In a certain village, in a certain conventional, inconspicuous-looking house, a certain receptionist walks up and down her smallish room as if in a rush. Her arms are crossed, her gaze strictly focused on where her next step will go. It almost looks like she wants to ascertain that there is stable ground beneath so she won´t fall. If anyone were to see her, they would most likely describe her as ´agitated´. Maybe even ´worried´. Well, they wouldn´t be too wrong in that assumption. At the moment, Madeleine has a lot speeding through her mind.
"Damn it... She hasn´t shown herself for more than a month now. What´s taking her so long?”
She unconsciously puts her thumb to her lips and begins nabbing on the fairly long nail.
“Although it´s called a mid-tier dungeon, there shouldn´t be any other enemies but those low-level Kobolds. The only reason it´s still uncleared is because the path to the lower levels is blocked. Taking into account that she was on par with multiple Level 40 adventurers... She shouldn´t have any problems with getting to the blockade in a few days, maybe a week if she takes her time"
Madeleine abruptly halts, almost tumbling forward from the sudden cut in momentum
“No, she´d take her time. But then... Where the heck is she?”
The woman feels something accumulate in her eyes which she quickly wipes away with her sleeve.
"Maybe she just can´t find the way back? It´s not unlikely for novice adventurers to lose their maps in the heat of the moment.
...
"Yeah, she´s just lost. She did say it was her first time seeing a map. Did she take a wrong turn somewhere?"
Madeleine sits on her bed and covers her face with her hands
"Yeah, that must be it, there´s no way something happened to her. That must be it"
She tries to convince herself. But for some reason, it doesn´t work.
“Please... Just be safe”
-- -- –
"Hey, you!" somebody yells
Their voice is a little high, yet nothing like that of a child. It echos between the endlessly stretching corridors of the dungeon. Multiple Minotaurs turn their heads to where it came from. As they see a young woman who is presumably the owner of said voice, they make a sound close to mooing and charge out of their den without a second thought.
"Haha! That´s right. Come at me!" she shouts before thrwoing a crystal to the ground which shatters into a screen of smoke. Her body suddenly blurs and disperses into thin air like sand in the wind. Then, the smoke clears and nothing is left to see besides an empty aisle of rock. The charging monsters slide to a halt as confusion fills their black eyes. Their backs straighten as they stand up and look around, searching the partially illuminated corridor: Behind some boulders, on the ceiling, even in-between some stalactites. But their irritation only grows as they find no traces of... Well, anything. It´s as if the girl just now was an illusion. Maybe their thirst for fighting made them hallucinate an imaginary enemy? That sounds stupid. They look at each other.
After a while, one of them shrugs his shoulders and starts heading back. The others remain standing there for a bit longer, but soon move as well. Just as they think it's over and relax their guard, a shadow behind them slightly distorts. The dark area twitches and morphs into a wobbly shape, by the second it becomes more distinct and gains color until a person emerges in its place.
´Heh, this |Skill´s| pretty useful too, but nothing beats |Enhanced Cast| and |Physical reinforcement|!´
The Demon thrusts her hand out from the darkness. Her claws bore into one of the retreating Minotaur´s back like a knife would into butter. The bones don´t do a good job of protecting and its heart is skewered like a piece of meat about to be grilled.
[Enemy at least 30 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x3
*1782 Exp gained*
The remaining two Minotaurs turn around in a panic to the pained outcry, only to see their comrade fall and release a puddle of red on the ground. Before they can move another muscle, the girl spins her body and slits their throats in one swoop. Their bodies instantly fall to the floor without any delay.
[Enemy at least 30 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x3
*1833 Exp gained*
[Enemy at least 30 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x3
*1842 Exp gained*
"Phew" Vienessa exhales and wipes the sweat from her forehead, accidentally leaving a red line behind. "This went well," she grins. She drags the defeated enemies into their prior hideout and prepares to start a fire.
"To think I struggled against these guys when I first came here” she laughs to herself. “Still, even this much took quite a toll on my Mana". She checks up on her MP, around half of it was used in this short fight. She grimaces at that.
´Maybe I should try fighting them without using any |Skills| next time?´ She wonders while her muscle memory prepares some meat. She starts roasting it over the open flames.
´I should be able to win with how I currently am´
"Hm, so you´re the one? You really are just a Human girl"
Vienessa jumps up in surprise at the deep voice that came out of nowhere.
