The Safe Zone on Astabal Dungeon's fifth floor truly lived up to its name. After hours of much-needed rest and vital intelligence gathering at The Blind Burrow, Adam and his team felt a profound sense of rejuvenation.
The warmth of the pub, the taste of real food, and the camaraderie of fellow adventurers had done wonders for their morale. But their purpose remained clear: the Floor 10 Energy Core.
"Alright, team," Adam announced, rising from their table at The Blind Burrow, a renewed spring in his step. "We've rested, we've eaten, and we've got our intel. Now, before we face the sixth floor, we need to make sure we're fully supplied."
"Good thinking, Adam," Tom affirmed, already pulling up a checklist on his data-pad. "The deeper we go, the less likely we are to find easy resupply points."
The Safe Zone, despite being an active dungeon base, had surprisingly robust supply operations, maintained by the Guild itself. There were several small, well-stocked stalls and vendors catering to the needs of deep-dungeon adventurers.
They moved to the main supply vendor, a grizzled veteran with a surprisingly gentle demeanor.
"Looking to stock up, adventurers?" the vendor asked, his eyes assessing their gear.
"Everything we can carry," Adam replied. "High-energy food rations, concentrated protein bars. As much as you have."
"Plenty here," the vendor assured them, gesturing to shelves packed with vacuum-sealed packages. "Good for sustained energy, easy to digest on the move."
They loaded up on several days' worth of rations, ensuring they had enough for a prolonged stay if needed.
Next, water. Hydration was paramount in the dungeon's humid, draining environment. They purchased multiple sealed canteens and advanced water purification tablets, capable of making any available moisture drinkable.
"And equipment," Julian added, looking over the vendor's array of gear. "Any specialized tools for dealing with specific threats on Floor 6? Or general repair kits?"
The vendor pulled out a robust repair kit. "Standard issue field repair kit. Good for minor armor damage, weapon recalibrations. As for specialized gear… well, the Guild doesn't sell 'spider-proof suits,' if that's what you're hoping for." He winked.
"But extra light sources, a few more flares – never hurt. And maybe some sonic emitters, if you're feeling fancy. They can disorient some creatures."
They opted for the repair kits, extra high-intensity light sticks, and a few sonic emitters, just in case. They also made sure their medical kits were fully replenished with stim-packs, bandages, and anti-venom.
Edward, surprisingly, bought a rare, specialized energy cell, though he offered no explanation for its purpose.
"Are those your meta pistols, young man?" the vendor asked Adam, his eyes lingering on the unique weapons. "Heard whispers about those. Guild-issue, or custom?"
"A bit of both," Adam replied, a slight smile on his face. He knew his weapons were unusual.
Once their inventories were confirmed to be fully replenished, and their credit accounts significantly lighter, they gathered their gear.
The weight of the additional supplies was noticeable, but it was a comforting weight, a tangible reminder of their preparedness.
"Alright," Adam declared, looking at his fully-equipped team. "We're as ready as we'll ever be. Let's make our way to the descent point for Floor 6."
The passage to the sixth floor of Astabal Dungeon was, unlike the previous natural spirals, a surprisingly well-maintained, Guild-constructed shaft, complete with an automated lift. It was a clear sign that this floor was considered a major bottleneck, requiring easier access for rescue or recovery operations.
As they descended, the air grew noticeably colder, carrying a faint, musky scent. The lift eventually settled with a soft thud, opening into a vast, uneven cavern. This floor was markedly different from the previous ones. It was a sprawling network of interconnected caverns and jagged, rocky outcrops, interspersed with deep, shadowy crevices.
The bioluminescent fungi were sparser here, plunging large areas into near-total darkness.
"Alright, Mysterio," Adam's voice was low, his meta pistols already drawn, their energy cells humming softly. "Standard recon sweep. We need to identify any immediate threats and get a lay of the land."
Mysterio's form blurred, and he vanished into the oppressive shadows. Tom's data-pad glowed faintly, his eyes glued to the incoming sensor readings.
They moved forward cautiously, their formation tight, weapons ready. The silence was thick, pregnant with unseen danger.
"Contact!" Mysterio's raspy voice suddenly hissed over the comms, laced with urgency. "Multiple large heat signatures! Fast moving! Engaging!"
Before Adam could even issue a command, a series of guttural roars echoed through the cavern. From the deeper shadows, hulking forms emerged. They were indeed Dark Apes, massive, powerfully built primates with matted, black fur that seemed to absorb all available light, making them incredibly difficult to track. Their eyes glowed with malevolent intelligence, and they moved with surprising speed and agility, bounding across the uneven terrain.
"Dark Apes!" Panchenko roared, gripping his spear, ready to meet the charge. "Front line, hold!"
The apes, perhaps a dozen strong, didn't charge blindly like the goblins. They spread out, attempting to flank the adventurers, some even scaling the jagged rock walls to attack from above. This was a coordinated ambush.
