Broken bones mend, and burned flesh regrows.
Noel's blow, delivered at a great cost, and my magic, unleashed while enduring the agony of scorched magic circuits…
All of it was for naught.
"…Reverse Summon."
First, I reverse summoned the unconscious Noel. She would have returned to wherever she was before meeting me, though I didn't know where that was.
[Noel Ronnidella has been reverse summoned.]
[Summon Cooldown: 167:59:58]
Now, all that remained here were the seemingly rejuvenated Minotaur and myself, in a state of utter disrepair as if we had never fought.
Frankly, with such absurd regenerative abilities, I at least expected there to be a risk of stamina depletion.
However, as if mocking my expectations, the Minotaur was burning with even more intense bloodlust and fighting spirit than when we first met.
Like an excited bull, ready to charge at the matador at any moment.
On the other hand, I didn't even have the strength to move one arm properly.
My magic was depleted, my magic circuits were in tatters, and my vision kept darkening as if my brain was about to shut down.
Logically speaking, there was nothing more I could do with this body. Even Noel had been reverse summoned, leaving me without a tank to stand at the frontlines. What could I possibly do?
I knew better than anyone that it was time to retreat, but I couldn't bring myself to say the words.
I just needed to close my eyes and say, "Matching terminated," but why was I being so stubborn?
"Haa…"
Of course, I knew the reason.
It was a valid reason that any mage or swordsman would nod in agreement with.
The conviction that I could reach the next stage any moment.
That feeling, the doorknob that had been teasing me for so long was finally in my grasp—that was the only reason I was willing to risk my life.
If I retreated here, it wouldn't just be taking a step back.
I took out two each of stamina and magic potions, one vitality potion, and two holy waters, and downed them all at once.
I was well aware that this could lead to potion addiction, but it was a hundred times better than dying on the spot.
"Never seen someone doping before?"
The Minotaur, who was staring at me, seemingly intact on the outside but with his innards still recovering, looked strangely cute.
If that thing had charged at me like a mad bull, I would have been cleaved in half by that massive axe without even having time to prepare.
Was it because he was letting his guard down, thinking he already had his prey in his grasp, or was it out of caution towards the enemy who had pushed him to the brink of death?
I opened the shop.
[Twilight Elixir]
[Grade: Rare]
[Restores the body to its optimal state for 10 seconds.]
[※Warning! Immediately after the elixir's effect ends, the user will lose consciousness.]
[※Warning! Immediately after the elixir's effect ends, a rebound will occur. Physical impairments may occur.]
[Price: 700 coins]
[Magic Elixir]
[Grade: Rare]
[Temporarily amplifies magic.]
[Temporarily activates magic circuits.]
[※Warning! Immediately after the elixir's effect ends, magic cannot be used for one week.]
[※Warning! Immediately after the elixir's effect ends, magic circuits will be paralyzed for one week.]
[Price: 700 coins]
Elixirs were a type of doping agent that could produce effects equivalent to panaceas with cheap ingredients.
However, because the effects were potent but the duration was short, and the side effects were severe, their use was prohibited by law in many countries.
[Purchase Twilight Elixir?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[You have purchased Twilight Elixir.]
[Remaining Coins: 1,450 coins]
[Purchase Magic Elixir?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[You have purchased Magic Elixir.]
[Remaining Coins: 750 coins]
Of course, in my current situation, laws were not even worth discussing.
-!!!!
Finally, as if all recovery was complete, the Minotaur began to move, emitting the same intense energy and fear as when we first met.
Thud! Thud!
Each time his massive hooves hit the ground, the floor caved in.
"This is really damn scary."
Watching the terrifying sight of the massive bovine head rushing towards me to tear me apart, I popped the cap off the elixir.
Just the smell made my stomach churn.
I had never drunk this much water at once, let alone two bottles of holy water, various potions, and now, even an elixir.
"This is just my luck."
The Minotaur, who was running towards me faster and faster, made it hard to keep up with him.
Along with the ferocious roar of that thing, the giant axe was swung over my head.
Gulped-
The mixed elixir went down my throat.
Kwaaaang!!!
·
·
·
The Minotaur had been at the apex of the third floor's food chain since birth.
Due to the unique nature of the underground dungeon, hunting for him was not a means of satisfying his hunger, but rather a game to alleviate boredom.
Giant golems, moving statues, swarms of spiders…
They were all just insignificant bugs that fell helplessly before the axe he wielded.
