The Whispering Grotto hummed, a persistent, disorienting drone that seemed to press on Aarav's thoughts. He found himself rubbing his temples more often. His [DUNGEON RESONANCE] was slowly adding to his EP, but his [ADAPTATION] was still a thirsty beast. Every borrowed skill, no matter how simple, cost him precious energy.
"This is ridiculous," Aarav mumbled. "It's like the cave is singing a lullaby, but a really annoying one."
Sarah, walking ahead with her [MINOR ENERGY SHIELD] ready, chuckled. "It's a low-frequency sonic resonance, Sharma. Probably a passive ability of whatever lives deeper inside. Affects your brainwaves, makes you disoriented."
[AARAV SHARMA]
[HP: 97/100, EP: 28/50, SP: 75/100]
They moved into a larger cavern, the floor slick with damp earth and the walls shimmering with thick, bio-luminescent moss. More Glowflies zipped through the air, and several Root Stranglers snaked out from hidden crevices.
"Hold them off!" Sarah commanded, her voice cutting through the hum. She deployed her shield against a wave of Glowflies, then launched a [LASER PULSE] at a distant Root Strangler.
Aarav, still feeling the mental pressure from the hum, needed a quick solution. He looked at the Glowflies buzzing around Sarah's shield. Their constant, low-level energy drain was annoying, but maybe...
Energy. Drain. Reverse it? Aarav thought. He focused on the idea of pushing energy back into them.
[ADAPTATION: ENERGY OVERLOAD (TEMPORARY MIMICRY) - ACTIVE]
[COST: 15 EP (MODERATE)]
[DURATION: 5 SECONDS]
Aarav thrust his hand forward. A faint, almost invisible wave hit the Glowflies near Sarah. Instead of draining, they pulsed erratically, their light flaring brightly before they fizzled out, crumbling to dust. It was effective, but slow, and only worked on a few at a time.
"Nice!" Sarah yelled, surprised. "That's a good counter."
They continued to push through, clearing path after path. Aarav occasionally adapted a Root Strangler's [NUTRIENT SENSE] to find the weakest point in its root system, letting Sarah's [LASER PULSE] finish it efficiently. He even tried adapting the ambient "hum" itself, hoping for some kind of immunity.
[ADAPTATION: MILD AURAL DAMPENING (TEMPORARY MIMICRY) - ACTIVE]
[COST: 10 EP]
[DURATION: 10 SECONDS]
The hum in his ears lessened for a few seconds, offering a brief moment of clarity, before his EP ran out and it returned with a vengeance. It wasn't a permanent solution, but it was a fleeting relief.
"You're going to give yourself a headache, Sharma," Sarah chuckled, seeing him wince. "Trying to adapt a sensory effect?"
"It's annoying!" he protested. "My head feels like a drum."
They eventually reached a deeper, circular chamber. The hum was deafening here, making the air feel thick and heavy. In the center, a large, pulsating Root Strangler formed a massive, gnarled mass, surrounded by dozens of Glowflies and smaller Root Strangler offshoots. This was clearly the boss of this Rank 1 dungeon.
[HOSTILE ENTITY: GROTTO GUARDIAN (LEVEL 5 - MINI-BOSS)]
[NOTE: GENERATES CONSTANT DISORIENTING HUM]
"Oh, great," Aarav sighed. "Another boss. And it's humming at me."
Sarah's eyes narrowed. "We need to hit it hard. That hum is going to wear us down." She activated her [MINOR ENERGY SHIELD], preparing for the onslaught. "Sharma, focus on finding its core, quickly. And try to disable that hum if you can."
The fight for the Whispering Grotto was about to begin, and Aarav, "The Adaptor," had to figure out how to fight a giant plant that was trying to give him a migraine. His path to power, it seemed, was going to be anything but easy or comfortable.