[Hyena Paw]

[x1]

"You don't have a shield with you?"

"Yes, I have never fought with one. On the contrary, it would hinder me."

"Well, be careful."

I put the hyena paw in inventory, and we continued walking.

With a serious look on her face, Alessia walked with her sword in hand without taking her eyes off the end of the corridor. That way she can react immediately to the enemy attack.

This made me feel a little bad since, according to my map, there are no enemies nearby, so it is not necessary to have so much vigilance. I wanted to tell her not to worry, but I stopped myself since I have no way to explain this.

The 'I heard a monster' excuse won't work forever, so after defeating the boss of this floor, I could tell her to trust me, but my gut knows this won't explain anything either. But she'll still, reluctantly, have to accept it, as there has to be a balance between tension and relaxation.

"GRU GRR"

This time the Ferocious Hyena growled at us from the beginning. Was it able to smell the blood of the previous hyena? Do I smell hyena? Later, I will smell Alessia to check it. It is something very important and absolutely necessary.

The hyena approached us first.

Just a meter away, it opened its snout and tried to bite me. Its actions are very reckless, as if I really were its enemy for its whole life.

Just like last time, I jumped to the side and twisted my body in the air, and the moment the hyena approached, I plunged my sword into its eye.

[Hyena Paw]

[x2]

It takes a bit more mental effort to defeat them simply because their bodies are bigger and their attacks are stronger, but in return, they lose mobility, making it's easier to hit the target.

"Let's continue"

To avoid suspicion, I stopped the chain at x5, so that no double loot would drop in the future. I'll tell Alessia about this later, as there are too many people on the first floor. 

'Better safe than sorry.'

***

"The first-floor boss room"

A huge door stands in front of us, with strange symbols and languages surrounding it, giving an impression several times that of the golden labyrinth.

But it wasn't as impressive when I saw a line of adventurers waiting outside the door to be the next ones to fight the floor boss. Following the queue order, I put myself after the last one. It seems like there are two groups before us.

"All of them have more than three members…"

"It's fine, master. Although I haven't fought a Hyena-type boss, I have fought similar monsters. They will gain more strength and speed, but from what I've heard about this boss… It will only gain strength; its speed will only increase a little."

In the Labyrinth of Gold, the change from a simple Snow Wolf to a boss was radical. This was mostly due to how weak a simple snow wolf is and, when compared to a boss, the change seemed to be from heaven to earth.

"What labyrinth did you frequent?"

"A small one compared to this one, which is located on the other side of the mountains. It is called the Denir Labyrinth. Its name comes from the Denir city that is a few kilometers from it."

"Denir… I've heard about it; I think it's to the west, right?"

"Yes, behind the mountains that can be seen behind the king's castle. Many kilometers away is my hometown, the city of Denir."

'Hometown, huh? Although she does not remember her father, I suppose she must remember her mother. The report only talked about her father being a nobleman, and even then, the information was scarce since, as far as her mother, nothing was written. Most likely, she must have been a commoner.'

We kept talking about her previous experiences as an adventurer when, at some point, it was our turn.

The huge door slowly opened, generating sounds of rusty metal.

We cautiously entered and heard the door close behind us. According to the map, there is no one who has slipped in.

There are stories of people sneaking into the boss's room to backstab adventurers. They do it right after the previous party defeats it, at the moment of greatest carelessness.

[Fierce Hyena Lvl1]

While the room is 20m high, the boss is 5m high and 12m long. Its size aside, it doesn't look any different from a normal ferocious hyena.

"GRUUU GRRR"

The hyena crouched down into an attack position, its large eyes looking at us as saliva began to drip from its snout. Even though I'm not near it, I can almost feel its breath hitting my face.

"I will go to its back, and I will do my best to damage its hind leg."

"Yes, I will also do my best to get its attention."

Alessia started running to the left, leaving me alone in front of the hyena.

"Come at me! You, stupid hyena!!"

"GRURRR"

At my provocation, the boss moved its big paws and approached me. It's so heavy that just moving a little bit can cause small-scale tremors inside the room. When it’s just 3m from me, it raises its right leg and attacks me.

I jump to the side while turning my back to the impact site. The next second, countless stones hit my back. None of great consideration, yet if I had been facing the site, the stones would have hit my face. It’s very similar to the attack made by the Snow Wolf boss.

Without drawing its attention, Alessia runs to its back, hoping to catch it unawares.

The hyena raises its left paw and, again, attacks me. I avoid it, and its leg hits the ground, causing the stones to fly again.

The distance between me and the hyena is still 3m. Apparently, it uses its large body as an advantage to prevent me from getting close to it. The moment it finished its third attack, I ran towards it.

"GUAR"

Seeing this, it opens its snout and tries to bite me.

I tried to do the same move I've been doing up until now, which is to avoid and stab my sword through its eye. But…

*Ting*

My sword collides with its fang, generating a metallic sound.

'It's too tall; its measurements don't fit my movements. If I want to be able to land a hit, I'll have to jump even higher, but this brings a repercussion with it... In the air, I'm helpless.'

"GRAAA"

'Mm? The hyena started to roar like crazy, and because of its posture, I can tell that it has lost its balance, as if… I see, Alessia managed to damage its hind leg.'

It quickly turned its head, looking for the criminal.

'This is my opportunity.'

Taking advantage of its lack of attention, I approached its right leg. I make a jump and insert my sword into its leg, and it passes smoothly without anything stopping it.

"GRAAA"

Once again, its attention was drawn to me, and it attempted to bite me. I quickly pulled my weapon from its leg and, at the same time, successfully avoided its bite. Once I hit the ground, I started running away from it. 

'From my previous experience with the wolf boss, I know very well what will happen right now!'

Behind me, I hear a huge rumble, and the next second, the dust surrounds the place. The hyena fell as expected; now is the only chance I will have to defeat it in one blow.

I raise my left arm to cover myself from the dust, and then I run quickly towards the noise. The figure of the hyena became visible, and finding the position of its head, I jumped towards it.

The hyena seemed to sense the danger as it looked in my direction, and it tried to move its leg to counter my attack, but it couldn't since I made sure to jump to its right side, the same place where its damaged leg is.

In other words, it watched helplessly as my sword took its life.

As the dust began to disappear, the golden particles appeared.

Together, they made a beautiful landscape.

[Hyena Tail]