Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

19. Programmed Minotaur

"Get away as quickly as you can..." I whispered and motioned Freya to activate telepathy for the four of us.

She smiled and tapped her forehead to activate it. As we parted ways, we did the same thing as before. Fighting a minotaur in the middle of this crowd is a major inconvenience, and I absolutely hate it. If we engage in a fight, the individuals in our immediate vicinity will become a hindrance. We must avoid it as much as possible. Although it seems to be difficult considering how it just busts through walls and stuff.

We need to take a breather since the minotaur's abrupt presence has caught us completely by surprise. So we can deal with it, we'll have to make certain that we have a strategy prepared. We won't end up being murdered by it if we do it this way. We're also going to be fighting a real-life minotaur for the first time this game. Dylan has established good communication with taverns, so he found out that certain monsters won't appear unless a specific floor is unlocked. And the highest floor that opened recently was the fifteenth floor.

I know for a fact that no one has ever attempted to combat it before. Hmm, I think I remember Dylan saying that the minotaur won't emerge until the twentieth level has been unlocked and entered. I think it was in an adventure logbook that a group picked up on the quest. It's indeed strange...

I was on the verge of cursing when I felt the strong presence of the minotaur that seemed to be following me. Though the fact that it is following me might be a coincidence, there is something strange about this whole circumstance! Why would this piece of s**t want to follow me, of all people, when there are lots of gamers out there that are far stronger than me?!

I tried to check if it was after me by running as fast as possible. Even though I attempted to outrun it, the bull was quicker than I could keep up! And when I say quick, I mean it practically blasted through the walls! I could hear a few shouts coming from behind me, and I realized I needed to stop running.

"Come on out, everyone. We can't get away from it."

Dylan and Blake appeared out of nowhere, while Freya sprang out of a barrel that was in the side. It was funny how they just materialized alongside me as if they were waiting for my signal that they should present themselves. But now is definitely not the time to be laughing because of the creature that appeared before us.

Nonetheless, we should expect anything unexpected given the fact that we are facing a creature that has never been encountered before. To get out of here alive, we'll have to employ every resource at our disposal. However, no one would assist us if we were to pass out. The worst-case scenario is that we will be assassinated. I refuse to give up that quickly, though! I will fight until I breathe my very last breath.

"Whatever the case, we have no other choice but to stop it. Let's go all out, shall we?" I said as I drew my katanas out of their sheaths.

Blake cracked beside me. "Even me...?" he asked aloud.

I smiled and nodded. "Yes. Even you. Do you believe we will be able to overcome this opponent if you don't?"

"No..."

Freya began casting enchantment spells on us to ensure that we could engage in battle better than usual. I glanced back at her to make sure she was alright before continuing. I need Freya to be able to launch long-ranged assaults as well. Thus, I need her to limit the enchantment spells at a bare minimum or at the very least to a reasonable level. She must maintain peak physical condition, particularly given that her charged attacks need tremendous focus.

"Don't be concerned about me and go. I'm going to state my case," Freya whispered as she walked towards the position that she was supposed to take.

I sighed and awaited the arrival of the minotaur in the distance. Blake and Dylan, who are in front of me, seem to be well prepared for the bull's approach, so I maintain my composure as well. Since we have previously learned each other's fighting styles, we can adapt to them precisely. Although I'm quite a messy fighter, I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to keep up with the two of them, especially Dylan.

When the minotaur stopped in front of us, I knew for certain that it was hunting me. Aside from that, it was also staring directly at me. I'm dumb if I can't figure out that it was after me! The fact that a minotaur is on its way to find me must be linked to what we accomplished in the dungeon. Otherwise, there would be no reason for it to be there. I'm quite aware that what I've said makes no sense, but that's the conclusion I've come to.

Trying in vain to figure out what the minotaur was thinking, I peered directly into its eyes for a long time. It wasn't attacking, so I was a bit infuriated, but I think it's not strong enough to kill us. Ah, it was those three kings that placed the order for this one again. Even if it's only a gut feeling, I really feel like I'm on the right track this time. Hmm, of course, a hypothesis will remain that way unless proven.

Ah, wait! I have to focus on fighting his minotaur! It assumed a position, prepared to lift off from the ground. If it continues to run at full speed, it might spell the end for us. I have to focus on my leg strength since I'm the quickest of the three of us, which means I can serve as a decoy for them if they see me coming. Damn, I don't want to get run over by some sort of manufactured bull.

"I'll take the middle lane. We'll play a game of tag with this thing. Blake and Dylan, you two will behead it," I said as I spun my katanas.

"Roger that."

"Try to divert its attention, Freya. If it's possible, you should strike the head. That's easy, no?" I asked Freya via telepathy.

"That's fine with me. I'm going to shoot when I get an opportunity. Feel free to move about. Don't worry, I won't strike you even if you do so."

I grinned and jumped ahead of everyone. The minotaur didn't seem shocked at all, and he accelerated. Or maybe it was programmed to pull people onto the highway and run them over. Heh. At the exact moment, I was going to be struck, I elegantly executed a turn and successfully struck the minotaur's arm.

"Freezing blade..."

Despite the fact that I was not struck at all, I barely made it through that round. A single graze may cause me to get an injury from which I would be unable to walk for many days. At least, that's what I thought as I was studying its physical characteristics and statistical data. I am able to confirm something with that one attack. This thing is a lot more dangerous than I thought. Maybe I couldn't determine its strength right away because it was programmed.

