The Slime Dungeon: Book 1 (The Slime Dungeon Chronicles) (19 page)

              As she rested on the wall, one of the students walked up to her. "Are you okay princess? You didn't get hurt, did you?"  The man, not much more than a boy really, asked her with a concerned tone.

              "I'm fine, Simon, really I am.” She said smiling, "Worry more about your friends than me; after all they were the ones to tank most of the damage."

              Simon smiled at her and chuckled, "Those meat-heads didn't feel a thing, and if they did it just gives them another excuse to show off their scars."

              Diana laughed with him as they observed the men clumsily bandaging their arms. Diana had been worried when the men had recklessly charged the worgs and taken their attacks, but they seemed to be fine and relatively uninjured.

              "Still, I better go over there and help them with their care-taking; it's kind of painful to watch them try to wrap their…"

              Simon grabbed her arm and, for a moment, Diana thought she saw anger in his eyes. She blinked, and she saw humor on his face. "Come on now princess, you know as well as I do that men don't like to be weak in front of women. Let them struggle; it's good for them."

              Diana frowned and pulled her arm out of his grip, "Please remember to not touch me so casually."

              Before Simon could say anything, Koran appeared between them and smiled at Diana as he pulled Simon close, "Is this one bothering you princess? I apologize for his behavior; after all, he was a sheep herder only a few days ago and doesn't know quite yet how to treat royalty. I beg your forgiveness."

              Diana eyed Koran, and nodded, "I understand and forgive him. Perhaps that can be something you teach him in the future?"

              "Of course your highness; now if you'll excuse us.” He wheeled Simon around and the two walked back to their group. Diana continued to watch them as Fiora walked up to her, "Is something wrong your highness?"

              Diana whispered, "There is something strange about Simon; he's too different from the rest of the meat heads in that group. Even the meat heads are kind of strange."

              "I agree,” Fiora whispered back, "They hang on to Koran's every word and have a strange unity greater than any fighting force I've ever seen."

              "Let's keep an eye on them for now."

***

              As they cleared the second room of the third floor, Koran took Simon off to the side and wrapped a bandage around his arm. The arm was in perfect condition.

              "Master, I do not think the dungeon goes deeper than this.” Koran informed him, keeping his eyes down and his smile friendly, "If it did, those wolves would most likely have been deeper."

              "You are correct servant; this is most likely the final floor.” Simon chuckled to himself, "I quite enjoyed killing those wolfy worgs again. The fact that they recognized me made it all the sweeter when I killed them. Remember this: always keep an enemy alive so you can have fun torturing later after you ensure it won't ruin your plans."

              Koran blinked in surprise, "You let them live master?"

              Simon waved his hand, "Let them live, forgot about them, it's all the same in the end. Their deaths were important to arouse suspicion in the area, and becoming dungeon bosses merely served my purpose. I want to savor killing them next time…oh, right,” he laughed, "There won't be a next time."

              Koran smiled and patted Simon on the back as they got back up. "When will it be time Master?"

              "After we kill the dungeon."

***

              Doc and Claire watched the approaching group with increasing concern. Somehow, they were unable to listen in on any conversation the group made, and it was quite obvious they were moving toward a goal.

              "They are after me, aren't they?" Doc asked seriously.

              Claire grimaced, "I think half of them are; the other half are merely along for the ride as they say. It may have been only two words, but I picked up that the girls really hated someone from this first half."

              "Perhaps one of them was involved in the death of their pack?" Doc pointed out insightfully.

              Claire grumbled as she considered, "Perhaps, but they said they smelled brimstone. We would know if a demon entered our dungeon; it would send off alarms of danger in both our heads."

"Well…” Doc paused, "Something is happening in me and has been ever since they entered."

              Claire looked over in surprise, "Oh? What is it?"

              Doc hummed and thought for a moment, "There were originally two feelings, but one is being drowned out by the other. I feel… hungry."

              Claire nodded, "I'm surprised you haven't felt this sooner. All dungeons feel hunger."

              "No, I'm really…hungry.” Doc seemed to be slowing down as the group moved closer to his room.

              "Doc, are you okay?" Claire asked worryingly.

              In response, a tentacle shot up and tried to wrap itself around her. She shrieked and flew into the house, slamming the door behind her. Naturally, the tentacle had not been able to touch her due to their pack, but it meant Doc had really tried to eat her.

              "Doc, please, tell me what's wrong.” Claire begged, frightened by his sudden actions. He did not respond, and Claire was left stranded inside her home as the adventurers reached the boss room. She couldn’t help him anymore now.

Chapter 24

              The group moved cautiously now as they neared the last room. The torch lights had gradually become dimmer the closer they got to it, casting the tunnels in strange shadows. The only noise came from the soft echo of their footsteps.

              Nic gulped and poked his sister, "Sis, you've read all the reports, right? What is the identity of the new boss?"

              Nat shook her head wearily, "No one has made it this far down yet because of the two worgs. Those that did defeat them were too injured to continue and retreated with the recall spell. This will be the first encounter."

              Koran turned his head and nodded, "Indeed, this will be the hardest part for us. When I first entered the dungeon, the overslime actually was quite difficult until we figured out how to attack it. Since then, however, the dungeon has had plenty of time to create a more dangerous monster."

