IT�S TIME FOR THE SHOWDOWN!
Garralosh is on the surface and she has bad intentions toward Anthony and his Colony. The first generation of super-intelligent ants hatches and our antrepid protagonist has his mandibles full teaching them what it means to be a member of the family!
It�s a race against time to strengthen the Colony before disaster strikes. Big-momma croca is here, and she is hungry!
When you spend your entire life learning to kill something, and then you kill said thing, it�s awfully hard to turn around and refuse those instincts.
Morrelia thought back to her childhood. The long days spent drilling Skills with her brother in the practice court whilst Mother watched, laughing at their exuberance. When her father was home, he would take them to the Legionary fort in Liria to practise with the trainees. Even from a young age, the two children had been a match for those twice as old. She remembered once defeating an eighteen-year-old sword apprentice when she was only ten and not yet grown into her class.
Her father had smiled broadly and ordered the trainee to double his practice time before lifting his daughter in one massive arm and kissing her on the cheek. She�d been so proud.
Her brother had shone even brighter. His Skills rose so quickly, training with such ferocious intensity, he�d been accepted to the Legion two years early and became the strongest trainee the moment he walked in the door.
When he died, it was like the light went out of their family.
Father withdrew, mother left, and when the time came, Morrelia refused
to enlist in the Legion. Instead, she soldiered around. Fighting was the
only thing she knew how to do and she was damn good at it. Eventually
she settled on her current work, offering her services to villages and
small towns on the border to deal with monster infestations. The pay was
terrible and the experience was worse. With her Skills, she could have
been a royal guard, but it wasn�t so bad. She felt
When she found a Dungeon entrance out here in the wilds, things became better. She would sneak out and delve, on her own at first, and then later with her team. The experience was much better, not to mention the money. It allowed her to take poorer paying jobs helping the more remote villages on the edge of the wilderness and not go hungry.
Now here they were. While she was out fighting, the entire kingdom had burnt to the ground. Father was who knows where in the Dungeon, and she was stuck here in a refugee camp that worshipped monsters.
Sitting in her tent, Morrelia sighed and rubbed her temples. By the System, she was tired. The berserker rage always took a lot out of her, but this was more than that. The city of Liria had been her home, she knew so many people there. Her classmates, the guards who taught her gambling Skills behind her parent�s back, the Legion members she spent so much time around. All of it gone, flattened by monsters.
It just didn�t seem possible.
Refusing to sit and dwell on it any longer, Morrelia forced herself to her feet and pushed the flap to her tent aside with one calloused hand. Even if she was only twenty-three years old, it had been a long time since she�d been home. She�d been out selling her sword since she was fifteen. The city was gone, the people were here, and she�d be damned if she wouldn�t do what she could to help them.
Her team member, Dianne, had set up their camp just outside the village proper. The refugees were busy erecting buildings almost full-time, but it was never enough. More and more families arrived, and they needed the shelter far more than her team did. They had their tents and bedrolls, they�d be fine.
Despite the vicious battle only hours before, there was a decided buzz about the place. People rushed about, building, cleaning, distributing supplies and caring for the wounded. Morrelia�s feet took her to the large open area where those who were injured in the battle were being tended.
There were dozens of men and women on their backs, lying on simple wooden beams placed together to make a raised resting place. Morrelia grimaced. There was nothing here that could be called a bed, not even close.
To her shock, there had been fewer casualties than she expected. Once the berserker rage had fallen from her eyes, and she realised the villagers had come out to fight, her first instinct had been that she might have killed some of them. Thankfully not. They�d fought well, the priest in the vanguard, chanting and swinging a hammer one-handed.
He was here now, by some miracle still standing, moving amongst the wounded, talking to them.
As she walked closer, he caught sight of her and smiled.
�Miss Morrelia. I had no idea you possessed the berserker class. Quite a rare thing indeed.�
She paused, not expecting him to comment on it, then shrugged.
�I�ve always had a temper. It just unlocked one day.�
The light in the priests� eyes shifted, and she knew he was aware of the lie, but he let it pass. Instead, he moved in closer, drawing her attention once more to the thing she�d been trying to avoid thinking about.
�Now you have seen our saviour, the Great Ant, in battle. He is powerful, is he not? Even acting out to prevent the deaths of humans. I wonder how you will resolve that fact with your narrow view of monsters, Miss Morrelia?�
Her immediate reaction was to sneer.
�Don�t call me Miss.�
Eyes bright, Beyn nodded, waiting patiently for her answer.
Morrelia sighed. �It�s a tough little bugger and no mistake.� Beyn coughed at her disrespectful language, but she continued, �the magic it uses is weird, but effective. To be honest, those pets of his��
They might be even stronger than the ant was. Which was ridiculous. The gigantic ape-bat was clearly evolved from a lightning fist ape. Only, it was a variety she�d never seen. Its powerful electrical attacks and immense strength were frightening.
And the tentacle creature. Morrelia shuddered. The way that thing cut, tore and stuffed monsters into its seemingly bottomless mouth had been a disturbing sight to say the least. How the ant managed to defeat such a strange variety of shadow beast, she had no idea.
There was no doubt in her mind that if it wanted them to, those two pets would flatten the village and destroy everyone in it without the creature having to lift a finger. Not that it had fingers�
Thankfully, it appeared to be one of a kind. If the rest of the colony were to be as powerful as that one ant� it boggled the mind.
Eventually, she just laughed.
�I just don�t understand it,� she finally admitted. �I�ve never heard of
a monster that would act to protect humans. I don�t know
Beyn nodded eagerly, his youthful face alight with energy despite the dirt and grime coating him. It was easy to forget this man was no older than she was.
�Yes. Yes! This is something new, something different. The System has brought forth a miracle in order to save��
Morrelia raised a hand to stall his gathering momentum.
�Whoa there, buddy. I don�t need the whole sermon. I still don�t trust it, though I�m willing to give it a chance. I don�t have anything to do except stay here and help the refugees anyway, so my team and I will stick around.�
�In that case, you might want to find Enid, she�s sure to have a use for you,� Beyn said.
Morrelia found the white-haired old woman, her thin hair tied up in a tight bun, in the thick of the action, as always. A small knot of people followed her wherever she went, taking directions and asking questions as Enid continuously spoke in her soft, no-nonsense tone.
It turned out Enid most wanted Morrelia and her group to help with training the villagers. Apparently, the farmers, with their ridiculous pools of stamina�the only thing the class was good for�could handle the work, but the people needed to be able to defend themselves.
Which was how she found herself not half an hour later with a small group of able-bodied students aged ten to forty, going over basic spear and sword forms.
Training people to fight who worshipped a monster. What on earth would her father think?
Morrelia chuckled. The commander would throw a pink fit. Except Titus wasn�t here right now, and these people needed help. So, she would help them.
Right then. For the time being, my Skills are dealt with. Now for the juicy bit.
The Biomass.
I poke Tiny until he wakes and put him on guard duty. We�re still in the Dungeon after all, and if anything spawns in here, I need it smashed ASAP. I�m going to be busy mutating and don�t want to be disturbed.
Finally!
It�s just me and three hundred and fifty-six Biomass.
It won�t go as far as I want it to go, I get that. All of my mutations need to get to +20 before I evolve, and I�ve only just completed the +10 set. I�m determined this time though. No evolution until it�s done!
Just going from +10 to +15 is going to cost me� sixty-five Biomass�
SIXTY-FIVE! Then I have to go from fifteen to twenty�
Ugh. I hate being reminded of this. From five to ten is only forty by
comparison. I remember when
Well, nothing I can do about it but eat, I suppose.
For now, I want to test something that Beyn mentioned during our discussions. Apparently, a big part of the System is focused on consolidation and reinforcement. Fusing is one part of this, where Classes and Skills can become combined to create a new and more powerful Skill. The other side of the coin is when the System doubles down on one thing, making it a stronger and better version of itself.
According to Beyn, this typically occurs in either threes or twos. Three
Skills combine to make a new Skill, or two classes combine to create a
new class. It isn�t a hard and fast rule by any means. He said he knew
of one class which required ten Levels in five�yes,
How this applies to monsters, he wasn�t sure. I have a feeling the +15 upgrade won�t be just choosing another mutation. I�m determined to find out now before progressing any further on my other mutations.
[Would you like to upgrade Savage Infused Mandibles to +15? This will cost sixty-five Biomass.]
You betcha.
[At this level, you may choose to combine your mutations or emphasise one. Which will you select?]
AHA! We were right!
At this stage, the System will either allow you to combine your current mutations to create a new variant or emphasise one of your mutations, enhancing it over the other. Interesting! The more I learn about the System, the more depth it seems to have.
My mandibles have the infused mutation, which allows me to channel raw Mana from my core into them in order to improve their cutting power. The savage mutation increases their size, density and strength, making them the beastly tools of biting they are today.
Is there one that I prefer over the other? Infused is probably the more powerful boost, but it costs Mana, placing another drain on my mental resources. Whereas savage is just a straight up passive boost, affecting the structure of the mandibles themselves.
To be honest, they�re a great combo together. Savage improves my baseline biting power, and infused gives me a higher peak. There isn�t any reason to take one over the other.
I�ll fuse them!
Whoa, but first�
[Do you wish to improve Hardened Diamond Carapace to +15? This will cost sixty-five Biomass.]
May as well take care of this one at the same time.
[At this level, your mutations will be reinforced. Do you wish to proceed?]
Hmm! Since I chose to enhance the original mutation the second time around, I don�t have a fusion option, only a reinforcement one. It�s not a problem, though. I�ve grown super fond of my Diamond Carapace.
Confirm both of those mutations!
Wait a sec. Something�s building.
As if from a great distance.
Is it the ocean? The rising tide?
�Nope. It�s the itch.
PALLALAFLAZZZZ!
Oh God! What the heck is this overwhelming itchiness? From what depths of skin irritant hell did Gandalf find this sensation? My body is pure fire! My mind is breaking! Why am I the only one who seems to be bothered by this? When Tiny spends Biomass, he barely twitches. Crinis doesn�t have a face, so I can�t tell what her reaction is, but they don�t seem to suffer like this!
Why meeeeee?
Eventually, the torture ends, and I slowly pick myself up.
I hate it� I hate it sooo much.
Now what�s next?
First, I try to inspect my carapace to see what�s changed. Unsurprisingly, the shimmering diamond patches of my carapace have extended even further. Hang on a sec�
I peer closer to get a better view and what I see shocks me.
It isn�t that the patches of diamond have expanded; rather, they�ve been pushed outward by a core of pure diamond. In the centre of each diamond covering the carapace itself, my exo-skeleton has been transformed into actual diamond.
I�m getting more and more expensive�
Is this what will happen if I keep choosing to upgrade this path? I
won�t just get a diamond layer atop my carapace, but my carapace will
actually
I�m not sure how to feel about that.
Will my inner carapace plating still be able to heal my carapace? I suppose it will. It all seems to mesh together even when you don�t think it should. Gandalf seems to have those things worked out well enough.
Next, I flex my mandibles, trying to sense if there�s a difference. They certainly feel stronger and more solid. Curiously, I channel my Mana into them and am pleased to note how smooth the flow feels. The mandibles themselves immediately glow with the energy of Mana. Ooooo, this feels strong.
Eagerly, I check my status to see what has changed.
My Savage Infused Mandibles +10 have now become Empowered Mandibles +15, and my Hardened Diamond Carapace +10 has become True Diamond Carapace +15.
And it only cost me 130 Biomass.
Ok. Hold it together, Anthony. Still have more to spend.
236 Biomass left. Yikes.
The question at hand is what to mutate first? I�m not sure� I�ve hit the main points in the mandibles and carapace. I think I�ll go with a bit of a mix of utility here. I�ll upgrade the Coordination Cortex, my Legs and my Gravity Magic Gland.
That should be a good boost.
[Do you wish to improve your Combined Divergent Coordination Cortex to +15? This will cost 65 Biomass.]
Yes.
[At this level, you may choose to combine your mutations or emphasise one. Which will you select?]
For this one, I�m going to fuse the two options. This should help the brains remain strong at both cooperation and individual spell casting.
[Do you wish to improve your Rapid Absorption Legs to +15? This will cost 65 Biomass.]
Bring it!
[At this level, you may choose to combine your mutations or emphasise one. Which will you select?]
I�m less certain on this one. Moving fast is nice, and absorbing Mana through the legs is also nice. I don�t really prefer one over the other, but I�m also not certain they�ll fuse to something worthwhile.
I guess for the time being, I should emphasise the spellcasting ahead of the quick movement. Absorbing Mana through the legs has increased my MP regeneration by a ferocious amount. If I keep on using spells in battle, having that increased regen will be incredibly helpful. Let�s emphasise the absorption.
[Do you wish to improve your Expanded Deep Gravity Magic Gland to +15? This will cost 65 Biomass.]
Naturally.
[At this level your mutations will be reinforced. Do you wish to proceed?]
Since I�ve taken the same upgrade twice for the Gravity Magic Gland, naturally, I won�t get the choice to fuse. I�ll be interested to see how much capacity I�ll have once this mutation is done.
Confirm all of those!
This is a big moment for me. I�ve upgraded every body part to +10, and now I�m advancing a large step towards full +15. My mutations have been lagging behind my evolution tier for way too long, it�s nice to finally be able to boost up this side of the power equation.
Ensuring that my core is fully upgraded and evolving has certainly helped. But the neglect of my Skills and mutations from a lack of patience and dedication stops now! From here on in, it�s going to be Skills and Biomass number one! Evolution is for chumps and Anthony�s who�ve fully mutated themselves.
Let�s get on with sorting out this mutation bonanza.
Right then! Time to confirm the purchase.
*[Would you like to improve: Expanded Deep Gravity Magic Gland +10 to Expansive Gravity Magic Gland +15?]*
*Combined Divergent Coordination Cortex +10 to Networked Coordination Cortex +15?*
*Rapid Absorption Legs +10 to Rapid Osmotic Legs +15?]*
This is one hell of a purchase.
At sixty-five each, upgrading five body parts is going to set me back a cool three hundred twenty-five! I�ll have thirty-one left. Thirty-four shy of upgrading something else to +15.
Confirm that purchase!
This is so exciting, I�wait�
How do I always forget the IIIIIITCH!
Oh no, I can feel it, it�s coming! Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no�NOOOOOOOOOO! AAAAARRRRRRR!
FLABBA-DABBA-FLAZZZZZZ!
Worse than ever before, the mutation creeps over my body: my legs, my
glands, gah! An itch I can�t scratch, so intense, I can�t stand it! This
is
Unable to support my body, I roll onto my back and twitch there like an electrocuted spider.
FLAZZA!
KRAZZA!
FTAGN!
And on. And on. And onnnnn.
Make it STAHP!
Thankfully, it fades away. My body has finished performing whatever magic it does when the pure essence of Biomass floods my system, rebuilding my body and reshaping my cells at a stupidly rapid pace.
When you think about it, mutating feeling as intense as it does makes a certain kind of sense. The body itself is being restructured in a pretty serious way, after all. I just don�t get why it doesn�t seem to bother anyone other than me!
I�ve spent a massive amount of Biomass�three hundred and twenty-five points�and endured the worst itching of my ant life, but I�ve done it. A major step has been taken in the pursuit of the pre-evolution, fully upgraded ant.
With that out of the way, there is so much to do it makes me dizzy. Hunting needs to happen, obviously, grinding Skills along the patterns that Beyn and I discussed as well as helping the humans out a bit. Oh, can�t forget preparations for the new generation. Too busy!
First, I decide to check in with the twenty larvae playing about in the chambers toward the top of the nest. When I get there, the little grubs are still rolling about, stuffing themselves full of food provided by the battle above. Some of the little things are so stuffed they look like pale basketballs. I can�t stop rolling them around and giving them a tickle with my antennae until they wiggle about trying to escape my clutches. Awww!
Enough with the larvae teasing. Time to check in on the queen.
Let�s see if I can utilise my new Persuasive Pheromone Gland to change her mind about the rare core. Surely, she can see the value in improving her own strength.
Nope!
Rubbing my head with my antennae, I retreat from a clearly irritated Mother into my chamber. The new carapace upgrade is showing its worth here. That blow hurt less than usual thanks to my potent shell. Nice to see the plan coming together!
Gwehehehehe.
I don�t know what I�m going to do with that rare core� I may have to try and absorb it in chunks. Is that even possible? Guess we�ll find out�
Somewhere in the Forest Expanse, a predator lay. Old and implacable, it had hunted these tunnels for hundreds of years. How many creatures had perished between those jaws? How many torn by those claws? It was a number too vast to have meaning. Uncountable.
In the early times, where the memories are dim and blurred, it hunted
with such intensity, such
They had all been hunted down, dragged from their lairs and consumed, fuel to the ever-burning fire. The predator had grown strong, powerful. It revelled in that strength at first, seeking more powerful prey, greater challenges, descending ever downward.
But the one known as Garralosh had grown too strong, too fast. When the
call had come, Garralosh hadn�t realised what it was at first. It was
vindication. Triumph! Her long years of struggle, the lonely hunt, had
finally borne the ultimate fruit. Recognised for the prowess, the
bottomless
It had come too soon. Swiftly the announcement came, then a
At first, it was fine. Garralosh
They fought so many times. Garralosh killed them, feasted on them, but was never able to break through, always forced to retreat.
And the
Desperation followed. Then rage, world-burning, soul-immolating rage. Still, there was no breakthrough; Garralosh could not breach past the hated soldiers in black. They tracked, harried, harassed and repelled the great predator every time it drew near the borders. They had erected a cage around it, and no matter how desperate, the beast could not escape it.
Then the madness came.
Garralosh shifted her massive bulk, cracking a few trees against her scales. It irritated her, to think back to that time when the madness consumed her. She�d charged at the blockage, storming the defences. Battered and bruised, she had killed many but paid a hefty price. Finally, the black shirts brought out their champion and they had done battle.
She angrily thrashed her tail, sweeping away a swathe of the forest in one moment.
The human had been incredibly strong. Their duel lasted hours until finally one of her arms had been smote from her body, the grievous wound forcing her to flee. Even worse, that hungering axe had cursed her flesh, inflicting an unending agony and preventing the limb from growing back.
Even now, many years later, the effect of the curse still lingered. A dull ache that refused to fade. The arm was still not completely healed, despite enormous efforts.
Her children watched her from a distance. She could feel them, hesitating to draw closer as they knew the danger of being caught within range of her jaws when the rage struck her. Unable to fight, tormented by the constant tugging at her core, she�d started to raise these children in earnest. An army to help her break the blockade and make her way deeper into the Dungeon at last.
Carefully, she�d nurtured the first generations, then allowed her children to roam free, letting the strong feast on the weaker monsters in the upper layers before returning to join the ranks of her army.
She had been prepared to wait. Wait until the tide of her crocodilic children was overwhelming before storming the black shirts and tearing them to pieces.
But the wave happened. The Mana surged, easing the painful drain on her core. Higher and higher she could rise in the Dungeon until she was close enough to the surface to direct her children out of the Dungeon to annihilate the cities of the humans that barred her way for so long.
The thought of those people crushed and consumed by her children filled her with glee. She wondered if the black shirts down below knew what she�d done? Did they cry? Gnash their teeth and weep with rage?
She hoped so.
Vaguely, a part of her wondered if she should feel any sorrow for the thousands she killed. Perhaps once, she might have.
When Garralosh tried, when she reached far back into the depths of her mind, she could remember a time when she wasn�t a creature of the Dungeon. She�d been something else, soft and pink, vulnerable and weak.
She could no longer remember if those memories were dream or reality. There were only vague memories of her first years in the Dungeon. The fear, the terror, the sheer exhilaration.
But even those fractured memories, of a softer world and a different
her, they didn�t feel peaceful. Recollections of blood and her
Garralosh shifted her weight slightly, then levered herself onto her feet.
Whatever she had been before, whatever she was now, she was extremely confident of one thing.
She had always been a monster.
GRRRRRRRROOOOWLLLLL!
The rumbling of air through her throat caused the trees to shake and the rock to crack. She turned to where her strongest children had been widening the tunnel for her. She could barely fit now, but it would be enough.
With a surge of Mana and her powerful strength, she rushed forward, every step carving huge gashes into the stone beneath her feet. The ground itself trembled, and she rushed past her gathered children, into the tunnel and then up.
The Mana had grown high enough now, impossibly high. Enough to open the
surface to her, where she could see the ruined cities for herself. She
would crush everything she found and devour the humans whole until their
bodies quenched her hunger for vengeance. She would rampage and kill,
harry and hunt until the cursed black soldiers abandoned their posts and
rushed to stop her. Then she would destroy them. Feast on their remains,
and finally,
Her lips drew back from her obsidian teeth in a crocodilic grin.
She would claim her rightful place at last.
Checking over my new mutations, I have to say I�m looking rather impressive. I�m particularly impressed with the coverage of my Diamond Carapace. The diamond coating is spreading further and penetrating deeper into my carapace, which is excellent. Not just because it�s shiny! Although I am looking delightfully sparkly. No, no, the hardness of the diamond, combined with my own carapace, which grows tougher with every +1, is adding up to some impressive protection.
I flex my mandibles, pleased with the feeling of strength and savagery I feel from them. The upgrade to +15 has made them longer, and they still look impressively sharp and barbed. They�ll do some serious damage when I clamp onto something, even if I�m not channelling Mana into them. This will be a good fusion. I�ll have a more powerful bite without using Mana, and an even spicier one when I do.
My legs are feeling good and responsive, the energy flowing through them is pouring into my core, giving me that slight buzz one gets from being over caffeinated. Naturally, a good chunk of that Mana is flowing into the Gravity Mana Gland to be converted, filling up that vastly increased capacity. Just thinking about the Gravity Bomb I�ll be able to launch with all of this juice is enough to give me shivers. Fingers crossed my fused cortex mutations are enough to give me the control needed to handle all that spice.
Going forward, I�ve got a lot of mutating that I need to get done if I want to try and perfect my body. At the very least, I�m pleased to be able to push my strength forward. Every little +1 I can tack on adds to the performance of the organ overall. It�s easy to get side-tracked by the big-ticket choices every +5, but even without those, a +10 carapace would be much tougher than a +1.
Looking at my numbers, I can�t say I�m not more than a little impressed with myself. Even getting a single body part to +5 was a massive achievement not that long ago, and look at me now! Gwehehehe. In the future, who knows how far I�ll go.
Overall, I�m super pleased with how it all turned out, but now that it�s done, there�s a ton of other things that need to be dealt with right now.
Sighing inside, I shift to another part of the cave to decide on my next moves. Tiny looks across at me before settling himself back into guard position.
Suddenly one of his hands lash out and smashes into the wall of the chamber, crushing a monster just as it was emerging from the stone. Without changing expression, the big ape grabs the Biomass in one hand, shoves it into his mouth, and repositions himself on the other side of the room. He must have developed a method for sensing where the next monster will emerge from and when, because he�s gotten so damn good at being ready for it.
Not that I�m complaining. I can sense them perfectly well with my heat detecting antennae, but I don�t want to spend my time cleaning up these small-fry.
There�s a heck of a lot more work to do. I think the next cab off the rank will be sorting out the humans. Let�s get onto that and get it out of the way. After that, I have a list of things I want to complete regarding the setup of the nest in order to prepare for the next generation, and then I need to get onto my Skills training!
Phew� So busy.
Time to get down to work and tackle this long laundry list of things to do.
I put Crinis on guard duty and take Tiny topside. The first order of business is to lend our muscle to the villagers as they struggle to make space for the growing number of refugees.
With Tiny�s significant physical prowess, we�re able to fell trees and clear a wider area for the villagers to use. My own expertise in digging is also put to good use. Flattening out terrain, digging foundations for a few larger buildings, and my supreme +15 Mandibles are tested for the first time cutting stone.
Turns out, there�s a decent layer of usable stone a few kilometres from the village. After clearing the dirt around the area, I charge my mandibles with Mana, and utilised the incredible sharpness to cut out blocks that are then transported on rollers to be used in more advanced construction.
Despite working fairly feverishly, I notice Morrelia has taken up the role of drill instructor. She�s cleared a space outside the village as a rudimentary training court and is absolutely shredding the hide off a surprising number of grinning villagers.
Looking at the smiling faces of those men and women only further reinforces my impression of these people.
These villagers are crazy.
No matter how hard she drills them, running laps, practising sword strokes, spear practice, physical exercise, they enthusiastically throw themselves into it with seemingly boundless positivity until they fall over. At that point, another group of villagers will arrive, drag the victims into the shade, give them some water, and jump into the training themselves.
When I approach a frazzled-looking Enid about the puzzling behaviour, she�s happy to explain.
[This is a chance for them to change their lives. Most of these people were farmers, labourers, servers or cooks before they were forced to flee. With classes like that, they have little agency in being able to control their own destiny. Simple people like us are reliant on the more martial classes to protect us, and as such, we�re always dependent.]
Turning her tired face toward the training fields, she smiles.
[Now they have an opportunity to step up and protect themselves, protect their families and strike back at the monsters who took their homes. Of course, they�re overjoyed. Not to mention�]
She turns back to me, a complicated look replacing her smile.
[Everything they need just seems to fall into their lap ever since they started following you. There are weapons, metals, a smith has arrived, and Beyn has been freely sharing his knowledge of Classes and Skills. Out of nowhere, we have a monstrously strong trainer and you�ve agreed to assist them in Levelling. This is an opportunity that no one here could have dreamed of only a few months ago.]
I look askance for a moment.
[You aren�t starting to buy into Beyn�s rubbish, are you? I am
certainly
Enid chuckles and brushes her near-white hair back from her forehead.
[If you keep producing miracles at the rate you have been, I�m not going to have much choice, am I?]
[Please, no. Just, no. If you started treating me like that, I�d go nuts. Honestly, I probably wouldn�t come back.]
That just makes her laugh more.
[I�ll try to keep any regard I develop for you to myself then.]
[You better.]
After talking with her, I keep a closer eye on the villagers. It�s true they seem to have a large supply of pep in their step, and not only those training with Morrelia. All of them are working industriously. Spending their time building, fixing, helping, discussing or throwing themselves into the millions of tasks that arise around any group of people.
Considering they�ve just fled their homes and certainly lost family members, they�re almost comically chipper.
After a few days of solid effort, Tiny and I have cleared enough space and provided enough raw materials to keep them going for a while. Those with construction-related Skills and Classes are hard at work transforming our efforts into buildings, and the sounds of hammering and sawing can be heard even from the anthill.
After retreating to check on Crinis and tickle the larvae some more, it�s time to take a few villagers into the Dungeon. Not before I chase down Vibrant to see what on Earth she�s up to. Turns out her little retinue of workers has swelled to nearly ten. They�re madly dashing about above and below ground, rustling up food. They�ve kept the grubs so fat they positively gleam with chubby health, and the queen is already considering the next clutch of eggs.
Two hundred fresh members of the next generation were lain the other day, workers are already obsessing over them, and now she wants to lay another two hundred!
I have to beg her to hold off at least a few days so we have enough time to get the new ants up to speed and properly trained before another wave of hatchlings lands on my head. She reluctantly agrees. The joy of fulfilling her function after so long has been building in her.
Since just before I was born, the colony has been on struggle street, the nest raided, workers slaughtered, chased from their nest� Only now have we achieved the stability to grow the colony the way it is meant to grow.
I can understand her impatience. I really can.
The next day, Tiny and I take the small group of villagers who achieved a basic combat class after their harsh grilling from Morrelia into the shortcut.
Enid decides to tag along to make sure no accidents happen and to help me relay my instructions to the people. Curiously, Morrelia decides not to come, preferring to stay and continue training the villagers.
It�s an uneventful trip, to be honest. Tiny smashes everything that has spawned to the state of near death, and then I walk down with the villagers, allowing them to take turns last-hitting the monsters and grabbing the experience.
Judging by the looks on their faces and the repeated bowing, they�re pretty happy with the results, despite it only costing Tiny and I a couple of hours and almost no effort.
Still, the first power Levelling trip was a success. I ask Enid to
strictly warn them not to enter the shortcut,
Not to mention, Tiny might simply smash a human to death before he even recognised them if he ran into one down there.
This is a very much �for your own safety� sort of warning.
After agreeing to make another trip for the next group of villagers to achieve their classes, it�s time to turn my attention to the nest, specifically, the farms.
I�d been sending Crinis in to clean them up periodically, but now it�s time to take this farming simulator to the next level in order to provide the kind of oomph we were going to need to quickly raise up strong workers.
It would be utterly ridiculous if the humans worked harder than the ants. That is a situation that could never be borne. Never! Ants are the hardest working, most industrious species on the face of the Earth.
Never tiring. Never slowing.
Now it�s time to show it!
Watching the humans feverishly working as if possessed by a spirit of madness has ignited a fire within my ant soul. I refuse to be outworked!
I mean� the rest of the colony are working their guts out, as always, it�s only me that takes breaks. The workers are either tending to the sudden influx of eggs, keeping them clean and at the right temperature, shifting them between chambers to make sure the moisture in the air is correct, or tending to the larvae, keeping them plump and happy. Not to mention Vibrant, has been racing about, followed by her own loyal posse of workers at a mad dash, hauling piles and piles of surface monsters back to the nest.
According to her, the surrounding forest is starting to look a little thin of surface monsters. I recommend she take her group into the Dungeon farms and upper tunnels to beef up her helpers and provide more Biomass-rich material for the colony.
No sooner have the words left my scent gland, than she�s off, Dashing into the Dungeon. Quick as a snap, she�s back with her team, carrying large mandible-loads of Biomass.
Naturally, this means the queen is getting ready to lay another clutch in the next few days. All of this Biomass has largely been funnelled toward her. Guess my own preparations need to step up a gear.
First, the farms!
What�s wrong with the farms? Nothing!
What do we need? MORE FARMS!
We need to pump out Biomass and cores faster than ever before in order to kick start the growth of the hatchlings, and let me tell you, there are going to be a heck of a lot of them!
Time to clear out the existing farms and chow down. No need to waste the food, and I somewhat spitefully want to keep it from the queen in order to slow down the rate of growth, if only a little.
This nets me a quick thirty Biomass, more than I expected. The farms
have been subjected to Vibrant and Crinis� attention over the last few
days and they have been thorough to say the least. Feasting done, the
Excavation starts. Currently, the farms are four round chambers about
twenty metres beneath the surface. In my grand expansion plan, I add
another
Due to the size of the task, I end up recruiting Vibrant and her gang when they return to the nest, and we get our face-hands stuck into the dirt.
Ah, the bliss! Ant zen, how I�ve missed you.
A huge digging project like this produces a heck of a lot of dirt, and the villagers are treated to the sight of a steady stream of workers crawling about on the anthill, dumping loads of dirt and doubling the size of our visible home on the surface.
I�m almost curious to ask what they think we�re up to, but I don�t need the attention. There�s a ton more work to do, after all.
Once the digging is done and I�ve collected two Levels in my Excavation, enough to advance it to the third rank, Expert Excavation, I need to increase our core farming speed.
Unlike at our last nest, I don�t have a convenient pool of Mana-charged water I can siphon off into the nest. In fact, the closest water supply is the river on the other side of the village.
Theoretically, I could use my Water Magic to create all the water we need. Though, according to Beyn, materials created by Mana don�t quite have the same natural properties or capacity to hold Mana quite like the original does. You can survive on Mana-produced water, but it doesn�t hydrate nearly as well as nature�s own. This apparently applies to anything made with Mana. You can make metals with some advanced classes of earth mage, but they just aren�t as good as what can be mined. So rather than settle for second best, I want a natural water source for the farms.
What does that mean? More digging!
With Tiny helping, I get straight into digging out a channel that leads from the anthill toward the river in a curved line that takes us around the southern edge of the village. Whilst we take care of the surface side of the equation, I ask Crinis to use her tentacles to burrow holes from the end of the channel that drains into the upper four farms, then create a pool in each of those farms that allows the water to drain off the top into further holes to reach the lower eight farms.
With my increasingly magnificent digging Skills and Tiny�s brute strength, we dig out a fairly sizeable channel in under a day. It takes a bit longer to make sure the banks of our channel are properly squashed flat to prevent leaking. Then we create a gate mechanism at the river end and at the anthill end. The last thing we want is to dump a river worth of water into the nest�
The thwacking I would get from the queen. Yikes.
Our work doesn�t go unnoticed in the village, and Enid comes out to ask us what the hell we�re up to. Once we communicate the thrust of the project, the farmers become immensely excited. It isn�t long before Enid approaches to ask if I can assist them with a channel system for their farms. In return, they offer to forge up some proper gates for our irrigation system, something I�m happy enough to accept.
No way I�m digging it for them until I clear my schedule, though!
The ecstatic villagers are delighted to have a chance to help out their saviour, the �Great Ant�. They forge day and night to get the gates in place as soon as possible. So it is that a day later, the final barrier between the river and the channel is cleared away and sweet, sweet water flows to the anthill and down into our farms where it begins to absorb the ambient Mana in the air, drawing our own homegrown, free range monsters to drink and hopefully form some cores.
Excellent.
With the major renovations to the nest completed, I can let the accelerated spawn of monsters during the wave take care of the rest and populate the farms. If we keep a steady drip of water going, we�ll have a nice harvest of cores in a few days.
We�ve reached another milestone whilst I was busy digging. At first just one, but then all of the first twenty larvae started rolling about and spinning their cocoons.
In a short amount of time, they had become pupae, the final stage.
I�m exhausted and my mandibles are aching something fierce after all that digging. And is it time to rest?
NOPE.
Those damn pupae are teasing me with their very existence. The twenty large casings are resting against the side of a chamber, taunting me with their stillness. Within them, the hope of ant-kind is taking the final steps of their gestation, turning from a grub into something more. Something incredible. The ant species to end all ant species.
At least that�s what I�m hoping for. If they suck, I�m going to be really disappointed�
It shouldn�t happen, though! I reinforce my own positive mindset. They are going to be great. I�ve put so much effort into creating them and making sure they�ll get a solid boost to start out their new lives, surely they�ll be great!
The closer this project is getting to fruition, the more stressed I�m getting.
Put it behind you, Anthony. Put all of it behind you!
Focus on yourself for a while, treat yourself. To what should I treat myself? To Skill training, of course!
Not only me, Tiny and Crinis have been roped in as well.
After discussing things with Beyn and drawing on his knowledge, our knowledge of the System has greatly expanded. The weightiest nugget of wisdom to come out of that was the importance of Skills.
Whereas I had been putting too much emphasis on evolution and the energy within my core, I was ignoring two aspects of the holy trinity of monster power. Evolution! Mutation! Skills!
All things must be in balance. So it is in nature, so it is within the monster. When one tree is over watered, it does not grow properly, drowning instead of thriving, and the other trees wither. Only when the life-giving succour is evenly distributed to all three trees shall the monster truly flourish in all aspects. Mentally, physically, spiritually!
I�ve gone some way to addressing the shortcomings of my mutations, but my Skills are still lacking. When Beyn found out that none of my combat Skills was of the fourth rank, he nearly slapped me out of sheer shock, and in the process, almost lost his only remaining hand. He really needs to be more careful.
At least now with Shattering Bite advancing, I have one fourth rank combat Skill. Advancing Skills, fusing them and taking them to their extreme ends is what the surface races spend most of their time doing in the pursuit of strength.
Therefore, the time has come to take part in that most sacred of all System-related activities: grinding.
Gonna grind like there�s no tomorrow!
The most important thing to grind? Of course, it�s magic!
This was the most frustrating thing Beyn had enlightened me of. I�d thought I�d made use of an awesome hack in using my free magic gland on Gravity Mana, and in a way I had.
If I�d used it on fire, water, earth or something basic, it would have been a massive waste since I�m now able to produce those Mana types without too much stress. The problem is that having the gland doesn�t give me access to what I really need to make use of it, which is the spell forms. I have the generic spell shapes I�ve been using, but according to Beyn, every Mana type has particular spells that make best of its attributes. The more advanced the Mana type, the more specialised the spells will be.
Even though he�d never seen Gravity Magic before, he was sure it was a particularly advanced form of Mana, which means the Skill I want, Gravity Mana Affinity, will be deep in the Skill tree somewhere.
In order to get access to it, I have to Level up my basic affinities, which will unlock the next rank of affinities, and so on until I finally get to Gravity.
Once I get the Water Magic affinity to the third rank, the next wave of affinity Skills will unlock. That is my most immediate goal. Apparently, the exact types of Mana that unlock are not necessarily set, and can vary from individual to individual. With a bit of luck, I might even see Gravity Mana in the next rank. Though Beyn thought it was extremely unlikely.
There�s apparently a powerful Skill fusion available by Levelling all of the basic affinities to the third rank, and then fusing them to form the Skill Elemental Mana Mastery, which gives powerful boosts to the basic elements. Despite most local mages aiming for this elemental path, it seems like a waste to me. The higher ranks of magic will surely also have more potent fusions available. I don�t want to waste my time on the lower-level stuff anymore.
Rush to the top!
Tiny, Crinis and I settle in to grind our Skills, repetitively, endlessly, mind numbingly. For me, that means forming and releasing the ice Mana construct over and over again, casting water and ice spells at everything. The walls, dipping into the Dungeon and launching them at monsters, at Tiny once by accident, and the odd rock.
Using Skills in combat situations against monsters gives a much faster boost than just hitting the walls, but being as mentally exhausted as we are, I don�t want us diving into frenetic combat. Keeping to the upper tunnels and picking on some plants is as much as I�m willing to commit to at this point.
Just like this, we grind, and grind, and grind.
Crinis is focusing on her tentacle Skills, grappling, shredding, dismembering. After much persuasion, I eventually get a mortified Crinis to attempt to use her Skills on me. My thinking is that she�d get more experience using her Skills on a highly evolved monster like me.
She was reluctant to say the least, which resulted in one of my stranger conversations as a monster.
[Dammit, Crinis! Cut me!]
[Nooooo�]
[Don�t you want experience? Don�t you want some of these juicy Levels!]
[I do� but!]
[Then hit me, dammit! Get those tentacles on this carapace. I
[WHAT! I� Noooooo!]
Unable to deny my direct order, a screaming and weeping Crinis was forced to attack and attempt to dismember me. Her sawing limbs and intense crushing strength were powerful, to be sure, but they couldn�t crack my shiny carapace.
She did get a few Levels out of the experience, only� the trauma it caused her wasn�t worth the effort.
The next few days pass in a blur. Crinis, Tiny and I continued to use our Skills over and over again in the search of those elusive Levels. In order to push harder, we forego sleep. No true training montage includes sleep!
This does mean things got a little hazy after a while.
Tiny and I took the next group of villagers who changed their classes through the shortcut in order to power Level them through the transition. Supposedly, this boost will help the most, since they�re switching from such weak classes to something with a non-horrific stat gain. These first ten Levels or so will give them the oomph they�ll need to accelerate to the point they can fight monsters on their own.
After the humans returned to their village, it was back to the grind for us. I eventually switched to grinding on my Bite Skills. According to Beyn, it�s highly likely that a fusion of Bite Skills exists if I can get them to the same rank. I currently have three Bite Skills, the highest being my Shattering Bite, then Splintering Chomp, and finally Shredding Bite. If I can get all three to the same rank, then the option to fuse them will likely become available. The higher they get before that point, the more potent the fusion will be. I�m going to push and see if I can get them all to rank four. That would be the best outcome.
And all the while, those twenty pupae sit still, somewhere above my head, like ticking time bombs. It should take them roughly a week in pupal form before they hatch.
The next two days bring more grinding until we collapse in a heap, too exhausted to continue any further. Some sleep is in order.
Before we rest, I check our statuses to bask in the fruits of our labours.
Tiny�s gained four Levels in Expert Ape Boxing, two in Brutal Uppercut, advancing the Skill to Severe Brutal Uppercut, three Levels in Fancy Feet, increasing in rank to Dazzling Fancy Feet, and his Smash Skill has become Heavy Smash Level three.
His punching Skills have all Levelled up, making his fists even deadlier in combat. I still have no idea what Fancy Feet does, but I suspect it has something to do with balance and footwork, as opposed to actual dancing. I have no proof though�
All in all, a respectable boost to his strength, but Dr. Anthony recommends further grinding.
Crinis has also reaped some fruits.
Her Advanced Shadow Flesh Manipulation was the main beneficiary, raising it to the third rank, Expert Shadow Flesh Manipulation Level one. Advanced Grappling gained three Levels to reach Level seven, Enhanced Tremor Sense raised two Levels, her Tentacle Walking reached the second rank, at Smooth Tentacle Walking Level one. Crinis also showed her dedicated attitude by obsessively grinding her Mana Manipulation and pushed it to Mana Shaping Level two.
With her flesh manipulation reaching new heights, combined with her enhanced mass, Crinis is now able to manifest a truly ridiculous number of tentacles, and her control over them has grown impressive. Razor thin tentacle wires, tentacle nets, you name it, she can do it. As a shadow puppeteer, she is without equal.
As for myself�
Heh� heh-heh� Gwehehehehehe.
BEHOLD!
Mana Scrooge, two Levels up to Level three. Cerebral Endurance upgraded to Advanced Cerebral Endurance Level two. Deep Meditation up four to Level six. Stamina increased in rank to Advanced Stamina Level two. Mana Transformation went up three to Level nine. Shredding Bite up four to Level five. Splintering Chomp up two Levels to Level six, and Shattering Bite rocketed up to Level twelve!
Most importantly, Advanced Water Magic Affinity gained a whopping seven Levels to ten and advanced to third rank�Expert Water Magic Affinity!
MUAHAHAHAHAAA!�GASP�So tired� Phew.
MUAHAHAHAHAAA!
It nearly melted all of my brains together, but I did it. How many thousands of water and ice spells did I have to cast? Don�t ask! I don�t want to think about it�
According to Beyn, reaching the third rank should unlock the next set of magical affinities. No sooner do I spend the Skill Point to advance the Skill, than I pop open the menu and see what my options are.
Come onnnnn Gravity, gimme that suction! That sounds wrong�
The menu reads as follows:
Mind Magic Affinity.
Mineral Magic Affinity.
Sound Magic Affinity.
Healing Magic Affinity.
NOOOOOOOOO. Why, dammit!
My dreams� My hopes� All gone to ashes.
This means I�ll have to select one of these and Level it to the third rank before unlocking the next wave� That�s a heck of a lot more grinding� Ugh!
Well, which of the three options will be best? Unlocking Mind Magic is likely due to it being the construct I use the second most. Mineral Magic probably because of my digging Skills and species as an ant, presuming it�s a kind of advanced Earth Magic. Sound Magic? Possibly because of my sneak Skills? Healing I would put down to my emphasis on regeneration and possibly my exposure to Healing Mana from the queen.
Perhaps Gravity is simply too powerful to become available so quickly�
Let�s hope so.
Of the four options, I�ll pick Mind Magic. It makes a lot of sense since I frequently use it already and I feel like there is a ton of potential there for shenanigans. If it really is capable of reading minds and altering memories, then I can do all sorts of things with it.
After Levelling up all these Skills and grinding my minds into dust, it�s time for some rest.
Exhausted, we collapse into sleep, having recruited Vibrant and her posse to protect us.
As torpor gradually leaches through my body and the world stills, there is one thought lingering in my mind: the next generation is only five days away.
The next day, I dedicate myself to digging out the channels for the village�s irrigation. With Tiny helping, we shift a heck of a lot of dirt very quickly indeed. As a side project, we use the extra dirt to erect a nice and high bank for the channel network, as well as build up the height of the riverbank. It never hurts to have a few extra layers of protection in case of flooding!
The villagers are only too happy to pitch in, and their own tireless efforts spur me on to work even faster. It�s interesting watching the farms take shape so rapidly. Teams of humans are churning out simple wooden fencing, whilst other groups mark lines in the dirt and dig holes for fence posts. The planting is already happening on the land we�ve cleared. People are collecting seeds, and apparently some farmers had time to bring some with them on carts. All they were waiting for was a clearly delineated space and for someone to plough the new fields. Yet another task that�s being seen to by dedicated groups of humans. Their cooperative and coordinated groups reminds me of ants hard at work.
It�s made me curious enough to find Enid to ask where this industrious spirit of cooperation came from.
[It�s partly that people need something to focus on in order to take their minds off the tragedy. After losing homes, family, their nation, these people are desperate for something they can work toward,] she explains.
[And the rest?]
[Beyn,] she says simply. [He preaches day and night about the benefits of cooperative work. That we should be more like the colony of saviours who�ve created this sanctuary, and that by acting selflessly and working together, the people can give thanks and praise to the Great Ant.]
[Are you serious?]
[Perfectly.]
Stupid priest! Still, if the people are going to be more antlike, it should only work in their favour. They might actually get stuff done.
Speaking of people getting stuff done. Enid is looking tired. Her wispy white hair and weathered skin are even more lined and thin than usual. The woman was as skinny as a wooden rake chewed by termites already, her current position as the de facto leader of this community seems to be weighing her down.
[You need a break, Enid. The people can live without you for a day, surely. Go lie down or something. The village won�t be better off if you keel over and have a heart attack.]
The old woman looks strangely at me for a moment, before barking out a laugh.
[You�re telling me not to work hard? Look at these people! I�ve never seen them working so studiously or so quickly in all my days. No. Just because I�m old doesn�t mean I can�t keep up the pace. If anything, these young people can�t keep up with me!] she declares proudly with a glint in her eye.
She�s tough as a stone formed from the fusion of other, lesser stones that were themselves formed from the skulls of stubborn record holders. She gives off an indestructible air, and at times, I have to remind myself this person was an iron-fisted merchant. Tough enough to marry one of the highest-Level mercenaries in a kingdom.
[Alright, fine. Just eat something, would you? If a strong breeze comes your way, who knows where you�ll end up?]
Enid smiles and nods, reaching out to hesitantly pat me on the carapace.
[Thank you for your concern. I�ll make sure I eat more.]
[Anthony.]
[Sorry? What�s that?]
[My name.] I point to myself with an antenna. [My name is Anthony.]
A warm smile spreads across Enid�s face and she pats me again, more confidently this time.
[It�s nice to meet you, Anthony. Did you call yourself that because it has the word �Ant� in it?]
[Huh� You might not believe this, but I�ve never actually noticed that before�]
All she does is laugh.
I�m not exactly sure why I told Enid my name, but it felt right. Perhaps she�ll eventually put two and two together and realise that an ant monster really shouldn�t have a name or even need one. The leap from that fact to my actual origins is quite a large one, though. Not that I think it will make a difference to anything even if she does know I was once human.
I�m not human any longer. With every passing day in this new world, I can feel that connection to the old me falling away. I like my new family. I like the new me. No longer powerless. No longer unwanted. I�ve made significant upgrades in almost every aspect of my life.
I mean, the senseless violence I could live without, also the distinct lack of pizza. But hey, you can�t ask for everything.
I wonder how the other souls brought to this place found it. Gandalf seemed to suggest he only brought �damaged� people here. Whatever that means. Perhaps they adapted well to life on this world and found their own little niche. He did say most of them just died. Makes you wonder why he makes the effort.
My idle musings are rudely interrupted by a rising dust cloud in the distance and a vague trembling in the earth.
Damn crocodiles coming back again. They never learn.
Two hours later, I�m standing amidst the broken wreckage of another beast monster swarm. If I eat any more of these damn centipedes, I�m going to unlock their final profile, surely. I�m sick of the damn bugs!
Doesn�t help I�m covered in their ichor. There were a ton of them in this wave.
Although the village and the colony suffered losses in the battle, it was much less than last time. The humans were far better prepared, even though only a few days have passed. Morrelia was her usual violent self, and her team backed her up well. The village was able to deploy archers, as well as some properly armed swordsmen and women, the power Levellers.
Although low-Level and without proper training, they were able to form and hold a rudimentary battle line, with the archers providing supportive fire over the top. With the mad priest Beyn in their midst, they�ve fought with a relentless zeal, pushing them to battle on through injuries even a monster would baulk at.
As for the ant side of the equation, the big difference maker for us was that Vibrant was here. The powerful soldier was a pure tank, crashing through the monsters and disrupting their attempt to overwhelm the workers. The workers themselves benefited from Vibrant�s Aura, giving them extra speed when they were near her. More than that, they were acting in a slightly more coordinated way. Acid was launched from the back of the battle line constantly and they just moved more smoothly to engage their targets in outnumbered battles, quickly pulling them apart and moving on to their next enemy.
Something is definitely happening there. I�ll have to talk to that ant soon.
For my part, I brought Tiny and Crinis up, and we rampaged through the horde, slowing and disrupting as much as possible. I personally took the chance to train my lower Levelled Bite Skill, Shredding Bite. It�s absolutely the messiest of all of my Bite Skills, hence the mess covering my shiny carapace.
The things I do for the grind.
Still, it isn�t as though my efforts have gone completely to waste. Rushing into the thick of the battle and chomping away certainly got me fairly battered, but the harvest of Skill Levels was worth it. It�s a bit unfortunate these enemies are so unevolved. I suppose a large mass of monsters like this would be far too much for the colony and village to handle had they been more advanced.
Nevertheless, I was able to gain another three Levels in Shredding Bite and two Levels in Advanced Stamina. That Skill is really starting to have an effect at this point. It doesn�t give increased stamina in and of itself, that�s not how Skills work. What it does do is provide knowledge and assistance in moving the body in such a way as to reduce the effects of fatigue, effectively making the stamina you have available last longer. Pretty darn handy thing to have in these battles.
I was also able to harvest another two Levels in Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence. Allowing hundreds of weaker monsters the chance to hit my incredibly shiny carapace is at least helping me boost this key defensive Skill. I�ll be a happy ant when I can get it to the fourth rank.
I spent a fair bit of time firing acid, which was enough to gain three Levels in Improved Acid Shot and another two in Precise Shooting, increasing it to Advanced Precise Shooting Level 1.
It really does seem that by focusing and concentrating on the Skills, they advance at a faster pace than just doing it passively. Another piece of advice to probably be grateful to Beyn for. I just don�t feel comfortable around that guy�
In the wash up of the battle, I�m able to secure some of the� �salvage� for the villagers to use. The majority of it goes to the colony. More food for the queen to put toward another clutch of eggs, I suppose. There�s already four hundred of the things sitting in the colony. The first clutch of two hundred are due to hatch any day now, and the needs of the colony are going to grow at a darn fast clip from there! Raising two hundred larvae will be a big job. The colony will have to start hunting in the Dungeon a bit more actively from that point on.
Fingers crossed I can get the first twenty up and firing fast enough that they can help provide for the rest. I�m sure as heck not doing it all myself!
Morrelia and Enid approach me about the possibility of some defences for the village. The colony doesn�t really need walls to protect us. If enemies want to try and invade us and battle within the tunnels of the nest, then they�re welcome to. They�ll get themselves absolutely ripped to shreds for the effort. I can, however, see the value for the village. They lost people in this battle. Not many, but still. After all of the loss they�ve seen, losing anyone at this point really hurts.
Since all I have to do is commit a few hours of Tiny�s and my time, I think we can swing it.
Despite being completely exhausted, I hastily throw down as much Biomass as I can, another twenty points� worth. That done, I drag Tiny over to begin shifting a heap of dirt to lay the groundwork for some rudimentary defences.
I don�t have the time to dig all the way around the village, so I concentrate my efforts in an arc that starts close to the river and curves around the north side of the village. Roughly two hundred metres from the closest buildings.
Nothing too technical needs to be done at this point, certainly not by me. All I do, with Tiny�s muscular assistance of course, is dig a wide trench and have Tiny pile the dirt on the village side. Presto, rudimentary wall!
The villagers can level out the trench on the north side and pile the dirt on the south side. I�m sure they�ll use some logs or something to reinforce it� I�m not an expert, they�ll work it out.
When that�s done, I�ve managed to gain another two Levels in Expert Excavation, and despite the soothing nature of digging, I�m wrecked.
Time to sleep!
Tiny and I drag ourselves back to the colony and collapse into a heap.
The sweet release of torpor�!
Aaaaaand I�m up! Whooo!
Gotta run at the new day with some energy. It won�t be long until those damn hatchlings emerge all shiny and new!
I�ve been able to tick a few things off my list of preparations, but there�s still a ton to do. Leaving Tiny on guard duty, I get Crinis to hop on my back and we do a final sweep of the farms. We allow the workers to come in and claim the Biomass. The queen is still rather full from the other day, and the workforce needs to keep up their mutations, they certainly aren�t as well-fed as my group.
Vibrant�s little team is becoming an exception, though. I�ve noticed her followers are starting to show increasing signs of mutation. A gleaming carapace here, a razor-sharp mandible there, it�s all adding up to a picture of a powerful squad. I�m glad she isn�t sacrificing all of the food to the colony, and allowing her workers to grow themselves. The stronger they get, the less risk they experience in hunting.
The real purpose of clearing out the farms at this stage is to harvest some cores, and in this we�re successful. Twenty glittering new cores are added to my much-diminished stash. Then I get some more water poured into the farms and it�s time to move onto the next and possibly final set of activities.
I�ve done my best to empower myself over this last week, as well as build the capacity of the colony. I�ve also done a fair bit of work for the village, but I�m hopeful they might be able to reciprocate that assistance at a future point and aid the colony. I have a few ideas on that front.
Before that can play out, I need to get back on the hunt and pile up another round of Biomass. I need to eat! The goal of +20 all around is a long way away and it must be achieved before evolution can occur.
Whilst I�m at it, I�ll probably get a chance to grind a few more Levels of my Skills.
[Tiny, Crinis, to the Dungeon!]
Only two days until the pupae hatch.
Well, that was an exhausting forty-eight hours. After slumping back into our chamber and putting Vibrant on guard duty, it�s time for me to spend my newly amassed wealth. The last few days have been extremely productive, both for the colony, and the village, not to mention the significant gains I�ve made within my own personal strength.
The increase in knowledge has proven itself valuable by how rapidly my Skills have been Levelling. It�ll probably take weeks to get things to the point I�d be happy with them, but at least I�m on the way.
Now let�s spend it up big!
I�ve got 276 Biomass in the bank and I�m ready to go.
At 65 apiece, this is enough to close the gap and get four body parts to +15. Now, what to choose?
Eyes for sure. Back to the ol� classic! Up here on the surface, I find
my eyesight still isn�t up to the task of seeing long distances. In the
Dungeon, the wide-open spaces aren�t quite
[Would you like to upgrade Omni Focused Eyes from +10 to +15? This will cost 65 Biomass.]
Let�s do it!
[At this level, you may choose to combine your mutations or emphasise one. Which will you select?]
Okay then! So far, I�ve upgraded my eyes to have a long-distance section of vision focused toward the front. Then I upgraded them to have other, separate areas of focused vision pointing in most directions. The effect is that I have quite decent vision forward, above, behind and to the sides of me, but with fairly chunky gaps of poor, blurry eyesight between. I�m happy with both upgrades, so I suppose the way forward is to fuse!
Nice. Let�s hold that one and focus on the next. I think carapace plating will be the solid play. If I�m going to keep fighting against monsters as far out of my league stats-wise as I have been so far, then I want all the defence I can get!
[Would you like to upgrade your Dispersive Regenerative Inner Carapace Plating to +15? This will cost 65 Biomass.]
Yassss!
[At this level, you may choose to combine your mutations or emphasise one. Which will you select?]
Now this is a little interesting. The two upgrades I have on my inner carapace, Dispersive and Regenerative, are both very useful. The dispersive plating helps my carapace to spread out the damage of blunt attacks, making it harder to crack. Whilst the regenerative aspect allows my plating to rapidly regenerate itself. This increases my survivability by a lot since my carapace is tough to penetrate and heals damage.
If both upgrades are equally good, we will fuse them!
Two to go.
I think I�ll choose my Regeneration Gland on this one. If I�m going to be battling up against larger, more damaging monsters, then being able to repair damage during the fight could be critical, just as it has been in the past. The thing that worries me the most is my legs. My carapace is super tough and getting tougher with every mutation and evolution. I�m excessively proud of it, to be honest. So shiny. So strong.
But it doesn�t do a whole lot for my stick-like ant legs. Monstrous ant I may be, but my legs remain skinny and oh so snap-able. Although, I really didn�t think legs this size would be able to hold me up at my current girth. I suppose I have Mana to thank for that. They�re a defensive liability, so I desperately want to improve my capacity to regrow them at a moment�s notice.
[Would you like to upgrade your Rapid Limb Regeneration Gland to +15? This will cost 65 Biomass.]
[At this level, you may choose to combine your mutations or emphasise one. Which will you select?]
The two upgrades I have assist in the growth of missing limbs, which thankfully includes my antennae, and speeds up the process. Both are valuable, so fusion is once again the path I choose. One selection to go, and I think it�ll be wise to go with antennae on this one. Improving senses has never steered me wrong.
[Do you wish to improve Precognitive Infrared Antennae to +15? This will cost 65 Biomass.]
Yessiree.
[At this level, you may choose to combine your mutations or emphasise one. Which will you select?]
I have to think on this a bit. Infrared is quite useful, another way to
detect enemies and to help cover up sensory shortages in other areas.
Having said that, my senses have been steadily improving, particularly
my sight. There isn�t really a need to emphasise the infrared. The
Future Sight has been
My reflexes and reactions are almost not quite fast enough to make full use of the tiny glimpse into the future that my antennae give me. Emphasising this mutation will perhaps give me that extra nano-second that�ll make all the difference. Ok. I�m going to emphasise the precognitive.
Excellent choices, Anthony. Time to lock them in!
Hmm� Humm�HENG.
HANGARAMBA!
