After the break, Vedovessa took the class outside to train. The youth of Camboaci were expected to develop a well-rounded skill set by learning to use bows, spears, shields, and swords. Living in the middle of the Wildlands, the ability to defend themselves was vital.
As usual, it was raining, but people here were used to it. they didn’t shy away from a light drizzle.
Not wanting to be skittish in front of their new friends, Div and En faced the rain with bravery. They were a bit disappointed when none of their classmates seemed to care.
From the get-go, Div and En were the best in their class at wielding the spear. But there was an issue. While the school used padded wooden poles to train its students, with the supervising teacher carefully watching to prevent accidents, Div and En were afraid of hurting someone.
Since their Spear skill turned into Rotten Spear, all of their strikes had caused their target to rot. They didn’t know how it would act if no blood was shed, but it wasn’t prudent to try.
For all the things they didn’t know. They had already completed four facets. Most of the other students were still on their first, while a few others had started their second. As for skills, they didn’t know for sure but they doubted anyone had a level 9 skill to counter them.
For the bow and sword, they had more difficulties. It was their first time using those weapons. Even when they had been exiled, they had already trained the spear for a few years. Starting from scratch was always tough.
A difficulty that was made worse by the fact that all the other students had a few months of experience over him. Segorix in particular was a gifted swordsman while Lugsellos and Ambisena had a clear talent for the bow.
Vedovessa made Diven focus on those two weapons.
As for shields, Div and En didn’t dare to touch one. They didn't have the chance to use their skill since it mutated into Rotten Shield. Trying such a skill during practice was simply too dangerous.
When he presented the problem to his teacher, Vedovessa could only agree and suggested asking Belilamos for help. The hunter could easily locate a monster suitable for Div and En to try their skill on.
After a quick meal, the afternoon was spent inside. Vedovessa went over an overwhelming amount of information her students struggled to absorb.
From descriptions of monsters living in the Wildlands to the geopolitical situation of Camboaci in regard to their neighbors, many topics were broached.
Some of it was interesting, like when she mentioned that the various Lienien tribes were organized in a network of villages spanning all to the mouth of the Lien River, where the water flowed into the Great Sea in the south. Camboaci was the northernmost Lienien village. With its position at the end of the navigable portion of the river.
Other parts were a slog to get through.
At the end of the day, Div and En found Carmeta waiting for them with Dubnonamos in front of the school. The boy had finished his lessons a few minutes earlier.
Still not fully recovered from their adventures in the rift and tired from their first day back to school, Div and En were happy to go home.
“See you tomorrow! Diven.” Segorix said as he saw Diven leave.
Diven turned and noticed some students waving at him. Including Gennorina.
He waved back.
Back at Carmeta and Belilamos’ house, the family of three shared dinner with Div and En who were happy to recount their day.
Dubnonamos also had a big day. Lessons for four-year-olds were less strenuous than Div and En’s, but from what they understood his teacher took his class to a nearby pond to look at frogs.
The little boy couldn’t help but explain in detail every detail he remembered about amphibians. Div and En found themselves embarrassed that their speech wasn’t as developed as his. He was only four!
They went to bed early and had no issue falling asleep.
A warm, soothing wind blew into Div’s face. He startled and opened his eyes in an unknown space. In a way, it looked similar to his inner world, except there was nothing in it besides an endless plain of grass.
[En? What’s happening?]
No answer.
Div looked in every direction but there was nothing to see. He called for En again, but his other half wasn’t answering. Just as panic was beginning to set in, he heard Theaphilia’s voice call from behind, “Div.”
He turned around and saw the old woman standing in front of him. They were alone in the empty immensity of the plain.
“Theaphilia,” he said. “What’s going on?”The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“I told you I wanted to talk to you both separately,” she said, as if it explained everything.
“I don’t understand,” Div said.
“Inspect my skill list,” Theaphilia instructed.
Skills:

Dream Connection - Evolved - Lv3

“Dream Connection?”
“Yes, after studying mind skills for decades, I was fortunate enough to receive a facet related to minds. This is the skill it gave me. Well, this is the evolution of that skill. It lets me communicate with people within their dream.”
“Is this why En isn’t here?” Div asked.
“Yes, I’ve already talked with him. Dreams are mystical things, one of the few places where you and him are apart. Although to be honest, I wasn’t sure it would work.”
Div looked at the world around him once more. If he was in a dream, he should be able to make anything happen. Trying to work his imagination, he envisioned a staircase appearing step by step as it stretched into the sky.
Nothing happened.
“My skill anchors your dream to this space so that we may talk,” Theaphilia explained. “With how chaotic they tend to be, having a conversation in a dream would be quite the challenge otherwise.”
