He then stored the animal in his inventory and cast away the gryphon's. Of course, he didn't let it stay there, as it would exude an unpleasant smell.
He used his skill to open the earth three feet deep. He threw in the gryphon's carcass and, cloaking his fist with aura, smashed the ground. It trembled and cracked a few times before turning into rough dirt.
It cascaded and slowly filled the burial. This entire process took around five minutes. He checked his mana capacity—he still had approximately sixty-five percent left.
If there was an enemy, he'd be fine. He then shifted his gaze to the quiet, ghost town.
Something ominous and evil was leaking out of the wall. It was as though the wall around the town was meant to contain whatever danger it suppressed—not the other way around.
Shun shifted his eyes to the camp and soon realized Jade Blood was missing. His heart clenched tight and anger boiled.
That sword was his golden finger! It could cut everything and anything so far! His ultimate finisher! It couldn't be gone!
Did some bastard steal it from me?! Dammit! I only had that beauty for a day! Shun exclaimed inwardly and tried to ping Jade Blood with the faint connection they had.
It responded with a low hum, conveying to Shun that Jade Blood was simply playing.
With this, Shun was convinced this thing had been a dog in its past life. It reminded him of how dogs just leave as soon as the door opens.
Nevertheless, he heaved a sigh of relief.
However, something still bothered him.
"Is there a reason why you stay quiet as soon as the fog comes?"
The faint connection in his head, in the form of a thin thread, vibrated slightly. Shun understood what Jade Blood was saying.
Basically, when the fog appeared, Jade Blood fell asleep.
Shun thought to himself, So the fire doesn't protect Jade Blood? It didn't even touch it.
His frown deepened, and one theory popped up all of a sudden.
It might be because Jade Blood was a sentient weapon, and the fog affected them differently. It didn't need to engulf it—just existing was plenty.
As his mind followed this line of thought, he wondered if sentient weapons would also enter the Dream Realm, but seeing Jade Blood completely fine, that might not be the case.
Shun returned to the camp and sat on the bed carefully. The bed frame of earth groaned roughly as it endured his weight, which easily exceeded five hundred kilograms.
Thankfully, Shun had made the bed frame thicker so it could tolerate his weight.
He watched the fire and kept an eye on the group. Thinking about it, they hadn't assigned anyone to keep watch while the rest slept.
As a hunter, this was a grave mistake. Thankfully, nothing had happened to them.
As his mind wandered, he noticed the monkey with a staff sitting cross-legged, appearing to meditate.
He saw blood marks on its staff and wondered if it had killed any beast recently. Looking around—indeed.
In the distance lay the carcass of a giant bird with sharp talons and beak. From the wound, its head seemed to have been split open by a blunt edge.
Blood spilled out, and brain matter was splattered on the ground.
Shun shifted his eyes to the monkey and nodded in gratitude. He then lay down and closed his eyes.
---
The bird's soft chirping woke him. He got up and stretched his arms to the sky, and almost immediately, the wind of the morning dew blew.
Any ordinary person would tremble from the cold, but for hunters, one could say their bodies had evolved to withstand temperatures as low as minus ten degrees Celsius.
Anyway, Shun got off his bed and used his skill to create a bathroom stall with a small tub and a giant bowl to scoop the water.
When that was finished, he created a bucket out of the earth. Of course, he needed to mold it carefully and shape it into the one he desired.
The result was bad, but still functional for carrying water. He created four more.
With four buckets in tow, he walked into the city and yawned. As he reached the fountain and scooped the water, Jade Blood descended and lingered just before him.
"Morning, Jade." Shun exhaled slowly, still feeling sleepy.
"Hum~ hum~"
"It's been a few days since I've taken a shower. It's crucial to keep one's hygiene, especially in a survival scenario."
"Buzz."
"Well, it's not like I have a choice."
It then sent sound waves ordinary humans wouldn't understand.
"I guess that's fair."
Shun filled all the buckets to the brim and asked Jade Blood to carry a few. It sent an affirmative whistle.
