The Minotaur's Demise

“Hah… Has it really been four months already?”

That much time had passed since I’d been abandoned on the island. I was being pushed to my mental limits. I redirected all that stress into anger toward the Minotaur.

“That damn Minotaur. Does it have some kind of grudge against me? One of these days, I’m going to kill that bastard.”

After completing my mountain knife, I’d begun challenging the Minotaur to battle. Unfortunately, the results had been disappointing. Day after day, I failed to defeat it and ended up jumping into the sea to escape.

An ordinary iron mountain knife couldn’t cut through the Minotaur’s muscles. Fortunately, the Minotaur wasn’t particularly fast, which was why I’d managed to survive. Even so, I’d been injured numerous times.

Despite that, I continued challenging the Minotaur. Perhaps I’d gone a little insane by that point. And the Minotaur wasn’t the only creature I fought. I also battled Hammer Lizards, Lizardmen, and Treants, tree monsters that inhabited the same area as the Minotaur.

Defeating a Treant yielded a wood-attribute Heartstone. Using the Effect Imbuement technique, I could turn these Heartstones into potions.

Healing potions were divided into five grades, from Grade 1 to Grade 5, and the only ones I could produce were Grade 5.

These potions allowed me to heal the wounds I sustained while fighting the Minotaur. Grade 5 potions couldn’t heal injuries that reached the internal organs, but they could treat wounds on the surface of the body.

When my level reached “15,” I acquired a skill called “Darkness Manipulation.” This technique allowed me to manipulate shadows and darkness. At Skill Level 1, I could use [Darkness Cloak], which created darkness around my body to conceal my appearance.

Flame Manipulation and Darkness Manipulation belonged to a category known as Manipulation Arts, which resembled the magic found in video games. Apparently, Manipulation Arts used a special method to imprint knowledge directly into the brain. As the Skill Level increased, additional techniques and knowledge would be unlocked.

And finally, I acquired a technique that might allow me to defeat the Minotaur. When my Flame Manipulation reached Skill Level 3, I gained access to an offensive technique called [Explosive Flame Strike].

[Explosive Flame Strike] was a technique that fired an exploding ball of fire at a target. When I tested it, the explosion proved remarkably powerful. It packed enough force to tear a tree trunk to shreds.

The fireball itself was only about the size of a baseball, and its initial speed was comparable to a stone thrown by a person, so it was possible to dodge. However, if I aimed at the ground near an enemy’s feet, the resulting blast would almost certainly inflict damage.

“Hehehe. Now I can finally kill that Minotaur.”

Perhaps I’d become intoxicated by the excitement I experienced in battle. I could barely contain my delight at the prospect of defeating the Minotaur. I gathered my equipment and headed toward the sandy beach.

When I reached the pier, an interesting idea occurred to me. I decided to set a trap using fishing line. By stretching fishing line between the pier’s support posts, I could create a tripwire that would catch someone’s feet.

I doubted an opponent like the Minotaur would fall for such a simple trap, but perhaps it would prove useful somehow.

From the pier, I headed toward the forest where the Minotaur lived. This was my first time exploring this particular area. I proceeded cautiously with my mountain knife in hand and encountered a Treant, a tree monster that moved using its roots.

The Treant stood approximately two meters tall. It had three legs formed from modified roots and a head resembling a Venus flytrap. Defeating this monster with a single strike from my iron mountain knife was difficult. I needed to strike the same spot about three times to sever its trunk.

By now, I’d become capable of delivering precise strikes with my mountain knife. I defeated the Treants, collected their Heartstones, and continued deeper into the forest. Then, just as I’d expected, I encountered the Minotaur.

However, something happened that I hadn’t quite anticipated.

“N-No way. Why the hell are there three Minotaurs?!”

Three pairs of eyes belonging to enormous, towering bull-headed monsters glared down at me.

This was bad. Really bad! I immediately turned around and fled. Dealing with one Minotaur was troublesome enough, but three were completely beyond anything I’d anticipated. Thunderous footsteps pursued me from behind, shaking the ground. And there was more than one set.

“You cowardly bastards!”

I found myself cornered at the pier. Three Minotaurs blocked my path ahead. I tried escaping toward the air-raid shelter, but the Minotaur on the far left cut me off.

“Looks like I’ve got no choice but to swim. Man, that water’s going to be freezing.”

It was winter, definitely not the season for taking a dip in the sea.

