Another vivid dream infiltrates Kanji's subconscious, unfurling a scene that feels oddly familiar— a desk, adorned with a solitary piece of paper. Intriguingly, the words etched onto the paper appear hazy, an enigma except for a distinct line in the bottom right corner, disclosing the coordinates "34.3564° N." In an attempt to unravel more, Kanji leans in to examine the line below, only to be abruptly jolted awake. As he regains consciousness, a calm breath escapes him, contemplating the notion that perhaps his body is gradually acclimating to these dreams.

Kanji "Looks like Mina's guess was spot on. Though, I probably should keep this to myself. We can't afford to waste more time."

Exiting the training room, Kanji returns to the center of the ship. A swift turn to the side reveals a hovering, ethereal blue screen.

|Special skills unlocked: [Energy transfer strike] = [Energy transfer shield] = [E.Turrets]. Supreme understanding and proficiency of [Energy dual conduit] have been met! It evolves into [Energy conduits] |

Kanji "The amount of special skills is less than I anticipated though I did spend a lot of time experimenting on those energy conduits."

Gwen "My, My. What have you found out, Kaney?"

Kanji "Oh, you're done. You seem happy and Umm... Is that Izzy?"

Gwen "Yeah, she is now capable and mimics my every move and can perform independently. The surprising part is that the system seems to deem it as special despite it not being related in any shape or form to my powers. The skill is called "Izzy's mimicry" by the way."

Kanji "Interesting name. As for the conduits, I have learned that these spheres of energy can be inserted outside of my body as you have seen before with my chain. However, I didn't expect it to last indefinitely without contact. It took a while but I learned that I can place my skills into these conduits and fire them as long as my Energy bolt is there too. These turrets also like to aim at sources of energy I focus on."

Noah "That is so op! All I got was a list of what my emotions do. I didn't get much of that training except knowing more triggers for them. Oh, I also know shock and sadness."

Sarah "Hey! Cheer up, Noah! I didn't get much either except for this thing called 'Weapon Master intuition'."

Dave "Sounds cool as fuck! The heck it do, bro?"

Sarah "It's kinda weird. Like every time I use a weapon, I sorta adjust shit without thinking and my attacks perform better. Check this out."

In Sarah's hand, ten pairs of sleek spikes materialize. Her focus intensifies as she sets her sights on the top of her room's door. Initially aiming to throw them all at once, she suddenly switches to throwing them one hand at a time.

Sarah "See! I was like trying to aim at a single spot but like my instinct fired up and none of those spikes collided with each other."

Gwen "It's like you have some sort of efficiency adjustment machine in the back of your head. Interesting. How about you Dave? Has your training yielded any results?"

Dave "Oh... funny thing is... I sorta like slept half through, bro. But I did get two special doodads called 'Spiked Whip' and 'Room Collapse'."

Amelia "Quite the self-explanary skills you achieved, my darling. As for my end, I got an ability called 'Chaos throw'."

Sarah "Sounds cool as hell! What does it do?!"

Amelia "I have been practicing a bare load on the art of throwing with my knife and thought of ways of making it a tad more dangerous. For instance, creating a double, making them blurred, and disguising them when thrown so they won't know what hit them. Although it would be away more efficient with multiple knives-

Azan "Here, I have some spare knives."

Mina/Amelia "Where in the world did you bloody get these from?"

Azan "Found them while looking around in The Inventory Space a while back."

Amelia "Excellent! With these, my special tea is now perfect."

Azan "You're welcome. As for my training, I didn't receive any special skills but I know how to use my change slots more efficiently."

Mina "Yeah, it was impossible to make anything up with my sets of skills. But I did become better with my Heart Striker."

Adrian "You also practiced using equipment. Thank god, I'm not the only one. I think my shield can cause a lot of friendly fire so I tried different approaches to help reduce that. I learned that if I prepare to block and use my skill on the shield, I could redirect the effect in any direction I want. The special skill is labeled 'Directional reflection'."

Diana "Cool. I can tell that you have put a good amount of muscle into it. But I put even more! Check this out!"

She effortlessly slides around the room with complete control, even to the point of defying gravity to travel up and across the ceiling.

Diana "There are two special skills called 'Slippery defense' and 'Slippery footwork'."

Dave "Great, the gorilla became an ice skater."

Diana "Shut it, you!"

Claire "Wow, everyone seems lively. What did I miss?"

Kanji "We were just showcasing the result of our training. You are actually the last one to yet share, Claire."

Claire "Oh that.... well. Let's say I got one special skill called 'Ranged conjuration' which allows me to summon items 3 feet away from me which isn't a lot but there is a surprising amount of things that I can do with it."

