"Hissssss! Newbies are my favourite snack!"

The voice of Cronus, the World Hydra boomed out across the desolate plain in some far-off corner of Valeria. Ten warriors were busy constructing a catapult to fire whilst around twenty others tried to fend it off with sword swings and magic bolts. Most of the attacks missed and the Hydra roared with laughter.

Or at least, that's how it sounded to me. I'd only heard the name once from a tavern I'd passed by and apparently, this particular beast was one of the worst. It was humongous and if all its heads were stretched up, it'd measure about ten of me. Maybe fifteen.

Clutching my sword and shield, I steeled myself in preparation. I had the stamina to deal some serious damage to this son of a mommy hydra. Before I could charge, I felt a gloved hand on my shoulder. I turned to meet the eyes of one of the generals I'd hired, Zarevok.

"Not yet. The others have nearly finished the catapult." He was serious, but the Hydra kept swinging its heads like morning stars, trying to smash it to pieces. I appreciated the advice but if the thing was damaged, they'd never fire it.

From beneath my helmet, I frowned. "Listen, I know you're a tactician against this sort of thing but can't you see that if the catapult gets destroyed-"

Zarevok cut me short. "I know, but at your level, the Hydra would kill you with one blow."

Level? Since when had he ever used that term? Shaking my head quickly, I stood tall, shaking out my arms and tightening my grip on my blade. "I'll be ready." Rational thought aside for now, I ran as fast as the weight of my armour would allow, leaping upwards and striking at one of the Hydra's necks. It roared out in what I thought was pain and I could already see its blood dribbling from the wound.

From the corner of my eye I could see that the catapult was ready to fire. Quickly rolling to the side, the warriors activated it, sending a stream of rocks in Cronus' direction. The smaller ones bounced off its thick hide while the largest rock smacked into one of the heads, knocking it out. I was about to prepare for my next attack when Zarevok approached me again.

"Good work so far, Meister. Now... you want to aim for one of the monster's heads. Cronus' weak spots are the vertebrae where the necks join to the heads. If your blade hits it at just the right angle, you'll sever the head clean off."

I nodded, rising up from the ground and readying my blade. Not a second later I was charging towards the beast, my blade raised but before I could get close, one of its heads swung at me. In a vain attempt to protect myself I raised my shield over my head, but I would have been better off protecting myself with an unrolled scroll. The Hydra head smashed into my shield, denting it and knocking me to the ground with a force that seemed impossible. My head smacked against the ground and I suddenly felt nauseous. Blackness was closing in all around until it eventually claimed me.