by Tao Wong
“Should we go back?” Omrak asked, chewing on his dinner of dried beef jerky and bread.
“Why?” Asin asked.
“Both Daniel and I struggle with the slimes. It is only your Skills that have given us an edge. With appropriate equipment, we could travel faster,” Omrak answered. Daniel stayed silent, content to let the two argue.
“How much? Map,” Asin asked, turning to Daniel.
“Maybe half?” Daniel said. It was hard to tell, what with the sprawling passages that could cut off without warning.
“No,” Asin said, shaking her head.
“Why?” Omrak growled. “Each fight is a risk for Daniel and me. It would be better for us to fight at full strength.”
“One day. Half. Back. Half-day. No. Race,” Asin explained, tail lashing out behind her angrily. After she was done, she rubbed at her throat. Talking so much always hurt.
Omrak just stared at Asin, confusion on his face, before looking to Daniel. He sighed and explained, “It’s a half-day to get back. Then we’re a half-day back in to where we are and maybe, we’d be faster. Probably. But it takes us only a day to finish half, so we only need a day to finish. That about right Asin?”
She nodded and then added one last word: “Race.”
“Right, and we’re in a race,” Daniel said.
“You agree with her?” Omrak said, looking to the shorter Adventurer.
“I think … yes. I think we should push ahead. That was the plan,” Daniel replied.
“Very well,” Omrak conceded, looking somewhat annoyed but accepting. “I shall take first watch.”
Daniel just nodded. He would take mid-watch. His Gift let him last longer than the other two after all. Even a few hours’ sleep would help them all, fitful and split as it might be.
Sleep that evening had been less than restful. The group had stumbled awake twice, fighting off the intrusion of a Crawler and then a group of slimes. Even then, the catnaps they had managed to catch had refreshed the group sufficiently enough that they were able to start exploring in the early hours of the morning. Now, in the midafternoon, the group were crouched, staring down at the enormous cavern laid out before them.
“What is that?” hissed Daniel as he stared at the green gelatinous cube that dominated the cavern before them. Unlike the other slimes, which were often only a foot or so across, this one was nearly six feet wide. It would be a simple matter for a creature that big to swallow an Adventurer whole.
“Big slime,” Asin said, running a finger along a knife. Eyes narrowed, she searched for signs of the Mana Stone within its body. If they could destroy it, that would end the fight no matter how big the slime was.
“It must be the floor Champion,” Omrak rumbled quietly.
“Definitely,” Daniel confirmed, shaking his head as he considered his attack options. Shield Bash would do nothing to the monster, other than perhaps displacing some of its body. Neither Perin’s Blow nor Double Strike would injure it, and his latest Skill Proficiency was not an active weapon. He could see where the Mana Stones were, but it did little good when the stones were embedded so deeply in the monster’s body.
“I fear I would be of little use here,” Omrak said, having done his own assessment as well. It would take a lot of torches to injure it and they just did not have the time.
“Around?” Asin pointed backwards and the group grimaced. One thing they had noticed with the new Dungeon layout was that often the staircase was situated very close to the Champions. It was a change from previous layouts and could potentially be just a matter of the lack of Adventurers sending the Champions to spawn again. In either case, the chances were that the staircase was near here—potentially just past the Floor Champion.
“Probably for the best,” Daniel muttered at last. Omrak nodded and the group quietly creeped backwards. No sense in attempting a fight where two thirds of the group could do little to it. Still, Daniel pondered what they could do with what they had. Surely there was a way to win that fight.
Hours later, the group found themselves collected once more near the entrance to the Champion’s chamber. Thus far, they had not seen sight nor sound of the Crimson Elms. Considering the size of the cavern, that meant very little. Still, the party held a little hope that they were still ahead of the Elms. Having explored the gaps in the maps in Daniel’s mind, they now found themselves back where they started hours ago.
“Any ideas?” Daniel asked, staring at the chamber.
“I fight. Poison. Run,” Asin said.
“That seems foolhardy,” Omrak pointed out. “I would not agree to that.”
