Futility: The dictionaries describe it as the quality of being incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless even. It is a word used commonly among the fine folk, even more so in trying times like these. However, only a handful know what futility really feels like. Most never know the hollowness, the worthlessness that assaults a man when he comes to terms with the fact that no matter how hard he struggles, no matter how much work he puts in, there will be no result to show for it.
Staring at the two roaring Hydra's heads, Kashi of the daeben, for the first time, felt his will crumble. His overactive imagination, which was usually his greatest strength, was now the stone that drowned him. Because he could picture his fights, he could see the outcome of this one. A thousand scenarios, a thousand plans, but no matter how many coursed through his mind, the result was the same inevitability: Death.
“Ugh!”
By his side, Kira suffered Kashi’s distress . The daeben’s depression weighed on her like a boulder hung from her neck. A low whine escaped her lips as she fought to withstand the pressure. For the first time ever, she realized the double-edged nature of their strengthening bond. She watched Kashi fall to his knees, eyes glued to Suvron as if mesmerized.
Kira hated it.
This was not the man she respected. This was not the man she feared. This was not the man she wanted to kill. This was not the man...
A deep growl grew from the pits of Kira stomach as she remembered . "Kashi!"
Kashi whirled around, stunned by the intensity in Kira’s voice.
Crick!
Kira's eyes burned, her teeth bared at her partner as she took a step towards him. "On the day of my mother's death, she gave me a mission..."
"A mission?"
Kira stopped and lowered her head to meet his, teeth still bared. "She asked me to judge you when I am strong enough. Can you guess what my reply was?"
Kashi rested against the railings, eyes fixed on hers. "You decided to kill me anyway, didn't you?"
"That was... is my decision."
Kashi's eyes had no defiance, no fight. "So, are you going to kill me now?"
Kira raised a paw and clawed away at his face. "I would like to. I very much want to. But something you said back then has always given me pause. Without once apologizing for my mother's death, you swore to do the impossible no matter how many lives you had to take. And you were not just talking. I have watched you pull off the stupidest, craziest, most hare-brained-"
"I wouldn't exactly call my plans stu-" Kira's snarl shut the daeben up. "Okay, go on."
"You have somehow always proved me wrong. So much so you had begun to earn my trust... But!" She edged closer until their faces were only centimeters apart. "If you wish to die here, I will kill you myself." Her voice was low and as real as the balcony they were on.
Crack!
Kashi's lips warmed into a smile. He took Kira’s head in his hands and nudged her forehead with his. He held it there a few seconds , and then whispered "Thanks. You saved me."
Kira pulled back and backed off a few steps. "If you have the time to thank me, then think of a way to get us out of-"
Crick!Craaack!
Kashi and Kira heard it at the same time. The peered over the balcony and realized why their little session had gone uninterrupted.
Both of Suvron's heads were trained at the red crystal. They were stiller than statues as they watched crack lines spread quicker and grow more prominent.
Suvron snapped out of its reverie as it realized what was happening. The building shook from its maddening roar. Whether it was joy or rage, Kashi and his crew could not tell. But it mattered not as what happened next wiped any stray thoughts from their minds.
The crystal exploded, releasing a concentrated beam of energy that blasted Suvron with extreme prejudice. Both its heads blew off, and the severed necks fell into the lake.
That was not all, though.
Kashi, Kira, and Hektor were stunned as they were enveloped in a red mist that fully restored their health and mana.
Kashi counted the seconds until Suvron emerged, this time with four furious heads. Twenty. This he could work with. A grin stretched across his face as a new bold plan began to take form.
Kira sensed the daeben’s renewed confidence. "You have a plan, I presume," she said, more a statement than a question.
Kashi's eyes lit up as he turned to her. "Remember how you called my plans stupid, reckless?"
The proud dire wolf hung her head as she understood the meaning of his words. "You have something worse than any before." The daeben's sheepish grin infuriated, yet rejuvenated her. She turned away from him and ran into the room, calling for Hektor to follow.
Kashi tossed a sack containing potions to the warrior. Hektor caught it and nodded at the daeben, then followed Kira.
The room's layout was the exact replica of the one a floor below. Its only difference was the orange crystal at the end of the room. As with the previous one, once they got close enough, they were repelled and soon after were surrounded by Skittles.
Kashi watched the fight start, but a deafening roar drew his attention to the four-headed hydra locked onto him. "Well, then." he pulled out an arrow with a rope attached to it. He tied one end of the line around his waist then jumped off the balcony,
Suvron attacked the airborne target, correctly theorizing he could not change direction mid-air.
A head lunged for the daeben, but he shot an arrow into the wall as his reply.
