2.The Minotaur
Suddenly—
“Aaaaaahhh!”
A woman’s scream echoed through the dungeon.
“!? That voice—it’s Yui!”
“It is! Something must’ve happened to her group! Hiro-nii, we need to hurry back!”
“Y-Yeah!”
The scream apparently belonged to one of Hiro and Aya’s companions. The two exchanged glances before dashing off in the direction of the sound.
“Sorry, Makoto! We’ll catch up later!”
“Be careful, Makoto-kun!”
They shouted hastily at me as they disappeared around the corner.
---
“...Phew.”
Watching their retreating backs, I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, I was alone again.
It’s been a while since I talked to anyone, and as I expected, social interactions drain me more than anything else. It left me mentally exhausted.
“Well, whatever. Now I can finally get some proper rest.”
Muttering to myself, I leaned back against the dungeon wall and slowly closed my eyes.
---
“...”
“...”
But I couldn’t sleep.
I couldn’t stop thinking about those two and the scream from earlier.
What was that scream all about, anyway?
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
“Noooo! Yui!”
“What the hell is this thing!?”
Aya and Hiro’s voices reached my ears.
---
“...Tch.”
I swore I wouldn’t get involved with others again.
That’s what I decided after everything that happened in the past.
“...Damn it.”
Yet, before I knew it, I was running toward them.
---
After rounding a few corners, I emerged into a wide, open chamber.
There, I saw Hiro and Aya standing in front of me.
But almost simultaneously, a gruesome scene unfolded before my eyes.
---
“Grrrrrrr…!”
A massive monster, about four meters tall with the head of a bull and a muscular frame, had a woman by the head, holding her aloft in one hand.
At its feet, a pool of blood spread around the dismembered bodies of three men.
“A Minotaur?”
I recognized the creature immediately.
The Minotaur.
It’s a vicious monster known to dwell in groups within the Dungeon of the White Land.
They never forgive intruders and are said to kill anyone they encounter without exception—a true guardian of the dungeon.
---
“But why is it here…?”
This was only the fifth floor. Minotaurs shouldn’t appear outside the lowest levels of the dungeon, from the fifteenth to the twentieth floor.
---
“Aaaaahhh!”
“Yui!”
Aya let out a pained scream as she saw the woman on the verge of being crushed.
In response, Hiro charged at the Minotaur recklessly.
“You bastard! Let her go!”
With his sword, he struck at the Minotaur.
Slash!
Hiro’s desperate attack sliced across the Minotaur’s abdomen. Blood splattered into the air.
---
“Grrrr…!”
The Minotaur staggered backward, clearly taken aback by Hiro’s attack. The recoil caused it to release the woman from its grasp.
With a thud, she hit the ground.
“Yui!”
Aya immediately rushed to her side.
“Skill: Healing Magic, Rank 4!”
She cast a healing spell.
---
Huh, Rank 4, huh?
For someone around level 30, that’s a pretty decent magic skill.
I watched Aya in admiration as she worked.
---
In this changed world, not only dungeons but also magic is classified into ranks, ranging from 1 to 10.
Rank 4 healing magic is considered middle-lower tier, but it’s sufficient to treat most injuries.
As the blue-white glow of her magic faded—
“...A-Aya. I-I’m…”
“Yui! Thank goodness!”
The woman seemed to be okay, and Aya hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face.
---
Meanwhile, Hiro, who was still facing the Minotaur, wasn’t faring so well.
“Graaahhh!”
“Gahh…!”
Hiro managed to keep dodging the Minotaur’s attacks, but in an instant, the Minotaur landed a devastating punch, sending Hiro flying into the wall.
"...Gah..."
Hiro staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall, blood dripping from his mouth.
The Minotaur stared at him with emotionless eyes, its gaze as empty as marbles. Thanks to its abnormal natural healing ability, the wound Hiro inflicted on its abdomen earlier had almost fully healed.
"Grrrrr..."
“Hiro-nii, get out of there!”
Aya screamed desperately, but Hiro didn’t seem to hear her. With trembling hands, he gripped his sword once more.
Then, “Sorry, Aya. I can only buy you some time.”
Staring the Minotaur down, he shouted,
“Aya, take Yui and get out of the dungeon right now!”
"Graaahhh!"
At that moment, as if provoked by Hiro’s voice, the Minotaur charged full speed at him, struggling to remain standing.
“Hiro-nii!”
“Hiro!”
Death.
Just as those words flashed through the minds of the three of them, in that instant—
I appeared right in front of Hiro and stopped the Minotaur’s charge with a single hand.
“…Huh!?”
“Makoto-kun…!?”
“W-What… what’s going on…?”
The three of them couldn’t comprehend the situation.
"Grrrrr...!?"
The Minotaur was equally baffled. It tried to move its legs to charge again, but no matter how hard it pushed, its feet didn’t budge an inch against my strength.
“Makoto… you…?”
“Sorry, Hiro. I should’ve mentioned this earlier, but my level isn’t 25.”
I spoke to Hiro, who was still trying to stand behind me, his knees on the ground.
“But first, let me deal with this thing. Just wait a moment.”
“Eh…?”
I clenched my right fist and said,
“Here I go!”
I launched my fist toward the Minotaur.
Booom!
"Gaaahh...!"
With a single blow, my fist tore a massive hole through the Minotaur’s abdomen. It vomited a huge amount of blood and collapsed backward, landing in a heap.
“W-What… are you…?”
Hiro stared at me with wide eyes, as though witnessing something impossible. I turned to him and finally revealed my true level.
“My level is 10,018.”