"..." It became speechless.
There were a few moments of silence before the ground trembled, and from the pit, Shun felt something getting closer.
The skeleton knight came like a torpedo being launched from a submarine.
Before it could escape, Shun thickened the sword with Cursed Energy so the knight wouldn't be able to control it, else Shun would be at a disadvantage.
He then planted his palms on the ground and used Cursed Energy as a substitute for mana to activate his skill. He didn't know how this would transpire.
Dream Realm and the real world might have different effects.
Maybe using Cursed Energy as an alternative would only work in the Dream Realm.
That'd be bad, Shun thought to himself and hoped for the best.
Shun released Cursed Energy through the ground. He felt like his nerves spread out into the earth.
With this discovery, he heaved a sigh of relief that his worries proved nothing.
[Echo of the Divine Forge has been activated.]
With a wave of his thought, the pit smashed together, closing the exit, but it wasn't only with one slab of earth, it continued to the very deep.
It cost him a lot of stamina.
Shun's breath grew hasty as a result. His body became incredibly weak and fragile; his body felt heavy and leaned to the side before collapsing.
"Haa… haa…" Shun looked at the stars. One especially glowed brighter than the others.
[Constellation Monarch God is impressed with your imagination.]
He's watching? Shun asked himself, finding it crazy and hard to believe.
"If you watch then help me!"
[Constellation Monarch God expresses that the divine shouldn't interfere with mortal instruments.]
Then so be it.
Shun didn't think much further. He expected it. In this world, only he can save himself. Sure, others will help and he gladly accepted it, but in the end, it is up to him.
The ground trembled every second. It seemed the skeleton knight tried its best to break through the closed pit, but judging by the fact it hadn't broken free yet signified that the exit was tougher to break than ordinary.
In the Dream Realm, Shun learned that objects imbued with Cursed Energy have recovery properties and are incredibly sturdy.
It seems it also applies outside the Dream Realm. That made Shun exhilarated.
Living Alloy is truly an overpowered ability.
Just as he exclaimed those words in his mind, the pit burst open. Debris flung into the air, a shockwave swept the battlefield and hit Shun, knocking him a few meters back.
The debris landed with heavy thuds.
A silhouette leapt free from the pit and landed with a massive shake on the earth.
Ah, crap. Shun forced his already weakened body to get up and assumed a fighting stance. His posture drooped slightly as though he was about to drop any moment.
"You underestimated me." The knight got into his stance.
How come extending all of my stamina counts as underestimating you! Shun complained in his heart and shifted his mind to a way out of this.
Mana ran out. Stamina ran out. Living Alloy sucked his stamina every second and he only had approximately two minutes left.
No choice but to retreat.
As he caught his mind, the knight approached its sword and grabbed it, but red electricity flickered and zapped him.
It jolted its hand away and looked at Shun. "What did you do?"
What was that? Did the Cursed Energy react to the skeleton? he wondered to himself, and it shifted his image of Cursed Energy.
"Hey, skull knight. Are you from the Dream Realm?"
"I am the embodiment of your nightmare."
Then apparently the Tower has a terrible idea of what a nightmare is, Shun commented and held his thoughts for a moment.
If he didn't have Living Alloy, he'd be dead in an instant, and he doubted his death would be painless. This thing would make his dying moments as suffering as possible.
It was because of his unexpected arsenal that the skeleton knight didn't seem like a nightmare but just another monster.
Anyways.
"Did you know about Cursed Energy?" Shun took a discreet breath and forced his remaining stamina into his body.
He saw a way to win.
"Energy bloomed from humans. I am aware. As your nightmare, I attain every memory of you."
"Is that so? Then you're like those classic tropes—your worst enemy is yourself?" He chuckled and shook his head. "But that's not the case, is it? Your sole existence is to kill me, and those memories are just a tool to assist your job.
"Despite possessing my memories, you are not me."
"Indeed. I am your nightmare."
Shun didn't say anything further. He sharpened his focus and dashed forward. Each step shook the earth.
"Excellent. Running to your death. It makes my job easier." The skeleton knight gripped its sword tighter.
Shun entered his attack range and activated the Cursed Energy in his eyes. His clarity blurred his line of thought; for a moment, he forgot what he was doing.
But he knew he must dodge anything and attack if he saw an opening.
Driven by subconscious thoughts that didn't know fear or any other emotions, his body moved without hesitation. It was precise and sharp.
Sure, the knight had advantages in speed and power, but that didn't make his attacks impossible to dodge.
Finding the right momentum was key.
The sword whistled as it cut through the wind, aimed at his chest, but Shun moved to the side at the right time, avoiding the deadly blow.
Swoosh.
He saw an opening and delivered a punch imbued with a trace of Cursed Energy. Upon impact, red electricity crackled and spread within moments.
The skeleton got electrified and exuded the smell of overcooked meat mixed with scorched hair. Despite being electrified to the crisp, it didn't show any weakness.
The skeleton then leapt a few steps back to reposition itself. However, before it could, Shun already chased him like a stubborn ballistic missile.
Just in time, the knight adjusted its position and struck down its sword across Shun's torso, but before he even performed the strike, it was like Shun read his movements and crouched, touching the ground.
A slab of earth rose and smashed the knight's body.
SHRAANG!
A loud clang echoed. Sparks went everywhere as he cut the earth into half. Then almost immediately, it noticed Shun had sneaked to its right and lunged his fist towards its head. The inertia of his swing was still at play. It could only watch the fist land on its skull.
Its cheekbones cracked and began to spread, before crumbling under the immense pressure of the fist and the Cursed Energy.
Flying across the field, it landed after a few bounces before stopping itself by embedding its blade deep into the ground, leaving a long trail.
It lifted its head and found Shun already before it, swinging down his fist crackling in red electricity.
For a moment, the knight saw a glint of red flicker in his eyes. The knight raised its blade to block the blow.
Why is my blade so heavy? the knight pondered, confused by the abrupt changes.
It pondered for a moment and shifted its blank socket eyes to the crackling red lightning. It fell silent as it understood what was going on.
Shun's blow penetrated its blade and slammed into its face, aimed at its frontal lobe to be exact.
Boom!
A loud bang reminiscent of an explosion roared, shaking the earth. Dust filled the field almost immediately.
Then, it faded away gradually and revealed what was inside. A silhouette of a youth, his breathing haggard, his chest moving back and forth in haste with his tightly clenched hand crackling red lightning.
Below that fist was a skull with a gaping maw on it. Bone shards were everywhere.
Shun's red eyes faded to normal. His subconscious mind recognized the target had been annihilated and there was no need to use Cursed Energy.
His form returned to normal. His white hair lost its color and returned to black, the same for its length and style, returned to long hair tied into a bun. Golden eyes of camera lenses faded out and changed to normal eyes.
[Nightmare has fallen.]
[Mana recovery rate + 0.5]
[City's Favor +10.]