Shawn continued calmly
"The advantage at my current Rank is versatility. Precision movent. Environntal control. Enhanced weapon handling."
"So, you can fly a sword?" Silver couldn’t stop himself from asking.
Shawn chuckled. " Yes. But it’s straining. "
Silver imdiately rembered the earlier fight. The way Shawn redirected force without overpowering it. The sword movents were too smooth.
He really did have it.
"The downside," Shawn continued," is soul corruption."
Silver nodded slowly.
"The straining."
He nodded.
"My telekinesis drains soul energy rapidly during prolonged combat," Shawn glanced towards him briefly," which ans my second integration needs sothing compatible."
"You don’t have another. "
He shook his head." There is no need to hurry, your body must get used to your first beast before another. "
"They won’t synchronise peacefully if hurried."
"Exactly. You don’t want them fighting in your soul space. It will crack and disintegrate."
"So, synergy is really important?"
"Yes."
The words mattered enormously among beast masters. Synergy determines long-term growth, not just raw power.
"How do you know which is the best, there has to be a logical explanation besides the instinctual connection?"
Shawn continued explaining naturally as they walked.
"Strength types increase physical force, durability, and close-range combat ability. Reliable. Stable. Easy integration."
"But straightforward."
"Yes."
Silver slightly nodded.
That explains why military divisions heavily favored strength-based contractors. They had a predictable growth pattern and low chances of instability.
"What about speed types?"
"For idiots to run away with, which is much needed in this accursed world. It has the best survival rates among beginners," Shawn stepped over collapsed debris without looking down," Enhanced reflexes. Agility. Nervous system acceleration. So develop movent skills."
Silver imdiately understood why speed types were the most popular. Mobility saved lives.
"Elental types?" He asked next.
Shawn’s expression shifted slightly.
"Powerful."
He answered imdiately this ti.
"But unstable."
Silver listened carefully.
"Elental beasts contain stronger soul signatures than most physical types," Shawn explained," which ans greater destructive power after successful integration."
"But?"
"Synchronization failure rates are high."
That made sense. Power wasn’t free. More powerful ant greater risk.
"Unlike the others where you can at least wing it. Elental contractors also require precise compatibility," Shawn continued," a poor match can permanently damage the soul or result in instant death."
Silvers thoughs drifted again as more words ca into mind. Fire. Collapsed tunnel leading to an underground ruin. A burning creature staring through the darkness.
Cruella’s first elental beast. His mory still refused to connect.
Shawn continued explaining while Silver listened carefully.
"In conclusion. Mind types require intelligence and precision. Strength types dominate direct combat. Speed types survive the longest. Elental types possess high offensive potential."
Shawn looked towards him.
"As a Contractor, you should choose what is more beneficial for you. I’ve seen idiots go to the red zone to search for an elental beast just because soone else got it. They never return. Choose wisely."
"Why did I waste my breath on this when we’re all taught this at ten?"
Silver chuckled. The forr Silver never listened so his mory was blank with only fragnts from the novel which was written from the protagonist’s perspective.
Silver quietly absorbed the advice while they continued deeper through the ruined city.
The afternoon passed slowly after that. It wasn’t peaceful but their pace was steady with a few attacks here and there.
Silver and Shawn continued moving deeper through the outer green sectors while the ruined city gradually thinned around them.
Streets beca wider and buildings beca less frequent. Nature reclaid more territory with every kiloter they crossed.
The fights ca intermittently. They were never enough to truly rest but also enough for them to stop. Fortunately or unfortunately, they had only t Tier 1 and Tier 2 beasts throughout.
The green sector seed to have gone back to normal with its attack.
A scavenger pack near a collapsed highway had welcod their chaotic journey then more followed.
A long-limbed crawler beast had shot out from under an abandoned bus.
Once, an armoured insectoid creature burst from the underground and nearly tore through Silver’s leg before Shawn pinned it mid-charge using telekinetic force long enough for Silver to finish.
Each battle taught him sothing different. How to control distance, the perfect timing, how to maintain his breathing, how to reload with a beast twice your size chasing after you, how different beasts attack, and how fear changes under repetition.
At first, Silver reacted too quickly, his body reverting to how he had reacted in the fight with the Ape. His emotions were also out of whack, every movent triggered imdiate aggression from him.
Shawn noticed it quickly.
"You commit too hard, you have to loosen up."
The comnt had co after Silver emptied half a magazine into a wounded scavenger that had already lost mobility.
Silver lowered the gun slightly.
"... It’s still moving."
"It was dying."
’That sounds easy coming from soone more experienced’
Still, Silver eventually understood. Real contractors conserved resources constantly: ammo, soul energy, and stamina. Control mattered more than excitent.
As hours passed by, Shawn corrected him continuously without softening the criticism.
"Watch the shoulder before the strike."
"Stop staring at the claws."
"Your footing is terrible. These are beasts not humans."
"Don’t retreat in straight lines."
"You’re relying too much on instinct again."
It was terribly annoying but useful nonetheless. It felt as though he had gone back to his military days where he had his instructors shouting insults mixed with advice at them for any little mistake.
Silver improved visibly by evening. Even Shawn seed mildly surprised by how quickly his body adapted.
The sun eventually began lowering behind the horizon, staining the wasteland sky in dark orange and muted crimson.
By then, the green sectors had almost disappeared behind them.
The environnt changed gradually again.
The dense ruins beca sparse until only broken highways and empty stretches of open land remained ahead. There were no more residential districts and towering buildings.
Only long dead roads cut through endless plains of overgrown grass and scattered debris fields.
Silver slowed slightly while observing the open terrain.
"... This doesn’t look like the green sector anymore."
"It isn’t."
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