I looked at the bull, quickly deciding on a course of action. The thing no doubt surpassed me physically, but maybe I could snipe it from the air, like I did with its... child?
'Observe'
Minotaur
Race: Monster
Level: 306
Tier: 4
Mana: 25,000/25,000
Stamina: 158,500/158,500
Health: 157,500/157,500
Stats
Strength: 320
Speed: 283
Dexterity: 295
Endurance: 317
Constitution: 315
Mental: 16
Spirit: 50
This was my first opponent that completely outclassed me in Tier and Levels. But on the other hand, It's spirit was even more rubbish.
The huge man-bull was standing in the middle of the road, roaring it's head off to the sky.
I decided to break off its celebration by creating a Holy spear as big as I could make without bungling the whole spell.
I launched the massive spear of light with all my strength, actively controlling the air to guide the weapon directly towards its throat.
The Minotaur was more perceptive than I believed however, and barely but surely managed to jerk its head to the side. It still cut the monster, I knew. I could see the monster clutching the side of it's neck as it roared again with its eyes closed, this time in pain and rage.
[Holy Weapon Creation] Lvl 4
-100 Holy Power
I flew towards the monster like a missile, using air to further push my speed as I raised my hand in the front like superman, gripping my mother's gifted spear tightly. With the other hand, I casted my defensive magic for the first time in a real fight.
[Defensive Magic: Barrier] (Lvl 3)
-50 Demonic Power
It was a small half-a-meter translucent spherical barrier, completely golden in colour, that solidified around my hand.
By the time the Minotaur opened its eyes again, I was already in front of it with my spear speeding towards its chest, electricity coursing through its edges.
With surprising agility, the monster launched a quick snipe towards me, completely disregarding it's safety.
I caught it on my Barrier, but it's sheer force displaced my position, launching me away like a bug, unbalanced and uncontrolled. The spear that had just been rapidly heading towards it chest barely managed to make contact with its shoulder, the impact of which was like hitting a solid wall.
By the time I found my balance, I was kneeling on the ground, having rolled off of the land to stop myself through friction.
'Damn, it's strength surpasses mine by a lot.' I knew from the start it would of course, I couldn't even defeat luke or Thalia in a physical match, let alone the Minotaur.
Still, knowing it theoretically and experiencing it first hand made a lot of difference. I wondered if I could survive one of its direct hit? Looking at the roaring monster however, I had no intention to risk it.
This time, the monster wasn't content to sit back and take my shots it seems.
As I pushed myself back on my feets, the Minotaur started running towards me in a mad dash, spittle and black blood flying around it's figure, though it's left shoulder looked broken.
Did the monster even feel pain? Though I was even more curious about the fact that my spear didn't manage to pierce the skin, only my lightning discharge and sheer strength, which had been further enhanced by my momentum, managed to hurt it's shoulder.
"This is gonna be difficult." I muttered, taking a deep breath to clear my mind from any useless thoughts, before launching myself into the air. I had no intention of fighting the monster 1v1. Especially after that show of strength.
The Minotaur didn't slow down even a bit after seeing me fly away, instead it dug it's right hand in the ground while still running and pulled out a handful of dirt and asphalt. Without stopping, it started throwing the mounds of earth at me.
The accuracy was... questionable at best. I just flapped my wings and swerved to one side, letting the projectile pass by harmlessly. The persistent monster however, just dug it's hand in the ground again and launched stones, mud, asphalt, and whatever it could get it's massive hands on, while still continuing to run towards me.
I payed the stones and mud balls no further attention, instead forming my Holy spears and launching them. The Minotaur dodged most of them by shifting his path with unnatural dexterity, but a few, guided by air, managed to cut and scratch the bull enough to slow it down. Though it didn't show any signs of stopping, it's massive amount of health enabling it to take the beating.
The reason behind its run soon got cleared as I saw him bending down slightly, tensing it's legs as it prepared itself in a squat.
"Surely not..." I absently murmured.
But then, the mad bastard actually jumped. And jumped high enough to potentially collide with me.
"I call fucking bullshit! I'm thirty feets in the air!" I screamed in the unfairness of this all, rapidly flapping my wings to go higher.
Thankfully, I was fast enough to avoid the monster by a few feets and took this God given opportunity to stab my steel spear onto its skull with all my might.
Unfortunately, this time my spear just scratched off of its skin, now confirming it's uselessness against greek monsters no matter how much I wished to defend it.
But not wanting to waste this valuable chance, I instantly released an overpowered bolt of electricity discharge towards it's descending body. Not sparks of electricity, but something like a mini lightning bolt. It slammed upon the Minotaur's head, blasting it back to the ground with a crackling boom!
[Electric Discharge] (Lvl 5)
-1000 Divine Energy
I didn't give the monster any time to recover, launching myself after it's falling body.
