(Morcster Chef) Oops. - Ch. 90 (Patreon)

“Boss room?” Arek guessed. A pebble bounced past him and disappeared into the dark tunnel. Unlike the other rooms, the light coming from the huge tunnel was much brighter. It was still the same dull green, just magnified.

“And it’s about damn time,” Belmont said. Bags had formed under the man’s eyes and an uneven stubble had formed on his face. The others didn’t look much better, although they’d been spared the facial hair.

“So much for your secret passage,” Malissa said, smirking at Belmont. “I’m pretty sure we would have found the exit faster if we’d just gone through the normal way.”

“Bah. It was a maze. Maybe we never would have found the exit,” Belmont replied.

“Guys, come on! Let’s get out of here already. I’m ready to eat anything other than beef jerky and cheese,” Ming said.

“There’s always fishman,” Arek offered.

Ming tilted her head thoughtfully.

“Absolutely not,” Malissa said, crossing her arms. Her silken robes had been stained dark by the constant fighting and dirty environment. “We need to clear this dungeon out and get back to Riverfall. I don’t want to get to the point where I actually consider eating one of those things.”

“I’m not going to object,” Arek said. “Any plan for the boss, then? I believe you mentioned it was faster and harder to take out than the normal fishmen.”

“It sticks to the water a lot,” Belmont said. “When we fought it, there was a small horde of fishmen that attacked us when we entered the boss room. The boss would wait until we were off guard before attacking.”

“We can’t predict when he’ll attack, so our best bet is to deal with as many normal fishmen as possible while avoiding the water. He’ll eventually hop out and go for someone. When he does, I’ll try to grab the bastard before he can get back into the water. He’s somewhat tough, but a few good hits should take him out,” Malissa said.

“Last time I hit him with a lightning bolt,” Ming said proudly. “But I don’t think I’m supposed to do that now.”

“Do you even know any pure magic spells other than that little blast of energy?” Belmont asked. “The lightning was very effective at slowing him down. It would be useful to have something similar.”

“Magus is a firm believer of taking things one step at a time.”

“We’ll be fine, Belmont,” Malissa said. “I’m a lot stronger than the last time we took this dungeon on, so I should be able to hold the boss down.”

“I’ll jump in and help if it looks like Malissa is having trouble,” Arek said. “If he’s strong enough to resist both Malissa and I, we might have bigger problems.”

“Fair enough,” Belmont said with a reluctant nod. “In that case, this fight should be straightforward. Take out the small creatures, then deal with the boss when he shows up. Just make sure not to underestimate any of the fishmen. We’ve all seen what happens when they’re in the water, even if that one was more dangerous than normal. These are predators, even if they’re weak on land.”

“Noted,” Arek said, rolling his shoulders. None of them had to warm up much as they’d already cleared a few rooms before reaching this one, but a little extra stretching never hurt.

The passage was big enough for them to walk side by side. An unspoken agreement to enter passed between the Happy Sunflowers. They stepped into the passage and started towards the light at its end.

Green moss hung from the walls and ceiling, illuminating the entire path, and explaining why the light coming from it was so bright. The road slanted upwards sharply, going on for much longer than any of the other caves they’d walked through before ending in a bright green light in the distance.

The Happy Sunflowers started up it. Gravel and bone crunched beneath their feet as they walked. Their footsteps dislodged pebbles, sending them tumbling back down the slope.

“I don’t remember this long entrance,” Malissa whispered as they walked.

“Nor do I,” Belmont replied. “Be cautious. Something is different.”

Their pace slowed as they neared the top. The light coming out of the exit was so bright that it forced Arek to raise a hand in front of his eyes to shield them.

Malissa pulled them to one side of the tunnel. They waited there for several minutes, allowing their eyes to adjust to the light. Once Arek could see normally again, he nodded. The others did the same, indicating they were ready to continue.

They readied their weapons and gathered at the edge of the boss room. Then they charged into the light, their weapons raised. The Happy Sunflowers emerged into the light. Then they skidded to a stop.

Arek blinked. Then he blinked again, just to make sure he was seeing things right. The room was demolished. Rubble and broken tridents littered the floor. Massive boulders the size of a small house had tumbled into the room, obliterating large portions of it.

One such boulder sat where a lake might have once been. A small amount of water remained in the thin opening between the rock and the lake, but it wasn’t enough for anything to fit inside.

Most shockingly, a large portion of the ceiling was completely missing. Bright green light shone down on them from a large opening in the cobblestone above them.

“What happened here?” Arek asked, keeping his cleaver at the ready as they put their backs to the wall.

“Uh… I think Belmont did,” Ming said. “I get the feeling we weren’t supposed to use that secret lever you found, Belmont.”

“Then they should have hidden it better,” Belmont said, but he was too shocked to be annoyed.

Arek spotted what might have been a fishman’s arm sticking out from underneath a large rock. The arm was bloated and stained with dark brown blood. He knelt beside it and prodded the appendage with his cleaver.

“This isn’t recent,” Arek said. “This fishman has been dead for a while. Do any of you remember where the boss was?”

Belmont pointed his staff at the massive boulder in the center of the room.

“It was hiding in a lake over there, I think. Not much of the lake left now, though.”