Chapter 4: I Don't Care if You Are a Man
[A/N: This is a rewrite of this chapter. I was way too burnt out when I posted it before, so I decided to take the advice and touch some grass—literally. Went for a ride, relaxed, and cleared my head. Now that I'm feeling better, I've rewritten the chapter. Please leave your comments and criticisms below so I can improve!]
Both Amon and Sunless were standing in front of the massive gate of the academy. Amon stood next to Sunny and realized just how short Sunny really was. In this body, Amon was shorter than average due to not getting proper nutrition, but Sunless was even shorter than he was.
Amon looked up at the massive gates and the towering turrets, which looked like they could kill anything once fired. He was very impressed by them.
Looking in the opposite direction from where he and Sunless stood, Amon saw a girl with short silver hair, listening to music. She wore the same police-issue tracksuit that both he and Sunny wore.
Amon noticed that Sunny was staring at the silver-haired girl."You like what you see?" asked Amon with a knowing, sly smile.
Amon had been a social person in his previous life—not overly outgoing or enthusiastic, but easy to talk to.
Sunless, due to his flaw, answered Amon's question honestly."Yes."
Immediately, Sunless quickly covered his mouth with his hands and looked at Amon with a scowl.
Amon smiled widely and, in a teasing voice, said, "Go talk to her. I bet she likes you too, and she's probably pretending to listen to music just to hide her embarrassment. If I were her, I'd be blushing just thinking about you."
Amon was completely bullshitting with Sunless. In the real world, he would do the same with his friends to joke with them and make them laugh.
Amon could see Sunless's blush from the redness in his ears, and he thought his trick to break the ice between them had worked.
(Sunny's POV)
Sunny was looking at the silver-haired girl standing opposite him and Amon at a distance, studying her appearance and clothes.
Then, out of nowhere, Amon spoke to him in a teasing tone:"You like what you see?"
Caught off guard and compelled by his flaw, Sunny answered,"Yes."
After realizing what he had just said to Amon's unexpected question, he quickly covered his mouth with his hands in a late attempt not to answer.
But what Amon said next really shocked him:"Go talk to her, I bet she likes you too, and she must be pretending to be listening to music just to hide her embarrassment. If I were her, I would be blushing just thinking about you."
This greatly embarrassed Sunny—not because of the girl in front of them, but because he thought Amon was gay and into him.
(3rd POV)
After the joke, Amon decided to formally introduce himself."My name is Amon, as you must have already known."
He remembered Master Jet's advice and decided not to make any unnecessary ops.
Sunless, still a bit embarrassed, introduced himself as well."My name is Sunless, but you can call me Sunny."
"Well, Sunny, nice to meet you," Amon replied.
There were a few moments of silence Sunny broke it.
"I like girls, you should know," Sunny suddenly said. He wanted to make it clear that he was not gay.
Amon was confused by the unexpected statement, but he just assumed Sunny wanted to continue their conversation."I like girls too," Amon replied.
Sunny felt a sense of relief at hearing this.
After that brief exchange, the two fell silent. Amon wasn't sure how to keep the conversation going—nothing else came to mind that they might have in common, and bringing up girls again felt cheap. Sunny, for his part, had no interest in talking to him anyway.
A few minutes later, the massive gate opened. Amon walked inside the academy, following the silver-haired girl's lead. An academy attendant guided them to a hall, saying the orientation would start in a few minutes before leaving.
Inside, Amon saw around a hundred people talking to each other. He and Sunny stood in a corner. Amon noticed Sunless looking around with an intense expression, then smiling smugly. This confused Amon—until he jokingly thought, Wait… is Sunny some lost or hidden heir of a big clan? This is a novel, so it might actually be possible.
(Sunny's POV)
Sunny walked in and saw people in nice dresses, carrying suitcases and duffel bags. He had assumed others would be dressed like him, in police tracksuits, but instead, most wore expensive clothes, and even the casual outfits were neat and clean.
He also noticed everyone was taller than him—even Amon, who was from the outskirts, was almost a head taller.
