Chương 82: Chapter 81: The Gravity Trap

Recap: You are ambushing three Level 25 System Repairers on Floor 5. You are fully restored. You voted to GRAVITY WELL (LOCKDOWN). They stepped onto the obsidian bridge. Three figures. White armor made of scrolling code. No faces. Just smooth, blank helmets. They moved in perfect sync. Level 25. Gods compared to us. Now, I thought. I didn't shout. I didn't signal. The Shared Vision handled that. Torin knew. Kara knew. Renn knew. I slammed my base against the floor. Gravity Well erupted.

SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Skill Used: Gravity Well Base Cost: 5 MP Modifier: Core Attuned (-10%) Final Cost: 4 MP Current MP: 22/26 Effect: 10ft Zone of 10x Gravity The air shimmered. The obsidian beneath the Repairers groaned.

"ERROR… WEIGHT… EXCESS…" the lead Repairer intoned. Their knees buckled. They didn't fall, but their speed vanished. The perfect sync broke. The second Repairer stumbled into the third.

"Torin!" I creaked. Buzz. (Go). Torin moved like a shadow. The Dungeon Avatar buff made him part of the floor. He didn't run; he flowed. He slammed his shield into the lead Repairer while it was still struggling to stand. CLANG. The sound wasn't metal on metal. It was metal on glitch. Sparks of white code flew. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Ally Damage: Torin (Level 9 + Avatar Buff) You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Target: System Repairer (Level 25) Damage Dealt: 150 HP (Critical) Target HP: 850/1000 Not enough, I thought. They're tanks. Kara didn't chant. She pointed. A lance of pure mana fired from her staff. It hit the second Repairer. CRACK. The white armor shattered like glass. But beneath it… there was no flesh. Just more code. Void energy.

"Resistant to magic!" Kara yelled.

"Physical works better!" Renn fired. Three arrows in a second. They curved mid-air, guided by his buff. They found the gaps in the armor. The Repairers hissed. A sound like static.

"COUNTER… MEASURE… INITIATED…" The lead Repairer stood up. The Gravity Well was still active, but it was adapting. The code on its armor shifted from white to red.

"GRAVITY… COMPENSATION… ONLINE…" It raised a hand. The gravity around me spiked. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Enemy Skill: Gravity Invert Damage Taken: 5 HP (Crush) Current HP: 26/31 Effect: Movement Speed -20% They learned, I thought. They're patching the exploit.

"Box!" Torin yelled. He was fighting two of them now. The third was floating toward me.

"Break the lock! We can't hold them if they adapt!" I had 22 MP. 36 SP. 26 HP. The Gravity Well was losing effectiveness. If I kept it on, I'd waste MP. If I turned it off, they'd rush us. The third Repairer raised a sword made of light. It aimed for my lid. The White Door mark. Not the face, I thought. Not the Gate. I needed to change the tactic. The ambush was over. The brawl had begun. Torin was tanking. Kara was DPS. Renn was Support. I was the Controller. But control was failing. Time to be the Damage.

Current Stats (Level 9 - Gatekeeper Mimic): HP: 26/31 (Moderate) Mana: 22/26 (Moderate) Stamina: 36/36 (Full) Inventory: 2 Pebbles, Metal Items (Fused). Mage Staff (Loot). Guardian Hammer (Stored). White Door (Integrated). Status: The Gatekeeper, Gravity Well Active (Fading), Party Engaged. What do you do? A) RELEASE HAMMER (BURST) Drop the Gravity Well. Release the Guardian Hammer. Combo with Torin for a double strike. (Cost: 0 MP. Gain: High Physical Damage. Risk: Enemies Mobile.) B) GATE PORTAL (DISPLACE) Open the White Door beneath the third Repairer. Drop it into Earth (Tokyo). Remove one enemy. (Cost: 10 MP. Gain: Enemy Removal. Risk: MP Heavy, Unstable.) C) CORE OVERLOAD (AOE) Channel the Core's power through your bands. Explosive mana burst. Damages all enemies + Party. (Cost: 15 MP. Gain: AOE Damage. Risk: Friendly Fire.) D) TANK THE HIT (DEFEND) Close lid. Brace. Let them hit you. Absorb the damage while Torin flanks. Save MP. (Cost: 0 SP. Gain: MP Conservation. Risk: High Damage Taken.) VOTING CLOSES IN 24 HOURS. Reply with A, B, C, or D. Most votes wins. [Author Note] Thanks for voting on Chapter 80! Option A (Gravity Well) started the fight perfectly! You disrupted the System Repairers, but they are Adapting! The battle is joined!