"Elder Anna!" you burst into the apothecary with the dying Mystfox in your arms.

She swiftly turns around from her lab, revealing her puffy and red eyes. "N-Nameless Seer..?"

"Why were you..?"

"I-is something the matter?" she hides her face and wipes the tears off her cheeks.

Leronil steps in beside you, carrying an equally weakened Anya. "We found both Anya and the Mystfox together like this. You're the only one we can turn to, Elder Anna."

Once she recomposes herself, she quickly realizes the gravity of the situation. "Did you say... together..?"

And immediately, your Mystfox friend and the young girl are placed in beds and given healing potions to slightly extend the limited time they have. Celia and Leronil watch over them as Fidri sits by his sister's side, wracked with guilt.

Anya

Wood Elf [♀]

Level: 18

HP: 702/4250

"If only I'd paid more attention to her," he grits his teeth in frustration, "none of this would've happened..."

You also feel a twinge of regret upon seeing the Mystfox's pained look and shallow breathing, and you stroke him on the head as you always used to do. Too long were you occupied with other matters, and in the end, you failed to notice the plight he was enduring.

???

Mystfox [♂]

Level: 112

HP: 3268/1250000

Had you endeavored to take his strange behavior more seriously, perhaps he wouldn't be in this feeble state.

"Instead I selfishly concerned myself with other things and ignored him. Some friend I am..." you curse yourself under your breath.

"Don't beat yourselves up you two. There's no way you could've possibly known," Elder Anna tries getting through to you and Fidri. "More pressingly, we need to identify the illness they have before moving forward with a cure. I have my suspicions, but I am to confirm some details with you, lest I assume wrongly. Can you help me out?"

You both nod, still wearing gloomy faces.

"if it means saving my little sister," Fidri replies.

"Alright, good. Now I need to know if you noticed any behavioral changes from them in the past month. Any tendencies to deviate from what they usually do?"

You raise your hand. "Mm. The Mystfox would always run off whenever he saw me and was more irritable ever since he got here. I thought it was because of jealousy but..."

"Yeah, and Anya would always risk her life to protect the Garden Beast. Even though she's meek and afraid of everything," Fidri adds.

"By Gaia..." Anna takes a deep breath and clutches the empty flask in her hand, "it's come back to haunt me..."

The room falls silent as everyone awaits her diagnosis. She then looks up and clears her throat.

"Both Anya and the Mystfox," she starts slowly, "are suffering from Furbane Fever."

The elves eyes widen in shock, leaving you to wonder about the implications of such a disease.

"What's Furbane Fever?" you prepare yourself for the soul-crushing answer.

"That's the disease Fidri had when he was an infant," Celia rivets her gaze on the boy, who's shocked speechless.

"But, isn't that rare?!"

"It's rare in humans, not animals," Anna loosens her grip on the empty bottle. "I should've known Anya would also be susceptible to such an illness, given her genetics. She shares Fidri's blood, and thus shares her brother's vulnerabilities as well."

"So, my friend was the one who infected Anya..?"

"That was on us. There's a reason we don't keep mammals as pets in the vale and kill those who walk too close to our village. We falsely believed the Mystfox was a creature beyond a normal animal due to his capabilities—something akin to a monster. How wrong we were."

You glance at the snow-white fox. It never crossed your mind that his aura was overwhelming to the people of this village. Then again, you did defeat their strongest warrior in a single punch, so mayhaps your view on this is slightly skewed.

"He must've roamed the forests and encountered a wild animal infected with the disease while you weren't looking," Anna surmises.

Suddenly, Leronil speaks up. "H-hold on, I recall one of the village kids talking about him meeting a deer on the night of Grimdal's defeat."

And that's when you remember, "That... lines up with when he began to change..!"

"Crap... I should've watched over him while he frolicked with those brats..."

"The day after that, Anya was watching over him in the apothecary storage room. That must've been when she was infected."

Elder Anna's expression darkens as this news comes to light. "That means, they've been battling with this for about a month. We're short on time then."

She hurries to her lab and hastily searches through the shelves for ingredients. The woman pushes containers asides, opens crates, and empties satchels, desperately looking for the components she needs.

Then she pauses, and a bead of sweat drips off her chin.

"I don't have any..." she mutters with a pale face as she holds up an empty jar. "Of course, I don't..."

"What are you missing?" Celia inquires quietly, stricken with fear over her words.

