"An E Rank... maybe even an E+ Rank monster."

A smile slowly appeared on Noah’s face.

"Now that’s what I wanted to fight."

The Minotaur snorted heavily.

Red mana began gathering around its stone club. The weapon started radiating a faint crimson glow.

"The fuck? It knows how to use mana on its weapon. Dammit."

Noah immediately assumed a battle stance.

Mana flowed through his spear.

A thin layer of compressed ice covered the blade.

A tiny frost droplet formed at its tip.

The Minotaur had already begun charging.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Each heavy step caused the ground to tremble.

Noah reinforced his legs and arms with mana.

Then both combatants collided.

CLANG!!

The clash echoed through the forest.

"Argh!"

Noah gritted his teeth.

The Minotaur’s physical strength was monstrous.

However, it was still within the limits he could handle.

After all, he was a High Awakened Core user.

The moment Noah’s spear collided with the stone club, frost rapidly spread across the weapon’s surface.

A layer of ice instantly began freezing the stone.

Noah smirked as he pushed the monster back with sheer strength.

"ROAAARRR!"

The Minotaur roared furiously.

The beast’s massive frame staggered backward for a moment. Its crimson skin stretched over layers of dense muscle, and its enormous bull-like head shook violently. Thick black fur covered portions of its shoulders and forearms, while its curved horns gleamed menacingly under the forest light.

Noah wasn’t intimidated by the beast at all.

Soon, a magic circle began forming in front of him.

For now, all the spells he had learned were low-ranking.

Spells were ranked from One-Star to Eight-Star.

Each Core Rank allowed a person to learn spells of the corresponding rank.

Noah was capable of learning Two-Star spells. However, because of his Ice Creation ability and his focus on weapon mastery, he had not spent much time learning additional spells.

For now, he was using Frost Mist.

The Minotaur noticed the magic circle but didn’t sense any significant danger from it.

With a furious growl, it swung its massive stone club horizontally, aiming to crush Noah.

However, at that exact moment, a freezing mist shot forward from the completed magic circle.

A dense cloud of frost engulfed the Minotaur’s entire body.

The beast immediately began shaking its body violently.

Its movements slowed.

Thin layers of frost started forming across its crimson skin.

Noah used that opportunity to retreat several meters away.

Then he took a stance.

Noah planted his feet firmly into a low, wide horse stance.

His muscles coiled as he adjusted his grip on the spear.

Then he began erasing every emotion within himself.

One by one, his thoughts faded.

His anger disappeared. His excitement vanished. Even his fear was erased.

Everything sank into stillness. Silence remained.

Only the spear existed. Only the path of the blade mattered.

Noah’s eyes slowly opened. There was complete calmness within them.

The atmosphere around him changed. The surrounding air grew colder as mana gathered over his blade of sword.

The young man standing there suddenly felt entirely different. He was calm. He was still. There was not a trace of emotion in his eyes.

Right now, he was emotionless. The Frost Mist finally began to disperse. The Minotaur’s vision gradually returned. Its glowing red eyes immediately locked onto Noah.

"ROOOARRR!"

The beast roared and charged. Its massive legs thundered against the ground.

Each step left cracks in the earth beneath it. The stone club in its hand glowed faintly with red mana.

Yet Noah didn’t react. There was no fear.

There was no hesitation. Nor there was any excitement. What remained was only focus remained.

It was as if he was standing on surface of a frozen lake still. Then he moved. His torso twisted. His muscles released all their stored power. The spearhead swept across his body in a flawless horizontal arc.

The weapon hissed through the air.

For a brief moment, the spear transformed from a piercing weapon into a sweeping scythe capable of cutting down everything before it.

Frozen Lotus Blade Art.

[Second Petal – Still Surface Cut]

SLASH!

The instant the strike completed. A distortion rippled through the air. A thin white line appeared for a fraction of a second.

Then it vanished as if never existed.

A nearly invisible blade of compressed freezing force shot forward.

Shhhhh!

The attack was impossibly fast.

The Minotaur couldn’t even perceive it.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then a deep cut suddenly opened across its abdomen. From that cut the blood erupted outward.

A heartbeat later, frost rapidly spread from the wound. Ice crawled across the exposed flesh.

The freezing energy surged through muscles, blood vessels, and skin.

The Minotaur’s charge abruptly stopped.

"SCCCRREEEEECHHHH!!"

A scream of agony echoed throughout the forest. Only now did the beast realize it had been struck.

Its enormous body trembled. The stone club slipped from its grasp.

The Minotaur collapsed onto one knee.

Its glowing red eyes stared in disbelief at the frost spreading across its stomach. It didn’t notice the weapon hovering above it. High overhead floated a sword made entirely of ice.

It was silent, deadly and waiting to deliver final blow. Then it descended.

SHCKKK!!

The ice sword pierced downward with tremendous force. It tore through the thick muscles of the Minotaur’s neck. The blade penetrated deep into the back of its nape.

THUD!

The beast’s body shook violently. A final scream escaped its throat.

Then everything became silent.

The giant body crashed heavily onto the ground.

It was dead.

Noah released a long breath.

"Fuu... that was good."

A satisfied smirk appeared on his face as he looked at the fallen monster.

The traces of stillness slowly disappeared from his eyes.

He walked toward the corpse.

The Minotaur looked even larger now that it lay motionless on the forest floor. Its massive horns dug into the earth.

Frost still covered portions of its wound.

"Now I can get its mana core."

Noah spun his spear once before resting it on his shoulder.

"This one has a useful core after all."