Completing the setup, he clapped his hands with a prideful smile.
"You underestimated that creature," spoke the monster girl.
Shun cast his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"That thing isn't from this Tower. It shouldn't even be here, yet it existed before you and seeks entertainment from you.
"Its purpose, its existence is vague. There are many unknown factors about it, yet you think all these would be enough to defeat it?" The monster girl drifted her eyes across the walls.
"Yes," Shun nodded.
The monster girl lowered her gaze. She chuckled softly. "It seems that confidence stems from that form. Tell me, what would you do if that very power betrays you?"
"I don't know, but it's a risk I'm willing to take."
The monster girl scrutinized him closely before falling into silence.
Shun observed the monster girl's face, gaining her attention.
"What? Never seen a woman before?"
"It's not that." Shun shook his head softly. "How did you come into existence?"
She then replied with a tease, "When papa and mama nightmare danced in their bedroom and planted a seed. That's me."
"..." Shun wasn't sure how to continue.
The girl chuckled. "I'm joking! I'm joking! No need to put on such a terrifying face!"
Shun showed a troubled smile.
"I just came into existence. No memories of who I am or what I was doing before becoming a nightmare.
"And the first thing I saw when I came into existence was here. Like chicks that just cracked and see something in front of them as their mom, I immediately knew my mission." Her gaze landed on Akira, who was maintaining her weapon the whole time, listening.
Akira gazed up with the pistol aimed at the monster girl's head. She pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The monster girl tilted her head to the side as the bullet went past her and vanished into the darkness.
"Why don't you just kill me? You already know it's impossible for me to survive here." She put the gun down.
"That's not in the contract. I just do my job, girly."
"Don't call me that." Akira's voice was sharp.
"Wow~ so scary ~"
Shun listened to their banter until the end before asking, "Why are you interested in this land?"
"Hmm?" She cast her eyes.
"You know, when you just got here."
"That? It's a given, right? I am here without memories, a name, no past, and even no future. Of course I'd be curious where I am."
That's it? Here I thought she was hinting at something bigger, Shun thought discreetly, a bit disappointed.
"What do you know about this land?" she asked curiously.
Shun hesitated for a moment before telling her what he knew.
"Ohhh, I see. That's interesting, especially those gods that don't want wars to happen.
"You know a lot of things, man. I thought you were the brawny type, but you're just a nerd!" She pointed her finger.
"For your information, I just crammed them into my head." He turned his gaze to the scattered books beyond the illumination.
Seeing those items, he wondered what happened to that infinite firework. As for the anti-infertile pill, it was lying in his pocket.
Shun scanned the area and found it. He approached the item under his bed.
---
[Neverending Fireworks]
Description: A beautiful firework that won't end is in your hands!
Type: Item
Durability: 100%
Rarity: Unique
---
It might be useful later, he said to himself and stored it in his inventory. He returned to the group and asked Akira.
"When will that thing appear again?"
Akira materialized her phone and saw the clock. She then put it back in her inventory.
"Maybe in an hour and a half."
"That's oddly specific."
"The cannon's power lies not in its raw strength, but its side effects. It puts everything it shoots to sleep."
Shun grunted in acknowledgment and pinched his chin.
It might be best to use the rest of their time to enhance their setup even further.
He went to retrieve Jade Blood, who had just stayed in one spot, and placed it somewhere inconspicuous.
As he used most of the time to prepare, Akira approached him and materialized around six C4s. Some dropped to the ground because her hands were full.
Shun widened his eyes.
"Use this. It might be useful."
Might? No, it will be useful! Shun exclaimed. He smiled as he accepted the C4s. He didn't bother to ask her why she had these in her inventory, though he was a bit curious.
Despite parking the C4s at handy spots, Shun didn't feel at ease at all. He got the notion something was lacking.
He turned his eyes to the monster girl and thought for a moment.
"Monster girl, lend us a hand."
Akira tugged his sleeve and brought him to the corner. Her voice was low. "What are you planning? She's an enemy. We'll have to kill her."
"I'm aware, but she's not our enemy right now. We can deal with her once we deal with this monster sheep."
"Even so…" Hesitation flickered in her eyes.
"Akira, our objective is to survive. We have to use everything we can to improve our survival rate."