“I have to agree. Your Skills might be the most effective, but it still takes a while for the slimes to die. Something that big …” Daniel said, shaking his head. “Going in alone is a bad idea.”
Asin growled but just nodded, her tail lashing out behind her. She turned to stare at the pair, waiting to see if they had any other ideas.
“I was thinking …” Daniel started, and then stopped. A part of him seriously did not like the idea he was about to suggest. Old training, old habits, said it was a bad idea. Still, it was the only one that he could think of. At his friend’s encouraging nods, he finally gives voice to his thoughts. “We could use oil. Douse it in the oil flasks we have left, set it on fire.”
Omrak hummed, rubbing his chin in thought. “It is big enough. Though, such a large monster on fire …”
Daniel could see it in his mind’s eye. A flaming cube that rolled around the cavern, setting everything it touched on fire. Worse, he knew that too much fire could potentially be dangerous for them—creating bad air that could hurt, maybe even kill the group. It was always a concern in real mines—though how it worked in a Dungeon, Daniel did not know. His little experience with the Dungeons indicated that they did not act the same way mines did, that concerns like bad air and buildup of dangerous gasses did not occur. Still…
“Idea?” Asin said, prodding Omrak, who shook his head. At that, Asin pointed to Daniel and finished the conversation. “Oil.”
Saying it and doing it were two different things. The party quickly laid out their plans, divvying up the bottles and the last of the torches between Daniel and Omrak. They would be in charge of throwing and lighting the monster on fire. Asin would creep into the room first and begin the attack, using her blades to damage and poison the monster immediately. Once the monster was focused on her, the pair would throw their oil flasks and hopefully set it on fire before retreating as Asin attacked it again.
At first, the entire plan went well. Asin’s attacks left streaks of purple poison that slowly spread through the slime, injuring it. Interestingly enough, her knives never left the body of the creature, instead held and caught in the viscous liquid that was its body. The oil flasks, thrown at the monster, shattered, spreading its contents on the creature. Or in one case, was swallowed entirely. When the pair managed to stab the slime with their torches, it lit the flames and sent shudders through the Jell-O body.
What they did not expect was the way the monster then proceeded to swallow the majority of the flames into its body, extinguishing them within its core. So surprised were they that the pair nearly did not move away in time when the monster charged them, flames still licking along its surface. Scrambling backwards, the pair split up as they rounded a particularly wide stalagmite.
Behind, Asin hissed in anger as her poisoned and aura-enchanted blades continued to fly true and were ignored. She targeted all across the slime’s body, determined to spread the poison faster as the monster kept its core away from her. Yet, nothing she did seemed to draw the monster’s attention as it darted towards Daniel.
Daniel scurried away, trying to circle around the cavern, and give time for Asin and Omrak to continue their attacks. Omrak pulled his last flask from a pouch, throwing it at the monster. The oil relit on the dying flames on the surface of the slime’s body, sending the slime shuddering as it started to twist its body inside out. Bereft of oil, Omrak p
ulled out his sword and targeted the edges of the creature, lopping off pieces. The shorter Adventurer darted in, using the edges of his shield to scoop out parts from the body as well. If they could not kill it with fire, they would have to do it the hard way.
Focused on attacking the monster, Daniel did not notice that the slime was no longer shuddering but rearing a portion of its body straight up. With a sploosh, the entire stretched cube fell on Daniel, engulfing him in the viscous fluid. Almost immediately, Daniel could feel the acidic properties of the slime start acting on his skin, attempting to eat away at his body.
Pain immediately filled his existence. The slime attacked his bare skin and slowly penetrated between his armor and clothing, burning layers of skin. Worse, it attacked his eyes, ears, and nose as it attempted to invade his body. Mouth closed, Daniel reached out to clamp a hand over his nose and squeeze it shut. As his body burned, Daniel attempted to focus to cast a spell, but pain robbed him of his concentration. Trapped in his body, Daniel could only squirm and thrash as the monster ate away at his body.
