Eri ignored how nobleman Joarris was gaping at him like a fish and instead examined the giant demon that broke out of the warehouse.

  /-/

  King Hydra

  Lvl 91 Nine-headed Serpent Demon

  A multi-headed aquatic snake Demon. Enormous in size and magical energy, its venom is said to burn even hotter than lava. It possesses incredible regeneration and will only die after all nine heads are decapitated. Exercise extreme caution when fighting. Or fleeing.

  /-/

  Considering the Ruby-ranked Hellgate not far from them, it was not the worst thing that could have spawned, but…

  This was still pretty bad.

  “I’ll act as a dodge-tank and distract it. Please get your party out of here,” Eri instructed, pulling forth daggers and grenades.

  “What? W-wait!”

  Eri didn’t pause to listen as the King Hydra was beginning to move in the direction of the other party members. Joarris’s frantic calls were ignored as Eri surged forth.

  [Dagger Arts, Hollowfang’s First Form: Tigerclaw Assassination]

  Dual daggers flickered and flashed as Eri tore into the flesh and spine of the King Hydra’s many necks. Two were severed clean, while others were badly mangled and hung on by a thread.

  Eri skipped and dodged the hail of spitting acid, each drop of venomous bile instantly turning stone and wood to hissing ooze. The boy maintained his calm as he tossed a cluster of dice-shaped bombs right for the monster’s centre of mass, ripping bloody chunks out of its torso.

  The demon was slowed, but far from slain. All of its wounds, save for the two severed heads, began regenerating rapidly.

  I hate regenerators… Passive healing is such an annoying ability.

  His daggers have also melted. The creature’s blood was highly acidic as well, and given how the two severed stumps were spasming around and constantly raining caustic fluid, getting close was going to be difficult.

  But Eri didn’t need to kill it, thankfully. All he had to do was keep pulling aggro until Joarris’s party could safely flee, and then—

  “FIRING!”

  [Artillery Archer, First Form: Siegebreaker Arrow]

  A grand silver arrow shot from nowhere and blasted off another head of the King Hydra.

  Eri’s eye twitched as he saw the archer named Julie standing proudly as the King Hydra’s attention was drawn to her.

  The demon shrieked and charged after her.

  Eri swore and pulled out a bomb-loaded canvas bag from his inventory. He rushed to help her, almost panicking when he realised he might not make it in time.

  In the end, there was no need for him to worry.

  [Holy Druid, Second Form: Flagellum Vines]

  Gold tentacles manifested from under the King Hydra, each barbed and glowing. They lanced themselves into the Demon, penetrating the many wounds left behind by Eri’s explosives and painfully binding the creature in place.

  “I’ve got the bastard!” Raharim yelled. “Get him now, Alvine!”

  From a nearby rooftop, Eri saw a female figure pull a javelin from her spear-sack.

  [Storm Skimisher, Second Form: Rain of Spears]

  With a great ripple of power, Alvine launched the javelin straight into the air. Seconds later, a hail of lightning spears came down upon the immobilised Demon, shredding flesh and riddling it with heavy lances that impaired its regeneration and weighed it down.

  The party was doing a lot better than Eri expected. But it wasn’t going to be enough.

  With a great heave of motion, the King Hydra tore itself free from its bindings, ripping its own flesh apart in its violent thrashing. The javelins splintered, and the glowing vines were torn to shreds.

  The King Hydra freed itself in seconds, wounds already closing up.

  “Damn!” Raharim cursed, pale-faced. “Bori, anytime you feel like tagging in?!”

  “Are you insane?!” Bori, a Swordfighter, retorted. “I can’t go close to that thing! I’ll die!”

  The King Hydra shrieked. Bori screamed as the beast charged him.

  From behind and above, Eri fell upon it.

  [Unarmed Arts, Ascetic Fire Monks’ First Form: Enduring Firefist]

  A blistering flurry of volcanic punches shot across the Demon’s body. Another neck was pulverised to shreds, severing the head above. Eri moved over its giant scaled body like a blazing wraith, swiftly avoiding spraying acid and snapping jaws.

