Polymath Redux – PROJECT: Hellgate (7/7)
Chapter XXX
The ‘Greater Armored Hydra’.
A Hydra’s natural strength laid three things: limitless regenerative properties, powerful acid-like poison breath and a high resistance to magic. Even a normal Hydra was rated by the players as one of the toughest field bosses in [Hellgana] for this reason. That being said, it would of course make no sense from a balance prospective if a player summoned Hydra was stronger than a field boss. The ‘Greater Armored Hydra’ was merely a namesake and thus was scaled down to a manageable level by the system.
However in this world all restrictions on skill limits were lifted, as such the multi-headed serpent that contested the gathered warriors was indeed much stronger than a normal Hydra as its name implied. How much stronger? Their difference in strength could be comparable to the difference in strength between a house cat and a Russian Siberian Tiger.
For starters, it was said that the best way to defeat a Hydra was through physical based attacks; however the Greater Armored Hydra had high physical damage resistance due to its armored plated scales in addition to its high magic resistance. In the game this was scaled down to player level thus it was fairly balanced but this world was reality; there were no glaring ‘weak points’ or ‘vulnerabilities’ that one could exploit in order to win. By definition the real world was full of imbalances that could border on cheat level and this was merely just one of those cases.
The armor plating that coated and protected the Greater Hydra was also part of its body and thus it too was subjected to rapid regeneration. Scales tougher than titanium, resistance to elemental magic, acid-like poison that could melt people; there was no feasible way for normal humans to defeat such a legendary monster. A monster that could even give the Dragon King a run for his money; what chance did these humans have?
Faced with an impossibly fearsome monster at the front and surrounded by a gathering horde of monsters at the back; all avenues of escape were cut off, meaning that there was only one way to get out of this situation alive: ‘win’.
“So do you have any more bright ideas commander?”
Mordred(Doppelganger) asked his commander, Katy Granate.
“The best possible action for us right now would be to sneak past that armored Hydra and kill that magician. At the very least even if we die we could stop the rain of fire bombarding the city.”
From the moment she was born into the Granate family she swore an oath to live and die for the citizens of this country. If it meant to sacrifice her life to give them the chance to escape then so be it, but as she currently stood at the crossroad of life and death she could only wryly look at the burning city she once called home. ‘Would it be possible to rebuild?’ she wondered as a single stream of tear fell down the side of her cheek. She didn’t want to die, no one does; but she had to because it was her job to do so.
“Commander?”
Noticing her teary eyes Ash glanced back to ask if something was wrong. Well, the entire situation was wrong to begin with so he could understand her feelings but to see the iron commander with tears was a little damaging to morale.
“Sorry… our best option right now would be for the Royal Alchemists and the Royal Knights to intercept the gathering monsters and buy time for Miss Irina and the Hywel knights to somehow slip past and kill that Magician.”
She answered as she wiped away her tears.
“Hmm… do you think it’s possible?”
Swallowing his pride, Vladimir asked Irina and the Hywel Knights. Since a young age Vladimir Zandora had rejected the ways of economy and trade that his family’s entire history was based upon. Instead he wanted to do something more with his life. He forged his mind, body and soul to pave a new path for his future, one that did not require him to sit around filling out ledgers all day, and thus he had decided on the path of a knight.
However it was not just any knight; before he even realized it he had become the Royal Knight Commission’s supreme commander and direct guard to the throne. He felt great, he felt powerful, he felt as though his life had finally had some meaning. However in just a few short hours all that self-confidence had come crumbling down as the city he was to protect was lit ablaze. Monsters beyond his power had surfaced and started wrecking the town and those he had vowed to protect were placed mortal danger.
When he saw the figure known as the adventurer Irina and the Hywel Knights, he started to question whether he was ever truly powerful. Was everything he did for naught? Wasn’t he just a fool pretending to be an ironclad knight? How much better was his sword than a stick if it could not even fight the threats that loomed over his beloved country?
‘I’ll resign’, he thought to himself. ‘If I make it through all this then I’ll resign as supreme commander of the Royal Knight Commission’. Right now all he could do was place his trust in these ‘adventurers’ to save the city. Once everything was over he’d retrain from the very bottom with a humbled spirit.
“I can do it.”
Irina answered as she nodded. The Hywel Knights also gave a positive response but where their confidence came from was a mystery. Perhaps they truly believed that they had enough power if their only goal was to simply slip past the Hydra and kill the magician.
“While I admit that that is a sound plan, I hope you would permit me to interject a little.”
Morgana’s voice joined the conversation above the cries of the monsters and the sound of destruction.
“Is there a problem with Katy’s plan?”
