High School Soldier
Both cigarettes

Even Nio himself was almost out of patience after the monster that ganged on him seemed endless, or rather the man was almost overwhelmed. Meanwhile, the minotaur king continued to draw closer towards him with an extremely clear aura of wanting to kill him, and continued to give orders to the monsters occupying the tenth floor to attack him.

Only with a slow roar or a breath of minotaur king, dozens of goblins, cambrites, minotaurs, as well as a few additional monsters moved around Nio to wait for his turn to fight against the man. But, Nio had not felt tired at all, or rather he did not feel tired. It was just that his feelings had desperately wanted the end of this fight, then returned to its origin.

Unfortunately, the number of bullets Nio had was not enough to fight the entire monster that surrounded him. Moreover, Nio had not taken care of the minotaur king who was getting closer to him.

“Tuan Nio, we hand over the minotaur king to you.”

The bullets for his assault rifle and pistol were not enough to win this fight. Then, when he fired a projectile to kill a frog monster, SS20 G2 Nio did not launch another projectile.

To be precise, Nio had run out of bullets by the time he desperately needed the thing.

“Do you plan to make that monster kill me?”

He was asked to fight alone against the three-meter-tall monster, with the form of the last boss of a game that is very difficult to beat even though players have strong equipment. Nio's face turned pale after the entire monster that surrounded him managed to switch as Hevaz and the two magical girls fished them out.

Nio could not be said to be a rookie Explorer after seeing his ability in fighting against monsters. However, he was still a novice regarding the knowledge of this world-famous powerful monster.

“I'm sure you can beat him easily, Lieutenant!”

Hassan spoke with a smile as he dealt with the monsters that kept crashing incessantly. The man chuckled as he looked at the restless expression on Nio's face as the minotaur king moved towards him getting closer and closer. He smiled back at Nio's reaction after shooting a two-meter tall ant.

“Of course, you're not a beginner in a dangerous fight. You've got my confession, Nio!”

“It feels strange to get recognition from a party who sided with an Alliance like you, Sakuya.”

After hearing Nio's reply, Sakuya came to the conclusion that she had not been trusted by Nio even though she had cooperated with him during this tenth floor exploration. According to him, waiting is a good choice until Nio admits that he has admitted that Nio is a strong and promising fighter.

Even so, Nio, Hassan, and Hevaz showed no hatred towards the Alliance people who fought alongside them, including the citizens of the Duiwel Empire here. They had cooperated to this extent, although the Alliance and the Guild were still in conflict. Sakuya had actually accepted the doctrine that all humans living in the member states of the Guild were not parties deserving of salvation, thus freely treating them.

Unfortunately, Sakuya knew if the Guild had an army that was nearly impossible to defeat, even though they were deploying an entire hero. In fact, the Alliance was unable to defeat the TNI in the previous major war, despite their numbers being far more numerous and superior in strength. However, the fighting spirit and loyalty and nationalism of the soldiers were not as great as the military strength of the Alliance, so their morale was very easily degenerated and excellence seemed to be in vain.

Sayf and Kardas continue to help Hassan deal with small enemies with agile movements, and Nefe and Sabole help provide a protective attack against Sakuya and Hevaz against medium to large enemies. On the other hand, they actually handed the giant enemy over to Nio.

“Hopefully in heaven later I get the rewards I deserve.”

Chief Nio then looked up after saying the sentence, and looked at the frightening face of the minotaur king. In the presence of monsters that can be classified as having a giant size, Nio does look to have a very small chance of winning.

“Mr Nio, can you bear to suffer?”

The words of Hevaz who fought not far from his place was enough to make Nio confused, in addition to his distance to the fortress-headed monster who had faced each other. However, a grin appeared on Nio's lips, then turned into a wide smile with eyes glaring towards the minotaur king before him.

“Hassan! Show them that TNI soldiers are not afraid of painful and suffering battles. We, the TNI and the Guild warriors will continue to live as long as the dangerous enemies are still present in both worlds. If it dies on the battlefield, then that is the end a soldier should get.”

Nio said in a loud voice, and made the minotaur king in front of him just put on a puzzled expression. Although the time of the fight was shorter than during the Alliance's first attack on the Expeditionary Force, however Nio felt that the number and strength of the monsters on the tenth floor of this Labyrinth was the same as the strength of the Alliance's regular warriors who could be defeated without expending excessive manpower.

