SSS Awakening: Creating Primordial Beasts To Be My Summons-Chapter 24: Embarrassing the Big Guy

The outliers had basically split into two factions: nine who had joined the foreign guild, and those who hadn’t.

The divide wasn’t quiet—it was hostile, sharp, and ready to snap at any moment.

The unofficial members of the foreign guild were doing as instructed, spreading their influence among the outliers.

But the remaining outliers were really not interested in joining such an unknown and suspicious group.

So they resisted.

They spat insults at those who left the Heavenly Spire–branding them as weak, desperate individuals.

The one who spoke was a tall woman with black hair and blue eyes, wielding a spear.

"You abandoned your roots for convenience," she said coldly. "Weaklings chasing shortcuts because you can’t keep up."

"Go work hard instead of taking the easy route of working with people who are trying to bring down those that have protected you and your family for years."

The blonde-haired, red-eyed outlier—the same one Cohen had caught the previous day—approached with a mischievous smile.

He moved with a prowess far beyond what his level suggested, the real sword in his hand reaching for the lady’s neck.

The blade flashed toward her throat—fast, precise, and absolutely lethal.

Before the strike could land, Cohen slipped through the crowd like a shadow—

He had perceived the Outlier reaching for his sheathed swords with a sudden burst of that odd energy.

He held the man’s hand from the back, stopping him from completing the swing.

"Amad, right? We were instructed to stick to wooden weapons here."

Amad turned to Cohen, his face turning scornful. He rolled his shoulder, throwing Cohen’s hands away.

"I wasn’t planning on killing her. I just wanted to show her..."

"Be civilized and use your words," Cohen said. "Nothing needs to be blown out of proportion."

Before Amad could reply, Stein, who had swiftly joined Amad’s faction as their forefront, chimed in.

"For a tamer, you’re butting into others’ matters like you’re their leader. Don’t let your level get into your head."

’You really want to get on my nerves, huh?’ Cohen turned to where Stein sat arrogantly on the floor, his back to the wall.

"You’re making it seem like I’m not strong without my beasts."

Stein laughed hard before saying seriously.

"Are you being bold because I didn’t crush you earlier? You’re fucking weak without your beasts."

"Try me," Cohen replied.

Amad had stepped back, clearly pleased with the development. In his mind—and in everyone else’s—Stein would beat Cohen if they faced each other head on.

Dax, who had followed Cohen to stop the brewing chaos, stepped behind him and whispered.

"Uhm, I actually don’t think you should do this."

"On the contrary, I think I should."

’If I take him down now, he’ll enter his shell and try to grow stronger enough to take his revenge. By then, I’ll likely not even be in this city.’

Cohen added as he flashed Stein a provocative smile.

"Someone needs to put the big guy in his place."

Stein stood up, having fallen for the ragebait.

"I take that as a challenge."

"You’re unharmed," Cohen stretched his hands and took off his armor.

"As the stronger one, I’ll fight you on your terms; no items, just fits."

"Fool," Stein couldn’t help but spit, strongly believing Cohen had no chance in raw combat. "If you don’t want to get dragged in, spread out."

Everyone followed suit.

Now, Cohen and Stein stood at the center of the hall.

The spear-wielding lady had somehow become the one overseeing the spar.

Although she didn’t want to cower to anyone, she couldn’t hide her tension.

She cleared her throat.

"The normal Awakened spar rules, whoever knocks the other out or makes the other fall flat wins. No killing. No skills, just mana enhancements."

"Start."

No one moved.

’I’ll just embarrass you here so you’ll focus on beating me instead of all that extra nonsense.

’And while I’m at it... this should send a message to whoever’s behind you—even with the weird energy you’re handing out, we can beat you.’

After seeing Amad’s power abruptly enhanced earlier, he sensed that weird energy again, making Cohen believe Vanguard had given both Amad and Stein that same energy.

Cohen looked at Stein.

He stretched his hand and gestured for him to come.

