Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: 6th Floor (4)
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“Prurrrr!”
The bullhead's reckless dive attack.
Instead of dodging, I chose to meet it head-on. Swinging my axe to sever its horns.
Kagagagak!
Sparks flew as the Minotaur's horns were shaved off.
Pretty tough. My eyes met the Minotaur's, its gaze tinged with faint admiration.
“Prurrrr!”
“Spit somewhere else, you bitch!”
Kagagagak!
Like parrying a sword to deflect an enemy's strike, I slid my axe along its horns to redirect the headbutt.
To check its reaction, my gaze flicked downward just a bit.
What the hell is that.
For a split second, I thought I'd seen wrong. The Minotaur's shadow caught my eye. There was [Darkness] in it. A very faint darkness.
So that was the source of the ominous vibe I'd vaguely sensed from hobgoblins and a few other monsters!
It was nothing compared to the chill from Diana's womb tattoo, but that eerie presence wouldn't fade easily.
Taak!
Despite plunging headfirst from such a height, the captain Minotaur landed perfectly balanced and launched into a combo.
Whoosh!
A fist slicing through the air. I tilted my head back to dodge, then gifted its nape with my axe.
Kaaang!
It swiftly refused the gift. Meaning it blocked with its arm. Ironclad bitch—no, ironclad Minotaur.
What kind of monster wears shit like that.
The arm guards and breastplate on the Minotaur were top-quality.
Ethelbert said this axe could handle up to the 8th floor, but that breastplate seemed even tougher.
While I pondered for a moment, the Minotaur's fist thrust deep toward me.
It had leaned its upper body forward, probably to add momentum.
I judged quickly. Dodge outright, or trade flesh for bone?
The fist was aimed at my abdomen.
The toughest part of the leather armor Diana gave me. I trusted its performance.
Kududuk!
The monstrous muscles writhed as the fist buried straight into my gut.
“Pruk.”
The captain Minotaur smirked, as if victory was assured.
It hurt. Like a knife stabbing my belly. My organs churned, blood seeping from my mouth.
No matter how good the leather armor, it couldn't fully nullify a Minotaur's punch.
Or was it the opposite? This armor was what let me endure it. Not that it mattered much.
The only thing that mattered right now was that I'd taken the punch.
“What're you grinning about already, punk.”
I spat the words indifferently, and the Minotaur's expression hardened. It might not understand the words, but it felt the venom in them.
“Prurrruk!”
The captain Minotaur bellowed urgently.
But the axe was already swinging.
Jee-ee-eek!
A Minotaur's scream echoed.
But not the captain's.
A grunt Minotaur had rushed over at the sound of its captain's cry, shoving it aside to take the axe to the head instead.
Still, one down.
“Prurrrruk!”
The captain Minotaur pulled back sharply, bellowing again. The grunt Minotaurs heading for the party suddenly focused on me.
They'd chosen their target. Prioritize the urgent threat.
It put me in immediate danger, but strategically, it favored us.
“Instructor Gelxia! Get the students out first!”
Instructor Gelxia had bought time to convince the trembling students deploying mid-tier barriers against the Minotaur assault.
Explorers lived with death, but students didn't.
And if even one died, the commission failed. No casualties allowed.
“Kids, calm down and listen! That Minotaur can't break a mid-tier barrier. Hold out inside until Professor Mangkostil arrives—we've got a shot!”
“R-Really...?”
Soon, a hole the size of a person opened in the barrier.
Our party's students started slipping through one by one.
Good sign. Part of me wanted to dive in right away, but...
“Prurrrr!”
“Prur! Prurrrruk!”
The Minotaurs' pursuit was fierce. Four closed in from all sides, encircling me.
No escape.
But paths are made, not found. No way out? Make one. Simple logic.
“Mr. Jubele! Joy Hog!”
I whipped my head around and shouted. One on the left took the bait. High intelligence backfired. A goblin wouldn't have fallen for it.
Penalty for glancing away mid-battle: axe to the throat.
Jee-eek!
The skeleton armor shattered pathetically, its head lopped off.
I shoved the collapsing body aside, rushed to join the party.
“Kha! You're insane! Breaking through that—alone—and taking down two!”
“If you knew it was crazy, why not help?”
“Haha, cut us some slack. We were busy guarding these two.”
Jubele and Joy Hog were protecting Ramel, who was chanting spells, and Hitolis, eyes closed in prayer.
“Tried pulling them into the barrier—didn't work. Guess there's a capacity.”
Jubele grumbled. I glanced at the barrier; my eyes met Ellie's as she pounded it with her fists.
Uncle! Uncle!
Too far for sound, but her lips formed it clearly.
I nodded to say don't worry, then refocused on the fight.
“May Geomosin embrace you, flesh of the lion.”
Hitolis's miracle began mending my injuries from the captain Minotaur. Vitality surged slightly too.
Ramel sweated bullets, lips moving nonstop in chant.
Pre-stocked spells depleted, huh.
As the chant dragged on, power gathered in Ramel's staff. I knew instinctively it was mana.
“Five more minutes.”
“Fuck. Five minutes? You joking?!”
“Ultimate moves take time. But once the chant finishes, it's a guaranteed kill.”
Five minutes. Absurd, considering barely over one had passed since encountering the Minotaurs.
“Fine... let's try.”
No time for complaints. We had to hold.
“Prurrrr!”