Kanji "You look satisfied and so do I with everyone here. I can tell by your looks that each one of you has put your mind to the training. Now, how will your heart fare? For this test, Amelia will unfortunately not be joining us."

Dave "Why, bro?"

Kanji "First of all, that one particular skill makes her immune to mental stuff and it would be pointless. Plus, she is needed to change the training cubes to create different traumatic events for us to endure."

Amelia "Sounds awful but I understand. Where should I go?"

Kanji "Go to the center of the base and possess your tendril as usual. Then I want you to focus your energy on the ship itself. The rest of them will enter the cube. Make sure to get a lot of energy before you do it."

Exchanging a crisp salute, they dive back into their respective practice rooms, confident about taking another session.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Amelia "Alright, guys! Here I go! Get ready!"

The monochrome arms of the Cephalostar extend, pointing menacingly at the ship as it releases a powerful energy ray. Amelia senses her stamina gradually depleting, yet she remains determined, viewing this challenge as a unique form of training.

Meanwhile, the rooms of the wielders undergo a drastic shift.

Kanji scans his surroundings, finding himself in his bedroom back in Japan. The atmosphere is draped in a somber grey, reminiscent of tragic movie scenes. Inhaling deeply, Kanji forcefully kicks open his bedroom door, descending the stairs with a racing heart and a mind swirling with possible outcomes. A shadow flickers at the edge of his vision, prompting him to pursue it into the kitchen. There, his heart plummets at the sight of a massive sword impaling the room, piercing the heads of friends and, devastatingly, his own mother. Tears well up, but Kanji swiftly regains composure, viewing this surreal scenario as motivation to emerge stronger and the consequence of being weak.

Claire's gaze fixates on a familiar bridge, her unease heightened by the presence of three girls. Approaching Kanji, they lean in, whispering in his ear. Claire attempts to intervene, extending her hand, but he slaps it away, opting for a deep kiss with one of the other girls. Claire erupts in shouts and screams, tears streaming down her face as she vows to kill them. Yet, her tirade is abruptly halted— the arrival of a cop results in handcuffs clamping onto her wrists. As she's being led away, Claire observes the false Kanji sporting a sinister smile. Surprisingly, her sorrow and anger dissipate, replaced by a serene smile. Inwardly, she murmurs, "As long as you are happy, I'm happy. No matter what, I will always love you." The illusion shatters before her eyes, replaced by yet another.

Sarah confronts an illusion of her parents scolding her, insisting she needs to straighten out her life. However, their reprimands fail to sway her as she reflects on the journey she has endured, convinced that her destiny surpasses this moment. Sarah defiantly swats away her parents' pointing fingers, causing the illusion to fade.

Noah stands before an opened door, his eyes reflecting deep despair. On the bed, Sarah passionately kisses a stranger, gearing up to undress. As they spot him, she hastily readjusts her attire and strides angrily toward the door. Sarah hurls hurtful words at Noah, labeling him a loser and telling him to vanish from her life. Surprisingly, instead of devastating him, her harsh remarks jolt him back to reality. He recognizes this as a simulated response, a glimpse into what Sarah might say if she discovered his pretense. Oddly comforted by this realization, Noah shifts his focus to the stranger in the room.

Noah "Someone like would never exist because I will always be watching her!"

The illusion plunges into darkness, transitioning into another.

Diana strolls along a street reminiscent of her hometown. In shock, she glances at her arms, discovering that her muscles have vanished. A gang of thugs advances, senselessly pummeling her. The pain feels agonizingly real until a sudden surge of adrenaline envelops her. Springing to her feet, Diana unleashes a barrage of punches, causing each thug to disintegrate in a cloud of smoke, triumphantly dispelling the illusion.

Adrian dashes through a field of grass, exuding joy, finding solace in the belief that his illusion isn't too harsh. Spotting his friends, he eagerly calls out, only to be met with looks of disgust. They hurl insults at him, branding him a coward and a useless nerd. Adrian momentarily pauses, but then a smile graces his face. He accepts these labels, understanding they won't deter him from attempting to connect with his friends. In a heartfelt embrace, the illusion closes shut.

Dave's surroundings transform, placing him in front of one of his parents' nightclubs. He cheerfully greets everyone, sharing high-fives, with everything appearing normal until a sudden realization hits - his parents are not the DJs. Panic sets in, and he rushes to all the nightclubs, desperately searching for his parents but finding them nowhere. Fearing the worst, he reluctantly returns to a place he never thought he would revisit- his own house. As he opens the door, shock washes over him as he discovers everything is impeccably organized and cleaned. In the living room, his parents smile at him, engrossed in books and dressed in suits, fracturing his expectations.

Dave "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Nah... this can't be real! FUCK OFF!"

