There was no point in hiding the true reason. Not that Sunny would have been able to anyway…
"The Awakened that monitored me during the First Nightmare, Master Jet, had advised me to study it above all things."
"A very wise advice! That Master truly knows what's important… wait. Did you say Jet?"
His eyes widened.
"Soul Reaper Jet? That murderous savage?! Hm. Who would have thought that a barbarian like her would know the value of intricate knowledge."
Soul Reaper? Sunny's curiosity was picked.
"Teacher, do you know Master Jet?"
Julius carefully looked behind his back before answering:
"Who doesn't know the Soul Reaper? She might not be the most powerful Awakened out there, but she is certainly one of the most feared. That's because her Aspect Abilities disregard flesh and target soul cores directly. Which means that no amount of armor, damage resistance and physical protection can stop them."
He leaned forward.
"The only good thing is that she's young and not likely to become a Saint anytime soon, or even ever. Yes, luckily, there's a very low probability that she'll ever advance."
Sunny blinked.
"Why?"
Julius looked at him as though trying to comprehend how someone could be so ignorant.
"Because of her problematic personality, of course! Who would want to help a psychopathic killer become a Saint? You need a team of outstanding companions and a lot of support to attempt conquering the Third Nightmare. Soul Reaper Jet isn't… wait!"
Suddenly, Julius frowned and leaned back.
"Why am I gossiping with you? You're too young to know such things! More than that, it's not in my character to badmouth others behind their backs!
'I would beg to differ,' Sunny thought sarcastically, but didn't say anything out loud.
He already got a lot of juicy information out of Teacher Julius.
'Maybe choosing Wilderness Survival was the right choice after all.'
"Let's get back to your curriculum. What other courses are you taking?"
Sunny sighed.
"None. For the next four weeks, I'll be fully concentrated on Wilderness Survival."
Julius stared at him for a whole minute, an expression of utter astonishment written clearly on his face. Then, slowly, an excited gleam appeared in his eyes. Finally, he grinned.
"Wonderful! This is wonderful! You're such an astute young man! Don't you worry. In four whole weeks, I will make you immortal…
***
Sunny's lessons with Teacher Julius started pleasantly and without much tension, but just an hour later, he felt like his head was ready to explode. There was so much new information, and all of it was so strange and counterintuitive for someone who had never left the walled-off, sheltered confines of the city.
From time to time, Julius gaped at Sunny's lack of knowledge and relevant experience. However, he had a good attitude and an endless enthusiasm for teaching. Whenever Sunny stumbled, he would patiently slow down and allow his student to catch up.
The curriculum that Julius planned out was practically insane. There was an endless amount of theoretical knowledge to learn, practical lessons both in virtual reality and the real world, numerous subjects and weird things to study. There were even several lessons dedicated exclusively to learning the basics of several dead languages of the Dream Realm!
'Why would I need to learn new languages?' Sunny thought with self-pity. 'The Spell automatically translates everything!'
But Julius was uncompromising.
"The Spell is not a translator! Do you think it has the time to express the intricacies of human speech? Let's say you're seeking shelter in a ruin and find an inscription that reads "certain death ahead". There are thirty words for death in the rune language! Just by knowing the runes, you'll be able to deduce what kind of danger there is!"
On the first day, they studied until the sun was about to set. Only then did Julius decide to let Sunny go. Mentally exhausted and lamenting the fact that he had to miss lunch and dinner, Sunny decided to gently remind his teacher about the importance of food for maintaining high levels of concentration tomorrow.
After returning to his room, he fell on a chair and stared blankly into the distance for a while. Then, as though remembering something, Sunny turned to his shadow.
Right. He had a lot to accomplish before supper.
He observed the shadow for a few seconds and then grinned.
"Let's see what you can really do…"