She fell silent for a few moments.
"Fine," she finally spoke.
Shun lightly nodded. They returned to the camp.
The monster girl turned her eyes from the fire. "You guys finished?"
"Yeah, so. What do you say?"
"Why not?" Her words were light and casual. "I don't have much to do anyway."
"I appreciate it." Shun bowed slightly.
The monster girl observed him and mimicked him.
"What does this do? What does this mean?"
Shun raised his torso. "It's a little gesture to show appreciation."
"I see!" She exclaimed enthusiastically, finding it exciting to learn something new.
Shun shifted his eyes to Akira. She crossed her arms, tightening them slightly.
They returned to their seats with Akira on the side. The monster girl leaned on Shun and asked him a lot of questions like a curious kid. He answered patiently.
---
Akira materialized her phone, checked the time, and put it back into her inventory.
"It's time." She got up.
Shun nodded and encased the campfire with earth, leaving thin gaps. He also fed it with twigs. The fire crackled as if savoring them.
He checked everything with a glance, and nothing was wrong. He summoned the dagger and took a position.
Then something ominous descended from the heavens. The atmosphere became oppressive.
"Get ready!" Shun clenched his dagger a bit tighter and poured a bit of cursed energy.
Boom!
A billow of dust immediately covered the area and rose to the sky.
---
[Shepherd of Desire - Lvl 58.]
A name and a red bar appeared within the fog.
---
"What's the plan, Shun?" Akira asked, body steady and calm.
"Give me a cover."
"Okay."
Shun changed his line of sight to the monster girl. "I never heard what you can do."
"Manifesting your worst nightmares into monsters," she smiled. Her palms crackled with pitch-black energy.
Shun felt something in his head had been plucked, and he felt calmer.
Immediately afterward, the black energy on her palm clumped and wriggled together like a living thing.
Slowly but surely, it became a black mass. She threw it to the side.
Immediately afterward, the black mass hardened into a shell.
It then jolted to the left. Something inside tried to break out.
A huge crack then appeared after a massive force jolted the mass. It then broke free. The shell collapsed, revealing the leg of a centipede.
Shun instinctively took a few steps back. Akira noticed.
"What's wrong?"
The centipede crawled out and revealed its full size. A ten-meter centipede with each leg as huge as an adult man. It shrieked.
"I am never good with centipedes."
"What?" Akira frowned. "Wait, what does your nightmare look like?"
"A skeleton knight."
"You are not scared of that, nor this three-headed abomination, but you are scared of a centipede?"
"It's a long story."
"Can you fight properly then?"
"Maybe."
Maybe usually means fifty-fifty.
"My life is a gacha then," Akira commented bitterly.
The Shepherd left the dust with a leap and came at Shun sharply.
"Don't get excited with him," the monster girl said and pumped her raised hands in the air. "Go!"
It crawled quickly and snapped its jaw tight when it appeared before the Shepherd.
The Shepherd replied by holding the jaw with both hands. As the inertia from lunging was still in effect, the centipede got dragged with it, leaving a trail of dust.
Akira shot the monster with precision and embedded holes. Blood spat out from each hit, yet the Shepherd acted as if nothing happened.
It stretched the centipede's jaw as wide as possible, gripped it, and spun it. The rest of the body followed.
Its lengthy body was about to hit the campfire when an earth ramp appeared, lifting the body.
The Shepherd spun the centipede. The team immediately crouched to avoid it. It then flung it into the sky.
It vanished into the darkness. Its shriek grew distant.
Slowly turning its head to Shun, it rushed.
Shun quickly got up and assumed a fighting stance.
Blade in reverse, knees bent.
When it was around five meters from Shun, it smashed the ground with incredible power, hoisting the earth, and kicked it.
A giant slab of earth that traveled like a truck on the highway flew toward him.
Shun leapt, but almost immediately, as if anticipating his movement, the Shepherd was already there, and its arm lunged in a blurry motion.
Shun didn't panic and was ready to block it, when all of a sudden, a bullet hit its eyes, causing the Shepherd to groan in pain and diminished what it was trying to do.
Then, black tentacles wrapped around the Shepherd's arm.
"Like I said, don't get too excited with him. We also wanna play," the monster girl said, sitting on top of a giant octopus.