Before me stood the Awakened Academy.
I was expecting more of a school, perhaps a large building with plenty of classrooms, maybe even a large gymnasium or something for training.
Instead what I got was a massive impenetrable fortress like city, giant turrets mounted on the walls.
Crossing a metal bridge, I made my way through the Academy's massive red gates.
During my admission, I saw people get asked numerous times by officials if they wanted to explain their aspect and flaw for soul shards, an opportunity I saw a few of the people around me taking.
I slipped by unnoticed, praying that I wouldn't have to interact with anyone this early on.
I made my way to the sleeper area of the Academy for the induction ceremony, something I had hoped I would be able to skip, unfortunately though, it was mandatory.
Led by an official, I was brought to a large hall with about 50ish other teenagers, all of them with large duffel bags, suitcases, or large backpacks.
The room was filled with conversation, all the sleepers present wanting to get acquainted with one another.
The social atmosphere filling the hall amplified the effects of my flaw, my attribute barely holding back the immense nausea and anxiety behind a firm poker face.
I reduced my presence as much as I could, trying to escape the inevitiblity of social interaction.
Thankfully, I had been able to find a quiet corner to hide while everyone chatted away with smiles on their faces.
'Please, just start already... Any longer and I might actually throw up...'
As if answering my desperate call, a comically large man in a dark blue uniform walked onto the stage.
Clearing his throat, he started his speech, his voice spreading across the room.
At this point, I was mentally checked out, the stress of my flaw and the effort I had to exude to maintain my poker face had me completely out of it.
He droned on and on in a monotone voice, the entire speech sounded robotic and rehearsed.
If this was their attempt at getting us motivated, they really needed to hire better speakers.
After the entire speech was over, we received the details of our dormitories and were told to get ready for some interviews that would decide our schedule for the next half year.
I was about to make a mad dash for my dorm to avoid the massive crowd of sleepers, but something that the awakened in the front of the room said gave me pause.
"After you get settled, the cafeteria will start serving dinner. Eat well and get ready for the interviews!"
The word dinner echoed in my mind.
I unconsciously started salivating at the thought of food, my stomach awakening like a vicious beast.
Swallowing hard, I made a hasty decision.
The dorms could wait, I had a new set of priorities.
With that sorted, I made my way towards the cafeteria, eyes gleaming in anticipation.
________________________________________________________________________
Paradise.
This was paradise.
Heaven on earth.
Nothing could've mentally prepared me for the absolute majesty of the cafeteria before me.
Glistening meats.
Ripe fruits.
Colorful drinks.
Fresh bread.
Rich stews.
'Oh... My.... GOD'
The anxiety that had plagued me since I had woken up dissipated like the morning fog, the poker face that I had worn until this point melting off my face, giving way to pure elation.
Unconsciously, I had poured aura into my limbs while grabbing plates. Accelerating my cognitive functions, my brain calculated at frighting speeds, constructed complex geometric constructs to maximize the amount of food I could fit on each plate.
I had become a storm, ransacking the cafeteria with the efficiency of an experienced thief.
The chefs noticed, their eyes growing wider and wider in what I could only assume was pure, unadulterated shock.
Screams resounded in the kitchen, the chefs and kitchen staff blurring into motion as they tried their best to keep up with my endless gluttony.
I was waging war on the Awakened Academy's food budget.
Before I knew it, I had created 12 architectural wonders constructed entirely out of meats, vegetables, dairy, and grains.
Monopolizing an entire table, I turned my attention to the Beef Khalifa and the Leaning Tower of Cheesa, the vast food constructs taking up the entirety of my vision.
Without a word, I dug in, tears pouring from my eyes like waterfalls.
'i-its sooo gooooood...!'
I had been unconsciously feeding off of my starlight all day, a habit that I had picked up from over 300 years of battle. I had survived off of hopes, prayers, and light, literally relying on what was practically photosynthesis for centuries.
I choked back a sob as I shoveled food into my mouth.
Complex flavors danced across my tastebuds as I continued to eat.
At this point, I had to enhance my jaw with aura to keep up with my rate of consumption.
I was dual wielding a fork and a spoon, the stainless steel utensils blurring as I deconstructed my architectural masterpieces.
Tears and snot were streaming down my face, my expression contorting in absolute bliss.
Towers collapsed, colosseums crumbled, walls shattered.
By the time I had finished, the entire cafeteria was staring at me in utter bewilderment.
When I noticed, it felt like a switch had been flipped in my mind, the anxiety that had disappeared rushed back in with a vengeance, [One who Stood at the Peak] roared to life as it combated the effects of my flaw, my presence regaining its dignified and authoritative air.
My face morphed back into expressionless, the emotion that populated my features vanishing as if it were never there.
The cafeteria was dead silent, everyone still frozen in shock.
