Chapter 147 -- S- Something Amazing Appeared
After teleporting to the 30th level we found ourselves in an immense domed room maybe 300 metres in diameter. On the other side of the room from where we arrived was a gigantic monster, a rhinoceros-like dark-skinned creature about the size of a trailer-truck with a gleaming horn on its nose.
"Gruo-o-o-o-o" It instantly let out a cry, we had been spotted.
That creature, what was it? It seemed to be alone but every other level had several monsters for us to defeat. However this monster was on a different scale to anything we had encountered before, could it be...
"That monster over there is Behemoth." Fer said with both satisfaction and excitement in his voice. "Be careful everybody."
So it WAS Behemoth. But why were we being thrown straight into a fight with the level boss, the dungeon boss in fact? I thought it was going to be the same as all the other levels, we'd arrive at the start of a level and fight lesser monsters on the way to where the boss would be waiting for us. Facing Behemoth right away like this, it's way too early! Damn, I had planned to feed everyone lots of food from the Net Super to gain status bonuses before we fought the dungeon boss but now that was impossible, the battle was imminent.
The huge figure of Behemoth across the room pawed at the floor with a forefoot like the beginning of a bullfight, preparing to charge at us.
"It's coming." Fer said. Yes, I can see that Fer...
"Gruo-o-o-o-o" Behemoth roared again and then it rushed towards us, its hooves crashing like thunder on the stone floor of the room. It wasn't fast but its rush looked unstoppable.
"Dora, Sui, listen to me!" Fer said quickly, never taking his eyes off the charging monstrosity. "Physical attacks like ramming and magic attacks are not very effective against Behemoth. They work a little bit but it's a very tough monster and can regenerate so you have to keep your attacks going, don't stop until it's defeated. Its own attacks are powerful but it can't defend itself well or dodge easily. Don't get trapped against the sides of the room, fight it in the centre so you can manoeuvre around it and dodge any of its attacks." Fer tensed as Behemoth approached the middle of the room, then sprang forward to meet it. "Let's go!"
"So just attack it and then attack it some more?" Dora-chan said, lifting off my back and flying after Fer. "Sounds good to me!"
Sui-chan popped out of her bag and pyonged after the other two battle maniacs. "Sui will buzz buzz and and use Water magic on it too!-"
Fast-flying Dora-chan was first to reach the approaching monster, bombarding it with Lightning magic, Crash! Flash! but with no perceivable effect as the magic bolts seemed to bounce off Behemoth's shiny skin.
"Uwaah!" Dora-chan cried as he swerved away from the monster. "This guy's skin is way too hard!"
Just how difficult was it going to be to penetrate that skin, I wondered. Fer had made a point of warning my other two companion monsters about it but his own Lightning magic had dealt a one-hit kill to a Mithril-skinned Metal Lizard. Did he think even his ultra-strong attacks couldn't easily defeat this monster? Behemoth was going to be the toughest foe we had ever encountered by far, it seemed.
Next to attack was Sui-chan, firing Acid Bullets from a distance, Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! All the Bullets hit Behemoth which didn't even try to evade them but as it got closer it was clear to see Sui's incredibly strong acid had little or no effect on Behemoth's shiny hide. What was it made of?
"Ah? It didn't melt-" Sui-chan complained, pyonging off to one side out of the line of Behemoth's charge as Fer finally got in range, firing off his super-powered Wind and Lightning magic in continuous bursts -- Whoosh! Crash! Whoosh! Crash!
"Gruuuh, Gruoo" Behemoth came to a stop and shook its immense body, obviously hurt by Fer's attack but it still didn't seem to have taken much physical damage.
"Dora, Sui, don't stop attacking!" Fer commanded as he launched another series of his own Lightning and Wind magic attacks at the monster's giant head.
"Oyah!"
