'...And so, for that reason, having a tomboy girlfriend is the best option.'
Uriel let out a deep, tired sigh.
"Hey, seriously, you need to stop doing that," said Sunny.
"I can't help it," replied Uriel.
"Oh, look, we're here," he pointed to the door with the sign "Wilderness Survival" written above it.
Upon entering, Uriel noticed the instructor had a somber air, sitting behind a wide wooden desk. He smiled upon seeing them.
"Come in, young ones!"
'He looks like Gandalf,' said Shade, seeing the old man.
'More like he has a Dumbledore vibe,' replied Uriel.
"I am Awakened Julius. You can call me Master Julius. Sit down! What are your names?"
"Sunless," said Sunny.
"Uriel," he said simply.
"Ah! What sinister names. But it's good, very good. After all, we have to deal with many sinister things."
'Hey, Uriel, now that I remember, do you think in this world they've already discovered what One Piece is?'
Uriel frowned slightly.
'I don't think so. Let me check,' he replied.
Taking out his communicator, he typed "One Piece" into the search bar but got no results.
'Well, it doesn't exist in this world,' said Uriel.
'What if we invent it?'
'Wouldn't that be plagiarism?'
'It's not plagiarism since it doesn't exist. And we can also create Naruto, just removing the filler parts and with a better plot. That way we make a lot of money.'
'We can also write famous stories and epic phrases. Think about it, we'll be like entertainment revolutionaries.'
"Young man, is it normal for your expression to change so much?" asked Julius, looking at Sunny, who shrugged.
"Master Julius, he's a bit crazy."
"I'm not crazy, Sunny; the world is crazy," responded Uriel with a wise tone.
"That is true," said Master Julius.
"By the way, young Uriel, among all the classes you could choose, why did you choose this one?"
"The Awakened who monitored me during my nightmare recommended this class, so I chose it."
"That is very wise advice," he said, nodding.
"Well, let's start the curriculum. Are you taking other courses?" asked Julius, looking at his two students.
Sunny spoke first.
"None. For the next four weeks, I'll focus entirely on Wilderness Survival."
Julius nodded and then looked at Uriel.
"I also took combat classes, but they don't start until around five," he explained.
"Good! Wonderful! In these four weeks we have, I will make you immortal..."
...
Over the next few hours, both Uriel and Shade felt their heads would explode from the amount of information they were digesting, provided by Julius.
Since Uriel literally had two minds, memorizing and learning wasn't a problem at all. He also took the opportunity to tease the protagonist a bit for his lack of knowledge, though he was reprimanded by Julius, much to the young man's delight.
When five o'clock came, Uriel said goodbye to Julius since he had to go to his other combat class.
Leaving, he headed towards a large dojo where combat classes were being held, led by the Awakened Rock.
'You know, he doesn't look like The Rock,' said Shade.
'Right. It's a shame he has that name. At least he should go bald and exercise more,' replied Uriel.
Uriel looked towards the large dojo, settling his gaze on one of the shadows in the dojo, observing a shadow figure watching attentively.
'Does he really think no one sees him?' asked Shade.
'He's confident,' said Uriel.
'What if we give him a scare?'
'What do you have in mind?'
'Let's use our Aspect.'
'You know we need to be Awakened, right?'
'Right,' said Shade, depressed.
Uriel noticed it was his turn to hit the measuring machine.
Approaching the machine, he threw a focused punch, making the machine tremble and taking a while to calculate. Finally, two numbers appeared.
'Twenty-five.'
Everyone looked at Uriel, mouths agape at the display. More than one look of respect was directed at Uriel, who possessed a True Name as a sleeper, just like Changing Star.
Uriel could feel the slightly astonished gaze of the Legacy boy and a curious look from Nephis.
Finally, the combat part arrived. Uriel watched as one after another lost to Nephis.
'Hey, Shade, I was thinking something,' he said, watching as another sleeper lost.
'And what would that be?'
'Well, can we switch? You know, let you take control of the body and then switch back.'
Shade made a thoughtful noise inside Uriel's mind.
'I think it's possible. Let's try. I'll try to take control, and you let me. To switch back, it should be the same.'
'Agreed,' said Uriel.
Uriel felt a kind of tug, and after a moment, he was in a large furnished room with a huge flat-screen TV, popcorn, and soft drinks.
"How on earth did you make all this, Shade?" he asked, astonished.
"I made it while sleeping. Since it's a shared mental space, I can alter it and shape it as I wish, except for living beings," replied Shade.
Uriel could hear Shade's voice quite clearly and could see, hear, and feel the same things.
On the outside, Uriel blinked, and his eyes turned blood-red.
