BANG!!!
Leon's body was knocked backward, slamming into the wall with a dull thud.
That heavy blow caught him square in the chest—his insides trembled. His agility was still a bit lacking.
"Good hit!"
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Leon forced down the pain and sprang away from his original position.
At the last moment, he had triggered the Phantom Walker's core skill—Shadow Leap—which had dissipated most of the impact from the Minotaur's sweeping strike.
For how absurdly effective the core skill was, the mana cost was low.
His mana had dropped by only 1 point.
Of course, that was also because his class level was already second tier—the mana cost of core skills dropped further as the class tier rose.
If he'd been only first tier, he would've needed at least 2 mana.
And his other techniques and shadow spells still cost more until his proficiency was fully built up.
Even so, that single hit still carved off 3 points of his HP—about a tenth.
If he hadn't used Shadow Leap, even blocking with his sword wouldn't have helped; he would've lost 12 HP or more in one swing.
It really lived up to its reputation: a Minotaur—brimming with mana, brutal strength, every strike a heavy blow.
"Iris—prepare your Spear of Judgment! Aim for the wound I opened earlier! I'll create an opening for you!"
"Got it."
They needed to speed up the tempo.
After several exchanges, Leon was getting used to the Minotaur's patterns. He had confidence now.
Before the Minotaur fully recovered its vision and charged in again, Leon hopped back into range and slashed head-on.
He didn't use any special technique—this was just harassment to keep the Minotaur occupied.
The Minotaur swung its axe like it was swatting a mosquito.
The air howled with violent whoooom.
Leon's dodges became increasingly effortless, as if he'd already grasped the Minotaur's movement rhythm.
During this, Iris accelerated her incantation for the Spear of Judgment.
ROOOAAAH—!!
Unable to hit Leon despite swinging repeatedly, the Minotaur grew impatient and once again entered the wind-up for its skill: Bloodthirsty Roar!
Surging mana wrapped into a powerful vibration wave as the Minotaur shifted its heavy axe and chopped down.
Leon was ready this time. He shook off the brief intimidation and numbness and activated his core skill—
Shadow Leap!
Whoosh—!!
His body melted into the ground like a drop of ink.
In the next instant, a tall, slender figure sprang out behind the Minotaur.
It was Leon—who had been watching and waiting for this exact moment.
After using its heavy axe smash, the Minotaur would always suffer a brief moment of reduced visibility from debris rebounding off the ground, making it focus even harder on what was in front of it—and ignore attacks from behind.
Without a movement skill like Shadow Leap, even Phantom Step wouldn't let Leon bypass the Minotaur's massive body to reach its back.
But with Shadow Leap, that eerie reposition became perfectly natural.
Then—
Leon poured mana into the silver sword, triggering the weapon's own sharpening enchantment as a second-tier item.
Mana: -4.
He gripped the sword with both hands, rotated his torso, and chopped down with full force!
Technique: Shadow Sword Slash!
Stamina: -2, Mana: -1!
SHK—!!
Shadow wrapped the blade, carving a lightning line that ripped open a long, thin sixty-four-centimeter wound across the Minotaur's back.
Splash—
The cut ran deep, from the region near the carotid down toward the spine, biting far into flesh.
As Leon landed and withdrew his sword, the wound opened even wider with the Minotaur's movement, bursting out a surge of blood. It splattered the ground, and steaming white heat rose into the air.
ROOOAAH—!!
The Minotaur howled in agony, arching its spine from the pain in its back.
And at that moment—
A slender spear of light arrived in an instant, piercing straight through the wound on the Minotaur's chest!
Because Leon had already cut open its chest earlier, even the Minotaur's high magic resistance could no longer directly resist the spear.
The Minotaur roared again, its voice now harsher and more ragged.
Clearly, that chained assault had inflicted serious damage.
The front-and-back pincer alone had shaved off at least sixteen HP.
Adding Leon's earlier damage, they had probably carved off thirty-plus HP in total—yet the Minotaur still looked capable of fighting, showing no obvious collapse from critically low HP.
"This thing's HP is insanely high… over forty, maybe? Or is it just that its stamina is so high that its recovery is fast?"
If it was a fast-regenerating type, the situation would become ugly.
Because if the fight dragged on, the Minotaur might stay vigorous while Leon and Iris slowly ran out of mana and stamina—turning it into a nightmare.
Should they retreat?
From the start until now, Leon's mana consumption was still under ten; Iris probably hadn't spent more than fifteen.
They were approaching Leon's comfort limit—
but still within a "safe line," barely.
Test one more move, then decide.
With that thought, Leon raised a hand, mana gathering in his palm.
Whoosh—
A small whirl of airflow formed right at the wound on the Minotaur's back.
Then ten fire bolts shot out, aimed into that miniature airflow vortex behind the Minotaur.
Beginner spell: Air Vortex ×1
Mana: -1
Beginner spell: Fire Bolt ×2
Mana: -2
Soon, four fire bolts missed due to the Minotaur's movement. Three struck its uninjured waist, briefly igniting the black hair there before quickly dying out.
But the last three hit the tiny airflow vortex precisely—making its internal spin accelerate wildly, like a little electric motor had been attached, creating a huge pressure differential.
Whoosh—
Then something astonishing happened.
A surge of blood poured out from the Minotaur's back wound, getting pulled into that small vortex.
Leon had used the vortex—plus heat—to increase suction, extracting a large amount of the Minotaur's blood.
This was Leon's self-created combo spell: Siphoning Wind.
Its raw power didn't exceed beginner magic by much, but its effect was special and subtle—excellent for stacking sustained damage.
Of course, since Leon invented it, he'd rarely had a chance to use it. It only worked on monsters within the first three tiers, and only after you'd already broken their defense.
Whether it would work on a Minotaur was uncertain—Leon used it with the mindset: if it works, great; if not, retreat.
But now, the result was far better than he'd expected.
In that case—
"Iris! Give me a defensive barrier!"
"Understood!" Iris's combat instincts were excellent—she moved instantly.
Leon took a deep breath, suppressed the lingering pain, forced his mind into a heightened excitement, then dragged his sword forward and burst into a sprint.
Seizing the Minotaur's massive bleeding window, Leon accelerated to its side. He didn't even pour mana into the silver sword this time.
He twisted his waist midair, driving his arm into a faster, heavier swing—
Shadow instantly wrapped the blade!
Shadow Sword Slash!
Stamina: -2, Mana: -1.