16: new puppet and final combat class

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Today is finally the day I will receive an awakened beast to have as a puppet. I must admit that the government has helped me a lot. I won't be able to refuse when they ask for something. I just hope it isn't too dangerous.

In any case, I am about to arrive at the building where they have several monsters locked up. From this prison or place where they contain weak monsters, they brought out deformed beasts for my training. But yesterday, they brought an awakened beast to give to me today.

Upon entering the containment room, I was greeted by Mrs. Bibian and Instructor Ethan. They both led me to a particularly large room at the end of the hallway. Inside, I saw a particularly repugnant black core.

'This is what the cores of awakened beasts look like. I don't want to see the core of an impious titan; I'm sure I'd go crazy just feeling it.'

"Here it is, your new puppet. You better not die; the government has invested too much in you, kid. Go ahead, make it yours."

After Ethan spoke, I approached nine meters, which is now my maximum soul control range, and I felt it, the connection I could form, and I took it immediately.

50 seconds, not yet.

70 seconds later, I still didn't have initial control where I could make its movements slower. I knew that while the range of my target was higher than mine, it would take longer to take control, but I didn't expect that for just one range, the time it took me to make it my puppet would double completely.

80 seconds, initial control was formed, and I could make the monster slower, but it wasn't necessary; it was heavily subdued.

After 120 seconds of starting to take control of its soul, I could change and become aware of its body, feel its form, its strength, and its incredible power.

When I felt the body, I immediately noticed that I could control it more easily than the deformed beast, which had many limbs and was a kind of disgusting mass. Instead, this one felt more, more humanoid.

"I finally achieved complete control. You can release it now so I can store it in my soul."

"Good."

Pulling a lever to his left, Ethan released the awakened beast, and I made my second body emerge.

It was a tall beast, about 3 meters in height, completely pale gray. On its head, there were two horns that widened to the sides and curled slightly inward. It had two arms and two legs, sharp teeth, and claws that measured at least 50 cm long. It didn't seem particularly tough, but you never know, so I looked at the runes and checked my new puppet.

Puppets: [Vorlath]

Class: Beast

Core: Awakened

Attributes: [Strong], [Fast]

Yes! This is great; it has the same class and rank as those damned crabs. I remember that Sunny obtained an echo from them, and their attributes included [Strong] and [Armored], but mine only had strong and another new one, which was fast.

Even so, with the same rank and with me helping in a fight, we should be enough to kill them one by one.

Putting those thoughts aside, I approached myself from both bodies and touched the beast with my real body. After my touch, the beast disappeared, without sparks as an echo or a memory would, it just vanished. It was also that quick to come out of my soul, manifesting immediately by my side.

"Well, Mrs. Bibian, when can I fight another awakened beast? That will be my final exam, right? I'll beat the-"

"Jony! Don't be rude. The awakened must have minimum manners to go out in public. That language is unacceptable. As for your question, come to the usual building at around 3 PM. I'll be waiting with an opponent."

...

Today was Professor Julius's last class, and he bombarded us with much more information about everything we had already seen. He also offered us a position as research assistants or something like that; I didn't quite understand. I don't know what you do, but Sunny kept it, without fully rejecting or accepting it.

After leaving his class, I headed to the cafeteria for a meal before preparing to fight the awakened beast.

As I walked through the academy's hallways, I felt a somber atmosphere everywhere. This was especially noticeable in the cafeteria, where there were always laughter and bustle, but now it was quiet with occasional but brief conversations.

To be frank, I understand them. Tomorrow will be the last day on earth and the last of their lives for most here, so I understand why they are so depressed. And of course, the fact that the spell is dragging us into a dream makes us fight sleep all day.

Anyway, I walked to the usual corner where I ate and talked a bit with Sasha. After that, I went to my room, meditated for a while, and it was time to fight the awakened beast that Mrs. Bibian would bring.

...

When I was a few minutes away from the training building, I saw 2 soul cores in my vision where there should be only one.

Oh right, I can see and feel the soul cores of all living beings that have a formed core at a distance of about 184 meters. I can see the cores through many structures depending on their thickness.

Now I could faintly see the cores of the two beings, which were Bibian with her white core and the awakened beast with its black core. I saw them faintly because the building's walls were very thick and reinforced since it was for training.

When I discovered this, which was a long time ago, I knew it would help me avoid ambushes, find enemies, and also allies, depending on the circumstances.

When I finally entered through the door, I saw the beast I would face.

It was a red creature, bipedal, with four arms with not very long but sharp claws, an oval head, a long torso that looked hunched, and legs similar to those of goats with a claw on the lower back and three in front. Finally, it had a long tail that ended in a sharp, pointed stinger.

That creature, almost three meters tall, was restrained all over its body. It had a kind of rope tied to its tail and legs, preventing movement. Its snout was restrained by a gag made of something resembling bone, and its arms were tied with the same rope as its tail and legs.

"Are you sure I'll survive that thing? It's horrible."

Bibian briefly glanced at the beast and then lowered her shoulders and looked back at me.

"If you can't handle this, I'll take care of it before it kills you. As long as you stay alive, I can save you. Anyway, the spell will give you a new body in the Dream Realm."

A cold chill ran down my spine, and I began to summon my armor. I had already been told that I could use my weapons, so once my armor manifested, I sacrificed a part of both forearms and shaped them into the form of the treacherous dagger.

"Well, release it. I'm ready."

With that, she nodded, and white sparks appeared around the creature. A second later, that ugly thing was already just a few meters from me.

Before that thing could impale me with its tail, I had already felt and predicted its movement with my innate ability. So I twisted my body with a jump, and the beast passed by.

When I touched the ground once more, it was already in front of me. It was incredibly fast and was about to close its jaws on my head. In that instant, before it could bite my head off, I turned part of my helmet into two spikes that protruded from above my ears, and the beast impaled its jaw on them.

Taking advantage of that brief moment, I made my awakened puppet manifest by my side and slashed two of the creature's arms, which quickly jumped back, losing only one arm.

With a damaged and bleeding jaw and the lack of one arm, it became more frantic and lunged at me. I ran to one side while my other body ran to the other.

Surrounding the creature, we assaulted it from two different sides. It stung my puppet while attacking me with its remaining three arms. My puppet used its sharp claws and cut off the entire tail, while I released the dagger form and turned them into a shield to block the attack.

Unfortunately for me, this beast had brutal strength for me, a sleeper, so I went flying while my puppet dealt with the beast for a moment alone.

5 seconds later, I was back in the fight, two daggers in my hands, moving to stab them into the creature's back.

My puppet used its long arms to hold the creature's body for a moment while it bit off one arm and tore its ribs with its claws, but that moment of containment was enough.

My two daggers stabbed into the beast's head, and the other where I saw its black core. The beast let out a disgusting scream and fell, dead.

[You have killed an awakened beast, red predator]

[Your soul is enveloped in more threads]

I waited a moment longer and sighed, disappointed. So much work and damage, and still, I didn't receive anything more.

Well, at least we've won. That's something.

"Well done, but you made mistakes, Jony. You still need to coordinate your movements better with your puppet, but your general fight is good enough. You better withdraw that puppet so it can recover, or you'll be unprotected tomorrow if it stays damaged."

I nodded and touched Vorlath, sending it to my soul to recover.

"So tell me, ma'am, how can I improve my fight?"

Thus, another two hours passed before I could finally leave.

It's 6 PM. I was in my room, freshly bathed and meditating, trying to enter my soul sea, without success.

...

The next morning, I woke up drowsy and felt the spell trying to drag me into a new dream. Getting out of bed with great willpower to avoid staying lying down, I headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.