Arin stared at the Minotaur before him. The creature was staring right back. For a moment, neither of them moved.
The room was still littered with the dust from Ayan’s attack, along with broken stone from the ceiling, and a few cracks in the walls.
Rayan stepped forward.
"Arin, we’ll help."
Dev raised his broken shield.
"Yeah. We’re still standing."
Nisha tightened her grip on her staff.
"I can still cast a few spells."
Tara raised her bow.
Arin shook his head.
"No."
Rayan frowned.
"What?"
Arin kept his gaze on the Minotaur.
"You’ve done enough already."
He turned back to his friends.
"This thing is the reason why I fell into this dungeon in the first place."
Arin tightened his grip on his sword.
"It almost killed me."
He turned back to the Minotaur.
"So, I’ll finish it."
Rayan stared at him.
"Arin..."
"I said, stay back."
Something was different in Arin’s voice.
Not arrogance, but determination.
Rayan slowly sheathed his sword.
"Fine."
Dev looked at him.
"Rayan?"
"Let him."
Rayan looked back at Arin.
"But we’re watching."
Arin nodded.
"That’s all I need."
The Minotaur suddenly roared.
"ROAAAAAAAR!"
It charged at Arin.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath the creature’s feet.
Arin immediately activated Basic Mana Control.
His body was flooded with mana, and his movements became sharper.
The Minotaur raised its axe, but Arin was already behind it.
It brought the weapon down, but Arin easily jumped back.
CRASH!
The axe slammed into the ground where he had been standing.
Arin charged forward, and with a mighty swing, brought his sword across the Minotaur’s arm.
CLANG!
A shallow cut appeared on the creature’s arm.
Arin’s eyes widened in surprise.
"I can hurt it!"
The Minotaur looked at the cut on its arm, and then at Arin.
Its expression was one of rage.
"Oh, great."
The Minotaur brought its fist down on Arin, but he quickly ducked.
The fist passed over his head.
Arin stabbed forward, but the Minotaur moved, and the blade pierced through its fur.
The creature roared in pain, and Arin quickly pulled his weapon free and jumped back.
"That worked."
The Minotaur charged again, and Arin ran forward.
The creature brought its axe down, but Arin quickly turned and slashed it across the Minotaur’s side.
Another shallow cut appeared, along with a few more.
The Minotaur roared, and Arin turned back to face it.
It brought its axe down again, but Arin was faster, and he jumped back.
They continued to fight in this manner for a few seconds.
For several seconds, Arin was able to keep up with the beast.
However, the difference in their power was glaring.
Arin’s breaths were coming in short gasps, and his mana was slowly disappearing.
The Minotaur, on the other hand, showed no sign of slowing down.
Arin gritted his teeth.
"Come on..."
The Minotaur suddenly changed direction, and Arin barely reacted in time.
The creature’s fist slammed into his side, sending him flying.
BOOM!
Arin flew across the room before landing on his back.
"Arin!"
Mira took a step forward, but Rayan grabbed her arm.
"Wait."
Arin pushed himself up off the ground, his vision swimming.
He wiped some blood from his lip and looked at the Minotaur.
"Still standing."
The Minotaur charged at him again, but Arin raised his sword to meet it.
CLANG!
The impact sent Arin sliding backward, his feet dragging across the stone floor.
He gritted his teeth in pain, but the Minotaur forced him to his knees.
"You’re..." Arin growled, but the Minotaur roared right back at him.
"...really strong."
The Minotaur suddenly kicked Arin in the side, sending him flying once more.
BOOM!
Arin’s sword slid across the ground a few feet away from him, but he barely registered it.
"Great."
The Minotaur slowly walked up to him, and Arin tried to get to his feet, but his legs shook.
The Minotaur raised its axe, and Arin looked at the massive weapon.
Then at the monster.
His body screamed in protest, but he forced himself to his feet.
His mana was nearly gone, and his sword was too far away.
He swallowed hard.
"Oh boy."
The Minotaur raised its axe higher, and Arin’s eyes widened.
"I’m going to die."
The axe came down, but suddenly a blur shot past Arin and slammed into the Minotaur’s chest.
BOOM!
The creature was sent flying, and it crashed through the stone wall.
The whole room shook, and cracks formed in the ceiling.
Arin looked up at the ceiling.
"Uh-oh."
Several rocks broke free from the ceiling and began falling toward the rescue party.
"Everyone, get down!" Rayan shouted.
Before anyone could react, Saira raised her hand and a barrier of dark magic appeared above the group.
BOOM!
The falling rocks collided with the barrier, sending up a thick cloud of dust.
The adventurers stared at the barrier in shock.
Saira, however, was unfazed.
She turned to Ayan.
"You really have a habit of destroying the room, don’t you?"
Ayan looked at the broken wall.
"It was necessary."
Saira crossed her arms over her chest.
"You could have been a little more careful."
Ayan thought about her words for a moment.
"No."
Saira sighed.
"Of course."
Arin slowly pushed himself to his feet, and he looked at Ayan.
"You saved me."
Ayan looked at him.
"You were about to die."
"Yeah. I noticed."
Ayan turned to the rubble, but the Minotaur was already pushing it aside.
Arin’s expression darkened as he watched the creature get back up.
"You’ve got to be kidding me."
The Minotaur roared, and Ayan stepped forward.
Arin raised a hand.
"Wait."
