Acid Hydra

Mark's eyes snapped open.

The infirmary ceiling greeted him—cracked metal, flickering lights, the scent of antiseptic long gone. His body ached, but not with the raw agony of before. Instead, a low hum of power thrummed beneath his skin, steady and hungry.

He sat up, fingers brushing the hilt of his katana where it lay beside the cot. The weight was familiar. Comforting.

His status screen flickered to life.

**[STATS]**

[Race: Human 95%/ Blood Demon 5%

Rank: Mortal

Path: Blood Warlock

Traits: Blood Demon's Whispers

Level: 1 EXP: 0/600

Status Points: 0

Strength: 45+(3)

Agility: 37+(2)

Magic: 45

Health (HP): 47/47

Mana (MP): 50/50

Stamina: 34/34

Skills:

- Blood Slash Mastery-10 (Cost: 2 HP)

- Bone Creation Mastery-0

- Blood Lust

- Blood Creation Mastery-0]

Mark exhaled. **Stronger.**

He stood, rolling his shoulders, and stepped outside.

The camp was alive with movement. Colonists hauled in fish from the river, their faces gaunt but determined. Ren was nowhere in sight—until a splash echoed, and Mark caught the glint of dark hair disappearing beneath the water's surface.

Then—

**"You finally woke up!"**

Maya crashed into him from behind, her arms wrapping around his waist. Her pendant pressed cold against his back as she buried her face between his shoulder blades. **"Two days,"** she whispered. **"You were out for two days."**

Mark didn't respond. He just let her hold him, his gaze fixed on the treeline.

Ren emerged from the water, dripping, a fish impaled on his dagger. His eyes locked onto Mark instantly.

**"Help me,"** Ren said, tossing the fish aside. **"Evolution mission. Acid Hydra, Level 10."**

Mark's brow arched. **"You're about to evolve already?"**

**"You were asleep. We kept moving."** Ren wiped his blade clean. **"You in or not?"**

Mark glanced at Maya. She nodded, releasing him.

**"Where?"** he asked.

Ren shrugged. **"No clue."**

Mark's left eye burned. **"Hey, Bloody,"** he muttered. **"Where's the hydra?"**

The demon's voice slithered through his mind: **"500 meters to your left. Bring me its heart."**

Mark hefted his katana. **"Let's go."**

They walked into the forest.

The trees swallowed them whole.

The forest reeked of rot.

Mark and Ren moved silently through the dense undergrowth, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and something fouler—a sharp, acrid stench that burned the back of the throat.

Then they saw it.

The **Acid Hydra** stood two meters tall, its obsidian-black skin glistening with a slick, corrosive sheen. Two serpentine heads swayed on thick necks, jaws dripping neon-green venom that sizzled where it struck the ground. Its yellow eyes locked onto them instantly, a low, guttural hiss rippling from both throats.

Ren didn't hesitate.

He lunged, dagger flashing, aiming for the nearest head. The hydra struck like a whip, one head snapping at Ren's torso while the other spewed a **jet of acid**. Ren twisted mid-air, the spray missing him by inches, eating through a tree trunk behind him with a sickening *hiss*.

**"Tch. Fast bastard,"** Ren muttered, landing in a crouch.

The hydra's tail lashed out—a blur of black scales—and caught Ren across the ribs. He grunted, skidding back, his boots carving trenches in the mud. Blood seeped through his shirt where the impact had split skin.

The hydra advanced, both heads coiling for a killing strike—

Then **Mark moved**.

A crimson blur.

Mark's katana carved through the hydra's left neck before the creature could react. Black blood fountained, splattering the leaves like ink. The severed head thudded to the ground, jaws still twitching.

The remaining head **shrieked**, a sound like grinding metal, and lunged.

Mark sidestepped, the hydra's fangs snapping empty air. His blade flashed again—**Blood Slash**—a crescent of crystallized gore shearing through the hydra's foreleg. The monster staggered, its balance failing.

**[Blood Slash Mastery 10 → 11]**

**"Ren,"** Mark said, voice calm.

Ren wiped blood from his lip, grinning. **"Yeah?"**

Mark tossed him the katana. **"Finish it."**

Ren caught the blade, his grip tightening. The hydra, writhing in pain, tried to rise—

—but Ren was already upon it.

One clean cut.

The second head joined the first.

*[You have Contributed in the killing of Unclassified Acid Hydra Level 10. +400 EXP.]*

The hydra's body collapsed, its corrosive blood eating into the earth. Ren exhaled sharply, tossing the katana back to Mark.

**"Thanks for the assist,"** he muttered.

Mark didn't respond. His gaze was fixed on the hydra's still-twitching corpse.

The Blood Demon's voice slithered through his mind:

**"The heart. Take it."**