The air in the Black Queen Spider's chamber was a suffocating blend of ozone, venom, and the acrid tang of burnt chitin. Adam and his team, despite their coordinated assault, were at their absolute limit. Their movements were heavy, their breaths ragged gasps, and their weapons felt like lead in their weary hands. Yet, the monstrous arachnid, though scarred and clearly enraged, remained terrifyingly resilient. Its multiple eyes glowed with an undimmed fury, its massive legs scuttling with relentless energy, its venomous fangs dripping with lethal fluid.
"She's still standing!" Panchenko roared, his voice hoarse, as his spear once again glanced off the Queen's armored head, producing only a shower of sparks. He was leaning heavily on his weapon, his chest heaving. Roman, beside him, was similarly exhausted, his greatsword now moving with a slower, more deliberate effort, though he still managed to deflect the Queen's sweeping legs.
Adam fired his meta pistols, their energy output faltering slightly, their hum a weak shadow of its earlier roar. He watched as Julian, Astrid, Mei Jing, and Ronda, despite their incredible efforts, seemed to be fighting a losing battle of attrition. Their once fluid movements were now strained, their strikes lacking the decisive power needed to penetrate the Queen's formidable defenses.
"Her carapace is too thick!" Julian gasped, barely parrying a venomous spit that would have paralyzed him. "Our attacks aren't breaking through!"
"She's regenerating!" Astrid cried, her daggers scraping uselessly against a section of her leg that had just been deeply wounded. "Or her chitin is just that tough!"
The Queen unleashed a furious, multi-pronged attack. A thick stream of web shot towards Ronda, while a torrent of venom aimed at Mei Jing. At the same time, she lunged at Roman, her massive fangs snapping.
Edward, ever vigilant, moved with chilling speed. He intercepted the web, his ancient energy shimmering, causing it to harden and crumble harmlessly before it reached Ronda. He then projected a shimmering barrier that deflected the venom from Mei Jing. But even he looked strained, a faint glow emanating from his skin as he pushed his abilities to their limit.
"Tom!" Adam's voice was a desperate rasp, cutting through the din of battle. He knew they couldn't win a sustained fight. They had to find the shortcut. "Forget the combat readouts! Find the shortcut to the 10th floor! Now!"
Tom, who had been frantically relaying tactical data, immediately shifted his focus. His fingers flew across his data-pad, his brow furrowed in intense concentration. "I am searching for it, Adam! Running multiple deep scans for spatial anomalies, Guild markers, anything that indicates a stable route!" His voice was tight with urgency.
Meanwhile, the fight continued, a grueling, desperate struggle for survival. The Black Queen Spider, seemingly tireless, pressed her advantage. She was a force of nature, an indomitable will of chitin and venom.
Panchenko roared, putting all his remaining strength into a mighty spear thrust that slammed into one of her forelegs, forcing her back a step, but nearly unbalancing him in the process. Roman, grunting with effort, swung his greatsword in a wide arc, a desperate, defensive maneuver.
Adam continued to fire, targeting her eyes, trying to blind or disorient her. His energy blasts chipped away at her chitin, leaving small, smoking craters, but they were not enough to stop her. Julian and Astrid worked in tandem, feinting and striking, trying to draw her attention from the beleaguered frontline. Mei Jing and Ronda, though exhausted, continued their relentless, precise attacks, focusing on any exposed joint or soft underbelly they could reach.
Mysterio, the silent chaos agent, was moving faster now, placing small, focused sonic emitters directly onto the Queen's carapace, hoping to cause internal vibrations that would disorient her. The Queen hissed, clearly irritated, but her focus remained on the main engagement.
"Any luck, Tom?!" Adam yelled, ducking under a sweeping leg. His vision was starting to blur from fatigue, his muscles screaming.
"Processing... data anomalies... spatial distortions..." Tom's voice was strained, his breathing heavy. The hum of his data-pad intensified.
The Black Queen Spider let out a furious, deafening shriek. She gathered herself, her multiple eyes blazing with malevolent intent, clearly preparing for a devastating, all-out attack. Her legs bunched, ready to spring, her mandibles opened wider, dripping with a thick, pulsating venom.
"She's preparing something big!" Edward warned, his voice low, his aura flaring in anticipation. He prepared to intercept whatever final, devastating blow she was about to unleash.
Just as the Black Queen was about to unleash her fury, Tom's voice, laced with triumph and profound relief, cut through the comms. "I found it! The shortcut!"
A wave of desperate hope surged through the exhausted team.
"Where, Tom?! Where?!" Adam demanded, his eyes frantically scanning the cavern.
"It's in the back!" Tom practically yelled, his finger jabbing at his data-pad. "Behind your current position, Adam! Almost directly behind Edward! It's cloaked, a subtle spatial warp signature, but it's there! Looks like a narrow, almost invisible fissure in the web, then a drop-off leading into a different dimensional space! It wasn't visible on initial scans due to the web interference!"
