Ch.19Thump-Thump☆ Minotaur’s Crisis! (1)

The metallic clanking sound grew closer until the figure finally revealed itself.

It wore full plate armor covering its entire body, with a greatsword on its back and a short sword at its waist as a secondary weapon. I was too sleepy to sense any killing intent, so I closed my eyes again, planning to go back to sleep if it didn’t bother me…

Mary muttered, “That… doesn’t seem human… I don’t sense any life force from inside that armor…”

At those words, I jumped up and slammed my fist down at the tin can.

CRASH!!

The ground where my fist connected caved in, leaving a massive imprint of my fist. When I pulled back my hand to check on the creature… there was only a crushed piece of armor, with no blood at all.

“Mmmrr?” (What kind of monster is just moving armor?)

“It’s a Living Armor! There must be a taming-class mage around here!”

Living Armor—a magical beast that wanders around in knight’s armor, completely hollow inside except for a magic stone placed near where the heart would be.

They rarely occur naturally, so they’re typically created and used by taming-class mages.

“Mmmuuu-” (It’s probably for reconnaissance… Mary, want to get in my hand for a moment? I’m going to roar.)

“Okay! I’ll cover my ears and wrap my wings too! Let me know when you’re about to shout!”

I held her in my hand to shield her from the sound as much as possible, then gave her the signal. When I felt her tickling my palm—her okay sign—I let out a roar that shook the entire forest.

MMRRROOOOAAARRR!!!!!

The trees around me couldn’t withstand my roar and toppled over, while all the grass flattened to the ground. I hoped the mage would be startled enough to break the connection and disappear…

But as always, things didn’t go according to plan. The sound of my roar seemed to attract them instead, as I heard the rumbling of footsteps rushing toward me, the ground trembling beneath their approach.

“Mmrr- Mmuu-” (Mary, could you turn invisible and move away? Looks like I need some night exercise.)

“Okay… Don’t get hurt, alright? Be careful.”

With those words, she instantly turned invisible and moved away from me. I prepared myself for some long-overdue night exercise.

* * * * *

“Yes, that’s right. He’s definitely a participant. A minotaur wouldn’t be doing warm-up exercises otherwise.”

A robed figure spoke, relaying the situation to the Cowboy in real-time as if watching it directly.

“So why is an Adamantium-class mage here anyway? Why does this country even have an Adamantium-class mage? Someone of that caliber could be an elder in the Taming School, couldn’t they? It’s the Grand Beast March, after all.”

“Well, what matters is that he’s taken an interest in that minotaur. We just need to observe how the minotaur fights and if it has any special traits.”

The robed figure dismissed the Cowboy’s concerns calmly. He seemed to have faith that the minotaur wouldn’t lose even to those who had transcended humanity—Adamantium-class beings.

“It’s starting.”

The robed figure watched as the minotaur and an ogre began to clash.

* * * * *

WRRAAARRGH-!!!

MUOOOOO-!!!!

I grabbed the charging ogre’s face and slammed it into the ground. But true to an ogre’s nature, it didn’t die from just that. It tried to get up by grabbing my arm, but… my strength was greater than its.

CRUNCH——!!!!

Its head shattered like a watermelon, and I turned to greet my second visitor.

KYAOOOO-!!!

Three-meter-long lizards I’d never seen before charged at me. Their teeth dripped with purple venom. I stomped one with my foot, crushing it into silence. Using its body as a weapon, I swung it at the others, sending them flying. I methodically crushed each one underfoot.

Next came a swarm of snakes. They slithered toward me from all directions, some leaping from trees with their venomous fangs aimed at me.

RUMBLE… BOOOOOM-!!!!

I swept the area around me with lightning. The snakes that had jumped from trees vanished without a trace, and most of those on the ground were eliminated too.

But some survived, and several managed to sink their fangs into my ankle.

However, my trait, Predator Ratel, makes me immune to all venom except from mythical beasts like the Hydra. I surrounded my leg with electricity, stomped the ground, and pretended to stagger from the poison.

Then…

THUD-!!

I threw my body to the ground. Given how they sacrificed the ogre to distract me… the venom from those lizards and snakes must be potent enough to affect even a minotaur.

Humans often used poison when hunting me, so this one must be doing the same.

I lay there wheezing for five minutes. The cautious mage still hadn’t revealed himself. Just as I was starting to worry that Mary might appear out of concern…

The mage finally showed himself. Wearing a robe that concealed his age, though his white beard suggested he was elderly. He rode what looked like a griffon or hippogriff—some bird-headed mount.

