Sami lightly bit the inside of his cheek to control the slight trembling of his body. The Minotaur stood across from him, smoke coming from his nose, his red eyes narrowing as he waited for an answer.
He took a moment to respond, not because he wanted to agree to the deal, but because Sami wondered what would be the safest way for them to escape.
"I could try to use Phantom Veil once again, but my body was already sore from overuse." Sami thought. He felt trapped, but decided against escaping.
Sami remembered that the only way to leave the forest was to defeat him, but the question was how.
The Minotaur roared, his eyes glowing a deep crimson. "I offered to spare you, now you die with her!"
Not willing to wait anymore, he charged forward, drawing his arm back, a red aura circling his body. The wind kicked up as he swung his fist forward.
CRACK!
His shield shattered like glass; the recoil from its destruction caused a massive headache.
Sami ignored the pain and focused on summoning chains, using them to slow down the Minotaur. Much to his dismay, the chains did nothing to slow the Minotaur down, breaking the chains with ease.
Snapping his fingers, he focused on the area where the Minotaur was about to step, and poured more mana into it. A bright circle appeared, two chains shot out, bigger than before, wrapping around the Minotaur's body.
The Minotaur looked surprised at being restricted, the sudden appearance of chains catching him by surprise. His red eyes narrowed as more smoke poured out of his nose. "Enough games!" he yelled, flexing his muscles and destroying the chains.
The roar shook the ground, making Sami stumble. Thankfully, Onyx was smart enough to grab his pants leg, so she didn't get sent flying.
The Minotaur resumed his charge toward them, the red aura around him glowing slightly brighter. The movements were too fast for Sami to get a lock on him to summon any binding chains.
Kneeling on the ground, Sami slapped his hands together in a circle. He spread out his arms. "Ageis!" A large, blue barrier formed in front of them.
The Minotaur swings his mighty fist, easily shattering the shield.
CRASH!
The sound of glass breaking echoed around the clearing; Sami's headache grew worse, a slight trail of blood coming out of his nose.
[ Condition → Spell Backlash: Headache]
[ Condition: Body breaking down at 22%]
Sami couldn't like the notification as The Minotaur's giant arm appeared in front of him, aimed downward at his neck. He hurriedly ducked under the attack, the wind from the attack brushing over his back,
The Minotaur's momentum kept him going forward before he slid to a stop, dirt kicking up in the air as he turned around.
Sami could feel Onyx clinging to his pants, shivering as he stood up to face the Minotaur once again. 'I thought his combat capabilities would've weakened. I was severely mistaken.' He thought, ignoring the pounding in his head.
The Minotaur roared and charged forward, moving faster than he could track.
Sami activated Phantom Veil, not a moment too soon, as the Minotaur appeared in front of him, rapidly throwing punches that went through his body.
Despite not getting hit by the furious blows, he could still feel each impact as if he had—kind of similar to phantom pain.
Blood began to leak from Sami's as the pain became overwhelming.
Wanting to leave this stalemate and knowing he only had a second before Phantom Veil deactivated. Sami threw up multiple shields, causing the Minotaur's enraged punches to slam into them instead.
Dealing with the headaches, Sami went underground, appearing a few feet from his last position. His body was shaking violently while he struggled to stay up on his feet.
Onyx looked up at him with worry, but decided not to say anything as she let go of his pant leg.
[ Condition: Body breaking down at 29%]
Wiping the bit of blood dripping down his nose, a menu popped up."Great, just freaking great."
He knew that not being able to use Phantom Veil would hinder some of his defensive movements.
The Minotaur didn't give Sami any time to relax as he came in trying to kick him.
Sami summoned multiple shields in front of himself, barely blocking the attack. He ignored the system messages as he threw up more shields. More blood dripped from his nose.
"Do you think a novice like you can win against me, boy? How pathetic!" The Minotaur mocked me. Throwing another punch that broke through multiple shields, the shards dropped to the ground.
"Aww, what's wrong, having performance issues trying to break a novice's shield?" Sami sneered.
He felt a tug on his leg and looked down at Onyx.
"Now isn't the time to make jokes when you should focus on trying to win this fight, you idiot!" she shouted.
"Ugh, fine, you're right," he agreed, though he wasn't happy about it.
Sami snapped his fingers, summoning more chains around the Minotaur since he was mostly stationary while dealing with the shields.
"Hey, Oracle, do you remember the spell that Lyra used to summon swords?"
[ Learn Skill → Manifest Armament and all subsequent skills]
[Yes/No]
Sami clicked Yes; a new spell appeared on his list called Manifest Armament.
The memories of Lyra practicing the spell flashed through his mind, how she had to not only focus on the shape of the blade, but also the metal. It was all taught to him instantly.
Using the memories, he started concentrating on the spell, pushing the magic into his hand. "Manifest Armament," he chanted. A sword appeared in his hand, glowing with a fierce orange light that pulsed slightly.
The sword itself differed from the one Lyra summoned; this one was much shorter and lighter, closer to what he had trained in prior. A knot of reluctance tightened in his stomach at the thought of actually using the blade.
Sami steeled his heart, knowing that if he wanted to join the academy, it started right here, right now.
Know that if he couldn't stop the Minotaur now, no telling how many people will die if it escapes. Sami took a deep breath before his eyes were focused.
"I don't know if I'll be able to kill him, but I'm damn sure going to try my best!"Sami thought as a plan began to form. Even being locked away, the Minotaur's still being this strong is a testament to how strong he was when he was active.
The Minotaur paused, a lazy grin spread across his bull-like face. "Do you think that puny blade will hurt me?" He chuckled, looking down at me in amusement. Flexing his arms, he easily broke the chain holding him back.
"You can laugh at my weakness, but I didn't spend over a century locked up, unlike you." He goaded.
The Minotaur just sneered as he met Sami's gaze, his form stopping in front of the shield.
Sami's skin stretched over the knuckles as he held on tightly to his new blade. The ring on his finger glowed brightly in response to his feelings before settling back down.
Onyx quickly climbed Sami's back. "Um, Sami," she whispered, her voice full of worry.
"Not now, Onyx. I'm trying to think of an idea to get us out of this," he replied softly.
"No, you don't understand," she said, urgency in her tone. "If he wanted to, he would have broken through the barrier easily. It's just a game to him. Win or lose, it's about the chase."
"What?!" Sami shouted in shock, now realizing the meaning behind the Minotaur's overly calm demeanor.
Sami could feel a faint power coming from him, but he didn't realize the monster was still holding back even more. An overwhelming feeling of dread coursed through his body; his knees were shaking.
The Minotaur laughed, showing amusement on his face. "Oh, don't be scared now; I've offered you a chance to go free. Now stand your ground, boy, and die with honor!"
With a roar, the Minotaur's body began to glow a bright red before he threw a punch, breaking the shields under his full strength.
The red aura left the Minotaur's body as he began walking forward.
Crash!
Shards of the barrier fell to the ground, and the shockwave from the impact forced Sami to step back.
His headache is growing worse.
Onyx had to hold on tightly to Sami's shirt, doing her best not to get blown off his shoulder.
Sami, seeing the Minotaur charge, quickly summoned a single chain from the palm of his left hand, aiming at the Minotaur's feet.
The Minotaur leaped over the chain, causing his charge to slow down once.
"SWORD FLY SWIFT!" Sami shouted, lifting his right hand. The sword took on a small orange glow before shooting off, flying fast at the airborne creature.
The Minotaur used the red aura again, melting the sword on contact, before landing on the ground with a thud.