Suvron assumed he missed and charged, mad with rage.
Using the arrow as an anchor, Kashi swung out of Suvron's path. The snake smashed into the wall and reared back in pain.
Kashi cut his rope just before Suvron arched his neck and landed squarely on its head. He slid down its throat, wincing as some of its scales cut his hands on the way down. At an appropriate height, he kicked against Suvron and jumped over the lake. He performed a front flip then landed upright on the bottom floor, feet pressed together, and arms out wide. "Nailed it."
Kashi felt a bothersome brush of wind on his back and turned around. “Hey, you…” He managed a weak smile against Suvron, who 'stared' at him with all four heads. Their feelers wrapped around the daeben, inspecting every part of his being, "I don't suppose you guys will just let me go?"
Kashi did not know if Hydra understood human speech or not, but Suvron's reaction to the question suggested it at least had some idea.
The beast struck without warning. Kashi jumped back and away from the attack. He had no time to rest as Suvron's new heads granted it the advantage of simultaneous attacks.
The daeben abandoned grace as he raced around the room, hopping away from [Water Cannons] and Suvron's direct attacks. He activated [Mind's Eye] , so he always had the bead on Suvron. He was thankful for the practice he'd had in Suvron's Pass. He was quite comfortable running at breakneck speeds and still being aware of everything in the vicinity. This eliminated any possibility of him ambushed by Suvron.
Their game of cat and mouse stretched on for over ten minutes, the only victims the unfortunate herbivores caught in Suvron's attacks.
A loud groan alerted the daeben. He looked up and saw a platform race from beneath the second floor to the third.
Crick! Crack!
Through layers of sweat and fatigue and the sound of rushing wind Kashi heard the blessed sound he had been waiting for. He screeched to a halt as the orange crystal exploded.
The concentrated energy released once again beheaded Suvro n .
Kashi dodged the falling heads as he did one last dash around the entirety of the room. He knew he did not have the luxury of time, so he ran like mad towards the wall where his rope hung overhead. He took up the wall with three powerful kicks, lunged, then grabbed the line.
The daeben climbed with haste. When Kashi was high enough, he swung onto the first platform , and then slid down the platform to the first-floor balcony. He kicked off and then launched himself into the room just as Suvron burst from beneath the lake, now with eight heads.
Kashi watched Suvron's heads zip past his floor, their targets Kira and Hektor, who had just crossed to the third floor. They twisted past the bridges as they ascended.
Kashi ran to the end of the room. He collected himself before the destroyed Crystal Shard, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He listened to the sounds of explosions above him and prayed for his party's safety.
Kashi opened his inventory and hurriedly drew out a sack. He emptied its contents onto the floor and stared at them, hoping to the heavens he was right about his plan. 264 Obsidian ores: He had looted them from the remains of the herbivores caught in Suvron's attacks. Seeing as they could easily cut through the baby Hydra, he figured the same should be said of Suvron.
Kashi checked the raw materials in his inventory. He still had a good number of iron ore, but he only had about 200 planks left. One plank could be used to craft ten arrows, so that left him with 2000 craftable arrows. [Gilgamesh] required one thousand arrows, so he only had 1000 to fight Suvron with.
Kashi took out the portable blacksmith workstation: an anvil and hammer for blacksmithing and a saw and workbench for carpentry/leatherworking. Once again, he was glad this was a game. He could craft even without a forge, albeit at much lower quality.
Usually, Kashi preferred to craft semi-manually, but because of the urgency of the situation, he decide d to go the swift automatic route. Both methods of crafting were akin to that of RPG's in non-virtual games. All he had to do was select a recipe . I f he had the ingredients, he place them into a sphere on the anvil/workbench. Then he would pound or saw away until they were crafted.
Where Kashi’s style differed from regular Summoned crafting was his obsession with detail. Kashi crafted parts of an item separately before joining them together. While the quality was excellent, the time used up was a significant detriment. Hence he only used it for original recipes and crafting personal items for him and his party.
On the other hand, the automatic method let him create a complete item in one go. He could even craft multiple items in a go as long as he had the necessary materials. The downside to using this method was that the quality was usually far below what one could create manually. Also, recipes stored were only those of items made previously or acquired through different means. This meant that completely original recipes could only be made manually.
What Kashi was about to craft was something he did not have the recipe for. First, he had to successfully craft what he had in mind on his own. He took a plank and crafted ten shafts for his arrows. Since he already had the recipe, that part took no time at all.
Kashi picked up an Obsidian ore and held his breath as he hammered at it. His first attempt failed, and he realized he needed more ores. He tried again and got it right when he used three ores. It took three obsidian ores to craft one Obsidian ingot. Minus his failures, it left him with 86 Obsidian ingots.