“I wes crazy,” said Nio in the heart. Unfortunately, his expression was that of showing a wide smile with bulging eyes that were close to approaching a person in a mental disorder.

Nio was often moaning in his heart about his fight during his assignment to this world. There was no fight that he went through without ending up injured, he would always be injured both minor and severe. He was sure that the four Explorers girls were already very exhausted, but still tried to fight as best they could until it was all over.

“Show me what you have, Nio!”

Sakuya shouted like that as she threw her spare katana at Nio. The katana is straight, like ‘ninjato’, and not suitable for samurai girls like Sakuya. That means, he gave his short sword to Nio – who is an expert in – quick fights for the man to use.

The sword was less than ninety centimeters in length, and was completely suited for battles that required agility. Nio caught the sword Sakuya threw at him, then plucked it from the sword sheath as a code if he was ready to fight with the minotaur king. He had no time at all to hesitate in accepting the help of the enemy. All he could do was just keep advancing, and face what he should be fighting against.

Pain in some parts of the body after a few days before doing a fight that caused his sword before broken is not a problem – even he did not feel tired at all. He will kill what is against him, the king of the minotaur. Both of his legs brought Nio forward and got closer to the minotaur king.

The thought of his own weakness – that even Nio himself did not know what the weakness in him – triggered the young man calmly forward before the giant bull-headed monster. He had faced off against many monsters, yet had never faced a unique monster that could rule over other monsters with just a shout or a breath.

All Nio wanted to do was end this as quickly as possible.

He took a breath while closing his eyes, imagining that he was facing a powerful human enemy instead of a powerful enemy that was a three-meter-high minotaur. After exhaling a long breath, Nio opened his eyes slowly.

The borrowed sword from Sakuya was ready in her right hand, then her left hand grasped the carambit.

Nio and the minotaur king stood in an open area inside the tenth floor, less than two hundred meters away from the other fighting against the horde of monsters ruled by the giant monster.

Nio leaned forward and charged towards the monster. Without shouting or anything like that, Nio swung his sword at the axe on the minotaur's left hand which was also swinging towards his head.

The battle of the two weapons produced sparks, and made Nio slightly tremble due to the impact that was quite hard.

Then, he flipped the grip on the sword hilt, then slashed at the minotaur king's stomach once more. The attack was quite effective, and a little blood flowed from the belly of the giant monster, then Nio swung his left hand that was grasping the carambit in the same direction. However, the minotaur king carried two axes, so that the axe on his right hand held back his carambit lesion.

Nio gritted his teeth as the creature easily repelled his attack. Somehow, Nio was determined to have to defeat the minotaur king as quickly as possible. He had a bad feeling regarding the situation the Guild was facing.

After his attacking movements could be restrained by the minotaur king, Nio leapt back two steps to get away from the monster before attacking again. When jumping, Nio saw the minotaur king slashing his two axes firmly, and it was lucky that the creature only slashed the wind.

“Tuan Nio, you're still alive?”

The question for Nio from Hevaz was heard when the girl helped hold off the horde of medium-sized minotaurs. In fact, he already knew that Nio would have a hard time defeating the monster.

When the appearance of the giant bull-headed creature, Hevaz then remembered one thing. However, this may not be known by humans because it is rare for explorers to adventure on the tenth floor which is filled with dangerous things. The figure that Nio was facing was no ordinary monster. In essence, what is being faced by Nio is a worthy opponent for ‘people predicted’. And according to the girl against the minotaur king can be as the first fight of Nio before facing a more difficult fight in the future.

“Do not ask as if I can be defeated by the creature, Hevaz!”

Since Nio was not afraid at all, Nio answered Hevaz's question in a confident tone. He felt a calming energy flowing throughout his body and made his mind clear.

Time seemed to slow down as the minotaur king swung his two axes towards Nio. In fact, the creature swung its weapon very quickly, unfortunately Nio saw it like a slowed down video.

The great right leg of the minotaur king floated and kicked horizontally towards Nio's body at high speed. Nio used his bionic arm to resist the monster's attack. If Nio reacted too late, perhaps the creature could severely injure his body. In addition, Nio can feel his bionic hand can be broken if it has to once again withstand the quick and powerful kick of the minotaur king.