Omrak snarled in surprise, his sword flashing again and again as he carved bits of the monster. Asin dashed forwards as well, pulling her larger melee knives from her sheaths before she began slicing into the monster, dodging side to side after each strike. Each attack left streaks of purple in its body and sparks of electricity that fried and stilled the portions contacted. Yet, each of their attacks still did little to reduce the large slime that continued to strip the skin from Daniel’s body.
Screaming in muted pain, his mouth clamped shut, Daniel reached inwards. He found his Gift, waiting as always for him. With a thought, Daniel released the Gift through his body and focused it on his senses, which were slowly being eaten away, patching his eyes and ears together even as he felt his memories disappear. His free hand continued to thrash about, trying to grip something, anything.
Seeing that his attacks were doing little, Omrak dodged to the side again and thrust his sword forwards. The blade plunged into the monster, piercing through gelatinous flesh all the way into Daniel’s own body. In the beginning, the pain from being impaled was hidden beneath the cascade of other pain signals, but as Daniel’s body thrashed around again, he finally noticed the shard of steel in his body. His free hand reached out and gripped the blade reflexively and then Omrak pulled the blade backwards. Daniel, his mind clouded, felt himself drawn forwards and gambled as he reached to grip the giant sword with both hands. Seeing that Daniel had a better grip now, Omrak tugged harder, drawing the Adventurer out of the body.
At first the slime did not notice their motions, focused as it was on the danger that Asin posed. However, as Daniel began to move through its body more quickly, the slime shifted, pulling its body to recover the beleaguered Adventurer. In doing so, the slime shifted its Mana core closer to the Catkin.
Asin snarled and lunged forwards, plunging her hand into the body up to her shoulder. The slime shuddered, its body trembling as the arcs of electricity that surrounded Asin’s aura interacted with its body, injuring it. The slime stunned for a second, Asin was able to grasp the stone and yank backwards, extracting it finally from the slime.
Daniel, partially pulled outwards, fell to the ground as the monster exploded, its body no longer held together by the Mana Stone. Almost immediately, the slime’s body began to disperse, leaving the stripped, partially digested body of the Adventurer on the floor. His Gift, running on automatic, patched his body together, replacing skin and muscle, repairing his eyes and ears. After a few minutes, Daniel was able to grasp hold of his senses and stop his Gift, using his Mana to cast a Healer’s Mark on his own body.
Only when Daniel sat up did Asin come over, her own arm burnt and damaged from her attack. Daniel placed a healing on it too before he looked to Omrak, his eyes still blurry. For a moment, Daniel attempted to find the Northerner, and it was only Asin’s guidance that he saw the blond Adventurer in the corner, throwing up.
Daniel tried to speak and coughed, his voice raw. He swallowed a few more times, casting a Minor Healing on himself before he could do so. “Is he okay?”
“Bad. No skin,” Asin said, pointing to Daniel.
“Oh …” Daniel said. He began to think back to what had happened and flinched mentally as his mind refused to return to those dire minutes.
“Okay?” Asin asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“I … I will be,” Daniel said finally as he sat up. As he raised a hand to brush his hair back, Daniel stared at the uncontrolled shaking in it. Perhaps he was more injured than he thought.
Finding the staircase down after Daniel had recovered only took them a few more hours. Before they had left, they had a spirited discussion on whether to go on. In the end, it was Daniel’s insistence that they finish this—or at least, learn what the last floor was like—that drove them on. Injured, tired, and mentally scarred or not, they were nearly done.
As always, the annex for the tenth floor was a plain, bare room. The trio slowly stared around them, eyeing the simple wooden door that blocked the way in.
“Ready?” Daniel asked, a tightness in his chest as he stared at what might wait for them. This was it. One last floor, one last Boss. And then they would be done.
Asin just yowled while Omrak nodded. It was time to check out the last floor.
Chapter 17
The room that the three of them walked into was circular in design, reminiscent of an ancient colosseum. Clean brown sand, a wide-open sky and walls that were over ten feet high that led to a stand. The trio clumped together as they walked in, eyeing the empty stretch of sand.
“What is this?” Daniel muttered.
