The transition portal shimmered and faded as Alexander stepped through first, his hand instinctively dropping to the sword at his hip. The air shifted from the dry heat of the desert to something cooler and oddly sweet-smelling. As the others followed behind him, the team found themselves standing at the edge of a vast excavation site unlike anything they'd encountered in the Game so far.

  "Whoa," Elijah whispered beside him.

  Alexander had to agree. Before them stretched an enormous quarry, its walls lined with massive deposits of amber in various shades of gold and honey. Towering extraction equipment stood at various points throughout the site, and narrow pathways wound between huge piles of excavated material. Most striking were the countless insects and small creatures perfectly preserved within the translucent amber—frozen in time like three-dimensional photographs.

  "Floor 13: Amber Fossil Quarry," Alexander read from the notification that appeared in his interface. "Objective: Extract and study preserved specimens to unlock the secrets of ancient life."

  Lyra moved forward to examine the nearest amber deposit, her eyes wide with interest. "These preservation methods are incredible. Look at the cellur integrity maintained in these specimens—it's almost like they were preserved yesterday."

  Alexander gnced at her curiously. He'd noticed these moments more frequently tely—instances where Lyra dispyed knowledge that seemed beyond what someone from Sector 17 should possess.

  "Mining operations, huh?" Riva said, already scanning the terrain for defensive positions. The combat specialist moved with renewed confidence after proving herself during the Oasis Guardian battle. "At least the sight lines are good. We'll see anything coming from a distance."

  A small group of NPCs in mining gear approached them from a nearby outpost. Their leader, a sturdy woman with amber dust covering her clothes, gave them a cursory nod.

  "New arrivals, eh? Welcome to the Quarry. Watch yourselves around the fresh deposits—the guardian insects don't take kindly to disturbances. Extraction tools are avaible at the supply station if you've got the resources to trade."

  After providing basic directions to the main excavation sites, the miners returned to their work, leaving the team to orient themselves.

  Elijah tilted his head slightly—a gesture Alexander recognized. His brother was hearing the whispers again.

  "They're different here," Elijah said, not bothering to hide his ability anymore. Since Floor 10, he'd stopped pretending the whispers weren't real. "They sound... ancient. Like echoes from millions of years ago. I'm getting fragments of memories that don't feel human."

  "Insect memories?" Alexander asked skeptically.

  "I don't know. They're alien, but they're definitely memories."

  A sudden buzzing sound interrupted them. From a nearby amber deposit, a swarm of oversized insects emerged—perfect replicas of the prehistoric specimens preserved within the amber, but very much alive.

  "Defensive formation!" Alexander called.

  The team moved with practiced coordination, forming a protective circle. Lyra pulled a modified crossbow from her inventory while Alexander and Riva took forward positions with melee weapons. Elijah readied a healing aura, his fingers glowing with bluish energy.

  The insect swarm approached but veered away at the st moment, seemingly more interested in protecting their deposit than attacking the team.

  "They're territorial," Lyra observed. "Not immediately aggressive unless we disturb their amber."

  Alexander nodded. "Let's establish a base camp away from the active deposits. We need to understand this pce before we go deeper."

  They found a suitable location near an abandoned excavation ptform—high ground with good visibility and multiple escape routes. As they set up their basic equipment, Alexander began mapping the visible excavation sites on his interface.

  "We should approach this systematically," he said, falling back on his corporate training. "Grid-based exploration, starting with the peripheral deposits and working our way inward. Each quadrant gets thoroughly documented before we move to the next."

  Riva raised an eyebrow. "Your father's mining protocols?"

  Alexander's jaw tightened slightly. "They're effective." After his confrontation with Marcus during the st floor, any mention of his father still felt raw.

  Lyra was already constructing something from materials in her inventory—a set of delicate tools that looked suited for careful extraction work.

  "How do you know how to make those?" Elijah asked, watching her hands move with practiced precision.

  She paused, looking momentarily confused. "I... I'm not sure. It just seems obvious. Look at the crystalline structure of the amber—you need the right angle of approach to avoid fracturing the specimen." She continued working, but Alexander noted the brief uncertainty in her eyes.

  By nightfall, they had established a secure perimeter and even extracted their first specimen—a perfectly preserved ancient beetle the size of Alexander's palm. The amber glowed with a faint inner light when Elijah held it.

  "It's valuable," he said with certainty. "I can feel it. These specimens can be used to enhance our equipment somehow."

  Lyra examined the piece. "The resin contains properties that could strengthen material durability while maintaining flexibility. With the right application process, we could significantly improve our gear."

  As darkness fell over the quarry, unusual sounds echoed in the distance—clicks and chirps that reminded Alexander of insect communications but at a much rger scale. The lights from deeper excavation sites created an eerie glow against the amber walls.

  "There's something massive in the deepest part of the quarry," Riva said, pointing to distant movement barely visible in the shadows. "Probably our guardian for this floor."

  "We'll keep our distance until we're better prepared," Alexander replied. "Tomorrow we'll start mapping the full site and collecting useful specimens."

  They sat around a small heat source, reviewing their findings for the day. In the distance, Alexander could see what appeared to be an intricate maze-like structure formed of massive amber walls—the challenge they would eventually need to face.

  "There's something else about this pce," Elijah said quietly. "The whispers are mentioning time. Over and over. Like the amber doesn't just preserve space, but time itself."

  Lyra nodded, staring thoughtfully into the darkness. "In a way, that's exactly what amber does. It captures a moment perfectly, forever."

  Alexander checked his inventory, organizing the day's collections. Despite the uncertainty of what y ahead, he felt a renewed sense of purpose. His decision to defy Marcus on Floor 12 had solidified something in him. This was his team now, his responsibility—not because of his family name, but because they had chosen to follow him.

  "Get some rest," he told the others. "Tomorrow we become archaeologists."

  As the team settled in for the night, Alexander couldn't help noticing how Lyra continued to examine the extraction tools she'd created, a slight frown of confusion on her face—as if wondering how exactly she knew how to make them