My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 231: Natural Defences

Kace's eyes went wide with shock! He never expected such a large beast to bury itself. What made their current predicament so dire was the fact that the ground level was slowly rising! This meant that the creature must have just woken up and was currently in the process of getting out of bed! They would be unable to deliver the damage they hoped for before the Hydra noticed them with their current position. 

"This is. Perfect!" Grugda roared enthusiastically, soliciting a loud hiss beneath their feet as the Hydra became alerted to their presence.

Kace was gobsmacked that the eljein could make such a mistake! 'In what way is this perfect! This is horrible!' Kace complained in his mind until he realised that Grugda was quickly gathering mana for a massive spell. That was when Kace realised what he had failed to take into account of their situation. Grugda specialised in Earth-type magic, which meant that the Hydra had basically covered itself in a weapon primed for Grugda to exploit!

Kace smiled with a wicked expression as he felt the earth beneath his feet rising faster. Unfortunately for the Hydra, Grugda was a step ahead. He unleashed his spell into the ground, a series of loud, ear-piercing shrieks echoed out from neat them. Clearly, whatever he had done had been effective. The enthusiasm from a moment before disappeared though as Grugda's expression changed into a frown. 

The eljein quickly began to gather more mana for another large scale offensive. This worried Kace. The last spell should have been potently devastating. However, according to Grugda's expression, it did not have the desired result. Kace opted to keep his balance on the rising landmass. If they lucked out, then they would be on the beast's back when it emerged, which would give him a prime opportunity to do some damage. 

Kace quickly used his skills to change Sylvan's shape into a spear while adding his debut magic to him. It would be essential for him to inflict deep, piercing wounds in the creatures hide while also reducing its abilities as much as possible before leading it on a chase. As the first part of the Hydra's massive body came into view, Grugda unleashed his second offensive. 

This was followed by infuriated screeches, allowing Kace to guess that this one had been more effective. A spiked ridge began to emerge, which singled the centre line of the Hydra's back. It was just a few steps off from where they were, which allowed them to grab ahold for some much-needed support quickly. 

It took less than thirty seconds for the Hydra to emerge in all of its glory from that moment on. The loose earth tumbled from its frame effortlessly as it rose to its feet. All five heads emerged quite closely together and immediately scanned its surroundings. Kace took note that the creatures hide held quite a few white marks that looked fresh. 'That must be from Grugda's first spell. It looks like it barely scratched it!'

That revelation left him feeling shaken. Kace knew that Grugda's magic held a stronger punch than what he could deliver with his weapon. If the creature's hide was capable of stopping that, then he held no hope of creating a wound from its back. He still decided to make a valiant attempt at it despite that fact.

Just as he thought, the hide easily deflected the tip of the spear. It was not all bad news, though. His spell's effect was still applied to the beast as he quickly launched a series of attacks. Bringing the stack of effects up to its maximum value. The curses all managed to decrease the Hydra's endurance, but Kace could not pierce the skin even with that. This process had taken ten seconds at most, but that was enough for Hydra to fix its steely gaze on the duo.

It hissed in outrage at them before snapping at each one of them with a pair of heads each. Grugda had been prepared for that and had already leapt for the ground. At least there he would be able to take full advantage of his spells if Kace kept it busy. On the other hand, Kace chose to seal the first gaping maw with his Spider Thread before sending an Ice Spear down the other's throat.

The one that now looked like it suffered from brain freeze seemed actually to be in pain. Which meant that it had taken damage from that spell. However, the other head had no issues in exerting its jaws to rip apart the webbing around its mouth easily. As the fully-functioning head hissed at him, he noticed a sliver of purple liquid leak out from the mouth of the one that ate his ice. 

The liquid bubbled as it struck its own skin and released a faint smoke that indicated that it was corrosive. However, the Hydra seemed unfazed as it simmered on its hide. Kace mistook the trickle for a warning sign of an attack and hastily backed off. Which only tempted the other head to try and snap him up again. The head was much faster than he was, which forced him to lunge with the spear at its open mouth to try and scare it off.

Sylvan's tip glanced off go the sturdy fang that he aimed at delivering no damage to it at all. However, as the spears momentum was driven upwards by the clash with the creature's fang, it soon lodged in an unexpected place! It drove deep into the monster's gums that held it fangs in place. Causing the creature to flinch and retreat from its committed attack quickly. 

When Sylvan was freed from the beast's gums, Kace noticed the same purple liquid from before leaking from the hole. Sylvan seemed to be in a sorry state as well. He was screaming in pain in Kace's mind as the wood near the tip smoked and melted. 'Shit! The fucking things blood carries a corrosive poison! No wonder nothing tries to hunt it! Their inside would be cooked just from taking a bite!' His eyes gleamed at the thought that he could gain this natural defence mechanism