OP Absorption
Chapter 47: Mission Cannot Fail

Chapter 47: Mission Cannot Fail

Hana tossed another broken piece of purple crystal into their makeshift fire. The crystal crackled as it burned, casting a violet glow across their temporary hideout—a small alcove they’d reinforced with scavenged debris and whatever they could drag from the surrounding area.

"Still nothing?" Susan asked, looking up from her ration pack.

Hana shook her head. "We’ve been searching for nearly eight hours. No exit, no pathway leading up, not even a sign of other dungeon sections."

Gary tore into a protein bar, chewing mechanically. "Maybe that’s why this section hasn’t been properly mapped. Hunters come in, can’t find their way out, and..." He let the implication hang in the air.

"That’s assuming they even made it past the spider matriarch," Lucas added quietly, adjusting his glasses. "Most teams wouldn’t have survived that encounter."

Joe prodded at the glowing crystals with the tip of his dagger. "We wouldn’t have either if the kid hadn’t done his... thing."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. Mary broke it first, her eyes focused on cleaning her blade.

"Speaking of which, how long has Fin been gone?" she asked, not looking up.

"Almost two hours," Hana checked her wristband, which still somehow kept time despite the dungeon’s interference with other equipment. "He should be back soon."

Lucas pulled out a small notebook where he’d been documenting their movements. "Based on our exploration pattern, we’ve covered approximately sixty percent of this sublevel. If there’s an exit, it’s either well-hidden or in the remaining forty percent."

"Or it doesn’t exist," Susan muttered.

"There has to be a way out," Hana insisted, her voice firm despite the fatigue. "Every dungeon has rules, patterns. We just haven’t found this one’s logic yet."

Mary sheathed her sword. "You’re putting a lot of faith in the kid’s new abilities."

"Do you have a better option?" Gary asked bluntly. "Ever since he drained that spider, he’s been sensing things none of us can. Monsters, energy patterns. If there’s a concentration of mana that might indicate an exit or portal, he’s our best chance of finding it."

He looked at a mana stone in his hand, "Our return stones are not working at all."

Susan frowned. "That’s what concerns me. These new abilities... they’re not natural."

"None of this is natural," Joe gestured around at the purple environment. "We’re in a dungeon pocket dimension that shouldn’t exist according to the classification system. Normal rules don’t apply here."

"Still," Susan persisted, "draining a Rank 6 monster in seconds? Sensing monsters miles away? The kid’s changing, and I’m not convinced it’s for the better."

Hana’s eyes narrowed. "Right now, those changes might be the only thing keeping us alive."

---

Fin crouched on a high ledge overlooking a vast section of the terrain. His eyes scanned the twisted landscape, searching for any sign of concentrated mana that might indicate a potential exit. The silver core hummed softly, enhancing his senses beyond what he thought possible.

He could feel the movement of smaller monsters several hundred yards away, their energy signatures distinct and clear like beacons in the night. He sensed the residual energy of their earlier battle with the spider, a fading purple stain on the dungeon’s ambient mana field.

But no exit. No pathway out. Nothing that resembled the stable, structured mana formation of a dungeon portal.

"Dammit," he muttered, standing up. He covered the entire western quadrant of their mapped area, climbing high to get a better vantage point. If there was a way out, it was hidden extremely well—perhaps deliberately.

As he started back toward their hideout, a different sensation washed over him. A presence, vast and patient, watching him from somewhere he couldn’t pinpoint. It didn’t feel like the monsters he’d been tracking.

This was focused, intelligent, purposeful.

He froze, staff gripped tightly. He closed his eyes, trying to lock onto the source. The core flared slightly, extending his senses, but the presence remained elusive—like trying to catch smoke with bare hands.

"I know you’re there," he said quietly, turning slowly.

Nothing answered, but the feeling of being watched intensified. Something about the presence felt familiar—a trace of the toxin that had nearly killed him earlier.

Rather than continuing directly back to the hideout, he chose a different route, deliberately weaving through more challenging terrain. If something was indeed following him, he’d rather not lead it straight to his exhausted teammates.

---

The spider girl clung to the underside of a collapsed archway, her body perfectly blending with the shadows. She watched the human pause, sensing her presence despite her concealment abilities.

"The Queen wants me to bring this human back alive? I seriously have a bad feeling about this," she whispered to herself, lips barely moving.

Her initial mission had been simple: observe the intruding Hunters and eliminate them. When her poison dart failed to kill Fin, she reported the anomaly to her Queen.

The response had been unexpected: "Capture the absorber. Bring him to me, unharmed."

In all her years serving the Queen, such an order was unprecedented. Humans were to be killed, not collected like specimens.

She narrowed her eyes as Fin deliberately changed course. He was smart, avoiding leading her back to his team. Unfortunate, but not surprising given his apparent sensory capabilities.

She melted deeper into the shadow, following at a distance. Taking him alone would be a breeze for her but the no killing part could be a challenge.

And that power of his was also dangerous, she could not afford to let him touch her.

If she could just get close enough to deliver a paralytic dose rather than a lethal one...

---

"There’s something else you all should know," Hana said, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the group. "Management supplied me with additional information about this dungeon before we entered. Information not included in your briefings."

All eyes turned to her.

"This section isn’t just unmapped because it’s dangerous," she continued. "Three previous A-rank teams disappeared here completely. Not just individuals—entire teams."

Gary’s expression darkened. "And you’re just mentioning this now?"

"It was need-to-know," Hana replied evenly. "And now you need to know."

"Why?" Mary asked, immediately alert.

"Because management had a theory about what happened to those teams," Hana explained. "They believe something intelligent is operating in this section of the dungeon. Something that shouldn’t be here."

Lucas leaned forward. "What evidence supports that theory?"

"Partial transmissions from the last team. They reported seeing humanoid figures with spider-like features before they went dark." Hana’s gaze swept over the group. "Which means that needle that hit Fin wasn’t random monster behavior. It was a targeted attack."

Susan stood abruptly. "And you let him go scouting alone? Knowing this? And other than that, you are telling me this a dungeon warp and you accepted this mission? Are you crazy? The monsters here are probably S-Rank or higher, fuck."

She got up, heading for the exit.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"To find Fin, what else, or did you forget that he is a hunter way weaker than others." She walked, cursing under her breath.

Hana looked at the res to of the group. "I am sorry everyone, I-"

"Save it, let’s just make it out of here, and after that, we are done working with you." Gary said, also heading out.

The others followed soon after , leaving Hana alone. When she was alone, she took a needle from her bag.

"The mission can not fail, no matter the cost."