Chapter 15: Boss Battle!!! As the victorious party settled down from their celebration, Lethe heard the [Acolyte] lightly reminding the group, "Y'all know we're in a dungeon right?" And with that, the atmosphere instantly became subdued. As the [Skirmisher] grabbed the coins on the ground and dumped it in the small bag attached to his belt, the [Shieldbearer] went forward and picked up the dropped [Stone Shield]. "Oy, Jones. This shield here is great! Let Me use it, that old one can barely hang on." he remarked, pointing at the almost broken, splintered, and loose shield he was still somehow carrying. With a nod and a wave from the [Acolyte], Lethe saw as he dropped the wooden shield and equipped his new stone shield. The equipment itself was far more similar to a buckler than his previous wooden targe. It was hexagonal in shape, with smooth rounded edges and an area at the back for an arm to slide through. As the man started to fiddle with the item, shifting his stance and balancing on his heels, the rest of the group gathered together. Soon after, the composure of the group returned and they started to head farther into the final room. As they came upon the exit, their view of the area below was covered by the rolling vines hanging from the edge. Pushing aside a few of them, the group looked over and saw a darkened cavern with large glowing pools of acid, stacks of stalagmites at the edges of the chamber, and a small alcove at the back. Understanding that they would have to once more scale down using the natural ropes, the group fastened their equipment and started to shimmy down, each man using a separate vine. While descending, Lethe could see that the whole party was tense, afraid of another ambush similar to the previous room, their foreheads slicked with sweat. He felt their heart rate increase as they kept on descending and finally landed on the far southern end of the pool, with the small alcove he had made for the treasure chest towards the north. Huddling together and grasping their weapons for a few minutes, the group finally relented their guard seeing nothing attack them. "This looks like one of em puzzle rooms, Jonesy, ya know those the [Receptionist] had mentioned." the [Hedge Mage] guessed, seeing no active enemies. "That might be it. Still, let's try not to let our guard down too much, still a dungeon we're in." Jones, the [Acolyte], replied. "I think that's where we need to get to boys." he said, pointing at the alcove at the back. "Careful with yer steps, Harry, I want ya to go first, then George , then me, John, and James, watch our rears." he ordered. Another round of "Ayes" followed and the [Tracker] led the way for the group as he advanced across the precarious steps lining the large acid pool. Lethe watched as with each step, the man carefully judged the weight and area, pointing out how to step on them to the others standing by as he made his way across the obstacle fluidly. ------ Jones had been on edge ever since they climbed down those blasted vines into this room. He had thought that they would be ambushed or have an inkling of where the mob was, but all he could make out were the bubbling pools of acid that made up the cavern. The stench and vapors of the dangerous substance in these pools had made it evident that anything dropping into them would almost instantly be eaten up by the corrosive liquid. The weapons they had bought from the outpost were rickety and would most likely only be able to survive a few more encounters. His own staff as well as John's wand were doing fairly well compared to the others, seeing as they weren't being used physically. However, James's daggers, George's sword, and previous shield, and Harry's bow had seen better days. Thankfully, they were all able to make the most of the durability the equipment had with religious repairs and maintenance throughout their use, allowing them to extend the lifespan of the cheap weapons. Their armor on the other hand, other than George's, was doing much better, although still being relatively cheap in quality. The [Leatherworker] at the outpost was known for his quality gear, and so none of them had to worry about the leathers and clothing they wore falling apart. Looking at the corrosive pool ahead of him though, Jones somehow felt that their equipment would soon be on their way to the dump pile.