"Got it-"
Dora-chan unleashed a flurry of Ice Spears at Behemoth but they shattered ineffectually on Behemoth's hard skin while Sui-chan fired off more Acid Bullets, Pyu Pyu Pyu! trying to concentrate her aim on a smaller area of the monster's hide. This time there was some effect as smoke rose from where the cluster of Acid Bullets had hit but it was still not enough, I could see, it was barely a scorch. Sui-chan changed to Water Cutter, precisely hitting the smouldering section of Behemoth skin with her Water magic and YES! I could see a slice appear in the beast's thick acid-scarred skin.
"Gurruuuh!" Behemoth was hurt now, bellowing and pawing the ground in anger as it tossed its head, looking around for its attacker, then it opened its mouth wide.
"Its breath!" Fer shouted. "Watch out for its breath!" I saw a red glow develop in Behemoth's open mouth and we all dodged away from its direct line of fire, guessing what was coming next.
"Gruaaarrr-" Behemoth spat out a terrifically hot flame from its open mouth. I could feel the heat even at a distance from where the scorching flame hit the floor and wall of the room. If it had caught me even my bones would have been cremated. As the fire petered out and before Behemoth could launch another such attack I spoke quickly to Fer.
"Behemoth skin that's been damaged by acid can be cut more easily!" I pointed to the area on Behemoth's side where Sui-chan's Water Cutter had sliced through the creature's hide. It was healing up as I watched but it had been cut at least slightly. Fer turned his head to look then issued orders to his subordinates.
"Sui, fire Acid Bullets at Behemoth, a lot of them at the same spot! Dora, attack that area with your Wind magic and cut into it!"
"Yoh!" Dora-chan swung round to the same side of the monster Fer and Sui-chan were positioned, to concentrate their efforts.
"Sui, fire lots of Acid Bullets now!" Fer ordered.
Sui-chan trembled for a moment as she used her Growth skill to suddenly become a Big Slime before she fired off dozens, hundreds of Acid Bullets at Behemoth which stood frozen in the middle of the room, obviously surprised at the appearance of the new form of one of its opponents. Pyu, Pyu, Pyu- Behemoth roared in pain as an area of its side was coated thickly by Big Slime Sui-chan's machine-gun delivery of Acid Bullets, its skin steaming and bubbling from the assault.
"Yes! Now, Dora, hit it right there with your Wind Cutter!" Fer ordered as he launched his own magical assault at Behemoth's weakened side.
Slash! Whoosh! Slash! Whoosh! Dora-chan launched Wind Cutter attacks at the smoking side of Behemoth as Fer unleashed his Claw Slash, chopping into the acid-weakened skin and dealing significant damage to the monster at last.
"Gruaah, Gurwaaaaa" Behemoth cried in pain, shaking and stamping its feet but neither Dora-chan or Fer relented in their attacks.
"Sui, shoot more Acid Bullets! Now!" Fer commanded. Big Slime Sui-chan complied, spraying Behemoth's side with a storm of Acid Bullets again, Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu! Pyu!
"Groooo-o-o-o-o-o-o" Behemoth groaned, it was weakening! Yes! I suddenly understood Fer's plan-- Sui-chan's Acid Bullets were driving deeply into Behemoth's body through the gaping wounds in its skin caused by the continuous Claw Slash and Wind Cutter attacks of Fer and Dora-chan. Behemoth trembled, its head dropping and Fer stopped his Claw Slash attacks, bracing himself before he unleashed a mighty Lightning magic attack that hurt my eyes and ears, directed straight into the wounded side of Behemoth.
CRASH!!! Flash flash flash flash--- the lightning bolts left a purple afterimage in my abused eyeballs as Fer's maximum effort knifed into the giant monster's body and then Behemoth, the mighty near-invulnerable final boss of Doran's famous dungeon... collapsed to one side, dead. I let out a breath I didn't realise I had been holding.
"Yatta-! We beat it!!!" Sui-chan, still a Big Slime was pyonging in triumph around the fallen Behemoth, an amazing sight given their comparative sizes.
"Hyaho! We beat Behemoth!!" Dora-chan was delightedly spinning and tumbling in the air above the dead Behemoth.
"Quiet down, you two. It's no big deal, of course we beat it." Fer admonished but there was a gleam in his eye and a satisfied expression on his face that belied his cool words.