Now came the tricky part.
Kashi was not sure how many ingots it took to craft one arrowhead. He was pleased when he successfully crafted five arrowheads from one ignot. But that would only allow him to craft 4 40 arrowheads. Far too small if he was to fight Suvron with any hope of success.
Rrrumblee…
The entire building shook as another [Water Cannon] exploded above him.
Kashi was thankful for Hektor's newfound ability. If his weapon had not been coated in that weird power, they would have never stood a chance in the first place...
The daeben's eyes lit up as he was struck with a bolt of inspiration . What if...
Kashi was not sure if what he planned was possible, but the game had never ceased to surprise him thus far, why would it stop now? He took out an arrow from his quiver and placed it into the sphere. A prompt appeared in front of him.
Iron Arrow
Iron head. Standard.
Completed Work.
He then took out another arrow and Rosario's brush. He then painted the symbol for fire onto the arrowhead.
Iron Arrow [Fire Element]
Enchanted with Fire element.
Deals additional 20 Fire Damage.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
+ 2% Chance to Inflict Burning.
Completed Work.
Kashi heaved a sigh of relief. Like most people, he only enchanted bows, and the element naturally transferred onto arrows. But if he could enchant arrows themselves, then his next endeavor might bear fruit.
Another explosion rocked the building, and he decided to speed things up. Rather than take the safe route and test out his theory, he gambled. He added an entire quiver of arrows to the sphere, then placed two ores inside.
He raised his hammer high. Sweat trickled down his brow as he gritted his teeth. This had better work! With a loud bang, he struck at the sphere with all the power he could muster, holding the image of the finished work clear as day in his head. Thirty-five strikes later, Kashi had the hugest of grins.
He raised an arrow and inspected it.
Obsidian Tipped Arrow
Iron Arrowhead with Obsidian tip.
Increases penetration by 200 %.
New Craftsmanship Perk Learned: Enhance
No longer are you satisfied with finished work.
Through your own knowledge, you can now improve items as you see fit.
Adds Refined Products to Recipes.
Kashi was overjoyed at the prompts. This meant he could speed run the rest of the arrows he had. He quickly improved all the arrows in his inventory, made 2000 new iron ones, then improved those too.
When he was done, he was pleased to see he still had quite a few obsidian ingots left. He followed an old recipe, but instead of silver, he used all the obsidian he had left. He engraved a flame rune onto it, then marveled at his finished work.
Burning Obsidian Axe
Crafted with Obsidian from Suvron's Lair, this weapon carries the desire to cut through everything in its path.
Restrictions: 200 STR
Deals +30 ATK
20% Chance to ignore armor.
Deals +25 Burning Damage.
+ 3% Chance for enemies to explode upon death.
Kashi tucked the ax into his inventory along with all of his crafting materials. He placed his arrows back in their quivers and placed the remnants in his inventory. He got to his feet and then stretched his sore muscles. He was about to leave when a much more massive explosion caused him to lose his balance. He fell backward and was lucky not to impale himself on the shattered crystal.
While Kashi mused on how ironic that would have been, he once again got to his feet. Only this time, something caught his attention. The wall behind the crystal had a mural carved onto it. Curiosity got the better of him, and he released a magelight to light the wall so he could get a better look.
Kashi’s eyes grew darker as he examined the mural. "Is that how it is?" He placed his hand on the carvings and winced as several images flashed through his mind. They were memories – memories of the creature he fought.
Kashi he turned away from the painting with determined eyes . He walked out onto the balcony and looked up.
Impressive.
Not only had Kira and Hektor survived, but they had also gone up four floors.
Just from observing, he could tell what tactic they employed. Suvron's water cannons were wider than the doors , so each time he fired, they would hide just beside the entrance. The jet stream would then not only attack the skittles but flush them out too, sometimes delivering them right into the duo's reach. Sram's mark was used to wipe out the baby hydras, then after the crystals broke, they used the time between beheadings to cross.
Of course, this meant that by the time Kashi got out, the number of heads had absurdly increased to thirty-two.
Suvron itself seemed to have wizened. It shot water cannon into the fifth room, then plugged the door with one of its heads to force the duo to drown.
Kashi pulled out his bow. He calmed his breath as he notched an arrow and pointed upwards at a very steep angle. He pulled the string till it threatened to break, then screamed. "FLY!"
The arrow whistled as it tore through the air. The air distorted around the leading arrow as it created a visible slipstream for five other s released in quick succession behind it.
