Estimate Of Power

Waking up in the morning, Max washed up in his bathroom and hurried to the cafeteria.

He had slept like a baby after messing with that interviewer. It relieved most of his stress.

The cafeteria was crowded. After filling his plate with a lot of delicacies. Max went and sat in a corner.

Just as he was about to dig in a commotion drew his attention. He looked up and noticed a bunch of Sleepers crowding in front of a large screen.

On the screen, a list of names was displayed, ranking the new batch of Sleepers from weakest to strongest, most likely deduced from the results of the interviews.

Max was a bit interested; he first tried to find Sunny's name, but it turned out he was second to last. Curious about his rank, Max looked up

The Sleepers were restless while reading it

"How… how can this be?!"

"I'm not seeing things, right?"

"What kind of a monster are they?!"

Caster was placed in second place. And right above him, the portrait of a silver-haired girl and a dark-haired boy could be clearly seen.

To the right of it displayed four simple lines of text, but the text emitted power

"Name: Nephis"

"True Name: Changing Star"

"Name: Max Darkholmes"

"True Name: The Almighty"

....

Looking around, he noticed Caster's gaze fixed on the screen. There was a strange, somber expression on the humorous young man's face. But the weird thing about it was that, as far as Max could tell, Caster wasn't looking at the line of text containing the True Name.

Instead, he was staring at the line of text that read "Nephis" and "Max", as though their actual name held more meaning to him than the one given by the Spell.

'Oh I wonder what he will do, well that's future Max's problem'

Max glanced around the cafeteria and quickly noticed Neph, who was sitting quietly in a corner with a cup of coffee in her hands. She had a proud look on her face while reading the board.

Max then walked towards her with a snug expression

"It seems you're already causing waves"

Sitting down Max uttered, Neph met his eyes and said in a proud voice

"You too, nice True Name"

Max smirked with a tinge of happiness

"This is the first time you complimented me but well thanks"

Neph had a subtle smile when she heard this, which was quickly hidden even Max didn't notice it.

Max then obliviously asked

"Which classes are you going to sign up for? I'm going for wilderness survival and combat"

Neph jerked her head back

"I'm just going for combat, but why did you sign up for wilderness survival"

Max just shrugged his shoulders.

Just then, a voice interrupted their discussion

"Lady Nephis and Lord Max. I am Caster from the Han Li clan. I see that your trial went well?"

Nephis seemed to be a little bit perplexed by the question. After thinking for a while, she smiled brightly and shrugged.

"It is what it is."

Max turned towards Caster and said in a disgusting voice

"Wait wait lord?, see now you just made it weird "

Caster seemed stumped by his reply. Neph gave a short chuckle after hearing it.

Caster gave an awkward smile and soon left.

Neph looked up from her coffee

"Why did you have to tease him like that"

"I wasn't teasing him, I was put off by his words. It makes me feel that my safety is violated"

Max said in an exaggerated tone which earned a short giggle from Neph

....

On the opposite side of the cafeteria, a jet-black-haired youth seemed to be in deep thought

'Two people received True Names in their First Nightmare. Are they Divine Aspect Holders like me'

Sunny hummed while thinking about this.

'And is that why he approached me, did he somehow figure out I held a Divine Aspect"

Sunny decided to push these thoughts for later, as his food looked too tantalizing

...

The Wilderness Survival classroom was spacious, tastefully decorated… and completely empty. Max even thought that he was mistaken, but then spotted a gloomy instructor sitting behind a wide wooden desk. Noticing him, the instructor perked up.

"Come in, young man!"

He was a lively old man with messy grey hair, absentminded eyes, and a pair of bushy eyebrows that seemed to jump around on their own.

"I'm Awakened Julius. You can call me Teacher Julius. Sit down, sit down! What's your name?"

Right at that moment, the door opened up. Inside came a frail young man.

"This is amazing two students in a year. It seems God really favors me"

The teacher cried out in satisfaction. Sunny came inside and immediately cried out in sorrow

"Why are you here"

Max tilted his head and shot back

"Why can't I be here"

Sunny stammered but it seemed he couldn't come up with any replies. He cursed aloud and sat a few seats away from him.

The teacher then continued

"Like I previously said my name is Awakened Julius, what's your"

"Max Darkholmes"

"Sunless"

"Both are ominous names, but what can I say"

"Say, young men… why did you choose Wilderness Survival, of all things?"

Sunny was the first to reply

"The Awakened that monitored me during the First Nightmare, Master Jet, had advised me to study it above all things."

"Same as him"

"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."

Sunny's interest seemed piqued as he asked

"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."

Max and Sunny blinked after hearing it.

"Why?"

Their voices resonated together. Sunny shot back a piercing look

Julius ignored it and continued

"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 beg to differ"

Max whispered but it seemed Julius didn't hear it, he focused back

"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."

"I'll be taking combat classes. So I'd only like to learn the runes "

Julius stared at him and contemplated

"I think I've heard of you; you're one of the legacies, aren't you? I'll let you go on the survival part. Fine, I'll teach you the runes"

Max smiled upon hearing his words.

Julius then diverted his attention to Sunny

"You're such an astute young man! Don't you worry? In four whole weeks, I will make you immortal…

....