"Oh, everyone was amazing." I congratulated the three of them. "Defeating a monster that strong, well not everyone could have done it."
It really was an amazing feat, to subjugate such a monster but given the powers of my three companion monsters the outcome wasn't really a surprise once we figured out how to combine their efforts to best effectiveness. After that, well, it was no contest. Behemoth only got off one real counter-attack with its fiery breath and we all dodged that easily.
Well, of course a monster in a dungeon can always be defeated if the party facing it are strong enough and Fer, Sui-chan and Dora-chan were easily that strong... Oh, Behemoth just disappeared. What are the drops? Lessee... a truly immense magic stone and a correspondingly immense shiny dark-coloured skin and oh! a large treasure chest richly decorated with gold and jewels. Yosh!
Appraisal first of course, I wasn't going anywhere near a treasure chest as tempting as that in THIS dungeon without checking it out from a safe distance...
[ Treasure Chest of Dungeon Boss ]
A rare-drop treasure chest which appears after the dungeon boss is defeated. There are no traps. Honest.
So that's why it only appeared after we defeated Behemoth, the last boss. My Appraisal said it didn't have any traps either although I was still a little bit suspicious, I must admit. However that wouldn't stop me opening it, which I did. The only item inside was a double-edged sword. When I tried to lift it out of the chest though...
"Wow, this sword is heavy..." I muttered. What was it made of? Time to Appraise it.
[ Demon Sword Caladbolg ]
A cursed sword with Lightning magic attribute. Made of Adamantite.
A WHAT?! And it's made of WHAT?!!! What the... Wow. A cursed magic sword with a name, like Excalibur, and it's made of a metal even rarer than Mithril. If I showed this around anywhere it was going to cause trouble, I was sure of it. Could I not just leave it behind for the next party of Adventurers who defeated Behemoth to deal with? What was I going to do with it?
I stared at the cursed sword for some time then swallowed and resolutely put it away in my Item Box. I'd think about it later, after we got out of the dungeon and back to Doran. Elland-san, he was a swordsman, wasn't he? Maybe he'd be able to give me some advice about it but right now it would be safe in my Item Box. Say hello to Orthros-san and Chimaera-san, Caladbolg-san... What? The treasure chest hadn't disappeared after I removed the contents as all the other treasure chests I had looted had. That must mean it was also a drop item and looking at it again the gold metalwork and jewels on it meant it had to be worth a lot, I supposed. I tucked the chest away in my Item Box as well. But that sword...
"Hey, I'm getting really hungry." Fer's voice interrupted my thoughts, letting me know about something more important at least as far as he was concerned. A sword was just a sword but his belly was empty and that needed filling right now.
"What the big guy said." Dora-chan added.
"Sui is also hungry-" Of course she would be, after shooting all those Acid Bullets. Sui-chan had returned to her original size while I was trying to work out what to do with the sword. I quickly added the other drops from Behemoth to my Item Box.
"I know you're hungry, Fer but shouldn't we get out of here before Behemoth comes back?" This was a dungeon and its monsters would naturally respawn after they were defeated. Any time we had finished a level by defeating the boss we had left that level immediately afterwards. We had nowhere to go now other than back out of the dungeon since this was the final level. If we waited to eat dinner here...
"Dungeon bosses don't respawn quickly after they are defeated." Fer said authoritatively. "From my experience each dungeon is different but it'll take at least a week before the next dungeon boss appears." Was that so? I supposed if I had lived for a thousand years as Fer had then I'd know that sort of thing too.
"Of course," Fer added, "the new boss might not be Behemoth since we defeated it already, it could be something harder to beat than that overgrown cow." Fer regarded Behemoth as an 'overgrown cow'? And what would be harder to beat than the sort of monster we had just defeated? I stopped myself from asking him since I didn't want to hear what he might say.
Still, how were we going to get out of here, the thirtieth and final level? How would we get back to the surface, would we really have to retrace our steps back up through all the previous levels? I'd have to buy a lot of food from the Net Super as we went in that case.
