Shadow Slave

Satisfied with his performance, Sunny walked back to the deserted corner of the hall. He felt people looking at him with mockery, contempt and pity. No one seemed to be willing to stay close to him. It was just as well: he didn't want to be bothered anyway.

Still, weren't their reactions a bit exaggerated? It's not like he was carrying an infectious disease. Well, except for the Spell. But it wasn't really a disease, which everyone here should have known already.

Finally, he extricated himself from the crowd and reached the corner. For some reason, Sleepers were unwilling to approach it: currently, there was only one girl sitting quietly on the bench. Sunny gave her a look.

The quiet girl was delicate, demure and very pretty. Her clothes were tidy and neat. They weren't very expensive, but still rather tasteful. With her pale blond hair, big blue eyes and exquisite face, she looked like a beautiful porcelain doll.

She was subtly breathtaking.

However, there was something wrong with her. Sunny frowned, trying to understand what exactly about the girl made him uncomfortable. After a while, he realized that her empty, expressionless stare was reminding him of Mountain King.

Startled, Sunny understood that the girl was blind. It took him a couple of seconds to compose himself.

'What a shame.'

A bit disheartened, he carefully sat on the opposite end of the bench.

The girl wouldn't have survived the First Nightmare if she had been blind prior to entering the Spell. Which meant that she lost her sight as the result of the Appraisal.

It was her Flaw.

Sunny felt very apprehensive. A

my

in exchange for her sight, it was effectively a death sentence. A blind person had no chances of surviving in the Dream Realm, at least not with a dormant

was effectively

why people were trying to avoid this corner:

superstitious, but anyone would feel uncomfortable

the hall were grouped. Instinctively, they all tried to stand close to those of their own

or two small groups. People in these groups were distinct from the rest of Sleepers. They were all confident, calm and had an air of readiness. These were the Legacies: they were trained for the Spell since birth and had

expensively dressed young people. They were lively and excited, and only a little nervous. They were the scions of rich and high-ranking citizens. Their training was pretty good since such families had ample funds to hire private tutors —

of the crowd, which consisted of kids from middle-class families. They might not have had the privilege of training under Awakened tutors, but their education wasn't bad. The

them might have received additional training in private. To survive, these Sleepers would need to put in a valiant effort, and also have a bit of luck.

the blind girl. The corpses. From the point of view of other Sleepers in the hall, their

'How charming.'

was how the young Sleepers had subconsciously divided themselves. The only exception from this rule was the silver-haired girl, who stood alone and apart from everyone, seemingly indifferent to tension and

and level of training, everyone

induction ceremony

in a dark blue uniform appeared on the stage. Not only was

before the Spell even appeared. But

Nightmare

serious. After reaching

have a telepathic Ability. Otherwise, he might separate me from a limb or