NOVEL WEB Chapter 5: The Secret's
Finn was crouched low, his whip coiled around a lizard man's arm, a mischievous grin playing on his lips. With a sharp tug, he yanked the creature forward, sending it crashing into another lizard man—this one much taller and armed with a trident. The leader stumbled, his balance thrown off. Seizing the moment, Finn activated one of The Wells Unknown Abyss, causing the leader to trip. Without hesitation, Finn lashed his whip into the lizard man's side, the sharp crack followed by the unmistakable sound of bones breaking.
Finn advanced for another strike, but a spear thrust toward his back forced him to react. The tongue that had bound the leader's feet released, darting out to intercept the spear. At the same time, Finn drew a sword from his shadow to block the incoming trident.
'Damn, I should've just used Totality,' Finn thought as he leaped back, landing atop another lizard man. He kicked its head down, forcing it to look away, making it seem like he was cornered. But his smirk remained.
He formed a new hand sign, and behind him, rabbits appeared, multiplying at an alarming rate. Within moments, they covered the cave walls, making Finn seemingly vanish. A second later, a humming sound echoed through the space.
[Fly Me to the Moon – Song by Count Basie and Frank Sinatra]
The lizard men instinctively grouped together in a defensive formation. Outside the cave entrance, Finn stood beside Max Elephant. Strange markings covered his chest—the sign of Rabbit Escape.
Hearing a specific note in the song, Finn patted the elephant's side. "Yeah, do it now. That should've already scared the hell out of them."
Max Elephant unleashed a blast of high-pressure water through the rabbit-covered walls. Finn didn't waste a second, forming another hand sign. Moments later, Great Serpent slithered into the now-moist cave. Its massive body barely fit, struggling to push through. Still, its sheer size caused destruction, smashing into the lizard men clinging to the walls. By the time the serpent disappeared into shadows, only the Essence Stones of the fallen creatures remained.
Among the stones lay the trident. Finn picked it up, letting it fall into his shadow. "Feels like a new move set upgrade," he muttered before absorbing the Mana Stones. He curiously picked up one of the stones, considering it.
'I wonder how this tastes… Looks like candy.'
Without hesitation, he bit down. Instantly, mana seeped out through small cracks, forcing him to spit it out. "Ugh, that tastes terrible," he grimaced, but then he noticed something—scales had appeared on his arm.
'Wait… I didn't activate a sign, did I?' He checked himself over, finding nothing else amiss. "So it's the Mana Stone," he muttered. To test it, he summoned Toad and fed it a stone. The moment Toad consumed it, blue scales appeared on its body.
"Whoa, you look awesome," Finn grinned. "Looks like this upgrade is permanent." Satisfied, he unsummoned Toad and moved on.
Once outside, he called Piercing Ox and rode off. He could already taste venom in the air. 'I need Round Deer for this,' he thought. Soon, he spotted dead plants and, in a clearing, a massive three-headed hydra. The creature lay dormant, its body seeping venom into the earth.
Finn sighed. "I'm going to hate this fight."
He dismounted and formed the Round Deer symbol on his forehead. With a snap, he summoned a fusion of Nue and Great Serpent—Sky Limit. The colossal creature perched itself on a tree, thunder clouds forming above. Piercing Ox charged at the hydra, but upon impact, it only left a dent before vanishing. The hydra stirred, eyes snapping open just as a massive lightning bolt crashed down, splattering venom everywhere. A white rabbit shot through the air, slamming into the hydra.
Finn, now wielding a cannon formed from his shadows, fired a barrage of Escape Rabbits. The lizard men's Mana Stones he had fed them had strengthened them, making them immune to the venom. The hydra retaliated, forming a venom ball in its right head.
'Danger,' Finn realized instantly. He activated a shadow marking and multiplied, his clones scattering in different directions while he sprinted toward Sky Limit.
As he vaulted through the air, he fed a lizard man's Mana Stone to Escape Rabbit, granting it venom resistance. In the same motion, he tossed another stone to Sky Limit. The giant bird's feathers shimmered as blue scales formed along its massive frame.
"Go take it down, and I'll feed you more later," Finn called. Sky Limit took flight, uprooting a massive tree and hurling it toward the hydra. The moment the tree neared the creature, its bark began to wither and die.
Undeterred, Sky Limit dove, its feathers crackling with electricity. It whipped its tail around the hydra's left head, slamming it into the ground and deforming it.
Meanwhile, Finn summoned Max Elephant, directing a powerful water burst to counter an incoming venom-enhanced strike from the middle head. The hydra reeled as the water washed away the venom.
Finn formed a new technique—cupping his hands, he released a pressurized stream of water, slicing through the right head's thick scales. At the same time, Sky Limit and Escape Rabbits overwhelmed the middle head. The moment they severed it, Finn's water cut through the left head.
The hydra shuddered, its body writhing as it attempted to regenerate. But Finn wasn't done. He summoned Great Serpent once more, commanding it to wrap around the final regenerating stump. With a brutal twist, the snake crushed the last head before venom could leak out. The hydra let out one final, gurgling hiss before collapsing, its enormous form dissolving into Essence Stones.
Finn wiped his forehead, panting. "Finally."
He gathered the fallen hydra's Essence Stones, taking a moment to inspect them. The stones were deep purple, pulsing with eerie energy. Among the remains, he found something else—three venom-coated fang, still radiating power.
"Jackpot." He let the loot sink into his shadow before finally calling Piercing Ox again. Mounting up, he followed the river, making his way back to where the gate had disappeared.