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

King was a

better not to think about

Shroud. Thin black threads immediately appeared around his body and wrapped it into a set of armor. It was made

his movements at all. It also made no sound when he moved. Perfect

him a great advantage in dealing

worm of doubt… does it have

was sure

He wouldn’t expect anything less from the Memory of a

Puppeteer’s Shroud was obviously not meant to be worn on top of a full set of clothes. Quite satisfied, Sunny dismissed

thought, recalling all the rewards he had received during and after the First

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, fruits, and all kinds

steering clear

while, forgot about the world’s existence. As juicy, textured, perfectly seasoned

have lived like that for a

why didn’t you infect me a

whole plate in no time. Satiated and more than a little gorged, Sunny longingly looked back and thought about getting another serving. But it was

regret, he stood up and left the

found himself in a small office, sitting across from an administrative

him, Sunny was offered psychological counseling again. Remembering her advice, he refused, and

about his abilities, but also knew that he had 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

type of Aspect Ability you received, as in

did mind, but

haven’t had

you able to directly

I wasn’t even

the end, Sunny shared just enough information to create an impression that

that, he returned to his room, undressed, and