The village looked better than ever now. With the help of his new skills, Lancer had not only rebuilt it but improved it in subtle, practical ways. By manipulating the molecular density of materials, he could alter their physical properties. Carts, for example, were now much lighter while maintaining their sturdiness, making transport and labor significantly easier for the villagers.
The people praised him endlessly for his contributions, but Lancer still felt a lingering unease. Despite the progress, he couldn't shake the memory of the attack and kept thinking about how to prevent another disaster. He sat on the steps of the rebuilt chief's house, mulling over defensive measures when Livia approached him.
"I'm heading into the forest for a bit," she said casually. "Care to join me?"
He blinked, surprised by the sudden invitation, but he saw no reason to refuse. "Sure, why not?"
With that, they set off into the woods together.
It was a tense sort of silence as they walked through the forest. The air was thick with unspoken words, and Lancer found himself avoiding Livia's gaze. They hadn't spoken much since returning to the village. He remembered vividly the horrified look on her face when he used Diffusion on Selene. At the time, his mind had been in a haze, and while he had no regrets about what he did, he couldn't blame her for reacting that way. If their roles had been reversed, he was sure he would have felt the same.
Livia eventually broke the silence. "I don't blame you for anything, you know."
Lancer opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off firmly.
"No, really. It's fine," she said, her voice steady. "I don't care what skills you have or what you did to Selene or Chief Nero. As long as you're doing what's best to keep everyone safe, I'm okay with it."
They walked a little longer in silence before Lancer spoke quietly. "Thank you."
Livia gave a small smile. "No problem."
After a moment, Lancer cleared his throat. "So, uh… what exactly are we out here to do?"
"We're running low on food," she explained. "Most of it was destroyed during the attack, and we need to gather whatever we can. Some of the other villagers headed out earlier this morning, but I figured you could make things a little easier."
"You mean by using Dimensional Stowaway?"
She nodded.
Lancer turned his attention inward and asked the system if the skill could handle transporting a significant amount of food.
[Due to the excess mana available, Dimensional Stowaway's capacity is now 20,000 cubic meters.]
"That's huge!" he thought, his mind reeling at the sheer size of the space.
"Well, I guess it'll be fine."
They were suddenly interrupted by a scream up ahead. The sound cut through the forest like a sharp blade, and both Lancer and Livia froze for a moment before exchanging a glance. Without a word, they broke into a sprint, heading toward the source.
What they found made Lancer's blood run cold. A little girl was cowering against the trunk of a tree in the clearing he had made days ago. But that wasn't what had him wide-eyed with disbelief—it was the creature in front of her.
The beast looked like an overgrown komodo dragon, its greenish scales shimmering faintly in the dim light filtering through the trees. Its body was massive, but what stood out most was the neck that split into four separate heads, each roughly the size of Lancer's torso. The heads swayed slightly, their wickedly sharp teeth bared, dripping with venom that hissed as it hit the ground.
His eyes darted to the girl's arm. A terrible burn wound ran down her forearm, and he realized the venom wasn't just deadly—it was corrosive.
"A hydra!" Livia exclaimed, her voice trembling. "And an adult one, too!"
There was no time to think. The hydra's heads reared back, preparing to strike at the girl. Lancer's mind raced. There wasn't enough time to close the distance and attack with his spear.
Instinctively, he summoned the manticore's spiked attack, forming the crystalline spikes in midair. He compressed them as much as possible using Molecular Reconstruction, shaping them into a razor-sharp blade in the fraction of a second he had. With a surge of effort, he launched the blade at one of the hydra's heads.
The crystal sliced clean through the neck, severing the head entirely, but Lancer's relief was short-lived. The hydra didn't seem fazed at all. Worse still, a faint sizzling sound filled the air as the stump of the severed neck bubbled and began to regenerate.
Even more alarming was that the poison he had laced the blade with using Venomous Touch had no visible effect.
The severed neck sizzled ominously, and to Lancer's horror, it split into two new heads. The hydra turned its now five heads toward them, its hissing escalating into a guttural, terrifying roar. Lancer had no doubt—it was furious.
Without hesitating, he activated Data Transfer to relay his plan to Livia. Go for the kid. I'll distract it.
Livia gave him a firm nod as the instruction filtered into her mind. Without a word, she darted toward the girl, staying low and silent.
Meanwhile, Lancer formed more crystal blades, condensing them with all the speed and focus he could muster. He hurled them at the hydra and then sprinted to one side, shouting and clapping to draw its attention.
It worked. The beast turned its monstrous heads toward him and let out a bloodcurdling hiss before lunging in his direction. Lancer ran as fast as his legs could carry him, the hydra's massive bulk barreling after him at a speed that seemed physically impossible for something so large.
His heart pounded, but this was what he had planned for. Skidding to a stop, he turned to face the creature as it bore down on him, its jaws snapping.
Do it, he thought, his mind shouting the command.
[Confirmed.]
A blinding blue beam erupted from his hands, streaking through the air and slamming into the hydra. Its scales glowed briefly under the onslaught before its entire body began to disintegrate, particles breaking down into a fine mist of energy that flowed toward Lancer. The hydra let out a final screech as its form vanished into nothingness.
The forest fell silent.
Lancer exhaled sharply, his chest heaving as he tried to calm his racing heart.
[Skill acquired: Regeneration via Energy Assimilation.]
"Sweet. Though I really hope I won't end up needing it. Missing limbs don't sound like fun."
[Additional skill acquired: Poison Breath.]
"Lovely," he added, still catching his breath. "Because spewing venom was exactly what I was missing."
He turned to see Livia cradling the little girl in her arms, her face a mixture of relief and concern. The child clung to her, tears streaming down her face, but she was safe. Lancer gave them a small, exhausted smile. The danger was over. For now.