There was no creature here that could defeat him.
He believed it, without a doubt.
'…Or so it should be.'
His conviction was shattered by the appearance of small prey that he had never seen before.
And they were only small prey that barely came up to his knees. Judging by their scent, one was male, and the other female.
At first, he was bored by their small size, but he thought they would be fun to play with.
'T, this is impossible…!!'
Even when he was being beaten by the female that was charging at him, and when he felt the pain of his entire body burning from the male's magic.
He couldn't understand the situation.
How could he be defeated by such small and insignificant prey?
Facing the threat of death for the first time since his birth, the Minotaur felt an intense fury.
Even as he quickly recovered from his wounds and saw the disappeared female and the battered male, the fury didn't subside.
Soon, as all his wounds healed, he rushed towards the battered male, certain of his victory.
He felt that he could only partially wash away the humiliation he had suffered by splitting that prey in half and killing it.
Kwaaaang!!!
Just as the giant axe was about to fall on Kang Hyunwoo's head, a massive explosion occurred.
At the sight, the Minotaur wore a smile of joy.
It was a little disappointing that he had killed it without leaving a single piece of flesh, but so what!
In the end, he had proven it once again.
That he was the king of this place, and the one at the top of all creatures.
The swirling dust settled, and although a huge crater had formed where the axe had fallen, the carcass of the prey he had been aiming for was nowhere to be seen.
Of course, he had thought that it was possible that he had not left a single piece of flesh behind since it was a full-powered strike.
But it was strange that there wasn't even a single drop of blood.
As an ominous premonition flashed through his mind.
"What are you splitting?"
The Minotaur quickly turned his head at the sound of the prey coming from behind.
He couldn't see any traces of injury on the prey standing there.
Rather, he seemed overly fine, and there were even strange sparks flying around his body.
[Extreme Speed]
Extreme Speed, an auxiliary magic of the lightning element that allows the caster to move at lightning speed for 10 seconds.
Of course, it wasn't possible to run at the speed of light.
If he did, his body would be torn to pieces.
Moreover, it was difficult to control, and if he made the slightest mistake, he would soon fly forward and crash into the wall.
But I didn't care, and I ran straight towards the Minotaur, covering myself with all the auxiliary magic I could use right now.
I didn't think about what would happen later.
[Twilight Elixir]
[00:09]
The Minotaur swung his axe at the prey that was charging at him in a flash of light, but the attack never reached.
Rather, a deep slash ran across his side by the sword wielded by Kang Hyunwoo.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, but the Minotaur did not back down.
[00:08]
The axe blade, filled with killing intent, passed before my eyes.
My spine tingled, but I didn't stop.
I kicked off the wall of the dungeon, and cut away the Minotaur's skin.
[00:07]
The Minotaur's movements changed due to the steadily accumulating injuries and amount of bleeding.
[Berserker]
His entire body turned red, and hot steam rose from his skin.
[00:06]
The Minotaur began to catch up to my attacks, which he clearly couldn't even react to properly.
Bang!!
The huge axe blade collided with the sword.
If it wasn't for Gillennium, it would have broken a long time ago. Due to the tremendous impact, I increased the output of the 'Strength Enhancement' magic by one level.
It felt like my magic circuits were burning, but this was the only way to do it right now.
[00:05]
As the battle continued, a tremendous air pressure swept through.
I had to clench my teeth until they broke because my limbs were trembling as if they were about to fall off, following the magic circuits.
Otherwise, I didn't think I could endure it.
[00:04]
When the Minotaur, whose atmosphere had changed, spat out fear again, one of my eardrums burst with a tremendous impact.
On top of that, my body stiffened for a brief moment.
As the flow of battle was broken, the Minotaur did not miss the opportunity.
Bang!
I, who was hit head-on by the axe that had been swung while cutting through the air, flew away at a tremendous speed and crashed into the wall.
[00:03]
I hurriedly put up a barrier, but it couldn't completely block the attack.
"Ugh!"
In the shock of my intestines being turned inside out, I barely managed to raise my body, but my limbs wouldn't listen to me except for my left arm.
I had no choice but to put magic into the tip of my left index finger and stab the mana circle.
At the cost of the pain as if my heart was being torn out, I forcibly circulated the magic to help recover my body.
The remaining time was only 1.6 seconds.
Moreover, the effect of Extreme Speed had disappeared due to the previous strike.
No matter how I looked at it, there was nothing more I could do.
