SSS Class Awakening: I Can Forge My Beast Soul Avatars
Chapter 19: Soul Forge

Chapter 19: Soul Forge

Night had arrived faster than Atlas expected.

The brief introductions between the four newly acquainted roommates had stretched far longer than he initially anticipated, mostly because Derrick seemed incapable of allowing a conversation to end naturally.

By the time the introductions were over, Atlas had already learned quite a bit about the three people he would be sharing his dormitory with.

Derrick, for example, belonged to the Assassin Department. Which explained a lot about him.

The boy’s energetic personality, restless movements, and seemingly endless supply of questions suddenly made a great deal more sense; apparently, assassins weren’t required to sit quietly in the shadows all day as Atlas had initially imagined.

Eric, on the other hand, was part of the Healer Department. That explained his obsession with reading.

The boy seemed to possess a natural hunger for knowledge, particularly when it came to medicine, anatomy, and anything related to the human body.

He was considerably quieter than Derrick, though Atlas suspected that was less because Eric disliked conversation and more because he was constantly thinking about something.

Then there was Claus. The Archery Department. That one was... difficult to understand.

Claus possessed the gloomy personality of someone who looked as though the world had personally offended him.

His expression rarely changed, his responses were usually short, and he carried himself with the energy of a man who had already accepted that life was going to be disappointing. Yet somehow, this was the same person training to become an archer.

Atlas couldn’t help wondering if there was some strange connection between the two; maybe gloomy people simply had better aim.

Regardless, the introductions had revealed something Atlas hadn’t considered before: the dormitories weren’t separated according to departments.

Every dormitory housed students from across the academy — Beastmasters could live beside Assassins, Healers could share a floor with Archers, and Warriors could sleep across the hallway from Mages.

The system seemed strange at first, but Atlas quickly realized that it made sense.

The academy wanted its students to interact with people outside their own specialties. After all, a battlefield rarely consisted of a single department.

A Warrior might need a Healer, an Assassin might need a Mage, an Archer might need someone to protect them while they positioned themselves, and a Beastmaster...

Atlas’s expression twitched. Well, apparently, a Beastmaster needed a beast — which was something he currently lacked.

That little detail had immediately placed him at the very bottom of the dormitory’s unofficial hierarchy.

The others had quickly discovered that Atlas hadn’t yet manifested a beast. Derrick had laughed so hard that he nearly fell off his chair, Eric had immediately begun asking questions, and Claus... Claus had simply stared at him for several long seconds before uttering one word: "Superhuman."

Atlas still wasn’t entirely sure what that meant.

Apparently, having the physical capabilities of an awakened human while possessing none of the usual benefits of a bonded beast had earned him that strange nickname — a human with the potential to become superhuman, or something like that.

Atlas wasn’t particularly bothered by it, though. He had bigger problems, such as the fact that he had no idea how he was supposed to participate in a beast battle next week.

Over the past hour, the dormitory had gradually fallen silent. The once lively room had transformed into a peaceful space filled with the occasional rustle of blankets and the distant sounds of the academy settling into the night.

Atlas enjoyed the quiet, perhaps more than he should have. The orphanage had rarely been this peaceful; there had always been children running around, arguing, laughing, crying, or causing some kind of trouble. Here, however, the silence felt almost therapeutic.

One by one, his roommates had fallen asleep. Eric was completely motionless in his bed, Claus had disappeared beneath his blanket like a corpse waiting to be buried, and Derrick... Atlas wasn’t entirely sure about Derrick.

The boy had been suspiciously quiet for the past twenty minutes, and while Atlas had considered checking, he ultimately decided against it — some mysteries were better left unsolved.

Atlas lay on the top bunk of the second bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Derrick had generously given him the upper bunk shortly after their introductions, claiming that he preferred the lower one because it was "closer to the action," though Atlas still had absolutely no idea what that meant.

Unfortunately, despite the quiet environment, sleep refused to come. His mind kept returning to the same problem: the upcoming duel.

Atlas slowly exhaled as his chest rose and fell before sinking back into the mattress.

How was he supposed to prepare for a beast battle when he had never participated in one? He didn’t know how to command a beast, he didn’t know how to fight alongside one, and he didn’t even know what it felt like to form a bond with one. He had never owned a household pet — not even a chicken.

