The Summoned Minotaur (1)

A day had passed since the incident at Ulsan Station.

The people who'd been trapped there thanked us and went their separate ways. We were staying at Ah-ra's uncle's house now, and it was there that we finally heard from her father about everything that had happened.

"So that's what was going on in that place?"

"Yes. If you'd arrived any later, I shudder to think what might have happened."

What Ah-ra's father told us was staggering. They'd been locking people up in there, and according to him, they'd been running experiments on some of them. He couldn't say exactly what kind. Some of the captives had come back alive. Quite a few hadn't.

I couldn't help wondering if the ones who never returned had been turned into zombies.

"You don't know what they were trying to accomplish with all that?"

"No. I don't know that much…"

"Understood. Thank you."

After wrapping up with Ah-ra's father, I headed into the room where Jin-hwan and Ji-ah were. Ji-ah was in there drawing pictures with him, the two of them completely absorbed in it.

Had those bastards experimented on Ji-ah too?

"Wow! Our Ji-ah is so good at this! Is this a princess?"

"Yep! Isn't she pretty?"

"She's gorgeous. But I think our Ji-ah is even prettier."

"Heeey~"

Jin-hwan was having a blast playing with her. I never would have guessed he was this good with kids. When he'd said he was going to major in early childhood education, I'd given him a hard time about it. Turns out it actually suited him.

"And this is the prince."

"The prince is obviously me, right?"

"Nope."

"Huh? Then who?"

Jin-hwan looked like he'd been punched in the gut. Ji-ah pointed straight at me without a shred of hesitation.

"Me?"

"Come on, Ji-ah. Don't I look way more like a prince?"

She shook her head. Hard. Watching her shut him down so thoroughly, Jin-hwan looked genuinely wounded.

"Haha. Thanks, Ji-ah. Would it be okay if this prince asked our princess a few questions?"

She nodded.

"Could you tell me what those bad people did?"

"Th-those men…?"

The moment I asked, Ji-ah started trembling. She clearly didn't want to relive any of it.

"I know it's hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to think about, sweetheart. I really do. But if you tell me, we can stop those men before they hurt anyone else."

"Really?"

"Of course. This uncle of yours is actually pretty strong, you know."

That seemed to give her a little courage. She fidgeted, then started talking.

"Those men said they were making some kind of scroll."

"A scroll? What kind of scroll?"

"I don't really know."

A scroll. Honestly, the only scrolls I knew about were dungeon scrolls. What other kind could there be?

And they were making them?

It probably wasn't just any ordinary scroll. Either someone had a trait related to it, or it was some kind of craftable scroll.

"Ssaem, what are you going to do? Are we heading straight to Daegu?"

Jin-hwan asked. Staying in Ulsan had only ever been a layover on the way to somewhere else. But there was still the remaining scenario quest. And whatever those suspicious people were plotting. Both of those things sat uneasily with me.

"Let's stay a little while. There's the quest, and I think we need to look into this too."

"What do you think those guys are planning?"

"No idea. But it's definitely nothing good."

Anyone who'd do the things they'd done wasn't up to anything decent. If they'd already left Ulsan, that would be one thing. But if they were still here, still cooking something up, we needed to stop them before it was too late.

Which means figuring out who that guy really is comes first.

Easier said than done. A man who could change his appearance at will. Whether the face he'd worn at the end was even his real one, nobody could say. So I decided to set that aside for now and start by looking for the Minotaur.

"Jin-hwan. You stay here and watch Ji-ah."

"I can't come with you?"

"It has to be you."

If Ji-ah's ability flared up again, Jin-hwan was the only one who could stop it. So I left him at the house and headed out with Ah-ra and Jin-ri.

"Ah-ra, your parents weren't worried?"

"I told them I was going out with you, Ssaem, and they didn't say much."

"Really?"

Ah-ra's parents were way too chill. Their daughter was heading out into this deathtrap of a world and they didn't even try to stop her.

"Ssaem, do you really think there's a Minotaur out there?"

"I'm not sure. But whatever it is, it's dangerous. That's a fact."

We were headed for the Taehwa River. When I'd asked around, almost nobody knew anything about a Minotaur. Except for one person — Ah-ra's uncle.

"I don't know if it's a Minotaur, but I've heard there's a pretty powerful monster over by the Taehwa River."

An unidentified monster at the Taehwa River. Not far from Ah-ra's house at all. What the hell was waiting for us there?

"Ssaem, that's the Taehwa River."

Ah-ra pointed. A genuinely beautiful river stretched out before us. What could possibly be lurking in a place like that?

"Everyone stay sharp."

We had no idea what was waiting. The moment I said it, I summoned my monsters.

