So, the silver-haired girl, Nephis, also received a True Name in her First Nightmare. To get his own, Sunny had to deal with Hero and Mountain King while possessing a completely useless Aspect an impossible feat that seemed to have pleased the Spell very much.

'I wonder how she had gotten hers.'

Sleepers in the cafeteria were struck dumb by the revelation of this achievement. They were staring at the screen with astonishment, fear and admiration. Listening to their excited whispers, Sunny felt a childish desire to scream "Me too! I have one too!".

But, of course, he kept quiet.

Looking around, he noticed Caster's gaze fixed on the screen. There was a strange, somber expression on the humorous young man's face. But the weird thing about it was that, as far as Sunny could tell, Caster wasn't looking at the line of text containing the True Name.

Instead, he was staring at the line of text that read "Nephis", as though the girl's actual name held more meaning to him than the one given by the Spell.

'Interesting. Do they know each other?'

Why would a lofty Legacy know someone who came to the Academy in a police-issued tracksuit? And speaking of Nephis... where was she?

Sunny glanced around the cafeteria and quickly noticed the silver-haired girl, who was sitting quietly in a corner with a cup of coffee in her hands. She wasn't paying a lot of attention to the commotion, seemingly immersed in her thoughts. Her grey eyes were serious and distant.

"A Sleeper with a True Name? That's impossible!"

"It's technically possible. Smile of Heaven received her True Name in the First Nightmare, I think. But yeah, I'm doubtful..."

"Maybe she lied in the interview?"

"Are you stupid? If it was that easy to deceive the administrators, the crazy pervert from yesterday would have been in the first place instead!"

Sunny's face twitched. Crazy pervert, huh...

"Well, why don't we just ask her?"

Suddenly, there was a deafening silence in the cafeteria. Following the suggestion, Sleepers stopped talking and turned around, staring at Nephis. However, no one seemed to have the courage to approach her first.

Finally sensing something, she raised her eyes and looked at them with surprise.

"Mmm. What?"

Even the blind girl, Cassia, turned in the direction of her voice.

After a couple of moments, Caster suddenly walked over and made a small bow.

"Lady Nephis. I am Caster from the Han Li clan. I see that your trial went well?"

Lady? Why is he addressing her that way? And he had to introduce himself... so, they don't know each other, interesting.

Nephis seemed to be a little bit perplexed by the question. After thinking for a while, she smiled brightly and shrugged.

"It is what it is."

Caster awkwardly returned the smile.

"I see. I am very glad that you returned unharmed. Uh... not that I doubted your abilities."

Nephis nodded.

"Thank you."

After that, she returned to her coffee, indicating that the conversation was over or simply oblivious to everyone's attention.

Sunny sighed.

'How mysterious.'

There were a lot of thoughts on his mind. However, none of them could distract him from the most important thing... breakfast. A few seconds later, he had forgotten all about the awkward dynamic between Caster and Nephis was happily shoveling down his food.

****

The Wilderness Survival classroom was spacious, tastefully decorated... and completely empty. Sunny even thought that he was mistaken, but then spotted a gloomy instructor sitting behind a wide wooden desk. Noticing him, the instructor perked up.

"Come in, young man!"

 He was a lively old man with messy grey hair, absentminded eyes and a pair of bushy eyebrows that seemed to jump around on their own.

"I'm Awakened Julius. You can call me Teacher Julius. Sit down, sit down! What's your name?"

Sunny obediently sat down.

"It's Sunless."

Julius raised his eyebrows.

"Ah! What an ominous name. But that is good, very good. After all, we have to deal with a lot of ominous things!"

Sunny carefully looked around.

"Uh... I'm sorry, Teacher. Did I come too early.

"No, no... you're right on time."

"Are other students late?"

The instructor grunted with incredible contempt.

"No one else is coming. Those brutes are only interested in swinging their fists and swords around. Very few are smart like you and know the true value of knowledge..."

 Oh. So it was that unpopular. Sunny inwardly sighed, hoping that he won't regret the decision to abandon combat training in favor of this course.