Anyone would have thought so for sure.
Nevertheless, I moved.
It wasn't as if I had been fighting head-on against the Minotaur without thinking until now.
"Kkeueuk…?!"
As a tremendous amount of lightning and magic rushed through the magic circuits once again, it felt as if my entire body was burning.
From the deployment, construction, and activation of magic.
Until now, I had been allocating a certain amount of the brain's resources to calculating one magic.
It was different from 'Concealed Lightning', which widely defeats enemies.
Lightning struck from the thunderclouds and transformed into a spear.
[Lightning Spear]
The Minotaur tried to avoid it due to the unusual magic power and lightning, but the speed at which the lightning flew was faster.
──────The tip of the Lightning Spear, which was so fast that he couldn't keep up with his eyes, managed to hit him.
However.
"Kuaaaaaa!!!!!"
The Minotaur must have decided that he couldn't avoid the Lightning Spear, so he sacrificed his left arm to block the attack.
Of course, he suffered a serious injury with his arm flying off at the shoulder, but with the regenerative ability I saw earlier, it was clear that it wouldn't take long to recover.
It was over.
There was nothing more I could do.
My magic was depleted, and my magic circuits were messed up.
It was difficult to even move a finger, and soon I would lose consciousness as a result of taking the elixir, and even the rebound would come.
In the end, I failed to reach the 3rd Circle, and I also failed to deal with the Minotaur.
Without achieving anything properly, my eyelids only grew heavier.
All that was left was to escape from here in a disgraceful manner.
"…Matching termi-"
"But World Tree."
"Hmm? Why?"
"Well, you know, he's supposed to be a hero. Doesn't he have some kind of blessing from God, or a holy sword, or something like that?"
The World Tree replied with an expressionless face as usual.
"Impossible."
It wasn't that I had high expectations, but I was still disappointed.
"Instead."
The World Tree hugged me, who was feeling dejected.
I felt better as the soft breasts touched me.
"I'll give you something else soon."
Unlike the blessing given directly by God, the blessings given by priests above the rank of Archbishop vary in their effect depending on the depth of faith and the sincerity towards the object.
Even if the other person is far away, if you believe deeply in your heart, nothing is impossible.
Ding-
[Blessing of the World Tree]
[Grade: ???]
[Buff]
[Duration: ???]
[The prayers of the Saintess have reached the heavens, and dwell within you.]
[The body recovers.]
[Magic recovers.]
[The curse is dispelled.]
[Divinity dwells within.]
Since ancient times, the Queen of Peledia has also served as a Saintess chosen by the World Tree.
As such, the Saintess, who had not slept for several days and prayed for only one person without stopping for a moment, gave the World Tree, who had lost most of its authority to interfere with the earth, a little room.
The body, which had been breaking down due to the rebound of the elixir, was restored to its original state, and vitality dwelled in the magic circuits that had been half-burned.
A change occurred in the body, which recovered to a condition better than usual as if we had never fought.
The magic circuits that had spread throughout the body and the circles located in the heart felt as if they were becoming one.
Along with the sound of the doorknob in my hand turning, I dashed into the arms of the Minotaur, who had lifted his axe to finish me off.
The magic that dwelt throughout the body surged, and I swung my sword without applying any auxiliary magic.
The tough skin of the Minotaur, which I wouldn't have been able to even scratch in normal times, was cut off like tofu.
The tip of the sword, with a faint energy swirling around it, ran across the beast's belly, reaching the end.
Slash-
***
The Minotaur stared at the ceiling.
The cramped ceiling, which he had always thought was narrow and low, felt particularly distant today.
Perhaps his goal was not to reign as the king of this place, but to escape from this prison.
Born in prison and dying in prison.
It was the most terrible end he could imagine, but if he was killed by a predator stronger than himself, it wouldn't be such a bad death.
"M, male…"
He looked at the predator looking down at him.
"…You can talk?"
He was too small, even when looking at him again.
To think he would be killed by something like this.
"Hunters don't…talk to their prey…"
But his eyes were worth seeing.
I liked the look in his eyes that hadn't died even though his whole body was in tatters and covered in blood.
Only then was the Minotaur able to close his eyes with satisfaction.
Ding-
[You have defeated the Minotaur.]
[First Kill Reward: 1,000 coins]
[??? has been detected.]
[Abnormal enhancement of the beast has been confirmed.]
[Additional rewards will be paid.]
***
"…That's the World Tree's hero."