〖Skill: Death Poison Breath〗. A Hydra’s skill that unleashes a torrent of poisonous mist, attacking a wide area and inflicting severe 〖Poison〗 on anything it touches.
The 〖Mana〗 consumption is heavy, but in return, its power, toxicity, speed, and range are all outstanding. According to the Adventurer’s Guild records, it was speculated to be the Hydra’s trump card skill.
That’s why I thought it would be used at some point if the fight dragged on, and I had prepared for that moment.
I had drawn my bow and arrow, keeping it submerged in my body, ready to fire at any time.
“(—〖Heavy Shot〗!)”
I aimed at the center mouth of the five mouths that opened wide and fired an explosive arrow.
Even while running, the 〖Snipe〗 correction was fully effective. The arrow that cut through the air at high speed successfully penetrated the Hydra’s mouth.
An explosion echoed, and the shot head recoiled greatly. The activation of the 〖Skill〗 was interrupted.
However, the remaining four heads were still intact. Even with 〖Blink〗 and 〖Flee〗, it was already at a stage where evasion was impossible.
As if inheriting the regret of the interrupted head, four breaths were unleashed with great force.
Well, of course, I also have countermeasures prepared for the 〖Death Poison Breath〗.
“(〖Weapon Storage〗!)”
Immediately after firing 〖Heavy Shot〗, I had taken out several weapons from 〖Weapon Storage〗.
They were not shields… No matter how huge a shield is, it wouldn’t be enough to cover my body, and even if I lined up multiple shields, there would inevitably be gaps.
Since the 〖Death Poison Breath〗 seems to linger for a certain period, shields wouldn’t be able to defend against it.
That’s why what I took out were explosive arrows. More than ten of them.
The impact of the breath hitting them caused them all to detonate simultaneously, and flashes of light and explosions swept through the forest.
“(Alright, it worked!)”
I, who was running through the forest, was pushed by the explosion and accelerated further, flying away.
Conversely, the breath was scattered by the blast.
Since it was a forest with many obstacles, I hit a tree and stopped after a while, but in the meantime, I had escaped the range of the breath.
I was also able to evade the lingering breath after the explosion.
“(The 〖Poison〗… I got hit. But it’s not a problem at this level.)”
I checked my 〖Status〗 while running again.
I had been poisoned slightly by the poison mist, but it was a small amount, so the symptoms were minor.
The effect of the 〖Poison〗 I received this time was a basic one where my 〖Life〗 gradually decreased, and the amount of decrease was less than one per second.
It’s probably also because it’s canceling out the effect of 〖Self-Regeneration〗, but it takes about five seconds for a change to appear on my 〖Status〗.
“(This level won’t hinder combat. I’ve also met the activation conditions for 〖Antibody〗, so it’s a win-win!)”
The 〖Skill: Antibody〗 has the effect of gaining resistance to a 〖Status Ailment〗 for a certain period when you are afflicted with that 〖Status Ailment〗.
Thanks to this, I became resistant to 〖Poison〗, at least until the battle with the Hydra was over.
And at that moment. The Hydra appeared, breaking through the poison mist behind me.
“(It seems I was able to damage that head as well.)”
I felt relieved seeing its appearance.
The head that was directly hit by the explosive arrow was dripping blood and looked like it wouldn’t be able to engage in close combat anymore.
“(But, a second shot seems difficult…)”
Having learned its lesson from the previous incident, the heads were tightly closing their mouths.
The distance was gradually closing, and the 〖Death Poison Breath〗 should reach now, but there was no sign of it being used.
The poison liquid with few openings was being shot out by opening its mouth for a moment, but the breath couldn’t be used so easily.
Well, frankly, I can’t snipe the mouth unless I get close enough for the heads to reach me while running.
More importantly, what should be noted is the Hydra’s calmness.
Even though I’m using 〖Challenge〗 and 〖Bewitching Glimmer〗, it’s not trying to attack recklessly. It’s troublesome; it would evade a big-gap attack like the high-altitude 〖Dive Attack〗 I used on the Red Monster.
“(〖Compact Shot〗, 〖Compact Shot〗, 〖Compact Shot〗!)”
Since I had nothing else to do, I tried firing a few explosive arrows.
The 〖Combo〗 was also at its peak, and I was able to shave off a fair amount of its body surface, but in the end, this wasn’t enough to deal a decisive blow.
Since I slowed down a bit for shooting, the distance to the Hydra also decreased, so it’s a good time to go for close combat.
“(Hmm, it seems like it’s still wary of a surprise attack with 〖Air Jump〗.)”
When the distance closed to a certain point, the Hydra stopped shooting poison liquid.
The two heads in charge of poison liquid were glaring, waiting for me to launch a counterattack.
“(Then I’ll approach you as you wish, 〖Heavy Shot〗!)”
Just before entering the biting range, I aimed at the head that had interrupted the breath earlier with another explosive arrow.
At the same time as that head exaggeratedly dodged the explosive arrow, I hooked my kusarigama on a tree and used it as a base to do a half-turn. I changed direction without losing speed.
“Hishau!”
“(〖Air Jump〗!)”
The head that didn’t shoot the explosive arrow fired poison liquid, but if I knew it was coming beforehand, evasion was easy.
Combined with the effect of 〖Blink〗, I jumped up with great force and dodged the poison liquid.
I broke through the branches and leaves into the air.
The Hydra’s heads all looked up at me, and I drew my bow at them.
“(〖Compact Shot〗!)”
