The minotaur was irritated.
The final enemy was even bigger than the aquatic beast on the third floor, the speed of its attacks surpassed the grasslike things on the second floor, and it even had regenerative powers on par with the orbs of the first.
It could take a variety of different forms and could even divide itself and join back together.
It was currently taking the form of a giant tree with its roots spread out across the stone floor. It had hardened the lower part of its body, rendering attacks ineffective.
It was no less than ten times as tall as the minotaur, and it had tentacles extending in four directions from the top of its body. The tips of the tentacles were also hardened and were as sharp as lances.
While dodging the four tentacles that were flailing in all directions, the minotaur looked for opportunities to strike them above their hardened tips. It could not manage to sever them, but it was able to inflict considerable damage.
The problem was that the enemy regenerated over time. The minotaur also sometimes failed to dodge the tentacles and took damage itself.
When the minotaur first entered the dome, the enemy had assumed the form of a giant beast. It attacked the minotaur with incredibly dense physical and magical attacks.
But because the minotaur’s attacks were effective no matter what part of the monster it hit, it ignored the small amount of damage it was taking and used its footwork to focus single-mindedly on attacking consistently.
The enemy lost a significant amount of energy as a result. Its body actually seemed to be made of energy, and it grew smaller as the minotaur inflicted damage. It was still quite large at that point, but it had grown two or three sizes smaller than it was at the beginning of the fight.
Eventually, the enemy hardened the points of its body that the minotaur’s assaults could reach and took the form of a giant tree. It couldn’t move the parts of its body it hardened, so it became completely stationary.
It stopped using magic attacks, possibly for the purpose of saving energy.
The minotaur also stopped using Warcry, Burning Breath, and other magic attacks. The reason for that was because the enemy absorbed magic power and used it to heal its injuries.
The minotaur could use its leaping ability to strike the higher parts of the tree that were not hardened. But its actions were limited while in the air, and it could not dodge the enemy’s assaults. After a number of failed attempts, it quit leaping attacks altogether.
It also tried pulling items out of its Bag and throwing them. But that did not do much damage. Its explosive weapons were more effective, but it had only a limited amount, and it was saving them for when it really needed them.
The minotaur’s attacks could not get through the hardened tips of the incoming tentacles, but it could cut into the higher, more mobile parts. As a result, the minotaur inflicted a small amount of damage every time the enemy struck.
The minotaur needed to remain within the enemy’s range of attack for that reason. The tentacles hit relentlessly, so occasionally the minotaur got injured after failing to dodge.
The fight was in a deadlock.
But this deadlock was disadvantageous for the minotaur.
Its opponent was not a living creature. It likely did not experience exhaustion or pain.
Its reserves of energy seemed limitless, as if it could fight forever.
The minotaur may have been a monster born in a labyrinth, but it was also a being that lived for a finite amount of time. It gradually became more exhausted and would eventually be unable to fight.
This infuriating enemy caused the minotaur’s heart to tremble with rage.
This thing is ridiculous.
It’s intolerable.
It’s not even trying to fight.
It’s just waiting for me to die.
This thing is an enemy.
An enemy that insults all living things.
An enemy that brings shame to battle.
But the minotaur could not find a means of breaking the stalemate.
Unable to see a way out of this, the minotaur continued to swing its giant sword.
It was unsure of how much time had passed.
The minotaur’s sharp senses picked up someone entering the floor.
Something is here.
Something alive.
Is it a new enemy?
I can sense it. This one possesses blood, flesh, rage, and joy.
I welcome your presence.
Come here so I can kill you.
Come here so that I may spill your blood!
It did not occur to the minotaur that the new presence could be anything other than an enemy. That was only natural. It had never once gained an ally since being born in the labyrinth. Every human and every monster it encountered was an enemy. However, it had, on occasion, come across humans who did not want to fight it. In those instances, if the people did not challenge the minotaur, it would leave them alone.
The new enemy stood still for a while and appeared to be preparing itself to fight. The minotaur could tell from its presence that it was quite strong.
Eventually, the new enemy ran up to where the minotaur was fighting the monster.
It was a kobold.
The minotaur did not know the name kobold, but it had come across this monster on a higher floor of the Sazardon Labyrinth. The minotaur had just been born at the time and was still relatively inexperienced, but even then, they were totally worthless enemies that could not even leave a scratch on its body.
