Volume 2 Chapter 20 (1/2)

The fight against the boss, the Minotaur has begun.

I started running directly towards the Minotaur as Selene caught up, giving an apology for being late to the front.

The Minotaur stood up from its crudely made throne, lowers its hips and points the large horn on its head in our direction. The horn then begins to glow.

It’s coming.

Selene held her shield up in an attempt to receive the attack.

[Don’t get hit! Dodge to the side!!!] (Youya)

The situation was dire from the start, Selene who was delirious from the Minotaur’s roar earlier had forgotten the precautions that I had told everyone in advance before the battle. However, somehow Selene regained her senses as she attempts to jump to the side.

The next instant, a large impact roared throughout the room as the Minotaur disappeared from the throne. The ground between me and Selene begins to shake as if an earthquake had struck the room. Looking behind us, the Minotaur’s horn pierced the wall in the corner of the room.

That was the Minotaur’s signature move, Horn Crash. It was a skill that required a set amount of distance to accelerate to its maximum power, but it was the Minotaur’s most powerful charging technique. Just attempting to follow him with my eyes made it seem as if he had disappeared. It was said that the moment the Minotaur’s horn begins to glow, everyone has to jump to the side immediately. It wasn’t an attack that can be received using Fortress, it is an attack that is impossible to match.

However, it was an attack with a large range of motion, giving an opening of several seconds even after the horn begins to glow. Meanwhile, in that opening, it is a given that we have to dodge that attack. It may seem like a dangerous attack that easily slaughters every opponent, however it is an attack that is easily rendered ineffective if you were cautious from the beginning..

[This is the power of a special monster… If I took that then I would be dead…] (Selene)

Selene’s voice trembled as she started to lose her grip on the battle. I hadn’t realized that her heart was this fragile in a life-threatening battle. The Minotaur finally recovered from his charge and turns around, charging with his axe. It’s target was Selene. Selene, while panicking directly received the axe with her shield. As a result, Selene’s body was blown and crashed into the wall from the Minotaur’s heavy attack. That is the result if she were to receive a blow head-on without using the spike to stabilize her footing.

[Gah… Hah… This level of strength. Am I supposed to keep defending against this?] (Selene)

As Selene leaned against the wall, trying to recover from the previous attack, the Minotaur approached Selene and raised its axe. Selene began trembling as she stared directly at the axe, without any indication of preparing her shield. In that instant, arrows began to rain all over the Minotaur. Til was running around at a distance, biding her time releasing arrows one after another. However, that wasn’t all she was doing.

[Lightning Arrow] (Til)

She released the beginner-tier magic, Lightning Arrow which struck at the speed of lightning simultaneously. It is a newly-obtained skill after she obtained the passive skill, Arrow Generation which increases the power of her arrows. Since it is a beginner tier magic which only struck a single target, it has a short casting time with high attacking power, furthermore it has a low mana consumption. As compared to the advanced tier magic, Thunder, it has a far higher damage to mana efficiency in this situation. Til began to shower the Minotaur with a volley of arrows and thunder.

[GUUUUMOOOOOOOOOO!!] (Minotaur)

While getting struck by countless arrows and lightning arrows, the Minotaur stare directly at Til. It looks like it had changed its aggression completely towards Til as it ran towards her.

[Selene, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and use War Cry!] (Youya)

[Eh? Uhn.] (Selene)

Her reaction is too slow! The Minotaur is already approaching Til in a charge.

Our original plan was for Selene to hold the Minotaur’s aggression using War Cry. Otherwise, Til who was our party’s specialized attacker would be targeted first. If Til who has low defensive stats were to fall here, we will lose our party’s main firepower. Selene herself knew this fact. However, when the Minotaur released Horn Crush as its first attack, it was an attack which was meant to completely annihilate everything in its path. Selene’s head was completely dominated by fear after nearly losing her life and getting blown away from the monster’s basic attack.

