Once the time was over, he went to go for dinner, not seeing Sunny there, Ray just took a bunch of stuff and packed it right up to take it with him. If there is no one to at least talk to, then he'd rather not get constantly bothered by his Flaw.
Ray doesn't normally show it, but most times, hen they are eating or at the welcoming ceremony, he constantly gets tons of visions and whispers flowing into him. Luckily, when there are too many people around him, the visions turn into whispers as well, which makes it possible for him to remain in crowds at all.
Taking his food, Ray decided to look for a good place to sit and enjoy his meal. It took about five minutes till he found a good enough spot to dine. If it had taken much longer, he probably wouldn't have even cared anymore, as he was just way too hungry after nonstop lessons since breakfast.
The few people who walked by, while Ray was eating looked at him mostly weirdly, but some were more unreadable. His situation, especially him having a true name, apparently, caused many to forget about his previous behavior, and focus more on the good parts of that entrance. For example, the memory most imparted in the minds of many girls was his trained body.
When it came to awakened, most of them didn't look bad, there were always some exceptions, but the general rule was that awakened and above ranked were always beautiful. Ray, meanwhile, someone who has trained nearly every waking hour since the death of his parents, still stood out. He was eighteen years old this year, having contributed more than ten years of this life to training and everything, his body was perfectly refined for his purposes.
Even among legacies, most wouldn't show such dedication, so even of them, only ones who had already received many Soul shards from their Families could hope to match him physically. But then, one should never think, that Ray was just a mountain of muscles, while he was indeed bulkier than most here, it was perfectly balanced and gave him the most freedom to move.
With this foundation, his techniques also had to match.
Still, after finishing his meal, Ray's mind went towards the other combat class today. Looking at his mechanical watch, which along with a few sets of clothing were issued by the academy, he saw that there was still about half an hour till then. Nether the less, he was hyped.
Ray knew that it was probably the only contact combat course offered by the academy. He knew, legacies liked to impress, so Ray was especially looking forward to seeing Caster there. He really wanted to fight him, with or without Aspect.
The half an hour was spent by Ray, with some light exercises and stretches, to digest his body faster, aside from that, Ray actually had to look quite a bit for the prepared dojo. It wasn't that he was bad with directions, but most places looked entirely the same here. The only differences being his other two course rooms, one being in an open training ground, the other taking up an entire floor.
Even with a few difficulties, Ray found the dojo and was still on time. He looked over the attending people, and like expected it was the fullest course he saw today, among the people present today, there was also most of the legacies, all once more huddled around Caster, and also the Silver haired Girl, Nephis, if Ray recalls correctly.
He took place to the side of the dojo and waited for the start.
About ten minutes later, a middle-aged man in trainer clothes came into the room and closed the door behind him, making it clear, that whoever came late wouldn't be able to attend.
The room quieted as the instructor strode to the center of the dojo. He had the solid build of a lifelong fighter - broad shoulders, thick arms, and a presence that carried undeniable authority. His features were rugged, lined with the marks of experience, and his dark eyes scanned the room with sharp awareness.
He didn't waste time with pleasantries.
"Name's Rock," he stated, his voice deep and steady. "Awakened. Spent over a decade fighting in the Dream Realm and just as long teaching greenhorns like you how to hit without breaking your own damn hands." He cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. "This isn't some sport. You don't fight to win points here - you fight to survive. Keep that in mind."
There was no unnecessary intimidation in his tone, but his words carried weight. The Sleepers in the room, even the legacies, listened in silence.
"Now," Rock continued, clapping his hands together. "We'll start with some light stretches. Don't think you're too good for it, or you'll tear something when we get to the real work."
He began leading them through a warm-up routine - basic but effective. Rolling their shoulders, stretching their legs, loosening their arms. Even Ray, who had already done some stretching beforehand, followed along. He wasn't about to ignore instructions just because he thought he was prepared.
Nephis, as always, moved with precise, controlled motions. Caster, surrounded by a small group of legacies, stretched with the easy confidence of someone who had done this a thousand times before. The rest of the class followed along at their own pace, some more focused than others.
Once everyone was warmed up, Rock gestured toward a large, reinforced training dummy placed against the back wall. It was fitted with a machine to measure the force of impact.
"Now that you're loosened up, we'll see what kind of power you've got." Rock's expression didn't change, but there was a hint of something in his gaze - analyzing, measuring. "One strike each. Step up, hit it as hard as you can, then step aside."
One by one, the Sleepers approached the machine.
Most hovered around the expected range. The numbers varied- 11, 12, 14. A few with strengthening Aspects managed to hit above that, landing in the 16 to 19 range. There were some murmurs when the higher numbers started showing up, but nothing too shocking.
When it was Nephis' turn to test, everybody present stopped what they were doing, and with bated breaths looked on. This was one of the only two True Name wielders in their batch.
16.
Surprising for most, the number just showed 16, ranging in the upper middle field for the attending people. No one commented on it though, strength wasn't by no means the only thing that mattered.
Then, Caster stepped forward.
There was a quiet anticipation in the room. He rolled his shoulders, exhaled slowly, then struck.
21.
The number flashed on the screen.
A few of the legacies exchanged glances, some impressed, others unsurprised. Caster remained as he always did, shifting hi Gaze to Nephis for a moment, before fixing them on Ray.
"Now, the last one for this test," Instructor Rock spoke with his arms crossed, looking at Ray as well.
Ray didn't say anything and just walked nonchalantly towards the device. When he stood in front of it, he assumed a familiar stance, and then, lashed out. His muscles bulged, as he stroke with nearly his full power, but good technique.
20.
The result of his strike was twenty, most in attendance now thought, that the True Names given to the two people were undeserved, at least when it came to Ray.
He had heard that before he arrived that morning, some people had spoken to Nephis, upon seeing her true name, revealing in the Conversation, that she also seemed to be someone important, though, nothing specific was said.
Ray, meanwhile, looked like a physical fighter, so him not having the highest score felt funny for some, and they began to snicker. Ray, like always, couldn't care less, and just went back towards his spot.
In his mind, though, he remembered those that laughed, he knew, next there would probably be a sparing process, and there he would 'guide' them gladly.
Instructor Rock noting down the score, then continued, "Okay people, next we're gonna have some show fights. Volunteers step forward…"