“…Does a method like that really exist?”
“It does. Though it is only my theory, of course.”
At my explanation, a kaleidoscope of expressions colored everyone’s faces.
Several emotions were present, but most of them were surprise and wonder, mixed with only the faintest trace of disbelief.
“Don’t worry. My analyses are almost always right.”
That was what I said, but there was no way it could be wrong.
This was the strategy for dealing with the Minotaur that I had actually brought back from the future.
I thought it would be bothersome if they asked how I knew, so I vaguely brushed it off with something like, ‘It seems like it would work this way~.’
An odd air passed through the team, but no one showed any sign of objecting or opposing me.
‘Naturally.’
Not only could they not come up with a more rational plan than mine, but now that we had come this far, there was no reason not to attempt the Boss Battle.
For them, reaching around the tenth room would have already been profitable. Instead, they had unexpectedly made it all the way to the Boss Room.
“…All right! Let’s do it!”
“I’m fine with it too. For some reason, I feel I can trust what Jaeha says.”
“I’ve thoroughly reviewed the points you gave us.”
The Swordsman, Mage, and Supporter nodded one after another.
“This should be fun. I’m in too.”
Lastly, Taeya curled up the corner of his mouth and voiced his agreement.
Judging by the occasional mutters I caught—things like, ‘The viewer count is massive,’ and, ‘Today’s stream is one for the ages’—he truly did not seem dissatisfied.
“All right, then. We’ll begin.”
We had rested long enough to fully recover our Stamina.
After reviewing the strategy one last time—
CREEEAK!
I opened the door leading to the room where the boss awaited.
[You have entered the Boss Room.]
[The resentment trapped in the deep, deep Underground Prison weighs upon your shoulders…!]
The moment we entered, I felt my body gradually grow sluggish.
[Debuff: Weakness(Lv.1)]
A Boss Room that inflicted a Debuff the instant we entered.
Just as expected of a dungeon that made every Player curse it for being so damn vile.
“Please wait a moment.”
The Supporter stopped us as we tried to advance.
[Breath of the Goddess] (C)
She activated a Blessing.
Warm light enveloped my entire body, dispelling the Debuff and making my body light again.
‘Breath of the Goddess.’
For a first-advancement Supporter, she had learned an exceptionally high-level Skill.
As I inwardly marveled and took another step forward—
FWOOSH!
Blue flames simultaneously bloomed atop the torches on the walls, and the entire area became visible at once.
Before us lay a huge, circular space reminiscent of a colosseum.
Yet every inch of it was old and rusted, a scene that truly looked like an enormous underground prison.
And at its center, with its head hanging low while bound in chains—
“Grrrrrrrr…!”
stood a monstrous half-man, half-bull creature.
Its fur carried a faint indigo sheen, and it had massive horns and a steel cuirass covering its body.
GULP!
“Th-That’s…!”
“Yes.”
That monster was the infamous boss of Underground Prison.
[The Imprisoned One, Minotaur]
“Wow~! Can you all see this? I bet there aren’t many streamers who have captured the Minotaur live on stream!”
Taeya spoke toward his viewers as though overwhelmed with emotion.
I signaled everyone to prepare to attack.
“Get ready. It’s coming.”
“Grrr….”
The Minotaur slowly raised its head.
[The beast trapped in the prison is stirred by the sight of intruders.]
[‘The Imprisoned One, Minotaur’ roars!]
[The Boss Battle begins!]
CRASH!
Along with the notifications, it tore apart its chains through sheer strength and seized its halberd.
[Restraints were forcibly fitted on the Minotaur to suppress and control its violent nature.]
[However, they could not quell its inborn ferocity and ultimately became the Minotaur’s excellent shield.]
[The Imprisoned One, Minotaur]
▶[Buff: Armor(Lv.10), Berserk(Lv.3)]
‘It’s finally here.’
The Buff that turned the Minotaur into an impregnable iron wall.
At the start of the Boss Battle, it was granted a defense-enhancing Buff called ‘Armor’ at a whopping Level 10.