“Hmm, it seems the poison worked after all. Strength that overwhelms an ogre, and lightning manipulation abilities too. Hehehe, if I tame this variant, I’ll reach even greater heights.”

The mage approached gradually. But his bird-headed mount seemed anxious, refusing to come near me. Perhaps it instinctively sensed I was awake, or was intimidated by my presence…

The creature kept squawking and raising its wings threateningly, until the mage finally sensed something was wrong and launched attack spells at me.

He seemed to be a high-level mage, unleashing various spells in rapid succession, but my body has magic resistance as a trait.

His spells merely singed my fur, frosted it over, or gave me a windblown look. They couldn’t inflict any real damage.

“My… To withstand the 5th circle Ice Nova, 6th circle Inferno, and Rampage Wind in combination without a scratch…”

I heard him marveling as he approached me step by step. Thump… Thump… The sound drew closer and closer until…

When he came within reach, I swung my hand like lightning to grab him.

Or so I thought. The mage had apparently known I was awake and had sent an illusion of himself forward while watching me from behind.

“Hehehe… My Ripon is quite sensitive, you see. He kept warning me that you weren’t affected by the poison. That’s why I tested you with attack spells.”

“But it seems my magic can’t bring you down.”

With those words, the mage mounted his bird-headed beast and rapidly ascended. I swung my arms trying to knock him down, but the creature skillfully flew higher, quickly rising beyond my reach.

RUMBLE…

Just as I was about to summon lightning to bring them down, I felt massive vibrations from beneath my feet.

GRRRUMBLE… GRRRUMBLE…

It sounded like something was gnawing through the earth. I tried to leap backward, but—

BOOOOOOOM-!!!!!!

The creature revealed itself.

* * * * *

“Whoa—a Sand Worm? Isn’t that the monster that destroyed an entire desert city in one go? How did he tame that thing?”

Even from this distance far from the lake, its size was unfathomable. The Sand Worm rose high into the sky before plunging back into the ground.

“That’s what earned Rusim his Adamantium-class Beast Master title. It’s probably not the same individual that destroyed the desert city… but the very fact he can command a Sand Worm is unbelievable.”

“Is this the end? No matter how special that minotaur is, I don’t think it can defeat that Sand Worm…”

Despite the Cowboy’s doubts, the robed figure silently watched as the minotaur was dragged away by the Sand Worm.

* * * * *

“MMUUUU-!! (URRRGH-!!)”

I was shocked by a sensation I’d never experienced before. Me, with my 8-meter body, being overpowered by sheer mass! Never once had I been outmatched in strength or size.

But this worm was so enormous that its mouth alone was as big as my entire body. Its length seemed comparable to a skyscraper—even as it burst from the ground with me in its jaws, most of its body remained underground.

Each of its teeth was massive, and it tried to pierce my skin with them… but they weren’t enough to penetrate my hide, leaving only teeth marks. Confused by this, it tried to close its mouth.

CREAK—

But my strength is rated S, comparable to the descendants of giants, the Cyclops. The worm’s strength was considerable, but not enough to overpower mine.

Unable to close its mouth, it could only continue burrowing through the earth with me trapped in its jaws. With its mouth forced open, I opened my own.

RUMBLE… RUMBLE…

An enormous amount of electricity gathered in my mouth. The electrical current swirled chaotically, unable to contain its power. The overwhelming voltage made the worm writhe in agony as it tried to spit me out, bursting to the surface.

BOOOOOM-!!!!!!

As soon as we emerged above ground, I released my lightning, which traveled down through the worm’s body.

The overwhelming electrical current incinerated its insides completely. The flash was so intense that for a moment, the worm’s entire internal structure was visible. Despite its enormous size, it died instantly.

“What-!? My worm-!!!”

The mage tried to approach his apparently prized monster, but his mount refused, struggling against him. Not missing this opportunity…

CRACKLE-BOOM——!!!!!

SCREEEECH-!!!

“AAAAARGH-!!!!”

I summoned lightning, giving the bird-headed mount no chance to escape, electrocuting them both.

Falling from high in the sky, the mount hit the ground with a thud, something breaking on impact. The mage seemed to have suffered the same fate, his legs completely crushed under his mount.

“Urrrgh-! Potion… I need a potion…”

Impressed that he was still conscious and searching for a potion in this state, I decided to help him rest peacefully. Just as he pulled out a potion to drink, I moved the griffon away to make his legs more comfortable.

“What-!? Are you actually helping me…?”

Then I separated his now useless legs from his body.

RIIIIIP-!!!

“AAAAAAAARGH-!!!!!”

Unable to bear the unique experience of having his upper and lower body separated, he passed out from the pain. I put him in my mouth, freeing him from his suffering forever.