Hell's Academy

Varlan Outpost, Porthill Valley

Large dream beasts towered outside a small set of wooden stalls in a round cyclical pattern. Visiting them, dozens of Varlan from different sectors in the Furnace traded goods and bartered items that they required for the following year.

Occasionally, an Aresoul would pass by in a black cape that caused a mixture of disdain and reverence to emit from the shopkeepers. However, as long as a visitor had the right currency, any item for sale could be bartered and traded in order to deepen the pockets of the Varlan Merchants.

Seeing a bus appear turning down a road, one small Varlan child, sitting on top of a black six horned dream beast, grabbed his father's hand in a panic. Seeing the boys eyes, the father merely calmed him down with a gentle pat. To his father, with their B rank Dream Beasts, there was no one daring enough to rob the market.

Even with the Varlan's main warriors still trying to sniff out the trail of the Dream Myth, any robbers would fall into a darkness worse than death. Some Dream Beasts possessed powerful abilities that could turn their bodies into prisons to hold the most heinous of individuals.

Patting his son on the back, the Varlan named Logram gradually walked over to the bus and smiled while three small dream beasts followed by his side. He had got each of these dream beasts at rare dreamscape wildernesses. Unlike Authoritarians that procreated the next generations, all dream beasts could be considered unique existences that either could bring great joy or destruction.

The three dream beasts with Logram looked ordinary, but actually had the strength in the C rank. Being the lead merchant, his dreams beast speed had been shown useful many times in ripping apart feeling vagrants that tried to steal rare goods.

Seeing a crowd of teenagers getting of the bus, Logram took a deep breath. Pointing his son over at a tent, he waved to Barabin while staring at the young man sitting in the window. From a distance, he couldn't help but notice the green eyes of the boy, staring passed him at the gigantic beasts towering in the sky.

Feeling fear from the young man's eyes, Logram wiped the sweat off his head.

'Good, that boy is having a natural reaction to Dream Beasts 1000 times his size. Luckily, he isn't that Aresoul monster I've heard so much about. The one they call the slayer of dreams for unfortunate reasons.'

'The slayer of dreams has said to kill thousands of dream beasts. Since the Aresoul legally purchased them, I shouldn't feel so upset. But the fact that thousands of these beautiful creatures have gotten killed to strengthen someone makes me want to crush him into dust!'

Logram smiled and offered a handshake to Reece before she gently followed him over to his stall.

"Is that your son?" Reece said with a smile, "He looks just like you. Where's the lucky lady?"

"She's out exploring a dream cavern," Logram sighed, crossing his arms. "I take it you're part of Horned Nation, right? The Aresoul would pay a big bounty for me to report that you were here. Tell you what, if you buy something of value, I can let you get on your way."

"You barter right?" Reece smiled, pulling out a small bag that she had hidden behind her back, keeping it tightly in her grasp as she brought it to his face. "This-this bag contains 100 dream chrysalis. That should be enough to make you happy right."

"Yes, it should be fine. You're lucky the hunting team isn't here," Logram patted his son on the back, weighing the bag in his hands. "There is a rare Dream Myth that has escaped. It's strength is at the peak of the B rank. Unfortunately, for them, I'm rather trusting."

"Mmmm, what do Dream Myths do anyway?" Reece tossed him the bag and watched Harley walk over to one of the stalls.

The items in the stalls of the Varlen had been taken from dreamscapes, but that didn't mean they lacked functionality. Just like Dream Beasts, the objects made inside the strange lands of imagination could sometimes be considered powerful weapons.

Seeing a cute hat on the table, Harley picked it up and put it on her head as Logram sighed and patted her on the back.

Logram had on a black wool sweater that had flaps to cover his ears, which according to the Varlan provided them better sleep. The Varlan valued dreams above all else, and almost all aspects of their lives had something to with boosting their imaginary capabilities. Once a day, the Varlan even tuned out sounds in order to focus on the visual realm hidden inside of them.

Looking back at this moment, Logram gently sighed before tossing a small object at Reece. "About Dream Myths. They are creatures that like to haunt people, and to make them suffer. They are called Dream Myths because they make up fake stories."

"They also are extremely useful if you can get one on your side. Being able to see someone's dreams is a valuable tool. This one's real name is Yindred, but she likes to usually create a name for herself that starts with a P. If you find her, the Varlan will reward you handsomely. If you find yourself dreaming about someone in your family dying, than let us know."

"I don't have any family," Reece said, smiling and waving at Logram. "As for your son, tell him if he ever grows up to come find me. He's going to be such a looker."

Reece smiled and turned her head to the side, noticing a large pack of Dream Beasts walking in their direction. Gulping at the realization that those were probably the hunters, she hopped on the bus and gave Barabin the thumbs up.

"Ugh, all we need is Harley now and we're good to go," Reece waved at Harley as she played with a small device in her hands. "Ugh, Harley, did he say you could have that?"

Reece had started to feel like a mother to many of the people at the West Branch, including Monica, but Harley could best described as her younger sister. She always did everything she could to get on her nerves. Seeing her holding an object that they hadn't paid for, she immediately slammed her hands into the wheel.

"I can have this right?" Harley said, patting Logram on the back. "We gave you more than enough for a little hat."

"That's a defensive hat," Logram said, nodding his head, "It will protect you against the cold. Consider it a gift for smiling at my son." Logram smiled and watched Harley get on the bus before he looked once more to the boy with the green eyes.

Seeing his eyes closed, he noticed a small mark on the right side of his head. A white line that extended down his neck and towards his chest. It looked like a crawling snake, twirling endlessly forward, before it disappeared into the lining of his shirt.

"Wait, isn't that the mark of a Dream Myth," Logram gulped, seeing the hunters coming closer and closer as he muttered to himself. 'I-I can't stop them by myself. That girl alone is probably in the C rank, let alone that man sitting in the front of the bus!'

'Shit, if that thing gets passed us, it might destroy our entire information network! What do I do?!"

Logram sighed, reaching back and pulling out a small trinket in his pocket. Clearing his throat, he walked over to Harley, seeing her figure sway back and fourth in a beautiful motion.

"Excuse me, Miss. I actually need to give you one more gift, but it comes with instructions. Would you mind?"

"I do," Harley said, crossing her arms, "That looks expensive. We're leaving Reece."

'Why?" Reece said, smiling and waving at Logram, "He's been so nice to us."

Reece had enough of Harley's attitude, but didn't dare scold her out in the open. Some Dream Beasts got upset when people fought around them, and could attack randomly with little warning. Unlike humans and Authoritarians, Dream Beasts lived asleep, and awoke to rest. Because of this, they had extremely bizarre behaviors that normal humans couldn't understand.

However, one thing was clear about them, they didn't like to wake up. It was almost as if reality haunted them, and they'd destroy anything that forced them into the light.

Smiling at Logram, Reece waved before Harley got on and forced the door shut.

"We did something wrong. Punch it," Harley said, patting Reece on the back. "He's stalling. Get out of here now!"

"What? How can you be certain?" Reece said, still holding a smile while Logram slowly walked in her direction. "We paid him handsomely. He should be happy."

"It's something about his eyes. They-they reminded me of my father on the night before I got thrown into the Furnace! Those damn eyes of his! I couldn't stand them!"

"Well, this isn't going to work." Logram pointed at Howard with a sullen expression shimmering in his eyes. "My dear Dream Beasts. Bring me that boy's head, will you?"