**Chapter 10: The Methane Gambit**
The Swamp Hydra was not a creature of biology; it was a mistake of mana.
It lived in the deepest part of the wetlands, a stagnant lagoon where the water was black and the air burned the lungs. Zayne stood knee-deep in the muck, his boots sinking into the soft silt.
[Warning: High concentration of Neurotoxin detected.]
[Breathing unrestricted time: 5 minutes.]
"Five minutes," Zayne noted. "Plenty."
The water in front of him began to boil.
*HISSSSS.*
Five heads erupted from the murky depths. They were serpentine, covered in slimy green scales, each the size of a minivan.
[Target: Swamp Hydra (Elite Boss)]
[Level: 18]
[HP: 5000/5000]
[Heads: Poison, Acid, Frost, Lightning, Fire.]
[Passive: Regeneration (Heads regrow in 10 seconds if the heart is not destroyed).]
Five elements. A balanced party wipe.
Usually, a raid team would separate the heads. The Tank would take the Physical heads, the Mage would shield against the Fire, and the Assassin would hunt the heart.
Zayne was alone.
The Fire Head (Red) opened its maw.
The Poison Head (Green) flared its hood.
"Analysis."
The world turned violet. Zayne ignored the terrifying teeth. He looked at the water. Specifically, the bubbles rising from the decaying vegetation beneath the Hydra's massive body.
[Methane Gas pockets detected.]
[Density: Critical.]
Zayne smiled. He didn't draw his sword immediately. He stood perfectly still, his hands at his sides.
"Come on," he taunted softly.
The Hydra, insulted by the prey's lack of fear, attacked.
The Poison Head lunged first, spraying a jet of corrosive green mist.
Zayne waited until the mist was inches from his face.
*Shadow Step.*
He blinked *upward*, appearing ten meters in the air, directly above the central body.
The Poison mist hit the water where he had been standing, sizzling uselessly.
"Now, the Red one," Zayne calculated.
He was falling. Gravity took hold. As he fell toward the Hydra's back, he drew the *Fang of the Alpha*. He didn't aim for the beast. He threw the sword.
It spun through the air, striking the side of the Fire Head's cheek. It didn't do damage, but the impact annoyed it. The Fire Head snapped its attention to the gnat buzzing around it.
It roared, unleashing a torrent of napalm-like flame at Zayne.
Zayne was still falling. He couldn't dodge in mid-air.
But he didn't need to.
*Void Sovereign: Mana Weight.*
He pushed his mana *downward*, increasing his own gravity. He plummeted like a stone, accelerating past terminal velocity. The stream of fire passed harmlessly over his head.
Zayne splashed into the water right at the base of the Hydra's necks.
The fire stream didn't hit him. It hit the water. It hit the Poison mist lingering there.
And it hit the methane bubbles rising from the disturbed mud.
*FWOOOM!*
Chemistry took over.
The lagoon exploded. A massive fireball engulfed the Hydra, fueled by the swamp itself. The shockwave blew the water back, creating a temporary crater of dry mud.
[-1,200 HP]
[Target Stunned.]
The Hydra shrieked in five different pitches. The explosion had scorched its scales and disoriented its senses. The heads were thrashing blindly, tangled in each other.
Zayne stood in the center of the crater, shielded by the Hydra's own bulk.
"Regeneration doesn't work if you cauterize the wounds," Zayne stated.
He retrieved his sword from the mud. The Hydra was stunned, but 3,800 HP remained. The explosion was just the opener.
He looked at the tangled mess of necks.
[Analysis: The Heart is located at the junction of the five necks. Protective scale thickness: 10cm.]
Zayne sprinted up the Hydra's back, his boots finding grip on the scorched scales.
The Lightning Head recovered first. It crackled with blue energy, aiming to zap the parasite on its back.
Zayne didn't stop. He ran *toward* the Lightning Head.
"Shoot," he commanded.
The head fired a bolt of lightning.
Zayne used *Shadow Step* instantly, blinking behind the Frost Head.
The lightning bolt missed Zayne and struck the Frost Head squarely in the eye.
*CRACK-BOOM.*
[-400 HP]
[Friendly Fire.]
The Frost Head went limp, brain-dead.
Zayne reached the junction—the massive hump where the necks met the torso. He could hear the heart beating beneath the scales. *Thump-thump. Thump-thump.*
He reversed his grip on the sword.
"Titan's Strength: Activate."
His muscles bulged, tearing the sleeves of his tunic. His strength stat surged by 20%.
He didn't stab. He *drilled*.
He drove the *Fang of the Alpha* into the scales, twisting his body with the momentum.
*CRUNCH.*
The scales cracked. The blade sank deep.
Blood—black and oily—erupted like a geyser.
The Hydra screamed. All four remaining heads whipped around to bite him. Fire, Poison, Lightning, Acid—all converging on one point.
Zayne didn't let go of the sword. He grabbed the hilt with both hands.
"Burst."
He activated the *Ring of the Glutton*'s accumulated mana. He poured it all into the blade, not for a skill, but to overload the *Bleed* enchantment.
*SHING.*
The sword vibrated violently, expanding the wound inside the Hydra's chest.
Zayne ripped the sword out and jumped backward just as four sets of jaws snapped shut on the empty space where he had been standing.
He landed in the water, sliding back ten meters.
He watched.
The Hydra tried to roar again, but blood poured from its mouths. The heart had been punctured.
[HP: 1,500... 1,000... 500...]
The massive beast swayed. One by one, the heads went limp, splashing into the water.
*THUD.*
The final head collapsed.
[You have slain the Floor 2 Boss: Swamp Hydra.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Zayne exhaled, watching the notification. He ignored the level ups. He walked over to the corpse, wading through the toxic blood.
He pulled out the *Eye of the Void* from his inventory. It was a dull grey stone.
He dropped it into the black blood pooling around the Hydra's severed heart.
*Hiss.*
The stone drank the blood. It began to glow, changing from grey to a deep, devouring purple. It vibrated, resonating with the *Void Sovereign* bloodline in Zayne's veins.
[Quest Item Updated: Awakened Eye of the Void.]
[Class Quest Step 2: Complete.]
[Step 3: Consume the Eye.]
Zayne picked up the wet, glowing eye.
"Consume?" He raised an eyebrow. "How barbaric."
He didn't hesitate. He tilted his head back and swallowed the stone whole.