After the minotaur king's right foot stepped on the ground again after taking a kick, Nio quickly floated a slash from his sword clasped upside down towards the monster's thigh. Nio's lightning strike could not be anticipated by the giant creature, and his right thigh had to be slashed deep enough as a result of his human opponent's attack.

The monster roared in pain after receiving Nio's attack, but the young man did not stop after he managed to injure the minotaur king again. He ran with his body slightly leaned forward and sword raised in front of his chest, then jumped until the gazes of the two of them were aligned. When jumping, Nio's body twisted and both of his weapons managed to injure the minotaur king's face. After landing, Nio immediately jumped backwards as the monster held his face with both hands while letting out a roar of pain.

When it was about to hold his face with both hands, it meant that the minotaur king dropped his weapon. Upon realizing that, Nio saw that both of his opponent's axes were lying on the ground, while the minotaur king was still roaring in pain with blood flowing from his face.

“The body is quite hard, or maybe the skin?” nio said as he thought of a way to fight the monster again.

Nio incisions can be even deeper if the body of the minotaur king is not protected by a thick and hard enough skin when compared to ordinary minotaur skin. The monster was again ready to continue the fight with a bloody muzzle condition until it dripped onto the ground of the tenth floor of this Labyrinth. Nio smiled in satisfaction after successfully making the monster angry.

This time, he was actually going to execute an attack that was expected to end the fight quickly. Nio took out a smoke grenade from one of his vest bags, then threw it towards the minotaur king who was picking up both of his axes lying on the ground. Smoke grenades fell right between the minotaur king's legs, but the monster thought it was just a stone thrown as a distraction.

The small smoke grenade exploded then gave off an extremely dazzling light and along with it a thick gray smoke spread out and covered the entire body of the minotaur king. Looking at the extremely bright smoke and light from the fighting ground of Nio and the minotaur king, the entire crowd turned their heads there and only saw thick gray smoke covering the two of them. However, they can only hope that Nio's plan ends up producing a satisfactory result.

The large figure of the minotaur king only became a silhouette and seemed to be confused. He looked for Nio's figure among the puff of smoke that covered the view, yet what he saw was still thick smoke.

Nio could easily find the minotaur king in the middle of the puff of smoke, and stood near the left foot of the creature. Nio slashed his thigh until the calf of the monster dozens of times until the blood spread in all directions. The attack was extremely fast and the minotaur king could not dodge and retaliate. Nio turned to his next target while avoiding the rebellious minotaur king.

The short sword borrowed from Sakuya and the carambit swung back to tear the thick skin on the right thigh of the minotaur king. Like the previous attack, Nio was able to do so without any resistance from the minotaur king, and he again jumped backwards so as not to be stepped on the huge foot of the monster that was still rebelling.

Nio felt himself able to move faster than usual.

Unfortunately, he did not have time to ask that question, and continued the plan to end this fight quickly. He moved faster as if he still had the energy to do so, then took out a hand grenade from his vest bag after storing the carambit back in a gun holster attached to his right hip.

Pressed unexpectedly by his enemy, the minotaur king again stood upright despite the body of many incisions. The smoke covering the vision started to fade, and made him able to see Nio running towards the back of his body.

“I cannot continue this fight any longer,” Nio said as he pressed the safety on the grenade. Nio immediately threw the grenade between the minotaur king's legs again, seconds after the security pressed the grenade exploded with great force. Since it was a type of grenade that could destroy armored vehicles, Nio hoped that the impact of the explosion killed the monster instantly.

The sound of explosions shocked those who were still trying to deal with the monsters that kept coming as long as the minotaur king was still alive. Their fight paused for a moment, and saw from a distance the impact that the explosion produced. The results they were waiting for would be visible after the thick black smoke disappeared.

“Must be! Shit, he really is so annoying!” Nio grumbled at the heart.

After the black smoke generated by the explosion disappeared, the great figure of the minotaur king was again seen in new conditions. Most of the skin of his lower body was peeled off, as well as the flesh being torn apart and spitting out blood with an extremely foul scent, the protective barrier the creature was wearing was also nearly destroyed by the impact of the explosion. However, the monster was still able to stand upright with both hands grasping the axe. The creature was seen grinning and making laughter-like sounds as a signal that Nio's attack was useless.

“Truly monster,” says Nio.

Instantly, Nio's sword made contact with one of the monster axes that was thrown from below, an extremely powerful blow that overwhelmed him.