DAMMIT!
As the itch overpowers my senses, I flop to the ground, twitching uncontrollably, my body no longer responding in the way I want it to.
I-I hate this!
Eventually, it fades and I regain control of myself, averting my gaze from the judging eyes of Tiny. I can�t help it, man! It�s not my fault�
With that behind me, I can have a quick rest. After farming away in the Expanse and mutating, I�m ready for a quick break.
And I�m up!
Getting my legs moving, I check out the situation in the nest. Phew! The pupae haven�t hatched yet. Ominously, the next two hundred larvae have already hatched. Very small at the moment, so soon after emerging from their eggs, the little grubs are tended to by a small army of workers who diligently clean and stuff them full of the food they�d been amassing for just this purpose.
As soon as the flood of eggs started hitting the nest, the workers, ever on the job, began to hoard food, storing it in their social stomachs and squirrelling it away for the young. Secretly, I�m hoping this will slow down the queen a little on her march to explode the colony�s population. Even though the first batch has hatched, there�s another two hundred waiting for their moment. They�ll hatch in a few days and it�ll be a hell of a job trying to get four hundred members of the new generation up to speed.
The whole point of creating this new breed of ant is to give them a chance to fight intelligently so they don�t have to meaninglessly die by hurling themselves into the enemy. If I don�t raise them properly and bring them out of the weak hatchling phase, they might die as soon as something looks at them sideways.
Since I have a moment of time, I head over to the village and bring along a sample of the wood we brought up from the Expanse. I want Enid to take a look at it since she was a merchant who specialised in Dungeony type stuff.
To my displeasure, she�s otherwise occupied supervising a Dungeon delve away from the village, and only Beyn is around to speak with me. Talking with the one-armed priest is always� loud.
[OH, GREAT ONE! I am honoured by your GIFT of this STICK!]
[Too loud! It�s not a stick. We took it from the Expanse. Give it to Enid.]
[I understand, O Great One. I shall present your stick to the mayor as soon as she returns.]
[Not a stick�Mayor? Enid�s been promoted?]
Beyn shrugged.
[It was more just making formal what had already been in place. She�s been running this new village since we got here. May as well call her the mayor for her trouble.]
Makes sense, I suppose.
With my delivery done, I head back to the nest and await the looming emergence of my finest creations.
These ants could change many things. For one, it would be nice to have more options in conversation. Vibrant talks, probably too much for my comfort, and Mother has lots of responsibilities, not to mention many children. I can�t exactly monopolise her time in good conscience.
Tiny and Crinis aren�t the best conversationalists either. Tiny barely has the brain capacity to speak, and Crinis has a few hang-ups that make talking to her� somewhat difficult. Perhaps if I ever work out a way to free them from their pet status, they might be a little more engaged and not quite so respectful.
Obviously, having a decent chat isn�t the reason for embarking on this project. I wanted to fill the colony with smarter, deadlier workers. Ants with the capacity to reason, to communicate, to think cooperatively, and most of all, to fight strategically and tactically. No more suicidal charges and throwing their lives away. Instead, teamwork, some self-preservation instinct, and planning.
An ant colony capable of all the tactical thinking of a nation. That�s what I wanted. And now, here I stand, on the dawn of a glorious new ant era!
My new siblings will soon be born, and I�m willing to bet this world has
never seen anything quite like them. Smart monsters exist, sure, but not
like this. Ants are different. Ants are special. They cover the earth!
The combined mass of ants is estimated to be the same as humans,
assuming one million ants weighs the same as one person.
Here on Pangera? This world has magic and all sorts of crazy stuff. Ants the size of large dogs? Sure, why not. What if we get seven quadrillion ants the size of large dogs? What if we get that many and all of them are as intelligent as a human?
We�d be unstoppable!
I have to admit, though, as I crawl into the nesting chamber where the twenty pupae rest against the wall, tended to by a small team of workers, that I also have some worries. Fundamentally, what makes an ant colony so successful is the cooperation between each individual member. To the point where the colony can be considered one creature, each ant a single cell of something greater than itself.
Where humanity on Earth is riven by strife within nations, cities and families, an ant colony is unified, singular in mind and purpose.
By elevating their intelligence to that of a human, have I introduced those chaotic impulses? Will the new workers exercise free will? Tearing the colony apart from within?
Once I give space to doubts, they begin to scale out of control. Will there be civil war? Will ant fight against ant, pitting sibling against sibling? Will a tearful queen be forced to put down an uprising of her own children?
That would be horrific!
It isn�t as if I HAD to cooperate with the colony. I, a human reborn as a monster, could have chosen to do whatever I wanted. I decided to embrace the colony, to support and help it, to depend on it and thrive alongside it. Someone else might have chosen differently. Perhaps they would instead feast on the colony, killing workers who wouldn�t fight back, harvesting them for experience and Biomass, growing fat on their supposed family. Moving on in the Dungeon as an independent monster, leaving behind a destroyed colony in their wake.
Are selfish ants the kind of thing we�ll have to deal with now? Who ever heard of selfish ants! Such a thing doesn�t even make sense. It�s not a concept that should exist in this world or any other. It goes against the very nature of ant-kind! Ants are selfless. I mean, they�re also mostly brainless, but that�s beside the point.
My mind is filled with the tragic image of my siblings ripping each other apart in the tunnels over a stupid and petty justification. Will the unity of the colony be destroyed by the new generation?
Have I undone the very fabric of ant society with my evil experimentation?
WHAT HAVE I DONE!
Wait.
I heard something�
Silence.
No, I�m sure it was the pupae!
Rushing closer to the cocoons, pushing my way amongst the suddenly buzzing workers�Yes! There is sound coming from within.
The newly formed ants within are starting to break out of their cocoons. The workers on the outside move to assist, peeling away the layers with their mandibles and helping to free the emerging workers.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.
I�m excited. And nervous! Making intelligent ants� was it a mistake? Will this be a moment of triumph or failure?
It�s too late for regret now. The fruits of my labour are being released into the world before my very eyes!
I almost feel like a mad scientist watching his creation come to life. I played with these ants when they were grubs, but it�s often hard to put them together in my mind as the same creatures. Looking at the vague shapes pushing against the inside of their cocoons, it�s as if I�m seeing them for the first time.
My heart is pounding. I�m lightheaded. I need to breathe. In, out, in, out. Relax, Anthony, it�s fine. You�ve either elevated your colony to the peak of the world or doomed them to collapse in savage internal strife that pits sibling against sibling.
No stress.
Mah GAWD, I can�t TAKE IT!
The workers swarm over the pupae now, cutting into the fibres of the cocoons and tearing them open. Gradually, the still soft and pale workers within are revealed. They�re noticeably smaller than normal hatchlings. I had to sacrifice a lot to get their Cunning and Will stats up, and their bodies are even weaker than mine was when I was born on this world.
That�ll change once they start to evolve, though. The early part of their lives will be tougher, sure, but the payoff will be there after a few evolutions when they start to specialise.
The other thing I gave them is a fully developed Pheromone Language Gland. These little workers are able to talk the moment they�re born. I wonder what they�ll say? A declaration of war against the queen!
Surely too soon for that.
Perhaps they�ll declare their independence? Will they complain or protest? Their anguished cries burgeoning from their very souls resounding throughout the chamber.
Just how much of their nature is inherently ant? How much of it depends on the mind they�re born with? It�s a whole lot of questions I should have answered before I embarked on this project�
That deep-seated fear these ants are going to do something one day I�m going to regret is bubbling over.
Oh! That one is almost free.
So is that one!
The workers make faster progress as the outer layers peel away and the ants inside start to move more, their new bodies stiff and unresponsive. Soon, the cocoons are torn open and the twenty members of the new generation are lying on the chamber floor, slowly becoming accustomed to their forms.
I�m apprehensive. I�ve worked myself up too much and I don�t know what to expect.
Then one of them speaks.
�D� Death.�
�What?
�M� mah� my death��
You want to die already? Are you like Frankenstein�s monster, yearning to be free of your tormented existence?
The worker in question wiggles its limbs more vigorously, growing in strength with each passing moment.
�My death� for� the colony!�
Then another speaks.
�My life� for� the colony!�
And another.
�My� existence� for the colony!�
As the workers gradually put their feet under themselves and stand, they all begin to cry out, their voices weak at first but growing stronger each second.
�I will give my life in the service of the colony!�
�For the queen, I shall die!�
�I will be the first to sacrifice myself in the glory of the colony!�
�I will be the one to throw myself upon our enemies, letting myself be torn apart for the colony!�
�For the colony!�
�For the colony!�
�FOR THE COLONY!�
The small ants roar as one, the fervour in their voices matching the burning fire in their eyes. I�ve seen it before. This passionate heat that seems to radiate out of them, filling the air of the chamber. I�ve seen it in the eyes of my sibling workers as they throw themselves into battle.
Now I can hear what it was they were thinking.
The new generation might have the intelligence of people, but they�re ants through and through.
As the voices of the new hatchlings ring throughout the room, and I continue to wonder just what it is I�ve done, another voice sounds within my mind.
[Original Species has been detected. New species type has been assigned.]
What the heck are you on about, bushy beard?
Is he saying the new hatchlings are recognised by the System as a different species to mine? I did make a lot of changes�
Does this mean the workers will attack them? That would be terrible!
Before I can process the implications, the voice of the Grey One continues to speak.
[You have been designated as the progenitor of this new species. Do you wish to align your species, and that of your colony, with this new archetype?]
Uhhhhhhh� yes? I suppose?
The instant I assent within my mind, there is an audible rumble around and within me. A lethargic feeling rises up through my limbs and claws toward my mind, dragging me down into the lassitude I recognise as torpor.
[Crinis! Watch me�]
Before I can finish the sentence, my thoughts slow like congealing grease until they move no more. Then�
Ack�I�m up!
[Crinis! Crinis! How long was I out?]
Swaying my eyes across the scene around me, I try to process what�s
happened. To all appearances, not much has changed. The hatchlings are
still congregating together, shouting and arguing with each other with
increasingly loud voices. Something that
[Master, is everything alright?] Crinis asks, worried.
[Just tell me how long it�s been since I last spoke to you!]
[Only a minute or two. I haven�t even made it up the tunnel to you yet!]
That�s it? What in the name of heck is going on here?
The voice of Gandalf mentioned something about a new species and I agreed to have mine changed. Maybe I should check my status.
And sure enough, my species has changed. No longer [Formica], but [Formica Sapiens]. On top of that, my stomach has become mutable! What the heck? Is that because I chose it as a default option for the new species? That better not have cost me evolutionary energy, dammit. Although, I would have spent it on that anyway� In fact, this is great news, exactly what I need to push toward my next evolution. +20 is still a dream within a dream.
As time passes, workers are crowding into the nest, crawling down the tunnel from below and stuffing themselves into chambers only to immediately grow still.
Wait a second!
Bursting out of the chamber, I rush down the main tunnel, passing Crinis on her way up. I ignore her confused questions and throw myself into the queen�s chamber. Behind me are more workers making their way in from outside, crowding the entrance and crawling over each other to make their way inside the nest.
Inside the queen�s chamber, I find the perpetually shifting guard of workers around her has grown eerily still. The stillness feels so strange in this place of motions and activity in the heart of the colony.
Gently shifting the workers out of the way, I find the queen herself, silent and still.
Oooooh boy. I hope I didn�t make a booboo.
If I�m reading the situation correctly, the moment the new generation was born, the System recognised that a new species had been created, then gave me, the creator of said species, the right to change the entire colony to a new designation?
I wait restlessly for any sign of motion. It only took a minute for my species to change, why is it taking so much longer for them? Is it because I�m already close to what the new generation can evolve into, whereas the others aren�t? What�s going to happen to the workforce? Will they all change into new hatchlings? What exactly is going to happen here!
I�m so confused�
Dangit, the new hatchlings!
I rush back up the tunnel into the chamber, once again passing Crinis who was carefully climbing down, trying not to obstruct any workers entering the nest.
In the egg chamber, the twenty small hatchlings haven�t ceased their shouting match, even as the workers who tended them have grown still. Feeling somewhat anxious about the changing situation, I don�t have that much patience for them right now.
�All of you, shut up!�
Just like that, sweet silence. That was quick.
I didn�t realise I had this much charisma as a leader. I�m impressed with myself!
�We have a slight situation in the nest at the moment, so I need you to keep still for a second so I can sort things out.�
�Okay, senior!� they respond in unison.
[Tiny, I want you to guard the nest from below the queen�s chamber. Crinis, head to the top of the nest, but stay within the anthill, don�t let anything but workers come down, understood?]
[I understand, Master.]
Tiny just grunts.
Alright. They�ll protect the colony for the time being. All I have to do is keep these twenty workers contained and wait for the rest of the colony to wake up. It shouldn�t take too long� right?
When the last of the workers has entered the nest and found a chamber to sleep in, the nest becomes unnaturally still. In every chamber, workers, eggs and larvae become unmoving, completely silent.
It doesn�t take long for the situation to start grating on my nerves. I feel like the sole survivor of some hideous disease, surrounded by the perfectly preserved bodies of their former family members. Wake up, siblings! Wake up, Mother! I can�t take being alone like this�
As I wait, growing increasingly frantic, I speak to the new generation, keeping them settled as we wait for some sort of motion in the colony.
The first one to recover is Vibrant, of course.
�Hey, senior! What�s going on? This is so weird, right? I was hunting down in the Dungeon and bringing up some food when this powerful feeling came over me. I rushed back to the nest, dropping my food on the way�how strange is that, right? Then as soon as I got here, I just took a nap and now I have a different species. Isn�t that strange? And who do we have here? New hatchlings! They�re so small, what�s that all about? Are they sick? Undernourished? I�ve been bringing so much food, it�s impossible they haven�t had enough to eat! Have you been eating? You�re looking stressed. You aren�t hungry, are you?�
�Oh my god! STOP!�
�Okay!�
Sigh.
�Every member of the colony is having their species changed. I don�t know how long they�re going to be out, so try and help me keep watch. Can you do that?�
�Oh, sure. Not a problem!�
�Okay. If you�re doing that, then I might as well get started teaching these new workers. No time like the present, I suppose. Not like I can do anything here to help.�
�Alright, senior. Have fun!� Vibrant cheerfully waves an antenna as I gather up the new hatchlings and take them to the farms.
Nothing is ever simple around here.
�Ok. Let�s try this again. The enemy is down there. We�re in a superior position where they cannot fight back. All of the advantages are ours. So, what are you going to do? What is your strategy?�
We�re positioned in one of the original four farms, clinging to the ceiling out of harm�s way. I lured a monster out to the edge of the open space and tied it down with a Gravity Bolt. The poor creature is labouring on the ground beneath us, barely able to move, whilst I teach these hatchlings how to fight.
The particular young worker I�ve been focused on twitches a little when I fully cast my attention on them. I�m not sure exactly why, but these workers seem a little cowed by me. Perhaps it�s just that I�m older and larger.
�Well, I see the monster down there.�
�Right.�
�I know I have numerical superiority.�
�Right!�
Maybe this time I�m getting through to them.
�I also know we have a positional advantage and the ability to attack our opponent when they can�t fight back.�
�Yeees?�
Here we go!
�So, I will charge down to engage the enemy, forcing myself into its jaws so that by my sacrifice, my fellow workers will be able to attack without being harmed!�
DAMMIT.
Immediately, the rest of the hatchlings respond positively.
�Ooo, that�s a good idea!�
�Curses! I should have thought of that.�
�That has to be the right answer. It�s flawless.�
The worker who suggested it is now staring at me like a puppy waiting to be praised. Almost wiggling with joy as the praise from his fellow hatchlings rings in her antennae.
Ugh. This again.
�WRONG!�
Thwack!
Swinging an antenna hard, I slap the worker on the head.
�How many times do I have to say this? You. Are. Not. To. Die!�
�Ohhh, right,� the workers chorus.
I definitely feel a splitting headache coming on.
�In none of the plans you put forward are you allowed to act suicidally.
You should always act to minimise the loss to the colony to as great an
extent as possible. It�s possible for you to resolve this situation
without losing
The hatchlings look at me as if I�m speaking a different language.
This is infuriating. It�s almost as if any plan in which they
Not only do they not care about their own lives, not dying seems to be a
personal
Maybe I�m thinking about this the wrong way. It�s clear they aren�t going to value themselves for their own sake, but perhaps I can get them to value it for another reason.
�Listen to me, all of you!� I declare.
Twenty sets of eyes and antennae turn on me with laser focus.
They�re so earnest, it�s quite cute.
�Do you wish to serve the colony?� I ask.
�Of course!�
�Yes!�
�I�ll die before this day is done for the colony!�
�Ok whoa, slow down there. I take it you also wish to serve the queen?�
�Naturally!�
�Mother is the heart of the colony!�
�I will throw my life away for the queen before she wakes!�
�Alright, you there, to the side, just chill out. Sheesh!�
I take a moment to compose myself.
�Now answer me this. Can you do
They�re thinking. Seriously thinking. In any other situation, this would be ridiculous, but the fact they�re thinking at all is a massive win!
�What if�� One of the hatchlings pipes up dubiously, �we were to serve
the colony for a time, and
�Would you be able to do more for the colony whilst still alive?
I say the word selfish as if throwing up vile poison, and the hatchlings respond with horror and disgust.
�Selfish!�
�NEVER!�
�Be accused of selfishness? I would rather die! Unselfishly��
I nod sagely.
�That�s right. If the colony has invested resources in you, it is your duty to repay the colony with dutiful service, NOT pointless death.�
I lean in closer.
�Not to mention, the other thing to consider. Which colony is better, one with one hundred workers or one with two hundred workers?�
They mutter amongst themselves for a moment before deciding that yes, more workers is clearly superior to less workers. The ant logic of strength in numbers is strong with these ones.
�Exactly. Now how is the colony supposed to increase its numbers if you die so easily?�
Oooh, that hit them hard, they�re starting to squirm. Time for the final strike!
�In fact, to strengthen the colony, isn�t it your
Their faces are pure masks of shock. Glorious sacrifice for the colony? Selfish! It sounds like madness, but the logic is so clear! This is all heresy to them; except I�ve laid out a strong case. The war of ideas is playing out within them.
Maybe I have them now. Please, let me have them. I really didn�t think the first order of business in teaching these hatchlings would be to convince them not to throw their lives away at the first opportunity.
I put so much work into getting to this point. Did they really think I�d let them waste it all?
I really hope we don�t have to do this with every new worker that hatches� seriously.
Slowly, the light of understanding has begun to dawn amongst a few. I decide there�s a slight chance some of them may be able to give me a non-stupid answer, so I indicate one of the quicker ants to come forward.
�Let�s try again. Your foe is there below us. We are here. How do you approach the situation?�
The hatchling considers the question. I can see the cogs turning as she thinks about what I�ve said, what her instincts say, and tries to resolve the two.
�So� I
�
THWACK!
�It�s so simple! Get your hunting party together and attack with acid from range! You can damage your target without it being able to threaten you. With enough acid being applied, you might even defeat the enemy without them coming close enough to hurt you. See? Then all of the workers survive, the hunt is successful and the colony benefits! HOW can you NOT understand this?�
They all nod and exclaim �Oooh!� as if they�ve finally understood. These damn idiots!
Finally, I snap.
�RIGHT! Line up! Two rows of ten. I said ten! Now on my signal, you will begin firing acid at the target until you run out. NO QUESTIONS. Put that antenna DOWN. Make every shot count and focus on your Skills! Ready? FIRE!�
Nothing happens.
They watch me.
I watch them.
Slowly, I bring my antennae forward to rub at my temples.
�The signal to shoot, is when I say �fire�. Ok?�
�Ooooh.�
I�m dying here. I�m seriously dying.
�Fire��
After a couple of hours, I�m able to get the hatchlings to operate in a reasonable way. The little workers chowed down on the first few enemies we defeated with acid once I�d dragged the Biomass clear of the farm. They ran out of acid quick, though, and I was forced to incapacitate the prey before letting the young ants swarm it, training their Bite Skills and gaining experience.
We repeated this process until the farm was empty, then I had them drink their fill from the water before we moved into the next farm.
I�ve only had to stop them from throwing themselves into the fight and embracing their own certain doom a few times. Progress!
Despite having
At one point, a new monster had burst out of the farm wall whilst the hatchlings were eating. I�d known about it, of course, but before I could deal with it, one of the workers was already leaping at the enemy, screaming, �I�ll slow it down with my congealed blood! Attack from the flanks!�
Luckily, I�d been quick enough to Dash in and knock him aside before crushing the offending monster with a Shattering Bite attack.
Naturally, I then thwacked the offending ant on the head and launched into a lecture about appropriate crisis response not necessarily including immediate sacrifice. Maybe they would be in a situation that demanded sacrifice one day, but this sure as heck wasn�t it!
After instructing the ants to spend the Biomass they�d accumulated and handing out a bit of advice�none of them so much as twitched, by the way�we move on to the next farm to repeat the process.
I need to stuff these hatchlings full of experience and Biomass as fast as possible. There isn�t long until the next wave will be born, and then we�ll have two hundred of the little pests to deal with!
�We stick to the same plan as before,� I inform my class of diminutive workers as we cling to the ceiling. �We begin with an acid bombardment on the target until ammunition is expended, then we move to Bites. Remember to focus on the Skill you�re using! We want to see some juicy Level ups. Anyone who hits Level five is banned from taking more experience, we need everyone to hit five as soon as possible.�
�Yes, senior!� they shout.
In this way, the twenty little workers rush through the farms at breakneck speed. They team up to devour any available Biomass in record time, and I defeat the monsters we encounter with ease, tying them down with Gravity Bolts.
When we hit the third farm, the first worker reaches Level five. By the fifth, most of them have reached Level five and are ready to form their cores. By the sixth, they all are.
�Excellent! It�s been a great training session, troops! Plenty of Biomass absorbed, Skills developed, and Levels gained. It�s time now to form your cores. Let�s return to the nest and find a safe spot.�
�Roger!�
Dutifully, the little ants follow along behind me as we retreat to the nest proper. Just to make sure they�re looked after, I take them down into my own personal chamber at the base of the nest where Tiny sits on guard, munching on the last thing to leap out of the walls.
With a bit of encouragement, the ants settle in and spend their Levels, condensing their cores. An exciting moment for any young ant!
Whilst they do that, I hustle up the main tunnel, the awkward stillness still reverberating through the nest, to check in with Crinis.
[Nothing has been happening, Master. After the last of the workers returned, it has been very still.]
[You keep looking out and make sure we aren�t attacked. I�m counting on you to defend us if we get into trouble.]
[Of course, Master!] Crinis declared confidently. [I will allow no trash to desecrate our home.]
Well� Good. My greatest fear is that another wave of monsters will attack the surface. In which case, it would be up to Crinis and myself to hold them off for as long as possible and hope the workers start waking up.
It doesn�t take Vibrant long to find me as she darts from chamber to chamber, checking on the workers.
�Hi-hi! How are things going with the new ones?� she asks, not even pausing in her rush by me.
�It�s going well so far. I think they�ll work out� ok?� Nope, she�s gone. At least she�s keeping an eye on all of the chambers like she promised.
Time to head back down.
It�s already been a few hours into the species change, and so far, only Vibrant has awakened. It had better not take much longer. This is really stressing me out.
When I pass through the queen�s chamber, I take a moment to check in on her. The massive ant who is the mother of all members of the colony appears to be slumbering peacefully, sunk deep into torpor.
I really hope Mother wakes up soon. The colony just isn�t the same without her calming presence. Perhaps it�s just me hoping too hard, but I swear her antenna twitched when I turned away to head back down into my chamber. I tell myself it was real and that she�ll be up soon!
With the hatchlings finishing forming their cores, I take a moment to check out my mutable stomach. I had some left-over Biomass from before the hatchlings emerged, and I snuck a little here and there from the farms, so I should have enough to invest in stomach mutations.
The sooner I get this done, the faster I�ll be able to accrue Biomass points! Efficiency is the name of the game. I demand that every mouthful of food be extracted for the maximum possible points. I�ve got a ton of mutating to do, dammit!
[Would you like to upgrade Stomach to +10? This will cost 55 Biomass.]
I quickly confirm I want to upgrade the organ to +10 and dive straight into the menu, desperate to find the best option to increase my intake. I don�t have enough to get to +15, though I desperately wish I did. I�d need a hundred and ten for that, and I just haven�t had the time or opportunity to rack up those sorts of numbers.
There�s a ton of different ways to go with stomach mutations which would all lead to a more rapid intake of Biomass. Increasing stomach capacity is the easiest way, obviously. Being able to hoover in more food without getting full means more Biomass. It�s straightforward, and I don�t mind that, but I feel there may be a better way.
Faster digestion is there, which makes sense as well. As long as there�s a constant supply of Biomass, this will work well, but it still isn�t right.
Regurgitating Stomach? Oh, that�s gross! Basically a mutation to allow a monster to barf up their stomach acid as an attack. No. No thank you. I�ve got an acid attack already.
Aha! This looks a little more like it! The Discerning Stomach. It effectively halves the tier penalty when eating monsters less evolved than myself. This is just what the doctor ordered! In fact, I can take this, and then take a capacity mutation at +10, and as soon as I get the chance, take the fusion at +15, giving me a high capacity, efficient stomach.
With another upgrade waiting for me at +20, I�ll be rolling in Biomass in no time! I confirm the upgrade with Gandalf and for once, I don�t even care that I�m rolling all over the floor with my legs flailing in the air. The entire colony is asleep right now, and I�ll endure this itch if it means reaching my mutation goals! Muahahaha!
When it fades, I pull myself together, clean my antennae and dig out my personal core supply to start fusing together a few special ones. I�m going to have a happy surprise for those little hatchlings when they wake up!
Ah, the joys of being a mentor. It�s tough watching them grow up so fast!
Sensation returned to the queen in increments. A leg twitched. Then one of her antennae crackled into life, overloading her fuzzed mind with sensory information she wasn�t ready to process.
As she drowsed, the feeling of change, of
For this reason, she tried to rest as little as possible. If something were to happen to her family during that time, how could she forgive herself? An idle thought stirred vaguely in her mind. If her noisy child were to find out about her lack of rest, surely she would be pestered into sleeping more. It was of vital importance she conceal her tiredness.
The sensation of change grew stronger. It was difficult to say exactly what it was. Though whatever occurred, it had happened within her body. It wasn�t easy to feel the difference when the changes were applied to one�s own mind.
However, a picture was taking shape. The queen was able to feel her own thoughts moving faster than before. Even half awake, she could sense this change. Her mind felt agile and quick as thoughts moved quicker and things that had seemed complex were suddenly simpler, more manageable.
When she had finally awoken, she shifted her body slightly to ensure everything was alright. Then she tried to find out what was happening in her chamber. Her loyal guards tended to her needs and protected her in this space from spawning monsters, it would be horrible if she were to move too quickly and crush them by mistake. The queen was under no illusions as to just how much stronger than her children she was.
It was a good thing she checked before shifting herself. Her loyal guard were still here with her, except they were all resting. All of them! Some were even deep in torpor on her back. It was hardly unusual for her children to climb on her back, ensuring that she was clean and defending her from threats spawning overhead, but for them to sink into torpor without first moving to another chamber was unheard of.
What exactly was going on?
Curious, she brought up her status and stared with surprise at the new species listed there. Formica Sapiens�?
Her antennae twitched with exasperation. This had to be the work of her meddling child. Always with grand ideas and strange plans that somehow worked out, the family would be in a far worse position if not for that one�s meddling. It�s a shame the smartest of her children would also prove to be the most frustrating.
What had they done this time?
�Good! The cores have been formed well and we�ve reinforced them. Don�t look at me like that, special cores are a rare resource for us, don�t be so ungrateful. A little discomfort and extreme pain now, but you�ll be thanking me when you evolve!� a scent wafted from below, followed by several weary groans.
Who did all of these voices belong to? The queen didn�t recall hearing them before. Other than Vibrant and her meddlesome child, of course.
�Let�s go back to the farms. We need to get back to Level five as soon as possible. Before the day is done, you�ll have completed your first evolution. That�s our schedule. Up and at �em. Go, go, go, go!�
At the noisy urging of her meddlesome child, a sorry looking cluster of young ants climbed into her chamber from below at what she guessed were the entrances to the �farms� she�d been told about.
She wasn�t sure she liked the idea of spawning so many monsters so close to the nest, but she had to admit the Biomass supplied had been more than expected. The repeated harvesting gave her enough Biomass to push for the second set of two hundred eggs.
�Wait a moment, children,� she called out, causing the young hatchlings to turn toward her with surprise.
�Mother? You�re awake!� they cried and rushed in to stand before her.
�What? Mother!� the meddlesome one yelled and hurried into the chamber, effortlessly brushing aside the much smaller hatchlings before fussing over the queen, pestering her with questions.
Internally, the queen smiled, touched by the obvious concern being shown by her meddlesome child. Externally, however.
THWACK!
�Ow!�
�What have you done this time, child? The workers, even I, have been dragged into torpor. My species has also changed. Can you explain?�
Chastened, the meddlesome child rubbed at their head with an antenna whilst attempting to placate the queen.
�Well, things worked very well in the plan to create smarter, more capable workers. The first twenty have hatched and I�ve started training them up. They�ve already formed their cores and are well on the way to their first evolution with complete +5 upgrades and fully upgraded cores.� The unmistakable note of pride resonated in that voice, which had taken on a lecturing tone.
The queen was proud of what her meddlesome child achieved. If what had been said was true, then these twenty young workers were advancing rapidly and would be a great aid to the family. However�
THWACK!
�Ouch!�
�And the sleeping?�
�Right, the torpor. Well, Mother, it turns out that when these hatchlings were born, the System decided they were a new species. As the �creator� of the new species, I was given the option to convert our existing colony over to the new type. I selected yes and everyone fell asleep, including me. I didn�t know it was going to happen! I promise!�
The queen slowly nodded. It made sense. Her own species was changed after waking up, and in her opinion, changing the species of the entire colony was the best option. Different species of ants went to war. Something she knew instinctively.
Reaching with her antenna, gently this time, she patted her meddlesome child on the head.
�You have done well, child. Now give me a moment to speak to my new children.�
Visibly pleased to be off the hook, her meddlesome child hopped to one side and began herding the smaller hatchlings toward her.
The queen looked down on her new children carefully. The twenty hatchlings were smaller than those born before the change, but there was something different about them. A glimmer of light in their eyes, the way they looked about the chamber, taking in information and thinking. The queen was slightly disturbed to see that sort of behaviour from her children. She�d come to expect it from the meddlesome one. Were these new hatchlings ants as she understood them or something new?
�How are you, children?� she asked gently.
They perked up at her words but were clearly suffering.
�We are well, Mother!�
�Absolutely fine!�
�Never better!�
The queen smiled. Their bravado fooled no one.
�I can see you are in pain, children. Do you require rest?� she enquired.
Rest was not something workers, nor the queen, generally indulged in. Part of her was genuinely concerned to see them suffering, another part was testing their response. She wanted to understand her new children and how similar they were to those who had come before. Perhaps even, how they were different.
�Rest?� the twenty spat in unison, sounding almost offended at the suggestion.
�I require no rest, not for another hundred years!� declared one scrappy-looking hatchling close to her right foreleg.
�I will not rest in this lifetime! Death before rest!� cried another.
The others took up the chant.
�Death before rest! Death before rest! Death before rest!�
The queen�s heart lifted in her thorax. These were ants, down to their very hearts.
�Always to the death with you lot. Stop shouting at the queen!� the meddlesome one interrupted, shouting louder than the other twenty combined.
�Sorry to disturb you, Mother� the meddlesome one continued. �I should get back to training this bunch. Apparently, I need to add a lecture on the necessity and importance of rest!�
As the meddlesome child glared at the hatchlings, the queen shifted
guiltily. Rest
�Very well, child. I hope you children continue to serve the colony into the future.�
The hatchlings waved at her vigorously with their antennae.
�Of course, Mother. We will work tirelessly for the family!�
�Indeed, our efforts will never falter!�
�I�m honoured to bear this pain for the colony!�
�Me too!�
�Alright, alright, get into the farm already, we�re on a schedule here!�
The meddlesome one herded the young hatchlings back down to the farms and out of sight as they continued to declare their boundless commitment to the colony. The queen couldn�t help but feel warm inside. The future of the family looked bright. Perhaps soon there would be another queen and they would truly start to expand as her instincts demanded they must.
Conflict would follow. It always did in the Dungeon. Though young, the queen had learned that lesson early. Still, she welcomed it. Her family wouldn�t be found wanting against any challenge, she firmly believed that.
After speaking to the queen, I take my class into the farms for further instruction. I honestly can�t say what Mother was thinking when I spoke to her. She seemed a mix of happy and mad. I have to say, I was quite nervous. I mean, how am I supposed to know how she would feel about having her species changed? She might have been very attached to it. I don�t know!
And having her species changed by the acts of one of her own children? Being the whole �creator� of a new species is sounding ominous. For some reason, I feel extremely confident this is going to have further ramifications for me down the line. The System doesn�t like to advertise when you unlock something, but surely creating an all-new species in the Dungeon is something major. Maybe it isn�t. Maybe new species pop up all the time, and those that create them are as mediocre and ordinary as me. At least I hope so. If this blows up in my face and turns into some sort of big deal, then I�m going to be super annoyed.
The hatchlings are excited after their meeting with the queen, their fervour once again ignited. Thankfully, the buzz has helped push the pain and discomfort of their newly maxed-out cores to the back of their minds. Now we can push through the training even faster!
Gwehehehehe. Thanks for the assist, Mother!
My plan for the first twenty has always been to push them as hard as possible and give them as good a start to their lives as I can. That means doing for them much the same as what I did for Vibrant. Helping them to evolve with special cores from the get-go, maxing out their mutations, and with my improved knowledge, I can also provide guidance in regards to Skills and progression.
To maximise their potential, I�ll also get them to choose the Superior Hatchling evolution. Judging by Vibrant, I suspect the Superior Hatchling allows for improved stat growth from evolutions and will hopefully allow her and these twenty to grow into the powerhouses of the colony. By proximity, it�ll allow me a comfortable retirement, tickling larvae grubs and boring hatchlings with stories from �back in my day� in the future.
Ahhh, the stress-free life surrounded by family and taking my ease. I never got to experience it in my old life, but now I have a chance! To that end, I�m going to work these twenty little hatchlings to the bone. By the time I�m done, they�ll be super ants the likes of which the Dungeon has never seen.
�Line up, you little bugs! Let�s get into formation. I�m not going to baby you as much this time. We�re going to see some real combat!�
Their eyes light up as if a burning flame has suddenly exploded within and I hastily cut them off before they can speak.
�Absolutely NONE of you is going to throw yourselves into harm�s way,
dammit! The first ant to leap at the enemy in a stupid way is going to
spend the rest of the training being carried around by the others and
fed experience without contributing, like a
�Gasp!�
I may as well have told them the offender would be condemned to an eternity of burning hellfire. Not do any work? Be a burden to others? Selfish! These concepts are simply not part of their lexicon.
�As you say, senior!�
�We will obey your instructions!�
They all assure me they�ll behave. I�m sure one of them will crack if the situation gets even a little bit tense, but it�ll do for now.
�Just like we practised. We�ll enter the chamber and get into formation, remember to position yourselves so the business plaza is facing the foe with a good line of sight to the target.�
�I thought it was the commercial district?�
�Same thing! You�ll never make it if you just get hung up on the small details. Go! Now! Now! Now!�
With the sort of coordination only a swarm insect could possibly arrange, the hatchlings and I burst into the farm and take up our positions on the ceiling, raining acidic death on the fiercely battling monsters below. I�m cheating, of course. The tougher-looking and most uninjured monsters are the first targeted by my own, more powerful Restrictive Acid. That should make the next stage easier.
�Report when you�re out of ammo!�
�I�m out, senior!�
�Out here!�
�Out! Shall I hurl myself at the enemy to secure our escape?�
�I�ve already warned you twice! There won�t be a third, understand? The enemy is weakened, form up and advance. We shall engage in melee!�
Moving into a box-like formation with me at the helm, we advance from the roof, down the wall and onto the floor, moving into combat with the closest monsters.
I�ve instructed the hatchlings to purchase the different Bite Skills as they become available and train them in unison. This�ll allow them to get the fusion at tier three as soon as possible. I continue to hold out for the tier four fusions though. It�ll be interesting to see what the difference is.
The hatchlings snap with their rank one Bites and Chomps. The damage they deal individually is minimal, but no ant was ever meant to fight alone. Demonstrating their fast-learning capabilities, they�re already deploying some of the tactics I�d described. On my left, the hatchlings at the flanks not only move to surround their foes on the side, but those from behind are climbing on top of their siblings to attack the enemy from above, opening up a new angle of attack.
I can�t imagine human soldiers riding on their comrades� shoulders into battle, it would be faintly ridiculous, to be honest. Ants, on the other hand, have no issue holding each other up and finding footholds on each other. Heck, some species of ants form living nests, where the walls and tunnels are formed out of masses of ants hanging off each other. Climbing on one another to attack is just basic stuff!
In this way, the hatchlings ensure they�re never outnumbered and can use their many avenues of attack to ward off more powerful monsters who would otherwise threaten them. I do have to lend a hand every now and again when things get a little hairy, bailing them out with a well-placed Chomp, my powerful mandibles shearing through these weak enemies in a single bite.
Once we�ve cleaned the room, I get the hatchlings to stuff their faces, mutate anything they can, and it�s off to the next one. Then the one after that, then the one after that. We take a few days to fight and eat until their mutations are complete, at which stage I tell them to take the excess Biomass to the queen, a task they take to with incredible enthusiasm, bursting with pride at the chance to feed their parent.
When all the farms are empty, we have finally achieved our goal. All Level five, with maxed-out mutations. Weary but triumphant, I lead my suffering charges out of the farms and into my chamber where Tiny continues to keep a watchful eye on the Dungeon.
At this moment, I get another pleasant surprise from Vibrant when she tells me the workers are stirring. The colony is waking up!
The hatchlings are herded into my chamber where Tiny is instructed to keep a keen eye on the situation whilst I go to find Vibrant and see what the situation with the workers is like. Vibrant is hovering around the two hundred larvae that recently hatched, fetching chunks of food my class had brought in and dumping it close to the grubs, racing back and forth, trying to make sure the ravenous little things get fed.
Whoops!
The workers tending to the grubs are so omnipresent, I didn�t even think to make sure they were getting fed! Thank goodness Vibrant was on the job. They wouldn�t have starved to death in such a short time by any means, but their development would have been delayed if they went too long between meals. The larval stage of an ant�s development is primarily to stack on mass. They have nothing to do but eat, eat and eat some more. The faster they bulk up, the faster they�re ready to go into their cocoons and take shape as proper workers of the colony.
�Vibrant! How are things with the workers?�
�Hold on a sec, senior! I need to feed these grubs!� she yells, rushing past me at a full Dash.
�Aren�t they all fed?�
�Nope!�
Dangit. No point being lazy, I�ll pitch in and help. The bulk of the food was stacked in the queen�s chamber and it doesn�t take us long to deliver it to the remaining grubs. They wiggle their ungainly bodies to a position in which they can munch at it. They don�t exactly have the best mouthparts for this, but they�re giving it a red-hot go!
As we worked, I again asked Vibrant what was going on.
�I�ve started to see a little movement amongst the workers. The higher evolved ones and the workers I was leading were the first to start moving,� she announces cheerfully.
�Where are they?�
�Oh, everywhere!�
Turns out, they�re scattered all over the nest in various chambers. After rushing here and there, I eventually find a worker showing signs of life. This one looks like she might�ve been on her second evolution, an advanced worker of some kind. Impressive! I do have the distinct impression they should have been a bit larger than they currently are though�
�Haaa� Hrrrr.�
Whoa! The ant is talking. She�s developed the Pheromone Language Gland whilst sleeping?
�Hey there, buddy. How are you doing? You sleep ok?� I ask.
�Hen, han�� As movement slowly returns to the worker, they continue to try and speak using this new mutation.
�Take your time, champ. No need to rush.�
�Harr� Havvve. Have.�
�Have? Have what?�
�Have I� died for the colony?�
��No.�
��Dammit.�
COME ON!
Do I have to deal with this
Over the next hour, more and more workers wake up and I direct them to the queen for a quick debrief before they go back to their duties. After speaking to the queen and a few workers whose cores I inspected, I was able to piece together what happened as they�d slept.
Not only had the System changed their species, it also brought them as close in line with the generic template of the new species as it could. The workers haven�t completely changed to match the new hatchlings, but they�re close. They all have the Pheromone Language Gland and have sacrificed size and lost mutations in order to fuel their brain development. They aren�t as smart as the hatchlings are, but they are a heck of a lot smarter than they were before.
After a few evolutions, I suspect the difference between the old workers and the hatchlings yet to be born will disappear entirely. The first twenty are going to get an extra kick to start off their lives. The hatchlings born after this won�t be getting this sort of VIP treatment.
I emphasise to each worker, and I have the queen double down to hammer the point home, that each worker is far more valuable to the colony alive than they are dead. I�m not sure if the new wave of sacrifice-minded workers have heeded the message or not, but hopefully it sank in enough that by the time I get the first twenty out there to help manage things, there won�t be any damage.
Speaking of the twenty.
With the workers getting back into the action, it�s time for the hatchlings� first evolution. I head back down into my chamber and recall Crinis to meet up with us. When she arrives, the twenty hatchlings are arranged in a half circle before me in the chamber, Tiny backing me up like a half-asleep bouncer.
�Hatchlings. You are about to embark on the first step of the long road to ant greatness. This evolution will help lay the groundwork for your future progression. It is my aim that in time, you will grow to become the foundations of this colony as it grows and expands. It isn�t feasible for every hatchling to receive the same start in life that you have, the resources required are too great.�
The ants listen to my great spiel with focused eyes. My rambling seems to be resonating in some way. In fact, the spirit in their gaze is starting to make me a little nervous. No need to be quite so serious, guys!
�Ahh� Heh�For your first evolution, you�ll choose the Superior Hatchling. Also, before you pull the trigger, pump yourselves full of Biomass while it�s cheap. This will help hasten your future development of mutations and decrease the demand on the resources of the colony. Beyond that, you can do whatever you want with your stats. From your second evolution onward, you�ll be able to choose a caste and decide how you�ll contribute to the colony. Are we good?�
�Yes, senior!� they shout in unison, causing me to jump.
�Okay! Get to it then, I guess?�
At that weak instruction, the ants cluster in one corner of the chamber and immediately grow still as they begin to interface with the evolution menu.
Their mutable stomachs have made all the difference to the ant�s progression, a costly benefit they gained at birth. Being able to fit more food in and extract more Biomass from what they eat, has meant their mutations are done much faster than they otherwise would have been. Unlike me, they�ve achieved a fully mutated evolution right from the get-go. Only the best for the precious first generation!
With their potent stomachs, getting them to +10 for another perfect evolution will be a piece of cake. I�ve done the maths on my cores and I may have just enough to max out the cores of all twenty for the next evolution. Five cores each means one hundred cores straight up, and then another sixty or so to form the special cores through fusion. I don�t imagine the royal family of Liria ever thought their amassed wealth in cores would be wasted in just a few short weeks in this way.
It�s enough to bring a smile to my heart.
Gwehehehe.
Not long now and I�ll be able to turn over the bulk of the thinking in the colony to these hatchlings. Once I get them through the second evolution, it�s going to be on them. Then I�ll be a little freer.
For now, though, whilst they are busy evolving, I should use my time somewhat productively. The queen wanted me to take on the rare core, so I might as well start absorbing it.
Feeling nervous, I dig it out of the wall. The powerful gem rolls onto the dusty earth of my chamber. This is one honking big core, eliciting an internal sting as I contemplate trying to absorb this thing.
This one�s gonna hurt.
With the rare core in front of me, it�s time to pay the piper. As much as I�ve derived a strange sense of joy forcing the hatchlings to absorb a special core, this process seriously hurts. I�ve already maxed out my core AND absorbed a special core. If I absorb this rare core, will I really be able to take it?
Or will my core just detonate and rip me apart from the inside?
Hoo boy.
Here we go.
Taking a deep breath, I gingerly touch my antennae to the cold surface of the core.
[Compatible rare core detected. Would you like to reinforce your core or reconstitute the monster?]
I sure as heck don�t want to create one of those crocs as one of my pets. I have too many bad memories of them to even consider it.
Nothing for it. Gimme dat core juice!
As soon as I give my mental assent, the densely packed energies contained within the gem-like sphere begin to flow into me, swirling throughout my body before settling in my core, adding their strength to my own.
And it immediately hurts.
I�d gotten used to the vaguely stretched sensation of my maxed-out core to the point where it didn�t really bother me. I�m not sure if that was just because I�d become accustomed to the pain or if my body had adjusted to the expanded core size. Ultimately it doesn�t matter, as the vast energies within the rare core pour in and my own starts to grow.
My body was not meant to hold a core of this size!
Damn that stings! Holy Moly�with a capital M!
This must be what it feels like to have a swollen stomach, that�s not a stomach but actually a stone formed of condensed mystical energies. The pain isn�t even localized around my core! Unlike before, it�s radiating outward, zapping along my nerves to the ends of my limbs and rebounding off my extremities to come back to my centre worse than before.
How delightful!
In complete agony, all I can think of is to endure as best I can. I don�t know why, but the idea to stop and just walk away doesn�t occur to me. Even though I don�t need this in my life. I�ve suffered plenty in my new existence. Perhaps someone else could pick up this burden for me. I�ve done more for the colony than every other individual in it, bar the queen herself, at this point.
And it isn�t as if I want to be an all-powerful, lord-of-all-he-surveys sort of monster. I don�t especially crave individual power. I�m far too lazy to be deeply ambitious!
And yet, I grit my mandibles and hold on.
Perhaps it was watching the twenty hatchlings be so stoic and selfless in their attitudes. Perhaps it was the queen�s acceptance of what I�d done, creating so much change to push the colony forward. Perhaps I�m just stupid. Haven�t quite ruled that out.
Whatever the reason, I hold on.
It hurts, and I hold on.
There is agony, and I hold on.
My body and mind are breaking into a thousand pieces, but I hold on. As strange as it sounds, there�s clarity in these moments. As if the pain radiating out from my core has seared away the clutter and doubt that normally rattles away inside my mind.
I feel clean. I feel pure.
I�ll endure this. I�ll survive. There are things more unendurable than this. I have a family now, something I�ve never really had before. I won�t allow them to suffer. Won�t allow them to struggle. Deep down, I�m prepared to shoulder burdens to help them.
This core needs to be used and I�m the best one to use it. For whatever reason, there is no member of the colony as advanced as I am. For the time being, it has to be me.
And so, I hold on.
There is nothing in my universe except for the pain and this ball of packed energy resting on the dirt. The transfer of energy is glacially slow. At least it feels that way. This core must hold more than ten times as much energy as a special core. No matter how much I drain out, it doesn�t seem like I�m any closer to finishing absorbing it!
More pain.
I hold on until my thoughts fade away to nothing and my vision goes black.
HAH�I�m up!
DANG, it still hurts!
When alertness rocks back into my mind, I spring to my feet only to find my entire body screeching with agony. Yeeouch! It�s like every cell hit the gym with an enthusiasm they weren�t meant to exude. Every single part of me is radiating an intense displeasure with their present circumstances.
And my core.
Holy moly, the core.
As if I�d swallowed a rock that carried a grudge, it sits in the centre
of my body and just
Perhaps that�s a good thing. I really don�t feel like I could take any more in. I really feel as if I�m on the edge of some serious damage here. Hopefully, after some time passes, the tightness and pain will fade to the point where I can absorb the rest, right before I evolve.
Gingerly, since every motion sends new signals of hurt rocketing through my nerves, I roll the core to a corner and bury it with the rest of my stash.
The hatchlings appear to still be in the process of evolving. Which is good. I need a little rest and recovery time. Before that, though, I�d told myself I would check in on the village. Just to make sure the changes to the colony weren�t about to spark some sort of conflict or misunderstanding.
Like a geriatric grandpa ant with severe arthritis and three dodgy hips, I make my way up the central shaft of the nest. Despite my condition, I can�t help noticing the changes taking place in the colony.
The first and most obvious thing is the pheromone trails. Where once they were simple messages, �food here,� �brood needs tending,� �help dig,� they�ve become more complex. Swishing my antennae through the air, I get a rush of conversations that have taken place lately, and descriptive long-term trails that have been marked down several times.
The first one I run into says �Hi there! Brood is over this way, need help with cleaning and feeding. Current food levels are healthy but expecting a spike in demand soon.�
Followed by �Hi-hi! I�ve been told there will be a spike in demand for food soon. How exciting! Follow this trail above ground to join in the surface hunting. Make sure you hunt in a team. Groups of five, stay alive!�
I can tell that last one is Vibrant, continuing to step up her leadership Skills.
In general, the messages are friendly and business-like. Things like �This way for digging, keep that soil fresh!� or �Afternoon, brood chambers this way! Can always use more help. Lots of brood lately! :)�
How the hell did they invent the scent-emoji in such a short time?
Even as I clamber out of the nest, I receive lots of greetings and well wishes.
�Hello. Keep up the good work!�
�Hi. Work hard!�
�Stay healthy there, fellow worker. Otherwise you can�t work!�
I get it� you like working! At least they aren�t talking about throwing their lives away in some pointless fashion. I suspect the next time the colony is under attack, that might come back out. We�ll see.
For now, I tip toe my way to the human village to see how things are travelling.
[We need more of this. As soon as you can get it.]
[Uh, okay? Maybe take it out of my face a little so I can see it?]
An unusually forceful and intent Enid is waving something in my face with shaking hands. As soon as I waddled my way into the village, someone had gone to fetch her, and the normally dignified older lady arrived at a dead run, her skirts hiked up with one hand and the other clutching this object.
As she withdraws the object, I can see it is, as suspected, the Mana infused wood I delivered to Beyn a day or so ago.
[Ah. Finally got your hands on that, did you? So, what is it?] I enquire.
[It�s Mana infused wood.]
[I can see that plain as day. What is it
Enid huffed, her hands on her hips.
[Well, that�s a different question, isn�t it?] She holds the branch tenderly in her hands, like a newborn babe. [This wood has absorbed the plentiful Mana of the Dungeon and taken on the attributes that surrounded it.]
[Yeah?]
[These kinds of materials from the Dungeon are treasured and worth just as much as cores. Nations fiercely fight over the rights to Expanses and other regions that produce this kind of thing. Not to mention they�re rare and incredibly useful! In the past, I dealt with some things like this that my husband managed to bring up. They sold high, I can tell you. Enchanters and craftsmen love this stuff.]
[For
Looking at me disapprovingly, Enid sniffs before answering. [When making items designed to channel certain types of Mana, materials like this will amplify the effect. For example, if a staff were made for a water wizard with materials that were imbued with Water Mana, any spell cast through the staff would be more powerful.]
[Ooo, that
Enid smiles triumphantly at my growing enthusiasm. [Not only that. You could make shields, swords, armour, or artefacts that would add that element to their offence or defence.]
[But this wood has double elements in it,] I point out. [Water as well as earth. Is that good?]
[That!] declares Enid, once again vigorously waving the stick in
my face, [is the most important thing!
[Okay. Basically, it�s great stuff. That�s nice. But what exactly can we do with it? I doubt there are any master enchanters hanging around the village currently, and the colony certainly doesn�t have the ability to make anything with it.]
With how hardworking and dedicated the workers are, combined with their new smarts, who knows what they�ll be capable of in a few years? In my mind, scenes of the Great Ant forges begin to appear, the cavernous halls under the earth where thousands of teeming Artisans craft ant weapons and armour at an industrial scale.
Gwehehehehe.
It�s glorious within my mind!
Focus, Anthony. Play it cool. The inevitable ant future will arrive in time.
Enid is looking at me strangely. Dammit, Anthony, don�t let the ambition be quite so naked!
[Well, you aren�t wrong,] the wily woman answers warily. [But we do have a few tradespeople, apprentices and, more importantly, we have Beyn to help guide us to unlocking the Skills and Classes related to shaping Mana infused materials and enchanting.]
[Won�t it take ages for someone to train up those Skills? Just how much time do you think we have to spend on something like this?]
She shakes her head.
[It won�t take as long as you think. By accelerating Level growth in the Dungeon, and with expert knowledge to crack the unlock conditions, the only thing missing is materials to use for grinding Skills.]
[I see. This is why you want me to bring more up. The question I have for you is, what�s in it for the colony? The Expanse is ours and we�re the only ones able to go down there and collect the stuff.]
We get down to a bit of haggling and eventually work out a distribution deal for the crafted materials, the lion�s share going to the colony, of course. I�m also able to extract a promise from a curious Enid to engage in a knowledge-sharing arrangement, where the village will inform the colony of anything they�re able to learn.
With that business concluded, it�s time to return to the nest and check in on my class of hatchlings. Once more painfully shifting my legs one by one through shooting beams of agony rippling through my body with each step, I make my way back to my chamber. The journey only takes four times as long as normal. I feel as if I�m prematurely aging.
Back into the nest as the flood of greetings, conversations and trails rattles my antennae. It really is noisy in here now. Thinking back, it wasn�t that long ago I was worried I�d never have anyone to talk to ever again. To have this constant chatter and noise around me, here, in this place where I feel so safe�
It�s just nice. Almost enough to bring a tear to my eye, but not quite because I remain physically incapable of it.
Back down in the chamber, the ants are alert. For whatever reason, they�re clustered about Tiny as the great ape remains seated on his backside, to all appearances totally asleep.
[Any issues here, Crinis?] I ask my more alert and capable companion.
[No problems, Master. The little ones awoke only a short time ago.]
I have to chuckle at Crinis referring to them as �little ones.� She isn�t that much older than they are.
[Why are they looking at Tiny so closely?] I enquire.
[I�ve no idea. He�s been sleeping on the job for the last thirty minutes.] Crinis sounds decidedly irritated at her lazy associate.
[I�ll sort him out later,] I promise her before rounding on the workers.
�Okay then, you lot. One evolution down, one more to go before you�ve graduated from basic training. You know what that means. More core absorption!� I shout joyfully.
The best thing to forget about your own pain sometimes, is to inflict it on others.
�Stop your slacking, aren�t you ready to work for the colony?�
�Ugh. Of course, senior!�
The hatchlings are again suffering from the effects of being stuffed full of cores and then absorbing a special core. Packing all of them full has depleted my stash to basically nothing, but it�ll be worth it. These twenty are getting the best start in life an ant could possibly hope for.
Each and every one of them has taken the Superior Hatchling evolution that Vibrant had. Their stats have been boosted only a little from their original hatchling form. The only significant difference is in Cunning, since a small boost in that stat represents a substantial shift, but over their next few evolutions the payoff will be huge.
Regardless of what type of ant these first twenty choose to be, Soldier, Queen, Mage, Worker, or anything else, I want them to be exemplary examples, able to lead those who follow in their footsteps. I�m on the clock though. These twenty need to get up to Level 10 and evolved before the next set of two hundred hatchlings emerges. When last I checked in on the brood, they were quite chubby little grubs. It won�t be long before they enter the pupal phase. Gotta move fast!
At least, I would, if I weren�t still suffering from my own core being oversized. Gawd, I hate this feeling.
Crinis is leading the way down at the moment, with Tiny bringing up the rear. This is a good chance for the two of them to grind some Skill Points and I don�t want to waste it. Normally, I�d want to be grinding those Skills myself, but the discomfort I�m experiencing has dampened my enthusiasm.
As we descend through the tunnels, Crinis reaches out with a forest of dark tentacles, grasping hold of monsters before they even know she�s coming. Once held within her grasp, there is little, they can do to save themselves. More tentacles lash out and the victim is rendered unable to fight before being deposited behind her. One of the ants steps forward to deliver the finishing strike, before the rest approach to devour the Biomass.
We�re advancing in record time. This System is nothing if not efficient. The workers are still Levelling at a decent pace and their enhanced stomachs are working as well as I�d hoped they would. Not only has their capacity increased, the mutation menu for the organ now has an option that will allow them to consume Biomass as if they were one tier of evolution lower, reducing the penalty!
Arrrghh, that stings! Damn core�
What this means for my class of hatchlings is they�re rapidly piling up Biomass as we advance farther into the Dungeon, seeking higher Level creatures to feed them the experience they need to reach Level ten.
[How�s it going, Crinis? Do you need to rest? I can have Tiny swap in for you any time.]
[That is unnecessary, Master. I am more than sufficient to dispose of this filth. Please allow me to continue.]
[Sure, sure. As long as you�re okay.]
I can almost feel the dark joy emanating from Crinis as she twists and crunches these monsters into a helpless state. You�re walking further and further down a questionable road, Crinis. I�m not sure how I should feel about it.
After another hour of this, I call a halt to our procession and gather the hatchlings before me.
�You�ve done well to keep up with my accelerated learning program, young hatchlings. But the time for you to earn your own supper has come!�
�What do you mean, senior?� they query, antennae wibbling with curiosity.
�I mean, it�s time for the twenty of you to engage in glorious combat for the colony!�
�At last! Before the day is done, my broken body will decorate the trash pile of the colony!�
�I�ve had enough of you! Go stand at the back and think about what you said! Sheesh.�
I shake my head before fixing my gaze on the rest of the workers. �You know the rules. Each and every one of you is to make it back to the colony in one piece. We have invested heavily in you because your future contributions to the colony will be immense. Don�t waste it!�
I fix them all with a sharp glare, especially that moron at the back.
