Chapter 35: Dungeon (9)
"Okay!" Scarlet Tornado replied eagerly.
She swapped places with Blake and spun around. Next to her, Silver Dash angrily thrust his sword at the minotaur. They were certainly bold, but Scarlet Tornado's reaction intrigued Blake the most.
What made fighting a minotaur different from facing Ice Zombies? Wasn't the minotaur stronger and more dangerous? Couldn't it fling her across the battlefield with ease? So why did she seem so excited to confront this mini-boss rather than the Ice Zombies?
Blake brushed off those questions, assuming only a weakling would dwell on such thoughts.
In truth, Scarlet Tornado drew her courage from having companions by her side. Simply knowing her friends were with her gave her enough confidence to take on the fiercest enemies. Many would find that heroic—someone willing to march into danger alongside her comrades—but to Blake, she just seemed increasingly insignificant.
He left her position and sprinted away from the mansion, announcing he'd gather Ice Zombie blood to control the mini-boss. He was so determined that he ignored any objections and did exactly as he'd said.
Once out of sight, Blake summoned Beatrix from his shadow and ordered her to collect Ice Zombie arms. He knew, with their known weaknesses and her uncanny aim, she could easily bring back plenty. A dark menace in the snow, Beatrix prowled the Ice Zombies' camps, striking from angles where no snowball could reach. She moved so fluidly that hunting seemed like second nature to her, dispatching one undead abomination after another in a near-artistic display of skill.
Naturally, Blake would have praised her for that. Indeed, he did when she returned surprisingly fast, carrying at least thirty Ice Zombie arms in her inventory—and with a horde of Ice Zombies sprinting after her from the horizon.
"Well done, Beatrix," he said. "I'm sure they disgusted you, too. Sorry for putting you through that."
She nodded, then quickly shook her head.
Blake smirked. "I'll find a way for us to enter dungeons on our own. I refuse to rely on garbage every time I want to explore."
Sol perked up happily, evidently agreeing.
With new resources in hand and a swarm of undead behind him, Blake rushed back to the battlefield, which had taken a dire turn in his absence. The tank lay sprawled on the ground, watching helplessly as the minotaur drew near. Having been knocked flat, he hadn't caught his breath, and now it looked like the monster would finish him.
His health points were so low that even a weak punch could end his time in this dungeon.
The minotaur raised its leg. The tank shut his eyes.
Suddenly, an arm whipped past, smacking the minotaur's horn. Blood splattered across the horn, some landing on the tank's face and forcing him to open his eyes. He watched as the minotaur looked around in confusion before spotting the horde of Ice Zombies heading its way—one bearing the scent of its target.
Without hesitation, the minotaur charged past the stunned tank and slammed into that Ice Zombie, killing it instantly.
Meanwhile, Blake stood over the tank. After quickly assessing the man's stats, he told the healer to restore him and explained the situation to everyone.
"I brought bait," he said. "Use it to hurt the minotaur. We've got enough time to bring him down before he turns on us again."
From that moment on, the party focused solely on attacking the mini-boss. Blake's job wasn't just dealing damage but also ensuring the minotaur focused on other monsters. Even so, he inflicted the most damage himself; his katana tore cleanly through the minotaur's side, carving out hefty chunks of flesh.
It seemed that whenever the minotaur turned its attention to the other creatures, its defenses fell sharply.
After about thirty minutes of pushing their avatars to the limit, they finally took down the BlizzardBorn Minotaur. It collapsed, lying still like a toppled statue.
Thanks to Blake's Butcher title, he was guaranteed at least some minotaur meat, fur, and possibly other items. Everything else would be random.
Luck stayed on his side:
Then, a second key to the dungeon formed in his hands.