Even if he wanted to leave, it was too late. If he could get past them and enter the narrower paths of the labyrinth again, he wouldn't be able to move and dodge freely if they decide to chase after him. As much as he wanted to avoid fighting these many minotaurs to save up energy, he had no choice but to fight.
A few of the minotaurs ahead charged forward with the rest following soon after. Zenith did the same and met them head-on. When he got in front of the nearest minotaur, he slipped past it and got himself in the middle of their formation.
He let himself be surrounded by the minotaurs. This way, even though there were a dozen minotaurs around him, only four of them were truly able to attack at the same time as the rest didn't have much space to do so. He was fighting fourteen opponents including the minotaurs he had fought previously but he effectively turned it into a one versus four situations with just the proper positioning.
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
Over the course of twenty minutes, Zenith slowly eliminated the minotaurs one at a time. Unlike the two minotaurs he had fought earlier, the others were less wary due to their numbers. They also didn't know his true abilities, furthermore, the weaknesses they left behind when they attacked were even more apparent as they had to be mindful not to hit their companions beside them. Their initial advantage had become a disadvantage, and Zenith capitalized on all of that.
However, he was also in a precarious situation. A single mistake would certainly lead to the end of his life.
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
The minotaurs were starting to lose their rationality when he killed five of their companions. This became another one of their weaknesses as they started attacking recklessly and accidentally hit the other minotaurs in the process. One of the minotaurs had actually killed its companion after smashing its head with both its hands when Zenith landed on top of it.
Zenith dodged just in time for the minotaur's attack to hit, while the brain matters of that unfortunate minotaur splattered on the ground.
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
He then killed that minotaur by stabbing its heart with his hand right after.
Zenith's fight against the minotaurs was like that of an elaborate dance. He was the main dancer that was slowly guiding the minotaurs' moves in his favor and made them follow his rhythm. No matter how many times they tried to attack him, he was always able to dodge even in the most difficult of positions.
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
And when they showed an opening, Zenith didn't hesitate to go in and reap their lives.
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
He finally killed twelve of the minotaurs, leaving only two of them. These two were also the minotaurs he fought before the others showed up. They learned from their fight earlier and were more cautious than the other minotaurs. Unfortunately for them...
"You're already tired, aren't you?" Zenith thought as he walked towards them in a calm and steady manner.
Despite their mass and body sizes, the minotaurs were unexpectedly fast. A physique with that kind of speed would've consumed quite a lot of energy as long as they didn't have any special means to counter that. That was why even if they were more careful than the other minotaurs...
"It's useless."
You killed one of the guardians of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
Fighting for such a long time greatly exhausted him, however, he knew how to pace himself well so he was able to conserve some energy. The minotaurs didn't know how to do that. As a result, they could only die from his hands.
You killed the last guardian of the labyrinth
+100 Exp
After killing all of the minotaurs, Zenith sat on the ground. He was extremely tired of fighting more than a dozen creatures who were one whole rank above him. Though he made the fight look easy, he was extremely vigilant and careful because if he took just a single attack, he would've died.
He opened his bag and took out a bottle of water. He twisted its cap and drank the water greedily with some spilling out from the corner of his mouth, further soaking his shirt that was already wet from blood and sweat.
Zenith checked his System Seed when he was done.
Status
Spirit Seeds
Quest Log
Experience Points
"Experience Points."
Zenith Victor
Title: The child who challenged a god
Race: Human
Rank: +E-Rank
Attributes
Power: +E-Rank (?) (1,792/8,000 Exp)
Dexterity: +E-Rank (?) (3,136/8,000 Exp)
Durability: +E-Rank (?) (3,074/8,000 Exp)
Vitality: +E-Rank (?) (4,699/8,000 Exp)
Hidden Attributes
Speed: +E-Rank (?)
Perception: A-Rank
Willpower: S-Rank
Luck: D-Rank
Charisma: A-Rank
Core
Spirit Core: E-Rank (?)
Remaining Experience Points: 1,500 Exp
Zenith thought for a moment before deciding to put all of the experience points he earned into Vitality. He didn't know what else was waiting for him after this labyrinth so he wanted to regain as much energy as possible.
Vitality: +E-Rank (?) (6,199/8,000 Exp)
Remaining Experience Points: 0 Exp
He was 1,801 Exp short of reaching 8000 Exp. He would've preferred it if his Vitality had reached that threshold as that would've increased its rank into -D-Rank, gaining a qualitative leap in his Vitality. But this would do as well. Putting some experience into it would still increase his recovery speed a little bit.
After that, he checked his spirit core.
His spirit core was only at E-Rank, and even though it was full of Nu, he could only use 33% of it. As for other people's spirit core at the same rank, their spirit core wouldn't be full but it would contain Nu at around 33% of their full capacity as well. Both of them could use just 33% of Nu, but the difference was in their spirit cores. Zenith's core was full, while the other wasn't.
