Shadow slave: In The Eye of The Beholder

Silas watched the unfolding scene from the far corner of the cafeteria, his sharp gaze sweeping across the rows of stunned faces and whispered conversations. Nephis, the silver-haired girl, had drawn everyone's attention once again. Her True Name had been revealed, and now the cafeteria buzzed with a strange mix of awe and suspicion. 

Silas though kept calm and looked at the strange girl, despite the attention she didn't bother to look up, and silently ate her food, it was a weird image seeing all the sleepers stare at the girl who was sitting down in the corner, whether she was ignoring the attention, or didn't notice it, Silas didn't know.

But he knew one thing. 

'If she received a true name, then she must have accomplished something great as well.' Silas eyes narrowing as he observed her, even before she looked special, yet with the evidence of a true name she was likely a powerful sleeper, if he only looked to the legacies as threats, it had changed now. 

His gaze shifted to the raven-haired boy beside him. Unlike the others, he wasn't whispering or gawking. Instead, there was a spark of something else in his eyes. A desire, almost tangible, like the darkness of his soul core. Silas filed that observation away, realizing Nephis wasn't the only one in this room to watch carefully.

Though unlike nephis he really didn't know the boy's name, so in the moment he decided to ask, with the name he would be able to see the boys ranking on the list. The more information about potential threats the better.

"Hey, short guy, what's your name?" Silas voiced curiously with the commotion as the backdrop.

The black hair boys' eyes darted away from the crowd and gave a subsequent death stare. although as seconds passed his mouth started trembling, he then blurted out angerly. 

"It's sunless, or just sunny, and I'm not that short ok!?" 

Silas looked at the pale boy with amusement and continued. 

"Well sunny, that's an interesting name, is it supposed to be a contradiction? because it looks like its bright rays haven't touched you in a while."

Sunless eyes twitched as he replied. 

"Well, is your name 'not-punchable'? Because that seems like a contradiction."

Silas chuckled, though some annoyance made his way through the humour. 

"no, its Silas, and if you would look to the leader board you can see it pretty high up in the rankings, where's yours?"

Sunless scoffed and lamented. 

"Good job asshat, unlike your great achievements, I placed just above dead last"

The blond-haired girl sitting next to them seemed to shiver, before leaning deeper into the food in front of her. 

"Oh, second last place? are you that weak?" Silas questioned.

Sunless nodded before giving a smirk and offering a shrug. 

"I guess I'm not cut out to be a good sleeper, you on the other hand seem to be evaluated highly, did they base the rankings off of other factors? like for an example why were you late yesterday, did your massive ego drag you down, did the swelling of your head make you balloon up the rankings?"

Silas raised an eyebrow, more intrigued than annoyed by the boy's boldness but let the backdrop of the commotion fill the soon silent conversation as he responded. 

"Something like that"

Sunless who had looked pretty happy with his comeback tinged with confusion at the reply, with Silas going back to his meal, he gave a quick look, giving up before going back to his own.

Silas had got what he needed for now, and he was thinking one thing.

How sunny had claimed to be among the weakest of the sleepers.

'Bullshit'

Silas remembered what had defined the boy for him, his uniqueness among his peers were dazzling, although the very same peers seemed to alienate him for, they radiated some sort of inner power, something that would make him superior to the fellow sleepers. 

There was no way someone with an unseen soul core could be trash. Silas had seen that burning determination in the boy's eyes before—the kind of zeal that didn't belong to the truly weak, unless it was some sort of defective core, but in that case, why was his eyes before so filled with determination and zeal? if he had such a ailment he should have been depressed, not filled with vitality. 

Silas gave another look back to the boy, confirming once again.

'He must of lied, or made himself seem as weak, he also seemed a pleased instead of frustrated when claiming his rank, he wants to be seen as weak and has no complaints against it.' Silas eyes narrowed, the conclusion spelling itself out. 

'He could be strong, apart from nephis he is who I should look out for most.'

Silas pushed the thoughts aside for now, his mind already filing away the boy's behaviour as a puzzle to solve later. For now, there were more pressing matters... like finishing this awe-inspiring breakfast.

He scooped a forkful into his mouth, only for the cold, mush to hit his tongue.

'Ahh shit, its cold....'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the commotion died down and the sleepers left the cafeteria, they were given choices of classes to attend at their time in the academy, ranging from all sorts of out their subjects, to the more simple and concrete ones. 

Silas pondered his options before deciding to choose three classes to fill his schedule: Combat, Archery, and Wilderness Survival

The trio provided the basics of what he needed to survive in the dream realm, one ability to fight back and kill nightmare creatures more efficiently, and two making sure he could actually live in the dangerous.