The first arrow penetrated Suvron's scales, but 'exploded' as it broke within the Hydra's head. It wasn't really an explosion. More of the concentrated air around the arrowhead was re leased the second it stopped moving. The remaining five ripped through the head and out the other side, destroying its brain in the process.
Suvron cried out in pain as its head, limp in death, slid out of the doorway. Water streamed out of the room, together with the bodies of skittles that fell to their respective deaths.
Kashi had no time to acknowledge his efforts as Suvron immediately turned 20 heads against him. Kashi sized up the monster, each waiting for the other's first move.
Kashi dashed ahead, and Suvron went absolutely mad.
Water cannons rained down around the daeben, fired indiscriminately by the snake. Unlike the bottom floor, he only had the platforms to run on, so his dodging options were severely limited.
Kashi jumped and barely dodged a cannon, then looked up to see another just meters away from crashing into him.
Kashi rolled off the platform, then fired his trademark rope arrows into the bottom of the platform. He swung and managed to hop back onto the platform. He then looked up to see three heads racing down for physical confrontation , mouths wide open to swallow him whole.
The daeben side-stepped the first head, shot three arrows into it, and then fired another six arrows into the open mouth of the second.
Suvron reared back in pain, but the daeben was not done yet. He grabbed onto one of the arrows buried in the first head and ascended together with the beast.
The remaining thirty heads noticed this and hissed with anger as they lunged at him.
Kashi was thrown off the head he was on, but he shot another rope - arrow into an attacking head and used it as a pivot to launch himself onto the fourth floor. He raced across the platform even as the fifth platform stretched above him, heading to the last level.
To the daeben's surprise, Kashi and Kira raced out of the room. His wonder was answered by six baby hydras running out of the room to attack them.
Suvron noticed them and struck. Behind the duo, the lead Hydra lunged at them.
"Hektor!" Kashi called as he flung the battle-ax he crafted.
Hektor caught it mid-air, jumped off Kira, then roared as he struck the ax against the platform. To their surprise, a blade of wind flew out and sliced through the lead hydra. He rushed the other two, ax raised high.
Kira barked with rage as she doubled in size and bit down on Suvron's head that had lunged at them. Her grip was so firm it couldn't budge an inch afterward.
Kashi shot fired more arrows at the monster, realizing that its brains were its weak points. To prevent it from growing more heads, he had to destroy the brain without beheading it.
Armed with this knowledge, he began attacking with chilling precision.
Suvron realized its weakness had been discovered after losing eight heads and reluctantly went on the defensive. Unfortunately, it was dodging Kashi’s arrows when the blue crystal exploded and once again beheaded the beast.
"NO!" Kashi screamed at the falling heads.
Shit ! W hen Suvron returned, it would have sixty-four heads ! What kind of a joke was that? That number of heads would fill out the entire floor area leaving no space to even think about maneuvering or escaping.
Still, judging by the increase in timing between the reincarnation of heads, they had about five minutes. He planned to make full use of that.
Kashi joined Kira and Hektor as they raided the last floor. Armed with his new arrows, they made short work of both the skittles and accompanying baby Hydras. Kashi smashed the crystal and prayed.
The last crystal shattered, but only healed the party as it had no target to attack.
The entire building rumbled as shards of the shattered crystals hovered off the floor. Brilliant, rainbow-colored light escaped the shards, and then struck the crystal that bound the god .
Crash!
The crystal shattered under the force of the attack and exploded in a wave of wind and light .
The god encased , unfurled her wings, revealing her in all of her naked beauty. Like the other gods, she was extremely tall but had an aura about her that was not as threatening. She opened her emerald green eyes and smiled at the daeben and his companions.
"Thank you, brave warriors, for rescuing me from my prison." Her voice was beautiful, light, and soothing. It would be easy for one to get lost in it. "I would offer more, but I am afraid we do not have the luxury of time." She pointed to the lake below." I am afraid the beast is not yet dead."
"If I may, may I inquire as to your name?" Kashi asked head bowed.
"My name is Suvron, goddess of music, beauty, and love."
Hektor's brows furrowed in confusion. "But if you're Suvron, then what the hell have we been fighting?"
"As I thought," Kashi murmured.
"What d'ya mean?"
Kashi turned to him. "I'll explain later. Do me a favor and don't attack the next time Suvron comes out."
"Huh!?"
"Please." His eyes were serious.
"Fine, fine," Hektor conceded. "I already fought plenty while you were busy."
"You too, Kira?" Kashi asked, straining his neck to look at the direwolf who now towered well above him.
Kira relaxed and then reverted to a smaller size, just level with the daeben's head. "Are you sure about this?"