"They're intelligent!" Julian shouted, his sword flashing to deflect a rock hurled by an ape. "Watch for traps!"
Adam immediately assessed the situation. Their strategy against the Dark Apes needed to be swift and decisive. These weren't mindless beasts.
"Edward, Roman, Panchenko – frontline defense! Prevent flanking! Ronda, Mei Jing, Julian, Astrid – focus fire on individual targets, disable them quickly! Tom, monitor their movements, warn us of ambushes!
Mysterio, continue disrupting their formations, draw attention! I'll provide suppressing fire, target their leaders if you can identify them!" Adam barked, his commands crisp and clear.
The Dark Apes lunged, their powerful fists capable of crushing bone. Roman met the charge of two apes, his greatsword a blur of defensive blocks and powerful swings that kept them at bay, forcing them to retreat with bruises. Panchenko, with a mighty roar, used his spear to bat away a leaping ape, sending it sprawling. Edward, a dark, immovable sentinel, deflected an ape's charge with a casual flick of his wrist, sending the creature spinning harmlessly away.
Adam's meta pistols hissed, spitting focused energy blasts. He targeted the apes attempting to scale the walls, forcing them to drop, or slammed energy into the legs of those trying to rush their flanks, disrupting their charges.
Julian and Astrid moved like lightning, their blades striking with precision. Julian engaged an ape in a fluid, deadly dance, his sword finding chinks in its formidable hide, delivering incapacitating blows. Astrid, using the deeper shadows to her advantage, darted in and out, her daggers piercing vital points, then retreating before the apes could retaliate effectively.
Mei Jing, with her surprising agility and powerful martial arts, focused on the apes attempting to circle behind them. Her precise kicks and punches landed with bone-jarring force, sending even the massive apes stumbling.
Ronda was a dynamic whirlwind, her powerful unarmed strikes landing with sickening thuds. She engaged multiple apes at once, her movements fluid and powerful, preventing them from overwhelming any single point of their formation.
Tom's voice was a constant stream of vital information over the comms. "Two apes attempting to circle to your right, Panchenko! Watch for the one on the upper ledge, Adam, it's preparing to jump!" His rapid analysis allowed them to anticipate attacks and shift their formation to meet the threats.
Mysterio, the silent assassin, was invaluable. He darted through the shadows, drawing the attention of an ape leader, then disappearing again, leaving the creature confused and agitated. He'd then reappear behind another, delivering a swift, disabling strike before vanishing once more. He sowed chaos in their ranks, preventing their coordinated attacks from truly taking hold.
The battle raged for several intense minutes. The Dark Apes, though cunning, eventually found themselves outmaneuvered and outmatched by the adventurers' disciplined teamwork. Their initial ambush shattered, their numbers dwindled under the relentless, precise attacks. One by one, the apes were subdued, knocked unconscious, or forced to retreat into the deeper shadows.
Finally, the cavern fell silent again, save for the heavy breathing of the adventurers and the distant groans of the dungeon. They had successfully fended off the Dark Apes. They were bruised, sore, and covered in ape fur, but they had prevailed.
"Clear!" Tom confirmed, his voice a little strained but relieved. "No more ape signatures detected in this sector. They've retreated."
"Good job, team," Adam panted, holstering his pistols. "That was a good test of our counter-ambush strategy. They were smart, but we were smarter."
Panchenko slapped his spear against the ground. "Next time, they'll know not to mess with us!"
"Let's move," Julian urged, ever focused on the objective. "We've fended them off, but we don't want to linger. This floor is still their territory."
They continued their journey through the sprawling, shadowed caverns of the sixth floor. Mysterio remained ahead, a vigilant scout, his comms unit their lifeline to unseen dangers. The atmosphere grew even colder, the air becoming still and heavy, carrying a faint, disturbing, almost silky scent.
They passed through areas where the rock formations became more jagged, more twisted, resembling grotesque, natural spires. The darkness here was profound, pierced only by their active light sources.
Minutes turned into what felt like an hour of tense, silent progress. The musky scent of the Dark Apes slowly faded, replaced by the unsettling, almost sweet, and distinctly metallic smell of something organic and alien.
Then, Mysterio's voice, devoid of its usual detached precision, came over the comms, a note of grim confirmation in his tone. "Adam… I found it."
A collective intake of breath from the team. This was it. The next major hurdle.
"What is it, Mysterio?" Adam asked, his voice low, his hand already on his pistol grip.
Mysterio's next words, though calm, carried the weight of the immense challenge ahead.
"The path to the Black Queen Spider. It's… a massive web, Adam. Spanning a chasm.
Completely blocking the way. And I'm picking up… something very large within it.
Many smaller contacts, too. She's here."
A profound silence descended upon the group. The legendary Black Queen Spider.
Her territory, her web-filled lair. The shortcut to Floor 10 was within sight, but it was guarded by one of Astabal's most infamous inhabitants. The true test of the sixth floor had just begun.