This Ascent to Divinity is Lewder than Expected (A Futa LitRPG)

2.27 Loot IV

Even if Not-Zoey (the reflection? Zoey needed a better name for the creature, seeing how she shifted forms constantly) gave it her best effort to kill the three of them, and Zoey in specific, with her being the weak link, Zoey was glad they didn't need to do the same—only defeat her.

The fight was a blur. Even more so than the first phase, the second—or third, depending on perspective—showcased just how thoroughly Zoey was outclassed by her two teammates. And by the shard boss herself.

But Rosalie and Delta pulled through. It happened in a way that didn't make complete sense to Zoey, to be honest. One moment the reflection was looking worn down but otherwise as fluid and violent as ever, and the next she collapsed forward, plate-glass daggers skittering across the ground.

"Ah, shit," Not-Delta said. "Okay, okay. You got me."

Zoey's heart pounded in her chest, the abrupt stop disorienting her. Her teammates didn't need a second to gather themselves. They weren't ... well, amateurs, like Zoey. A tough fight might get their blood pumping, but it didn't leave them shaking and disoriented.

Then again, to the smallest possible defense on Zoey's part, they hadn't been the boss's chosen target.

Not-Delta lay on the ground, chest heaving up and down as she stared at the ceiling. Zoey supposed it could be a ruse—that she wasn't actually out for the count—but she doubted it. Not so much on her own intuition, but by the way Delta and Rosalie approached, taking the surrender at face value. If they thought the defeat real, enough to approach while holding their weapons aside, then it must be.

Rosalie frowned down at the creature, leaning against her spear.

"I know it's your job," Delta said, "but going only for Zoey was kind of a bitch move."

Not-Delta huffed. "I knew what I was in for, with you two. Had to try to win, didn't I?"

"The loot," Rosalie said, apparently not caring to follow that conversation down its obvious path. "Where's it hidden?"

"Underneath the bed."

With one more disdainful look, she turned and headed that way.

"Should we kill her to be safe?" Delta called.

Zoey's skin prickled, even if she had learned from Mel that boss monsters respawned when killed—reformed from whatever enigmatic energy fueled shards, formed their magical loot, and all its other perplexing functions.

"I don't think that's necessary," Zoey said.

Delta glanced at her, then to Rosalie—who shrugged, an apparent 'no'. Delta's daggers vanished into her inventory. She'd used a bow for the start of the fight—her natural choice of weapon—but with how tightly the reflection was keeping to Zoey, she had figured a melee weapon smarter.

"I can barely lift my head up." The reflection chuckled, then shrugged. "Not that I can prove it. Just go loot and head out—the exit's down there, too."

Delta hesitated, then did so. Zoey followed after.

"And sorry for tricking you, Zoey," the reflection called out. "Part of the game, you know?"

Zoey paused, glancing over her shoulder. To say she had mixed feelings on the creature was understating it.

She said nothing, continuing forward.

Rosalie had shifted the bed out of the way, revealing a trapdoor. She leaned forward and gripped the handle, then, with a heave, and flexing of her muscles, ripped the huge metal slab up and tossed it to the side. It impacted the ground with a heavy clang—the kind of noise an anvil would make when being tossed aside.