´How–! ´
She wants to turn her head, but the heavy pressure is freezing her movements. She somehow forces her body to escape the paralysis and manages to take a fighting stance:
A single figure stands at the entrance. His appearance resembles that of a Minotaur, but Vienessa has never seen one with characteristics like his before: He has a humongous figure, even larger than that of a double her height Bronze Minotaurs. His glistening, grey fur mixes with darker, almost blackish spots in certain areas, especially on his lower body. Furthermore, stripes of pure silver and hideous scars adorn his body. On his head, his curved, majestic horns are slightly chipped and full of scratches, proving that they withstood and were used in countless battles. And then there are his deep scarlet eyes, which seem to discern one´s soul.
Name S̴̃͜u̷̬͋̚j̴i̸̾̓ – Minotaur Horde Leader Species Silver Minotaur – LV: 121 Stats
HP
MP HP: 1421/1421
MP: 129/129 Vitality 424 Strength
----------------------------------------
Intelligence 511
----------------------------------------
73 Endurance 368 Agility 180
Titles
[On the Brink of Death], [Colosseum Vanquisher], [Merciless], [Former Slave], [Minotaur Horde Leader]
Skills
Normal
6 Characteristic
4
Active
[Minor Body Strengthening]
[Suppress presence]
[Charge] Passive
[Minor Mana Handling]
[Minor (+) Language Comprehension]
[Minor (-) HP Regenaration]
[Supperior (-) Battle Sense]
[Intermediate Ore Body]
[Intermediate Attack Up]
[Minor Vitality Up]
Minor Body Strengthening
Skill
Type: Active Explanation: Temporarily increases the user´s physical strength.
Suppress Presence
Skill
Type: Active Explanation: While active, hide your presence
Minor Mana Handling
Skill
Type: Passive Explanation: A tool assisting with the contact and manipulation of Mana. Mana handling is proportional to |Skill´s| Rank.
Minor (+) Language Comprehension
Skill
Type: Passive Explanation: A tool assisting with communication between individuals who use language. Linguistic skills are proportional to |Skill´s| Rank.
Minor (-) HP Regenaration
Skill
Type: Passive Explanation: The body´s natural regeneration is boosted. HP recovers faster.
Supperior (-) Battle Sense
Skill
Type: Characteristic Passive Explanation:
Reflects experience in battle.
(Greatly) heightened senses, (Greatly) heightened intuition, (Greatly) heightened strategic thinking.
Charge
Skill
Type: Characteristic Active Explanation:
The user charges at full force, closing distance and initiating the first attack.
Cannot be used to retreat.
Specialty: Speed of the charge proportional to the user´s Strength.
Intermediate Attack Up
Skill
Type: Characteristic Passive Explanation: Attack Up
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Minor Vitality Up
Skill
Type: Characteristic Passive Explanation: Vitality Up
----------------------------------------
On The Brink of Death
Benign Title
Aquirement Condition: Recover from a near-death experience Explanation: Death looked you in the eyes, and you looked back. Effect: Increase Defense
Collosseum Vanquisher
Benign Title
Aquirement Condition: Achieve Rank 1 in a Collosseum. Explanation: You stand above your peers, take pride in it Effect: (Slight) Boost to all |Stats|
Merciless
Title
Aquirement Condition: Kill a certain amount of defeseless, already surrendered Beings Explanation: The world will know of your deeds.
Fromer Slave
Title
Aquirement Condition: Free yourself from the Slave Status Explanation: You may be free now, but your mind will never be free of it.
Minotaur Horde Leader
Benign Title
Aquirement Condition: Become Leader of a Minotaur Horde Explanation: A |Title| awarded to those who took command Effect: Provides proficiency in managing large groups of Minotaurs
´Oh hell no´. Cold shivers run down Vienessa´s back. Her muscles contract as if saying they don´t want to fight that. The Demon doesn´t let her eyes off the Silver Minotaur while slowly retreating, walking backward to where her belongings are.
"My subordinates told me you are a pesky |Artifact| user. From their stories I assume you got a ton of |Haze Crystals| and |Ensnares| on you". Vienessa´s eyes flicker for a brief moment. The Minotaur smirks at her reaction while slowly starting to step toward her. "Hit the mark?”. He spreads his arms wide “I´ve had my deal with them. I know how they work, their strengths, their weaknesses... Don´t think petty tricks like that will work on me". Suddenly, he drops to his hands. "Enough of the chit-chat. Now die"
Before the silver Minotaur can charge, the girl activates her |Ambush| and fades into the shadows again. The screen disperses after a few seconds again. For a moment, the Minotaur hesitates. The next, he turns around, raises his right arm and punches into the wall to his left. His fist connects dead on with her face.
The Demon tastes the metallic flavor of blood in her throat while her body spins in the air.
