Teacher Julius was just the same, but Sunny's perception of him had changed. Not only because of how instrumental the things he had learned from the old instructor turned out to be for his survival, but also because of the history books he had just read.
'How old is Teacher Julius, anyway?'
Sunny had never thought about it, but after learning more about Immortal Flame and the first generation of the Awakened, he couldn't help but see his mentor in a new light. Teacher Julius must have been if not of the same age as those legendary figures, then at least of the same generation. Those people had lived through much darker, much more violent times.
They had survived the end of the world, and built a new one from the ruins.
"...Sunny, my boy!"
Before Sunny could react properly, he was subjected to a passionate hug. Then, Teacher Julius unceremoniously pushed him to the nearest chair.
"Finally, you're back! I never doubted that you would return, not even for a moment. No student of mine would allow himself to die easily, you know! Wait, what am I talking about… of course, you know. You're one of my students yourself, after all!"
Sunny couldn't help but smile while listening to the excitement in the old man's voice. Before coming here, he was slightly worried that Teacher Julius would not even remember him.
Despite the fact that his course was not the most popular at the Academy, the eccentric instructor must have mentored thousands of Sleepers throughout his career. What was one more?
But, luckily, Sunny had been wrong.
"But, my boy… a whole year! Did you like it in the Dream Realm so much that you didn't want to return? Did you not think that your old teacher would be worried sick? In the name of the gods, what happened?"
Sunny hesitated a little, then said apologetically:
"Well, Teacher Julius… you see… I ended up in an unexplored region of the Dream Realm. And the only Gateway there was guarded by a Fallen Terror…"
The old man blinked.
"Heavens! How horrible. So what did you do?"
Sunny shrugged.
"Uh, well. In short... I met two beautiful girls, escorted them to an ancient castle, spent a few months exploring a cursed city, went on a long and arduous quest to find a magic crown, killed a devil, helped a princess become a queen, participated in a war or two, climbed an evil tower, and finally ended up near the Gateway. Basically… I survived. Just how you taught me to."
Teacher Julius listened to him very carefully, then nodded a few times
"Great! You did great! Just as expected from one of my students. But, Sunny…"
The old man's eyes suddenly shone brightly, full of excitement.
"Did you say… did you say something about an unexplored region?"
Sunny smiled, then activated his communicator.
"I did. In fact, I have compiled a lengthy report about things I have seen, fought, and discovered there. Would you like to take a look? I can send it to you."
Teacher Julius looked down with embarrassment.
"A report? Oh, you shouldn't have… you must be so terribly busy right now…"
However, even while he was saying that, the old man was already opening the file. As soon as he started reading, his eyes widened, and a delighted smile appeared on his face.
"...brilliant! This is brilliant! Wait, what's that… you even remembered to include citations in the original runic? That's my boy! Marvelous! Huh… well-preserved ruins?
A whole city?! Is there a… there is! Oh, my!"
***
It took Teacher Julius some time to skim through the report. Throughout the whole process, he continued to mumble under his nose in an increasingly excited tone. Some remarks Sunny understood, while some went completely over his head.
Like: "Greystone architecture... possible connections to the Third Wandering Archon?". Or: "Which era of the Babel Script would that correspond to?". Or: "Rats! That'll show that smug bastard Sando how wrong his Universal Origin of Rituals ramblings were!".
The old man's eyes gradually grew wider and wider.
Finally, he deactivated his communicator and looked at Sunny with an expression of profound exhilaration.
"You've... done exceptionally well, Sunny. Of course, your report is rough around the edges and needs a lot of work to be published, but this… this is going to make so many people happy! I can name at least a dozen theories that can be expanded, confirmed, or refuted thanks to all the new data you provided. And that's just off the top of my head!
Not to mention all the good that will come from the detailed descriptions of so many new types of Nightmare Creatures you included."
Teacher Julius smiled proudly:
"You truly have a heart of an explorer, my boy! Very few people do, and out of those, even less have a keen mind such as yours. Not to mention the ability to venture into the deadly expanse of the Dream Realm and not only come back alive, but also remember to look at more than just what's in front of them. But it is thanks to such people that we can deepen our knowledge of the Spell."
He sighed.
"Most of the Awakened only know how to hack and slash. They tend to look at us with very little regard, but it is only because of us that they know how to hack and where to slash. Luckily, there are few bright minds here and there."
Sunny stared at his mentor with a bit of surprise. He had not expected such a intense reaction. He just wrote down his findings about the Forgotten Shore to please the old man, considering they shared a hobby.
"Uh… I'm sorry? Published? What do you mean by that, exactly?"
Teacher Julius glanced at him with a humorous spark in his eyes.
"Oh, don't worry. This old man is not going to rob his own student of the reward. I'll help you bring this paper to a proper state free of charge. I don't even need to be put down as a coauthor, although it would make me happy if you did. What do I need money for? I have more money than I could ever spend already…"
Sunny tilted his head, then blinked a couple of times. His heart was suddenly grasped by burning emotions.
"Excuse me, Teacher Julius. But. Did you… did you say something about money?"
The old man stared at him with confusion.
"Yes, I did. Isn't it why you have compiled this marvelous report? To receive the contribution points from the government?"
Sunny lingered for a bit, then slowly shook his head.
"No? I, uh… I just though you would like to read it? I don't even know what these contribution points you mentioned are."
Teacher Julius looked at him for a while, then burst out laughing.
"Oh, oh my. What a good student I have! Ah, you really delighted me today, Sunny. Such pure dedication to the noble calling of an explorer! I wish more people were as selfless as you…"
'Selfless?! What do you mean selfless?! There's not a single selfless bone in my body… is there really money to be made from my stupid report?!'
The old man shook his head and said:
"The government rewards those who enrich the base of knowledge we have about the Spell, the Dream Realm, and the Nightmare Creatures quite generously. The more rare and more vital the information you submit is, the more contribution points you receive. These points can then be exchange for a variety of useful things, or simply turned into credits.
Considering that no one has ever explored the Forgotten Shore before, and how comprehensive your report is… I'd say you'll receive a pretty sizable sum. You really didn't know this?"
Sunny slowly shook his head.
"How... how sizable are we talking? Like if I want to rent an apartment… no, a house! If I want to rent a house in an area of the city with clean air, how many weeks would this reward buy?"
Teacher Julius gave him a strange look.
"Rent a house? What a strange example. Sunny, with how unique the data you contributed is, you don't need to rent a house. Wouldn't it be easier to just buy one? Uh, Sunny?!"
Sunny couldn't respond immediately, though.
He was in the process of falling out of his chair.