Chapter 6— Minotaur
"You have killed an Ogre!
+50exp +45 bp."
"Congratulation! You have completed the first mission/requirment to participate in the trial!
Sorry But this mission don't give reward, the trial does(when you complete it) But I can guide you so that you can complete the trial, and make things go for better.
So here is your next mission... Run :)"
Valor saw that but didn't mind the regard of the last part, again, a translucent wisp came out the body of the green ogre and went inside him. Then like before, he felt like something added up to him, but he doesn't know what it is.
So he looked at his usual system but saw nothing, he looked at the gold one, there he saw new words added up.
"Four souls gained, Starting to devour. Remember, Keep devouring to fasten your pace"
He looked at it baffled before muttering the word, "devour?" with uncertainty, He looked at it waiting but what showed up made him want to slice this system up.
"Processing souls is a natural thing, understand it on your own. It's your power after all, I can assure you that it will help you get stronger than the standards. So start moving your ass and discover things! Don't wait for answers, Seek the answers."
Valor looked at it before he asked it curious and angered, 'and how the hell can I discover it? Huh!?' He was looking at it when he noticed a goblin rushing to him, it is alone with no other companions. But unlike the others, it has the courage to fight and die with honor.
Valor sighed with his mana still burning, he faced it with seriousness, pitying this guy was born in the wrong species. Valor raised his sword and made it descend slanting with strength, killing the goblin by slicing its neck.
With the notification showing he had gain exp, another translucent wisp came out of the body and went inside him. Valor then felt it again, he gained something that added up to him, but he doesn't know where nor what.
So he decided to look around while turning off his magic body, The monsters are all dead, lying with their blood splattered on the ground. It took them faster than he thought they would take. Valor went to the group, "What happened to us?" He asked them worried. The other also for sure felt weird, they went into something they don't know.
"Couldn't it be because of that?" Marcus asked curious, while the others got what he meant. That scene and that place. Valor went quiet, not even minding the feast they had done— They killed a group of monsters while in their first path. That's something even the prodigies from the capital cannot achieve.
He looked at the plants that grew on the hard soil of the forest, They are living even though life is tough.
Valor who was thinking looked at the bodies on the brown soil, he was about to move when a rumbling was felt, the leaves on the soil shook while the land vibrated. Something is coming.
With that thought into his mind, he again knew what was coming, A monster of their nightmare, "Run! It's a higher class of chimeras: A minotaur!" He subconsciously remembered it again, a memory not his but feels like his.
The other heard him clearly, their expression turned grave before they ran with all their might.
Valor then went into his enhanced mode again, But he didn't used the very basic magic fire circle, he used electricity to make his body fast.
"Magic body activated— Electric based.
+12Speed, +10 agility"
He ran fast while pondering what is happening, he can remember himself walking inside a tunnel where he was unusually small this time— not more than a meter. He was walking when the soil rumbled, He shook in fear while he went to the corner side of the path, afraid that he might be stomped to death. Three seconds later and he saw it, the monster with horns and bones that grew outside the body, its ribs that grew outside thick and wide, making a tough armor of exoskeleton on its chest. It is three meters tall and has human-like arms, muscular and hairy.
They ran with speed but the rumbling didn't weaken, it intensified. The four felt pressured, they don't even see it yet they are now shaking with the rumbling it creates. Cold sweats formed while they ran faster, it isn't something they can win nor fight against. A minotaur isn't within their chart of opponents right now, so they run with woes.
"We aren't going to die! We aren't going to die!..." Sarah's incantation rang running, while the three also prayed they'll live. They had the confidence to kill the group before but killing a minotaur is just too much, even for their strong-willed souls.
"There is a river ahead! We can use that to escape! I have heard that minotaurs are bad swimmers!" Valor shouted to the four, they looked at him baffled, and asked shouting, "How do you know that?" Angela asked curiously because that info isn't inside any books. "I just know! Maybe it's the power I got!" Valor answered shouting, he doesn't have time to explain more.
They heeded his command and run in the direction Valor pointed, They ran and ran until they heard the splashes of waters, relief and ecstasy filled them, a sovereign that will save their lives showed up. "The river is near!" Marcus shouted with an expecting tone mixed in.