"Say, young man... why did you choose Wilderness Survival, of all things?"

There was no point in hiding the true reason. Not that Sunny would have been able to anyway...

"The Awakened that monitored me during the First Nightmare, Master Jet, had advised me to study it above all things."

"A very wise advice! That Master truly knows what's important... wait. Did you say Jet?"

His eyes widened.

"Soul Reaper Jet? That murderous savage?! Hm. Who would have thought that a barbarian like her would know the value of intricate knowledge."

Soul Reaper? Sunny's curiosity was piqued.

"Teacher, do you know Master Jet?"

Julius carefully looked behind his back before answering:

"Who doesn't know the Soul Reaper? She might not be the most powerful Awakened out there, but she is certainly one of the most feared. That's because her Aspect Abilities disregard flesh and target soul cores directly. Which means that no amount of armor, damage resistance and physical protection can stop them."

He leaned forward.

"The only good thing is that she's young and not likely to become a Saint anytime soon, or even ever. Yes, luckily, there's a very low probability that she'll ever advance."

Sunny blinked.

"Why?"

Julius looked at him as though trying to comprehend how someone could be so ignorant.

"Because of her problematic personality, of course! Who would want to help a psychopathic killer become a Saint? You need a team of outstanding companions and a lot of support to attempt conquering the Third Nightmare. Soul Reaper Jet isn't... wait!"

Suddenly, Julius frowned and leaned back.

"Why am I gossiping with you? You're too young to know such things! More than that, it's not in my character to badmouth others behind their backs!

'I would beg to differ, Sunny thought sarcastically, but didn't say anything out loud.

He already got a lot of juicy information out of Teacher Julius.

'Maybe choosing Wilderness Survival was the right choice after all.'

"Let's get back to your curriculum. What other courses are you taking?"

Sunny sighed.

"None. For the next four weeks, I'll be fully concentrated on Wilderness Survival."

Julius stared at him for a whole minute, an expression of utter astonishment written clearly on his face. Then, slowly, an excited gleam appeared in his eyes. Finally, he grinned.

"Wonderful! This is wonderful! You're such an astute young man! Don't you worry. In four whole weeks, I will make you immortal...

***

Sunny's lessons with Teacher Julius started pleasantly and without much tension, but just an hour later, he felt like his head was ready to explode. There was so much new information, and all of it was so strange and counterintuitive for someone who had never left the walled-off, sheltered confines of the city.

From time to time, Julius gaped at Sunny's lack of knowledge and relevant experience. However, he had a good attitude and an endless enthusiasm for teaching. Whenever Sunny stumbled, he would patiently slow down and allow his student to catch up.

The curriculum that Julius planned out was practically insane. There was an endless amount of theoretical knowledge to learn, practical lessons both in virtual reality and the real world, numerous subjects and weird things to study. There were even several lessons dedicated exclusively to learning the basics of several dead languages of the Dream Realm!

'Why would I need to learn new languages?' Sunny thought with self-pity. 'The Spell automatically translates everything!'

But Julius was uncompromising.

"The Spell is not a translator! Do you think it has the time to express the intricacies of human speech? Let's say you're seeking shelter in a ruin and find an inscription that reads "certain death ahead". There are thirty words for death in the rune language! Just by knowing the runes, you'll be able to deduce what kind of danger there is!"

On the first day, they studied until the sun was about to set. Only then did Julius decide to let Sunny go. Mentally exhausted and lamenting the fact that he had to miss lunch and dinner, Sunny decided to gently remind his teacher about the importance of food for maintaining high levels of concentration tomorrow.

After returning to his room, he fell on a chair and stared blankly into the distance for a while. Then, as though remembering something, Sunny turned to his shadow.

Right. He had a lot to accomplish before supper.

He observed the shadow for a few seconds and then grinned.

"Let's see what you can really do..."

Sunny was pretty sure that his shadow was capable of much more than just being a silent follower. After all, the Spell had described it as being an invaluable helper. It was now up to him to find out how exactly Shadow Control could be of help.