Although he prioritised combat class to take up the majority of his time in lessons, archery class was important in order to teach him how to shoot a bow properly, accuracy for with the arrows was what the class would mainly focus on, with [Beholders Eye] he would not need the countless hours training for accuracy, so he could focus on other classes. 

 Wilderness survival was important, but it was only useful if he lived through the inevitable encounters with nightmare creatures. In this world, confrontation was a certainty.

Combat was non-negotiable. In the Dream Realm, survival meant facing down nightmare creatures head-on, and he needed every edge to ensure he could fight and win. 

For his first day, he found himself having archery class first, and combat class second, with his first wilderness survival class tomorrow. 

----

Silas walked thought the Acadamy as he followed the directions given on his communicator, once he arrived at the archery class he headed through the doors, he was meat with a giant room that was 200m in each direction, there were a bunch of awakened here as well, each lining up at their stations, practicing their aim with each of their own unique targets. 

Silas for a second felt a little lost in the massive space, but soon found a woman with auburn hair, wave, she had a couple of sleepers around here, it seemed that she was probably the teacher to the class. 

Silas as well as the rest of the sleepers arrived, there class consisted of around twenty students, with the instructor being awakened Robin, she was apparently an archer recognised for her skill and was employed to teach the youngest sleepers how to make their arrows hit their targets. 

He joined the rest of the sleepers as they gathered around the instructor, Robin, who greeted them with a bright smile. She had a natural confidence about her, her auburn hair tied back in a loose ponytail, and she gestured for everyone to fall into line.

"Alright, everyone," she began, her voice carrying through the large space, "before we get into the real practice, we need to go over the basics. Archery is about more than just hitting your target—it's about form, control, and focus, you need to give strength into the arrow, so it actually hurts the target you're aiming at."

Most of the students moved toward the rack, pulling down simple wooden bows, adjusting their grip, and preparing to follow her instructions. Silas, however, along with a few others, stood still. He extended his hand and, with a faint flicker of light, [Vile Stalk] forming into his hands, the elegant wheat stalks weaving into each other before forming the long bow, the golden-brown weapon gleaming in the space.

'Might as well test the enchantments now' 

Robin's eyes flickered over to the handful of students with memory bows, her gaze resting on Silas for a moment longer than the others, the [Vile Stalk] compared to the other memory's seemed a bit glamorous, it wasn't stated but the presence it gave off was stronger than off his peers bows, it was an awakened memory of the sixth tier after all, the sleepers around him had no comparison to its quality

"Good," she continued, "now everyone, draw your bowstrings but don't fire yet. We're going to focus on form first. Shoulders back, feet shoulder-width apart and relax your grip on the bow."

Everyone followed the instructions to a tee. They had all been trained with a bow before in their required schooling, though Silas lagged slightly behind. His form was a little off, something Robin noticed almost immediately. She approached him quietly, her eyes narrowing in curiosity as she helped adjust his stance.

The boy possessed a powerful memory bow, yet seemed completely new to using one. It was an odd sight for her—someone with such a potent weapon but no experience. Rather than question him, she simply guided him, hands-on but focused. Silas, feeling her gaze linger a moment too long, kept his thoughts to himself, only nodding in acknowledgment.

After correcting his form, Robin had everyone take turns shooting at the targets. They started with 25 meters, then 50, and finally 100.

One by one, the sleepers lined up and took their shots. Most managed to hit the 25-meter target, and many even hit the 50-meter one. But when it came to the furthest distance, most struggled—the combination of power and accuracy needed to reach it proved difficult.

When it was Silas's turn, he stepped up to the platform and took a deep breath. The 25-meter target was simple enough, but his focus was more on the strange abilities his bow seemed to offer. 'Shoulders back, feet shoulder-width apart, relax your grip on the bow', he reminded himself internally, repeating Robin's corrections.

He quickly glanced at the runes etched on his bow, deciding to test its enchantments here. His first choice was [Thousand Crops]. According to the bow's memory, it could summon stalks of wheat to aid him. Now, he would see exactly what that meant.

As he activated it, a root sprouted from within the bow, growing into the shape of an arrow made from wheat. Silas raised an eyebrow at the sight, catching the attention of a few sleepers nearby who murmured in awe. Even Robin tilted her head slightly, intrigued by the manifestation.

Determined to learn more, Silas pulled the bowstring back, feeling the subtle tension in his back muscles as the wheat arrow took form. He activated [Beholder's Eye], feeling a familiar rush as his vision sharpened, the threads of fate glowing before him. One golden thread curved ahead, leading directly to the first target. It veered slightly to the left, so Silas adjusted, aiming dead center.

