The three heads of the beast moved in perfect rhythm, their long necks twisting like vines as they watched the group. The toxic green liquid dripping from their teeth hissed whenever it hit the black mud, burning small holes into the wet ground.

Priscilla acted first to stop the monster from moving closer. She slammed the flat side of her black sword against a thick tree root, sending a wave of bright blue frost crawling across the surface of the swamp water. The ice spread quickly, freezing the top layer of the mud around the creature’s lower body to lock it in place.

"Dominion, raise the ground under us!" Priscilla commanded, her voice cutting through the sound of the hissing swamp. "We need stable footing or we cannot dodge the venom!"

Dominion quickly pressed both hands against the nearest solid root. She channeled her magic, forcing three large pillars of gray stone to burst out from beneath the mud. The stone platforms gave the team a safe place to stand, lifting them just above the reach of the freezing, toxic water.

Barry immediately jumped onto the highest stone pillar and leveled his iron spear. The weapon began to glow with a sharp white light as he activated his reinforcement technique. He knew he could not get too close to the three heads, so he prepared to throw his weapon if the creature lunged forward.

"Eric, watch the left head!" Barry shouted. "If it tries to flank us, use your speed rune to distract it!"

Eric nodded quickly, the red lines on his light arm plating flaring to life. He drew his short blade, his legs tensing as the magic made his movements lighter and faster. He moved to the edge of the stone platform, ready to leap the moment the monster struck.

From the back of the group, Rohan watched the monster’s name tag change as the system scanned the creature fully.

[Standard Elite Beast]

The beast did not stay trapped for long. The middle head let out a loud roar, and a sudden wave of heat burst from its scales, instantly melting Priscilla’s ice into gray steam. The creature free itself from the mud and lunged forward with incredible speed, all three heads striking at different targets simultaneously.

The right head snapped directly toward Barry’s stone platform, its jaws wide open. Barry thrust his reinforced spear forward, striking the creature right on its thick muzzle. The impact made a loud cracking sound, but the heavy scales deflected the point of the spear, forcing Barry to jump backward to avoid a direct bite.

The left head went for Eric, who used his enhanced speed to dodge to the side just in time. The giant head crashed into the stone pillar instead, shattering the rock into small fragments.

The middle head, which was the largest, aimed straight for Priscilla. She raised her black sword to block, her ice magic forming a thick shield of frost in front of her. The serpent’s teeth slammed into the shield, creating deep cracks in the frozen barrier.

Rohan stayed in the shadows of the rear platform, his hand resting lightly on his Steelwind Sword. He could see that the team was already struggling to handle three different attacks at once. This was the perfect opportunity for him to manipulate the battle. If he could use his abilities secretly to weaken one of the heads, the team would think they had a chance to win, forcing them to fight harder while he collected the larger share of the experience points.

He watched the middle head pull back for another strike, leaving its long neck exposed for a split second. Rohan prepared to activate his Shadow Linger ability to slip into the blind spot beneath the beast’s jaw.

The Three-Headed Mire Serpent pulled its middle head back, the thick muscles in its neck bunching up like a spring. Because it was an Elite rank beast, it carried three dangerous traits, and it was about to use the first one.

The scales along the middle neck began to ripple with a sickly green glow. A split second later, the middle head opened its jaws and unleashed a wide spray of boiling, toxic acid. The green liquid shot through the air like a heavy rain, covering the entire center of the swamp. Wherever the acid landed on the trees, the wood instantly hissed and turned into black ash.

"Get behind the rocks!" Priscilla shouted. She threw herself behind a large stone pillar that Dominion had raised earlier, her green armor sizzling slightly as stray droplets of acid touched her shoulder guards.

Eric used his speed rune to leap completely out of the way, landing hard on a thick, slippery root further back. Barry wasn’t as fast, he had to use his iron spear to block the worst of the spray, the magical metal of his weapon groaning as the acid began to eat away at its outer polish.

While the team was pinned down by the acidic spray, the monster activated its second trait. The left head slammed its snout into the deep mud, and a dark, pulsing wave of energy traveled through the swamp. Suddenly, the gravity around the stone platforms doubled. The air became thick and heavy, making everyone feel as though their bodies were suddenly made of lead.

"I... I can’t lift my arms!" Dominion gasped, her knees buckling under the intense pressure as she collapsed against the stone.

Even Priscilla found it hard to raise her black sword, her breaths coming in ragged gasps as the heavy gravity forced her down.

With the hunters completely immobilized by the gravity trait, the right head lunged forward to finish them off, aiming straight for the defenseless Dominion.

Rohan, standing at the very back, felt the heavy gravity press down on his shoulders, but his body was far more resilient than a normal Common Class hunter’s. He was a Legendary Class holder after all.

He looked at the incoming right head and immediately triggered Shadow Linger.

To the serpent’s right head, Rohan’s figure suddenly blurred and separated. The beast’s delayed perception made it think Rohan was stepping to the left, causing it to alter its strike mid-air to bite at the empty space.

As the giant head snapped harmlessly at the air, the real Rohan was already underneath its massive jaw. He gripped the Steelwind Sword with both hands, ignoring the crushing weight of the gravity trait, and drove the silver blade upward into the soft skin beneath the serpent’s chin.

The sword cut deep, and Rohan twisted the blade before pulling it out, causing dark, green blood to erupt from the wound. The right head let out a muffled shriek of pain and thrashed backward, its green eyes flickering wildly as the injury disrupted its focus.

The moment the right head pulled back, the crushing gravity in the swamp suddenly vanished. The left head had lost its concentration due to its sibling’s sudden scream of agony.

"Now! Strike it now!" Priscilla yelled, feeling the immense weight lift from her body. She did not waste a single second. She channeled every bit of her remaining essence into her black sword, turning the blade into a pillar of pure, freezing ice. She leaped from her platform and drove the frozen blade straight into the wounded neck of the right head.

The ice magic exploded inside the wound Rohan had created. The intense cold froze the green blood instantly, and the entire right head shattered into frozen, bloody chunks of meat. One head was down.

But the death of the right head only triggered the beast’s third and most dangerous trait.

The remaining two heads let out a simultaneous roar that echoed through the foggy mountains. The mossy scales on the serpent’s body turned a deep, bloody red, and its size seemed to swell by half. The swamp water around it began to boil violently from the pure, chaotic energy rolling off its skin.

The beast’s muscles swelled and its movements became noticeably faster. The pressure rolling from its body intensified, and its remaining two heads were now looking directly at Priscilla and Rohan with absolute hatred.