Shadow Slave: Possibilities Without Meaning

December 6th. It's been two months since he arrived at the Awakened Academy. 

Productive. These 9 weeks were worth more than a year in terms of quality. Aldric completely focused on preparing himself as much as he could. Not a second was wasted on anything but training, learning, or resting. There was nothing to distract him. He was completely locked in. Time passed by him quickly and he gave it no regard. 

His classes were extremely informative for him. Being taught by actual awakened was such a blessing as they knew and did exactly what they taught. There was no curriculum or specification to follow. No textbook or exams. Just distilling years of research knowledge and experience into digestible chunks. It was more like an apprenticeship. You were encouraged to learn on your own and come for help.

His wilderness survival course better improved his knowledge. Of course, he knew the basics. After all, he had spent 4 years using whatever resources were available to him to learn. The basics were easily found on the internet however his classes offered major insights that only an experienced awakened could give you.

He built a good relationship with his teacher. He did not share the same teacher that Sunless had. He could not remember his name. It seemed that of the over 1000 sleepers, there would be no way that Sunless was the only one to think of learning wilderness survival. Sure most might already know it however it was a supplementary class that didn't take too much time.

The point is that there were whole departments for each subject. Maybe Sunless' teacher only taught those who arrived in the last month.

He had learned all sorts of tricks and tips that would make surviving easier. Cooking, dismembering, and preparing fresh nightmare creature corpses. Determining which types can be eaten. It was worth every minute he spent in the classroom.

His weapon instruction class was his most taxing class by far. Every day he had a sword in his hand. His previous training gave him a basic foundation and his first nightmare taught him the skill of murder.

However, he did not have a battle style yet. It would be a long time before he completed it however the daily sparring with other sleepers and the mentorship of his teacher allowed him to notice his flaws and habits. The maneuvers that were easy for him and those that weren't.

He did not have Nephis to teach him the legacy battle style of a legend. Aldric was extremely talented with the sword. He did not have a preference for the type he would wield however he soaked up everything that the teacher taught him.

Awakened Mako was the instructor for the class. His aspect was apparently related to swordsmanship. Aldric pushed beyond the standards that Mako had for his students and constantly sought him outside of class for sparring and teaching. Aldric was relentless in absorbing as much of his instructor's teachings as he could.

This was Aldric's biggest achievement in the last two months.

As for his final class, you might believe that it would be a waste of time. Archeology was the least demanding of his classes. It was for 1 hour each day.

Beyond the nightmare creatures in the dream realm, countless ancient sites littered the landscape. Most of them held artifacts and memories of high value. Sunless was lucky to be able to enter these sites safely through luck and his mark of divinity attribute. Aldric did not have that and so he had to learn about traps and how to avoid them.

It was also an extension of the history class, as it gave practical uses to the knowledge gained. How to decipher ancient scriptures. Where valuable items are often held. The architecture of religious sites and other sites of importance.

It was a gamble that Aldric took however it had helped consolidate his knowledge from the novel and gave context to the sort of things that Sunless accomplished. Like when he deciphered the history of the forgotten shore in the old library. Or when he found Weaver's mask below the cathedral. Aldric learned that religious sites often had underground sections with cells and relics.

After his classes, Aldric was in the gym. He did not focus on bulking up but on building his mobility, athleticism, and flexibility. Being able to bench an extra 5 kg would not be of immediate help but being mobile enough to race through unfamiliar terrain was worth more. The training also helped familiarise him with his awakened body.

He was also putting in some time in the swimming pool. This was a luxury that most common civilians didn't have. Aldric knew how to swim in his old world but he wanted to be comfortable swimming in his enhanced body. Especially with the dark sea being a place he could be dropped in.

Yesterday, rumors spread that the largest number of sleepers yet were inducted. Aldric hadn't met anyone from the cast until today. He saw a young sleeper being led around by an assistant. It seemed she was blind based on her holding the hand of the assistant. She had pale blond hair and blue vacant eyes.

'It seems that they are here'

Aldric recognised that he would gain nothing from interacting with anyone in the cast. Sunless was extremely paranoid and had not learned to rely on anyone but himself. Any attempt at interaction would be ignored or taken as a threat.

The same with Nephis. It would look suspicious to try to get close to her. The biggest reason was that he had no purpose in doing so. What would he gain from trying to ingratiate himself with the cohort so early in the story?

'If our paths cross then so be it' 

'However, I'm not some fan trying to join the adventures of the main characters. I have my own goals and motivations. Beyond Sunless and Nephis. Beyond all of them' Aldric thought with cold conviction. 

With that in his mind, he went to his weapons class.

----------

In the late night in an empty training hall, a lone figure could be seen practicing.

Aldric spent some time every night to train his aspect abilities in complete solitude. It was no one's business as to what his abilities were.

After experimenting, Aldric learned that he could manipulate the darkness that he generated from his body. He directed the darkness emanating from his body in small wisps towards the tip of his pointed finger. It formed a ball the size of a basketball.

The darkness itself was cold to the touch. Viscous and completely pitch dark, it was as if there was an emptiness in space where it stood. Even in the bright-lit training, it cast not a single shadow. All light was absorbed by the emptiness. It was truly the enemy of light. 

The darkness was very small. It was a large point of contention for Aldric. What it lacked in size, it made up for in pure power. he could coat his blade and enhance its durability and strength. It may also strengthen its enhancements, he could not tell. 

He could not extend the ball into the air or he would lose control. 

Running the darkness inside his body gave him a major boost. He was at least 2 times stronger when running it through himself. It also had a substantial restorative effect. It could not regrow limbs like Nephis but it could heal his muscles and tears in a short time. 

If he were to describe it, It was on the opposite spectrum of Sunless' shadow abilities. Nephis would be placed in the middle. It lacked in utility but it was extremely powerful.

He had not used it on an enemy yet but he knew that the darkness itself had certain attributes that would annihilate his enemies. He would have to wait until he found out. Perhaps it could hinder the abilities of his enemies or even absorb them. The possibilities were endless.

It was really fun to explore the powers that he had.

When trying to incorporate his aspect abilities with his swordsmanship, Aldric concluded that he didn't need to reinvent the wheel. He could emulate someone. After thinking long and hard, he chose Yami Sukehiro from Black Clover.

Of course, he wouldn't magically be throwing dimensional slashes however it gave him something to follow and aspire to. His darkness was similar to Yami's as Aldric could emulate dark slashes that traveled large distances.

He also attempted to try other techniques that Yami had like his death thrust and others. Aldric was not successful with many of them because of how limited he was with the volume of darkness and a lack of technique.

Aldric continued to slash away.

----------

In the massive canteen now hosting close to 1000 students, Aldric could now see the newly inducted students. It seemed they stuck close to each other and sat on the empty side of the canteen. Aldric took his balanced and nutritious breakfast and sat in his regular seat beside a few introverts who wouldn't bother him.

Observing the new faces while eating his food, he could see some familiar faces. Caster, who was surrounded by a contingent of legacies. Cassie sitting alone with a short sickly pale boy. He was sitting as far as he could from her while at the same table. 

His gut gave him a small warning as he could feel a set of eyes on him. He looked in the direction discreetly and met a pair of clear grey eyes.

'You' Aldric recognised the person.