After finishing their first battle with a minotaur, exhaustion was etched deeply into the faces of Mika and Saori-chan. Neither had been injured, but there had been some incredibly close calls. The encounter had clearly taken a heavy mental toll on them.
As if to prove it, both girls were taking deep, ragged breaths, their shoulders rising and falling as they tried to settle their nerves.
“Are you two okay?”
“Y-yeah. I’m fine. I’ve mostly calmed down now.”
“I am okay as well.”
Having finally regulated their breathing, Mika and Saori-chan gave light nods, their expressions slightly more composed. I could still sense a lingering trace of agitation, but if they said they were fine, they were probably over the worst of it.
“I see. Well, at least you’ve managed to catch your breath. Still, it was a shame. All that hard work and no drop item this time...”
“Yeah. But that’s just how it goes. They don’t drop something every single time, right?”
“That’s true. Besides, I was so shaken up that I didn’t even have the chance to use the skinning knife... It was a bit of a waste,” Saori-chan added.
As Saori-chan said, it was indeed a missed opportunity. If you use a skinning knife while a monster is undergoing particleization, a food item is guaranteed to drop. Explorer teams with corporate affiliations that specialize in food items use this technique to maintain a stable supply for their quotas.
On the other hand, food items from certain monsters don't fetch high prices, so independent explorers sometimes skip the knife in hopes of getting a rare drop with a better exchange rate.
“Minotaur meat is in high demand right now, so it fetches a pretty good price when you turn it in,” I noted.
“And it’s delicious, so it makes for a great souvenir, too,” Mika added.
“Yes, we really did miss out.”
Minotaur meat is generally popular and sells for prices comparable to high-end domestic brand beef. For an explorer party capable of reaching the 20th floor, it’s one of the primary food items they actively collect.
The only downside is that minotaur meat is perishable. Unless you have refrigeration equipment to manage its freshness, you’re forced to make it a day trip. Back when we were focusing on mino meat, we used to pack large cooler bags full of ice packs. While necessary, those ice packs take up a significant amount of space, so once a party reaches a certain level of skill, it ceases to be an efficient drop item to prioritize.
“Well, the next time you fight, go in with the intention of using the skinning knife. Since it was your first time today, the priority was just winning without getting hurt.”
“That’s true. We avoided getting hurt, even if it got a little dicey there for a second.”
“I never would have imagined a minotaur would fight like that.”
True enough. I hadn't expected the minotaur to be that stubborn in such a disadvantageous situation either. Its combat style was surprisingly polished, and it showed a lot of resolve. I hadn't anticipated it splitting its enemies and then using its own disabled arm as a shield while trying to finish one of them off.
Could it be that it had learned from the movements of the explorers it had fought in the past?
“Right. Jumping straight into the next battle might be tough, so how about we have a quick review meeting about that last fight while we rest?”
“Okay.”
“Yes.”
I decided to hold the review meeting to serve as a break until Mika and Saori-chan’s nerves had fully settled. That minotaur had shown some very determined movements. If every minotaur they encountered from here on followed that pattern, they needed to come up with a counter-strategy now before things got dangerous.
“First off, the initial surprise attack was fine. You flanked the target and neutralized its main weapon before it could react. If I had to find a fault, it would just be that the surprise attack didn't end the fight immediately.”
“Yeah. I was surprised when it dodged the strike to its neck, but that was within our expectations, so I don't think it was a problem. We took its arm instead.”
“Since we disabled its primary weapon, its attack range was narrowed, which should have made it easier to close in for the follow-up. Everything was going according to plan up to that point...”
Exactly. Everything up to that point had been within expectations. It was a two-staged attack: ideally, the surprise strike would end it, but even if the monster evaded, they would still strip away its weapon. The problem occurred afterward, when they transitioned to the next phase.
“Then you moved in for the second pincer attack, but the opponent used its dead arm as a shield and tried to pick you off one by one.”
“I’d considered that it might block or dodge, but for it to ignore me entirely and aim for Saori-chan even while taking damage... I’ve never seen a monster move like that before.”
“We’ve fought enemies that used coordinated attacks, like one stopping us while the other strikes, but this is the first time we’ve seen a single monster try to isolate and eliminate individuals while surrounded. Most monsters we’ve met just attack whoever hit them last or whoever is closest. I never thought it would move strategically to gain an advantage despite being outnumbered...”
Mika and Saori-chan wore complicated expressions as they analyzed the minotaur’s behavior. It was likely the qualitative difference in how it fought compared to previous monsters that bothered them.
Because it was a monster, they had unconsciously assumed it would follow the same basic logic as the creatures they’d seen before. That assumption became a shackle, and it nearly led them into a disaster.
“That’s the thing. Many explorers who get seriously injured on this floor do so because they assume minotaurs follow the same behavioral standards as the monsters on higher floors. They think that as long as the vanguard draws its attention, the rearguard can focus on support and stay safe. But then the monster ignores the vanguard and crushes the rearguard first. The party can’t react, the line collapses, and they end up barely escaping with their lives while dragging their wounded behind them. There are many such cases.”
““...””
Mika and Saori-chan’s eyes sharpened, and they shot me slightly reproachful looks. Their expressions clearly said: If you knew that, you should have told us sooner.