              Fiora strolled up to the front of the group, "I'll inspect the room.” Of course, no one denied her.

              Fiora slowly poked her head into the room and looked around. The room was lit by a single torch on the back wall, and the light illuminated the plant covered walls and ceiling. She narrowed her eyes as she gazed over every surface, but could not find a hint of the boss.

              "It's the plant room," she announced, "And I don't see any indication of the boss. The plants are a lot bigger though, so prepare any fire magic you may have."

              The group slowly entered the room, spreading around the room to inspect the area. Still, no boss appeared to fight them.

              "Maybe the boss was already defeated?" Simon asked curiously.

              Jonas shook his head, "The boss rooms may not be separated into the other dimensions, but the presence of the worgs proved that we are the first to get to this level. More likely the boss has to be activated somehow."

              As they mused, Simon casually leaned back into a wall. The hand holding the torch accidentally brushed the wall, burning a few leaves.

              SSSSSSSKKKKKKrrrrrrreeeeeeee!

              A horrible shriek filled the room, enough to force everyone to cover their ears in pain. As they flinched, something fell onto two of Koran's class. As the two inspected the goop that had fallen on them, a shadow covered them.

              A huge green slime fell from the ceiling and quickly crushed the two members. They screamed for just a moment before they were enveloped by the slime. The group watched in horror as the two men quickly dissolved into bones within the slime. The slime shook violently and coughed out the bones with a thick slime covering.

              "That is jungle slime!" Jonas cried out in amazement, "They are poisonous and have some control over plants. Make sure to avoid the spikes; they can be launched from its body."

              As they formed up lines, Diana's eyes were drawn to the slime-covered bones. They seemed to be twitching in the dim light.

              "Jonas, the bones are moving!" She cried out in fear.

              Jonas cursed, "The slime was filled with plant matter. It can use the bones to form minions!"

              As he announced this, the bone slimes rose up and began to sluggishly move forward toward their shield wall. Koran cursed as he watched his former students rise against him, "Mage, what kind of attacks do they have?"

              "They can spread their condition through skin to skin contact, but since they are essentially plants fire will work well.” Jonas fired a fireball at the closer goo zombie. It lit up and fell back under the force of the slime, and tried to get back up.

              "Lookout!" Gran warned, "The boss is moving!"

              The boss turned and fired three spikes at the group. Koran braced his shield and blocked one of them while Fiora deflected the second. Another student tried to block the third spike, but his lowly wooden shield blew apart as his body was launched backwards into the wall. The man turned green and died from the poison before even landing on the ground. Nat threw an oil canister on him and lit it as he slid down.

              "Burn any who dies to the poison!” She yelled as the body lit up, "We don't want any to change while we're fighting!"

              Fiora split her group from Koran's, taking them to the far side of the boss. Nic and Nat joined her in slashing at the boss with their swords while Gran and Jonas fired from the back. Koran attacked the slime from the other side, using his long sword to cut the spikes he could reach off as they began to regrow. Simon called out orders to the remaining students, who used scrolls to temporarily enchant their blades with fire. They sliced at the two goo zombies and tried to cut off their slime.

              Diana joined Fiora's group in the background, firing her little crossbow at the slime. "This is wrong.” She muttered to herself as she fired again and again, "Something is wrong with the dungeon."

              The boss roared out and began to spin rapidly. Koran cursed and cried out, "Look out! It's using its special skill!"  He threw himself to the ground with his shield covering him as the slime launched all of its spikes in every direction.

              Fiora and Nic managed to dodge the spikes, but Nat was knocked back by a glancing blow. She let out a ‘oomph’ as she spun to the floor and gasped in pain.

              "Sister, are you all right?" Nic asked fearfully.

              Nat cursed as she inspected herself, "Bloody thing nicked me with its damn spiked. I think a little poison got in me."

              Jonas, hearing this, immediately cast a lesser heal on her. He didn't specialize in healing, but he did know a little. Nat cursed as she got back up, "That helped, but I still feel it moving inside me. Let's hurry and kill it so I can get a real damn healer to help me."

              "You’re welcome, you arrogant bitch!" Jonas retorted as he shot another fireball at the slime. A cry of fear alerted them to the other side of the room.

              Two students were killed by the spikes and had promptly melted in goo on the ground. Thankfully, the goo was inert and not attacking them; but the shield line was distracted and broken. One of the goo zombies managed to sink a hand onto one of the members, who moaned in pain as the slime quickly covered his body and dissolved him into bones. The new goo zombie turned and dissolved its former fellow.

              "Get back you guys!"  Simon cried out, "Reform the lines and don't let them touch you!" The four remaining students lined up and resumed slashing at the three goo zombies, but displayed less success than before.

              Cursing, Koran turned from the boss and charged the zombies. "Take this, Flaming Slash!" His sword burst into flame as Koran sliced through all 3 zombies and destroyed them. Before anyone could congratulate him, he slumped to the floor and panted in exhaustion.

