Cyberserk

Chapter 27 - Minotaur King

An hour was followed by a new hour. A turn in the tunnel was followed by a new turn. Behind the killed minotaur the players were met by a new minotaur. After several victories, the guys were able to see the exact characteristics of the monster.

[Minotaur (Mutant.) 

Level: 9.

Life: 180-210.

Damage: 42-66. 

Defense: 16.

Skill: Stun. Strike the enemy deals normal damage, temporarily stunning it. Time Stunning duration 1.2 seconds.

The Minotaur is an aggressive creature of Evil. This mutant attacks its prey immediately and never retreats. The Minotaur's strength and daring often cause the mutant to warn its prey with a frightening mooing sound. Be afraid of the minotaur's ax strike. He can leave an opponent dazed and unable to strike back or flee!] 

Fighting the aggressive bulls was not difficult. The boys were able to find a comfortable way to share in the victory. Tom put aside his katana and armed himself with two daggers. It was convenient for him to get close to these monsters and, after a Stan strike, deliver quick, short blows to the mutants' legs. There was no way to avoid being stunned! Support with magical attacks didn't help either. No amount of water magic could hold back the minotaur. 

After Dan sacrificed the first hobbits, the boys didn't wait until the skill of summoning the shaggy-haired braves was restored. They wanted to test their strength against the minotaur.

The test was a success. Tom managed to draw the monster's aggression completely to himself. But after the fight, Dan upgraded the phantom.

After the minotaurs, the familiar trophies in the form of leather were left behind. A stack of leather began to accumulate in the inventory next to the poison from the underground spiders.

The minotaurs proved to be restless guards. They didn't stand still and patrolled their sections of the dungeon grounds looking for trespassers. But the boys were happy with the fact that they had never been attacked by two minotaurs at the same time. 

"If our memories are to be believed, this dungeon isn't going to end anytime soon. Will you find the strength to walk to the exit?" Tom looked at Dan with a smile.

"I feel fine. Don't worry. The vile mooing of the minotaurs drives away any signs of sleep. I can walk to the end. I'm even willing to risk testing the minotaur's might myself!" Raven was not lying. He wanted to experience the challenges of fighting a new monster. The player knew they had hours of suicidal battle with the dungeon boss ahead of them.

The clone hesitated for a while but then agreed.

"You are a good brother in arms. Soon you will be able to summon the brave hobbits. Give them a command and then attack the bull first. It certainly can't kill you! We will shoot the creature from a distance. But prepare for pain and suffering young Padawan," grinned the clone.

"I don't want to become a Jedi," the player smiled.

The friends successfully made their way through the section of the maze that the new bull guarded. Then Dan summoned the hobbits. He ordered the helpers to attack the enemy with their stones and not to interfere in the fight with the daggers.

The minotaur showed the man what despair and pain are. Dan found himself quite unprepared for a battle with this monster. You watch your friend fight from the sidelines and you think you too can fight with agility and hard work. No! A weak person cannot fight with all his strength. A weak and inexperienced person does not know his strength. A beginner doesn't know anything about his ability to put up a fight.

Dan turned out to be too slow! The minotaur had a large and powerful body. The muscular arms were bigger than the young man's legs! With the first strike of his ax, the bull laid Dan on the stone floor. With the second strike, he finally knocked the resistance out of the player. At this time, a clone changed the course of the beating. He applied his Slowing and Freezing skills and immediately rushed with his daggers toward the tall, ax-wielding bull figure. The phantom's arms flashed like lightning. He struck and bounced sideways. The clone was learning to kill like an assassin. He moved around the enemy and never stayed in one place. A cold smile played on Tom's lips and he had time to crouch and kick the bull's legs if the minotaur landed a hard, horizontal ax blow.

Hobbits rules! The shaggy well-aimed braves hit the bull's face with stones without fear or excitement.

"Right in the nose!"

"I'm the best! I hit the nose ring!"

"I made a lucky shot! I'm the best!"

The two sly cute hobbits turned into angry and dangerous shorties who saw their master suffer.

Dan could not find the strength to get back on his feet. It was in this dungeon that he realized again how weak and unprepared he was for this cruel life.

You can't put on great cool armor and become a warrior. A sword in your hand does not make a weak man a fighter. Dan understood that. On the stones of the Byre dungeon, the human mind took an important lesson in humility. Dan was able to rise when the minotaur's body fell beside him.

"You're so fat. I wasn't comfortable jumping over you," the clone whispered. He looked intently into his friend's black eyes and squinted back. "We were offended and wary. That's right. Don't lose your head. You were good. You didn't pass out and s**t your pants. You don't stink."

