Shun quickly snapped from such a state and recovered.
It happened again, he thought to himself with a frown.
One of the side effects of accepting His support is being emotionally unstable, and it especially reacted strongly when he felt fear.
As much as one thought it was awesome to not feel fear, one must also recognize it helped humans survive in many situations.
Fear keeps you alive. It's what makes you dodge, flinch, run.
Without it, your body won't react fast enough to avoid lethal harm.
You might stand still while bleeding, ignore a broken limb, or never retreat when necessary.
To rid of fear also rids of everything else. If he let that dissonance of fear consume him, he'd get himself killed.
"What's in it for me? Quite unfair when I didn't play and still got some kind of penalty."
"Three wishes."
"Of your deepest desires."
"Comes true."
Shun pinched his chin and wondered for a moment. From its lines, it resembled the wish-granting, magic djinn back in his world.
Then, for a moment, the sheep flickered with random colors that mixed with pixels, like a mistake in a program.
Shun was stunned, and before he could process his thoughts—
———
[Dissonance detected.]
[You've encountered an Exclusive Scenario!]
Objective: Eliminate the Dissonance.
Difficulty: C-SSS
Reward: A Ladder.
Description: Beings naturally flawed beyond the universe's tune. Their existence isn't a necessity. Eliminate at moment's notice.
———
An exclusive scenario? So something only I can access, Shun realized and landed his eyes on one thing. The corner of his lip almost twitched.
'The reward doesn't seem worth it when my life is on the line, and why a ladder? What am I supposed to do with it?' Shun asked himself, incredibly confused.
But he just shrugged it off. Whether the scenario appears or not, he still has to deal with this three-headed sheep of damnation.
"How should I play the game?
"Choose one. Play."
"Truth."
"Or Dare."
Shun contemplated for a moment.
"Truth," he responded.
"Do you love your brother Osamu Kaoru?" the blue-headed sheep asked flatly.
What kind of question is that?! Shun screamed in his heart and almost lost his cool.
On the outside, he wore a flat expression. He rubbed the back of his hair and fell into a deep thought.
"We grew apart. We have different values and goals, even our personalities are no different. Although he's my little brother, my family, I couldn't forgive him for treating grandma like that. So no, I don't love him."
The sheep didn't say a word before all of its mouths opened in a rigid way, and an X appeared.
Shun let out a troubled grunt, feeling cornered.
"One."
"More."
"Chance."
Shun thought carefully this time and let out a long breath of resignation.
"Yes, but it's so small it's the size of a grain."
The X on their mouths changed to a circle.
"This."
"Is."
"Your reward."
The two heads then looked at the head on the very left. That head nodded, understanding what it had to do.
It then laid down and gripped its head as hard as it could before pulling it out. Skin and flesh slowly grew apart with blood pouring down.
With a sickening noise, it successfully tore its head apart and threw it at Shun. The head rolled slowly and stopped before him.
Shun's gaze is covered by dark streaks. It was uncertain what kind of face he's making.
He gradually turned his gaze to the head below.
"What is this?"
"Hold it tight."
"And whisper your greatest desire."
Shun followed and held the beheaded sheep.
[Notice: Use this head to grant your desires?]
'Yes.'
[Making it come true, a desire from the future…]
From the future? Shun wondered in his heart, becoming even more confused.
[Desire granted: Infinite Firework.]
The sheep's head turned into a firework cannon. Shun took a peek inside, and there's a shell there.
He grabbed it and observed it with a frown, 'What am I going to do with a firework?'
He didn't think much further and put it into his inventory.
"Play? Or"
"Dare?"
After thinking for a moment, Shun opened his mouth, "Dare."
"I dare you to kiss."
"Akira."
Hell no, Shun immediately responded in his heart.
"Change the dare," Shun shook his head and said without expecting anything.
"Count to one thousand."
"In order."
Fortunately, it listened. Shun was a bit hesitant at first, 'That's it? Just counting?'
"Alright." Shun nodded and sat, "One, two, three, four, five…"
A moment later, with his eyes on the sky, "Fifty-five, fifty-six."
Then, maybe around eleven minutes, where he just walked back and forth in repeat, "Seven hundred and nine, seven hundred and ten."
