Marcus sat in the back of a police transport, traveling toward the Awakened Preparatory Academy.
The iron partition separating the rear seats from the driver’s cabin only added to his mild annoyance.
Glancing through the mesh barrier at the officer driving, Marcus broke the silence.
“You know…
riding back here makes me feel like an actual criminal.”
The officer didn’t bother looking back, keeping his eyes firmly on the road.
Marcus turned his attention to the window, observing the city passing by.
The sleek architectural lines and advanced vehicles moving through the streets confirmed his earlier deduction: this world was noticeably more technologically developed than his own past life.
It wasn’t some unimaginable leap into a distant science-fiction future, but it was undeniably modern.
The officer’s dry voice eventually broke through his thoughts.
“You should be thanking the doctor for this ride.
If I didn’t owe her a personal favor, I wouldn’t have bothered picking you up.”
Marcus maintained a neutral expression, his internal commentary far less polite.
‘Oh, really?
What a generous soul.
Chivalrous to a fault.
How touching.’
“I’m grateful to you both,” Marcus replied smoothly, keeping his voice even.
“As you can see, my current situation isn’t exactly ideal.”
“She sent your medical profile directly to the Academy’s administration,” the officer added.
“She even arranged for a staff liaison to check in on you at the end of every day.
It’s not every day someone wakes up from their First Nightmare with complete amnesia.”
‘Great.
Just what I needed…
a daily babysitter.’
Shifting his posture, Marcus leaned slightly closer to the mesh partition.
“Mind if I ask you a question?
“You mean if I’m infected with the Nightmare Spell?”
“Precisely.”
The officer let out a weary breath.
“No.
I’m just an ordinary civilian.
And I thank my lucky stars every day that I’m not.”
“Really?” Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“I assumed serving in law enforcement or security forces practically required being Awakened.”
“It doesn’t work like that, kid,” the officer grunted.
“The number of people infected by the Spell is tiny compared to the general population.
Regular police handle standard civilian affairs for the unawakened majority.
When Awakened individuals or Spell-related incidents are involved…
that’s strictly under government jurisdiction.”
As the officer spoke, an unfamiliar sensation stirred at the back of Marcus’s mind.
It wasn’t something he heard or saw…it was a sudden, distinct awareness of the driver’s shifting emotional state.
He couldn’t quite explain how he was picking up on the officer’s internal distress, but the instinct was undeniable.
‘The Emotional Vessel attribute at work…’
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Marcus probed carefully, testing his impression.
“Did someone close to you catch the Spell?”
A sharp wave of melancholy washed over Marcus, heavy and stifling.
‘Struck a nerve.’
A long, heavy silence stretched between them before the officer finally responded, his voice cold and clipped.
“None of your business, kid.”
Marcus didn’t push further.
The transport continued its steady drive, carrying them toward their destination in silence.
***
A short while later, Marcus stood outside the massive Red Gates of the Awakened Academy.
The facility was unlike anything he had encountered in his previous life.
It wasn’t merely a campus or a training facility, it was an absolute fortress.
From the moment Marcus laid eyes on the compound, his instincts recognized it for what it was: one of the most secure strongholds he had ever seen.
‘What kind of enemy justifies a fortress like this?’
The existence of such extreme defensive infrastructure carried a single, grim implication: the threats in this world were far more lethal than anything Marcus had faced on traditional battlefields.
And in less than a month, he would be thrown into the Dream Realm to face those horrors firsthand.
“Listen to me, kid.”
The police officer called out from the idling transport behind him.
Marcus turned, meeting the man’s gaze one last time.
“Consider this a piece of advice for someone in your specific condition,” the officer said, leaning near the open window.
“Be careful who you trust in there.
When pushed to the brink, people will do anything to guarantee their own survival, even if it means stepping over your corpse.
I hope you make it out alive, kid.”
Without waiting for a reply, the officer rolled up the window and drove away, leaving Marcus alone on the approach.
“Right,” Marcus muttered quietly.
“Because I’m obviously just a naive child…
well, physically speaking, at least.”
He tilted his head back, watching light snow dust softly against his face.
Taking a deep, slow breath, he let the crisp winter air fill his lungs.
“Damn…
who would have thought I’d actually miss being alive?”
Turning back toward the entrance, Marcus walked briskly across the heavy metal bridge leading to the main gates.
He knew the coming weeks at the Academy would be anything but peaceful.
He needed to understand his limits, master his new physical capabilities, and, above all, learn how combat worked in this world.
Conventional warfare weapons meant nothing against supernatural entities and Awakened fighters.
‘I’ll need to look deeper into my Memories,’ he reasoned.
But before he could access any training ground or weapon rack, Marcus knew what awaited him immediately behind those red gates: an exhaustive orientation and intake interview conducted by Academy administrators.
‘I always hated administrative intake in my past life…
guess some things never change.’