The Achievement Junkie

The great hydra elder felt a rush of breath enter his lungs and life come back to him. He was seen panting heavily before the further shocked crowd, and rage filled his eyes.

'How dare you--'

Without batting an eye, Jack cast spatial slash yet again to behead the hydra anew. But Jack caught the head and immediately placed it back while casting revivification simultaneously.

When the elder experienced death and revival for the second time within the span of a minute, he was all the more furious. "This--"

Again, Jack beheaded the hydra and instantly revived him. And Jack did it so casually, still acting like it was a chore. This time, Jack began speaking the moment the elder was revived, stating, 'You do realize you died, right? As in, you lost your life and are only alive now because of her?' Pointing to Lunara, Jack continued, 'If not for her, I wouldn't mind leaving you headless and feeding your corpse to others as a delicacy. She's requesting an audience with the Hydra Head, but I'm ordering you to grant us an audience. Get the picture?'

'Why would--'

Jack mercilessly severed the hydra's neck again and mercifully revived the elder in the following seconds. 'I'm ordering you to grant us an audience with the Hydra Head. Or will I need to take your head as collateral for such a meeting?'

The hydra elder kept quiet. He made no moves, neither with his head or the rest of his body. With every fiber of his being, the hydra elder wanted to deny Jack the privilege of immediately meeting their ruler and banish such disrespectful filth. Yet he now understood how incapable he was in the face of Jack, something that defied all logic of the Glacial Hydras.

'Shall I give you another lesson?' asked Jack. 'I wonder how many times we can do this before I'm out of mana…'

'Your audience is granted!' a shout came from the audience, surprising many.

The hero looked down at the room's entrance and sighed, meeting the gaze of another hydra wearing a similar headband to the speechless elder. 'How soon?'

'They've already begun to prepare the meeting place and I'm sure the head will be glad to welcome you. Please, follow me,' the elder replied with a bow, glad that he had arrived when he did.

'Very well…'

Jack teleported back to Lunara's back and sat beside Lina, who was feeling mixed emotions. Witnessing Jack killing her people so casually was harder than she expected but she was also shocked to see the amount of loathing that her mother was receiving.

When the six guards from earlier tried to follow as well, that hydra elder shook his head. 'I believe there's no point in your presence. Would you disagree?'

'We--'

'Thank you, Elder,' the lv. 88 hydra from earlier spoke out, silencing the other unwilling guards who were furious at Jack's outburst.

Glad to have a level headed captain, the elder ordered, 'Return to your usual duties. I'll handle things from here.'

As the six guards were left behind, Jack confirmed some of his prior beliefs. Each hydra had some means of showing its status. The elders wore headbands made of the ice from Glacier Reef with an occasional gemstone embedded at the center, like the arrogant hydra elder that Jack toyed with. The hydra guards had armbands made from ice but in different colors, mostly being blue yet the lv. 88 wore a greener ice band.

'I'm sorry for causing you such trouble,' the guiding elder stated. 'You may call me, Artrat. Please, don't assume that Elder Hindrad and his beliefs are shared by all hydras.'

'Really?'

Glancing at the third formerly silent figure, Artrat chuckled, 'The purpose of you being brought to Hindrad was clear. At the moment, the issue of discrimination is at large. One side holds fast to old beliefs and traditions while the faction wanting equality is growing beyond their control. And the newest head leans in our favor on these matters, though he's been waiting for the best time to act against widespread segregation of the hydras.'

'And that involves us because she has nine heads?' deduced Jack.

'That's right. The arrival of a nine-headed hydra is unheard of and will shock the hydra people.'

'You mean… there are more hydras with multiple heads than before?' Lunara questioned.

Artrat nodded and led the small party toward another even larger building at the very center of the glacial city. 'That means you've lived since long ago? I heard you once lived here but I recall no nine-headed hydras in my time. And you definitely don't look older than me.'

'She has a husband, by the way.'

'Jack!'

Laughing, Artrat stated, 'I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, for millennia, there's been a shift in the amount of heads hydras are born with. Now, the majority of hydras are born with three heads and some three-headed hydras have managed to become elders a well.'

'Seriously… That's wonderful!'

'But that only encourages those holding to tradition to grow more radical,' added Artrat. 'Hindrad is the perfect example of that. Now, you'll have your first meeting with the head, but don't expect it to be the last. I'm sure the elders will be making moves involving your return here. However--'

'I'm not returning,' stated Lunara. 'We've only come to visit Glacier Keep. That's all.'

'Well… That will be hard for us elders to swallow, as both sides will seek to do something about your arrival. And this is the first time any other powerful creatures have entered the reef, so I'm still unclear on how that will be handled,' replied Artrat. 'But I assure you, we'll do our best to treat you fairly while these two guests are in the reef.'

'If anyone tries anything against her, I'll kill them. And I may not be in the mood to revive them afterward, even if she asks me to.' Jack presented his thoughts clearly, for both Artrat and Lunara to understand. 'As for the issue about Glacier Keep, the hydras are unable to stop what's coming.'