Chapter 100: Hedgehog King

「Mooooooo!!」

Upon seeing the Wagyu Trio charging toward him, the Minotaur King, whose nerves were already on edge, began to rage.

Whoosh!

Both arms swung through the air.

He didn’t care whether his left arm was shredded or not.

The charging Wagyus felt the same way.

The Minotaur King’s left hand grazed Wagyu No. 4, who was at the very front.

KABOOM!!

A deafening explosion shook the entire chamber.

Once again, a thick cloud of dust rose up.

At that moment, Revan, who had been hiding in the corner, sprang forward.

Swish!

A piercing sound ripped through the air.

A long, slender object tore through the dusty haze and flew at the Minotaur King.

Crunch!

It was something Revan had thrown.

None other than the javelin he’d used to hunt the Brown Minotaurs.

‘One more shot!’

The javelin flew true, lodging itself in the Minotaur King.

No scream was heard.

Right now, the explosion from Wagyu No. 4 hurt the Minotaur King far more than some mere javelin.

As Revan pulled back his arm to throw a second javelin, drawing it taut like a bowstring—

BOOM!! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!

Two more explosions rang out simultaneously.

This time, they were from Wagyu No. 5 and No. 6.

「Moooooo!!」

BOOM! BOOM! BAM!!

「Muaaaaa!!」

That must hurt.

Starting from No. 2, he’d focused solely on firepower.

Hearing the pitiful wails of the Minotaur King, Revan couldn’t help but smile.

‘Ah… I wasn’t this kind of person before.’

He laughed.

It was a clear thrill.

After all, to users, a monster’s anguished screams were as good as a signal of victory.

The second javelin flew out.

Then the third, then the fourth—Revan kept throwing javelins in quick succession.

Like a barrage of fireworks, he relentlessly launched them one after another.

And finally, when he threw the last javelin, the dust cloud settled completely.

“…Wow.”

A short exclamation.

From Revan.

Without realizing it, Revan blurted out an exclamation upon seeing the Minotaur King’s appearance revealed through the fading dust.

Like a hedgehog.

That was the perfect way to describe the Minotaur King now.

Revan’s gaze fell to the Minotaur King’s health bar.

[Remaining Health: 31%]

‘Jackpot.’

He’d shaved off nearly 70% of its health without taking a single hit.

It was hard to believe he’d done this alone.

Of course, anyone could pull off this plan if they followed Revan’s strategy.

But there was a fatal flaw to this plan.

‘It just costs way too much.’

It required a huge amount of money.

Especially since you had to buy a lot of high-quality advanced scrolls, the expenses were much greater than expected.

‘This isn’t wasting money. It’s an investment. Anyway, with just one video upload, I can get double my investment back.’

The Minotaur King, extremely on guard from the unseen enemy, panted heavily and watched his surroundings warily.

Could that pitiful figure really be called the lord of the Labyrinth Forest?

Revan decided not to hide in the corner any longer.

Now that the Minotaur King had only about 30% of his health left, it was the perfect time to begin his next plan.

‘I could just keep sending in Wagyus, but that’d be boring.’

A successful streamer has a duty to provide top-quality content.

If you put a lot of effort into one video, viewers are bound to notice.

As Revan stepped into the chamber, the Minotaur King let out a roar that could tear eardrums.

「GAAAAAAAH!!」

Rumble!

It sounded like the desperate struggle of a wounded beast.

Anyway, both his left leg and hands were seriously injured, so he couldn’t even move properly.

With his hand in his robe pocket, Revan leisurely approached the beast.

「GAAAAAAAH!!」

Whoosh!

The wounded beast tried to assert his territory with his injured hand.

Knowing this, Revan stopped short of entering the Minotaur King’s territory.

Even a cornered mouse will bite a cat.

Revan asked,

“You look like you’re in a lot of pain, huh?”

「Moo!!」

“You look tired. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

Swish!

[You have used the Leader Goblin’s Sleep Toxin.]

[The target falls into a deep sleep.]

As expected of the Leader Goblin’s Sleep Toxin.

The effect was excellent.

However, its strength was only in inducing instant sleep.

The duration wasn’t very long.

No matter how exceptional a monster the Leader Goblin was, the Minotaur King’s level was much—no, overwhelmingly—higher.

‘Level is an eternal truth in games.’

Time was short.

Revan hurried to carry out his next plan before the Minotaur King awoke.

---

Sizzle……

Blink, blink.

His eyelids felt heavy.

The Minotaur King awoke to a strange sound.

He remembered a fellow in white approaching him, but suddenly sleep overtook him and he blacked out.

Some strange sound woke him up.

His blurry vision cleared as his mind snapped into focus.

Twitch.

As he regained consciousness, pain shot through his injured parts.

At the same time—

Sniff, sniff.

…A delicious smell began wafting from somewhere.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

「Moo!!」

That presence.

That voice.

It was the scoundrel he had invited in.

Startled, the Minotaur King tried to rise in a panic. But—

「Moo?」

For some reason, he couldn’t move a muscle.

But he had to get up and devour the scoundrel right in front of him.

He was the master of this Labyrinth, after all!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of his jaw banging on the ground.

Pinned down with both hands bound behind his back and his left leg injured, there was no way he could get up alone.

