Chapter 8: The Mysterious Hydriad
David pounced on the running hydriad. The creature summoned water balls in his direction, confusing the poor guy who couldn't avoid it. Along with his weight and halberd, his speed could be said as great. He could run fast due to the points he added on agility, but not as fast as most warriors. He built his character around the tank class, boasting his high endurance and health.
When Brook had left him to fight the hamadryad, he struggled alone with this agile hydriad. It used the attack-and-run tactic, draining the tanky human's stamina. One time, he drank the water the hydriad manipulated out of thirst; fortunately, it wasn't poisoned.
"You small twerp," cried David. "Stop running and fight me like a man."
He did get a response, a wave of water that almost drained him. His clothes were really wet, and it affected his battle with the hydriad. The good thing was that it didn't seem like it wanted to kill David, who was attacking it. There's something odd about the way the hydriad had acted towards them.
Forward Charge!
In an attempt to stun the enemy, David casted a skill which failed ultimately. He cursed under his breath and proceeded to use Triple Strike.
-4!
-5!
-10!
His damage compared to Brook was really low, because he, unlike him, invested into endurance the most. After dealing damage, he was pushed back by a force of torrential waves.
"Stop running!" David shouted out of frustration.
He paused for a little to think. A strategy was needed to kill this creature, something about traps. However, he had no means nor materials to execute a trap that could deceive it. Right now, he needed Brook's intelligence more than ever.
Their game of tag lasted for a long time. David was really exhausted, but the dryad still had energy like the sun. It kept on moving, not even stopping for one bit.
"Are you tired?" The hydriad provoked the panting David. "Poor guy. Ordered and controlled by a god, where's your pride?"
"What do you mean?" He glared intensely at it. "Speak."
"No need to get so feisty, you wouldn't be able to kill me anyway," it said. "Giving the gods access to your body is almost the same as giving your soul for nothing in exchange."
David was confused. His head couldn't comprehend what the hydriad had been saying. The information that was given was too big for the slow guy, in turn, he asked the dryad more for clarification.
"What do you mean?" He said, gripping his sword and remaining alert.
"Gods are naturally greedy. By giving them access through the inheritance or your so-called class change, they would be able to monitor your movements and even control them at some point."
"Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course, if not, I would've already killed you for attacking me."
David, who didn't understand it first, finally comprehended some of the mystery that enveloped the gods. Like the veil on his head was finally starting to be removed by the groom.
"I don't trust you," he grunted.
"You don't have any reason to trust me," the dryad replied. "I run on a certain agenda, and the reason why I never attempted to kill you both is I needed you for something."
The fight with the hamadryad had just ended and Brook was tired to the core. From one fight to another, he swiftly ran to the hydriad David was oddly talking to. He hid behind a tree and listened to their conversation.
"You can come out now. I know you've already killed the drus I've hired."
A drus was a male dryad. It's used as a general term, so that nymphs would be able to identify gender roles in their society. The hydriad in front of us was a naiad, a female dryad. It had female features, but they decided to use the pronoun 'it.'
Brook came out of the tree he was hiding from and revealed his presence to them. After hearing their conversation, his mind was in a state of chaos from all the questions that sprouted in it. He had wanted to ask more, but was afraid it would get angry and kill them. He sensed something weird, like the dryad's level was actually higher than what it was.
"Your mind is a mess," the hydriad shocked Brook. "I can sense what you're feeling, and you must have a lot of questions in mind."
"I do," he responded with caution. "You said you needed us for something, what was it?"
"It seems like you have your fair share of doubt against the gods, human. Fine, I will tell you the reason why I needed you both, in fact, you in particular."
Neutrum, the hydriad mouthed.
David wouldn't know of its presence or even understand what it silently said. Almost no humans knew about it, and even creatures.
"What about our quest? I also just killed your accomplice, wouldn't you get mad?"
"Get mad for trivial matters? You think so lowly of me, human. We had a contract. I would help his family in terms of fortune, and he would offer his life to me."
"You're just like them," Brook said.
"Oh, no. What you're not seeing is that gods force them onto you while I work with consent. I create deals with high rewards, and so is the condition."
David was quiet all the time during the conversation between Brook and the hydriad. He listened to everything and suprisingly, he got most of it embedded in his brain.
"Then why did the system told us that you were corrupted? And why would you risk exposing your presence to the gods? You still haven't answered my question from earlier."
The questions that Brook asked had finally been organized as he was able to ask the fog-shrouded entity in front of him. He drew a conclusion that this hydriad in front of him was not a hydriad at all, in fact, it was something scarier.
"Let's finish your quest first before we get to finally talk. And pft, how would they find me? They have no eyes even if you're a Neutrum as they don't control your body. The only time they would use Sponsor Observation was if their sponsor was in danger, and do mind that it takes a huge toll for them to activate that."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
_FellowDaoist
_FellowDaoist Honestly, the entity covering up as a hydriad gives me chill as an author. I hope you liked this chapter and please do leave a vote and comment after you're done reading this!
I'm stuck in a financial struggle, and it would mean so much if I could win any money. With all the love, x.
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