Of course, the players were given the freedom to find any means necessary to win the tournament. However, the problem was that the monster would definitely massacre the other players. In the first place, the Minotaurus was a monster that the Athenae God decided on and placed in the tournament. There was no way that the players could have known that. Some might even say that the organizers of the tournament were crazy and reckless. They would even say that the final highlight of the competition was ruined by the appearance of the Minotaurus. 

Team Leader Park Minggyu suddenly quipped, "If it really happens then..."

The woman nodded as she continued his words, "There are only two people who can stop it." 

***

Jackal, the Black Wizard's Descendant, was hiding in the bushes. He watched several players work together to fight the named monster, Brackan.

"Hey. f*ck. Shoot the arrows straight at the monster!" 

"Ah, noisy, if you’re so good then you do it!" 

"Guys, it's not the time for us to fight each other. We have to focus on killing the Brackan!" 

The players needed to be united, although they were not doing a very good job. However, they had no other choice but to work together. They were doing it for one reason and one reason alone. Every player that participated in killing the monster would get the right to acquire the artifacts that the monster would drop upon death. In fact, the biggest reason that they wanted to kill the Brackan was the artifacts. The problem was that they were all strangers. All of them participated in the tournament, but they were not familiar with each other. After all, it was strange for groups of friends like the Bacallo Guild to pass the preliminaries together.

'Not yet. There's still a stronger monster.' Jackal thought. The operators had shared information about the named monsters that would appear in the tournament beforehand. Seeing the information made Jackal happy and delighted. This was all because of his Absolute Domination skill.

'I may not be able to level up for three months, and my current level will drop down to Level 1. However, I will be able to control a monster with a level that's twice as high as my own level for one hour!' 

Jackal’s skill could allow him to mind-control the players to make them fight among each other. However, he wanted to save his MP and mental power to use Absolute Domination. Mental power was similar to the amount of buff that a chef could use in a day. The more the Black Wizard’s Descendant used their skill, the more mental power it drained.

'The Brackan is definitely not the final monster.' 

Jackal believed that there was a monster at a much higher level than this. A monster that could show the greatest beauty and charm of this tournament. A monster that would allow him to take the lead in the competition the moment he used Absolute Domination on it.

'Keuhahahahaha!' 

The mere thought of it sent a thrill down Jackal’s spine. There was only one reason why he wanted to use Absolute Domination despite the huge penalty, and it was… 

'I would let the whole of Athenae learn of the name Kang Hyeonsoo before I enlist in the military!' 

…because he was joining the army starting tomorrow. He wanted to make his name known in a splendid manner on his last day! 

Thud! 

At that moment… 

[The players have successfully hunted the Brackan.] 

The Brackan had fallen. 

[Please proceed to the indicated area on the map.] 

[If you go beyond the area indicated, your HP will continue to decrease by itself.] 

Jackal opened his map. He could see that the range where they could move in the game was getting smaller. He ran in the direction of the convenience store then he continued to hide within the indicated area. That was how he bided his time. 

[There is only one hour remaining in the tournament.] 

[The number of players currently alive is 42.]

He then heard another notification… 

[The Siren is being summoned.] 

'Siren? A siren uses its charming skills to lure and seduce the players before killing them, but its fighting power is too weak. It's not the siren.' 

Sirens were special because of their charming skills however, aside from that there was nothing that could be said to be extraordinary. Jackal shook his head. 

'Are there no other special mobs that will come out?!' 

If that was the case, then he would be in big trouble. If the tournament ended without him having a single kill, then he would join the army with nothing but regrets. Jackal waited with bated breath. He silently pleaded, 'Please, please, please, please.' 

At 20 minutes before the end of the tournament, the siren has not yet been successfully hunted yet. Right at that moment… 

[The Minotaurus is being summoned.] 

[The Minotaurus is not a field mob.] 

[Only players who want to fight against the Minotaurus are free to take up the challenge.] 

"Oh…!" Jackal shouted in shock and delight.

***

Go Eun-Ah, a reporter, was sitting in the stands with her junior and watching the tournament.