�I want to see if our lessons have been sinking in properly and if you can handle yourselves when my pets and I aren�t here to help you. Have you got what it takes?�
As one, they roar with their squeaky hatchling voices, �Of course, senior!�
�Everyone comes back alive. Don�t forget!�
I can�t help but be worried. Tiny, Crinis and myself will be with them, ready to step in just in case something goes wrong, but protecting the ants from their own sacrificial impulses could be more difficult than protecting them from monsters.
With a flick of an antenna, I gesture for the much smaller hatchlings to move to the front and take the lead. They seem strangely deferential as they pass Crinis, greeting her politely even though she can�t hear them.
[Tiny, make sure to guard our back zone. I don�t want anything to get a jump on us.]
[Hrrrr, bored.]
[Don�t care, buddy.]
[What about me, Master?]
[You�re with me, Crinis. Hop on.]
The writhing mass of tentacles cheerfully retracts until the compacted softball of infinite despair is once again revealed. She takes her customary position on my back and we�re ready to depart. This should be interesting.
The hatchlings are a little hesitant at first. They�re conferring with each other in hushed tones.
�You don�t really need to talk quietly, guys. You don�t actually make any sound,� I tell them.
One of the hatchlings on the outside of the huddle turns to answer me. �We�re operating under the assumption that it�s possible other species capable of pheromonal communication could exist, therefore care should be taken at all times.�
�That�s�� Actually, that�s pretty smart. Huh.
�Who has the best vision?� one of them asks.
�I�m plus six.�
�Plus seven here.�
�You two take point. And who has the highest acid upgrades?�
�I�m plus six, extra damage.�
�Also plus six, restrictive.�
�You two should go up top and keep the line of fire open as much as possible.�
�I have the best carapace here, let me frontline.�
�Good. I think we have our formation. Are we ready?�
�Yes, proceed.�
In almost no time, they arrange their team into a working formation and delegate roles to each member based on their best attributes. Watching them arrange themselves so quickly and begin moving out with such purpose and organisation has got my heart fair pounding in my chest.
In some ways, these hatchlings are more than I had ever hoped they would be.
�I�ve got the best healing though. You should let me throw myself in the enemy�s mouth to take their weapons out of the battle.�
�That could be good.�
�Oi! Shut up, you!� I yell.
Some of them still need a lot of work, it seems.
�The Civilised Races� is a term often bandied about casually in scholarship, yet many people remain ignorant of its true meaning and origins. The lines that become drawn between the races are often not so clear cut as �these races are civilised, therefore safe, and these are not.� The so-called �Civilised� are just as prone to greed, violence and short-sighted action as the creatures of the Dungeon at times, as history has proven over and again.
Others simply don�t understand the lines drawn between those races who existed before the Descent of the System, often referred to as �The First Born,� and those who came after, somewhat derogatorily referred to as �The New Blood.�
Before the Time of Rending, Mana began to infuse the surface, giving rise to magic and many other wonders. At the same time, that Mana concentrated in certain places and within some things. A process that only accelerated as the Dungeon opened and the surface became flooded with Mana at levels that have never been seen again.
This Mana injection forever changed the surface of Pangera. Not only due to the monsters that devastated its surface, but also by giving rise to new races, such as the Brathian, the aquatic creatures who developed from Lake Bratha after it became flooded with Mana during the Rending when a Dungeon opening connected to the Lake.
The elder races have not always welcomed these newcomers peacefully. When the Dungeon monsters receded, a new wave of conflict began when Old Blood began to mix with New. Eventually, peace was established, and cooperation began. After all, the System does not recognise the �Civilised Races� as monsters, therefore it would be unnatural to fight against each other. At least, that is what the Church of the Path has always preached. Others, such as the Sophos, were not so lucky. Branded as monsters by the System, they were first excluded and then hunted, causing them to conceal their underground settlements and withdraw from contact with those they had fought beside during the Rending.
Mirryn was exhausted. Her body ached from top to toe, and she had a sneaking suspicion one of those toes was broken. The mental fatigue may have been the worst of it. She hadn�t slept in what felt like three days. Why the hell did she let herself get talked into this rubbish?
�Donnelan, remind me why I let you talk me into this rubbish?� she asked irritably.
Her equally exhausted, yet strangely animated fellow Legionary, turned back to her and she swore the light of madness danced in his eyes.
�After two weeks on the Bulwark, you want to spend our precious leave
Mirryn had to admit the idea held
Only now did she understand what an underdeveloped and ignored pocket of the world Liria had truly been.
The trainees hadn�t been given any time to question or absorb their new circumstances before being thrown into gruelling training. The commander himself tirelessly drilled them. Two days of practice in the living rock suits, known as Abyssal Armour, and they were thrown into live combat patrols. Three days after that, they�d been broken up and sent to various forts that formed part of the Bulwark, the network of defences that locked a bubble of Dungeon off from the lower levels.
�Time you find out the sort of the thing the Legion really does down here,� the commander had informed them gruffly.
And find out they had. He�d taken the group on an extended tour of the Bulwark, inspecting the forts and dropping the trainees off as they went.
Deep down, Mirryn always felt as if she were tough, as if she were made of stern stuff. Nothing like the commander, obviously. Though still tough. The Legionaries she met at her fort were so damn tough, they probably didn�t need Abyssal Armour at all. The monsters would snap in half when they tried to bite them.
She�d reported to her new Centurion on arrival, a grizzled veteran named Tannar, and been shocked at the man�s age. If he was a day under sixty, she�d have been shocked. Thin and wiry, the tendons in his neck plain to see, Tannar had very quickly eliminated any concerns about age from her mind.
The man fought like an angry bear and sounded like one too. His Legionaries hung off every word that came out of his mouth, and Mirryn learned rapidly to do the same. This man knew the business of killing monsters, and business was good.
Too good.
If the wave above had been brutal, down here in the second strata, it was worse. Each fort was tasked with locking down one tunnel, preventing monsters from coming up and going down. Shorthanded and undersupplied, the Legionaries fought for hours on end, every day. When they couldn�t stand up anymore, they were rotated off to rest until they could. Then it was back out in the thick of it.
Mirryn hadn�t even taken off her suit the entire time she was out there.
She was also made to see some of the other measures the Legion had been forced to take in order to hold the line.
She grimaced.
�Did you have any irregulars at your fort, Donnelan?� she asked.
He paused his push through the crowd, then started up again.
�I see a bar over there, come on,� he muttered grimly, pulling her across the street.
They parted a curtain that hung across the front of the establishment. Like most buildings in Rylleh, it was shaped out of the stone, creating a dark and cool atmosphere inside. Glowstones dotted the walls and roof, providing a soft illumination that revealed a crowded bar area, with tables and booths toward the back.
Behind the bar, a massive figure stood. A golgari, one of the stone
people. Easily seven feet tall, and quite literally looking as if he�d
been carved from a mountainside, the man could probably crush two human
heads in one of his massive palms. Mirryn had heard the golgari weren�t
actually made of stone, just that their skin was so dense, and combined
with the greyish texture, gave the appearance of rock. Who knew if that
were true? All she could tell was that he
His thick hands moved with surprising grace as he poured drinks and fetched glasses for his clientele. Barely pausing to take the scene in, Donnelan stepped up to the bar and slapped down a coin, flashing it at the owner, who nodded as he finished serving his current customer.
�I guess we know what those prisoners were for now, eh?� The mage forced out a laugh as he played with the coin in his fingers.
�The what?� Mirryn asked, leaning onto the stone bar next to him.
�The prisoners,� he repeated, staring at her. When she continued to stare back blankly, he continued. �Remember? When we came down here to Rylleh, the Legion brought a bunch of killers and criminals. Where did you think the irregulars came from?�
Her eyes widened with understanding. �Oh.�
Donnelan grunted. �Right. Oh.�
When the massive bartender made his way over, Donnelan ordered two tall glasses of �something with kick� and paid the man.
As the huge figure with skin that looked like solid rock poured out the drinks, Mirryn wasn�t sure how she felt about the irregulars. They�d certainly helped in the fighting. Not as strong as a full Legionary, but stronger than most normal people. Now that she knew where they came from, she didn�t know if it was right or wrong.
The criminals had been sentenced to death. In most ways, they�d died as
humans anyway. She�d seen the irregulars, seen them
�Then we were fighting theesh monsters, and they�re like, freaking shombies, I�m tellin� you. No matter what I hit �em with they just don�t shtay down. Finally, I burn the shtoopid thing so much it falsh down, and this�this ugly ass bug breaks out of iz back and jush, crawls off!�
�Donnelan, I think you�ve had enough. I can�t understand what on Pangera you�re saying.�
�I�m� FINE!�
�You are not fine. You�ve been trying to drink out of the bowl of nuts for the last fifteen minutes!�
��Maybe I�z had enough.�
�I thought you mage types were supposed to be smart. You had enough an hour ago, you moron. You�re juicier than a fiddler at festival time. I bet you can�t even walk.�
Donnelan�s eyes went blank, and he swayed from side to side, testing his balance.
�Yous right!� he declared. �I can�t�ed walk.�
Mirryn grunted with irritation. She�d been happy to join in and have a few drinks. Only to realise the spirits they brewed down here were several levels more intense than anything they�d drunk on the surface. She�d slowed down her pace, enjoyed the convivial atmosphere, and watched the various races and social grouping here in Rylleh mixing within the venue.
Donnelan just wrecked himself and complained.
�Is he going to make it home?� rumbled the barkeep.
The enormous golgari male had kept a watchful eye on his business all night, but hadn�t had to flex his size on anyone, something Mirryn was quite grateful for.
�I�ll give him a shoulder,� she assured him. �He�ll be okay.�
The barkeep grunted and stomped to the other side of the bar, ready to serve another customer who was prepared to continue drinking into the morning.
�Come on, Donnelan, up you get,� Mirryn urged, grabbing her friend by the shoulder.
��Ey! Eashy!� he mumbled as he staggered to his feet.
An hour later, Mirryn walked out of Donnelan�s room in the barracks, loud snoring already rumbling out the doorway. The moron had staggered and stumbled each and every step, plus a few stops on the way to expel the worst of his drinks. The journey took four times as long as it should�ve. The second she�d thrown him at his bunk, he�d been out like a light.
�Big night?� a quiet voice said from the dark corridor.
Turning to her left, she found Tribune Aurillia approaching from the officers� quarters, farther down this wing of the barracks. All of the Liria branch trainees who had been recently promoted, along with their officers, had been bunked together in one wing of the barracks.
�Ah.� Mirryn coughed awkwardly. �Bigger for some than for others.�
Aurillia laughed. �I�m not surprised. Young Donnelan always struggled to deal with stress. Considering how much has changed for him lately, this was only to be expected.�
�Well, as you say, we�ve had our lives turned upside down. We don�t even have a home on the surface anymore,� Mirryn pointed out, a little bitterness leaking through. �It shouldn�t shock anyone that some people can�t cope.�
Aurillia only nodded and placed a hand on the far younger woman�s shoulder.
�We have all lost our homes and family above. We can only hope and pray that some of them have survived and fled. Until the Mana levels recede, our duty is to hold the Bulwark and prevent even greater destruction.�
Mirryn shrugged her officer�s hand off.
�And when exactly will that be? Ever since we�ve come down here, we�ve been fighting. I�ve killed more monsters in the past two months than I�ve killed in all my life, and it isn�t stopping. Even now, the soldiers in the forts are fighting. No matter how much we fight, it doesn�t seem to matter. Are we even making a difference?�
�We are,� Aurillia affirmed, no trace of doubt in her voice. �Every monster we kill is a threat that has been removed. Every day we hold the Bulwark matters.�
�Why, though? Why is it so important that
Aurillia closed her eyes, going very still. When she opened them, she looked directly into the younger Legionary�s. Mirryn had always been strong. Not only had she taken to the Legion�s training exceptionally well, she�d displayed a rare emotional strength. She�d been the rock of her training group, and many who might have failed, passed by leaning on her for support.
In many ways, she reminded Aurillia of herself when she was younger. This was a Legionary who would go far. Probably further than she herself managed.
�What do you know about the Ancients?� she asked.
Mirryn blinked at the sudden change of topic.
�Not much? I mean, are you referring to the people before the Rending?�
Aurillia shook her head. �No. I�m talking about the Ancients. The first monsters.�
Mirryn�s eyes narrowed, and Aurillia couldn�t help but chuckle.
�All superstition, isn�t it? The first monsters who rose during the Rending and broke the world. Just a legend. The Church of the Path has worked hard to make people forget those old stories, and in some ways, for a good reason.�
The officer placed a hand on the wall of the barracks, feeling the solidity of the shaped stone. �There are members of the Legion who have gone below the Sixth Strata, hundreds of years ago, they�re among the only non-monstrous entities to ever descend that far. Did you know that? It nearly drove them mad, but they came back and told us things we didn�t dare to discount.�
�What did they see?� Mirryn whispered.
That anyone had been able to descend that far was beyond her imagination. The Mana would be so thick, you could practically swim in it. Just what sort of monsters lived down there?
�There are nineteen of the Ancients recorded in the old texts. Nineteen. The Legionaries who descended that far came back with confirmation of three. Enormous creatures of fathomless power. More like gods than monsters. When they returned, the Legion turned all of its resources to uncovering their secrets, learning whatever we could about the creatures. In time, we discovered something we didn�t expect.�
Aurillia took her hand from the wall and brushed the grit on her uniform.
�The System wants another Ancient. As far as we know, there have always been nineteen, and sometimes, powerful monsters are called to descend. We aren�t sure how or what happens when they get there, but we don�t want to find out. The Legion and other forces have shared knowledge and resources to prevent another Ancient from being created.�
�Garralosh,� Mirryn stated.
Aurillia nodded. �That fat croc got the call a long time ago. The Dungeon seers can sense it somehow, when the Dungeon reaches out and calls a monster. The second we got word, the Legion mobilised to lock this region up. We haven�t been able to kill Garralosh, she�s wily and tough as nails, but we�ve successfully prevented her from descending.�
Mirryn shook her head, trying to take this new information in. One thought nagged at her and she had to ask.
�What�s the big deal about the Ancients? If they do exist, they haven�t appeared for thousands of years. Does it really matter if another monster joins them in the depths?�
�Maybe, maybe not,� the older woman responded. �There are some who think like you, that it wouldn�t make much difference. There are others who believe that when their number is complete, they will rise again and trigger a second Rending. There are some who study the ancient writings who say that Pangera will end at the hands of twenty monsters. Who can say what is real or not? We simply protect, as best we can.�
Finally back!
In reality, it probably didn�t take that long, but leading these hatchlings around and making sure they didn�t get themselves killed has been a royal pain in the global financial market. Although they displayed surprising tactical acumen, organising themselves and operating as only a team of ants could, stamping out the remaining impulse toward sacrifice and martyrdom from their minds has proven difficult.
�It�s the most efficient strategy,� one of them protested at one stage.
THWACK!
�Efficient
The victim of my rage rubbed at their head with an antenna. �It�s time efficient and makes use of the resources we have available to minimise losses!� they protested. �It�s not the same as pointless self-sacrifice!�
�Time efficient, is it?� I growled. �Let�s see about that.�
I turned to the rest of the hatchlings. �Who volunteers for the suicide mission?�
Nineteen antennae went into the air. Turning back to the hatchling who suggested the plan, I found they�d raised their antenna as well.
�So, how quickly and efficiently are you going to collectively decide who is going to go?�
The mastermind of the scheme looked a little dejected. �I see your point.�
�No,� I corrected them. �You�re still only seeing part of it.�
THWACK!
Using my antennae to bring down a vicious double-barrelled thwack, I smack the worker�s head straight into the ground.
�You are STILL not measuring the weight of your lives correctly! The
amassed experience and resources, the investment the colony has made in
you, the potential work that you can achieve in the
They all stared at me blankly. The thought hadn�t even crossed their minds, I bet.
�Dig an escape tunnel for them to run to in advance, prepare a hiding
place, use a pit trap, connect the tunnels so they can loop back, there
are
I�ve no doubt the menace in my voice caused quite a few hatchlings to break out in a cold sweat on the inside of their carapace.
�For not even thinking of preserving your own lives, we�ll go ahead with the diversion plan, but I�ll take the role of the sacrificial diversion myself.�
�No!�
�Dammit!�
�That should have been me!�
�Before this day is done, I�d planned to lay down my life gloriously and unselfishly!�
�Yeah, that�s right,� I jeered at them. �No dangerous jobs for you, just the clean up!�
�Boo!� they roundly booed me for taking the �glory� for myself.
Following that discussion, I had the hatchlings re-evaluate their plan and take the time to prepare a way out for me, even though I didn�t really need one. Following that extra preparation, we executed the strategy flawlessly and the hunt was successful.
Despite having already evolved once, the hatchlings were able to rack up experience quickly, with Tiny, Crinis and I defeating anything they couldn�t handle and feeding them the last hits. With their stomach upgrades making it so they suffered no Biomass penalties for their only evolution, the points and mutations were coming on fast as well.
All in all, it took only slightly longer than another full day of delving to get all the ants up to Level ten. When I think about my own struggles in my early life and compare it to the silver spoon these chumps have been handed, I�m just a little bitter.
Suck it up, Anthony! This is for a future of relaxation. If these guys can take care of the colony, then you won�t have to. Remember to play the long game!
When we finally trudge back into the nest, I get the ants to form up around me. I want to give them a little pep talk before the second evolution.
�This is a big step in your lives. At this evolution, you�ll be the first workers to select a caste that will determine the nature of your service to the colony. This is the system I designed to allow each individual to choose the path they themselves believe is best suited to them. The drawback is that multiple specialisations are not really feasible. Because we start so weak as hatchlings, spreading our resources too thin is just inefficient.�
They all nod at that. Being efficient and getting the most out of every worker has been one of the lessons I�ve hammered into them the most.
�Think well on how you wish to contribute. Do you want to fight? Do you want to tend to the brood? Will you be our next queen? Will you help craft and build in ways no ant has ever done before, or will you learn magic and assist the colony through spellcasting?�
The thoughts are visibly turning over through the eyes of every hatchling before me. They�re all burning to contribute to the colony, but unlike any ant who has come before them, they get to make a choice. Not some instinctual reflex either, but an actual, reasoned, considered choice. I�m not worried they�ll pick something they aren�t suited to. These ants are nothing if not brutally honest with themselves.
�Consider your choice carefully, and when you�re ready you can begin your evolution. I don�t have any particular rules for you this time around. You�re smart enough to make your own decisions.�
With that, I let them go.
[Crinis, Tiny. I�ll get you to watch over them while they evolve, please.]
[Yes, Master]
[Hrnnn�]
With that taken care of� I�m gonna sleep!
I�m an absolute wreck. It may not seem like I�ve done anything stressful, and in reality, I haven�t really, but my core is FREAKIN sore! I feel as if all the bones I don�t have inside my body are broken. Every step is painful. How have I managed to hold on this long? Sheer grit and determination. I will raise up these twenty hatchlings, and then my time of rest shall come! Dreaming of not having to stress and worry about the fate of the colony has driven me this far, but I�m spent. If I don�t rest and recuperate, then I�m worried my core is just going to straight up shatter.
Thinking that I still have half a rare core to go, my body shudders in despair. I�m already full! How the hell I�m supposed to fit anymore in, I don�t know. Claws crossed, my body adapts to my larger-than-intended core.
I nestle into a corner of my chamber just as the hatchlings are beginning to do the same. After my nap, I may awaken to see the fruits of all of this labour.
HAZZAT!
My mind springs to alertness, and the first thing I notice is that the pain inside me has eased a minute amount. JOY! The pain is still intense, to be sure. I�m a giant roll of cracked toffee, but the simple fact I could expect the pain to reduce over time is such a relief, I would weep were I able.
Gingerly stretching my legs, allowing the ache to settle into each of them, I look around the room. The obvious thing to check on is the hatchlings and how their evolutions are progressing.
Oh-ho? Looking good!
It would appear I didn�t wake too late. The hatchlings are well into the evolution process, their sizes and forms changing to take on the different castes they�ve selected. Tiny and Crinis are tip-toeing amongst them, swatting monsters as they attempt to burst out and attack whatever is near them. I should have let them evolve above ground, now that I think of it. Ah well, my pets had it all in hand.
I can already make out the choices of a few of the ants, several of the castes appear distinctly different. This mostly has to do with size. The soldiers put on a fair bit of size after their first evolution, not quite enough to match me, but that�s mainly because they�ve increased the muscle density just as much as bulk, and a fair chunk of energy is spent on defensive glands. They�ll receive a Regeneration Gland as well as the inner carapace plating, vastly increasing their survivability.
Others will take the leader path, giving over sheer size and defence for a bit more smarts and buffing auras to push their pure combat brethren to greater heights. For the soldiers, there is also the scout path, smaller but faster, better able to stealth. With enhanced endurance and sensory organs, these ants will be the far-ranging eyes and ears of the colony. Their enhanced acid attacks will ensure they can contribute to any fight from range.
The specialised workers are smaller, their energy going to enhanced minds and more delicate control of their extremities. These will be the workers who tend the brood, enhancing the growth of the hatchlings through aura effects and expediting their hatching, as well as the artisan caste who I hope will turn into the ant builders and Shapers.
The Juvenile Queens, contrary to expectations, actually put on the most size. Huge chunks of energy go to increasing their raw mass, as well as laying the foundation for their egg production system. Even after this evolution they won�t be able to produce young, having to wait one more evolution for their full capacity to come online. In the meantime, they can support hunting expeditions with their bulk and healing Mana glands.
Yeah, I modelled them on the existing queen. She�s perfect, so why not!
This does mean that any egg-producing queen will be difficult for the colony to produce, since they�ll be tier four monsters, going all the way from Hatchling to Juvenile Worker, to Juvenile Queen, to Young Queen. Just another reason why the queens must be protected at all costs!
Seeing the young ants begin to stir, my heart swells with pride. This has been a heck of a long project. The first seeds of this idea were planted after the first war of the hill, so long ago. Seeing the ants throwing their lives away so wastefully, I knew that if I could, I would change that. Give them the ability to reason and plan. Turns out, I still had to thwack the suicidal impulses out of their heads. It�ll be worth it in the end. Now the colony will grow and I won�t have to worry about protecting the workers from themselves. Not as much, anyway.
The ants are waking up now, beginning to move themselves and adapt to their new bodies. They�re curiously turning to examine the rest of their siblings, wondering what each ant picked. They�ve almost perfectly distributed themselves across the roles I envisioned. I�d be shocked if they hadn�t coordinated themselves after looking at the menu. Sneaky little buggers.
�Gather around me, young ones.�
At the scent of my pheromones, they turn toward me and draw closer.
�You have taken the first step and chosen the method by which you will grow the colony. Well done, all of you. As a sign of my benediction, and in recognition of your status as the first of a new generation, I will give each of you a name.�
I pause for dramatic effect.
�What�s a name, senior?�
Dammit.
They�re ants. Of course they have no idea what a name is. They barely have a concept of what an individual is. Why would they have any idea of names?
�A name is like a personal title that belongs only to you. It allows people to remember you and associate your actions to you, even without having seen or met you.�
They still look confused. I guess it doesn�t really matter if they understand it or not. I�m giving them names more for me than I am for them.
�Can the two Juvenile Queens step closer.�
Yes indeed, not one, but two new queens. One more evolution for these two and the egg production in the colony could triple. Not that the queen is really running at full capacity right now. As the workforce expands, the rate that food comes in will very quickly rise. Not to mention the aphid strategy.
The two ants before me now were very placid as hatchlings. Attentive and looking out for their siblings, they were perfect to take on the mothering role of queens.
�Hmm. As the prospective queens of the colony, I shall give you suitably royal names. You will be known as Antionette, and you will be Victoriant.�
The two Juvenile Queens are almost the same size as I am. Other than looking mildly confused, they seem pleased enough and retreat to make room for the next ants.
�Can the Carver Ants come forward.�
The specialised crafters, two of them, step forward. Not much larger than before, they now have enhanced minds, and their front legs end in the special articulate claws with an opposable digit that will be the calling card of their caste.
�As the future crafters and smiths of ant-kind, I�ll name you Cobalt, and you Tungstant.�
Receiving their names, they make space for the next to be summoned.
�Core Shapers, step forward.�
Two more Artisans, small, quick and clever. These are the caste that will be dedicated to exploring the creation of custom pets, seeking the heights achieved by the Sophos. The two ants move with an easy grace and confidence that can�t help but influence my choice of name.
�I shall name you Ellie�short for elegant�and you shall be Bella.�
Receiving their names, the two Core Shapers step smoothly back.
�Can the two generals step forward.�
The leadership variety of the soldier caste are somewhat bulky, and surrounded with empowering auras. These two give an air of determination and solidity.
�I shall name you Sloan, and you Victor.�
Then it�s time for the Brood Tenders.
�You will be known as Theresant, and you shall be Florence.�
Next are the ant Mages.
�Hmm. What sort of magic are you thinking of specialising in?� I say to the first one.
�Ice magic, senior.�
�Very well, you shall be Coolant. What about you?� I say to the second.
�Fire magic, senior.�
�Understood. You shall be Propellant.�
Next is the Scouts.
�You will be Burke, and you, Wills.�
Then the two Healers.
�You shall be Mendant, and you are Frances.�
Finally, it�s time for the four Soldiers. I�m not sure how they ended with four, there are nine castes and we could have had doubles in any of them, but nope, all soldier, all the way. Larger than all of their siblings but the queens, looking potent and dangerous, they step forward as a unit.
The first one I remember well. Constantly declaring they would be dead before the day was done. It took a lot of effort to keep this one alive.
�Firstly, I shall call you Leeroy. Then you, Grant. You, Advant, and you shall be Brendant.�
With that, my work is done.
�Go forth! Soon there will be another two hundred of you to take care of, then another two hundred after that. You�ll be plenty busy! I�m going back to sleep.�
The twenty young ants departed the chamber of the eldest in silence, allowing their senior the rest and quiet they seemed to crave. They didn�t quite understand it, this desire for solitude and a reprieve from work. An unnatural concept for an ant, but due to the individual making the request, they respected it.
Without communicating, they moved as one through the queen�s chamber toward the upper chambers. Now there were six hundred of their kind waiting to be born here. The queen had been pushing herself to reach full production as fast as possible, and only yesterday another clutch was laid. It would be one day, maybe a little more, before the first wave of two hundred was born. There was much to do.
Filing into an unoccupied upper chamber, the twenty arranged themselves into a rough circle. They hadn�t planned or discussed this council, but by some instinct, they knew it would occur. The mantle of leadership did not belong to any one ant. All members of the colony understood this, but the twenty, despite being so young, understood that after the eldest and the senior known as Vibrant, they were the eldest of their race. Thus, they were expected to lead.
�Much to be done,� the Carver known as Cobalt said.
�Indeed,� several others answered.
The general, Victor, waved their antennae in a gesture of frustration. �The eldest has many ideas, but the implementation has not been carried through.�
�You speak of the farms?� Burke the scout asked.
Victor nodded. �I do. Their capacity is woefully inadequate.�
Ellie the Core Shaper stepped forward. �If the queen is laying at full capacity, then we can expect two hundred new hatchlings every few days. Currently, the colony is woefully underprepared to feed and groom that many workers. Certainly not to the standards the eldest hopes for.�
All twenty lowered their heads in contemplation. The eldest, the first and progenitor of their species, was something of a puzzle. As their senior and indeed, the eldest of their race, they revered and respected that individual as every member of the colony did. At the same time, they were frequently confused by them. Un-antlike concepts and behaviour, such as the insistence on the nurturing of each individual to the best of the colony�s capacity, went against their instincts, even if they could intellectually understand the benefit.
Antionette spoke for herself and her fellow Juvenile Queen, Victoriant. �I believe we are all agreed that the farms must be dramatically expanded. At least double, perhaps as much as five times the size,� she offered softly. �We must ensure the young are able to grow without want.�
The twenty all nodded. This was the first priority. The wave was a temporary phenomenon in theory, and whilst it persisted, they could exploit it to harvest the Biomass and cores they needed to fuel the rapid expansion of the colony. The workforce required to hunt and acquire such an amount of food under normal circumstances did not currently exist. Exploiting the current circumstances made a lot of sense.
�Let us discuss the composition of the workforce moving forward,� rumbled Grant. �I would like to hear your thoughts.�
The eldest had insisted each worker be allowed to choose their own path, which the twenty acknowledged, and again, didn�t quite understand. Of course, each individual ant would choose whatever it was that the colony needed. They themselves had been quite conflicted upon being told they would need to decide for themselves what to evolve into. Only after a lengthy discussion had they decided what would best serve the colony was for a representative of each caste to be present amongst them, thus allowing the ants to choose the caste that best suited their temperament without concern.
The new wave of hatchlings would be desperate to know what it was the colony required, and would then be overjoyed to evolve and fill that gap.
�We all know why you do not want to speak first,� grunted Tungstant. �The colony needs soldiers more than anything else. We have pressing need for strength in combat, scouts and leaders in order to protect ourselves, and increase in our hunting efficiency.�
�Indeed,� seconded Theresant, the Brood Keeper. �We also require more workers to tend to the brood. If we wish to ensure the young are given the best start to life we can manage, security, sustenance and care in the larval form is required.�
This was reasonable, and also ran into the other problem that the eldest had unwittingly dropped on them.
�Those of us from the specialist classes should begin to experiment and research Skills as quickly as possible,� Cobalt spoke their thoughts. �The eldest has procured information from a source outside the colony, but we should not trust that source implicitly. Each Skill unlock and fusion combination needs to be tested. Not to mention,� Cobalt continued wryly, �some castes do not have a clear purpose as of yet. We will need to discover it from scratch.�
The others agreed. Exactly how the Cavers and Core Shapers were supposed to operate, what exactly they were intended to produce, was completely nebulous at present. Not understanding with exacting precision, their purpose in the colony was unnatural and intolerable to the ants. It was unlikely they would rest until they were able to discern a function they could fill.
�I agree,� Sloan pitched in. �We need to establish a complete map of all Skill options, fusions and mutations as quickly as possible. For all castes. Peak efficiency is to be sought at all times.�
How the eldest had blundered forward, choosing this and that with seemingly little thought to future possibilities and consequences, yet still managed to become the most powerful individual in the family, was faintly miraculous. The workers did not wish to take any chances. All things should be planned and mapped as much as possible.
�Now we come to the most difficult question,� Coolant the mage spoke solemnly.
All the ants fell still as they contemplated this most serious issue.
�What exactly are we going to do with the eldest?� Burke muttered.
The strangely puzzling, compelling and powerful progenitor of their race, followed loyally by the two guardians, each a powerhouse in their own right, represented a tremendous asset to the colony, but also a somewhat random and chaotic element.
For now, it would appear their senior intended to�
�We may need some time to consider this issue,� Victoriant broke the silence. �I suggest we rally the colony and commence work for the time being. Let us reconvene just prior to the next wave of pupae hatching.�
In silent agreement, the twenty rushed out into the bustle of the colony, dropping scent trails and gathering workers for the projects they had in mind. It was going to get busy around here.
Knowledge of Demon societies of the Third Strata is limited, to put it mildly. I�ve no idea why you would contact me seeking such knowledge, it�s hardly my area of expertise! I suppose it is true that my academy has amassed the most records regarding deep delves of the Dungeon, but that doesn�t mean I�ve had the opportunity to read them all.
Honestly, Ranlon, I don�t know why you waste your time in that third-rate college of yours. A scholar with your pedigree would be more than welcome here at the tower. I know of your distaste for �petty nobility and their feckless children,� as you have put it, but surely you must be feeling the pinch, rolling around in the dirt with those commoners.
As far as demons and their ilk, I have managed to scrounge up a few records for you. Only a few groups have ever admitted to making contact with the demon clans; the Legion, a few mercenary companies of renown and several of the old empires. All of their public statements on the matter agree that the demons were cordial, did not attack and allowed them to leave in peace. In every other way, they were detestable. Trickery, lies, deception and entanglement supposedly come as second nature to the demon clans, making any negotiation with them a tangled nightmare.
A few successful trades have been reported, but those were only secured after shrewd bargaining and open threats of violence and retaliation from both sides.
Everyone knows the different clans differ vastly from one another and that the wild �beast demons� infest the tunnels of the third strata, but specifics are just impossible to find. I�ve put the word out that if a text should be unearthed from the archive with pertinent information, to have it brought to my attention. That is the best I can do for the moment.
Do consider my offer, Ranlon. I�d hate to see a mind so bright rot away for such paltry people.
Tiny, Crinis and I retreat to a higher chamber and settle in for some rest time. I�m vaguely aware of the immense amount of activity throughout the colony, but so long as there�s no attack or dire need of me, I intend to let my aching body recoup.
For an entire day I do nothing but flop about, dip in and out of torpor, and complain endlessly within my own mind about my aching core. Perhaps it�s a little sad, pathetic even, but dammit, a little self-indulgent whining never hurt anyone!
After another full day of rest, the pain in my body has reduced ever so slightly, and I decided I�ve had enough sitting around on my backside. Even Tiny looks like he might pass out from sheer boredom if we don�t go and fight something soon. Emerging from our chamber, the frenetic atmosphere that has pervaded the colony hits me right in the face. Workers are rushing around with mandible-loads of dirt, carting it to the surface for disposal, and rushing back down into the depths of the colony. What is going on?
Fighting against the flow of traffic, I push my way down into the nest and eventually run into the Carver ant, Tungstant.
�Hi there, Tungstant! What�s going on down there?�
The smaller ant turns to me and responds somewhat tersely. �Finally emerged, senior? The hatching of the next wave of pupae is expected any moment, and we�re racing to finish the expansion project before they arrive.�
�Expansion project? What expansion project?�
�In order to cater for the increased number of hatchlings, it was decided the colony needed to expand, especially the farming operation. The need for Biomass, experience and cores is going to rise dramatically, you know.�
I suppose� that makes sense.
�Seems like a good idea,� I said. �Anything for me to do? I�m happy to pitch in.�
If there is work to be done, I�ll roll my sleeves up and help out. What is family for, after all? I�ve had my fill of self-pity for now. Time to work and contribute to the colony!
�Not at the moment,� Tungstant immediately cuts down my growing enthusiasm. �Preparations are basically complete and the hatchlings are expected any moment. The others are in position to welcome them and commence their training. I�m expected there at the moment, as well. If you�ll excuse me, senior.�
With a dip of his antennae, the Carver ant is off, zipping down another tunnel and heading toward the brood chambers. Leaving me somewhat at a loss, standing in a tunnel like I have a stick lodged in my market square.
This feels strange.
After being the catalyst for most actions around the colony for so long, it�s weird to wake up and find that, not only have plans been made without me, they�ve been completed! The twenty have done exactly what I wanted them to do. Taking the lead for the colony without having to consult me. So� why do I suddenly feel so empty?
Overcome with a sense of loss, I rush into the queen�s chamber and push aside the tending workers until I find her.
�Mother!� I cried. �Am I still special?�
The queen looked at me, a mixture of amusement and surprise warring on her face.
�What on Pangera has gotten into you, child?� she asked.
�The other ants are running the colony without me!�
She looked even more baffled if anything. �Child, no single one of us �runs� the colony. We are all members of the family and we each have our own role to play in helping us to thrive. You have done much already for the colony.�
�Is that so?� I ask, wanting to be convinced.
�Of course,� she affirms. �There are many things that only you can achieve to assist the colony. Do not worry if another worker is doing what you were once doing. Think instead about what it is that only you can do to help our family.�
After speaking to the queen, I make my way back to my chamber, somewhat embarrassed by my outburst and reflecting on what it is I should do now.
My immediate goals have mostly been achieved. The twenty hatchlings of the new era have made a successful debut, and with my teachings ringing in their ears and the ideal start to life they�ve enjoyed, they have already begun to lift the burden of leadership from my shoulders. Even if it makes me feel somewhat despondent, this is what I craved! The only question now is, what am I supposed to do with myself? I could work on grinding my Skills, I suppose. Not to mention Levelling up. That assisted in reducing the burden on me after absorbing the first special core, so grabbing some experience will certainly help me.
Tiny and Crinis need to continue increasing their strength, not to mention I could seek out my third pet. From what I understand, three pets are the limit without purchasing Skills to increase it. Frankly, the investment of cores and Biomass would probably climb too high for me to justify the cost. I have to contribute resources into the colony now, I can�t continue to hoard them all for myself. One more pet will be my limit. Hopefully, I can find something good.
I mean, it isn�t as if the colony has no enemies. Those stupid crocs have been quiet over the last few days, thankfully, and we haven�t had to fight off any attacks. Other than the constant buzz of monsters battling away in the tunnels due to the concentrated Mana. I don�t doubt they�ll be back, which means I�ll need to be stronger in order to protect the colony.
Thinking further ahead. What if my family wants to expand farther down into the Dungeon? Odds are they will. With potentially three queens producing young at a ridiculous speed, there will be thousands of ants in the colony before too long. Tens of thousands even. With all of those mouths to feed, the colony will need more space, more Biomass, cores and other resources if we are to develop the thriving industries I envisioned.
To expand, I�ll need to pave the way and remove the threats before they become a problem. If we come across a new Expanse, I�ll need to go in first in order to minimise the risk to my siblings. I wouldn�t want them to lose lives going in there and getting hurt!
Come to think of it, there�s actually a ton of reasons for me to get stronger�
Except, how am I supposed to do that if I need to stay with the colony and protect it? They couldn�t possibly survive without the protection of me and my pets!
Actually� is that even true anymore?
Though the twenty hatchlings aren�t super powerful, they�re far more intelligent than they were before and can coordinate and organise the workers. Shortly, there are going to be hundreds more. With the colony and village getting stronger, I�m probably not needed to fend off the level of incursions we�ve been seeing so far. Especially since Morrelia is around to berserk her way through the hordes like a scythe.
That lady is scary.
I guess, if the colony doesn�t need me around all the time, then I�m free to scuttle off and do some exploring and Levelling with Tiny and Crinis? As long as I don�t get too far away, it should be fine, right? I should probably push toward the lands formerly occupied by the Kingdom of Liria. With a little luck, I might be able to track down another of big momma croc�s children, who is no doubt behind the attacks that have been sent our way over the surface.
That settles it then! Time to go exploring. I have some unfinished business down in the Marsh Expanse, may as well look into that first.
Just as I get my feet under me and prepare to depart, a resounding shout echoes throughout the colony as hundreds of individuals roar out in pheromonal language as loud as they can.
�My life, FOR THE COLONY!�
�SACRIFICE for the colony!�
�Before this day is done, we shall be TORN ASUNDER for the COLONY!�
Dammit, Leeroy!
From the sounds of things, the next two hundred hatchlings have emerged from their cocoons. How exciting!
[Come on Tiny, Crinis, let�s go check it out. Then we might head down into the Dungeon for a while. It�ll be nice to find something to fight.]
Tiny grunted in agreement. [Fight. Good.]
Quite so.
After making our way through the nest, we emerge into one of the brood chambers. Inside are hundreds of tiny hatchlings bustling about, shouting and roaring as the first twenty move between them, attempting to get them organised. After a few moments of cheerfully watching the high energy of these new hatchlings, irritation stirs in my gut at their slow response to the instructions of their seniors.
�
By some miracle, the hatchlings cut off their racket and face me, along with the first twenty. Uh, I didn�t expect to get all of this attention. Whilst I have it, I may as well say something.
�To the new hatchlings, let me say welcome to our family. Now do as you�re told and crack in, the colony needs workers, not corpses! Listen to your seniors and work hard.�
�Yes, senior!� they shout and begin to file their way out of the chamber under the watchful eye of the twenty.
�Thank you, senior,� Tungstant said. �We underestimated how worked up the hatchlings would be upon hatching.�
I could only laugh at that. �You don�t remember what happened when you and your siblings hatched?� I ask jokingly, causing the Carver ant�s antennae to droop with embarrassment.
�I�m sure you and your brood mates will do a fantastic job taking care of these hatchlings, Tungstant. You�ve done good work preparing for them, it�ll go well. I�m planning on taking Tiny and Crinis out for a bit of exploration and Levelling. We won�t be far away if you need us, I�ll leave a trail for you.�
�As you say, senior. We will look forward to your return.�
Briefly I contemplate paying a visit to the village, I just don�t know what to say. Nothing about the changes in the colony, I�m not exactly sure how humans would react to the creation of this new species. Knowing the people in the village, their fervour for all things ant may only increase, an outcome I�d rather avoid. If they get even more fired up in their ant obsession, I�ll come back to find a temple or something in the middle of their land.
That�s the last thing I need. It�s already difficult to go there due to getting swarmed by people moments after I arrive. Then the priest shows up and starts shouting to the heavens. It�s a pain, to say the least. If I didn�t have Enid to talk to, I�m not sure I�d bother communicating with them at all.
It�ll be nice to actually get away, not feel pressured by time and obligations, just by the jaws and claws of the deformed beasts in the Dungeon attempting to rip my face off. The less stressful stuff. Tiny lumbers behind me as we make our way down into the queen�s chamber and farther into our own private chamber, currently occupied by a few monsters attempting to claw at each other.
Impatient and annoyed, Tiny smashes these monsters in a single backhand, then squats, waiting for me to give the go ahead to keep moving. The intense light down here hasn�t changed for weeks. Compared to when I first arrived in the world, the illumination is intense, almost stinging my eyes. I�m looking forward to this stupid event coming to an end, though. From what I understand, the waves are not supposed to last this long. A week, maybe two, then things start to die down and the accelerated spawn rates go back to normal, everything is gravy.
It�s been
Ah well.
[Come over here for a second, Tiny, I want to check your core.]
Rolling his eyes, the bat-faced lightning gorilla stomps over and plonks himself on the ground with a thud. Real graceful.
Checking in on the progress of my pets every now and again is important, since they haven�t been the best at taking care of themselves. I might be driven into taking further pet-based Skills just to help manage these two. Tiny with his dim-witted decision making, and Crinis with her paralysing fear of failure, have caused no shortage of issues. Play it safe and stay on top of the problem. That sounds like a good policy.
Bringing forth my antennae, I access Tiny�s core and sift through the information to piece together his status.
Name: Tiny
Level: 21 (core)(IV)
Might: 154
Toughness: 42
Cunning: 7
Will: 15
HP: 84/84
MP: 180/180
Skills: Expert Ape Boxing Level 12; Severe Brutal Uppercut Level 4; Enhanced Leap Level 6; Advanced Heavy Smash Level 3; Advanced Athletics Level 5; Advanced Grappling Level 3; Potent Crushing Blows Level 9; Dazzling Fancy Feet Level 4; Advanced Dash Level 5
Mutations: Meteoric Enhanced Musculature +15, Stone Bones +15; Starfall Legs +15; Shattering Sonic Enhancer +15; Hard Compressing Lightning Mana Affinity Gland +10, Hard Compressing Lightning Mana Affinity Gland +10, Hyper Rapid Energy Conversion Gland +10
Species: Dire Lightning Storm Kong
Skill Points: 17
Biomass: 104
Overall, things are looking good for him. Lots of Level ups, plenty of mutations. I think he�s chosen to enhance his +5 mutation every single time he advances things to +10. Which means at +15, he only has the one option to deal with. Makes sense, I suppose. Tiny likes to keep things simple, which suits his personality just fine.
I can�t even be mad.
He�s well on his way to the complete +20, which is excellent. He also has a fair chunk of Biomass packed away in the tank. He�s probably just waiting until he upgrades at least two things at once to cut down on the time he has to spend in the menu.
[Good job, Tiny. Everything looks good. You�re getting really strong!]
He nodded once at my praise.
[Tiny strong,] he affirmed.
[Alright, Crinis, your turn.]
[Ah! Are you sure, Master?]
[Yes.]
Before she can protest further, I stretch my antennae back to the small black sphere sitting on my back.
Name: Crinis
Level: 6 (core) (II)
Might: 38
Toughness: 35
Cunning: 22
Will: 20
HP: 130/130
MP: 210/210
Skills: Expert Shadow Flesh Manipulation Level 1; Expert Grappling Level 1; Expert Shredding Level 6; Enhanced Tremor Sensing Level 6; Brutal Dismembering Level 5; Greater Fear Inspiration Level 3; Mana Shaping Level 9; Smooth Tentacle Walking Level 4
Mutations: Dense Durable Shadow Flesh +10; Rapid Disintegrating Void Maw +10; Vast Bottomless Dimensional Stomach +10; Empowered Dividing Tentacles +10; Sharpened Ripping Spines +10; Pointed Macabre Teeth +10; Wide Fine Mana Sensory Gland +10; Deep Shadow Magic Gland +5; Swift Shadow Flesh Generator +5
Species: Special Death Ball
Skill Points: 12
Biomass: 54
This is looking impressive! Mana Shaping already up to Level nine? She must have been practising diligently. She�ll be up to Mana Transformation in no time! If I keep slacking at improving my spellcasting, then I�m going to look bad.
On the mutation front, she�s coming along nicely. Very nearly full at +10 across the board.
[You�ve been spending your points on your own! I�m very impressed, Crinis.]
[T-thank you, Master!]
She sounds as if a weight has been lifted off her tentacles. She must have been worried I�d criticise her choices, as usual. On the contrary, I think it looks like it�s all making sense and that she�s getting much stronger overall.
[How are you finding the Mana Sensing Gland, Crinis? Is it helpful?]
[Ah�Yes, it is! Uh, the gland has been very useful, Master. I can detect nearby Mana sources; even if they attempt to conceal themselves visually, it is much harder to hide their Mana. I�ve improved it to be more sensitive and have a wider range.]
[Looks like it�s working out well.]
With my inspection complete, it�s time to depart. Grinding Skills and consuming Biomass are the aims of this expedition, with a little scouting on the side. Intent on clearing out the Dungeon, we don�t even bother to utilise the shortcut and instead plunge straight down the tunnel that connects to our chamber, threshing the monsters in our way like wheat.
Fingers crossed this helps me deal with my ache!
Moving with some hesitation so as not to tax my aching body, we advance into the Dungeon, filling in any gaps on my Tunnel Map and earning me another Level in that Skill for my troubles. Unlike before we liberated the Marsh, the tunnels are filled with plants and beasts fighting their maddened little hearts out, tearing at each other as a near endless supply of them continues to rip out of the walls and throw themselves into the fray.
In other words, normal Dungeon behaviour.
It�s a little weird how normal this has all become. Ravenous creatures out of nightmares tearing out of the dirt attempting to eat me sounds like a nightmare. After living on Pangera for a few months, it�s all becoming a little blas�. I can�t even muster up a sense of danger or excitement. Crinis and Tiny swat most of the monsters the moment they come close to us. I barely get enough time to utilise my Mind Magic to trick and deceive the enemy. This isn�t even useful for grinding!
We�ve become too evolved and too highly mutated to be threatened up here at this level of the Dungeon. The reality is starting to sink in more and more, that in order to gain power and strengthen myself for the purpose of protecting the colony, I�ll need to go lower. Which means leaving the colony for extended periods of time, something I�m not prepared to do until I�m certain my family will be able to protect themselves from all threats. Thinking of Vibrant, the queen, the twenty and all of my siblings coming to harm, I can�t help but feel tight and panicky in my thorax.
No harm will come to them! I�ll work hard to make sure it is so!
With the number of ants starting to climb rapidly, and those ants being more special than any species of ant that has come before, it won�t be long until the colony becomes powerful in its own right. All we need is time.
Completing a clean-out of the tunnels, my pets and I continue to grind our Skills as we take the long way down to the Marsh. Refreshingly, we don�t encounter any of those filthy croca-beasts.
By the time we reach the Marsh itself, I�m tired, aching and more than a little irritable. In order to recover, we unearth the shortcut and the three of us clean the place out and huddle inside for a little peace.
[So, Tiny. What do you think you�ll evolve into next?] I ask my furry bat-faced gorilla companion.
Tiny�s eyes lose focus as he stares blankly at the air, considering my question.
[Gorilla,] he stated finally, nodding with satisfaction at having arrived at such a definitive answer.
[Aren�t you already a gorilla?] I press.
He frowns, and then his eyes widen with sudden understanding. He proceeds to stare vaguely into the air again.
[Bigger gorilla,] he declares with finality.
To be fair, he�s probably right. Each evolution has made him more impressively powerful, and yet each time, he also grows increasingly more dim. If this trend were to continue through further evolutions, we wouldn�t be talking about dim, the lights will have gone completely out!
I�m a little worried about Tiny. He�s always been thicker than a concrete milkshake. It�s a part of his personality and I�ve somewhat accepted that to some extent, I�ll always have to take care of a few things for him. But if he gets any worse after his next evolution, I�ll have to step in personally.
It�ll cause him immense emotional pain, I�ve no doubt about that, but he may have to sacrifice some of his impressive flexing capacity in order to ensure his brain doesn�t deflate like a popped balloon.
[How about you, Crinis?] I turn my attention to my other pet. [What do you think you�ll evolve into?]
[Don�t you know, Master?] she asks, referring to the adjustments I�d made to her core before she�d been reconstructed.
[Well, as it turns out, there are a few options for you at the next evolution.] I lower my voice menacingly at this point. [You will have to� make a CHOICE!]
A few tentacles extend, whacking me on the back. [S-stop teasing me, Master!] Crinis protests.
[Gwehehehehe. I was able to shape the general direction of those forms, and I believe the System will have tidied up the edges for me automatically. I wasn�t quite as skilled at core manipulation back then, so I wasn�t able to go as deep.]
[I�m sure you did wonderful work, Master!]
[Very kind of you to say so. I might take a look at the core just before you evolve, though. Do remind me about it, would you? I need to make sure nothing weird or useless has been mixed in.]
[As you say, Master,] Crinis said contentedly.
I feel like she gets reassured when I�m prepared to look into her evolutions and stats. If what she was worried about is my disapproval, then perhaps the steady drip of compliments and positive reinforcement I�ve been feeding her lately is starting to have an effect?
I hope so.
After an hour of rest to get my aching core back under control, we progress into the Marsh Expanse. What appears before my eyes is a grand vista of swampy waters, densely swaying vegetation and the savage roars of thousands of monsters engaged in the vicious struggle of life and death.
Music to my ears.
Time to harvest some experience, Skill Levels, Biomass, and most importantly, check in on my little aphid friends. The colony needs to expand its food supply and those little critters might be able to provide me with a solution.
The Marsh Expanse is teeming with monsters and the constant roar of battle. I have a ton of Biomass I need to collect and a whole host of Skills to grind. With Tiny and Crinis by my side, I�m perfectly confident wading into the Expanse to battle.
Monsters are fighting in every tree, on every mound of earth and inside every tepid pool of marsh water. The three of us barrel in and attack everything we can see. Tiny is in his element, smashing his fists in every direction, his massive hands thumping and grabbing monsters the moment they fall within his reach. His incredible punches hit with the force of a solid truck, and smaller beasts are sent flying out, slamming into trees and splashing into the water. Tiny hoots and bellows his rage and joy.
With her Mana detection sense, Crinis is a menace. No longer reliant on the sense of touch or forced to reach in every direction to locate foes before she can apply her damage, the little death ball lashes out with precision. Her tentacles are a web of movement, latching onto monsters and binding them before they can blink.
Once a creature is entangled by her limbs, it�s already over. Inevitably, more tentacles wind around arms, legs and torsos before she twists and tears, her barbs extending and rending them apart. Those monsters unfortunate enough to get too close, seeking to attack her spherical main body, find an even more unfortunate fate. They�re snatched up by tentacles that suddenly unfold from her form and are forced into her gaping maw, wherein her frightening teeth gnash and disintegrate them.
For my part, I am intent on training my Skills. Both of my sub-brains are engaged in maintaining a Mind Magic transformer and casting mental spells. This involves forming a Mind Bridge with the foe and utilising it to send magical constructs that essentially detonate in their mind as false stimuli. With my sub-brains and main mind engaged in this activity, I keep my physical fighting simple.
Bites, bites and more bites. Shattering Bite is a higher Level than my other two Bite Skills�Splintering Chomp and Shredding Bite�so the latter two are what I focus on. With my mandibles infused with Mana from my core, my mandibles transform into engines of destruction that these newly spawned monsters are unable to stand up to.
In this manner, we spend several hours battling to our hearts� content until we emerge from the Expanse and stumble back into the shortcut. Battered, bruised but satisfied, the three of us clear out the monsters in the shortcut before collapsing in a heap and taking a quick break. We have battled hard, eaten as much as we could, and our relentless focus on our Skills have reaped dividends.
[How�d you go, Tiny?] I enquire of my ape companion.
[I punch good!] he declares, flexing his arms.
[Yes, but did you manage to improve your Skills?] I ask, exasperated.
He nods, thrusting one fist into the air. [Punch better now!]
Fair enough. I�m not going to get much more definitive information than that by asking.
[How about you, Crinis? All things on the up and up?]
[Yes, Master] she responds, clearly pleased with herself. [I am quite satisfied with my Skill progression. I believe I�ll be more useful than ever before.]
[You don�t really have to worry about how useful you are�] I try to tell her. [It isn�t like you�ll ever be left behind or anything�]
[No!] she states definitively. [As pets we must be useful to our master! It would be disgraceful if I wasn�t able to carry my own weight. I�ll work even harder to make sure I won�t be useless!]
Geez, you�re far from useless. I almost feel bad that I can�t defeat monsters much faster than my own pets. I suppose if I were to start dropping Gravity Bombs everywhere, I�d rack up experience faster, but the unintended side effects of casting that spell are what worries me. For example, accidentally getting myself caught in the blast.
Well, luckily the food I�ve consumed has been able to net me a considerable hoard of Biomass. Gwehehehehe. My stomach upgrades are paying dividends, giving more points per feed, and my expanded stomach is allowing me to fit more in! A perfect marriage of mutations if ever there was one. And now that I�ve accrued the necessary sixty-five points, it�s time to fuse them. Let�s do this!
[Would you like to upgrade Expanded Discerning Stomach to +15? This will cost 65 Biomass.]
[At this level, you may choose to combine your mutations or emphasise one. Which will you select?]
Fuse those bad-boys, let�s do thiiiiis!
HAGACK! HAP! HOOGAPALAP!
It�s fine. I�m cool. No, I�m not! Stupid freakin� itch! I need a breather.
After a little rest, rotating who�s on guard to keep the spawning monsters out of our hair, we saddle up and cut our way back into the Expanse for the second round.
This Expanse really has some interesting monsters in it. More of those stupid hippo-turtles have appeared, along with some monster types I hadn�t seen much. A few scraggly looking ape-things. A plant that looked like it had been crossed with a mosquito took a chunk out of Tiny before we even realised it was there. With a long, ludicrously pointy, needle-like barb emerging from its centre, it was menacing enough. We didn�t expect it would be able to extend that needle out on a supple vine. Certainly not at speeds like that!
Before we could blink, Tiny had a massive needle stuck straight into his leg, and judging by the look on his face, he wasn�t enjoying it much. Fortunately, we were able to snap off the needle and destroy the plant before too much damage was done. But the fact that Tiny doesn�t have a decent health recovery mechanism continues to worry me. His evolutions are pointedly driven in the direction of glass cannon. He has immense strength and some natural toughness, but can�t recover from damage very well.
His leg is bleeding profusely, so we decide to halt our hunt and retreat up one of the larger mangroves. Nestled there in the branches, we take a moment to breathe, eat a little Biomass to recover our strength, and I go looking for aphids. Just like ants have done for thousands of years, I want to exploit the smaller bugs for the syrupy sweet Biomass they provide in exchange for not eating them. If the colony were able to control them and farm Biomass here in this Expanse, then another reliable source of Biomass would be unlocked for the colony. Fuelling our expansion and the growth of the workers.
Only now am I starting to appreciate the double-natured demand of the colony for Biomass. Not only do we need it for the population growth of the family, we also need it to meet my ideal of each individual worker being as strong as they can reasonably be. I myself have spent hundreds of Biomass points to get as strong as I am. I know not every ant could hope to do the same. Having every member of the colony reach +10 in their mutations is an ambitious goal, but not an unreachable one.
The aphids themselves are still up there, performing whatever alchemical wizardry they do to extract nutrition from these fat, fleshy leaves and convert it into Biomass. The smaller aphids are roughly basketball-sized, whilst the larger ones are about the size of a Labrador. Round, chubby-looking beetles with a long prod for a mouth with which they stab the trees to extract sap. Their thin spindly legs and long antennae make them look somewhat like an overweight ant. As opposed to myself, a proud Formica ant, the aphids are green, helping them blend into the leaves.
I activate my Mana Sense and carefully scan my way through the aphids. There are a couple who meet my needs. Good. I was worried none of them would have cores. Let�s see if I can get friendly with a few of these aphids and perform a little Core Surgery.
In my quest to domesticate the aphid, there are a few options available. I could try and tame them as they are, not changing them in any way, though I�m not sure exactly how that would go. Aren�t monsters supposed to be brutal, ruthless and cold-hearted killing machines? The very idea of a monster that seems this peaceful doesn�t make a whole lot of sense.
Although, when you think about it, the lives of insects on Earth are just as bloody and merciless. Ants, spiders, mantises and others battle constantly and without pity. Ants themselves kill more insects than any creature on the face of my old planet, seizing the protein of their fellow insects to feed to their larvae to fuel their growth. Even in that ultra-competitive environment, aphids exist. Harmless creatures who curry favour with other, stronger insects by offering them food.
I suppose it shouldn�t be too surprising that such a monster exists here in the Dungeon. Prepared to offer its predators an offering of Biomass in order to continue to exist. I can�t help but be curious about them. A quick core inspection should help me work out exactly what the situation is.
