The fight could be said to be disastrous. Ah, not because he lost or anything—it was something else.
As he was fighting the gryphon carefully and meticulously, dodging every attack at the right time and slashing it with his dagger, his body slowly remembered the training it used to have.
Prior to this, his body moved quite stiffly and every step was filled with hesitation, but as time went on, it chipped away those things and slowly replaced them with confidence.
The gryphon then turned around and back-kicked Shun. Its sharp talons almost tore him apart if he hadn't deflected the kick to the side.
The impact contained such might that he got knocked back a few meters. Shun landed with a slide before coming to a complete halt.
He smiled as he switched the way he held the dagger to reverse grip and rushed forward.
At this point, his body was fully revitalized. It remembered everything it forgot. Shun saw it—the path to victory.
As he got closer to the gryphon, the disaster came.
He caught a glimpse of a red glint from the corner of his eye. Before he could realize what Jade Blood was trying to do, it cleanly cut the gryphon's neck!
The blade went through its bone and flesh as smoothly as cutting butter.
"Idiot!" Shun screamed.
Its head plopped down with a light thud. Blood gushed out like water coming out of a dam. The body then collapsed.
Shun halted his steps and looked at Jade Blood. "What are you doing? That's my prey! I can handle it!"
The claymore sent a disturbance of waves.
"Even if you said you were bored and wanted to kill stronger enemies…" Shun became completely lost.
There weren't any particularly strong foes at the moment. He could only think of the folks in the Dream Realm and beasts there.
His eyes shone with a glint of revelation.
"There is a strong opponent that might trouble you."
The blade sent excited waves as it moved up and down in joy.
"I see, you can't wait. I'd fight it with one condition."
It then blasted confused waves.
"What could it be? Of course, it's gotta be that."
The claymore shook its hilt left and right, failing to comprehend his words.
"Wait patiently and I will fight that serpent."
The claymore let out a happy buzz and moved its body up and down before flying away somewhere.
Shun shifted his gaze to the gryphon and began to skin it. It was a complicated and long process, and by the time he finished, the sun was already just above his head.
He took off his shoes and wrapped his legs with the gryphon pelt. The coarse fur brushed against his knees, half-dried blood still clinging to the underside.
Shun shifted his gaze to the sky. "I don't have a lot of time left."
Although it was approximately twelve p.m., there were a lot of things he needed to find in that library.
When night came, the town changed and unexplainable dangers arose. It'd be wise to avoid it.
Shun then walked over to the dead beast and pressed his palm against it. "There after it does belong, but present I shall be here. Be part of me, what once lived."
The gryphon's body slowly turned into dust of light and entered his body. He opened his inventory, and the four-by-four grid was filled with a few items.
There were two books about fauna and flora his grandma gave him for his birthday. Shun recalled slightly how she was terrible at giving gifts. He couldn't help but chuckle.
There was also the necklace, Terechabra's remains, a brooch, and finally the gryphon's carcass—leaving ten empty spaces.
The items stored in inventory would not rot or decay; they would stay the way they were.
Shun dismissed the panel and walked back to the town to fetch Akira. She was still sleeping with her head on the pavement and her legs leaned against the tree.
She's still sleeping? Shun thought to himself and contemplated for a moment.
It seems until the Nightmare discovers you, you'll spend the rest of your time sleeping. This, of course, caused some issues such as starvation and dehydration.
With that in mind, Shun carried Akira to the fountain and laid her under the shade.
Afterward, he splashed one hand with water to wash it off from blood and did the same with the other.
Then he summoned the gryphon and gutted out its stomach before stuffing the gryphon back into his inventory.
He then splashed the stomach and cleaned it meticulously by rinsing and scraping it thoroughly and repeatedly. After that, he hung it on someone else's clothesline. He went back to fetch Akira and carry her to the library, but he didn't bring her inside. He laid her down under the tree and asked Jade Blood to watch out for her through the faint connection they had.
It flashed out an affirmative buzz.
Taking a step into the library, nervous and anxious, Shun noticed that the premonition of imminent danger didn't arrive.
Alright! He exclaimed in joy before browsing the books he was looking for. With his hands wrapped in the rabbit pelt, he safely grabbed the books without decaying them and read them outside.
He feared that if he read them here, his clothes and uncovered body parts might decay the table and chairs.
Sitting under the shade next to Akira with towering books around him, he got himself immersed, absorbing knowledge.
The wind blew, cooling his body slightly. His hair danced, and the leaves rustled.
But in a heartbeat later, he put the book down and massaged his glabella.
I can't focus, he said to himself.
Jade Blood seemed to notice and asked Shun with confused waves.
"I'm not really the studious type."
Jade Blood echoed some waves only Shun understood.
"Yeah, I know." Shun nodded and forced himself to read the entire book. It was akin to running out of breath and someone drowning you before you could breathe again.
By the time he realized, the sun had already cast long shadows and painted a golden brush across the sky.
It's this late! And I haven't finished all the books! Shun drifted his eyes over the pile of books with grief.
But when he remembered there was always tomorrow, such feelings disappeared. But still, what he just read was only the history of the town, and he wondered if his presence here was brought by fate.
To give a summary, this town was called Euclias and belonged to a monarchy country called Drafth.
The town was controlled by one of the most prominent families of the kingdom, the Yomnoire family; its members were devout believers of one of the four orthodox gods that existed in their world.
The Constellation of All Monarchs and Authorities. Shun didn't really understand what this deity did, but one paragraph read as follows:
"When eons of the gods came, He came last, yet others prepared the empty throne. One that sovereigns all dreams and time. The heavens and the earth. None shall be above, but none shall bow."
Those lines were incredibly similar to a certain deity he knew!
Is there a connection between this deity and the Monarch God? Shun pondered and would come back to it later.
Though he couldn't shake the notion there was something between him and this town.
He got up, retrieved the dried stomach, and turned it into a flask. He went over to the fountain to get some water, then came back to Akira.
He fixed her sleeping posture by resting her head on his lap. Her breathing was steady and soft, sounding like a lullaby. Tilting her face to the side, he let a single drop fall onto her tongue. Her throat moved.
With a careful, slow motion, he tipped the flask, letting the water trickle in a thin line along her cheek and into her mouth.
Shun got up and refilled the water after resting Akira against the tree. He quickly returned with the flask tied to his waist.
Piggybacking Akira on his back and a few books inside a box made of earth that he conjured with his skill, he requested Jade Blood to carry it to their camp.