The roar had barely faded when the Minotaur lunged forward, its massive hooves slamming against the ground as it began to charge, at first slow and heavy like a boulder being pushed, but with every step its speed increased, its momentum building into something terrifying as the dungeon floor cracked beneath each stride and dust rose into the air like a storm.
Clay did not step back.
Instead, he tossed the axe upward without even looking at it, as if the weapon had already lost all importance in his eyes, and then he leaned forward, his body tightening as he prepared to meet the incoming force head on.
When the Minotaur closed the distance, its enormous body casting a shadow over him, Clay moved.
His fist shot straight forward.
The impact came fast.
His punch drove straight into the Minotaur's stomach, and this time, instead of sending it crashing into the wall like before, the creature was pushed back across the ground, its hooves digging deep trenches as it struggled to resist the force, its muscles tightening and expanding as it tried to hold its ground.
It slid back. It was slow but they could understand it resisted.
Cerys's eyes widened as she saw it.
"It's adapting… it's adapting again!" she shouted, her voice filled with disbelief and fear.
Clay nodded once, his expression calm as he watched the creature regain its balance.
"Indeed," he said, as if confirming something he had already expected.
Then he glanced at her.
"It adapts to everything, right? Physical attacks, magical attacks, everything?"
Cerys nodded quickly, her body still tense.
"Yes… everything…"
Clay let out a small breath and nodded again.
"Alright then," he said, his tone light, almost curious, "let's try magic."
At once, holy power began to gather in his fist.
It did not simply appear, it condensed, thick and dense, gathering layer by layer until the air around his hand began to distort from the sheer amount of energy being compressed into such a small space.
The light grew brighter.
Until the whole place began to feel warm and suffocating.
Then Clay moved relaxed.
He dashed forward, his steps light despite the power he carried, and when he reached the Minotaur, he drove his fist forward once more.
"Divine Impact!"
The moment his fist stopped, the energy did not.
It surged straight thoroughly forward, it was a beam of condensed holy power burst from his strike, slamming into the Minotaur with overwhelming force.
Bang!
The explosion lit up the entire dungeon.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then the light faded.
Cerys stared at the Minotaur away.
The Minotaur's upper body was gone.
Reduced to bone.
Its flesh had been completely erased, leaving behind a charred skeleton that stood upright for a brief second before swaying slightly.
Clay lowered his fist and exhaled slowly.
"Let's see if you can still adapt and heal from that," he said calmly.
Cerys could feel it.
Even with half its body gone, the Minotaur still radiated power.
Her fear deepened.
But not only to the Minotaur, but to the young master she was currently serving.
Earlier, she had believed that Clay's strength was only enough to suppress her weakened state, that perhaps she had simply been unlucky, that perhaps her curse had dragged her down to the point where even someone like him could stand above her.
But now…
Now she could feel it clearly.
Even if she returned to her peak, even if she stood at her strongest, Clay would still be able to fight her evenly.
And that realization made her heart tighten.
Even so, she did not believe this was enough.
Not against that thing.
Not against something that could adapt to everything.
Then it happened.
The Minotaur began to move.
At first, it was only a twitch.
A slight motion in the remaining bones.
Then the bones began to glow faintly, as if something inside them had awakened.
Flesh began to grow.
Slowly at first.
Thin strands of muscle appeared, stretching across the skeleton like threads being woven into a hard skeletal object, connecting bone to bone as they thickened and layered over one another.
The strands multiplied.
They twisted.
They wrapped around the frame, building mass, forming structure, restoring what had been lost.
Blood vessels formed next, spreading through the new muscle like roots reaching through soil, pulsing faintly as they connected to one another, creating a network that began to circulate energy.
Then came the organs.
They formed within the hollow space of the chest, growing piece by piece, each part sliding into place as if guided by an invisible hand, beating once, then again, then faster as life returned to the body.
The skin followed.
It stretched over the muscle, covering it completely, sealing everything beneath it as though the destruction had never happened.
Fur sprouted across the surface, thick and dark, restoring the creature's appearance in full.
All of it happened in front of them.
Slow enough to be seen.
Fast enough to be terrifying.
And when it was done, the Minotaur stood there once more.
Whole, looking unharmed and fresh.
Suddenly, it roared.
ROOAAARRRRGGH!
Clay who seemed unfazed to whatever was happening in front of him did not hesitate.
