I'm tired. It seems that i've been infected by the nightmare spell. Normally, being tired isn't anything new, but a couple nights ago was my 16th birthday. I expected this to happen, but now that the time has come, I can't help but feel excited.
This marks 4 years that I have been at the orphanage. 4 years of training myself, seeking to perfect my control over my body and develop It to its peak condition for my first nightmare. Sword skills, building up muscle, knowledge, i've done everything I could to prepare. This includes trying to recall everything I could from the original novel.
Eating breakfast, I informed Marie about my condition. She seemed to become anxious - I wasn't the first orphan living here to become infected, and only a few of them lived. During my stay here I tried not to become too attached, because I knew I had a busy life ahead, and frankly I had no clue if I'd find time to return. The world is brutal, and only the strong thrived. It was harsh, yes, but reality is not always "fair".
I had enjoyed the time I spent here, and I was very grateful for Marie and the other staff. The kids here were pretty nice for what I'd expect from the outskirts. The combat instructor, Dan, was also very supportive, and eventually he started to spar with me and some of the other kids.
Well, that's enough talking. I left the orphanage - which still looked exactly the same as it did 4 years ago - and went to the police station. On my walk, I once again noticed just how violent and terrible of a place the outskirts were. It's no wonder Sunless, the little stalker, was so distrustful and deceitful.
The further inwards I walked, the more living conditions improved. The restaurants were particularly appealing, and I used some of the money I had gotten from odd jobs to buy breakfast. I had some pancakes and a coffee, and I must say the coffee made me quite nostalgic.
I was a coffee addict in my previous life, just like many other unfortunate souls. Once you start, there is no going back. Now that I was on a full stomach, I continued walking. Despite the fact that my clothes were actually pretty decent, I received some odd looks form passing strangers. It was weird - they looked at me with a mix of disgust and pity, but mainly pity.
Arriving at the police station, I noticed the armored walls, and other security measures in place incase someone became corrupted. At the front desk was a middle aged man, he looked up at me , saw my clothes, and asked with an annoyed expression:
"Do you need something?"
I looked right back at him. "As demanded by the Third Special Directive, I am here to turn myself in as a carrier of the nightmare spell."
That got his attention. He was no longer annoyed, but instead he seemed quite wary.
"How long ago were you infected?"
"3 or 4 days", I replied. He seemed to let out a sight of relief, before leading me to an isolated room. The room had armored padding, a door that looked like the vault to a bank, and officers with automatic rifles. There was a strange device in the middle of the room - it looked like once of those things you put people in during the death penalty. Overall, I wasn't exactly excited to climb into my new bed. They strapped me in anyways.
The middle aged policeman turned to me.
"What's your name?"
"Eleazer."
He let out a hum, seemingly noting it down. From what I had gathered so far, and with my knowledge from the book, religions from my world might have existed, but they were lost after countless wars.
"Would you like me to contact your family?", he asked.
"No need. I live at an orphanage, and I've already informed them." I replied.
"Alright. Make sure to try and stay awake. How much do you know about the nightmare spell?"
"Well, It infects people and sends them off the the dream realm where they have to complete some task or objective."
He nodded, "The nightmare spell can have both people and monsters - both are dangerous."
.
.
.
After what felt like hours, I was on the verge of falling asleep. He had informed me that the awakened in charge of looking after me would be here soon. Seeing that I was about to doze off, he gave one last piece of advice: "The first thing you should do is check your aspect. There is no useless aspect, only a useless aspect user. The spell is fair, meaning there will always be a way to survive, Good luck, Eleazer."
With that, I closed my eyed.
Everything faded to nothing.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell! Prepare for your first trial.]