So what if they're taller than me? Sunny thought. Look at them, chatting like nothing happened in their first nightmare. Like in a month, they won't be thrown into hell. And I even got a True Name and a Divine Rank Aspect in my first nightmare.
Thinking about his boon filled Sunny with arrogance, which was clearly visible on his face.
(3rd POV)
The orientation began a few minutes later, led by Awakened Rock, who gave a speech about the dream realm and how to survive and return safely.
Afterward, Amon quickly separated from Sunless and began introducing himself to others, remembering Jet's advice to network as much as possible.
He approached one group with a pleasant smile."Hi, my name is Amon."
They welcomed him, introducing themselves. Amon would spend a bit of time with each group before moving to the next, becoming sociable without being overbearing.
When asked about his first nightmare, he simply said, "It was very difficult. I almost died from the heat," keeping his answer vague since he didn't fully understand how nightmares worked.
If someone asked about the rank of his aspect, he would reply, "It's not that high, but it lets me store things like food and water." He wanted to avoid appearing weak, but also not too strong.
Sometimes people commented on his unusual hair and eye color, to which he'd respond, "It happened because of the first nightmare."
Amon approached another group as usual, but this time a girl suddenly asked, "Are you friends with that perverted guy—what's his name again—Sunless? I saw you two come in together."
Amon, surprised, asked, "Why are you calling him a pervert, miss?"
She replied, "I was talking with some people over there, and he suddenly came up and called my friend a whore."
Shocked, Amon simply said, "I'm very sorry for that—and to your friend as well," before quickly leaving to search for Sunless.
Sunny, where the fuck is he? Did he not listen to a word Master Jet said in the car? And the third point was even repeated by Instructor Rock, Amon thought as he scanned the crowd.
Soon, he spotted Sunless talking to a group led by a green-haired boy.
He hurried over just in time to hear someone taunting, "Don't lie, you perverted bastard."
Sunless, you might be a hidden clan heir who can slap people, steal their girl, burn their ancestral graves, destroy their clan, and walk away with twenty power-ups—but what about me? My flaw literally says I don't have plot armor.
Amon barged in, only to instantly regret it.
It was Caster—the green-haired boy.
Shit, shit, why him of all people?
Caster's expression stiffened when he saw Amon.
The two locked eyes in silence until Amon spoke first."Caster, long time no see. I didn't expect to see you here. I see you've already met my friend Sunless."
He slung an arm over Sunny's shoulders. Sunny tried to break free, but Amon held him in place with his Divine Protection-enhanced strength.
Caster composed himself. "Yeah, long time no see. I never got your name the last time we met," he said, stepping forward with an extended hand.
Amon whispered to Sunless, "Play along," before shaking Caster's hand."I forgot to introduce myself when we last met. My name's Amon. It's a pleasure to meet you again."
Then, someone from the group asked mockingly, "So do you have a Divine Rank Aspect like your friend?"
Caster shot the speaker a stern look.
Still smiling, Amon replied, "No, no Divine Rank Aspect for me. You must be joking." Then, humbly, he added, "I don't know what my friend said to you, but please forgive him—it's because of his flaw. He's been my friend since childhood, and his real personality isn't like that."
Caster's expression shifted from conflicted to resolved. "We didn't mind it anyway," he said.
Relieved, Amon said, "Well, see you around," and dragged Sunny away.
(Caster's POV)
A Divine Rank Aspect? Don't make me laugh. This mongrel from the outskirts thinks he could get one? If it weren't for my image, I'd have beaten him to death already.
Just as he was about to speak, Caster saw someone barge into the conversation. His eyes widened when he recognized Amon.
Amon greeted him and explained the situation.
When Caster learned that Amon was also from the outskirts and friends with Sunless, he thought:He's friends with this guy… and he's from the outskirts too.
This filled Caster with a complex mix of feelings—until he steeled himself with a single thought:I don't care if you are from the outskirts… because I love you, even if you are a man.
[A/N: Sorry about the previous chapter. I was so burnt out. My college work this week was a bit heavy.]