He closed the buckets before carrying them back to the camp. He carried two buckets while Jade Blood carried four—two on the blade and two more hanging from its crossguard.
They arrived at the bathroom stall and Shun poured water into the tub, except for one bucket.
Jade Blood said goodbye and flew to who knew where.
Shun carried the remaining bucket a bit far from the camp before proceeding to summon the six-legged cow from his inventory.
Then a tedious process of making it into consumable meat ensued. It took around five hours—there's a limit to what one person can do, after all.
By that time, the sunlight embraced the land fully. Most of the team had already woken up and checked what Shun was doing.
Akira and Micchan looked at him with great interest.
"I've made a bathroom," Shun said as he was cutting the cow's ribs into chunks of meat.
Akira shifted her gaze to the stall and revealed a faint smile. "Thank you."
She then went into the stall and shouted, "How do you take a shower with this?"
"Just use the bowl to splash the water on your body."
She closed the door and took a quick shower—the sound of water splashing to the ground could be heard, muffled.
But Shun's focus wasn't on the girl having a shower, but on the cow.
After cutting all of its meat and storing it in the inventory, he left the remains for Micchan's nightmares.
They devoured it as though they hadn't eaten in days.
As he reached the camp, the campfire had been snuffed out a long time ago. He gathered a few twigs—or was about to, anyway—when he stopped at the feeling of a tap.
Turning his head, it was the monkey.
"What's up?"
The monkey pointed its finger at a certain spot, and Shun followed, only to find a hill of twigs.
"Did you gather this for me?" he asked.
The monkey didn't respond. Instead, it pointed at the cow, opened three fingers while closing the rest, and pointed to itself with the other hand.
Shun smiled and gave it a thumbs-up.
After putting the twigs and dry leaves in the campfire, Shun smashed two rocks together. Sparks came to life and licked the dry sticks.
After some tending, the fire caught fully.
He then conjured a few spears from the earth and made the edges smooth like the surface of marble. This ensured no crumbs of dirt or the like would stick to the meat.
Of course, smoothing it out required extra work, and Shun's mana almost ran out, but he didn't worry. If a fight came, there was Micchan and her nightmares. Furthermore, he relied more heavily on Living Alloy.
After embedding the meat on the spears and planting them in the ground, leaning toward the fire, Shun looked around and found the person he was looking for. She was quite far from the camp.
He approached Micchan. She was sitting and looking at a field of flowers.
"Everything alright?"
"They're beautiful." She plucked one and observed it with bright, immersed eyes.
"So you like flowers?"
"Is that what they're called?"
"Yeah." Shun sat next to her and took in the view. The wind brushed past, and the myriad colors of flowers danced across the field. It was a beautiful sight.
"Which one is your favorite?" she asked.
"That." Shun pointed at a clump of flowers that looked like a colorful bush. He summoned the book of flora and looked for its name.
"Hydrangea macrophylla," he uttered.
"Then what's that called?"
Shun flipped the page and stopped. "Opium poppy."
This happened a few times, with Micchan pointing at a flower and Shun using the book to find out.
Most of the flowers Micchan pointed to were inscribed in this book.
"Humans are amazing. To think your kind would record each flower in a book."
Shun put the encyclopedia of flowers back into his inventory.
"It's necessary."
The history between humans and plants stretched far. If not for the people who studied plants, humanity would have ceased to exist a long time ago.
The encyclopedia was a testament to the efforts of countless scholars.
"Yup, humanity totally rocks." Her voice was filled with amazement. "But it's strange. Despite humanity's achievements, you guys still haven't conquered a second Tower."
Shun didn't ask her how she knew that— he had a notion it might be because of her unique existence as a Nightmare.
"Who knows." Shun shrugged, not particularly interested in humanity's progress with the Tower.
It wasn't like humanity had progressed further after conquering the first Tower. All the glory went to those at the top, but those at the bottom? Nothing.
"I see." She didn't probe further. "So, why are you here?"
"I have a request."
"Shoot it."
"Please kill me."