The Tunnel

Receiving the message, Angela rushes over as fast as she can. She was still avoiding her wings and was instead running, her stamina vastly better than when she had first arrived; partially due to the hard work and partially due to her new power.

She soon arrives at the hive and rushes in, eager to find the core she so desperately needed. About half way down the tunnel Lenara greets her with a smiling face and leads the way to the tunnel, navigating the twists and turns with ease.

The pair arrive at the tunnel, guarded by the drones that have been digging it, their claws chipped and blunted from repeatedly striking the hard surface of the walls. The tunnel itself was small, perhaps only one meter tall and not wide by anyones definition; it would certainly be a squeeze.

"The tunnel leads to right behind the elemental, about 20m deeper into the tunnel behind it." Lenara has a chuffed expression on her face, evidently very proud of her work. "I cannot fit inside myself but I will send two drones to ensure your safety; they can relay information to me in real time if you have any questions.

Angela nods "Thank you." and steps into the tunnel, stooping to fit in. The drones follow behind her, contracting their bodies in weird manners that look like a contortionist's. They proceed forward, shuffling as fast as their awkward position will allow them.

The tunnel is mostly straight, only slightly bent to steer the tunnel in the correct direction to avoid the elemental. About 2/3rds of the way in the carpet of purple organism (Lenara says it is part of her sensory network) ends, and without its luminescence the pace of the group crawls to that of a snail as Angela feels her way along.

Angela finally feels the pressure on her head and arms alleviate and she stands up, finally free of the tunnel. It was a good thing she didn't have claustrophobia or the journey would have been hellish. In the distance to her right she can see a dim light, most likely where the elemental was. To her left Angela couldn't see anything, the darkness swallowing the passageway completely.

By this point the drones had exited the tunnel too and one of them fizzles for a second before lighting up like a firefly; revealing an area of around 5m in each direction. Angela hadn't noticed at the time but now sees that it is somewhat different to the more combat oriented drones from before. This drone was smaller and had much more agile limbs with three small talons on each hand, perhaps used for grasping.

The three move forward into the passage, treading carefully while fully alert but no shadows appear to ambush them. They reach a clearing and the light from the drone reveals a pool of shimmering silver liquid.

Angela moves to go towards the pool but one of the drones stops her, speaking out in Lenara's voice. "Please wait miss Angela, I believe this pool should be mercury. Please let one of my drones go for you." Angela nods and the warrior drone dives into the pool. It surfaces a couple minutes later with something pincered in its claws. The drone wobbled a little before stepping forward unstably, passing the thing in its hands to Angela.

[Low grade metal core: forged only in environments with pure metallic essence, the low grade metal core is a culmination of anima that allows users to condense anima into low grade metals. Consume to unlock low grade metal conversion]

Holding the core in her hands, Angela selects consume and the core shatters and is absorbed into her body. A roar sounds out and the tunnel shakes. Angela's face pales and she rushes towards the tunnel. By the time the tunnel was once again in sight the slag elemental had already reached the group. It opens its mouth and lets out another roar, causing some stalactites to fall from the ceiling as it charges forward.

The slag elemental was a hulking monstrosity of iron and stone. In its eye sockets, blazing flames glare at Angela with a furious rage. Its two arms were bulkier than any normal creature could support and it swung them fiercely towards Angela, knocking over the drone that tried to stop it like a bowling pin.

Adrenalin courses through Angela and instinct takes over. Her wings unfurl and beat the wind, sending her backwards at incredible speed and dodging the attack. She had used the power that she had been avoiding, the dam had been broken and it was impossible to put the water back.

It was impossible to try, so she didn't, instead she rose up to near the ceiling of the passage, wobbling unsteadily. Looking like a Fairy queen she rushes forwards, darting around the heavy blows of the elemental with ease and striking at it with her knife. Sadly despite the grace she shows her knife glances of the elemental. She curses and makes some distance between her and the elemental, the knife just wasn't good enough. The longer and stronger claw she had taken from the drone had been destroyed after she had met Lenara (using part of a drone's corpse seemed disrespectful) and she had yet to obtain a new weapon, something she would have to do when she got back.

Turning towards the elemental she scowled before flying towards the tunnel, she did not want to lead the thing to Lenara and it wouldn't be able to fit through the tunnel. Angela quickly navigated through the gap, her vision somehow much better than when she had first traversed it. Her desire to warn Lenara increasing her speed and she quickly exited out of the other end of the tunnel to see the expectant face of the only other person she could talk to since her arrival.