              "Huh, huh, I need a few minutes to recover,” he panted out, 'That skill uses a lot of my mana and stamina. You lot, attack the boss and assist Fiora!" His students nodded and threw themselves at the dungeon slime boss now.

              As if sensing the demise of its minions, the jungle slime roared again and slapped the ceiling with a tentacle. To everyone's surprise, two little light red slimes landed on the boss's body.

              "Jonas, I need an identity on those slimes!" Fiora shouted as she sliced a re-growing spike away.

              "I don't know.” Jonas replied, "I've never seen that type of slime in my books."

              "Fricking useless mage,” Nat muttered, "Can't you do anything right?"

              Jonas gave her a stink eye as he shot another fireball at the boss. "The poison is messing with your mind, but I'll be sure to pay you back for this later."

              As the jungle slime reeled back from their attacks, the two little slimes began glowing. As they glowed, the adventurers watched as the jungle slime began to regrow parts of itself.

              "Those are Fricking healing slimes!" Nat cursed loudly, "Someone shoot them off the boss!"

              Gran, pulled is bow back and launched two arrows at each little slime, but they missed when the boss began to rotate again.

              "Not again,” Simon groaned, "It's firing once more!"

              One of the lower spikes managed to tear through another classmate, leaving a gaping hole in his abdomen. With a groan, the man fell backwards and stopped moving.

              "Get the healers why it's recovering!" Fiora commanded as she dashed back into the fight.

              Gran killed one using his triple arrow skill while Jonas managed to freeze the other off into a chunk that shattered on impact with the floor. Between the two groups, the boss slowly began to shrink from their combined attacks on its body.

              Diana eyed the slime as it withered down, "I think it's almost gone guys, keep it up!"

              As she said that, a glint of metal distracted her eyes for a moment, but she couldn't follow it. However, a stalagmite from the ceiling fell and landed on Nic's head as he swung his sword. With a groan, he pitched forward into the slime.

              "NICK!"  Nat cried out in horror, but it was too late as they were forced to watch him dissolve into boned within the boss.

              With cries of rage, Nat abandoned her shield and began hacking her sword into the slime like a mad woman. The boss was so distracted it couldn't spit out the bones and they also dissolved within it.

              "DIE, YOU BASTARD, DIE!" Nat cried out, tears pouring down her face.

              Fiora joined her, grief stricken as well at the death of one of her oldest friends. Jonas, in his fury at the death of his best friend, began channeling his mana into a larger spell that he flung forward in agony.

              "Flame Lance!"

              A pole comprised of flame flew forward and tore through the boss down the center. With a groan, the slime fell backwards and shuddered in apparent death throbs.

              "We did it!" Diana cried out happily. Jonas, panting in exhaustion, smiled happily as the slime wiggled in front of him. He was so engrossed that he failed to dodge the dagger that pierced his side. He yelped in pain as he fell to the ground.

              Fiora's group turned wildly to find Koran, Simon, and the two remaining students approaching them with their swords pointed at them. Koran grinned, "I must say what an honor it was serving with you Fiora and that I look forward to our future business together."

              Nat ran over to Jonas and pulled the dagger out, quickly wrapping his injury as Gran joined her. She glared at Koran and snarled, "I should have known you would do something like this; how dare you hurt Jonas!"

              Koran scoffed, "I thought you'd be angrier with how I killed Nick than your friend there."

              The room froze as his words entered the ears of the adventurer group. They processed his words and slowly understood what he meant.

              "You killed... him. YOU KILLED HIM!" Nat screamed in fury as she charged Koran. She ran at him with her sword swinging wildly in her hands.

              However, as she approached him, Simon stood in her way. "MOVE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT BASTARD!" Nat demanded as she ran forward.

              Simon smiled evilly, "I think not my dear. I have need of you.” As she neared him, Simon gracefully dodged her sword and grabbed Nat's head in both hands. Her momentum stalled, she glared into the eyes of the one who stopped her. As she did so, her eyes lost their focus as she slumped forward to the ground.

              "What did you do to her?" Fiora demanded, taking a stance between them and the three other members of her group.

              Simon chuckled, "Why, I merely helped her through her anger. Isn't that right Natalie?"

              Nat slowly got up off the ground, but turned toward her friends rather than Koran. Her eyes glowed red as she pointed her sword in their direction.

              "Nat, snap out of it! What did you do?"  Jonas managed from the floor.

              Simon grinned, "As I said, I helped her through her anger. See, those who possess hearts in pain desire to rid themselves of the pain. I remove that pain and control it, leaving me with perfect vessels for my biding."

              Gran, his normally handsome features hardening, growled out, "You are no human. What are you?"

              Simon grinned as his form blurred and changed. Instead of a young man standing before them, a red skinned monster with large teeth and four arms loomed in front of them.

              Jonas gasped out, "That is a demon of wrath, known for their destructive powers and ability to control anger and fury."

              The demon bowed to Jonas, "I am pleased to see that word of my noble kind is still passed down in your society. Sadly, Jonas, I have no need for a magic user in my plans. There is also the fact that I hate your kind."

              Jonas chuckled, wincing at the pain it caused, "Afraid that I may bind you and return you to your home dimension, creature? Just give me a moment and I will do so."