Ayan stopped, and Arin looked at his fallen sword.
Then at the Minotaur.
"I said I’d finish it."
Ayan looked at him.
"You are injured."
"I know."
"You cannot defeat it in your current condition."
Arin gave a small, sad smile.
"Thanks for the encouragement."
Ayan said nothing, and Arin walked up to his sword.
Every step was a struggle, but he eventually reached it.
The Minotaur charged forward, and Arin grabbed his sword.
The creature brought its axe down, but Arin rolled beneath it.
CRASH!
The axe destroyed another part of the floor, and Arin jumped up.
Basic Mana Control activated, and the remaining mana in his body coalesced around his sword.
It wouldn’t last long, but it was all he needed.
Arin opened Monster Appraisal.
[Name: Minotaur]
[Race: Mutated Minotaur]
[Status: Injured]
[Condition: Unstable]
[Ability: Predator Adaptation]
[Magic Core: Instability Detected]
Arin narrowed his eyes at the appraisal.
The Minotaur had gained strength by consuming other monsters.
However, its body wasn’t strong enough to properly stabilize the power it had absorbed.
That was its weakness, and Arin was ready to use it.
The Minotaur brought its axe down again, but Arin easily dodged it.
He ran forward and brought his sword across the creature’s side, but it barely cut through the thick fur.
The Minotaur roared in anger and swung its axe, but Arin ducked beneath it.
The weapon smashed into the ground, and Arin used the momentum to roll inside the Minotaur’s guard.
The creature brought its fist down on him, but Arin raised his sword and blocked it.
CLANG!
The impact sent shockwaves up his arms, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay on his feet.
"Not yet."
Arin narrowed his eyes at the Minotaur.
He could see it now.
A slight waver in the creature’s movements.
Its body wasn’t as fluid as it had been before.
It wasn’t stable.
Arin’s mind immediately went to the appraisal.
"Unstable."
The Minotaur brought its fist down on him again, but Arin quickly moved aside.
He rolled to the side and drove his sword into the Minotaur’s side.
BOOM!
Mana exploded from the blade, and the Minotaur froze.
Its eyes widened in horror as Arin pushed the weapon in deeper.
"Fall!"
The Minotaur roared, and dark energy erupted from its body.
The force sent Arin flying, and he landed on his back.
"Arin!" Rayan shouted.
Arin rolled onto his side, and he looked up at the Minotaur.
It staggered, but it was still standing.
Its body trembled, and Arin slowly got to his feet.
The Minotaur raised its axe, and so did Arin.
They stared at each other for a moment before the Minotaur charged.
Arin charged as well, and the two combatants met in the middle of the room.
The Minotaur brought its axe down, but Arin sidestepped it.
The blade of the weapon dug into the ground, and Arin twisted around it.
He brought his sword up and slashed it across the Minotaur’s side.
SLASH!
The creature froze, and Arin stood behind it.
It slowly turned around, but Arin was faster.
He drove his sword into the Minotaur’s chest.
BOOM!
The Minotaur let out a final, dying roar, and then it collapsed onto its back.
The room was silent for a moment, and then a blue window appeared before Arin’s eyes.
[Quest Complete.]
Arin blinked at the message, and another one appeared.
[Reward Obtained: Mana Potion ×1.]
Arin looked at the message.
"Finally."
Another window appeared.
[Dungeon-related Reward: Stored.]
Arin narrowed his eyes at it.
"Stored?"
The window disappeared, and no explanation came with it.
Arin sighed.
"Of course."
Only he could see the messages, and no one seemed to notice them.
Arin looked at the potion in his hand.
It was a small vial of blue liquid.
"Mana Potion."
Saira looked at it.
"What is that?"
"Something I earned," Arin replied.
He uncorked the bottle and drank the potion.
Warmth spread throughout his body, and the feeling of emptiness slowly disappeared.
His mana was slowly returning to him.
Arin exhaled.
"That’s better."
The physical pain in his body still lingered, but the horrible feeling of his mana being drained was gone.
Rayan walked up to him.
"Are you alright?"
Arin nodded.
"Yeah."
Dev looked at the Minotaur’s body.
"You actually did it."
Arin looked at the creature’s lifeless body.
"With a little help."
His gaze fell on Ayan.
The dragon simply nodded.
Tara lowered her bow.
"I thought that thing was going to kill us all."
Nisha nodded.
"So did I."
Mira finally reached Arin.
She looked him over.
"You really don’t know how to stop getting hurt, do you?"
Arin gave a small, sheepish smile.
"I’m working on it."
Mira sighed.
"You’d better be."
Arin looked around the room.
The Minotaur was dead, the rescue party was safe, and the quest was complete.
But the dungeon-related reward was still "stored" somewhere.
He didn’t know what it was, or when he would get it.
And he had no idea why the Dungeon Master’s Mark had brought him here.
For now, though, there was something more important.
Arin looked at the tunnel that led deeper into the dungeon.
"We need to get out of here."
Rayan nodded.
"Agreed."
Ayan looked at the tunnel as well, and Saira said nothing.
Arin sheathed his sword.
For the first time since falling into the dungeon, he felt like he could finally breathe.
But one thing was clear.
He had entered the dungeon as an ordinary adventurer.
And he was leaving it as a dragon, a demon, a mark, and many other things.
Arin rubbed his temples.
"How am I supposed to explain any of this?"