Asin shook her head, her tail lashing out behind her as she stalked forwards with an eye on the ground. The creaking of wooden winch made all three look up, staring as the gate ahead of them slowly opened. Out from the gate came a trundling boar that was over twenty feet tall, hairy bristles and long tusks snorting. Immediately on spotting the party, it rushed them, picking up speed as the three scattered, Asin to the far right and Omrak to Daniel’s left.
“Why me?” Daniel cried out as he realized that the monster was charging him. It wasn’t particularly surprising, since he was in the middle but Daniel could not help but feel somewhat prosecuted. Having realized he couldn’t get away, Daniel hunkered down beneath his shield and reinforced the shield with his other hand, breathing slowly as he timed his counterattack.
With a roar, Daniel countercharged the monster and engaged his Shield Bash. The boar smashed him backwards, not even pausing as Daniel’s attack connected and cracked his shield and a tusk at the same time. The Adventurer was thrown backwards, flying through the air to impact the wall and crash to the ground. The boar swerved away, ignoring the fallen Adventurer.
Omrak, having seen that he was not targeted, had charged back to the monster and, as it began its turn, swung his sword. Skin parted as the muscle was torn apart by the blade, ripping a deep gash on the boar’s flank. As the boar finished its turn and charged towards Asin, Omrak dashed forwards to the slowly moving Daniel.
Asin snarled, running backwards as she threw another series of knives at the monster. Each of her attacks barely pricked the boar, its tough hide stronger than armor. Only a Piercing Shot had thus far managed to penetrate its body. Still, the Catkin did not give up as she sprinted to the wall as the monster bore down on her.
It was only a few seconds before it hit her that Asin jumped, claws extended as she sprawled against the wall and held on to it. The boar, unwilling to smash directly into the wall, was forced to swerve at the last second, only its tail brushing against Asin. Even that was enough to rip her away from the wall and leave a quickly blossoming bruise.
Spluttering, Daniel pushed himself upwards as Omrak put the waterskin away. Already the Northerner was moving away from Daniel, sword raised as the boar targeted him. He crouched low, sword held near his knee as he waited for the monster to arrive. Snorting and growling, the b
oar picked up speed as it closed in on Omrak.
Daniel pushed to his feet just as the boar collided with Omrak. Sword held low and pommel dug into the ground, the large Adventurer had used his large sword as an improvised spear and impaled the Boss monster on it. Thrown backwards from the impact, Omrak hit the wall and bounced off it before being trod upon by the boar’s back foot.
Dashing over, Daniel placed a hand on Omrak’s shoulder even as the big Adventurer struggled to his feet. Concentrating, Daniel laid Healer’s Mark on his friend and then Minor Healing, before he turned to search for the Boss. Asin, having run back, threw her bolas at the creature’s leg in a vain attempt to trip the monster. The bolas caught but were so stretched out, they ripped apart without slowing the monster down. Thankfully, instead of directing itself at any single Adventurer, the board dashed to the other side of the arena as it built up speed again.
“You okay, Asin?” Daniel called out as she neared, placing Healer’s Mark on her the moment she was within reach. It would help a little bit but for the most part, Daniel looked to conserve the remainder of his Mana for when it was going to be really needed.
Asin pulled another pair of throwing knives into her hand from her backpack, staring at the boar that had just turned around. Growling softly, the Catkin took off at an angled run, already throwing her knives at it, using Piercing Shot to help cover the distance.
“Crossbow,” Omrak suggested as he stood up, searching for his sword. He spotted it a moment later, still embedded in the monster’s body. The Northerner reached for his knife, taking off running, while Daniel sheathed his sword and reached for his slung crossbow.
A brief inspection showed that it was still working, if worse for wear. Quickly, Daniel cranked the crossbow back and pulled a bolt out before he tossed it away and reached for an unbroken one. The crossbow might have survived Daniel being thrown around, but it seemed that some of his bolts had not. Finally loaded, Daniel swung the crossbow back up to target the charging boar. At least, Daniel thought, even he could not miss a monster the size of a barn.