Chapter 27: Gareth’s Party vs. Floor 2

Zion eventually pulled his attention away from the empty instance the young man had left behind and returned to Gareth’s party.

They were already in the middle of fighting the Horned Ram, and their movements were noticeably cleaner than on any of their previous attempts.

Gareth no longer tried to absorb the ram’s charges head-on unless he absolutely had to. Mara stayed near its flank and waited for the openings she already knew would come, while Elias conserved his mana instead of wasting spells against Woolen Guard.

Even June had started positioning herself far enough from Gareth that she could heal him without becoming an easy target if the ram suddenly changed direction.

Zion watched with interest as the fight unfolded faster than usual.

The Horned Ram still managed to catch Gareth once and forced June to spend a healing spell, but the party never lost control of the encounter. They had fought it enough times now to know what came next.

Mara slipped beneath the Horned Ram’s shoulder and drove her dagger into the same weakened spot they’d been targeting all fight.

Gareth moved a heartbeat later, bringing his weapon down from the opposite side. The combined impact finally sent the boss collapsing into white smoke.

[Floor 1 cleared.]

[Clear Essence acquired: 100]

Zion checked the time almost instinctively. That was their fastest clear yet.

The Boss Drop Chest appeared near the rear wall of the barn, and Mara opened it with considerably less ceremony than she had the first time.

"A potion again."

June leaned over her shoulder. "Healing?"

"Yeah, minor."

"We’ll use it."

Mara sighed and handed it over without argument.

The moment they finished dividing the reward, the doors behind the barn opened. All four of them turned toward the passage leading down.

Mara smiled. "Finally."

Zion felt himself sit up on the throne. Not literally, of course, he was still a skull, but spiritually, he was sitting up.

This was the first real test of Floor 2.

Gareth moved through the doorway first, followed by Mara and Elias, while June stayed near the rear. The bright pasture disappeared behind them as they descended into the yellow-green light of the sulfur field.

The sulfur hit them almost immediately.

Gareth made it only a few steps before coughing into his shoulder. Elias pulled the collar of his robe over his nose, and Mara slowed with a grimace as the rotten-egg stench settled thickly into the back of her throat.

"Oh, this is awful."

June made it a few steps farther before covering her mouth with one hand.

"Why does it have to smell like that?"

"Sulfur," Elias said through his collar.

"I know what sulfur smells like. I was hoping you’d tell me why a dungeon has to smell like this."

Zion was delighted. The odor had accomplished absolutely nothing tactically so far, but the fact that everyone hated being there still felt like a success.

The party slowed once they reached the first branching path.

Mara checked behind the jagged rock formations before signaling the others forward, while Gareth kept his shield raised and Elias watched the gaps between the sulfur vents.

June stayed near the rear where she could see everyone at once, and whenever a thicker cloud of vapor drifted across the path, the entire group slowed until they could see clearly again.

They were being careful, which was exactly what Zion expected from them. He had seen them enough to understand how they operated.

They inspected the shallow pools, watched for movement between the rocks, and avoided stepping too close to the vents whenever possible.

They looked everywhere the danger seemed likely to be.

But they didn’t look up.

Zion’s anticipation grew as they entered the first long hallway. Several Lesser Acid Slimes were already clinging to the ceiling above them, their yellow-green bodies blending almost perfectly into the mineral-stained stone.

One rippled slightly as Gareth passed underneath.

None of them noticed.

Mara passed next followed by Elias. June entered last.

The closest slime waited until she was fully beneath it before releasing its grip from the ceiling. It dropped directly onto her shoulders and upper back, spreading across her robes as she let out a high-pitched scream and stumbled forward under the sudden weight.

The others spun around, raising their weapons.

Gareth immediately rushed back to help, but his movement carried the rest of the group deeper beneath the ceiling.

Three more slimes released themselves almost at once.

One dropped behind Gareth. Another landed across Elias’s shoulder. The third splashed onto the stone in front of Mara before surging toward her legs.

The hallway dissolved into chaos.

Zion watched with growing satisfaction. The ambush was working almost exactly the way he’d imagined.

Gareth drew his sword and drove the point directly into the slime clinging to June. Instead of piercing cleanly through, the blade sank several inches into the gelatinous body and stopped.

When he tried to wrench it free, the slime stretched around the steel and clung tighter, swallowing more of the blade with every pull.

"What?"

June was still struggling beneath the creature.

"Gareth!"

"I’m trying!"

Mara snapped two daggers from her belt and threw them in quick succession.

The first disappeared almost completely into the slime clinging to Elias. The second sank into the creature near her feet until only the handle remained visible through the yellow gel.

Neither slime even slowed.

Mara stared at them.

"My daggers!"

Zion felt enormously vindicated. He’d spent the previous day watching archers and swordsmen tear through Floor 1 so quickly that his sheep barely had time to react.

Now Gareth’s sword was trapped inside a six-essence slime, and Mara had just donated two daggers to another.

Yes, this is much better.

Elias finally managed to pull himself away from the slime clinging to his shoulder, though part of his robe came with it.

The creature hit the ground with a wet slap and immediately began crawling toward him again.

"What are these things?"

"Slimes," Gareth said through clenched teeth as he continued trying to free his sword.

"I know they’re slimes! Why are they so annoying?"

June managed to tear part of the creature away from her face long enough to shout, "Do something!"

Elias raised his staff.

Zion’s attention shifted toward him. There it was, the answer he’d been waiting for.

Elias had enough experience to recognize that physical weapons weren’t working, and unlike the other three, he actually had access to magic.

The crystal at the top of his staff began to glow.

Zion watched eagerly to see what he would choose.