The next morning in Fort Bone, Atlas gathered the Portal Crushers.
"All right team, same as yesterday. We're hunting down that slime dungeon before the King Pod appears. With another day, there's no way we won’t find it."
“Yeah, fucking right,” Stu muttered, still pissed about yesterday’s fruitless search.
Atlas ignored him, already knowing how grumpy Stu was.
“Papa, are you going to a dungeon?” Portilla asked.
Atlas looked at the growing trolls and said, “I am. You guys be good and play with the mini faeries.”
Crusher asked, “Can we come?”
Atlas smiled and replied, “One day you can come. It won’t be too long. You’re growing fast. Soon you can join us on all our adventures.”
Crusher and Portilla both exclaimed, “Yay!”
The Portal Crushers headed out, exploring the ruined forest. After fighting off a few skeletons and eliminating any slimes they encountered, their luck shifted. They stumbled upon a herd of mutant deer and quickly took them down with crossbows.
THWIP!
THWIP!
Lark, leading a team of five porters, salted and field-dressed the mutant deer, preparing them for the trek back to Fort Bone.
Another twenty minutes of searching, they finally hit pay dirt. Yesterday had been a bust, but today, in under two hours, they'd found the slime dungeon. The reason they hadn't spotted it earlier was that the dungeon was underground. What gave it away was a trail of slimes, popping out periodically like hungry ants on their way to a picnic.
Atlas eyed the hole in the ground, the entrance to the slime dungeon. “Okay team, we’re doing it differently this time.”
“What’s that mean?” Isabella asked.
“I want to try something. Don’t attack the next slimes that come out of the hole.”
“Okay,” the team echoed.
“Everyone, back up,” Atlas ordered. He moved to the front, waiting for slimes to spawn. After five minutes, a few slimes emerged and immediately attacked. Normally, Atlas would have cut them down in a heartbeat, his swords finding their cores with ease. But this time, he didnt dodge their attacks, letting the slimes hit his armor. There was no damage. The tentacles from the slimes started trying to dig under his armor, but when he noticed, he quickly stabbed through their cores.
He had Hank repeat the experiment. To make sure it wasn’t just his armor.
The results proved the same. The corrosive slimes could eat through the top layer, but the slime gambesons seriously slowed down eating through.
“All right,” Atlas called to the team. “The new slime gambesons combined with the armor are holding up. Let’s signal for reinforcements.”
He fired three green flares into the sky—
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
“Do we really need more people?” Isabella asked. “We’ve got twenty-five. Isn’t that the maximum for a dungeon?”
“Twenty’s the max,” Atlas corrected. “And we’ve got five porters. But remember last time when the porters were attacked?”
“Oh yeah…” Isabella grimaced remembering that cluster fuck.
The porters, particularly Lark, shot her a stink eye, clearly not having forgotten how they had to flee from bandits last time.
As the Portal Crushers waited for reinforcements, the mood lightened. They gathered around the slime dungeon’s entrance, occasionally glancing at the hole in the ground but mostly chatting to pass the time.
Stolen story; please report.
Wilfredo leaned against a tree, his mace slung over his shoulder. “So, Isabella, what’s this I hear about you opening a restaurant?”
Isabella grinned. “Yeah, it’s happening. I’m calling it ‘Bone Appetit‘.”
“Bone Appetit?” Hank chuckled. “That’s right smart.”
Isabella crossed her arms. “It’s gonna be fancy. Super tall, rooftop dining, and a view of the wasteland. I’ve already got a few people on board to help build it.”
Wang Bo raised an eyebrow, his staff planted firmly in the dirt. “Rooftop dining? You’re really going for the high life out here, huh? I didn’t think a fancy restaurant would work in a place called Fort Bone.”
Isabella laughed. “Exactly why I’m doing it! Gotta class up the joint. Besides, people need something to look forward to other than just fighting all the time. Good food, good views—it’ll be an escape.”
“Can’t argue with that,” John said, tapping his sword against his leg. “What’s on the menu?” He now wielded only a single sword. His critical damage bonus for the title One Armed Bandit made it the right call.
“Oh, you know,” Isabella began, “a fusion of wasteland cuisine with some flair. Roasted mutant venison, spiced slime tenders, maybe even a tempura made from those skeletal lizards we keep running into.”
“Wait, you’re cooking dungeon spawn?” Atlas asked, genuinely intrigued.