The closest Atlas had ever come to having an animal companion was chasing a particularly aggressive goose away from the orphanage’s vegetable garden, and somehow, he was now expected to stand on a dueling platform and fight against students who had been training with their beasts for at least a year.

’What am I supposed to do...’

Then — a thought struck him.

Atlas’s eyes suddenly widened, and he immediately sat upright as his heart began beating faster. ’Wait. Eleven hours.’

He looked toward the darkness below his bunk. The Soul Essence regeneration had been at forty-five when he first entered the Soul Forge, and the system had told him it would take approximately eleven hours to reach the required amount. Surely enough time had passed by now.

Atlas leaned over the edge of his bed, attempting to see the small clock sitting on Eric’s reading table, but the room was far too dark.

He squinted, saw nothing, and pulled himself back onto the mattress with a quiet mutter. "Forget it. I can just check the system."

He sat cross-legged on his mattress, closed his eyes, and focused. ’System.’

The moment the thought formed in his mind, a faint vibration passed through his consciousness and the familiar interface materialized. Except this time...

Atlas froze.

The screen wasn’t blue anymore; it was brown. A translucent brown holographic interface hovered quietly before him, casting a faint glow across his face.

"Whoa..." Atlas leaned closer, his eyes narrowing in curiosity. ’The color changed. It’s brown now, just like my class. I wonder if it’s the same for everyone — do other people’s interfaces change color depending on their class, or is this something unique to me?’

Atlas mentally dismissed the thought, knowing there were more important things to check, and opened his profile.

[Welcome, Host, to the Soul Forge System Interface.]

Host: Atlas

Age: 16

Title: None

Class: Beastmaster

Aspect: Beast Summoner

Hidden Aspect: Beast Forger

Rare Skill: Creator]

Atlas’s eyes moved downward and stopped as his breath caught; a new notification was blinking beneath his status.

[Soul Essence: 100/100]

[You may begin tutorial.]

For several seconds, Atlas simply stared before his lips slowly curled upward. His heart skipped a beat.

Finally, the moment had arrived — he had been waiting for this since the moment he first discovered the Soul Forge.

His first beast.

Atlas felt a strange mixture of excitement and nervousness.

What would it look like? Would it immediately obey him? Would it possess the same abilities as ordinary beasts, or would something about it be fundamentally different?

After all, Atlas wasn’t a normal Beastmaster; his Aspect was Beast Forger and his Rare Skill was Creator.

That meant his beast wasn’t going to be summoned from some distant location — he was going to create it from nothing.

The thought sent a shiver of excitement through him.

’Well...’ Atlas grinned. ’I guess there’s only one way to find out. Time to forge my first beast.’

Atlas closed his eyes and focused his consciousness inward.

The world around him disappeared — the dormitory vanished, his roommates disappeared, and the darkness swallowed everything.

Then — he fell.

The sensation was familiar now, the endless descent no longer frightening him as he simply allowed himself to drop through the darkness. And this time, he was ready.

The moment his feet touched the ground, golden light erupted across the darkness.

Thin veins of light spread outward beneath him, racing across the obsidian floor to illuminate the vast labyrinth hidden within his soul.

Pillars emerged, bridges appeared, platforms rose from the dark expanse, and the countless blue runes carved into the ancient stone walls flickered awake one after another.

The Soul Forge had come alive.

"Welcome, Atlas, to the Soul Forge," the feminine system voice echoed throughout the enormous chamber.

Atlas slowly lifted his head, taking in the massive chamber, the enormous pillars, the distant pathways, the locked doors, and the glowing golden veins beneath his feet.

"Whoa..." His breath escaped him. Even after seeing the place once before, the Soul Forge still managed to leave him speechless. He shook his head softly. ’I really need to get used to this place.’

His gaze eventually settled on the center of the chamber: the Forge.

Unlike the rest of the Soul Forge, it remained completely dark and inactive, as three enormous metallic rings floated motionless around the central platform alongside suspended silver instruments.

Nothing moved or glowed; it was almost as if the entire structure was waiting for him.

"Host may now begin tutorial phase and craft first beast," the system’s voice echoed calmly. "Advance to the Forging Center."