Max was in the combat class, listening to the teacher talk. He had left the wilderness survival class before Sunny as he finished his work.

"Next one to try out the machine is Max Darkholmes"

Max started walking to the machine slowly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a moving silhouette.

Max instantly knew it was Sunny's Aspect. He started at it for a bit before mouthing a few words and going towards the machine.

Max took a fighting stance and delivered a fast punch. The machine trembled and swayed because of the force

After a long pause, the machine displayed the result: Twenty-five.

Everyone gasped at the sight. There were a few admiring and hateful gazes thrown at Max.

Even Neph gasped at the power of his strike.

The next one to try out the machine was Neph. She delivered a sudden crushing blow.

The score came out as sixteen.

Finally, the last one to go was Caster. Max could barely see his fist.

The machine trembled, and took a bit of time.

Finally, the number twenty-one appeared. Yet no one cares; they were all shaken by Max's show of force.

Instructor Rock smiled.

"Not bad. Now, we will move to sparring and evaluate your general level of training. I need two volunteers to begin."

Nephis was the first to step forward and walk to the center of the ring. Max soon came and faced her.

"The rules are simple. Make your opponent's back touch the floor or throw them out of the ring. Use whatever abilities and techniques you find appropriate."

Max grinned

"It's been a while since we fought. I wonder who's stronger"

Neph too gave a subtle smile

"I wonder too"

Max wasted no time and instantly appeared near Nephis.

His muscles bulged and he soon gave a leg kick to her.

Neph jumped back; Max's kick hit the floor and dug a hole due to the sheer amount of force it contained.

She did not give Max any time to rest and tried to give him a hook.

Neph's hook connected but she felt like she was hitting air. Max soon started vanishing.

'An afterimage, but how?'

At that point, she saw Max lunge toward her chest. Neph felt pressured, she tried her hardest to avoid his punch.

But Max's punch was like an unstoppable force heading towards her without stopping.

His punch connected, hitting her chin. Sending her flying back. Neph tried to get up but failed.

Max moved toward her and tried to give a kick to her head.

But Neph finally managed to get up and dodge.

Max didn't rest and followed her. He punched her gut with all his force.

Neph wanted to dodge but her body refused her commands. She knew she could use her Aspect but she refused to.

Max's punch hit its mark, and the sound of her rib breaking echoed throughout the room.

She was instantly onto her knees but she refused to give up.

Max raised his leg and gave a slight nudge causing her to fall to the ground.

It was a one-sided massacre.

Instructor Rock grinned

"Next"

What followed could be described as a genocide. One after another, everyone fell to Max's claws. Max was like an invincible wall, to the other Sleepers.

Max moved calmly, he reacted to attacks and redirected them with what felt like no effort. His technique was ruthless, targeting everyone's weak spots.

Max did not say any words though and just remained indifferent to it all.

Everyone fell to him, whether it was a street rat or a legacy.

Instructor Rock seemed to like the carnage that was unfolding in front of his eyes.

Finally, Caster was the last one remaining — once again. However, he didn't seem to be perturbed by the miserable failure of every other Sleeper. With a soft smile on his lips, the young man stepped into the ring.

"Lord Max, please excuse me in advance."

Max's indifferent face finally broke.

"How many times did I tell you not to call me that"

The match then started.

With terrifying speed, Caster ran towards Max.

It seemed like he teleported. However, it was only an illusion. The truth was that he was just moving so fast that the human eye wasn't able to keep up with his movements.

But it was still not enough, Max still traced his attack. He turned his body to the side.

Caster's punch failed to hit him. He was left wide open, Caster knew this and tried to run away with his Aspect again.

But it seemed futile, even though the opening was less than a fraction of a second. Max managed to land a hook on his face.

Caster was sent flying towards the ground. But with unwavering determination, supported himself with his hand. Not letting his back touch the ground.

But just as he was about to use his Aspect again. An imperial force descended on him.

The air was knocked out of his lungs. Caster could not even think straight.

Max slowly walked towards him, unbothered by the indomitable force. He threw a kick straight at his face.

Caster could not dodge, he could only helplessly watch as the kick advanced like an unstoppable mountain.

Max's shin landed straight at his face. Caster fell back, his nose was broken and he was knocked out.

Instructor Rock grunted and gave Max a nod.

....

Back in his dormitory, Max clutched his head in agony. He was only able to resist it for so long was because of the training he had received. He started bleeding from his orifices too, Max just wanted to pass out

Max had used his Aspect only twice. Once to alter everyone's vision to see twenty-five instead of seventeen. And the second was to pressure Caster.

Even though it was for a split second the pain was unbearable. He needed to find a cure for it fast.

But he was still happy he used it because it revealed a few rules about his flaws.

One, casting illusions over a group is more painful than casting an illusion over one person.

Two, the more intricate the illusion the more pain he received.

Three, his innate ability caused less pain than his aspect ability by a margin.

Four, the stronger the person he cast's the illusion on, the more essence is consumed and the pain from his flaw increase too. His flaw should only give him headaches and disorientation but because he fooled someone stronger than him which was Awakened Rock. Max started bleeding. Basically the pain from his flaw would increase with the strength of the opponent.

So, Max could theoretically fool a Unholy Titan as a Sleeper as long as he had enough essence. But the pain from his flaw would literally kill him.