The Wielder of Death Magic

“No need to worry, we had to get people’s attention. This is to help with the fourth prerequisite. Any endorsement though not required by other guilds will greatly boost your chance of being accepted,” the cold cup of coffee finished, Staxius explained what he hoped to achieve.

A long way laid before him and the party, a very steep slope to climb. “Enjoy whatever food you want, we are headed out after this,” *cling,* the guild necklace was dropped onto the glass table. “Undrar, wear that and keep your guild card with you at all times.” He stood and headed to officially accept the quest.

“Melisa, I’m here for the quest, are the papers ready?” The assistants were given room to breathe. Most of the adventurers left, “give me a moment,” she asked while stumbling through her work. Papers flew all over, she desperately looked for said quest. “Here,” Diane reluctantly slid one of the applications over the counter. “Thanks for the assist,” Staxius winked, he acted smug just to infuriate her.

“Ok here,” she cleared her throat, “I’ll read out the information we have.” Staxius took a step back and waited eagerly. “Kill Quest: Minotaur, request by an unnamed noble. A beast that seems to fit the description of one of the higher tier monsters has been reported north-west from the capital. No correct information about its hunting ground has been given. The beast was spotted prowling around the lord’s estate – within Winterpar. Not only that, the reason the quest has been given such a rank is due to the hordes of other monsters. They seem to be working together with the minotaur, nothing else can be said. The reward for the extermination is about 550 gold. A bit on the cheap side, but that’s how much the beast is worth,” she finished and waited.

“That’s a lot of money for killing a beast,” he smiled, the necessary details were filled.

“Alright everyone,” the paper got slammed onto the table, “we’ve got our the first quest. I do understand that it’s cheap and for a tier 3 quest – it’s unworthy. However, the objective isn’t money but reputation. We need to make our name renowned; people should learn to fear and also depend on our services. Thus, I, Staxius Haggard, formally named our group, Kniq,” a bit unorthodox but it sufficed.

.....

“Sounds decent,” the crew stood, “let’s head out,” Staxius ordered, Avon vanished, Undrar turned into a fairy, the car started.

The drive wasn’t rough, not till they reached outside the capital. The road that led towards the lord’s mansion still hadn’t been fully built. The scenery changed, the forest and small hills became more apparent. It showed how diverse Hidros truly was. Thanks to that unstable nature, the journey took longer than expected.

“Look, the mansion,” Avon pointed. Hidden by a white wall, only the upper floors were seen. “Can people be any richer,” he gnarled. “Eyes on the road,” Staxius ordered. They approached slowly; Shark’s infantry was already on the premise. “They arrived far quicker than us,” Achilles stated the obvious. The gates were wide open, trucks were seen parked inside. The Lord spoke and laughed with the same buffed adventurers. “Definitely the place,” Undrar added.

“No time to waste then,” the car headed straight inside. The expression on the noble’s face was laughable at best. The vehicle which parked itself inside was as expensive, if not more than the house. “W-who i-is that?” the middle-aged looking man mumbled, the adventurers tried to reassure him. “Alright,” Staxius exited.

“It’s an honor to meet the lord of this mansion,” he spoke courteously and gently bowed. “The pleasure is all mine,” the lord fired back, the tone regained its dignified tone. “Pardon the sudden intrusion, but we are here on guild business,” Staxius continued. “You mean the minotaur?” he asked to which Staxius replied with a nod. “If it’s information you want, I’m afraid I have none. Maybe you should ask these gentlemen here,” the lord politely offered – Shark had already probed him with a plethora of questions. It showed on the face, the man was tired beyond belief. “I think you misunderstand,” Staxius’s voice calmed the stressed-out noble. “We’ve come just to acquaint ourselves with the one who put up said quest.” Without any further explanation, the party left on foot.

“Hey big brother, that guy gives me the chills.” One of the big four-spoke, “shut up Carlie, now isn’t the time to get scared.” The elder calmed down the others. The four of them were brothers, born and raised by Shark – for the sole purpose of fighting in the military. “We shall leave as well,” they saluted and left. From elder to youngest, as displayed on their badges; Dickie, Gervis, Jasper, and Charlie.

They as well set off on foot, both parties separated. One headed towards the west while the other towards the east. Their path didn’t cross as the trip went deeper inside the forest. Ambush became commonplace, Shark’s party found it hard adjusting to the terrain. Their movement suffered a loss as opposed to Kniq who walked as if on the grass.

Being a spirit, Avon changed into an ethereal form. Undrar served as an overview of the surrounding, she flew above the forest. Achilles watched the flank while Staxius faced forward. Basically, Avon became support, Undrar surveillance, and the remaining fighters. Carefully, they traversed the forest, from ravines to rivers, no sign of any minotaur was felt.

“Are you sure the beast still resides here?” Undrar spoke through telepathy, “also, a snake on your left.” *Slash,* without looking, the ambushing monster got killed in a heartbeat. Undrar became his third eye, “I don’t know. Maybe yes and maybe no. Tier three does worry me, we should be on guard at all times. So do refrain from idle chitchat, not till we’re out of this dense forest.” Staxius answered.

“As you wish, there’s a cleaning a few meters towards the left, a good resting place.” Promptly, they arrived. The ground felt flat and out of shape. The trees bristled, the wind changed, the aura grew darker. “Do you feel it?” Staxius asked; Achilles placed her back against his. “Yes, I sense it, something bad lurks around here.”