“Just so you know, that’s information you could have found by asking any experienced explorer who’s reached the 20th floor or just by searching the internet. It might be phrased vaguely—like 'their movements are weird,' 'they're tough,' or 'they're a pain'—but you should have had some level of caution that they weren't like previous monsters. Weren't you two on your guard?”
““...””
They both looked like they wanted to argue that they had done their research, but they simply hadn't been able to visualize the minotaur acting that way. While they couldn't have had a perfect mental image, they should have recognized it as a formidable foe that broke the mold.
Well, the fact that they chose to challenge the 20th floor specifically when we were accompanying them suggested they did have that caution. They were just a bit naive in their assumptions, and while they won, they were caught off guard.
“...We were being careful. But we didn't think it would be such a different, troublesome opponent.”
“We heard they were different. That's why we wanted to come to the 20th floor while you and the others were with us, just in case... but...”
“It exceeded your expectations.”
It seemed Mika and Saori-chan hadn't been negligent in their information gathering, but there had still been a small pocket of complacency in their hearts. Precisely because their dungeon exploration had been so steady and successful thus far, the sudden shift in enemy AI had rattled them.
As they’d proven in the last fight, their actual skill was more than enough to handle a minotaur. Now that they had experienced how tricky these things could be, they likely wouldn't be caught out by the same trick again.
“Well, fortunately, you both made it through your first minotaur fight without a scratch. Next time, you can fight with their potential patterns in mind, right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Now that I’ve seen what they can do, I won’t let my guard down or make assumptions again.”
“I won't repeat the same mistake. No matter how it moves, I’ll handle it calmly.”
When I asked, both Mika and Saori-chan gave determined smiles. The agitated atmosphere was completely gone; they had successfully regained their composure.
“In that case, you both look ready. How about you show me what you’ve got?”
“Yeah, leave it to us!”
“Yes, we’ll meet your expectations!”
Since they had recovered, we brought the break to an end and resumed our exploration of the 20th floor.
With Mika and Saori-chan in the lead, we continued through the dungeon, and it wasn't long before they got a chance for redemption. A large shadow stood motionless deep in the dim corridor, clutching what appeared to be a club.
If it were an explorer, I’d be able to see multiple silhouettes, reflections from gear, or the light from their lamps. Since none of that was visible, there was a high probability that it was a minotaur.
“...There.”
“Found one. Is it a minotaur?”
“Most likely. It’s alone, and there’s no sign of a light.”
“True. An explorer wouldn't be standing there in the dark like that.”
Having identified the shadow as a minotaur, Mika and Saori-chan had a quick huddle and prepared for battle.
“This time, we want to secure minotaur meat as a drop item. So, after we kill it, we stab it with the skinning knife before the particleization finishes, right?”
“Yeah. Aiming for rare drops is fine, but for today’s goals, securing a lot of meat makes more sense. It's just meat, but if we’re testing our maximum carrying capacity, it’s better to have a guaranteed drop we can count on.”
The goal of this exploration was to determine the girls' maximum carrying capacity—how much they could haul without it affecting their combat performance. It was a mission to find the limit of how many drop items they could stow in their backpacks before they hit their breaking point.
Explorers make their living by bringing back drop items for exchange, but trying to carry more than your limit hinders your movement, which can lead to accidents or grave injuries.
“Got it. Let's make sure we nail it this time.”
“Yeah, no mistakes.”
Mika and Saori-chan finished their preparations and approached the minotaur with weapons drawn. They closed the distance slowly and carefully until the beams from their lights illuminated the shadow.
Using the light hitting it as a trigger, the minotaur let out a menacing roar.
“Gmooooh!”
“Let’s go, Saori-chan!”
“Right, Mika-chan!”
At the sound of the roar, Mika and Saori-chan split left and right, closing the distance in a flash. The minotaur realized they were approaching and immediately took an intercepting stance, raising its club high with its right hand.
“Gmo!”
“Whoops!”
“Hah!”
The minotaur brought the club down in a heavy vertical strike toward Mika. She tracked the trajectory until the very last moment and evaded with a sidestep. The club slammed into the ground with a dull thud, but the minotaur used the recoil to control the weapon's path, swinging it into a wide horizontal sweep to mow down Saori-chan as she closed in. Without a hint of panic, Saori-chan read the arc and ducked low to evade. Nice—they both handled that perfectly.
The minotaur had executed a technical maneuver, a vertical strike transitioning into a variation of a swallow reversal. It was quite a showman. But the moment those strikes were evaded, the battle was over. That massive swing was a fatal commitment when facing two opponents.
“Ei!”
“Yah!”
Having evaded the attacks, Mika and Saori-chan closed in on the minotaur, whose stance was broken. Unable to recover from the momentum of the forced sweep, the minotaur tried to throw itself to the ground to avoid the follow-up.
However, Mika and Saori-chan, having already learned how a cornered minotaur might act, watched its desperate evasion and struck its vitals with pinpoint precision.
“Gmo!?”
Their attacks were true, piercing the center of the minotaur's back and its neck simultaneously. That was the end of it.
““...””
Mika and Saori-chan stayed on guard, watching the fallen minotaur as they waited for it to dissolve. As the body began to turn into particles, Mika pulled a knife from her hip holster and hurled it at the monster.
“Ei!”
When the knife struck the minotaur, the particleization accelerated instantly. Where the body had been, the knife remained alongside a large block of meat.
Perfect. They successfully secured the guaranteed minotaur meat drop.