The arrow I immediately fired was aimed at the Hydra’s eye, but as expected, it was difficult to aim at such a small part in this situation.
The arrow hit its forehead.
Naturally, if I did that, the heads would get angry and spit out poison liquid, but that was exactly what I wanted.
To dodge the poison liquid, 〖Blink〗 was activated, and combined with 〖Air Jump〗 and 〖Rampage〗, I accelerated rapidly.
“(〖Heavy Thrust〗!)”
At the same time as landing, I thrust a crimson spear at one of the heads.
That head, which couldn’t keep up with my rapid acceleration, was pierced through the head without any defense.
After a short scream, the head fell to the ground and stopped moving.
“““Biiijaaaaaaah”””
“Whoa there.”
It must have recognized me not as a persistent 〖Dire Beast〗, but as a real enemy. The Hydra suddenly began a fierce attack.
Including the two heads that had been focusing on spitting poison liquid due to their injuries, all four heads bared their fangs as if they were running wild.
But of course, I had expected a counterattack.
I calmly dealt with it, making use of my 〖Skills〗 for evasion.
The situation was the same as when I first approached, but I had more leeway than before.
This was due to the fact that I had gotten used to the opponent’s movements, and also because half of the heads were slowed down by their injuries.
“(〖Compact Slash〗!)”
Now, I even had the余裕 to counterattack while dodging.
The slashes with 〖Combo〗 and 〖Cross Counter〗 easily tore through the scales, and the Hydra let out a cry of pain.
“(But it’s still not a decisive blow, huh.)”
I’m somehow able to toy with it now, but this won’t last forever.
There’s a possibility that my stamina will run out, or that the Hydra will see through my movements. And more than anything, if I take too long, the wounds I’ve inflicted will heal.
In addition to its strong toxicity, the Hydra also has a high recovery power.
This is the effect of 〖Serpent’s Life〗, which is a higher version of 〖Self-Regeneration〗, and thanks to that, it will regenerate quickly unless it’s an attack that burns like an explosive arrow or an attack with a crimson spear that has regeneration inhibition.
While thinking about such things, I continued to inflict wounds for a while.
I 〖Leaped〗 slightly higher than before, and at that moment, the Hydra’s jaws were thrust at me with tremendous speed, and just before I was bitten,
“(Hmph.)”
I poured all my strength into transforming my body into a ring shape.
The Hydra’s head couldn’t stop or change its trajectory now, and it passed through the hole in the middle of me.
Immediately after, I contracted my body and wrapped around its neck. Like a neck collar.
“Hyuaaaah!”
“(〖Unyielding〗, I won’t be shaken off that easily!)”
The Hydra’s head was swung left and right, back and forth, and shaken in an attempt to drop me, who was firmly caught. It was slammed into the ground.
But I didn’t budge from the position I was wrapped around. I had achieved an amazing fit.
Since I was likely to be calmly sprayed with poison liquid from the other heads if I stayed still for too long, I quickly started attacking once I got used to the shaking.
“(Take this… no, am I the one taking it…? Well, whatever, 〖Tear Apart〗!)”
And then, within my body, I mimicked several crimson spears, arranging them to resemble fangs, and thrust them out.
“Byoshyaaaaah!?”
A piercing shriek echoed, and the Hydra’s movements intensified.
While bracing myself to avoid being thrown off, I repeatedly thrust the spears.
The Hydra, with its neck ensnared, could only thrash about, unable to mount a counterattack.
The other heads tried to assist, but they were shaking violently in pain, rendering them helpless.
Bathing in the blood gushing from the neck, and gradually succumbing to a mild case of 〖Poison〗 due to resistance penetration, I relentlessly continued to bite.
And when the number of 〖Tear Bite〗 exceeded ten, the neck finally ceased to move. I had successfully taken it down.
“(Haa, haa, that’s the second one…)”
The Hydra’s neck, half-bitten and now still, was where I was perched. The other heads rushed towards me, and I hastily used 〖Leap〗.
I watched as the blood, which had been dammed up by my body, gushed out as I landed on the ground some distance away.
The 〖Poison〗 had worsened, but I was still only suffering from a gradual decrease in 〖Life〗 and a slight drop in 〖Stats〗.
On the other hand, the Hydra’s combat power had decreased by 40%.
This battle, I can win! I’ll take down the remaining three in one go!
“(…Huh?)”
The remaining three heads suddenly went limp.
Unlike the two that had already lost their strength, the three heads were desperately trying to move, but they could only crawl along the ground like caterpillars, lacking their previous imposing presence.
W-what the heck happened? Are they playing dead…?
“(No, think calmly)”
Their heads were pierced, and one of their necks was half-eaten.
Any normal creature would be instantly killed, and even with multiple heads, they would surely die from excessive blood loss.
A 〖Feral Beast’s〗 immense 〖Life〗 might allow it to survive in such a state, but it didn’t seem to have enough vitality left to engage in combat.
“(What a letdown…)”
~Unidentified Information Log Area~
…
Fue Toukouya (Jewel Armory Slime) has acquired 〖Skill: Precision Shot〗. 〖Skill: Sniping〗 has been integrated.
Acquired 〖Skill: Poison Hand〗.
Fue Toukouya (Jewel Armory Slime)’s 〖Soul Accumulation Value (Level)〗 has increased to 111.
〖Evolution〗 is now possible.
…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With a slightly unsatisfying and anticlimactic feeling, I savored the sensation of my 〖Level〗 increasing.