8 – Minotaur (1)
It was one of those days.
“Is that all you can do, hero?”
“Could you not block my sight? It’s distracting when I’m casting a spell.”
“···Eugh, disgusting.”
Every day, I received criticism and was threatened with voluntary resignation.
Suddenly, Saint Ulysses began to support me.
“Don’t say that. The hero must be working hard too.”
“Hmm?”
The emotion I felt at that moment was not gratitude, but surprise. Normally, she would have joined in the criticism of me.
It was incomprehensible that she suddenly offered me a shield.
Above all, I knew my current state the best.
First of all, I was covered in all sorts of unfavorable curses, and in this battle, it was true that I was weaker than them.
The skills I received seemed to focus more on growth and versatility, so it was inevitable for me to be weak at this early stage.
That’s why I thought I would just let it go if they criticized me during the battle, but she suddenly defended me.
“What’s going on?”
Thanks to her, I could only be surprised.
“What’s with the sudden change?”
No, it was beyond surprise. I started to doubt her. She wasn’t like this before.
Was it because I was being criticized so much that she felt sorry for me and decided to help?
Indeed, she was a compassionate saint. She was the one who generously shared money even with street beggars.
“Come on, let’s not dwell on it. Let’s continue our journey. We still have a long way to go.”
She even mediated the situation. It was the first time I had seen her like this in the past six months.
“Come on, it’s time for the hero to move.”
“Oh, um… Thank you.”
Although I had some doubts, I decided to let it go for now.
Anyway, it was a good situation for me. There was no need to delve into it.
Despite the fact that I thought it would be bothersome, I could easily overlook the trivialities.
I can definitely help at least once.
However, the problem is that her kindness didn’t end with just one time.
“Are you thirsty by any chance?”
“Well, the terrain here is a bit difficult to walk on. Are you alright, warrior?”
“Oh, I see now. There’s a wound on your forearm. Come with me for a moment. I’ll treat it for you.”
Whenever we walked together, she would suddenly look back as if she was trying to take care of me.
That appearance felt somewhat like taking care of a poor beggar, making me feel quite ambiguous.
“Oh, umm. Thank you. I’m fine since I’m not thirsty.”
If unwarranted kindness continues, it’s necessary to first be suspicious.
Maybe others would think it’s just a simple fondness, but I find that premise impossible.
I can’t help but consider the hidden intentions behind the kindness.
In that sense, her current attitude was literally nothing but confusion.
Since I couldn’t guess her intentions, even her displayed kindness was rather uncomfortable.
“Hey, warrior. Can’t you be a bit quieter? It’s distracting me from concentrating.”
On top of that, I was even blamed by Lili, who was walking in front of us.
‘It’s not me who’s causing the disturbance···.’
I felt slightly unjust, but for now, I decided to let it go.
In reality, what we should be focusing on right now is correct.
“Well, did you hear? Now the saint also walks ahead and looks forward. We need to stay alert.”
“Ah, yes···.”
Taking advantage of Lili’s words, I turned Ulysses back to the front.
Wait.
Just a moment, she looked at me with eyes that seemed somewhat unhappy, but her actions were still returning to her position without a word.
I don’t know why she suddenly acted like that, but for now, let’s overlook it.
As our magician, as Lily said, it’s about time for us to concentrate.
We’re almost reaching the royal palace where the Emperor lives.
The battles that will unfold from now on will be even more difficult than the past six months.
I could only inwardly force a bitter smile.
“What a coincidence that the first Four Heavenly Kings is Balkan···.”
As I mentioned before, this game was a highly random roguelike game. Accordingly, the order in which the Four Kings appear was also determined randomly. Of course, depending on the order they appear in, the balance of power would inevitably be skewed, making the first Balkan that appears undoubtedly the weakest. In the end, even among the Four Kings, there was a concept of compatibility. Depending on who comes out in what order, the difficulty level varies greatly depending on the character’s growth speed and direction. In that sense, it could be said that the first Balkan to appear was literally the worst.
‘The Insect King, Balkan.’
The king of all bugs.
Using all sorts of insects considered insignificant, he has gained the title of ‘king’.
