"It's fine, it's fine. It's just my quirky personality—has nothing to do with you, Little Monkey," Soulshadow Tianyou said gently.

"Though I can't parse the logic in your last statement, Master, I understand you intend to head straight to the shore to fight the final boss?" Loli Monkey asked.

"Mm."

"Then let's go! What are we waiting for? This rain is torture!" Loli Monkey complained.

"Mm."

With that, Loli Monkey nudged Soulshadow Tianyou’s back, and the two stepped past the dry well, pressing deeper into the fishing village.

But barely had they gone a few steps when something abnormal happened.

*BOOM!* A deafening blast erupted from the well behind them, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

"Seems this fight can’t be avoided…" Soulshadow Tianyou turned instantly, sighing in resignation.

"That big merman’s bursting out of the well!" Loli Monkey cried.

"Stay calm! Keep your distance and stay alert!" Soulshadow Tianyou drew her Fangblade Shortsword, shouting.

"Master! The human statues shattered!"

"Huh?!"

Soulshadow Tianyou whipped her head around. The tremor had cracked the kneeling stone figures beside them.

"Monsters inside!" She squinted—living things writhed within the broken statues. Five or six had shattered nearby, instantly surrounding them with grotesque forms.

Loli Monkey gripped her Golden Cudgel tightly, nerves taut as she stared at the crumbling statues. She didn’t notice Soulshadow Tianyou’s eerie smile flickering in the shadows.

"Don’t fear. I’m here," Soulshadow Tianyou murmured softly to her.

"Got it!" Loli Monkey replied firmly.

"Now!"

The moment the words left Soulshadow Tianyou’s lips, the statues exploded. Five new monsters lunged at them, reeking of fish and blood.

Beachcombers were fishmen—but these were clearly merfolk. Human torsos fused to fish tails. Yet they bore no resemblance to storybook sirens. Their upper bodies were withered, skeletal old women with twisted faces and bared teeth, draped in slimy kelp like drowned ghosts. Their malformed tails oozed revulsion—uglier than Beachcombers by a hundredfold.

[Prayerers]—Level 15 hidden monsters. No description available.

"Fall back!" Soulshadow Tianyou yelled. Her eyes darted across the five Prayerers. She dropped into a crouch, palms slamming the flooded ground, sending up shallow splashes.

With a powerful push-off, an explosive wave erupted beneath her feet. Soulshadow Tianyou skimmed the water’s surface, defying gravity as she slipped through the monsters’ encirclement in a heartbeat.

Loli Monkey broke free too—brutally simple. She activated [Headfirst Strike], closing the distance in a flash to smash one Prayerer aside, carving her own escape route.

"Little Monkey, finish that one!" Soulshadow Tianyou shouted from her crouch, already summoning a Poisonous Mushroom. She hurled it into the merfolk cluster—a distraction to buy Loli Monkey time.

The mushroom detonated mid-swarm, bursting into toxic mist. Though it missed direct hits, the other four Prayerers recoiled in panic.

*These Prayerers are dumber than Beachcombers,* she noted.

"Understood!" Loli Monkey’s voice rang out, cold laughter in her eyes as she faced the Prayerer she’d already halved.

The wounded monster thrashed on the ground, then lunged again with a gaping, hideous maw.

Soulshadow Tianyou watched closely… *Predictable. A mindless mob monster. Only dangerous in numbers.*

Loli Monkey leapt high, letting the Prayerer snap at empty air. Mid-air, she spun and drove her cudgel down three times in rapid succession.

*THUD! THUD! THUD!* All three strikes pierced the merfolk’s back. Its health bar emptied instantly. As the corpse hit the water, Loli Monkey executed a flawless backflip, landing smoothly beside her master.

"Not bad~" Soulshadow Tianyou praised. Experience flooded her system—she leveled up.

Level 15!

She immediately equipped the [Fish-Scale Leather Pants] from her bag and learned all new class skills.

Her plain leather trousers vanished, replaced by deep blue hot pants armored with matte fish-scale plates. Thigh-high stockings with garters materialized beneath them. Her outfit was now a chaotic mix: wolf-pelt cloak clashing violently with fish-scale shorts, utterly shattering her original image.

"…"

Soulshadow Tianyou stared at her hot pants and stockings, speechless. She hadn’t minded normal trousers—but this feminine gear made her skin crawl. *Her avatar was female, but her true self was male.*

*Whatever. Skills first.*

Four new abilities glowed in her menu: [Invisible Venom Needle], [Righteous Poison Throwing Dagger], [Mini Mushroom Cluster], and [Toxin Buildup].