[Snowy Region]

The minotaur closed the distance instantly, swinging its club forward as it tore through the air, aimed directly at Lin’s face. Still disoriented from dodging the last attack, Lin quickly swerved back, attempting to leap further away. At the same time, he suddenly shut his eyes, a brief spark of worry flashing across the minotaur’s face.

The club came within inches of Lin’s face before a bright light flooded the surroundings, forcing the minotaur to shut its eyes.

The strike connected with Lin, and a massive impact reverberated through the air as snow exploded upward. His body was sent flying meters away before skidding to a stop in the snow.

Lin quickly stood up, glancing at his right arm, which trembled slightly after absorbing the blow. He dispelled [Veil], revealing a transparent police shield strapped to his arm that had absorbed most of the attack's force.

Instead of attempting to completely block the incoming strike, Lin had angled the shield just enough to deflect it. By not anchoring his legs to the ground, the force of the attack had sent him flying backward, reducing the actual damage. Still, judging by the way his arm shook, it was clear he wouldn’t be able to withstand another blow of the same magnitude.

As the brightness faded, the minotaur opened its eyes and glared at Lin, who remained standing despite the previous attack. Sensing something was wrong, it glanced down at its own body.

Two new puncture wounds were now visible—one in its stomach and the other in one of its legs—blood slowly trickling from the injuries.

Furious, the minotaur gave Lin a single glance before its eyes darted past him, focusing on the ground just a few meters ahead.

In the next moment, as if the snow itself had come alive, a figure emerged from the ground. As he stood, the snow covering him fell away, revealing a white coat that concealed his entire body and a white balaclava that blended seamlessly with the surroundings. The man removed the balaclava, uncovering his bald head, and began moving forward.

Upon seeing him, the minotaur’s fury seemed to intensify, glaring at the man as though it recognized him as the one who had shot it from the shadows.

“Rrr,” it growled, fixing its menacing gaze on the man with each step. However, despite being on the receiving end of this wrath, the bald man showed no fear, calmly reaching to his side and drawing two small knives, one in each hand.

“Are you okay?” Roben asked, his eyes still locked on the minotaur.

“Not really. I’m pretty sure my right arm is broken,” Lin replied casually. His tone was unbothered, a reaction not particularly unusual given the circumstances.

After all, they were in the [Touchless] region, where any pain they would normally feel was completely nullified. This made it nearly impossible to gauge the extent of their injuries accurately. It was both an advantage and a disadvantage, making the region the most ideal battleground for this encounter—unlike other regions where the beast’s natural instincts would have given it a significant edge against them.

Without pain, the body gradually loses its instinct to protect itself from harm. Each time it sustains damage, the brain continues to believe that "everything is fine," making it harder to even react to the same attack twice unless the attack had previously inflicted some visible damage.

“Did you finish your calculations?” Roben asked, stepping closer to the beast while simultaneously circling around it, attempting to flank. Lin, caught slightly off guard by Roben referring to his actions as ‘calculations,’ furrowed his brow before answering.

“Yeah,” he said, dropping the shield to the ground and shrugging off his coat, which he threw down as well. He glanced at his hands, clenching and unclenching them a few times.

It’s unnatural, he thought, his mind grappling with the capabilities of his own body, which now seemed to exceed his expectations. Initially, they had assumed they would perform at their peak physical conditions since the body's natural limiters were removed in the absence of pain.

Without those restrictions, they could push their muscles beyond normal limits, even at the risk of damaging them. However...

That’s not the only thing happening.

“I think our physical abilities might have been tripled. Otherwise, I should’ve died from the first swing,” he concluded, recalling the information the goddess had provided regarding the minotaur’s physical capabilities—‘ten times stronger than the average human.’

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Roben’s eyes darted down as he focused on Lin’s body, his expression showing a hint of surprise. Watching Lin from the shadows earlier, "impressed" didn’t quite capture it—Lin’s speed and reaction time were nothing short of inhuman, further proving his theory.

“I see,” Roben muttered, a spark of curiosity in his tone as he seemed to wonder how much of his own abilities had been enhanced. Finally, he took the last step, positioning himself directly behind the minotaur. The beast shifted its stance, angling itself to keep both opponents within its sight.

“Do you think it’s just because of the [Touchless] region?” Roben asked, voicing the same suspicion Lin had been considering. Even with their bodies surpassing natural limits, this level of performance seemed almost unreal.

“No,” Lin replied, bringing his hand forward as Soulex quickly gathered. A small tennis ball materialized in his palm. Fixing his stance, he continued,

“I’m guessing it has something to do with Soulex,” he muttered.

Roben nodded, his expression turning serious as he took a step forward, waiting for an opening.

