BuoOoOoOoO!!
In the center of the second-floor maze, the Minotaur, which has broken free from the heart of the Earth God and gained substance from the illusion, roars.
The massive volume fills this open space, and the intense hostility contained within it momentarily makes my body freeze. But—
“Snap back to reality! Everyone scatter and arm yourselves!”
“Don’t freak out! This isn’t our first rodeo!”
“Remember! Don’t bunch up, stay off the front line, and watch for friendly fire!”
Shaken back to focus by the cries of the mid-level adventurers who accompanied us as protectors, we began to disperse with military precision.
We hadn’t trained together, but the strategy was so clear-cut, and considering the Minotaur had been studied for hundreds of years, our movements fell into place like a well-rehearsed play.
Lydia also sidestepped and waved her hands.
“Go for it, Jonah.”
“Keep an eye on me!”
I grabbed the back of Rosemary, who was beaming and rummaging for something, and pulled her away from the Minotaur.
“Yikes! W-wait! I have my own plans! Isn’t this a bit risky with all this sudden movement?!”
“Remember what Lydia said? We can’t be too far apart.”
“Ugh!”
Rosemary let out a frustrated sound, but soon realized this wasn’t the time for banter and withdrew a large bow from her Subspace Ring.
“Okay, you’re ready, so hurry up with the spell. We need to maintain our contribution, right?”
“Contribution, huh….”
Currently, the Minotaur had about five heavily armed tanks holding down its ankles, while ranged adventurers kept dealing damage in between.
Perhaps because I was wearing Morgana’s robe, they mistook me for a magician who dealt damage from afar.
But not really.
“I can’t do that.”
“…What?”
“No, it’s just— I can use magic, but all my spells have a short range. I’m planning to fight up close.”
“With that gear, one hit kills you!”
“It’s the same even with medium armor— one hit takes me out, get real.”
Even though I just gained the Aura skill Power Explosion and my physical durability had grown significantly, I was still just at the level of an average adventurer.
Compared to those who’ve been tanking for years and have built up their durability, I was significantly lacking.
However—
“That just means that if I don’t get hit, I’m fine!”
Rosemary, looking dumbfounded, I lightly patted her shoulder.
“I won’t say to follow me. But as I mentioned earlier, be conscious of the angle so Lydia can keep an eye on both me and Rosemary… got it?”
“Uh, yeah?”
As Rosemary stammered, I quietly used my sound-eating footsteps to conceal my presence.
“Wh-what?!”
Seeing someone in front of her appear to vanish sent Rosemary into a panic as I charged toward the Minotaur.
I didn’t wear the Transparent Cloak. In this chaos, if they couldn’t even visually confirm my location, they could mistakenly attack where I was standing.
Every time I stamped the ground, the distance shrank, and the noise of battle grew louder.
BuoOoOoOoO!!
With a low but intense roar, the Minotaur swung its fists. A towering figure over 2 meters, the explosive power radiating from its bulging muscles was something else.
Kwang!
That was the sound of the blast echoing from a tank’s large shield when it failed to block in time.
“Ugh!”
An injured woman sent flying who had just blocked the attack coughed up blood. Her arm that was holding the shield was bent the wrong way.
She looked to be in dire straits, but thankfully she wasn’t dead and started writhing as the priests began to heal her from a distance.
Even though they were low-level priests with less effective long-range heals, at least it would serve as emergency first aid.
So far, the tanks had managed to deflect the Minotaur’s punches, but just one mistake and facing it head-on resulted in this.
If I got grazed, I’d be toast.
A smirk spread across my face as I enveloped myself in surged aura.
Feeling invigorated all over, my running speed increased.
Thanks to lydia teaching me how to use aura recently, my control had notably improved.
In a landscape stretched like taffy, I swiftly maneuvered to the rear of the Minotaur.
Someone cursed at me as I suddenly appeared from behind, but what did it matter? Up close, they just had singed leather, and otherwise, they were fine.
A low-ranking dealer has no rights.
I laughed softly and caused a small explosion of aura near my feet as I leaped up.
Maintaining my speed, I jumped high enough to match the Minotaur’s height, twisting my waist completely.
Just before reaching the Minotaur’s nape, focused on pounding the tanks before it—
“Huff!”
I quickly returned my twisted waist to normal and spun in midair.
The muscles throughout my body unleashed explosive speed with a spring-like elasticity. But I wasn’t done yet; timing my move precisely, I swung my arm wide.
The acceleration from my run, the force of my body’s rotation, and the perfectly executed swing of my arm—
At this moment, all my strength focused into my dagger.
