Hey! This Isn't Right!

The guard minotaur's attacks weren't disorganized. It targeted vital points with precise strikes, never wasting excess strength. That meant the beast possessed some proper technique, like swordsmanship.

Moo-mer! Its battle cry was kinda ridiculous, shattering my focus at awkward moments. But I couldn't let my guard down just because it sounded like a gentle moo. Whoosh! Its halberd had just whistled past my eyes, close enough to stir the air with wind pressure.

No matter that I was suited up in steelman armor and wielding a mithril-plated steel sword—even I couldn't just tank that. So I took a step back. The axe blade arced in a circle and came crashing down toward me.

Thud! The axe buried itself in the ground. Seizing that opening, I slammed my sword down hard on the haft.

Clang! The other minotaurs' axe hafts had been easy enough to sever, but this one's halberd was on another level entirely. Metal screeched against metal, sending a fierce rebound through my blade.

"Hey! Making the haft out of mithril is cheating, right?"

Pfft. The thing even snorted at me. Had Hoya taught it that? The thought crossed my mind, but Hoya had never been here before, so this couldn't be a mino it knew.

But the minotaur's expression soon hardened. Why? Even if I couldn't cut the haft, that was fine. At least I'd driven the axe deeper into the dirt.

Pfft. My turn to scoff.

"What's wrong? Keep laughing."

The minotaur looked flustered.

"Big bro loves beef. Eating minotaurs gives random skills, right? And you're a new kind of mino I've never seen. So how tasty are you gonna be?"

From Observation, the beast was a level 42 mine minotaur, and its meat granted a random skill on first consumption. The key point was that the System classified it separately as a "mine minotaur" rather than an "island minotaur."

"Guess it's time to fire you up."

I flicked my lighter and unleashed a massive blaze at it with Fire Control.

Moo-mer! I'd seen it do this before—it cleaved through my flames with its halberd. But without the weapon now?

In the end, the fire didn't catch. Just a slight scorch. Conclusion: my Fire Control wasn't enough to kill it.

"A man's gotta burn something once he lights the fire! Hya!"

I poured more mana into Fire Control, wrapping my sword in flames. If direct hits wouldn't ignite it, I'd slice and cook it from the inside.

Flame Sword. The name alone was badass. Mana drain was way higher than usual, but I was thrilled.

I'd tried this before, though. Why hadn't it worked then, but did now?

"Mithril's the key."

Mithril's mana conductivity was off the charts. Just plating my sword with it had unlocked what was impossible before. Proof of how incredible the stuff was.

"Round two, cowhead!"

The minotaur was geared to the teeth. That solid-mithril halberd—stuck deep in a mithril vein—was its unlucky break.

Schwick! A massive gash opened across its chest. No blood flowed; the burns had cauterized it.

Moo-mer! Then something astonishing: the minotaur dropped to its knees.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Hey! This isn't right! I gotta eat you!"

Eating it might turn me into a mage—maybe unlock a magic skill. I needed to eat this thing. But it was surrendering?

Honestly, pass.

Mooo-mer! It was apologizing. For what?

"What'd you do wrong? Attacking me is your job. You're the guard."

Moo-mer! Moo-me! Moo moo moo.

"Ha, look at this guy."

Basically, it was saying it was originally this gate's owner's subordinate. But minions judged their masters for themselves. So it got cocky with me.

Moo-me, moo-mer, moo moo-mer. I could actually understand the damn thing. Hilarious situation.

But I had to hear it out.

"So the previous gate owner was too weak, let the mine finish, then blocked others from mining? Why not stop it sooner, at the digging ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stage?"

Moo-mer?

"Whoa, cow brain's got some smarts? Too tough to build the mine yourself, so you waited till it was done and stole it?"

Moo-mer! Moo-mer!

"At least showed mercy letting 'em dig the entrance? Fine, let's throw down first. Come on."

The guard minotaur wailed pitifully as I beat it senseless. Felt like this was about to register as a skill.

Yup. Knew it. Sometimes it's "acquired," sometimes "created"—no clue on the criteria. Whatever, skill gained.

And one more thing.

So the "guard" was actually the guardian. Recognition from it made me the true owner. Did Siho Territory have a guardian too? Never saw one.

I glanced at Hoya.

"Hoya, were you our territory's guardian?"

Nyaaang!

"Know and do better? So you were the real guardian?"

Nya nyaang! Yup.

But how'd Hoya, who crossed from Earth, become the guardian? Did it... eat the original one?

"Did you eat the original guardian?"

Whap! Nope.

So thanks to Hoya the pet-guardian, I'd become the true owner the instant I entered the gate and reunited with her. Felt like VIP fast-pass treatment. No message was surprising, but maybe it wasn't needed.

And maybe guardian Hoya had opened the gate in my room?

"Hoya, did you make the gate in Daddy's room 'cause you missed me?"

Nyaaang? Hoya pondered, then nodded.

"Whoa... what a calculating cat. Why couldn't you skip the freeloading snacks?"

Twitch.

"Holy crap!"

Another harsh truth unveiled. So I'd become a gate owner just to tribute snacks. Kinda depressing... nah, screw that. Better to think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hoya missed me so much she made me owner. Felt nicer.

More curious was how Hoya became guardian. She clammed up about her gate life. Traumatic, maybe? I didn't pry.

I shot Hoya a meaningful look, and she padded quietly to the minotaur, landing a nya-punch on its knee pit.

Moo-mer! Down it went, eye-level with Hoya now.

Nya nyaang! Nyaaang! Nya! Nyaang! Lecture time. The minotaur nodded furiously from the floor.

Come to think of it, Hoya was the real boss. Highest level too. Observation upgrade showed hers at 68 now. But that wasn't the cap.

Instead of eavesdropping, I checked my status.

"Been a while. Status window!"

Too many skills—time for a cleanup soon. Big level jump to 50. Leo added to tamed beasts, stats boosted across the board. The real change at 50:

Was this from hitting 50, or the territory upgrade? That bugged me.

Crystal clear now: territory scale, not my level. Si-yeon's guess was spot on.

But level 50 gifts weren't over.

My old combat job auto-evolved to Understander of Truth. No options given, but Observation on the new one killed any regrets.

Abstract, but I trusted it'd be huge. Time to test: lighter out. Flick on, off. Repeat, observing the flame.

Hours later, out of fuel. But satisfied—my grasp of fire ignition deepened. Snapped my fingers.

Snap!Whoosh!

"Ow! Finally."

Fire without a lighter. Flickery for now. Meaning? Lighter's still more efficient. But skill levels will surpass it eventually.

"My rival's a lighter... reality check."

Fine. I'd win in the end.

"Hey, mino."

Moo-mer?

"Be honest. There are more mine minotaurs here besides you, right? Gotta be. Otherwise, I'll eat you."

Uh, moo-mer! Moo-mer, moo-mer.

"Oh? Rebellious mino kin further in the mine?"

Moo-mer! Yup. Glad it wasn't a backstabber.

"Fetch one."

Moo-mer! It pointed at the halberd. Needed it, huh?

"Annoying bastard."

I grabbed the halberd and yanked... stuck. Yanked harder—haft stayed, blade chipped out.

Then nyaang. Sighing Hoya tapped from below. Out it popped.

Our eyes met. Mino fighting a grin.

"Hold it in, or you're tail soup."

Me, Choi Si-woo. Petty man.