NOVEL NEXT Chapter 821: You Forgot About Traps
After we cleared the boss room, the next floor was pretty much also kind of a cake walk since the monsters that patrol that floor were also the same type as the boss.
And seeing how easily they took down the boss, it went without saying that they didn't have any problems fighting the monsters on this floor either.
To prove my point, I'm watching Haddock strike down the latest minotaur that we've met, the monster not even standing a chance against the boys.
Despite how well they were doing, there was another problem that I already foresaw coming.
"We should take a break," I called out to them just as they finished cutting up the monster.
One of the boys turned to frown at me, "Why?"
"What do you mean why? We've been fighting through the Dungeon for a few hours now without taking a break. It's already past lunch time, you know? Even normal lessons would have taken a lunchtime break before we continued with the afternoon lessons."
The other boys turned to look at Haddock, clearly waiting for his opinion on the matter.
He shook his head, "That's just a waste of time. We're still doing well so we can just continue on, especially since we are on a time limit. We should try to get as far as we can before the time limit runs out."
I crossed my arms, "Sure, you can deal with the monsters here relatively easily, but have you not noticed that your fatigue is starting to build up? You were a second slower in reacting to the minotaur's axe swing just now than usual. You might not feel it yet but you are starting to grow tired."
He waved his hand dismissively, "We're fine. This isn't even a workout for us. Let's just continue forward a bit more."
"That's how Dungeoneers die, you know? When they get so overconfident and believe that they are too strong to be put down but then they trigger a trap or just react too slowly to an attack and get themselves killed."
He paused for a moment and it looked like he was mulling over my words.
"Fine… But let's find the stairs first then we'll take a break," He finally relented.
Better than nothing I suppose… And we do need to find a safe area anyway since it isn't exactly safe here.
Unfortunately for us, it seemed like the gods took my words literally since the next step he took, the floor panel sunk in.
I'm just going to say… The only reason why I didn't spot that trap was because the boys were blocking my line of sight to that pressure plate trap…
And to prove my point even further, instead of jumping back immediately like the last time he stepped on a trap, he looked down and looked at the pressure plate for a good long second before actually reacting to it.
Not that it even mattered because the trap was a pitfall trap and the floor beneath us opened up, causing all of us to fall through.
Damnit…
I quickly checked that this wasn't a pitfall trap with spikes at the bottom and let out a sigh of relief to see that it was not.
I recognised that this was the type of trap that would drop you into a deeper level of the Dungeon and I already knew I wouldn't be able to fly out of the hole anyway so I didn't even try.
Not like I could do it while carrying all five of the boys anyway…
Instead, I tucked myself in and let myself fly past the boys who were screaming out their lungs while clawing at the air, as though that would somehow save them.
The hole at the bottom came rushing up to me and I flew through it before everyone else, flaring my wings to slow my descent before using quick bursts of [Breeze] to slow down the boys' descent too.
Obviously that wasn't enough to completely stop their fall so they still crashed onto the ground, but it looks like there's some magic in effect because they don't look hurt after falling from such a height.
Alright, let's see where we're--
My thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang followed by the ground shaking violently.
The boys who had tried to stand up immediately fell back down from the tremors.
All of us turned our sight towards the source of the noise and we found a minotaur that was at least twice as big as the other minotaurs we've seen so far standing there with an even bigger double bladed axe.
Its eyes were also completely red and it was clear this monster intended to attack us.
I then noticed that there was a doorway behind it but it was covered by a fog wall, signifying this room was a boss room.
Well shit…
I quickly used [Screened] on the minotaur.
[Name: Dungeon Minotaur Captain
Race: Monster
Stats:
300 Strength
100 Dexterity
350 Endurance
200 Magic
Skills:
Leadership (Tier 1), Martial Skill -(Axe Proficiency (Tier 2)) Explore more at m,v l'e-NovelBin.net
Magic Skills:
Electromancy (Tier 1)]
Ok, not too bad… I can deal with this one… But it's clearly out of Haddock's league so I guess I should just step in to--
"On me!!" Haddock roared, charging towards the minotaur with his sword raised above his head.
No! You bloody idiot!!
Before I could stop him, the boy had already reached the minotaur and it looked like he was about to strike the monster in the abdomen with his blade.
The blade hit the monster and, instead of cutting through it, the blade bounced off the minotaur's abs with a loud 'clang'.
Haddock's eyes went wide at the side, clearly not expecting his blade to be deflected like that without even leaving a mark on the monster.
Before he could even consider doing anything else, the minotaur swung his fist that was as big as the boy was tall and smashed him flying away.
Had I not been there to catch him and immediately start healing him , I think this idiot would have died after crashing into the wall.
"Are you stupid?! That's a Dungeon Minotaur Captain! He's way stronger than you for you to charge head on like that!" I berated him.
He furrowed his brows at me, "What do you want me to do? Just lay down and accept death? We're already trapped here in this boss room so if I can do a surprise attack on him and wound him… The others might stand a better chance…"
I scowled, "You really think that I'm some weakling, huh?"
"You're weaker than Big Sis. I heard about all your supposed 'achievements' and I can tell they are all fake. No one normal can do what they said you did."
Ok, first of all… What did they even say I did?
Second of all, if what they say is true, are you saying that I'm not normal?
Oh wait, I'm an Off-Worlder, I definitely am not normal… Forget about the second point.
The other boys arranged themselves in a protective wall in front of Haddock with their weapons raised, clearly frightened by the minotaur that was slowly strolling towards us but still standing their ground.
"Leader? What… What do we do?" One of the boys asked.
Haddock tightened his grip on his sword and pushed away from me, "What else can we do? We die fighting of course! We won't just lay down and accept defeat! Even in death, we must fight! It was an honour to call you all my brothers! Now follow--"
I smacked him on the back of the head, shutting him up.
"Don't listen to him. All of you back off, I'll deal with it."
Haddock was about to turn around to shout at me for hitting him so I smacked him again, sending him rolling onto the ground.
The other boys were too stunned to even stop me as I walked up to the minotaur, the monster now standing still as it watched me approach him.
I stood within range of his axe and crossed my arms, ignoring the indignant shouts from Haddock behind me.
The minotaur understood that I was taunting him and he raised his axe with a loud roar, swinging it down towards me to cleave me in two.
I needed to make an impression so I had my Shadow Guards buff me with [Strength] and [Body Current] while I used [Light Forge] to create a gauntlet on my hand.
Using the gauntleted hand, I caught the axe before it could hit me, the blow causing a shockwave that created a gale to blow around us.
I paused for a moment to make sure everyone around saw that I caught the axe with one hand without flinching.
Then I clenched the other fist that was buffed by three layers of [Body Current] before punching into the minotaur's abdomen.
So… Let me just preface this that I was expecting the punch to just send the minotaur flying back.
That's why I was not expecting the minotaur to literally explode into a fountain of gore the moment my fist made impact.
Bleh… I got to wash myself after this…
…
I didn't traumatise the boys, did I?