The remaining two Minotaurs opened their mouths simultaneously, pounding their chests with their fists as a roar welled up from deep within their throats.
"Moo!!!"
The low-frequency sound wave swept toward the party along the passage.
Charles's footsteps halted, and the axe he was holding remained suspended in mid-air. Even Lefiya's chant was interrupted.
Only Zephyr, when the eardrum-piercing monster roar washed over him, felt his shoulders pause slightly before immediately recovering his freedom of movement.
Dragon Roar!
Through the absorption of the Infant Dragon's Gourmet Cells, not only did he acquire this skill, but his body's resistance to the stun effect had also increased significantly.
Zephyr had no intention of standing still and being a living target. Facing the two Minotaurs in front of him, he decisively launched his counterattack.
The monster on the left swung its battle axe in a horizontal sweep. He raised his hand to block, Dragon Scales covering his left arm.
But the recoil force made Zephyr take half a step back, leaving a shallow white mark on the surface of the scales.
Zephyr stepped forward, closing the distance, and thrust the horn concentrated on his right fist forward, piercing the Minotaur's throat.
The last monster lunged from behind. Judging the position by sound, he turned his body, and simultaneously, a horn emerged from his left palm, stabbing backhand into the Minotaur's heart.
The massive body smashed into the ground, kicking up a layer of dust.
"Done."
Charles's brain was in a state of mental shutdown. He stood where he was, his eyes wide.
Setting aside the speed of his power growth, what truly surprised him was Zephyr's combat techniques.
Could he really be a rookie? What kind of rookie looks like this?
As Charles put down his axe and walked toward Zephyr, his tone was filled with disbelief. "Zephyr... isn't this a bit too much?"
Standing beside the Minotaur's corpse, Zephyr didn't immediately respond to Charles's question, looking down at the monster at his feet.
He was actually quite conflicted inside. The Minotaur looked somewhat similar to Charles: bull, robust body, thick limbs...
If it were any other time, Zephyr would just pass up on it, but the system had issued a quest.
Charles followed his gaze, and when he saw the Minotaurs that had been dispatched so cleanly, he felt inexplicably creeped out.
However, he smiled and took the initiative to ease the atmosphere. "Monsters are monsters. Beastmen are beastmen. If the meat of this kind of monster is helpful for improving your strength, then even if you eat a Minotaur, it's reasonable. Don't worry about my feelings."
"This... alright then."
Zephyr, who had originally been somewhat hesitant, saw Charles's frank demeanor, and the inner conflict dissipated at that moment.
Crouching down, he drew a dagger from his waist and sliced through the skin along the grain of the Minotaur's leg, the sharp edge sliding in along the muscle fibers to carve the monster meat.
After cutting off the most succulent part of the thigh, he carried the still-dripping chunks of meat and walked toward the team's temporary campsite.
Whether or not he could obtain a monster ability—that stuff really wasn't important to him. Compared to that, he was more curious about the rewards he could get after completing the system quest.
Then let's get ready to cook.
—
Temporary Campsite.
The team members had long since settled down here with their other companions, opening the bentos brought from Orario, preparing to fill their stomachs.
Meanwhile, Lili was crouching on the ground, counting the dry firewood collected along the way from the Dungeon. But the amount was very little. They were all just thin, withered twigs. There wasn't even any firewood that would burn for a long time.
Charles had just taken out his bento. It was cold, and eating it felt unappealing, but when he noticed the critically low amount of firewood, he reached up to scratch his head.
"Lili. With just this little bit of firewood, can Zephyr really cook this much monster meat?"
The expression on Lili's face at this moment could only be described as strange. She looked at Zephyr, her eyes filled with helplessness.
"Why is there only this little bit of firewood? I think you should ask him!."
"?" Charles looked over, bewildered.
Dry firewood was naturally scarce in the middle floors, but when they had teamed up with Zephyr a few days ago, the firewood used for cooking had never been in short supply.
So what should they do now?
He looked at Zephyr and asked, "I have an extra bento box, do you want it?"
"No need."
Zephyr crouched beside the black iron plate and laid out the sliced Minotaur meats neatly. They were uniform in thickness, with clear muscle grain, and the bright red meat surfaces bore beautiful marbling.
Even Zephyr himself hadn't expected that the firewood along the middle floors would be consumed by him so quickly. It could only be said that the pace of cooking in the past few days had been too frequent. The firewood collected along the way had basically all been used for cooking meals.
Since he had finally encountered a new monster, he would just treat it as getting a taste in advance.
As long as your mindset doesn't slip, there are always more solutions than difficulties.
Zephyr's gaze fell on Lefiya not far ahead, who was holding her bento. He remembered that when facing the swarm of Killer Ants earlier, Lefiya had used a magic, roasting those Killer Ants completely. It was just that the heat was hard to control.
Since he had just acquired the Hellhound's ability, it should be able to serve a similar purpose, right?
Noticing the conversation between Zephyr and Charles, Lefiya noticed the gaze Zephyr had just directed at her.
She could understand the true meaning contained in that look. Although he hadn't spoken, as a friend, she couldn't just pretend not to see it.
Moreover, according to Zephyr's personality.
If she didn't help, he might choose to eat the monster meat raw. It was obvious that cooked monster dishes were easier to accept.
I must take good care of my friends.
Thinking of this, she put down the bento in her hand, picked up her staff, and stepped toward Zephyr.
"Um..."
But before she could finish, she saw Zephyr carrying the iron plate and walking toward the open area outside the temporary campsite.
Lefiya's face was covered in confusion, and she couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Zephyr... what are you doing?"
"Cooking, of course."
"But..."
Her gaze swept to the sparse firewood on the ground. She had just wanted to remind him about the lack of a fire source, but the words got stuck in her throat.
After placing the iron plate on two stones, Zephyr lay on the ground, his expression as serious as if he were performing a ritual sacrifice to the gods. The temperature of the surrounding air began to rise slowly.
Lefiya could clearly feel the change in the cavern's airflow. A heat current surged up from around Zephyr, dispelling the chill of the corridor.
Then, she saw his Adam's apple roll. He opened his mouth, and a dark red flame erupted from deep within his throat, roasting the pieces of meat laid out on the surface of the iron plate.
"?!" Lefiya's eyelids couldn't help but twitch wildly.
When did he learn to breathe fire?