"If I go first, that’ll be embarrassing."

"I knew you were hiding your true nature," Stein said. "I’ll bring down that stupid attention that’s feeding your ego."

Stein moved like a gale, his bulky frame blurring as he launched a relentless barrage of heavy strikes.

He didn’t just swing blindly.

He integrated crisp, childhood karate techniques—sharp knife-hand strikes and powerful, linear lunges—into his assault.

To the onlookers, it seemed as if Cohen was barely holding on, his body reeling under the sheer weight of Stein’s aggressive pursuit.

The air in the training ring crackled with the force of each near-miss and blocked blow, the blue floor lines glowing brighter with every impact.

But behind the surface-level pressure, Cohen was calm.

Even though he felt the weight of Stein’s attack, he wasn’t struggling.

With every sidestep and parry, he gauged the reach, speed, and raw output of Stein’s enhanced capabilities.

Cohen realized that while Stein was undeniably stronger in terms of raw physical output, Stein’s energy felt chaotic and jagged.

’It feels like he’s using more mana than necessary.’

The more Stein attacked, the clearer the disparity in their foundations became. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

’His stats should be similar to that of the average person between 15-18.’

And Cohen’s stats were of the average person between 20-25.

’Still, this is based on the stat jump he got from evolving his abilities which is as impressive as my own 5 boost per physical stats.

’I don’t know the amount of stats he gets per level.’

Satisfied with the assessment, Cohen took a calm, steady breath.

For the first time, he ignored his system skills and reached for a simple, rudimentary mana enhancement.

As he funneled the energy through his mana veins, his muscles tightened as he felt his physical capabilities.

It was a strange, familiar sensation—a warmth that flooded his limbs, making his body feel as if his Null Aura had enveloped him once more.

’Well, Null Aura prioritizing offence is way stronger than this.’

Although Cohen didn’t possess formal martial arts training like Stein, he had more advantages.

His superior physicality at the moment and life-threatening combat experience allowed him to perceive and process Stein’s movements with frightening speed.

To the onlookers, Stein’s karate strikes were a blur, but to Cohen, they were predictable arcs.

That was the moment the fight shifted.

He began countering Stein with effortless efficiency—a slight tilt of the head to avoid a knife-hand strike, a gentle parry that sent Stein’s momentum stumbling forward.

"What? I thought I was all talk?" Cohen asked, his voice steady even as he sidestepped a heavy roundhouse kick.

Stein’s face contorted with rage.

The humiliation of being unable to land a clean hit on a "tamer" in front of the entire group was too much.

Feeling the suffocating pressure of Cohen’s calm, Stein abandoned the rules of the spar.

A dark, jagged crimson energy erupted from his pores—a skill he hadn’t intended to reveal.

His muscles swelled further, his eyes glowing with a feral, chaotic light as his stats spiked.

Sensing the sudden shift in threat, Cohen’s Null Aura reacted instantly to his internal intent.

No longer just a light enhancement, the silvery-gray energy surged—not gently, but with intent to end the confrontation.

As Stein lunged with a speed that cracked the floor tiles, Cohen didn’t dodge.

He stepped in—inside the attack—and drove his palm into Stein’s chest, the Null Aura detonating on impact.

Stein was sent sprawling across the hall, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.

Despite being knocked down, the dark red skill continued to pump through his veins, his physicality increasing to an extent that threatened even Cohen’s current reserves.

’He’s directly harnessing that energy to enhance himself!’

"You used a skill!" Stein roared, his fingers clawing at the tiles as he prepared to launch a counter-assault.

Before he could leap, a scorching bolt of blue plasma hissed through the air, striking the ground exactly between the two combatants.

The heat was intense, slightly melting the surface of the training ring and forcing Stein to recoil.

Maya stood at the edge of the circle, her hand still humming with residual energy.

Her baby blue eyes were indifferent as she stared.

"The match has concluded," she said, her voice small but carrying a weight that silenced the room.

No one spoke. Not after that.