Nightmare Mythos

It wasn\'t just a simple diner but a very famous place.

When both of them entered, Cesar saw the place was packed with people. But Arnold\'s presence shook the owner of the restaurant, instantly recognizing that he was no other than the current Headmaster of the Academy.

However, there\'s a reason why the owner was very respectful and mindful toward him. He had two kids attending the Academy was the reason.

That\'s why when Arnold told the owner that he\'d pay for the fee for the night, in exchange for the whole place being cleared up, the owner didn\'t hesitate to follow his demands and cleared up the place in just fifteen minutes.

It was being paid after all. He wasn\'t being threatened or forced to do his bidding or abusing his power to get what he wanted.

Now, the restaurant was all cleared up, and the owner only waiting for the two to give their food request.

"What would you like to order?" The owner, who had a tag named Jerry, politely asked Cesar, "Look at the menu and see if you liked any dishes there. If nothing, try to give what kind of dish you crave and my best chefs will cook it for you,"

Cesar felt weird being able to receive that kind of treatment as he mused inwardly, \'Woah… someone speaking respectfully to a hoodlum and orphan like me. Well, I don\'t dislike it.\'

Cesar gazed at the menu on his hand, looking at the dishes one by one. As he went deeper, his eyes gradually glistened. Each of them was delicious enough that his eyes were already screaming in delight and hungriness.

Upon noticing that Cesar couldn\'t choose which one he liked after being silent for a whole, Arnold decided to take matters into his own hands and expressed calmly.

"Whatever you have, bring it all."

Not disliking the authoritative and demanding tone of Arnold at all, Jerry nodded repeatedly as if he were a broken robot and darted away to the kitchen to give his demands at the chefs.

"Reputation is really everything," Cesar commented while bringing the menu down at the table before adding, "I also have that kind of reputation in the Academy but you\'re different. Your position from the Academy isn\'t different when you\'re outside. You can use it and will people to do your bidding,"

Hearing that from Cesar, Arnold let out a soft chuckle as he replied, "Well, you might not be aware of it but I guess it\'s time for you to learn that your current position in the Academy will fade away once you are out here in this world. Unless you are really good at the academy, that is.

Arnold then paused as he came back to the topic, "You\'re right by the way. Your reputation matters but where do they stem from?"

Arnold started explaining, "They came from the system that everyone created called the World\'s Powerhouses. And there are three of them as of the moment with a very rich history,"

Arnold paused as he raised his thumb to demonstrate, "As you know, the first powerhouse is The Academy. We have a ranking as well. At the very bottom of the list are you, students. Showing your credentials that you belonged to the Academy will help you at certain times,"

He took a halt while raising another finger, "Next to that list are Staff Members. This includes the ones who prepare your meals, the servers. Watching the walls which were guards,"

Arnold made a long list of staff members at the academy before ending it with, "...Even the janitors have a certain amount of reputation. After all, everyone who has been hired by the academy is capable and someone who will not just be handicapped when the Academy is in danger."

He raised the third finger, fourth, and fifth finger, "Up next is Teachers. There\'s no need to tell you their capabilities since they wouldn\'t have been teaching you all if they didn\'t know what they were doing. Following that are the Principals for each grade hence there are four principals in total. And the next one is me, The Headmaster,"

Arnold pushed more knowledge onto Cesar regarding what he didn\'t know much about the Academy before he proceeded to the next one.

He closed his fingers and stated calmly, "Next that came is the Army. This thing… is very too complicated to explain since there are… when I said that, it means a lot of positions and rankings to pursue for you to become at the top. Eventually, most people choose this career because they want to change their lives. Everyone who graduated from the Academy had no choice but to choose this, however,"

Arnold paused, "But it will be a different scenario if you didn\'t graduate from the academy though, or have been expelled. Not only you be discriminated around but also have to take orders from someone who has higher a position just because they attended the academy. Your old age or experience doesn\'t matter when one\'s ranking is the basis of position and power,"

Arnold continued to explain more about the Army before he contemplated for a brief moment before adding. Discover exclusive tales on M V L

"There\'s another side of the military as well and you\'ve already met some of them," Arnold paused, "They are the Nightmare Corps."

Arnold then became stoic, "You might already know their description of being a bunch of miserable wretches hanging on a thread, only because they are. These people are the most exposed to Nightmares but also the hardest ones to be killed as well. Not only that, your life will solely be devoted to ending Nightmares until you die. Yet do you know why some of them still choose to apply for these corps?"

Cesar shook his head. He knew some of the information regarding this legion of specialists but not really why most of them were very driven when they could choose the Army.

Arnold then revealed with a heavy tone, "It\'s because the Corps is mad. They might appear to be able to communicate with but they are just in disguise to hide the madness, the anger, they hold from their dark past that drives them to continue hunting down Nightmares. The members of the Corps haven\'t been forced to join but they accepted it themselves,"

Clank—!

Finally, the food was brought to their table one by one. It tingled to Cesar\'s nose as he gulped down a mouthful of saliva before picking up a plate for himself. Arnold did the same thing as they halted their talk before beginning to eat.

After feeling amazing at how some of the dishes tasted, Cesar voiced out with delight in his tone, "There\'s the third one, right? What is it?"

Arnold elegantly brought up a piece of meat from his mouth, chewing it slowly before digging it in. The moment he was finished, he revealed it for Cesar to know.

"The Third Powerhouse of the World\'s System is the Hunter\'s Association." Arnold paused, "This organization had the longest history amongst the other two. They are very prominent at the early stages of the Nightmare\'s invasion on our world,"

Poised to hear more about an association that already came from the very start of the era of Nightmares, Cesar waited for Arnold to explain more about this so-called Hunter\'s Association.