As in many other matters having to do with Aspects, there was a certain level of instinctual understanding buried deep inside his subconscious. This understanding was either given to him by the Spell or was something innate to every Awakened. Sunny just had to sense the subconscious knowledge and learn how to put it into practice.

Once again, he concentrated on sensing his body and spirit, then commanded the shadow to perform a series of simple motions. With each of them, he was growing more and more familiar with the feeling of controlling the shadow.  

Pretty soon, it was as natural to him as breathing and walking. The shadow felt like a part of his body. 

Satisfied with this initial result, Sunny carefully gave it a new command. Without pause, the shadow separated itself from the soles of his shoes, walked to the other end of the room and turned around, staring at him in slightly mocking silence.

Sunny was left without a shadow.

'This is not scientific at all, he thought with an amused smile.

Science never really applied to anything having to do with the Spell, after all.

As the shadow walked away, he felt a very weird split happening in his mind. It was like his perception had separated into two distinct sources. One was his body, the other his shadow.

With a bit of trying, he managed to focus on the second source. Instantly, his vision blurred.

"Whoa!" Sunny blurted, surprised.

"Whoa!" the shadow heard from the other end of the room.

Sunny blinked. In his mind, there now existed two pictures. One was of his room's door, with an indifferent shadow standing in front of it. The other was of a pale young man sitting on a chair, wide-eyed and bewildered.

'That's me.'

He raised an arm and waved it in the air. Simultaneously, the pale young man raised and waved his.

'I can perceive the world through my shadow?' He sat for a while, thinking. An ability like that opened up a lot of possibilities. With his [Child of Shadows] attribute allowing him to see and move stealthily in the darkness and [Shadow Control] allowing him to send out a sneaky shadow as a scout, he was pretty much a perfect spy.

A spy was someone who gathered information without exposing themselves to a lot of risk. A role like that suited Sunny's taste very much. 

Of course, spies were also able to strike from the shadows with deadly precision. Armed with information, they were masterful ambushers. With the prior knowledge of the opponent's weaknesses, their attacks were surgical and lethal.

But any direct confrontation would mean putting himself in danger, so Sunny wasn't very keen on becoming an assassin. After all, his Aspect still lacked the means of directly enhancing his combat performance.

'Shall we test it?'

He looked at the shadow and gave it a command. With an exaggerated sigh, the shadow bent down and nimbly slid under the door.  

Instantly, he could see both the room and the hallway outside. Sunny closed his eyes to focus on the picture projected from the shadow.

Moving stealthily from one shadow to another, it glided down the hallway. With a bit of timing and consideration, his scout was practically invisible. Sunny passed by a couple of Sleepers and listened in on their conversation. Not finding it very interesting, he continued forward.

Finally, the shadow stopped at a corner. To its left were the elevators, to its right - the way to the girls' dormitory.

All sorts of provocative images immediately entered Sunny's head.

'Oh my!' he thought, blushing.

Yes, with this ability, it was also very easy to fall into utter depravity! But no, no. He couldn't do it. Not because of some high moral principles...

It's just that, with his reputation of a pervert, the chances of being asked if he had done something unbecoming were pretty high. So he needed the ability to honestly answer "no".

'So... I probably shouldn't. Right?'

Right?

'Of course you're right! Don't even think about it!'

Back in his room, Sunny sighed with a lot of regret. Then he directed his scout to hide in the shadow of a passing Sleeper and followed him to the elevators.

 ***

Some time later, Sunny's shadow was hiding in a corner of a large dojo. He was observing his fellow Sleepers who, under the guidance of Instructor Rock, were going through the motions of the introductory combat class.

Today was mainly dedicated to testing their general competency and abilities. After that, the Sleepers were going to be separated into groups based on their level, such as novice, advanced or expert, as well as their weapon of choice. Some would be assigned a personal tutor or paired together.