If not for Zenith's peculiar circumstances regarding his core, its rank should've been rated +A-Rank or more.
Generally, an F-Rank spirit core could contain Nu around 10% to 19% of its full capacity. The spirit core's color in this rank would be gray.
An E-Rank spirit core had around 20% to 39% of Nu, and the color of the spirit core should've been red.
A D-Rank spirit core's Nu was around 40% to 59% of its full capacity— its color was orange.
As for C-Rank, it was 60% to 79% with the color green.
Then a B-Rank spirit core was at 80% to 89% with the color blue.
Finally, an A-Rank spirit core contained Nu that was around 90% to 95% of its full capacity, and it had a purple color.
The recovery speed of each spirit core was different as well. An A-Rank spirit core could recover 90% of its Nu within an hour, meaning, it had a recovery speed of 1.5% per minute. As for an F-Rank spirit core— the lowest rank— it could only recover 10% of its Nu in 10 hours or 1% per hour. Zenith was at E-Rank and he could recover 20% of his Nu within 8 hours or 2.5% per hour.
After he killed all the minotaurs, he had used up 29% of his available Nu and was only left with 4%. To recover it all, it would take him almost twelve hours whereas an A-Rank spirit core could've recovered 90% in just a single hour. The difference was staggering and it showed just how superior higher-ranked spirit cores were.
"I need to buy a spirit seed that can help replenish my Nu," Zenith thought.
Ever since he had learned that his spirit core was only E-Rank, he had been meaning to find and buy one. Sadly, these kinds of spirit seeds were sought after and thus, incredibly expensive. He didn't have enough money to buy one. He could only drop this thought temporarily.
A few minutes later, when Zenith recovered some of his strength, he started scouring the area and found some wood and worn-out clothing from the skeletons. He then took out a match from his bag and made a fire.
When the fire became stable, he grabbed a knife from his bag and started slicing through one of the minotaurs' flesh. The knife had a hard time cutting through its skin, but eventually, he succeeded, and it became much easier to slice it up from the insides.
Anyone would've been disturbed by his actions. The minotaur's lower body nearly resembled that of a man so a lot of people might have issues with it. But for him, the minotaur was nothing but food that could provide nourishment for his body.
Zenith skewered their meat on a stick and roasted it over the fire while he carefully observed his surroundings.
The skeletons in this place most likely belonged to the people who went missing on this mountain. When they entered the mountain, they were probably dragged over by the mysterious power of this temple only to be killed and eaten by the minotaurs guarding this place. The only problem was there were too many skeletons which were inconsistent with the number of people who had disappeared here.
This only further proved his theory that this temple was transported here by the Sword Saint. These corpses most likely came from the place where the temple stood previously.
It also seemed like the minotaurs were cannibalizing each other here from what he had seen the two minotaurs did. Every time he killed one of their kind, they probably weren't angry at him for killing them but were angry that he killed them too early. That was his assumption anyway.
Zenith started eating the minotaurs' flesh and slept a few hours later. He spent ten hours in total in this place before leaving to continue exploring the labyrinth.
Finally, he reached the end of the labyrinth and found a locked steel door blocking his path. This door wasn't locked to prevent the minotaurs from going further. The lock could easily be removed from his side so it was probably to stop those on the other side from entering the labyrinth.
And even though Zenith was just standing in front of the door, he could feel a suffocating pressure leaking out from the tiny gaps in the door. There was definitely something terrifying beyond this door.
Zenith didn't open the door right away. Instead, he waited until his Nu fully recovered. He didn't know what was on the other side but it would surely be much stronger than the minotaurs. He needed to be in his peak condition. Every little advantage would count.
When he finally recovered his Nu, Zenith removed the lock and slowly pushed open the doors which made an annoying squeaking sound. Zenith entered the place and found himself in a huge dungeon.
Preliminary Test Subquest:
You have successfully exited the labyrinth.
Reward:
+1,000 Exp
Zenith didn't have the time to care much about the reward as his eyes were trained on the creature ahead. All of the creature's limbs were shackled up from the walls to the center of the dungeon. The chains on its limbs were long and if it wanted to, it could've walked over to his side and closed the distance between them.
Zenith cautiously came closer, and the appearance of the creature was then made apparent to him.
It was a creature that stood on its two legs with a size that was twice bigger than a regular man. Its body was covered all over by its fur and its head was that of a wolf's. Though the creature looked huge, it was skinny for its size.
[Lycan]
Rank: +A-Rank
Description: The guardian of the dungeon.
Preliminary Test Subquest:
Eliminate or evade the guardian and find the exit of the dungeon.
Reward:
10,000 Exp
It was a creature standing at +A-Rank! For an +E-Rank like him, the Lycan was a creature akin to a god!
"You've come," said the creature with a tired and hoarse voice.