Chapter 50 – Method

Sal pushed his empty plate forward with a satisfied sigh. He hadn’t had a canteen steak in days, and it was incredibly welcome. Divinity opted for her traditional salad, while Barry seemed to take a little bit of everything that was on offer. The place was pretty much devoid of people as most of the first-years were still in the armory.

Second-years were still in classes, so there were just a few people dotted around the canteen. The conversation had been light up until this point, with Barry and Divinity giving their thoughts about the upcoming excursion. Both were excited by the opportunity, with Divinity’s only drawback being the camping out in the Reclaimed Zone.

Barry, on the other hand, was looking forward to getting away from the academy for a while. He felt cooped up and wanted to see what a freshly Reclaimed Zone looked like. That said, Chatfield hadn’t indicated how long the excursion would last, which had caused a few speculations to be thrown around. Divinity’s grim expression suggested they would be camping for quite some time.

Sal shared that he was a little apprehensive about it, as he hadn’t gone camping before. It would be a good opportunity for him to add more information to his visor, but his mind drew a blank when he tried to imagine how classes would be conducted out in the open.

“Like, how are they going to teach the Crafting module when we’re out there? Or Administration? I can’t imagine Jez sitting on a rock and telling people that they need to try selling them for Q-Cred.”

Barry chuckled at that and shrugged. “My guess is that Demonic Behavior and Analysis—or whatever they decide to call the mix of them—those classes will be easy to teach out in the wild. It’s pretty much information gathering, so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

Divinity looked pensive for a moment before she voiced what was on her mind. “Do you think they’re putting us on the excursion so that all of us are away from the academy? Like, to keep the first-year Controllers away from the second-years?”

Sal shook his head. “I think this plan was in motion long before we figured out the Bastion thing. It’s a good outcome, though, as it will make it much harder for them to enlist new recruits.”

Barry agreed with Sal and gestured at Divinity. “Alastair is going to root them out, so we don’t need to worry about going undercover anytime soon. Which is both disappointing and a relief. I was hoping to twist their arms into giving me access to the specialist classes.”

“Why do you want to go down that route? Is it because of your ability?” Sal asked with a genuine curiosity.

He couldn’t for the life of him imagine why someone would want to be that close to danger. Disguising themselves and pretending to be someone else entirely sounded like a whole new level of stress.

Barry shrugged as though it wasn’t anything serious. “Honestly, it just sounds fun. I’ve been using illusions since I was a kid, and I always saw it like a game. Fooling people and playing pranks was always really fun, but now there’s a chance that my power could be used to save people. If it means putting myself closer to danger, then that’s just a part of the package.”

Sal pressed him further. “But the knife as your weapon…are you sure that it’s the one you want to go with? A gun would probably suit you for range just as well. If you go down the knife route, you’ll likely end up moving closer to the Assassination specialization.”

Divinity frowned at that as she turned to Barry. “You wanted to do Espionage and Subterfuge too, along with Tactics from Alastair. Is the Assassination route really what you’re aiming for?”

Barry smiled as he spread his hands wide. “Who knows? They just sound fun for now. I’m certain that I want to be in the Controller role, and if I transition my focus to Assassination stuff, then I’ll end up being thrown into Offense instead. My plan is to learn enough about all the different specializations so I can make the best strategies on the field. So, don’t go worrying that I have some dark, broody past where I want to become a trained killer. That’s cliché as fuck.”

When Sal was about to comment, Barry tapped the table and gave Divinity a meaningful look.

“I think Sal here is trying to deflect from the topic at hand. We can’t have our esteemed Mythcrafter falling into a state of uselessness in month three, so what are we going to do about it?”

Divinity smiled as she rounded on Sal, who was uncomfortable at being the sudden topic of conversation.

“I suggested that he try meditation to sort his thoughts and work through them. It would also help him increase his number of essence gates.”

Barry grinned and clicked his fingers. “That’s actually the same idea I had, but likely with a very different method. Having him alone with his thoughts is one thing, but having him visualize his problems and tackling them head-on…that’s a type of image training that will see him succeed much faster.”

Divinity’s smile faded as she stared at Barry in confusion. “Image training? Like visualizing demons and fighting them? That’s not what I was suggesting at all. I was saying that he should sort through his own thoughts and process them in a healthy manner. Let him understand why he thinks the way he does, so he can overcome the lies his brain is feeding him.”

Sal raised a hand to speak, but they both ignored him.

Barry was still smiling at Divinity as he shook his head. “That’s like textbook meditation to get in touch with your feelings. Sal has too many of those to start with. We need a method that will get him to face his excuses head-on, and actually fight them. Which is where my ability comes in.” Barry made his case as though it were the only natural solution.

“We get him to replicate my ability, and I teach him how to navigate it in his head. He’ll be able to make visual representations of the things he’s worrying about and fight them in his head, boosting up his proficiency in the process.”

Divinity just gaped at Barry like he was suggesting that Sal stab himself in the stomach to solve his problems.

Barry ignored Divinity’s reaction and gestured at her. “You can look into the future to find the best method for me to teach him, which is how we get him to avoid purgatory.”

Sal could not have imagined a more drastic solution to a tiny problem. “This is insane, Barry. It’s completely overkill for me to learn how to use your power just to get rid of a few nightmares.”