“Only the edible ones,” Isabella grinned. “I’ve been experimenting. It’s all about the preparation—seasoning, slow-cooking. Trust me.”
Stu grimaced. “Yeah, I’ll stick to the mutant venison.”
“Hey you liked the pudding! ,” said Atlas.
Hank chimed in, “I’m down for whatever, but this place better have a good ale selection.”
“Oh, definitely,” Isabella said. “I’ll get you guys to brew it.”
Hank and Alexander high fives after hearing this.
Lark, overhearing from her spot near the mutant deer carcasses, added, “You should make a drink that burns, like fire whiskey.”
Isabella nodded thoughtfully. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. I’ll put it on the list.”
“I’ll reserve my judgement until I see this place built,” Wilfredo said, shaking his head, though a smile crept onto his face. “But hey, if we make it through a couple more raids without being smashed by bandits or mutant insects, I’ll show up.”
Atlas chuckled. “Well, when this restaurant of yours is up and running, make sure to save me the best seat on the rooftop. I want to be able to keep an eye on the wasteland while eating whatever mutant delicacy you serve.”
“Deal,” Isabella said with a wink.
As they bantered, the green glow of flares still hung in the sky, and soon enough, the distant sound of reinforcements heading their way signaled the end of their brief downtime.
The green flares had barely begun to fade when the sound of approaching footsteps and the clank of armor echoed through the trees. Over a hundred Portal Crushers streamed in, weapons at the ready, faces set with determination. The settlement had answered the call in full force.
“Looks like the cavalry’s arrived,” Atlas said, a grin spreading across his face as he surveyed the sea of fighters. Warriors of all shapes and sizes moved into formation, each group representing the different fighting styles and specialties of the Crushers.
“Damn,” Isabella muttered, eyes wide. “Did we really need this many?”
Atlas shrugged, “Better to have too many than not enough, especially after what happened last time.”
Wang Bo looked around, his voice teasing. “With this many people, maybe we should just send potential bandits an invitation to ‘Bon Appetit‘. Probably scare them off faster.”
Stu snorted, “More like they’d wreck the place before it even opens. Bunch of savages.”
Barbara, standing nearby with her sword and shield, shook her head. “Let’s just hope they’re all here for the slime dungeon and not expecting a gourmet meal from Isabella.”
“I’ll need a reservation system if this keeps up,” Isabella joked, though she couldn’t help but marvel at how many had turned up.
As the final wave of Crushers settled into position, John moved up to Atlas. “We’re ready when you are, boss. Over a hundred strong, and they’re fired up.”
Atlas nodded, scanning the group. “Good. Once we get inside, we’re sticking to the same formation as usual—split into squads. No one goes rogue, no matter how many slimes or treasures they see.”
The Crushers murmured in agreement, their excitement evident in their eyes. There was a strange kind of thrill that came with knowing you were part of something this big, a hunt for something buried deep in the ground that could hold anything—treasure, traps, or even death. Most of them were in awe from hearing the tales of Atlas and the SFB team.
Atlas turned back to the portal hole, his twin swords resting on his back. “All right, Portal Crushers,” he called out, his voice ringing clear. “Let’s show these slimes who’s in charge of this wasteland.”
The crowd erupted into cheers, the energy electric. The real fight was about to begin, and this time, they were ready to bring the full force of the Portal Crushers down on whatever waited below.
“All right, here’s how we’re doing this. I’m leading the first raid team."
Titus, scratching his head, blurted out, “Why can’t we all just go in?”
Atlas sighed, but kept his patience. "I’ve explained this before, Titus. The max number that can enter at a time is twenty . That leaves us with 80 more ready to go. Every hour, I want a fresh team of twenty entering. Make sure you’ve got a good mix of tanks, DPS, and medics. But we always got to keep a force of defenders for the porters. So twenty of you will stay guard outside.”
“Not it!” Yelled one of the tanks in good humor.
Others quickly followed suit. Keeping guard outside versus a glorious adventure inside with Atlas and the fabled first team? Who would want that.
The reinforcements immediately started organizing themselves, splitting into groups of twenty. Some of the more seasoned fighters took charge, ensuring each team had balance. The energy was high, everyone eager for their chance to dive into the dungeon.
Atlas turned to his selected group, his eyes sharp with focus. "Let’s move."
His team of twenty, Wang Bo, Isabella, Stu, Alexander, Barbara, Hank, and the others—stepped forward. Together, they prepared to descend into the moist mouth of the slime dungeon.