Currently, Sleepers were taking turns delivering their strongest punches to a wide plate attached to a special measuring machine. After each strike, the machine would display a number corresponding to the Sleeper's physical strength.

In theory, a machine like that was not hard to build. However, considering that many of Sleepers had combat-oriented Aspects that enhanced their might in a variety of ways, it was actually a marvel of engineering and durability.

Their technique and training also affected the final result.

Most people were getting numbers ranging from ten to fourteen. It was considered a good result, something that only the most athletic people could reach. However, a lot of Sleepers, obviously those with enhancing Aspects, were able to achieve a score of fifteen or even sixteen.

'I would probably get ten or eleven, Sunny thought, feeling a little bored.

Then he suddenly perked up, noticing that it was turn for Nephis, the highest-rated Sleeper of their batch, to strike the plate.

The slender girl approached the machine and, without much preparation, delivered a sudden, crushing blow. Sunny wasn't very well-versed in martial arts, but even he was impressed by the flawless economy and speed of her execution.  

'She had a lot of training.

Nephis was becoming more and more intriguing. What's her actual background?

After a short pause, the machine displayed the result: sixteen. Sunny felt a bit disappointed.

'Not that impressive. I was expecting more.'

She was the proud bearer of a True Name, after all!

After that, only Caster remained. This time, Sunny couldn't even see the flying fist - it was just too fast. The machine trembled and took more time calculating. Finally, two numbers appeared.

Twenty-one.

Everyone gaped at the display, stunned. More than a few admiring looks were thrown at Caster, who simply bowed and took a step back. Instructor Rock smiled.

"Not bad. Now, we will move to sparring and evaluate your general level of training. I need two volunteers to begin."

Nephis was the first to step forward and walk to the center of the ring. A couple of seconds later, a tall and extremely muscular Sleeper followed and faced her.

"The rules are simple. Make your opponent's back touch the floor or throw them out of the ring. Use whatever abilities and techniques you find appropriate."

'Oh, the show is starting!'

Watching Sleepers fight each other was not only entertaining, but could also provide Sunny with knowledge of their powers. Back in the room, he leaned forward and rested his chin on his palms.

'Go Nephis!'

The tall guy attacked without wasting any time. His muscles bulged, threatening to tear the soft fabric of his white dobok. He advanced like an unstoppable mountain, sending a vicious kick flying.

... A second later, he was lying on the floor with a dumbstruck look on his face. Nephis didn't even change her stance. Instructor Rock gave her a cheerful look and grinned.

"Next."

What followed could only be described as a massacre. One after another, Nephis managed to defeat almost every single Sleeper present in the dojo. She didn't seem to be faster or stronger than them, but each time someone entered the ring to fight her, they would inevitably end up beaten and thrown to the ground.  

Sunny watched the process with a growing sense of amusement. However, at some point, even he felt a bit of unease.

Nephis moved with the calm precision of a battle machine. Her technique was clean, graceful and ruthless. No matter what type of attack was thrown at her, she was able to either predict or instantly react to it, then deflect and turn it against the attacker with the minimum amount of effort.

It didn't matter whether her opponent was poor, rich or a Legacy. Everyone would end up dealt with in a matter of seconds.

What's more, through the whole process, the composed expression on her face didn't even change once. It was like Nephis was made out of metal.

'Is... is she even human?' Sunny thought, suddenly apprehensive.

What was he going to do if this Changing Star were to end up as his enemy?

The best course of action would be to run away. Or better yet, try not to antagonize her, to begin with. After all, the sun was also a star, and shadows didn't mix well with sunlight.

Finally, Caster was the last one remaining – once again. However, he didn't seem to be perturbed by the miserable failure of every other Sleeper. With a soft smile on his lips, the young man stepped into the ring.

Caster and Nephis faced each other. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and then Caster slightly bowed.

"Lady Nephis. Please excuse me in advance."

'What is he going to...

 ... A moment later, Sunny opened his eyes in shock.

It seemed like Caster suddenly ceased to exist.

