The air in the Wire Nest hummed with a low, electric thrum, the biomechanical wires pulsing faintly with veins of corrupted energy interwoven with the path of destruction sigils.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse casted a soft glow, as it illuminated the tangled lattice of wires that twisted through like living tendrils, forming caverns and alcoves.
The Neuro-Wisp hovered close, its light stabilizing my interface against the faint psychic static emanating from the nest.
My five Blood Bulbs pulsed steadily beneath the rare Head armor, the Purity Limb, my newly acquired and radiant sixth digit, flexed with Seraph-7's essence, and the Pulse Lash hummed with three uses and two recharges, ready for action.
My Threat Scanner, enhanced by the Wisp Echo, pinged softly, detecting movement in the shadows.
My interface logged: "Hostile signatures detected: Segaly Flies, three vessels, one Core Shard each. Potential Polyps."
Lumen's light revealed a swarm of Segaly Flies—small, biomechanical insects with crystalline wings and exoskeleton-like shells, darting erratically through the wire lattice. Their single Core Shards glimmer faintly, and their rapid movements suggest agility but fragility.
I urged the Tulp forward, its glowing suction pads gripping the biomechanical wires with uncanny precision.
The Bio-mechanical gecko scaled a towering mass of hissing wires, positioning us on a high perch above the Segaly Flies' swarm.
The shadows of the nest tightened around us, its tangled caverns illuminated by Lumen's Guiding Pulse, casting sharp shadows that highlighted the flies' crystalline wings glinting below.
My Threat Scanner confirmed a dozen Segaly Flies, each with one Core Shard, their exoskeleton-like shells vulnerable to my Bile Irritant Gun.
The Neuro-Wisp hummed, stabilizing my interface, while the Purity Limb flexed, boosting my combat precision.
The Head armor's sigils glowed, fortifying my defense, and the Ecdysis Spur gleamed in my grip, ready for close encounters.
I was in Position for the Initial Attack.
I steadied myself on the Tulp's back, its agile movements keeping us balanced on the high ground.
Lifting my primary index weapon digit, I Aimed the Bile Irritant Gun, previously enhanced by Red Bile (+2 vs. exoskeletons), I targeted the Segaly Flies' crystalline shells.
Lumen darted through the swarm, distracting the flies and creating clear shots.
I fired a volley of irradiated bile spikes, the gun's recoil pulsing through my biomechanical form!
The spikes lanced through the first Segaly Fly, piercing its Core Shard in a burst of shattered crystal and corrupted fluid!
The fly spiraled downward, dissolving into goo.
My interface logged: "Segaly Fly neutralized. 1 Polyp acquired."
The remaining two flies buzz upward, their wings humming with agitation as they closed in on my perch.
I maintained the high ground, the Tulp shifting to keep me stable.
I fired another volley from the Bile Irritant Gun, targeting the second fly's exoskeleton.
The spikes shredded its Core Shard, and it collapsed mid-flight, yielding another Polyp.
"Second Segaly Fly neutralized. 1 Polyp acquired. Total: 2 Polyps."
The third Segaly Fly, undeterred, surged toward me with alarming speed, its crystalline wings slicing the air.
It was too close for the Bile Irritant Gun.
I struck at it with the Ecdysis Spur now welded by the purity limb!
Its jagged blade of bone and metal gleaming with Seraph-7's essence.
The Purity Limb enhanced my strike as I slashed downward, cleaving the fly's Core Shard in a single, precise motion.
The fly disintegrated, leaving a final Polyp.
"Third Segaly Fly neutralized. 1 Polyp acquired. Total: 3 Polyps."
As the flies continued to be felled by my blade and Bile irritant gun, one's dying spasm sent a crystalline wing fragment spinning toward me!
The Head armor's glowing sigils flared, and the Neuro-Wisp's light pulsed, deflecting the projectile harmlessly.
All five Blood Bulbs remained intact, and the MM Manipulator Gun's careful handling ensured no corruption from the Polyp collection.
"Corruption level stable. No damage taken."
The Wire Nest fell quiet, the hum of the Segaly Flies replaced by the low thrum of the biomechanical wires.
The Tulp chirped softly, its Purity-aligned nature resonating with my Seraphic Mantle.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse swept the area, confirming no immediate threats.
The critical success of this encounter secured 3 Polyps, bringing my total to 3, enough for another Purity Limb if I returned to the Oracle, though a Core Overcharge remained out of reach for now.
