Chapter 291
Chapter 291
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: Hydra's Rebirth
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Of course, the chat was in an uproar.
No viewer was unaware of the Hydra. It was the guardian that blocked an entire floor, and officially, the being that led Lee Soo-hyuk to his death.
Murim, Blue Zone, and even Blue Eyes had pooled their strength, yet it was the monster that drove Blue Eyes to annihilation.
Hera was now telling Soo-hyuk to take down that very existence.
Normally, this would be an impossible difficulty that would have everyone raging. Logically speaking, giving up on the lightning trial was the right choice.
But Soo-hyuk couldn't do that.
'Hydra.'
When he closed his eyes, the creature's cry rang clearly in his ears.
Its roar. Its venom. The overwhelming pressure from its sheer size.
Everything was so vivid, down to the smallest detail, that it felt like it was right in front of him.
'Hydra, Hydra...'
As he repeated the creature's name in his mind, Soo-hyuk realized once again.
That he still hadn't escaped from that day.
Soo-hyuk opened his eyes and asked,
"Is the Hydra still alive?"
The twelfth labor.
It was the final task given to Heracles, and without a doubt, the most difficult one.
Heracles had completed his labors. Which meant he had succeeded in slaying the Hydra.
Yet now, he was being told to kill the Hydra again.
"It is. For now."
"For now?"
"The Hydra regenerates two heads for every one you cut off."
Soo-hyuk knew that too. Just how extraordinary its regenerative ability was.
"Heracles crushed all its heads completely. So it couldn't regenerate any."
"Then it should be dead, right?"
"It was. Back then."
It was a somewhat vague answer.
Hera must have realized her explanation was lacking, as she added more.
"Even we didn't expect the Hydra to be reborn from its blood after decades."
"What the hell..."
Ye-ryeong shot up from her seat while watching the stream.
"What kind of crazy bullshit is this?"
"......"
"Did you hear that? What do you mean, resurrection?"
"I heard, so shut up and let me think. I'm processing this too."
Si-woo was just as confused.
No, maybe it wasn't just the two of them.
This was news that would confuse everyone watching the stream—especially those who had faced the Hydra.
"What are you thinking? If this is the Hydra we know, that means it could resurrect too!"
"Maybe..."
Si-woo thought differently from Ye-ryeong.
"It might have already resurrected."
"...!"
Ye-ryeong's eyes widened.
To her shocked expression, Si-woo explained his theory.
"All Soo-hyuk cauterized to stop its regeneration was its heads."
In the Hydra raid, Soo-hyuk and the entire party had first focused on its tenacious regenerative ability.
Cut off a head, and two grew back. Slice off scales or flesh, and they regenerated. Its vitality was insanely tough.
To counter that, Soo-hyuk had scorched every wound with lightning.
Because of that, he had consumed the most mana and stamina out of the entire raid team.
"But if it can really resurrect from its blood, it would have done so ages ago."
"If it's already back, why doesn't anyone know?"
"Why do you think?"
At his question, a thought flashed in Ye-ryeong's mind.
She knew it too. If the Hydra had truly resurrected, where it would be and what it would be doing.
'Somewhere... probably...'
Slowly. Methodically.
Building its strength.
Soo-hyuk boarded Cheonma's carriage again with Thor.
This journey wasn't just the two of them. Riding along in the carriage sent by Hera was Hermes.
"I didn't expect Hermes to accompany us."
He valued freedom above all else, making him the Olympian god furthest from the throne dispute.
That's why Hera had ordered Hermes to follow Soo-hyuk and Thor. In other words, he was their overseer.
"My role is solely to confirm how the prince's human friend takes down the Hydra."
Hera was worried that Thor might assist Soo-hyuk in slaying it.
"Don't worry. I won't shamelessly interfere."
"I'm not worried about you. As if the God of Thunder would stoop that low."
Thor’s forehead twitched at the snide tone.
Well, that was the original relationship between Olympus and Asgard.
Each side considering themselves superior, looking down on the other.
It was only because Thor was Asgard's prince that it stayed at this level. Otherwise, outright insults wouldn't be surprising.