Shade moved his hands, then his body, feeling it was quite natural and comfortable.
Finally, Shade smiled and entered the circle; he wanted to fight Nephis and test the body to know its limits.
Entering the ring, the sleepers who had been defeated watched with growing anxiety what would happen; they wanted to see the outcome of two True Name users.
In a corner, Sunny's shadow paid close attention to the fight about to happen.
...
Shade let out a smile while doing small jumps before disappearing and appearing above Nephis, launching a kick, which Nephis blocked with eyes wide open at the force of the kick that made her stagger backward.
The sleepers only saw how Uriel had disappeared and the next moment had pushed Changing Star back with a single attack.
Shade jumped back, moving his right arm.
'Hey, Uriel, this body is incredible; it has great talent for combat,' Shade said mentally.
'Yes, I noticed that too. Just don't hurt them too much, okay?'
'Yes, yes. Now enjoy the show.'
Shade lunged at Nephis, throwing a devastating punch; however, his opponent had read his movement, managing to tilt her body slightly to deflect the punch.
Yet, even though she had avoided the full blow, the speed and force were insufficient, letting the dark-haired boy's fist impact her shoulder, making the girl spin.
Shade moved, lunging forward to end the fight with the next move. Knowing his opponent expected him to fall for her feint, he devised an effective counterattack.
Appearing and dropping his fist on Nephis, she turned at the last moment; her posture changed, and she threw her elbow backward with terrifying force.
Knowing that move in advance, Shade placed his forearm slightly wrapped in darkness, letting the elbow pass through as if through air.
Changing Star opened her eyes; immediately, using her free hand, she blocked a kick aimed at her head.
The girl landed on her feet about two meters away; a serious look was drawn on her face, but Shade felt she was surprised since he had used her own feint to take her by surprise.
The entire exchange hadn't even lasted seven seconds.
Shade sighed.
"I give up," he said to the air, making everyone, including the instructor, open their eyes in surprise.
All the sleepers were confused; clearly, he had been leading the entire fight. Why withdraw now?
Shade smiled, feeling the perplexity and slight annoyance of Changing Star at abandoning the fight, but he didn't care.
Turning around, he left the combat area, disqualifying himself and, by default, giving Nephis a victory.
...
After that, the introductory class had ended. All the sleepers were sore except Shade and Caster—one because he hadn't suffered any blows and the other because of his speed Aspect.
Entering the boys' locker room, Shade began changing out of his combat uniform.
Doing so, he noticed something he hadn't before.
'Uriel, did you notice our body is very defined, right?'
'Yes, yesterday we barely had muscles, but now we have every muscle trained and defined as if we've worked out for years,' said Uriel.
'Most likely it's because of our Aspect,' said Shade.
'Yes, that's the most probable. Oh, I didn't know you had recreated the One Piece manga up to chapter 500 in color.'
'It was in your head, so I just gave it shape,' he explained.
'Interesting. Oh, right, you can keep our body a bit longer until I finish reading this.'
'I refuse. Uriel, Uriel, you imbecile, stop ignoring me!'
"Uriel, that was incredible!" said a sleeper, looking at the dark-haired boy, who noticed the looks from the boys.
"Uh, thanks."
"But why did you decide to give up against that girl Nephis? She didn't have a chance!" said the sleeper.
"You're wrong," replied Shade.
"I lost, that's why I gave up."
"But you were leading; a little more and you would have won."
Shade shook his head.
"You wouldn't understand, even if I explained it," said Shade, finishing changing to leave.
But then he stopped.
"Ah, and by the way, that girl is Nephis from the Immortal Flame clan." After saying those words, he left the room, leaving the sleepers—except Caster—in shock at that information.
Everyone knew about the Immortal Flame clan and who they were.
"Well, I'm hungry; time for dinner," he said with a fairly animated attitude. However, when he was about to reach the Academy's cafeteria, he was stopped by Nephis herself, who had a serious and perhaps somewhat annoyed face.
"Oh, Changing Star, what do you need?"
Nephis didn't respond immediately; after one or two seconds, she replied.
"You."
Inside Shade's mind, Uriel, who was climbing the stairs to the second floor of the mental house, tripped and fell in an inelegant manner.
Inside a room, Sunny would never admit he had fallen off his chair upon hearing the declaration from Nephis of the Immortal Flame clan.
Shade made an amused face.
"Hey, sorry, but at least invite me for coffee. I'm not that easy, you know."
Nephis frowned.
"Not in that sense..." She paused again. "I want another fight."
Shade blinked.
"Okay, but I'm starving, so later. How about around ten?" asked Shade.
Nephis nodded.
Shade, without saying anything, passed by her, entering the cafeteria while a shadow returned to its master.