The cursed energy spread out like tectonic waves.
An energy more unstable than mana, yet powerful and chaotic, shifted the earth according to Shun's will. The ground rose like a disturbed ancient beast, then froze at three meters.
It worked! Shun's eyes brightened with exhilaration.
The terrain had changed. What was once a simple, flat field had now turned into a complex battlefield.
But here's the thing.
As the ground was imbued with cursed energy, which essentially came from human emotions, and since they were inside the Dream Realm, a world where reality warped beyond logic and seemingly thrived on emotion.
Shun's thoughts took a dark turn. A creeping feeling rose in his chest, the kind that came after making a bad decision and waiting for its consequences.
And it happened.
The earth abruptly shrank down, only to rise again a moment later.
This wasn't his doing. The land itself was reacting to the cursed energy, and becoming unstable.
It swelled and shrunk, tilted left and right, shifting every second. Logic and physics no longer applied.
The corners of Shun's lips trembled slightly. He turned his gaze to the beast.
It stared warily at the constantly shifting terrain, then locked eyes with Shun.
It roared, charging at him, but the unstable ground slowed its advance.
Shun let out a mocking chuckle. "What's wrong? Slower than a snail, are you?"
He quickly equipped the artifact he had found. His body grew transparent before vanishing. Then, he cloaked himself in aura to further reduce his presence.
Walking like a ghost, he advanced with the next step of his plan. The situation may have changed, but the objective remained the same. In fact, the chaos gave him a slight advantage.
Fighting a level sixty beast head-on was pure suicide. Even with Living Alloy and its unique powers, he couldn't kill it outright. The best he could do was weaken it.
So, this convoluted, multi-step plan? Completely necessary.
He tapped the ground and used mana to activate [Echo of the Divine Forge].
Spikes with javelin-like tips began to form. He imbued just a drop of cursed energy into one.
Then waited.
"Phew…" He nodded, satisfied.
The cursed energy lingered, lasting longer than three minutes!
Mana and aura typically dissipated quickly when imbued into objects, unless one was a master of manipulation. But cursed energy held on.
He tapped the ground again, cultivating spike after spike. Soon, they reached double digits.
He stood atop a slab of earth and gave the signal. The slab plunged into the ground, then shot upward, launching him into the sky.
The landscape became clear. In the distance, he saw mountain ranges. But something felt off.
He narrowed his eyes, and his mind jolted.
What he thought were mountains were actually the coiled body of a gigantic snake, stretching across the horizon.
A massive blue eye floated in the sky, gazing down.
It belonged to the python.
Shun's heart stopped. His legs gave way.
[Special Class Heart presence detected.]
A panel appeared before his face.
He turned his gaze back to the mythic creature.
He chuckled bitterly. "You've got to be kidding me."
The earth beneath him collapsed. The wind rushing past his face snapped him out of his shock.
He turned his eyes to the beast below and crouched.
Cloaking his legs with aura, he launched himself forward with incredible speed.
Swoosh!
The beast noticed the shift in air pressure and snapped its head toward him.
Shun clenched his fist, gathering both aura and cursed energy into it.
Mid-air, the beast flicked its tail.
Shun dodged at the last second, though it grazed him, drawing a thin line of blood.
Got you! he screamed internally, slamming his fist into the beast's skull.
Cursed energy seeped into its skin, weakening the impact zone.
The ground caved in beneath them as dust surged upward. The beast shrieked in frustration and swung its massive body toward him.
Shun leapt aside just in time.
The creature crashed into the ground.
Seeing an opening, Shun punched again. Another wave of weakness spread through the beast's body.
He could tell it worked, he felt the cursed energy inside him momentarily dip before rebalancing.
"There's more where that came from!"
He didn't let up, launching a flurry of punches.
The beast suddenly leapt and flapped its wings. The gust knocked Shun back several paces. He shielded his face from the dust.
Is it running away?
The thought made him oddly sad. Like preparing a feast only for no one to show up.
"I'm not letting you run away!"
He crouched, preparing to leap again, when the beast suddenly flipped mid-air and slammed its tail downward.
Too fast!
Shun jumped aside, confident he'd dodged.
Bam!
The ground trembled. Dust clouds rose. Then gradually faded.
Shun opened his eyes, relieved.
"I'm alive!"
But the relief was short-lived.
A heartbeat later, he sensed danger from behind. He pushed off with his legs.
Except… he couldn't feel one of them.
He looked down,and froze in horror.
"This can't be…"
His left leg was gone. Blood poured out freely.
He stared at the stump.
A thousand thoughts flashed in his mind.
How do I keep fighting?
Can I even fight?
I'm going to die.
I don't want to die, he thought.
Then the pain hit.
He hissed, snapping out of his trance.
At the same time, the beast's tail came crashing down again.
Boom!
The blow landed. Like being hit by a bullet train.
Bones shattered. Organs bled.
The ground gave way beneath him.
The beast retracted its tail, winding up for another strike.
Shun stared at it, heart tight in his chest.
Weakly, he raised his palm and activated his skill with cursed energy.
He didn't know what would happen next.
But he just wanted to kill the beast and survive. Rage and hope is instilled into his skill.
Then, the moment he activated the skill, the earth trembled intensely. Almost immediately, on where the beast stood. Five earth walls rose and contained the beast in a cube of earth.
The beast roared and struggled to fight, evident with the banging and the earth wall cracked under immense pressure.
Regardless, the crack mysteriously recovered. Then, the walls shrunk in slowly.
As it did, Shun felt somewhat relieved. The beast is imprison and no longer pose a threat.
Furthermore, the wall seemed impenetrable without explanation. Perhaps a result of the chaotic reaction of Cursed Energy and the Dream Realm.
Shun didn't know, he was just glad he's alive. Battered, in immense pain and lost a leg. How is he going to live from now on?
As he thought of this, he heard muffling screams coming from the cube.
Upon closer inspection, it sounded like the screams of kids that fear the dark.