Proud Sacrifice

The Minotaur was easily defeated by the adventurers and then finished off by Jay. However, there it stood in the middle of the area. As if it was never killed to begin with.

It was just like back in the forest. The beast killed would stand back up and walk off. Or so they thought.

"Raaaaawh" The beast roared as it found the group's location after scanning the area.

"It was definitely dead, wasn't it?" Kate asked as she pulled out her bow for another battle.

"There's no point in fighting if it can just come back alive. We have to run right now!" Jay yelled already a distance down the tunnel. He had started to run the second the beast got to it's feet.

The group was aware of this fact and began to follow behind.

Jay noticed how fast the adventurers were even without a system to increase their agility. Their magic was not what made them faster and he could see that none were currently using any.

"Am I not faster than adventurers? I know the use of magic can strengthen your body and they train to resist powerful attacks but this is ridiculous."

The members of the group chosen to discover the cause of the undead beast were all above average adventurers. The kingdom prioritized this mission because whatever caused this could spread and cause other areas to inhabit undead beast as well.

The members had a variety of top tier magic and above average bodies.

"Analyze" Jay commanded as he stared at Lance who took the lead with ease.

[Strength: 40]

[Stamina: 40]

[Agility: 30]

[HP 50/50]

Jay could not believe his eyes. Lance had stats surpassing most of the beast he had encountered. He also noticed that the system had not shown a name, or weakness like it did with beast.

"Analyze" he thought once more, this time focused on Kate.

[Strength: 30]

[Stamina: 40]

[Agility: 40]

[HP 100/100]

"Her too?" he thought.

"Raaaaawh" a loud sound echoed through the tunnel. Behind the group was the angry one armed Minotaur.

The red glow of it's eyes was now non existent and it no longer held the giant axe. It was closing in and only got closer with every passing second.

"I got this" Thomas yelled as he stopped running. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up in a sec."

He closed his eyes and focused on the surrounding area. The walls started to shake before expanding and colliding to form a wall between the group and the Minotaur. Thomas was no rookie and made sure to create layer upon layer of thick stone walls.

After a few seconds, he was finished.

Admiring his fine work, Thomas had a proud smile on his face as he prepared to continue forward.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

"What's happening?" Jay wondered as he could hear the sound even a great distance away from the walls themselves.

"Raaaaawh" the Minotaur yelled as it broke through all layers of the stone walls.

Thomas looked on shocked at the scene before him as the mighty beast charged forward. It felt like nothing could stop it.

"10 layers? He broke through 10 layers quicker than I was able to make them." he yelled in anger as he was confident in his own abilities. Putting his anger aside, he began to chase behind the others.

Fear had finally begun to creep through his mind.

The Minotaur was now feet behind him and felt like it was getting closer. The hairs on his neck began to raise and his anger and fear turned into sadness.

"Damn, it seems my time has already arrived. Become a hero Lynn. For me and you." he said with a smile before splat.

He was stepped on and crushed by the beast.

Down the tunnel, the others were able to hear the sounds of Thomas getting crushed under the weight of the beast. Angry at the beast and themselves, the group did not let their comrade's death stop them. He had bought them an extra few seconds.

"Damn it!" Lynn cried out. His hands were clutched tight enough that blood leaked from where his nails were penetrating his palm and tears flowed down his cheeks.

"Damn it" he yelled as loud as he could. He wanted to slay the beast that killed his friend but knew he would not be able to on his own.

....

*Flashback***

"Aye rookie" a middle aged man with slick back yellow hair yelled from across the cafeteria of the guild hall. "I heard you got earth magic. That's pretty common and basically the weakest elemental magic out there."

"I'm proud of my magic and will only make it stronger." replied a young man with curly brown hair. He had dark brown eyes and a proud smile on his face. This man was Lynn Garfield.

Lynn was a new adventurer and just starting out.

The man walked over to Lynn. In his hand was a cup of booze and by his side was his other team members. which were all females.

"You won't make it very far with that positive attitude and such weak magic. Sure some earth magic users can even move mountains or so they say, but you'll probably die way before you get anywhere near that level." the man commented before him and his team sprang into laughter.

Lynn's smile began to weaken as he knew the man was probably right.

"Well I will die a hero." he yelled in anger. "I'll make great friends and save many lives. Whether I die of old age or on a mission, I want to be remembered as someone who put his life on the line and saved others."

"Same Here." replied another voice from behind Lynn.

The voice belonged to a similar in age man with long black hair and blue eyes. This man was none other than Thomas Blackwood.

"I am also an earth user and like you I dream of becoming a hero."

Turning his focus towards the man with slick yellow hair, his anger became apparent.

"People like you don't belong here. The rest of us want to save others and create our legacies while all you do is pick up chicks and drink booze. Why don't you get out of here?" he said as others began to turn their attention to the scene before them.

The man and his team's laughter had already died down and the man stepped closer to Thomas until he stood right before him.

"You want to fight bud?" he whispered as a flame grew in the palm of his hands. His breath smelled like alcohol and cigars.

"Maybe I do" Thomas whispered back as the stones from the guild walls began to shake.

Aware of what was going to happen, the others in the area who had first focused on watching the argument now stood up and moved towards the two.

"Leave them alone Nico" yelled a voice from among the watchers. "Yeah" replied another.

The crows became rowdy and started yelling at the man with slick hair named Nico. He was an intermediate adventurer known for bullying rookies and taking credit for the work of others. He often got away with this as no evidence could be found and others feared his powerful fire magic.

Noticing the large crowd gathered around him, Nico deactivated his magic and backed off. His team had already left the area and he followed behind in anger after giving Thomas an angry look.

"Thanks guys" Thomas said with a smile as the others began to head back to their seats.

"Thank you" Lynn said as he stared at the ground. He knew he was weak and thought about what Nico had told him.

"Hey, don't listen to that guy. All he is good for is bullying the weak and being an A hole. We earth users can become strong too. In fact, a lot of top adventurers use earth magic. Our magic is in no way inferior to others." Thomas commented in hopes of cheering up Lynn.

It had worked as Lynn looked up with a smile. The two shook hands and promised to become heroes one day.

*Flashback End*

....

The group continued forward with The Minotaur close behind. Another area could be seen ahead.

"I hear something approaching." a voice yelled from outside the tunnel. "Prepare for another battle"