I clung to the stone brick wall of the dungeon, shuffling my way down the long passageway. The monster’s attack took quite a bit out of me. I laughed quietly to myself. This was the consequence of keeping my Resilience at 9, barely above the average person’s.
If another happened to come across me, whether or not I would win was uncertain.
I kept wandering down the hall, until I saw the otherwise straight hallway turn into a sort of crossroads. At the change of scenery, I quickened my pace, making my way to the branching paths.
Peering into the path to the left, I saw more of the same. Though, the orbs on the ceiling seemed to grow dimmer further into the hallway. I glanced into the right hallway, immediately darting back behind the wall as soon as I saw something lingering within it.
I pulled my hat down tightly, my breathing halted in panic and fear. A minotaur, about as tall and hulking as the hallway could fit. It was wandering through the dungeon seemingly without a goal, and by the grace of my good fortune, it was right there. It had been staring further down into the hallway it dwelled in, but I refused to check again.
There was no question. If it came down to it, the thing would turn me into a fine paste.
I began to creep back from where I came, doing my best not to make a single sound. Horror set in as I heard the clacking of hooves on the wooden floor, slowly growing closer. I was unsure of whether or not the thing had noticed me, but it was slowly making its way to the center of the paths. It would see me, then.
Still, I knew better than to run. If I made a sound, it would come for me immediately. I needed to create all the distance that I could before it saw me, or else I wouldn’t stand a chance of running away from it.
I was only five meters back before I saw its head and horns begin to creep into view. After reaching the center of the paths, it peered into the hall in front of it. Then, it looked to the right. I readied myself to sprint as fast as I could manage. As I feared, it turned its head, looking into the hallway I was in. Right at me.
It faced me with its whole body, letting out a noise that sounded like the bellow of a bull and the roaring scream of a man. The minotaur lowered its head, and kicked its feet against the ground a few times as it readied to charge me.
With no options left, I began running down the hall again.
[WARNING: You have encountered a dangerous monster! It is not recommended to fight it at your current level.]
“You don’t recommend it?” I couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the window’s unhelpful suggestion. “I didn’t plan on fighting the thing to begin with!”
It was running after me, much faster than I was. The stomping, almost like thunder in this enclosed hallway, was getting closer and closer. Running away wasn’t going to work. I had to try something else or I was going to die in this dungeon.
I let mana concentrate into my hands, readying to cast a spell. The minotaur was primarily a beast, one that took the shape of a man. It was a foolish idea, but the only thing I could try.
I stopped in my tracks, turning to face the minotaur. It was still four meters away from me. All at once, I let the mana spill out of my hands, pointing them at the beast. Remembering the sensation of casting [Flame Generation], I tried refining the mana into a stream of hot, scorching fire.
It wasn’t working. Something about not using the threads was stopping my casting from functioning. A barrier was one thing, but creating flames?
“Ignite, ignite.. Come on..!” I bit my lower lip. It was close. I only had a couple of seconds.
“IGNITE!” I yelled out, panicked, envisioning the mana bursting into flames all at once. I gritted my teeth as the sound of roaring flames filled the hallway, the heat almost unbearable in the confined space. My mana was set alight, filling the whole space in front of me with fire.
The minotaur was wailing like an animal being tortured, its charge brought to a sudden halt. But it wasn’t dead. I was gambling on it being afraid of the flames, and my intuition seemed to have been right on the mark.
I winced, vision blurring for a moment from the hit to my mana. I stopped the flow from my right hand, but the cost of casting the spell was still significant.
With flames bursting from my left hand, I began the process of casting [Energy Missile]. I was trying something different this time, while the minotaur was distracted by the fire.
Something akin to my threads, but sturdier. A rod of mana, tip pointed like a spear, shot out from my right hand, flying into the flames. I aimed for the middle of the room, somewhere near where its chest should have been.
Another, louder pained sound confirmed that it hit its target. This time, the missile was connected to my hand, the mana extending from me to the minotaur. The beast began thrashing wildly, but the rod was too sturdy to break from that alone.
I stopped the flames from my left hand, focusing entirely on the mana I was controlling. I needed perfect concentration for this.
The parts of the rod that were near the minotaur, inside of it and just outside of it, were what I was focused on. I squeezed my hand down, forcing the mana to burst at those spots.
Dozens of long, sharp spikes grew out from that part of the rod, the other parts thinning out to provide mana for the spikes. The longest of them grew out to be half a meter long. The minotaur ceased its movements from the initial burst, stunned as its insides were torn apart by the mana.
The minotaur began to flail around violently, its big fist smashing into the stone wall, to no effect. The rod dissipated after it moved, breaking the fragile connection of the thin mana. But it was too late. With the amount of spikes that had punctured its insides, its heart must have been utterly destroyed.
I held onto the wall for dear life, about to pass out. Still, it kept moving. Why was it still alive?
It raised its head, eyes full of burning hate as it stared at me. I could do nothing as it staggered its way over to me. And with the last bit of energy it had within its body, it drove its fist into my chest, sending me flying backwards into the floor a couple of meters away.
I nearly blacked out. It felt like a few of my ribs had been totally shattered by the sheer impact of its fist.
I turned myself, trying desperately to lay on my side before losing consciousness. I heard the status window open as I spat up blood onto the wooden floor, coinciding with the sound of the minotaur thumping to the ground.
[Congratulations! You have defeated the Boss of Floor I!]
[Congratulations! You have defeated a foe far beyond your strength!]
[Congratulations! You have defeated a Dungeon Boss alone!]
My vision began to fade, and the pain overwhelmed me. “A-am I really.. Going to..?”
[Congratulations! You-
[Congratulations!]