The source of the loud sound was now in view within the dark tunnels. The shaking had finally stopped as it was no longer moving.
Now standing before the group was a gigantic creature with the body of a man but the head of a bull. It was covered from head to toe in brown fur and had two horns upon it's head.
It's eyes glowed red similar to those of the beast. It's nose released some kind of steam as it's eyes focused on the group of humans within it's territory.
"What is that?" Kate yelled as she quickly grabbed her bow from her back.
"A Minotaur" Jay replied as he too readied his weapon. His large scythe was now in his trembling hands. "It has the body of a man but the head of a bull, not to mention it's incredible size." he said as if it wasn't obvious enough.
The Minotaur came closer as it walked towards the middle of the open area, each step causing a loud thud. In it's hand was an axe of great size to match it's strength.
"Analyze" Jay thought to himself in order to trigger The System's ability.
[Name: Minotaur]
[Weakness: Unknown]
[Strength: 100]
[Stamina: 40]
[Agility: 40]
[HP 100/100]
"We need to run" Jay shouted at the group as he read the info on the screen before him.
The others could hear his shout but chose to stay focused on the beast in front of them. They had never encountered a beast of this size and unlike Jay, they could not see it's stats.
"We can't run, what if we run into a dead end? The best plan is to take it out now." Lance shouted. The others agreed and were also prepared for battle.
They all had held their weapons in their hand and a few even readied their grimoires to go all out from the start. Those with ranged weapons like Kate moved to the back while Lance and others with melee weapons moved to the front.
"I'm not going to die here." Jay thought as he started to slowly walk backwards. He was hoping to leave during battle and hopefully escape this place.
Realizing that he was in some sort of maze, he quickly stopped moving back and thought about how he could encounter more Minotaurs and even end up trapped in a dead end.
Then something in his head clicked.
"A Minotaur and a maze like structure? I have read stories like that in my world. This must be a labyrinth."
"Raaaaawh" the Minotaur roared from it's position as it too was ready to fight. This caused Jay to snap out of his thoughts and fear overtook his mind once more.
He was not prepared for an enemy with such high stats and decided to only watch on as the others faced this almighty beast. They looked confident and only one or two seemed slightly worried.
"Fire." Lance yelled while pointing at the Minotaur.
From behind him shot three arrows made of wind. Kate stood behind with her bow in her hands aiming towards the beast. The arrows were transparent but had a green aura outline which showed it's arrow-like shape.
The arrows penetrated it's chest but did not do much as it barely flinched or even seemed affected.
"Fire" Lance yelled again.
This time however, it was actual arrows with fire on the tips that were shot towards the beast. Upon contact, the fire seemed to have grown a bit and burned the areas where the arrows landed.
"Raaaaawh" it yelled showing that the attack had inflicted more damage than the last.
The arrows this time was shot by Amber Oakley who was one of the fire magic users in the group. Just like Kate, she wielded a bow as well but focused more on attacking than support.
The rain of arrows from the two continued, stopping the Minotaur in it's place. Jay watched on in awe but knew it would take much more to stop this beast.
"Let's go" Lance yelled as he charge forward.
Charging forward by his side was Thomas Blackwood and Lynn Garfield, the earth magic users. They looked confident as if whatever they had planned would work without a doubt.
Bang
The Minotaur slammed down the axe in it's hand after noticing the trio approaching. The three dodged the strike as they continued their charge. A hole opened in the ground where the strike was.
Lance saw the opportunity and ran up the arm of the beast with his battle axe in hand as the other two continued forward. The arrows had to stopped as Kate and Amber did not want to risk hurting their teammates.
Halfway up the arm of the beast, Lance raised his battle axe and sliced down with all his might. His hands looked almost metallic as they gripped his weapon.
The arm of the beast was sliced off and fell to the ground with a thud. Lance landed near the arm and signaled for the other two to attack.
"What? How strong are these adventurers?" Jay wondered after the shocking turn of events.
"Raaaaawh" the Minotaur screamed out not in anger but in pain.
Now standing behind the Minotaur, Thomas and Lynn were ready to attack. With simultaneous movements of their hands, they began to control the earth around them.
Chunks of rocks from the floor shot out towards the beast and penetrated it's back. It continued to roar as green blood gushed out of the wounds.
Jay watched on in awe. He could not believe what was happening in front of him. The powerful Minotaur was currently getting treated like a normal beast. These adventurers were stronger than they looked.
"Get Ready" Lance yelled.
Thomas and Lynn once again raised chunks of rock from the floor beneath. This time however, the pair did not shoot the chunks towards the beast but held them in the air. The rocks took shape as they connected and formed into a giant spear.
The Minotaur noticed the rocks floating and connecting behind him and turned around. The axe from his sliced off arm was now in his other hand, but it would be utterly useless.
"Now" Lance yelled.
The two swung their arm towards the beast. The spear shot forward with their movement and into the chest of the beast. After a moment, the beast fell to it's side with the spear still in it's body.
Thud
"Is it dead?" Kate asked.
No one answered as they did not know the answer.
"Analyze"
[Name: Minotaur]
[Weakness: Unknown]
[Strength: 100]
[Stamina: 40]
[Agility: 40]
[HP 10/100]
"It isn't dead after all of those strikes?" Jay thought to himself. He could not tell the others as they would ask how he could tell. He was already under suspicion of causing the undead beast in the forest and decided it would be best to wait for the Minotaur to show them itself.
It did not move. Not even a slight twitch could be seen.
"I think it's dead." Lance yelled as he raised his hand in the air like a boxer who just won his match. The others began to celebrate as well. Jay however knew that it was still alive and he had to do something himself.
He would also get EXP for landing the killing blow.
With all his agility in play, he dashed towards the beast. His body was metallic as he had activated his Harden skill for extra strength. Scythe in hand, he leapt into the air and came down with a slash.
His scythe was now penetrating the neck of the beast and blood gushed out like a geyser. The others watched on confused.
"Raaaaawh" the beast yelled out in pain. After a few seconds, it stopped and was certainly dead.
"Nice job kid." Lance yelled out. "But how did you know it was still alive?"
"I could just feel it" Jay replied as he grabbed his scythe from the neck of the beast and wiped the blood on it's fur.
With the fight over, the group prepared to choose a tunnel and head into it. They still had to find the rest of the group and could not waste any more time.
Grey and Claire who did not participate in the battle were tasked with scribbling down notes about the beast to give to the kingdom in case any were to be spotted in another dungeon. This was the first time a beast like this would ever be recorded.
Jay and the others began to head to a tunnel with hopes of finding any clues on which would be best. Choosing the middle tunnel where the Minotaur came from, it seemed the safest since any beast down that path would already be dead as a result of the Minotaur's strength.
Jay told the others his idea and they all agreed. The middle path would be the best first choice.
Bang
A loud sound echoed around the room from behind.
The Minotaur was getting up just like the beast in the forest would get up after being killed. However that wasn't the worst part. The loud sound from before was the sound of the beast's hands pounding the ground.
Under it's fist was a puddle of blood. It was exactly where the other two were standing.