  Half a second later, the boy leapt off the beast and landed before it, right next to a prone Bori.

  There was a strange device in Eri’s hand — A box-shaped tool with thin wire bundles spilling from its top. Bori’s eyes traced the wires and found that they led to the King Hydra’s torso.

  Stuck across the creature’s body were three large canvas bags, each reinforced at the seams and bulging with blocks of high explosives.

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  Bori paled. “Are those satchel charges?!”

  Eri nodded. “Cover your ears.”

  The boy twisted the switch on the detonator box.

  A blinding flash tore open the night, followed an instant later by a thunderclap that rolled across the ground like the roar of an angry god. Each satchel bag burst apart in a blossom of fire, pulverising stone-scales and venomous flesh.

  The shockwave punched Eri and Bori flat, sending dust, shards of bones, and a shower of meat hurtling outward. Nearby structures shuddered and collapsed under the force, and the acrid stench of burning powder and scorched earth clawed at every breath.

  Eri coughed and got to his feet, daggers ready.

  The demon was not dead. However, the explosion had removed nearly another quarter of its body mass and destroyed two more heads.

  “My. EARS!” Bori screamed, rolling on the ground. “I’ve gone deaf!”

  “You’re fine. Probably.” Eri's half-hearted assurance did little to comfort him.

  The boy wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to engage the beast, but with Bori so close and in no condition to move, he risked the Swordfighter’s demise if he accidentally got trampled.

  Another figure leapt down next to them, shield raised.

  [Shield Paladin Arts, Second Form: Bulwark of Healing]

  A shimmering ward manifested around them, restoring their wounds and providing a protective barrier.

  “I have him!” Joarris shouted. “Go kill that thing!”

  “That’s a lofty demand to have for a Bronze Core, isn’t it?” Eri snorted.

  “Maybe, but you’re you,” Joarris rolled his eyes. “Good to see your humour’s improved.”

  Eri smiled. He charged.

  [Dagger Arts, Hollowfang’s Second Form: Rampage of the Feral]

  Bolstered in footing, speed, and strength, Eri tore into the remaining heads of the Demon. The Hydra viciously snapped and bit after the boy, but his diminutive size combined with the Demon’s clumsy bulk made Eri’s evasion almost guaranteed.

  Neck after neck, Eri severed, discarding worn blades for new ones with ease. When at last only two heads remained, and the rain of sputtering blood from the Hydra’s bleeding neck stumps proved too much for him to get close, Eri used his ultimate Hollowfang Arte.

  [Dagger Arts, Hollowfang’s Fourth Form: Life-Emptying Crucible]

  Blazing light covered the length of Eri’s right arm, fusing his dagger and flesh into a single, shining silver talon. The curved claw slashed with mythic sharpness against the King Hydra, parting its spine like water.

  Both heads were decapitated in one stroke with barely any resistance. The King Hydra shuddered violently for a few more seconds before its body finally collapsed, melting under the acidity of its own blood.

  Eri landed back on flooded ground, panting heavily. He felt like collapsing. His Core was strained almost beyond its limits. [Life-Emptying Crucible] took significant stamina and mana to use, and given his body’s fatigue condition after a whole afternoon of fighting, Eri was being driven to the brink.

  “Holy SHIT! Was that a Fourth-Form Arte?!” Julie exclaimed. She excitedly hopped down from the rooftops and ran over to Eri. “And I thought we were impressive for being able to use Second-Form Artes as Bronze Cores. Fourth Forms are the domain of Jewelled-Cores and Saints!”

  “Damn. Still outshowing us even after all these years,” Alvine shakily said. “All that hard work to make it to Bronze Core in three years, and we still fight like crap compared to you.”

  “I’m just surprised he’s actually real,” Raharim bluntly pointed out. “I’m not high on sweetleafs right now, am I? What are the odds we would just meet each other here?”