“Now!”

Lin shouted, tossing the ball toward the minotaur. The ball reached the beast in seconds, but the minotaur simply sidestepped, letting it sail past before immediately turning its focus to the incoming Roben.

In a blur, Roben closed the distance, standing face-to-face with the minotaur. He lunged forward, lowering his body, and the minotaur instinctively stepped back before swinging its bat.

Roben whipped his head back just in time, the bat passing mere inches from his face. Without pause, he surged forward, closing the gap and stabbing one of his knives into the minotaur's leg. He quickly jumped back, leaving the blade lodged in its flesh.

The minotaur snarled and gave chase, catching up in an instant and swinging its bat again. This time, the weapon connected squarely as Roben crossed his arms to block. A thunderous bang echoed through the snowy area, and the impact sent him flying through the air. Despite the force, Roben twisted his body mid-flight, using the momentum to fling his remaining knife.

The blade zipped toward the minotaur’s face, but it quickly sidestepped, the knife narrowly missing its eye. Without hesitation, the minotaur turned, shifting its focus to Lin, who was now charging forward with a similar weapon in hand—though much smaller than the minotaur’s—a club.

The momentary surprise quickly left the minotaur as it swung toward Lin, determined to keep him from getting closer—a range that would put the beast at a disadvantage due to its large weapon. However, because of the distance, Lin managed to swerve backward just in time. Without hesitation, he darted forward with an explosive first step, closing in on the minotaur and swinging downward. A sharp pang echoed as his strike landed, prompting the minotaur to step back and immediately swing again.

Lin ducked, the bat zipping above his head as he surged forward, forcing the minotaur to retreat further to maintain its range. But then, something unexpected happened. As the beast moved back, one of its legs slipped, and in the next moment, its massive body tumbled back, crashing into the ground.

A soft, green ball rolled forward.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin dashed toward the fallen minotaur, swinging at one of its legs. Another sharp pang echoed, followed by a gush of blood from the minotaur’s wounded limb. It quickly raised its upper body and swung its bat while still seated, forcing Lin into a hasty retreat.

It was then that the minotaur noticed its injured leg—specifically the knee. A deep cut now ran along it, with blood streaming out, and embedded within the wound was the knife Roben had lodged earlier.

Lin had aimed for the embedded blade, striking it with precision to drive it deeper while widening the wound. Each of his attacks seemed to have struck the blade, forcing it further into the flesh and causing even more blood to pour from the injury.

Furious, the minotaur quickly rose from the ground, clutching its bat and dashing toward Lin at full speed. However, it suddenly stumbled, tumbling forward as it once again stepped on the tennis ball. Surprise flashed across its face, but in an impressive display of agility, it immediately released its bat, landed on its hands, and darted forward on all fours, its horns aimed directly at Lin.

Lin’s eyes widened in shock as cold sweat trickled down his face, his body freezing momentarily. Unlike swinging a weapon, the minotaur’s new approach allowed it to abruptly change directions while charging, meaning that no matter where Lin tried to dodge, the beast could likely outmaneuver him and impale him with its horns.

In a desperate attempt to survive, Lin dropped flat to the ground, lying on his stomach. The minotaur immediately began lowering its body to match him but suddenly lost its balance, tumbling forward and sliding across the snow. Lin wasted no time, quickly springing to his feet and darting to his left.

The minotaur rose again in a flash, pivoting on its right leg to chase him, but the injured limb instantly gave out, sending the beast crashing down once more. It rolled across the snow but quickly stood again, now glancing at its wounded leg.

The realization finally dawned on it—the knife embedded just above its knee had torn through the muscles, and when it tried to lower its body earlier, the strain caused the injury to worsen. Lin’s sudden movements when he quickly stood up and turned had forced it to pivot on its injured leg, placing its entire body weight on one limb and applying massive pressure on the muscles around the injured knee—further tearing the muscles.

However, because the [Touchless] Region nullified pain, the minotaur couldn’t immediately assess the full extent of the damage as it worsened with each attack.

The minotaur quickly scanned the area, spotting Lin a short distance away and Roben standing nearby. For some reason, Roben wasn’t moving—he was simply watching from the sidelines, as if waiting for the right moment.

Confused, the minotaur looked back at Lin, whom it had now regarded as the more dangerous of the two. Strangely, Lin didn’t appear as tense as the beast expected; instead, he wore a relaxed expression. This shift from ‘fear’ to confidence puzzled the minotaur, marking Lin as the bigger anomaly.

However, despite Lin’s calm demeanor, his body told a different story.

From a distance, he didn’t seem out of breath, but his entire body was shaking, as if most of his bones were broken, and he was straining with all his might just to hold himself together using only his muscles.