Feeling almost ready to cry, I sprinted toward the end of the pier. I jumped over the trap I’d set earlier and, upon reaching the far end, spun around.

The Minotaurs came thundering down the pier, their heavy footsteps echoing across the wooden structure. I bit my lip and prepared myself to jump into the sea.

Just then, the Minotaur leading the charge caught its foot in my fishing-line trap and lost its balance. It let out a roar before tumbling into the sea. The second Minotaur glanced briefly at its fallen companion as it continued forward, only to catch its own foot in the trap. Losing its balance, it swung its enormous axe around in an attempt to steady itself.

The axe struck the face of the Minotaur approaching from behind. The two Minotaurs collided and toppled into the sea together.

Unable to comprehend what had just happened, I stood there watching with my mouth hanging open like an idiot. The Minotaurs that had fallen into the sea desperately struggled to surface, but their bodies were apparently heavier than water, and they couldn’t make it back up.

After struggling for approximately ten minutes, the Minotaurs finally exhausted their strength and sank to the seabed. Their bodies then transformed into Heartstones. At that moment, I heard that familiar voice.

Immediately afterward, my entire body grew unbearably hot, and excruciating pain surged through me. Wave after wave of agony washed over me, as though every cell in my body was being reconstructed. I nearly lost consciousness, but passing out in a place like this would be dangerous. Somehow, I endured and waited for the pain to subside.

But after all the effort I’d put into raising my level, the Minotaurs had ended up dying because of a single fishing-line trap.

“Give me back all my time and effort!”

I shouted toward the sea where the Minotaurs had sunk. I’d spent months working desperately to defeat them. And now, for things to end like this…

As I endured the pain, I thought back on all the months of hard work I’d put in.

My level had risen all the way to “20.” Attributes such as Strength and Agility increased by approximately one or two points with each level, but Mental Ability seemed to increase much more slowly.

Was it because my brain wasn’t particularly impressive? I couldn’t help sighing. My Strength had reached “37,” which felt like it had entered the realm of superhuman ability. I could perform a handstand on a single finger, and when I jumped straight up, I could leap nearly two meters into the air.

The increase in my Strength had granted me superhuman power, but its growth was also beginning to plateau.

Perhaps Strength couldn’t increase indefinitely and had an upper limit. In that case, it might be better to focus on improving skills such as Lesser Heavenly Circuit and developing abilities that could temporarily enhance my Strength. Incidentally, Lesser Heavenly Circuit, which was apparently a form of qigong, had reached Skill Level 4. I was now close to entering the Advanced Practitioner category.

There was another important development. My Darkness Manipulation had reached Skill Level 2, allowing me to acquire an ability called [Shadow Space]. This ability connected to a separate dimension known as Shadow Space and allowed me to manifest a pitch-black, circular boundary.

However, I still didn’t really understand what Shadow Space was. I thought I might be able to put things inside it, but nothing would go through. After examining the ability more carefully, I discovered that only objects possessing a synchronization function could enter Shadow Space.

Apparently, tools possessing the ability to synchronize with Shadow Space could be created from darkness-attribute Heartstones. I could make them using [Effect Imbuement], the technique I’d acquired when Heartstone Processing Technique reached Skill Level 5.

Four additional skills had also become available for selection: “Saber Technique,” “Glass Crafting,” “Trap Technique,” and “Examination.” I wanted to acquire Saber Technique and Examination, but reconsidered and decided to wait until I’d moved somewhere safe.

I peered into the water from the pier. Something glittered on the seabed. They were the Minotaurs’ Heartstones.

“I suppose I really should retrieve them…”

A cold wind brushed against my cheeks. Swimming in the middle of winter, huh? Well, it couldn’t be helped. I took off my clothes and jumped into the sea. Diving underwater, I retrieved the Heartstones. The Minotaurs’ Heartstones possessed the fire attribute and were approximately the size of golf balls.

After climbing out of the sea, I got dressed and returned to the air-raid shelter. I sat down inside and acquired “Saber Technique” and “Examination” from the Status screen.

Saber Technique turned out to resemble Chinese saber arts rather than Japanese swordsmanship or kendo. Examination was also different from what I’d imagined. It was similar to the ultrasound examinations performed in hospitals and was useful for diagnosing illnesses and injuries. I sighed, thinking about how I’d spent twelve points acquiring these two skills.

“Well, whatever. From now on, I’ll concentrate on building a raft.”