Moving into the next chamber, I felt something push against my senses. That meant there were two options. Either there was a very powerful dungeon somewhere in these depths, or there was a monster somewhere down here strong enough that it was already producing aura abilities.
I didn't like either potential answer. Neither the juvenile leviathan or whatever that monster was during the battle had been strong enough to exert their influence anything like what was currently pushing against my manafires. What the hell had made its home down here?
The tunnels made me doubt it was a dungeon. No, there had to be something down here, creating these tunnels and building a hive. That meant there was likely some sort of ant-like caste system for the acid slugs, and all we had fought so far were scouts.
A new crunching sound grabbed my attention to one of the many paths that opened into the chamber. There were two large golden slugs eating away at the side of a tunnel, slowly coming toward me. Both of them were bigger than Floof and probably the answer to how these caves were being dug out.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I watched the two slugs. I hefted my blade up into the air, too late to stop the attack, but still, soon enough to catch the attacker. A warm, painful liquid splattered across the back of my head, burning its way down my neck, singeing my shirt. At the same time, something else let out a squelching, shrieking noise as it impaled itself.
I swung the blade hard, throwing the still living form of a smaller, bright red slug hard into the far wall. The attack had already alerted its two comrades, and both were moving quickly toward me. Sounds from two of the other caves told me even more enemies were incoming.
Without much of a choice, I charged the two I could see, hoping to take them down before the rest reached me. The searing pain had reached the bottom of my back, which told me exactly how much I needed to avoid the acid these things were spewing. I almost hated acid as much as I hated burns.
The two I had charged towards fell incredibly quickly to a few well-placed swings. They were likely not at all the front-line fighters for this hive. That was probably reserved for whatever was coming behind me.
Swinging back toward the chamber to deal with them. I spotted a blur whiz past my vision, followed by a thunk as it found a target. Two more quickly followed it up. But dozens of bright red and blue slugs had started to fill the chamber.
Some were as small as cats, while a couple were nearly the size of a large horse. This was not a dungeon. These monsters were multiplying too rapidly down here to be expanding out from a dungeon. This had to be a hive. I was nearly sure of it now.
“Ash, stay as far back as you can while you fire those arrows. Their acid hurts like hell,” I called to my daughter as I joined the fight.
She had already become impressively accurate with the bow. And again, she was my daughter, and that meant weapons came easily. There was a fighting spirit in our blood from both sides. Her grandfather had seemed to be an expert at every weapon known to man, and his daughter was no slouch either.
That was one of the big reasons that fear for Heather and Rich hadn't overwhelmed me. I knew they could fend for themselves for the time being. Their placement in the global rankings further assured me of that confidence.
Several more burns dotted my flesh as the slugs fell before me. As much as I wished otherwise, there was no easy way to avoid the acid in such confined quarters. Plus, I preferred it hitting me than Ash anyway. Her bow made that easy enough, as long as I stayed between the monsters and it.
“Where did all these tunnels come from?” Ash yelled as more of the slugs died.
“I assume some of these were naturally formed from one of the worlds used for the integration. These slugs either moved in or already lived somewhere far below ground, and have been widening them for their own use, possibly to get at the Neighborhood.”
That last part, I really wasn't sure about. While we had continuously had minor issues with the smallest ones, it had never seemed like a full-scale attack. Then again, considering how ready they had been to take advantage of the sinkhole, it was possible they were just being strategic about it.
The damn slugs just kept coming. At least that meant it would be harder for them to surprise us once this fight was over. Wherever our last two missing people were wouldn't have too many of these damn monsters left waiting for us by the time we finished here.
By the time I put the runic blade through the final one, there wasn't a bit of hair left anywhere on my arms. Dozens of blisters had formed all over my exposed flesh. It still wasn't my worst experience with acid, but it was up there.
System messages flooded my view, confirming that we had finished them off.
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Enemy Defeated
Minor Acid Slug [2 Experience]
No Further Information Unlocked.
Golden Tunnel Carver Acid Slug [2 Experience]
One of the stages a Minor Acid Slug can first grow into is that of a Tunnel Carver. The Golden Tunnel Carver is the second-highest ranking of these specialized mutations. While incredibly weak in terms of offensive capabilities, they are able to chew through tons of rock per day. After consuming enough material, they will enter a hibernation state and finally begin to grow to their next form. What that form will be is dependent upon just what material they have consumed the most.
Further Information Locked.
Blue Climber Acid Slug [2 Experience]
The Climbing Acid Slugs are specialized scouts. The blue variety veers further than their kin in search of dangers as well as valuable minerals. Due to the danger this mutation often encounters, it has become much stronger in its defenses, able to handle itself in both fights and risky terrain. When pierced, acid explodes out of their body, giving them a chance to retreat to safety.
Further Information Locked.
Red Racer Acid Slug [20 Experience]
Racer Acid Slugs are one of the lower-cased soldier mutations. They are quick-moving infantry able to rapidly join other slugs in engagements. The red mutation is further adapted for quick combat maneuvers while losing most of the defensive capabilities seen in its blue counterpart. They are able to spit a highly corrosive acid with incredible accuracy.