The pain is unbearable, she wants to rid herself of the hurting part of her body in hope that it would also rid her of this feeling.
Vienessa quickly perishes those thoughts from her mind.
Still flying, she reaches inside her pocket and takes out a shimmering crystal. She hurls it in the middle of the room. In a matter of seconds, all vision is obscured by a thick haze. "Even if you have a high-grade, I told you this isn´t gonna work!" the Minotaur roars, dashing toward the smoke-emitting source and shattering the |Artifact| with his foot. As if sucked in by a vacuum, the smoke disappears. But as the Minotaur regains his vision, an unexpected hint of agitation overcomes him.
He searches the room frantically, but there´s no sight of the girl. A few pieces of rock fall from the ceiling as the silver Minotaur glowers in realization. "So that´s how!". Enraged, he punches the wall and breaks a part of it. He ends up with a colossal rock in both hands which he hurls at the small opening above. The whole room shakes as parts of the ceiling fall down until the damage to the structure makes it collapse entirely. The Silver Minotaur just manages to get out of the room which is flooded with debris. Particles of rocky dust mix with the air and cut one's throat like razors, making breathing a torturous act. He clears his throat and takes another few steps back, yet his eyes never leave the spot where he presumes his enemy is. As the dust subsides, he clicks his tongue "So she got away..."
--
[HP: 82/544]
´Fuck Fuck Fuck, it hurts so much! How did he know where I was? Damnit!´. Vienessa touches her disjointed jaw, immediately regretting doing so as she winces in pain. But she can´t just leave it like that. She braces herself and packs the side of her chin. "Aaargh --!". She pushes. Multiple, sickening cracks run throughout her whole body as she forcefully puts her bones back in place. Tears flow down her face as she falls to her knees and spits out one of her fangs. She wipes her mouth with her sleeve which leaves her forearm in warm blood. "You´ll fucking pay for this". Her words mix with the fluid in her mouth. "Just you wait".
– – –
There once was a time when the Silver Minotaur had to fight for his life every day. A time when he was ridiculed and used for sole Entertainment. A time when he was captured and enslaved by Humans.
His days were monotonous. He would either fight against other slaves in what they called a Colosseum or sit in his cell and be abused by his contractors. That was what his life had amounted to.
With conditions like these, most would have given up. What meaning is there if every day is shackled? By suffering, by unbearable pain without the slightest hint of freedom. It would be easier to just...
But, something made him different. He sought to live, to survive. He himself didn't know what drove him. An instinct maybe, his sense for revenge. His hope to return to those peaceful days... together with the others.
The years passed and he still didn't die. Not only that, he got stronger, leveled up, and most importantly, acquired a skill crucial for his survival: His unfathomable amount of experience gave him an analytical view of battles. With but a glance he could determine his and his enemy´s limits. He knew when he was stronger and could engage in raw combat, coming out victorious. He knew when he was weaker and should keep his distance, waiting until his opponent committed a fatal mistake and he knew how to make use of it. He knew what his enemies' weaknesses were and how to correctly attack them. He knew what his enemy´s strengths were and how to make the opponent unable to use them to their advantage.
His cool mind allowed him to lead the tide of battle, to control the outcome and make his opponents dance to his tune. This ability of his manifested in the form of a |Skill|. |Battle Sense|. Staying composed and calm day after day, he waited patiently. He waited until the opportunity arose for him to escape.
– – –
"This fucking bitch!"
Every sane person would have fled once encountering such an overbearing opponent and thanked the gods for surviving. But no, days have passed and she still kept reappearing at random spots in the dungeon. She was reckless enough to continue her stay.
The accumulating irritation makes his blood boil: Especially since he couldn´t read her, he couldn´t predict her.
He tried multiple times to catch her, but every time the silver Minotaur arrived at the location where she was seen, she was already long gone. He could´t do anything about her since he is too big to chase into the narrow corridors above. This feeling of being mocked by an inferior opponent, by a cocky nobody who uses the same cheap trick repeatedly, and then it ends up working!
...
It snowballs his rage every time he thinks about it.
The silver Minotaur takes a deep breath and exhales.
No, there is one option. But he didn´t want to see it through because he would risk altering or even destroying the dungeon, his home, greatly in the process. Nevertheless, he couldn´t endure it anymore. So what if his home was destroyed? He would just find a new place. He couldn´t care less. He would see this through to the end and obliterate this annoyance once and for all.
