Shadow Slave

Teacher Julius was just the same, but Sunny's perception of him had changed. Not only because of how instrumental the things he had learned from the old instructor turned out to be for his survival, but also because of the history books he had just read.

'How old is Teacher Julius, anyway?'

Sunny had never thought about it, but after learning more about Immortal Flame and the first generation of the Awakened, he couldn't help but see his mentor in a new light. Teacher Julius must have been if not of the same age as those legendary figures, then at least of the same generation. Those people had lived through much darker, much more violent times.

They had survived the end of the world, and built a new one from the ruins.

"...Sunny, my boy!"

Before Sunny could react properly, he was subjected to a passionate hug. Then, Teacher Julius unceremoniously pushed him to the nearest chair.

"Finally, you're back! I never doubted that you would return, not even for a moment. No student of mine would allow himself to die easily, you know! Wait, what am I talking about… of course, you know. You're one of my students yourself, after all!"

Sunny couldn't help but smile while listening to the excitement in the old man's voice. Before coming here, he was slightly worried that Teacher Julius would not even remember him.

Despite the fact that his course was not the most popular at the Academy, the eccentric instructor must have mentored thousands of Sleepers throughout his career. What was one more?

But, luckily, Sunny had been wrong.

"But, my boy… a whole year! Did you like it in the Dream Realm so much that you didn't want to return? Did you not think that your old teacher would be worried sick? In the name of the gods, what happened?"

Sunny hesitated a little, then said apologetically:

"Well, Teacher Julius… you see… I ended up in an unexplored region of the Dream Realm. And the only Gateway there was guarded by a Fallen Terror…"

The old man blinked.

"Heavens! How horrible. So what did you do?"

Sunny shrugged.

city, went on a long and arduous quest to find a magic crown, killed a

listened to him very carefully, then nodded a few

great! Just as expected from one of

old man's eyes suddenly shone brightly, full

did you say something about an

smiled, then activated

a lengthy report about things I have seen, fought, and discovered there. Would

Julius looked

you must

old man was already opening the file. As soon as he

runic? That's my boy! Marvelous! Huh… well-preserved ruins? A whole city?! Is there a… there is! Oh,

***

skim through the report. Throughout the whole process, he continued to mumble under his nose in an increasingly excited tone. Some remarks Sunny understand, while

"Which era of the Babel Script would that correspond to?". Or: "Rats! That'll show that smug

old man's eyes gradually grew wider

looked at Sunny with an

can name at least a dozen theories that can be expanded, confirmed, or refuted thanks to all the new data you provided. And

Teacher Julius smiled proudly:

people do, and out of those, even less have a keen mind such as yours. Not to mention the ability to venture into the deadly expanse of the Dream Realm and not only come back alive, but also remember to look at more than just what's in front of them. But it is thanks to such people that we can

He sighed.

little regard, but it is only because of us that they know how to hack and where to slash. Luckily, there are few bright minds here

He just wrote down his findings about the

I'm sorry? Published? What do you

with a humorous

of the reward. I'll help you bring this paper to a proper state free of charge. I don't even need to be put down as a coathor, although it would make me happy if you did. What do I need money for? I

blinked a couple of times. His heart was