With such absurd defense, ordinary attacks could not even leave a scratch.
“The strategy begins.”
I gripped my club tightly with both hands.
BOOM!
I condensed Mana in my knees, then sprang forward and charged straight at it.
“RAAAH!”
“Seeing you makes me crave beef, you know.”
The Minotaur had the tendency to attack the closest enemy first.
Gripping its halberd with all its strength, it delivered a straightforward blow meant to cleave me in half.
Naturally, I had no intention of taking that hit.
Just before the halberd reached the crown of my head, I moved half a step to the side and twisted away.
Then I immediately gave it a taste of my club.
THWACK!
I had swung with all the force I could muster.
‘It doesn’t even show. Not even a little.’
Perhaps it was angry that I had dared touch it. Murderous intent dripped from both its eyes.
“Don’t get so angry. You’ll ruin the meat.”
“RAAAAH—!”
Perhaps it had somehow understood human speech, because the Minotaur began battering at me in earnest.
The blade of its halberd grazed my body by a hair.
While it was desperately intent on catching me—
“Now!”
Three daggers flew in from the flank.
They struck its armor and horns before tumbling to the ground.
JERK—
The Minotaur, which had been thrusting its halberd like a crazed colt, froze.
Then it turned its head toward Taeya, who had thrown the daggers.
“Hah… Haha… This is a little creepy….”
The Minotaur prioritized the opponent right before it, but there were a few exceptions.
One of them was the ‘Charge Pattern.’
‘If you provoke a Minotaur that is in the midst of attacking from a distance—’
It switches its target to that person.
Then—
“Grrr…! RAAAAH!”
—it begins charging madly toward them.
The Minotaur lowered its massive horns toward Taeya and started sprinting.
“Don’t panic. Just dodge! It can only charge straight ahead anyway!”
“Aaaah!”
Taeya threw himself to the ground and rolled across it.
BOOM!
Meanwhile, the Minotaur slammed directly into the wall.
The entire space trembled as though an earthquake had struck, and the thunderous boom hammered violently against my ears.
“Eek!”
The Mage nearly lost her balance and fell.
‘First collision: success!’
If you dodged at the right moment during its Charge Pattern, the Minotaur could not reduce its momentum and would slam into the wall.
Then the impact shook the entire room—
DRIP, DRIP, DRIP!
Contaminated rust water dripped from the ceiling.
It was a poisonous concentrate formed from the waste of Underground Prison Sewer Rats, the rotten fluids of Ghouls, and more.
The moment even a single drop touched someone, it immediately inflicted the ‘Corrosion’ Debuff.
It was an utterly putrid liquid.
“Don’t let even a single drop hit you!”
I deftly threaded my way through the falling rust water and avoided it.
The Swordsman and Mage lacked the mobility to do so, so the Supporter deployed a barrier to shield them from the rust water.
This left the Minotaur as the only one exposed to it.
SIZZLE!
The rust water poured over its steel armor and emitted an ominous sound.
But there was not yet any significant change.
“We’ll continue right away!”
“Yes!”
“Got it!”
The Swordsman swung his sword at the Minotaur, which had barely pulled its horns free.
Of course, his sword bounced away with a CLANG!, and the creature swept its halberd toward the nearest enemy.
“RAAAH!”
At that moment, an arrow of Mana shot toward the back of its head.
[Magic Arrow] (D)
The Mage drew its aggro.
“Grrh?!”
As expected, the Minotaur prepared its Charge Pattern again.
It stopped the arm swinging the halberd, thrust its head forward, and kicked off the ground.
“Supporter!”
“Understood.”
At my order, the Supporter used a Blessing on the Mage.
[Wind’s Step] (D)
A basic Blessing that temporarily increased the target’s reaction speed and agility.
“Hngh… Eek!”
Thanks to it, even the Mage, whose physical attributes were lacking, was able to avoid the charge trajectory at the right moment.
CRASH!
Once again, the Minotaur slammed into the wall, and rust water poured down.
SIZZLE!
