Please Retreat To Safety

[Note: The tower will send you back to the entrance in 1 minute. Please collect your loot.]

Trying to escape the range of Skeleton Minotaurs' leap skill, I ran to the other end of the bone stage away from the items I had discarded earlier. To retrieve them, I would have to risk getting closer to the Skeleton Minotaur in the vicinity of the items. 

Adding the extra stat points to my agility stats, I felt nimble and have managed to dodge the skeleton Minotaur's attacks so far despite my large body. Whether my agility was enough to circle the Skeleton Minotaur to pick up the discarded items, I don't know. But I was sure that with my large body dodging Skeleton Minotaur's attack at close range would be challenging despite my increased agility. 

I can afford to lose the gauntlets and the Boots since they weren't my size but not the plumped helmet. It fit my head and increased my defense stat by 3 points. At my current level, additional three stat points meant a lot. Whether it was worth risking confrontation with the Skeleton Minotaur for it, I had yet to decide. 

The reason I wasn't willing to take the risk was that I had already completed the Bonus Dungeon, which meant I would no longer benefit from the Dungeon fail penalty if I were to die here. From the looks of the Skeleton Minotaur guard, it only required to land one attack to mortally wound me or even kill me on the spot. 

A common-grade item was not worth my life. So I decided to be smart about it. That is to wait and watch. So far, the skeleton monsters have shown no restraint in using their skills. So I believe, to get close to me, the Skeleton Minotaur will soon use one of its skills once they are out of their cool-down period. I can use that opportunity to pick up all three items. As long as I time and react without hesitation, I can dodge the Skeleton Minotaur's attack and go around it to pick up the items. 

Placing the rusty sword into the storage bag to empty my hand, I prepared my mind accordingly, but reality is a bitch. Never expect everything will go according to your plan. If you did, then you are only setting yourself for failure. 

*Boom* * Boom* *Boom* 

Arriving at the center of the bone state, the Skeleton Minotaur guard started hopping in a circle with its arms up in the air and ox head bowed down as if it was performing a ritual dance. But Skeleton Minotaur's hops were producing tremors in the bone stage. I could feel them at the edge of the bone state. 

[ Level 1 Titled Skeleton Minotaur guard's skill has influenced Trial Taker with abnormal status Stun. 

Note: Trial Taker will be unable to attack or move for the next 2 seconds due to the abnormal status 'Stun.' ] 

[Name: Ryan Hunt (Obesity) >> Ryan Hunt (Obesity) (Stun)] 

'Fuck!' I cussed, seeing the Skeleton Minotaur stop hopping in a circle and dash at an astonishing speed with its Ox head bowed and pointy horns aiming at me. When I was finally able to move, the Skeleton Minotaur was a few feet away from me. Rising the round wooden shield to my defense, I dived sideways. 

[Alert! Trial Taker is under attack, transfer canceled. 

Note: The tower will transfer you back to the entrance in 5 minutes. Please retreat to safety.]

*Crack* 

I escaped the full-frontal clash with the Skeleton Minotaur. But its shoulder managed to nudge my large body in mid-air though I was able to shield myself with the round wooden shield in time. With speed backing the Skeleton Minotaur's bulky body, that minor nudge sent the airborne me flying, while the wooden shield broke into two halves and fell off my wrist. 

[Health: 100/120(-20) >> 89/120(-20)]

[Item: Gray Round Wooden Shield

 Durability: 27% >> 12%] 

I watched the Skeleton Minotaur fail to stop at the edge of the bone stage and fall into the void while my body landed on the bone stage but was pushed to the edge and fell off of the bone stage. 

*Clench* 

Despite the odds, I managed to hook my fingers onto the slit between the tightly clamped bones that formed the bone stage and held on to the edge of the bone stage while my heavy body dangled in the void. When I looked down, all I saw was pitch black darkness. The adrenaline coursing through my body stopped me from dwelling on the dreadful empty void surrounding me and helped me focus on my situation. 

[You gained 1900 Exp for killing Level 1 Titled Skeleton Minotaur guard.] 

[Congratulations! You have leveled up. 

 Level 2 (5%)  >>>  Level 3 (0%)

+10 Health

+10 Stamina

+2 Stat points]

'Did the system consider the little contact between the skeleton Minotaur and me as an attack?' Shaking my head, I decided to focus on getting out of my current predicament. Right now, I have two options, one to climb back up the bone stage, and the second is to wait for 5 minutes to pass and have the tower transfer me to the entrance. 

My stamina wasn't the issue. It will last me for a while. I had my physical fitness to worry about. During my weeks of workout, I couldn't even perform a single pull-up helping me realize that my upper body strength was meager. My hands can not hold on to the bone stage much longer and will give out soon. So waiting for the tower wasn't an option, nor climbing back up. Leaving me with the only option, hopefully it will work out, "View Status."

[Stat points: 2 >> 0]

[ Strength: 6 >> 8]

With the newfound strength, I directed all my power and mind to pull my heavy body back onto the bone stage. With a lot of effort, I managed to get my left leg on the bone stage, and from there, the rest was easy. I finally managed to climb on the bone stage. Lying on my back, I glance into the void above while patting to catch my breath. It felt dreadfully empty. I did not want to spend another second here. But around here, I wasn't the one in control. The tower was. 

Instead of worrying about it, I did what I could. I collected the gauntlets, Boots, helmet, and the two broken halves of the wooden shield into my storage bag. And then waited for the tower to send me back to the entrance.