"Senior. It seems like Lucia will really take the number one spot, just like we predicted." 

"Yeah. That person who killed the Bacallo guild is still eating in the convenience store. Ah, it's not fun if it goes too well." 

A variable. Go Eun-Ah thought that it would be good if a variable would appear. They were not here to enjoy and watch the fun. They were here to get a scoop, and an unexpected variable would make their articles more interesting and catchy.

[Mooooooooooo!] 

That was when a loud roar shook the entire stand. Along with the roar, Jan began to explain, "With only twenty minutes left in the competition, a Minotaurus is being summoned! As per what the notifications announced, only those who want to challenge the Minotaurus can fight it. It's a monster that you don't have to fight if you don't want to!" 

"Wow, a Minotaurus... What Level 80 tournament will place a Level 150 monster in it? This is a complete balance-breaker." 

Go Eun-Ah shook her head when she heard those words. Then, she said, "Yeah. It’s also a unique-ranked named monster, that Minotaurus…”

A Minotaurus was a monster equipped with skills and attributes. It was not just a Level 150 monster, it was also considered to be extremely threatening since it could cast fourth-tier magic. At that moment, the Minotaurus on the monitor was just standing there and roaring. 

"Look at this. No one wants to challenge it." 

"It feels like it's just standing there like a mascot for the Eivelis Empire's tournament." 

Go Eun-Ah laughed at what her junior said. But then, a man suddenly appeared and pounced on the Minotaurus. Then… 

Slam! 

The man was killed and forced to log out in an instant.

"Puhahahaha!" 

"Ah, what was that." 

Laughter broke out in the stands when they saw the man killed in one strike. 

"Now, no one will challenge it anymore after seeing that player die." 

"Right. He was logged out in a blink of an eye. Huh? Is that Lucia? Where did she come from?" 

"Oh, she's probably going to take a break after killing the siren." 

"Shoot it well. Even if Lucia picks her nose, it will still be a good article." 

"Yes." 

The two were talking like that when they suddenly heard the others exclaiming while looking at the monitor. 

"What's that person doing? He looks so gloomy?" 

"What the… He's approaching the Minotaurus?" 

"Suicide?" 

The audience was murmuring when they saw a black mist suddenly explode from the man's body. 

[Puhaaaa!] 

The black mist reached out towards the Minotaurus and soon seeped through its body. 

[Mooooooooo!] 

The Minotaurus roared loudly as the audience began to stir in agitation. Then, it approached a player that was resting nearby… 

[W, what! Why are you coming towards me? Cow, you bastard. Stop! Don't go scaring me…!] 

…and swung its ax towards the player before he could even finish his words.

Slash! 

"...!" 

"...!" 

Silence enveloped the audience. 

[Moooo!] 

[Keuhahahahaha! It's a success, a success!!] 

With the Minotaurus’ attack, the Black Wizard went crazy. Go Eun-Ah hurriedly tapped the man beside her. She said, "Hey, hey, hey. Shoot it, it's a scoop! A scoop!" 

"Ah, yes!" 

"Write an article right now. A mysterious robed man tamed the Minotaurus! And…" 

Go Eun-Ah has high expectations for the future. She said, "Sweeps the competition." 

***

"Kyaaaaaak!" 

Lucia picked up the dropped items after she finished off the female-type monster, Siren. 

'Seduction Ring?' 

It was an item that was associated with the lower ranks of the double ring system. It was very valuable, but she was not happy with it. 

"Kyaaaaaa!" 

"Eeeeeeck!" 

Lucia dodged the sword of the man who suddenly attacked her and quickly logged him out. Then… 

"Aaaaaack!" 

"Run away!" 

"Those f*ckers. They said that the Minotaurus wasn't a field mob!" 

She could hear the screams of the other players. Lucia frowned lightly and thought, 'The Minotaurus?' 

She also heard the notification about its summoning, but she felt that there was no need to hunt it. Lucia was well aware that she could not kill it. So, she decided not to hunt it. In the first place, Lucia was not a reckless person. Even if she tried her best to fight against an enemy that she could not kill, the outcome would remain the same. However, she finally realized the situation that they were in.