Much longer later, where he sat with his hands clasped together, "Nine hundred and ninety-eight." He got up, "Nine hundred and ninety-nine and one thousand! Alright!"
Shun clenched his fist and raised it. His expression filled with joy.
The sheep, like previously, pulled its head off. Shun cast his eyes away, feeling uncomfortable.
Once he heard a light thud on the ground, he returned his eyes back to the sheep.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked, not glancing at the bodiless head.
"It is. My ultimate." It paused, "End."
"So you don't want to hurt me or anything?"
It shook its head and responded, "Goal is to. Provide joy with. Unattained desires."
"I see." Shun then grabbed the head and just like earlier, the System sent him the same message, but this time—
[Making it come true, a desire from an alternate timeline.]
The existence of alternate me… Shun recited slowly in his mind. He wasn't sure how to process that there're infinite versions of him, which also means the infinite universes also exist.
He calmed himself down with a deep breath and focused on the matter at hand.
The sheep head then turned into pills. It didn't exude a powerful aura or energy, no. Shun brought it under his nostril and took a deep breath, while also scrutinizing it carefully.
It smelled and looked like an ordinary pill! He was almost disappointed.
[Desire granted: Anti-Infertile Pills.]
What are these items?! Shun exclaimed and wanted to cry.
"Are you messing with me?" His voice grew impatient.
"Would you. Like to. Play with me?"
Storing the item into the inventory, Shun could only let out a heavy sigh and nodded, "Sure."
"Then..."
As soon as it finished those words, the decapitated head bloomed again, recovering at an insane speed.
Immediately afterward, its body gradually increased in mass and size, reaching three feet tall and standing on two feet. It smashed the ground with its bulging arms, shaking the earth.
Its mouth smiled exaggeratedly. In each head, its eyes merged into one. It then roared, shaking the air and the ground. The flame flickered intensely, about to extinguish at any moment. The fog waited impatiently.
"Let's play." Its voice reverberate ominously.
Shun grabbed his dagger and assumed a fighting stance.
But then, almost immediately, he felt a tight hug behind him.
Turning his head, it was Akira. Her breathing was hasty. Her expression scrunched in agony and fear. Tears trickled across her cheek.
"Don't leave me. Please, don't." Her words were filled with distress.
"Akira?" His eyes flickered with surprise. He wondered why she's acting this way, before remembering the bigger picture.
Akira has awakened, and they will appear. That single line flashed through his head, when the ground felt heavier and something from behind slowly approached.
Shun didn't dare to look. He simply held Akira tighter and leapt away, positioning himself at the edge of the flame's radiance.
A three-foot, three-headed sheep abomination stood mighty, and standing on the far end was a woman with pale, corpse-like skin. Rough hair, red bloody eyes, and a giant stitch on her abdomen. Her body was revealed, but her important parts were covered by rough cloth.
Their shadows cast long, devouring Shun.
Shun's heart gripped, his body shaking.
Can I defeat both? he asked himself, trying his best to stay calm and evaluate the situation.
He didn't bother to check their levels. It'll not change the course of the battlefield anyway. It was certain their levels were higher than his, but that's never been a problem.
It's just his mana and stamina haven't recovered fully. The injuries from previous battles still haunt him.
Then Akira's embrace tightened, snapping Shun from his mind.
"Akira, everything's okay. Calm down for me, okay?" His voice is soft and full of reassurance. "You're safe now. Don't worry."
Her trembling body lessened. He shifted his eyes to the monsters.
And then, a red bar and names appeared just above their heads. This could only mean one thing—
[Shepherd of Desire – Lvl 58.]
[Nightmare – Lvl 47.]
They're as strong as a mini boss, and it takes thirty people to hunt down one mini boss!
"Shun, what is going on?" Akira's voice reached his ears. It seemed she snapped out from her frenzied state.
Her gaze stuck on the monsters. "Are you going to defeat them? Can you do that?"
"Probably." Shun smiled, trying to show everything's under control, but the stiffness crumbled it.
"Humans. What do you two know about this land?"
"No clue. All we know is that this land has serious balance issues." Shun pointed the dagger.