Ch.3Minotauros (2)

# MOOOOOO—!!!!!

The mother’s rage at her calf being attacked descended upon the intruders. The mother Minotaur tried to separate me from them by throwing food to block their vision.

But the claim about hunting an adult Minotaur seemed true. The man who appeared to be the Leader instantly drew his greatsword, cut through the carcass, and positioned himself between me and my mother.

“Moo…”

The mother Minotaur who had been charging toward him stopped moving. She rolled her eyes to check on me, but at that moment, the Leader lifted me up and placed his sword against my neck.

“Now! If you don’t want to see your calf die, kneel!”

This bastard who called himself Leader was threatening her, somehow able to communicate with the Minotaur. I cried at my own helplessness, captured by this idiot.

It seemed that in this medieval world, those without strength suffered—even someone with such low intelligence could be a leader. When my mother remained frozen in place, he pressed the greatsword closer to my neck, drawing blood.

“MOOO—!!!”

My mother tried to charge but… after looking at me, she stopped moving.

“Heheh, that’s right. Biram, shoot the paralyzing arrow.”

“This is expensive and it’s my last one. Shouldn’t we save it as a last resort? Let’s just wait until Luna and Asheet arrive to handle this.”

“Who knows how long that thing will stay still… That beast keeps watching carefully, looking for a chance to retrieve its calf.”

Biram swallowed hard at those words. That monster has intelligence too? He had thought capturing the calf would be enough for a big score, but now facing more expenses, his frustration grew. He pulled out a dagger and stabbed my side.

“Moo…”

“MOOOOOO—!!!!!”

My mother howled but couldn’t move because I was being held hostage.

“Ha, what are you going to do, you cow-headed freak? Can’t you see your calf? Stop barking and just offer your neck to die quietly.”

How annoying.

Sighing, he aimed the paralyzing arrow he had used on me at my mother. If she got hit with something that could paralyze even a troll… even though she was a Minotaur, she wouldn’t be able to move properly.

I tried to tell her to dodge, but my tongue was stiff from the paralysis and I couldn’t make proper sounds.

“Moo… (Run…)”

“Shut up, you little cow. After your mother dies, you’re next, so just be a good hostage.”

The arrow flew toward my mother, striking her directly in the center of her forehead. The paralysis spread instantly, and she grabbed her head, unable to steady herself.

“Moo…! (Mom…!)”

*SMACK—!!*

“This little shit keeps moving, so annoying. Hey Biram! When will that one collapse?”

“The paralytic poison should take effect soon! About 5 minutes?”

At that moment, Asheet, who had stayed behind to look after Luna, approached. When asked about Luna’s condition… he shook his head.

Biram and the Leader couldn’t hide their disappointment. Their party’s only mage was gone. If she had been there, capturing the Minotaur would have been easier… they were furious at her incompetence, dying while trying to catch a mere calf.

“That fucking bitch, she wasn’t the only one complaining about how hard this was, but she’s the one who died. So, are we splitting her share of the reward three ways?”

“Hmm… let’s deal with that after we take care of the Minotaur in front of us.”

“Sounds good, brother. Let’s handle this monster first.”

*THUD—!!*

Finally, my mother collapsed to the ground, unable to withstand the paralysis any longer. Seeing this, they abandoned me as useless and approached my mother.

Watching helplessly, I kept trying to move. Surely I could resist the paralytic poison that even trolls could withstand. As I continued to struggle…

*-Ding!*

『 Species: Minotauroso

Status: Infant

Stats [Locked]: [Growing…]

Unique Trait: Ratel’s Gene

Traits: Beast’s Senses

??? [Locked]

??? [Locked]

??? [Locked] 』

【Ratel’s Gene】: Ratel’s skin is very thick and loose. Due to this characteristic, their thick skin weakens opponents’ attacks, and their loose skin makes your body flexible. Additionally, Ratel has very strong poison resistance, so nothing short of the mythical Hydra’s poison can kill them.

*This ability becomes more powerful as you grow, and depending on your efforts, it can evolve into an even more powerful trait!

Suddenly my status window appeared, and the unique trait that had been hidden as ??? became visible. Ratel’s Gene. Thick skin, flexible body, and strong poison resistance.

This meant the paralyzing poison affecting me was already being neutralized. Indeed, as soon as this notification appeared, my body became easier to move.

“Moo…!”

The intruders ignored my groans, finding them annoying. Thinking it was time to crack their skulls, I picked up a rock from nearby.

“But how are we going to dismantle and carry this? How should we butcher this giant and its calf to get a good reputation?”