This time, I didn't use my spear, considering my weapon did no damage to the monster, which was just frustrating.
Instead, I formed two thin katanas of Holy light and started slashing it against the monster's head as fast as I can, without much skill or technique. Just pure speed and strength.
Dark blood splattered around us, and I took a sick pleasure as the monster howled in agony.
As the dazed monster finally raised its hand with a weak growl, I launched another bolt of electric discharge directly through it's head, making it jerk back down and start twitching.
It was a testament to it's constitution that the Bull was still alive. Any High-class devil would've already disintegrated.
I may be physically shit compared to it, but my magical attacks had taken out chunks of its health rapidly.
Minotaur
Race: Monster
Level: 306
Tier: 4
Mana: 20,000/25,000
Stamina: 156,400/158,500
Health: 8432/157,500
Finally, on the verge of it's death, I dispersed my spear, and instead formed a thick Greatsword.
Flaring my wings wide dramatically, I bought the massive Holy weapon down across the monsters neck with all of my inhuman strength, decapitating it instantly.
It didn't take long for the monster to turn into ash and disperse, leaving behind just a single horn.
[You Leveled Up] 276
[You Leveled Up] 277
....
..
[You Leveled Up] 285
[Common Achievement– Monster Hunter]
Objective: Defeat a monster of legend before reaching 16
Reward: 10 Levels
Sighing in relief, I absently picked up the horn while checking my status.
Mikael
Age: 8
Race: God/Angel/Devil Hybrid
Tier: 3
Level: 295
Divine Power: 9,600/34,000
Holy Power: 20,300/34,000
Demonic Power: 27,500/34,000
Stamina: 23,401/28,600
Health: 23,600/30,600
Stats
Strength: 296
Speed: 326
Dexterity: 316
Endurance: 286
Constitution: 306
Mental: 36
Spirit: 340
Points: 33
A little tired but perfectly functional, I got back on my feets.
I was happy to get dose of levels, though a part of me was definitely frustrated. It took me 2 full years to gain 150 levels, and now suddenly I got 25 freaking levels in a single day here.
Though the achievement one was new. I did remember my very first Divine achievement that started my journey, but I'd always thought that was due to my heritage.
'It seems I'll have to experiment on gaining other, faster, mode of leveling soon.'
Cause clearly slaying monsters didn't seem the fastest way of gaining levels, unless I was hunting beings atleast 1 Tier above me. But that wasn't a reliable way, considering the only reason I was prevailing in these fights was due to my spirit and unique skills.
Against a magical Tier 4 opponent, I wasn't as confident.
I took a glance backwards to see if Luke or my new sister needed any help, but they looked just fine with with a single fury still remaining.
'New sister huh', I smiled to myself. That wasn't the strangest thing to happen to me today but it was definitely there. Family itself had never meant much to me really, having never been as close to my parents as I would've liked.
The reason I cared about my mother was not just because she was my mother, but because she was a freaking good mother who did her best to keep me safe. I honestly never believed myself to care about anyone else in my new life, especially considering my own circumstances.
But remembering the desperation in Thalia's voice when she'd wanted me to stay with her...well, I had no idea why she cared about me, but I had to admit...it felt good. To know that you matter...it always feels good.
Shaking my head, I clutched onto the horn tightly before taking off into the air once again. I took a moment to simply enjoy the cool night's wind lightly caressing my face as I flew.
I felt... satisfied. Calm, and peaceful. And dare I say... Powerful.
I just slew a legendary monster while just 8 years old, which meant I still had a lot of potential for growth even without considering the gamer system. I was a being destined for the top spot. My place in this world was secured.
Somehow, defeating the Minotaur using just my magical abilities made it even more real. I was content. Now if only I could reach the camp safely without anymore issues, I could finally start planning for the possible future, instead of simply reacting to these events.
I arrived before the demigod duo just as they slew the last fury, dispersing her ashes into the air. I saw thalia frantically turn to look at the direction of my fight just as I landed beside them.
"Well done, both of you." I congratulated them with a smile.
I only had enough time to widen my eyes slightly before a pair of hands wrapped around me and picked me cleanly off of the floor.
"You stupid stubborn boy!" Thalia's muffled screams reached my ears as she buried her face in my shoulders, hugging me tightly. "Would it have killed you to wait for a few more seconds before running off to fight the godsdamned Minotaur?"
I dangled there with my hands on my side, too surprised and uncertain to react properly. My mind calmed down quickly but I felt so awkward that I shifted my focus to other things; like Annabeth's jealous stare and Luke's sad smile.
Thalia must've sensed my hesitance because the next moment she let me down and backed away with her shoulders slumped.
"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." She muttered.
