GETTING 'TO IT' involved a lot of grenades. Using a little of their scantly remaining magical essences, they conjured a flame into one of their torches. They set the magically induced flame to their grenades by pulling the pin, quickly dropping said grenade into the torch, and then swinging and flinging the grenade from the torch as though it were a hackey-sack bag. Once the grenade was through the door, MAC closed the door automatically upon his command. The explosion sounded. The door opened. Then the process repeated. Once the smoke cleared, all three had used all but one of their grenades.

  What did their grenade frenzy earn them? With bitterness, 'hardly anything,' he thought, looking down the hall and seeing, maybe, a couple of tiles worth of the fungus cleared.

  "I can't believe after all that we are hardly further than when we began," Whiskey said. "I guess these grenades are really only so effective outside of their express purpose."

  "Yeah. Crap. But what can we do?" he said, wanting to feel his anger legitimated but not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

  "Keep moving, is what," Jie replied.

  Clearly, he wanted to say, sarcastically, but bite his tongue. What else would they do but keep moving forward? "How are we going to do this? Look. Where actually is the core of this fae? If we can't see the core, how will we know which part we should avoid so we don't become brainwashed or whatever?"

  This was when MAC chimed in with an answer which was actually helpful, unlike his 'associate's' less than helpful answer on the flame grenades... "Concerning the Fatal Grazes, specifically of mature constructs such as the one you're facing at that moment, focus not on the singular 'core' but on the nodal points along its body responsible for dispersing the entrancing spores. These points appear as thickly layered mounds of fungal growth encased in calcified 'bone growths,' which look similar to fangs. With good timing, you might be able to even avoid the concentrated blasts of spores."

  "Good to know," Whiskey said. "We're looking for fleshy piles with teeth... great."

  "Great indeed," he said, missing the sarcasm in Whiskey's voice. "Now we know what to look for! Thanks, Screen Master."

  Proceeding with as much -- 'extreme' -- caution as they could muster, he and his team advanced into the fungal web. Their typical formation stood. Jiehong to the front, Whiskey to his back. Both Jiehong and Whiskey carried torches, though Jie's own he had attached to his exo-suit cage so as to use it hands-free. Where they went, they burned; every fungal 'strand' they encountered while moving ahead, which was a lot, they put to the torch so as to implement a total cleansing policy.

  An hour or more had passed before the team encountered their first 'modal' point. He wished it was a faster process. Treading on the side of caution, as the Screen Masters expected, seemed the better idea, though.

  "Looks like it's there," he said, his finger pointed toward the first fleshy-spongey mass of teeth which looked like a row of teeth had inexplicably grown on an alga covered rock. Except the rock was a busted terminal leaking magical residue. The node's 'teeth' quivered. He thought he was going to be sick to his stomach.

  "Who has magic? Jie, Whiskey? I reckon you have enough to muster a few fireballs?" he asked.

  "Yeah," Jiehong said. "It won't be much, but it should be the minimum we need to tear through these nodal points. Give me a moment--"

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  Disaster struck before anyone knew what was going on. Jiehong became non-responsive. He did not channel any energy and instead blindly walked forward; it was MAC who blared a warning: "DANGER! Jiehong is afflicted by the Fatal Graze! Pull him back -- now!"

  He leaped into action and grabbed hold of his brother's cage. He heaved backward with all of his might. "Whiskey! Help!" he said, but Whiskey was already by his side before the words fully left his mouth. Together, they continued to heave backward and pull their teammate back to safety.

  "JIEHONG! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" he screamed. "SNAP OUT OF IT! REMEMBER!"

  Whiskey stopped her pulling. Holding her breath, she swirled around to the front of his brother and pushed him back from his forward. Seeing what she did, he re-doubled his effort and pulled even harder while screaming. "COME ON! JIEHOOOONG!"

  With a started tumble, Jiehong came to -- not for long, but long enough for his trance to temporary break his stride. He tumbled back; whereupon Whiskey and he were able to shove him all the way to safety, out from the Fatal Graze's charms.

  "Whiskey. Light your arrows and fire at the node!" he said while attending to his brother.

  "Great idea! Okay-- wait! My bow and arrows -- they're missing!"

  "What?!" he yelped and glanced back. He spotted their gleaming stature by chance far along the corridor. "Over there!"

  She turned to see what he meant. "What are they doing all the way over there?! How did -- !"

  "The fungus?" he questioned, as he sorted through his satchel looking for a anything which might help remove the alluring fungal spores. But he found nothing.

  "Oh! Its vile tendrils must've taken advantage of my lowered defenses as I was pushing against Jie to grab my gear. Now I will really have to kill it!"

  "Put the satchel away," Jie said with a groan. "I am fine. Just... disoriented."

  Jiehong got up and channeled a fire ball. After getting a running head start, he threw the ball with a vengeance at the node but missed. "Shet."

  A moment of silence passed between the team. Eventually, Whiskey said, "I think we should call it here, Zan. I know you want to push this, but it is no longer practical for us."

  Not bothering any time to think of a response, he went with the first thing in his mind. "I agree -- so much, Whiskey. Let's get out of here and wait for the Slipstream. Then, we will all go and march into this hall again and blast everything with fire!"

  With the course clear, he and his team left the confined tunnels of the bunker, the door locking at his command once more on their way out.

  Upon their arrival to the first floor, the Screen Master had an update for them: "Team: I wish to give an update on fae-constructs and their bodily disintegration. Some constructs might decay instantly while others only decay over the course of a few days. Of the many recently de-commissioned fae-constructs you have fought on the first floor; it is now possible to collect rare materials."

  MAC then took them on a brief 'tour' of the first floor and brought them to every location he sensed usable materials had accumulated. They collected several exotic matters which, as MAC explained, could be used for bartering or weapon enhancement. "If you have the necessary apotheotic talent, such materials can even be used as the base for many a potent healing tonic or lethal acid. Think well about how you use these materials. It might seem to you these materials are easy to come by, as you and your team have been using your battle experience well to confront the fae-constructs. Remember! The average person in this world would likely never see such goods or have the potential to attain them. People will go out of their way to bater with you if you let them know of the commodities you have in stock."

  Nodding along to every element of the Screen Master's explanation, Zan directed his friends and collected the fae-looted resources. He collected the following strange materials: 'Ancient Tech Mesh x 3,' 'Generic Fae Matter x 5,' 'Batter Rocks x 2,' and another 'Unrefined Poison.' He put them away in his satchel. When his satchel overfilled, his teammates used their satchels. Although, collectively, they retained some free room, their backs were filled and significantly heavier than when they entered. Outside, they ditched the material, storing it in the trunks back at camp. "It isn't a problem yet," he thought, "but soon, we are going to have to make a proper storeroom."

  "Now what?" he asked his team, the exotic matter stored and forgotten for the time being.

  "I say we rest," Whiskey said. "Who wants to take first shift?"