Sgrak—!
The tough skin that was said to withstand physical shocks was swiftly sliced open, a chunk of flesh torn away.
However, since it was such a massive creature with high endurance, it was a pity the Unicorn Dagger alone couldn’t take its breath away.
Kuuuuuh?!
Suddenly, the Minotaur, struck on the nape of the neck, let out a painful scream and turned to face me.
Still descending in midair, I was in a precarious situation; if it just swung at me, I’d likely die on the spot. But—
“Flame up! Fiery flames!”
Before that could happen, I would cast magic straight at its face.
Whoosh!
BuoOook!!
The blazing gaze filled with fury became engulfed in an intense flame.
The Minotaur, swinging its hand to extinguish the fire that clung to its face, looked furious.
This was a 2-star level spell, belonging to the 3rd circle by Mage Tower standards, which certainly had the firepower despite the close range.
True to form, the Minotaur’s face, which had suffered from countless arrows and spells before, was now scorched black.
It didn’t just lightly char its outer skin either, as black smoke puffed out from its mouth.
Yet the Minotaur was not some weakling that would collapse from that. It was once a relentless hero that defeated countless intruders.
With its eyelids shut against the raging flames, the Minotaur’s eyes shot open.
One side of its eye had turned white from the heat, while its untouched eye glared fiercely in my direction.
“W-what was that last strike…?”
“Idiot! Is that really what we should focus on right now! You’ve drawn aggro!”
“Get in close and block it! If the line breaks, we’re all dead!”
The tanks watching all of this unfold in front of them desperately rushed to obstruct the Minotaur.
At the same time, tiny spells and arrows began to rain from the sides.
While the tanks felt urgency due to the risk of their formation breaking down, the ranged dealers were anxious that the Minotaur might collapse before they filled their contribution.
However, just because I had successfully provoked them didn’t mean they were an easy foe. Normally, they would need to be taken out slowly from afar.
Starting a reckless assault would lead nowhere.
Magical power forcibly raised in intensity could go awry, missing its mark, or scattering into the air.
Attempts by arrows to ramp up the aura often ended in failure, resulting in broken bows or rebound casualties.
Consequently, the temporary concentration of firepower had faltered, resulting in catastrophe for the tanks who were trying to regain control of the aggro.
BuoOoOoO!
The Minotaur, howling its war cry, kicked the dwarf warrior standing at the very front.
Typically, its attacks wouldn’t inflict deep wounds, but freed from restraining spells, this kick hit fully.
Crack!
As the sound of crushing metal distorted the armor of the dwarf rang out, the others fared little better.
They were punched, trampled, or sometimes grabbed and tossed around.
“Ahhhhhh!”
“You foolish bastards! Why did the attacks stop?!”
“Senpai! Help!!”
It was sheer chaos. Some wounded yet refusing to give up struggled back to their feet, while others were already pleading for rescue.
No one had died yet, but it was an utter mess.
“No way. What in the world…?”
Even though I managed to provoke the Minotaur immensely with my attacks, I never expected it to fall apart so quickly.
I felt a bit guilty since they probably would’ve handled it smoothly without me, but witnessing their panic unravel unexpectedly was just ridiculous.
But hey, it is what it is.
As I shoved the Unicorn Dagger into it, I got a rough idea of what was needed for coverage, at least in the short term.
Of course, I would need to draw attention without holding back fully, but—
I was already prepared for that. The rumors I spread to find Eve and the authority I needed to show the high-ranking elves I met through Rosemary.
It’s only a matter of time before my existence becomes known.
So, I might as well show a little before that.
…To avoid getting completely overwhelmed by the remaining adventurers, I munched on grape-flavored candy with a dramatic flair as if partaking in some forbidden elixir.
And then, I lightly tapped my pockets while sending a small prayer to the Goddess Statue.
“Sanctuary deployment. Please make it snugly wrap around my body as tightly as possible.”
Vwooom—
For some reason, the statue emitted a sinister vibration, seemingly more excited than usual, as light flowed from it.
Simultaneously, I activated the newly acquired Power Explosion.
The divine power that should have shone radiantly like a halo started mixing with the transparent aura, swirling about like flames since it hadn’t yet been coated with conviction.
Imagining Lydia’s aura manipulation, but this time it felt a touch more precarious, like a life being sacrificed in brilliance.
Those fleeing, those barely managing to rise to fight, even the Minotaur, who seemed ready to charge, paused for a brief moment as they gazed at my direction.
Relishing that attention, I smirked delightfully.
“Wow, let’s do this!”
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