His brief break ended up being actually three hours. He searched the bags of the trolls and found a few more of the mana storage crystals and a strip of cloth that increased regeneration. Not wanting to use it in case it was a one-use item, he placed it in storage along with the crystals. Blood Drinker was now at 3/100 and his Dungeon invaders killed was at 11/1000. His wallet was 4331CT, 102UT, and 72RT, 28 ET, 6 LT. He spent the rest of the time talking with the Captain and his Master Sergeant.

  This company of Soldiers were mostly recruits from Fort Jackson that were in basic training when the integration happened. Monsters pushed them out of the city and south, where they met up with some Soldiers moving north from Savannah. Earth mages established a bulwark and defensive positions in an old quarry that was now the Saltmarsh Citadel.

  The Army had been using overwhelming odds as its way to keep casualties down. This worked in theory. Twelve men could take out an orc easily, but then the experience was divided 12 ways. That group would need to kill twelve times the number of monsters Morgan would for them to gain a level. After much discussion, and a lot of input from Sophia, who Morgan didn’t reveal, they had worked out a plan for five-man teams. The different skill trees offer tailored abilities for the roles.

  It was a rudimentary plan, but the Master Sergeant had already been thinking along those lines. He went with it earnestly, and before Morgan headed down to the dungeon, he had reorganized the company into many smaller teams. The Captain said he would keep his men at the current fortifications until they had transported enough water to get them back to the Citadel. They would leave as soon as they were able and return the next day if Morgan didn’t follow.

  Finally, Morgan stood on the front lines once again. The unique smell still eluded him, but it was faint and covered by the heavy stench of death. As the day had progressed, the spawns had become less frequent, but the ground was littered with the decaying corpses of hundreds of orcs, goblins and hobgoblins. Waving a final farewell to the Soldiers, Morgan entered the access tunnel and melted into the darkness.

  The rounded concrete access tunnel was 10 feet wide and 8 feet tall, fenced off with chain link. In the middle of the fence was a large gate smashed inward and torn from its hinges. As Morgan entered the air inside was musty and damp as it flowed past, carrying the scent he was tracking. The tunnel sloped gently downward to a drainage tunnel that was 15 feet wide with walkways on either side of a deep, empty trench in the floor. The scent of water and algae was strong. To the right, the tunnel went on out of sight down to the lake. To the left, twenty feet down the tunnel, the walls abruptly changed from concrete to old, large, gray bricks covered in lichen. The round tunnel became an eight foot wide square hallway with its opening in the center.

  Making his way to the transition, he had to jump up seven feet to enter the hallway.

  ::Caution: You are entering a Dungeon- Labyrinth::

  “Well, at least it gives a warning so I know,” Morgan chuckled.

  He summoned Broken Fang. Now he looked at it again, the sword was noticeably smoother and more refined looking and felt lighter than it had when he used it this morning.

  Morgan reassessed his opinion of the weapon and then of himself.

  Sophia agreed.

  A shuffling noise coming from further down the hallway interrupted his self-reflection. A group of the dungeon invaders was heading toward Morgan. Three orcs with a group of goblinoids behind them were walking down the hallway. Morgan exploded through the lead orc in a shower of bloody gore at the end of his lunge. Crouching and performing a Bladestorm shredded the remaining enemies.

  The hallway was long, and then came to a slightly larger chamber furnished with small ornate tables and chairs, with three other passageways leading out of it. Morgan had nothing else to go on, so he took a deep breath trying to smell which way to go. He could pluck the unique smell out of the mix of them in the air. It was everywhere, but stronger from the passage directly ahead, so that was his choice. After ten steps, the smell changed subtly. Turning and retracing his steps, he entered a small chamber bare chamber that had only two exits.

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  Morgan turned to leave, but there was no passage behind him, only the exits to his left and right.

  “Well, shit!” Morgan said out loud. He smelled the air again. The scent was overpowering from the left tunnel, so he picked that one.

  This chamber was much larger and decorated like a Tuscan courtyard, complete with cypress ornamental bushes and fluttering fabrics from pergolas. It also contained a creature eating grapes while lounging on a bench with a ridiculously enormous axe leaning against it. When Morgan entered the chamber, the creature snorted a few times in quick succession and then jumped to its feet, spilling a tray of grapes all over the ground. Its axe was in its hand as it spun, searching for Morgan.