Div nodded, slightly disappointed.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” He asked.
“Nothing in particular,” Theaphilia said, a hint of a smile appearing on her aged features. “I just wanted to talk to you. The real you, Div, not the facade you’re putting up with En.”
“And what did En have to say about that?”
“You can ask him when you wake up. I’m not here to talk about him. I’m here to talk about you. How do you feel, Div?” Theaphilia asked.
“About what?” Div asked back.
“How about Camboaci for a start? Is everyone treating you well?”
“Yes, Belilamos and his family have been especially generous but everyone has been nice, even my new classmates,” Div said. “I was expecting worse.”
“What were you expecting?”
“Rejection,” Div said.
“Because of your rot-attunement? Briga and I told you it wasn’t an issue,” Theaphilia said.
“I know, but I was still expecting more push-back. For my rot-attunement, my mind skill and because I am not one of them. I don’t think a Camboacian would be welcomed in Kheiron like I was welcomed here.”
Theaphilia scoffed, “You’re right about that.”
“But,” Div continued. “This is nice. I’m thankful.”
Div paused. Theaphilia didn’t say anything, as if she was waiting for him to continue.
“As for the rest,” Div said, almost tentatively. “I am worried. I don’t know how my cohabitation with En will develop. So far, we’ve been going from crisis to crisis; we’ve had to get along even if it meant compromising. But now…”
“You disagree on important matters and with nothing to force you two to work together, you fear you will stagnate,” Theaphilia finished his sentence. “I’m going to repeat what I told you yesterday. The simplest solution to two minds diverging is for them to merge back together. I know you can do it, En told me you figured out how to turn off skills.”
Div sighed, “We can, I don’t want to disappear. I know it’s not exactly the same, my diverged self would still exist with Diven, but still…”
Theaphilia nodded, expecting this response, “Are you sure?”
“A few days ago, when we were still figuring out Sundered Mind, I would have been more open to it. We even discussed the possibility with En. But now, I cannot accept it,” Div said.
Seeing the resolve inside Div’s eyes, Theaphilia laughed, “Despite your divergence, you two are still eerily similar. En had the exact same answer.”
Div wasn’t surprised. He knew En better than anyone else. He didn’t want to be the same person as he was, but they were still two minds from the same soul.
“Then,” Theaphilia said. “It leaves us with the only other solution I know. And to say I know about it is already an exaggeration. I’ve learned this from a single paragraph in an old papyrus, stored in the archives of the great library of Hyepsut. It was a short text, where an unnamed author wrote that he had read another text, in which someone claimed that a third person said their uncle had traveled south of the great desert — and met someone who spoke of the legend of a mind-splitting skill user who resolved his condition by evolving his skill. The evolution supposedly completely separated the two minds in body and soul.”
Div didn’t know what to say. This had to be a joke–right?
But if it wasn’t, it meant he and En could each evolve into their own body, their own soul, their own inner world and status. Their own real person.
This was too much to pass on. Maybe it was a hunt doomed from the start. But they had to try.
“And then?” He asked, his voice full of hope.
“That’s it,” Theaphilia shrugged her shoulders. “This is all the information I have.”
“It’s awfully little to base a skill evolution on,” Div said. “How are we supposed to start working toward it? Is it even possible?”
“I don’t know if it is possible,” Theaphilia admitted. “Your situation is quite unique. Mind-splitting skill users are rare, not because the option is never offered, but because they tend not to survive. People usually don’t pick their facet in the middle of a rift where they have to scramble to live. Usually, they do so in the safety of their home, and the difficulty of making two minds work together crushes them.”
Div gulped almost audibly. Just when he thought he and En’s situation was bad… It could have been a lot worse. If they hadn’t managed to breathe preperly as Sundered Mind settled in…
“Those that do survive use the other method I mentioned to merge their minds together regularly,” Theaphilia added. “That said, as fantastical as splitting your soul and body sounds, skill evolution is the perfect time to do so.”
“Why?” Div asked.
“This is something you will not learn in class. Your peers are far from reaching level 10 in any of their skills,” she said. “But I will teach you. You and En. I will teach you what it takes to evolve a skill.”
This was something they had been curious about for a while now. Evolving a skill was a different process than simply leveling it up. With Sundered Mind at the maximum level and Rotten Spear close behind at level 9, they needed to know.
“But not now,” Theaphilia said. “Talking within your dreams keeps you from getting proper rest. I will visit again another night, and I will teach you two together.”
Div was disappointed. He was so curious, he barely held off the urge to beg Theaphilia for answers. But he knew she was right. He needed to recover from the day at school and his months in the rift.
He needed to sleep for real.
And, most importantly, he needed to discuss things with En before he committed to a path.