The hydra’s three heads reeled back, hissing together as the sound alone was enough to make the frogs a bit worried, causing the turtles to instinctively lower into their shells.
Even the snakes went still, watching the colossal beasts tower over us like mountains ready to move.
"Everyone, scatter!"
A split second later, one of the serpent heads lunged forward and slammed into the ground where we just were. Mud and water exploded in all directions, raining down like a storm as the shockwave sent me tumbling backward, but I landed on all fours, digging my paws into the ground.
"Gross!" I shouted, shaking the gunk off my fur. "Alright, you overgrown monster, you wanna play dirty, huh?"
The frogs hopped into a formation, forming a defensive circle with their throats bulging and containing poison.
The dragonflies took off instantly, circling the hydra’s heads like angry wasps.
As for the snakes, they slithered into the mud and vanished beneath the surface, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"This is perfect!" I yelled out as the sound of battle made my fur stand on end.
One of the serpent heads lunged again with its jaws wide enough to swallow a turtle whole, but this time, I dashed forward, splashing through the mud.
"Hooooaaaaarrr!" The head that aimed toward us suddenly roared—spewing a wave of acid from its mouth, but I kept pushing forward.
"Let’s see how this magic stuff works!"
All of a sudden, I concentrated on the flow of my mana inside my body by using my Common Skill [Magic Control]. If you remember—magic was a supernatural phenomenon that requires this skill.
And yes, while magic was separated from skills, it still requires skills to be used.
"Take this! Poison Stream!" A magic circle appeared in front of me before a torrent of green, poisonous liquid shot out, colliding with the wave of acid, halting it in its tracks. "Ah, I stopped it!"
I can’t believe that worked—using magic was easier than I thought—and now with its stream of acid kept at bay, I turned to my frogs.
"Attack!"
They wasted no time attacking in unison by launching condensed balls of poisonous spit at the Hydra’s head. The collision fabricated miniature explosions all over, but in my line of sight, this guy was barely taking any freaking damage!
[29 Damage!]
[29 Damage!]
[29 Damage!]
[Critical Hit! 58 Damage!]
Around a dozen explosions went off with some critical hits—which does double damage—but this thing resisted half the damage.
[[Hydra Serpent Guardians
HP (Health): 1,300 → 952
MP (Mana): 1,050
SP (Stamina): 1,450]]
"Darn it! This is unfair. What level is he?"
My curiosity got the best of me, so I used the appraisal skill to see its status hub.
[[Name: Hydra Serpent Guardians
Titles: ???
Race: ???
LVL: 10
Strength: ???
Speed: ???
Intelligence: ???
HP (Health): 1,252
MP (Mana): 1,050
SP (Stamina): 1,450
Intrinsic Skills: ???
Special Skills: ???
Epic Skills: ???
Resistances: ???]]
[Hey, what’s the big deal?! I can’t see all of its stuff.]
[[Notice. To see a Boss-Class Beast’s entire hub would require the leveling of the Appraisal Skill.]]
[Dang it! How is this even fair? This boss is level 10 while I’m level five, yet its stats are absurd!]
[[Answer. Laws of the world make bosses have more health, magic, and stamina points to draw out the fight.]]
"That’s so dumb!" I was still struggling against the stream of acid which was draining my MP like freaking crazy.
[[Unnamed Cat
HP (Health): 660
MP (Magic): 560 → 540 → 520
SP (Stamina): 940]]
"I-If I keep wasting my mana, then I’ll be a dead kitty cat!" My mana points went down by 20 every three seconds, but my swamp army wouldn’t dare let me down.
"Lord!" The turtle I rode on decided to step in and help me in my dire situation. By hiding inside its shell, it began spinning rapidly from a stationary position like some freak of nature before launching forward at insane acceleration. "Grab our Queen!" It called out.
"T-Turtle?" I widened my eyes before one of the frogs jumped into midair, extending its long tongue to pull me away. "Uwaaah!" I screamed as my Poison Stream spell dissipated.
"Haaaaaghhhh!" Turtle went head-on with the wave of acid, constantly spinning as he collided with its deadly effects.
"Turtle, don’t be stupid!"
I suddenly widened my eyes, realizing one of my Special Skills.
[Oh wait... my Benevolent Sovereign Skill!]
That’s right, how could I forget? This was a skill that applied to my entire army.
