In DanMachi, Freya Has Her Eyes on Me! Chapter 20

Bang—

But at that moment, the Minotaur's attack arrived as well.

The savage impact, especially those sharp horns, pierced Cao Ye's skin directly, leaving two bloody holes in his body.

Not only that, the tremendous force of the impact sent Cao Ye flying.

"Cough... cough..."

Cao Ye clutched his chest. His entire ribcage felt like it was on fire.

There was also a bloody hole in his abdomen and another in the left side of his chest, blood flowing endlessly from them. At that moment, Cao Ye felt as if he had returned to more than half a month ago, when he had first entered the dungeon and struggled to survive.

"Am I still too weak...?"

Whenever strength was needed, it was never enough—just like now.

Roar, roar, roar—

At this moment, the other Minotaurs behind him had all caught up.

Cao Ye had no doubt that if he faced so many Minotaurs at once, he probably would not be able to hold on at all.

Boom—

"Mana Burst—"

The force of mana erupted from Cao Ye's body. The next second, his physical abilities rose to another level under the enhancement of Mana Burst.

Whoosh—

Cao Ye did not dare waste time. He rushed forward and slashed with his sword, this time stabbing directly into the Minotaur's waist.

However, the Minotaur's tough muscles hindered Cao Ye's attack.

Then, with a bang, Cao Ye was sent flying again. After all, there was more than one Minotaur here. If he attacked one, the others would attack him.

Not only that, the black sword flew from his hand, still embedded in that Minotaur's body.

Ptoo—

Spitting out the clotted blood in his mouth, Cao Ye's gaze began to change.

Facing these Minotaurs, he would probably have to fight for his life. Otherwise, getting away unscathed was simply impossible.

Drip—

As he spoke, a drop of Black Mud, like ink, fell from Cao Ye's body.

Black Mud Contamination: Can He Control Monsters? ### As the bearer of All the World's Evil, Cao Ye did not even know whether he still counted as human.

Under the influence of All the World's Evil, the mana within his body had transformed into Black Mud. Like mana, he could wield it as easily as his own limbs.

However, this power had bad side effects, so Cao Ye had only used it once.

He had used it to silence someone last time, and had never used it again after that.

But now, he had no choice. Before life itself, everything else had to step aside, let alone power. So long as it could keep them alive, countless people would be willing to use any forbidden art or wicked method.

Whoosh—

The bloody holes in Cao Ye's chest and abdomen that the Minotaur's horns had pierced were filled with Black Mud, then healed at a visible speed.

The abilities Cao Ye had previously possessed—Rapid Recovery and Regeneration of Severed Fingers—had both originated from this.

The essence of Black Mud was condensed mana, except it was filled with the evil of the world. As for Cao Ye, being the incarnation of All the World's Evil, he and the Black Mud were one.

Therefore, as long as he had enough mana, even severed arms and legs could be restored.

"Mana is still the limiting factor. I'm still too weak right now. Otherwise..."

Under the Black Mud's restoration, Cao Ye's injuries healed completely in the blink of an eye.

After becoming an adventurer, especially after the last update to his Falna, Cao Ye's mana had increased greatly. Naturally, his recovery speed had improved as well.

"I have quite a few abilities now. If I combine them a little, there should be some 'surprises,' right?"

The Black Mud began to boil, and a layer of black material emerged over Cao Ye's body.

Yet this black material did not turn into Black Mud. Instead, it fused with Cao Ye's clothes. His original black-and-gray combat outfit was stained over, becoming a black robe.

Patterns resembling curse marks appeared on Cao Ye's face as well. Their bright crimson color possessed a strange sort of beauty.

Roar, roar, roar—

At this moment, the feral Minotaurs charged over.

Though they possessed no intelligence, only the most basic beastly instincts and bloodlust etched into their souls, the instant the Black Mud appeared, they went berserk.

Their animal instincts made them sense danger. They had to tear their opponent to pieces.

Mother of the Dungeon's command and their beastly instincts gave them only one thought now: rush forward and kill him! Kill him!! Kill him!!!

Bang—

Under the dual enhancement of Mana Burst and Black Mud, Cao Ye's speed surged explosively.

With one powerful burst forward, he directly surpassed the Minotaurs' speed.

The Minotaur at the very front still had a jet-black sword stuck in its waist, and Cao Ye grabbed it at once.

Pfft—

Then, with a powerful thrust, he pierced straight through the Minotaur's body.

Smack—

Splash—

He pulled it out with a backhanded motion, scattering a great deal of blood across the ground.