He tried to stubbornly rise anyway, but only ended up banging his chin pathetically on the floor.

“Hehehe~”

Humming, Revan listened to those pitiful sounds.

Revan now had his back to the Minotaur King.

He knew the Minotaur King had awakened, but out of courtesy, only asked if he was up, and turned his back, engrossed in his own business.

Sizzle……

That strange sound rang out again.

And the delicious smell grew stronger.

“Done!”

It was at that moment. Revan turned back, his white robe fluttering.

Thanks to that, the Minotaur King was finally able to see.

What was the source of the strange sound and delicious smell that filled the chamber?

The answer was none other than—

“T-bone steak, well-done, ready!”

…It was the sound and aroma of Revan grilling steak.

With a frying pan glistening with butter in hand, Revan took out a dining table from his inventory.

Then, one by one, he set out a tablecloth, plates, utensils, and a water bottle, finishing a perfect table setting before placing the steak on the plate.

Seated at the table, Revan grinned.

“Life sure has gotten good. Back in the day, when I was hungry, I’d just grab the cheapest barley bread to fill up and get right back to hunting, you know? But now, here I am, slicing steak.”

He didn’t have any cooking skills to speak of.

But even without cooking skills, if you buy a ‘Steak Kit’ made by chef players, you can easily make delicious steak.

“What a convenient world, huh, King?”

「…….」

The Minotaur King was left speechless by Revan’s shamelessness.

How dare he leisurely cook and eat right in front of him?

Enraged by Revan’s creative taunt, the Minotaur King let out another roar.

“Ah, my ears are gonna burst. Hey, why don’t you have a bite, too? This is grilled with Korean beef. It’s expensive. Hm? You don’t eat beef? What are you, a vegan? Is that it?”

The taunting wouldn’t stop.

If this were live-streamed, the donations would be pouring in.

Revan sliced off a chunk of steak and popped it in his mouth.

“Mmm~ Delicious. Did you go to the market or something?”

「Muaaaaaa!!」

The Minotaur King howled in response instead of answering.

Furious, the Minotaur King struggled with all his might to break free from the ropes binding his wrists.

But for some reason, the rope didn’t show any sign of snapping.

Revan took another bite of steak and said,

“You won’t get out of that. Ever heard of the Hundred-Year Serpent? There’s a snake as big as you, and that rope comes from it. The funny thing is, unless the person bound is stronger than the rope’s owner, no matter what, you can’t break free.”

It was true.

During his research, Revan had checked the Minotaur King’s strength stat.

Of course, the Minotaur King’s strength was higher than Revan’s.

But not by much—just a slight margin.

So, he deliberately whittled down the Minotaur King’s health before using the Serpent Rope.

A dying creature naturally suffers stat reduction.

Thus, with only about 30% health left, the Minotaur King’s strength stat had to be lower than Revan’s.

“This place is a real hidden gem. I should come more often.”

Meticulous stat calculations.

That’s why Revan was confident that the performance he was putting on now was 100% safe.

After finishing his meal, Revan rinsed his mouth with cold water and wiped his lips with a napkin.

“Time to wrap this up?”

He’d shown everything he wanted.

Now all that was left was the glorious finish he’d promised himself: bashing in the skull for a dramatic finale.

Having finished his meal, Revan pulled out the Black Iron Mace and approached the Minotaur King.

“Freezing, Smite.”

[Freezing activates.]

[Smite activates.]

Crackle! Crack-crack-crackle!

A white frost began to form on the massive face of the Minotaur King.

Once his face was entirely frozen, Revan raised the Black Iron Mace.

Then he swung it mercilessly.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

There’s nothing easier than pummeling a helpless opponent.

And finally—

[You have successfully hunted the Minotaur King.]

[You have successfully solo-killed the Minotaur King.]

[You have successfully hunted the Hidden Boss Monster without taking any damage.]

[You have successfully solo-cleared the Hidden Dungeon.]

[You have successfully hunted the Hidden Boss Monster without taking any damage.]

[Achievement unlocked: Minotaur King, Hunted Alone.]

[Achievement unlocked: I Did It Alone Again.]

[Achievement unlocked: Slowpoke.]

[Bonus experience acquired.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[The seal on Daedalus’s Sealed Diary has been lifted.]

Messages flooded before his eyes.

Many of them were things he’d never seen before.

That was because he had cleared a hidden dungeon with tricky entry requirements, not just any ordinary dungeon.

‘Feels a bit anticlimactic.’

He hadn’t really fought head-to-head—he’d subdued his opponent purely through strategy.

But he was satisfied with that.

You don’t always have to go all out, like with the Master Orc, for it to be cool.

Revan placed a hand on the limp corpse of the Minotaur King.

“Item looting.”

[You have obtained the Minotaur King’s Tendon.]

[You have obtained Bull Rush.]

‘Nice, nice.’

He’d secured his loot as well.

With achievements and loot in hand, Revan picked up the Black Iron Mace again.

‘Time for the grand finale, right?’

The final act to close out the Labyrinth.

It was none other than claiming the last remaining Icarus’s Wing Fragment.

Where the dots overlapped, Revan swung his Black Iron Mace.

(Serial) The Magician Doesn’t Hide His Power