Better summon more, just in case.

Ten wasn't going to be enough. If there really was a Minotaur here, we needed to be as prepared as possible. I pulled the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lizardman Soup from my inventory.

"You two eat one of these each."

"Is this the stuff Jin-hwan was talking about?"

"The one he said was so delicious?"

Ah-ra and Jin-ri had never tried my Monster Cooking before. To be fair, the presentation wasn't exactly appetizing. Maybe it'd look better once the skill leveled up? Both of them hesitated.

But they were a Mage and an Elementalist. If they ate Lizardman Soup, which boosted Wisdom, the effect would be huge. And besides, it actually tasted good.

Ah-ra took a cautious sip. Her eyes flew open.

"Wow! This is actually really good!"

"Is it?"

"Yeah! It's amazing! Jin-ri, hurry up and try it!"

"I don't know, I still…"

Even after watching Ah-ra's reaction, Jin-ri still hesitated. But it boosted Wisdom, so she squeezed her eyes shut and took a tiny taste.

And then the Lizardman broth bloomed across her tongue — a rich, savory depth that filled her whole mouth. By the time Jin-ri came back to her senses, she'd already finished the entire bowl.

I should eat some too.

The numbers jumped, no question. At the same time, I summoned five more Lizardmen.

"All right. Let's go."

With the Lizardmen taking point, we approached the Taehwa River area. We passed through a stretch of woodland, scanning the surroundings, but there was nothing.

Is there even a monster here?

If there were monsters around, there'd be tracks, signs of passage. The woods were completely clean. We kept searching, and before long we'd reached the river itself.

Well, the area is huge.

We hadn't covered every inch of it. The monster could be somewhere else. I was about to head back into the woods for another look when—

"Ssaem! Th-there!"

"Huh? What is it?"

Jin-ri sounded startled, like she'd seen something. I turned. She was staring at the river. But what was in the river? I couldn't see a thing.

"What am I looking at?"

"Look closer!"

I focused on the water, and then I saw it. At first I'd taken them for logs — broken trees drifting in the current. They weren't. Something was hiding in the river.

Massive crocodiles, each one easily five meters from snout to tail. Dozens of them, gliding back and forth beneath the surface, hunting for prey.

Not a Minotaur, then.

These were probably what Ah-ra's uncle had been talking about.

Well, they'd make decent prey themselves.

Good for Predation, and they'd make solid summoning material too. And they didn't look like they had any intention of coming out of the water.

"All right then. Time to start tossing some bombs into the river."

A Slime landed in each Lizardman's hands.

"Now! Throw!"

Somewhere in a dark underground facility, two men were talking.

"Hey. You almost done?"

"Just hold on. This is the last part."

The Red-Haired Man asked, and Bak Su-beom was pouring everything he had into whatever he was working on.

"Okay. It's done."

"Didn't that take way too long?"

"If we'd done this at Ulsan Station, it would've been finished already. If those bastards hadn't gotten in the way…"

Those people had been stronger than expected. He'd never imagined Ji-ah's zombie horde — and the wolves on top of that — would get taken down so easily.

"Tch. If we'd had Ji-ah, I could've made something even more incredible."

"Drop it. Those people looked pretty strong. There's a chance they've got a Ranker among them."

"And whose fault is it that we lost her?"

"The guy was sharp as hell. What was I supposed to do?"

The Red-Haired Man had done his best. Fighting them would've been suicide, so he'd just sent Ji-ah into a berserk state and gotten out of there. Let them deal with the mess.

"But they stopped her berserk state, didn't they?"

"Yeah. Someone there could cancel it."

"So that means Ji-ah is still in one piece…"

Bak Su-beom fell silent, thinking. If he had Ji-ah, he could make a scroll even more powerful than this one.

"Su-beom. You're going to get yourself killed. Just come back with me."

"No. I need Ji-ah."

Bak Su-beom said it flatly, then handed a completed scroll to the Red-Haired Man.

"Take this and deliver it."

"You're really going after her?"

"Yeah. I want that kid."

As he said it, Bak Su-beom pulled another scroll from his pocket.

"Give it up already."

"Not a chance. You saw it too, didn't you? This power."

"Fine, fine. Do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whatever you want. I'm heading up first."

With that, the Red-Haired Man left the building. Bak Su-beom followed, climbing slowly up from the underground.

"All right. I don't know how strong that guy is, but one of these should be more than enough."

He tore ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the scroll in his hand without hesitation. Black smoke began pouring from the torn fragments.

And from within that black smoke, a Minotaur emerged.

It stood a full four meters tall. The vicious horns jutting from its bull's head were massive and thick enough to overwhelm any enemy.