'The grass is green... well of course it is.'
Epsilon had seen patches of green grass on his way here too, but not anywhere as abundant as this. Grass was something that was a bit lacking in the North America. Wars really do ruin everything.
Anyhow, the part of the Academy Epsilon and Emma were in was reserved for Sleepers. As they walked through it though, several of the sleepers that had come here before them, gave Epsilon a strange look.
'What's their problem?'
Eventually though, all the new comer sleepers had gathered in a small room. After all, there were only 15 of them. Aside from the 5 that came from North America, the rest came from the NQSC.
The rate at which the Nightmare spell infected people was never consistent, and so some had a whole year to prepare for it, while others only had a few days. Since there were only 2 weeks left, it looked as if the grand majority had decided to surrender, or maybe there just weren't a lot of new sleepers to begin with.
Either way, they mostly kept to themselves.
Mostly.
"What are you doing?"
He was a confident young man who looked to be just a bit older than Epsilon. He was stunning of course, even for a sleeper, but there was something rancid about him. Something uncanny that he couldn't describe.
His words seemed to be targeted at Epsilon. He was still being carried by Emma with one arm, but he was mostly able to stand up by himself.
"?"
"What is there to be confused about? You couldn't even walk here without letting yourself be carried. Is this what North America has to offer?"
So he was this kind of guy. Nero and Epsilon only got to watch Television once before, and even then it was through the window of someone else's house. They obviously got caught, but he could still remember it was some sort of K-drama.
He then got on one knee, bowing before Emma as he took her hand.
"Let me unhand you from this beast~"
This person was a bully, and not just any normal kind, but a playboy. But in those K-drama's, he also learnt how to deal with them effectively.
Soul Fragments: [17/1000]
The loud sound of a fist colliding into someone's face echoed throughout the room, as the boy was sent tumbling across the floor before crashing into a piece of furniture which stopped him.
Everyone who could turn their heads towards Epsilon did so, and they all had the same thought, even Emma.
'Is he insane??'
The kind of K-drama that Nero and Epsilon watched, was one that took place in a very violent high school filled to the brim with delinquents. That added with their life of thievery, created a very strange outlook of what school was meant to be.
He retracted his fist before staring at the palm of his hand. He could tell that his punch did not connect fully which was very strange. He unconsciously used a little bit of his Aspect in his frustration, and even though his soul core wasn't that saturated, he should've been faster than the boy could react.
And yet he somehow did.
Although they were twins, Nero and Epsilon still had their own strengths and weaknesses which they compensated each other for. While Nero was a taction and a calculative planner, Epsilon was better at working things out on the spot. If their positions had been swapped in the First Nightmare, neither of them would've made it out alive.
'He doesn't look to be a legacy... his Aspect ability then? One that boosts his reaction time?'
The boy slowly got back up, covering up the bruise he just got with his hand.
"You..!"
Before the situation could get further out of hand though, an awakened bursted into the room.
**
Epsilon found himself sitting behind a desk, with a serious looking awakened on the other side. He wore an odd military coat, decorated in several medals, and kept his dark eyes hidden behind glasses.
Sitting on the far right of the desk, opposite to Epsilon, was the boy he just beat up. He had a small bandage covering the bruise on his face.
"Sleeper Bors. Tell me what happened first."
And right away, he responded with a hint of aggression,
"This guy attacked me out of nowhere! I was just trying to talk to them, but then he hit me!"
Well he wasn't wrong. This man was Awakened Gareth, a teacher at the Awakened Academy. He was also a generation one awakened like Warden, but rather than testing his luck in the second nightmare, he dedicated his time to teaching the next wave of sleepers.
He glanced towards Epsilon,
"And you?"
Epsilon responded,
"He was getting on my nerves, and that's just how your supposed to respond, isn't it?"
Gareth just laughed.
"I've read your file, Sleeper Epsilon. You've come along way, and would it not be sad if you got excluded on your first day? I can see that you haven't socialised much with people your age, and you haven't even been through the Induction ceremony yet!"
His face then turned serious, making a chill crawl down his spine. Those were the eyes of someone who had not just killed thousands of Nightmare creatures, but hundreds of humans too.
"I'm willing to let you off the hook, but if I hear about another incident like this again, then I might just have to ask you to leave."
The suffocating aura suddenly disappeared, letting Epsilon breathe easily.
"Regardless of whatever Bors here said, you did hit him quite hard, so I'm gonna have to ask you to apologise."
Epsilon did feel slightly annoyed. He just followed what the K-Drama did! But it was best to just learn from this mistake, and move on.
Besides, his [Judgement] didn't react, so apparently he made a good decision.
He turned his head towards Bors who was still very much red with anger, and gave the most half hearted apology he could. He still dared to try touch Emma with his dirty hands, so he really didn't care what happened to him. In fact, he wished he could've punched him harder.
Gareth didn't seem to care though.
"Listen. Your both humanities future, and in the dream realm your going to be companions in life and death. Whatever happened here today won't matter in the grand scheme of things. Who knows? You might even end up as close friends in the future, so don't let this small incident hold you back. Understood?"
They both nodded.
"Alright, your dismissed."
Despite that though, Bors never forgave him for this humiliation.