A dead end.
That's what I've essentially stepped into.
A key when facing opponents stronger than oneself is striking their weaknesses. However, I don't have a clue as to what this creature's weaknesses are.
Certainly not the heads, nor can they be the necks.
If anything, I think it might be hiding it underwater. If I were it, I would do so, too.
Fortunately, I can see clearly underwater even if there's no light, and since I can barely manage to evade attacks with my skills fully utilized, I immediately set out to find the hydra's hidden body.
''Whew...''
I take a deep breath before propelling myself straight into the water, using my [Flight] to boost my speed further. Right after submerging, I quickly scan everything in the vicinity.
One, the lake is quite deeper than what I expected.
Two, the hydra has a typical reptile body with a long tail that it anchors itself on—no visible weakness.
I probably shouldn't touch the tail and bring the battlefield down here. It has more advantages that way.
At this point, only a few seconds have passed, yet I can already feel the spells and jaws coming my way. Let's quickly decide what to do with this thing.
First of all, since it has no visible vulnerabilities, I'll have to assume that I need to vaporize its whole body to kill it. Doing that with raw strength, be it magical or physical—or both—is almost impossible at my level.
I'll have to get creative.
Think.
If this were Sikare, she would probably try to poison it or do something outrageous. I don't have poison.
If this were any of the other grandmasters, they would probably overwhelm it with their immense strength. I'm a bit lacking in that department.
If this were Kyomu, he would probably try to cut through the whole creature with the Blade of Nihility. I don't have that kind of proficiency.
So what do I have?
Outside of my followers, I have the Backrooms, or more accurately, the gates, to use in immediate combat. Teleportation. A weak version of the Sword of Nihility.
Of course, I can teleport this thing into the Backrooms, but I don't want to over-rely on crushing things with its walls, so I'll leave it as a last resort.
After all of that, the options are still surprisingly limited.
''...''
Well, let's try to push with my own strength for once.
To avoid receiving too much aftereffect of [Parallel Thinking], I deactivate it for a moment. The world's time flows normally again, and I immediately ram myself forward, avoiding the two jaws clasping on me in the process.
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The hydra's bloodthirsty eyes seem confused as I gently press my hand on its body.
For now, we need to change the battlefield.
The monster lets out a confused scream as it is suddenly transported into the sky above an endless snowfield—North Zircon. Like a plane suddenly losing its momentum, it unceremoniously begins to dive straight down, heeding gravity's call.
BOOM—!!!
A huge explosion ensues.
Snow, fragments of dead trees, and dirt are all blown up into the air amidst the rumbling of the ground. As the hydra wails in pain, I swiftly open up the system's interface, changing my equipped title from [Dragon Slayer] to [Queen of North Zircon].
It is a +0.1 to all stats.
Besides, being in the snow is also advantageous for me since the temperature can somewhat nerf any water magic that thing might whip out.
''Whew...''
In an instant, my sword bursts with ice again. I tap into the core of my will and draw out a portion of nihility, coating it over the ice.
Then, free fall.
I plunge my sword straight into the hydra's exposed belly, channeling a considerable amount of mana into the blade, and let it explode inside.
————————!!!
The ground quakes violently as a result of the reptile's screeching cry.
My ears are dying.
Still, it is perhaps a fair trade. I can't imagine taking this kind of destructive power with one's internal organs. The next moment, however, a huge jaw springs toward me, holding a much more animated rage than before.
I blink to the sky again, where I can see the hydra nimbly flip itself over, bringing its heads forward to intimidate me.
''Hah...''
It seems the combo of ice-nihility has done some damage to it, seeing the sluggish movement. Still, it probably won't let me do that again, and I'm not confident I can draw enough mana for something like that, either.
Let's switch. My cards are plentiful for now.
As usual, three heads are coming toward me with the intention of ripping me apart, and the other six stay behind to cast spells. I aim my hand forward, confidently expanding the substance connecting the mortal realm to the Backrooms.
Fortunately, the speed at which the portal expands is enough once I focus on it with [Parallel Thinking].
As a result, all spells are nullified, and three heads get cut.
At the jumbled hydra, I once again plunge in with my sword, utilizing [Flight] to narrowly dodge the follow-up magic. Although gaining some graze wounds here and there from exhaustion, I eventually take a grasp of its neck—one of them.
Before the head can regenerate, I, with [Parallel Thinking] still running, scan for a severed blood vessel—the most prominent and wide-spread vessel before resolutely stabbing my sword into it.
Then, my own vessels contract, pumping mana straight into the blade and exploding it beyond the tip.
A series of crisp yet slightly hollowed sounds ring amidst the wind-tearing whips of the heads. After confirming the flesh has largely been properly damaged, I back away, taking a safe distance from the creature.
''Hah...''
This is exhausting.
Now, the method is certainly working. The areas that have been 'infected' are being healed at a much lower rate than usual, but that doesn't mean I can afford to keep doing this.
My mana is running out.
There's no problem with my processing efficiency, of course, it's just that the hydra is too big.
As I contemplate what to do next, a noise below catches my attention.
''Heyy~!''
It's... Sikare. And Becky, of course. That idiot girl, why'd she come here if she's shaking like being hit by an earthquake?
''Your supplies!''
Two flickers of light appear. It isn't the objects that are emitting that light. They are reflecting the sunlight.
I quickly catch the two small vials, which have a vibrant blue color to them.
''This...''
They might seem suspicious, but the feeling I get from them... they're undoubtedly mana.
No way.
Mana potions?
It is common knowledge that mana runs through blood vessels, and drinking a liquid hardly gets it into any vessel at all. If it were, then the efficiency would be abysmal—the same goes for injection.
The only logical way to replenish mana is through level-up... or somehow getting the raw mana straight into the heart. [Astra Magical Academy] is weirdly logical like that.
But now, I have to trust these suspicious potions that come from a suspicious woman to refuel my mana?
''...''
It's probably fine.
I'll trust my instinct for once.
...I'll probably need to get back to it soon. Abusing [Parallel Thinking] like this is not good.