The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 241

Chapter 242
Isabel’s Path Trait

When Eivass woke up, the sky outside was still completely dark.
“…Three in the morning.”
He smack his lips, hesitating slightly, “Should I… sleep a bit more?”
But seeing his newly acquired Path Trait, Eivass got up and intended to give it a try.
“Let’s feed the Shadow Demon first and see how it tastes.”
However, as Eivass cut his finger, he suddenly remembered that his Path Power was currently imbalanced. He couldn’t use the Shepherd’s Method for the next half month.
“…It doesn’t matter.”
As the Shadow Demon’s sweet, low voice echoed, the shadow beneath his feet crawled up his legs and spread to his right fingertips, engulfing them.
It deliberately made slurping sounds, vaguely saying, “I don’t mind it.”
“Without the Shepherd’s Method, can you still gain power from flesh and blood?” Eivass asked, watching the Shadow Demon drink with relish.
“That’s… impossible.”
The Shadow Demon chuckled, “Advanced Extraordinarys of the Path of Love from the Iris Flower side possess [Flesh Sacrifice] for at least 10%. Imagine if they could let Phantom Demons grow arbitrarily stronger.”
“Then how does this taste?” Eivass asked earnestly, seeking feedback from his client.
“Compared to the Holy Blood of Shepherd’s Method, it’s just average,” the Shadow Demon commented fairly. “But I don’t mind… there’s still some flavor in it. Hmm… It’s like drinking cool water from a cup after drinking lemonade. It still has some taste.”
That’s still quite a bit short.
“Then don’t drink it. You’re wasting my blood.”
Eivass waved his hand, swatting the Shadow Demon, which was stuck to his fingertips like mud, back to the ground.
A burst of fire flickered from his fingertips, like a lighter. The flame flashed and disappeared, and the small wound vanished without a trace.
“Hey, why is it like this…”
The Shadow Demon was somewhat displeased, “For the past half month, wasn’t it basically the Butterfly that was drinking?”
“–What?”
The Butterfly, which had transformed into a flame butterfly and landed on Eivass’s shoulder, heard its name mentioned and couldn’t help but respond in a youthful voice similar to Yulia’s, “I’m growing.”
It’s unclear how much the Little Butterfly’s strength had increased after half a month of being fed blood. However, its intelligence had clearly improved significantly. At least it could communicate normally now.
At this moment, Eivass suddenly heard a knock at the door.
The knock was very light, as if afraid of waking the person sleeping inside. If Eivass hadn’t already been awake, he wouldn’t have heard the knock.
Since Lily was still in the Ascension Ritual and hadn’t woken up, Eivass went to open the door himself.
To his surprise, Eivass found Isabel standing at the door in her pajamas.
Her hair was messy, and her eyes were sleepy. It was clear she had just woken up and run over without even washing her face. The warmth of a winter bed could still be faintly felt on her.
She was shivering at the door from the cold, so Eivass quickly pulled her inside.
“…You came in such a hurry. Is something wrong? Why didn’t you knock louder?”
As Eivass spoke, he took off his Fox Down Pajamas and draped them over Isabel. The Flame Butterfly, startled, flew up, scattering some firefly-like phosphorescent powder. It then circled Eivass twice before finally landing on his shoulder.
After taking off his outer shirt, Eivass revealed his underlying physique.
It was unlike his usual image of a frail person wearing fluffy white pajamas and sitting in a wheelchair. After removing his outer clothes, Eivass’s body, like white jade, revealed clearly visible muscles.
They weren’t exaggerated muscles, but his chest and abdominal muscles were visible without needing to inhale. Even his shoulders and arms showed subtle curves. Yet, his collarbones remained deep and prominent.
Had it been before, Eivass might have felt a bit cold.
But after his Priest profession ascended to the Third Tier, his physique gained considerable bonuses. Even in the deep winter of late December and early January, he wouldn’t feel very cold even with his upper body bare.
Furthermore, the Path Power of [Flesh Sacrifice] originated from the domain of blood, which further strengthened Eivass’s physique, making it more perfect.
Isabel, wrapped in his pajamas, watched this scene, her cheeks flushing slightly.
…So tempting to touch.
Such a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
…How can I think like this, Isabel! This is too… too shameless…
She quickly shook her head, dispelling the fantasies in her mind.
Although she knew Eivass had been on the team before, she always subconsciously felt that Eivass was the frail, sickly type… the kind of delicate noble who would cough softly even when wearing thick clothes. But now, seeing Eivass’s abs, her first reaction was to want to touch the depressions between those muscles.
She herself didn’t have abs.
If she didn’t have to study dance, just sitting there painting or playing the piano every day would be enough to develop a small belly.