He struck again.
"Divine Impact!"
The energy surged forward once more, slamming into the creature with force.
This time, only part of its body was destroyed.
Its head exploded.
Its right arm shattered.
Parts of its flesh burned away, exposing raw muscle beneath.
But it did not fall and did not explode like last time.
It did not collapse.
And within seconds, it began to heal again.
But Clay seemed to not care if it adapted to his moves, so he attacked a third time.
The impact hit.
But this time, nothing happened.
Not a single scratch appeared on its fur.
That was when Clay nodded slowly.
"I see," he said, his tone thoughtful, "you can regenerate and adapt to both physical and magical attacks."
He paused for a moment.
"This guy is invincible."
Ding.
The enemy has reached the same level as the host.
Activating Overlord Exponential Overgrowth Spur.
Immediately, Clay felt it again.
Another increase of his strength.
His body tightened as power flooded through him once more.
He could feel it was far far far more increase than earlier.
But before he could fully process it, the Minotaur was already moving.
It closed the distance in two steps.
Its massive arm swung forward.
Roooarr!
The punch came straight for his face.
Cerys forced herself to keep her eyes open.
She needed to see.
She needed to know.
Whether this man could still do the impossible.
Or whether this would be the end.
BAAANNGGG!!
The ground beneath Clay cracked from the force.
Dust exploded outward.
The air shook.
But when it cleared, Clay was still there.
Standing, unmoved and most of all, he looked like he's unbothered.
Why?
The Minotaur's fist pressed against his face.
And yet, nothing happened.
Not even a mark.
Not even a bruise.
Clay did not move.
He did not react.
He simply stood there, as if the attack meant nothing.
The Minotaur froze.
Its massive eyes widened.
It slowly looked at its own hand, which still covered Clay's face, then pulled it and looked back at Clay, then back at its fist again, as if it could not understand what happened.
Clay spoke.
"So," he said calmly, "you can't adapt when you are the one attacking, and you can only adapt when you are being attacked, huh."
The Minotaur roared again.
And then it attacked.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Its fists came down like falling mountains, each strike carrying enough force to shatter stone, to crush steel, to erase anything in its path, and every time its attacks landed, the ground beneath Clay fractured, cracks spreading outward like a web as the impact echoed through the dungeon.
It did not stop.
It kept going.
Its arms moved faster, its strikes heavier, its roars louder as it poured everything it had into the assault, determined to break the figure standing before it.
The dungeon shook.
Dust filled the air.
Chunks of stone broke apart and scattered across the ground.
And through it all, Clay stood there.
Unmoved, unharmed and unbothered.
Not a single scratch appeared on his face.
Not a single sign of damage.
It was as if the attacks did not exist.
As if the Minotaur was striking an immovable wall.
Finally, Clay moved.
He reached out.
His hand grabbed the Minotaur's head.
Then he pulled himself upward from the crater below him.
His body climbed along the massive frame, his hands dragged the Minotaur, carrying it like a light but a large object..
The sight was almost ridiculous.
He looked like a small ant crawling and carrying a massive candy and dragging it like it was nothing.
When he reached the flat surface again, he stood there for a moment.
Then he let go of the Minotaur.
Cerys could not speak.
Her mind had gone completely blank.
She was no longer just afraid.
She was terrified.
Is this really the young master she was serving?
The Minotaur roared again, its anger growing even stronger, but beneath that anger, something else began to appear.
Pressure.
It felt it.
The power coming from Clay.
It pressed down on it.
It weighed on its body.
And for the first time, something new appeared in its eyes.
Fear.
It roared louder, as if trying to drive that feeling away, and then it threw another punch.
But this time, the punch lacked force.
Clay did not even react.
"You really are a feisty bull, aren't you?" he said with a small grin.
Then he clenched his fist.
Holy power erupted from it.
It poured out of him like a flood, filling the dungeon with light so bright that it chased away the darkness completely, turning the entire space into something that resembled daylight.
The air grew warm.
The ground glowed.
Everything was illuminated.
The Minotaur stepped back.
It hesitated.
And then, something impossible happened.
It turned.
It ran.
At first, it moved slowly.
Then faster.
Faster still.
Until it was fleeing at full speed.
Clay stood there.
Cerys stood beside him.
Both of them stared at the retreating figure.
Utterly shocked.