Shadow Slave

Everything having to do with Sleepers was situated in the same building. Sunny followed the instructions sent to his communicator and quickly found the dormitories, which were situated on one of the lowest levels. To his surprise, he actually got a whole room to himself.

It had a bed with a soft mattress, a table, a dresser, and even a separate bathroom! The materials were new and aesthetically pleasing, the air crisp and sterile. It was warm inside, and the outer wall was equipped with a hidden screen that seamlessly imitated a wide window, opening to a picturesque vista of a snowy park.

There were even several sets of clothes with the Academy emblem provided to him for free.

'How extravagant,' Sunny thought, a little stunned.

Rationally, he understood that such an arrangement was not really luxurious. However, to him, who grew up wandering the outskirts, this room was like a palace. He scratched his head.

'Looks like… I've made it?'

Sunny glanced around, then winked at his shadow and smiled.

"I guess we're moving up in the world, huh?"

The shadow didn't respond, apparently not very impressed. Perhaps it didn't care about such things.

'Right, what would a stupid shadow know?'

Sunny changed into new clothes and studied himself in the mirror. Then, remembering something, he summoned the runes.

He finally had time to study the Puppeteer's Shroud.

Memory: [Puppeteer's Shroud].

Memory Rank: Awakened.

Memory Type: Armor.

Memory Description: [A worm of doubt once found its way into a righteous king's heart. With time, the king was devoured from inside and became its puppet. A lifetime later, the Puppeteer Worm escaped from the king's dead body, leaving behind a cacoon of black silk. No one knows where it went; however, once people dared to approach the silent castle, they found the silk among the mountains of gnawed bones and fashioned it into an armor.]

made a sour

that terrifying. Yeah. I'm not creeped

he were to assume that Mountain King was a mature Puppeteer Worm — and already a tyrant… then what the

it's better not to

and wrapped it into a set of armor. It was made of dark-gray, soft fabric with several elements, such as bracers and shoulder

was light, understated and did not restrain his movements at all. It also made no sound when he moved. Perfect equipment for someone who

would be tough to pierce for any Creature below the Awakened rank, which gave him a great advantage in dealing with all dormant monsters. He also felt a sort of strange, faint

it

was

wouldn't expect anything less from the Memory of a

Puppeteer's Shroud was obviously not meant to be worn on top of

rewards he had received during

supper turned out to be as lavish as the dormitory. Sunny's wish to taste real meat finally came true: not only was it freely available to Sleepers, there wasn't even a limit to the amount each of them could eat! More than that, there were rice, bread, various side dishes, sauces, fresh vegetables,

steering

a small mountain of food on his plate, he found an empty seat and, for a while, forgot about the world's existence. As juicy, textured, perfectly seasoned meat filled his mouth, Sunny's vision suddenly

to think, he could have lived like that

didn't you infect

more than a little gorged, Sunny longingly

he stood up and left

an administrative worker. The

Sunny was offered psychological counseling again. Remembering her advice, he refused, and the interview smoothly switched to questions

tell the worker something. Luckily, the questions were worded in a way to put Sleepers at ease.

type of Aspect Ability you received, as

but

not sure. I haven't had time to understand

Are you able to directly deal damage with your

Earlier, I wasn't even able

Sunny shared just enough information to create an

to his room, undressed,

the first time after the Nightmare would be weird, but in fact, it was surprisingly easy. Lying on a soft mattress, with his skin against clean bedsheets and a fluffy pillow under his head, he