With a smooth release, the bowstring snapped forward. The arrow shot through the air with a faint whistle, striking the target with such force that the entire board recoiled from the impact. Unlike the other arrows that merely embedded themselves into the surface, Silas's arrow nearly pierced through entirely, its tail still visible from the other side.

Silas blinked, glancing over his shoulder to see a mixture of surprise and admiration from his peers. Robin observed with a small, approving nod, though her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer than the others.

Next up was the 50-meter target. As the first target disappeared into the floor and a new one rose in its place, Silas grew another wheat arrow, this time opting to use the enchantment [Whistle].

[Enchantment Description: The stalks communicate through the whistles of the wind that blow their bodies. The user can silence the stalks or let them scream. The louder the stalks, the more power they contain.]

Silas tested it by silencing the stalks completely. Drawing the bow again, he felt the eerie absence of sound as the arrow formed. There was no wind against it, no friction—only a haunting silence. Releasing the string, the arrow streaked forward, soundlessly cutting through the air and striking the target with a soft thunk. It didn't penetrate as deeply as before, but the precision was undeniable.

A few sleepers exchanged puzzled glances, clearly impressed but unsure of what had just happened. Silas didn't give them much time to process it.

He readied another arrow, deciding this time to let the stalks wail. The bowstring groaned under the strain as the wheat began to whistle even before the arrow was fully formed. Silas gritted his teeth, struggling against the sudden resistance. The enchantment's power made the bow feel like it had doubled in weight.

'Come on... just a little more', he thought, summoning every ounce of strength he had. The [Empowerment] attribute trickled some extra power into his limbs, allowing him to fully draw the bow.

Sweat beaded on his brow, his muscles screaming with effort. 'Let's see it scream'. With a final exhale, he released the arrow.

SCREECH!

The projectile launched from the bow like a rocket, its ear-piercing whistle reverberating throughout the massive room. Several sleepers flinched, covering their ears from the sheer volume, while the awakened scattered around the room turned their heads, startled by the sudden noise.

The arrow streaked toward the 100-meter target, obliterating it upon impact. The target exploded into fragments, the wooden pieces scattering across the floor like debris. The scream of the arrow was silenced as abruptly as it had begun, leaving only the sound of shrapnel hitting the ground.

Silas stood there, wide-eyed, staring at the aftermath. His fellow sleepers gawked in stunned silence, some of them exchanging nervous glances. Robin, however, took a step forward, her face unreadable, but her eyes held something akin to approval—and perhaps a hint of concern.

"Well," she said, her voice cutting through the tension in the room "That was some impressive shooting but do keep in mind that this space is shared with not just this class, but other awakened. We cannot afford unnecessary disturbances."

Silas looked back to see not just his class, but the other awakened gathering around as well, it seemed like they had been quite shocked by the scream and decided to check it out.

A few awakened had their weapons drawn, eyes wide and muscles tense, their bodies coiled like springs ready to snap. Even now, they seemed reluctant to lower their guard, distrust flickering in their eyes as they took in the scene

robin sighed at the crowd; it seemed like she would have some explaining to do. 

Silas kept quiet for a little bit more before responding. 

"Sorry instructor robin, it won't happen again....."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was how his archery class went, it seemed like he might have shattered his image of being competent but not too outstanding, he already had an idea that his fellow archery class peers would spread the event to others, telling all of his feat. 

'How was I supposed to know it would do that?! It was just supposed to be just stronger, not THAT powerful!'

For a moment, excitement flared in his chest. This kind of power could change everything. But just as quickly, reality sank in like a weight, tempering the spark of joy. He knew better than to trust something that came too easily.

For one he needed [Empowerment] to even properly draw the string, although the number of [Empowerment] needed was feasible to have achieve repeatably, it did a little bit for the power to accumulate, that time could mean the difference between life and death if he didn't manage to get the arrow.

Second was the strain it had on him, even after class Silas still felt pretty sore, repeated shots of that calibre would definitely start injuring him, along with being harder every subsequent shot. 

Third and probably worst of all, the sound, it would probably draw every nightmare creature around him like a beacon, along with his target who he's shooting at hearing the scream and being able to react as the arrows sound gives it away, they might be able to dodge if there fast enough or deflect it if there strong enough. 

Silas sighed as the unwanted attention seemed to burden him even now, he would just have to learn how to brush past it. 

'Well, if some are unwilling to give me their backs, I'll just take their heads from range,' Silas mused

He looked towards his communicator for directions once again. 

This time, he would see what combat classes had to offer. 

'