Round 153

Jeane maintained her perfect twelve-meter barrier around Silra's body despite visible arcane strain—her flame magic resistance already dropping below sixty percent from prolonged exposure to whatever's downstairs. The fungal tendrils creep along the walls suggestively, writhing in hungry patterns that make their living nature disturbingly clear. Halie's right arm is already 98% covered in creeping tendrils visible beneath her skin, spreading faster than documented rates. She has exactly forty-five seconds before complete transmission at current acceleration—enough time to document the spread pattern but not enough for treatment or containment without compromising the entire party.

The grinding noise from downstairs grows louder as some active mechanism prepares to crush them between walls within minutes. The walls' synchronized breathing stops completely—everything except that low pulsing hum growing stronger like a heartbeat counting down seconds until next adaptation phase. Tactical calculations show that maintaining twelve-meter radius splits defensive capabilities across multiple vulnerable positions between channeling windows into formations that can't cohere effectively against adapting enemy downstairs.

Jeane's desperate math shows Silra's complete consumption timeline accelerated to approximately three hours based on observed rates—she needs to stay close enough to contain the corruption but far enough to avoid direct contact. The walls' frantic breathing pattern accelerates into a rhythmic thumping that vibrates through the stone, counting down the seconds until their next adaptation phase completes.