Approaching the little bugs who continue their placid existence, latched onto the slender branches and fleshy leaves of the large trees, I can tell several of them have detected my approach. They turn their little bodies to allow themselves to continue feeding, yet keep an eye on me at the same time. A few of the larger specimens are what I�m after. Thanks to my Mana Sense, I can detect that they contain cores.
How on earth they amass experience, I�ve no idea. They must, though. There are at least three of the little blighters on this tree alone with cores.
Tentatively, I approach one of the large specimens and the creature quickly turns to present its food court, and offers me a glistening globule of Biomass that it excretes. I�ll be ok for the moment, thanks friend. Let me take a quick look at your core.
Looming over the creature, I extend my antennae to tap it on its green carapace and activate Core Surgery. My mind is flooded with information and the inner secrets of the aphid monsters are laid bare before my all-seeing eyes.
It takes a few minutes to piece together the information into a more cohesive picture. And it�s frankly a little surprising. Offering Biomass for free? Innocent little bugs, living a life of non-violence that would make Ghandi proud?
I was na�ve!
These little buggers are poisoners! Tainted Biomass! A betrayal of the highest order. Within the core, all of their secrets are plain as day. Namely, the process by which the offered Biomass is produced.
The creatures essentially extract nutrition from the trees, which are themselves high in concentrated Mana due to their position here in this Expanse, drawing water from the Mana infused pools. Most of the sap they extract is used as simple food for their growth and sustaining their lives, but part of it is drained off into a separate process.
A Biomass Infusion organ, for want of a better name, uses Mana and a chemical process to �encode� the sap into Biomass, which the aphid can then use on itself. Not a whole lot of Biomass is produced this way, but it�s better than what they would get from fighting, that�s for sure.
There is a further process beyond this, another organ that instils the Biomass with a subtle venom. Something that won�t take effect immediately. Should a creature frequently make use of the Biomass from these critters, the toxins would build up in their bodies until they died.
Sneaky devils!
The seemingly harmless aphid continues to offer me its tainted gift, acting for all the world as if it were as innocent and harmless as a baby. I see through you! I have seen your evil black heart!
Well, this is a little disappointing. My hopes of providing a herd of aphids to the colony are still very much alive, I�m just going to have to alter the way I go about it. No easy options now.
I could manipulate the core of this one aphid, making it safe to consume and loyal to its new ant overlords, but that won�t help much. I�d have to change every aphid individually, which isn�t really feasible since most of them don�t have a core.
No.
Something different is required here. I need to solve the problem of the poisonous Biomass within a large number of aphids at once, whilst maintaining their relatively low intelligence and weak physiques. There is a wonderful example I can draw from within my own personal experience.
I shall create a new species of aphid! A benign, loyal, harmless team of Biomass-producing livestock for the colony. How will I do it? I will craft a new organism that the Dungeon has never seen before: the Aphid Queen. The queen will produce as many members of the new species of aphid as the colony needs, thus bypassing having to manage or change this existing species.
Which is lucky, because in order to create this new queen, I�m going to need quite a few aphid cores�
Sometime later, there are far fewer aphids on the nearby trees, but I have managed to collect quite a few cores�six, to be exact. The issue is that each individual aphid has the basic shape of the aphids I want to create, but they don�t have sufficient meat in their cores to allow me to create the Aphid Queen I�m envisioning.
What I�m going to have to do is fuse these six cores and simultaneously maintain the structure of the biological information encoded within. Every other time I�ve fused cores, the contents have become a completely mangled mess. That hasn�t mattered since I was only fusing them to increase the energy contained inside and produce special cores which were rapidly absorbed.
This time, it�ll be different. The more edits I have to make to a core, the harder it becomes. If I fuse them and the information contained within gets completely jumbled, there is no way I�ll be able to get it back into a functional form before the sheer number of changes required makes the core manipulation impossible.
I will need to bring all of my willpower to bear to perform this new feat. For the sake of the herd!
After gathering my small collection of aphid cores, I get Tiny to carry them and we descend from the trees to battle amongst the monsters and make our way back to the shortcut.
To be honest, the non-stop grind and battering of battle against the monsters is strangely refreshing. It feels nice to exercise, something I didn�t really understand as a human. But now, with my mandibles crunching down on my foes and the endless tide of monsters crashing against my shiny carapace, I get it. It�s nice to use your body. Especially when it�s such an incredible specimen of an ant body like mine!
All things considered, this little escapade has been well worth the time, even if I�d only concentrated on my gains in Skills and Biomass. When we finally make it back to the shortcut, clear it out and settle in to rest with Crinis taking the first guard shift, I decide to tally up my gains.
Things have gone relatively well on the Biomass front. My improved stomach has already begun to pay significant dividends! The reduced tier penalty has yielded a rich harvest and I can�t help but rub my antennae in glee looking at the numbers. We don�t exactly get a lot of time to eat in the Expanse since the battle frenzy is in full flight. Still with this hunt and all my previous snacking included, I�ve managed to gain another 138 Biomass, which takes my current total to 189.
Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
The repeated eating and fighting really seems to aid the digestion. Speeding up the process of getting the food through the system and freeing up space for the next meal. Perhaps this is the ideal Biomass-gathering method, as opposed to gorging until I can barely drag my business district around.
I should share this information with the hatchlings. This could be vital for the colony to maximise efficiency!
My Skills have also seen significant improvements. Shredding Bite has reached Level 9, one step away from reaching the third rank, which is nice. Advanced Cerebral Endurance gained quite a number of Levels to reach 7.
Deep Meditation crossed the third rank, essentially due to the constant use of the mind-affecting Skill, allowing me to punch it up to Profound Meditation Level 2. This Skill has been having a really potent effect. Achieving such heights of clarity in my mental state, it�s startling. The amount of mental processing I�m able to accomplish in moments of heated battle is becoming astonishing, allowing my high mental stats to come into their own.
Mind Magic Affinity has, thanks to my constant use and heavy focus, also managed to rank up to Enhanced Mind Magic Affinity. I eagerly checked my available Skills the moment after I made the purchase, but no new Magic Affinity options were available, sadly.
Along with two Levels, those were my total gains.
All this heavy battering has helped take my mind off the suffering my core is currently inflicting on me. After Levelling a couple of times, the pain has noticeably receded, but is still quite intense. It�s going to be a long-term project to complete the absorption of that stupid rare core. The evolution I receive had better be absolutely amazing to have endured all this suffering. Level forty is still a long way away, so hopefully by the time I get there, I can complete that task.
Rather than spend my points and mutate here and now, I spent some time working on core manipulation. Tiny carefully places the six small, spherical gems on the floor before me, where they glitter beautifully. One by one, I activate Core Surgery and take a good look at each core, confirming that the information encoded within�the monstrous DNA, if you will, is the same for all of them. Indeed, they�re almost identical in the basic details. Only the individual mutations, Skill Levels and a very minor stat variance exists between them. These should be the ideal circumstances to attempt the core fusion I want.
In essence, I want to take these cores and meld them together, retaining the general shape and form of the creature within, preventing the data from overwriting or scrambling during the process. Hopefully, I�ll be able to combine these cores and create what is basically a large aphid with more potential energy to play with. From there, I�ll be able to manipulate that blueprint and form the Aphid Queen from which my species of docile farm animals will spring.
Okay, here we go. Deftly rolling the first two gems into position with my antennae, I tap them with one antenna each and activate the Skill, gently pressing them together as I do so. Immediately, the pressure on my brains explodes in magnitude as the cores resist my attempt to fuse them.
So far, so good. This bit is perfectly normal and I�ve done it dozens of
times already when making special cores. Though, it�s different this
time. All I had to do before was overcome the resistance of the cores
and squash them together. Now I need to do that whilst
In order to achieve this duality, I task my sub-brains with the fusion itself, whilst my main mind is dedicated to ensuring the information within the core maintains its integrity. Deliberately slowing down the fusing process, my mind reaches into both cores at once and attempts to get a clear picture of the information flowing between the two.
Almost like individual brush strokes of an artwork, each piece of information is part of a complete whole, only making sense in the context of the strokes around it. The colours, the forms, width and depth, all layered on top of and around each other to build a cohesive image. In fusing the two cores together as I did in the past, I�m basically taking two art works, melting one down into a bucket of paint and throwing it at the other.
Naturally, chaos was the result!
I�m getting a bad feeling about how this is going to have to be done.
I can�t take all of the paint and throw it together haphazardly, it needs to be done just like painting a picture would be�line by line, stroke by stroke. Which means this is going to suck.
With sheer force of will, my sub-brains cooperate to hold the cores in a state of near fusion, just on the verge of melding together. Then, I reach into one of the cores with my main mind and strip away a single piece of data, a single brush stroke of the image. I hold it delicately with my thoughts and transfer it over to the second core, carefully laying it over the top of the same data, melding the two pieces together.
As the strips of data merge flawlessly, satisfaction fills me, along with weariness. Such delicate work is tiring on the mind, and my sub-brains are already straining against this constant effort.
I�m going to be wrecked by the time this is done�
Holy moly� I�m completely wrecked. Each of my brains feels like seared mush, soft and jelly-like, yet wreathed in hot, hot flames. I managed to gain two whole Levels in Cerebral Endurance in just under two hours. That�s how mentally intensive this work is. However, I have been successful.
I have triumphed!
Despite being some of the most draining and mind-bogglingly difficult mental work I�ve done, I managed to complete the project as well as I can. It was enough to gain me three Levels in Core Surgery. Just goes to show how difficult what I was attempting actually was. Each of those Levels helped significantly with the task at hand. I can only be grateful in the end.
In front of me sits a gleaming special core, plump with energy, ripe with the encoded information of my artisanal hand-crafted creature, ready to be instantiated as a pet.
I knew I wouldn�t be able to make a heap of edits to the creature I�d created after successfully fusing the cores together, so I hadn�t gone crazy with it. Though, I was mostly able to hit my goals. After the fusion was complete, there were a few oddities that had slipped into the design. Such as the one leg that somehow lost its knee joint, but managed to gain two extra feet. Fixing these took a bit of a toll, but I was able to have the finalised creature I�d hoped for: an oversized aphid, roughly the same size as myself, stuffed full of spare energy.
Naturally, I used that energy to shape the egg production pathway,
something that took a heck of a lot more potential than I thought it
would. The egg production organs are
I lowered the creatures� Cunning a little. I want them to be dependent on their ant masters, after all. Took away the poison gland. Overall made them a little weaker, and gave their Biomass production organ a mutation that increased the amount of Biomass they could produce straight out of the gate.
If all things go according to plan, once reconstituted, this core will give rise to the first Aphid Queen. Let�s call her Aphy. The colony will care for and raise her until she�s mature and can start producing her aphid offspring, which the we will nurture and use as our own Biomass-producing herd. This should work out well. By the time Aphy is producing eggs, the colony should have the numbers and Levels to launch raiding parties into the Expanse itself, and with a little clever planning, the aphid-farming project could go into action at that point.
Nice work, Anthony!
I�m quite proud of myself, I have to say. This was a lot of effort and could prove to have a major effect on the colony going forward.
Weary but satisfied, it�s time to retreat back to the colony. We�ve been gone for roughly a day, which isn�t as long as I thought I�d be on this particular excursion, but I�m chasing a rest and I want my aphid core to begin its life as a loyal pet of the colony. Something I can�t really do down here.
The three of us battle our way up to the surface via the shortcut and make our way across the land toward the ant hill. I can�t wait to nestle into a nice chamber and get some sleep!
As we approach the colony, I notice something is going on. It looks like there�s a lot of activity around the anthill. Heaps of ants and� humans? What the heck is going on? Each moment we draw closer, the number of questions I have mounts. The humans have been grouped together, surrounded by workers on all sides, and they seem to be moving closer to the anthill. They almost appear to be about to climb up with the intention of going into the nest.
That would be insane! Certain death!
What on earth do they think they�re doing?
Weariness forgotten, my legs scrabble wildly into the dirt as I break into a sprint, rushing for the nest. The workers are the first to notice me coming, and make way before I crash into them. I don�t drop any speed until I reach the front of the human group and notice a few of the twenty are waiting for me.
�Sloan!� I yell at the ant general. �What the heck is going on here?�
Sloan flips her antennae around in a confused manner. �We found these creatures living in close proximity to the nest. In your absence, we weren�t sure what to do, so we convened a council and discussed the matter.�
�And?� I demand.
Sloan�s mandibles twitch slightly at the tone of my pheromones. The twenty hatchlings I trained had to put up with my angry roaring on many occasions. I can almost see the fear of thwacking rising within her.
�Well, uh, we decided it would be best to remove the threat and collect the Biomass that these creatures represented��
THWACK!
All of the nearby ants react with a twitch when they hear the sharp, kinetic thud of my antennae impacting the poor general�s carapace.
�You wanted to
�We were going to feed them to the queen!� Sloan protests. �When we approached these creatures, they were strangely unafraid of us. They even approached us of their own volition! So, we gathered some workers to herd them over this way and they came without a fuss!�
�You didn�t think that was a bit odd? That these things would just wander up to the nest and feed themselves to the queen without protest or fighting back in any way?�
I can see the gears turning in the general�s head.
�No,� she replies firmly.
�Why?�
�I would gladly give my life to the colony. Perhaps these creatures feel the same?�
THWACK!
�Not every organism on the face of this world is so eager to die for the sake of the colony, you eejit! Think it through. I don�t want the village harmed. They have a great deal of information they can teach us!�
�You never said anything about that to us!� Sloan protests weakly.
THWACK!
�Never mind that!� I roar. �Spread the word that these humans are not to be harmed and they will be returning to their homes shortly.�
�Of course, eldest.�
Alright. I might have stuffed up a little there. But why the heck are the humans just going along with this situation? Where the hell is Enid? Or Morrelia? Surely, they wouldn�t be so stupid as to let their people march into the nest!
I cast my eyes amongst the crowd, desperate to locate them so I can form a Mind Bridge and explain this event away with some excuse that doesn�t let the village know how close they came to being queen food.
Unfortunately, I don�t spot Enid or Morrelia. I do notice one man, dressed in a white robe, with one hand, waving enthusiastically at me from the front.
Stupid Priest!
Beyn displays a face-splitting grin, his eyes alight with energy and passion. This moron is still obsessed with the colony. Me in particular. He probably thinks the village is being �blessed� with a visitation to the nest, when in fact the twenty have arranged the village for a surprisingly peaceful slaughter!
I weave a Mind Bridge and connect it to the fool. What on earth am I going to say? How can I explain this away? Gandalf, bestow upon me your wisdom, your sweet gravelly voice, and your dominant eyebrows.
[Beyn, you�ve come to the nest.]
I don�t want to talk as if I have no idea why they�re here. I�m supposed
to be the ant who decides what happens with the village, and I�m the
only one who�s interacted with them so far. If
[OH, GREAT ONE!] he bellowed. [WHAT A MOMENTOUS�]
[Loud!]
[Oh! I�m sorry, Great One. My excitement has gotten the better of me. I�m just so happy to get the chance to bring the people so close to the holy mountain!]
Mountain? What mountain? Does he mean the anthill? How is this even a mountain? It�s only twenty metres tall.
[Ah, yes. Welcome here, to the foot of our great, uh,
[We are all so honoured to be here, Great One! When the esteemed members of the great colony came to the village and began to gather us together, we were filled with shock and joy. I can only imagine what you have gathered us here for today!]
[Yes, oh it�s, incredible stuff� Could I ask where Enid, Morrelia and her warriors are?]
Beyn grimaced at my words. [It is most unfortunate timing, oh Great One. They have left with many of the strongest villagers for a somewhat extended training session in the Dungeon. We have sent scouts several days out from the village, and so far, we have encountered no sign of another incursion. Morrelia deemed it would be wise to make use of this breathing room to push as hard as possible to raise the Levels of our best fighters.]
Dammit! Of course they aren�t here. They wouldn�t have let something stupid like this happen!
[Yes, that is wise of them.] I nod in what I hope is a sage-like manner.
[For what purpose have you brought us here, Great One?] Beyn eagerly asked. [Will you be inviting us within the precious sanctum of your colony? Are we to be inducted into the great secrets of your kind?]
The guy�s face is practically shining. So full of hope and light, I�d close my eyes if it were physically possible. Oh boy, come on, Anthony, think!
[I have brought you here to announce something!] I declare.
Beyn turns to the people crowded behind him, their faces bright with expectation. He raises his hands, bringing a hush to the gathered throng before he tells them I will be speaking to them. At once, every face is turned to me, where I stand slightly above them, perched on the slope of the anthill.
I can�t help but feel a little self-conscious with all of these eyes on me. I nervously clean my antennae and I hope my carapace is at its sparkling best. I haven�t had a chance to inspect it too closely since the Expanse, and I�d hate for my glorious exo-skeleton to be unsightly at this moment.
[Ah, I wish for you to inform the people that, err, that the, ah, colony has undergone a glorious rebirth!] I stutter out.
Perhaps if I give them some small details of the evolution our species has undergone, they�ll be satisfied with this announcement and return to the village.
Overreacting, as per usual, Beyn fell to his knees at my hesitant pronouncement.
[Oh, Great One! How could the radiant and System-borne colony of indomitable workers be made even more perfect? Exactly what has changed within the colony?]
Good question, and one I need to be careful when I answer. Too much information could come back and bite the colony. Not enough and they may feel the need to push for more. Must tread this line with care. Lucky that I have six legs and the Grip Skill. Walking narrow lines is what I�m all about.
[Through the power of the System, our species has taken a great step forward. Each individual worker has grown stronger, with greater potential. It is safe to say that the Dungeon has never seen a colony such as this one. We are more capable than before, better coordinated, with faster development and a level of sophistication that many of the sapient races on the surface can only dream of!]
The eyes of the priest grow wide, his face frozen as if seized by some powerful emotion. After a moment to collect himself, he turns to the gathered village. Despite not being able to understand his words, I can see the people turning to admire and examine the workers around them, trying to take in any differences that may have occurred.
[Further, we have brought you here, to the seat of our kind, to announce our desire for continued and deepening ties of cooperation between your people and ours. The colony has much to learn, and there is much that you can teach us. In return, there will be many things we will be able to do for you. A mutually beneficial relationship that we will be pleased to engage in, if you are willing.]
I�m sweating a little on the inside. Hopefully, this is enough. Further cooperation with the village and its people has been part of my plans. The ants have so much they don�t know. About the System, about crafting, about the surface and the Dungeon. The humans of the village can help us develop so much faster than we could on our own.
As Beyn turns to the villagers and speaks, I watch them with care. Any concerns I had regarding how this proposal would be met by the humans are swept aside in an instant. They begin to cheer and shout, raising their hands to the sky and bowing before me.
Some are even weeping with joy. There is seriously something wrong with these people. How on earth did they become this obsessed with a group of monsters?
As the villagers return to their homes and the rapidly expanding buildings that make up their new town, I breathe a deep sigh of relief. That was not something I expected to have to deal with upon my return.
[Gather your siblings together, Sloan] I growl. [I need to have a word.]
[Of course, senior.]
She scuttles off to find his siblings. I�m sure I�ll find them later in my chamber, where I�ll have to set a few things straight. It�s not their fault. I failed to explain the relationship I was trying to cultivate with the village and its potential benefits to the colony. I forgot to illustrate the concept of leaving friendly people well enough alone! In truth, a dramatic oversight on my part. They saw a wealth of Biomass and experience in close proximity and sought to claim it. As any good monster should.
At least disaster has been averted and the workers have been warned off of attacking the villagers. My insides sweat when I think about how close to a massacre we�d been. The only reason the workers would have left the humans alive was so they could feed the experience to the queen since they weren�t resisting. The thought of those men, women and children being funnelled into the queen�s chamber, believing they were about to experience something miraculous, only to have their lives ended by my mother�s jaws�
It�s disturbing to say the least.
No need to think on what might have been! The worst-case scenario has been averted and I�ll work hard to make sure something like this doesn�t happen again. For now, it�s time to introduce the queen to my new creation!
Climbing up the nest with Tiny and Crinis close behind, I pass numerous workers who are all happy to call out with their customary advice:
�Work hard, senior!�
�Make sure you�re working till you drop!�
�Hi there, senior. Work!�
I GET IT.
Yeesh. I know they�re called �workers� but come on. I wonder if I can create a hobby or something for them. Some sort of ant diversion. Perhaps I could invent a sport? It would have to involve digging in some way.
Musing over ants and their lack of diversions, I climb down the main shaft into the queen�s chamber. Below the surface level and packed full of workers, the queen continues to spend almost all her time in this room, being defended from the ever-spawning nightmares of the Dungeon by her loyal guards who make sure to pass on as much Biomass as possible to their mother.
�Hello, Mother!� I called out, trying to make out the vague outline of the queen between the seething mass of workers that crawl over her.
�Hello, child.� Her warm voice emerges from within the swarm, and after a few moments, she shifts closer to me, the workers peeling away from her head so I can see her.
Big as always, the queen is still at least twice as tall as I am and several times longer. An ant the size of a minibus is really quite the impressive sight. Oh, the havoc that would have occurred on Earth had something like the queen ever been discovered!
�What brings you back to the nest so soon, child? I had heard you were out exploring?� she asks mildly.
�I was! Much exploring was happening. But I�ve managed to cook up something I think will be extremely useful for the colony, and I need your help.�
The queen�s antennae wave back and forth in curious patterns. �What is
it that you need
There is definitely a tone of amusement in her voice, her gaze ever kind.
I take a little time to explain what I found in the Marsh Expanse. A species of monster that can extract nutrition from plant life and convert it into Biomass that it offers up in exchange for being left alone. I went on to detail the poison I detected within the creatures and the steps I took to remedy the situation with my own custom-designed species of aphid.
�With these loyal aphids, we�ll have another reliable source of Biomass for the colony. One that doesn�t even require us to have to fight, and makes use of resources we otherwise wouldn�t be able to utilise. Those trees offer us no sustenance, but through these aphids we can farm an infinite amount of Biomass over time! If the Dungeon Wave ever recedes, then our farms in the nest will be useless, this could help offset that loss!� I declared with pride.
The queen is visibly interested. She leans down to inspect the core I had Tiny place on the chamber floor. The gem glitters brightly in the blue light emanating from the veins of Mana winding through the walls.
�It does sound like it would be useful,� the queen ponders. �What would I need to do?�
�Not that much,� I said eagerly, glad to see she was interested in my scheme. �The core here is for the Aphid Queen. Someone needs to reconstitute the core and keep her as their pet. I thought you would be the best candidate for that. Aphy can stay here with you, and the colony will provide the Biomass she needs to produce the aphids for us. We can then send workers down into the Expanse to clear out the existing aphids and replace them with our own kind. Some workers will need to remain there, tending to the aphids, keeping them safe and collecting the Biomass they produce, but they should be safe up in the trees since not many monsters go up there.�
The queen fell silent as she contemplated my words. I�m not sure exactly
how she felt about having to give up some of the Biomass that would
normally be directed to
As far as I know, monsters don�t actually
Sure enough, mother is more than smart enough to understand the benefits of my scheme.
�Very well,� she acquiesces, bringing her antennae forward to rest on the core.
The core begins to glow and expand, taking shape and changing colour until a brand-new Aphid Queen sits blinking on the chamber floor.
The queen seems quite taken with her new pet. After giving a little advice regarding Skills such as Pet Communication and Pet Growth, among others, the queen decides to take the communication Skill, the growth Skill and the Skill that allows her to view the status of Aphy, the Aphid Queen.
Those decisions make sense, since she wouldn�t be able to communicate with her new pet without spending a Skill on it. Mind Magic is not on the horizon for the queen, and Aphy doesn�t have a Pheromone Gland. Helping her pet grow more rapidly at the cost of a single Skill Point also seemed worth the investment to the queen. Particularly when considering the potential benefit of producing aphid cattle as fast as possible.
And after hearing my thoughts on the status viewing Skill eventually leading to being able to manipulate the status directly, possibly guiding evolutions, the queen�s decision was well placed on picking up this Skill. Aphy isn�t all that smart and has no chance of being able to access the custom evolution process, not to mention spending her Skill Points and Biomass points in sensible ways. If the queen can take over those duties, then Aphy will have a much brighter future.
By the time I leave, the queen is looking fondly at her new pet as the green-shelled miniature Aphid Queen turns this way and that, skittering around the chamber under her master�s watchful eyes.
The workers are willing to accommodate Aphy without complaint, making room for the little bug and steering it away from trouble when she gets too close to dangerous parts of the walls.
All in all, I�m extremely pleased at how this project has gone! The queen is happy to have her own little pet, and Aphy will produce a host of aphids the colony can tame and use as our own herd animals. We�ll care for them, protect them, bring them to food, and in return, they shall reward us with precious Biomass!
Gwehehehehe, it�s perfect.
Burning my minds to a crisp in order to produce that engineered core was totally worth it. The process also helped to reveal some of the technical aspects of combining cores in a non-hodgepodge manner. The practice of lifting one line of information at a time and layering it over the data within the other core, like transplanting a painting onto another one brush stroke at a time, felt like the correct method to approach this process. It also helped me to glimpse the pure artistry of the Sophos.
I firmly believe their fantastical pets are created by taking pieces of
one monster and combining it with pieces of another. I originally
thought they had monstrous Willpower, able to force hundreds of changes
to a core with ease, but now I suspect they possess monstrous Willpower
My mind filled with thoughts of Formo and his brethren, I descend beneath the queen�s chamber, past the off-shooting tunnels leading to the farming complex, and into my own personal space. Within I find the twenty hatchlings assembled, their various shapes and sizes filling the small room. Another ant has also made an appearance, I see.
�Hi-hi! How are you, senior!�
�Vibrant! Been a while. What happened to your posse?�
The hyperactive ant I�ve known ever since she was a grub has now grown into a powerful member of the colony. Complete with her own squad of loyal goons who help her when she goes out on quests for the colony.
�They�re in torpor, of course! Can�t be go, go, GO all the time!�
Are you sure? You�ve been non-stop since before you were born. I�m a witness!
Actually, hang on a sec�
�You�re looking a little different these days, Vibrant. Are you larger? Not to mention, somewhat more aggressive-looking? Did you evolve?�
�Yup! What do you think?� Vibrant cheers as she leapt about with excitement.
Finally reached her third evolution! From Superior Hatchling to some variety of soldier to whatever she is now, it�s been a rapid rise for Vibrant. Even if she did have my help over the first hurdles. Now she�s just as evolved as I am! That can�t be right. I�m going to have to get busy in order to make sure I stay at the head of the pack.
I refuse to be the inferior ant. They need to continue to look up to me, their senior!
Speaking of my juniors, they�re shifting about uneasily while Vibrant continues to dominate the space with her new size and sheer energy.
�How are you, hatchlings?� I greet them.
�We are well, senior,� they respond.
�Although, we aren�t hatchlings anymore. Not even Superior Hatchlings,� Mendant the healer is at pains to point out.
�You�ll always be hatchlings to me, Mendant. It was I who taught you from the time you were hatched, after all!�
Several of them wave their antennae in despondent circles, unhappy that I continue to treat them as if they were fresh out of their cocoons. I can�t really help it. They�ve only been out of their cocoons for a week and a bit! If they were humans, they�d still be unable to lift their heads off the floor. In terms of life experience, they have nothing going for themselves.
�Okay then. I wanted to talk to the group of you about a few things I regrettably neglected to mention when I was teaching you. This may happen again, by the way, since it�s possible I forgot to mention a heap of other pieces of critical information.�
Many heads sink toward the floor in despair. A dense feeling of frustration rises into the air. Sorry, guys, I�m not perfect. But I�ll do my best!
�So, the human village. Let�s have a quick chat about that. Just, lay a few ground rules and all that jazz. Rule one that I would like to propose is this: No killing and eating the humans in the village. Are there any questions?�
Twenty sets of antennae are raised into the air.
�Dang. Alright. Can someone volunteer their query?�
It�s Bella, the Core Shaper, who steps forward. Her smaller size is dwarfed by the looming physique of Vibrant, but her eyes glitter with intelligence.
�Those �humans� represent a copious amount of experience and Biomass that would help fuel the growth of the colony. What benefit are they to us unharmed?�
Many antennae wiggle with agreement around the chamber.
�Look, I understand the short-term gain the colony would enjoy were we to harvest the humans. I get it. What you don�t understand is the benefits of mutual cooperation between two societies. You�re amongst the oldest of our species, technically, but you�ve been alive for such a short time.�
I turn to point one leg toward the village through hundreds of metres of stone.
�They have the benefit of thousands of years of history, study and
development! Far more valuable than a bumper crop of Biomass and
experience, is
�I agree with senior,� Vibrant declared. �The humans have helped us fight off the waves on the surface. Without them, we would have lost many more workers. They�ve never attacked us either!�
�Good point there, Vibrant. So, are you starting to see the bigger picture regarding the human village?�
The idea of peaceful cooperation between nations or even species is
quite the foreign concept to these ants, and I shouldn�t be surprised.
They
It seems Vibrant at least has begun to grasp the greater picture here.
�Nope!� she chirped brightly. �I just think we shouldn�t eat things that are willing to help us! There are toooons of things that want to kill us that we can go eat.�
Well� good enough.
�Vibrant does raise a valid point,� I declared to the others. �During the wave, we have a near infinite supply of food spawning in the Dungeon below us. Most of the Biomass is going to waste as the monsters battle and feed on each other, only to die and be fed on in return. How long until we�re ready to start sending hunting parties into the Dungeon in numbers?�
It�s Antionette, the Juvenile Queen who steps forward to answer this time.
�The third hatching since the change of species occurred several hours ago and are for now awaiting the commencement of their training. Which means we have more than four hundred of the new workers, as well as the numbers we sustained during the wave. The colony has a total workforce of just over one thousand. Though a large proportion of those are not battle ready.�
Over a thousand! That�s great news! We lost a lot of workers on the journey and to finally reach this tipping point is a wonderful moment.
�It shouldn�t take too long to get them up to speed, surely? How did you go with the first two hundred?� I ask eagerly.
The twenty shift slightly in their places.
�It was, challenging,� admits Advant the soldier. �Drilling the basic concepts of self-preservation into them was extremely difficult, and due to their sheer numbers, it took some time to accrue the required Biomass and experience to allow all two hundred to evolve.�
�Wait!� I gasp. �Does this mean all two hundred have undergone a maxed out first evolution?�
That would be insane!
The second Juvenile Queen, Victoriant, coughs. �As you are aware, senior, we don�t have the resources to allow each individual to absorb a special core. We did as best we could. Each ant evolved with a core, maxed-out mutations and having absorbed all of the cores we could supply. To do any better, we would have had to delay their evolution for too long.�
That makes perfect sense. I can�t complain too much since I was only too happy to hand the task over to them.
�What sort of evolutions did they choose? Did we get another even spread like with you guys?�
Theresant smoothly breaks in before anyone else can speak. �As it turned out, almost half of them chose to be soldiers. The remainder were mostly workers, with a few Artisans mixed in. They�re still in the juvenile stage, and it will be some time before they�re ready for their next evolution. Our hands are very busy since we already have another two hundred hatchlings to tend to, and another two hundred coming in three days.�
In three days?
�Just how quickly is the queen able to lay eggs right now?� I demand.
�Oh, we get spikes in Biomass every now and again. The creatures spawning in her chamber supply a steady flow, but things have slowed down now that so much is being funnelled into the hatchlings. We project that the queen will be able to lay one clutch of two hundred eggs every four days. Mostly thanks to Vibrant and her team bringing up so much from the tunnels.�
Hearing herself praised like this, Vibrant turns bashful and giggles. �Aww, it�s nothing. Just doing what an ant can do!�
Two hundred every four days! With
�If we were to start sending hunting parties into the Dungeon in, let�s say a week, what sort of speed would we expect to see?� I ask, almost afraid of the answer.
The general, Sloan, is the one to answer this question.
�If we�re able to get the first batch of two hundred up to their second evolution and take them into the Dungeon for hunting missions, presuming we are able to achieve this in the stated time frame, I expect the queen would be able to hit her production limit of two hundred eggs per day.�
TWO HUNDRED PER DAY! That�s six thousand in a month. We could be ratcheting up to that kind of speed in just a week.
Without thinking about it, my head turns toward the two Juvenile Queens.
Sloan notices my look. �Yes, if that were to occur, then developing Victoriant and Antionette would become our highest priority. After one more evolution, they�ll be able to begin producing eggs, and one more evolution after that before they can match the queen�s output. We forecast it would take just over a month to get to that stage.�
That would be six hundred eggs per day, and eighteen thousand workers per month�
Just. Hold on a moment. I knew ants could have large colonies. Obviously, I knew that! But being faced with this sort of growth and these kinds of numbers is rather shocking to me.
�That�s� good?� I manage to say, still somewhat shocked.
Just how much Biomass are we going to need to fuel that sort of growth? How many cores will we be able to harvest?
�Do we need to expand the farms again?� I ask nobody in particular.
It�s Cobalt the Carver ant who answers. �We have a team on farm expansion pretty much around the clock. Whilst this period of endless spawning continues, we need to take everything we can get.�
We sure do�Hold on, constantly expanding the farms?
�How many farms are we up to?� I ask the smaller, delicate looking worker caste.
Cobalt thinks for a moment. �Around thirty? I haven�t checked with them today. I apologise, Senior.�
Yikes! This is all snowballing rather quickly. I should have known that when I turned the management of the colony over to ants, they wouldn�t stuff around. These guys mean business!
It�s a good thing, really. I want our family to be successful and prosperous. To dominate the Dungeon and seize its lands for the glory of our mother. I just didn�t think it would start to happen this fast.
�Well, I mean, that all sounds great! I guess, so long as we�re clear on the not killing the humans or any other sapient society we happen to encounter thing, I�ll just get back to exploring and� eating?�
It sounds kind of lazy now that I�ve said it out loud�
�Actually,� Burke breaks in, �we�ve been doing some preliminary scouting over the surface, and it seems like something is going on to the north. There�s been smoke, seen at long-distance, from immense fires, and more refugees have been fleeing this way.�
�Indeed,� Wills says. �The situation on the surface is beginning to look dire. For the time being, it seems as if the threat from below has abated, but we feel that only you, senior, would be able to safely determine the nature of the situation on the surface right now.�
Massive fires? More refugees?
�What is going on up there?� I wonder.
There must be something serious going on up there for there to be all of this smoke and noise. What could it be? We haven�t had an attack for a few days. Perhaps there�s another one massing? Someone definitely needs to go and check it out, and I can�t deny the best person for that role is me.
There�s just one major problem.
�I�m happy to go and scout on the surface, but due to my core strength, if I spend too long up there, I�ll start to run dry. I can manage a few days, perhaps a little longer, but if I�m being super active, the amount of time I can last could diminish beyond that.�
�We are aware of the issue regarding the drain of Mana on developed cores. We were able to consult with Mother about the problem,� Burke assures me. �Our scouts have made it a priority to discover any pockets of concentrated Mana and sniff out Dungeon entrances in order to alleviate the difficulty. We�ve been able to find a number of such locations and have marked them heavily with pheromones. As well as create a few trails you could follow.�
That news brightens me up a little.
�That sounds a lot better. I didn�t realise you�d been able to put together such a competent scouting operation in such a short time.�
Wills waggles her antennae dismissively.
�It�s nothing special at the moment. When we have a more dedicated scout caste of soldiers, it will be one hundred times more efficient. Not to mention we�ve barely begun to map out the Skill and mutation paths best suited to scouting. Burke and I are expecting to have completed our preliminary investigations next week. Which is when we expect the first wave of scout caste evolutions to complete.�
These guys are for sure keeping busy. Look at �em! Making plans and thinking things through. This is why the colony needed them!
�That sounds great! Well, a few other points I wanted to bring up. I�ve possibly discovered another source of Biomass for the colony. Talk to Mother for the details. I�d like to speak to the Core Shapers for a moment after we�re done here, and then I�ll take Tiny and Crinis to check out the situation on the surface.�
There�s little shifting when I mention the possible Biomass source, but otherwise, the first twenty hatchlings of the new breed are happy to break our meeting there. Only Bella and Ellie, the Core Shapers, remain behind. I take the time to explain my newfound understanding of fusing cores together. They communicate the tests they�ve conducted, and the various Skill combinations they�re experimenting with in order to perform their role.
Ultimately, the Core Shapers are intended to create specialised pets for members of the colony. That doesn�t necessarily mean they�ll use the cores they design for themselves, but it could. Since they�re here, we spend a little extra time discussing their role and what they can contribute to the colony, since they themselves aren�t exactly sure what their purpose is.
To give some scope to the power of Core Shaping as a discipline, I tell them about the Sophos, an entire race of powerful Core Shapers who depend upon the creatures they craft and design for their safety. In particular, I detail the powerful worm Formo rode. To this day, the most powerful monster core I�ve seen.
Ellie and Bella are immensely excited by this news. When we�re done, they sprint out of the chamber to continue their Skill drilling and to expand their plans. To think that Core Shaping and pets aren�t important. What nonsense! The Formica Sapiens species wouldn�t even exist without those Skills. Not to mention how useful and powerful pets can be. Look at Crinis and Tiny! They�ve paid me back more than ten times the cores and Biomass I�ve spent on them. They might give me a few headaches every now and again, but it�s worth it.
Speaking of Crinis and Tiny.
[It looks like we�ll have to go and do some scouting on the surface, team. We all ready for that?]
Tiny looks glum at my words.
[Surface. Bad.]
[I get it, champ. Not a huge fan of having my core leaking either, but there seems to be something big going on up there.]
The big ape grunts, his displeasure clear on his bat face.
[I�m sure we�ll be fine, Master,] Crinis chips in, eager to please as always.
[You will be,] I grumble. [You�re at least one evolution away from suffering from the lack of Mana like Tiny and I.]
[I-I�ll evolve soon! I�ll catch up to the two of you in no time!]
[That�s true. Now is your chance. Even though we�ll be up on the surface, we are likely to run into some Dungeon monsters doing things and going places they shouldn�t. Come on then, no time like the present.]
We all have a decent chunk of Biomass that needs to be spent, but I feel there isn�t any harm in putting it off for a while. Whatever is happening up there sounds important. We can mutate when we take a break from travelling.
So it is that not long after returning from our brief expedition, we find ourselves leaving the nest once again. This time to travel across the surface. Something I hadn�t expected we would be doing again.
Before we leave for the north, back into the ravaged lands of the Lirian Kingdom, I decide to check on the village. It�s only been a few hours since I managed to avert the consumption of most of the population over there, after all. If Enid is back from her hunting trip, then I�m certain there�s going to be a few questions she might have. Smoothing things over before I leave would be the sensible course of action.
Not long after we arrive in the village, I bump into Enid and Morrelia, who only just returned from their Dungeon delve. It doesn�t take long to explain what the scouts have reported, as well as brush off any �special announcements� they might have heard about. It�s after Enid passes on my words to Morrelia that we begin to have a problem.
[I�m coming, too.]
[�I�m sorry. What was that?]
Morrelia looks down at me, her features set into her customary fierce expression, a mood only reinforced by her combat attire, leather armour and swords belted to her back and hip.
[I want to come with you. If something is going on like you say, then I think it would be a good idea for someone from the village to investigate also.]
[I mean, it isn�t as if I would withhold information from the village. I�ve been very cooperative with you. Surely you can agree?] I protest.
For whatever reason, this only causes the warrior woman to frown with even greater ferocity.
[That�s true,] she admits. [But I want to see for myself what�s happening. Perhaps my father is involved. At any rate, it�s past time I went to lend my hand to assist any survivors. The village will be fine if the rest of my squad stays to help train the people here.]
[Gah!] I croak, flailing to think of some reason why she shouldn�t tag along. This lady is trouble! I�m not sure I can take travelling with her all over the north. [We monsters can move quickly and for long distances. Do you really think you can keep up?]
She smiles. I�m sorry to report that it doesn�t make her look any less fierce.
Couldn�t keep up, eh? The monster kind is supreme, huh? We can move faster, farther, longer! Morrelia must have been laughing up her sleeve whilst looking down at my stupid, fat face. After we left the village, giving Morrelia a short period of time to inform her squad and pack her essentials, we set off. Leaving a concerned-looking Enid behind as we journeyed to the north, heading back to the ravaged lands of the former Kingdom of Liria.
My budding attitude as a monster supremacist has been thoroughly crushed by the leather-armoured, dark-haired woman. With Tiny lumbering at my side and Crinis riding on my back, we departed at a run, sprinting away through the trees, clods of dirt flying behind us as we employed our dash Skills, drawing on our reserves of stamina.
I�d been so confident!
What a fool.
When we stop to rest after thirty minutes of solid Dashing, Tiny and I both huffing and puffing, pushed to our limits by the physical exertion, I turn to find Morrelia standing behind me, a quizzical frown on her face. She isn�t even sweating!
I�m so startled to see her, my eyes almost bug out my head. I can only give thanks that she can�t read my facial expression. Impatient, she taps her gloved finger to her forehead, indicating she desires a Mind Bridge in order to communicate.
I sigh and weave the spell, irritated at myself for opening my fat mandibles.
[Why are we stopping?] Blunt as always.
[Just ah, sussing the situation, making sure we don�t stumble into any roaming monsters. Not exactly easy to scout whilst running at top speed, now is it?] I deflected.
That causes her to raise one eyebrow in query.
[That was your top speed?] she asked.
[Of course not! How could I, the ant known as the Diamond Speedster, have such a low running pace? When I get serious, I�m naught but a blur! The eyes of mere mortals are not enough to�Yes� Yes, that is as fast as we can Dash. I�m sorry.]
Pathetic.
Halfway through my empty boasting, my fa�ade cracks and I immediately come clean, all resistance shredded by those piercing eyes.
[The Diamond Speedster, eh?] Her tone is carefully flat, not mocking in any way, which only makes it worse.
[No. Not at all. The fastest ant in the colony is Vibrant. I�m a distant second,] I confess, no longer holding any desire to try and deceive this damned amazon of a soldier.
To my fortune, she gets distracted.
[Vibrant? I didn�t realise you had names. Do all of you have names?]
[No, not all of us. I�ve handed out a few names here and there, but certainly not to everyone in the colony. My name�s Anthony, by the way.]
So grateful am I to be spared any mocking, I hand over my name without even considering it, eager to keep the conversation away from my foolishness.
[Anthony?] Morrelia has a puzzled expression, as if not quite believing she�s having this conversation. [I suppose, it�s nice to meet you, Anthony. I guess I can�t call you �Monster� anymore.]
I shrug my antennae.
[Call me whatever makes you happy. It�s no chitin off my carapace. Since we�re doing introductions, the giant bat-faced ape is Tiny, and the little ball of tentacle death on my back is Crinis.]
Morrelia looks at my two companions in turn as I name them. She acts far more wary of them than she does of me, to be honest. I can�t really blame her. Tiny is visually impressive. His gigantic, heavy frame, rugged silver fur and potent fists speak with great clarity about his prowess in battle. Crinis appears harmless. An inanimate little ball without a discerning feature. But anyone who had seen her in action would know enough to be afraid of what she can do.
[I didn�t realise you named your pets. Most don�t, from what I understand.]
[I didn�t and still don�t really know what I�m doing with the two of them,] I admit. [I�m just sort of working things out as I go along.]
She turns back to me. [Are they able to communicate as you do? Using Mind Magic?]
[Not even a little bit. I had to take a Skill that allows mental communication with pets to chat with them. They don�t exactly have pheromone glands built in like the ants do.]
Morrelia nods thoughtfully, looking down at me with a somewhat changed light in her eyes. I�d chalk the conversation up as a win, since she hasn�t brought up my attempt at leaving her back in the village due to her supposed lack of ability to keep up.
When it comes to running, the woman is more of a monster than I am!
If nothing else, our excursion out into the field has given me an
opportunity to better familiarise myself with this berserker soldier.
Morrelia appears to be in her twenties, perhaps late twenties. Although,
I could be adding years due to her stern attitude, and there�s a good
chance a life lived in the wild battling monsters has done little to
flatter her. Without looking stout or over muscled, she manages to look
She wears simple leather armour that leaves her arms bare, with wrist guards strapped to both forearms. Her twin swords strapped in place. Like the rest of her, the sheaths are unadorned, simple, functional and practical.
In terms of appearance, she looks fine, I suppose. I�m finding it difficult to tell human features apart the longer I spend in my new body. I�m becoming more capable of distinguishing ant features, though, which is a plus.
Her eyes are a piercing blue, like ice, which contrasts quite sharply
with her dark hair, which is pulled back severely and tied into a short
ponytail-like� thing. Perhaps she�d look more appealing if she didn�t
wear a permanent scowl. Has she ever looked cheerful? Though every time
I see her, she
Unwilling to strike up conversation, Tiny and I rest for a few minutes before we continue our journey at a more reasonable pace. At least I managed to squeak out a Level in Dash.
My antennae waving with furious energy as we travel, I�m able to detect the scout trails pointing to various places of interest. The scent fades over time, and more complex messages become harder to determine as the words blend into each other. The scouts have worked to keep their signals simple.
�Dungeon tunnel, small.� �River.� �Buildings.�
The last one is what catches my attention. Some form of human settlement, except the scouts themselves don�t know enough about human society to be more specific. Is it a farmhouse? Perhaps a small village or town?
I decide to follow that trail. The Mana in my core is slowly bleeding out at a constant rate, but I�m not too worried at this stage. Heaps of gas left in the tank and we�re only a few hours from the nest. The point of no return is a long way off yet.
It takes several more hours of hard travel before we make it to the first group of buildings. A small cluster of farmhouses built close to each other. Perhaps a family holding or a collection of folks gathering together for protection and company.
We spot them a long way out. The tall, pointed roofs of the barns poke above the tree line, letting us know well in advance we�re close to our destination. Even from a distance, the damage done is apparent. Jagged edges run down the side of the barn where smooth lines are expected. Open holes in the thatch work and the lack of smoke from the chimneys speak to what we can expect to find.
I harden my heart and continue to run. I can�t help but glance toward Morrelia the closer we get. Her eyes are tight with emotion. Whether worry or anger, I can�t be sure. I hope she doesn�t get too angry. Going on an anti-monster rampage might be understandable when surveying their wreckage, but in her present company, it might make things a little awkward.
Our steps are quick and it doesn�t take long to close in on the buildings, their condition exactly what I imagined it would be. Crumbled walls, smashed doors, claw marks on the ground, the stones, the trees� claw marks pretty much everywhere.
It�s obvious monsters have run through here and destroyed this small settlement. The most unfortunate thing is the clear signs of struggle. A twisted pitchfork lies on the ground between two sturdy tables that had been braced against the door of the largest stone house. To one side is an old, rusted sword snapped in half. On closer inspection, the indentations of powerful teeth can be seen on the blade. A sign of where a creature had bitten the sword to pieces.
It�s horrible to imagine. A group of farmers, gathering together to try and hold off a swarm of creatures from the Dungeon. Something they didn�t know much about, something they would never have expected to see. How would they have felt during that final struggle?
Most chilling of all is the complete lack of any sign of the people who fought here. No remains for burial. No torn limbs. Not even a blood stain.
As if a monster would ever leave Biomass behind.
Crawling over the buildings, up the walls and over the shattered ceilings, hits me hard. This was what the refugees were fleeing. This was the fate of the thousands, tens of thousands, of people who hadn�t made it out. Perhaps they hadn�t heard in time or underestimated the danger. Perhaps they just didn�t believe it could happen.
Whatever the reason, it cost them dearly.
Against my will, horrible visions of returning to the nest, only to find it destroyed and despoiled, fill my mind. My siblings vanished, eaten by our hated foes. The queen, my mother in this life, left a lifeless shell in her royal chamber. All signs of the brood would be gone: no eggs, no fat, squiggly larvae, no future for my kind at all.
Terrible! Unforgivable! I would be heartbroken, filled with anguish and rage should such a thing come to pass.
Which is exactly why I�m avoiding Morrelia�
The leather clad berserker stomps around the site. Her tension rises with every sign of futile combat we uncover. Her fists clench and her neck muscles grow taut until I�m concerned her head will snap off from sheer pressure.
Even Tiny can see it, and despite his normal, fight-happy attitude, he doesn�t appear to want to draw the attention of the dark-haired warrior. I suspect he just doesn�t want to be a punching bag since he�s able to recognise that Morrelia is an ally and he wouldn�t be able to fight back.
Unable to restrain her anger any longer, Morrelia explodes with a guttural roar of fury and smashes one backhanded fist into a barn wall. The only sound is the echo of her rage as she stands, breathing deep, before the barn wall collapses, crashing into the ground and bringing the roof with it.
Nice punch�
After a few more moments to gather her thoughts, Morrelia starts looking about. I have a sinking feeling she�s looking for me. Sure enough, she manages to spot me in my totally obvious resting place behind the chimney of another building. After waving to indicate I should join her on the ground level, she taps one finger to her forehead, a frown creasing her face.
Not very patient, are you? Sorry if I can�t weave the mystical fibres of this world into a universal translating mind-joining bridge of sparkling complexity that would put a hundred spider webs to abject shame on your schedule!
The nice thing about having multiple minds, is that I can quite comfortably weave my spells whilst complaining internally. Plenty of spare brain power to go around.
[You ok over there?] is my tentative opening line.
My concern only serves to upgrade her frown into a glare.
[I�m. Fine. I want to move on. Find some monsters to kill.]
[Of course, we�d have to move to find those. Since there sure aren�t any of them here! Ha! Ha! Haaaa�]
Please don�t berserk and kill me, crazy lady.
Morrelia only snorts at my words. [Where are we going?]
[Well, I suppose we keep heading north, find the nearest town,] I say. [If we come across any fresh-looking monster tracks, we could follow them, try to track down any bands of wandering beasties. Are you good at tracking?]
I�m sure not.
[I�m a fair tracker,] Morrelia assures me. [Let�s get going. I don�t want to stick around here any longer.]
[Fair enough.]
Leaving the depressing ruined farm buildings behind, we continue on our scouting mission. Three monsters and one human berserker. Our steady pace eats away at the distance as we move farther away from our allies and deeper into unknown territory.
The ant trails are starting to go cold this far out from the colony, the scouts unwilling to travel this far from the nest. I can�t blame them. Morrelia seems to have an excellent idea of the lay of the land in what used to be southern Liria, so she guides us toward the closest town. Hopefully, what we find there isn�t the same as what we just left behind. Only on a larger scale.
Not long after the eldest departed the colony, Cobalt stood in the queen�s chamber watching the small Aphid Queen amble about under the watchful eye of her mother. Another ridiculous, unheard-of practise, brought to life with a seeming absence of effort at the hands of the first of their kind.
The eldest puzzled the Council of Twenty, as the first hatchlings of Formica Sapiens were beginning to think of themselves. Respect and deference were due to the eldest by the simple nature of seniority. Not to mention the conditioned fear that had been beaten into them over their whirlwind training.
Even so, the eldest puzzled them. So often engaged in thoughts and actions that seemed to have no place within an ant mind. Supposedly, the twenty were of the same species, but they would never have dreamed of engineering an entire breed of� cattle?
And yet, it was such an elegant solution to a problem they hadn�t even realised they had. A sustainable, constant source of Biomass which they could completely control. The colony would determine how many aphids were created, and the colony would deploy them as they wished. The only limiting factor was the available space within the Expanse.
It wouldn�t be a problem for long. Cobalt felt confident the colony would soon extend their grasp out to encompass farther Expanses. If those others included sufficient plant life for the aphids to feed on, then their population could be grown to allow the harvest to continue in those places.
Lost in her thoughts, Cobalt didn�t notice the young Aphid Queen approach him. With a start, she realised the small green insect was looking at him appealingly, its antennae waving to tap into her own.
�She�s hungry,� the queen�s voice sounded from above. Cobalt turned to see her looking down on her.
�Mother, it�s wonderful to see you so cheerful,� she said.
By a strange twist of the Dungeon, the queen was no longer the eldest of their kind, and thus technically no longer the leader of the colony, a position reserved for the eldest, who didn�t seem to want it, except when they did. Irrespective of this, the queen, as mother to all the members of the colony, received the devotion and adoration of every worker. To see her tending her new pet with such cheer brought joy to every ant who saw it.
�Thank you, child,� she said, warmth overflowing in her words. �I must admit, I quite enjoy having a pet of my own. Obviously, my children bring me the greatest happiness, but they must work for the colony and it can be some time between visits.�
It was true. Even the ants in the queen�s chamber were rotated on a regular basis in order for her to be always protected by rested and prepared ants.
�If you were to ask for them to visit you, then they would,� Cobalt pointed out.
The queen waved one antenna dismissively. �We must all do our work for the colony, child. I would never stand between a member of our family and their task.�
Cobalt could only nod. It was true. An ant should live for their work, just as they worked to live. The soldiers were busy training, scouting, planning, getting ready to commence their hunting forays into the Dungeon. The young queens were helping with the training of the current crop of hatchlings, along with the mages and healers. Already, the training process of raising hatchlings to their first and second evolutions was undergoing refinement as the colony learned of more Skills and mutations that would assist the ants as they prepared to take on their more specific roles.
Even the Core Shapers were busy. Engaged in a demanding practice of new Skills they uncovered, utilising the inspiration the eldest gifted them with to push their understanding of their role to greater heights. Even if they weren�t able to craft pets for the colony yet, it was only a matter of time as they improved their techniques every day. When more Shapers were added to their ranks, they would have a clear path of progression established for their new initiates to follow.
Whereas the Carvers�
Cobalt sighed heavily.
�Why so glum, child?� the queen inquired, noticing her sombre mood even as she directed several workers to feed her pet.
�I am feeling confused, Mother,� she mumbled. �I�m unsure of my purpose within the colony. What exactly is the work that I am expected to achieve? I have thought and thought, but I�m still unsure which tasks I have been created to achieve.�
The queen pondered briefly before responding. �There is always work to be done, child. An endless supply. There is digging, teaching, tending to the brood, hunting. For what reason are you unable to find a task?�
�It isn�t that I can�t find a task to do, Mother, but rather what task
is for
Cobalt used her front legs, thinner, more mobile and articulate than those of her siblings, to gesture at herself.
�Too small and defenceless to fight on the frontline, without the Skills and mutations to fight on the backline. I have not the Will for spellcraft, not the tending instincts for brood rearing, and not the healing gland for restorative magic. The advantages of my own evolution seem almost pointless.�
�What are they, child? What are the advantages of your form?� the queen urged.
�I�m smaller than most others, but not faster. My forelegs are more mobile, and I can move them like this.� Cobalt demonstrated by raising them, giving a clear view of the three claws that tipped each leg, arranged in a triangular formation.
Cobalt had only recently made note that the ability to rotate the claws wasn�t shared by her peers. When viewing the humans for the first time, the connection between this strange anatomy and humans� wrists and fingers became apparent.
The queen watched Cobalt demonstrate her dexterity before questioning again. �And what else, child? I doubt these claws are the full extent of your gifts.�
�It pretty much is, Mother,� Cobalt groaned. �I have a very high Cunning stat, but I don�t know what I can do with it.�
Cobalt couldn�t be a general or a mage. What use was all of this brain power?
The queen gave Cobalt a thoughtful look, before turning her eyes upward to the stone and dirt above.
�The nest is getting quite haphazard, don�t you think?� she enquired, almost to the air.
Cobalt frowned. It was true. The rapid expansion of the nest had been done too fast, with not enough thought given to proper planning and aesthetics. The whole place was turning into a horrid mess of tunnels and chambers, no foresight, no beauty at all.
�I believe someone should take control, before it becomes a problem. Perhaps you could take on the responsibility? Until you find your purpose?� the queen suggested.
Cobalt barely heard her, mind already spinning with ideas, plans and designs for the layout of the nest. There were the farms, the brood chambers to accommodate, of course. The above-ground portion would need to be expanded, no doubt about it. Head buzzing and the previous concerns forgotten, Cobalt went to find Tungstant and rope the other Carver into this task.
Two minds were better than one, after all.
Damn� I need some Mana.
After running around the surface, we�ve managed to find a whole heap of nothin�. Ruined buildings, burned out farms and abandoned homes. All the while, my core is leaking Mana into the air. Checking my MP confirms I still have around half of my full tank. Though, I�m a little nervous about that. If we keep pushing, I�m going to reach the point where I�ll need to find a Dungeon access in order to recharge my batteries. Going back to the nest isn�t possible before I run dry.
He�s being stoic about it, but I can see the drain has taken a toll on my big ape associate as well. Tiny hasn�t told me as such, but his expression, tense but puzzled, as if pooping out an orifice he didn�t know existed and couldn�t quite find, has given the game away.
No, Tiny, that isn�t a waste product, that�s your literal life energy being sucked out of your core!
Gah! This whole thing has given me a headache. It wasn�t long ago I was a lifeform that didn�t require a Mana infused gem within their body in order to sustain themselves. Heck, when I was born onto Pangera, I didn�t have a core at all! Now look at me. Filled to the brim with Mana and dependent on it like some sort of junkie.
With great power comes great� addiction? I didn�t think it would ever come to this back when I was fresh and new to the Dungeon, staring at glowing blue veins on the wall and wondering what it was all about�now I want my fix!
Gimme dat Mana!
Even my legs are providing precious little relief here on the surface. No matter how much I try to soak up Mana through my legs, I�m getting vapour at best.