  Eri didn’t know how to respond as the party members crowded around him. The boy flushed under their intense attention, looking away and shuffling his feet awkwardly.

  “Aw! That’s so cute!” Julie gushed. “So you can act your age sometimes, after all! Really, I was worried for a moment you were a monster hiding in disguise or something.”

  “He is! He is a monster! He blew out my ears!” Bori protested. “Who the hell in their right mind would pack that much explosives on them anyway?!”

  “Quiet down, all of you. You’re being rude,” Joarris chided. He looked at Eri, his expression uncertain. “It has been a while.”

  “Yeah,” Eri nodded. “I wasn’t expecting company today, least of all you or the rest. This is a restricted area. What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Joarris grunted. “Why are you here, Eri? Where’s the rest of your team?”

  “Um, no team.” Eri coughed, looking away. “I came here to hunt by myself. Training.”

  “You came to train in a demon-infested hellhole all on your own? That’s suicidal.” Alvine’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “I want to say you’re lying, but… You know…”

  She gestured towards the acidifying pile of Hydra remains.

  Eri examined them. “How are all of you together as a party? And you are all Bronze Cores, too…”

  It typically took the average Chosen three to five years to reach Bronze after they received their Copper Core. For all five to have Bronze Cores was peculiar. They had been using Second Form Artes earlier as well — another unusual feat for their short stint thus far as Chosens.

  “Joarris gathered us together sometime after the Trial,” Alvine shrugged. “Nobles forming Chosen parties aren’t uncommon. Helps build connections and all that. But Joarris wanted to form a proper monster-hunting team. Explains why we have a foul-mouth peasant in our ranks…”

  “Screw off.” Julie gave the noblewoman a crude gesture.

  Eri hummed. “Well, it was nice meeting you all again. This place isn’t safe. How about we leave together? I know the way out, if you’re lost.”

  “We’re not lost. We are heading to the pumping station,” Bori grunted as he cleaned his ears of blood.

  Joarris glared at the Swordfighter. “That was supposed to remain confidential!”

  “Ah, what’s the harm?” Bori waved off. “It’s not like the kid’s working for House Elathion anyway, right?”

  Everyone turned to look at him. Eri shuffled nervously. “N-no?”

  [Persuasion failed]

  I get that, System. You don’t have to tell me…

  “You’re working with Lord Elathion?” Julie said in disbelief. “Traitor! I thought you were like me, a true anti-aristocrat! How can you work for the nobility?”

  “But… You’re working for the nobility as well,” Eri pointed out, confused.

  “Only until I can backstab them for money,” Julie proudly said. “That’s different.”

  Joarris sighed. “Look, Eri, we are not—”

  A bone-chilling roar echoed across the mist. The group stiffened.

  “Look, I don’t really care why you’re here, but you need to leave,” Eri stressed. “The Gold-Cores are getting riled. More of them will be coming soon. You’re already far too deep in the port. Venture any further, and you won’t be making out again.”

  “Pumping station’s just down this street, though,” Alvine noted. “We’ve already come all this way. Just need 10 minutes to get the sample. We might not get another chance like this.”

  Joarris grimaced. After a second of consideration, he shook his head. “It’s not worth risking our lives. If we encounter another Gold-Core while trapped in the pumping station, we’re dead. I’ll give my father an excuse. You’ll get your pay regardless. Let’s—”

  Another shriek. However, this time it came from behind them.

  Joarris turned and swore. Massive crab-like figures now shadowed the path they had come from.

  “Marrowcrabs. We can take them!” Julie confidently cheered.

  “Yeah, that’s not the main problem,” Raharim nervously said.

  To their sides, pouring forth from every street, were the slithering masses of stone skins and multiheaded beasts.

  Three more King Hydras appeared from the flooded alleyways, squeezing through the narrow corridors.

  The group was trapped. There was no way left to go… save for deeper into the port.

  “Well, on the bright side, guess we’ll have that chance to look into the pumping station now,” Alvine sighed. “Before we all die, that is.”

  “Everyone, run!” Joarris roared.