"A Minotaur's Horn. The one I used in the potion that cured Fidri was given to me as a gift by a powerful friend of mine long ago."

"What?! Can't you use a substitute?!"

"No, shavings of the horn have unmatched anti-bacterial properties. Drinking the potion ensures you never get the disease ever again."

"So, not only do we have to locate a minotaur, but we also have to defeat it?!"

"I'm afraid so..."

The elves are at a loss. Without this ingredient, you have no chance of remedying this rare ailment.

That is until you come up with a solution.

"Elder Anna," you put out your hand. "Can you hand me that jar for a little bit?"

"Eh? Sure, but..." she gives it to you with a puzzled countenance.

"Thank you."

And you bring the glass jar up to your nose and take a big whiff. Instantly, you catch a scent you're unfamiliar with. Its source is deep in the woods of the valley, and it roams the forest at a frantic pace.

"I found it," you utter with confidence.

"W-what?!" Anna doesn't understand.

"I located the minotaur using my Pathfinder talent. It hunts amid the trees in the vale. It never did die, its horn was simply taken."

"O-oi, in that case, let's quickly form a party and—"

"No. We don't have time. I'm going alone."

"Huh?!"

"I have Supersonic Speed and you don't. If time is of the essence, then this is the only way we'll make it."

You stride toward the door, undaunted by the task ahead of you.

Celia rushes to the door and blocks your way. "This fight isn't yours alone to take! Bring us along!"

"She's right, we're in this together!" Leronil shouts at you. "Don't leave us behind!"

"Listen to them, Nameless Seer!" Anna chimes in. "This minotaur will be unlike anything you've ever faced! There's a reason my powerful friend barely got away with only its horn! We'll have to work together if we want a shot at beating this thing!"

It may be arrogance from your countless victories against powerful foes or it may be out of a strong urge to redeem yourself after turning your back on the Mystfox.

Either way, you disregard the elves' pleas for you to stop and soldier on, gently pushing Celia aside.

"Garden Beast!" Fidri calls out to you. "At the very least, claim those horns using these."

And the boy tosses his twin daggers your way. You catch them and dual-wield them, harboring a burning passion in your soul.

"Thanks, Fidri," you smile at the boy. "I'll definitely save your sister. Count on it."

"Mm. I trust you," he returns your grin. "We all do, Nameless Seer."

With those parting sentiments, you step out and break into a sprint, breaking the sound barrier many times over. You leave Elderwood Village behind and travel through the forest at a breakneck pace, hitting a few trees on the way.

The blunt damage you receive only adds to your power, and you rocket to the minotaur's location, clenching Fidri's twin elven daggers.

And in the distance you see it, a thousand miles into the valley is a gigantic humanoid creature with a bull's head. One of its horns is missing, and you immediately identify it as the monster Elder Anna's friend faced. It rests its jagged ax on its shoulder and feasts on a dead deer.

Without thinking, you charge in with all your strength and ready your dual blades. It is only when you near it, do you register your mistake.

Krognac the Destroyer

Minotaur [♂]

Level: 215

HP: 25000000/25000000

In that instant, an intense feeling ripples throughout your body. It has been decades since you've felt this sensation, and it initially strikes you as exhilarating. However, what follows is an overwhelming desire to scream as you are knocked back twenty feet.

You look down and realize a name for this sharp and unpleasant sensation.

Pain. Unadulterated and excruciating.

And it's accompanied by a large bloody gash across your abdomen.

Your「SLASH RESISTENCE」skill has increased to Level 1!

Upon landing, you hold onto this wound and dash behind a rock. Plunging your hand deep into your belt bag, you rummage around for your health potions.

[Healing Potion]

Description: A bubbly pink concoction that restores your health. Its quality determines how much it heals its drinker.

Quality: Flawless

Weight: 0.5

Finding one, you hastily drink it, restoring your health back to full. And the gash across your stomach disappears, leaving behind a rip in your fur clothes.

"What the heck was that?!" you yell to yourself. "How does a beast like that even exist?!"

You peek over the top of the big rock you hide behind and take a furtive glance at the monster. Its weapon is covered in your blood and it casts around for you. The speed at which it countered your lightning-fast attack was no joke.

Unlike the other enemies you've encountered, this one can actually damage you as you lack resistance to slashing strikes.

Therefore, this is not a battle in your favor.

While you are lost in your thoughts though, the creature spots you.

And a perilous battle commences, with your friends' lives hanging in the balance.