickly to the Dream Realm? I was thinking of doing 4 or 5 more chapters in the academy, but looking at this from the outside, it might be too boring and I should move this forward with a time skip.
What do you prefer?