--
~Level UP: 14 → Level 15~
[Fixed Stats gained]
15 |Stat Points| have been gained for free distribution
Trembling and rumbling were shaking up the dungeon, but Vienessa´s determination was firm. The thought of escaping and being content with not losing her life didn´t even cross her mind. Firstly, her pride didn´t allow her to tug her tail in this situation. And secondly, she just couldn´t skip out on the thought of gaining the experience that an enemy over 100 Levels over her own would give her.
Furthermore, her assumption, the gut feeling that told her she was close to a breakthrough, turned out to be on point:
[Conditions met: Class Advancement available]
This is what she´s been aiming for
[Warning: Class Advancement has been picked. Confirm choice?]
[Class Advancement completed: Class: Mage Apprentice → White Mage]
~Skills~
[Minor HP Regeneration → Minor (+) HP Regeneration]
[Minor (-) MP Regeneration → Minor MP Regeneration]
[Minor (+) Mana Handling → Intermediate (-) Mana Handling]
[White Magic has been obtained]
[Heal has been obtained]
Vienessa holds her hand to her mouth. “Heal” she mutters as a white light envelops her. The next moment, in the place of the fang she had lost when the silver Minotaur hit her, a new one bores through her gum “Urgh...”. For just the tiniest of moments, a sharp pain descends over the girl which she had never felt before. But then, it´s gone. She bites down on her teeth to check if everything went according to expectations. Indeed, the empty space is now filled again as if she never lost a tooth. “This is awesome. Mana consuming but awesome,” the Demon mutters.
Now, all her preparations are completed. Vienessa walks by the Minotaur corpses she just defeated and seats herself at the end of the room.
"Enough running. Now come, I´ll make you draw your last breath!". Her eyes burn brighter than ever before.
--
"Boss, we finish. Paths all blocked. Enemy location know. Not moving"
"Good". He stands up "The little shit won´t be able to run no more. Bring me to her"
"Yes, boss"
The silver Minotaur, escorted by an entourage of two of his subordinates, walks down the wet hallways of his dungeon. Crumbles of stone lie everywhere, big chunks of dust float in the air and the increasingly rotten smell of sweat and blood cannot be ignored as he nears his destination.
As they approach a spacious cavern room, he senses a familiar bloodlust emanating from there. With his hand, he gestures to the other Minotaurs to stand by. He enters without another word. There, the girl sits at the other end, approximately 30 meters away in a position he often assumes himself. Her eyes are closed while her chin rests on her fist. A few bloodied Minotaurs lie before her whose souls have long left their bodies.
"It´s been a while"
...
"I think you realized already, but I´ve been busy blocking off your escape routes. You were lucky the other day, but you´re trapped like the ugly rat that you are now. Any last words?"
...
"You´re pissing me off to no end!" the silver Minotaur roars
He flashes his horns while dropping to a crouching position. Veins show on his face as snow-white steam presses out from his nostrils as if they were boiling kettles. In that instant, the girl´s eyes burst open. Her arm moves in a blur and a crystal is sent flying through the air and once again obstructs all vision. The Minotaur dashes towards it and destroys it in a matter of moments, but there´s already a new source of smoke. He clicks his tongue, but before he can make his next move his senses tell him to dodge to the left. A moment later, a shadow lands where he has been. He raises his arm and punches the figure that brittles under his might. Brittles? A stone? The girl used it as a decoy, but the realization hits him too late. As he turns around a claw strikes his back.
Vienessa smiles as she finally got a hit on him. But her cocky expression quickly vanishes as she realizes how thick his skin is. Only a single droplet of blood spills. She hurriedly gains some distance as the Minotaur´s hand swings in a large arc where she just was. For a second the smoke is blown away and their eyes connect. Both pairs are filled with hatred. The mist covers the room again. ´This isn´t gonna work with half-assed attacks´ Vienessa ascertains her suspicions.
As the girl prepares for her next move, the silver Minotaur suddenly turns his head in her direction. He shouldn´t be able to see through the fog, but his gaze is set directly on her. "You think I won´t be able to find you just because you blocked my vision?!". He dashes. The Demon, not able to react to the speed of his |Charge|, is hit directly by his attack. For a moment she sees death´s hand grabbing her by the neck, but she won´t allow it to end like that. She grabs death with her own hand and rips it off her body. "|Heal|!" she shouts as a dazzling light envelops her. But it only heals the lethal wounds.
Just as she stands up, the smoke disperses and the |Artifacts| shatter with a clang. The Minotaur sees his opponent´s pathetic condition. The majority of her body has given up, everything but her eyes. That´s a dangerous sign. "I was sure that´d be enough to finish you. Seems you´re tougher than I thought," he smirks while rising from the floor and standing up on his two hooves. It would seem as if he´s behaving like he won the fight already, but he knows better than that. Although he is certain that he is superior in every physical way to her, he won´t ever underestimate his opponents. He witnessed many fools who lost their lives due to carelessness. He is not one of them. Right now, he is fighting vermin. And if vermin are cornered, they lash out in desperation.