[Mr. Cow. You can’t just focus on the front, your sides are open. Assassinate!] (Luna)

Unnoticed, Luna who was running parallel to the Minotaur with similar speed almost condescendingly releases Assassinate as the ringing unique to critical hits could be heard throughout the room. Assassinate is a skill that has a drastic increase to the damage dealt whenever it landed as a critical hit. The Minotaur whose weak point on its flank was stabbed by Luna, stomped the ground and bellowed in fury.

[GYUUUNOOOOOOOOO]

The Minotaur raised its axe filled with fury and swung it downwards Luna. However it was easily avoided by Luna who did not overstep her boundaries as she immediately jumped backwards to avoid the attack, increasing the distance between her and the Minotaur. In our party, Luna played the vital role of being the middle-guard to follow up on our backline, Til’s attacks whenever she sees an opportunity to land a deciding blow. I had placed firm emphasis on that teaching. Although the Minotaur was irritated at Luna’s attack, its focus returned to its original target, Til. However Til had already created a distance between herself and the Minotaur and was preparing another volley of lightning and arrows. The Minotaur continued towards Til in rain of lightning and arrows as it caught up to her with pure speed and swung its axe. The axe which was moving towards Til’s head..

Was obstructed.

[Good job Luna, thanks to you I made it in time.] (Youya)

Thanks to Luna’s distraction which caught the Minotaur’s attention for a few moments, I managed to close the distance and intercept the axe before it reached Til. Originally it was Selene’s role to be the tank, however as she was currently overwhelmed by the Minotaur’s strength. Until she recovers, I won’t have a choice but to be the tank in her stead.

I activated War Cry to catch the Minotaur’s attention. It has lesser of an effect as compared to a crusader, however it is still effective for a short amount of time as the Minotaur swung its axe down towards me. I used my signature Deflect to divert the blow away. It was an extremely heavy attack, however with my current status it is possible for me to completely divert it away. Selene earlier was also supposed divert the attack rather than receiving the attack head on.

If it was the usual Selene, then it was possible for her to do so. That was how I had trained her, however fear has clouded her judgement. Doesn’t matter how much power or skill a person possesses, so long as there isn’t the presence of mind capable of demonstrating it, it may as well be all for naught. In order to obtain the strength in your heart, it must be capable of overcoming your own fear.

I continued to take control of the Minotaur subsequent attacks while Til was continuing to fire volley after volley of arrows and lightning arrows towards him, slowly but surely damaging him.

Suddenly, the Minotaur threw away his axe and its two hands began to glow, resembling the activation of a skill.

It looks like it was coming as I immediately raised my concentration and focus to the limit.

[GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]

Hurricane Rush.

It is a flurry of powerful attacks coming from both its fists.

One, two Three. Even though I could deflect each blow to an extent, heavy fists continue landing one after another. Through my Deflect, my posture was steadily collapsing as the weight of each blow was higher than its normal attacks. The effect of the skill also included an increase in his defensive stats, making it pointless to interrupt the attack. For now, all I can do is to endure it.

At the ninth hit, with my posture completely disrupted, I had no choice but to receive the blow head on as I received the punch with my sword. While the punch was about to land, I jumped backwards and was blown backwards. I rolled on the ground in an attempt to kill the momentum before standing back up. Finally, his skill ended as the Minotaur suffered a backlash from the powerful Hurricane rush and remained on the spot.

[Full of openings! Assassinate] (Luna)

[Just how much do we have to attack before you fall!] (Til)

Luna landed another blow with Assassinate as Til fired yet another volley of arrows and lightning.

[GUUUUUUUUUGGGGAAAAAAAA]

The Minotaur screamed in pain as it continued to accumulate damage from all the successive attacks. However there wasn’t any time to be relieved. From that one flurry of attacks, even with Deflect I still lost about 30% of my health.

This is a boss battle.