I sigh. All I can do is press forward. Particularly now. A few hours ago, we picked up the trail of a pack of monsters amongst the trees and farmland. Morrelia has been following them like a demon-possessed crazy person. Her hands are tight around the hilts of her swords, only to let go when she realises what she�s done. A little later her hands are back on those swords, knuckles white.
That is one angry berserker.
I have a suspicion things are going to get nasty soon.
The trails lead us to a flat dirt road that has the appearance of being well maintained. I expect somewhere at the end of this is going to be a sizeable community, a town or small city, and considering a somewhat large force of monsters is heading that way�judging by the tracks�something is definitely about to go down.
It�s going down for real!
[You sense anything up ahead, Crinis?]
[I don�t, Master. My ability to sense Mana is far more limited in range than your eyesight. I think I will be much more useful in the confines of the Dungeon,] she responds, somewhat despondent.
[Out here in the open, you might struggle, but inside a city you�d be better off,] I comfort her. [Each of us has our strengths. Not to worry.]
She doesn�t respond, but I sense a more cheerful mentality radiating from the softball on my back. Such a well-meaning horrific dealer of death.
[I think there might be a fight ahead, Tiny. Stay alert.]
The ape instantly looks more cheerful. Damnable ape! I want you to be wary and on your toes. Not happy and ready to run to your stupid death!
Argh.
No helping it. I�ve known what Tiny�s like for a long time now. He�s not happy unless embroiled in a brutal fight to the death. The more risk to himself, the happier he gets. Only a miracle has kept him alive this long. I need to find a healer to join in my retinue of pets. Otherwise, I doubt he�ll continue to survive. He doesn�t have any built-in healing and his Toughness isn�t as high as I�d like. I�ve said it before and it still rings true. He�s a glass cannon is what he is�all brawn, no brain and not enough HP.
You�re a worry, Tiny. No doubt about it.
The object of my frustration continues to bounce on his heels as we walk, throwing compact punches at the air, a wide grin stretched from bat-ear to bat-ear. Hopeless.
Oh? What is that I see?
On the horizon is a grey smudge that, once we�re close enough for my ant eyes to make out the details, is a city wall. With haste, I throw together a Mind Bridge to chat with Morrelia. She would be sure to know something about this place.
[Hey.] A classic lead in.
To which I�m promptly ignored�
[Hey!] Second time�s the charm.
�And still a strike.
[Heeeeeeeey!] This time, for sure.
[Would you
Holy moly! Seems like I poked a bear� I should take the hint and leave her alone.
[S-sorry. Just wanted to ask a question�] When there aren�t any objections, I plough ahead. [Do you know anything about the town up ahead? It�d be great if we had a little more information is all�]
[GAH! Stupid ant! What do you want?]
Along with her ferocious mental sending, Morrelia rounds on me, the barely controlled rage in her eyes searing me with intense heat.
[Hey there, just, like, chill for a second. All friends here, right?] I shrink back from her glare, and Crinis, sensing my distress, begins to extend a few warning tentacles toward the enraged mercenary.
With a visible effort, Morrelia chokes down her anger. When she speaks, her mental voice sounds tight with the strain. For a berserker to keep her emotions in check must be quite the taxing exercise.
[Is your class actually berserker? Because that would be awesome,] I blurted out.
A thick vein begins to throb on her temple and I hurry to move on.
[Ah, ok. Just wanted some information about what I suspect is a town up ahead. We�ve tracked some monsters here. I can see what looks like a town wall. It only follows that we can expect some monsters fighting up ahead, possibly against survivors. I was hoping to learn what you planned to do?]
I speak quickly, squeezing out my query before this enraged lady draws her weapons and cuts me down where I stand. For her part, Morrelia blinks as my torrent of words smash into her head. She manages to keep a grip on her temper long enough to sate my curiosity.
[What you�ve said is correct. The town ahead is called Midum. It�s a
fair size trading hub with a garrison and city wall. Since the monsters
we�ve been tracking are headed this way, I believe the city may still
stand or is currently under attack. I�ve been
[All good. Just, ah, don�t try and kill us when you go all angry.]
A tight smile is all I get in response as she goes back to �maintaining the correct mental state.� I don�t begrudge her testy attitude at all, since the closer we come to the city, the clearer it becomes that it�s at least partially on fire.
The city of Midum is burning at an impressive rate. As we draw closer, the sound of combat begins to ring in the distance. Roaring monsters, shouting people and the clash of steel on claw. In a lucky break, the gates of the city are already demolished, overwhelmed by whatever creatures arrived before us. The wooden gates, no more than smashed timbers hanging on hinges pinned into the stone walls, make a sorry sight as we rush through them.
The walls are far less impressive close up. Nothing at all like those of Liria. A mere four metres tall and two metres thick, they�re hardly the kind of fortification that would keep out a monster horde. Then again, they weren�t intended to be. The only things they�d expected to have to deal with in this part of Liria were low-Level surface monsters and bandits. At the very worst, an attack from a neighbouring country. Something like a Dungeon monster invasion was never on the cards for these people, right up until it happened.
The rubble of buildings is strewn about our feet and the signs of battle are everywhere. Smashed buildings, doors ripped off their hinges, burned out roofs. The only thing missing is the remains of the combatants who�d fallen. Because there wouldn�t be any, naturally. Human or monster, the fallen are Biomass, ripe for the taking.
It makes for an eerie scene. Just like what I�d witnessed at the farmhouse, except magnified in scale a thousand times. It�s almost like running through an old ruin rather than a place with humans still fighting. There�s just no sign of anything organic. What were once inns filled with people, laughter and merriment, are now shattered. Their signs ripped down, walls knocked in and furniture destroyed. As we race past one, I can see the tables and chairs are upturned, and even the bar itself is carved right down the middle. Yet not a single sign of any living thing inside.
I get the feeling that whatever has happened here, didn�t happen quickly. There are signs of barricades on the streets, of houses torn down to create makeshift walls and open up space for archers. Spent arrows abound in the areas we pass through, scattered across stone or lodged into wood. It seems that once the walls were lost, the people engaged in a brutal fight, street by street, in order to try and survive.
I skitter over rocks and debris as the once cobbled roads of Midum are now cracked and strewn with the remains of the homes of its citizens. The deeper into the city we get, the louder the roar of combat becomes.
I look at Morrelia as we Dash with all our might, and the signs of her emotional state are clear to see. Clenched teeth, fierce glare, muscles knotting, all pointing to her barely repressed rage. If I was to hazard a guess, I would say she�s balancing herself on the very edge of her class feature activating. Aiming to berserk the second she catches sight of the foe.
It doesn�t take much longer to find them. Rounding a corner, we find ourselves approaching the waterline, the widespread of the� lake? Ocean? Laid out before me, along with the source of the fire. Large warehouses are burning, sending soot and smoke billowing into the sky. The people here are making one last stand.
Several warehouses, those made of the most stone, have been boarded and walled in with whatever they had on hand. Archers dot the roofs, firing into the hungering mass of creatures below. Men and women with spears defend the edges of the building, stabbing and pushing with desperate fervour to prevent the monsters from finding purchase on the roof. Centipedes, spiders and others climb straight up the walls, jaws clattering as they strive to sate their hunger.
Around the base of the buildings, more powerful beasts like crocas, hounds and bears, are attempting to batter the barred doors whilst fending off constant thrusts from spear wielders inside the building.
It can�t last.
The sheer mass of the monsters presses forward, unwilling to be denied access to the building itself, which they tear into with fang and claw. The stone scrapes and shatters beneath the blows, and the tough wood of the warehouse door is already splintering.
The croca-beasts, stupid fire breathers that they are, bellow jets of flame, seeking to ignite anything they can. Smoke rises. Something, somewhere inside had already caught alight.
The moment the creatures come into sight, Morrelia is off. Bellowing
like a raging hell beast, she
[Better get in there, Tiny, or there won�t be anything left for you, by the looks of things!] I shout at the big ape.
The words barely reach his half-eaten, peanut-sized mind before he rumbles forward, knuckles pounding into the road so hard he shatters the stones as he hurls himself on, lightning crackling around his upper body.
[There�s a lot of monsters here, Crinis. Going to have to put you to work, I�m afraid,] I inform my sightless companion as I strive to keep pace with Tiny.
[Not to worry, Master], she assures me. [For having placed themselves in your way, I will allow these filth to taste true despair!]
I bet she will.
Although I don�t spy anything too powerful in the mix, there are still a heap of monsters. Easily over a thousand. I�ll need to deploy Crinis� tentacles of mass dismemberment in order to chew through these numbers. Not to mention a few of my own spells that should prove handy.
As we close in on the backs of the unsuspecting monsters, Morrelia is already there. Her face frozen in a rictus grin of pure hate, her blades flash faster than the eye can see, sending waves of pure swordlight into the pressed ranks of the enemy.
Even in her berserk state, she isn�t so foolish as to dive directly into the middle of the horde. Instead, she dances around the edge and her twin weapons never cease their brutal motion. With the monsters dying by the dozen, they tackle this new threat, claws grasping for a chance to rend flesh.
Then Tiny arrives.
With an impact like thunder, Tiny descends like a collapsing mountain. He leapt high into the air, gathered all of his strength, and delivered a titanic blow to an evolved dragon wolf hound. The beast is smashed directly in half and Tiny doesn�t pause to admire his handiwork. Lashing out with his meaty hands, pulped enemies are left behind every time he strikes.
[Let�s do it, Crinis! Try not to kill any humans!]
Crinis reaches out with two tentacles to grasp my antennae before pulling them back toward herself. Crinis slingshot has been loaded!
Fire!
It�s shameful to say, but I can�t throw her that far with my antennae
alone, they aren�t built for that kind of lifting. I do manage to launch
her far enough that she lands within range of the nearest monsters. No
sooner does she touch the ground than tentacles
Poor things. I almost pity them.
It�s a factor of the Dungeon I find has been curiously understudied. The fact that the denizens of that place, the monsters in all their various forms, change over time. One hundred years ago, the tower led a detailed study into the menace of the Scorpionem genus that had been terrorising the Dungeon under Enlightened Alliance lands. And now? That particular variety of monster is gone, almost never seen.
The question that needs answering is, why? Environmental pressures do not account for such a rapid extinction of a species from the Dungeon on their own. Monster populations are incredibly adaptable. Even the less intelligent species are known to adjust behaviours and select different mutations in order to adapt to the ever-changing conditions around them at lightning-quick speeds.
So why the dearth of Scorpionem monsters? Some of my peers have suggested they were hunted to extinction, a prospect I find laughable. These creatures were featured in a study detailing their detrimental takeover of a large swathe of Dungeon territory, and we are to believe they were exterminated by the surface races? Not a single documented case of a Dungeon species, let alone genus, being driven extinct by surface intervention exists.
And why? Because we cannot prevent or control Dungeon spawns. When a large population of one monster gathers together, it is known to cause a spawn point to form, though it isn�t required. Destroying all of one species at a point does not prevent them from being spawned elsewhere. It�s almost as if the Dungeon decided it didn�t need or want to spawn Scorpionem monsters anymore. So, it stopped.
Had they fulfilled their purpose? Were they deemed to be unsuccessful? We are on the edge of a very important question. One that touches on the very nature and purpose of the Dungeon.
Does the Dungeon choose which monsters are spawned and where? If so, the implications are terrifying.
Isaac Bird had seen some plops in his day. When his father walked out on his mother, Isaac little more than a wee toddler himself, that�d been some ripe, fresh bull plops right there. His poor Ma had worked herself to the bone, scrubbing pots and serving tables at the Skeevy Rat, a complete dive on the waterfront.
When Isaac got old enough, he�d managed to �prentice himself out to a local guard company, finally able to bring home a bit o� coin to support his ma. Only to have her take sick and pass away three months later.
That was plops with some serious heft. Real weight to �em. Some men could be crushed under that kind of weight, but not Isaac Bird. No sir. He�d picked himself up and carried on. After three years of getting his head kicked in, training, Levelling and carrying the plops for jeering superiors, he�d become a full guardsman.
That�d been two years ago. Since then, Isaac had been knee-deep in it, ain�t no mistake. Guards on the take? Plops. Merchants stepping on the citizens, above the law due to their wealth? Big bag o� plops right there. Poor people strugglin�, dyin� with nobody to look after �em, thrown on the garbage heap to rot with the off fish? That be a steaming mountain of brown right there.
But this latest one had to take the cake. Watching the merchants and nobles sailing out onto the sweet blue waters of Barka Lake, burning the fishing fleet behind them as savage Dungeon monsters swarmed over the walls� that�d been the largest, most potent serving of plops Isaac had ever clapped eyes on. Sacrificing the people of Midum so they�d have more time to escape. Those worthless sacks of trash had ground the poor under their heel all their lives, and now they sought to prevent their death the same way they lived: at the detriment of a whole heap of others.
Isaac shouldn�t have felt surprised. But the callousness of it rattled him.
�Anna! Find out what the hell is burnin�, would ya!� he hollered to his second in command as he struggled to clear the sting out of his eyes.
The damned smoke was everywhere. Even as he coughed, Isaac found an opening through a crack in the door and thrust his spear through with all his strength.
[Expert Spear Mastery has reached Level 31.]
Well ain�t that somethin�. If he survived, he might be able to reach Spear Supremacy before he turned thirty. Quite the honour for a town guard.
The fighting was thick and fierce. Had been for the whole damned week. The walls were lost so quick, the attack coming out of nowhere. Mainly because City Lord Cranten pulled all the scouts in and chucked them inside the wall when he found out what happened in Liria. Terrified of monsters erupting out of the ground, he�d let them walk right up the walls during the night. Flamin� moron.
�Come on, you yellow dogs!� Isaac bellowed. �What are you waitin� for? Breathable air? Get your arses on the door!�
Beleaguered and suffering, the last able-bodied survivors of Midum heeded his call and stumbled back into position. They braced against the splintered doors that were the last defence against the swarming beasts outside.
Isaac tightened his grip on Number Five, his trusty spear, before he stabbed once more through the crack in the door on instinct. His intuition was rewarded with a pained growl and a squelching impact as the spear tip struck home.
�What in the blinkin� blazes was that?� Isaac hollered as the stones beneath his feet rattled from a colossal impact.
Thinking the monsters must have staggered from that impact, Isaac leapt forward to press his face to the crack and his eyes widened at what he saw.
A sea of monsters heaved across the docks outside the warehouse, but beyond them, something he couldn�t explain took place. A giant gorilla monster was smashing smaller monsters into pieces like twigs.
Even as he watched, a writhing mass of tentacles
�What in the name of bleedin� bloody blood�� Isaac muttered, scarcely believing what he was seeing. Why would monsters suddenly turn on each other? It didn�t make sense! They were engaged in jolly cooperation just a few moments ago� And where the heck did this lot come from?
A flash of light caught his eye and he pulled back from the door just in time as a piercing ray of light pierced through the hulking monsters around the door, scything them down like wheat. Only when the spray blasted through the crack and into his face did Isaac realise it had been water.
What on Pangera?
�This is a right ploppin�, that�s for sure,� Isaac growled as he fell back from the cracks in the door.
The water had sliced through monsters as if they weren�t even there. Not to mention the other monsters battering against the horde assembled outside the warehouse.
Had some master mage and tamer heard of their plight whilst travelling
through? Such a thing would be a darned miracle. Not only because a mage
with the strength and means to raise
Isaac scrambled back to his feet and tightened his grip around his spear. Whatever the reason, it wouldn�t matter a bit if his people died before the monsters were killed.
�Step back from the door, you bleedin� piles of flamin� trash!� he bellowed over the roar of the fight. �If that water comes through, you�re gonna end up in pieces, and I ain�t got any glue!�
The men and women who�d braced against the warehouse door stepped back in confusion. The spray of water blasted through the cracks and soaked them, but they hadn�t seen the water jet itself and didn�t appreciate how deadly it was.
They moved too slow for Isaac. He leapt forward to pull them back. Many flinched as if they expected the door to be forced in the second they were no longer holding it shut, but no such thing occurred.
�You and you,� Isaac pointed at two of the bedraggled survivors, �get out the back and get on bucket duty. Make sure there�s nothin� burning in here.�
The two, a man and a woman barely old enough for marriage, who�d fought their way through hell in the last week, rushed to hit the buckets. The others gathered near the wide doors of the warehouse looked to Isaac for guidance.
�Looks like help has arrived, people,� he said. Hope blossomed in their expressions.
Judging from the horrific din from outside, the battle was still raging. The bellowing of monsters, the crash and thud of heavy blows and impacts rang in their ears without pause.
What should they do? Just wait it out? Hope that whoever had come to their rescue was victorious?
�I�ll be damned if I hide like a rat in a bleedin� hole!� Isaac said. �Form the line, you idiots! You think you�re rescued already? Thousands of monsters out there need killin�! You wanna live, then get your arse up and in line! Spears front and at the ready!�
Isaac stormed through the ranks of his �guards�, most of them fishermen and shopkeepers, as he shouted, pushed and harassed his people until he had a rag tag group of twenty formed up behind the door in the most pathetic excuse for a box formation he�d ever seen. and he was damned proud of it.
Most of these people hadn�t seen a monster before and never held a weapon in their lives. Here they were, one week later, with steady hands and steel in their eyes.
�If we�re gonna survive, then we need to get out there and help. With all the monsters distracted by the assault from behind, we�ll have a good chance to stick a few before they even realise we�re there. Get in position now, you sack of pig sick! Do I need to open the doors me bloody self?�
After another minute of furious cursing, they were ready. He�d sent a runner to the roof so the archers knew they were coming out and to give them cover. He also had two young boys on the door, ready to yank them open and allow the spear wielding formation to charge through.
Isaac checked his grip on the spear one more time. He�d already busted four spears in the last week. He was hoping this would be the last one he needed.
�Alright then. Stab �em right in the face! Charge!� he screamed.
The doors to the warehouse flew open and they charged out, momentarily blinded by the sudden change in light. It didn�t slow them at all as they hurtled forward, the lot of them screaming like demons of the Dungeon.
When his vision cleared, he was faced with a horrifying bear monster, its fur-covered body rippling with muscle. Isaac thanked any gods who might be listening, as well as the Path, just to cover his bases, since the creature was faced away from him.
�Haaaaaaaa!� he roared his challenge and stabbed with all his might.
�Raaaaaaa!� the townsfolk echoed his ferocity, each stabbing out in rough unison, taking advantage of the monsters� distraction.
The twang of bowstrings rang out and Isaac was relieved to see arrows sprout on the backs and shoulders of the monsters in front. Seems like the archers received his message. Fingers crossed this�d be enough.
Isaac didn�t know who had come to their aid, but maybe with them all fighting, it would be enough.
Not willing to dwell on negative thoughts, he focused on the only thing that mattered. Stabbing. Your shoulders don�t ache, your legs aren�t burning and your lungs aren�t suffocating from smoke, he told himself. Rest when you�re dead!
As his mind crystalized around that one thought, he brought his spear back and lunged again, following the instincts embedded in him by the System and honed over countless hours of practice. His waist rotated in sync with his step, transferring his mass through his feet, to his hips, to his shoulders and then to his arms and through them, his spear. At the critical moment, he executed a Dash, just a tiny one, a �micro-Dash,� as that bastard trainer, Willom, described it. Put it together, and a simple thrust with a spear became something altogether more deadly.
Like a bullet, Isaac�s thrust rocketed forward and pierced deep into the hide of the beast, tore through muscle and slipped past bone. With a long groan, the bear slumped down, its monstrous form drained of vitality, and Isaac turned to find new prey.
Except there wasn�t any.
An amazon of a woman in leather armour stood in front of him,
There were several possible things happening here, but any way it went, Isaac felt like his dreams had come true.
I�ve started to come around to the general idea that I�m stupid. I mean, I�d considered that perhaps I was a little impulsive, Gandalf knows my decision-making process could, when written down, fit on the back of a stamp with enough room left over for a drawing of Tiny poking himself in the eyes.
But I�d never considered myself to be a
This time, I don�t believe I have the capacity to draw on excuses such as those. This goes beyond the impulsive, beyond a habitual lack of foresight or pattern of lackadaisical thinking.
This was just downright stupid.
As Mana leaked out of my core, drained away into the air around me, how did I attack the monster horde in front of me? When my blood was up and the excitement of the fight was upon me, without thinking, I decided the best way to clear the chaff around the warehouse was using the Empowered Water Cannon, pouring out my Mana with unrestrained zeal to cut the monsters apart.
My
I need that stuff! It�s the lifeblood of my monstrous body. I
You IDIOT, Anthony!
My core gasps for breath as the final ten percent of Mana, the last wisp of energy I have left, stirs and sputters about. I�ve probably got until the end of the day until my core runs out of gas, then the pain will come on fast. This is not good.
As keen as I am to run for the nearest Dungeon entrance as fast as possible, I want to make sure things are under control here. Not to mention I need to talk to Morrelia to find out the location of a close Dungeon entrance.
Which means I need to use my Mana to craft a Mind Bridge. Ugh. Using my Mana as sparingly as possible, I weave together the Mind Bridge. I commit all of my will and energy to ensure that not a single iota of MP is lost without cause. It�s amazing what a little scarcity can do for your outlook.
[Don�t have long, Morrelia, running out of Mana. Everything good? You done going berserk?]
The tough as nails mercenary is close to the warehouse, conversing with a grizzled-looking fellow in his twenties, a spear held lightly in one hand. As she hears my message, Morrelia turns toward me and nods.
[Hold on. I�m talking to the leader of these survivors,] she sends. [Seems the people in the warehouse are the last ones left from Midum. He says the aristocracy fled on ships into the bay at the first sign of trouble.]
[Classy stuff.]
[Hold on a second.]
She speaks to the fellow for a few moments longer, and I could swear he�s leaning in a little closer than one would expect. Wait, now he�s put his spear across his shoulders in just such a way that his biceps are featured prominently.
Is this guy putting the moves on Morrelia? That is a brave man right there. Even as they speak, she�s covered head to toe in monster blood. Her berserker style doesn�t exactly lead to much subtlety when it comes to fighting up close and personal.
[Is this guy cracking onto you, Morrelia?] I chortle.
I can see her shoulders slump from where I stand a dozen metres behind her.
[I think so,] she grumbled. [He seems pretty impressed with my efforts here.]
[You
[Well,] her voice turns sly at this point. [He thinks I�m some rich wandering expert and you three are my pets.]
I�m not sure how I feel about that.
[You know what, that�s probably better for him to believe than the truth. Tell him to get his people together and send them to the village. Just make sure to warn them not to fight any ants they find.]
She turns and nods to me before she faces her would-be suitor again. If anything, he�s managed to puff himself up even further. He looks so ridiculous, it�s taken all of my attention. I feel like I�ve forgotten something�
Oh, right! I�m dying.
[Any chance you could tell me where the nearest Dungeon entrance is? I�m almost out of Mana and I�m gonna die soon.]
[WHAT?]
[I did say so already.]
[You didn�t say you were dying!]
[Well� I�ll be dead soon.]
[How is that not the same thing!]
She gives us directions to the closest entrance, a small one in the wilderness halfway to the next closest town. As soon as she�s done talking, I tell her I�ll wait for her there. My pets and I start to stuff our faces with as much Biomass as we can fit in as short a time as possible.
It can�t have been nice to watch, since the flexing guard takes one look, blanches, and runs inside the warehouse as if he�s about to hurl. It was probably Crinis eating that did it. I eat in quite a dignified manner, tearing with my mandibles and then shoving my face into the food so I can reach it with my mouth, which is positioned on the underside of my head, below the jaws.
So much freakin� centipede� I swear I�ve eaten a thousand of the horrible crawly scum. They taste awful and look disgusting to boot. Ever since I was born on this world, I�ve had an instinctive hatred of these damn things. I don�t feel any real need to explain it. I just hate �em. Am I an insect racist? Maybe. Centipedes are gross, on this I will not be persuaded.
[You have gained one Biomass.]
[Master profile of the Claw Centipede unlocked.]
By the rigid white staff of Gandalf! I was starting to think the full profile didn�t exist! A thing of myth, of legend. Hidden behind deep mists and beyond impenetrable mountains! I wonder what the heck it says?
Master Profile:
[Unguibus Scolopendra: Claw centipede. Has strong claws and a venomous spike in its tail.
Might:12
Toughness: 15
Cunning: 8
Will: 12
Current Evaluation:
The Unguibus variety of the Centipede Genus has thus far proven to be an adequate survivor at the highest levels of the Dungeon, able to compete for food and territory against most of the solitary threats there. It has been determined that this species is worth further investigation and is currently among the more favoured varieties of the Insecta class. Further spawnings, evolution options and pathways have been developed. The species will next be assessed in two years.]
Uhh� wut? The System, that is to say, Gandalf, is assessing the monsters
in some fashion? He
He�s dropped at least four pegs in my estimations. Now, let�s go get to this Dungeon before I drop dead.
Holy mother of all that is good and gracious in this world, puh-lease let me make it alive! I�m burning up. The light is fading. My soul is running before the light! Is that you, Mum? What is that, you say? You wish I�d never been born? Get the hell out of my death vision, human mum! Bring out my real mother, the queen!
Gawd, I�m delirious. Which is interesting since I�ve actually not quite run out of Mana in my core yet. I�m down to vapour, make no mistake, but not quite out of gas.
No, wait. Check that, just ran out.
Oh my word, it hurts! I feel like my soul is suffocating!
[How much farther, Crinis?]
[I don�t know, Master, I can�t see!]
DAMMIT.
[Tiny! Do you know how much farther we need to go?]
[Hurts�]
[I KNOW that! More than anything in this world, I know it! Do you have any idea how much farther we have to run!]
[�No]
I swear by all that is sacred and loved in this world, Tiny, if I survive this, I�m going to shrink your muscles until your arms are limp noodles and you have the brain power of two young Einsteins. You won�t be able to fight and will have to sit around sipping tea, discussing the latest in particle physics. Only then will my wrath be sated!
It can�t be that far away. I feel as if we�ve been running for ten hours. Though that can be attributed to my panic and anxiety. If I were to try and guess, it would have to have been closer to two hours.
Argh! Holy smokes! That tickled me right in the pain zone. How to describe the pain of having an empty core? It�s as if my magic lungs are barren and I�m in a vacuum. No matter how hard my core tries to pull Mana in, it just isn�t getting anything near enough from the air above ground. My monster body consumes far more Mana to operate than can be replaced outside of the Dungeon.
I need to get down below, fast!
I shove the pain into the back of my awareness and focus on pushing my little legs until they�re on the edge of snapping. I don�t care if they break, as long as I get below ground and away from this agony!
As he so elegantly communicated, Tiny is suffering also. Crinis isn�t quite at the point where this is going to be an issue for her, but after a few more evolutions it will be. Wait, is that the sign pillar Morrelia told us about?
Ten feet tall, the stone column stands to one side of the cobbled road, words and arrows carved onto its surface. Fantastic! We�re close! I circle around the edifice and find an arrow that points away from the road into the surrounding woods.
That�d better be it. If I could read the native language, it would help.
[Quick, Tiny, this way!] I holler before sprinting away. Trees and branches fly past my face as I motor with all of my might. I�m not willing to Dash in case the drain on my core is increased, but I�m sure as heck going to run as fast as possible!
How�s my HP looking? GAH! Already down 10%? This is ridiculous!
GO-GO-GO-GO-GO!
Up ahead, a stone structure rises before us. A small fort in the middle of a forest. A ludicrous thing in normal times, but now, a lifesaving fortress of blessed Mana.
I run straight at the fort and then straight up the wall. Once I crest the moss-covered stone, I behold the most glorious sight of my life. Inside the walls, cut straight through the earth, is a wonderful crack, dim blue light leaking out of it. Precious Mana! Without a shred of hesitation, I leap from the wall and scramble toward the crack, Tiny not far behind.
You can�t quite describe this place as a �fort.� More of a guard post, maintained to keep an eye on this particular crack in the ground. Not wide enough to be considered a Dungeon entrance, and not worth the cost of excavation, the kingdom must have decided to leave well enough alone and not worry about it.
But I will!
The pain is excruciating, but I grit my mandibles and bear it. It�s time to dig!
The entrance to the Dungeon here is only a foot wide, not enough for me to slither into, and certainly not enough for Tiny to back his commercial barge into. There is only one choice!
DIG!
Embrace the zen of ant living and dig, you Mana-less insect!
My face-hands pummel the soil at a relentless pace, dirt and stone flung into the sky as I whip my body back and forth, a rhythm of soil extraction achieved in a blink of an eye.
And with each blessed mandible-load of dirt, the sweet, sweet touch of
Mana flows more smoothly out of the Dungeon and into my parched core. It
still isn�t enough, each second that passes is a new kind of torture as
I
Dig! Dig! DIG!
Tiny is there too, his massive hands scooping out enormous amounts of earth before he throws it over his shoulder. In a short amount of time, we manage to dig out a bowl-shaped basin deep enough that both Tiny and I have our heads below ground level. Still, it isn�t enough. We concentrate on digging a narrow tunnel straight down, following the crack into the Dungeon with the idea of widening it out into a chamber once we�re deep enough.
The deeper we go, the more Mana seeps into our cores, until finally, sweet relief is at hand.
At that point, we collapse in a heap.
It�s a few hours before Morrelia finds us. I awake to the sight of her head poked down the impromptu tunnel we�ve dug.
Ugh.
This is what I imagine a hangover feels like. I feel gritty and sore across my entire body. After a few hours of torpor at the very least, I�ve managed to recharge my core back up to capacity, my feet helping to recharge the batteries once I�d managed to jam them into the crack.
All six of my legs twitch as I stretch them until the joints crack. There�s still some residual pain from the damage I sustained when my core was empty. I wonder what exactly causes that damage? Does my body fall apart at the cellular level without Mana to sustain me? Does the core draw on the energy contained within my cells to protect itself from damage when there isn�t enough Mana for it?
Interesting questions.
[Tiny, how are you doing, bud?]
The big ape grunts and raises one massive hand to slap over his head. [Better.]
[Fair enough.]
Above me, Morrelia has been pointing to her temple and gracing me with her traditional scowl as I�ve taken my time to stretch.
Hey, I nearly died. I deserve a little rest after that sort of existential crisis. Did I bring the problem down on myself? Yes. Yes, I did. I�ve resolved to try and address my shortcomings, namely my stupendous idiocy, in future, to the extent of my ability. I wonder if there�s an evolutionary option that would add common sense to my list of abilities?
I could really use that.
I sigh wearily and craft the necessary Mana to form the Mind Bridge with Morrelia.
[Hello, Morrelia. What is it?]
She snorts from her position hanging upside down in a tunnel. [Slept enough down there, Anthony? Any chance you want to get off your lazy backside and do some work?]
[Hey! I�ll have you know my business district is diligent and flourishing! We�re very excited to be announcing the delivery of new products that will cause our target demographic to positively melt!]
Bemused, Morrelia shakes her head. [As usual, I have no idea what you are talking about. We have serious business to deal with. I�ve found the tracks of another group of monsters heading north. By the looks of things, there�s a massive Garralosh type monster with them. If we hurry, we might catch up to them before they make it to Liria.]
Well now. That
How
Tiny, Crinis and I haul ourselves out of our temporary respite home to join Morrelia on the surface.
[What happened to the survivors of Midum?] I query.
[They�re getting their stuff together and heading south as quick as their legs will carry them. It might take them awhile to get on the road, seeing as they have almost the entire city to loot,] Morrelia smirks.
[How much of that stuff is going to be useful? If they turn up with a mountain of vases and precious jewels, they�re going to be pretty damn useless when they get to the village. I don�t think they even have currency there yet.]
[I�ve no doubt there will be some idiots who prioritise valuables, but I think most of them will be more sensible and bring things that will actually be useful. I�m expecting quite the interesting haul.]
Judging by the dangerous glint in Morrelia�s eyes, there is assuredly something she knows that I don�t. As long as it doesn�t affect the colony in any way, then I don�t really care what they get up to.
[What about this trail you found?] I prompt her.
[Oh, right. When I was following you to this location, I happened to notice something had carved a path through the forest before doubling back and heading toward Liria. Judging by the tracks, there is absolutely a big beastie in the mix.]
[Interesting,] I muse. [Perhaps their core ran out of Mana, forcing them to turn back to the city in order to recharge? It isn�t as if they have a local guide to point them toward every little crack in the ground.]
Morrelia leans toward me, interest plain on her face. [So the Mana on the surface is too thin for you? Is your core really that developed?]
My antennae wave self-consciously. [What? Are you core-shaming me? Yes, the Mana on the surface is too thin for me and Tiny both. Is that so weird?]
She shrugs.
[You just don�t seem to be large enough or evolved enough to have such a strong core. Most creatures from the first strata are able to run around on the surface if they break out of the Dungeon. There are powerful exceptions, of course. I doubt Garralosh could last up here more than ten minutes.]
[Is she really just a first strata monster? Seems to me that the mother of those beasts would be too much of a big shot for the top layer of the Dungeon, surely?]
Morrelia pauses for a moment, looking at me oddly. [You aren�t wrong� She is way too strong to be as close to the surface as she has been. Mostly because she�s been prevented from getting any lower.]
Something about her tone tells me she won�t be much more forthcoming on that topic, so I let the conversation lapse as we find the trail and start a high-speed chase.
Thank goodness I managed to get a quick nap. Core aside, I needed the rest. There has been way too much running about up here. It shames my ant self to say it, but this is just too much damn work!
Morrelia is keeping a few things from me. Specifically about the Dungeon and Garralosh, but I don�t mind that too much. If someone spent their entire life fighting against monsters, it would be a little tough to turn around and trust one with all of your most precious secrets. Especially those pertaining to security.
How exactly would you prevent a powerful monster from moving around in the Dungeon? Sounds like some sort of nightmare. Couldn�t they just dig? Thinking about the pathetic hands on the crocs, I doubt they would be very effective at digging. Sad for them, forever denied the true light of zen.
Once we�re on the trail, Morrelia transforms from a taciturn warrior to a wolf on the hunt. Her body language changes completely. Gone is the relaxed but wary stance, the watchful eyes flicking amongst the shadows, ever watchful for the slightest hint of a threat. Now her every muscle radiates focus and intent. Leaned forward as she runs, her eyes are alight with a hunger that wasn�t there before, her lips peeled back to reveal too many teeth. Her entire expression has transformed to that of a beast. Her head jerks back and forth, seeking any sign of monsters having snuck off or others joining. So intense is her focus, I think she could tell me exactly what monsters make up this group we�re following.
If this is another one of Garralosh�s big kids, then managing to fight one whilst they are potentially drained of Mana and suffering on the surface is a perfect opportunity. We managed to beat one last time when they were on a full tank, and we�ve powered up somewhat since then. And we didn�t have a murderous berserker with us at that time.
Run, run, run. I feel like I�ve well and truly covered my step count for the day, but it doesn�t end. Through the woods and then out into open farmland, the chase continues. I�m interested to see that a significant number of farm animals remain on the surface, wandering here and there as they graze. Most of the fences have been knocked down or have large holes in them where monsters have passed through, so the cattle and sheep are free to explore the world at large.
I suppose they mustn�t give Biomass when consumed, otherwise the monsters would have chowed down on these guys for sure. I wonder why they don�t? Is Biomass an intrinsic property of a monster body?
Interesting to think about� Someone smarter than me will have to work it out.
Our pace is fast and relentless. After four hours of solid running, by which time Tiny is seriously flagging, we start to catch glimpses of our quarry. A small pack of beasts, mostly offspring of Garralosh, with a few other types thrown into the mix for giggles. Sure enough, in the centre of the group, looming over the other monsters and emitting a suffocating pressure, is a massive croc, clearly the same size as the Garralosh Commander we fought in the Marsh Expanse.
As we draw closer to the enemy, Morrelia grips her weapons tightly, and I swear that as we run, she begins to growl under her breath. She appears to hate these more evolved croca-beasts even more than she hates normal monsters. Which is a heck of a lot of hate.
[Looks like it might be a Garralosh Commander,] I tell her. [Ever fought one of those before?]
She replies only with a shake of her head, her focus still laser-like on our quarry.
[Watch out for the two mouths. The flame attack from each is pretty deadly, but the last one we killed had this wicked blue flame, crazy dangerous.]
The news that I�ve fought one before shocks Morrelia enough that she actually speaks back.
[You�ve fought one of those before?] she asks doubtfully.
[What? Why do you constantly underestimate my incredible power? Not only did we fight one, we killed it and feasted on its sweet Biomass! Impressed?]
She shakes her head, not to deny my achievement, more in puzzlement.
[They don�t come up this close to the surface, ever. For one of
them to be
[Big momma croc is up here as well?] I finish her thought.
A moment of silence falls over us as we contemplate what that could mean.
[If you see a mega crocodile� run,] I advise.
I certainly would!
We gain on our quarry with every passing second. They aren�t aware of us in the slightest. Twenty to thirty croca-beasts at various stages of evolution are surrounded by a similar number of other first strata Dungeon monsters. In the centre of the pack is a large hulking form.
From one hundred metres away, there�s no doubt in my mind that it�s another Garralosh Commander. One of momma Garralosh�s eldest children. That loathsome over-and-under jaw, those massive, bulked shoulders and the writhing triple tails. Seeing one again brings back nightmares. Tiny, Crinis and I all suffered at the hands of the first one of these we brought down. I�d rather not get my back zone chomped off this time if I can help it.
[Let me lead off,] I tell Morrelia. [I can clear off a lot of the chaff with one surprise attack.]
Focused on the enemy ahead, she only glances at me once, raising a single eyebrow to express her doubt before nodding.
What a ridiculous lack of faith. She won�t question me again after she beholds the sheer destructive potential of Gravity. It�s time to unleash, The Bomb!
I take a moment to congratulate myself for not drawing on the raw Mana of my core, but instead remembering to utilise the Gravitational Mana within my Gravity Mana Gland. The gland will increase the drain on my core as it seeks to replenish the Mana it�s lost, sure, but it�s still a lot more manageable than pulling Mana straight out of my core and blasting it everywhere.
I reserve some attention to ensure I don�t run into a fence before I task my sub-brains with drawing out the Mana, whilst I devote my main mind to compressing it down. Working in tandem, the two sub-brains take hold of the deep well of Gravitational Mana within me and pour it out for my main mind to grasp and compress.
Then compress it again. Then compress it some more.
Although my stats haven�t changed since my last evolution, my ability to work with and handle Mana certainly has. My ability to focus and endure the mental strain has increased thanks to the oh so handy Cerebral Endurance Skill, and my control has jumped by leaps and bounds thanks to utilising the Meditation Skill. And honestly, getting Forceful Mana up to Level 9 has really helped my ability to compress Mana.
Compared to when I first started, grasping and moulding my Mana are tasks I can now complete with relative ease! I mean, it�s still hard as hell. Once compressed, the Mana roils and fights against my control as much as it ever has, but my will is as solid as an iron vice. The Mana is pressed and held, unable to escape and with no choice but to submit to me.
At least, sort of.
The denser the Mana becomes, the more unruly it becomes. As if repelled
by an unseen force, it struggles to be released from my grasp.
Compressed, squashed and compacted, the Mana changes, becomes deeper,
darker and more potent. If I slipped at this stage, the results would be
catastrophic. The Mana would expand rapidly in a similar fashion to, you
know, an
There is high reward for this type of spell corresponding to its high risk.
As I wrestle internally with my spell, we continue to pursue our
enemies, running behind them at breakneck speed. Advanced Stamina has
Levelled
The croca-beasts aren�t built for extended runs, their bodies a bit larger than their limbs seem to fit, and their impressive bulk must make it tough to run this far. The same goes for Tiny. He�s approaching the end of his rope, so they must be also. These big monsters are built for power in bursts.
Thankfully, it means we�ve caught up to them.
Fifty metres behind them, and they still haven�t noticed our approach, so intent are they on running toward the capital. At least, Morrelia assures me they�re headed to the capital. What�s left of it.
[How much longer?] Morrelia demands tersely.
[Oi! I�m manipulating the controlling forces of the universe over here. If I slip in my control, we�ll all die a horrible death!]
[Then why are you talking?]
Argh!
Embrace the Meditation. Emotions are a distraction I can ill afford.
Calm. Calm.
Not so calm.
Within me, the energy of my spell undergoes a transformation, and turns
into the now familiar, near-black gravitation energy of the Gravity
Bomb. In my mind, the spell appears as a rotating sphere, its edge
smooth as if cut by a laser. A terrifying
Happy to oblige, I feed more and more Mana into the spell, allowing it to drag and yank at my Gravitational Mana, as all of my minds struggle to direct and contain it. Without the razor-sharp clarity afforded by my Meditation Skill, I wouldn�t dare push this far. In all previous attempts at casting this spell, I would have released it at this point, or just held onto it until I was ready to release. But this time, I feel I can go further.
Onward and downward, it spirals into the core of the spell, which only grows denser and heavier.
I haven�t had much opportunity to test the limits of the Gravity Mana Gland since I�d last upgraded it to +15, consolidating my capacity upgrades to grant yet more capacity. I�ve pulled a torrent of Mana out of the gland at this point, but I can feel there is a ton more to give.
In the back of my mind, I shiver thinking about what kind of devastation a Gravity Bomb would cause were I to dump all of my Mana into a single one. I doubt I�d even be able to control it.
[Advanced Forceful Mana (II) has reached Level 10. Upgrade available.]
[Advanced Forceful Mana (II) Condensed Mana (III): Cost 1 SP. This Skill further schools the user in the ways of Mana compression, instructing in the more elegant method of Mana condensing.]
Not a great time, but sure! Go for it!
The more Mana I pour into the bomb, the darker it becomes and the faster
it rotated. The spell screams for release as I force and
It�s at that precise moment that the Garralosh Commander freezes in place, then whips its hideous double jawed head around and looks directly at us.
Oh, nads!
Fire!
As if all the screaming banshees of hell had been unleashed on the world, my spell tears into existence before me and howls toward my foes.
What exactly has my Mana become? What is it that I have unleashed? The
Gravity Bomb is smaller than my previous efforts, but far more menacing.
Reality
Even the monsters who are the unfortunate targets of my orb of death
seem to sense something
And all the while, the dreadful shriek emanates from the Gravity Bomb as it pulls the atmosphere, as if a hole had been punctured in the sky and the world rushed to fill it.
What the heck is going to happen when it hits?
Come to think of it�
[Tiny, Crinis, brace for impact! And maybe back up a bit.]
I heed my own advice and scrabble back a few steps before the spell finally impacts. The monster who was my primary target, looming large over its smaller followers, thinks fast, snatching up a smaller Garralosh Infant in two of its four claws, and in a horrific feat of strength, hurls it through the air to take the brunt of the spell.
I don�t hear if the croca-beast makes a noise before it�s consumed, so deafening is the wind that whips and stirs the grass, sending the trees to creaking. The moment the spell impacts against the unlucky croc, it expands, swallowing it whole. In a flash, the Gravity Bomb manifests its full glory. A near-black, revolving sphere that drags its victims within to crush them into a particularly spicy meat ball.
There are a few changes. Deep in the Meditation Skill, I observe the destruction impassively. The energy of the Gravity Bomb is greater than any I�d cast before. Flickers of black lightning emanate from it, almost invisible as they appear and vanish so quickly, it�s hard to say if they exist at all.
What I can see, can feel, is the horrific
Belatedly, I reach out to Morrelia. [Hold on! You don�t want to fall into that!]
[You think?] she roars back, looking rattled.
[Yes! Yes I�oh, you were being sarcastic.]
The monsters haven�t fared well. The spell was set off before it landed
in their midst, but it was close enough that most cannot resist its
dreadful pull. They struggle with all of their might to no effect. One
by one, they�re dragged into the air and
They don�t make a sound once they�re caught in the spell�s grasp. Or if they do, it�s snatched out of their jaws by the howling wind. Once within the sphere itself, they vanish, not to be seen again.
Well, not looking
Though it feels much longer, the revolving sphere only lasts a minute before it flickers out of existence, leaving a core of crushed material suspended in the air that promptly falls to the ground.
Due to its quick thinking and powerful physique, the commander-croca is still standing, though its detachment of followers has been reduced to a few titan-crocs and a mature Wolf Dragon.
These Gravity Bombs are becoming serious business.
Seems I�m getting closer to getting myself consumed by the spell each time I cast it.
[Can you hit it with another one of those?] Morrelia queried as she readied her blades.
[Nope. Takes a bit of time to charge, and friendly fire is a real issue. Once we start fighting, it�ll be impossible to cast it safely.]
[Well then�] Her eyes narrowed and a fierce expression seized her face. [Time to take the fight to this child of the beast.]
That�s another thing I like about Morrelia. She hates the croca-beasts just as much as I do.
[Tiny, Crinis. You guys remember how it went down last time we took on one of these things. It wasn�t great. We all nearly died and my backside was razed clean. Let�s be a little more careful. Tiny, I want you to hit and run. You gotta stick and move. You stay too close to him, you�re going to get torn up. Crinis, stay sneaky. Wait for your moment, then hit the arms like you did last time. We�ve trained for this, people. Be careful!]
[Yes, Master! I won�t fail you!] Crinis declares passionately.
[Hrn!] Tiny grunts, his eyes alight at the oncoming challenge.
He�s not listening is he�
[I�ll stay back and join the fray later. Try not to die,] I tell Morrelia. She�s not listening either. I can see from her expression that she has begun to work herself into the rage she needs to unleash the benefits of her class. Possessed by her anger and bloodlust, she walks up to the towering croc-commander, blades gripped in her hands.
Here we go�
The croc and the last of its retinue have begun to make moves. Having sensed the oncoming conflict, they�ve spread themselves out. The croc-commander�s steps thunder in our ears and tremble the earth with each tread of its feet.
Before it can get too close, I prepare to unleash my ranged barrage. My sub-brains whir into high gear and begin to draw out Gravitational Mana independently as they each weave a Gravity Bolt. Sunk deep into Meditation, they construct the spells at a rapid pace as I lower my body and arch my abdomen high to present my famed commercial district.
Have a taste of what your sibling couldn�t stomach!
POW!
A jet of acid streaks through air to splash against the croca-commander�s scaled hide. The monster doesn�t bother to deflect or avoid my strike, not threatened by it in the least. Doesn�t mean I�ll stop!
POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!
Along with this salvo of acid, the first two Gravity Bolts streak forth, and another two enter production the moment they�re released. Again, whether through confidence, arrogance or stubbornness, the commander refuses to dodge, its body splashed with acid that hardened even as it burned.
Likewise, my two bolts strike home on the beasts left leg. The force of Gravity will be increased on that side, perhaps enough to slow it. If that isn�t enough, no matter. If two bolts aren�t sufficient, then I will shoot two hundred!
[Advanced Enhanced Precise Shooting (II) has reached Level 2.]
Nice! I like this Skill since it�s applied to both my spells and my acid. Double value!
I slow the pace of my acid barrage and allow my main mind to form Gravity Bolts also. I�m unwilling to invest my attention to create condensed bolts, since I need my wits about me for the fight. Just like the last time, quantity will need to win over quality in this contest.
As I pepper the commander with magic and acid, Morrelia circles to the right, seeking to cut off the remainder of the goon squad whilst Tiny circles to the left, for once not listening to instincts and closing in at the first opportunity.
No, wait a second. There he goes.
Dammit, Tiny!
I have to give it to Tiny, he tried. He gave it a red-hot go. His untameable hunger for battle is well known. I can still remember him as a not yet full-sized ape when he threw himself onto a giant rabbit that reeked of the putrid scent of un-death. Even then, his face had been alight with the joy of battle.
I just wish he�d be better at choosing his battles.
Tiny bellows his rage at the giant croca-commander and smashes his fists into the earth, then strikes himself on the chest in a fearsome display of physical power. There�s no doubt he has some serious pecs on him. The musculature on this gorilla has always been potent. There has never been any question of that. If only his mental attributes were given a small slice of that pie, I wouldn�t have to worry so much.
Confronted by this obvious challenge, the croca-commander turns its hideous double mouths toward my dim-witted ape pet, its triple tails writhing through the air behind it. The croc is a fearsome sight with scales glittering in the sunlight like hardened gems. Beneath that hard defensive exterior, it bristles with physical might. Massive shoulder and chest muscles provide power to the four arms, each dangerous in their own right and tipped with claws that glint ominously as they reflect the light.
Atop all of that rests the sickening double-mouthed head. One set of jaws rests atop another, each studded with wicked sharp teeth that poke out here and there. A phenomenon that causes the croca-commander to appear as if it had two sinister grins at the same time. Smug, in a word.
I hurl my just-completed Gravity Bolts at the commander, and turn all of my minds toward assembling a Mind Mana Transformation Construct with all the haste I can muster. If Tiny is going to go in and duke it out with this damned monster, then he�s going to need all of the help he can get. Otherwise, I expect roasted gorilla will be on the menu.
Mind Magic in combat has been something I�ve been forced to experiment with since I wasn�t able to select Gravity Magic affinity after reaching a sufficient Level in Water Magic. In order to make full use of the Skill, I decided to focus on using it to distract and trick my opponents in battle.
The basic concept is quite simple: use the attributed Mana to construct a bridge between your mind and that of your enemy, then you can craft little �packages� of sensation or understanding, and blast them! Typically by distracting them, causing them to feel pain that isn�t there or hear sounds that aren�t real.
Lightning begins to crackle around Tiny as he starts his charge, electricity writhing over his body in thick ropes, flickering constantly. A contemptuous gleam shines in the croca-commander�s eye. Unhurried, it opens its lower jaw at a relaxed pace, allowing black flames to leak and play across its teeth.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! My emotions roil in the back of my mind, but deep within, I continue to be locked in the calm of the Meditation Skill. My three minds operate in harmony as they weave and fold the construct into place. The very second the final thread of Mana is in place, Mana is drawn out of my core and fed to the construct, emerging out the other end as glimmering Mind Mana.
Now make a dang bridge! My panic and desperation slide along the outside of my awareness as Tiny closes in on his own imminent, crispy doom. It�s happening too fast. I don�t think I�ll be able to make it!
The neck of the croca-commander bulges. It lunges forward and unleashes a torrent of black flame. The heat sears the moisture off my eyeballs from fifty metres away, so intense are those flames. When my vision clears, Tiny is nowhere to be seen. In desperation, I tune every sense to its utmost limits and try to seek him out. In no direction can I see him. My heat detection is completely frizzled due to the residual energy from that flame blast.
I refuse to accept that he�s barbequed!
Even the satisfied look on the croca-commander mocks me. The giant beast readies to deal out more flammable death.
Then my antennae report something strange. Their ability to glimpse into the future is giving me a tickling insight of a future event. An impact of tremendous proportions.
I look up.
And Tiny crashes down.
Holy moly! I knew he had some serious spring in his legs, but I had no idea he could get that high! When the flame had been belched, he must have leaped straight over it, achieving the kind of air time that Jordan could only dream about, before he collapsed down on the croc like a falling mountain.
The ground quakes as Tiny strikes home with an overhead smash. Taken by surprise, the croc could only weather the blow by bracing itself, upper body hunched over and legs buckled, struggling to absorb the impact.
Unwilling to let go of the momentum, Tiny unleashes his fists and lightning in their full glory. His body rotates like a pro to transfer his weight into every strike. Each time his fist contacts croc scales, electricity dances along his arms and discharges into the beast, scorching it.
Nice! Time for the bridge!
With a final few, deft weaves, the bridge slams into place and my mind is connected to that of the foe. One mind dedicated itself to holding the bridge and transformation construct in place, whilst the other weaves together our first mental assault.
[Get in there, Crinis! Whilst Tiny has him distracted!]
[Right, Master!]
Out of the long grass, an explosion of tentacles occurs not twenty metres away from the commander. Crinis had done well to sneak as close as possible, keeping a low profile in order to take advantage of this moment.
Weighed down by my Gravitational Magic and distracted by Tiny�s relentless assault, the croc isn�t able to react in time to escape the grasping limbs of Crinis locking on in seconds. Her tentacles latch onto one arm like an iron clamp, and that�s all it takes. In moments, more limbs lash out and use their leverage to pull Crinis� main body toward her victim, where she will begin her dark work.
Then something rolls down the Mind Bridge and slams into my awareness like a truck.
Dazed, my minds go blank for a terrifying moment before clarity returns. I focus my awareness on the Mind Bridge that connects the commander to me. What the hell just happened!
Somehow, in the midst of all that it was enduring, the damned croc possessed the presence of mind to detect the mental connection I�d created and used it to strike at me directly.
Really, you stupid croc? With a giant bat-faced gorilla punching your lights out and a writhing mass of tentacle death descending upon you, the little ant who�d created a Mind Bridge threatened you the most? Your priorities are messed up!
Another pulse of Mana floods down the bridge. This time, I�m prepared and focus my will to resist the impact. I may as well have been bracing to be hit by a wrecking ball. The mental strike smashes into my awareness and rattles it like a tin can. I grit my mandibles and focus all of my Will in order to prevent myself from blacking out.
If the stupid croc is so threatened by the Mind Bridge, then I�m sure as hell going to maintain it. Even if it�s going to burn through Mana faster than I want to, especially after coming so close to having exterminated myself through this exact problem.
I don�t
But how can I utilise this bridge to attack the croc? Come to think of
it, how on earth is this croc using the bridge to attack
The beast appears to judge that I�ve been incapacitated by its mental strikes, and turns its attention to fending off the relentless assault from Tiny. Repeatedly rocked by the ape�s tremendous fists, blood drips from a number of open wounds where Tiny managed to crack its scales.
Now the croc has enough room to swing with both arms on its right side. The wide swipe forces Tiny to retreat backward. The croc makes use of the space to open its top jaw and unleash a gout of fire at my ape pet.
What I see then, I shall never forget.
Tiny had been falling backward, off-balance after the savage swing from the croc. The follow up fireball should have turned him into a roasted side of ape, but instead, a miracle occurs. One moment, Tiny is flat footed as he stumbles, the next moment he�s risen onto the balls of his feet, his tense expression fading to be replaced by one of extreme calm. Then he floats to one side, executes a graceful pirouette, and avoids the flame breath of the titan-croc with ease.
What the hell was that! When did you learn how to move with such� such grace and precision? His feet flickered so quick, he�
Wait a sec.
Is that Fancy Feet? That suspicious dance-related Skill? When the heck have you been practising that, you brute?! Have you been dancing when I can�t see you, you cursed ape? If you had a Skill that was so useful, why the heck didn�t you let me know about it? I�ll ignore the fact that I could have checked the details by examining his core. I never bothered because the name of the Skill seemed to be so frivolous, I didn�t think it mattered. Even now, picturing myself dancing and floating around enemy strikes, my six legs flailing in the air, I just don�t feel like the Skill would be for me.
Titan-croc�s sure-to-hit flame strike misses, and it�s slow to react to this light-footed ape. Tiny slides to the creature�s side, raises his fists and continues to deliver justice. By now, Crinis has managed to bind two of the creature�s arms together and unleash her gruesome work. The teeth that line her tentacles grind and slice away at the croc, who appears to be less than appreciate of the experience.
This damn croc. It�s so damn tough, it�ll take some time for Crinis to get through. Though Tiny is doing good work, the damage hasn�t piled up as quickly as I�d like. The thing we need to keep aware of is the Mana attrition we�re experiencing. I�ve burned through a chunk of my reserves already by creating this Mind Bridge, and the trickle of Mana from my core into the Gravitational Mana Gland is a constant worry.
Similarly, Tiny has expended lightning with every strike, and his core
needs to replenish
The croc must be suffering in a similar way. As a matter of fact, it
should be
Considering the croca-commander must be two or more evolutions ahead of me, the drain on its core must be significantly higher. The croc seems to have been willing to unleash its flames quite freely, I wonder how much further it can afford to do so.
Morrelia has swept into the battle by this stage, cutting through the chaff like a double-bladed demon. Deep in her berserker rage, she roars and screams at her foes, lacerating them with her twin swords and covering her in gore.
Nasty.
At least she�s kept the small-fry off our backs.
Time to deal with this croc. Distracted by Tiny and Crinis, I reach deep into myself with all of my minds working together in concert, exerting the full force of my intellect upon my Mana. Inside me, the Mind Mana Transformation Construct glows like an ethereal arch and I begin producing mind attribute Mana and swiftly condensing it.
With my improved Skill and the concentrated effort of all of my brains, I weave together a sending for the croca based off an experience I shall not soon forget: the searing, agonizing pain of an empty core. Deftly, I weave in the pain, the fear, the desperation and uncertainty into a tight little ball that I fire across the Mind Bridge and straight into the croca-commander�s brain.
Enjoy that, sucka!
When my dish of curated agony arrives at its destination, the croc responds much as I would have expected. With unabridged anguish. The sheer terror and pain of one�s core being drained is a unique experience. I�m glad I had the chance to share it with this particular croca-commander. Gratified really, that I suffered for a noble cause.
Stunned by the sudden arrival of such a dense and rich package of sensation through the Mind Bridge, the croca is unable to resist its effects. The beast succumbs to the illusion it feels is real and not, in fact, crafted by a nefarious ant.
In my experience utilising mental warfare, I�ve found it�s generally the case that a monster has a chance to resist your sending through sheer force of mind. I�ve suspected this resistance is based upon the Will stat in some way. Which is why I had been worried the croca may be somewhat impervious to my mental strikes. Not so. It seems the impressive physique of the croca-commander hasn�t come without a cost.
Tiny, we have found your spiritual brothers here in the croca-beasts! Tough as nails and just as intelligent!
The monstrous crocodile reels in horror at the simulated pain emanating from within. Arms flail, and the creature attempts to fling Tiny and Crinis away, but they�re persistent, not willing to allow the beast to escape.