The minotaur was extremely disappointed.
However, as the minotaur continued to fight the monster, something drew its attention back toward the kobold.
It had round eyes, compact arms and legs, and drooping ears. It was holding a wooden shield in its left hand and a bronze sword in its right. It was equipped with boots made of cloth and light armor, and it even had protective equipment on its head and forehead as well.
What is this weakling doing here?
As soon as the minotaur asked itself that question, the kobold dashed forward and disappeared. Its footwork was that of a seasoned warrior, making the minotaur’s eyes go wide in astonishment.
With its figure still hidden, the kobold quickly circled around behind the monster. It could not currently be detected with eyes or ears, but the minotaur could still sense its location.
The minotaur did not rely on equipment or skills to fight. It became able to handle magic attacks by continuing to challenge opponents capable of using them.
It became strong enough to win by focusing on training itself. That was the minotaur’s style.
As a result, even though the kobold had a blessing that made it undetectable to eyes and ears, the minotaur could sense its movement. It would probably have been better described as intuition than sense. The minotaur was a warrior that had polished its intuition to the absolute limit.
Its figure still hidden, the kobold raised its sword and struck the monster’s roots. The minotaur could tell by the sharp sound the sword made that the dog was no ordinary swordsman and that the sword had a rare sharpness.
But of course, the attack did not injure the monster at all. It probably did not even notice it.
While continuing to dodge the monster’s attacks, the minotaur watched to see what the kobold would do next.
An arrow suddenly appeared and hit the base of one of the four wriggling tentacles. It was a magic arrow, and it pierced deeply into the monster.
The kobold released another arrow.
A small disturbance began to show in the monster’s movements.
Now!
The minotaur jumped without even taking a running start, reached the mobile part of a tentacle, and cut it down.
The section that was now squirming on the floor was thicker than the minotaur’s torso.
The minotaur slashed quickly at the rampaging tentacle.
Quickly, over and over again.
The monster now had two enemies to deal with, and as a result, its attacks were being spread out. This was a good chance to inflict some damage.
“Summon Comet!”
The kobold chanted a spell, and a comet crashed into the base of another tentacle.
It was rare for monsters to be able to speak the language of humans. It was also rare for monsters to be able to chant incantations and use magic attacks.
There was an impressive amount of magic power contained in that spell. However, the comet did not explode, and the energy was absorbed by the monster. Even then, the direct impact of the comet was powerful enough to completely sever the tentacle and send it flying.
Just when it looked like the tentacle was going to go limp, it made a low-pitched noise and then rose into the air and rejoined to the monster’s main body. Once it was reattached, it was a little shorter than before, but then the monster used magic to restore it to its original length and toughness.
The pieces of the tentacle that the minotaur had cut up split into orbs of an unpleasant color and were absorbed into the monster’s main body. New tentacles then grew from the places where the orbs had been absorbed, but they were only about a third as big as the original tentacles.
Did you see that, whelp?!
The minotaur called out to the kobold in its mind.
Any parts of the tentacles or the main body that were severed would quickly reattach, but the monster did become smaller the more they damaged it.
That did not work with magic attacks. The powerful magic attack the kobold fired at the monster definitely did damage, but it also gave it the energy to heal that damage. That was not a strategy they could afford to employ.
Now, surely you also understand what happens when you attack it with magic.
You surely also understand that it will pick up and reattach its limbs immediately if they are cut down.
That was what the minotaur thought.
The minotaur guessed that the kobold would have that level of observation.
The kobold lifted its invisibility, showed itself, and then began to run around. It fired arrows in succession as it ran, aiming for the base of the tentacles.
That’s right.
That is where attacks are most effective.
The minotaur was impressed by the speed of the kobold warrior’s understanding. It seemed that just by trying that one attack and observing the monster’s response, it was able to figure out what was and wasn’t effective.
The minotaur also had no doubt that the kobold showed itself in order to draw the monster’s attention.
The whelp is telling me to get to work.
The monster was clearly preoccupied by its new enemy.
The minotaur severed one more tentacle and then slashed at it.
The kobold continued to fire arrows while nimbly and casually dodging the monster’s attacking tentacles. Its supply of arrows was never-ending.
The deadlock had been broken.
This has gotten fun.
A savage smile appeared on the minotaur’s face.