Once again, it’s aggression was focused on Til who had dealt a significant amount of damage and begins attacking her once more. Matter of fact at the moment is that I am unable to fight back against this opponent. Just Deflecting is taking all I have. Furthermore with each hit my accuracy is decreasing as my arms become numb. To add insult to injury, as I am unable to participate in the attacks, our damage output is garbage compared to our maximum potential.

In order to have a better chance of winning this battle, Selene’s power is necessary. Even if she did not continue in the battle, we could win but it will still be a tough battle. However, if we do not help Selene recover from this beating then she might have the memory of running away from this difficult battle. Fleeing from one battle and leading to another. Sooner or later she will never learn to step up whenever the push comes to shove. Having a tank whose first thought is to escape will never be a competent tank. While receiving the minotaur’s heavy blow, I shouted at the top of my lungs.

[Selene! How much longer do you plan to just stand there!? Are you the kind of warrior that can only pick on monsters weaker than you!] (Youya)

Selene’s shoulders shuddered at my sudden outburst.

[No matter how weak I was, I had always challenged the strong with feelings, with a craving for victory far stronger than anyone I have ever faced. Yearning for the strength to overwhelm them with my own. Isn’t that the figure you have always looked up to? You said that you always wished to be like me…. Unfortunately, my strength was always a counterfeit. And yet you still continued to look up towards me. That’s what I have always thought about you. If that is true, then show it to us, and bring out your courage!] (Youya)

Selene who was in a visibly miserable state lost her voice as she appeared unable to say anything, neglecting her own stance as her chest sunk into her knees. For an instant, her consciousness seemed to disappear, dissuaded by the power of the minotaur’s basic attack earlier.

[GUMOOOO!] (Minotaur)

The minotaur’s attack continued as he threw another kick towards me. I tumbled to the side in order to avoid the first attack and stood up with conviction. With a swift motion, I took out the black magic sword and circled around the minotaur, slashing his open side.

[GUMOOOOOOooo!] (Minotaur)

Even with Selene being in this state, Luna and Til continued to say nothing. Instead, they continued to convey their thoughts to Selene through their actions. No matter how afraid they were, they continued to perform their role and do what they had to do.

[Selene, if you don’t stand up in this battle then you will never be able to change. CHOOSE! Continue to chase after the figure you wish to be, or continue to be satisfied raising your levels and your status! As your teacher I am telling you now, your strength and techniques are enough! Open up your eyes and look! Is this beast’s attacks sharper or faster than any of my attacks during your training!?] (Youya)

I may be forcing a hard decision onto her, but I know fully well how difficult it is to repair a broken spirit in the heat of battle. However, if we neglect this opportunity, then Selene will never be able to grow. Selene grinded her back teeth together, however the person herself didn’t move an inch.

Just when I thought it was hopeless.

[War Cry!] (Selene)

Selene activated her provocation skill, pulling the monster’s aggression towards her. She activated a dangerous skill despite her trembling legs. The minotaur’s attention turned towards Selene as it charged towards her. Meanwhile, its axe regenerated and appeared in its hand. It swung its axe towards Selene as she held shield, however she hadn’t activated her spikes. She looked directly at the minotaur’s axe without blinking and lowered her upper body, holding her sheld at an angle.

[Nice.] (Youya)

The spikes are effective and convenient to use, however it isn’t something that should be activated without any thought. Ideally, the spikes should only be used for powerful attacks that can’t be avoided. Aside from that, we should be handling the situation using our own techniques and combat skills while using the spikes to increase the effectiveness of Shield Bash.

By learning to deflect attacks to the side, you receive lesser damage as compared to receive an attack head on, plus it makes it easier to transition into an attacking stance. Furthermore, once it is used it can’t be used for a short period of time. This method also has the merit of allowing the person to reserve their Fortress for another time. This is the battle style of the Battle princess Renoir. Her current figure in battle is heavily reminiscent of the figure of Renoir seen in the game.

No, I’m mistaken, it’s not just her. Although she was using a shield, I could see a trace of my sword somewhere in her shield. That was proof that my teachings are being embedded into her.