OP Absorption
Chapter 45: Core Awakens

Chapter 45: Core Awakens

Fin gritted his teeth, slamming his staff against the giant spider’s leg again. The impact barely registered.

No matter what angle he tried, what feint he used, the moment he focused his intent, that flicker of reaching out with his Absorption power, the beast reacted instantly. A leg swipe, a venomous spit forcing him back, a quick scuttle just out of reach.

It was like the spider knew what he was trying to do.

"Fuck, stay still dammit!" he roared, dodging another near-miss claw strike that gouged the purple rock beside him. The rush was still there, that manic energy, but frustration gnawed at him.

He needed contact, needed to drain it, but the spider wasn’t cooperating.

He charged again, low this time, aiming for its underside. Same result. A powerful leg kicked out, sending him skidding backward across the slick ground.

Hana saw it then. The repeated, almost desperate attempts to get close, the way he recoiled not just from attacks but from failed connections.

"He’s trying to drain it," she realized aloud, her voice sharp over the din of battle. "Gary! Susan! Pin its front legs! Mary, with me, pressure the head! Lucas, Joe, suppress its movements from range!"

The A-rank team shifted instantly. Gary’s hammer smashed down near a front leg joint, forcing the spider to recoil. Susan planted her shield, absorbing a strike intended for Gary, buying him a precious second.

Hana and Mary darted in, blades flashing around the spider’s multiple eyes, forcing its attention upward. Lucas unleashed bolts of crackling energy, peppering its carapace, while Joe’s daggers zipped through the air, targeting sensitive joints.

Under the coordinated assault, the giant spider staggered, its movements momentarily disrupted.

"Fin, now!" Hana yelled.

He saw the opening. This was it. He poured mana into his legs, launching himself upward, aiming for the small gap between the spider’s head and thorax where the carapace seemed thinnest.

He was airborne, staff ready, Absorption power coiling within him, ready to latch on—

Thwip.

A sound so faint it was almost lost in the chaos.

Agony exploded in his back. Sharp, piercing, paralyzing. He gasped, the power he’d gathered dissipating instantly. His mid-air jump faltered, momentum lost. He crashed heavily to the ground, landing awkwardly on his side, the world tilting.

Something was stuck deep in his back, just below the shoulder blade. Cold spread from the impact point, numbing his arm.

"Fin!" Lucas shouted, seeing him fall.

The team faltered, their coordinated attack breaking as several heads turned toward him.

"What was that?" Mary yelled, dodging a renewed strike from the enraged spider. "Where did that come from?"

Hana scanned the surroundings frantically, her eyes finding no obvious attacker. The shot had been too fast, too precise, from an unseen angle. "Unknown projectile! Source unknown!"

The giant spider seized the moment of distraction, its chittering rising in pitch as it pressed its advantage against the momentarily disordered team.

Susan planted her shield firmly. "Gary, cover me! Lucas, Joe, get him out of there! Now!"

Hidden in the deeper shadows of a collapsed structure nearby, a spider humanoid girl lowered a thin blowgun from her lips, a faint, cruel smile playing on her features. She watched the Hunters scramble, utterly amused.

’Too easy,’ she thought, melting back into the darkness.

Pain ripped through Fin’s back, radiating outward from the needle’s impact point. It wasn’t just the physical wound; a chilling numbness spread rapidly down his arm, followed by waves of nausea that made his stomach churn.

His vision swam, everything tilting and blurring.

"Poison..." he choked out, trying to push himself up, but his limbs felt heavy, unresponsive. A cold sweat broke out across his skin. The world spun sickeningly.

"Fin!" Hana was beside him instantly, her face grim. Seeing the dark discoloration spreading around the wound and his rapidly deteriorating state, she didn’t hesitate. "Poison needle!" she yelled to the team.

With efficiency, she scooped him up and carried him several yards away, depositing him behind a cluster of relatively stable-looking purple rocks. "Stay down!" she ordered, though it was unnecessary; he couldn’t have moved if he tried.

She rejoined the fight immediately, they were now battling defensively, trying to protect their downed member while fending off the enraged spider matriarch.

Fin lay against the cold rock, gasping for breath. The poison felt like ice and fire spreading through his veins simultaneously. His heart hammered erratically, then grew sluggish. Darkness crept in at the edges of his vision.

Through the blur, he could vaguely see them fighting. Gary’s hammer crashing down, Susan’s shield absorbing brutal hits, Hana and Mary weaving like shadows, Lucas and Joe firing projectiles. They were holding their ground, but barely. The spider was relentless.

’Dammit,’ his thoughts felt slow, sticky. ’Am I seriously dying right now? After everything? Like this? Poisoned dart... from nowhere...’ His breathing grew shallow. The cold deepened.

Then, a sensation began, faint at first, deep within his chest. A gentle warmth, like the first rays of sun after a long night. It pulsed, growing stronger, pushing back against the icy grip of the poison.

He recognized it. Juliana’s core.

It flared to life, reacting instinctively to the lethal toxin invading his system. Pure, clean mana flooded outward from it, targeting the poison molecules. The icy numbness began to recede, replaced by a soothing warmth that spread through his limbs.

The spinning sensation lessened, his vision sharpening slightly. The nauseating churn in his stomach calmed. He felt the poison being neutralized, purified, rendered inert by the clean energy.

But it didn’t stop there.

Once the poison was purged, the core continued to pulse, releasing a surge of restorative power. It wasn’t the chaotic rush he’d felt absorbing monsters; this was different – steady, invigorating.

Strength flowed back into his muscles, knitting torn fibers, easing the pain from his earlier impacts. The wound in his back began to close, pushing the needle fragment out.

He sat up slowly, testing his limbs. The numbness was gone. The pain was fading fast. He felt... better than before. Stronger, clearer. The dual cores settled into a quiet hum within him, balanced and potent.

He looked back at the fight. His teammates were tiring, their formation showing strain. The spider matriarch pressed its attack, sensing their weakening defenses.

Fin gripped the staff lying beside him, pulling himself to his feet. His eyes, now clear and focused, fixed on the giant spider.

No more recklessness. No more chasing the rush. Just cold, calculated intent.

"Let’s wrap this up," he whispered, the warmth of Juliana’s core a steady presence within him.