Chance!
I flex my legs and Dash toward the croca at full speed. I close the distance in a few seconds, my mandibles opened wide and ready to deliver their own particular brand of law and order.
CHOMP!
I pour my strength into the muscle that lines my head and bite down with every ounce of strength in my body. One bite is never enough! No ant was ever intended to win through an alpha strike. Bite, Bite and Bite some more!
Unwilling to continue to empty my Mana from my core, I refrain from infusing my mandibles with Mana and rely on their base destructive power. I�m the first to admit that my destructive power is somewhat lacking. That�s nothing new. But with my Skills and high level of mutation, I can at least contribute something on the ground level.
I�m not willing to keep flinging spells, that�s for sure!
Forced to use Splintering Chomp due to the solid defences of the croca, I work as mechanically as possible: bite, open, bite, open. Each time hoping I�ve pierced through the hard scales of the monsters� leg and punctured the sweet, succulent muscle tissue beneath.
Tiny continues to unleash his barrage of punches even as his feet flicker above the ground as he shifts his weight to suit his punches. Electricity sparks and dances every time he strikes home and the damage is piling up.
For her part, Crinis focuses on keeping the two arms she has control of bound and contained, her saw teeth working overtime. In order to escalate her damage, she switches gears and shifts her head so she has access to chomp down with her terror-inducing teeth on the croc�s shoulders.
Which may have been a mistake. The pain of having those fangs sink deep into its shoulder is enough to shock the croca-commander out of the delusion I supplied. Its eyes flash red as it bellows out frustration and rage. Still light on his feet, Tiny manages to slip out of range as the croc flails at him with its two free arms. The claws rake through the air, leaving a shining trail of light as it executes a Skill.
Holy mackerel! That looked sharp!
Quick as a beat, the crocodile switches its play and turns to snap at Crinis with its vicious upper jaws.
[Crinis, watch�] I call but not quickly enough.
Thankfully, it doesn�t matter, as Crinis artfully dodges. Her entire body morphs out of the way, her shadow displaying its flexibility, and incredible ability to compress itself, her body choosing to be where the jaws were not.
[Nice, Crinis! Be careful up there!] I cheer.
I wonder if that�s a Skill she picked up? That level of movement, the speed, I haven�t seen her do anything like that before. Her body has always been somewhat amorphous, able to be compressed from her full, inflated ball of death down to a mere softball of implied illness.
This is a different type of shift. As the croc�s jaws closed in, she retracted the part of her body that would have been bitten, whilst leaving the rest of it alone. For a moment, it even looked as if the croca had bitten a chunk out of her since there was nothing but air remaining when it withdrew its teeth.
I refuse to sit by and let the pets do all of the work!
HAH!
Digging deep, I rear back and snap down with a Splintering Chomp. A resplendent crunching sound rings out as my mandibles pierce through the croc�s scales and deep into the leg beneath. With a loud groan, the titan staggers and I seize the opportunity to pull it off-balance, throwing my weight to one side, gripping the earth with my claws and hauling on the croca-commander with my jaws still lodged in its leg.
Timber!
Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, the Garralosh Commander tilts to one side and crashes into the dirt.
The ground vibrates under the weight of its frame, rattling my legs and sending me scrambling to ensure I�m not crushed. Ha, ha! That�s how it�s done! I hope Tiny saw that. He�ll be irritated to no end that I managed to bring it to the ground before he did. Gwehehehehe!
�Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!� someone screams.
Morrelia!
She�s finished off the chaff already? Focusing my near three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision, reveals it�s true. The broken and sliced remains of her foes litter the ground behind her as she charges toward us, her eyes burning with rage and her face twisted in a vicious snarl. Her two blades are held low and pointing directly at the croca-commander, her Dash Skill allowing her to move with unnatural speed.
You want to make your glorious entrance now? When the work is almost done? Well, I guess it doesn�t matter that much, help is certainly welcome when challenging a monster as powerful as this. Even wounded as it is.
And we
Tiny�s punches, on the other hand, have impressive destructive potential on their own, powered by his massive physique. And with him discharging bolts of electricity into the croc with each blow, he�s been savaging the inside of the monster just as badly as he has the outside. Of the three of us, the raw HP damage has been dealt by the ape, for sure.
My own contributions have been a bit more on the utility side. Slowing the monster, gumming it up with acid, weakening its defences and attacking it mentally in order to provide openings for my two pets to take advantage of. I don�t mind playing the support role for now, but I have to say I don�t feel it suits my temperament. I want to be right in the thick of things, slapping down the enemies of justice with my face-hands. Hopefully after my next evolution, I can address my current physical weakness.
All in good time. I still need to finish absorbing the rare core before I can even think of evolution.
Arriving as a storm of metal, Morrelia begins stabbing with incredible ferocity before the commander can even right itself. Her two blades don�t bite too deep, but the sheer weight of attacks is going to add up quick at the pace she�s going. She might even be the one to score the last hit.
W-wait a sec!
That experience is MIIIIIIIINE!
[Tiny! Hold down the handbag�s arms on your side. Jump on them if you have to! Crinis! Wrap up his jaws!]
[I might not be able to hold too long, Master! Holding its arms together is already stretching my limits!]
[Just do it! I only need you to hold for a little while. We can�t let Morrelia steal the experience!]
[What!] Crinis roars, appalled at the thought. [How dare this woman dream of stealing experience from Master? It won�t happen!]
As if possessed by a demon, Crinis lashes out with her tentacles, wrapping them around the croca-commander�s jaws and straining to hold them shut.
[Nice, Crinis!] I cheer.
Even as she moved, Tiny followed orders and leapt bodily onto the creature�s other side, landing heavily on its arms before simply throwing his whole body down on them, using his weight to pin the limbs to the ground. The croca-commander writhes and fights to resist the grip of the monsters wrestling it. Had it been at full strength, I doubt we would have been able to achieve this. The damn thing is simply too strong. But here and now, on the surface? This croc is running on fumes.
This is my chance!
With all four arms accounted for, the twin jaws sealed by the limbs of Crinis, and the tails pinned down by the creature�s own body, there will never be a better time to strike than now! Morrelia has continued her furious flurry of strikes, her arms and chest coated with the ichor that is now spraying from the deep wounds she�s beginning to inflict. I�m not even certain she�s trying to steal the last hit. I think she�s just deep in the depths of her rage, but I can�t give this up. I�ve gotta go fast!
Desperate to achieve the last hit, I draw out Mana from my core and direct it into my mandibles, launching myself onto the struggling monster�s chest. The croc struggles even more furiously when it realises it�s being stepped on by an ant, literally. There�s nothing it can do in the moment, as my mandibles begin to glow bright with the influx of raw Mana.
I�m going straight for the throat!
Shattering Bite!
With a ferocious crunch, my mandibles extend out, my energy manifesting itself in air, and come down with the satisfying sound of a symphony of smashed scales.
Not enough! Let�s keep this wagon rolling!
Bite! Bite! Bite!
With each chomp, I dig deeper and the croca�s struggles grow weaker, until finally�
[You have defeated a Level 46 Garralosh Praeceptorem.]
[You have gained XP.]
[You have reached Level 27. One Skill Point awarded.]
[You have reached Level 28. One Skill Point awarded.]
[You have reached Level 29. One Skill Point awarded.]
[You have reached Level 30. One Skill Point awarded.]
YASSS! That XP is MINE!
Take that, Morrelia! You poaching�
�GRRRRRROOOOOOOWL!�
What the heck was that!
That growl was so low and so powerful, it rattled my external
Tiny, Crinis and I froze the moment we heard that unearthly rumble, still locked in our moment of triumph over the fallen foe. The croca-commander lies still beneath me, its neck torn asunder by my mandible assault. I allow the Mana to fade from my choppers. Morrelia is standing to one side, both of her blades buried halfway to the hilt in its flank as she comes out of her Berserk Rage.
Her face appears red and gaunt as she heaves deep breaths into her lungs, the light of anger and bloodlust fading from her eyes and clarity of thought returning. She looked down at the defeated croca-commander as if surprised to see it there. A flicker of confusion came over her expression and she slowly shook her head from left to right.
Again, that deep rumbling growl rattled out from a distance, shaking the very land itself beneath our feet. The only one to not appear nervous at this development was Tiny, who seemed satisfied as he gazed down on his defeated foe.
Hastily checking on my core, I see that there is still a good 50% capacity in the tank. The fight was a lot shorter and sharper than I expected it to be. Most likely due to the croc not being able to fully utilise its abilities due to wanting to conserve Mana itself. I shouldn�t discount the possibility that the croc was already extremely low on Mana. Which may explain the relatively low amount of fire it spat at us.
If I recall correctly, the first croc-commander we fought burnt down a good section of the Marsh Expanse without even trying. I�ve no doubt this double-chinned beast could unleash a similar level of devastation if it so wanted. Inside the Dungeon, that is. Up here? Who knows.
Satisfied that I wasn�t likely to run out of Mana in the short-term future, I begin work on re-establishing the Mind Bridge to Morrelia that I�d let lapse during the fight. I�ll still need to be careful Mana-wise. I burned a good chunk of Gravitational Mana in the fight, and the gland�s already drawing Mana from my core to replenish its stock. Normally, not a problem, the core is replenished a heck of a lot faster than the gland can drain, especially when I can get my feet stuck into some Dungeon turf. On the surface, my core doesn�t absorb Mana fast enough to sustain me under ideal circumstances, let alone with any extra demands on it. I�ll need to retreat back to our mini-Dungeon base to refill the tank before we go any farther. Better safe than sorry.
[What�s the problem, Morrelia? You�re looking a little confused?]
[Have you been hearing those growls?] she asked, a little vaguely.
[Well, yeah? Of course. I felt like my carapace had been jammed into a sub-woofer. Way too much base. Do you have any idea what might be causing it?]
Instead of answering my question, Morrelia posed another of her own.
[Do you know what species of monster this is?] she asked, pointing at our victim.
[Yup. Garralosh Commander. No doubt about it. One of the eldest children of Garralosh herself. This is the second time we�ve put one down,] I boasted, even as my antennae wave back and forth, attempting to sense the source of the intimidating noise.
[Have you ever seen it?] Morrelia asked faintly. [Garralosh, I mean?]
Surprised by the question, I turned my whole body to face Morrelia.
[Ah, no. Why? Have you?]
Again with that bone rattling growl! What in the name of heck is it?
[I think we might be about to,] Morrelia muttered.
Waaaait a second. That is the sound of GARRALOSH growling? I thought it was a freaking earth tremor or something. No way a monster can make that kind of noise.
[Are you sure?] I demanded.
She turned toward me. [You want to find out?]
[Absolutely not!] I barked out orders to Tiny and Crinis. [We�re getting out of here on the double! I want to take a few cuts of this prime croc and then we skedaddle stage left!]
Morrelia doesn�t bother to wait for us, turning to run as soon as she realises what we�re doing, and sprinting at top speed back down the trail we followed.
Tiny and Crinis leap into action and I assist in the rather disgusting task of Biomass butchery. The whole croc was way too heavy for us to carry, but are we really willing to leave behind hundreds of Biomass points lying in the dirt?
We may be stupid, but at least we�re stupid for greed!
[Cut like you mean it, Crinis! We need to be out of here five minutes ago!] I bellowed.
[What�s a minute?] Crinis wailed.
[Just hurry up!]
In reality, it only takes two minutes for us to finish separating the two arms Crinis had been working on during the fight and one of the legs, which Tiny promptly picks up, and we�re out of there!
[Go! Go! Go, dammit! Move those legs!] I roar at Tiny as he struggles to run whilst carrying his grisly cargo under his arm. Crinis collapsed onto my back the moment we were finished carving and retracted to her compact, travel sized sphere.
Dashing with all of our strength, the trees became a blur in our race to put distance between us and the scene of the battle. The inside of my carapace was sweating bullets at the thought of big momma Garralosh rolling over the horizon and burning us all to death in an instant.
Horrible visions of six-headed crocodiles with nine tails fill my mind, and it isn�t long before I�m focusing my attention on the horizon behind us, waiting to see if our doom approaches.
[Come on, Tiny, run faster! Eat an arm or something. Pick up the pace!]
Only too happy to oblige, Tiny stuffs his face whilst we flee from the shadow of the mother of all crocodiles.
We run as if the devil himself were behind us, liberally applying a pitchfork to our most tender commercial interests. Tiny is significantly slowed by having to carry his Biomass burden, but I don�t consider leaving him behind for long. We make it back to the small Dungeon entrance we used previously and dive inside, slaughtering the small number of spawned monsters before standing still, ears peeled for any sound of encroaching doom.
[You hear anything, Crinis?]
[Master, I don�t have any ears.]
[You know what I mean! Do you detect anything?]
[No� I wasn�t able to detect anything on the surface either. Whatever was making that noise was far outside my range.]
[Fair enough. How about you, Tiny?]
[Whurfft?]
[Get that Biomass out of your face, dammit! And why would having
food in your mouth make your mental voice sound different? Do you
[No�]
[
Somewhat of a surprise, Morrelia chose to join us in the Dungeon. Perhaps she wanted the shelter of being concealed below ground level. She seemed to be fairly shaken after that fight. I don�t know why she�s so rattled, but I can only imagine she has good reason. I haven�t seen her do anything she wasn�t absolutely sure of.
[You feeling a little better?] I asked her.
At the moment, she has her ear cocked into the air, her face intent as she listens for any hint of pursuit. She doesn�t respond for a full minute until she�s confident there isn�t anything coming after us.
[I think so. I just couldn�t believe that a creature like Garralosh could actually be on the surface.]
[Yeah, shouldn�t that be impossible?] I protest. [It�s painful
enough for
Morrelia looks at me carefully. [How much� do you know about Garralosh?] she asks with some reluctance.
[Pretty much nothing. From the System messages I get when I eat monsters, I know a little. That the various Garralosh monsters are her offspring, that she�s a giant croc and raised her children for some sort of purpose. That�s about it.]
Morrelia appeared to think hard before she continues speaking.
[I can give you a little more than that. Though speaking too much would break faith with people I care about, so I won�t tell you everything.]
I sense secret knowledge!
[Whatever you�re happy to share, I�ll be more than grateful for!] I tried to appear harmless and cooperative.
Morrelia snorted, seeing through my guise in an instant. [You�ve been willing to help my people so far, Anthony. It�s only fair we help a little back. Firstly, I�ll say that Garralosh is probably not as highly evolved as you might think.]
[How could that be?] I wonder. [She�s hundreds of years old, isn�t she?]
[Yes. She�s around two hundred and fifty years old. Nobody can know with precision unless they were there to see her spawn, but that�s the best guess.]
[So how could she not have evolved much? I�ve evolved three times already and I�m not even a year old!]
[You�re not one year old?] Morrelia�s eyes narrow and her voice becomes sharper.
[Ah� Yes? Friendly person who is an ally? That shouldn�t be that surprising, should it?] I shrink back a little from her cutting aura.
Seeing my attitude, Morrelia�s expression softens. [It�s a little
unusual that you would be this strong, this young, according to what I
know of monsters. I was honestly shocked when you unleashed that� ball
of death. What
Aha! The excellence of my magic has made an impression after all! I swell with pride.
[
[Gravity?] Morrelia asks, her face intent. [Is that the type of Mana you used?]
It�s my turn to become a little evasive. I don�t intend to give up all my secrets, woman! Perhaps a little wisdom is finally starting to blossom in me!
[Let�s not worry about that too much, we were discussing the giant crocodile who is apparently out to eat us?]
Visibly disappointed, Morrelia continues with what she had been saying.
[Garralosh has been prevented from descending deep into the Dungeon. I won�t go into too much detail, but suffice to say she hasn�t had access to the higher tier monsters and cores she would need to evolve to a massive height. We believe the last time she successfully evolved was seventy years ago.]
[Wow! That�s a long time to not progress. Wait a second. Did you say something about cores?]
[I did. Why?]
Cores� Cores� Something about cores.
[Crinis?]
[Yes, Master?]
[Did any of us take the core out of the Garralosh Commander?]
[You ordered me to focus on the arms and then run, Master. I thought it was odd, but I didn�t want to question your orders.]
Oh my Gandalf. There�s no way�
[Tiny�] I ask desperately, knowing the answer before I even ask the question. [Did you collect the core?]
The big ape just shakes his head, almost proudly. [Nope!] he declares, thumping himself on the chest for emphasis.
DAMMIT.
To the immense and visible confusion of Morrelia, I flop onto my back and start thrashing at the dirt with my legs, a tantrum of the finest quality.
I could have used that stupid core! Not for me, God no, but for Mother!
If I�d come back with a second rare core then
As quickly as I�d flopped onto my back, I flip myself over again.
[We have to go back!] I declare.
Morrelia�s eyes widened. [What! Are you insane? What will happen if you run into Garralosh?]
[I
She freezes.
[You didn�t get the core?] she demands incredulously. [You stayed back there just to get those limbs?]
[You freaked me out!] I defend myself. [We heard some supernaturally loud growling, and you panicked, then I panicked!]
[Even so, I�m not going back there just yet. We should lay low for the time being and head back out tomorrow.]
[There is no chance the core will still be there by then! I�ll go on my own, nice and stealthy. I�ll take a quick peek, grab the core if I can, then return. Ok?]
I turn to my two pets.
[I�m going to go back and take a look for the core, you guys stay here with Morrelia and regroup. Feel free to eat what we took from the commander. I�ll be back as soon as I can.]
With that said, I don�t pause to see if anyone has a response before I run up the wall and back onto the surface. If I can get that core for Mother, then I sure as hell am going to!
Leaving behind my three co-adventurers, I make my way back along our trail as quick as I can whilst keeping a low profile. Seeing as I�m on my own, I don�t want to stumble into a fight I can�t handle.
It�s unnerving to be exposed on the surface. That lack of comfort pierces me right in the confidence now that I�m here without any backup. In fact, there�s no Tiny and no Crinis alongside me for the first time in how long? Crinis has been with me since not long after we reached the surface during the wave. But Tiny�s been with me long before that. Since finding the colony almost!
That big lug-head. As much as his� limited decision-making capacity and hunger for a fight has been an inconvenience to say the least, it�s fun having him around. He isn�t much for conversation, but things tend to never be boring when he�s present. He doesn�t exactly �settle� for the status quo. Tiny pushes himself, pushes the situation forward, never allowing himself to shy from a challenge. I admire that.
Or he�s stupid and free from any sense of self-preservation. Either way, it�s fun to have him with me.
I
If they even have years here. Rather, how long is each year in this world? It could be one of those places that orbits its star once every six thousand days. Presuming people grow at the same speed as they did on Earth, you�d be eighteen Earth years by the time your first birthday rolled around.
Running through the fields, I keep my antennae twitching here and there, making use of my range of vision to prevent anything from sneaking up on me. I engage in the stealthy patterns of behaviour that served me so well in the first weeks of my life in this world. Obviously, I can�t attach myself to the ceiling up here, denying me the full experience of my youth, but I do my best to keep my profile hidden in the long grass, sticking my head up every now and again to take in the lay of the land.
I haven�t seen anything yet, but that doesn�t mean I won�t.
I�m still gutted I forgot to secure that core. Just when I thought I might be getting a little smarter, a little wiser, I go ahead and do something stupid like this. That core would mean so much for the colony if I could get it to the queen, I�m sure of it. If she can evolve in an awesome way, who knows what she might be able to become?
Perhaps it�s my ant instincts in me, but I deeply want the queen to be safe and secure in the nest. The thought of any harm coming to her just makes my little ant heart hurt. Personally, I don�t think it has much to do with my new body. Having a family, having a parent who cared and valued me, that�s something I�ve never had before. I don�t like to dwell on the negative much, but my human life had been� less than ideal.
Even something simple like being accepted without question by my siblings, the trust and care the queen, my mother, showed without expecting anything in return. It�s nice. I was desperate for this sense of belonging. I can see that now. Perhaps that�s why I was so quick to accept my place within the colony. Now that I�ve invested so much into my new family, I want to ensure only the best for them.
Which is why I want this damn core!
It�s quite the journey to make it back to where we defeated the croca-commander. Remaining focused during my travel time exposed under the open sky, crouching low when I can, moving swiftly and carefully.
Even so, I get a chance to check my status and take in a few of the Skill Level ups I missed during the fight against the commander. Battling against tough foes can really net Levels at a quick pace.
Name: Anthony
Level: 30 (Special core)
Might: 41
Toughness: 29
Cunning: 44
Will: 35
HP: 58/58
MP: 180/240
Skills: Expert Excavation Level 3 (III); Improved Acid Shot Level 9 (II); Enhanced Grip Level 4 (II); Advanced Shattering Bite Level 14 (IV); Advanced Stealth Level 6 (II); Splintering Chomp Level 10 (III); Tunnel Map Level 7 (II); Mana Transformation Level 9 (III); Advanced Condensed Mana Level 1 (III); External Mana Manipulation Level 2 (I); Empowered Mana Sensing Level 1 (II); Core Surgery Level 6 (III); Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence Level 3 (III); Pet Communication Level 4 (I); Rapid Dash Level 4 (II); Expert Water Magic Affinity Level 1 (III); Advanced Stamina Level 7 (II); Pet Growth Speed Level 1 (I); Mana Scrooge Level 5 (II); Advanced Cerebral Endurance Level 9 (II); Profound Meditation Level 2 (III); Advanced Precise Shooting Level 2 (II); Shredding Bite Level 9 (II); Advanced Mind Magic Affinity Level 4 (II)
Mutations: Perimeter Eyes +15; Future Sight Infrared Antennae +15; Mana Eating Restrictive Acid +10; Rapid Osmotic Legs +15; Empowered Mandibles +15; True Diamond Carapace +15; Regrowth Regeneration Gland +15; Persuasive Pheromone Language Gland +10; Expansive Deep Gravity Magic Gland +15; Networked Coordination Cortex +15; Supportive Inner Carapace Plating +15; Gluttonous Stomach +15
Species: Dispersed Mind Ant (Formica Sapiens)
Skill Points: 14
Biomass: 212
I have a lot of Biomass to spend, I�ll need to take care of that soon.
The other thing I need to think about is that I�ll be able to evolve
again in ten Levels. My strategy of absorbing a portion of the rare core
and hoping my body would adapt
Speaking of Levelling Skills, I need to ensure I�m taking the time to grind up a few points whilst I�m up here on the surface. I have two sub-brains who are doing nothing but picking their noses right now, may as well set them a task!
I can almost feel the begrudging acceptance as I force my sub-brains to begin manipulating the thin Mana in the air. The lowest Skill I have regarding magic is my External Mana Manipulation. I may as well grind it up to the second rank at least.
My two brains grab hold of the Mana outside of my body and begin to move it. It�s a difficult task, far more difficult than grabbing hold of the pliable Mana within my core. I need to save that Mana as much as possible, so forget about using it to practice!
When I allow the brains to cooperate, they demonstrate much better progress, utilising their resources, they�re able to grab hold of more Mana and shift it around in lazy patterns in the air.
Ten minutes later, I was rewarded with the first Level up.
[External Mana Manipulation has reached Level 3.]
Nice! Keep at it, sub-brains. I�m counting on you!
It�s a strange sensation, having them work on something while my main mind dithers. It�s me working hard to control the Mana outside of my body, but at the same time, it wasn�t. As if my left hand were busy as hell with a task and my right hand was idle, but each hand had its own brain?
I continue on my way under the open sky and finally find the place where we battled the croca-commander. There�s signs of our fight to be found, the disturbed grass, the hemisphere of soil that had been consumed by my Gravity Bomb. The Mana here felt� odd. My sub-brains were still actively reaching out to the Mana in the air, but it was almost thin. As if there was less of it to take hold of in this place.
The body of the croca-commander is gone without a trace. In the soft earth near where we left it is a reptilian footprint. Large enough that I can stand in it, my entire body encompassed within.
That�s a big croc.
All over the scene of the battle are oversized footprints pressed into the ground. It�s clear they approached from the direction we pursued the commander, meaning they�d come from the direction of the capital city, Liria. It�s also clear that the creature cleaned up all of the Biomass we left behind. I�m not certain if Biomass fades on the surface as it does within the Dungeon, I suspect not, which leads me to believe the creature chewed all of it up before departing.
There�s no doubt in my mind who these oversized croc prints belong to: Garralosh.
The mother croc.
There are so many damned prints, it isn�t easy to tell how many legs the
creature has. Judging by the progression from croca-beast to
croca-commander, I can expect the number of limbs, tails and heads has
only gone up. Images of bizarre formations of croca parts run through my
head. Four heads?
I shake myself to push the pictures from my mind. Ultimately, it doesn�t matter. The rare core has been lost in my carelessness and I can�t get it back. Disappointment and guilt wash over me. If it�d been for me, I doubt I would have cared this much. So stupid!
Only one way to fix it. Try and hunt down another croca-commander and present its core to Mother! Heck, I�ll bring her the core of big momma Garralosh myself if I have to.
With an upwelling of determination, I decide to ignore the idea that I just pledged to defeat a crocodile whose feet are larger than my whole body, and turn to meet up with my crew. I spend the journey huddled in the long grass, my minds grasping at the Mana in the air.
Curiously, I find the Mana has replenished itself the farther from the battle site I get. Why the heck was the ambient Mana so thin in just that location? It seems weird. There must be a reason.
The only significant event I could think of is that Garralosh, a very old, very powerful monster, passed through the area. But what did that have to do with the Mana in the air?
Wait.
Hang on a second.
Big ol� monster, highly evolved, powerful core, on the surface, needs Mana, Mana in the air is lacking after it passed through�
There are some dots here I feel I�m connecting�
Stopping in place, I hesitantly stretched out with my main mind, sending my awareness outside of my body in the strange way that�s only possible here in this world, to sense the Mana in the air. Like part of the atmosphere, the Mana suffuses everything. Every blade of grass, every leaf and the air itself. Not nearly to the level it exists within the Dungeon itself, but still, it�s there.
I grab hold of a small portion of Mana with my thoughts, gripping it tight in a vice of pure will, and draw it toward my body and then inside to my core. To my shock, the Mana is drawn straight into my core like a drop of water being soaked into a sponge.
Holy moly!
This means I can draw Mana out of the air in order to sustain my core whilst I�m up on the surface? Why the hell didn�t I think of that before? The core draws Mana into itself passively, I guess I just didn�t think of trying to supplement its automatic replenishment function by controlling the Mana around me. Negligent! I�ve been negligent again! I should not have neglected the External Mana Manipulation Skill for so long. What other precious secrets does it hold?
It�s obvious now that Garralosh is using this Skill at a much higher level than I am in order to offset the demands of its core whilst moving on the surface. Though it isn�t enough to explain how such an evolved monster can move about up here. I�m only estimating with a tiny amount of data, but I feel like if I were to rank up the Skill and devote my sub-brains to constantly pulling ambient Mana into my core, I would still be short of breaking even by just a smidge. If Garralosh has risen the Skill to rank four or five, and has a powerful mind rig, she would still be running at a massive loss.
Perhaps she can only maintain herself for short bursts. Then why come at all? It just doesn�t make sense to me. I may need to grill Morrelia further when I make it back to them.
External Mana Manipulation has made it to Level four by the time I reunite with the gang. The constant use is certainly keeping the Skill ticking up at a nice rate. The fact I don�t even have to use my main mind to do it is even better. As a rank one Skill, it�s still limited in the knowledge and Skill that it grants. I�m excited to see what it will give at the second and third rank.
When I return to the improvised Dungeon we�d dug, Morrelia, Crinis and Tiny are resting. All three of them look up at my descent, my pets happy to see me, Morrelia more irritated than anything by the looks of things.
After connecting the Mind Bridge, I tell Morrelia what I found.
[Garralosh has actually set foot on the surface,] she frowns.
[I believe she�s using External Mana Manipulation to drag Mana into her core. The air in the area was extremely thin when I got there.]
[It�s a known tactic. Even humans use this method to recharge magic items faster.]
[That alone shouldn�t be enough, surely?] I waggle my antennae in protest. [A monster that size must have a potent core. If a few Skills were enough for monsters to operate on the surface, wouldn�t it happen all the time? I understand it�s basically unheard of for Dungeon monsters to run around on the surface!]
[It�s true,] Morrelia sighs. [The problem is the wave we�re experiencing. For some reason, it�s caused the density of the ambient Mana on the surface to rise. That isn�t meant to happen, at least not by nearly this much, and not for nearly this long. That can cause the normal monsters to come to the surface, but it shouldn�t be enough for a creature like Garralosh. There�s something strange happening and I can�t explain it.]
She appears frustrated by her lack of understanding. Ever since we had come to the former Kingdom of Liria, Morrelia contained a simmering anger inside her. Well, more simmering anger than usual. I have to remind myself every now and again this is her homeland we�re stomping around in.
[So, what�s the plan?] I ask. [I�m here for reconnaissance and I would love to get a chance at grabbing another rare core, so I�m going to stick around. What about you?]
Morrelia drops her chin to her chest in thought.
[I�ll stay,] she declares. [I want to get to the capital and see
it for myself. I also want to find out just how a monster like Garralosh
is moving around on the surface. There
[Alright, give me a little while to get ready and then we can go.]
Time to spend some Biomass.
I�ve managed to amass a ton of Biomass since my last big spend. With this, I�ll be able to finally achieve a full +15 form. The dream is alive! The hype is real! If I�d been more patient and chewed my way through more Biomass at the early evolutions, I wouldn�t have had to stuff my face so much during this one!
Lessons have been learned. I won�t be evolving until my mutations are complete!
As Morrelia sat down to keep watch over us, my pets and I settled in to spend our Biomass. Crinis is already close to the perfect +10 all around. She must be nearly ready to evolve as well. Still only tier two, she can get much stronger! Tiny is in the same boat as me, battling to get enough food into him to get his body fully upgraded.
Alright then. I still have to upgrade my acid gland and Pheromone Gland. After this round of mutations, I�ll have begun the journey to +20! Believe in yourself, Anthony. Believe in your stomach!
Ok, which to start with?
[Would you like to upgrade your Mana Eating Restrictive Acid to +15? This will cost 65 Biomass.]
Yeah, boi!
[At this level, you may choose to combine your mutations or emphasise one. Which will you select?]
Ahh, the acid gland. A key feature of the Formica variant of the ant species. My ol� trusty business district and its jets of burning acid have served me well. Particularly in the early days. The restrictive property of the acid was such a key thing for me back then, and to be honest, I still think it�s a valuable property. I haven�t had much chance to use the magic eating mutation lately, but I have high hopes it will be extremely relevant in the days to come.
This seems like a slam dunk. Combine them!
Pheromone Gland time!
My faithful Pheromone Gland. Where would I be without you? Enabler of communication. Bringer of wisdom and light. Truly, the greatest thing I gave to the Formica Sapiens, in my opinion, is the ability to properly speak with each other. With it, the beginning of the great ant civilisation, the unstoppable empire of the ant, has begun!
I hastily engage the menu and ponder my options for mutating my Pheromone Gland.
Language is great, obviously, and persuasive was a bit of a tack-on, to be honest. I�d hoped it would make it a little easier to get the colony on board with some of my wilder ideas. Such as not getting themselves killed. The issue I have with this mutation is that it�s hard to determine if it�s being effective. Were the ants persuaded because of my unique persuasive pheromones or was it my unique charm?
Probably the pheromones� let�s be real.
If I have no strong feelings one way or the other, I�ll embrace the beige alert and fuse!
With those choices locked in, I�ve finally done it. Full +15. Glorious, just glorious. I had to eat a whole lot of disgusting Biomass to get here, but persevered. From this point onward, we march to +20! And the first cab off the rank is obviously the stomach! The more I mutate it, the faster I�ll accrue the points I need!
[Would you like to upgrade Gluttonous Stomach to +20? This will cost 90 Biomass.]
Holy Gandalf!
So far, I�ve upgraded the capacity of the stomach and reduced the evolution penalty, then fused them. Generally speaking, I think it makes sense to continue along that line of thought. More room for food, more points from the food I eat. It�s a winning combo.
I scroll through the list and select the option to reduce the tier penalty yet again. I�ll be able to get a reasonable return even from monsters two evolutions behind me with this. I�m going to need it!
[Would you like to improve:
Mana Eating Restrictive Acid +10 to Mana Binding Acid +15?
Persuasive Pheromone Language Gland +10 to Loquacious Pheromone Gland +15?
Gluttonous Stomach +15 to Selective Gluttonous Stomach +20?]
Yeesh. That�s a cool two hundred and twenty Biomass spent right there. I�m now almost completely tapped out. Five left.
Alright then! Those choices are all locked in, suppose I�d better confirm them and�
Wait!
I nearly forgot about the itch! Shifting my head, I can see Morrelia is leaning against the wall, almost appearing to be dozing, but I can tell her senses are attuned to possible threats here in this small Dungeon chamber.
If she sees me wiggling and rolling around on the ground, then all of my dignity as the leader of the ants will be lost! In fact, one could almost say my dignity is the dignity of the colony itself. That may be a little bit of a stretch, but still! I need to get her out of the room. Some sort of diversion is necessary.
[Hey, Morrelia. Any chance you could have a quick look up on the surface? I think I heard something moving around. Through vibrations, you know. We ants are very sensitive to vibrations moving through the dirt. It�s the antennae, fantastic wiggly things they are. You know what they say, they ain�t this long for nothing! Ha! Ha! Haaaaaaa.]
Smooth.
Morrelia lifted one eyebrow at my persuasive diatribe before she nodded. [Sure, I�ll take a look.]
She climbed her way up and out of our little chamber.
Quick as a flash, I dove behind Tiny. Not content with this level of coverage, I began to dig furiously, my mandibles sending dirt flying into the air, covering Tiny who groaned in irritation, but thankfully didn�t move.
Aha! Now I have secured a small trough in the ground, am screened behind Tiny, and Morrelia has left the chamber. I must seize this moment!
Confirm those mutations!
ACK!
So quic? Holy mackerel!
STAGRA-BALLI-GANUFFIN!
It doesn�t take long before I�ve assumed the now traditional position. On my back and flailing wildly at the air with my legs as the overpowering itch of mutation rips through me without mercy. I can only take some small measure of comfort in the knowledge that I have, for once, managed to not be observed.
Victory!
A few minutes later, Tiny, Crinis and I emerged from the chamber to find Morrelia resting on the surface. I take a moment to re-establish our mental communication that I�d let lapse during my� er� episode.
[Where do you think we should go next?] I asked, keeping it cool.
[There are a few smaller settlements I know of in the area that I�d like to visit. There�s a chance we�ll find some survivors. Other than that, I want to move toward the capital and get a good look at it.]
[Sounds reasonable. All of that is quite valuable for the colony as well. Let�s make a start.]
And so, we�re off!
Once Tiny, Crinis and I have refilled our cores, and Morrelia has
snacked on her travel rations, we set out, this time moving slower and
taking more care. We aren�t trying to chase anyone down, and stumbling
under the eye of big momma croc is
I also attempt to see if I can sense where the Mana I lose goes, hoping
I can retain it and drag it straight back into myself, and therefore
never lose any Mana at all. But I fail. No matter how I try, I�m unable
able to sense where the Mana that leaves my core goes. Whether it bleeds
out into the air, is
This could be a research project for the colony one day down the line.
Morrelia seems to know what she�s doing, leading us down farm tracks and dirt roads to locate isolated clusters of homes that we investigate in the hopes of locating survivors tucked away in cellars, barns or attics. I�m surprised by our strike rate. We manage to find a surprising number of people who�d taken shelter from the monsters.
When we uncovered the first group of bedraggled survivors, Tiny cracking open the cellar doors with his bare hands, I�d been shocked. How the heck had the monsters managed to overlook them?
Turns out, monsters aren�t the best at checking the nooks and crannies. They may have been put under the compulsion of their croc overlords through some mechanism I have no understanding of. They do seem to be a little lazy in the execution of their sweeps.
The larger towns and villages have received the full monster horde treatment. Burnt to the ground, the buildings smashed in, and the people eaten or scattered. Whereas the smaller hamlets have been hit with a lighter hand. More of a smash and grab approach, without a vigorous hunt for survivors.
The people we find are not in a good way. Starved and half crazed from their time in isolation. Too afraid to stick their heads out into the open air in case a monster happened to be nearby. Half of them either attacked or hid from myself, Tiny and Crinis before Morrelia could calm them down. I thought we�d have a hard time convincing the people to move, so fearful were they. Yet each time we managed to uncover another clutch of starved, desperate people, Morrelia managed to convince them of the security that awaited in the village to the south.
After, Morrelia would help the people pack whilst us monsters sat about at a calming distance. We�d tried to assist by lifting and shifting things, but Morrelia suggested we move to one side and allow the people to get themselves organised without us, as it would cause less stress to the survivors.
Which is fair enough. I
Over the span of a few days, we covered a lot of ground, running all over southern Liria. We had a couple of run ins with bands of roving monsters. Smaller ones this time, without any of the more evolved croca-beasts. We were able to clean those up without much fuss, and I made sure to grind my Skills across the battles.
It didn�t take long for External Mana Manipulation to Level to five and I was able to rank it up to Greater External Mana Manipulation. The rank up imbued me with the knowledge I needed to extend my reach farther and grasp hold of Mana at an extended range from my body. This increased the amount of Mana I could shift somewhat, though not by as much as I�d thought. I could use my will to affect Mana almost twice as far away as I could before, a range of almost five metres. The extended range came at a cost though. The farther the Mana was from my core, the harder it became to influence.
The downside was that my minds burned more mental energy. Whilst my sub-brains were able to grasp Mana close to me almost constantly, expanding their reach caused them to flame out before much time passed. I decided to slowly increase the range of my Mana Manipulation as my Levels increased and I became more confident with the technique.
After we made a pass through the surrounding region, we had to retreat back to the Dungeon in order to recharge and plot our move toward the capital. I had business with a croc.
Since leaving Midum, Isaac and his fellow survivors made good time.
Isaac found it was easy to motivate folks when they were escaping a
Thinking of Morrelia brought a smile to Isaac�s face and pang to his heart. He was deep in it. He could see that as sure as he could see the nose on his own face. He�d never been taken with someone on first sight like this in his entire life. Everything about her just punched him right in his most tender preferences. Strong, no-nonsense, capable, decisive and built with a body that looked as if she could pick him up and rip him in half with her bare hands.
Not to mention her raging temperament, which had made him feel as if that might actually happen at any moment. Talking to her felt like the best and most dangerous thing Isaac had done in his entire life.
Shaking his head to dismiss the lingering thoughts of the goddess who captivated him so, he focused his mind on the literal mountain of an issue before him.
�It�s a pile o� somethin� alright,� he muttered to himself. �Just not sure if it�s the plops yet.�
�You say somethin�, Isaac?� Anna, his fellow former Midum town guard queried from his left.
�Nothin� worth hearing.� He nodded toward the massive hill of dirt that rose before them. �What you make of it, Anna?�
The dour guard shook her head. �It�s well over my pay grade, Isaac. I never seen anything like it.�
Ain�t that the truth, Isaac thought to himself, taking it all in. He�d been warned before he�d left Midum, spoken to again, at length, when they�d arrived at the village, but he still wasn�t prepared for the reality of it. A whole colony of monsters, living right next to a human village.
And apparently everything was� fine?
Isaac watched as hundreds of ant monsters larger than his old dog, Toby, ran about on the enormous mound of dirt at a feverish pace. Carrying dirt out of the tunnels, shifting its position on the hill or using their bodies to press and compact the soil.
�It�s so quiet,� Isaac observed to Anna.
�It�s eerie,� she agreed after listening for a moment.
The monsters didn�t talk or communicate in any visible way. They just moved around each other in perfect synch. The effort and energy they expended put human labourers to shame, without a word of complaint or a single individual shirking. It was mighty impressive, in a way.
As to what they were doing� They appeared to be building a castle out of dirt. Oh, it didn�t have all the trimmings of a castle. The fancy towers and gabled roofs, but in Isaac�s more direct mind, this ant hill had the essentials: a big ass wall and a raised fort inside.
It even had a moat! How in the hell a group of monstrous insects managed to engineer something like this was beyond Isaac. Sure, a moat was nothing but a trench filled with water. Sure a wall wasn�t anything but a heap of dirt piled up. It was more in the little things. The dirt wall had been properly braced against thick wooden posts, presenting a formidable obstacle to any who wanted to assault the hill. The moat would normally cause all sorts of problems regarding drainage, but the ants managed to think of that problem and used a bed of crushed stone, packed down hard, to help minimise the issue.
The moat was even fed from their own channel network for cryin� out loud!
Shaking his head, Isaac turned on his heel and walked back toward the village, Anna trailing behind.
�You�re finished looking, Isaac?�
�Aye.�
�What do you make of it?�
�I haven�t the slightest.�
�People are fair nervous,� Anna warned him. �It�s unnerving for them to settle down in a place so close to a pack of monsters.�
Isaac grunted in agreement. �Not surprising, considering they were just chased from their homes.�
There were rumblings amongst the new arrivals, uncomfortable with their new situation. Isaac had to admit the locals were a very� passionate group of advocates. The priest in particular was relentless in his efforts to ease the new arrivals into coexistence with the colony.
As he and Anna drew closer to the village, Isaac saw the one-armed silhouette of Beyn hustling toward him. Isaac supressed a sigh. The priest had been welcoming, helpful, cheerful and tireless in his efforts to comfort the people of Midum, which was more than Isaac could have hoped for. It was just that the man was a little� intense.
�Greetings, friend! Returning after paying homage to our friends?� Beyn called as he cheerfully waved his remaining hand at them in greeting.
Isaac rolled his eyes. �I wouldn�t say payin� homage as such, your worship. Just wanted to take a look.�
The former town guardsmen�s lack of fervour washed off the priest like water. He simply nodded with enthusiasm, eyes shining as he looked toward the ant hill in the distance. �It�s incredible, isn�t it? I can�t believe how fast they�re learning. How fast they�re changing! I swear they�re watching us, trying to understand us. In a years� time, who knows what they might be capable of? A miracle is what it is. Divine deliverance!�
��Course it is, father. Ain�t nobody sayin� any different,� Isaac hurriedly cut him off. He�d already been subjected to one of Father Beyn�s spontaneous sermons and he wasn�t keen to repeat the experience. Only the timely intervention of Mrs Enid Bly saved him.
Before the priest could get wound up again, Isaac cast about to divert the topic of conversation, but came up blank. Dang it! He�d need to act fast or something else would set off the fanatical priest! In desperation, he flicked a glance at Anna and she received his panicked signal.
�Ah, your holiness, there, father,� she piped up haltingly. �I was, uh, wondering if you could, ah, tell me some more about the, �em, leader ant?�
As expected, the priest�s eyes lit ablaze at the mention of his favourite subject. The man�s entire face came alight as if it were receiving the Mana of the Dungeon directly.
�I would love to!� he boomed, throwing his one arm wide as he stepped forward, closing the distance to his victim.
Isaac averted his eyes from Anna�s pleading gaze. Sometimes sacrifices were necessary in order to achieve the greater good. With the priest�s voice rising to the heavens behind him, Isaac stepped quietly away and moved toward the village proper.
He�d been fascinated to learn that the ant monster he�d seen with Morrelia had not been a pet and had in fact been the master of the other two monsters with them. Just thinking about it was enough to make him shiver. Had it wanted to, that ant could have slaughtered his people without resistance.
All in all, Isaac had to admit that conditions here in the village were better than he expected by far. He�d only arrived a few days ago, and already simple housing was being organised, people were being put to work, fields expanded, combat training undertaken. Despite the recent tragedy, the village town had an incredible energy that was surprising on so many levels.
In a moment of clarity, he realised the people of the village reminded him of nothing so much as the colony of ants he�d been watching just minutes ago. The single-minded, uncomplaining zeal at which they approached their work was unlike anything he�d ever seen. Something different was happening here, and it wasn�t just the monsters. The people were changing also.
It�d be interesting to see what came of it.
Here now at the end of the world, what do we have to say to those that we destroyed? I�m sure it�s not something that would cross the mind of most on my side of the divide. Would we even say anything, if given the chance? I don�t believe so.
We saw this path as inevitable. The moment the truth was learned, our feet were marching on this road. Others would not, could not accept this reality. It is no fault of theirs. They are not built as we are. Perhaps they cursed us, wailed against us in their palaces and war councils. It matters not.
We settle back into the mini-Dungeon chamber we excavated to allow us monsters a chance to regain our Mana and rest. Morrelia keeps an eye out from up top. She barely sleeps. Catching a few hours here and there seems to be enough to sustain her almost superhuman levels of effort over an extended period of time. It�s been a sharp reminder to me that in this world, a person isn�t limited as they are on Earth. Acts of physical or mental prowess that would be impossible to a human on Earth are made trivial here with Levels and training.
Who am I to say that being able to run and fight against horrific beasts for an entire day, sleep for three hours, and then do it all again the next is remarkable in this world? Obviously, not every person can do that. According to Beyn, most people Level twenty to forty times across their entire lives. That isn�t enough to amount to much for most classes, the stat growth is simply too low. For the elites, the privileged who are able to farm the Dungeon and raise their Levels fast, who knows what kind of incredible feats they�re capable of?
Liria was apparently a young, backwater kingdom, founded by pioneering farmers who wanted to open up more land for agriculture. The real powerhouses, at least those on the surface, are farther north, and east across the lake, so I�m told. I don�t think that�ll matter much to us, though. Being a small colony in the middle of the wilds, neighbouring a tiny village, we shouldn�t be of any consequence to anyone for a long time.
[Are we ready to head to Liria?] I ask Morrelia.
[Yes. I can�t think of anywhere else in this area where I might find survivors.]
[I�m surprised you found as many as you did. Makes me think there may be quite a few more hidden away in remote places. Perhaps even in the towns if people were smart enough to hide.]
It�s true. Including the folks from Midum, we�d found hundreds of survivors and sent them packing to the village. I hope Enid has it all under control down there. Finding beds and meals for the villagers was tricky as is, it�s going to be even harder now.
For the time being, it isn�t my problem. The colony has sent me out to act as their scout and determine the nature of the threat on the surface, and that is what I�m going to do. We�ve managed to do some damage, killed a heap of monsters and rescued some people. That�s all good and noble, but not the main reason why I�m here.
Although, the Biomass and Skill Levels have been nice. My constant practice of External Mana Manipulation has continued to yield results, taking Greater External Mana Manipulation to Level 3. Enhanced Mind Magic Affinity Levelled once. Advanced Cerebral Endurance went to Level 10 and I ranked it up to Expert Cerebral Endurance. I also managed to gain a Level! It was something of a shock to Level by cleaning up weaker monsters from the upper levels of the Dungeon, but I think it was mostly due to the Garralosh Commander putting me close to the edge.
We�ve also been making sure to keep eating as much Biomass as we can when we get a chance. I�ve gotten my supply back to sixty-five, which isn�t enough, but every little bit helps! My incomplete mutations and my impending evolution are weighing on my mind more heavily with every passing day. Something inside is saying this evolution is going to be different, and I want to make sure I�m as prepared as I can be. That feeling could also just be my oversized core causing me pain. Who knows.
[We need to be careful as we approach the city,] Morrelia says, bringing me back to our conversation. [I�m still not sure how it�s possible for Garralosh to be up here, but if we run into that beast, then I don�t think either of us could make it out alive.]
[I thought you said she wasn�t as evolved as I thought? Now you�re saying we couldn�t even run away?]
Morrelia growls in frustration, though it isn�t directed at me. Still, I could almost feel her glare through the dirt above my head.
[I suppose it doesn�t matter if I tell you, it might even help keep us alive. The truth is, Garralosh has been prevented from descending to the lower layers in order to starve her out. My father and the Legion didn�t want to allow Garralosh to grow. I�m not sure exactly why they singled out the beast in this way, but they did, and boxed her in. The thin Mana was supposed to kill the creature eventually, without anyone having to hunt the filthy thing down.]
[But it hasn�t worked,] I say, pointing out the obvious. [Garralosh seems to be fine and dandy. Better than ever, in fact. She�s doing the Crocodile Rock all over the surface, for goodness� sake!]
[I know!] Morrelia grinds out. [Something hasn�t worked and I have no idea what. Garralosh was defeated by my father decades ago and was supposed to have scurried off to slowly die from a lack of Mana. Something about this situation is very wrong.]
[Wait a second. Your dad
Pure, utter,
Holy HECK! No wonder Morrelia is so freakishly strong! Thems is some crazy genes.
[So, uh. If your dad comes back up to the surface� could you, uh, put in a good word for the colony? We aren�t so bad� Certainly aren�t crocodilic in any way.]
[Ha!] Morrelia barks out a short laugh across our mental
connection before she manages to stifle it. [
Well,
[Okay, putting your murderous, immensely powerful sire to one side, how do you plan to approach the city? I won�t let you go in alone. The colony has requested that I scout, and I�m not going back without clapping my eyes on the big croc at least once.]
Morrelia lays out her plan and we finesse the details for an hour before we feel confident enough to proceed. I rouse Tiny and Crinis from their rest, climb out of the Dungeon, and we�re off.
After we leave our little slice of Dungeon, cores fully charged and feeling fresh, we make our way to the capital in earnest. We�d done a few sweeps out this way before, but had resisted the urge to push too close in case we attracted the wrong type of attention whilst there were still people that could be saved, and roving bands of monsters that could be cleaned up toward the south.
Those things have been checked and delivered, so there�s nothing to stop us making our approach. Moving cautiously, we keep low, avoiding the main roads with Morrelia directing us west into the large forest south of the city. Moving back under those leafy branches is nostalgic to me. On the north side of this forest is where the colony set up our first nest on the surface. Not far from the village where I bit off Beyn�s arm. Ah, memories.
I wonder if the Branchies are still around?
Morrelia takes care that we stay hidden and out of sight as we continue north, displaying a level of woodcraft I hadn�t expected to see in such a bloodthirsty warrior. When I, perhaps unwisely, comment on it, she snorts out a laugh of derision.
[You think roaming the wilds is as simple as killing everything you find? If you don�t know when and how to hide yourself, a hunter will wind up dead and eaten before they can blink.]
[That�s a little surprising to me,] I reply honestly. [I haven�t seen anything on the surface that could hope to put a scratch on you or me. Is there really a need for that kind of caution?]
Morrelia continues to move and scout as we speak, her eyes shifting without pause and her feet placed carefully.
[Don�t get a big head. Surface monsters are much weaker than Dungeon monsters, that much is true, but there are still powerful creatures on the surface. Why else do you think the entire surface is yet to be reclaimed? Probably half of the landmass of Pangera is still considered wildlands, with no sapient race laying claim to it.]
[But why?] I exclaim. [I just don�t understand. If you have fighters that are able to battle in the Dungeon, then you can surely spend some of that strength on the surface? Don�t people want to rid the surface of monsters? Wouldn�t that be safer?]
[The key point you aren�t grasping here, is whether or not that land is valuable.]
[Well. You need land, right? For farming� and� living?]
Morrelia laughs, a harsh barking sound that suits her warrior�s demeanour far more than a girlish titter would.
[Oh aye. For regular folks, land is critical. Need to farm, grow families, fell lumber, mine. The wealth and prosperity of the common people is built on land, certainly. What about the elites? What about the rulers of those mighty nations? What do they need land for?]
The ire is rising in Morrelia and decide I should keep my mouth shut until she�s finished. Wisdom showing itself in me once again!
[The truth is, to the truly powerful, territory in the Dungeon is
a thousand times more valuable than territory on the surface. Rare
materials, monster components, cores, experience, these are the things
they�re willing to fight for. The greatest empires of the surface don�t
measure their strength by how wide their lands are, but how
[So that�s why you spent your time hunting in the south? You wanted to use your Skills and strength to try and help out where others wouldn�t.]
She hesitates, just for a brief moment, but I catch it nonetheless.
[Yes. Amongst other reasons, I wanted to try and do something to assist people on the border. My crew and I would take commissions to hunt from the monarchy, bounties basically. It wasn�t much, but we made a living and got to feel that we were doing something worthwhile.]
I feel like it was a bit of a waste of her Skills. If she�d been doing something more like what she was doing now in the village, training people and escorting them into the Dungeon to allow them to build up the strength to defend themselves, it would have been a more effective way to protect the people on the border. You know the old saying: give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he�ll kill monsters in defence of family and property.
Or something.
I make my opinion known to Morrelia and she seems to reluctantly agree.
[It�s possible,] she concedes. [I�ve greatly enjoyed training the refugees, more than I had expected I would. I never thought I�d have the patience for it. I�m not sure if it�s something I could have done before. Access to the Dungeon was restricted in Liria, just like everywhere, and finding people in the villages who were willing to flout that rule and fight for themselves would have been hard before this mess occurred.]
[Why is access to the Dungeon so restricted anyway? Wouldn�t it be good if people got a little stronger and advanced their classes?]
Morrelia smiles grimly, her eyes shifting left and right as she scouts
for danger. [That�s exactly why. They
I sigh internally. Even in another world, people are still this petty and selfish. This kind of thing just reinforces to me the wisdom of the colony way of life. The idea of a worker trying to seek some sort of advantage over another worker is almost enough to make me laugh out loud! If anything, they would scheme to ensure they themselves were sacrificing more and working harder than others.
Our conversation has run its course, so Morrelia and I fall into a companionable silence. It will take quite some time for us to make our way through this forest, particularly since we don�t want to be seen. I�m not even training any mental Skills as we travel, wanting to maintain my mental energy in the event we run into trouble.
Fortunately, we don�t. After extended travel without rest, we manage to make it to the northern side of the forest. Somewhat sadly, we don�t spot the old anthill. I think we passed somewhat to the east of it, but the trees begin to thin out the nearer we come to the edge of the forest.
My nerves grow apace. I�ve heard a lot about Garralosh since I�ve been reborn, and her stupid children have scared the willies out of me on more than one occasion. I�m ready to lay my eyes on the culprit.
After a long period of stop-start running, we make our way clear of the forest and into the open fields. The once neat and organised fields that had been planted with crops or contained docile herds of animals are gone, trampled into the muck by monstrous feet. I didn�t expect the sight to affect me as much as it does. My heart experiences a definite pang when I gaze upon the sheer destruction and human misery that has occurred here.
I hadn�t exactly had a positive life experience amongst humans before my rebirth. In fact, I�d go so far as to say it was horrible. I never knew why, but as far as I could tell, my parents hated me from the moment of my birth. Growing up in that kind of environment wasn�t conducive to my ability to form healthy relationships. Things at school went as you might imagine.
After I grew old enough to care for myself, my parents pretty much disappeared. I dropped out of school and most social contact vanished. When I think of it in those terms, it doesn�t seem strange that my mentality became a little weird. It makes me a little uncomfortable to admit it, but I feel more at home and more welcome amongst the colony in this life than I ever did amongst humans in my last one.
They accepted me without wanting anything in return, never asked anything from me, and my mother, the queen, gave me her complete and total trust in an instant. Simply because I was a member of her family.
That was something I�d never experienced before. Not even anything remotely like it. Gandalf mentioned people brought to Pangera were usually different in some way. Broken, I think was the way he phrased it. I�ve never really thought of myself like that. My life wasn�t ideal. I always felt there were plenty who were worse off than me. Only, now I think I get what he was trying to say.
He didn�t necessarily just want to bring damaged people here to Pangera and reincarnate them as monsters. He wanted to bring people who would feel more at home amongst the monsters than they did in their previous lives. I suppose it could be said that only an unusual person would meet that criterion, and perhaps that�s what he meant by broken people.
I wonder what would happen if I were to meet another person like myself, someone who had originated from Earth. It�s a question that�s been bothering me for a long time. We�re both monsters, after all, designed to fight and kill each other in order to progress along our paths. If I meet one and they try to nibble my face off, I�m certain to fight back, no question about that. Is peaceful cooperation even possible in the Dungeon?
My mind weighed down by these concerns, we make our way through the final stretch of our journey. We creep across abandoned fields and pass the numerous scattered farmhouses and small villages that orbited the beating heart of this small kingdom, the capital city of Liria.
The once-proud stone walls no longer look so imposing. Large gaps have been smashed into the stone, giving us glimpses of the destruction that occurred within. Massive stone blocks that had been part of the wall have been scattered across a wide area of land, as if the masonry had been smashed by a titan�s fist, blasted out of place and flown a hundred metres to land in a field.
What buildings existed outside the walls, concentrated around the gates for the most part, have simply ceased to exist, flattened and destroyed. Barely a wall remains standing of these dwellings which appear to have drawn the monsters� ire for some reason. They present an ill omen for what remains of the city inside the walls.
Morrelia grows more tense the closer to the city we get. Her muscles are bunched and knotted by the time we reach two hundred metres of the wall. So great is her wrath, her eyes are ablaze with fury. Like balls of liquid magma radiating heat into the air.
[Try and stay cool,] I advise her, somewhat uselessly. [Whatever has happened is likely to be worse than what we see out here, and this is exactly the wrong place to go berserk.]
[Don�t you think I know that?] she replies, though her teeth remained clenched.
Not going to have a lot of luck there�
[Crinis, if Morrelia flies off the handle, I need you to try and grab her so we can run the heck out of here.]
[I�ll do my best, Master!] she replies, never failing to follow my instructions to the letter. If only Tiny could be so diligent.
The ape in question is sniffing the air, looking bored without anything to fight. Just to be certain, I reach out and speak to him. I want to make sure there aren�t any incidents.
[We aren�t here to fight, Tiny,] I warn him. [You are not to attack any monster we see inside the city. No fighting at all until we�re safely away. This is an order.]