However, it was only an illusion. The truth was that he was just moving so fast that the human eye wasn't able to keep up with his movements. If it wasn't for the special properties of Shadow Sight, Sunny wouldn't have been able to perceive anything either.

Even then, he only noticed a hazy blur streaking through the air.

In a fraction of a second, Caster covered the distance between him and Nephis and delivered a devastating blow. However, despite his astonishing speed, she somehow managed to react in time, slightly turning her body to deflect the strike.

But it still wasn't enough. Although Nephis had managed to avoid being hit squarely in her center of gravity, Caster's fist ended up connecting with her shoulder, sending the girl into a spin.

Not wasting any time, Caster disappeared again. His plan was very simple: while Nephis was still under the impression that the enemy was in front of her, he was going to use his unnatural swiftness to circle around and attack from the back.

The young man appeared behind the oblivious girl, ready to finish the fight with one decisive strike. Just as he planned, she seemed to be preparing to attack in the direction he had been seen just a split second ago. Gratified, Caster shifted his weight, putting it all into his fist.

However, at the last moment, Nephis suddenly changed her stance and threw her elbow back with frightening force.

Caster's eyes widened. It was all a feint!

And now that he had committed to a strike, there was no simple way to stop. No matter how fast he was, he was still subject to the laws of inertia. The elbow was approaching his face with a profound feeling of inevitability.

And yet, Caster still managed to avoid it, even if it was just by a hair's breadth. His speed advantage was just too big.

He then proceeded to trip and push Nephis, sending her flying to the ground. However, just before she was about to hit the mats, the young man carefully grabbed the collar of her dobok and gently pulled, slowing down the fall and allowing Nephis to land on the floor without any impact.

Lying on her back, the girl blinked a couple of times and looked up at him. The whole altercation lasted no more than two seconds.

Back in his room, Sunny opened his eyes in shock.

'So that's an Ascended Aspect? That's... that's cheating!'

A Sleeper had no business being that fast. The powers bestowed upon them by the Spell were supposed to be in their infancy. But... Caster was a Legacy, after all.

Who knew how many soul shards were fed to him prior to enrolling into the Academy?

Back in the dojo, Instructor Rock grunted and gave Caster a nod. Nephis slowly rose to her feet. 

The rest of the Sleepers were gawking at the young man with reverence, whispering among each other in hushed tones. It seemed that his performance left them with a deep impression.

However, Caster himself wasn't very elated. He glanced at Nephis with an unreadable expression.

That was because, unlike the rest of them, he came to a certain realization. The truth of the matter was known only to him, Nephis, Instructor Rock... and Sunny, who was very observant and quickly picked up on such things.

The thing that Sleepers failed to notice was that Nephis did not use her Aspect Ability when facing Caster. In fact, she had not used it at any point during today's testing. No one even knew what her Ability was.

And yet, despite his powerful Aspect, Caster barely managed to clutch a victory against her.

'What a monster, Sunny thought, full of unease.

The shadow hiding in the corner of the dojo seemed to agree with him wholeheartedly.

 ***

 After that, the introductory combat class was over. Sore from the beating they received, Sleepers headed for the showers. Sunny waited for a bit and then directed his shadow to sneak into the boy's locker room.

He wasn't very interested in watching a bunch of teenagers changing clothes, but there was a slight possibility that Caster would either comment on his duel with Nephis or answer some questions about his incredible Aspect Ability.

Just as he had expected, the young man was surrounded by a group of newly converted fans. They were congratulating him on his victory, full of adoration and excitement. However, Caster himself seemed to be in a bad mood. His expression was somber, and there was a grim heaviness in his eyes.

In fact, his face grew darker with each praise he received.

"Caster, that was incredible!"

"Your Aspect is overpowered, am I right?"

"That Nephis girl stood no chance at all!"

"True Name? Who needs that? She's just a wanna-be!"

Finally, Caster raised his head and pierced the last boy who had spoken with a cold look. That boy, just like him, was one of the few Legacies in their batch of Sleepers. He frowned, surprised by Caster's reaction.

