Chapter 99: Dust and Thunder

[You have acquired a Fragment of Icarus’s Wings.]

“Yes, yes, that makes nine.”

Collecting the wing fragments was easier than expected.

From the beginning, the Grey Minotaurs were no match for Revan, so he simply killed every one he saw.

Thanks to that, Revan quickly gathered nine fragments and began moving according to the minimap to obtain the last piece.

But...

‘Why are there two blue dots?’

He’d realized, after collecting the wing fragments, that the blue dots marked the locations of hidden items.

Yet even after acquiring nine fragments, two blue dots remained on the minimap.

‘Is there something else besides the wing fragments?’

Nothing else came to mind.

‘Guess I’ll have to check it out.’

He hoped, if possible, it would be a skill or item.

Revan moved to the nearest blue dot from his current location and hefted his Black Iron Mace.

“Smash.”

[Smash is activated.]

Bang!!

He’d gotten the hang of it by now, so the wall crumbled easily after just a few hits.

Revan picked up the chest inside the newly revealed space.

“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here. Boom-cha-cha, boom-cha-cha...”

[You have acquired Daedalus’s Sealed Diary.]

“...A diary?”

He’d expected a wing fragment, or at least another equipment item, but out came a diary.

Which meant, the remaining blue dot must be the final wing fragment.

Seeing an unwanted diary appear instead of his desired item, Revan pouted.

He checked the diary’s information.

[Daedalus’s Sealed Diary]

- Grade: Quest, Special, Sealed.

- Restriction: None.

- Option

Daedalus’s Sealed Diary.

To break the diary’s seal, you must defeat the master of the Labyrinth, the Minotaur King.

#Minotaur King Defeated: 0/1

‘A sealed item, huh.’

It was a conditionally sealed item—fortunately, defeating the dungeon boss would naturally break the seal.

So for now, he tossed it into his inventory and decided to collect the last wing fragment first.

Revan checked the minimap immediately.

But as he looked, his lips formed a surprised “O.”

“Oh... should I say this is good luck?”

The reason for his amazement—

It was because the single remaining blue dot overlapped with a red dot.

Here, the red dot marked the Labyrinth’s master: the Minotaur King.

It was just a prediction, but he was pretty sure.

‘Guess I can wipe them out all at once.’

Revan opened his status window and checked his level.

‘Currently level 78. Strength stat is 223, so I should be able to handle it.’

He knew the Minotaur King well.

He’d watched a lot of WarTube videos and researched the details thoroughly while drafting scripts.

So he already knew the monster’s attack patterns and skills.

Ready, Revan closed the status window and walked toward the red dot. Just then—

「GROOOAAAAA!!」

Rumble rumble rumble...

A deep, booming cry echoed from somewhere.

It was the Minotaur King.

As the Minotaur King howled, the entire labyrinth trembled.

“Did he swallow a steam locomotive or something... what a beast.”

Did the King sense that someone had come to challenge him?

Feeling the sudden intimidation, Revan double-checked his preparations before heading toward the monster’s location.

---

‘Found it.’

The spot where the red and blue dots overlapped.

It was one of the largest chambers in the labyrinth, and Revan was hiding around a bent corner, watching the Minotaur King.

‘I knew it was big, but seeing it in person, it’s ridiculously huge.’

The size was incredible.

It was said the Minotaur King stood about seven meters tall.

By comparison, Revan was a little over 180 centimeters.

‘Landing a blow to the head is going to be a pain.’

He’d memorized the strategies in advance, but since his main weapon was a blunt instrument, he really needed to strike the head to get the best effect.

So, if he got the chance during battle, he intended to go for the skull at least once, no matter what.

Revan spoke.

“Ready, Wagyu No.2?”

“Moo.”

“Good, then go stick to his left shin.”

“Moo!”

Hidden behind the bent corner, Revan resolved to begin the boss raid.

He issued the order to the Gray Minotaur, nicknamed “Wagyu No.2,” that he’d had standing by.

Following Revan’s command, the new Wagyu charged toward the Minotaur King.

The target: the King’s left shin. The moment Wagyu appeared in the chamber—

「Pff?」

The Minotaur King snorted, seeing the Wagyu charging at him.

He wasn’t particularly wary.

After all, Grey Minotaurs were everywhere in this labyrinth.

So, as he was about to ignore it, the Wagyu clung to his left shin.

「Hng?」

The master of the labyrinth was momentarily startled.

No Minotaur had ever dared approach him, much less touch his skin—yet here one was, stuck to him like glue.

At that moment—

BEEEPPP!

The Gray Minotaur began to glow.

A sign.

A sign of imminent explosion.

But by the time he sensed the danger—

BOOOOM!!

The creature clinging to him detonated in a massive blast.

‘That’s right!’

Dirt and debris from the explosion filled the entire chamber.

Revan didn’t miss his chance; he dashed through the settling dust toward the blast site.

