OP Absorption
Chapter 42: Friendly Spar

Chapter 42: Friendly Spar

Susan didn’t wait, charging forward with surprising speed for someone her size. Her first punch whistled toward Fin’s head – a test, not her full strength.

He slipped to the side, the blow missing by inches.

"Not bad," she grunted, immediately following with a combination – a jab, cross, then a sweeping low kick.

Fin blocked the jab, ducked the cross, and jumped the kick. His movements were fluid, efficient, with no wasted energy. He made no attempt to counter yet, simply observing her style.

Susan’s eyes narrowed. She pressed harder, her attacks becoming more intense, her footwork cutting off his escape routes. Her experience showed in her positioning, her balance perfect despite the uneven ground.

The team watched silently as she backed Fin toward the edge of their makeshift ring. A triumphant glint appeared in her eyes – she had him cornered.

She launched forward for the takedown that would end it.

Fin waited until the last possible moment, then moved. Not away – into her charge. He twisted his body, using her momentum against her, a subtle shift of weight, a precise application of leverage.

Susan found herself off-balance, her forward drive carrying her past where Fin should have been. Before she could recover, he swept her remaining foot and guided her down, not with brute force but with perfect timing.

She hit the ground hard, Fin following her down, securing a hold that pinned her shoulders.

For three heartbeats, nobody moved. Susan’s shocked expression reflected the disbelief of the watching team.

Then Gary let out a whooping laugh. "Well damn!"

Susan tapped the ground, signaling submission. He immediately released her and offered a hand up. After a moment’s hesitation, she took it.

"Where’d you learn to move like that?" she asked, dusting herself off.

"Here and there," he replied. "The streets teach you plenty."

She studied him, reevaluating. "That stick still looks ridiculous. But I guess you might not be completely helpless after all."

Hana clapped her hands once, sharply. "Entertaining as that was, we’ve got a dungeon to clear. Gear up, final checks, we move out in two."

As the team dispersed, Joe sidled up to Fin. "Not bad, rookie. Not bad at all."

Fin nodded, retrieving his staff. The spar had served its purpose – not just showing Susan he wasn’t dead weight, but giving him a read on the team’s dynamics. They respected skill and actions over rank and reputation.

He’d need to remember that inside the dungeon.

---

The air shifted as they stepped through the dungeon entrance, a disorienting sensation like passing through a thin membrane.

One moment they stood on solid earth under a grey sky, the next they emerged into an alien landscape with a blood-red sky stretching above them.

Fin barely had time to process the change before movement caught his eye – dark shapes descending rapidly from above.

"Incoming!" Hana shouted. "Formation now!"

The team reacted instantly. Susan and Gary moved forward, shield and hammer raised. Mary and Hana flanked to either side, weapons drawn. Joe and Lucas stepped back, taking up positions for ranged support.

Fin gripped his staff tightly, staying behind as ordered, his eyes tracking the attackers.

Giant spiders – at least six of them – each the size of a large dog with gleaming black carapaces and legs tipped with wicked barbs. They descended on sticky threads, mandibles clicking in anticipation.

"Acidspits," Gary called out, identifying the species. "Watch the spit!"

One of the spiders opened its mandibles and sprayed a greenish liquid that sizzled where it hit the ground near Susan. She raised her shield just in time to block a second spray, the acid hissing against the metal.

Gary swung his warhammer in a wide arc, catching one spider mid-descent. The crunch of its exoskeleton was audible even over the battle sounds, ichor spraying as the creature was smashed against a nearby rock formation.

Two more spiders landed and scuttled toward Mary. She moved with practiced precision, her blade slicing through the first spider’s leg joints before piercing its head in a single, fluid motion.

Joe’s daggers flew with deadly accuracy, embedding in a spider’s multiple eyes. Lucas followed up with a blast of elemental energy that crackled through the air, striking another spider and leaving it twitching.

Hana darted between two attackers, her twin short swords dancing in complex patterns. She severed a spider’s thread as it tried to retreat, then spun low to hamstring another that lunged at her.

Fin watched intently, analyzing their movements, the spiders’ attack patterns, the team’s responses. He maintained his position, staff ready but unused, following orders to observe.

Until he noticed what the others hadn’t – a seventh spider, larger than the rest, creeping along the cavern wall toward Lucas’s exposed back.

"Lucas, behind you!" He shouted, already moving.

Lucas turned, but too slowly. The spider launched itself toward him, mandibles spread wide, venom dripping.

Fin crossed the distance in three quick strides, staff whipping through the air. He struck with precision, catching the spider mid-leap and sending it careening sideways. Before it could recover, he followed through with a devastating overhead strike that cracked its carapace.

The spider hissed and thrashed, legs scrabbling. He stepped back, giving Lucas space to finish it with a concentrated burst of elemental energy that left the creature smoking and still.

"Thanks," Lucas said, surprise evident in his voice.

Fin nodded, already returning to his position as the last spider fell to Hana’s blades.

The skirmish had lasted less than a minute. Quick, efficient, with minimal wasted movement or energy – exactly what Fin would expect from an A-rank team.

Hana surveyed the area, ensuring no more threats lurked nearby. "Everyone good?"

A chorus of affirmations followed. She looked to Fin last, her expression unreadable. "Nice catch," she said simply.

He nodded again, accepting the acknowledgment without comment.

Susan was already collecting venom sacs from the dead spiders, carefully extracting them with specialized tools. "Decent quality," she noted. "Worth something back at the Guild."

Gary kicked one of the corpses. "Acidspits usually nest in groups of three to five. This was seven."

"Dungeon’s testing us," Joe said, retrieving his daggers from a spider carcass. "Throwing out the welcome mat."

"Stay alert," Hana ordered, her eyes scanning the red-tinted surroundings. "This was just the greeting party."

For the first time, Fin had a chance to properly survey their environment. The dungeon had manifested as a massive cavern system, the walls and ceiling covered in thick, glistening webs that reflected the red light from above.

The ground was uneven, dotted with stalagmites and strange, pulsing growths that resembled egg sacs.

Multiple tunnels branched off from the entrance chamber, each draped in webbing that seemed to shift slightly, as if breathing.

"Which way?" Mary asked, her calm voice breaking the momentary silence.

Hana consulted a small device that projected the partial map they’d discussed earlier. "Previous team made it down that passage," she said, pointing to a tunnel slightly wider than the others. "We’ll follow their route, see if we can pick up where they left off."

As they prepared to move forward, Fin noticed something odd about the spider corpses. They were... dissolving, much faster than monster bodies typically did outside a dungeon.

Within moments, only small pools of ichor remained.