With the Segaly Flies reduced to dissolving remnants, I urged the Tulp onward, its glowing suction pads navigating the tangled biomechanical wires with graceful agility.
The Wire Nest deepened around us, the lattice growing denser, forming cavernous tunnels veined with pulsing energy conduits.
Lumen's Guiding Pulses flared ahead, cutting through the dim electric haze, while the Neuro-Wisp maintained psychic clarity, warding off the nest's subtle corruption whispers.
My Purity Limb flexed instinctively, and the Head armor's sigils hummed softly, shielding my five Blood Bulbs as we pressed into the unknown.
My Threat Scanner pinged urgently: "Hostile cluster detected: Vile Worms, one Core Shard per worm. Blood Bulbs vulnerable—detonation risk on direct attack."
Lumen's light revealed the writhing mass ahead—a pack of twenty Vile Worms, serpentine abominations slithering through the wire caverns.
Their segmented bodies, slick with corrupted ichor, coiled and uncoiled, each segment pulsating with exposed Blood Bulbs that glowed ominously.
They shot out Plasmid balls—glowing orbs of volatile energy—that arced through the air, but the Tulp's nimble maneuvers dodged them effortlessly, its suction pads allowing quick shifts along the wires!
The worms sensed my approach!
Their maws hissing as they formed a defensive coil, Plasmid balls launching in erratic volleys!
Direct strikes on their Blood Bulbs could trigger a chain detonation, potentially clearing the pack but risking collateral damage in the confined nest.
Leveraging the Tulp's agility, I maintain the high ground on the wire lattice, outmaneuvering the Plasmid balls.
Lumen's Guiding light Pulsed among the worms, highlighting their weak points without provoking a full detonation.
I avoided targeting the Blood Bulbs directly, instead aiming for strategic disruption.
I wielded the Bile Irritant Gun on my index digit firing irradiated spikes at the worms' segmented hides from afar.
The Purity Limb boosted my precision.
The spikes pierced the outer shells of three leading worms, shattering their Core Shards without hitting the Blood Bulbs!
They convulsed and dissolve, yielding 1 Polyp each!
My interface logged the event!
"Three Vile Worms neutralized. 3 Polyps acquired. Total: 6 Polyps."
The remaining seventeen worms surge forward!
Plasmid balls exploding against the wires nearby and beneath!
One orb grazes close, but the Head armor's defense and Neuro-Wisp's light deflect it, preserving my Blood Bulbs.
In the chaos, a stray spike from my gun nicked a worm's Blood Bulb—triggering a chain reaction!
The injured worm detonated in a burst of corrupted energy, setting off a domino effect that engulfed five nearby worms in explosive goo!
Their Core Shards shattered in the blast, yielding 5 more Polyps but scattering wire debris.
"Chain detonation: Five Vile Worms neutralized. 5 Polyps acquired. Total: 11 Polyps."
I launched a Follow-Up Assault!
With the pack thinned to eleven, I switched to the spur now embedded in my Purity digit, rapidly flicking my purity digit I targeted Core Shards while avoiding Blood Bulbs.
The Tulp ducked and dodged Plasmid volleys, while keeping us mobile.
In the charge my strikes cleaved through four worms, their bodies dissolving harmlessly!
"Four Vile Worms neutralized. 4 Polyps acquired. Total: 15 Polyps."
The last seven worms coiled tightly, launching a concentrated Plasmid barrage!
I activated Pulse Lash (1 use expended, 2 remaining; 2 recharges left), its strikes exploding the incoming plasmid orbs mid-air!
I Followed up with the MM Manipulator Gun, detaching segments from two worms, exposing their Core Shards without triggering detonations.
The Ecdysis Spur finished them, and the remaining five attempted a desperate lunge—but another calculated nick to a Blood Bulb ignited a final chain reaction, wiping them out in a spectacular blast!
"Final chain detonation: Seven Vile Worms neutralized. 7 Polyps acquired. Total: 22 Polyps. Pulse Lash: 2 uses remaining."
Debris from the explosions rained down, but the Tulp's agility and my Head armor ensured no damage.
All five Blood Bulbs remained intact, and the Neuro-Wisp prevented corruption buildup.
"Corruption level stable. No damage taken."
The Wire Nest echoes with the fading thrum of the detonations; the Vile Worms reduced to scattered goo and Polyps.