"First one!"

Pfft—

The black sword in his hand mercilessly pierced the Minotaur's head, killing it instantly.

As a second-tier weapon, the black sword's sharpness was beyond question. Previously, Cao Ye simply lacked the strength to support the sword in piercing through a Minotaur's muscles. But now, he could.

Under the dual enhancement, Cao Ye's current strength had long surpassed the limits of Level 1.

Roar—

Roar—

Roar—

At this moment, the other Minotaurs around him closed in. Though he had killed one, there were still more than a dozen left. His danger had not yet been resolved.

"Projection, begin—"

Cao Ye took a deep breath and began to focus. The magecraft known as Projection began.

[Analyze the concept of creation]

[Imagine the fundamental framework]

[Replicate the constituent materials]

[Imitate the manufacturing techniques]

[Empathize with accumulated experience]

[Reproduce the years of accumulation]

[Surpass, complete all processes]

[At this moment, complete the gathered fantasy]

Flash—

A black sword identical to the one in Cao Ye's hand appeared in his other hand.

However, although the Projection had succeeded, it still differed somewhat from the original. Its duration was limited as well, and this alone had consumed quite a bit more mana.

"Black Sword: Dual-Wielding—"

Holding a black sword in each hand, Cao Ye moved in an instant.

The blades in his hands darted through the Minotaurs, slicing open their hides, muscles, joints, and other vulnerable areas.

There was only one goal. With Cao Ye's strength, he could not kill them in one blow, so he had to settle for the next best thing—inflict severe wounds on the Minotaurs, then finish them off afterward.

At this moment, Cao Ye seemed to become a shadow within the darkness, launching attack after attack.

There was no technique to his movements, nor any swordsmanship to speak of. From beginning to end, all Cao Ye displayed were the purest fundamentals.

Blinding speed! Overwhelming strength! Keen reflexes!

Pfft—

Roar—

The black sword's sharp blade directly cut through a Minotaur's hide and severed the muscles around its arm joint, leaving one of its arms nearly useless.

And it was not the only one. Every single one of the other Minotaurs had been cut as well.

"Haa..."

At last, Cao Ye stopped and let out a long breath.

The enhancement on his body gradually faded. The emptiness of suddenly losing that power made Cao Ye feel extremely uncomfortable.

Roar—

The Minotaur closest to Cao Ye let out an angry roar at him.

However, the muscles in one of its legs had been severed, leaving it unable to run any farther. The other Minotaurs had also suffered injuries of varying severity.

"I've always had a theory. This is the perfect time to test it."

Pfft—

In an instant, Black Mud burst from Cao Ye's body and directly covered a Minotaur.

Roaaar—

Boom—

Just as the Black Mud gradually fused into the Minotaur's body and a look of "surprise" was about to appear on Cao Ye's face, the Minotaur suddenly died. It turned into a cloud of black smoke, leaving behind only a magic stone.

Cao Ye's expression froze at once. It died just like that?

Originally, Cao Ye had wanted to see whether Black Mud could control these Minotaurs. If it succeeded, he would gain another trump card.

He had not expected that the instant Black Mud invaded the Minotaur's body, the magic stone inside it would violently reject the Black Mud, directly destroying the Minotaur.

The Dungeon's Monsters: Monster Mobilization! ### Boom—

All fourteen Minotaurs collapsed the moment they came into contact with Black Mud.

At first, Cao Ye thought the first one had been an accident. But later, he realized it was not an accident at all. These monsters were fundamentally incompatible with Black Mud.

No, more accurately, their cores were substances extremely similar to Black Mud.

Cao Ye even felt that if he could touch their cores—their magic stones—there was a high chance he could contaminate and corrupt them. Then, he could manipulate them.

However, the idea was good, but every monster invaded by Black Mud collapsed before it could be contaminated.

Moreover, this "collapse" did not seem to be caused by the monsters themselves. It was more as if they had triggered some kind of mechanism, causing these Minotaurs to collapse.

"Could it be..."

Cao Ye could not help looking around—or rather, at this grand underground labyrinth.

As everyone knew, monsters in the dungeon were born from the labyrinth's walls and ceilings, and they were hostile toward humans.

When monsters were slain, their bodies dispersed, leaving behind magic stones and materials. Moreover, the vast majority of monsters possessed low intelligence and lacked the ability to learn, acting only on instinct.

And it was precisely this underground labyrinth that drew countless adventurers inside to kill monsters and obtain magic stones and materials.