Chapter 15: What Lies Beneath

To my surprise, it did not take me long to find the entrance to the slime’s hideout. In the first room of the side passage, out in plain sight, was a wooden trapdoor.

I eyed the hatch suspiciously. It had definitely not been there before.

Seeing my look, Gnat said, “It must have been hidden. By an illusion most likely. The slime’s death would’ve caused it to be revealed.”

I hobbled a careful circuit around the closed trapdoor. There was a simple metal handle to lift it, but I made no move to touch it. “Is it trapped?”

Gnat shrugged. “I don’t know.”

The answer was not unexpected, but still less than helpful. Narrowing my eyes, I studied the hatch intently and tried to spot anything out of the ordinary.

After a minute of fruitless staring, I was forced to admit I sensed no danger emanating from it. But of course that could have just been because my Perception was too low. With my health as low as it was, I was not going to take any unnecessary chances. Stepping back from the hatch, I closed my eyes and willed my intent to the Adjudicator.

Your Perception has increased to rank 3. Your level cap for perception-based skills has increased to: 30.

My senses grew sharper and my awareness expanded, revealing previously unseen details in my surroundings. I inspected the hatch again. The grains on its wooden slates snapped into focus and the streaks of rust on its metal handle were clear to see. But once again, I detected no hint of strangeness.

Alright, maybe it really isn’t trapped, I thought. Standing as far away as possible, I raised the closed hatch with my outstretched tip of my sword.

The trapdoor creaked open.

To my relief, no trap triggered. After a drawn-out moment, I peered inside the open hatch. It was darker inside the slime’s lair than in the passage, but with my recently enhanced sight, I had no trouble picking out the shapes hidden in its shadows.

A wooden slide had been placed against the edge of the hatch and extended to the floor. That had to be how the slime got in and out. The lair itself was small, less than a few yards in diameter. Alongside one wall, I made out a heap that my eyes failed to identify.

My nose, though, had no problem divining what they contained: the remains of the slime’s victims. Dead bodies. I clamped a hand over my nose and mouth. The smell was sickening, and made me reluctant to enter the lair, but something else drew my attention: a closed chest sitting at the bottom of the slide. Now that I cannot ignore, I thought.

Gingerly getting onto the slide, I entered the lair.

~~~

As I had suspected, the pile in the lair contained the liquified remains of the slime’s victims. Nothing remained of their bodies except bleached bones sucked dry and bits of torn cloth. From the pieces of fabric, it appeared that the slime had preyed solely on candidates.

I had wondered why none of my fellow candidates had not ventured into the side passages, but it seemed that at least some must have. Yet none had managed to kill the slime. It should not have been difficult for a group of candidates to defeat the slime—once they had been alerted to its presence.

I frowned. Or had none of the candidates been able to find the creature? The slime appeared to have been a skilled hunter, and one suited to stalking its victims in the dark. If the creature had only preyed on stragglers, it would have not been hard for the slime to conceal its presence while it devoured its chosen quarry.

I shuddered. I had narrowly escaped such a fate myself. When my half-hearted poking through the pile revealed no salvageable gear, I turned my attention to the true source of my interest: the loot chest.

I spent a good five minutes inspecting the chest before daring to open it. I had been sure it would’ve been boobytrapped, but to my surprise found it free of any traps. Inside, I found two items.

You have acquired an advanced ability tome: a summon lesser wight spellbook. You cannot learn this ability. You do not have the necessary skill: necromancy rank 3, or slots available in the required attribute: Faith. The ability tome is a single-use item. You have acquired 1 full healing potion. This item will fully restore your health.

“An ability tome?” I murmured studying the thick tome bound in black leather in my hands.

“They are the means by which you acquire abilities,” Gnat said from my shoulder. The skeletal bat peered curiously at the book in my hands. “The spell this one holds is quite useful, but it’s worthless to you of course. Too bad you didn’t choose the path of the caster.”

I nodded absently. “Too bad,” I said echoing his sentiment, although as a caster, I doubted I would have managed to survive against the slime. I stored the spellbook in my backpack. While the tome was of no immediate use to me, it could still prove valuable in the future.

I turned my attention to the healing potion. It alone made my descent into the lair worth it. Without hesitation, I downed the elixir.

You have restored yourself with a full healing potion. Your health is now at 100%.

“Ah, much better,” I said, smiling in pleasure as all my injuries miraculously healed and left me blessedly free of pain. Feeling far more encouraged about my chances in the dungeon now, I climbed up the slide.

It was time to explore the left-side passage.

~~~

I snuck into the second side corridor with all my senses extended and looking for the slightest sign of danger. The left corridor was also shrouded in darkness. After only a cursory examination, I concluded its configuration was identical to the passage I had just been in.

Given that similarity, I padded quietly back into the corridor’s first room and scrutinized the floor. Sure enough, after a few seconds I spotted an oddity in the right corner of the chamber. I studied the suspect patch of ground.

Something about the flagstones covering the area in question appeared not quite right. They’re too smooth, I realized. Too perfect and without the any of the scratches marring the other flagstones. The difference was subtle, but noticeable now that I had identified it.

No doubt about it, I thought. That’s a hatch covered by an illusion. My emotions were mixed on discovering the trapdoor. On the one hand, it was likely another opportunity to gain experience and earn more loot. On the other, it likely meant facing off against another slime, which I was not at all looking forward to.

But this time I have a plan, I reassured myself.

I had thought long and hard before venturing into the left side passage, and had come up with a way of defeating any slime it contained with minimal risk, but it all hinged on my assumptions being correct. I had no way of testing them before the battle. Either I was right or not. Besides, if the worst happens, I can always hack the slime to death again. I only need to avoid its paralytic projectiles.

Moving in a half-crouch, I placed myself in the corner of the room furthest away from the trapdoor. I looked down at the elven finger bone I held in my hand, testing its weight. I had taken it from the dead slime’s lair.

Right here goes, I thought and tossed the small bone towards the fake flagstones. My aim proved true, and the bone clanked nosily over the unseen wood of the hatch. Holding myself still, I readied my weapons.

I didn’t have long to wait. After only a few seconds, the hatch began to yawn open.