The Tulp chirped triumphantly, its Purity-aligned form unscathed.
This critical success cleared the pack, yielding a bountiful 22 Polyps—far exceeding needs for upgrades like Core Overcharge (5 Polyps) or multiple Purity Limbs.
I guided the Tulp deeper, its glowing suction pads navigating the tangled lattice with fluid grace.
Lumen's Guiding Pulse swept over the caverns, illuminating a faint shimmer in the wire-woven walls—a hidden tunnel, its entrance barely visible, pulsing with faint restraint sigils.
My Threat Scanner, enhanced by Wisp Echo, confirmed: "Hidden tunnel detected. Leads to Obeck's domain. Guarded by hostile: Love Bug, one Core Shard, spawning offspring."
My Purity digit flexed, the Head armor's sigils glowed, and my five Blood Bulbs pulsed steadily, ready for the challenge ahead.
The tunnel's entrance was blocked by the Love Bug, a grotesque, biomechanical creature with a flat square, porous back riddled with spawning holes.
Its single Core Shard glimmered in its core, and its delicate offspring—small, writhing Love Children with glowing, fragile bodies—spilled from its back, skittering toward me with hostile intent.
The Love Bug's spindly legs twitched as it birthed more, but its eyes darted nervously, hinting at its cowardice.
Lumen's light revealed the offspring's fragility—a single step could crush them—but their numbers and hostility posed a nuisance.
The Love Bug may flee if its children are destroyed, with a small chance of dropping the rare Love Blaster gun, capable of firing 1 to 4 homing Love Children to immolate nearby enemies.
I urged the Tulp to maintain high ground on the wire lattice, its agility dodging the skittering Love Children.
Lumen darted into the fray distracted the swarm, illuminating their delicate forms!
I targeted the offspring first, leveraging their fragility.
With a calculated step, we crushed a cluster of Love Children underfoot, their bodies popping in bursts of corrupted fluid underneath the bio-mechanical gecko!
The Tulp even shot out its sticky tongue snatching and eating several of the love bugs advancing offspring.
The Love Bug shrieked, spawning more but retreating slightly, its cowardice evident.
"Love Children neutralized. Love Bug retreating, spawning intensified."
The remaining Love Children—dozens strong—surged toward us, their tiny maws snapping!
I pointed the Bile Irritant Gun embedded in my Index digit, firing a wide volley of irradiated spikes to sweep through the swarm.
The Purity Limb enhanced my precision, and the spikes shredded through the fragile offspring, reducing them to goo.
The Love Bug panicked, birthing another wave but scuttled further back toward the tunnel.
"Second wave of Love Children neutralized. Love Bug nearing tunnel entrance."
Sensing an opportunity, I spurred the Tulp forward, its suction pads racing along the wires to close the gap.
The Love Bug, now cornered, lashed out with a weak, corrosive spray, but my Head armor and Neuro-Wisp deflected it effortlessly, preserving all five Blood Bulbs.
I switched to the Ecdysis Spur, its jagged bone-and-metal blade gleaming, as I struck at the Love Bug's Core Shard.
The Purity Limb boosted the attack, and the Spur cleaved through, shattering the Core Shard in a spray of ichor.
The Love Bug collapsed, its spawning holes going still.
"Love Bug neutralized. Core Shard destroyed."
As the Love Bug dissolved, a faint glow emerged from its remains.
Using the MM Manipulator Gun, I carefully sifted through the goo, retrieving the ultra rare Love Blaster—a sleek, biomechanical gun pulsing with volatile energy!
My interface logged the event: "Love Blaster acquired. Fires 1–4 Love Children at random, immolating nearby enemies. Low corruption risk."
The Neuro-Wisp ensured no corruption from handling the weapon, and the Tulp's Purity alignment keeps the tunnel stable.
A single Polyp emerged from the Love Bug's remains.
"1 Polyp acquired. Total: 23 Polyps."
The Wire Nest's tunnel entrance yawned open, its restraining sigils flaring softly, beckoning me toward Obeck's domain.
The Tulp chirped, unscathed, its glowing pads ready to carry us forward.
This critical success cleared the Love Bug and its offspring without damage, securing the rare Love Blaster and an additional Polyp.
My five Blood Bulbs remained intact, and corruption levels were non-existent, bolstered by the Neuro-Wisp and Seraphic Mantle.
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