"Hey Fer, how do we get back to the surface from here anyway?" I asked.
"We can return to the ground by using the same sort of Teleportation spell as before." Fer indicated the other side of the room, the place where Behemoth had been standing when we arrived. "The pattern for the spell is on the wall over there." Ah, so the final level's Teleportation spell would take us back to the surface. That was good to hear since I wasn't in the mood to fight our way back through the previous twenty-nine levels in reverse.
"Hey, never mind that." Fer grumbled. "Hurry up and cook dinner, you." My other two contracted monsters added their own encouragement. It looked like everyone was hungrier than usual which wasn't that surprising after their battle with the 'overgrown cow' Behemoth.
Something quick then, I've got cooked rice in my Item Box and, let's see, what else is ready to eat... Oh, just shredded cabbage? That's all? Hmmm, how about a pork and cabbage rice bowl with a ready-made salty sauce? That would do...
I opened up Net Super and bought the salty sauce then oiled up a heated frying pan and fried slices of Orc General meat. When the pork was nicely seared I added the sauce and fried it together for a few minutes more before topping large bowls of rice with shredded cabbage and the cooked pork. Done! A little dash of white sesame seeds to taste and it was ready.
"Here you are." I put out the bowls and stood well back. My three contracted monsters dived in and ate with more gusto than usual, was it perhaps because of the magical efforts they had put into fighting Behemoth-san? It had been the hardest fight they had ever faced together after all. I hadn't fought the 'overgrown cow' myself but seeing Fer, Sui-chan and Dora-chan gobbling the pork and rice I started to feel hungry myself so I helped myself to a bowl too, before Fer and Sui-chan demanded ""Seconds"". I seasoned my own salty-sauce pork over rice with ground black pepper since I wanted a sharper taste than white sesame seeds would provide. Yup, it was delicious.
Normally I'd make that sort of sauce from basic ingredients but if I was in a hurry or had run out of salt and lemon juice and the other necessities I'd use a commercially-made sauce. It wasn't a big deal, it was just my preference.
"Puhah, I'm stuffed." said Dora-chan finally, his bowl empty. He collapsed on his back, his little round belly bulging and then fell instantly asleep. He had fought the Giant Sand Golem and then Behemoth in quick succession, no wonder he was tired. Sui-chan and Fer were probably the same, I realised, it had been an exhausting day for all of them.
""Seconds"" Yeah, yeah. I dished up more bowls of salty-sauce pork over rice to Fer and Sui-chan until they were satisfied.
"Well you had a good appetite, you two." I commented as I put away the dishes and cooking utensils.
"Because we fought Behemoth." Fer said, blinking tiredly.
"I was hungry because I pew pewed a lot-" Sui-chan added. Indeed, she had pew pewed Behemoth a lot today.
Thinking back it had been an incredibly busy day for all of us -- we had spent many hours in the desert running through the intense heat towards the 29th level boss while fighting assorted monsters on the way, faced off against the Giant Sand Golem and then dropped immediately into an exhausting battle with Behemoth, the dungeon's final boss. It had been a long time since we woke up this morning.
"Do you want to go back to the surface after a little rest?" I suggested.
"Umu, that's right." Fer agreed tiredly. I glanced over at Dora-chan who was snoring loudly now, obviously fast asleep. Sui-chan had crawled into her bag and would be sleeping like she usually did after eating a big meal. I was tired myself and it was late in the 'day' so I decided on a change of plans.
"Dora-chan's tired out and fast asleep, so is Sui-chan." I told Fer. "You look pretty worn out yourself. I think we should sleep here tonight and go back tomorrow. This is the last level, you said another dungeon boss won't spawn for at least a week and there aren't any other monsters around. It's like a safe area now."
Fer blinked again then nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. Put out the futons, will you?" I dug out some cardboard and futons from my Item Box and laid them out on the stone floor, lifting the sleeping Dora-chan into place as Fer collapsed heavily onto the bedding. He was asleep a few seconds later. I joined them willingly and, comforted by Fer's assurance there was no longer any danger I slept deeply in the dungeon's lowest level for a long time.