Pulling back the Black Iron Mace, he shouted:

“Thunder Strike!”

[Thunder Strike is activated.]

To take down the seven-meter-tall Minotaur King without a wizard-type AOE dealer, he absolutely had to break the lower body.

The best scenario would be to attack both legs and bring him to his knees, but that was only possible in party play.

Unfortunately, Revan was alone.

So he came up with a plan using various scrolls.

Step one: Tame a Gray Minotaur with a Taming Scroll.

After taming it, he named it Wagyu No.2 and turned it into a living bomb.

Using all sorts of scrolls available from the auction house.

‘In my situation, attacking both legs is impossible. So I’ll completely cripple at least one.’

The Minotaur King was massive, but very agile.

Above all, he had to rob the King of mobility.

Otherwise, the combination of that huge size and speed would overwhelm Revan in an instant.

‘If you fail the opening attack, most parties fail the raid.’

As soon as the Gray Minotaur exploded, Revan charged through the thick dust and started hammering the King’s wounded left leg.

Unleashing his optimal damage cycle.

‘Thunder Strike for the opener, then use the 44-cube Freezing with a bookmark, followed by Smash and Energy Bolt in succession!’

Revan’s best damage cycle.

Though he couldn’t see well through the dense dust, he calmly ran through his damage rotation. Soon—

THUD-!!

Through the settling dust, he saw the giant silhouette fall to one knee.

The Minotaur King was down on his left knee.

‘Got it!’

With his goal achieved, he quickly retreated.

All this had to be done while the cloud of dust from the explosion still covered him.

Having accomplished his goal, Revan retreated to the corner where he’d initially hidden.

Peeking out, he saw the Minotaur King groaning in pain.

「GROOOAAAAA!!」

A howl of rage and frustration.

The dust quickly settled, and at last Revan saw the King’s tattered left leg.

He summoned his cube, keeping a close eye on the King.

“Alright, alright. Now, one, two, three... Okay! Deploying Wagyu No.3 right now!”

“Mmooo!”

Wagyu No.3 charged at the Minotaur King.

The moment Wagyu No.3 appeared in the ruined chamber, the tense King swung his long arm to swat it away.

Or at least, tried to.

BOOOOM!!

The instant the Minotaur King’s left hand touched Wagyu No.3, another explosion erupted.

This time, it was set to explode on impact rather than a timed detonation.

‘He’s not stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice.’

That’s why you needed to mix things up.

With Wagyu No.3’s explosion, another dust cloud filled the chamber.

And the moment the dust billowed, Revan charged in again with his Black Iron Mace.

“Thunder Striiiiike!!”

[Thunder Strike is activated.]

[Shout is activated.]

CRAAACK!!

This time, the target was the left hand!

But unlike the legs, the hands were free.

So he used the Shout he’d been saving to bind the left hand for just a moment and unleashed Thunder Strike.

One second.

That was the maximum time the Shout could hold the Minotaur King.

Because the King’s level was overwhelmingly higher than Revan’s.

‘Still, even a single second is precious.’

Even just one second, given their level difference, was an absolute blessing for Revan.

So as soon as he landed Thunder Strike, he pulled out the prepared Hold.

“Smash!! Hold!!”

[Smash is activated.]

[Hold is activated.]

CRASH! SNAP!!

「GROOOAAAA!!」

‘Nice! Now to retreat again!!’

This was the best damage cycle available at the moment.

Having pulled off his second plan perfectly, Revan quickly retreated to the corner, wary of counterattacks.

“Phew... Man, my heart’s pounding, this tension is something else.”

Like filming a spy movie, Revan had already succeeded with two operations.

Now it was time to start the third.

He waited patiently for the dust to settle, and once it did, he carefully checked the Minotaur King’s remaining health.

[Remaining HP: 67%]

‘Good.’

With just two rounds of attacks, he’d already knocked off a full 30% of its health.

And he hadn’t taken a single hit.

‘It’s not the flashiest, but it’s all I can do. There’s no way I could beat this thing head-on at my level.’

In researching the Minotaur King, Revan concluded there was no way to fight him directly.

So he studied the raid methods people had posted online and came up with the best solo strategy.

「MMMOOOOAAAAA!!」

Having lost 30% of his HP, the King bellowed in pain over his ruined limbs.

Revan watched the King’s condition calmly, waiting.

He was waiting for his skills’ cooldowns to finish.

As the cooldown for Freezing ended, Revan summoned the 44-cube for Freezing.

Click! Click!

Revan quickly assembled the cube.

A few dozen seconds later, cube complete, Revan gripped it in his left hand and shouted.

“Done! Time for the third attack. Wagyu No.4, No.5, No.6! Charge!”

“Mooo!”

“Mmmooo!”

“Mmee!”

The trio of Wagyus charged forward at Revan’s command.

The third plan: an all-out war of attrition.

(Continued) The Wizard Doesn’t Hold Back His Power