At Level 1, there was absolutely no way to defeat a Level 2—this was the warning Eina had given Ye Yu. When Ye Yu curiously asked about the difference between Level 1 and Level 2, Eina simply replied with the words "worlds apart."
So, under normal circumstances, when a Level 1 encounters a Level 2 monster, running away would undoubtedly be the first and only choice.
But Ye Yu was clearly not an ordinary person. Or rather, his way of thinking was far from normal.
When he noticed the Level 2 Minotaur closing in, Ye Yu hesitated for a long time. He seemed unsure whether he should just run away immediately.
On one hand, after going through so much effort just to encounter a monster, the idea of running away felt frustratingly unsatisfying. On the other hand, deep down, Ye Yu wanted to witness the true power of a Level 2 firsthand.
After all, wasn't Eina right that Level 1 could never defeat Level 2? How could he be certain of that without trying?
But Ye Yu didn't have long to ponder. The roaring Minotaur had already descended from the tenth floor to the ninth, its massive body blocking his path.
It was a creature at least as large as two Ye Yus combined, with the body of a man and the head of a bull, wielding a gigantic battle axe. The moment it spotted Ye Yu, it launched a fierce attack.
The slash of the giant axe tore through the air with a sharp whistle, causing Ye Yu to squint instinctively. He could clearly see the arc of the attack, but dodging it was incredibly difficult.
His body simply couldn't keep up with the speed of his brain's reaction... This was Ye Yu's most immediate feeling at the moment. Even though he clearly saw the attack's trajectory and knew exactly which way to dodge, his body betrayed him—he just couldn't move fast enough.
It had to be because his physical stats were too poor, right?
Even in such a life-or-death moment, Ye Yu still had the mental capacity to think about this. Though he didn't fully avoid the Minotaur's strike, his efforts spared him from being cleaved in half.
The massive stone axe just grazed Ye Yu's body, smashing into the ground instead. The fierce wind and flying debris struck him like bullets. The tremendous impact sent Ye Yu hurtling uncontrollably through the air.
He was a bit battered, but alive—for now.
He had clearly underestimated things. This was utterly hopeless—he had no chance of fighting back.
The Minotaur, having delivered that devastating blow, did not immediately follow up. The giant beast let out heavy breaths as if the strike had drained much of its strength.
This was unusual. How could a creature of such immense power be exhausted after just one clumsy attack?
As Ye Yu got up and kept his distance, he finally noticed that the Minotaur's body was covered in scars, as if it had barely escaped from somewhere.
So that's it... this guy must have been hunted by adventurers, fleeing down from the fifteenth floor to here.
But even if the Minotaur was exhausted and wounded, Ye Yu was no match for it. The gap between Level 1 and Level 2 was truly like heaven and earth.
Realizing this from the Minotaur's previous attack, Ye Yu didn't hesitate. He immediately turned and fled.
The Minotaur roared and swung its huge axe in pursuit. Having been relentlessly chased by pesky humans until now, it was not going to let such a weak human escape easily.
Once the real chase began, Ye Yu felt just how terrible his body was—weak and powerless. He reached the edge of collapse after only a short sprint.
Sensing his body was at its limit, Ye Yu stopped running, planted his feet, and turned to face the charging Minotaur.
Death was close, yet Ye Yu's mind was strangely calm.
"How odd... why don't I feel scared?" he wondered.
He stared at the heavy-breathing Minotaur advancing step by step. In his hand was a dagger that looked almost laughably small. Ye Yu knew that with his poor physical stats, he had no chance against the Minotaur—he was certainly doomed.
"But... why don't I feel any fear at all?" he whispered to himself.
Lost in thought, Ye Yu raised his dagger and pointed it at the approaching beast.
The highly intelligent Minotaur, seeing this small human prepare to resist, sneered with contempt in its blood-red eyes. The giant monster stomped forward, cracking the ground beneath its feet and causing Ye Yu to stagger slightly.
Ye Yu remained completely unmoved. In his dark eyes, a certain ominous presence slowly began to take shape. Somewhere deep within the cold dungeon corridor, an icy wind suddenly swept through, and fine frost began to coat the walls on either side of the tunnel.
The Minotaur raised its massive axe, aiming directly at the hand of Ye Yu gripping the dagger.
There was a sharp, crisp cracking sound—but the dagger and axe did not actually collide. Instead, the dagger in Ye Yu's hand shattered into pieces out of thin air. Like shards of broken ice, the fragments slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
The giant axe did not come crashing down. Instead, a streak of blood-red light sliced across the Minotaur's body.
"Ugh?"
The Minotaur let out a clumsy, confused sound.
The streak did not merely cut through the torso; it carved a path across the powerful chest, down the hooves, along the upper arms, the base of the thighs, the lower limbs, the shoulders, and finally reached the neck—all in one swift, fluid motion.
A silver radiance blossomed before Ye Yu's eyes, and with lightning speed, his eyes now filled entirely with icy blue, Ye Yu reached forward and firmly grasped the shimmering silver light.
"Ah…"
A soft, pleasantly surprised voice echoed from behind the Minotaur's severed flesh.
What should have shattered into pieces and fallen apart instead froze in midair, suspended at an agonizingly slow pace.
The pristine white frost seeped into the blood, transforming it into a sickeningly thick and viscous substance.
The Minotaur's body, which should have exploded into a mist of blood spray, instead remained in a state of dismembered fragmentation, frozen solid like an ice sculpture.