His combat tactics are simple.
‘Various poison effects and countless swarms.’
Of course, this will probably have some additional patterns in the later stages, but… for now, this is probably all there is.
But even with just that, it was more than enough to torment a party of heroes.
Poison effects and swarming attacks.
It looks like a really annoying combat tactic. Even by the time of the Four Kings, they couldn’t easily fall for any tricks.
Just break through the approaching bugs as much as possible and strike the main body. That is the best strategy.
It’s fortunate for us that Balkan’s main body is weak.
‘But even this requires a certain level of specifications to be possible…’
The problem is that achieving that itself is ridiculously difficult.
If it were the second or third order in which Balkan appears, it could be manageable.
But currently, we lack the specifications that would make it possible.
Not to mention resistance to poison, we may even lack the attack power to penetrate the bugs.
In that sense, it could be said that the first order Balkan, the worst opponent, was literally the worst.
It’s almost impossible to align the specifications for the first due to the growth time.
‘Can we do it…’
Such ominous thoughts automatically came to mind.
But even that was only temporary, I shook my head.
It’s not a matter of whether we can do it.
We must do it.
If not, in the end, we will be the ones facing tragedy.
“If you don’t want to witness a dreadful sight, all you can do is find a way to win by any means necessary.”
It was the moment to rekindle their determination in such a way.
“Shh. An enemy.”
In an instant, Adel, who had been walking ahead, stopped. It seemed like she had detected the enemy with her exceptional senses.
Although it wasn’t visible from my perspective yet, I could imagine the foe standing in front.
Even if they were called a monster in this area, there was only one individual.
“We’ve finally arrived.”
I thought so as I stepped forward toward the party.
As I closely observed the direction Adel was looking, a massive monster stood still, waiting for us.
With a muscular humanoid body and the head of a bull.
In one hand, it held an axe as tall as its upper body, and atop its head were two large horns.
Most people would probably recognize this monster.
A Minotaur.
The guardian of the Makyung’s gate of the royal palace.
Simultaneously, it signaled the beginning of the main story, a mid-boss level creature.
In this royal palace, it was arguably one of the few monsters that could be considered purely of physical attributes.
Naturally, as evident from that massive double-edged axe, it was overwhelmingly strong.
For now, I could confidently call it a mid-boss.
Or, to be honest, if you didn’t know the tactics, there wasn’t a more challenging foe for a newbie.
“Thanks to this one, I died a lot back in the day.”
With its attack power that would put you in a near-death state in one hit, I also used up a lot of health potions.
Moreover, it was a subtly challenging monster because it could poorly defend with its double-edged axe.
That wasn’t the only thing.
It even had a secret move called ‘Rampage,’ so without knowledge of the tactics, the difficulty level would increase several-fold.
“That’s why I’m here.”
Of course, this didn’t apply to me.
I knew how to seal ‘Rampage’ and deal with it.
Even though the battle process might be slightly bothersome, in the end, this was the best option.
“Hmm, it looks strong at first glance… and it had to be guarding the gate.”
“What should we do? Should we try to break through?”
“Wait, I think it would be better to strategize here for now. The monster might be in the monster guide.”
I opened my mouth while looking at the party members who were discussing.
“Alright, everyone, I know how to defeat it.”
Claps.
I clapped my hands to gather their attention. I immediately felt four pairs of eyes directed towards me.
Perhaps they didn’t like the sudden interruption, as I could see a hint of displeasure in their eyes.
“What is it?”
Even though they didn’t say anything, they seemed willing to listen for now.
I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.
“First, we need to cut off its horns.”
Yes.
This is the strategy to defeat it. We have to destroy the two horns that rise high above its head first.
By doing that, not only can we skip the ‘enraged’ phase, but we can also clearly weaken its combat power.
It might be a bit troublesome, but it was the most certain way.
However, their reaction to this, not knowing it…
“······?”
“What?! Cut off the horns first? They look really tough though.”
“I reject. It would be better to aim for a vulnerable spot like the heart.”
Yes.
Convincing them is the problem from the start.
Damn it. I forgot about my position.