After being able to dissect a human for the first time I felt both full and hungry for more. Outside of Professor Pure and perhaps the other professors no one knew about it, but apparently they could tell something was different.

“What’s up with you Monty? You seem, bright. Don’t get me wrong thats awesome, you’re normally so dark and gloomy," Melanie said.

Elina, Melanie, and myself were walking to our afternoon classes after lunch when Melanie asked me that. Elina called her a social butterfly, meaning she went around and talked to a lot of people in our year, even making a few friends from the second years.

“… I was able to indulge in one of my hobbies a few days ago,” I said cautiously.

I had already told Elina briefly about the homeless man so she didn’t react. Melanie on the other hand squinted at me with pinched lips.

“The clock stuff or the dog stuff?”

Dog stuff? Was there a rumor that I wanted to be a veterinarian?

“Excuse me?”

“Ya know. Pretty much everyone has heard of the your trip through The Forest of Living Dreams. You had dogs with intestines hanging out following you.”

I knew that some of what happened in the forest had gotten out, but I hadn’t expected it to get warped like that. Or perhaps Melanie was just pulling my leg. Sometimes it seemed as though she just said things for the sake of confusing me.

“Not clock stuff, and not dog stuff.”

Mia gave me a wide smile as if we were sharing a secret.

“Gotcha Monty. Well I’m happy for you regardless. By the way, have you guys heard about the skulker activity?”

My gaze wandered around looking for Cystella, but I couldn’t see her.

“No? What’s going on?” Elina answered.

“Well apparently there has been a decrease in skulker raids across the country. A pretty significant decrease. Its allowed the Forged Order to put a bit more attention on the Second Layer and expansion of the mines down there.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“My Champion team from back in the forest. I still try and keep in touch with them.”

I had barely even thought about the three Champions and three porters from the Forged Order that had been with me. I had already forgotten the porters faces and names, or perhaps I had never known. The Champions meanwhile, were a more significant memory thanks to the altercation with Ravik and the fact their armor was so fascinating.

“I see.”

Elina grimaced.

“I didn’t get a chance to meet any Champions I got to go to a deserted island for a month,” she grumbled under her breath.

Melanie consoled Elina by patting her on the back.

“Yeah, while this is a great opportunity for them to put resources elsewhere it’s still worrying their leaders. Skulkers are single minded most of the time.”

We entered the gymnasium for Mr. Rider’s class. He stood in the center of the gymnasium, baggy pants and sleeveless shirt as usual. However next to him was a pile of padding. Surprisingly professor Liraca was also there, off in a corner reading a book.

“Welcome welcome o students of mine. Today is the day none of you knew you were waiting for! Close quarters combat training!”

I had been dreading this day for months. From the very beginning we had been told that Dreamers were key in fighting off Nightmares from lower Layers, so I thought these classes would come earlier with the lessons from Professor Alyci about guns.

My physical fitness had improved massively over the past few months, but even if I didn’t exactly enjoy working out I understood its benefit. I could understand the benefit of knowing how to fight as well, but just like working out, I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy learning how to do so.

“First I’m going to give you all a few demonstrations. Then we’re going to separate based on those who have opened their Dreamscapes and those who haven't and hold separate lessons. I will take the Dreamers and Professor Liraca will take those who have yet to become Dreamers. Okay everyone take off your shoes!”

“He’s very good at being inclusive,” Melanie muttered.

“Is he?” Elina asked.

“Yeah, even with him telling the whole class that he will be focusing on us he still says those who have yet to become Dreamers to not make any of the regular students feel bad. Probably to keep them from losing motivation.”

There had seemed to be a shift in social dynamics after our respective field trips. At the beginning of the school year there had been three honor students who had opened their Dreamscapes. Now there were around twenty of us. With one fifth of the total students having access to Intent rather than three percent changed the normal students awe and admiration to a wide variety of emotions. Envy, jealousy, determination, helplessness, fear.

This caused there to be less interactions between those with Dreamscapes and those without, splitting up friend groups. Somewhat impressively the only group that seems to have stayed the same was Brax’s. Brax opened his Dreamscape during his stay on the island and one of his groupies opened his own a week after they got back.

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Despite this Brax hadn’t changed the way he treated the others and had only seemed to encourage them to join.

I had determined that despite his bullying earlier in the year Brax was a much more complex person than I initially gave him credit for.

I remembered the scene from a few days ago. My hands holding the brain of a homeless man trying to cut it up into its different sections, running my fingers over the folds and marveling at the most complex thing in the world.

If I ever did understand the complexities of the brain and got the chance, maybe I would be able to examine Brax and determine why he acted the way he did.

Unconsciously I had begun to stare at Brax as my mind wandered. He noticed my gaze and scowled at me. Only when he eventually looked away did I do the same.

One day perhaps I would get the chance to understand.

—

"I am sure that all of you have been experimenting with Intent when you get the chance. How many of you have been able to redistribute the amount of Intent running through your body to different parts,” Mr. Rider asked the twenty of us.

Most of us raised our hands at that.

“Good. Those of you that have more physical or combat related Dreams would likely had an easier time doing so, but I would like all of you to be proficient at it. After todays classes the rest of the students will go on and be released but you all will stay behind to practice this. For now I am going to oversee you all practice some punches and kicks.”

