Minotaur's were exactly like their depictions in myths and legends. Two bull-like legs and a muscular, humanlike torso, with a cow head and horns. They usually stand, anywhere between seven to eight feet tall, depending on age. And strong enough to tear a horse in two with little effort. However, they aren't smart and have a tendency to go berserk, which was great if you're careful and outsmart the brute.
I began to remind myself of the monster's traits as I set up some traps. They weren't anything special, just your run of the mill pitfall traps, as minotaurs have a tendency to charge, so if I can take advantage of it and trip it up, then I can deal a sizeable amount of damage.
The sound of trees snapping and breaking notified me to the appending wall of muscle. Quickly scurrying up a tree outside of its path, I used the combination of my skill stealth and a cloak of darkness to disappear from sight.
A few seconds past until I started to hear the drum beat of heavy feet pounding its way forward. Due to the low light of night and the obscurity of the trees, I could only make out a hulking shadowy figure, that I could only see thanks to the abundance of noise it was making.
Then, it disappeared from sight, followed shortly by the sound of loud angry mooing. 'Now!' I yelled in my head as I jumped forward towards the sprung trap.
As I ran, I began to cast a complex spell, a combo spell of fire and energy magic. It was only possible to my new mastery skill.
When I arrived in front of the hole, I saw the large beast looking rather bewildered and confused as to why it was suddenly underground. However, as it looked up at the sudden noise that had arrived above it, its eyes flared in anger. And even though I made the hole nine or so feet deep, it would be able to reach up and grab me if it ever tried.
However, I didn't give it anytime to try. Throwing my hands forward, I released the spell I had just finished constructing. A torrent of deep red flames with vibrant arcs of orange energy pulsing within, began to bellow forth. It was thick and dense, as if it was made of jelly.
The flame was so intense, that even as the caster, I could fell the hair on my arms start to burn. As for the minotaur, it began to cry out in pain as its flesh made contact with the dense flame.
However, I didn't wait to see the effects of my spell, as no sane creature would stay still in a broiling flame. So, I cast a far less complex spell this time and sealed the top of the hole with a thick stone slab. I didn't expect it to survive the onslaught of a minotaur's strength, but it would mean that it would take more damage that if I didn't cover the lid.
'Nothing like a flame grilled minotaur on a cold winter's night.' I joked as I backed away from the barbeque and hid myself once more in the tree line.
I didn't think that the monster would be felled with that attack alone. While minotaurs don't have the regeneration abilities of an ogre but it was highly resilient and can withstand most attacks that would be lethal due to its sheer willpower alone.
However, after minutes of waiting, the hole remained silent. I wasn't at a level where I could kill a monster like that myself, let alone in a single move, so I waited.
*Ping*
Standing there in disbelief, I doubted what I saw for a moment. But then, a question popped into my head 'Why was it already in a charge to begin with? Could it be fleeing from something?'
With that thought in mind, I had to go over and examine the corpse, as there could be a much more terrifying monster in these woods. One that could actually make the proud and arrogant minotaur run away. I for one wouldn't want to have a run in with that.
As I approached the monster's tomb, I noticed the drastic heat change. And as soon as I crack it open a mass amount of heat billowed out, it was close to being unbearable, but luckily, it was winter and had an abundance of cold air to circulate in and around the pit.
Peering over the edge, I was instantly hit with the smell of roasting meat. It made me actually contemplate my joke about a barbeque for a moment. However, the scene of a huge, hulking form of a blackened, humanoid body, put me off completely.
Raising the floor of the pitfall trap with earth magic, the body was slowly exposed to the night's cold air. I saw something that answered my suspicions, its body was full of wounds and judging by the redness of them, I'd say that they were new.
'Judging by the wounds, I'd say that it was made by a clawed beast. And I would guess that it was bigger than a large bear.' Without anything else to go on, I couldn't identify what actually caused these wounds. But I would still prefer to avoid it all the same.
Unfortunately, because of all the damage to the body, all the useful materials were no longer useable. So, I just collected the magic crystal and made my way back to camp.
Following my mana, I was able to make my way back to camp without being affected by the barrier I cast. Though, thanks to my new eyes, I doubted that this level of barrier would work on me.
As I arrived, I saw Zale, sitting by the fire, making sure that it was amply stoked, probably so that she could see better in the dark. Hearing movement, she quickly turned and gripped her sword, coiled like a snake ready to pounce.
However, seeing me, she quickly relaxed a little, though it was easy to tell, that she was ready to act at a moment's notice.
"You're back." She said, careful not to raise her voice and waking the others who she chose not to disturb.
"I am. Thankfully our quarrel was already injured and was fleeing. So, it was pretty easy to divert it." I lied as I walked over to the fire to warm up a bit.
'I've been finding myself lying a lot recently. Well, it's not like I'm a saint or anything. Plus, sometimes it's best to measure your success, or others will either start to expect more from you or want to ride your coattails.' The fire's heat warmed and tingled my near frozen fingers.
"Then, the sooner we get out of this forest, the better." Zale said and I nodded in agreement. Though, I won't deny the irony of an elf that wanted to leave a forest as soon as possible. But I just swallowed that thought.
"I agree and the sun will come up soon, so I think it'll be for the best if we make the most of what little rest we can get." I said as I looked up to the moon in the sky that was starting to wane.
She agreed and we both settled back into our bedrolls, though I didn't need to see her to know that she couldn't simply fall back asleep.