She looked up to say something else but hesitated.
"You fought well." She finally settled.
She gave a hesitant smile, but I could see the last embers of hope quickly dying out. She just seemed so...sad and lost, and... vulnerable.
Her sudden bundle of emotions for me was certainly very jarring, but I knew enough about affection to know that this girl definitely considered me family, whatever the reason may be.
I wouldn't spit on that.
"I'm sorry..." I found myself hesitantly saying. "I should've explained the plan more but we just didn't have time. I'll try not to do that again."
The words seemed to come out easily as I spoke more.
"I'm sorry for worrying you, sis."
It just...felt right.
And I must've actually done something right indeed because the next moment I was again dangling in the air, back in the arms of someone more taller than me.
That was probably the only thing that most certainly didn't feel right about this moment. I was the elder sibling here for fuck's sake! I shouldn't be this small!
But that complain had to be sadly ignored for more important things this time. That is, comforting my newly found dear sister of course.
"You better not do that again." She mumbled against my neck.
"Guys, I'm happy for you two. Really I am." Luke chose that moment to barge in, breaking our bonding moment. "But we have more of those uninvited guests chasing after us again so maybe shelve this for later?"
Thalia scowled at him for his interruption, promising retribution. The poor boy weakly surrendered with his hands raised.
I checked our surroundings quickly, and sure enough. Another army of hellhounds and skeletons were approaching us.
"You good for some running?" I asked, quickly separating as the girl showed no signs of letting go.
I might want to comfort the girl, but that didn't mean I liked dangling in mid-air.
"You bet." She replied, her cocky little smirk back in place.
"Alright then. Let's get going." I suggested. "Grover, guide us to this mythical camp. Luke, can you hold onto annabeth? Let's just start running for the camp, i guess. I'll keep a look out and clear some monsters from above"
I looked around for any objection but Luke just seemed amused as he snapped off a salute, while Thalia looked...surprised? I had no idea why, but I felt like I was missing something.
"What?" I asked in confusion, but instead of answering me they just started on their tasks, which was to get ready to run.
"Alright, let's go." With that, I took to the air with a flap of my wings.
I could see the monster army converging around us again, so i started creating my holy weapons and start thinning out the crowd, hoping to slow them down a little as my new friends started to run.
I followed after them after a few seconds, a little surprised by their speed. I almost forgot the fact that they were all demigods.
Watching them run at almost supersonic speed shouldn't have been surprising after everything that I've went through, but it still was.
Even more so considering that I knew they could theoretically run even faster than this, especially Thalia who could most probably run around mach 4 speed.
They were going slow just for my and Grover's sake. I guess i've just been so used to viewing high speed and action normally that I didn't realise what it meant when seen from a 3rd person view. It was surprising, to say the least.
Still, with the help of my control over air and my wings, I was able to keep up with them, however my accuracy in throwing the spears took a hit as the result.
Soon though, it didn't matter. We reached the hill with scattered trees and stumps. Grover didn't hesitate, making his way towards the hill with a surety, confidence, and excitement he hadn't shown since I met him.
"We're here! The half-blood hill!" He yelled excitedly, as we approached the crest of the hill. I took this chance to join them on the crest and landed beside thalia. We left the monster army behind by atleast a mile, so no one was in too much hurry.
"What the..." Luke muttered ahead of us, looking down the hill, where the valley started. "A farm house? Really?"
"It's just a cover. Mortals see a strawberry field if they come here." Grover happily explained.
I tried joining them but was pushed back by an invisible wall.
"Guys..." I called them before they can leave me behind. "I can't seem to enter."
I rubbed my hands accross the wall, walking sideways to see if there was a limit, but it seemed to go on forever.
"O-oh! I forgot, sorry." Grover rubbed his head, looking at me nervously before he cleared his throat lightly. "I, grover Underwood, give you permission to enter the camp!"
I almost fell forward due to all the resistance suddenly vanishing, barely managing to catch my balance.
"What was that?" Thalia snapped at grover with a scowl, as she approached me to take my hand.
"The, ah..m-magical barrier makes it so, so that only demigods could enter in here." Grover bleated nervously as Thalia's eyes pinned onto him. "Umm..that is, unless a camper, chiron, or Mr.D gives them permission. He's our camp director. Oh yeah! and a satyr too of course!"
"Don't worry." I patted my sister's arm but she didn't release me. I could almost feel Annabeth's eyes boring a hole in my back with her glare. Poor jealous girl didn't know where everything went wrong.
And that's how we entered the camp half-blood; Luke holding a 7 year old Annabeth on his back, me holding my recently found sister's hand, and a satyr leading our way.
I may not have been from this world, but I've certainly found a group worth caring for. Now I just needed to get my mother back and all will be well.
I should've known not to tempt fate.