“Avon, use shadow magic and set a trap. Anything, just a spell to reduce movement, place it on our blindsides,” Staxius ordered softly. “Here they come,” Undrar yelled, she flew and saw what approached. “Get ready,” as predicted, monsters hidden in darkness and of unknown origin pounced. They targetted blindsides – thus the trap activated. “Move out,” without much effort, Staxius walked at a normal pace and slew the trapped beasts. “Bulls,” he wondered while the bloodthirsty monsters died one by one.

“Man I feel bad for them,” Avon stood in the middle, he used enhancement on Achilles and Staxius. Underestimating the monsters would be a mistake, “Master, this is boring,” the ancient hero complained, the fight felt dull. “Yeah, I agree,” Staxius pouted.

*Bang, Bang, Bang,* loud gunshots rattled the fairly peaceful surroundings. Birds flew, the trees cried. Instantly, Undrar flew to check what had happened. Another level plain, free from trees and plants. Shark’s party stood, each faced a direction – it looked like they were backed in a corner. The guns went off without care for anything.

“Brother, it’s the minotaur,” Gervis crouched and took aim. He fired at anything that moved, the forest served as a thick cover. A layer behind which hid something awful. “I’ll blow bull into pieces,” Jasper threw grenades. Part of the foliage got blown off but at the risk of attracting other creatures. Dickie stood and waited, assault rifle in hand, eyes down the sight. The ears tracked the movement with the other brothers creating havoc and distractions.

“This is bad,” Undrar caught Staxius’s attention. The monsters were attracted to the sound. “Look they’re retreating,” Achilles mumbled in a dead-tone, her face looked bored. “All that noise and still no minotaur,” Staxius stopped and thought, “why haven’t we seen this beast yet.” Just as the sword sheathed, *Slash,* the sound of trees breaking followed suit.

“MASTER,” Avon yelled, none sensed nor saw it. The minotaur ambushed Staxius and slice the back open using a giant battleax. “WHERE IS IT?” the beast was invisible, “damn, caught off-guard,” he coughed violently. As luck would have it, Avon’s scream reached Undrar who rushed as soon as possible.

Though invisible, the beast attacked mercilessly. Not at Staxius but Achilles who stood without a care in the world. All the attacks returned towards the sender, strike after strike, blood seemed to float. “Interesting,” she crouched, the onslaught continued and the body manifested. It got covered in blood, half the shape of a human and half the shape of a bull. The eyes burnt brightly, “master, are you ok?” Avon asked. “Calm down,” Staxius stood, the wound healed. “I understand why the quest was tier three.”

Alongside Undrar, Shark’s party followed the sound of the scream. They witnessed everything from start to finish without saying a word. *Clang, Clang,* now that the figure was visible, Achilles fought. She blocked and parried most of the attack, her feet remained stuck in place. “At least look like you’re having fun,” Staxius shouted, the minotaur was but an ant to them. “It’s boring,” she added nonchalantly. “Just play with it for a few more minutes,” out from the back pocket, Staxius took out the notebook and wrote. Description of the beast was given, weakness, “Avon use earth magic,” he ordered. It substantially lowered the bull’s resistance. “Nearly done,” the last stroke ended. “Kill it,” he ordered, “with pleasure,” she smiled, a single swing – invisible to most man; the bull dropped.

“Who the heck are those guys,” the brothers shook with fear. Fear from not the monsters but that party.

“Keep the head as a trophy, the body is going to vanish soon. Everyone, pick up the Qaisars. Loot was dropped, mainly copper coins with the exception of five silvers from that beast. “I expected as much,” Staxius spoke. “Care to explain?” Undrar asked. “This minotaur is but a low-tier monster. The guild was misinformed, if it was a beast truly of a tier-three ranking then a gold coin would have been expected. However, judging by the coins here, it’s but common and useless. Anything, pack it all up – we’re headed out.”

From the path carved out initially, the party returned. “Also, you who hides in the forest. It would be wise to leave as soon as possible; monsters might soon flock the area,” he knew they hid, their presence too predictable.

“Man, that wasn’t entertaining,” Achilles complained about the lackluster fight. “Yeah, I agree, but on the bright side; we’ll get some recognition,” he added with a reassured tone. “Undrar, what do you think about this. The quest feels a bit out of order, and the monster was very unbecoming tier-three.” Telepathy was used once more. “I agree, that nobleman’s house feels eerier. Not to mention the look on the face when we approached. I’d assume it was due to the car but that doesn’t sit right.”

“Maybe we’ll have someone snoop around,” he thought out loud, “snoop around what?” Avon asked curious about the sudden speech. “Nothing much, Undrar and I were discussing how that quest felt weird. Tier three should not be this easy.” Before reaching the car, the situation was told to all the party members.

“If that’s the case, then let me be the spy,” Avon proposed. “I’m virtually undetected – not to mention that I can instantly travel back to master,” the eyes sparkled once more, he threw the peace sign and winked. “Sounds like a good plan.” Staxius agreed, everyone else nodded. “In that case, Avon, please go investigate that mansion. However, come back before six, I don’t want anyone to stay out later than needed.”

The mansion came into view, the lord wasn’t seen anywhere. A window on the second floor had a small opening, the curtains were slightly lifted as opposed to the rest. “We’re being watched,” he whispered.