All Swamp creatures fighting in my name receive a significant increase to all stats and regenerate from fatal wounds. Using Appraisal, I specifically brought up turtle’s basic stuff.
[[Unnamed turtle
Strength: 29 → 129
Speed: 32
Agility: 28]]
"Whoa, a 129 stat rating?"
The turtle spun faster and faster as its shell plowed through the wave of acid.
The sound it made was like a blender grinding through metal, and I could feel the shockwave from where I landed.
Steam started to rise violently as the acid splashed across the ground, eating through everything it touched. Not to mention, this crazy freaking turtle was actually pushing it back!
"Don’t you dare melt, turtle!" I shouted from where I was thrown, watching him bulldoze through the acid stream like a darn cannonball.
"HAAAARGHHH!" The turtle roared from inside its spinning shell, smashing straight into the hydra’s lower jaw.
The impact made a sickening CRUNCH! that echoed across the swamp as the serpent’s head flinched backward in pain.
We all saw green blood splattering into the air like rain as the creatures widened their eyes.
"Nice hit!" I yelled.
[[Critical Damage dealt. Hydra Serpent Guardian’s HP: 952 → 887]]
"What?! Only 64 damage? This thing’s scaly armor really is giving it a lot of defense!"
All of a sudden, its three heads started to whip around violently, one bleeding from turtles impact, while the other two hissed, visibly upset by our strategy. They were definitely planning something.
"Oh, great. It’s charging something!" I shouted, feeling my fur bristle.
The left head started to glow green, indicating its Poison Affinity.
The right head started to glow purple, indicating its corrosion affinity.
"Everyone, brace yourselves!"
The poisonous head reared back before spewing a massive green fog, spreading across the swamp like a living storm.
Frogs immediately leapt back as the cloud started to destroy life upon contact.
While frogs did have an innate resistance to poison, it wasn’t strong enough to resist the Hydra’s.
"Frogs, stay out of the cloud! Use your ranged spit from afar!"
The other head followed up, suddenly letting loose a spray of purple corrosion that melted through reeds, and even the trees.
The entire swamp turned into a freaking wasteland.
"Tch... this is ridiculous!" I leapt onto a rock jutting from the sludge as I desperately looked around, constantly using [Magic Control] just in case I needed it. "You just had to have multiple affinities, didn’t you, you big, slimy cheater?"
[With my Venomous blessing Skill, all poison-based attacks get converted into stamina, so I should be fine. But what about my army? They’ll be cooked if they get anywhere near those clouds! I need to think of another strategy...]
I clenched my teeth, scanning the chaos as my tail flicked side to side in stress. The poisonous cloud continued to spread wider as the corrosion ate through everything it touched.
"Come on, think, think..." I muttered, feeling my mind racing with thoughts. "I can’t outpower it head-on! That failed and turtle had to save me..."
The dragonflies flew above toxic air, trying to keep altitude as one of them dove too low, touching the edge of the poison fog, and immediately spiraled out. Its tiny body shriveled in mid-air before corroding away into nothingness.
"Damn it! We’ll lose everyone at this rate!"
A frog hopped up beside me, croaking.
"M-My Queen, we cannot approach the Boss! The air is too dangerous!"
"I know!" I shouted back. "Hold the perimeter! Don’t breathe it in, and attack from a distance only!"
The frogs obeyed, forming a wide crescent line outside the fog’s reach.
Their throats inflated and fired volleys of spit-bombs at a rapid pace as they burst against the Hydra’s thick scales, doing next to nothing but still keeping its attention divided.
The hydra’s middle head, still bleeding, took action. All of a sudden, the poison and corrosive mist started to swirl around it, twisting into a cyclone.
[What’s it doing now?!]
[[Notice. The Hydra Serpent Guardian is combining both affinities. Predicted skill—Dual Convergence: Acid Storm.]]
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"
With the power this thing had—if I let it unleash both affinities at once, it’d be catastrophic! From what I gathered, E-Rank beasts had the power to destroy multiple city blocks from their magic alone. We wouldn’t have enough time to escape.
"Everyone, be prepared for the worst! I don’t know if my Benevolent Sovereign skill can save you from total annihilation, but all of you have regenerative effects!" I yelled out, gaining their attention. "Let’s do this together! We will not die!"