Del asked.
“No, I believe that it is the most optimal plan to go with, I’d just like to make a small addendum. If possible I’d like Miss Irina and the members of Hywel Knights to distract the Hydra for a few minutes as I’d like to try and tame that Armored Hydra.”
Morgana answered which was then followed by a tense silence. ‘Tame the Armored Hydra?’ that was the question looming over everyone’s mind as time seemed to come to a grinding halt as they tried processing that information. Throughout this horrific endeavor it could be said that the existence known as ‘Morgana Daltress’ was a miracle sent by the gods.
If it weren’t for her then the battle in the capital city would’ve been lost and everyone would eventually have been overrun. It was thanks to her arrival with the weapons and the boost from her strange magic that the battle was turned around. With the help of her speed boosting magic they were able to scrape up a slim chance of victory but right at this moment she was suggesting something that could ruin everything.
Instead of going for the direct kill on the magician she wanted to try and tame the Greater Armored Hydra. And to do so she wanted to borrow the power of Irina and the Hywel knights, their only hope for victory.
“Are you crazy?! Our first priority should be to stop the spell!”
Del exclaimed, indeed she had a point.
“I don’t disagree with you but I can tell… From just a single glance that Armored Hydra doesn’t plan on letting anyone slip through to its master. Also even if we did stop the spell, what’s going to stop this Armored Hydra from rampaging into the city?”
“But…”
Del couldn’t come up with any counter arguments.
“I also agree with taming the Armored Hydra first. That Armored Hydra has almost no holes in its guard so it will take more time to try and bypass it than it will to tame it.”
Irina supported Morgana.
“Is that even possible?”
Padan who had kept silent asked in surprise.
“It is possible… with the help of this item.”
Morgana spoke as she took out a small obsidian stone with strange runes and magical engravings carved into it. This item was simply a miscellaneous item with no real purpose to it other than looking pretty. Much like a diamond, if one acted correctly they could fool people into believing this simple pretty rock had great significance and power.
“What’s that?”
Padan asked the question everyone was thinking about.
“It is an item known as a ‘soul stone’ which can be used to capture the souls of monsters. That’s all I have time to say; the Armored Hydra looks like it doesn’t want to wait much longer. So what are your answers?”
As if on cue the Armored Hydra started to thrash about and draw closer to the group, pressing them to make a split second decision.
“We don’t have a choice, do it!”
Katy replied as she drew her weapons to face the oncoming horde of monsters. The monsters had gotten tired of waiting for the warriors to engage first and decided to attack straight on. The Royal Knights and Royal Alchemists followed suit and also started confronting the monsters.
“Then please occupy the Armored Hydra as I prepare the taming spell. You just need to weaken it a little.”
Of course in the first place it was unnecessary to even tame it as the Hydra was already a monster under Mordred’s control; however it was necessary to play out this act. On a tarot card ‘strength’ is represented by a feminine figure taming a ferocious beast, in much the same way Mordred’s plan was to show the world Morgana’s ‘strength’.
After this battle comes to an end there is no doubt that both Irina and Morgana would receive some sort of recognition for their works. However that was not enough, they needed to be elevated from a ‘savior’ of the city to entities that were ‘necessary’ for the city. Irina had already proved herself to the world through the sheer power she had exerted in order to bring them to the brink of triumph.
Morgana’s strength was not direct power, but the strength of ‘possibility’ and ‘miracles’. With Morgana leading from the front as a charismatic figure and Irina there to support her with her power they would become quintessential figures to this society.
Getting into battle positions Irina and the Hywel knights spread around to surround the Greater Armored Hydra.
“[Poison Defense]!”
Joutr shouted his skill as they were all coated in a thin layer of anti-toxin properties.
“[Elemental Shield]!”
“[Holy Shield]!”
Stella and Rio also joined in to boost the defensive rate of their party against the poison breath of the Armored Hydra. As it slithered ever so closer to its opponents it started to drool acidic saliva which burnt the ground beneath.
“It’s coming. Wolf, stay back and get ready to attack once you find an opening. Stella, I want you to continue casting [elemental shield] as much as possible. Rio, keep everyone healed but try to conserve your mana as much as possible. Joutr, I want you to cover for Wolf and myself when we go in for an attack.”
Surveying the situation carefully Leona issued orders to maximize the efficiency of their movements and to ensure their safety. She didn’t bother trying to give Irina orders as she knew that Irina was much more powerful than they were.
The Greater Armored Hydra had entered attack range and started off the battle by spitting out powerful acids at its enemies. With multiple heads and multiple brains it could track each combatant on the battlefield with extreme precision.