Suddenly, the girl covers her eyes with her hand and laughs, breaking his calm mind. Has she lost her mind?
"You think you´re so smart right now, don´t you?" she takes a step forward "You think you´ve figured it all out. My power, my tricks, even how to win this fight, don´t you?". She takes another step forward "I´ve seen enough, I know now how strong you are. Let´s end this farce. Die for me! Suji!"
For a split second, bewilderment hits the Minotaur straight in the heart. An image of a Human lashing out on him with a whip flashes before his eyes
´This name... Fuck! What am I doing?´
As he comes to his senses again he sees a purple crystal directly in front of his face
´Shit!´
As if in slow motion, the |Artifact| bounces off his forehead. An enormous number of purple, spiked tentacles burst out of it and wrap around his body. ´Superior binding?! How did she get her hands on that?´. He activates his |Body strengthening| and struggles to break free from the chains. A few of them snap, but he can´t get all of them off in time.
"|Feeble Soul|!"
A wave of unease strikes the Minotaur
"|Enhanced Cast|! |Body Strengthening|!” The girl roars and goes in for her ultimate strike: “Haaaaaa!".
If it were her previous self, she wouldn´t be able to finish him off with just this. Although she weakened her enemy and buffed herself, the difference in |Stats| is just too vast. She knows that very well. But, it´s different now, and that´s because she is a White Mage.
A White Mage´s focus lies in support. They greatly manipulate the tides of battle by buffing and healing their team and weakening their enemies. They only have one crucial weakness: They do not learn any offensive spells, which means they cannot fight by themselves and are forcibly bound to others. That is why they also get a bonus when casting spells on themselves, making it even more effective than when it´s cast on others. It is to balance out the fatal flaw of lacking combat capabilities. Vienessa, however, is not affected by the downsides of this Class as she has her |Species| which gives her all the combat capabilities she needs. The Demon only reaps the Class´ benefits, which makes it an incredibly powerful combination for her.
Right now, the Silver Minotaur is bound and weakened by |Feeble Soul|. Vienessa, in turn, has |Intermediate Physical Reinforcement| applied to herself which is further strengthened by the effects of White Mage: Firstly, for casting a support spell and secondly, because her target is herself. Moreover, all effects are further multiplied by |Enhanced Cast|.
"Haaaaaaa!!". Vienessa runs as fast as her legs can carry her toward the silver Minotaur. She jumps off the ground and hauls off for her most powerful attack yet. The silver Minotaur still is in the midst of freeing himself and can only watch as the girl launches at him like a missile locked on its target. She explosively thrusts her arm and her claws connect with the Minotaur´s upper body and dig deep into his flesh. But it doesn´t stop there. The monster´s body is torn apart as her arm sinks in deeper and deeper. Her hand penetrates the silver Minotaur, but her momentum still doesn´t stop.
"Gaaaaaaah!" he screams in pain as an enormous hole, reaching from his throat to his stomach, is blown into him. The girl sinks right through it and lands on the ground on the other side
"How... You..."
--
In all his battles, he was always the one leading the flow. He was always the one to make his opponent move exactly how he wanted to. He thought he had her, he thought he was the one having her cornered, he thought he was standing above her. But now, he sees the truth. All this time he himself was the one dancing on the girl´s palm. In reality, she was the giant, smirking down on him like a child would on a cute doll. The battle was like a well-written script to her. She made him think that he was in power. This allowed her to use his own emotions against him.
Or at least, that´s what flew through his dying mind.
“Monster...” The Minotaur mumbles his last word before falling over on his face. His large body crashes to the floor beneath.
[Enemy at least 100 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x10
*74380 Exp gained*
~Level UP: 15 → Level 16~
[Fixed Stats gained]
15 |Stat Points| have been gained for free distribution
~Level UP: 16 → Level 17~
[Fixed Stats gained]
15 |Stat Points| have been gained for free distribution
~Skill~
[Intermediate (-) Physical Reinforcement → Intermediate Physical Reinforcement]
~Titles~
[Against All Odds has Evolved into Limit Break]
[Low-Rank Dungeon Exterminator has Evolved into Intermediate-Rank Dungeon Exterminator]
“I´m... not a monster”
Vienessa stumbles forward
[Condition: Critical Mana-Overuse]
“I´m a Demon”
And collapses as well.