I reinforce the point to ensure there is no wiggle room for him to avoid obeying me. I can�t afford any stuff ups this time.
Morrelia and I decide that climbing the wall for a higher vantage point, even if it might outline us against the sky, makes more sense than slipping through one of the cracks. Most monsters have quite poor vision, especially those from the first stratum, and since we only intend to look for a few seconds, we should be safe.
Hunkered down, we circle the city until we come to a largely undamaged stretch of wall with no openings for a few hundred metres on either side. If we�re spotted and pursued, the monsters will either have to go over the wall or travel the extra distance, and that could mean the difference between life and death.
I�m constantly checking our surroundings. It�s eerily quiet. Where I expected to see roaming hordes of monsters, there�s almost no motion, no sound. The city feels dead in a complete way. As if no living thing existed within it for the last hundred years, when only a few months ago, it was full of life. Just what is going on here?
When we close the final stretch to the base of the wall itself, I feel something change.
I freeze in place, then start snapping out instructions to my pets.
[You two, stay back here! Do not get any closer than this!]
[Master! No!] Crinis protests.
Thank goodness she�s sitting on my back and not on my head, otherwise she would have felt this change at the same time I did.
[Off you get, Crinis. Tiny, come over here and let her ride on your shoulder. Don�t get any closer to the city than this!] As an aside I speak to Morrelia. [You can feel that too, right?]
Her face is even more tense. If she looked like she could eat rocks before, she could very well chew through steel now.
She nods. [Somewhat. Though I imagine it may be a little different to you.]
Once Tiny gets Crinis off my back and has moved back a little, the little ball of mayhem protesting the entire time, I begin to move forward. Very. Slowly.
It�s an aura. An aura that hit me like a truck running straight into my brain. Oppressive, dominant and filled with endless fury, it turned on the moment I drew close enough to feel it, as if someone flicked a switch. My entire body quailed at the touch of that aura and my minds shied away from it. This is far worse than what we experienced in the Marsh Expanse. Ten times worse.
Garralosh. It has to be. If it isn�t the big croc, if one of her children can unleash this kind of power, then we�re cooked. We�re a duck stuffed into a chicken, stuffed into a turkey and then double baked kind of cooked. I�m talking well-done with the charred marinade on the outside.
Focus, dammit, Anthony! Stop imagining yourself being so delicious!
As if moving through molasses, I firm my will, push forward to the base wall and begin to climb. One leg at a time, I advance, my claws digging into the stone and gripping like a vice as I reach to grasp my next foothold.
[Enhanced Grip (II) has reached Level 5.]
Shut. UP!
Who cares about that right now?
Impressively, Morrelia uses her bare hands to climb. Her fingers display extraordinary strength as she finds minute holds and gaps in the stone to haul herself up. She still takes longer than I do. Walking up a wall is only somewhat harder for me than walking on the ground, but I have natural advantages.
After ten minutes of silent, tense climbing, we reach the top.
Just before we poke our heads over the edge, Morrelia and I look at each other with possibly the world�s first �Good luck, hope we don�t die� exchange between human and monster. Then we take the final step and lift our heads above the edge.
That�s a big ass croc.
The city is in ruins. Forget about a hurricane, earthquake or other
natural disaster, this level of destruction is far beyond that. As if a
meteor landed on the city or a god stamped down with its heavenly foot.
If the latter had occurred, then that god had supremely flat arches,
because the city is just
It looks as if no two bricks still stand one atop the other. The open spaces are strewn with rubble, and the once-proud, cobbled roads are broken and cracked. In the distance, the hill on which the castle once stood, with its inner wall and high towers, there is only a ruin.
This city had been built from over two hundred years of effort and endeavour, and now it�s gone. If anyone wanted to recreate the city, establish the Kingdom of Liria once again, they would need to do so from scratch. Heck, even the job of cleaning up this mess would take a monumental effort.
Although, just because the buildings have ceased to be, doesn�t mean the space inside the walls is empty. Oh no, it�s full to bursting. With monsters.
Across every surface, on top of every stone, they stand, stock still. As if mesmerized by an illusion, monsters of every type from the first stratum are rooted to the ground, staring in one direction. The site sickens me to my core for reasons I can�t explain. It�s unnatural for monsters to act this way. As if they were mindless drones with no will of their own.
These are creatures born of the Dungeon. They should fight, struggle and battle!
They appear weak. Like slaves to a greater will than their own. Bears, frogs, centipedes, hounds, slugs, bats, apes, lizards, even a few shadow beasts are in the mix, each staring in the same direction. Even the sightless monsters, as if they were receiving the light of the sun from their god.
Or goddess, in this case, sitting right on top of the Dungeon entrance.
Her aura that dominates the air around me grows stronger the moment I lay eyes on her. Threatening to knock me off the wall. This is supposed to be a weakened monster? Are you kidding me?
I�m not sure what I expected Garralosh to look like. Her offspring gained limbs, heads and tails as they evolved, following a strict �more is more� policy. The big momma croc does not follow that pattern. Of all of her different offspring mutations, she most resembles a titan-croc. Long reptilian body, powerful front and back legs that support her when she lays flat, and would allow her to walk when she stands. A second pair of arms below the first to help support her more heavily massed upper body.
Rather than multiple heads or the over-and-under jaws of the commanders,
Garralosh simply has the one crocodile head. It�s difficult to make out
the smaller details at this distance, but I think she has more than just
the two eyes. I�d have to get closer to be sure. Something that�s
One muscular croc tail extends from the back of her body, lazily sweeping back and forth as she rests.
Long ridges extend down her back, almost long enough to be called spines, from her head all the way to the tip of her tail. They�re dark in colour and gleam like obsidian in the light. Her scales are a deep, dark green, and even at this range I get the sense they would be as thick as steel plates.
There�s nothing exceptionally remarkable about Garralosh in monster terms. So long as you discount her size.
She�s huge. It defies physical reality for a crocodile to be this large. What is this, the cretaceous period? Someone get this frickin� dinosaur out of here! My mind boggles to even look at her. She is to a croca-beast, what a megaladon is to a gummi shark.
From nose to tip of the tail, I estimate her to be over twenty metres.
She is a semi-trailer truck, in mass as well as length, since she isn�t
just long, she�s
I�m so bewildered by the sheer size of the monster, I fail to focus on what was happening around her until Morrelia mutters something under her breath.
[What is it?] I send over our Mind Bridge.
[Who is that? What are they doing?] she asks, her mind strained with focused intent.
Who is who? Are you seeing this freakin� crocodile?
I turn my attention back to the area occupied by the enormous crocodile and try to divert my focus away from gawking at Garralosh, to take in what�s happening in the monster�s surroundings. From this distance, it�s hard to make out the small details, but what I see is enough to throw me into confusion.
There are
Not for the first time, I curse my poor ant eyesight. I�ve taken huge strides in improving my vision, but long-distance viewing is really biting my thorax right now.
Now that I take a clearer look, the area around Garralosh does look weird. She lies, brooding and massive, in what looks like a crude basin of some kind. The odd robed figures are positioned around her in a loose formation, each wielding a staff tipped by a glowing core.
Something about their positioning tickles my brain, and when I try to connect the vague shape in my mind, it suddenly snaps into place that they�re forming a spell matrix using their bodies as part of the construct! What the heck kind of magic are they trying to cast?
I can�t squint due to my lack of eyelids, but I still strain as hard as I can just to get a glimpse. I get a vague impression that the robed figures are drawing something up through openings in the earth below them, and it seems as if it�s draining down into the basin where Garralosh is resting.
[Are they� condensing Mana for Garralosh?]
The shape of the basin and the terrain around the robed figure�s feet gives the impression of liquid being brought up and running downhill to be collected. If they�re bringing a liquid up from the Dungeon, what could the liquid be but Mana? I mean, I�ve never seen liquid Mana. But unless they�re bringing up some sweet natural spring water in order to give the biggest crocodile in all the worlds a soothing bath, perhaps followed by an exfoliating scale scrub, then what does the croc need that can be found in the Dungeon?
Mana.
I know it can be condensed. I have the freakin� Skill to do it! Perhaps I�ve never seen something like this, but that doesn�t mean it can�t be done.
[They�re feeding Garralosh Mana! Using some sort of voodoo
technique to compress the Mana in the Dungeon and letting her absorb it.
My minds race, connecting the dots now that I have this information.
[This is why she isn�t dead!] I exclaim to Morrelia. [She was
Oh snap! If these guys and gals can regulate the flow of Mana to Garralosh, then she�s dependent on them, completely at their mercy. If they decide to turn the tap off, then big momma croc has no choice but to fade slowly away as her core bleeds dry.
[This is insane,] Morrelia grinds out. [Who the hell
That is the question of the hour. We remain with our heads poked over the top of the city wall, straining to make out any details.
Just then, something new catches my eye. Movement to one side of the basin as something that had buried itself beneath the dirt rises up, shaking itself free of the loose soil. What the heck is this now? Another monster?
When the dirt finally fall away, what�s revealed is not a hideous monster or another deformed croca-beast variant, but a large lizard that appears to be draped in what I can only describe as luxurious robes and golden jewellery.
Although it�s dwarfed next to Garralosh, it�s still a hefty ten metres long from nose to tail, and not nearly as bulky. Something about the creature, perhaps its dull scale colour or wrinkly skin, seems to speak of incredible age. I get the feeling this lizard has been around the block a few times.
I can almost feel the weight of its gaze.
Wait a sec�
[Morrelia? Is that giant lizard staring at us?]
[Ka�armodo!] she hisses and jumps from the wall.
What the heck? We�re like eight metres up!
[Hurry up!] she hollers across our mental link. I watch, stunned, as she neatly rolls on landing and begins sprinting away from the city.
[I�m not up to speed here. Why are you running?] I ask as I hesitate at the top of the wall.
Then I notice something. Inside the wall, not only is the lizard looking at me, but Garralosh herself has turned to face me.
And so has every other monster.
I leap from the wall, legs flailing as I attempt to flap my way to
freedom. Why the hell didn�t I give myself wings? I
THUD.
I smack into the ground with a dull thump, the impact sending shockwaves through my carapace. Thankfully, my sturdy exo-skeleton and its inner plating managed to absorb the force without cracking, since I don�t trust my legs to do the job. Not wanting to break any limbs at this critical juncture, I�d wisely tucked them up so my body would hit first. Repairing a broken leg would be a little awkward, to say the least.
[RUN!] I shout at my two pets as they watch from a distance. [Let�s go, go, go, go, goooooo!]
The moment my legs are under me, I�m Dashing, holding nothing back in my desperation to get away. Morrelia is way ahead of me, not pausing in the slightest when she realised I hadn�t moved as quickly as she had. That�s cold. Sensible, but cold!
[What the heck is that giant lizard?] I wail at her.
[It�s a Ka�armodo! They are
[How in the
[Listen,] she growls. [They�re one of the elder races that
existed on Pangera before the Dungeon opened. They are powerful mages
and live for a
[And why is it helping a giant crocodile monster slaughter a heap of humans?]
[I have no idea! Would you
Good advice!
The sound of thousands of monsters bellowing in rage at once rattles against my ears, and the ground beneath my feet begins to beat like a snare drum. Monsters flood out of the gates and over the wall in a tide of death.
[Move those Fancy Feet, Tiny! Do NOT stop to fight. Do NOT turn and do battle. This is NOT the time to fire up! We are a Jamaican Bobsled team, keep cool and run!] I bellow at my most wilful pet, and with me keeping up the flow of constant orders and reprimands, for once, he isn�t able to turn and fight against impossible odds as he so wishes.
[Where are we running to?] I gasp at Morrelia, the strain of constant Dashing already starting to catch up with me. I am taking care of this problem when I evolve, no doubt about that!
[I don�t know,] she rasps. The usually unflappable warrior looks a fair bit flapped as she runs. [Any bright ideas?]
[I think so. This way!]
As if the demon hordes of Hades were on our tail, which they sort of are, we run with all our strength, feet growing leaden and weighed down the farther we get. Across fields, around fences and down roads, we run with the constant rumble of monsters shaking the ground behind us.
I don�t even want to look, but my stupid eyes with their near three-sixty-degree vision grant me tantalising glimpses of a monster horde greater than any I�ve ever seen by far. No way am I going to turn and fight this. Even ten Gravity Bombs wouldn�t be enough to swallow the entire horde. We have to get to safety.
Fortunately, it doesn�t take too long before it comes into sight.
On a hill ahead is a small church building, still somehow standing when so much of the buildings around here have been flattened. The church is a centre point of a modest town that I�ve visited before, and I happen to know that a path into the Dungeon can be found in that building.
[Let�s go to church!] I bellow at my companions.
As if demons are on our tail, or perhaps the crocodiles of the damned, we flee until my poor ant legs ache with the strain and my antennae droop low from exhaustion. Into the village, up into the church and then down into the still-open Dungeon entrance the colony had opened what seems like a lifetime ago.
Due to the ongoing wave, the tunnel was packed full of monsters, and we�re forced to pummel and slice our way through them in order to penetrate into the Dungeon below. The battle is endless, and we�re careful not to finish off the monsters we fight, knocking them out of the way, slowing them with Gravity Magic. Even Tiny just bops them on the head until we get past. Anything to create more of a roadblock for the zombie monster horde gaining on us.
Down we fight, charging through the escape tunnel the colony had painstakingly dug until we reached the point where it narrowly connects to another Dungeon. I�d dug that connection myself in order to go hunting for the colony during our escape. Hopefully, it will serve us now! Tiny, Crinis, Morrelia and I pile through the narrow connection, widening it in some places to get Tiny through, before collapsing and filling it in behind us.
A simple ruse, but possibly enough to divert the mindless horde of monsters. Damn, I wish I knew how the crocs are able to mind control monsters the way they do. Is it a form of magic? A Skill? An aura mutation? I haven�t seen anything like it in the menu so far, but that could just mean I haven�t unlocked it through whatever esoteric means the System uses to conceal options until it�s happy you�ve jumped through the right hoop.
Could it be something to do with core strength even? Perhaps once I upgrade my core to rare, I�ll be able to influence monsters in a similar way. I just don�t know, and it�s frustrating the heck out of me.
Not content to wait so close to the escape tunnel, we battle farther into the side path before I tell the others to cover me whilst I dig out a new chamber, blessedly free from the influence of the Mana veins and therefore clear of constant Mana spawns. At least until the veins extend into here, we�ll have a little chance to rest.
Exhausted, we all collapse. Tiny is asleep before he even hits the ground, Crinis not far behind. Though she preserves her dignity by lowering herself to the ground with her tentacles before retracting them and growing still.
Morrelia leans back against the dirt wall and slides down, uncaring how the soil trickles down into her hair, until she�s sitting with her arms resting on her knees. I�m desperate for a bit of torpor in order to recuperate, but first I have to know more about what we saw.
My minds move wearily to reconstruct the Mind Bridge. Sheesh, I�m getting a lot of practice with this construct these days. How the heck did I ever get by without it?
[Any chance you can explain to me a little about what we saw up there? The big lizard thing? The fancy spell work? Who are they and why would they want to keep Garralosh alive?]
Morrelia bows her head for a time, and I resist the urge to pester her with questions. I can tell she�s still a tad angry, to put it mildly, and I don�t want to be the one to set off a berserker explosion.
[I don�t know why they�d keep that beast alive. I�ve no idea. To
think they would have to have been supporting her for
[Who is �they�? You said something about a Koomodo?]
[Ka�armodo,] she corrects. [The giant lizard you saw is a Ka�armodo. They�re an ancient race, older even than humans. They live for hundreds of years and are always accompanied by their Setsulah servants. I don�t know too much about it, but from what I understand, the Setsulah were a race conquered thousands of years ago and pressed into slavery by the Ka�armodo. They�re bound in some fashion. Tied by bonds of magic to their masters.]
Magically bonded slave race? That got real dark, real quick.
[I take it these Ka�armodo aren�t considered friendly? Evil race of salamanders?]
Morrelia waves her hand in frustration. [Not really. The Ka�armodo are just another sapient race on the surface. We even trade with them here in Liria. Their empire is in the mountains to the northeast. We share a narrow border with them. I just don�t see why they would support Garralosh. Why would they use that creature to attack Liria? They have everything they could possibly want! What�s here for them?]
Honestly, the destruction is on such a broad scale and so indiscriminate, there has to be a good reason.
I don�t necessarily agree with her though. Who knows why giant lizards with magic slaves make decisions?
[Could it be land?] I ask. [Perhaps they want to exterminate the minor kingdoms here and move in without anyone thinking they were behind it?]
She shakes her head, rejecting my suggestion outright. [What would be the point? They could walk in and stomp the minor kingdoms with almost no effort anyway. And who would care if they did? The only reason these lands were settled in the first place is because nobody wanted them!]
[Okay, well the next suggestion is a little worse. Weapons testing?]
[What do you mean?]
My inability to shrug really gets me down sometimes. There is an equivalent antennae movement that we ants use, but nobody else seems to understand it.
[Well, you�ve managed to tame a big bad monster, something that is too strong for the first stratum and possibly stronger than most things on the second. Presumably, if you keep growing the monster, helping it to evolve and manage the Mana that you give it, you could control it forever. Might be a bit of work, but it would sure be a heck of a lot less resource intensive than raising a pet to be as strong as Garralosh.]
[And the testing?]
[If you�ve got this creature under your control, why not see how well it works? They�ve put decades� worth of effort into it, may as well see if the project is going to be worth further investment.]
Morrelia�s expression is a mask of horror. [You really think they�d
destroy entire
I shrug again. Antennae are the best.
[
Reluctantly, the berserker nods.
[The Ka�armodo aren�t without rivals. They compete for resources in the Dungeon with numerous groups and empires. I still can�t believe that they would go this far�]
I step over to the visibly emotional Morrelia and pat her on the shoulder with an antenna.
[People, lizards. They all suck. This is why I�m happy I�m an ant.]
Smooth.
We lay low in the Dungeon for hours. The dirt and stone surrounding us mean we hear nothing of our pursuers. Even if they pass within ten metres of us. Warfare amongst the regular monsters remains as constant as always, at least when they aren�t brainwashed by some fat ass croc.
Haaa� I really need to get back to the colony. All of this stress is giving me a potty mouth. Some downtime might be nice.
[We need to get back to the village,] Morrelia sends over our mental connection, catching me by surprise.
She�s been brooding and punching the walls in fits of anger. I could tell she wasn�t too pleased by what I�d had to say. Who even knew if it was the truth. To me, it doesn�t really matter why an empire of elderly lizards is unleashing a Dungeon monster on their weaker neighbours. What matters is that they have, and how we�re going to cope with it.
[If we rush back to the colony, won�t we just lead them straight there?] I protest.
Leading the horde and Garralosh down onto my family is
[We aren�t dealing with back kingdom hedge wizards now, Anthony,]
Morrelia growls. [They�ll have scried out the entire south by now, since
they know which direction we came from. Maybe they�d done that even
before we poked the hive with a stick. Point is, they�ll know about the
village
Gawd.
[A tiny little village and colony of harmless ants? Why would they go to all that effort?] I mutter.
Morrelia snorts at my use of the word �harmless.� I don�t think she�s buying just how innocent and loveable we are. Perhaps she knows what we might be capable of�
[They came here to eradicate the people. I don�t think they�ll leave before the job is done. Besides, I don�t think they�ll want you or I to survive, given what we�ve seen.]
Makes sense. It doesn�t really mean much if you�ve raised a secret weapon that nobody knows you can control, if someone has seen you controlling it.
Dammit!
[The only way we actually make it out of this alive, outside of fleeing through the Dungeon, is to rally the colony and village and fight against them?]
The warrior�s face twists at my mention of fleeing through the Dungeon.
Like the very thought is repellent to her. Hey! I didn�t actually
consider doing it! As if I would leave the colony alone to fend for
itself in its time of trial. That is my
[Correct,] Morrelia said. [I have no idea how, but the only way we make it out is if we fight. If we try to flee, they�ll hunt us down. I don�t know a way that we could hide from their scrying magic, we just don�t have the Skills.]
And fleeing into the wilderness would put the colony at risk right when we were beginning to explode in our potential. If we�d had an extra month, then I wouldn�t be nearly this worried. The number of ants the colony would be able to wield by then would smash the horde following Garralosh and drag the stupid croc down into the mud.
As it is, we just don�t have the firepower.
The villagers are in much the same position. The training and Dungeon expeditions have done a lot to take a collection of former farmers, labourers and traders and put them on the road to becoming proper warriors. They just aren�t there yet. There isn�t enough of them and they aren�t far enough along in their Skill development to turn the tide against a monster like Garralosh.
[Okay then. First thing first, we need to get the heck out of here and we need to do it fast,] I decide.
[You have a plan?] Morrelia asks, her eyes sharpening on me.
[Nope,] I admit. [Plans aren�t really my strong point. I was thinking we could just bust out the way we came in and hightail it south. It�s not subtle, but it gets us there as quickly as possible.]
Morrelia stares at me for a moment before she throws back her head and barks out a laugh.
[Too bad the Legion doesn�t accept monsters in the ranks,] she chuckles. [I have a feeling you�d fit right in.]
I turn my antennae toward the woman, reading the air around her subconsciously. She constantly talks about the Legion, not directly of course, but always mentioning it here and there. I know her father is a massive big shot with them, but what about Morrelia? She�s powerful, very much so. Why isn�t she a member? I refuse to believe she was kicked out.
[So�]
[I quit after my brother died in the service,] she interrupts.
How does someone read what an ant is about to say? I don�t even have facial muscles on the outside! Still, what she said did raise another question.
[How�]
[My father did not take it well,] she answers.
And judging by the steeled expression on the berserker�s face, I�m not going to get any more information out of her. I think I�ve pried enough anyway.
[So, we break through the front?] I ask.
[I think it�s most likely the horde will have returned to Garralosh�s side. They can�t have their monsters rushing around in the Dungeon forever, even if they can replenish their stock during the wave. Let�s go with your idea. If we run into too much opposition, we can retreat back to this position and try to find another way out,] Morrelia suggests.
Sounds good to me.
[Alright then, Tiny and Crinis, are you guys ready to fight your way out?]
At the word �fight,� Tiny literally comes alive, energy and light beaming in his eyes, and his hands clench and unclench at the prospect of battle. For her part, Crinis unfolds a few tentacles and walks her way over to me, settling onto my carapace primly. If a shadowy ball of infinite despair can do anything primly.
[I am ready to fight by your side, Master,] she declares.
Well, good then.
[But I feel compelled to inform you,] she adds after a moment�s hesitation. [I believe I am ready to evolve.]
Ohhhhhhh boy.
[Really? That�s great!] I sputter with excitement, and can�t help but reach back with my antennae to pat and stroke the little ball. [Well done, Crinis!] I praise her effusively. [You even managed to tell me on your own! This is going to be great!]
Her silence and the slight tremor coming from my carapace speaks volumes.
[Crinis?] I ask, though it�s fruitless.
Dang. Too much praise too quickly. She�s short circuited.
We have to delay our escape for a few minutes until Crinis came back to herself, but we don�t dare allow her the extra time to evolve. Her fighting strength is required to help us in the tunnels. If we manage to break free and make it to the surface, then she can probably evolve whilst riding on my back if it comes to it. Until then, we need her alert.
I can�t help but think she must have achieved the Level a long time ago and has just been avoiding it, but I�m glad she finally managed to �fess up�. Perhaps she felt pressured by how dire our situation is? Whatever the reason, I can only be glad for it. Claws crossed she�ll have a bit more confidence going forward.
Once everyone is prepared, we enact our plan, such as it is. Bust out into the tunnel, kill everything we see, bust back into the escape tunnel, kill everything we see, break out to the surface in the church, kill everything we see.
There�s a sort of simple elegance to the plan that quite appeals to me. At any rate, we�re successful. Relying on the simplest and most direct methods, we chomp, stab, punch and tear limb from limb everything that comes our way. We�re lucky, though. The seemingly bottomless horde of monsters that had been sent after us is nowhere to be seen. In fact, those zombie monsters might have done us a favour by killing the spawned monsters that crowded the escape tunnel. We had to contend with far fewer monsters on the way out than we did on the way in. So that�s a plus!
Things are a little less simple when we reach the surface.
I�d like to say it was me who anticipated the ambush and foiled it with my brilliant tactics, a lie I don�t even believe Crinis would have been able to swallow. It�s unfortunate, but Morrelia is the one who makes us pause in our escape. Not one hundred metres away from the surface entrance beneath the church.
[You know they�ll have an ambush in place, right?] she asks as she eyes me askance.
[Of course,] I lie.
She nods to herself as if relieved. Not having a human face helps a lot
when deceiving humans, I decide. My antennae had waggled like crazy as
I�d spoken the obvious lie; my face, which is
My own pets are a little wiser to my deception. Crinis shifts uncomfortably on my back and Tiny looks at me with slack-jawed astonishment. Stupid pets! Don�t give the whole game away!
[How do you think we should deal with it?] I prompt Morrelia, hoping to keep her distracted.
She rubs her chiselled chin and contemplates. Whoever her parents were, they had some serious jaw genes going on. Morrelia is a solid unit for a woman already, but her jawline was so damn sharp, it could probably cut steel.
[Do you think you could rustle up another one of those giant bomb things?] she asked.
I clack my jaws with joy.
After charging up my Gravity Bomb to a ludicrous degree, I unleash it at the entrance from a safe distance away, Morrelia helping to ensure proper planning is executed in the deployment of this particular magic.
[You have defeated a Level 22 Garralosh Commander.]
[You have gained XP.]
[You have reached Level 32. One Skill Point awarded.]
[You have reached Level 33. One Skill Point awarded.]
[You have reached Level 34. One Skill Point awarded.]
HA! None of your fancy tricks this time, you idiot crocodile!
I aimed the spell to hit right next to the opening, and it would appear the Garralosh Commander had been prowling in the hopes of catching us the instant we exited the tunnel!
BWAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!
THE POWER!
Internally I cackle with glee as we charge to expunge the remaining monsters that haven�t been caught in the blast. Taken aback by the devastating strike that instantly killed the strongest monster amongst them, they�re completely unprepared for the savagery of our follow up assault. I take my time tormenting the weaker monsters and squeeze a couple of Levels into Shredding Bite, allowing me to upgrade it to the next rank, Severing Bite (III).
This particular Bite Skill tree continues to be distasteful, specialising in separating monsters into parts. As an active Skill, it�s even more horrifying, allowing me to slice off monster�s limbs from range. Crinis is delighted by it, giving further evidence of the dark road on which she treads.
After her evolution, who knows exactly what she will become?
I�m nervous� I�m kind of worried to perform Core Surgery and manipulate the outcome. I�d inevitably have to ask her how she wanted it to go and I�m not sure I wanted to hear it.
Speaking of evolution, that Gravity Bomb helped push me closer than ever before to my next evolution. Only six more Levels and I�d be there.
Once we finish off the remaining monsters, Morrelia keeps watch so we have the opportunity to chow down on the commander. We don�t want to waste any time in the event that Garralosh herself comes to collect the corpse as she did last time, so I can�t blame Morrelia for wanting to avert her eyes from this rapid feasting.
It gets messy, real quick.
The rewards are worth it though. The entire corpse hasn�t quite been obliterated by the Gravity Bomb and we fall upon what remained with relish. I manage to obtain a hundred and fifty Biomass from the remains, as well as the greater prize.
[Compatible rare core detected. Would you like to absorb or reconstitute the core?]
[Warning: Absorption will take you beyond your current limit.]
Mua� Muahaha� MUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!
The core is MINE!
Filled with glee, I rip out the core and hold it in my mandibles, triumphant. I�ve managed to retrieve it after all. Mother will have to accept it!
Not willing to wait around any longer, we cut to the south as fast as we can. Us monsters had our cores recently topped off, and I return to my constant effort to absorb Mana from the air using External Mana Manipulation in order to continually top off my core and increase my up time.
Even so, Morrelia and I make a point to veer to the east occasionally in order to keep tabs on Garralosh and its lizard handler, along with the horde of thousands of monsters it was bringing along for the ride. They�re moving along the road that winds around the forest toward the south. Garralosh lumbers in the middle, easily visible even from a great distance, the Ka�armodo mage and its attendants not far behind.
Their marching speed isn�t too hot. Probably trying to maintain the Mana
in the cores of all the monsters who have them. If they don�t find an
entrance to the Dungeon on the way, they�re going to have trouble.
Although I wager the lizard would be scrying for that. I
The colony can�t afford to lose. We won�t be spared from the jaws of the foe, just as we wouldn�t spare the enemy if we emerge victorious. Unable to flee, it�s backs to the wall time for my family. I will do everything in my power to ensure they come out the victor.
Mind buzzing furiously, we run south.
By the time we come within reach of the colony�s scent trails, I�ve managed to Level External Mana Manipulation twice.
We�re completely exhausted. Tiny stumbles with every step. The poor guy is the heaviest of all of us by quite the margin, and the hard running wore him down. Stamina has levelled for me at least, but only the once, proving just what kind of ridiculous effort is required to get that Skill to Level up.
Crinis declined to evolve on the journey, preferring to use the time riding on my back to contemplate her Skills, Biomass spending and the direction she wants to take in her all-important evolution. When I could spare it, I turned my own thoughts to the possible upcoming evolution. I had no idea how the colony would be able to bring down a monster like Garralosh. If I was to do my bit, then I needed to be as strong as I could be. Though not impossible, getting six Levels in a short amount of time would be difficult without any higher tier monsters to chomp on.
The first scent trail I come upon tingles against my antennae as the pheromones register on my sense of smell.
�Biomass source in this direction has been exhausted. >:)�
Looks like the colony has been raiding toward the north in search of surface monsters to fuel the colony�s growth. They must have been successful if they managed to wipe them out. Hopefully, the workforce is ready to begin to hunt in the Dungeon, if they haven�t already. Vibrant has been taking her personal posse of workers down there for a while now, but the full-time raids need to start en masse.
Morrelia and I discussed briefly how much time it would take for Garralosh to arrive at the village. She gave us a week. Maybe a little more. It�s both a heap of time and precious little.
We slow our pace a little this close to the finish line. The scent trails becomes thicker and more frequent until we start to run into small patrols of workers.
�Hello, eldest!� they greet me. �Work hard!�
I�m always working hard, dammit!
�How are things with the colony?� I call to them as we passed by.
�Busy!� one says.
Wise guy.
It�s a colony of ants. Of course, things are busy!
Morrelia must have noticed something about the interaction because she reaches out to me over the Mind Bridge. [Do you talk to each other?]
Ugh. Letting the humans know more about the colony could be a risk. It�d also be a sign of trust. It�s not as if they could overhear what we say to each other, so I don�t really see the harm in it� Perhaps I�ve just grown to trust Morrelia a little more over our time together. Which is possibly what she wanted out of this expedition.
[We do. We can talk to each other using our pheromones. It was pretty basic at first, but has grown more complex lately. We can talk pretty much as well as humans can.]
Better, if you include the development of the scent-moji.
[What did they say?] she asks curiously.
[I asked how things are with the colony and she told me it�s �busy.�]
Morrelia stares at me for a moment before throwing back her head and laughing.
[It�s a colony of ants!] she chortles. [Of course, they�re busy!]
Fifteen minutes later, we parted ways, Morrelia to head to the village and myself toward the colony. The workers were thicker now, bustling here and there, and it wasn�t long before the anthill rose in the distance.
What in the name of great googly-moogly!
It�s
The anthill had tripled in size. High as a hill and just as wide, with a strong palisade around the outside formed of wooden posts and� was that a moat?
Small openings dotted the surface of the massive hill, with ants constantly poking in and out as they went about their various tasks. Burlier looking soldier ants patrol the hill, antennae twitching this direction and that as they keep their senses sharp for invasion.
What the heck has been going on in my absence? All this dirt must have come from somewhere. Which means the excavation below ground should be spectacular. It appears that scout wasn�t joking when she said things had been busy.
[Tiny, make yourself comfortable and get some rest. You earned it, buddy.]
The weary bat-faced gorilla flops to the ground the moment I�ve finished speaking, exhausted to the bone. I�m not even five metres away before he starts snoring.
Slacker.
I would also love to throw myself down and nap, but I have serious business to take care of before I�ll get the chance. There will be precious little time to rest over the next few days, what with the impending doom marching south to kill all of us.
There are several crude bridges made from logs laid next to each other at intervals around the colony, and I hustle over the closest one with Crinis still riding on my back. My footing would seem treacherous and uneven to a human, but to the ants, it�s like a broad highway, my claws grip into the wood with ease and I pass over the waters swiftly.
Then up, up and up we go, climbing the side of the hill and ignoring the smaller entrances to reach the main entrance at the top. I want to get the broadest sense of the changes and I�m less likely to get lost coming through the main entrance. Scent trails are thick here. Scouting paths, hunting paths, even resource collection paths have been laid out, all trailing away from the hill.
The problem I have with the anthill is that my Tunnel Map doesn�t work as well above ground, it only maps out Dungeon tunnels. The portion of the nest beneath the surface level is neatly outlined in my mental map, but the rest� nothing.
Fortunately, scent trails have been used almost like the coloured lines in a hospital to guide workers the right way.
�Queen�s chamber.�
�Day brood chambers.�
�Farms.�
�Lecture theatre.�
�Artisan workshop.�
�Healing chambers.�
�Mage training area.�
So organised! Looks like someone finally took charge and put some thought into the nest layout and the sorts of spaces we might need. Thank goodness, because it was never going to be me. I�ve been coming to know myself more and more recently, and I�m happy to admit that this sort of detailed planning is not exactly my forte.
Clutching onto the wall, I make my way down into the depths of the nest, the sheer number of workers rushing around catching me by surprise. It feels as if the colony has doubled in size, which is absurd. I�m sure the numbers aren�t that high, but there are surely a heck of a lot more than last time if this level of activity is anything to go by.
[Crinis, pass me the core.]
The little blob on my back wordlessly passes the core she�d been clutching in one tentacle for the ride and I grasp it in my mandibles.
I can�t wait to show mother what I�ve brought her.
THWACK!
HIYA!
SNAP!
The moment I entered the queen�s chamber, a powerful antenna comes flying at my head. This time, though, I�m prepared and have thought ahead. Inspired by Morrelia�s thoughtfulness, I anticipated how my reception would begin.
Thus it is that I stand upside down at the entrance, clinging to the roof with one of my mother�s antennae clasped between my own. Sword catching is for fools, antenna catching is a whole new level.
�Hold on a second, Mother! It isn�t like you to be hasty!� I appeal.
The queen�s eyes lay on me like a weight, peaceful, serene, but heavy.
�I see you have brought a gift for me, child,� she replies evenly.
I try to shrug my antennae whilst still gripping hers and largely fail. I won�t weaken my hold just yet, in case she feels I�m being particularly foolish.
�Oh, this old thing?� I deflect. �There are so many of them up on the surface, I�m starting to think they don�t hold any value at all. Why, I almost feel bad giving you something of such low rarity.�
�In that case,� Mother answers, amusement rippling through her voice, �perhaps it would be best if you kept it for yourself.�
Dang it! Operation: Downplay the Core, is a failure.
�Is this the kind of welcome you give to your child who was away from home, slaving away as a scout in dangerous territories for the colony?� That�s right, a different tack to divert the conversation.
I may have struck a chord with mother on that one, since she retracts her antenna from my grip.
�Welcome home, child. I am, of course, very pleased to see you. Even if I�m concerned at what mischief you might have caused whilst you were away.�
Oh, she�s definitely amused now. Climbing down the wall to the chamber floor, I hope to put myself on more solid ground.
�You wound me, Mother,� I say reproachfully, even as I sweat inside.
Truth be told, there is some bad news coming our way. And it isn�t my fault this time! I may have caused Garralosh and company to come down earlier than they planned, but considering the Ka�armodo lizard was actively utilising scrying magic, chances are they already knew the human survivors were congregating here.
The queen looms above, still so much larger than myself. Her chamber still rests under the surface level, within the Dungeon, which necessitates her guard to be constantly on-alert, seizing monsters the moment they spawn from the walls, subduing them, and more often than not, bringing them to the queen to kill, feeding experience and Biomass to the monarch.
�There might have been a couple of things that came up whilst I was away. Nothing we can�t handle�� I hope.
Mother�s antennae waggle with frustrated amusement.
�I had assumed as much the moment you walked out of the nest.�
Ouch.
�Where is Aphy? I haven�t seen her about?� I wonder, trying to shift the focus of conversation away from myself.
The queen is only too happy to take the bait. Her eyes shine warmly as she discusses her beloved pet.
�I was worried Aphy would be at risk here in my chamber. She is currently positioned with the brood under the watchful eye of the Tenders. Did you know she�d already evolved?� she says proudly.
�Congratulations, Mother. I�m pleased to see your pet has brought you such joy.�
And I am. Mother cares deeply for every member of the colony and we all love her back, but we have stuff to do. It�s nice to have someone be her devoted companion. I only have to think of the ever-loyal Crinis resting on my back to remind myself of the security a devoted pet brings to the owner.
�Not much longer now and she�ll be able to add her own eggs to the brood chambers,� I muse.
�Yes,� the Queen nods happily. �It will be so helpful for the family.�
Nice. Now that I�ve reminded her of all the good work I�ve done, it�s time to bring her attention back to my gift.
�So, about this core��
THWACK!
Ouch!
Swift as a lightning bolt, the queen�s antenna descends on my head. Even with all of my upgrades, that still really smarts!
�There are others in a better position to make use of this gift than I, child. We have discussed this before,� Mother speaks adamantly.
I wince, but hold my ground.
�I already have one, and I�m not going to need another for a long time. I promise you I will obtain more of these cores for myself before I need it, but right now there�s nobody in the colony who can make use of this core as much as you can!�
The queen isn�t convinced.
�What of the soldiers? What of the generals? If the family is to fight for its survival, they will need to be as strong as possible. I am the only queen in this colony right now, but there are two others who will soon fulfil this role. I do not fight as the others fight. They need all of the strength they can muster.�
Haaa. The queen is always downplaying her own importance to the colony. I�m not sure if she�s just humble or if she genuinely doesn�t understand what it would mean for the colony if she were lost. In truth, I suspect she simply sees herself as performing her function for the family as well as she can, believing other parts of the colony need to be strengthened more than herself.
On that point, we disagree, and I�m not going to back down this time.
�For fighting, we already have me. I have a rare core already and soon, I�ll be prepared to evolve. I promise you that whatever battles threaten the family, I will stand forward and fight. There is no other ant in this colony who is close to matching me. What we need isn�t more battle potential, we need the strongest queen possible to act as our beacon of hope, our bastion of strength and to fuel our growth.�
My antennae wave passionately in the air as I try to convince the queen to go along with my idea. Why is it so hard to convince this particular monster to get stronger?
�Many times, you�ve been the last line of defence for us, and I suspect you will be again. In truth, giving you this core will increase our fighting potential the most, as well as increase the future growth prospects of the colony. You have to accept it. Even if all it does is relieve the nerves of the workers, none of us want to lose you, and it will give us comfort to see you as powerful as you can be,� I plead.
As my words run out, for the first time, I noticed that not only is the queen watching me in her careful way, but so are her guards, all of them facing me at rapt attention.
�He�s right, Mother,� one of them speaks up.
�It would be a boon to the colony,� another says.
�You must not fall,� a third chips in, standing directly on the queen�s head.
Gradually more workers speak until the chamber is filled with their voices, each of them urging the queen to accept the rare core to strengthen herself so she will not be lost. I�m shocked. It�s so rare for the workers to express themselves to the queen, even after they�ve gained the ability to speak. Her guards are like shadows, ever alert but never questioning her slightest decision. To see them speak out like this is unprecedented. Clearly, they think as I do. The queen has to be preserved, no matter the cost to the rest of the colony. Our mother will be protected.
The queen raises one antenna into the air and all scent cuts off in an instant.
�I will accept this core,� she says.
Her guards turn back to their task without comment. As if their display of loyalty and affection had been an illusion, the room return to what it had been but moments before.
�That�s great,� I sigh, relieved to my core.
Not willing to wait, I deposit the large core on the ground before the queen and step back.
�How long until you�ll be ready to evolve?� I ask out of curiosity.
It�s one thing to accept the core, it�s another to reach max Level and evolve. Until that point, all the core does was provide a little extra Mana, a little juice in the tank. It�s in boosting our evolutionary potential that the core really shines.
�I can evolve at any time,� the queen says dismissively as she reaches down to the core with her antennae, rolling it this way and that as she inspects it.
Wot!
�You can evolve
The queen waves one antenna to brush aside my concerns.
�You know I have not filled my mutations, child, the Biomass must go toward the growth of the colony. But yes, I reached my maximum Level not too long ago. The children saw to it that I have been supplied sufficient cores to reach my full potential. Something of a waste, but they were insistent,� she huffs.
Fantastic news! Good work, colony!
�In that case, I won�t keep you, Mother,� I say gleefully. �Accept the core and evolve straight away! No need to wait!�
�Thank you, child,� the queen says softly.
�You�re very welcome, Mother,� I respond with a tip of my antennae.
I retreat quietly out of the queen�s chamber and into my own quarters below where I find the twenty already waiting for me.
�Welcome back, eldest,� Victoriant, the budding queen to be, greets me.
At the scent of her voice, the others turn their antennae toward me, signalling that their attention is with me as I crawl down the wall and onto the floor in the centre of the chamber. There are a few soldiers present, I note, to keep the spawning monsters out of our carapace long enough for the council to take place.
�It�s good to be home,� I tell them as I settle in place, observing the first generation of my grand experiment. The twenty haven�t changed much in my absence. Perhaps a few mutations here and there, but none of them have taken the next step and reached evolution. I suppose they hadn�t wanted to hog resources that were needed to grow the population of the colony.
That�s something I can respect. The twenty did not use their seniority to benefit themselves. They thought only of the best for the colony as a whole. It�s the kind of unselfishness I�ve come to see as normal within the colony. The workers, the queen, every member, thinks only about contributing to the collective and not about empowering themselves.
I suppose, as the only true �non-ant� in the colony, I�m the sole
exception to that rule. It would be unlikely or improbable for any
Which is something I will have to consider in the future. We don�t have
the resources, and likely never will, to raise every ant in the colony
the same way I�ve raised my pets and invested in myself. Maximised cores
and Biomass, special cores absorbed to go beyond capacity and push the
evolutionary potential to the limit. It simply isn�t feasible when we�re
talking about two hundred individual monsters being born
My minimum standard will have to be enforced. Every worker will generate a core rather than evolve in a weakened, dead-end state, and each worker will be given the opportunity to reinforce their core before evolving. But I have to consider whether it would be beneficial to pick out individuals for exceptional reinforcement.
It fundamentally doesn�t seem fair to me, but I can�t discount the possibility. After all, I�m just one individual with more resources poured into them than average and I�d been able to change the destiny of the colony completely by changing our species. Who�s to say another, similarly resourced ant couldn�t do the same via incredible prowess in battle or magical research, or through crafting?
For now, I don�t intend to make any changes to my hatchling rearing policy, but I will have to continue to think on it if we survive this crisis.
�Scouting to the north was� interesting,� I open up.
I try to keep my tone light, but the twenty clearly detect something as each member�s antennae droop low at my words.
�Would you like to elaborate on �interesting,� eldest?� Wills the scout asks, almost visibly bracing for an impact.
�Look, I want to say up front that it wasn�t my fault!� I say defensively. �If anything, I did a good job as a scout by identifying a major threat!�
At my declaration of a major threat, the antennae droop even lower, almost touching the floor as I confirm their worst fears.
�How big is the threat?� Sloan the general enquires tiredly.
�Dinosaur sized?� I hazard. What sort of size scale are they working with for threat measurement?
There is some confusion rippling through the gathered ants and I realise they have no concept of what a dinosaur is or how large it would be.
�Okay. I was able to identify the nature of the destruction occurring to the north, as well as locate the source of the strange monster behaviour, and the raids that have been sent our way through the Dungeon.�
The twenty all perk up at these words. This is good stuff so far.
�The unfortunate part is that the creature responsible is a gigantic monster crocodile and she�s coming our way to stomp us out, along with the human village.�
And now they�re deflated once more.
�They�re also bringing a horde of thousands of monsters and a powerful mage lizard with its own sorcerous attendants.�
If the scout Burke sinks any lower, she�ll melt into the floor.
�What are our chances of avoiding the danger?� Frances the healer ant speaks up. �Is there a chance we can deflect this threat onto the human village or retreat into the Dungeon?�
I shake my antennae. �I don�t think so. The lizard is capable of scrying magic and probably knew we were here before I even left to scout. Now that they�re coming this way, I think they�ll work to hunt us down. Since they can control Dungeon monsters somehow, moving into the Dungeon would be too dangerous. Our best bet is to make a stand with the humans and try to fight them off.�
�That�s going to be difficult,� Brendant the soldier mutters. �We�re only just now beginning to ramp up our growth. Active hunting outside of Vibrant and her group only started two days ago. The queen has been laying at full capacity since then, but those workers will only be fully grown and ready for deployment in a week.�
�We have slightly less than a week to prepare,� I inform them. �They�re moving fairly slow and taking the long way around. I can�t be exactly sure why, but I clapped eyes on them myself before returning.�
�That�s something, at least,� Burke mutters and turns her eyes toward Wills, who nods and rushes out of the chamber.
I twitch an antennae, curious at the exchange. Burke fills me in. �Wills has gone to organise our scouting regiment. We�ll need trails laid farther to the north and eyes on the horde if we can get them.�
�Be careful,� I warn. �That magic lizard is no joke.�
�We�ll be careful,� she assures me.
Hmm. I suppose having as constant a flow of information as possible will be a great first step.
�We are going to have to fight this,� I declare to the council. �We can�t afford to wait until they get to us before we begin to inflict damage. We need to start chipping away at them as they advance. Does anyone have thoughts on how we can do this?�
The generals and soldiers flap their antennae for a moment as they consider their options before Leeroy speaks up.
�I suggest I lead an advanced unit to��
�Rejected,� I say.
�You didn�t let me finish!� the offended soldier replies.
�Alright then, go ahead,� I sigh.
�As I was saying. I lead an advance unit to engage the enemy and die in glorious battle, sacrificing ourselves to buy more time for the colony to prepare. My very guts will rise up to entangle the foe!�
THWACK!
I slap down on the ant�s head in retribution for the nonsense she�d spewed.
Dammit Leeroy� Get some sense in your head!
�Any
Tungstant uses one leg to rub her mandibles. �We should limit ourselves to the �hit and run� tactics the eldest taught us during training. It should be feasible to attack using tunnels, pitfalls and prebuilt defence networks that we can abandon and flee. Cobalt and I have cooked up a few ideas in that direction already.�
�Do we have any ants that can do damage from long-range?� I ask. All of the workers were born with acid glands, just as I was, but the range isn�t exactly stellar.
�The scouts have a dedicated group with range and damage mutations on their acid glands,� Burke says. �We�re experimenting with ways that scouts can contribute to pitched battle, and using them as an artillery battery in open areas is one of the concepts we�re developing. We�re soldiers, after all.�
It is true and easy to forget. The scouts are one of three offshoots of the baseline soldier variant and are therefore beefier than all of the other castes. It would be a mistake to think of them as anything other than a battle asset alongside being a scouting force.
�Fantastic. What else can we get done?�
�With your permission, eldest, I will leave the council and begin to organise a workforce to prepare our initial fortifications,� Tungstant says.
I wave an antenna in approval, and the small, dextrous ant climbs up the wall and out the roof of the chamber.
�Alright then. Pitfall traps, tunnels to attack, I like all of these ideas. What else have we got? How is our magic firepower coming along?� I ask.
The two mages in the room, Propellant and Coolant, shift on their feet
as they become the centre of attention for the council. The mage caste
hasn�t had a lot of time to build up their raw magic-handling Skills,
and are without the benefit of my own extensive spending on brain power
when it came to evolutions. Having said that, they�re no slouches in the
brain game and were able to choose their own elemental gland on
evolution. So there has to be
�The number of mage ants we have to work with is still limited,� Coolant hedges.
There are over a thousand ants in the colony at this time, there are like a hundred new ants being born every day. How few mages could there be?
�How many are we talking about?� I ask.
�Five,� Coolant said flatly.
�Five!� I sputter.
�Oh, seven including Coolant and I,� Propellant offers helpfully.
Holy moly.
�Why do we have so few mages? When fighting against a huge horde,
I can see it in my mind�s eye already. Tunnel entrances falling in to reveal teams of mage ants who blast the front ranks of the horde with deadly fire, torching dozens of monsters with flamethrower-like magic before retreating through the tunnels which collapse behind them, leaving decimated and crispy ranks of enemies in their wake.
A few members of the council shift uncomfortably. �We�ve had most of the hatchlings move into the soldier caste recently,� Antionette informs me. �Large numbers of scouts and soldiers have been born. Our more specialised castes have had slower recruitment rates.�
Slower I could understand, but
�Coolant and I have been doing our best to map out the Skill paths from scratch and explore methods to raise up the future generations of mage ants,� Propellant tells me ruefully. �We didn�t anticipate a need for a large number of mages at this stage and wanted to take more time with our preparation.�
Makes sense. Still, I would have loved to have more mages to clear away large amounts of weak enemies. There may be a use for the mages we have, of course, but there is a lot that can be said for quantity.
As they say: Quantity is a quality all of its own. That�s practically the ant�s motto.
�Ok then. We have two main objectives, we need to whittle down the horde that�s coming our way, I need to help with that so I can reach my second objective, which is to Level up so I can evolve.�
�You�re close to your next evolution, eldest?� Victoriant asks, sounding oddly excited.
�I am,� I affirm with a dip of my antennae. �I only need six more Levels. If we�re going to battle against creatures as strong as those coming our way, we�re going to need every little advantage we can get.�
�I agree,� Sloan the general pipes up. �We may have the ability to chip away at the number of weaker monsters, but tackling anything stronger is going to be beyond us for a time. If the eldest can evolve, then that task will be in capable hands.�
You just wanted to dump all of the hard work onto me, didn�t you? She�s technically correct, but that doesn�t serve to soothe my irritation.
�I think we can agree that we don�t need to prioritise food gathering or egg laying to a high extent in leading up to this crisis?� I ask the gathered council. �If we don�t survive the upcoming battle, then the colony will cease to exist.�
�We shouldn�t shut down food gathering entirely, surely?� protests Florence, the up-to-this-point-silent Brood Tender. �Without food the larvae will starve.�
�I don�t think anyone is suggesting we cease food gathering operations completely,� Sloan assures her. �But rather that we divert a significant portion of the soldiers currently acting to gather food to prepare for the defence.�
Somewhat mollified, Florence settles back, though she and her fellow Brood Tender are clearly not happy. I understand it, less food coming in means less brood. What else is a Brood Tender going to do?
�We also need to keep enough senior workers here to ensure that the hatchling training program continues to run unabated. Each new hatchling deserves the best possible start we can give them, don�t forget that!�
I eyeball each of them at the same time, something you can only do with extensively upgraded compound eyes, one of the benefits of being an insect monster.
They nod in agreement, more to appease me than anything else. My insistence on equal treatment for the hatchlings still makes little sense to them, I suspect. Thankfully, by virtue of being old, they have to listen to me. Hooray for strict respect for the elders!
�You won�t be ready to move out for a few hours, will you, senior?� Sloan asks.
�That�s right. Crinis needs to evolve, and we all need some rest. We�ve been pretty flat out for the last few days, and I suspect it�s going to be hectic for a week or so after this.�
�Right,� Sloan agrees. �I propose we send out a large-scale hunting party immediately. We could stockpile enough Biomass that egg production doesn�t noticeably suffer over the next few days. The worker and artisan castes can devote their attention to the brood and constructing the initial defences whilst the soldier caste hunts. Once the eldest has rested sufficiently, they can join the digging teams on the frontlines and begin to harass the enemy.�
The rest of the council nods in agreement. This does seem like a reasonable proposal.
�I�ll need a favour, though�� I speak reluctantly. �Can someone get a hold of Vibrant and tell her I need some Biomass hunted for my own personal consumption? I want to finish my mutations before I evolve, and I need a ton of Biomass to do it.�
Taking resources from the colony at a time like this feels bad, but deep down, I know it�s necessary. In my mind, the hulking figure of Garralosh, her incredible mass and the overwhelming aura she emitted, are weighing on me. Even after evolving, there�s little chance I�ll have any hope of matching up against her. I need to make sure I do everything possible to increase my strength before she arrives.
Advant tips her antennae. �I�ll be able to take care of that. Vibrant has been hunting in the Dungeon actively with her squad. It�s thanks to her efforts the egg production rate has increased as quickly as it has. I�m sure she�ll be able to provide the Biomass you need in no time.�
�That�s great,� I say, relieved of a burden. I really didn�t want to have to go hunting for that Biomass. I simply don�t have the time. �I think we have the first stage of our plan in place. I�ll leave the details to you to work out. Can some soldiers stay down here so we can rest without being attacked? We can�t waste time sleeping in shifts.�
The soldiers nod and the council gives me a friendly wave as they disperse to their undoubted mountain of tasks that need to be organised. They�re better at taking care of that kind of stuff than me. I have my own responsibilities to look to.
[Ready to evolve, Crinis?]
[Yes, Master!]
With the main bulk of the planning done, it�s time to get my group rested and ready to head back out into the fray. Not long after the council breaks up, Tiny stumbles into our chamber, only to flop onto the floor and return to sleep, absorbing the Mana of the Dungeon to restore his exhausted core.
Speaking of cores, it�s time to help Crinis evolve! Only her second evolution since she�s been reforged as my loyal pet, and unlike the last evolution, this one will be less of my design. I hadn�t had the Skill to affect her evolutions to such a deep extent at the time, so there�s an opportunity for Crinis to take a more direct hand in her own evolution without my guiding influence.
Naturally, this means the System will weave the general shape of her choices, and there�s a chance some of them will be hot garbage. Fortunately, if that were to happen, Crinis could ask me to dive into her core and sort out some options for her.
[Are you ready for this, Crinis?]
The little ball wiggles indecisively on the floor, small tentacles extending this way and that until eventually her form solidifies.
[I-I think so, Master.]
I pass her a freshly made special core to absorb.
[You�re doing great. Remember, if the evolution options are terrible, let me know and we can work on developing something a little more concrete that suits what you want.]
The little blob-like ball nods somehow and firms up further as Crinis gains confidence.
[I know. I feel it�ll go well,] she declares.
My loyal and ever diligent sphere of endless murder and torment has come a long way in being able to take responsibility for making her own choices. It wasn�t that long ago she�d been paralysed by fear just thinking of spending her Skill Points. Now here she is, preparing to make her own decisions in her evolution.
I�m happy she�s shown such growth. She�s been working hard to improve herself.
[Wait a second. You aren�t trying so hard because you think that�s what I want, are you?] Again, with the still as stone silence� [Oi! Don�t pretend you�re already in the evolution menu!]
[Can�t hear you, Master. Evolving,] Crinis� voice echoes faintly in my mind.
Such a dirty trick!
At least she�s working on being independent, even if it�s for the wrong reasons. Personal growth! The journey we�re all on as we slaughter monsters together! As I leave Crinis to sort through her menu, my eyes fall onto Tiny.
A little personal growth would be nice for the big guy. He was a battle hungry nut case when I reconstituted his core, and he�s still that same battle hungry nut case. At least he knows what it is that he wants from life, I suppose.
For now, some rest is in order. After everything that�s gone on since my last snooze, I think I�ve earned it.
As I fall into the dark fuzz that is torpor, the ever-nearing threat that is Garralosh, her lizard handler and the horde that accompanies them weighs on my awareness. I have to believe that the family I�ve found in this new world will be able to weather the storm. I�ll do everything in my power to get us all through it�
HAGGAH!
I�m up!
Ahh! Feels so nice to have had a good rest in my own little chamber. It may not have been home for long, but it�s more home than anywhere else on this world.
Tiny is still asleep, and Crinis appears to be deep in her Meditation. I can already see her little spherical body beginning to change in subtle ways. I�ll be interested to see what the final result is!
First things first! Sitting in one corner of the chamber is a pile of Biomass, and when I approach it, I find a pheromone message from the most hyperactive ant of them all.
�Hi-Hi, senior. Long-time no see! Hope things have been well with you. It�s been busy here! This is the second load of food I brought in, since Tiny woke up and ate the first lot. Enjoy! ^_^�
Figures that Tiny would chow down on my food. Thank goodness Vibrant was able to rustle up a second serving. This may not be enough to give me all of the Biomass I need. In fact, I�m sure it won�t. The quality isn�t enough for me to be able to get those kinds of numbers before I fill up my two stomachs.
Without waiting any longer, I begin stuffing my face.
Om. Nom. Nom!
By the time I finish another forty points of Biomass is accredited to my name, I notice Crinis shifting in the corner. I abandon my meal and leap over to her resting position, bringing my antennae forward to poke and prod at her in concern.
[Crinis! You awake? Everything ok?]
The changes to her outer physical form are fairly minimal. She�s grown slightly larger, for starters, from a softball size to a� slightly larger softball. She�s grown ten small, permanent tentacles that curve downward from her body to the floor, lifting it up and allowing her to walk around without having to will any limbs into existence by manipulating her shadow flesh.
I gradually feel her awareness come to me.
[Master?] she queries sleepily. [I�ve done it. Check and see.]
What a cute little pet she is, so dedicated.