Barry shook his head, the grin never leaving his face. “That’s where you’re wrong. This isn’t just to do with fighting nightmares. It’s training. Why do you think I have access to all my essence gates? Why am I so adept at picking up training and formations? I do this image training every night while I’m resting, and time works differently when you’re in a sleep-like state. When you learn how to activate it internally during sleep, you’ll have what feels like days’ worth of training in a single night.”

Barry clicked his fingers as he also remembered the reason for the whole plan in the first place. “You’ll also never have another nightmare again, as you’ll forever be in the driver’s seat of your sleep-state.”

Sal couldn’t help but stare at Barry in shock. “That’s ridiculously overpowered! You’re able to train your powers at night while you’re sleeping?”

Sal looked across to Divinity, who was having the same realization. She stared for a moment longer before snapping out of her thoughts and shaking her head.

“Barry, that’s something that you’ve learned how to do over years of hard work and mental training. There’s no way we could replicate that level of control for Sal in just a few sessions of back-and-forth chatter.”

Barry shrugged and looked back at Sal. “Decision is yours. I can teach you how to do it, but it’ll be up to you if you want to go through with it. It’s surprisingly fun, though. When you learn how to control your dreams, it’s the ultimate power fantasy. I’ve killed dozens of commander variants in my head during those training sessions. I can tell you now for certain that if one appeared in front of me, I wouldn’t be scared and shitting myself. That’s the power of the dream-training.”

When Sal and Divinity fell into silence, Barry goaded them further. “Tell you what, you can say no and that’s fine. But wait until you see how quickly I pick up the knife proficiency. I’ve been recreating the tournament fights in my head, mimicking the strategies and patterns. It’s how I’m able to make such lifelike illusions with just a flick of my wrist. Every night, I’m constructing them and adding them to my mental portfolio for use during the day.”

Divinity couldn’t get her head around it. “But how are you rested when you wake up, if you’re actively working all through the night?”

Barry smiled and tapped the side of his head. “It’s like a time dilation in here. Like I said to Sal, hours feel like days of training. I can have naps whenever I’ve got free time, which helps keep me alert and active throughout the day. I also partition a set number of hours for actual rest when I’m sleeping. Most people wake up when they’re restless; I end up falling into my dream state, which is my domain. I can wake myself up or explore the dream itself. Either way, my body gets a full night’s sleep.”

Divinity cursed under her breath, which made Barry’s smile grow wide.

She turned to Sal and shook her head. “I still think it’s a bad idea. I don’t think you’ll be able to learn how to control it in such a short time. We should focus on an attainable goal, and start with incremental gains from meditation.”

Barry didn’t say anything as he turned his smile toward Sal. “It’s almost like I can see the cogs turning in your head. What are you imagining right now? All the crafting projects you’d be able to construct in your head at night? I wonder if you’d be able to activate Mythcrafter while you’re sleeping. Who knows?”

Divinity shot Barry a withering look. “Stop goading him.”

Sal couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. There was no way it was possible for him to learn such a thing, even though Barry seemed convinced. Image training? To help him overcome a few nightmares? It certainly felt more proactive than the meditation suggestion from Divinity.

Cooper had suggested that he spent time with friends to increase his Spirit level, and either of their options would satisfy that instruction. If he was honest with himself, he was already enjoying hanging out with them. The bickering and back-and-forth was something he had missed in the last few weeks. Just as he was about to make his decision, he heard Divinity trying to shush Barry.

“I’m just saying, it’s an option!” Barry defended as he slid his chair out of reach of Divinity, who held her fork like a weapon.

She shook her head with a stoic expression. “He’s not crafting a fucking headband with your ability. Crafting is what put him in this state in the first place, and your solution is to get him to craft more?”

Barry threw his hands up in exasperation. “He’s a Crafter, Divinity. He’s not going to just give up on it because he’s not sleeping well and the pressure is getting to him. He’s going to keep doing it because he’s good at it and he loves it. Hell, anytime he speaks about it, his eyes light up.” Barry turned to Sal and pointed at him.

“I don’t mean changing color, by the way. You get so damned excited when talking about shit you’re making.” He didn’t give Sal an opportunity to respond as he rounded on Divinity again.

“Hear me out. If he makes a headband or a sleeping cap or something, that has the Illusion ability, then he won’t need to replicate it and the training will be much easier. You could use it, too, and do the same training I’m trying to offer him.”

Divinity froze at those words as the implications suddenly dawned on her.

Barry chose that moment to pounce. “Yeah, looks like it’s a very different value proposition when you can use it too.”

Divinity blushed at that and shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Sal’s powers make him capable of so much, and he takes everything onto his shoulders. I know just how horrible it is when people only want you around to use your powers. I want to help him as Salvatore, not as Myth. I’m trying to be a good friend.”

Barry smiled at that and clapped. “Excellent, so we’re both on the same page. Sal, the decision is yours. You can do the training with me, learn how to tackle the shit going on in your head, or you can make a nightmare killer piece of equipment with my ability.”

Divinity scowled at Barry before turning to Sal. “Or, you can just do the tried-and-true method of processing your thoughts and meditating through them.”

Sal felt cornered all of a sudden. He looked at the two of them and sighed. “I’m guessing that whichever I choose, the other person is going to be pissed?”

Both Barry and Divinity glanced at each other and then answered at the exact same time.

“Yes.”