It didn’t take long before our preparation was complete. I watched in silence as each of my companions equipped themselves with their respective weapons, Sirius with his long spear and Octus tucked his black blade in his waist. Darren wasn’t that proficient with swords but he still carried a small blade among other things. Although I didn’t have much to prepare except for the blade that Octus had given me at the start of our journey.

Using a sword wasn’t something I was the most proficient but I’d somehow managed to get a grasp of it by imitating the others. By now there were a few scratches and dents in the sword as someone had repeatedly stuck it with a sharp nail on its surface but it was going to just fine. Once I imbued the blade with a bondor, a protective layer would be created over it and save it from any further damage.

Once they were done Sirius and Darren headed out first, commencing the first part of our plan. Initially, they were going to decrease the distance so that Darren could locate the Hydra’s core. After all that would be the pillar to our success. After that, they will attack the beast and it will be the signal for Octus and I to move.

It was a well-made plan but for some reason, there was an odd feeling that was bothering me. I didn’t pay it any hid at first but slowly it started to become more and more unsettling—that maybe there was a possibility of failure. And that maybe I might die. It wouldn’t be something unnatural for something like that to happen. We were going to fight against a monster which was stronger than any other foe we had fought till now.

But I had three veteran fighters along with me, I reasoned with myself.

I was the least experienced among them and I doubted how much help I could provide but at the end of the day my life was mine and I alone was responsible for it. It would be foolish to expect them to come to save my life whenever I was in danger.

Pulling me out of my thoughts my partner in crime, Octus called me from ahead. “What are you doing zareth?!” he frowned, “Sirius and Darren have already left. We need to hurry!”

“Yeah coming!” I said, pacing toward him.

He had a map resting over his hand which he neatly folded and handed to me. I raised my brow, asking what he was doing.

“Just hold it for a moment,” he said.

Taking the withered parchment I felt the tattered edges of its hard paper. It was anything but fancy—with most of the details being hand drawn with crude engravings that made it slightly harder for me to discern between which was what. There wasn’t any color involved instead most of it was just black and white. When I tried reading its content, I was able to find similarities between what Darren had mentioned prior and the various shapes of the map.

He had been constantly nagging both Octus and me about the path that we had to take. At first, I was quite intent on listening on—for neither was I experienced in traversing through forest nor was Darren going to tag along with us, but then slowly I realized that Darren was an absolute perfectionist when it came to his job, especially pathfinding. It was so severe that Octus abandoned me out of nowhere, leaving me behind with Darren’s nitpicking.

I sure wasn’t forgetting that stuff even in my dead bed. Hah.

Octus lined up his slightly disheveled hair, pulling it back with gentle force, and then skillfully tied it with a small rubber band. Despite being in a forest he had been the most diligent in taking care of his looks of all. Well, he was pretty good-looking to begin with.

Once he was satisfied, he looked at me.“This is going to be a great experience for you zareth.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked, not sure which part he was talking about.

“Well not everyone gets the lucky or maybe the unlucky opportunity to fight against a full-blown Mezah ranked monster. Not that everybody desires that. Most of the mystics would prefer to live their life in peace than to learn and experience more about their powers.” he said, “Hell, I can’t even understand those bastards.”

I didn’t think that was weird. Perhaps that was the most logical and normal thing to do. Why would someone intentionally endanger their life? It’s just that Octus was the weird one.

Maybe I wasn’t that normal either, I humored silently.

He said, “Anyways it’s going to be an invaluable lesson for a half-mystitc like you!” He slammed my back with enough force that I stumbled forward.

“Maybe I will awaken soon enough?” I mumbled but Octus managed to hear me.

“Yeah keep dreaming!” Octus snorted.

We didn’t talk much after that and instead focused on moving toward our destination. Our movements were swift and efficient, careful not to make any noise. Both Octus and I knew that our opponent was shrouded by a layer of mystery—what its powers and weaknesses might be was completely outside our knowledge. And the little that Sirius learned through the ancient texts was nowhere near to ensuring an easy victory for us. In such a condition the best response was to be as careful as possible.

When I looked up at the sky or whatever little of it was visible through the trees, branches, and leaves, I found a little glimmer of the evening sun passing through them. And the shadows allowed us to hide ourselves from the hydra’s sight.

The farther we went the more the pressure in the air became, an invisible hand crept its way to my heart—wrapping itself around and tightening its vicious grip. My breath turned heavier as a small burst of pain erupted from my chest, making my movements glitch. I looked at Octus in a grimace and found him to be in a similar condition but the next moment his pale face turned visibly better.

My eyes widened in shock and confusion but Octus explained it.

“The hydra is corrupting the ambient bondor around it. You have to counter it with our own,” he started and an idea slowly started to take form in my mind. “Channel the bondor throughout your body. Don’t force it. Instead, focus on guiding it like wind trapped in a vessel—and that vessel is your own body.”

We came to a stop and I closed my eyes while leaning against a random tree. I preferred having all my focus reserved for what I was about to do instead of dividing it into two parts. As I pulled my focus inwards into my own body, the flesh and structure of which became roughly visible to my mind’s eye. The feeling was a little less subtle than before—present but distant. I couldn’t tell exactly where the bondor was or how it flowed through the channels inside, but I could define the part of the body. I focused on guiding it along as Octus said.

“The vessel is strong but can still break if much force is applied from within. Let it be gentle. The wind has direction but no will—but the bondor has both direction and will. It’s the will of the owner. It will bend however you wish for it to,” Octus’s calm voice brushed past my ear.

Soon the effect was noticeable. Opening my eyes, I realized that my body was way lighter than before. I threw a couple of punches in the air but didn’t find any increase in speed or strength as I’d hoped.

“Hah! Just because you feel lighter doesn’t mean you will also get stronger,” Octus mocked. “It’s nothing but a perceived feeling. If you weight your shoulder all the time, it’s natural to feel lighter when it’s taken off.”

It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t disappointed but it was still better than nothing. With a sigh, I picked up my sword.

“Let’s go-” Octus was cut short with a massive blast ahead of us.

Both of us snapped our heads toward the direction of the sound and watched as something big was flung up in the air and then crash-landed somehow ahead of us. We exchanged a quick look between us.

“Were we late?” I mumbled.

“Alright,” Octus said tucking his sword. “Use your skyburst. I will follow behind.”