Hollow, finally had achieved one of the reasons he targeted the salamander den, its elevated height. Being able to overlook the glade and its surrounding areas gave him a very useful tactical overview. He observed a few distinct areas, there was the glade from which he started. It was surroundings were split into 4 rough areas, there was a heavily forested area in which he had encountered the mantises, a sparser forested area full of glades, a marsh area, and finally the rockier area where he was in.
Thinking of the 3 other boss monsters, Hollow assumed that the [Tough Rock Tortoise] lived in the swamp, the [Vicious Blue Mantis] in the thick forest, and the patchier forest contained the [Poisonous Green Gecko].
Satisfied with the new information, Hollow decided that it was appropriate to go to the swampy area and understand how difficult the turtles would be, they were the only creatures that he had not encountered yet. From his prior knowledge of turtles, he was expecting these creatures to be tanks and very difficult to kill.
Hollow hopped to encounter a few monsters so that he could level up to 10 before encountering his first turtle but sadly the forest was vacant.
Upon arriving at the swamp, Hollow began to concern himself about how difficult the hunt was going to be. This was the turtle's environment, and he had a very difficult time moving around. This swamp slowed his movement completely, he had to worry about falling into the deep water or getting dragged in.
As Hollow walked through the jungle, he heard a scream. Hollow froze and looked around. "Screw it" he muttered as he bolted towards the area of the scream.
Arriving at it he encountered something he had never expected, a giant two-headed snake.
[Inferior Imperfect Hydra level 18]
[Health 192/243]
Attempting to dodge one of its attacks was a woman he had seen with Adrian.
[Stella level 8]
Hollow was surprised when he saw her, she was able to achieve something that for the longest time he had been unable to do, dual wield. This amazed Hollow, it gave him hope for humanity. We needed as many powerhouses as we can get, he reasoned. It was weird that a very competent fighter was all on her own in one of the most inhospitable terrains.
Seeing as Stella was barely able to damage the creature and had already lost usability to one of her arms, the severe amount of blood flowing out of her and finally her screams of pain. Hollow decided to intervene before her death.
As one of the heads of the hydra lunged towards her it was met with a [Pointed Mana Blast] [227 damage dealt].
Hollow turned towards Stella and started asking, "Are you ok?" except he was interrupted by a [Acid Blast] coming his way. Sidestepping the blast, Hollow was surprised to see the hydra's other head completely alive and fine.
[Inferior Imperfect Hydra (head 2) level 18]
[Health 243/243]
Now, severely concerned about the hydra he turned around and gave it his full attention. "Kill it quickly, it can heal the other head" Stella shouted.
Hollow blurred forward, and as the hydra's last head began to surround itself in a green color, Hollow slashed. [Veteran Mana Slash][Damagde dealt 222]. He quickly followed that up with a basic attack, clobbering the hydra to death.
[Inferior Imperfect Hydra level 18 killed]
[Exp distributed among party members. 80% of work done by you]
[407*90%=367 exp gained]
[Leveled up]
[Leveled up]
An explosion of notifications followed. Ignoring them Hollow ran over to Stella and checked on her. Her arm was damaged but she would keep it. "You're Hollow" She stuttered out, "everyone's been looking for you." Still stunned by the quick killing of the hydra she continued blabbering out questions.
After calming her down, Hollow asked her, "What are you doing all the way out here? Weren't you part of Adrian's group".
Shyly she looked to the ground and finally answered, "I left, Adrian is an asshole. He wanted all of the exp and kicked me out because he felt I was a threat." shaking her head, "It's a whole big mess"
"What do you mean?" Hollow asked quite confused.
Stella continued blabbering and mumbling as she was still panicking. Hollow managed to piece together what the situation in the glade was like. Adrian's and his group got to power-hungry and an opposition group rose. They disliked Adrian's absolute power and operated more on democratic protocols.
They weren't quite at war when the event notice came. The event changed the entirety of the goals. Everyone could agree on the importance of keeping the glade. The groups were forced to declare an alliance and begin work on establishing a defensive perimeter.
Much to Adrian's disagreement, a manhunt had been launched for Hollow. Everyone wanted his information. The democratic group or the New Age as they called themselves were probably looking to recruit him. The rumors that had been spread about his capabilities were numerous and at the same time monstrous.
Finally calming herself down, Stella finally asked, "Ok, what do you know"
Sighing Hollow tolled her simply, "we are facing three level 25 monsters. I barely managed to kill the lizard when it had just evolved. I believe that level 25 is an important level that brings fundamental changes. Otherwise, I have no idea." thinking for a moment, Hollow asked, "How are you dual wielding, "I haven't figured out how to."
Stunned for a second she responded, "I just kept trying. You use two swords in alternating fashions till you get it. You are able to single-wield, so the idea is to quickly change which hand you are using."
"Toss me your swords," Hollow asked her. Surprised and concerned she looked around, without any other options, she tossed her swords back.
Hollow quickly enhanced both with the inferior rune of power.
Sword of Ice(rare)--> Sword of Ice(rare)(enhanced)
- +4 to strength and dexterity -->+6 to strength and dexterity
- +2 to wisdom and intelligence -->+4 to wisdom and intelligence
- 1% to dexterity --> 3% to dexterity
Sharp Sword(uncommon)--> Inferior Runic Sword(rare)
- +3 to strength and dexterity -->+5 to strength +7 to dexterity
Tossing them back, a look of intrigue passed over Stella's face, and it then changed into a look of absolute surprise and amazement. "You should tell the others about the monster's potential strength"
"Thank you" she shouted as she scampered off.
Satisfied Hollow looked at the notifications he received at a level 10.
[Preliminary Class selection]