When they were twenty meters away from the cliff, A shadow three meters high showed up rushing from the cover of the trees, Its every step brings tremor while it roared in madness. It has a spear that is already aimed. Seeing the minotaur, they can say that ten seconds is all it needs to puncture all of them.
The four just run while they went into a formation they made on the spot, the two girls ran in front first while the two boys secured their backs. The girls will fire spells while the boys slow it down, though they highly doubt it will slow down, the two men want to die with honor. Valor clutched his sword while Marcus readied his handgun. Though it has four inches of barrel, very long for a handgun, he can control it with precision.
The minotaur roared, its exoskeletons contracted while steam's exhaust whistled out its large nostrils, The Land shook with its every step—Warning them that death is near. Valor removed his electric circle and replaced it with an earth one, his endurance went up to 20 and his Dexterity went up to 15.
He knows that the spear will take lives if he doesn't take risks, with the girls' last step from the cliff, the spear came extending to their back—A mini-second is all it takes to puncture Sarah, then next is Angela.
So at the right time, Valor turned back and took the blow. He turned his short sword sideways so that the width of his sword catches its metal endpoint. And with a loud ting! His sword bent while he felt the blow travelling across his body.
With that blow, his arms and shoulders numbed, before he was blasted away with the overbearing force, he directly fell to the cliff. That scene of flying away the minotaur was embedded in his mind, what he only remembered is him falling to the river bareback. The three followed diving, having the minotaur be stuck above the cliff— looking at them with anger in its eyes.
Darkness enveloped Valor when his body smashed on the cold water, his senses stopped working while he floated in the never-ending darkness. His body was then carried by the flow, also guided by his friends' hands.
---
The water splashed against the wall of rocks, the sound of the river echoed below the moon and stars— But lights above aren't enough to brighten the body of water that is trapped between the tall walls of dirt. Luckily, mosses glowing luminescences had grown here, It contains bacterias that emit light in the darkness— Illuminating the river that flows between the wall of rocks.
On the left side of the river, A rock wall with a hole slightly above the water flow can be seen. It is 1.5 meters high and is three-meter wide, light escapes from that hole while voices echoed hurriedly, panting and also panicking. "Quick! Drag him here!" Sarah said in a hurry, Marcus with his body soaked wet didn't lag and dragged Valor's body to Sarah. She is a healer after all— It is her responsibility to check if he's alive.
Valor's body was then dragged near the fire, to warm it up with the heat.
She extended her hand, and tried to feel any heat inside him. To his neck and forehead, "He's cold." Sarah said shaking, She couldn't feel any heat so she checked if he is breathing. She leaned her head on his chest and waited. She was just like that for one minute, hoping she would feel a slight movement of breathing. But there is none, Her expression turned grave before checking his pulse with the tiniest hope she has.
Finally, there is a beat, But it weakens with every pump. She shook in fear before she acted with a slight professional self merged with her, her hand merged in front of his chest before she casted a spell for healing. Her eyes lost hue, slightly losing her mind in this situation— She had already seen many, and every time she sees humans dying, she always loses her composure. But there is still a hope now, She can't lose composure.
"Please live, please live." She said while her hand glowed white, magic circles with only white colors are on her hands. That spell is for keeping a person's heart beating and running blood in surgery, but Valor is losing oxygen right now—She can't double cast. Her eyes turned watery, she knows the three is leaning on her to save Valor. But who is she? A support enhancer— in her first path, The bodybuilders that don't buff their body, instead they buff their accomplice—Healing is one of those.
But with her losing her composure, drowned with her intuition that she is the only one who can do something. Calm words echoed in her ears, "What are you doing?" Within this emergency, Marcus asked, She looked at him with complexity in her eyes, Like she's looking at a lost monkey. "I'm doing CPR! What does it looks like!? Your friend is dying right now." She said and did what must be done again, But the two only looked at her, slightly amused. Sarah quickly noticed that and looked at them, "What!?" She asked them with frustration, "No... Yeah..." Angela said thinking what to say, "No... yeah, yeah he doesn't need your CPR. His heart is pumping right?... Yeah, He will wake up soon."
Sarah just looked at them, Baffled by what she said—They remained calm with their supposed best friend dying, And can still say these ridiculous words.