I speared the crocodile that tried to bite my ankle. Though with how big it was it could have bitten my entire leg in a single chomp. The ice beneath me broke and I jumped to the dry land. I looked at my uneasy companions who were walking on the water and trying to fend off the monsters exiting out of the water. I really wish I could walk on the water too.
“Woof?”
“Yeah, we can freeze the water but it is not the same thing.”
I answered Gökbörü as I suplexed one of the crocodiles into ice spears he created. Its spikes and scales were torn off its body as their immense weight worked against it. I summoned additional spears and hurled them at the approaching crocodiles, aiming for vulnerable spots to incapacitate them. Meanwhile, Gökbörü showcased his agility, swiftly dodging attacks and launching his own offensive maneuvers. The elves, Elandris, Fealin, and Aelith, displayed remarkable skill in handling the aquatic threats. They seamlessly coordinated their movements, utilizing both ranged attacks and agile evasions. Elandris was the strongest and most skilled among them. I also guessed that he was the oldest. Fealin and Aelith moved around him and hit the monsters with arrows but if it wasn’t for Elandris I was sure that they would be overwhelmed.
I saw a ripple in the water moving towards Fealin who moved slightly away from the other two without realizing as she fought. That ripple turned out to be a crocodile as it leaped in the air to bite off half of Fealin’s body. Of course, I was watching and no matter how annoying she was I wouldn’t let her die. I threw my hammer as soon as I realized it was going for her. It struck the monster with enough force to change its trajectory and the hammer bounced back at me. As I grabbed my hammer, the monster fell back into the water, its huge body creating waves.
Fealin looked at me with shock at first then turned around furiously.
“You are welcome.”
I whispered to myself. As the waters calmed down with the threats gone, Elandris walked towards me.
“Thank you.”
I put my hammer to the back of my neck like a barbell and twisted my body side to side. Awww, my back.
“No problem. We are working together after all.”
Elandris nodded appreciatively, his elven features revealing a hint of gratitude.
"Indeed, teamwork is crucial in these environments. We need to stay vigilant and support each other."
He said while shooting a look at Faelin who just crossed her arms and looked away. Aelith, the quieter of the three, simply observed the interaction with a neutral expression. He didn’t seem to like or dislike me in particular. Honestly, maybe that was for the better.
“This nidhogg, does it have any particular weakness?”
I asked while hopping between ice platforms Gökbörü created. I felt like a fucking rabbit which was annoying.
“Not that we know of. The only two weaknesses it has are dragon-slaying weapons or skills and purification skills.”
It was somewhat tiring hopping like this.
“Do we have those?”
Elandris shook his head.
“Unfortunately, no. As a Guardian of the Forest, I have the ability to purify the land but it will not work against Nidhogg and its poison as long as it lives.”
I tilted my head between my hops.
“Is there a reason for that?”
“My ability to purify comes from the Mother. Nidhogg is the antithesis of her. It can neutralize or worse corrupt her powers.”
I stopped hopping. Seeing me stop the elves also stopped.
“Then shouldn’t we ask for help from beastkin? If what you said is true then you are risking too much. You already allied with Whifur, why not ask for their help?”
Elandris looked far far away. I wasn’t sure if he was looking for something in the distance or if he was deep in thought.
“We are responsible for Mother’s safety. We are grateful for your help but we only allied with you out of convenience.”
He looked back at me with a solemn expression. Perhaps there was something I didn’t know. A reason to not ask for help? I shrugged.
“I only know your language and not the culture so I don’t know your reasoning and I won’t ask if you are not willing to tell. However, I am willing to help and I am sure beastkin would too if you were to ask for help.”
Elandris regarded me for a moment, and then his expression softened. It seemed he was contemplating whether to share more about their situation.
“Mother’s presence pulls various spirits and elementals here. They are different in how they think, and how they behave. Even us, who are more close to them than flesh and blood sometimes have difficulty communicating with them. If a large amount of beastkin or human were to enter deeper into the forest, potential chaos and destruction would hurt both sides.”
I remembered the annoying elemental fairy we encountered and how Morrigan and others were scared of her.
“I understand.”
I replied. It couldn’t be helped. There always had to be something that stopped us from doing things the easy way. Then again, we didn’t need a large number of people if it came to that. I, Morrigan, Amaterasu, Captain Börü, Lily and maybe Arslan would be enough
to bring down many things. However, I didn’t bring it up as it seemed like they weren’t so open to receiving help from others.
We pushed through more crocodiles, giant bats, and spiders capable of walking on the water. With a group, it was faster and easier. I noticed Elandris inspect a spider we killed thoroughly.
“Has something happened?
I walked towards him. He was poking spider’s fangs with his arrow. A purple fluid was dripping out of the fangs. It was the same shade of purple as the bug knight I killed.
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“Nidhogg’s mana is tainting the monsters here.”
He seemed to be deep in thought.
“It is maybe even more mature than I originally thought.”
