The fourth floor was a chaotic battleground filled with flying seed-stingers, massive insects that erupted from the treetops in swarms, diving at Sage like living arrows. He had to aim lightning into the air while the wind pushed him away from their clustered strikes.
Sometimes they came in tens, other times in twenties, and each encounter reinforced a crucial lesson: dungeons weren't just random chaos; they were structured hostility, with density, timing, and response thresholds.
By the sixth floor, Sage began to notice patterns, not just where monsters emerged but how they moved. Certain routes through the trees were always taken first; specific clearings triggered faster swarms.
Some areas had denser mana in the air as if the dungeon itself funneled energy toward its core. At the end of each floor, portals were strategically placed to force confrontation, never hidden or safe, always requiring intruders to cross paths guarded by monsters.