With a heavy frown, he delivers a powerful double punch to each figure in the illusion, causing the scenario to shatter and break down.

Mina stands in a helicopter, alert to two familiar voices. Without hesitation, she leaps off the vehicle, attempting to silence the voices, and successfully does so, swiftly ending the illusion.

On the other end, Azan finds himself on his knees, gazing up at his father who has an expression of disappointment, a visage even more nightmarish than his darkest fears. Waves of shame wash over him as his father berates his every flaw. A memory surfaces, a quote from the old man echoing in his mind, "Don't kneel to anyone. Not even me. That's how a true leader should be." Azan rises, overturning the table, causing the fabricated scene to crumble and end.

In a fake scene of her laboratory, a mutated, failed version of Izzy stands before her. After a moment's hesitation, Gwen decisively turns a lever, subjecting the distorted creation to a burning crisping, ending the illusion.

Gwen "It must be done. I can always fix her. One way or another."

The mental trials persist, stretching on for the remaining hours of the day.

___________________________________________________________________________

KAJA "Fuck! Fuck!! FUCK!!!"

XEROS "Over here! Hurry!"

Rolling with haste, she descends into a sewer hatch, landing perfectly on Xeros's shoulders.

KAJA "Dammit! Why did Granny tell us to go all the way to the middle of Commonasa?! There are way too many drones here!"

XEROS "We're lucky that they haven't caught sight of us yet otherwise we'll be hearing footsteps echoing through these tunnels."

KAJA "Yeah, they are pretty stupid for not checking the sewers."

XEROS "Dammit, Kaja! Don't fucking jinx us! Anyway, going through these tunnels is going to take a while."

KAJA " Hey, where is Mister Speccy's hand?"

XEROS "The hand turned into a map after it entered the sewers. I guess Granny Tio was afraid we couldn't catch up with it or she just wants us to go at our own pace."

KAJA "Dude, about this secret place. Do you think there will be traps and junk?"

XEROS "Junk, yes. Traps, I'm not sure. Only one way to find out! Let's keep moving!"

___________________________________________________________________________

?? "Ah, quite the insightful story that was, young man. There are points particularly that I find most interesting. Oh but before that, let me introduce myself. My name is Tenso Kalin and this is my daughter, Tenya Kalin. She doesn't talk much and doesn't have a lot of friends besides Verto and Meytaz."

TENYA "Dad! Don't... say that."

KARNAT "Everyone's different in their way. I won't judge."

TENSO "Yes, indeed but you are different than most. You said that after you gave up the orange crystal to the tyrant, you felt lost. Didn't you?"

MEYTAZ "No way, it can't be..."

KARNAT "Yeah, I did. It was awful! Do you guys know something?"

TENSO "That crystal was no ordinary one. No, it was a soul shard belonging to one of our gods- Suntarus, Scorcher of Void, God of Flames..."

VERTO "This may seem disrespectful but we can tell him about our Lords later. I'm more curious about Karnat himself. Is he perhaps related to the gods?"

TENSO "I cannot say more but this is a secret that has been transferred from chiefs to their heirs for generations. Even taking the secret to their grave until the time is right. Fortunately for us, that time is close. For now, we have a bigger bread to cook which will be tasty with slouch milk.

MEYTAZ "Oh yeah! Today is Slouch Day! Fuck yeah! Karnat, come with me!"

KARNAT "Whoa-

The twins drag Karnat to the town's center, where tables are arranged in a circle, adorned with a variety of delectable baked goods.

KARNAT "All of these smell heavenly."

VERTO "Here comes the best part!"

KARNAT "So there is a giant tank in the middle with a nuzzle. What are you guys filling it with- HOLY SHIT! What is that?!"

A colossal light grey snail makes its entrance, capturing Karnat's fascination with its shell, resembling a perfect cow print. Cartoonish eyes emerge from its head, and to Karnat's surprise, it sprays a white liquid with the consistency of milk into the enormous tank.

KARNAT "I don't know if I should be grossed out or impressed. That... Slouch can produce so much milk. Is this the stuff that makes you energized after sleeping?"

MEYTAZ "Yeah, the good stuff. Drinking right now, you won't feel anything but after sleeping even for just a second, you'll feel like you were never tired. By the way, this celebration is actually for the discovery of Slouch Milk."

VERTO "Basically, without it we wouldn't be able to survive here out. Our ancestors were hunted day after day cause of the lack of sleep and energy. This milk rescued them and helped them build the first tribe."

KARNAT "Wow, that is awesome! Cheers to Slouch Milk!"

The townsfolk raise their jugs in agreement, and the group joyfully celebrates, reveling in the festivities that continue until the dawn of the next day.