Elizabeth was on her fourth plate, devouring the food as if she had not eaten for days. She had noticed whenever she grew older, her appetite seemed to increase with her age as well.
She sat alone, watching the Sleepers bond together, with a small smile on her face. Most of them were talking about how their interviews went and the classes they had chosen. Combat class appeared to be the most popular option, while no one seemed to mention sorcery at all.
'They are so young and naive,' she thought, stopping her fork a few inches from her mouth before letting out a quiet chuckle. 'We are the same age...' Not that there was any problem in taking combat class, after all she too was taking it, but it was the way they seemed to ignore anything else other than combat. They didn't seem to think anything else mattered than knowing how to swing a sword.
Which she could understand, after all, she was pretty much the same before he first nightmare, but she had seen first hand, how sorcery was powerful, and had seen first head how the lack of knowing something could lead to your death.
After finishing her fourth plate, she contemplated going for a fifth. After all, when would she ever eat five-star quality food again, and for free at that? In the end, she resisted the temptation. Leaving the cafeteria behind, she headed toward the offices for the interviews.
When she arrived she noticed there was still quite a long line.
'Do they only have one interviewer?' she wondered.
Either the interviewer possessed a specialized skill set meant specifically for these interviews, or the Academy simply lacked personnel. It was most likely the former. Judging by the pace of the line, it would take her around half an hour before it was finally her turn.
'I should have eaten another plate,' she thought, sighing slightly.
As she watched Sleepers enter the office one by one, she summoned her runes. She had already checked all her Memories and enchantments during her time on the ship, especially those she had obtained during her First Nightmare. Still, she found herself looking at them once in a while when she was bored. Focusing on one Memory in particular, she summoned its runes once more.
Memory: [The Pinky of Rethen]
Memory Description:["Your very existence is a mistake," the goddess of black skies said. "You are nothing but an insult to what we had."Rethen looked at his world, his reason for living, his very essence of existence."Oh mother, why don't you love me?"]
Memory Enchantments: [Liberator]
Elizabeth focused on the enchantment, and new runes formed before her eyes.
Enchantment Description: "Anything stabbed by this blade shall be cursed and die. True freedom is death."
She finally understood why Rethen had been especially wary of the sword he created. It had been meant as the key that would free him from sorcery, yet she had used it to destroy both his harp and him in the end. It was unfortunate that the Memory was a one-time use, but it could still save her life someday. If she ever encountered a Nightmare Creature she could not kill, she would use the blade to curse it to death.
She dismissed the runes and summoned another Memory.
Memory: [The King's Glory]
Memory Rank: Supreme
Memory Tier: I
Memory Type: Weapon
Memory Description: [For his might shone brighter than most, for his courage inspired all, for his fame was sung across the world. To his people, he was a saint. To his enemies, he was worse than a devil. Behold the king of the giants, the Guardian of Disaster.]
A pang of sadness filled her heart when she looked at these ruins, but she shook her head and focused on the enchantments.
Memory Enchantments: [True Heart]
Enchantment Description :Anything you shoot with this bow shall hit the target your heart wants to hit.
She already knew how that enchantment worked. She had used it before. Despite her lack of archery skill, it compensated perfectly. As long as her heart desired to hit the target, the arrow would strike it. Could she even miss while using it? It almost felt like the enchantment itself made her the best archer in the world.
She chuckled softly, remembering how drained she had felt the last time she used it, nearly to the point of fainting, it wasn't something she could use everytime.
Her attention then shifted to the enchantment she had never tried.
Memory enchantment: [Titan]
Enchantment Description: "You can increase the size of a projectile shot with the bow indefinitely."
When she first read it, she had widened her eyes in disbelief. The enchantment was absurdly powerful. If the size could truly be increased without limit, she could theoretically fire arrows as large as houses, or even the size of a skyscrapers.
'But that would consume an insane amount of energy,' she thought.
She had already experienced the toll of using [True Heart.] The cost of using [Titan] would be unimaginable. Especially now, as a Sleeper, she possessed very little soul essence. She could not even circulate it on her own.
Soul essence was the fuel that powered Memories and enchantments, allowing Awakened to summon and use them freely. Sleepers possessed soul essence as well, but without the ability to circulate it properly. So bringing out the true power of a Memory was extremely difficult.
'If only there was a way to circulate soul essence as a Sleeper...' she mused.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she realized the line had moved. A few moments later, it was her turn.
Inside the office, a man sat behind a desk. At a glance, she could tell he was an Awakened.
'So they really did bring someone with the right skill set, I wonder what they are? is he able to detect lies?' she thought
Like she had guessed, the academy was not lacking in personnel. The interviewer needed abilities capable of verifying information they would receive, like an ability to detect lies or something similer.
The man looked up at her and studied her for a moment before smiling.
"Welcome, Sleeper...." he said slowly, expecting her to finish his sentence.
"Elizabeth."
He glanced at his communicator and nodded slightly.
"You are the one sponsored by the House of Night, correct?"
Elizabeth nodded.
"Well, this interview should not take long. I already have your file, but let us go through it anyway, one more time" he said. "It says here that you possess a True Name....Would you mind telling me what it is?"
She nodded again. "It's Siren of the Last Haven."
The man paused, then smiled broadly. "My, my. Two Sleepers with True Names in a single generation....The future is looking bright."
Elizabeth frowned at that.
'There is another one with a true name?...could it be that short sleeper?'
While she was in deep thoughts, the man wrote something down before looking at her again.
"Would you mind telling me what category your Aspect Ability falls under, combat, sorcery, or utility?"
Elizabeth pondered for a moment. "I believe it falls under combat."
He nodded and continued writing. "Is your Flaw.....related to your appearance, specifically looking older than normal?"
She frowned slightly, then nodded.
"Would you mind explaining it?"
She thought for a moment before smiling. "It is easier to explain with a riddle. What has four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening? That is essentially what my Flaw does."
The man blinked, then nodded and wrote something down. He asked no further questions.
"Thank you for your time, Sleeper Elizabeth. That will be all."
She stood and left the office.
A short while later, she arrived at her dormitory. Opening the door, she looked at the spacious room before her.
"Not bad at all," she murmured.
She set her bag aside and noticed three Academy uniforms laid out neatly on her bed. She sighed.
'Why did they even ask about my Flaw if they already had an idea of it?'
Unfortunately, they had not accounted for the randomness of her transformations. Most of the uniforms would likely be useless, except for the middle one.