"It's just fascinating, though. A prince like you, befriending a human..."
Hermes narrowed his eyes at Soo-hyuk as he said that.
Soo-hyuk had been silent since boarding the carriage.
'Nervous?'
No, he didn't seem particularly tense. That wasn't the face of someone nervous.
It was a unique aura.
Like looking at a warrior, or a great god.
Yes. It wasn't tension.
Quite the opposite.
'He's sharpening his blade before battle.'
Seeing Soo-hyuk like that reminded Hermes of one man.
'Heracles.'
The great human hero who completed the twelve labors and led the front lines in the war between Olympus and the giants.
Soo-hyuk sitting silently in the carriage evoked that hero's shadow.
'I wonder if you can become like that hero.'
Of course.
Soo-hyuk's silence wasn't for the reason Hermes imagined.
"Thanks for the mission, Kalapul Dung. But no poop-eating."
Soo-hyuk had his mic on, receiving viewer donations and missions.
It had been a while since he'd had some interaction time.
And this time was, in a way, the most important for Soo-hyuk.
"Ah, Clementine."
To level up skills, he needed massive points, making this the primary reason he streamed.
"We've already met two gods, Hermes included."
A generous donation with no long message.
Soo-hyuk was once again amazed by her wealth. How many people in the world could casually donate 200,000 points?
'She's incredible.'
Just touring Olympus and meeting gods would net 1.2 million points, no extras needed.
And that wasn't all.
'The steady trickle of donations adds up too.'
The small donations piling up were no small sum.
It had to be that way.
Though many initial viewers had dropped off, around 300,000 still remained.
Even without major incidents, Soo-hyuk's stream had plenty of buzz.
A title that couldn't help but draw aggro. And since it was real, viewers who entered stuck around.
'Lots of interest.'
The 8th floor trial tied to the Lightning Trial.
This was a path even his past self hadn't experienced. Lee Soo-hyuk's legend had ended with the Hydra raid.
So these reactions were natural.
Lee Soo-hyuk and this Soo-hyuk.
Comparing them had been a game since the stream started.
At first, it was playful. No matter how talented, you couldn't equate him to a legend who dominated an era.
Comparisons were just "whose talent is better," never placing them on equal footing.
But now, things had changed.
The Hydra.
It was the one wall the past Lee Soo-hyuk couldn't overcome.
The one that annihilated Blue Eyes and ultimately killed him.
If he soloed that Hydra, comparisons would lose all meaning.
So, naturally, questions arose.
Questions about whether a guardian should appear in a trial.
There were countless high-rankers, but their trials weren't this brutal.
And Soo-hyuk thought the same.
"Who knows. I won't know until I see it myself."
Trials weren't uniformly difficult to begin with. But even so, there was a limit.
Still, one thing was certain.
"It's not impossible."
Soo-hyuk believed.
"Since it's a trial, after all."
That every trial had a breakthrough.
No trial was truly impossible. That belief had carried him through his past life.
'Hydra.'
As he chatted briefly with viewers, Soo-hyuk's gaze deepened.
The fight with the Hydra wasn't that long ago for him. Unlike others, he'd leaped forward 20 years in one go.
So, perhaps that's why.
That battle still felt vivid. Like he could recreate it right now.
'Well, this isn't the time to be laughing.'
His eyes narrowed behind the mask.
'If what Hera said is true, then maybe...'
Soo-hyuk shared Si-woo and Ye-ryeong's suspicion.
This Hydra had resurrected from its blood. If it was the same entity, the one they defeated would have too.
He needed confirmation first.
If they were the same, the other Hydra was resurrected somewhere.
Soo-hyuk grinned widely at Clementine's mission.
"Thanks for the mission. As expected, you're generous."
Two million points. An enormous sum, no matter the difficulty.
Several other viewers had posted Hydra-slay missions too. It showed how many wanted to see it.
Lee Soo-hyuk and Hydra were symbolically inseparable, so the reaction was natural.
As he checked the piling mission rewards, a smile tugged at Soo-hyuk's lips.
"With all this support, I'll give it a shot."
Then, with a voice full of conviction, he declared,
"I'll surpass Lee Soo-hyuk."