Adam's mind clicked. A cloaked shortcut. That was exactly Twain's style – a hidden escape, not a direct path.
"Okay, team! Listen up!" Adam roared, his voice cutting through the sounds of battle, infused with a sudden, renewed burst of energy. "New plan! We're not killing her! We're escaping!"
A momentary pause in the relentless fighting. Even the Black Queen seemed to hesitate, her multi-faceted eyes blinking in confusion at the sudden shift in their strategy.
"Adam, what are you talking about?!" Panchenko gasped, still grappling with an ape leg. "We nearly just died trying to kill her!"
"We're gonna distract the Black Queen Spider!" Adam explained, his voice gaining urgency. "We're going to make her think we're going for one final, desperate push! Draw her focus! And then, on my mark, we run towards the shortcut! Tom, you're giving us real-time coordinates! Edward, you're covering our rear, ensuring she doesn't follow! Mysterio, you're the first one through to secure the exit!"
Julian's eyes widened in understanding. "A feint! Brilliant, Adam! She expects us to fight to the death!"
Astrid grinned, a flash of wildness in her exhausted face. "A sprint for our lives? Now that's my kind of plan!"
"Everyone, focus your remaining energy!" Adam commanded. "Roman, Panchenko – give her hell! Draw her aggression! Make her commit!"
Roman let out a savage roar, slamming his greatsword against the Queen's face with a desperate, all-out strike. The Queen reeled back, angered rather than hurt, focusing all her venomous fury on the two warriors.
Panchenko, with a supreme effort, thrust his spear into her leg joint, then twisted, drawing a shriek of pain.
Adam unleashed a volley of his last high-energy blasts, concentrating them all on her multiple eyes. The Queen shrieked, momentarily disoriented, her focus entirely on her tormentors.
"Now!" Adam screamed. "Run! Tom, coordinates!"
"Moving to shortcut! 30 meters! Ten-o-clock relative to your current position, Adam! Look for the shimmer!" Tom's voice was a rapid-fire stream of directions.
Mysterio, already a phantom, vanished towards the specified location, his form dissolving into the dense webbing, preparing to secure the entry point.
Julian, Astrid, Mei Jing, and Ronda, fueled by a surge of desperate hope, immediately broke formation and sprinted. Julian, his sword still drawn, moved with a surprising burst of speed, deflecting a stray web strand. Astrid weaved through the chaotic webbing, her daggers ready to cut through any entanglement. Mei Jing leaped over obstacles, her agility allowing her to navigate the treacherous terrain with ease.
Ronda powered through, using her strength to push aside any lingering web strands.
Adam, still firing, covered their retreat, aiming for the Queen's eyes, her fangs, anything to keep her attention. He could feel the last of his energy draining away.
"Edward! Your turn!" Adam yelled, as he finally turned and sprinted towards the shortcut.
Edward, with a chillingly calm expression, raised his hand. A wave of energy surged from him, not an attack, but a powerful concussive force that slammed into the Black Queen Spider. The Queen, caught off guard by the sheer power and the unexpected nature of the attack, was thrown back, momentarily pinned against the web-covered wall, tangled in her own silk.
"Go, Adam!" Edward's voice rumbled, as he began to move towards the shortcut, his body radiating a defensive aura. "I shall ensure she does not follow immediately."
Adam didn't look back. He ran, pushing his exhausted body to its absolute limit. Ahead, he could see the faint, almost imperceptible shimmer Tom had described, a distortion in the very fabric of the web.
Panchenko and Roman, their distraction successful, pulled back, their heavy breathing rasping in the air, their faces pale with exhaustion. They followed Adam's lead, scrambling towards the shimmering anomaly.
"Almost there!" Tom urged. "Mysterio has secured the entry! Just a narrow fissure, you'll need to squeeze!"
Adam reached the fissure, a barely visible crack in the hardened web. He squeezed through, feeling the sticky silk brush against him, then stumbled into a narrow, dark tunnel. He could hear the others behind him, their grunts of effort as they pushed through.
Suddenly, a furious shriek echoed from the main chamber. The Black Queen Spider had broken free, her eyes blazing with murderous intent. She scuttled forward, a terrifying black blur, her fangs dripping, desperate to prevent their escape.
But Edward, the last to enter the fissure, stood firm. He released another powerful surge of energy, not to destroy, but to create a momentary barrier, a shimmering wall of power that slammed into the approaching Queen, momentarily staggering her and causing the fissure to partially collapse behind him.
"Go!" Edward's voice boomed, as he finally squeezed through the collapsing opening. "We made it!"
They were through. They were safe. At least for now. They had faced the Black Queen Spider, and against all odds, they had escaped, using cunning and teamwork where brute force had failed. The shortcut to the tenth floor awaited, and with it, the final challenge of the Adventurer's Exam.