However Irina’s movements were a little too fast for it and were able to dodge the acid spit and go in for an attack. The members of the Hywel Knights weren’t too agile but with the assortment of defensive spells applied onto them they were able to escape without much injury.
Taking opportunity of the time it needed to recharge to collect acid, Irina, Wolf and Leona decided to charge in for some strikes.
“[Power Smash]!”
“[Armor Piercer]!”
Wolf and Leona shouted out their attacks as they went in for the attack. However Wolf’s attack was completely defended against while Leona’s [Armor Piercer] applied rapier was able to dig a bit in but as soon as she pulled out her sword the Greater Armored Hydra healed its scales.
“[Dragon’s breath]. [Anchoring Blow]. [Heavy Slash]. [Dragon’s Claw].”
Irina activated a barrage of skills in a short period of time. [Dragon’s breath] was a fire elemental magic attack that softened the Armored Hydra’s plate scales and [Anchoring blow] was used to smash through the weakened armor. [Heavy Slash] to deal the most amount of damage and soften the inner flesh while [Dragon’s Claw] to cleave through its weakened skin.
With that quick succession of skills one of the Armored Hydra’s head fell off.
“Amazing…”
Joutr said unconsciously as he saw the spectacle that was the fountain of blood oozing from the Armored Hydra’s stump. However it wasn’t long before even an entire head was regenerated.
“That’s it! Please remove at least 3 of its 5 heads to weaken it down past 50%. If you can manage that then I will be able to tame the Armored Hydra!”
Morgana exclaimed.
“Three? Oi, we might be able to remove one by ourselves but three might be a little too much.”
Wolf replied.
“I’ll cleave two of its head, you guys take one out.”
Irina suggested as she got back into action. The Armored Hydra slithered violently as it spit out acid saliva a second time, but right afterwards it also release a cloud of poisonous air to protect itself.
“[Poison Shield]! [Elemental Shield]! This will protect you from the poison for about 15 seconds! Get the most out of it!”
Stella chanted as her party members were once wrapped up in a purple glow. Wolf and Leona nodded as they rushed towards one of the Greater Armored Hydra’s head.
“Wolf, I’ll apply [Armor Piercer] so attack after me.”
Leona ordered as Wolf nodded. She run through the poison dust and struck one of the unguarded heads of the monster and slashed down with [Armor Piercer], leaving a noticeable cut down its neck. Seeing the mark Wolf also followed suit and was about to go in for another [power smash] but found himself out of position as another of the Hydra’s head was going for him with a physical head smash.
“[Ally Auto-Defense]!”
Joutr shouted as he was instantly teleported from his location to in between Wolf and the Hydra’s head. The Hydra was able to smash through Joutr’s remaining white shield but the attack was intercepted giving Wolf a chance for an attack.
“You bastard! Take this, [Power Barrage]!”
It wasn’t particularly another skill, simple several [power smashes] in rapid succession. After about 20 direct blows the Hydra’s head had come off through sheer power.
At the same time Irina was also done with taking off two of the Greater Armored Hydra’s heads. A fact which never ceased to amaze the Hywel Knights.
“Good job! I’ll take it from here!”
Morgana shouted as she ‘activated’ the ‘soul stone’. Though in reality all she did was apply a basic [fire bullet] spell through the rock to make it ‘shine’ and give the illusion of activating a powerful spell. A bright light temporarily engulfed the area, blinding everyone only to return to normal after a few seconds.
When it was over everyone turned to see the results… however the Greater Armored Hydra still stood after having regenerated all of it heads. The Hywel Knights got back into battle position believing that the spell had failed as the Hydra slithered closer.
Much to their surprise the Hydra acted much more docile than before.
“Was it… a success?”
Leona asked.
“Yes, it seems like it.”
Morgana answered with a smile as she glanced up towards the large five headed serpent. The Greater Armored Hydra slithered around Morgana playfully to signal that it was completely under her control.
“Amazing…”
Stella let out.
“Please go help the soldiers.”
Morgana ordered the Greater Armored Hydra to which it complied and slithered its way to fight with the Royal Knights and Alchemists.
Taking this opportunity Irina ran past the monster and stabbed the Baliazoural magician through the chest. As the sword pierced his chest the silver pillar of light faded away and the rain of fire ceased to fall. All of the monsters that were in battle mode became disoriented and faded away soon after.
With that final blow by the legendary adventurer Irina, Solaris was ‘saved’.
Watching over all of the events as they unfolded was Mordred who was still in stealth mode. Everything had successfully been handled with Irina and Morgana being able to distinguish themselves perfectly.
“Time to start phase 3.”
Rebirth Online World 