"i***t. Of course, I didn't poop. I forgot how to do it. That psycho kicked the crap out of me with his Stunning kick. We need a cool skill like that!" Dan looked at the hobbits. "Well done hobbits! You're the best. I'm happy to treat my defenders to jugs of delicious beer."

A pair of shaggy-haired braves silently held out their hands in anticipation of the reward. Tom leaned over and looked into the hobbit's sly eyes.

"I'm watching you Baggins. Don't pretend you don't remember me. I know you all remember. Drink your beer in silence. Good job. Well done," the clone whispered, and his voice was menacing and mysterious.

"I am not Baggins," muttered the hobbit. "The Shadow of the Master is mistaken. I know no Baggins."

"I'm the best but I don't know any Bilbo Baggins either," the other hobbit even lifted his beer jug to hide his sly eyes behind it.

Dan Raven listened intently to the clone's conversation with the hobbits. Tom could use the ring. They checked it out. At night Tom summoned the hobbits to help guard the Master's sleep. But he honestly told Dan that the cunning hobbits called him Shadow of the Master and listened badly. They didn't want to disturb Dan's rest, so they didn't yell nonsense. But they did not obey the phantom's orders. One cheeky, shaggy-haired hippie even dared to mutter, "No beer, no Master."

Raven laughed and was disturbed by the new feature of the ring. Tom said that two hobbits are like two fighting cyborgs. If hobbits are not constantly and frequently sacrificed they can gain self-awareness! The phantom's new theory confused Dan Raven. 

There wasn't much time in the dungeon to make up delusional theories. Dan didn't break down after his first defeat. He applied Healing to himself a couple of times and said he was ready to engage in more battles with the minotaurs. 

"I'm not a masochist. The pain is horrible. The feeling of defeat is humiliating. But I have to learn to stand on my own two feet," Dan said.

"With the support of the hobbits, it'll be okay. I don't like jumping around these bulls like a grasshopper. I don't like the assassin's fighting style. But we could use it. I am learning, and I have nothing against your learning. We've learned that you don't risk your life, and that's all that matters," Tom agreed.

They walked through tunnels with stone walls all night. Sometimes the tunnels led to small rooms. Each room of the labyrinth was well lit and always guarded by a minotaur. After a fight, the boys would thoroughly search the room. They looked for stashes of trophies. But even the help of hobbits brought no results. 

Only trophies in the form of pieces of leather and experience were the reward for the winners. Experience appealed to the player. 220 experience points was a nice reward. The clone grumbled that shaggy-haired hippies drink up all the experience. Beer is worth 70 experience points per jug! Dan Raven should appreciate such a sober assistant as a phantom who gains experience but doesn't drink it away!

Friends were happy to finish the fight with the bull that guarded the dead end with the good news.

[Warning: Exit from the Byre location has been found. Type of location: Dungeon.

Do you wish to leave the Byre location? Yes/No.

Warning. You can leave the location until you have killed all monsters!]

Of course, the friends refused to leave the dungeon. They were attracted by the trophies after killing the new boss.

Before the dead end with the exit to the dungeon was a crossroads. Two untested tunnels led in different directions. The boys had no desire to search the entire labyrinth for all the minotaurs. They went through one tunnel and found a guard who rushed at the troublemakers with a menacing mooing. 

The fight went quickly. During the fight, Dan was ready to run fast and far at any moment! The friends were afraid that the boss would be annoyed by the noise of the battle. These minotaurs proved to be very nervous and aggressive opponents. But they worried in vain and made a correct assumption about the nature of the new boss.

In the great hall by the far wall stood a large stone throne. The throne was decorated with horns and made an awful impression. The friends looked at the Minotaur King and tried to find a precise and convenient way to kill this boss.

[Minotaur King. (Mutant.)

Small Boss

Level: 10

Life: 1000

Damage: 47-70. 

Defense: 17.

Skill: Stun. Strike the enemy deals normal damage, temporarily stunning it. Time Stunning duration 1.2 seconds.

The Minotaur King sat on the throne of horns after defeating all his opponents. He is a strong and skilled warrior who devoured the bodies of his defeated enemies! Be afraid of the King's ax strike. He can leave an opponent dazed and unable to strike back or flee!]

"You need to rest. Get your sleeping mattress out and go to sleep," whispered the phantom.

"That I will do with great pleasure," whispered Dan.

"We should have looked at that stinker for nothing," shook his head at Tom.

"Yeah. Minotaurs stink," grinned the player. "They wear skirts like Scotsmen."

"Don't insult the glorious people. A Scotsman doesn't wear a skirt. He wears a kilt," the phantom corrected the man and waved his hand toward the floor. "Go to bed. I can't wait to meet this King. We've already met the Queen."