The monster struggled, yanking it, and the octopus soared into the air. The monster girl jumped and landed.
Meanwhile, Shun inflicted a few slashes on the Shepherd as it was distracted by the octopus. Akira was no different—she kept pulling the trigger. The case fell with each breath and landed with a bounce.
Like a whip, the Shepherd swept the octopus across. Shun leaped to the side, the monster girl jumped into the air, but for Akira, it was too fast to avoid.
She braced for impact when the ground beneath rose up. The octopus's body crashed against the pillar.
Boom!
Rubble flew everywhere, and the pillar immediately collapsed. Akira took a light leap and landed.
With his hands on the ground, Shun sighed in relief. He cast his eyes on the monster girl. "Stop using big creatures!"
"Okie dokie!" She gave a thumbs up.
Looking back at the Shepherd, it tore the octopus in half. Blue blood poured down and soaked the ground. It then threw the corpse away, producing a loud thud.
What a tough basta*d! Shun exclaimed when he realized the red bar had only reduced slightly.
Akira came from his left. "We lack raw power."
Shun nodded and shifted his line of sight. "Monster girl! We need you to be more aggressive."
"Yes sir!" She saluted with a huge smile and gathered a pile of dark mess, throwing it to the ground, then doing it again until there were about five.
Shun felt like something had been plucked from his brain, and he felt calmer and lighter.
From the pile of black goo, monsters of different sizes and shapes hatched. None were large, mostly around three to four meters.
A turtle, a large canine, a bird, a dragon, and a monkey with a stick.
They didn't look like nightmares but something mythical—or so Shun thought—when the turtle's shell opened like a blooming petal and revealed rows of sharp teeth. A tentacle of flesh with a sharp tip rose and pointed at the abomination.
The canine opened its mouth and a bunch of huge, slimy tentacles spat out. The bird's chest suddenly opened an eye and exuded strange purple waves. The dragon's head was visually disturbing, consisting of thousands of human arms clumped together.
The monkey with a stick had one eye and no orifices. It looked uncannily smooth too, like a rendered video game character.
"Now go play!" the monster girl declared. The five nightmares dashed toward it.
The Shepherd clenched its fist tight and assumed a fighting position.
"It seems we aren't needed," Akira commented. The best she could do was inflict a very, very minuscule amount of damage; it would take around a hundred years for the bar to empty!
"Don't be gloomy. That's right—do you use another weapon?"
Holstering the gun into her pocket, she materialized a shotgun.
Shun took a glance and nodded. "That might work. Have you heard of the mythical creature Hydra?"
***
"Uhm, Shun. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Akira asked, her body wrapped by the turtle's tentacle.
"Yeah. Just trust me."
"...Okay."
The tentacle flung Akira forward into the great battlefield between the Shepherd and the four nightmares.
They'd fought valiantly for the past few minutes and inflicted enough damage to bring the red bar down to half.
During these few minutes, Shun tried to join in to inflict weakness on the Shepherd, but its agility was beyond what his body could avoid.
When he thought the attack had missed, it quickly came back. Thankfully, one of the nightmares stopped it.
He quickly slashed its body a few times—although shallow—before retreating.
Standing beside the monster girl, who looked bored and yawned once in a while, Shun planted his hands and focused on Akira.
She arrived before the Shepherd and materialized the shotgun, its barrel just right in front of its head—the one with a saber tooth, to be exact.
She pulled the trigger.
The Shepherd tilted its head to the side, avoiding it.
Her eyes widened in shock, not expecting such a move.
Despair flickered in her eyes for she had missed one opportunity—when all of a sudden, the canine bit its body, moving the Shepherd to the side and restoring the head's position.
Shun exclaimed, "Nice save!"
Bang!
The sound echoed as the head turned into meat paste. Blood splattered and brain juice rained down.
Akira kept flying. When she was about to dive into the darkness, something wrapped her abdomen, stopping her.
The red bar decreased immediately, but that wasn't the end as a red glint entered the field and penetrated its head—the blue head, to be exact. Blood gushed out and its eyes rolled back almost immediately.
Jade Blood tilted its edges down and proceeded to move where gravity pulled. Its body sliced through as though butter, but midway—around the abdomen—the Shepherd grabbed Jade Blood and hurled it into the sky.
The cut spilled a huge amount of blood, revealing its ribcage and lungs.