And we did just that, for the next two hours we practiced how to punch, how to kick, how to have a solid stance, how to throw, and a dozen other small details to keep our minds and bodies sharp during combat. The class was split as normal student couldn’t handle the power of our Intent reinforced bodies.

While I was kicking the padding Elina held for the hundredth time I thought of a way to make it more interesting for me.

What muscles are being used for this kick? When throwing out an attack, either fist or foot, you use more than just the singular limb. If you wanted to get the most out of it you used your whole body.

—

“Marollo can you come to the front please?” Mr. Rider asked of the bespectacled boy once the rest of the normal students had left.

“Yes sir,” the boy answered.

Marollo was of average height and average build with greyish-blond hair and thick glasses. Of the three honor students I had the least interactions with him. Overall though he seemed like just your average guy. He was studious, well mannered, and had a decent group of friends. If not for the fact that he had been born a Dreamer I wouldn’t have singled him out.

Once he was at the front of the classroom Marollo shuffled awkwardly with his feet, giving a sheepish grin to the rest of the class.

“Okay, Marollo I want you to channel your Intent and focus it in your hand.”

Marollo nodded and held his fist out in front of him. Deep blue Intent began to waft off him then the light started to condense around his fist.

“This is something that all of you are capable of. It takes only a bit of effort to do. However what I am going to have you all practice is a bit different. Marollo can you do the exercise you’ve been practicing.”

“Gotcha teach.”

The bright blue energy that suffused the fist began to slowly run up his arm. He kept the energy together so the fist went back to looking like normal when the Intent was at the wrist. It continued up until it reached his shoulder, then went down across his body to his leg and ran down that until his shoe-less foot started to glow. It ran back up his limb, then to his head, then down his other arm to his fist.

“It is easiest to focus Intent in certain parts of the body, eyes, ears, mouth, hands and feet. This is because these places are the ones you are the most conscious of, the ones who are sensitive to touch and are used everyday. This exercise will help your ability to focus Intent to where ever it is needed.”

Several students raised their hands, myself included.

“Please wait until the end for questions. I know most of you are thinking what’s the point of this training when its already easy to focus Intent in the hands. Those are the primary tools we have as humans after all. Well for one thing you wont alway’s have the luxury of being able to attack with your fists and feet, elbows and knees are often used in hand to hand combat, but what about defense? Marollo hit me.”

Marollo, seemingly not put off by the order turned, his fist glowing with Intent again and threw a punch at the huge man. Mr. Rider did the most natural thing for a normal person. He blocked with his arm, holding them close to his body and face like a boxer.

The fist collided with the meat of his upper arm and Mr. Rider took a step back. He wasn’t channeling Intent at all, and still I thought that the step back was for our benefit.

“You can all daydream about catching his empowered fist with your own, but that is hard to do in real combat. Marollo try and catch my blow.”

The moved so that we could see both of them from a side angle, by now I was sure that Mr. Rider had asked his student to be an example earlier as Marollo was being very calm about the situation.

Mr. Rider punched forward, still no Intent on him, and Marollo tried to catch it. He didn’t, the fist went a half-foot to the left of where Marollo’s face was.

“So that is one application. Marollo is going to hit me again, but this time I am going to properly defend with the same technique he is using.”

Green Intent came off of Mr. Rider, a small amount. He was probably doing his best to not show off and instead make sure that the lesson was what the students were getting and not being distracted by his power.

Marollo threw his punch again and as it was about to land a green glow came from Mr. Riders arm as he focused his Intent. He didn’t get pushed away.

“That is one good benefit for it, it also increased your skill with Intent manipulation overall. However another benefit Marollo is about to show you is sure to grab your attention.”

Mr. Rider went over to where the padding lay, grabbing a kicking cushion and tossing it to Marollo.

After catching it Marollo once again channeled Intent in one of his fists. Then he let it crawl across his body to his other arm where once it reached the end it started to crawl over the padding.

“Another thing I am sure several of you tried is to channel intent through an object, again, not difficult given enough practice, but what could be the benefit of focusing that channel?”

Several of us raised our hands.

“Melanie,” Mr. Rider called.

“If the object is a blade you can increase the power of the edge. Or if it was a hammer you could focus it on the end.”

“Exactly, but this is only the beginning. What if you wanted to focus it without any object at all?”

In the palm of one of his hands was a glowing green ball of Intent, completely separated from his body.

“Many think that a super powerful Wit is all there is to Dreaming, but no, many fights can be won by an adept use of Intent, and the better your control of Intent the more powerful and effective it will be in your Wit.”

He tossed the ball up on his palm like a rock. Then he bounced it on the ground like a ball. Then he crushed it in his fist where it turned to its regular vapor like substance, then it condensed again falling upon his palm like water and green droplets splashed off.

“Dreaming is a focused practice, but you must be proficient in every part of your Dreaming in order to be the best there is. Someone who only focuses on Intent manipulation will be bowled over by someone with a powerful Wit, and someone who only focuses on the nuances of their ability will lack the power and finesse to properly bring out its potential.”

Once again the Intent condensed into a ball and with a flick of his wrist he sent it to the padding that Marollo had already held out far from his body.

The ball of green Intent ripped a hole in it.