With the grace and elegance of a monarch, I gently dabbed my face with a napkin, rising from my seat as I sauntered out of the cafeteria, the sound of my steps cutting through the silence.
My face betrayed no emotion; However, my heart roared like an engine.
Embarrassment burned in the back of my mind, but I suppressed it as I slowly made my way to my dorm.
______________________________________________________________________________
(POV Change)
Y'know, ever since I became a chef, my life's been quite pleasant.
I retired from government duty about 3 years ago, moving to the Awakened Academy to pursue my culinary dreams.
The kitchen crew were inviting and warm, every chef and server treating me like family.
When we stepped foot in the kitchen though, everything changed.
The warmth gave way to cold critique and anger, the inviting atmosphere becoming solemn as we prepped the food.
They took food seriously, and so did I.
The Academy kitchen staff is incredibly competent, all of us worked together in harmony, like a well oiled machine.
The Awakened Academy had what many critics called the pinnacle of culinary talent gathered in one place, to put it simply, we were literally THE all-star team.
Over the years, the Awakened Academy cafeteria had become renowned for its quality and efficiency, it's ability to feed hundreds of sleepers and staff simultaneously was simply awe inspiring.
We thought we were the best.
We thought that no amount of sleepers or awakened could challenge our combined might.
But on this day, our entire worldview was shattered by a single person.
A needlessly beautiful sleeper walked into the cafeteria, their expressionless eyes lighting up with pure excitement.
This was nothing new, any sane human being would get excited at the sight of our cooking.
What happened next however, shocked us to our core.
The sleeper started to glow purple, disappearing and reappearing as the food that we so lovingly created vanished into thin air.
Giant food constructs piled themselves onto dozens of plates, wondrous towers constructed entirely out of the kitchen staffs efforts manifesting on a table.
Our food supply took a massive hit. There was more than enough food to feed hundreds of sleepers, but the meats and vegetables that populated the trays and dishes around the cafeteria vanished into that Things stomach.
We tried our hardest, giving our absolute best effort to keep up with the monster in front of us.
But it was no use, It consumed food faster than we could make it.
Jim.
Bob.
Jerry.
Tom.
Mary.
We lost many good men and women in the struggle.
We, the world's culinary all-star team, lost to a single person.
Not to mention, we'd have to serve that monster for the next half a year before it hopefully perishes in the dream realm.
Tears poured down my face at the crushing realization.
As if to rub salt in our wounds, the sleeper, once they had finished consuming the monument of our efforts, simply got up, wiped their mouth, and walked off as if they had just eaten a light snack.
The kitchen staff locked eyes with one another, each one reaching the same conclusion, passion burning in their eyes.
We had finally found a worthy opponent, one that would help us grow exponentially, becoming even more efficient and improving the quality of our food.
After consolidating our losses, all of us gathered near the head chef.
His voice boomed across the kitchen as he motivated us.
Assuming our positions, each and every one of us became deadly serious.
Our eyes gleamed as a passion burned in our hearts.
We had six months to beat that monster, six months to avenge our fallen comrades, six months to show that abomination why the Awakened Academy kitchen was not to be trifled with.
We were gonna show that sleeper who's boss.
*********************************************************************
(A/N: Sorry for the late release, I ended up messing up the timeline a little, so I had to revise my plans for the story a bit.
From what I've seen, it seems that you guys would rather our mc starts a year ahead of the events of the main story instead of three, which is what I was planning on doing anyway.
Moving on, I feel like I should probably explain a bit of my reasoning behind starting the fic before the events of shadow slave begin.
The swordsman of IPOTE, especially the transcendent's, are for lack of a better word, OLD as fuck.
Most swordsman become sword seekers at like thirty to forty years old, many never even reaching the ream of swordmaster, Swordmasters and the stronger constellations being centuries old. The youngest sword seeker in recorded history (excluding the protagonist of the story and king arthur who had Excalibur) was in his mid to late twenties, it taking him almost a decade to reach the sword seeker level after becoming a sword expert.
RIght now, Audun is able to mimic or fake sword seeker level abilities with the power of his star, but even after finishing his first nightmare, he can't sustain it for more than a single strike.
His Divine Aspect really only gives him the ability to use aura, a broken ability all things considered, but completely bog standard in the context of IPOTE.
Realistically, he needs time to gather resources and train up his body to be able to fight the abominations on the forgotten shore and beyond comfortably.
If i'm trying to be realistic to the source material, it should take him at least a year to train his body to be on par with his aura and imagery, a necessary requirement for reaching the metamorphosis that reshapes one into a sword seeker.
Sustainability is his biggest issue, so I needed a way to give him enough time to not only gather enough weapons to sustain his destructive swordsmanship but also hone his body so he's able to do the things I want him to later in the story, my answer to this problem being to simply have him start a bit ahead.
I hope this makes sense, and if you guys have any suggestions, I'm all ears!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!)