A game of cat and mouse ensues under the night sky, and the minotaur is hot on your heels.

You've been adroitly threading your way through the woods for about an hour, in the hopes of losing the beast in the foliage. Unfortunately, it doesn't show signs of letting up and the monster tramples the trees as though they were twigs on the forest floor.

Tired of its obstinance, you swing around and hastily cast a spell to put some distance between you two.

Unlocked Spells Element Type IGNIS FIRE TOUCH FLAMMA FIRE SPRAY AUGUE FIRE BOLT > INFERNO FIRE AREA FIGNUM FIRE EXPLOSION

"Inferno!" you shout at the top of your voice.

And you conjure up a wall of flames that engulfs the land before you. At first, you think it works, as a curtain of smoke rises into the sky and swallows up the scenery.

That is until the bull-headed behemoth emerges from the grey clouds, unfazed. Its health remains the same, leading you to discover its immunity to heat.

Krognac the Destroyer

Minotaur [♂]

Level: 215

HP: 25000000/25000000

"O-oi, oi..." you stagger back as the minotaur plods through the fiery barrier, "What can't you do?!"

You raise Fidri's daggers and decide to face the beast. You're tired of running away.

The monster lifts its bloodied ax and bellows at you. In this situation, you have only but a single move. You take a deep breath and inspect the minotaur from head to toe.

"Critical..." you clench your weapons. "Strike!"

Activating your talent, your body subconsciously propels itself forward, and your dual knives make a beeline for the beast's heart. With that, the battle should've been over, as the velocity at which Critical Strike operates is thousands of times faster than your Supersonic Speed.

However, to your shock, what resounds isn't the noise of your daggers slicing through cartilage and bone. Instead, a loud metallic clang reverberates throughout the valley.

In defiance of all things possible, the minotaur was quick enough to parry your attack with its ax. And you immediately hop away, fearing a devastating riposte.

Alas, you are too late and the minotaur successfully slashes your arm, resulting in you dropping one of Fidri's knives.

Your「SLASH RESISTENCE」skill has increased to Level 2!

In response, you pull out another healing potion and chug it, mending your wound again.

And you continue to race away, hoping to escape this time. The monster naturally pursues you, and you are again forced into a lengthy chase.

Abruptly, the minotaur stops mid-pursuit and gets on his knees. You can't read his intentions until you're hit with a terrible realization. He darts toward you on all fours, and by the time you process his speed, you're already hit with a stinging sensation in your back.

The bull had used its single horn to pierce you, and the monster mercilessly launches you in the air.

Hitting the side of a mountain, the force of impact causes your items to fall out of your belt bag. And your body pathetically slides down the rocks. When you land, you sit face to face with a steadily-approaching bloodthirsty behemoth.

The injury paralyzes you from the waist down. Try as you might, there's no standing up and walking away.

You espy your last 2 healing potions in the distance by the burning trees.

In fact, the entire forest has caught alight, no doubt as a consequence of your fire spell. And the flames spread through the woods behind the minotaur, a fitting background to the menacing beast dragging its ax towards you.

"So, this is it... huh..?" you loosen your grip on Fidri's dagger. "Gosh, I forgot how much dying sucks..."

Your thoughts start cycling through images of your life and your journey thus far. The typical existence-flashing-before-your-eyes deal.

From the void to the ruined metropolis. From the forests to the riverside camp. And from the farmhouse to Elderwood Village.

This then leads you to think about the friends you've made and the people you've met.

Leronil, Celia, Fidri, Anya, Anna, Grimdal, Ginta, Illya, Alimarc, Golimar, Silvain, Darius, the elves, the dwarves... and of course, your dearest friend.

"Mystfox..." you quietly mouth as your consciousness wanes. "I'm sorry... I couldn't save you and Anya..."

The minotaur, standing by your feet, raises its ax and swings it downward to strike you. At this point, the fight has indubitably been decided. You close your mismatched eyes and await your demise.

The sound of penetrated flesh reaches your ears, for a split second and a moment of silence follows.

However, you open your eyes again and are met with a miraculous development. A spear has lodged itself in the minotaur's wrist, interrupting its final blow on you.

"Garden Beast!" an overwhelming sense of security washes over you as you hear his voice. "The Elderwood Scouts have arrived!"

"Leronil, you buffoon!" Celia scolds the man. "Why do you always fling your spear at the enemy?! That's literally your only weapon, dumbass!"

"I did it for dramatic effect! Also, you're one to talk about intelligence, you booze sponge!"

"Hah?! What did you say?! Don't think you can run your mouth off at me just because you're a council member!"

Stepping in and separating the two is Fidri. "G-guys! Now's probably not the time to be arguing."

"The boy's right," Grimdal enters the fray. "Level 215! That minotaur could very easily wipe out our village, let alone the five of us. Speaking of which... why is there five of us..?"

And to your surprise, joining the usual crew is Elder Anna herself. "Hahaha! Don't be like that, Grimmy! I have experience in combat too, you know? I did journey across the world!"

"G-Grimmy?"

The one-horned beast turns its head and glares at the five elves. It lets out an aggressive snarl and readies its ax.

"Y-you guys..!" you weakly shout. "How did you get here so..?"

"Speed potions, Nameless Seer!" Anna waves a bottle of purple liquid above her head. "They're the product of my explosive experiment a while back!"

You fondly recall the purple sludge incident.

"Besides, we already told you right? This isn't your fight alone. This is our fight!" a big grin pries open the woman's lips.

And that's when the minotaur charges at them. Swiftly, Grimdal moves in with a strike of his own.