The rust water dripped heavily across the Minotaur’s enormous armor.
Dark brown discoloration gradually spread across it, and the armor’s sheen began to dull.
[The Imprisoned One, Minotaur]
▶[Buff: Armor(Lv.10), Berserk(Lv.3)]
▶[Debuff: Corrosion(Lv.1)]
The ‘Corrosion’ Debuff had finally appeared.
I clenched both hands tightly and cheered inwardly.
‘To make the Minotaur slam into a wall, there’s no choice but to dodge when it is as close as possible.’
Naturally, no sane Player wanted to take its body slam head-on, so the normal thing was to move out of its charge path beforehand.
Even if someone occasionally made the Minotaur charge into a wall, the cascading rust water inflicted a Debuff the instant it touched them, so everyone avoided doing it.
‘But this rust water affects the Minotaur too.’
More precisely, if it was repeatedly doused in rust water two or three times, it would receive the ‘Corrosion’ Debuff.
This was the way to break through that damned Armor.
“Next, it’s my turn again.”
I grinned at the Minotaur, which had pulled its horns free from the wall.
“Ever thought about being Gonjiam’s mascot? The beef-head soup there is really good.”
“RAAAAH!”
I dodged the sweeping halberd, and the daggers flew in.
CRASH!
It collided with the wall, and rust water poured down.
“Hyaaah!”
The Swordsman swung his sword and drew its target, then the Mage attacked from range and triggered a charge.
CRASH!
Once again, we made it collide with the wall and brought down rust water.
If we kept repeating this—
▶[Debuff: Corrosion(Lv.5)]
—we could raise the Corrosion Debuff to Level 5.
“Grrr…! Grrh!”
The once-glittering armor turned yellowish and emitted strange grinding sounds.
It looked like parts from a shipwreck that had been left at the bottom of the sea for hundreds of years.
“Th-The armor…!”
“It really corroded!”
“Wow….”
The team members stared in amazement, as though they could not believe the strategy had truly worked.
But its Buff remained.
“Hey, cowhead.”
I stepped before it while condensing Mana.
“Come.”
“Grrrrr!”
Radiating battle aura, the Minotaur charged at me.
It grabbed the lower part of the halberd’s shaft and swung wide.
“Look out…!”
I lightly ignored the warning from behind.
Instead, I slipped inside its reach and gripped my club firmly.
“One—two—!”
I spread my legs wide and lowered my body to avoid the halberd.
“Threeee!”
Then I charged forward and swung my club with a clean crack, like a baseball player driving a base hit!
[Swing] (E)
CRACK! CRAAACK…!
From the spot where my club struck, a massive crack spread like a spiderweb.
[The Corrosion Debuff has been overstacked!]
[Armor is destroyed!]
Soon afterward, its armor shattered completely.
Unlike a moment ago, when it had not even been scratched, it now crumbled as easily as a wafer biscuit.
“Hah!”
A thrilling sensation raced through my fingertips.
Even a come-from-behind grand slam would have been less exciting than this.
“Waaaaah!”
“I-It really broke?!”
“Amazing! Everyone, this is real! The armor really broke! Whoa! The chat is scrolling fucking fast!”
“Wow….”
Perhaps because it was such a rare spectacle, the team members’ reactions were quite a sight too.
“RAAAH!”
Having lost its armor, the Minotaur abruptly widened the distance between us.
“What? Are you scared now that you don’t have your armor?”
“Grrr…! Grrrgh!”
“Now it’ll finally feel satisfying to beat you up.”
I stepped on the armor fragments scattered across the floor and curled up the corner of my mouth as if to show it.
[The restraints disappear, releasing its ferocity!]
▶[Buff: Berserk(Lv.5)]
The Berserk Buff had risen to Level 5.
The Minotaur’s muscles swelled even further, and its momentum became more violent, but—
‘It doesn’t matter.’
Because attacks worked now.
“Heh!”
After giving it a faint scoff, I informed the teammates waiting behind me.
“Let’s begin. The bull hunt.”
The true boss hunt had begun.