Nio's right arm jumped up as a result with enough force to dislodge the bionic hand from his body, or so Nio thought. It was truly miraculous that he did not release his grip on his sword.

The snow camouflage uniform that Nio wore made him look like a white silhouette as he dashed quickly around the monster. Nio then spun like a whirlwind, his sword sparkling as if possessed by magical power slashing the back of the minotaur deep enough that blood flowed back from the incision site. This time, Nio felt himself able to slash the hard skin on the minotaur king's upper body like butter.

The next extremely swift slashing and slashing attack made the minotaur king unable to retaliate or protect himself from Nio's attacks. Then, Nio jumped again and slashed the back neck of the minotaur king overgrown with long fur. Unfortunately, it only slightly injured the monster without giving any meaningful impact.

However, the minotaur king suddenly knelt down with his lower body spitting out more and more blood. The two hands of the monster that had previously grasped the ax hung limply, and the two weapons were again lying on the ground.

The monster seemed to kneel helplessly, both eyes seeing Nio's boots approaching towards him with the owner of the boots staring at him with a cold gaze.

On the other hand, Nio felt that the monster felt a deep pain after receiving an explosion that had enough power to damage a tactical vehicle. Nio praised the power of the minotaur king after being able to hold on to this second, then raised both his hands that were grasping the sword. That is, Nio intends to end this fight by cutting off the head of the creature.

“What?!”

Nio's eyes rounded after seeing the slit of his sword that leads to the left side of the monster's neck held up by his left horn. Determined not to lose easily, the minotaur king tried to stand up again with trembling knees. Meanwhile, Nio immediately jumped back three steps in anticipation of the attack from the creature.

Nio looked back at the minotaur king with an irritated look. He hid his feelings of not wanting to lose to the monster before him who had been in a very badly injured condition.

“ – Hah?!” Nio was greatly shocked by the unexpected attack from the minotaur king.

As if wanting to avenge the attack from Nio a moment before, the minotaur king began to do vertical and horozontal slashes with his full power. Nio reflexively raised his sword and retrieved the fighting knife from the bag attached to his right thigh, but his opponent gave him no time to reply to his attack. If Nio managed to withstand one attack, then the minotaur king would give him the next five attacks. The creature gave Nio endless attacks until Nio's vision was only centered to withstand every single powerful slash of the monster.

The minotaur king was stronger than any human warrior Nio had ever faced and was faster than he expected. Now Nio understood why none of these Labyrinth floor Explorers could come out.

A moment later, he crashed into a tree trunk with an axe belonging to the minotaur king hovering to split his head. Nio managed to dodge it by crouching down, and made the monster just slash at the wood. The monster axe stuck in the wood and tried to pull it back. However, while doing so, two shots rang out and fired two 7.62mm projectiles towards the monster's back.

Nio knew who had carried out the attack, and smiled at Hassan who was doing protection shots while the man was still busy helping the girls. He raised the thumb of ‘metam’ on his right hand, and continued the fight with the bull-headed monster.

The pain of the two projectiles tearing through his flesh made it very difficult for the minotaur king to stand. Repeatedly the bull-headed monster tried to stand up, but its body just trembled. Meanwhile, Nio was already in front of him while carrying a grenade in a condition ready to explode in a few seconds. The monster roared so loudly that its saliva spread in all directions. While roaring, the monster opened its mouth wide enough, and Nio made use of it to insert a grenade into the mouth of the monster.

Nio immediately ran away from the monster that was trying to pull out a grenade from inside his mouth. He closed his eyes, then watched the grenade explode and destroyed most of the minotaur king's upper body.

Everyone except Hassan closed their ears after hearing the sound of a second explosion. Along with the explosion that caused instant death for the minotaur king, the entire monsters they faced spread out in all directions to save themselves.

His battle against the minotaur king was over, but what Nio thought after this was to sleep and heal his wounds. At least that was all he wanted at the moment, but for a while Nio would not see the soft central headquarters warrior health care room bed with a cool room.

Instead, he took out his pack of cigarettes, then took out one cigarette for him to enjoy while waiting for the time to return from the Labyrinth. It was his second cigarette during this one week, but Nio did not care to have broken the rules he made himself, which was to only smoke once a week.

**

(minotaur king illustration, image source pinterest)