When I understood that there had been very little damage, I backed away from it. If I'm being really honest, the minotaur was not injured at all. Heck, I even increased the intensity of the blade to its highest setting since I knew it would be difficult to kill it. However, even this was unable to deliver the desired level of damage.

"Shit..." I whispered as I sprang to my feet and attempted to burst its skull open with my fist. However, I ended up brawling with the horns instead!

"Ivory!"

A little scrape from the tip of the horn made me grimace a bit. To be quite honest, it was just a little scrape, but it stung nevertheless. There's something about this minotaur that intrigues me! Why would it be a problem for me?! Even the sea serpent's bite didn't hurt nearly as much as this when it landed on me!

"What the hell is wrong with...you?!" I shouted as I pushed its face away with my feet.

The minotaur grumbled as a result of my exerting too much force with that kick. It growled at me and attempted to leap into the area where I was standing. Because of what it did, I had no other choice but to go on the defensive. You know what? When it comes to leg strength, no one can declare themselves as superior to me, except for this minotaur. But if things continue as they are, I'll be the first to give up!

"Freya!"

Just as the minotaur was going to fall directly in front of me, a blazing arrow struck its head. It became disoriented as a result of this, and it staggered. I took a gamble and leaped, using the houses as a foothold to reach the highest altitude I could. As soon as I got there, I whirled around and kicked the air to gather even more momentum. Because the minotaur was already on its way down, I was able to aim for its neck as I was whirling around.

If I manage to deliver a significant amount of damage, Dylan and Blake will have an easier time taking it out. For the time being, I'll serve as a backup so that the four of us may combine our efforts to deliver the last knockout blow. That is a must to put an end to this one. However, I have my doubts about how simple that would be.

"Hail Daggers..."

The minotaur's back was smashed into the daggers on the ground, causing it to groan in agony. Oh, we're doing a lot of damage slowly, aren't we? We'll just have to work our way through this. It's not that difficult. Or maybe it was, but if we can keep this up, we can surely destroy it. But we'll have to exercise caution because we don't know much about the robot's structure.

I took a few steps back as Dylan and Blake raced towards the minotaur in an attempt to assault it at the same time as me. It's an incredible combo since it allows them to do a massive amount of damage with a single attack. Yes, even though they despise one another. Meanwhile, Freya is the one with whom I am most productive.

"Ivory, freeze the legs quickly!" Dylan yelled as he took turns with Blake in attacking the minotaur.

I noticed that the minotaur was attempting to avoid them. I had to activate the spell by touching the earth since it was moving a lot. I knelt and put my hand on the ground. My elemental strength made its way through the ground until it reached the feat of the minotaur, where it stopped. I needed to be certain that it wouldn't be simply broken since else the momentum would be lost.

The minute the beast came to a complete halt, Blake and Dylan attempted to cut its neck in half jointly. I couldn't stifle a smile when I realized how much damage had been done by that one stroke. And now that it has been pinned down, one coordinated onslaught is all that is required to completely destroy it.

Just as I was about to order Freya to prepare her most powerful assault, the minotaur sprung to his feet and began rampaging through the crowd! It seemed to be losing its wits as it hopped and twirled about. s**t! We took a step back since it appeared to be malfunctioning! It would be dangerous for everyone to remain there!

"Kill...Yu...ki..." it murmured as its head began to swirl around.

When my suspicions were verified, my eyes widened even further. It was trying to take my life! When they mention Yuki, I've come to realize that they're speaking to me specifically. And it was only after I realized this that I realized that the players aren't the only ones that want to murder our team. Me, specifically.

I groaned and cast my gaze to the sky, hoping that the kings would see how annoyed I was. These cretins. Even if everyone is coming after us, it will be tough to get any sleep from here on out. We need to locate a more secure lodge now since the one from the beginning town isn't going to make it any longer.

"Ivory, what are we going to do now?" Blake asked.

"Kill it immediately."

The minotaur has been weakened, and all that is left for us to do is kill it. If there was a chip in it, we'd be able to figure out what it was quite quickly. However, I don't think it works that way here in Artemia. Our only option is to kill it and then attempt to live as long as we can. We can't have it spinning around, destroying everything.

Dylan let out a sigh. "Alright, alright. Are we still going for that attack? What are the chances that we'll get hurt?"

"Can you bear it? We're going to retreat right away if you can't."

"I think we can."

The side of my lips rose after hearing their response. "All right, let's go ahead and do it."

They looked at me as they nodded and took their position. I opted to occupy the center position once again since the three of them were going to assault from the beast's weak place. Although, if it's being managed by the kings manually at the moment, it'd be tough.

"Fallen Blade..."

My sword changed to ice and grew in length, giving me a greater attack range. I'm certain that I'll be able to deliver more damage this time around since it's far stronger than usual. Also, I'm going to attempt to make use of my superhuman power once again.

"Here I go..." I said as I closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, I felt a surge of strength within me. Something is on fire, and it's giving me a great desire to finish this before it's too late. My eyes were drawn to the minotaur, which triggered these feelings. It quickly raced towards me as I prepared to strike at full speed with all of my might.

My sword collided with the horns of the beast. While I waited for the three of them to take their chances, I attempted to overpower it. I threw daggers at the minotaur from behind him, causing him to fall to the ground. It became preoccupied at the exact time the daggers exploded. That was the opportunity that we had been looking forward to!

"Now!"