“Don’t worry, I borrowed a small spatial pouch from the Adventurer’s Guild for this situation. It can fit an ogre, so it should fit a Minotaur too.”

“Oh! Brother, to be able to borrow such a precious item. You must be quite capable.”

Thinking it was all over, these idiots were chatting happily. It was time to smash their skulls. I gripped the rock tightly until it nearly crumbled…

*SWOOSH—!! CRACK—!!*

I hurled it at the head of the one calling the other “brother” and pierced Biram’s shoulder.

*THUD—*

“AAAAARGH—!!”

“Biram!?”

The Leader was startled by the sudden turn of events. He had thought it was all over, that both the calf and mother were paralyzed and immobile, and all he had to do was separate their heads from their necks with his greatsword—but why suddenly…

Before the Leader could recover from his shock, I charged.

*THUD—!!*

Though surprised, they seemed skilled enough to hunt Minotaurs.

Both Biram with his pierced shoulder and the Leader easily avoided my charge, causing me to ram into a tree instead.

“Kuk—!! Biram, tie that bastard up! I’ll cut the mother’s neck and support you right after!”

“AAAAH—!!”

Biram, unable to use his left arm due to his pierced shoulder, drew a dagger from his waist. It wasn’t an ordinary dagger—the blade had yellow lines, and a yellow gem was embedded in the handle.

I didn’t know what it was, but since my 【Beast’s Senses】 didn’t react, it probably wasn’t dangerous—

“MOOO—!!”

I charged at him anyway. With my 【Ratel’s Gene】 unique trait making my skin thicker, his dagger wouldn’t be able to pierce it. Trusting my skin, I ignored him and targeted the Leader who was trying to behead my mother.

“MOOO—!!”

“Kuk, you monster! Do you think you can ignore me because I can’t use one arm?”

Biram followed behind me as I chased the Leader. But he couldn’t catch up to me since I had already started running. As I was about to swing my arm at the approaching Leader… Biram suddenly grabbed my back and swung his dagger.

“Dance of Frenzy!”

Biram’s body suddenly spun rapidly, slashing at my back. But my thickened skin meant his attacks weren’t critical, so I ignored them and was about to swing my arm…

*CRACKLE—!*

“MOO!?”

Electricity suddenly generated from behind me momentarily paralyzed my body. The current pierced through me, circulating throughout my body, causing an unusual change.

Something inside me responded to that electricity and burst out!

*CRACKLE—!*

“AAAACK—!”

The electricity discharged from my body electrocuted Biram who had been swinging his dagger behind me. Whether it killed him instantly or just paralyzed him, I didn’t know, but he collapsed—

『 Species: Minotauroso

Status: Infant

Stats [Locked]: [Growing…]

Unique Trait: Ratel’s Gene

Traits: Beast’s Senses

Elements[Thunder]

??? [Locked]

??? [Locked] 』

Elements? Thunder? I wasn’t sure what it was, but it seemed like an ability to control electricity at will… I decided to check it later and headed toward the Leader who was targeting my mother’s neck.

He was already prepared to cut my mother’s neck, raising his greatsword high and surrounding it with mana.

“MOO—! (Mom—!)”

“Ha! These lovely cows, especially the calf! Thanks to you, I don’t have to kill the others when I return! Thanks to you, I get to monopolize the bounty and materials. Thank you, little cow!”

He swung his greatsword down toward my mother’s neck. I desperately approached him, but it was too late. A cruel image of my mother’s neck being cut flashed before my eyes, but—

*CLANG!*

“Moo? (Huh?)”

“Huh?”

Both the Leader and I made confused sounds. He looked down…

*HUFF—*

Hiss, hiss—my mother was breathing heavily. She shook her head, still affected by the paralysis, but it seemed to have worn off somewhat as the unfocused look in her eyes returned to normal.

“Kuk—!! That idiot! He said it would last 30 minutes but it didn’t even last 10—”

I punched the still-confused man in the stomach. His hard iron armor blocked it with a *THUD—* sound, and his body flew back, crashing into a tree.

“Kuhp—!”

As I was about to charge at him, something moved faster than me.

*MOOOOOO—!!!!!*

My mother charged at him with her horns leading the way. Instantly reaching him, she impaled his body with her horns that couldn’t be cut even by mana.

*SQUELCH—!!!!!*

“KUUP—!!!!!”

Ignoring his screams, she shook her head to separate his body, splitting him into upper and lower halves. The life quickly faded from his eyes.

*MOOOOOO—!!!!!!!*

My mother raised her head and let out a victorious roar. Together, we returned to the cave with their corpses. Killing and eating humans, thinking of a monster as my mother—I was no longer human.

I am a Minotauroso.