"What is it?"

Caster gritted his teeth.

"I might have expected such behavior from them, but you should know better."

The other Legacy raised an eyebrow.

"Why? Is there something special about that peasant girl?"

Caster's eyes widened.

"Peasant... peasant girl? Do you really not know who she is?"

'No!' Sunny thought impatiently. 'So just get to it and say it out loud!'

Luckily, the arrogant Sleeper had the same sentiment.

Caster opened his mouth several times, as though not sure what to say. Finally, he shook his head and answered:

"She is Nephis of the Immortal Flame clan."

As soon as he said that, the arrogant Legacy became deathly pale. Not paying him any attention, Caster continued.

"I trust that I don't need to tell you about her grandfather. Her parents were Smile of Heaven and Broken Sword."

In his room, Sunny almost fell from the chair. Even he knew who Immortal Flame and Broken Sword were. The former was the first human to conquer the Second Nightmare and become a Master. The latter – the first one to conquer the Third Nightmare and become a Saint.

They, as well as their companions, were among the most famous heroes of the human race, someone who had managed to change history with their own two hands. If what Caster said was true, then Nephis wasn't just an aristocrat... she was royalty!

No wonder he addressed her as "lady". Why didn't he just call her "princess" instead?

But that didn't make any sense!

Echoing his thoughts, the pale-faced Sleeper asked in trembling voice:

"Then why... why is she so..."

Caster sighed.

"Because they're all dead. The Immortal Flame clan is long gone."

For a few moments, the locker room was completely silent. Caster looked down.

"She's the only one left."

***

Late at night, when everyone was already asleep, Sunny furtively entered the dojo. Looking around, he made sure that no one was there and then curiously approached the ring where Nephis and others had been tested earlier. He stopped at the center of the ring and stood there for a while, remembering how she had dealt with dozens of Sleepers of their batch before being defeated by Caster.

"Monsters... both of them are monsters!" he mumbled, bitter and disheartened.

Shaking his head, Sunny left the ring and then he looked at his shadow.

"Do you agree?"

The shadow hesitated for a few seconds, then stuck out its chest and crossed its arms, trying to appear cocky, disdainful and unperturbed. However, its act wasn't very convincing.

"Yeah, you're right. Exactly! What's the big deal anyway?"

Both Immortal Flame and Broken Sword, Nephis's father and grandfather, were as monstrous in terms of power as one can get. But they still failed to protect their family from being eviscerated. So, power wasn't that important in the end.

Even royalty was not safe from the cruelty of the world.

Sunny sighed and proceeded to the measuring machine. Making a fist, he swung it and delivered his best punch. The machine hummed for a few seconds and then displayed a single number.

 Nine.

"Oh, come on! I deserve a ten, at least!"

Feeling very indignant, he struck the plate again, almost hurting his fingers. However, the result was the same.

"Damn it!"

Sunny paced for a bit, trying to control his anger. It seems he was destined to be a weakling. After all, the force of the strike depended on mass and acceleration. Acceleration could be improved with technique and exercise, but mass was something he had little control of.

He was already done growing, and his height was not going to drastically increase in the future. No matter how hard Sunny trained, he was always good to be a lightweight.

'How is this fair?'

Suddenly filled with resentment, he punched the plate again, putting all of his frustration into this one strike.

At that moment, a strange instinct suddenly awakened in Sunny's mind.

Following the command of this instinct, his shadow flowed up and wrapped itself around his hand, sticking to it like a black glove. In the next moment, the punch connected.

The machine trembled from the force of the strike. Sunny yelped in pain and took a step back, cradling his bruised fist. After a while, the result was displayed. However, it wasn't a nine anymore.

It wasn't even a ten.

It was eighteen.

He looked at the displayed number for a long time, expressionless.

Then, a wide grin slowly appeared on Sunny's face.

"I see. So that's why. Of course!"

He clenched his fist again, looking down at the black, shadowy glove.

Ah, what an invaluable helper indeed.

"Now we're talking!"