Frostfire Legacy

Boss Monsters are randomly selected from the monsters on the said floor. The Green Slimes, Goblins, Wolves, Small Cave Spiders, and Cave Rats were the residents of the Second Floor. So, the boss would be an elite species from one of them.

Right now, Aster and the rest were preparing for the boss fight. Of course, they were simply distributing emergency potions, calming their nerves, and stretching. They were quite relaxed, despite it being a boss fight!

"Alright, I'll go and check what boss it'll be this time," Kali commented before she moved ahead.

The boss monster would only appear after someone got within a certain distance of the portal. For the second floor's case, that's 150 meters. Kali moved quietly and carefully stepped within range before seeing a large orb of light appear midway between Kali's position and the gigantic portal ahead.

As the light morphed, taking the shape of a monster, Kali quickly moved back out of its detection range. Then she returned to where Aster and the rest were before announcing.

"Our enemy this time is a Big Slime." She announced.

Of course, the rest could also see it. A large blob of green jelly, looking soft and cool, was jiggling in place. However, there's one problem:

"Are all Big Slimes this ginormous?!"

Aster couldn't help but grumble. After all, the big slime was roughly twenty meters across and about ten meters high! Furthermore, unlike the weak slimes that pop with one hit, the boss Big Slime wouldn't die until its core, the basketball-sized object floating in the middle of its body, was destroyed.

"Right. This one's too big to be a normal Big Slime." Kali nodded before turning to face it once more. "I think this is another level above that, a Mega Slime."

"Mega?!" Liz gasped in surprise. "That should be a boss monster from the 15th floor! It's not something that should be present in this place!"

"..."

Aster frowned as he listened. After all, this was the second time they encountered an irregular situation. 'First, the Rogue Boss Red Cave Spider Mother. And now, a Mega Green Slime?'

He couldn't help but think that the dungeon was being harsh on him, preparing such difficult enemies without restraint!

"What should we do?" Cassy, the team's healer, asked with worry.

The Mega Slime would be a tough opponent for them, especially since it's a Green Slime variant. Green Slimes have a special acid attack after becoming a Big Slime, so this Mega version should also be able to use it.

'I should've read on monsters from even higher floors.' He lamented belatedly.

"We can still beat it," Kali commented, being the one most knowledgeable about the current enemy among everyone. "All we have to do is chip away at its large body slowly until our weapons can reach its core."

"So we'll be whittling it down gradually?" Liz asked. "Then my mace would be best for that."

"Right. So this task would rely heavily on you, muscle woman."

"M-Muscle...?"

Their plan was simple, but executing it would be difficult. After all, the giant slime was twenty meters across. As such, they would need to whittle it down to about a meter or two, which meant they needed to remove over 95% of its body mass first!

"This will be a long fight." Tina sighed, bumping her fists—covered in gauntlets—together.

After they discussed the finer details, the team finally moved forward in formation. They went with a two-two-one formation, with the two tanks at the front, Aster and Kali on either side, and Cassy on standby behind.

As they came closer, the Mega Green Slime started to react. Although it didn't have eyes or a face, it felt as if the slime just turned toward them, ready to pounce as soon as they came close enough.

"TAUNT!"

As soon as they got close enough, Tina used her taunt skill, which could reach further than Liz's, successfully earning the boss's attention.

*JIGGLE!*

The slime lunged forward in one big jump, planning to squish Tina underneath its body. Thankfully, she was quick enough to move out of the way! The Mega Slime landed with a thump, scattering green liquid around.

"Don't let the acid hit you!" Aster commanded as he circled around it.

He was already casting his skill by then, and as soon as it was ready, he slashed toward the enemy. "Mana Slash!"

A vertical, crescent-moon-shaped mana wave rushed forward, hitting the giant slime right in the middle. However, even his most powerful attack was not enough. The wave reached about five meters deep at the center before stopping!

Within the next instant, the large "wound" that he created had already closed, returning to its previous shape as if nothing had happened.

"Tsk! As expected, we can only whittle it down obediently, huh!" He growled.

Tina was the one who gathered its attention, so the Giant Slime was locked onto her, swinging two tentacle-like appendages toward her. Of course, she didn't let such whip-like attacks reach her, even though they came swiftly and with deadly force.

While her taunt was working, Tina was busy dodging. Liz, on the other hand, was swinging her mace violently, chipping away at the monster's gelatinous body slowly. Small patches of green matter flew with every strike of her mace.

However, of course, Liz alone would take forever to finish. Kali used both daggers skillfully, moving as if skinning the Mega Slime. She was cutting off small sections away, helping out!

Aster realized that he, too, should start and repeat his previous attempt.

He sent another Mana Slash, but this time he didn't aim at the center but around the slime's edge. The crescent-shaped slash rushed forward and chopped off a large section in one go!

"...!"

Kali saw this and quickly moved. She rushed to the part that Aster cut off and kicked it away from the slime, in fear that it would simply absorb it again and recover.

One minute passed, and the slime's body visibly shrank. In total, they already removed about 10% of its mass, reducing its diameter by at least half a meter!

"Let's continue at this pace!" Aster smiled, seeing that their plan was working.

Thankfully, other than the appendages that worked like whips, the body slam, and the spray of acid upon landing, adding to the acid spit that it hadn't used yet, the enemy didn't have too many attack variations.

However, a problem quickly reared its head as they were continuing.

"Ugh! This is...!"

Kali frowned, seeing the edge of her beloved dagger dissolve. The Mega Green Slime's insides were also acidic!