"As if I'd let you do that!" the eyepatched swordsman whips out his blade. "Sanguine Contract!"

In that instant, the minotaur's arm is sent flying, along with the beast's jagged ax. The monster is caught off guard by this and lunges at the first person it sees.

"W-watch out Elder Anna!" you warn her with all your strength.

Suddenly though, the woman in the monster's crosshairs disappears leaving the minotaur startled and confused.

Surveying the area, you realize she's standing right beside you.

"Howdy!" she cheerfully greets you.

"W-what was that?!"

"I may have failed to mention, but this speed potion is no ordinary speed potion."

"I... can see that."

"Its effects are so potent, that you go beyond the speed of light."

"S-seriously..?"

"Yup! I brewed this batch after you left. It's a miracle I got the timing right this time. Maybe I work better under pressure..?"

The woman zips over to the two healing potions laying on the ground and gives them to you.

"All that aside, let's get you up and running again! That minotaur sure did a number on you," the woman notes your tattered clothes and cuts and bruises.

"Yeah... I should've listened to you. I don't know what I was thinking," drinking one of the concoctions, you rise to your feet, no longer rooted to the ground, and pick up Fidri's dagger. "It was dumb of me to scurry off like that..."

"Well, now you know!" she smiles at you and flashed a thumbs up. "So what do you say we go kick that thing's hiney, together as a team?"

Hearing those words from her fills you with overwhelming happiness. "Mm! Let's do it!"

"Awesome!" she hands you her last speed potion. "Now drink this and experience the power of my creation!"

You do as she says, and feel a newfound energy flow through you. It is similar to your Supersonic Speed talent, only more intense. And you move faster than you could have ever imagined.

You turn to the minotaur and see the elves valiantly face off against it. Their group effort overwhelms the creature, and its speed is no longer as impressive. The loss of its arm also adds to the panic the beast experiences.

Celia hurls her spear at the one-horned behemoth. "Haha, take that!"

Leronil douses it with his own concocted 'healing potion', poisoning the monster. "Celia, stop stealing my moves! Especially after talking smack about it!"

"What in Gaia's name are you two doing?!" Grimdal fights the beast head-on and dodges its flurry of wild haymakers. "Stop throwing your spears and losing them, you idiots!"

While Fidri sheathes his sole dagger and scratches his head. "Wow... t-this isn't my idea of a valiant fight..."

And although they are uncoordinated and lacking in many aspects, you can't help but feel inspired by their bravery and willingness to save their friends.

Krognac the Destroyer

Minotaur [♂]

Level: 215

HP: 22301100/25000000

As the minotaur's health has barely decreased though, you endeavor to think of a better strategy.

And in a snap of a finger, you do.

"I got it!" you exclaim. "If we can just distract it..."

"Distract it?" Anna catches your plan. "Hm, I think I can do that..."

"Really?!"

"Yep, leave it to me!"

In a blink of an eye, you hurry over to the battlefield and give Anna the go-ahead.

"G-Garden Beast?!" Fidri is taken aback by your sudden appearance.

"Hey, Fidri," you nod at the boy. "Mind if I hold on to your weapon a bit longer?"

"Of course, go ahead!"

"Thanks. And thank you for rescuing me."

"Heh, it's only natural for friends to save friends. That's why you're here too, remember?"

"Mm. Let's save your sister and my friend."

As you impart those words of promise to the loving brother, Elder Anna readies her distraction.

"Grimmy!" she shouts at the man currently engaging the minotaur.

"Yeah?!" Grimdal answers while still skillfully dodging the beast under the influence of the speed potion.

"Move out of the way!"

He registers her plan of action and vanishes from the bull-headed creature's field of vision. Upon noticing the old man's disappearance, Anna opens her palms and stretches them out in the monster's direction.

Then she shouts, "Water Blast!"

And a jet of water streams out of her hands and hits the minotaur in the back, angering it greatly.

"W-woah! Anna knows water magic?" your eyes light up.

"Not too unexpected considering she's an alchemist..." Grimdal says with a sigh. "Honestly, for a free-spirited oddball, she sure is needlessly talented..."

"Oh Grimdal, perfect timing! I actually needed your—"

The old man shoves the sword in your arms before you finish your sentence. "I know. Just do your thing."

And you dual wield Fidri's elven dagger and the Lunar Glaive, just as you did in the volcano earlier today. As the minotaur is occupied by Anna's barrage of water spells, you run up behind it with a single goal in mind: getting that horn.

As if it anticipated your sneak attack though, the beast turns to you with the same otherworldly speed it had in your initial confrontation.

"Critical..!" the minotaur instinctively covers its chest with its sole arm upon hearing your war cry. "Striiiii—just kidding!"

You instead aim the Lunar Glaive at its horn and shoot a beam of light from the blade's tip to break it off.

"Dawnbreaker!" you shout as the monster's last horn falls to the ground.

[Minotaur Horn]

Description: A rare horn taken from the head of the powerful bull-faced behemoth.

Quality: Legendary

Weight: 7.5

Everyone stares at you in astonishment as you zip over to pick up the large horn. The minotaur pins its gaze on you, stunned.

You look back at it and awkwardly chortle. "Ehehe... no hard feelings..?"

And the beast lets out an ear-shattering shriek that sends you and all the elves running.

"Alright! Let's get the hell out of here!" you yell to everybody, before bolting it out of there with the gang.

And the forest fire dies down, as Anna had used the last of her mana to send rain clouds over the area. The minotaur looks on at your shrinking figures, drenched in water and totally hornless.

At least it still has its own two hands... oh wait...