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

that terrifying. Yeah. I'm not creeped

was called a larva. If he were to assume that Mountain King was a mature Puppeteer

better not to

the Puppeteer's Shroud. Thin black threads immediately appeared around his body and wrapped it into a set of armor. It was made of dark-gray, soft fabric with several elements, such

did not restrain his movements at all. It also made no sound when he moved. Perfect equipment for someone

below the Awakened rank, which gave him a great advantage in dealing with all dormant monsters. He also felt a sort

it have enhanced

he was

trophy! He wouldn't expect anything less from the Memory

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

thought, recalling all the rewards he had received during

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, fruits, and all kinds

steering clear

building 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

could have lived

Spell… why didn't you infect me

and more than a little gorged, Sunny longingly looked

of regret, he stood

small office, sitting across from an administrative worker. The worker was very friendly, and started the interview

Jet had warned him, Sunny was offered psychological counseling again. Remembering her advice, he

to tell the worker something. Luckily, the questions were worded in a way to put Sleepers at ease. As such, most of them started with nice and polite preambles like "would you like to tell me" or "if you're willing to share", which gave Sunny an opportunity to give neutral

about the type of Aspect

mind, but had to be

I'm not sure. I haven't had time

able to

I wasn't even

went on like that. In the end, Sunny shared just enough information to create an impression that his Aspect was weak, harmless and most likely having something to do

returned to his room, undressed, and went to

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,