Shadow Slave

Sunny stared at Master Jet, a strange expression frozen on his face. After a while, he asked:

"...That's great, but... what the hell does "SS" mean?"

She smiled and sipped her tea, looking at him across the table. Placing the cup back down, she then shook her head slightly and said:

"The government — and the powerful Legacy clans, of course — keeps track of every Awakened in the world. That shouldn't be a surprise for you, right?"

Sunny slowly nodded.

"Yeah, that makes sense."

Master Jet shifted slightly, then continued:

"Firstly, because every Awakened technically has a duty to respond when a Gate opens near their location — that's what the special communicator is for. In exchange for all the privileges we receive, we have to protect this world from the Nightmare Creatures."

A dark grimace appeared on her face.

"Of course, realistically, no one can force you to actually fulfill that duty, or at least no one is going to. Many Awakened turn around and run as soon as they receive a Gate Crisis alert."

Sunny grimaced. On one hand, he understood such a reaction perfectly. Why would they want to risk their lives for random strangers? Not every Awakened was good in a fight, too. Not everyone was like the Artisans of the Dark City, who had gone into battle side by side with those Dreamers who possessed combat Aspects.

...But on the other hand, the idea of running away while monsters were devouring mundane humans and wreaking havoc in the real world simply rubbed him the wrong way. It seemed as though Sunny had somehow developed a bit of pride in the past year. He didn't want to run from the Nightmare Creatures and capitulate to the Spell. He might have even been infected with having morals…

this

his thoughts, Master Jet

to be recognized first. So the most promising Awakened

Sunny shook his head.

She grinned:

you are viewed as a person who can potentially be important to the very survival of humanity, or at least make an impact on the global scale. Simply put, it's either someone whose Aspect

another sip of tea,

lot

She grinned.

at their mouths because of you guys. All hundred of those who returned from the Forgotten Shore were marked as strategic assets. That is… that is an unprecedented event in human history. A sudden appearance of a hundred powerful Awakened is not that important in the grand scheme of things. But if those Awakened all have a very high chance of becoming Masters,

stared at her, thinking. Up until now, everything that he heard was in accordance with

get it. However, what's that about me being marked as SS? What does

Master Jet nodded.

assets, there are those marked as special strategic assets. SSA, or SS for short. This designation is even rarer. Actually, very few people had ever gotten it. What it means is that you are considered to have a very high chance of becoming a Saint. You know how rare Transcendent are, right? So, of course, everyone now wants to be your

at him with

five people with the SS designation, you are

her and smiled

are

Master Jet shrugged.

who received True Names from the Spell after leaving the Forgotten Shore — Awakened Athena, Awakened Kai, and Awakened Cassia. The fourth one is Awakened Song Sei Shan, who is… well… from one of the great clans. To be honest, your own achievements — while still incredible — pale in comparison to theirs. But someone had noted that you went from being the second

somewhat satisfied by that

as bad

it was perfect. It was exactly the result he had hoped for —