Well, that’s concerning. As we pressed forward, the environment changed, and the air became dense with an unsettling energy. The mana became thicker and the algae covering the water changed its color. It was no longer a dark green but a bright purple. The mushrooms growing out of the trees let out clouds of spores from time to time. Naturally, I avoided them. Our exploration came to a stop when we came across a circle made out of rocks. No trees or dry places were present close by so I jumped on top of one of the rocks. At the center, a boulder, bigger than the one circling it stood. Moss was growing out of every one of them. Gökbörü growled to the center. I looked at him and back to the boulder. I couldn’t see its bottom but I was sure it was at least as big as the previous floor’s boss.
“Is it the boss? Or nidhogg itself?”
Elandris stopped beside me.
“It is not the nidhogg. However, we need to defeat it if we want to move deeper and find nidhogg.”
I tilted my head and looked at it.
“What exactly is this thing? A golem?”
Elandris shook his head.
“No. What we see now is its shell. Unfortunately, I am not sure what is under that shell.”
I manifested my hammer. If its shell is made out of rocks, the Gaia Burst option should come in handy.
“I normally would have said I would take it myself. But since we are in a hurry we should work together. I will take its agro. Any complaints?”
None of us had any objections, and I nodded in agreement.
" Let's coordinate our attacks and bring this thing down quickly. I can focus on dealing damage while Gökbörü and I create openings for you."
Elandris acknowledged the plan with a nod.
"Good. Fealin, Aelith, provide ranged support. The creature may have surprises beneath its shell, so stay on your guard. I will be closer and if it creates problems take the agrro from Poyraz.”
I took a deep breath and charged my hammer with mana. I leaped in the air and swung my hammer with all of my weight behind it. The hardness I felt was impressive. But it wasn’t hard enough. With a loud cracking, I broke a large chunk of the boulder. As parts of it fell into the water, something huge rose from the water. At first, I couldn’t make sense of what it was. But after they tried to grab me, I understood that they were claws.
“Woof.”
Gökbörü almost sighed as he froze the water for the land after I dodged its claws. He was tired that we were fighting against a bug-like entity again.
“Technically, crabs aren’t insects. They are crustaceans though both insects and they are arthropods.”
Even though most of its body was hidden under the massive boulder, those claws unmistakably belonged to crabs. After missing me, it opened its claws and pointed them towards me. An alarm rang in my head as Gökbörü quickly froze the water for me to run. Something thin and fast flew past me like a bullet. I looked where it went and saw that it hit a tree far away from us. Whatever it was it managed to blow a hole in that tree despite losing power due to the distance it traveled.
“Be careful! That thing has a huge range!”
I shouted as I ran towards the crab on the frozen water. I made sure that neither of my comrades was behind me in case of needed to dodge that attack. If they were behind me and I dodged, it could have hit them. I saw the claws pointing towards me.
“Shit.”
“I am on it!”
Elandris shouted as an arrow carrying the force of a storm hit the claw and pushed it to the side, causing the shot to pass just beside me again. I reached the boss and swung my hammer again. I tore a large chuck once again before needing to dodge the claws. As I jumped out of the way, arrows rained down upon the boss. The creature roared in pain, its rocky exterior cracking further. Gökbörü barked, warning me. I jumped out of the way as a geyser erupted beneath my feet.
“That projectile! It is pressured water!”
Fealin and Aelith adjusted their positions behind me, aiming for the weakened areas revealed by our combined efforts as I dodged the geysers erupting under my feet.
“Just fuck off.”
I felt done with how many geysers it created so Gökbörü froze one, creating an ice pillar taller than me. I broke it with my hammer and sent Armor Collapsing Claw-infused ice shards flying toward the creature. With more and more of its shield being destroyed, it started to become more mobile and started to chase after me. It destroyed the rock formation surrounding it as if they were made out of plastic and I met with its gaze and mouth. Its mouth consisted of a pair of large, robust mandibles that resembled formidable claws. These mandibles were sharp and serrated, capable of crushing and cutting. Its numerous dead eyes looked in every direction at once. Bubbles bigger than my head exited out of its mouth and surrounded the area. I saw the bubbles melt the remaining rocks as soon as they touched them.
“Acid!”
I shouted in panic. Despite them moving slowly, they spread to a wide area.
“Blow and bestow your protection upon us.”
With Elandris’s chant, a wind blew away the bubbles.
“Time to finish this!”
(Monstrous Strength is activated. Strength is increased by 30 for 150 seconds.)
I winded up. My mana and Armor Collapsing Claw covered my hammer, giving out a purple light. Gökbörü also joined me as a thin layer of ice covered my hammer, further increasing its destructive capability. I tightened every muscle in my body, my joints and skeleton screaming under the pressure. Using Mana Erupt to release my mana explosively, I brought my hammer down to the creature. It tried to defend by using its claws but a rain of arrows made it impossible.
Chunks of the creature’s body exploded and rained upon us.
(You collected Soul of Megalithic Clawmarauder.)
(You cleared the third floor of the Chimera Garden.)