As he watched Harry, their intrepid [Tracker], make his way across the precarious ledges through the pool he couldn't help but remember the way this dungeon had so far worked. He was expecting, waiting, for an ambush, for something to happen. When Harry was around 80% of the way there, Jones noticed that he might have found something in that hole in the wall. He watched as Harry signed to him that there was an 'enemy' and 'opportunity' ahead, requesting to continue and take care of the enemy. Not knowing exactly what he meant but believing in the man's threat assessment, Jones signed back and agreed to his request. As soon as he received the signal, the [Tracker[ steadied his ground, readied his bow and arrow, and before any hesitation could sink into his mind shot at the as of yet unseen enemy, which now that Jones thought about, was probably a slime. Soon after, he watched as the man drew back another arrow and shot it around the same area and started to head back towards his group, carefully making his way back through the precarious footing, occasionally shooting an arrow towards, what now was evident for Jones as they got closer, was an [Acid Slime]. The rest of the party returned to their formation, waiting for the man to return. As the man stepped back onto shore and took his position behind the party, George met the oncoming monster with his new shield, swiping at the apex of its most recent jump, which it presumably made in an attempt to cross the distance. The [Acid Slime] was swiped, blocked, and [Bashed] towards the side of the pool by their tank, and before it could do anything further, a quick [Flare] and another arrow sent it to its doom. Before any of them could relax however, the chamber suddenly started shaking, loose debris falling from the ceiling into the room, the pools of corrosive liquid boiling and bubbling. As a group, the party stared at the pools as a large shape emerged from the center. "We need to back up! Move! Move!", Jones yelled over the din of boiling water, urging the rest. As the party started to retreat towards the far end of the room, they were witness to the largest monster that they had ever seen emerging from the depths. A large 5 meter tall monstrosity of a slime with green viscous ooze and two cores floating inside of it, its skin giving off steam as the debris that fell melted into sludge, before eventually being consumed by the monstrous glob of acid. "Use ranged attacks as much as possible, it's skin is too dangerous to get close! George, make sure to only try to block, we'll take care of the damage!" he yelled, after which George instantly nodded and firmed his stance. "James, I want you to only attack when you get a chance for a [Backstab], otherwise stay the heck away from it, The rest of you, let loose, we have a [Boss] to kill!!" he finished, shooting a searing ball of [Radiance] from the top of his staff towards the now unveiled [Mutated Acid Slime 4].

Jones's attack was the precursor for the initiation of the battle, as soon enough a [Focus] enhanced [Flare] and [Split Shot] followed his blast of light towards the giant mob, sinking into its almost half a meter thick membrane, barely able to wound the monster. Before the group could do anything further, the whole 5 meter tall [Acid Slime] started to convulse and wobble, before two gelatinous tentacles burst forth from its sides, their size almost twice as large as George's shield, before rocketing towards their lone tank. As he watched the massive clubs of liquid acid head towards him, George lifted his shield up to cover most of his body, squaring his shoulders, and holding his stance loose enough to move out of the way when he could. Not a second sooner did he feel the impact from the club-like appendage slam against him, and before the attack could pound him into the ground, [Shieldbearer] shifted his weight to the side, getting knocked back a couple feet but able to remain standing. Immediately afterwards, the second appendage flew towards him from the side, barely giving him time to shift his shield to his right to take the hit, knocking him up into the air back towards the group. As their tank kept the monster distracted, the others continued to pile on, slowly spreading out and away from the fast melee. Taking his chance, Jones watched as James was able to sneak up towards the back of the [Acid Slime] and in a repeat of their previous encounter, proceeded to [Backstab] the monster. As soon as the daggers made contact with the thick membrane, the edges started to visibly melt and soften. Not wanting for his only weapons to get vaporized, James pushed the daggers in, finishing his skill, and instantly using [Retreat], allowing him to pull the now corrosion-tipped blades from the slime. Sensing the damage, the party were able to witness the slime seizing for almost one second before another set of club-like appendages grew out of its body, this time chasing the fast retreating [Skirmisher]. Understanding that if they didn't do anything to distract the mob, James would mostly be hit without any form of protection, Jones yelled at their [Hedge Mage], "Use [Force] on those daggers! James, just parry and dodge!" Somehow, even through the sounds of battle, of gelatinous limbs smashing against the stone, of varieties of floor and shield, and the blood boiling in his ear, James was able to hear the instructions. He stopped trying to run away and waited for the limbs to get closer, dodging towards the left, away from the pools of acid, making the club hit the cavern floor. Before he could get his bearings any further, he saw that his weapons were glowing with a blue hue, and knowing what John had just cast on them, he parried the next limb to the side. The slime, as if understanding that he wouldn't be able to cause any meaningful damage to the adventurers, retracted each of its limbs after a few more attempts, and started to convulse. All this while, it continued to be bombarded by arrows as well as shards of flame and light. Seeing that the melee combatants were able to take a break, Jones signaled them to get back into formation before proceeding to cast [Mend] for the bruises and scrapes they inevitably gathered during the encounter so far. Jones watched the slime as it kept on convulsing, its club-like appendages nowhere to be seen and finally rear back, sinking a section of its gelatinous body back into the pools of acid, and witnessed globs of acid appearing like dew-drops on the surface of its membrane. As the number of drops began to multiple, the slime reared back and into itself, as if a spring ready to coil. "Oy Jones. I think it ain't healing with what it's doing. Think we should take cover?" Harry inquired, warily watching and preparing another shot. "Yeah...I uh yeah I think we should! Get behind those stalagmites boys!" Their party leader exclaimed, turning around and running behind a set of stalagmites set off against the walls of the cavern. "Time ta hide!" George yelled, diving behind cover as the rest of the group followed their brave healer and tank. -----