SSS Class Awakening: I Can Forge My Beast Soul Avatars
Chapter 32: Spatial Rip

Chapter 32: Spatial Rip

The command echoed across the arena, and the soot-gray beast instantly collapsed inward as its body began to violently mutate.

Starting from the crown of its skull, the bone plates cracked and fused together, bubbling like molten wax.

The coarse fur melted away in sloughing sheets of dead flesh, giving way to thick, mottled reptilian scales that gleamed with an oily, iridescent sheen.

The creature’s spine elongated with sickening snaps, buckling as its shoulder muscles swelled to twice their original mass.

Its jaws split wider, tearing past the cheekbones to reveal rows of serrated, needle-like fangs weeping a dark, corrosive saliva that hissed upon dripping onto the white flagstones.

When the grotesque transformation settled, the beast resembled an abyssal Tasmanian devil — a low-slung, hunchbacked monstrosity of raw muscle, reptilian hide, and unbridled demonic hunger.

The sheer air pressure and rancid aura radiating off the newly mutated beast forced the referee to turn his head in alarm, his hand hovering inches from his whistle.

Yet, he hesitated to intervene; despite the disturbing display, neither tamer had shed physical blood or broken a explicit rule.

’What the bloody hell is that thing?!’

Atlas stared at the monstrosity in sheer, unadulterated horror. In all his years of existence — even back when he worked as a deep-sea fisherman facing the silent, ancient terrors lurking in the black ocean depths — he had never witnessed a creature that made his flesh crawl with such primal revulsion.

"How in the world is something like that allowed on academy grounds?" Atlas gasped out, his mouth half-open in shock. "What kind of black-market string pullers is this guy connected to?!"

Though Skull had successfully executed the retreat command without taking damage, the oppressive aura hanging over the arena was suffocating.

Atlas’s legendary composure, built over years of surviving treacherous waters, dissolved under the weight of the beast’s bloodlust. Cold sweat drenched his uniform.

Up in the stands, the protective barrier hummed as it absorbed the psychological pressure, but the audience still recoiled in visible panic.

"Is that even a legal beast?!" a student shouted over the grinding noise of the creature’s mana.

"What’s the referee waiting for?! This is supposed to be an academic duel not a death match — call the match!"

Yet no whistle blew. The duel continued.

"What are you going to do now? Hahaha!" Gregory purred, his voice dropping into a heavy, raspy bass that vibrated in Atlas’s ears.

"There isn’t a handful of beasts in this entire academy that can contain Black once its Berserk State triggers. Unless a miracle falls from the sky, you’re a dead man."

Atlas ignored the taunts, forcing his trembling gaze toward Skull.

Through their soul link, Atlas felt a strange friction.

Skull wasn’t cowering; his skeletal frame was locked in place, his crimson eyes burning with an intense, desperate urge to dominate the threat. But he couldn’t bridge the gap in raw stats — not like this.

’Something about this energy is completely unnatural...’ Atlas thought frantically.

Suddenly, the ambient light dimming around him froze. A glowing, semi-translucent interface of pale copper washed over his field of vision, completely blocking out the arena floor.

[CRITICAL WARNING: Host has entered an Extreme Danger Zone.]

[Opponent threat index exceeds baseline by 140%.]

[Activate Emergency Override Protocols?]

[ Y / N ]

’What is this?! Now?!’ Atlas stared at the floating glyphs in confusion.

Time was running out — he could hear the heavy thudding of the reptilian devil’s hooves starting to accelerate across the stone.

He dismissed the emergency prompt and immediately redirected his mental focus to command Skull’s underlying stat tree.

With a flick of his intent, the System interface reconfigured, projecting Skull’s core parameters into his mind:

[Beast Profile: Skull]

Species: Grey Wolf (Shadow / Bone Variant)

Form Factor: Medium Scout

Soul Bond Synchronization: 24% (+20% Essence Regen Rate)

Evolution Matrix: 60/100 (Fragments: 0/150)

Target Path: [Wolf Fang]

’No, no, not the main evolution branch — I don’t have the fragments for a full structural shift!’ Atlas thought frantically, swiping his mental focus past the primary evolution tree.

He scrolled down to the tactical sub tab buried at the base of the Soul Evolution:

[Bottom Bar: Adaptability Engine]

Current Soul Essence (S.E.) Reserve: 70 S.E.

Required Cost for Combat Style Refinement: 45 S.E.

[Upgrade Shadow Combat Style to Phase II?]

’Forty-five Essence points... that’s more than half my remaining pool,’ Atlas calculated, his heart hammering against his ribs as he heard the ground shatter beneath the approaching monster. ’Do it! Confirm!’

[45 S.E. Debited from Host’s Soul Anchor.]

[Remaining Reserve: 25 S.E.]

[Reconfiguring Beast Affinity: Shadow Adaptability Grade S...]

A surge of dark, refined energy erupted from Atlas’s core, traveling down the spiritual link and slamming directly into Skull.

The skeletal wolf didn’t undergo a grotesque mutation like his opponent. Instead, his transformation was sleek, dense, and quiet.

His limb structure thickened with dense, onyx bone, his shoulder height expanded by several inches, and the wisps of shadow wreathing his paws condensed into pitch-black, spatial ripples that visibly warped the light around his feet.

Gregory watched the subtle shift occur and let out a mocking, breathless chuckle. "A minor aura flare? That’s your trump card? Let’s see whose pet paints the floor in red first!"

He pointed a pale, trembling finger forward. "Black — tear him apart!"

The reptilian beast exploded forward in a blur of gray hide and blood-red mana. It ignored Skull completely, charging straight for Atlas with its jaws stretched wide enough to swallow his torso whole.

"Get ready, Skull — we counter now!" Atlas barked, dropping his stance and steeling his nerves.

Skull let out a low, echoing howl that vibrated with spatial resonance, digging his darkened claws into the flagstones.

The beast leaped into the air, changing direction mid-flight with an unnatural burst of speed, its dripping fangs plunging straight toward Atlas’s neck.

’Damn it! I can’t dodge this in time!’ Atlas braced himself, twisting his upper body to minimize the lethal strike.

Before the jaws could make contact—

A tear in the atmosphere materialized out of thin air directly in front of Atlas. The void opened like a swirling black doorway, swallowing the beast mid-leap.

A split-second later, a matching spatial portal ripped open fifty feet away at the far boundary of the arena.

The beast shot out of the exit portal at terminal velocity, unable to arrest its momentum as it crashed violently into the reinforced stone wall.

Dust and pulverized masonry rained down on the boundary.

Atlas snapped his eyes open, staring at the humming, dark portal slowly collapsing in the air right in front of his face.

He turned his head to see Skull standing beside him, his single crimson eye glowing with cold, intelligence-driven pride as shadow mist flowed from his jaws.

A slow, fierce grin cut through the lingering horror on Atlas’s face.

"You really refuse to lose without putting on a show, don’t you, boy?" Atlas whispered under his breath, his pride in his creation burning away the last traces of fear in his voice.

"Come on, lets dominate this bastard!."