Chrysalis C.1121 1232 - The Beasts From BelowNov 29, 2023

Despite my protestations, the slug is surprisingly manoeuvrable, slithering towards me with those burning orbs fixated on my position. Judging by the mana sense I’m getting, this isn’t some freshly spawned creature, but an actual monster from below who’s climbed up for some easy pickings.

Unfortunately, you aren’t going to find any here! Only death! Your death, specifically!

Yes, this creature absolutely has a core thrumming away within that slimy body, and I’m not especially sure how I’m going to get at it. I can only assume attempting to eat this thing is going to dissolve my body from the inside out.

While I’m busy wondering about how I’m going to consume it, the slug is busy attempting to ensure that never happens. The tendrils on its back, dozens and dozens of them, all thicken at the same time, and only my future sense allows me to react in time as they suddenly shoot a wide spray of sizzling acid at me.

Yikes!

I scramble backwards up the tunnel as fast as I can as the acid rains down, almost clipping the tip of my antennae. The moment it touches the ground, the thick slime begins to burn into the rock, and then, even more scarily, it begins to spread so quickly I can see it happen! In mere moments, the area I’d been standing in has been converted to a thick coat of steaming goop over which the slug effortlessly glides.

Not a fan!

How the heck did it take no damage from the fire attack? I need to study the opponent further! Still assuming that fire is a weakness of these creatures, I spin up multiple minds that begin hurling concentrated balls of flame at the creature. The spells streak through the air, crackling with potent heat, only to sink into the slug and dissipate with a rather limp puff sound.

What the heck? It’s only then I realise that I’m not actually looking at the monster itself, but rather an incredibly thick and dense layer of sludge. The stuff is so dense it looks like flesh! I am not liking this at all. Again, with surprising speed, the slug slithers towards me, and the moment those tendrils start to thicken, I start hightailing it out of there, back up the tunnel and towards the nest.

I don’t even think it’s aiming for me. By unleashing the acid spray, the monster continues to build a little highway for itself and create an area I can’t really get to without risking my precious feets. The inexorable advance of the slug!

Fine. If that’s how you want it, try and resist this.

Using more of my minds, I pull together the mana I need and compress it hard before unleashing another Dragon’s Breath, superheating the tunnel in front of me and evaporating the acid in a second.

Gweheheheheh! You think you’re fire resistant? Let’s put it to the test! Obviously, I can’t see a thing with a huge jet of fire blasting out in front of me, but I can still sense the monster, and now that I’m paying attention, I can tell it’s still advancing, even into the teeth of the flame!

What the heck is with this slug?!

My future sense screams at me and I roll to the side, cutting off the spell as I scramble.

A slimy… thing spears through my previous position, topped with a ring of needle-thin teeth. Having missed the target, the slug begins to reel the appendage back, the teeth flexing and gnashing as they slide past me along the ground.

Despite the appearance to the contrary, I can definitely see that the slug has taken some damage from my fire. Whatever coating it’s using to cover itself is clearly extremely fire resistant, but even though that’s the case, a significant portion of the coating has been burned away at the front.

However, before my eyes, the stuff is regenerating. That’s just irritating.

Fair play, slug. Fire is obviously an inefficient way to deal with you. I credit your evolution and mutation choices. You’ve overcome this weakness in spades.

Now, how do you feel about black holes?

HOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLLLL!!!!!

Not nearly a full power version; nevertheless, the gravity bomb rips through the air toward the slug as I scrabble backwards to gain some distance. I didn’t even bother infusing this one with the altar since it’s too close to the nest, and to me, but I trust that it’ll still get the job done.

Too slow to dodge, the slug gets hit right in the face, trusting its dense coating will be enough to protect it from the fury of my spell. Not the case, as it turns out. When the gravity bomb expands and begins to pull in and shred everything it touches, the slug is no exception. Halfway through the spell’s duration, the sweet experience notification rings out in my mind.

[You have defeated Occultus Toxicus Limax (V) Level 32.]

[You have gained XP.]

When the spell fades and I release my tight grip on the stone, I immediately skitter towards the impact zone. What I find is a little surprising, and disturbing.

The slug wasn’t fully consumed by the gravity bomb. I can see the real body of the creature now, barely a fifth of the monster’s full, coated size. The eye stalks were real, but are far longer than I initially thought, extending through all that slime to the outside. Unsurprisingly, the real body is still sluggy, without arms or legs, but with a series of those strange, ringed-tooth spears dangling from its face.

Missing a good chunk out of the middle of its body, the slug couldn’t hope to survive, but the sludge coating was so thick, or so magic resistant, that it managed to avoid being destroyed by the gravity bomb. Holy moly, that’s new.

Considering I can’t burn them, or realistically get close enough to bite them, what the heck am I supposed to do, fling bombs at every monster I see?

And what about the rest of the Colony? What are they going to do?

This is going to be a major pain in the thorax, I can already tell.

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