Ethan looked at the Hydra.
The Hydra suddenly froze.
It could feel something.
Most of its power had been absorbed.
It stared at Ethan as if it were looking at something terrifying.
Then—
It fled.
The Hydra flew high into the air.
Ethan followed, flying out of the water.
"What the hell is going on?"
"I thought I was screwed down there…"
He looked at his body.
"But not only that…"
"The strength I gained from the Grizzly Bear and the Hydra…"
"It feels like everything has merged into one."
Ethan clenched his fist.
"And my physical strength…"
"I can feel it."
"My body feels completely different."
He looked down at himself.
His clothes were completely destroyed.
Even his trousers were ripped apart.
"My clothes are a mess…"
Ethan slowly looked down at the lake.
Then—
He flew toward the water.
This time, his speed was completely different.
He was much faster than before.
WHOOSH!
Ethan entered the water at incredible speed.
The moment the Hydra spotted him, its expression changed.
It understood.
It was struggling to escape.
The Hydra turned and began swimming deeper into the water.
Ethan followed.
He quickly caught up.
He grabbed the Hydra's tail.
The enormous creature continued swimming, but Ethan held on.
He pulled it upward with one hand.
The Hydra turned its head toward him.
It opened its mouth and tried to bite him.
Ethan easily dodged the attack.
BOOM!
He raised his fist.
"Let me see if you can handle this."
Ethan smiled.
He moved beneath the Hydra's jaw.
Then—
BOOM!
His fist slammed into the Hydra's jaw.
The force of the punch sent its enormous head flying out of the water.
BOOM!
The Hydra's long body followed.
Its head flew toward the shore while its tail remained in the water.
The Hydra's head crashed onto the ground beside the lake.
Ethan followed.
The Hydra desperately tried to pull itself back toward the water.
Ethan landed directly on its head.
He raised his fist.
"This was a serious struggle."
"Not only that…"
"If I had been even a second slower down there, I would have been in the afterlife."
Ethan looked down at the Hydra.
"But now…"
"Without your ability, you're nothing but a giant worm."
He clenched his fist.
"Even with these scales…"
"I should have enough strength to shatter your skull."
Ethan punched downward.
BOOM!
The Hydra screamed.
Its enormous head suddenly jerked upward.
It moved with incredible speed, trying to bite Ethan.
Ethan dodged.
The Hydra slammed its head into the ground.
It struggled to move back toward the water.
Ethan smiled.
He looked at the damaged skull.
"It regenerated…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"But the damage is still there."
"Just one more punch."
Ethan raised his fist.
Fire began gathering around his arm.
The flames wrapped around his fist.
He prepared to strike.
The Hydra suddenly moved.
Ethan saw it trying to escape into the water.
"Not so fast."
The moment the Hydra was about to reach the water—
Ethan jumped after it.
He landed in the water and immediately began punching its skull.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each punch shook the water around them.
The Hydra struggled violently.
Ethan continued.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
He didn't stop.
Until finally—
CRACK!
The Hydra's skull shattered completely.
The Hydra's body continued struggling.
Ethan raised his right arm.
He grabbed the gigantic skull.
Then—
He ripped it away.
Ethan held the enormous head in his right hand.
He flew out of the water.
He carried the Hydra's head away from the lake before landing on the ground.
Ethan slowly caught his breath.
He breathed in.
Then out.
He looked down at the shattered skull.
Then he jumped onto the Hydra's head.
He stood there for a moment.
Ethan raised the enormous skull above his head.
A smile appeared on his face.
"I did it."
Ethan slowly lowered the Hydra's skull.
He looked at the shattered remains.
Then he noticed something inside.
The Hydra's core.
Ethan reached into the broken skull and pulled it out.
The core was enormous and radiated a powerful energy.
He stared at it for a moment.
"This is the core of an A-rank Hydra…"
He closed his hand around it.
Then he put it away.
"Wow…"
"I really thought I was finished."
Ethan sat back on top of the ledge, catching his breath.
After a moment, he jumped back down.
He looked at the Hydra's enormous body.
Ethan grabbed part of it and began dragging it backward, trying to see its full length.
But the body was simply too long.
The Hydra's enormous body stretched across the dungeon.
Ethan paused and stared at it.
"I have the core with me…"
He looked down at his hands.
"Never would I have thought my life would turn out like this."
"I actually managed to achieve something like this."
"Insane…"
Ethan shook his head.
"I'm truly surprised."
He looked at the Hydra's enormous body again.
"But at the same time…"
"Even after killing this thing…"
"I'm still terrified."
"This is the second time I've come so close to death."
"But this time…"
"This was even worse."
Ethan looked at the Hydra's body.
"Now that I have the core of an A-rank Hydra…"
"This should sell for an insane price."
He smiled slightly.
"If I could take the entire body of the Hydra with me…"
"That would make me even richer."
Ethan looked down at both of his hands.
Then at his legs.
He moved his fingers.
Everything had regenerated completely.
Then—
RUMBLE…
Ethan suddenly looked up.
The enormous crystal door began opening.
Slowly.
The jagged crystal door moved apart, revealing the passage beyond it.
Ethan stared at it.
"Just like I thought…"
"The dungeon has a life of its own."
He looked toward the door.
"Now that I've defeated the monster…"
"It finally lets me out."
Ethan remembered what had happened when he first entered the floor.
"But when I was trying to escape…"
"When I entered this place…"
"It closed."
He narrowed his eyes.
"So this dungeon really did trap me here until I defeated that monster."