Further Information Locked.
Blue Assassin Acid Slug [50 Experience] <1 Adaptation Point>
Assassin Acid Slugs are the mutation most often used to quickly eliminate powerful threats. The blue variety is more stealthy, but its acid is weaker than that of its red counterparts. They are more often used against foes moments before a prepared assault is launched, instead of a true full assassination attempt. Despite the decreased strength of their acid, they still have one of the most potent acids within the acid slug mutation line.
Further Information Locked.
Blue Bruiser Acid Slug [100 Experience] <2 Adaptation Points>
Bruiser Acid Slugs are one of the end-cap mutation line possibilities for Acid Slugs. For the vast majority of Acid Slugs, once they reach this stage, it is the end, and their life is now that of a hive defender. Their own bodies become walls against the assaults of foes. Every time their flesh rips, acid pours onto the attacker.
Further Information Locked.
__________
__________
Adaptation
Lesser Acid Resistance
Type
Reactive
Your flesh has been so badly scarred from being exposed to all kinds of acids that it has begun to produce a natural base as a quick-acting reaction to acid exposure. This reduces the effects of acid by 10%.
Adaptation
Acid Resistance
Type
Reactive
Your body's continued exposure to acid, as well as its newfound ability to produce a base reaction to neutralize minor amounts on contact, has grown stronger, further reducing all effects by 25%.
17/50 Recaptures Unlocked for Lost Hero Progression.
Adaptation Points (95)
__________
On top of that, I'd also gained three levels. The adaptations had already gone to work, soothing some of the damage the acid had done to my body. But it could only do so much after the fact. I wasn't sure the gains here had been worth the annoyance I'd be in before my body finished healing.
“Dad, I'm pretty sure there are people just in the next tunnel,” Ash whispered as she returned her bow to her back.
Focusing myself a little and doing my best to ignore the pain, I realized I could also hear quiet moaning coming from ahead of us. “You're right, come on, but stay behind me. You don't want any of this acid on you. When we get out of here, I've got some stories for you.”
The next room wasn't at all what I expected. As we neared the entrance to the chamber, it rapidly grew lighter, and the reason why became immediately apparent as we entered. Strange overhangs dotted the ceiling, emitting a bright, glowing light.
The chamber itself was so absolutely massive that I couldn't see the other side from our vantage point. About a hundred feet into the room, the floor vanished into an incredibly long drop, and far below I could see the tops of strange trees. But more importantly than this new discovery was Tom holding a hammer, standing in front of a wounded Glenn.
“Adam, oh god, it's you. I was worried it was more of those things,” Tom said, sounding weak. There were the remains of at least a dozen of the slugs scattered around him. “I was worried they'd just keep coming and I'd never be able to find our way back. What the hell is this place?”
“A lot of worlds have giant sprawling underground environments. All kinds of monsters and species live in them. And it looks like we've just found our first. But come on, let's get back up top side, and we can figure out what to do once we're all safe,” I said, already having a slight idea of what was best.
Hopefully, I'd put the fear of me into the slugs, but I didn't know how intelligent they were, so I couldn't say for sure. We'd need to explore the tunnels at least as far as they went under the neighborhood and seal off all of them. It was possible there were diplomatic inroads we could make with the slugs, but after today, it seemed pretty unlikely. That left our next best bet as blocking them off for as long as we could.
The return trip was slower, but not a single slug blocked our path. Glenn was in pretty bad shape, but I thought he'd live. He'd need to spend some time in recovery, though. There was no work ahead for him for at least a week.
Getting them up the ropes to safety was no easy feat either. We hadn't had time to set up any sort of rescue equipment designed for that yet, so instead I tied myself into the rope and carried him up as gently as I could. Every bump elicited another groan of pain from him.
As soon as I was up, I handed him off to his fellow workers. “Get him back to Lukiss and Norm and start working on patching him up. He's been through a lot. But he should be fine with some healing time,” I ordered.
“Damn, the boys were talking about a dragon. There's no way in hell that was what was down there, right?” Grimbleflork asked.
“Not even close. Just a lot of acid slugs. Likely a whole hive somewhere down there, the cave has opened up to a big underground forest as well, so there's probably a whole lot of monsters somewhere far below our feet,” I replied.
“Shit. Well, that changes what we want to do with this tower, I think,” the old Goblin replied.
“It does. We need to build it down all the way to the bottom of this sinkhole now and use it as our entry point to explore the tunnels and seal them off as best we can. At least I assume that's what you wanna do, Adam. I can't imagine you want to go romping through whatever that weird underground jungle was,” Tom added, sounding better than he had down below.
“No, I agree, Tom. That's probably the best plan of action right now. If Grimbleflork is okay with it, have the Goblins help you get it done as fast as you can. We're going to need to make sure we don't have another acid slug attack anytime soon.”
Grimbleflork had already started barking orders to the other goblins before I'd even finished talking. We'd have to explore the tunnels eventually, but for now, they could be put off. Contacting the other Rock Trolls was still far more important.