"Mooo!"

The Minotaurus was running around like crazy, slaughtering the players. It was just one attack, but the area was easily thrown into chaos as the players started to get logged out one after the other.

"W…what the hell…" Lucia said in confusion. The Minotaurus was not supposed to be a field mob. This meant that it would not attack others as long as they did not attack it. The notification was clear proof. However, contrary to what they have heard, the Minotaurus was running amok. Then, Lucia heard another set of notifications. 

[Please proceed to the indicated area on the map.] 

[If you go beyond the area indicated, your HP will continue to decrease by itself.] 

Lucia's face turned dark when she heard the notifications. She thought, 'This is crazy…!' 

The area where they could move in was suddenly narrowed down, but the problem was that the area where they were supposed to go was the area where the Minotaurus was running amok in. However, if she did not move right now, then she would face absurd consequences and get killed by something completely ridiculous. Lucia tried as hard as she could to avoid its sight but…

"Moooo?!" 

…the Minotaurus turned around and caught sight of Lucia.

"...Damn,” Lucia cursed as she bit her lip. She was currently caught between a rock and a hard place. Behind her was the edge of the indicated area and in front of her was the Minotaurus. 

'Is it a forced challenge, or what?' She thought as she tightened her grip on her daggers.

"Hiiic! Run away. Right now!" 

"You crazy shit, I can't run away, this is the edge of the indicated area!" 

The players started to scream while the Minotaurus took a step forward. 

Thud—

Lucia noticed that the Minotaurus' target had changed to her so she started to run away. However, the Minotaurus chased after her relentlessly. 

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud—

"Hooo..." 

She took a deep breath to calm herself down. She tried to assess herself. How much MP did she have left? What skills could she currently use? Lucia calmly analyzed her odds. And the moment the Minotaurus reached her…

Shiiiiing! 

…she threw her dagger toward the monster. 

[Shadow's Throwing Technique.] 

[The dozens of shadows can only deal 60% damage.] 

Her dagger flew away and created dozens of shadows. However, since they were only shadows, they could only inflict 60% of the original dagger's damage. 

Stab! 

Clang—

Clang—

Clang—

Clang—

Except for the original dagger, the rest of the shadows were deflected. 

'Crazy...! Its level is too high for my attacks to be effective!' 

Slam! 

The Minotaurus struck down with its ax while Lucia nimbly dodged the attack and counter-attacked with a slash on its leg. 

Slash! 

"Moooooo!" 

The Minotaurus swung its arms like crazy trying to catch Lucia. 

Poof! 

Lucia quickly threw a smokescreen. She hid in the white smoke and quickly jumped behind the Minotaurus. She swung out her dagger to stab at the back of the Minotaurus. 

Stab! 

However, instead of stabbing through the skin, her dagger slid on its skin. It was not the effect that she wanted to achieve. 

'It… it did not go through…!' 

She tried to stab its throat but her dagger would not even get past its thick skin. The Minotaurus turned around and punched Lucia away. 

Bang! 

"Kyaak!" 

Lucia flew backward and rolled around a few times until she crashed into a tree. Her HP was reduced by 50% in an instant.

[You're in a temporarily stunned state.] 

'N, no…!' 

Even a real person would not be able to get up temporarily if they suddenly suffered a great impact. Athenae was realistic like that. Lucia could not feel her body even if she tried to move. Left without a choice, she stared at the Minotaurus running towards her. Right at that moment, a man suddenly stood in front of her. She was very familiar with this wide back. 

"Mi… Minhyuk...?" 

Minhyuk was standing in front of Lucia with a very solemn look on his face. She could even see his body trembling. 

"Minhyuk, why are you here... No, look here! You have to run away! Just one strike from that monster will log you out!" 

However, Minhyuk did not budge one bit. As Lucia looked at his trembling back, she thought, 'D, don't tell me...!' 

Lucia’s pupils shook as she asked, "Are you trying to protect me?!" 

"???" 

Lucia... I think you are going to be disappointed...