Then one day, it happened.
"Hero, is that all you can do?"
"Could you stop blocking my view? I'm trying to cast a spell here."
"...How disgusting."
As usual, I was being criticized and threatened with forced resignation.
Suddenly, Saintess Yulice von Yugrasia started taking my side.
"Please don't be too harsh. I'm sure the Hero is trying his best."
"Hmm?"
What I felt at that moment wasn't gratitude, but confusion. Normally, she would join the others in criticizing me.
Her sudden defense left me bewildered.
Above all, I knew my own situation best.
I was covered in all sorts of repulsive curses, and truthfully, I was performing worse than them in battle.
The skills I received focused on growth potential and versatility, so I was bound to be weak in the beginning.
I was prepared to endure their criticism during battle, but this unexpected support caught me off guard.
"What's going on?"
I couldn't help but be confused.
"What's her angle?"
Beyond confusion, I was suspicious. This wasn't like her at all.
Maybe she felt sorry for me after seeing me get criticized so much.
That made sense—she was the compassionate Saintess who would generously give money to vagrants in back alleys.
"Come on, let's get moving again. We still have a long way to go."
She even mediated the situation. This was the first time I'd seen this side of her in the past six months.
"Hero, you should start moving too."
"Ah, y-yes. Thank you."
Though I had my doubts, I decided to let it go for now.
This was a good situation for me, after all. No need to question it.
Just not being criticized when I expected to be was enough for me to overlook minor oddities.
I could accept her help just this once.
The problem was, her kindness didn't end there.
"Are you thirsty?"
"This terrain is certainly difficult to walk on. Are you alright, Hero?"
"Oh my, I just noticed you have a scratch on your arm. Come here for a moment. I'll heal it for you."
Every time we walked, she would suddenly turn around and try to take care of me.
It felt like she was treating me like a pitiful vagrant, which left me with mixed feelings.
"Ah, um. Thank you. I'm not thirsty, so I'm fine."
When kindness comes without reason, it's natural to be suspicious.
Others might think it was simple affection, but that premise was impossible for me.
I couldn't help but wonder about the hidden intentions behind her kindness.
In that sense, her current attitude was nothing short of confusing.
Unable to guess her intentions, even her kindness became uncomfortable.
"Hey, Hero. Could you keep it down? I'm trying to concentrate."
To make matters worse, Lily Spencer Beatrice, who was walking ahead, snapped at me.
"I wasn't even talking..."
I felt slightly wronged, but decided to let it go for now.
We did need to focus, after all.
"You heard her? Saintess, please look ahead and keep walking. We need to stay alert."
"Ah, yes..."
I took the opportunity to send Yulice back to the front.
For just a moment, she looked at me with something like pity in her eyes, but she returned to her position without another word.
I didn't understand why she was acting this way, but I decided to move on.
As our mage Lily said, it was time to focus.
We were almost at the Insect King's castle.
The battles ahead would be even more difficult than what we'd faced in the past six months.
I couldn't help but smile bitterly to myself.
"Of all the Four Heavenly Kings, we get Valkan first..."
As I mentioned before, this game was a roguelike with strong random elements.
The order in which the Four Heavenly Kings appeared was also randomized.
Of course, balance patches meant that Valkan, appearing first, would definitely be the weakest...
But even among the Four Heavenly Kings, there were compatibility issues.
The difficulty varied drastically depending on who appeared in what order, and how the characters had developed.
In that sense, facing Valkan first was arguably the worst scenario.
"Insect King Valkan."
The king of all insects.
A being who used countless creatures considered the most insignificant to earn the title of "King."
His battle method was simple.
"Various poison status effects and overwhelming numbers."
Of course, if we met him later in the game, he would have additional patterns... but for now, that was probably it.
Even so, that was more than enough to torment the Hero's party.
Status effects and sheer numbers.
It was obviously an annoying battle style. And tricks rarely worked on someone of Four Heavenly Kings caliber.
The best strategy was to break through the incoming insects and strike the main body.
Fortunately for us, Valkan himself was relatively weak.
"But that's only possible with the right specs..."
The problem was that even this was incredibly difficult.
If Valkan appeared second or third, it might be different.
But right now, we lacked the specs to make it possible.
We had insufficient poison resistance and might not even have enough attack power to break through the insects.
In that sense, facing Valkan first was truly the worst matchup.
Due to limited growth time, meeting the spec requirements for the first boss was nearly impossible.
"Can we do this...?"
I couldn't help but have such ominous thoughts.
But I quickly shook my head.
It's not a question of whether we can do it.
We must succeed.
If we don't, we'll be the ones facing tragedy.
If we don't want to meet a terrible end, we need to find a way to win, somehow.
Just as I was reaffirming my resolve...
"Shh. Enemy ahead."
Adel, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped. She must have detected an enemy with her exceptional senses.
I couldn't see anything yet, but I could already imagine what enemy would be waiting for us.
In this area, there was only one possible monster.
"We've finally arrived."
With that thought, I stepped to the front of the party.
Looking carefully in the direction Adel was staring, I saw a massive monster waiting for us.
A muscular humanoid body with a bull's head.
In one hand, it held an axe almost as large as its upper body, and two large horns protruded from its head.
It was a monster anyone would recognize.
Minotauros.
The gatekeeper of this castle in the Demon Realm.
The mid-boss that signaled the beginning of our real story.
Perhaps the only purely physical monster in this castle.
As evident from that massive double-bladed axe, it was overwhelmingly powerful.
Definitely worthy of being called a mid-boss.
Honestly, for newbies who didn't know the strategy, there were few enemies as difficult as this one.
"I died to this thing so many times before."
With attack power that could leave you near death with just one hit, and an absurdly large health pool.
On top of that, it could even defend with that double-bladed axe, making it a surprisingly difficult monster.
That wasn't all.
It also had a trump card called "Berserk," which could multiply the difficulty tenfold if you didn't know the strategy.
"That's why I'm here."
Of course, this didn't apply to me.
I knew how to seal its "Berserk" mode and deal with it.
Although the battle process might be a bit annoying... this was ultimately the best approach.
"Hmm, it looks strong... and it's guarding the gate."
"What should we do? Should we try to break through?"
"Wait, we should strategize first. The monster might be in the bestiary."
As my party members were discussing, I spoke up.
"Everyone, I know how to deal with this monster."
Clap, clap.
I clapped my hands to get their attention. Immediately, four pairs of eyes turned toward me.
Perhaps they didn't appreciate my sudden interruption; I could see displeasure in their eyes.
"What is it?"
But they didn't say anything, seemingly willing to listen. I took a deep breath and spoke.
"First, we need to cut off its horns."
Yes.
This was the strategy for defeating it. Destroy the two horns that rise high above its head.
Doing so would not only skip the "Berserk" phase but also significantly weaken its combat ability.
It might be a bit troublesome, but this was the most reliable method.
However, the reaction from those who didn't know this was...
"...?"
"What?! Cut off the horns first? They look extremely hard!"
"Rejected. Wouldn't it be better to aim for vital points like the heart?"
Right.
Convincing them was the first problem.
Damn it. I'd forgotten my position.