"Ah, I have to do this."
"On one condition."
"Name it."
"You will win."
"Definitely."
Satisfied with his reply, Kira took a step back.
Suvron watched the conversation with interest. "If you will battle this creature, then allow me to offer you aid. I cannot fight, but..." She raised her hand, and a ray of golden light enveloped the elf.
Status effect: Blessing of the gods.
Max HP and MP increased by 1, 500
+150% ATK
+100% DEF
Duration: 30 minutes.
Kashi watched bubbles pop out of the lake, followed soon after by Suvron's sixty-four heads. They avoided the bridges as they rushed up to the final floor, where Kashi awaited it.
The daeben stood on the railings of the balcony, bow in hand as he faced off against the beast. "Proud beast of the ocean, I challenge you to a duel to the death!"
Suvron paused, confused by the daeben's words. Was this some sort of trick?
"This is no trick, no game. I know your story, your past. I challenge you not as a hunter its prey nor as a prey its predator. No, I challenge you as a being in equal standing. One whom I have acknowledged."
"What do you know of me!" Its voice tore through the daeben's mind, and he winced under the intensity. Three heads attacked at the same time, but Kashi jumped up and onto the onrushing head.
He riddled the head with arrows as he answered. "Your name is not Suvron." He dodged another attack by sliding down the falling head. "I saw them. Your memories. I felt your anger as the gods slaughtered your parents." Another head tracked his descent and made to swallow him. He kicked against the beast's neck and fired an arrow through the onrushing head's nostrils.
It screamed as it missed him by a hair's breadth, but Kashi stabbed an arrow into the passing head and grabbed a ride-along. "I felt your hatred as you grew in the open oceans, nameless. Felt your envy as other beasts of the sea gained their names."
The head raced upwards, then suddenly stopped. Kashi was forced to let go to prevent his arm from snapping in two. Five heads converged on him without mercy. He rapidly fired off over thirty arrows through the heads. The closest died during the attack, and Kashi kicked against its nose. He watched as the other heads bit into the exposed neck and landed on another of his assailants' neck. "But not you. You were only ever called Hydra despite your numerous exploits in destruction and could not find any individuality. You despised and envied the Kraken who got its name despite being several centuries younger than you were."
Enraged by his words, all of Suvron's heads simultaneously launched never-ending attacks.
However, t he increased number of attacks gave the daeben many more platforms to dodge and attack from. Kashi ran, slid, surfed, and jumped from head to head, shooting and killing the heads one by one. "Then you were captured by the Destroyer and forced into this prison to prevent Suvron's awakening. Centuries passed, and soon survivors or rather escapees from this tower began to mistake you for Suvron, whose name was on the dungeon. The pass and lair were even named after you."
Suvron bit off all the heads Kashi killed, allowing two more to grow in their place. The number of heads increased as did the intensity of the attacks. It now attacked with no care for its own body, but the daeben just kept firing arrow after arrow into the beast as he dodged its attacks, though it became increasingly difficult with each new head. "Like a child without a name, you have sought one and wanted to claim this as your yours. So you repeatedly tried to kill the real Suvron and own the name for yourself, but you are not and will never be Suvron."
At Kashi's words, the name Suvron disappeared from above the monster's Health Bar.
The beast cried out in wretched pain at having lost its name. It slammed against the walls, attacking all with reckless abandon.
"How about I na-" Kashi's words were cut off as a head swallowed him whole.
"Kash!" Hektor yelled at the top of his voice as he ran out of the safety of the room.
The hydra's heads looked up to the ceiling as it cried out in pain. Its name was gone. Once again, it was nobody. It was-!
The cries suddenly stopped.
Hektor stared dumbstruck as head after head went limp and fell like sticks to the earth.
A huge splotch of red appeared in the lake, eventually spreading all around it.
Kashi emerged from within the red and swam to shore. He pulled himself onto the floor and winced as a head fell beside him.
The Hydra was barely alive, breaths rapid and shallow.
Kashi placed a hand on the beast . His his eyes and voice were solemn. "There are two ways to kill a fully grown hydra. Destroy its brain without beheading the creature or destroying its heart. The one thing all heads share to survive." He lifted its feelers and smiled. "Your name shall be Krakul, for I have fought the Kraken, and you are much cooler and stronger than it could ever hope to be."
The beast moaned loudly as its feelers caressed his face. Above its empty HP bar, the name Krakul appeared, signifying it had accepted its new name. Too late as it were.
Kashi watched as Krakul sunk deep into the lake, never to rise again...
New Title: Hydra Slayer
+15% Poison resistance (Passive)
+30% Poison Resistance when equipped as title