After securing my supply of money, I returned to the dungeon to continue hunting monsters. When I reached the 17th floor, the number of strong monsters I encountered began to increase.
Especially minotaurs.
Unfortunately, they only appeared one at a time. It was too easy.
It would be a bit more challenging if a group of minotaurs showed up. I think I'd have a lot of fun. "Or maybe a group of Ligerfangs." I kept walking around the 17th floor in search of a challenge.
Minutes later, I finally encountered a Ligerfang for the first time.
It clearly looked a lot like a tiger.
As soon as the monster saw me, it let out a loud growl and charged.
I let it approach and attack. It leapt at me with its front paws and tried to slash. Its claws were long and sharp—if it landed a hit, I'd be seriously injured.
But I leaned my body back and managed to dodge its attack. Then, I placed my hands on the ground and did a backflip. In the middle of the movement, I kicked it under the chin, launching it into the air.
I quickly followed up and slashed my sword while it was still airborne.
Two swift, X-shaped strikes—its head was cut into four pieces.
It died easily.
"Its defense isn't nearly as good as a minotaur's. What a letdown."
I thought it would be faster, considering it's a tiger-type monster focused on speed. But I'm way faster. "Still, that move was pretty cool. Felt like I was in a video game for a second."
I walked over to the item it dropped (its pelt), and it was automatically added to my inventory.
While I smiled in satisfaction, I started to hear loud noises.
Heavy footsteps.
A minotaur.
I can always tell when one is approaching.
I walked toward the sound with a grin.
Then I started to hear even more footsteps.
"This must be a dream."
Two minotaurs.
Not exactly together, but very close to one another!
If this were a party of low-level adventurers, they'd be panicking right now. But me? I was excited! The more strong monsters I face at once, the more fun it gets!
#####
I ran toward one of the minotaurs without hesitation. As I approached, I got its attention. It turned to me and roared.
I smirked and ran toward the second minotaur, trying to get them to meet up.
Soon enough, there they were—together.
When the two minotaurs saw each other, they glared like enemies. I thought they might fight each other, but instead, they decided I was the true enemy. I chuckled and stepped back.
We're in a wide-open area, so fighting them both here won't be a problem.
I raised my sword and pointed it at them.
Then, both minotaurs roared with pure rage. When they roared in unison, I actually felt a twinge of nervousness. But I calmed myself and waited for them to strike.
With their intense battle instincts, they charged at me simultaneously.
I watched them come at me in slow motion. I could track their movements easily.
I raised my hand and attempted to hit them both with gravity magic.
When I fought a single minotaur, I managed to pin it down using gravity magic, but I wasn't sure if it would work on two at once. To my satisfaction—it worked.
The minotaurs felt an immense weight on their backs and dropped to their knees. The floor beneath them began to crack under the pressure. I grinned and approached. "You guys are tough as hell, aren't you?"
They glared at me with pure hatred. I could almost feel their eyes punching me.
If I release them, they'll probably enter berserker mode.
I stepped back and canceled the gravity spell.
Both minotaurs stood up and pounded their chests like gorillas. The dungeon trembled, and I felt a rush I hadn't felt in days. Now this would be a real fight.
Since I knew I'd kill them too easily with my sword, I decided to store it in my inventory.
"I just have to make sure not to get hit."
####
I waited for them, and they charged again. Barehanded, I ran to meet them. With my superior speed, I disappeared in an instant, leaving them stunned.
"Over here, idiots."
I reappeared behind one and landed a powerful punch to the back of its knee. I heard the bone snap, and the minotaur dropped to one knee.
The other tried to hit me but only struck the ground.
I moved behind it and landed another punch behind its right knee.
Both minotaurs struggled to stand with their injured legs.
I laughed and began circling around them. They grew more furious, attacking randomly. Their blows smashed the floor and even damaged the dungeon walls.
The angrier they got, the more desperate and reckless their attacks became.
Naturally, I had even more fun because of it.
"Idiots," I said.
I reappeared behind them and taunted them.
Out of patience, they charged at me together.
I stood still and waited.
They both threw a punch at me at the same time.
And both struck only the ground...
As the dust settled, they saw I had disappeared again. They looked around—and then I said, "Up here."
I was floating in the air, having removed gravity around myself.
Then I deactivated the spell and let myself fall.
I created an ice bridge stretching from one wall to the other and landed on top of it.
The dungeon's ceiling is high enough that the minotaurs couldn't reach me.
"That was just a test—I didn't think I could pull something like that off." I began walking across the ice bridge while the minotaurs watched from below.
"Alright then."
The bridge vanished in an instant.
Then, I used gravity magic to accelerate my fall.
I landed on my feet, on top of one of the minotaurs.
The impact and pressure were so intense that I crushed its head.
I jumped away as the body collapsed and exploded into particles of light.
"That was fun. I actually felt a little thrill during that fall." I laughed, and the other minotaur roared.
I charged toward it and began circling it at high speed.
It couldn't follow my movements, and once my "Fragmented Clones" ability kicked in, it grew even more confused.
Then I started hitting it.
Punches came from all directions—me and my clones.
I kept it up until the minotaur was exhausted.
When it finally dropped to its knees, covered in wounds, I approached.
And I did the same thing I had once done to that adventurer a while ago.
I "boiled" its brain to see if I could make its head explode.
Since its brain was small, I wasn't sure it would work.
But to my delight—its head exploded.
Ploft~~
Chunks of brain matter splattered everywhere, and a message popped up: I leveled up.
"That was fun. Fighting barehanded is seriously fun."
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Next chapters: Chapter 55 - Denatus? I don't care about that. / Chapter 56 - Conversation with Freya. / Chapter 57 - You will soon become a target.