Led by the captain, eight Minotaurs charged at ferocious speed.
Instructor Gelxia muttered calmly as the battle devolved into chaos.
“Sorry, but they'll have to be the sacrifices.”
Ellie whipped her head around, eyes bulging.
What the hell did this mad instructor just say?
“Instructor! What do you mean?! Sacrifices?!”
Gelxia sighed deeply, as if hearing an annoyance.
“Ellie. Look at the flow of battle. Even a non-explorer can see it. Which side's at a disadvantage.”
“...”
Ellie stared silently at the fight.
Indeed, Balkan’s party looked worse off.
When Balkan first slew two Minotaurs, it seemed like a turnaround from disadvantage. But crisis hit soon after.
“Prurrrrrr!”
Having tasted near-death once, the captain Minotaur and its monsters had eyes half-mad.
They'd yanked horns from the two dead Minotaurs, wielding them like clubs.
Joy Hog's party were top-tier 7th-floor explorers, but these Minotaurs transcended 7th-floor limits—aberrations.
Facing such beasts swinging horns and body-slamming like they meant to rip them apart, no way they could protect the mages.
The cow beastkin swordswoman gripped her blade one-handed, left arm broken. The dwarf held his shield firm but had lost his left eye.
The cat beastkin priestess, face gaunt, sprinkled miracles while pouring potions on the harpy mage. The harpy, horn shards in her gut, vomited blood yet kept chanting.
The reason the rest—already at their limits—still lived?
Before their battered forms stood an even more battered Balkan, still swinging his axe at the monsters.
Potion bottle in mouth, eyes fierce, he faced the captain and four others alone.
His near-divine movements dodged rapid combos and counterattacked.
But that speed... was slowing.
“How long can that miracle last? It's over soon.”
“Exactly! We need to help before it gets worse!”
“Absolutely not! Casting inside the barrier drains mana, shortening its duration. With current mana, it'll hold a week easy! Besides, they're the aces prepared for this. Escorts must protect employers with their lives in crises.”
“B-But! Chanting here could help somehow...!”
“Get a grip, Ellie Ordia! As top student, you know holing up and waiting for the professor is best! Why risk it knowing that?!”
Ellie Ordia fell silent before Gelxia's spittle-flecked rebuttal.
Why?
Yeah, why.
Why was she suggesting they abandon this safe spot for that hell?
Gelxia was right. No flaws in her logic.
The escorts would die fulfilling their duty, but they just needed to hunker down and wait for the professor—due in a week at most.
Easiest and safest way. Sit tight, stay quiet, survive the labyrinth unscathed.
Plus, Ellie feared the labyrinth.
Not just cowardice. To most civilians, it was pure danger zone.
Green monsters lunging with twisted faces.
Arrow barrages from skies, fire pillars, space-ripping traps—lethal if you slipped even once.
Uncomfortable sleep, constant vigilance, distant screams, monster roars.
And corpses.
Seeing bodies mangled like spilled red paint, terror welled from Ellie's depths.
She'd choked back tears and snot, even vomited.
Yet after all that...
Why couldn't she look away from that scene?
Why!
Why was she about to cast now?
“Ellie Ordia!!! What the hell are you doing!!”
“I'm going out.”
“If you do, we're all— What?!”
“Out. From here. This barrier!”
“No! Wait! Stop—!”
Whoosh—
As Ellie stepped out, the barrier spat her free.
Entry needs permission; exit is free.
“Ellie Ordia! Have you lost your mind?! Get back here!!”
Ellie was a prodigy with backing—no way she could die on this labyrinth trip.
Gelxia had to stop her, but hesitated to leave the barrier.
Ellie dying meant social fallout; leaving now meant certain death.
“Coward.”
Ellie ignored Gelxia's twisted grimace from afar, focusing on mana gathering at her fingertips.
Truth was, she was still terrified. Limbs trembled faintly.
Now she finally realized.
Why had she stepped out into danger on her own?
Memories from the library surfaced—short, but happy.
Gaze through the helm, not on parents behind her, but solely on her.
Rough hair-ruffles of praise and recognition.
Warm hand gripping her anxious one in the labyrinth.
Concerned back-strokes, all emotions from Balkan.
“They stayed in my heart.”
So.
She couldn't just stand and watch him in peril.
A massive fireball formed at Ellie's fingertips.
Academy third-year top student. Unprecedented genius recommended for royal mage pre-graduation. All of Ellie Ordia's power poured in.
“Flare.”
Short chant, but far beyond ordinary mages.
The mana-charged inferno hurtled at terrifying speed, smashing the captain Minotaur's left side.
“Prurrrrrrr!!!!!”
Scorching blast and dust cloud engulfed the 6th floor instantly.
But the Minotaur survived, left side and armor melting.
Instinct had awakened the [Darkness] in its shadow.
As its body soaked in [Darkness], the mana flames consuming it began to die down.
However.
“Come aboveground, and I'll stamp your training dojo full of praise. Ellie.”
Balkan, having dodged the Flare with sharp instincts, was already behind the captain Minotaur.
Shaaaa—
Blessing of Radiance, absolute against [Darkness], coated the axe.
Balkan grinned, gripping tighter.
“One thing before you go. This leather armor? Made from your family.”
Jee-ee-ee-ee-eek!!!
The light-infused axe cleaved through the dust cloud, bisecting the [Darkness]-shrouded Minotaur's neck.