Not giving the Shepherd time to rest—
[Echo of the Divine Forge has been activated.]
The earth walls that had been lying dormant suddenly launched forward and encased the Shepherd in a box.
It took five earth walls to form the box, and the rest reinforced it.
"Monster girl!"
"Okay."
She grabbed his shirt and flung him. In the blink of an eye, Shun arrived at the clustered earth and touched it lightly, channeling cursed energy into it before inertia carried him forward.
As he was about to leave the flame's radiance, a tentacle wrapped around him, halting his movement before placing him next to Akira.
Before Akira could say a word—
"Do you know what would happen if a bunch of C4s were detonated in a closed space?" Shun asked with a sly smile as he materialized a remote.
With a push of a button—
Boom!
A muffled explosion echoed as the Shepherd's health bar decreased sharply. The box of earth immediately cracked and was on the verge of breaking apart, but slowly recovered itself.
Shun then retrieved Jade Blood.
"Okay, final step!"
"Roger!" The monster girl nodded and looked at the turtle. "Do it!"
The tentacle coiled around Shun's abdomen once more and threw him at the box. It shattered upon impact, revealing the Shepherd.
Half of its body was gone; its one and only head was missing chunks, exposing brain matter.
Both its arms were gone. Its body, charred black, was filled with holes. Its breathing was haggard and shallow.
Its legs were still standing despite missing chunks of tendon.
Blood dripped slowly.
Shun swung Jade Blood and cut its neck. Its head plopped to the ground. The body fell knee-first, then the torso, producing a loud thud.
Midair, Shun stabilized himself by turning around and embedding Jade Blood into the ground, creating a long, small ditch before coming to a stop.
———
[You've slain Shepherd of Desire - Lvl 58.]
[You've gained 28,000 exp.]
[Limit reached.]
[Saving exp.]
———
Shun dismissed those panels, and a bunch came almost immediately.
———
[Dissonance has been eliminated.]
[You've successfully completed the Exclusive Scenario!]
[You've gained: A Ladder.]
———
The corner of his lips twitched. After all that struggle—even putting his life on the line—the reward was basically an insult!
He calmed himself for a few moments and checked the item.
———
[Ladder of Sloth.]
Description: When used in a Tower, enables the user to skip a floor.
Type: Consumable.
Usage: 1/1.
Rarity: Special.
———
His hands were shaking. His breathing grew hasty and his heartbeat faster.
It was a special-grade artifact with an extremely effective use!
The artifact is stored into his inventory automatically.
As much as he wanted to celebrate his discovery, he had to stay calm and not let anyone know about it.
With that in mind, he continued what he had to do. He walked over to the head and held it in his hands.
If things went as he predicted, something should happen.
"Shun!" Akira approached him and paused when she noticed the Shepherd's head in his hands.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
Quickly afterward, the head turned into a speck of light and changed into something else.
[Making it come true, a desire from you.]
A prune.
Shun checked its description.
———
Name: Fruit of The Heavens.
Type: Resource.
Rarity: Special.
Description: Cultivated and propagated in ■■■■. Once consumed, it will increase your potential to the fullest.
———
Increasing my potential to the fullest, huh? Shun recited slowly, somehow doubting those words.
He stored the prune in his inventory and looked at Akira. His gaze locked just above her head.
[Level up!] A notice floated above her.
"Congratulations." Shun smiled kindly.
"Thank you." She bowed politely. "If it weren't for you, I don't think I'd survive, let alone level up."
"You helped too. If not for your shooting skills, I doubt I'd be standing right now. That shot to the eye was impressive!"
Both then walked to the camp.
"Is it over?" the monster girl asked casually, her hands behind her head.
"Yeah, it is. Thanks for the support." Shun moved his head up and down.
"It's no biggie."
Shun grunted in acknowledgment.
Akira didn't say anything during the whole conversation, but her lips parted a few times, as if she wanted to say something.
Following that, Shun summoned the gryphon and cut its meat, skewer it and leave it on the fire.
Shun dismissed the gryphon as it returned to his inventory and noticed the monster girl's nightmares were around her.
The turtle was sleeping just behind her, the bird is on the turtle's shell, sleeping, the monkey sat with its legs crossed, meditating, and the dragon wrapping them with its giant tail and head.
On the other hand, the canine was sitting next to Shun, its eyes on the moon..