The “Talented” Profession’s enhancement to the dancer identity primarily manifested in body flexibility and balance. Even at the Third Tier, she still lacked strength… Of course, she only lacked strength compared to Extraordinarys of the same tier; she was definitely stronger than Ordinary Persons.
At least, doing a few backflips consecutively was quite simple. She felt she might even be able to rotate horizontally while doing a backflip… but that move was too dangerous to practice without a teacher.
Seeing Isabel staring intently at his abdomen, Eivass touched it with a slightly strange expression and looked down.
Ah, it has indeed become more pronounced…
“…Isabel?”
He couldn’t help but remind her, “Did you come here for something?”
“Ah!”
Isabel suddenly came to her senses.
She tightened the still-warm pajamas around her and said in a low voice, “I was just… a little worried about your situation.
“I don’t know if you completed your Ascension…”
As she spoke, she unconsciously swallowed. It was as if she was trying to wash away the lingering taste of blood in her mouth.
Before she fell asleep and lost consciousness… the last image in her mind was of herself like a rabid puppy, biting Eivass’s wrist and drinking his blood.
If Daiya’s baby teeth weren’t brittle and sharp enough, she might have bitten Eivass’s wrist off.
But even so, she felt a little guilty.
Because she knew how much force she had used – like tearing into inedible meat, using her entire body, her face contorted.
It must have hurt a lot.
And if she had lost too much blood, Eivass might have died… Moreover, she had no idea what happened afterward.
She was worried that upon waking, she would hear news of Eivass’s failed Ascension. Although Ascension Rituals at this level were not very dangerous, it would still make her feel like she had caused trouble for Eivass.
However, Isabel’s true fear was that she would hold Eivass back in a higher-level Ascension Ritual—could she truly be Eivass’s worthy teammate? Would she genuinely help him, instead of him protecting her at the risk of his own life…
“–What are you overthinking?”
Eivass somehow seemed to hear her thoughts and sighed helplessly, “I succeeded in my Ascension.
“Not only that, but I was also first in points.”
“That’s amazing!”
Isabel exclaimed.
“This is nothing… By the way, what Path Trait did you choose?”
Eivass was somewhat concerned, “You came so quickly, did you choose too hastily?”
“Ah, the teacher has already set the scope for me. Besides, I only have one purple trait, so I could only choose that one.”
Although Path Traits were generally secrets that even close friends couldn’t casually reveal, Isabel obediently replied, “I chose this…”
Saying that, she opened her right hand.
A faint pink radiance bloomed, turning into a pink rose in her palm.
Then, Isabel smiled and placed it in Eivass’s hand.
Feeling the real touch of the petals in his hand, Eivass asked uncertainly, “What is this?
“【Cunning Spell】? 【Tough Illusion】?”
“Yes. Tough Illusion.”
Isabel was very happy, “This way I can go in the direction of illusion magic… Teacher is also very skilled in this direction of spells.”
The effect of Tough Illusion is to increase the difficulty of illusions being seen through. Although it cannot cause physical damage by illusions, even if one breaks free from the illusion, they will forcibly suffer about one-fifth of the effect.
This Path Trait has subsequent enhanced versions, which is a decent path.
“…Is there a problem?”
Seeing Eivass fall silent for a moment, Isabel hesitated, “Did I choose wrongly?”
“No, no.”
Eivass quickly replied, “I was thinking about something else… This Path Trait is very strong. You can choose 【Cunning Spell】 or 【True Illusion】 later, which can further enhance the effect.”
…There is one problem.
With this, Isabel is drifting further and further away from the original “Queen of Flowers.” Isabel’s original build was formed in the Church, mainly controlling various plants through music, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other means.
But now, with Isabel still able to learn under the guidance of Master Janis, she might inherit her mantle.
As the Little Butterfly flapped its wings, history began to change more and more noticeably—what Eivass was thinking was, if too many things changed, would his foresight still be useful? Or would it become a burden instead?
…However, compared to the Queen of Flowers with her cold expression and deeply furrowed brows, the current happy Isabel might be a better development.
No, not might.
…At least, she is smiling.
That should be a better “possibility” that she prefers, Eivass thought.
Update complete!
My rhinitis feels like it’s almost healed, and the dungeon is over! I’ll take a day off tomorrow to rest, and then go get a haircut… Kitty hasn’t been out for two months already…
This week my sleep hasn’t been good, with less than six hours of sleep per day. I’m sleepy during the day, but energetic at night. At 8 AM, I was woken up by the litter box cleaner to type, *sob sob*. Tomorrow, Kitty wants to sleep to her heart’s content…