  It was a minotaur. Morgan stared at the massive eight foot tall man with the head of a bull. It, he? He had hooves, oddly jointed black furred legs, and a wide leather belt covering his lower stomach. His obscenely muscled human upper body was bare except for a pair of thick metal bracelets. A large bull’s head with blood-red eyes glared dully at Morgan now. It had two thick black horns jutting from the sides of its head. One horn was short and broken or cut and had a metal cap covered with barbs. The other horn was a menacingly curved horn three feet long. It smelled of sulfur and something else he didn’t know. This was the scent he had been chasing.

  ::Threat Scan Complete - Invader - Minotaur Elite - Threat Level: Moderate::

  Without preamble, the minotaur lowered its head and charged the 20 feet, sighting down the wicked-looking horn at Morgan. With Kinetic Burst, Morgan slid to the side, swiping at the minotaur as he did. The massive axe blocked his sword, swinging down at just the right moment. With unexpected speed, the minotaur turned back, facing Morgan after skidding to a halt. It raised its axe, bringing it down in a diagonal slash. Morgan parried the blow while sidestepping and brought his sword up inside in a riposte, catching the minotaur a glancing blow to the wrist. The inertia of the axe brought the minotaur forward slightly off balance. Morgan stepped in for a thrust but was knocked backwards by a blow from a fist as the minotaur rotated to standing.

  Crashing through the furniture, Morgan landed surrounded by flowing fabrics and smashed wood debris. He stood, popping his jaw back into place to hasten the healing. His vision swam with small black dots, and the pain made him nauseous. This opponent had skill, speed and strength. With the vampire, he had surprised it. This minotaur was even tougher than the two trolls had been. The minotaur turned to face him, lowered its head and charged again. As he dodged to the side, then dodged again, diving to the ground as the axe swung at him, Morgan had an idea.

  When charging, the minotaur lowered its head, trying to skewer him. The eyes on the sides of its bull head allowed it to see all around, but not up. Morgan purposefully darted away, putting some space between them. As expected, the minotaur lowered its head and charged again. Making himself lighter, Morgan leaped up and over. As it traveled under him, Morgan lashed out with a precise cut, slicing a thin ribbon into the thickly corded muscles of its neck. He had made himself too light, and his own slice pushed him away without slicing deep.

  The creature bellowed in rage as it smashed into a pillar, crumpling it to dusty fragments. It turned, frothy spittle flying from its nostrils. It lowered its head and charged again. A small trickle of blood was running down its neck. This trickle is what Morgan aimed at the second time as well. He didn’t lighten his body, he just leaped, slicing down hard. A cry of pain came from the bull’s lips as it stumbled. Turning cautiously and more slowly this time, it looked at Morgan warily. A steady flow of blood runs down its chest as it lowers its head again.

  It took three stumbling steps before crashing to the ground and trying feebly to get its arms under it. The blood flowing from the slices on its neck slowed before Morgan ended it with a single stab.

  ::Title Progress 4 of 10 - Kill more elite invaders to unlock this title.::

  ::Title Progress 19 of 1000 - Kill more dungeon invaders to unlock this title.::

  ::Congratulations! You are the third person in this world to kill a minotaur. Title Granted::

  ::Title Granted - Maze Runner - You cannot get lost - You deal extra damage if you charge at least 10 feet in a straight line ::

  He also hit level 17, choosing to put his points into dexterity, and picked a new skill.

  ::Epic - Silent Strikes - Strikes against unaware enemies make no sound::

  The minotaur also had some mana batteries, the axe, the belt, and the metal bracelets.

  ::Monstrous Belt - Rare - Material: Leather - Weight: 4lbs. Properties: Charge, Str +4::

  ::Axe of the Black Horn Tribe - Rare - Material: Iron - Weight: 12lbs. Properties: Unblemished::

  ::Wristbands of Wicked Intent - Epic - Material: Black Iron - Weight: 1lbs. Properties: Str +2, Dex +2, Fortuitous Block::

  Learning his lesson, Morgan asked Sophia,

  Morgan realized.

  He donned the wristbands, which looked much larger on Morgan than they had on the monster. They were large, flat bands, four inches wide, that sat comfortably on his wrists.

  ::Your current attributes are Str - 33, Dex - 33, Con - 25, Wis - 18, Int - 22.::

  Not interested in changing out his belt or weapon, he placed them in storage. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the scent coming from one passage and left the bloody minotaur in its ruins of a courtyard as he tracked down the next minotaur.