I love time travel the most!

Facing the boy who raised a black dagger, the Minotaur widened its eyes and then grinned menacingly. As if responding to his will, the bull turned the blade of its greatsword toward him.

The boy, trembling with his armorless limbs and blood-stained back, rallied his spirits.

He only focused on his enemies.

This will be a brutal and deadly battle.

"Do not……!"

"Believe him!"

Ais's eyes widened, and she was about to call out to him when she was stopped again.

Kobayashi lowered his voice, sounding rather indifferent, but one could sense the passion within him.

Ais looked at Kobayashi in disbelief.

Strictly speaking, both of them are considered half of Bell's mentors, so they should have helped him if he were in danger.

"He can't keep running away forever."

These words jolted her awake.

Ais understood.

—Hatch from your shell, push aside others' helping hands, and embrace the adventure. You must only look ahead!

These were the words Otto left behind when he departed.

Now, Bell has broken through his shell of insufficient energy and become an adventurer.

They have taken a crucial step on the path to becoming a strong person.

"Let's settle this once and for all...!"

The young man, who admires the tales of heroes, also stands up to face powerful enemies, just like the heroes in those stories.

Don't set your sights on the highest goals from the outset; phased goals are more suitable for long-term growth.

If you can't even get past the Minotaur, what are you talking about aspirations for?!

Then the young man stepped forward to embrace the adventure.

In the arena, the raging bull's greatsword clashed with the boy's flying dagger, roars and shouts blending into one as they attacked each other back and forth.

Sparks flew, blood dripped, and sharp, cracking sounds filled the air.

Remember this: every inch shorter, every inch more dangerous. But this doesn't mean you're taking on danger; it means you're fighting a life-or-death battle! Your advantage lies in your agility; once you can get close, you have limitless possibilities!

Bell's mind echoed with the tactics Kobayashi had taught him.

His escape speed, which would have been considered genius in the past, became his greatest asset in dodging attacks at this moment.

[Distract your gaze, focus straight ahead, find the weakness, and strike a fatal blow!]

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!"

The roar pierced the sky.

Humans and monsters engage in fierce head-on conflict, a continuous battle of speed and strength.

Don't back down, don't back down, don't back down!

Don't back down!!!

The boy stared intently at the Minotaur. Even when a greatsword came hurtling towards him, he could close the distance by closing in. He could have blocked or retreated from the attacks, but he used his short dagger to deflect them one by one.

A fierce back-and-forth struggle, an unstoppable acceleration, a final battle that celebrates life as humans and monsters fight to the death!

What a chaotic battle.

Sometime during the day, everyone gathered here, silently watching the battle from the nearest vantage point.

Anyone watching from here would have a better way of fighting. But for some reason, they were all drawn to the childish yet brutal battle before them.

Forget about compromise, and incorporate force, courage, wisdom, and even luck!

The spark of life ignites once again!

"Flame and Lightning!"

Bell crouched down and burrowed into the Minotaur's abdomen, forcefully breaking through the monster's defenses.

then.

"Flame and Lightning!"

The body rises, and the weapon unleashes its power.

Wielding the goddess's blade, summoning flames and lightning, the boy roared once more.

"—Flame and Lightning!"

boom!

The pitch-black dagger pierced the body, launching a point-blank explosion directly from within the monster's body.

"Flame and Lightning!"

"Flame and Lightning!"

"Flame and Lightning!"

They held nothing back, relentlessly squeezing out every last drop of potential and extracting every last bit of magic!

"Flame Lightning!!!"

"Oh oh oh!!!"

The Minotaur, bursting into flames from its body, was blasted into pieces with a piercing death scream.

Burning fragments of a fierce bull, a unicorn horn scattered on the floor, a magic stone that flew into the air and fell to the ground, and only the white-haired boy remained in the same place.

All of this proves that it was a victory for Bell.

"They actually won..."

Gazing blankly at the victorious figure, Bert murmured to himself.

"It's spiritual exhaustion."

"She fainted while standing..."

The boy remained motionless, his dagger still held in the final, sweeping motion, causing everyone present to tremble.

Snapped!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed in the space.

The Loki Familia members were awakened and looked at the person clapping.

It's Kobayashi.

Pop, pop, pop!

The sound of very rhythmic slapping.

Xiaolin's face showed a look of relief.

Despite his disheveled state, Bell ultimately succeeded in defeating the Level 2 monster, breaking through his inner fears and overcoming the barriers that hindered him, thus moving towards a higher goal.

"Hey, Kobayashi, what are you trying to do by suddenly clapping your hands?"

Bert the werewolf glared at Kobayashi, as if the slap had snapped Kobayashi out of his reverie.

Kobayashi wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "I'm just applauding the future strong ones."

"Aha?"

Werewolf Bert stared wide-eyed at Bell, who was still standing firm in the arena, and sneered, "A strongman? Where is he? This kind of nobodies can't even defeat a level 2 Minotaur. You call this messy fight a strongman... Don't make me laugh!"

Although he vehemently denied it, anyone could see that he had actually admitted it; he was just being stubborn.

Kobayashi chuckled lightly: "How about we be a little more frank? Even if it was a chaotic battle, there's no denying that it was an excellent performance. And even a performance deserves applause, doesn't it?"

"...Hmph, who cares?"

Bert the werewolf turned his head and gave a disdainful snort.

But starting from this point, scattered applause came from all around, and the applause grew louder and louder as time went on.

"I'm sorry, Kobayashi, my family's personality is just too awkward."

The hero Finn apologized softly.

Xiaolin shook his head.

Even if it's an apology, it shouldn't be Finn the Hero apologizing, and the person being apologized to shouldn't be him either.

Looking ahead at Bell.

He deserves this applause.

Despite being pressured, forced into it, in a sorry state, and still lacking fame, he has broken through his own limits and stepped into the realm of the strong.

Congratulations, Bear Grylls.

Chapter 254 After this battle is over, I'll go back to my hometown.

"The above is how I met Ota."

In order to resolve the crisis of trust, Kobayashi told the whole story of his encounter with the goddess Freya in the desert.

It's the truth, after all, and there's nothing to hide.

"I see, I see. You must be very tired, Mr. Kobayashi."

After listening to his story, the members of the Loki Familia patted him on the shoulder, showing him great sympathy.

They didn't seem to suspect anything, because that unrestrained goddess remained very free even in the labyrinth city, often causing trouble for the Loki Familia.

Indeed, in their eyes, being asked to be a bodyguard by a capricious goddess and then being targeted by the strongest man in the labyrinth city must be the most unlucky thing ever.

But for Kobayashi, it was actually a lucky thing.