Shadow Slave

Sunny shut down the illusion. The underground dojo was silent and submerged in darkness, almost like the lightless expanse of his soul.

Crawling out of the Dreamscape pod, he glanced at it, and then walked to the middle of the hall. There, he sat down on the cold ceramic plates of the floor, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes.

Back in the illusory world created by the will of an eccentric Saint, the tournament was coming to an end. There were spectacles, festivities, and accolades being given to the winners. But he didn't care.

He didn't care about the legend of Mongrel, either. Sunny had no doubt that his inexplicable refusal of the final reward and daring challenge had created quite a stir. Were people praising Mongrel for his resolve and ambition? Or mocking his defeat and calling him a fool? In any case, the network must have been boiling right now.

Sunny couldn't be bothered to check.

He had much more important concerns.

There was the final reward he had received, given to him by Morgan of Valor despite his failure, as well as previous rewards he had no time to study well.

And there was Shadow Dance. This was what he had to concentrate on now.

Sitting in the darkness with his eyes closed, Sunny thought back to the revelation he had received during the battle with the monstrous Master and started to slowly digest it. He had the key now… all that remained was to absorb it, turn it from a fleeting feeling into an inseparable part of his mind, body, and soul.

That was going to take some time.

Fragments of Morgan's battle will helped him find unity in the discordant collection of battle styles he had amassed. His comprehension of the fundamental, governing principles of battle techniques was vastly elevated, allowing him to understand them on a deeper level.

was going to help Sunny grasp various styles much faster, as well as mirror more complex and sophisticated battle arts with ease. At this level, he needed to be able to recognize patterns of essence control from how the enemies moved, breathed, and attacked. The new understanding was going to help

just had to assimilate it

meditate, making slow progress toward his goal. After a while, his thought began to

much more

his comprehension of Shadow Dance, but there was also

put his own prowess into perspective. Facing formidable champions one after another showed Sunny just how much more

her with desperate resolve, but was never able to catch up. Mongrel might have been only defeated once, but Sunny had been defeated

the dust without even noticing. Now that he had a chance to look back, Sunny finally

he had been able to cut the best of them down while barely using

Forgotten Shore, Sunny had learned a simple truth — if one wanted to better themselves, they had to challenge those who were stronger than them. Nothing was more beneficial to one's growth

using Nephis as a reference point achieved the same result. Even if the goal of surpassing her often seemed bitterly unattainable, he had come

it clearly

how much further

had shown him

no less terrifying than him. They were older, stronger, and had years of battle experience and vast resources that he lacked. In front of them, Sunny

appeared on

maybe, like a