When Ash opened his eyes, he emerged from the sleeping pod that the Academy had provided to Awakened who stayed in their facilities.
Leaving the pod, he observed his room. Unlike his room in the dormitory building for Sleepers, the building for the Awakened was different. Although the space was more ample, there was a high number of Awakened who stayed at the Academy, whether to continue learning about the dream world or simply to have a safe and protected place.
Looking around his room, Ash observed his few belongings — a book here and there that he had bought out of boredom, a few new sets of clothes, as well as small puzzles to keep himself entertained.
Aside from that, he didn't have much else.
Well, that was about to change. Taking out his communicator, he entered a marketplace-style page where he could sell soul fragments as well as memories he no longer used in exchange for credits.
Although the registration process was complicated, he had managed to sell a few hundred fragments of awakened beasts and awakened memories he had obtained some time ago.
With that, he had amassed a small fortune, which he used to secure his own home.
After taking a shower and putting on comfortable clothes, a necklace materialized around his neck. That necklace was an Awakened memory with a single enchantment that inverted the color of his hair and eyes.
Looking at himself in the mirror, he watched as his hair turned black and his eyes became a dark purple color.
Leaving his room and locking the door behind him, he walked toward the elevator, pressing the button for the upper floor where the great dining hall of the Awakened Academy was located.
It took him a few minutes to reach the great dining hall, where he saw hundreds of Awakened gathered, eating their meals.
It was around ten in the morning, so the activity wasn't as heavy as in the afternoon.
Getting in line, he grabbed a tray and began filling it with all kinds of food, as well as a delicious drink and coffee.
Finding an empty seat, he sat down and began to eat. A few minutes later, Priscilla arrived with her own tray.
"Hey, you didn't even wait for me," the girl said, eating her fried rice.
"You took too long. Besides, you know I like to get here early before all the good stuff runs out."
"You know they always make more, right?"
"Yes, but then I have to wait, and I don't want to wait."
Priscilla shook her head as they continued eating in silence.
When they finished eating, Ash checked the time on his communicator. Then he observed a new amount of credits that had arrived in his account. It was the transfer from the last sale he had made of an awakened memory, one that allowed gliding through the air from great heights.
Ash and Priscilla chatted for a while until Ash finally had to leave — he had received the message he had been waiting for all week.
...
After changing clothes, he left the Awakened Academy heading for the tram line that ran through NQSC. He boarded the crowded carriage.
Ash found himself quite fascinated by the trains that moved by magnetic levitation — so much so that he researched them a bit, learning about electromagnetic waves that intertwined and repelled each other, allowing the train to float without a point of support.
If that kind of technology existed in his world, it would revolutionize transportation entirely, advancing decades of research in just a few years. In fact, the world he was in was much more technologically and militarily advanced.
If he ever became powerful enough, he would return to his world with all this acquired knowledge to propel it forward.
Of course, to begin with, he didn't know if he could actually return. First, he would have to do some things — like become strong. Very strong.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Ash noticed that people kept looking at him, especially young women, who cast curious glances at him from time to time.
In the months since returning from the Dark City, he had changed. Before, he was thinner and shorter, but now, after months of good nutrition and training, his body had completely transformed, giving him a healthy, energetic appearance.
When he finally reached his stop, he felt relief at no longer receiving so many looks. Exiting the tram, he began walking toward an area of the city that was relatively close to the center, away from the outskirts.
The place he arrived at was quiet and peaceful.
The air was fresh.
He noticed the houses were low — no more than two or three meters high. The terrain itself rose and fell in artificial terraces, and each street sat on its own wide sidewalk. Expansive lawns of vegetation extended, giving the feeling that it looked like a great garden.
Ash walked for about thirty minutes from the terminal to the address marked on his communicator. Finally, upon arriving, he observed the house before him.
The house had two floors, with gray walls and sloping roofs of red tiles. It had a synthetic wood porch, a garden, and a large window looking out onto the spacious living room. A garage for storing cars and a wooden hedge separating it from other houses.
Ash looked for a few moments until he heard a voice.
"Awakened Ashfall? Sir?"
Ash turned, seeing a stocky man in a tailored suit with a professional expression on his face.
"Willbert, right?"
The man nodded.
"That's me. Ah, the fact that you remember my name is very flattering. Truly," he said with a smile, then pointed to the house.
"Do you like it?"
"I suppose it's fine," Ash said without much emotion in his voice. In fact, he simply looked at the house with an apathetic expression.
Ash listened to Willbert for a while without really hearing him.
Since he was alone, he had had to get contacts, which was a challenge even after he was marked as a strategic asset. After gathering money from selling soul fragments and memories, and from creating an exploration report on the Forgotten Coast and the partial exploration of the increase and its nature, he had earned more income.
For some reason, he knew that publishing information about an area as dangerous as the Underworld would cause him to be sought after by the great clans, but he didn't care.
He had simply published the report under the pseudonym "Oblivion" at the time of publication.
He would also write an explanatory report about his stay in the Hollow Mountains and the horrors that inhabited it, but that would be in the future.
"Mr. Ashfall, shall we take a look inside?" asked Willbert, snapping Ash out of his thoughts.