Shadow Slave

Now that Sunny knew what kind of logistical and combat support his cohort would be able to enjoy — thanks to him, Awakened Kim, and the heavily armored Rhino — he had a tentative understanding of what direction he had to follow.

In the next several hours, he carefully studied hundreds of dossiers, slowly narrowing the list of potential candidates. By the time the night was drawing to a close, he was more or less ready to make the final selection.

Of course, ideally, Sunny would have preferred to meet the recruits face to face and put them through a gauntlet to get to know their characters, styles, and limits better. But in the current situation, being able to study their personnel files was already good enough.

He had chosen several important traits that most, or better yet each, of the candidates had to possess. First of all, Sunny decided to favor sustainability and lasting battlefield presence over pure might and burst damage potential.

Sure, many of the elite government soldiers possessed awesome Aspect Abilities that could deliver truly fearsome results in a short span of time. However, these Awakened also burned through essence with a frightening speed. The Antarctica campaign promised to be a marathon… or rather, a marathon stacked on top of a marathon, stacked on top of a marathon, stacked on top of a marathon. Longevity was king.

He vastly preferred fighting side by side with people who could maintain their peak battle state for long stretches of time, even if their immediate combat performance was not as impressive.

Secondly, he deliberately paid more attention to fighters who implemented higher than usual amounts of finesse, calculation, and cunning in their approach to combat. Not only were such people better at conserving their energy, but they also suited his own inclinations very well.

Additionally, fighters like these were bound to make better use of Awakened Kim's Ability to recognize vulnerabilities of the enemy.

The third and last trait he sought out was mental fortitude. No government elite was a slouch in terms of determination and resilience, but some stood out among all others. Most of them were those Awakened who had gone through crushing defeats, but were nevertheless able to pick themselves up and grow stronger for it.

Sunny was more or less certain that he had endured more torment and hopelessness than even the other Ascended captains of the First Irregular Company. As such, he had a better idea of how ruthless and punishing the long campaign in the Southern Quadrant could turn out to be.

So, even if it meant settling for someone with less power or talent, he was determined to pick the most dogged and tenacious of the Awakened elites.

In the end, six dossiers remained projected on the wall of his small room.

Awakened Kim had been his first choice. This young woman was the cornerstone of the cohort due to her valuable Aspect, which allowed her to reveal the weaknesses of the enemy and share visual perception among herself and her allies. Additionally, she was a certified technician who could look after the cohort's armored personnel carrier and perform field repairs if need be.

His second choice was a charismatic man in his late twenties. Awakened Belle had a lean figure, athletic build, and blond hair. His expression on the portrait attached to the dossier was laid-back and slightly carefree. Belle was a talented swordsman who excelled in offense and agility. His Aspect made him especially deadly.

The young swordsman was able to turn his body intangible and phase through solid matter. Although he couldn't maintain this state for long, even a second was enough to avoid an enemy attack if used at the right moment. His second Ability allowed him to infuse his weapon with unnatural sharpness and cut through most obstacles.

Although both Abilities devoured soul essence with terrible speed, Awakened Belle was incredibly proficient in using them in precise, short bursts. He only needed a fraction of a second to dodge a strike or deliver a killing blow, so there was need to maintain them for more than that. As the result, he was able to last much longer on the battlefield than the description of his Aspect would suggest.

Belle was going to be one of the two pillars of Sunny's melee vanguard.

The second pillar was a man named Dorn. Looking at his portrait, Sunny couldn't help but grimace.

'No, this… this is just ridiculous.'

Awakened Dorn was a giant of a man. He was easily taller than Effie, and possessed robust musculature to boot. Just one look at him would have made most people feel small and feeble. The only consolation that Sunny could find was that this powerhouse would be fighting on his side.

Dorn's weapon of choice was a hammer. And not a traditional war hammer, which — despite its usual portrayal in popular media — was actually a relatively light and elegant weapon.

No, Awakened Dorn preferred to fight with something that could only be described as an enchanted version of a sledgehammer. This heavy two-handed implement of destruction was able to crush flesh, bone, stone, and steel with equal ease.

All that would have made one think that the man was a straightforward and single-minded brawler with a penchant for solving problems through brute force, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Instead, the man possessed a serious, sedate attitude and deeply intelligent eyes.

His Aspect could be described in three words: push and pull. Awakened Dorn was able to manipulate gravity — or at least something that resembled gravity — to empower his strikes with crushing weight and throw his enemies off-balance. By combining these two effects in a precise and calculated manner, he was able to make use of both to vastly elevate the potency of his attacks.

No matter how strong and enduring Dorn's body was, no one would have been able to wildly swing his heavy weapon around for too long. That was why he preferred to conserve his stamina and kill the enemy with one crushing, deliberate, well-timed, and devious strike.

In short, despite his ridiculous size, Awakened Dorn was a man after Sunny's own heart.

Together, Belle and Dorn were going to be the core of the cohort's battle formation.

However, there was another person whom Sunny intended to add to the melee vanguard…