Eagerly, I bring my antennae forward and activate my Core Surgery Skill. The information from her core floods into my mind, and after parsing it, I put together her status:
Name: Crinis
Level: 1 (core)(III)
Might: 78
Toughness: 65
Cunning: 34
Will: 32
HP: 130/130
MP: 70/70
Skills: Expert Shadow Flesh Manipulation Level 4 (III); Expert Grappling Level 6 (III); Expert Shredding Level 8 (III); Enhanced Tremor Sensing Level 8 (II); Brutal Dismembering Level 5 (II); Greater Fear Inspiration Level 4 (II); Mana Transformation Level 2 (III); Smooth Tentacle Walking Level 7 (II); Tentacle Fu Level 3 (I); External Mana Manipulation Level 3 (I); Shadow Magic Affinity Level 1 (I); Stealth Level 3 (I)
Mutations: Dense Durable Shadow Flesh +10; Rapid Disintegrating Void Maw +10; Vast Bottomless Dimensional Stomach +10; Empowered Dividing Tentacles +10; Sharpened Ripping Spines +10; Pointed Macabre Teeth +10; Wide Fine Mana Sensory Gland +10; Rapid Deep Shadow Magic Gland +10; Extra Swift Shadow Flesh Generator +10; Shadow Eye; Tentacle Conductor
Species: Shadow Murder Orb
Skill Points: 17
Biomass: 210
Oho! There�s some good stuff here! In the Skills department, she�s clearly been making great strides. Already reaching Mana Transformation. She must have been practising diligently whilst riding on my back to achieve the tier three Skill so quickly. And she got Shadow Magic Affinity right off the bat! I�m so jealous. Not to mention she�s reached a solid level of Cunning already� and the rest of her stats are so high as well. Dammit! I feel so inadequate� This is mainly due to her having far higher base stats before her first evolution. Poor ants. We have it so rough in the that department.
I can only hope my next evolution will be able to push me over the edge and I can start reaping some high stat gain.
Also seems as if Crinis has gone for a balanced approach, improving in every stat. Her mental stats being concentrated in one mind means that her brain must be incredibly powerful. Far stronger than my own since my efforts are distributed across three brains. With her Shadow Magic Affinity, the full potential of her Shadow Magic Gland has been unlocked and her high mental stats mean she has the grunt to get the job done.
Her might stat is still decent without being overwhelming. She�ll continue to be able to battle multiple smaller foes with impunity and will be stronger against the heavier hitters. I think that�s why I see an emphasis on Stealth. Crinis seems to have been thinking about her own method of contribution to fighting tougher monsters, and she�s reached her answer with her new organs.
The Shadow Eye� I�m curious about this one.
Curious about Crinis� new Shadow Eye, I dive deeper into the information hidden within her core, laid bare before my Core Surgery Skill. Ah, interesting. It�s a dense block of information and a powerful organ. If anything, I�d think the majority of her evolutionary energy was spent on this.
From what I can gather, the Shadow Eye is a special type of sensory
organ. It doesn�t help her to �see� per se, not like human eyes, it
allows her to extend her vision�her awareness�
The other new organ she gained is also interesting. This is Crinis� solution to the problem of divided attention. I resolved this issue by adding a number of brains to allow me to think about multiple things at once. She�s taken a slightly different path. Much like how an octopus has neural connections for each tentacle, Crinis� new organ, the Tentacle Conductor, effectively acts as nerve endings for up to eight tentacles, able to move and act independently of her main mind. Eight may not seem like enough considering the kind of numbers she can manifest, but with mutation advances, I�m certain she�ll be able to push the boundary higher.
Interesting! All in all, she�s done an excellent job.
[Well, Crinis, it looks as if your evolution has been very successful!] I praise, freezing my antennae at the last moment so I don�t pet her. If I overpraise her, she might freeze up and I can�t afford the time. As it is, she�s already quivering a little bit, like a blob of jelly I�ve poked.
Crinis collects herself, lifting her body up on her new permanent tentacles and skittering left and right a little to get used to them.
[Thank you, Master,] she replies warmly. [I spent a great deal of time thinking about how I was going to evolve.]
[I took a good look at your Shadow Eye, but I�m not quite sure how it�s going to work. I assume it has something to do with your Shadow Magic Affinity?]
The slightly larger blob nods.
[That�s right. I�ll show you.]
The squishy orb of death grows still, and I notice that the shadow
beneath her body grew noticeably darker until it�s pitch-black. Then,
Crinis deliberately extends a tentacle
I boggle at the sight of her tentacle extending into solid stone. What is this? Some sort of shadow gate?
Something tickles the bottom of my carapace and I leap high into the air.
[Wazzat!] I cry.
Crinis
[Oh, that is sweet!] I yell as Crinis withdraws her tentacle back through the connected shadows and into her body.
[I can�t move my main body through,] she said, checking my enthusiasm. [The Shadow Eye allows me to extend my senses through the shadows after I�ve connected them.]
Oh snap! She could spy on people or extend her tentacles to attack things through a shadow that is in a separate room than she is! The possibilities are almost endless.
[How far can a shadow be before you can�t connect it?] I ask.
[I can�t be certain yet, but it feels like my range is around twenty metres so long as I can detect the target shadow through my Mana Sense, much shorter if I can�t.]
I nod, stroking my chin with an antenna. [Train hard, Crinis. This new ability will be extremely powerful when Levelled up.]
[I will, Master,] Crinis acknowledges, already sounding pumped for the challenge.
So diligent.
Crinis, with her shiny new evolution toys to play with, waddles onto my back with her short tentacles and settles into position, no doubt already practising her Skills. I�m somewhat jealous, having successfully completed her evolution. With my own dance with body changing looming on the horizon, the anticipation and anxiety are continuing to build apace.
It�s a strange thing, changing your body in such a dramatic way. Also invigorating, the sense of growth and strength you feel is incredible. At the same time, there is a tinge of fear from stepping into the unknown.
Gah! Thinking about that sort of stuff is just going to hurt my head. Time to move on to what I need to be doing in the here and now: mutations.
I�ve achieved the dream of full +15, and now the time has come to surge down the path to +20! I�m evolving at full mutations this time and no giant croc is going to stop me! I may need Vibrant to hunt for me in order to get there, but it is what it is.
Alright then, I�m excited for this. Let�s take a look!
My body is a clean slate, essentially. I�m +15 across the board, except for my stomach, which is sitting nice and fully mutated already. I can pick any body part to start with, but it makes sense to start with the big-ticket items. Carapace and mandibles are the obvious choices to start with. After that, I think I�ll do eyes, just for old time�s sake.
[Do you wish to improve your True Diamond Carapace to +20? This will cost 90 Biomass.]
[Do you wish to improve your Empowered Mandibles to +20? This will cost 90 Biomass.]
[Do you wish to improve your Perimeter Eyes to +20? This will cost 90 Biomass.]
Two-seventy. Just like that. It�ll be worth it, though!
I dive straight into the carapace menu, knowing exactly what I�m looking for. I�ve picked the same thing at every turn so far, and I sure as heck am not going to change course now! Diamonds! MOAR diamonds! I hunt down the selection I want and eagerly lock it in. I can�t wait to see how thick and complete my gloriously shiny coverage will become with this next upgrade.
As for mandibles, I have more things to consider. The savage and Mana infusion mutations have both served a valuable purpose. If I had to say which of the two I�m more interested in carrying forward, though� I would have to say the infusion takes the cake. The flexibility and power provided by this option is too good to pass up. Considering I have a nice strong Mana supply, it makes sense to put it to use in as many ways as I can.
I idly consider picking up a brand-new mutation but put those thoughts to the side before long. I�d rather strengthen something I already have rather than add on another, brand-new mutation. I find the option to increase my capacity to infuse Mana to my mandibles and lock it in.
Now for the eyeballs. The ol� seeing spheres. The domes of ocular domination. We�ve come a long way, my eyes and I. Ah, I remember the days when my vision was so poor, I could barely make out the rocks right in front of my face.
It sucked! I�m so glad I made it a priority to mutate my eyes to the point where I could actually move around reliably without tripping into the open jaws of a monster.
So far, I�ve been trying to make the best out of my compound eyes by having groups of lenses act together to create segments of clearer vision. Increasing the clarity of each individual lens has meant that I have a decent mix of both worlds, sections with good focus, and decent all-around vision.
I think what I want to do this time, is continue to improve all of the
lenses. This will help my peripheral vision
[Would you like to improve:
True Diamond Carapace +15 to Hardened True Diamond Carapace +20?
Empowered Mandibles +15 to Bright Empowered Mandibles +20?
Perimeter Eyes +15 to Heightened Perimeter Eyes +20?]
I do!
GACK!
It takes some time for the itching to pass, as it always does. When I finally regain full control of my body, I pick myself up, dust myself off, clean my antennae, and attempt to move as if nothing had happened.
The soldiers keeping an eye on the room pointedly don�t look at me as I climb the wall and move up into the queen�s chamber. Things continue to operate in here as they always did. A cloud of buzzing workers rush here and there whilst the ever-patient queen stands still and unmoving amidst the chaos.
She�s not evolved.
�I will evolve in good time, child,� the queen remonstrates before I�ve even begun to speak, predicting my question with ease.
�What�s the hold up?� I ask piteously. �Most ants are happy to have the chance to evolve and dive straight in.�
Perhaps I�m being a touch selfish. I�d really wanted to see what shape her evolution would take.
The queen�s eyes are like pools without a single ripple, looking straight at me. �This decision is more important than most, and due to your� gift,� she gestures to the rare core, �I have many options to ponder. I am seeking the correct frame of mind and trying to determine the right path forward, for myself and for the colony.�
Slow and steady wins the race, eh? Not an attitude I was super familiar with, but I can recognise the wisdom in it. She�s right in the sense that for most ants, their evolution doesn�t weigh on the fate of the colony in quite the same way that the queen�s does. She�s the central figure in this family that the rest of the colony turns around, like some sort of caring, soothing hub.
Not to mention she�s the most powerful individual in the colony, with the possible exception of myself. If she�s ready to evolve, with a rare core to boot, just what will she be capable of when she�s finished? What sort of juicy options will she unlock? What kind of potent glands are available to someone with that sort of evolutionary energy at their claw tips?
I sighed.
I�ll have to wait to find out. The queen is taking this situation very seriously. As well she should.
�Did any of the twenty tell you about what�s happening topside?� I ask, somewhat apprehensively.
I hadn�t wanted to go into too much detail when I first came in. I�d been getting thwacked just on the basis of the rare core. Who knows if I�d still have a shiny, unbroken exo-skeleton on my head.
�That was not a mess of your making, child,� she tells me. �You have assisted the family by bringing news of this threat back to us.�
I can tell by the twinkle in the queen�s eye that she has seen through my scheme to try and avoid recriminations. She�s kind enough to make it clear that in this case, she feels I don�t deserve them.
�Thanks, Mother,� I chuckle.
THWACK!
Oooo� The �unexpected, tender moment� thwack!
She got me that time�
�Try not to keep such critical details to yourself after asking me to do something as important as evolving, child,� Mother admonishes me. �I need to know in order to make the best decision for the colony.�
I rub my sore head and nod. That was fair, I deserved that. In pushing her to evolve and then keeping the details of the crisis that was approaching the colony, I�d put my own fear of getting thwacked ahead of the interests of the colony. A selfish thing to do.
I�ll have to get rid of that habit if I�m to avoid disappointing my family.
I move to slink out of the queen�s chamber with what remains of my dignity and the queen�s voice sounds out behind me.
�Good luck, child. We are counting on your success.�
At her words, an unforeseen emotion wells up inside me and I double my pace, unable to respond to the surging feeling. I flee from it.
I didn�t know what to say, how to express it. I�m not used to being
counted on like this. I�m not used to being
My family in my past life, if they even deserved the word �family,� never gave me this. They�d never accepted me as I�ve been accepted here. Had certainly never involved and trusted me.
I don�t like to dwell on my past life. I felt back then as I feel now, that plenty of people had it worse than me. But it feels a little crazy that I had to be reborn as a monstrous ant to finally be able to feel this sensation of� belonging.
GAH!
I can�t handle these emotions! I need to channel them into something constructive. Like slaying my enemies and feasting on their Biomass. New Crinis has tagged along for the ride, her little tentacles clinging onto my back as I move up the walls.
[Hurry up, Tiny!] I call down to the big ape, shaking him out of his slumber.
He�d been slowly rousing when I�ve left the chamber, but I�d run out of patience with him. Eating, sleeping and fighting are all he�s bothered about.
[We�re going to fight stuff, by the way,] I shout.
[Ooo!] Within moments, the giant ape is scrambling up the tunnels, his thick fingers clinging to holds in the walls as he climbs.
It�s time to go pay a visit to the village and head to the front lines. We need to chip away at the horde and we need to start as soon as possible!
Filled with energy and a surging sense of purpose, I launch myself out of the colony and into the open air of Pangera, my new world. Crinis, Tiny and I move with deliberate haste and make our way toward the village. Before we move to the front line and engage ourselves with the activities of the colony, I want to take a moment to check in on the village.
I wonder how the people are holding together with the threat of horrific death and doom weighing on their minds. The colony has been fine. The ants are a calm bunch when you get down to it. They really only respond with powerful emotion when defending or serving the colony. The threat of death doesn�t weigh particularly on their minds at all.
Scratch that. The threat of death is something of an attraction to most. Thinking of Leeroy, I can�t help but wince. That moron is only a particularly zealous example of the flagrant disregard the ants have for their own safety, but she represents an attitude that is still prevalent within the workers. Despite my attempts to stamp it out.
There isn�t a single one of them who wouldn�t happily throw themselves into the jaws of an enemy if they thought it would benefit the colony in some way. The only thing holding them back is my directions to the contrary.
The people of the village don�t have that kind of dedication. I�d be very surprised if they did. It would be rather� disturbing.
Hopefully they aren�t panicking too much. Enid runs a tight ship over there and I�m sure Morrelia, upon her return, will be able to inject some steel into the backs of the people. I can�t imagine her tolerating even the slightest sign of hesitation.
When we arrive, I�m somewhat surprised to see that my expectations of panic and fear have failed to manifest. In fact, the villagers appear to be calm, determined and focused. There is a heck of a lot of activity, to be sure, along with a quiet determination that lends itself to a feeling of control in the air.
Children are running here and there, carrying equipment, building materials, passing messages, whilst the adults are engaged in all sorts of labour. The smithy has been finished. Men and women ply their trade inside, their faces lit from beneath by the warm glow of the heated metal they�re pounding into shape, making nails, swords, and I think I can spy an axe.
In another newly erected building are what appear to be bowyers at work. Their hands carving away at staves with long smooth motions, whittling the wood down into the curved wooden bows I�ve seen in the hands of Morrelia�s team. I can only suppose that those are the predominant bow type in use in the area. Then there are the people drilling and practising, which seems to be about the entire adult population of the village not currently engaged in gathering food or making weapons of war.
In pockets all over the village, almost a small town now, villagers who I assume are the more learned and skilled amongst them are leading groups through drills and basic sparring practice using crude training weapons. The villagers, far from shying away from the martial Skills they�re learning, express only fierce determination and focus.
Moving from group to group, there�s a new face, a somewhat rough-looking man I�d place somewhere in his twenties. Every time he comes to a new team, he pauses to correct people�s form and bark out some advice before moving onto the next.
These people are giving me seriously intense vibes. They have no chill!
With Crinis on my back and Tiny at my side, I make a conspicuous sight. It isn�t long before villagers spot me. A ripple passes through the crowded town centre as they nudge their neighbours. Many a finger is raised in my direction, and it isn�t long before the entire village has come to a standstill.
Sigh.
May as well get this over with. I�d kind of hoped the obsession the people here have with me would blow over with time. But thanks to the unending efforts of Beyn and the members of his village, it seems to be getting worse.
As I move, I can see it all happening. The whispering, the pointing, the gazes filled with reverence. The men and women of the village look as if they�re looking at a sturdy mountain that shelters them from the howling wind or a great tree that protects from the lashing rain.
Hang on a sec.
Are they so confident facing this crisis, because they think
Disgruntled and somewhat awkward, I make my way to the centre of the village and wait for Enid to show herself. Usually, as soon as I turn up, they send someone running to fetch her. In a less optimal scenario, they fetch Beyn.
I tolerate the muttering and ardent stares, my antennae twitching this way and that until I decide to start cleaning them, just to give myself something to do. The moment I lift my front leg, the crowd who�d been quietly gathering around me in a loose circle gasp as one and leap back, freezing my heart in my thorax.
Don�t freak me out like that, people! I�m just trying to keep clean.
Fortunately, it isn�t long before I spy Enid rushing through the crowd, which parts to allow her through.
[Hi there, Enid,] I greet once I�ve established the Mind Bridge. [How�ve things been over here?]
Enid scowls at my light tone. [An unending horde of monsters are about
to descend on our heads, led by a vicious Ka�armodo sorcerer, and
anchored around a centuries-old monster legendary for its viciousness. I
hardly think this is the time for
[When you put it like that� it does take the light out of the situation.]
Enid sighs, as if the weight of the world were pressing down on her shoulders.
[Sorry, I feel as if I haven�t slept in weeks,] she apologises. [To think I�d be having to work this hard in my old age. My bones are aching, I tell you, and there�s still so much to do.]
[Not a problem,] I excuse her. [Things have been a bit hectic over the last while, there�s no doubt about that.] I cast my eyes about. [I don�t see any sign of Morrelia. Has she taken people into the Dungeon?]
[She�s been running people to and from the Dungeon ever since she got back. I don�t think she intends to stop until the horde arrives. I can understand it. Every level counts at this point. Though I do worry she�s pushing herself too hard.]
[Tell her I think she should take a break at some point,] I advise.
Enid cast me an amused and curious look. [You think she�ll listen to you?]
[She might.] I shrug my antennae. [Another hand on the scales might push her hard enough that she gets some rest.]
Enid nods slowly before diverting the conversation. [There�s been a great deal of activity seen at the colony. So many ants have left the nest.]
There seems to be some sort of undertone to what she said, but I can�t read it for the life of me.
[We�ve been sending out an advance party. We intend to whittle down the numbers of the horde as much as possible before they arrive. I�ll be heading out there myself shortly.]
Relief sweeps over Enid�s face, only to be swiftly followed by concern. [Will you be safe out there? Don�t underestimate the Ka�armodo. They are ancient and cunning beyond measure.]
That piques my curiosity.
[You�ve had dealings with them before?]
[Yes. When my merchant enterprise was at its peak, I dealt with one of their mage conclaves as an import-export agent for them in Liria.]
[Any advice?] I ask hopefully.
Concern creases the old woman�s forehead. [Just don�t underestimate them. They�re smart as whips and bite twice as deep.]
It takes a good bit of travel before we�re able to reach the first staging area on the path between the nest and the anticipated direction of the horde. A steady stream of workers run back and forth in long lines, bringing information back to the nest or returning for designated rest periods.
I find it curious that even with their enhanced senses and intelligence, which removes the necessity for the ants to move directly on top of a trail like regular ants on Earth would, they still choose to do so. The result being that I�m treated to the sight of hundreds of ants the size of large dogs hustling about in long trails, one after the other.
The main difference between this and looking at an ant trail back on Earth, other than the size of course, is that I can hear the chatter between the workers.
�Keep it up! Run hard!�
�We�ve got this! Push, push, push!�
�So much work to do, no time to slow down now!�
�Lift those claws! Don�t forget you have six legs, not two like a human. That means three times the work!�
�Work hard for the colony!�
�FOR THE COLONY!�
One advantage of not having to breathe in order to talk I suppose. No matter how fast they run or how tired they are, they can continuously talk. It�s interesting to hear them pump each other up and encourage one another. To the point I�m not sure if I�m listening to monstrous ants or a spin class at a gym.
I�ve no doubt that if Vibrant were here, she�d be enthusiastically shouting and cheering the workers on to glorious deeds and greater efforts. I�m looking forward to catching up with Vibrant when she makes her way to the front lines. From what I understand, she decided to remain behind with her dedicated followers in order to make a push toward meeting the colony�s food requirements before she left the nest to join us up here.
I have a suspicion that the food quota is going to get hit a lot faster than anyone anticipated. With Vibrant fired up for the job, it�s going to get done at light speed, which can only be a good thing. The faster it�s done, the sooner those soldiers can get to the front and help with our campaign. If things go like I think they will, the production of eggs may not slow down much at all during this crisis. Which will put us in a better spot if we actually manage to pull through.
My pets and I reach the staging area where the leadership of the raiding force has been gathering. More concrete plans are being drawn up, scouts are being sent out, and preliminary ambush preparations are being made. It isn�t much to look at, though. When I arrived, I would have missed it had I not been following a scent trail.
The workers had dug a mini nest, but in the interest of concealing it as much as possible, they�d spread the loose dirt around and carried the excess away from the site itself. A large hole in the ground is the only sign anything is here at all. Only one metre across, it�s too small for Tiny and a little squeezy for me.
I leave Tiny and Crinis topside and plunge vertically into the tunnel. The relative calm of the surface gives way to a flurry of activity as workers climb all over each other in their rush to complete their tasks. Expanding the size of the nest, excavating side tunnels and digging out secret entrances so they might enter and leave without being spotted.
The crush is a little claustrophobic for me. I don�t have a proper ant mentality about things like personal space, so having ant and dirt constantly shoved in my face makes moving around a little disorienting. Even so, I try to follow the scent trails to the �planning room.�
By the time I make it through, I�m quite rattled and extremely grateful to enter a chamber that contains a little free air and only a couple of ants.
�Welcome, eldest,� Victor the general greets me. �It�s good to see you made it to the front in time for the first ambush.�
That gets my attention. �We�re ready for an ambush already? Do we even have eyes on the horde?�
Victor shakes her head. �Our fastest scouts have been sent to locate the horde, but they�re yet to return. We expect them to make contact tomorrow and then make their way back. Of course, that�s conditional on the horde travelling on the stone trail you described to us.�
�Road, Victor. It�s called a road.�
She waves her antennae dismissively. �A strange human convention, it matters not. We have dispatched workers to scout and prepare the ground ahead. Come and look.�
Victor pulls me over to a corner where I can dimly see a flat raised area has been prepared, the surface of which is carved into a semblance of terrain. There are roads, surprisingly detailed buildings to represent what I think are towns. Midum is there, as well as the human village, and I believe a rounded hill to represent the main nest of the colony. That would make this hole pushed into the soil over here the forward base we currently occupy.
�This is weirdly well done, Victor. Did you get some sort of Skill for this?� I ask, puzzled.
The general nods. �Sloan and I both thought it would be important for us
to have a way to visualise positional information and terrain. After
clacking our mandibles together, we came up with this!� She gestures
toward her elaborate map proudly. �We had to buy a few Skills to make it
work,
Huh. Interesting. Essentially a carving type Skill to be able to shape the dirt into the forms they wanted, which helps explain the high level of detail in the dirt shapes. Mental Visualisation I suppose assists them in forming a picture in their minds of what they know, enabling them to craft these little war maps. Clever stuff.
�Very handy! These kinds of maps are going to be super useful in planning our strategy. Good work, Victor.�
She wiggles her antennae, pleased her efforts have been valued. I�m guessing that some of the other ants had possibly doubted the value of this avenue of development. As a former human, I know it�s going to pay off.
I�m glad I made the generals a direct evolution from the soldier caste. We aren�t going to need a whole lot of them, certainly not in the planning area, but Sloan and Victor have proven that having some soldiers with a decent head on their shoulders to lead the way is a wise decision. I did worry at times that the soldiers, having the lowest Cunning stat of any caste, would struggle to properly perform their duties, but with the generals sprinkled into the mix, helping to keep them on the right track, they�ve been performing well.
Which is just as well, since they�re going to get a serious test soon.
�I�ve got a few things that we can add to your map, Victor. Then I�d better get myself to the front lines. I�ll be a heap more useful up there helping to dig rather than sitting here twiddling my claws.�
I huddle beneath the earth with my brethren. The narrow tunnel is claustrophobic to say the least. The ceiling hangs low and knowing just how thin it is doesn�t help my space issues. My digging Skill conveys to me the awareness that the tunnel is structurally sound, but for some reason, it doesn�t help.
Perhaps I�m just nervous about the upcoming ambush, and that nervousness is looking for an outlet. The scouts on either side of me don�t appear nervous in the slightest. Calm and composed, they�re rock-still awaiting the signal to begin.
It�s taken two days of solid effort to prepare for the first ambush. We had to run hard to get out here, only to find that the workers who�d been sent ahead had already been hard at work for hours, and their progress was staggering.
We assumed the horde would continue to follow the road south, and with that thought, the generals planned for the first ambush to take place as far from the home nest as possible, whilst still allowing the workforce time to prepare the ground. The ants had been especially motivated. My siblings had torn into the digging work with such zeal that, by the time my pets and I arrived, the ground was already littered with pitfalls.
The workers and soldiers got to work on the forest nearby, taking branches and cutting down trees away from the sight of the road and cutting them into stakes using their razor-sharp mandibles. They then took them to the pitfalls and buried them in the bottom.
Others had been busy tunnelling out our ambush avenues. The area had looked feverish with activity. Ants running all over the place and dirt flying into the air in dozens of places at once. It had been such a mess, I genuinely thought there was no chance we�d manage to get everything prepared and cleaned up before the horde arrived.
I was a fool to doubt my siblings. Before I�d taken my place here inside the tunnel, I�d been able to cast my eye over a spotless stretch of cobbled road and idyllic forest. No sign of the dozens of spiked traps or murderous ants hiding above and below the ground.
�Begin charge,� comes a whispered message from behind me, and I immediately commence focusing my three minds on my Gravitational Mana Gland.
I�m hoping that Garralosh and the Ka�armodo lizard won�t be able to sense the build-up of Mana if I�m concealed beneath the soil. It is for that reason I�m positioned several metres back from the covered entrance of our tunnel, in an attempt to place a good chunk of dirt between the enemy and me as the Gravity Bomb takes shape.
Claws crossed, it works.
I pull my Mana out at a steady pace. I�m not worried about depleting my core since the colony has extended a tunnel from the closest Dungeon entrance toward the forward HQ. It isn�t much, but it�s enough that Tiny, Crinis and I were able to top up after our trek to the north.
The Gravity Bomb grows dense as time passes and I continue to feed Mana into it at a steady pace.
�No change, continue charge,� comes another message.
No change in behaviour from the horde, no sign my spell has been detected. All good so far. I hope the ants keeping watch from above ground are keeping themselves hidden. Without knowing exactly how scrying works, we�ve tried to make sure all of our colony members are as hidden as possible. Each is tucked into a burrow or foxhole of some sort, hidden from above in such a way that a view looking down from the sky would be unable to find them.
The greater the density of the Gravity Bomb, the more of my attention it demands and the less extraneous thoughts I can allow. I don�t want to give away the ambush by blowing myself up. That would be less than ideal.
�Release when ready.�
The words and their meaning whisper around the outside of my awareness. My attention is drawn into the potent spell I�m weaving as if it were the black hole it resembles. Due to the Meditation Skill, my focus is strong enough that the meaning of the words registers and I can act.
The enemy is in position. The timing window is quite tight here, so I have to move with haste.
One leg at a time, I push myself forward, drawing nearer to the disguised entrance. On either side of me, scout ants push up, ensuring they remain slightly behind me at all times, lest they be caught in the release of the spell.
The rotating black mass of the Gravity Bomb consumes me now. The roiling energies threaten to spin out of my control and only my iron will and powerful minds working in tandem are able to contain it.
With a sudden lunge, I propel myself out of the opening, the grass and branches used to disguise the entrance burst outward, and no sooner do I lay eyes on the enemy, than I unleash their doom.
The Gravity Bomb flickers into existence and announces its presence with the now familiar shriek of wind. The very air around us thins as the spell streak toward the masses of monsters that make up the horde.
With the spell released and no longer requiring my constant focus, I
turn my attention more fully to the array of approaching monsters.
Monsters who are about to have a
Like a blanket of zombies, the soundless ranks of Garralosh�s horde are advancing at a slow pace. From my vantage point, poking out of the low-roofed tunnel we dug into a low hill, the horde is spread before me across the plains. I can�t make out the beast herself; I assume she�s toward the back, and I�m grateful for it. If the regular soldiers had to deal with her crushing aura, I�m not sure how they�d fare.
The Gravity Bomb crashes into the massed ranks of the horde and expands to its full size. The furious pull of the magic drags monsters to their soundless deaths and they�re crushed in an instant. The sound of Gandalf uttering the System notifications rings in my mind over and over again.
[You have defeated�]
[You have defeated�]
[You have gained XP.]
[You have gained XP.]
[You have defeated�]
Twisting in place, the Gravity Bomb continues to drag more unwilling monsters into its depths, all sound dominated by the endless howl of the wind. Before the spell dissipates, the ambush is sprung. Called out of their hiding places by the piercing sound of the air being devoured by my spell, soldier ants pour from tunnels dug into the surrounding low hills, and as one, present their business districts to the enemy.
This is a business convention!
While the spell continues to wreak havoc amongst the foe, jets of acid are unleashed from hundreds of ants, burning every monster they touch.
The scouts around me are super impressive. Their acid blasts have tremendous range, arcing far beyond those of the other soldiers, raining their fearsome acid payload deep into the horde.
Oh, right! I�m meant to be doing that too!
Gandalf continues to natter in my ear with notifications as I present the fearsome battery I keep in my back pocket and unleash liquid death.
POW! POW! POW! POW!
My own acid rains down as the Gravity Bomb flickers and vanishes. The enemy seems to shake themselves awake, blinking at our assault. They recover with a roar and charge.
Then Tiny and Crinis appear.
As the waves of monsters begin to rush in and attack the pesky ants who
are tormenting them from the low hills, Tiny burst out of his hiding
place, crackling with electricity. He�d been hiding much closer to the
horde than I was, and it had taken some
The plan depended on him
My sub-brains put the time I was firing acid to good use, and I apply the finishing touches on the basic Water Affinity Transformation Construct and turn back around, already pumping out Water Mana which I weave into a non-compressed Water Cannon.
From just in front of my mandibles, a fire hose-like jet of water fills the air with fine spray. At the range I�m at, still a good thirty metres away from the first monsters, the non-compressed Water Cannon isn�t going to do any damage. At best, I might knock a few monsters off their feet. But that isn�t the point.
As the water begins to fall on the charging enemies, Tiny bellows his challenge and thrusts his meaty hands, unleashing his lightning. The enemy, now covered in a coating of fine mist, proves to be delightfully conductive. And when Tiny releases twin bolts of pure lightning into them, they are instantaneously fried.
And we aren�t done. From my raised vantage point, I spy a few patches of darkening shadow between the heaving masses of low-Level monsters. It�s time for Crinis to begin her dark work. As Tiny continues to roar and discharge ridiculous amounts of electricity, electrocuting huge numbers of monsters, dark tentacles begin to emerge from the ground, slowly at first, then with growing speed.
Several are suddenly wrapped by dark limbs as thick as a human arm. Then the tentacles flex, shift, and allow their barbs to go about their grisly business. Only moments after she grasps her first victims, a rain of gore and Biomass begins as she dismembers the monsters and her tentacles grasp for new targets even as more of the dreaded limbs begin to rise from the dark ground.
Crinis is currently positioned in a
With my two pets working on separate areas near the front of the horde, the charge that had been building in momentum has been stalled, but not for long. The scouts and surrounding soldiers continue to pour out acid as fast as they can, and most have run out of juice. The battle has only been going for a minute, but it�s nearly time to stage the retreat.
Just as I was thinking that, Tiny runs out of lightning, the electricity
pouring out of him flickering and dying off, causing him to roar with
frustration and rage. He wants to fight, I get it, but he�s under the
Once he runs out of juice, he has to retreat through the tunnel he emerged from. Clearly unhappy, Tiny does just that and I release a knot of tension in my gut. I�ve done everything I can to ensure he doesn�t stuff things up by throwing his life away, but Tiny has a way of making things difficult. I�m uncertain I�ve done enough until I see him vanish out of sight beneath the ground.
Crinis continues her butchery unabated, as twenty tentacles grasp and tear through monsters who appear to be thoroughly intimidated. I guess her fear inspiration Skills are paying dividends since it doesn�t appear that anybody wants to try and take a swing at her.
With Tiny retreating, the rest of the ants do the same, vanishing into their tunnels and leaving no trace of the hundreds-strong raiding force that battered the horde from range only moments ago.
With the ants gone, Crinis� limbs retract beneath the earth, slapping a few monsters around on the way out. The horde is left staring at their bloodied front ranks in silence.
It doesn�t last. With a roar, the horde surges, desperate to rend the
ants, who taunted them only moments before, into tiny pieces and stomp
on what was left. Outward they rush, into dozens of now-open tunnels. I
can
Just as we�d planned.
The tunnels are cramped, with low roofs and limited space. Other than in the tunnel dug for Tiny, the larger monsters can�t fit, and it�s mostly centipedes and rabbits who chase after me and my scout artillery force.
We flee for fifty metres before suddenly turning. This section of the tunnel opens up into a small chamber, and a force of soldiers is already in position, arrayed in a U shape, ready to receive our pursuers.
When the flood of monsters run into the chamber, they find themselves
surrounded on all sides by the snapping mandibles of angry ants. And
when I say all sides, I really mean
I take the brunt of the charge, anchoring myself in the centre of the formation and allowing the ineffective strikes of weaker monsters to bounce off my glorious Diamond Carapace. Stymied by the narrow tunnels, the horde is unable to bring their superior numbers to bear against us, their own losses clogging up the space as they try to force themselves forward, only to throw themselves into a flurry of Bite attacks.
Similar battles are taking place in a number of tunnels right now, a chance for us ants to inflict further casualties on the enemy without risking much ourselves. The only trick we�d had to work out was how to disengage.
SNAP! SNAP! I pump my mandibles dispassionately as my siblings around me do the same. The waves of enemies don�t seem to ever end, and for every monster we chop down, another pushes its way through until the chamber is packed with the Biomass of the fallen. Shame we won�t get a chance to eat it.
After five minutes of brutal combat, a shudder runs through the ants as we receive the unspoken signal. As one, we step back, and with a roar, the tunnel in front of us collapses, drowning the enemy in tons of dirt.
The deep
I was blessed many times over for such events to occur, not only in my lifetime, but in my vicinity, allowing me to take a direct hand in the magnificent triumphs that transpired. But that isn�t what I value most, the thing I gained the greatest joy from. The understanding that was granted to me far outweighed any other considerations in terms of the impact it had on my life and the direction I took.
What is the System? Divine intervention, most would say, certainly in the human kingdoms where the Church of the Path is most entrenched. A power that was granted to the wise that they may defend the light of civilisation from evil and temper themselves in battle, that they might prove themselves worthy.
What is the Dungeon? Providence, they would say. A place of trial, where the gifts of the System are to be developed to fulfilment, so that the worthy might be discerned and given their due. That, was the Path.
But I was shown that it wasn�t so. Even now, I am surprised that it didn�t shake me more. I had been diligent and faithful all of my life, had trained with the priesthood with such zeal that I had graduated two years ahead of my peers. The masters at the Temple of Ways in Croninheim had anticipated great things from me, but even they could not have anticipated the insights I would gain.
I was shown a new way, a different path. The depredations and depravities of the church had blinded it to the truth of the world in which we lived. What is the System? A tool, nothing more. A tool to be grasped by strong hands and wielded by each individual to forge a path of their own. The Dungeon? It is not of the divine, but of the earth. It is a tool, nothing more.
I lost an arm in order to glimpse the true divinity, that creature who forged a path of compassion, of sharing, protection and purity with the tools that others made objects of their worship. For that blessed realisation, I was cast low by mortal hands, only to be raised high by the winds of the divine.
Tungstant, Victor and Mendant huddled in a small chamber awaiting the next round of scouting reports from the front.
�Seems as though the ambush went to plan,� Mendant offered to her sibling.
Victor waved the compliment away with one lazy antenna, continuing to click her mandibles irritably.
�What is so wrong with the battle going the way we wanted it to?� sighed
Tungstant, puzzled by the attitude displayed by one of the two generals
of the council. �Isn�t that supposed to be a
Victor clacked her mandibles a few more times before focusing her attention onto her two siblings. �The ambush went well,� she conceded. �I�d just hoped most of all to bait some response from Garralosh or the lizard creature. Those two are the greatest threats to us, and not having a clue of what they might be capable of is� worrying.�
�Perhaps they couldn�t do anything? Maybe we just hit them too fast for them to muster a response,� Mendant suggested.
The small healer had spent the last few hours tending to the wounded who made it to the fallback position. The ambush had been carried out with surprisingly few casualties, but there had been many injuries suffered by the soldiers who battled in the tunnels. Despite the scales being tipped so far in their favour, it was inevitable that a few legs would be lost, an antenna shorn off here and there. The few soldiers who actually perished had simply been unlucky.
Victor clacked her mandibles derisively. �We hit them fast, but I doubt
it was
�What are you suggesting?� Tungstant inquired, exasperated. She liked to work with stone and dirt, concrete materials that behaved the way they ought to. The generals took so many variables into their claws it seemed ridiculous. How were you supposed to guess the mind of a giant lizard?
�I�m not sure,� Victor said and Tungstant slumped to the floor.
Mendant was more patient. �Let�s see what the scouts have to say before we discuss further.�
The three ants remained in companionable silence whilst they waited. The twenty members of the first generation were not often in the same room together anymore, but they quite enjoyed the companionship of those who had been born alongside them. The only ants to receive the direct �teachings� of the eldest other than Vibrant, they had gone through much together and those bonds held.
It was Wills herself who came to report, rushing into the chamber without appearing to be hurried in any way, which was her special talent.
�Waiting around for little old me?� Wills chuckled. �Surely you have better things to do?�
Victor was in no mood for levity. �Give the report, scout. How many of my soldiers died today?�
�Not many,� Wills shrugged. �You�ll seldom have a better fight than this one.�
The scout settled herself unhurriedly before beginning to speak again.
�Our last report has the pursuing monsters pulling back to the main body and resuming their march alongside the horde. So far, no deviation has been observed. Current count of casualties sits at fifteen. Most of the injured are back up and crawling, thanks to your healers, Mendant.�
Wills nodded toward the healer in question and she responded with a calm tip of her antennae. The colony hadn�t produced many healers, barely twenty, but each and every one of them were sent out as part of the ambush force. Where the fighting was thickest, they were there, healing and regenerating their fellow ants.
�Estimated casualties inflicted on the enemy are over five thousand, with more to follow, I believe.�
Victor flicked an antenna in confusion. �What do you mean? We aren�t fighting them right now, why would they be dying?�
�Scout reports suggest that those monsters who survived the acid strike in a wounded condition are being consumed by their� allies. I don�t believe those running the show want to be slowed down.�
Possibly as many as six thousand casualties inflicted for the loss of only fifteen soldiers. A tremendous victory by any metric. Yet each of the four ants in the chamber was silent.
�The eldest won�t be happy,� Tungstant sighed, breaking the silence.
�The eldest will understand the need. We were never going to get out of this without losing family members,� Victor snapped, a touch defensively.
Tungstant just shook her head.
�Eldest will
Silence returned as the four members of the twenty considered their strange and often bewildering elder sibling.
It still felt unnatural to them. To
It also helped that preserving the strength of the colony made good logical sense. The enhanced minds of the Formica Sapiens helped them grasp this point, at least.
�Have we had word of the eldest?� Mendant asked Wills. �What was their status?�
Wills nodded to her respectfully, showing far more deference to the healer than to Victor, who ground her mandibles to one side.
�The eldest retreated in good order along with both pets. From the last report I received, the eldest Levelled up once during the battle.�
The other three ants each sighed with relief. One Level down, five to go.
None of them wanted to put pressure on the eldest, but that possible evolution was looming as their ace in the hole. The ants had only just begun their study of the System, and already they were unlocking some of its secrets. It was clear to see from their limited experiments that evolutionary bonuses snowballed at an exponential rate, each evolution giving more power than the last. With the rare core consumed as well as the possible unlocks the eldest had achieved, who knows what might come out in the evolution menu?
�Let�s move on to planning the second ambush. How are preparations proceeding?� Victor pushed the conversation forward.
Tungstant was eager to detail the digging works and spoke excitedly.
�The interconnected tunnel networks will allow us an opportunity to draw away a more significant number of enemies and engage them on friendly ground, but we must be prepared. The collapsible tunnels worked well on this occasion, but I would like us to consider more contingencies, such as��
The four ants discussed their plans for two more hours as the horde marched inexorably onward.
The first ambush had been a rousing success, and was just a small taste of the carnage that was to come. I swallow my sadness as best as I can for the fifteen lost lives of my family. It doesn�t help anyone if I throw a tantrum and get upset that we�d lost soldiers in return for killing thousands of enemies. Hitting them from range, drawing them into a tunnel fight where the ants had every advantage, then collapsing the tunnels on the enemy had been an elegant and clean strategy. I couldn�t think of a way to improve it at all.
Every surviving ant gained much in terms of experience and Skill Levels, strengthening the colony with every death we inflict. The horde has also been reduced. A win by all measures. Perhaps it�s irrational of me. The other members of the colony are extremely pleased and I�m dead certain not just a few of them actually envy the fallen, wishing they themselves had the unfortunate�fortunate?�luck to die in battle.
I�d dealt out a few thwacks already to those I suspected of not valuing their lives as they should, and I will have to do it again before too long.
We�d retreated with all haste through the escape tunnels and then back onto the surface. My pets and I took up a position in the rear guard, just in case of pursuit, but it doesn�t seem to matter. The enemy either hasn�t found any of the exit tunnels in time or hasn�t chased far enough over land to see us emerge. Whatever the case, we�ve retreated at a solid pace to the second set of earthworks being prepared for the next ambush.
Luckily, the enemy is moving at such a casual pace, we�ll have a few hours of rest and preparation time before they make it to us and the second fight begins.
I check in with a few scouts who tell me that Victor and the other members of the twenty here on the front line are planning, and I decide to leave them to it. I don�t think I could contribute much that they wouldn�t be able to come up with on their own. Instead, I decide to check in with my pets and count my own earnings. I hadn�t listened to the pronouncements of the bearded one, may his facial hair ever flow like a mighty white river.
[How�s the core looking, Tiny? You burned a lot of juice up there.]
The giant bat-faced ape sat on the ground next to me, absently picking through the longer hair on his arms, removing stones and twigs that had been caught as we fled. He just grunts, seeming to indicate that yes, he lost a lot of juice, but no, it shouldn�t be a problem.
[How about you, Crinis? I was super impressed with the shadow portal stabbing you got done. Very nice!]
The Crinis ball on my back wiggles at my strong praise.
[I wasn�t happy with the number of tentacles I was able to deploy, nor with how quickly I formed them.] Her tone sounded rather pleased, even if her words were negative. [I believe I can get much faster. A few more Skill Levels and mutations and I�ll defeat twice as many of those trash in half the time.]
[Sure, sure,] I agree.
I�m suitably impressed with Crinis� evolution, but it�s true that Tiny was able to reap greater destruction in the limited time we had available. Unloading both barrels of his lightning on enemies who had been drenched by a super soaker resulted in a heck of a lot of dead stuff.
[We did well. Let�s all rest up for the next fight,] I tell my pets before settling myself on the ground and concentrating.
My sub-brains are hard at work with External Mana Manipulation, trying to drag ambient Mana toward the three of us to keep our cores topped off. My Skills have increased, but so has our consumption after Crinis� evolution. We have one more battle in us after topping off our Mana Glands, then we�ll need to retreat to the Dungeon to recharge.
With my main mind, I begin to flick through my Skills to see what Levelled up during the conflict.
Hmm.
Mana Scrooge Levelled up. I�ll take it. On the surface, I need to be as careful with my Mana as possible. Improved Acid Shot hit Level 10? Nice! I�ll upgrade that to� Deadly Acid Shot? Sounds impressive.
Mana Transformation, Condensed Mana, External Mana Manipulation all Levelled up. Firing off those Gravity Bombs is serious business in terms of the XP that�s earned. Especially when I clean up a lot of monsters like I did.
Pet Communication has Levelled up?
Looks like my extensive chomping has paid off. I managed to squeak a Level out of Severing Bite and Splintering Chomp, which is good. I need those two Bites to hit rank four in a hurry. Hopefully the Bite Skill I can create from the fusion of the three Bite Skills I have is some seriously potent stuff.
I also managed to pick up a Level in Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence. Thanks to being chomped a bit during the battle in the tunnels, I suppose.
That seems to be the sum total of my Level gains from the battle. I�m not complaining, I�ll take what I can get at this stage.
More than anything else, the raw Levels are what are most important. Five more Levels to go before I can evolve. I�m going to need to take part in a few more ambushes if I�m going to get there soon. Ideally, I could snipe a highly evolved offspring of Garralosh and get a few cheeky Levels out of that. I doubt I�m going to get that lucky�
The next battle is going to take place in a few hours. It�s a bit
stressful, having to be pumped up for battle so soon after just
finishing one. I think I can get used to it. Perhaps this is how Tiny
feels
This is our reality for the next few days. Until the threat is dealt with, we need to continue to do as much as we can to inflict damage to the enemy. Killing a few thousand enemies was pretty darn good in the last ambush. But even if we did that every six hours until the horde reached the nest, we�d still have half the horde to deal with at the end of it.
We�ll need to pick up the pace. Which means there will be more casualties amongst my siblings. The thought that we�d been forced into this position, to risk ourselves and spend the lives of our family as currency for our ongoing existence weighs on me.
Gradually, the anxiety and fear inside me gives way to anger. A tiny spark of rage ignites deep within me and begins to smoulder.
Deep in the nest, the queen contemplated. She thought back to the difficult days just after she had spawned in the Dungeon. When she awoke by herself in the dark tunnels that bordered the shadow levels, surrounded by the roar of monsters and consumed with a burning desire. She�d battled hard in that time. Born with a powerful body, she had nonetheless come close to death many times while frantically trying to satisfy an instinct that burned within her mind.
She had been hungry in those days. Aggressive and dominant. She fought brutally, crushed her prey between her mandibles and squeezed the life out of them. In turn, her carapace cracked, life�s blood dripping from wounds that covered her body. She had to push, had to be faster, stronger, more vicious, more deadly, more voracious. There had barely been time to eat before she�d been forced to fight again in those days. An endless battle where she pushed herself forward with an indomitable will.
When she�d evolved far enough and had enough Biomass, she�d tunnelled into a wall, carved out a small chamber for herself and begun to rear her first larvae, laying the eggs, then hunting so she had food to provide for her young when they hatched. When those grubs finally emerged, she had felt something she�d never felt before.
Satisfaction. Peace. Fulfilment. Creating the colony was her reason for existing. She realised it in that moment. The queen was expressly created for this purpose, and in starting her family, she began to scratch the itch that burned inside her since the moment she�d awoken beneath the ground.
Since then, her life had changed dramatically. No longer was she hunting, battling every moment to fulfil her purpose. She was now a defender and protector to her family. The constant flow of workers throughout the nest was a warm pattering of rain that quenched her spirit.
There were many missing from the nest now, and it wounded her to know they were fighting and dying so far from where she could help. When she�d offered to advance to the front lines and fight with her children, they protested vigorously until she agreed to remain.
She was still miffed by that. She�d been fighting for this family before
they�d ever been born. Why couldn�t she fight with her colony? There
were two queens in waiting that could take her place, a thought that
filled the queen with gladness. Not because the pressure of being the
sole individual capable of creating young had been raised from her
shoulders, but rather because the burden had been taken from the
�Still not evolving, Mother?�
The queen turned her large frame so that she could look directly down on the individual who had spoken. Bella, the Core Shaper, had crawled into her chamber and clung to the roof.
�Are you also disappointed to see that I haven�t rushed my decision, child?� the queen said, thinking of the troublesome one who had so obviously pushed her to evolve as soon as possible.
The smaller Core Shaper shook her antennae in denial.
�Not at all, Mother. I think you have made the correct decision to weigh your options. I am simply surprised that the pressure of our current situation hasn�t pushed you to move sooner.�
The queen thought for a moment. It was true that the colony faced a dire
set of circumstances. Peril such as this had not gripped them since the
onset of the wave. She felt pressure, of course. Her family
�I am somewhat troubled over the decision,� the queen admitted, causing every ant in the chamber to freeze before continuing about their business as if nothing had happened.
For her part, Bella simply nodded.
�I imagine there would be many options for you to choose from, Mother. After taking the rare core, and being such a powerful creature already, I can�t imagine what sort of choices you are being presented with.�
The queen didn�t think Bella was aware of it, but when she spoke of the rare core and evolution, her antennae twitched excitedly. Clearly the child was taking her role very seriously if she was already this enamoured with the power contained in monster cores.
�In truth, I�ve not yet looked at the menu,� the queen said mildly.
Bella nearly fell off the roof in shock.
�You haven�t even
What indeed, the queen mused. Perhaps the younger members of the colony did not grasp this. They were new to their roles. Maybe they thought they were unchangeable and permanent, that the demands of the colony now and the colony in the future would be the same.
The queen knew differently. She remembered when she had been alone. Now
she was surrounded by hundreds of her children in a massive nest. They
weren�t even the same
What the queen was trying to consider was the colony of tomorrow. She was trying, with the limited life experience and intelligence she had, to grasp the flow of events and understand what it was that her family would need from her tomorrow.
�What do you think the colony needs from me?� the queen asked Bella, causing the young ant to twitch at the unexpected question.
�What do you mean, Mother?� the young Core Shaper asked.
�Exactly what I said, child. What do you think the colony needs from me?�
Bella was still puzzled. What exactly was the queen asking her? What did
the colony
�Continue to live and be yourself, Mother. We could ask nothing more,� Bella said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The queen absorbed those words, then she nodded.
�Thank you for your words, child. I will take some time to consider my menu now.�
�Of course!� Bella gushed, the words hanging in the air after she departed, so quickly had she moved.
The queen decided on her path. The family who put so much trust in her would not be allowed to fall.
Bella retreated from the queen�s chamber, an inexplicable excitement building in her thorax. The evolution of the queen was a subject of particular import to Bella and her partner, Elligant. The two Core Shaper members of the council struggled ever since they evolved into their current forms and responsibilities to get a handle on their purpose. To forge ahead on their path.
And they�d been making great strides.
Bella followed the winding tunnels of the nest this way and that, climbing over and around other ants going about their tasks until she made her way into the crafting research and development area. Here it was that those chambers put aside for the mage ants, the Carvers and the Core Shapers to experiment and develop their Skills were situated. Bella charged into the room designated for the Shapers� use, almost knocking Ellie over in her haste.
�Bella! What the heck?� Ellie bellowed, disentangling herself from her exuberant partner.
Chastened, Bella pulled back and straightened her antennae out as she collected her thoughts. The chamber was much as she had left it before. One side dominated by small indents they�d carved into the dirt to hold the cores that were delivered to their chambers every day. Rows of the small, basic cores sorted into monster type and organised by evolutionary level, settled in neat lines that were each labelled via pheromones, were the pride of the Carver department. It had taken a lot of agitation from the pair of them to get even this many cores from the soldiers who farmed them in the nest below.
Ellie and Bella originally wanted every core collected by the colony to come through their claws, that they might practise their Skills as much as possible in order to advance through the ranks. Such had been deemed both unreasonable and unnecessary. It was fair enough, seeing as the Core Shapers couldn�t possibly work through that many cores in a single day, and there couldn�t be any delay in dispersing the cores to the hatchlings who needed them desperately in order to fuel their evolutions.
Even so, they arranged to be delivered a number of cores each day that they could manage, along with their four assistants. With these cores, they strained their minds as hard as possible to push their Core Shaping Skills to the limit. Pushing until their heads were near exploding and they collapsed in a heap. At which point, the core would be put in a corner with the others which had been manipulated and collected at the end of the day for delivery.
It all came down to cores! There just weren�t enough of them.
Since the eldest insisted on fuelling the evolution of as many hatchlings as possible, the colony consumed a ferocious number of cores, and farming efforts had expanded to try and meet the ravenous demand. Other than providing water to the farm chambers in order to give the monsters a source of Mana infused water, there was yet to be a development in the methods used to increase the speed and likelihood for a monster to develop a core. This was shaping up as a key challenge facing the expansion of the colony.
It was just one of the projects the Core Shapers had bent their minds to, fuelled by their potent Will.
�Big news, Ellie! The queen is getting ready to evolve!� Bella told her partner.
Elligant wiggled her antennae in excitement, her mind instantly buzzing with the possible outcomes.
�We�ll need to make sure we�re there when she emerges from her evolution sleep,� Ellie gushed. �When she tells us her species, we�ll be able to add it to the logs!�
Bella nodded enthusiastically, taking in the logs which were carved into
another wall in the chamber. This was the collective knowledge that the
colony had so far amassed about monster types and evolution. Key
information was obviously that which referred to their own species. The
queen�s evolution should be a rare and unique one, which would give them
the opportunity to record an evolution pathway that wouldn�t often be
seen. The only evolution that would be more tantalising would be the
eldest�s. Since
Whilst the two members of the council nattered at each other about the possible paths the queen�s evolution might take, their four assistants continued their diligent work in drawing from the collection of cores to be manipulated, carrying them back to their own individual workstations in their mandibles and then touching them with antennae and forcing changes to the information inside in order to train their Skills.
One by one, the poor ants slumped into the dirt as their minds hit their limits and they rested to try and gather strength for another attempt. This was their day, each and every day, and they loved it. To the Core Shapers, this was heaven. Grinding Skills and forging a path into the future as the experts of evolution, all things core and crafters of pets for the colony.
�How�s our main project going?� Bella enquired of Ellie, getting back onto their actual tasks.
Ellie shook her head.
�Still inconclusive. The main drawback is our lack of Skill ranks and support Skills.�
The two ants moved toward their joint work area beyond the four assistants who remained crumbled in the dirt. In their station, a single core sat on a raised mound of earth, and the two Shapers crowded around it.
The Core Shapers had been designed by the eldest in order to fulfil one primary function: to design and shape cores that could be reconstituted by members of the colony to assist in work. Much of their theory crafting and brainstorming had been toward working out exactly what sort of pets the colony needed.
The eldest had certainly proven they could be powerful when raised properly. But the Shapers very quickly abandoned that avenue of thought. They would never have the kind of resources to spare that the eldest lavished on those pets. They didn�t have enough for the ants, let alone any pets they might create!
No, that path of inquiry was pointless. Instead, they focused on pets that would be immediately useful, able to fulfil some sort of need without having to be strengthened and reinforced. They should be useful after they were fully grown and should only expect to evolve once, perhaps twice over the course of their lives.
Bella drew her antennae forward and placed them on the core, their first effort at designing a creature to serve the colony in the capacity of a pet. Activating the Core Shaping Skill, she took in the rush of information contained within and sorted it into a readable status.
After contemplating the results, she drew back to consult with her fellow Shaper.
�I�m just not sure if it serves the purpose well enough for us to go with it,� she sighed.
Ellie nodded. They�d attempted to design a pack animal to act as a logistics support, using the evolved Wolf Dragon Hound as the base. The idea behind the concept being that if a soldier or worker had this pet, they�d be able to move heavy loads far more quickly with fewer ants, speeding up the transport of Biomass, dirt, stone, logs and anything else they needed to shift.
The problem was that it was
The two Shapers had been both chagrined, and extremely pleased to be confronted with the superiority of the design of their own species.
�Let�s turn to our other concept then,� Ellie suggested. Bella readily agreed.
Logistics was a bust for now. Time to go back to combat-oriented pets.
We lay in wait, ready to spring the third ambush. It�s been six hours since the second battle, which had been another success. Something that made Victor very irritated. A feeling I was also beginning to share.
The horde is massive. Tens of thousands of monsters make up the rolling
carpet that trundles its way toward my home. Even after two successful
fights, we are only making a dent. The possibility exists that Garralosh
and the Wizard Lizard just don�t
I just can�t shake the feeling that it wasn�t going to go down that way. Why would they let us attack them, make ourselves stronger and them weaker, without any sort of retaliation? It doesn�t make sense for them to do that. Especially when they could most likely reach out and easily damage us.
With no concept of exactly what the Ka�armodo can do, we�re left
fumbling in the dark as to what its intentions might be. All in all, I�m
starting to sympathise with Victor; having an enemy you have no
information on refuse to do anything, thus denying you information, is
The second ambush went smoothly. That�s a win, focus on that. We launched another Gravity Bomb, followed by an acid attack before retreating into the tunnels. So far, so groovy. This time, we�ve prepared larger underground spaces in which to do battle.
I personally had been a little shocked that the monsters weren�t restrained from following us into the tunnels. It was the collapsing tunnels that did half of the damage in the first ambush, but nope. When the enemy charged down after me, I�d been so shocked, a Wolf Dragon Cub had run up and bit me on the nose before I even realised it!
The fighting was fierce. Face to face, mandible-chomping action. More soldiers had fallen than in the first fight. It pains my heart, but the survivors were able to gain valuable experience and Levels in their Skills which could make all the difference in the future. Not to mention the colony produced more soldiers on that day than it lost by four times.
Still� Those are my
My anger and rage towards the invaders has built with every death they
inflict on my family in a way that no amount of devastation in Liria
could have achieved. Garralosh is going to
I look to my left and right. It�s dark in the forest at night, but I can still make out the long lines of ants, waiting for the signal to launch the assault. They are so still, they might even be sleeping, if not for the pheromone chatter I was picking up through my antennae.
�Not long now.�
�Remember the plan, soldiers.�
�Look sharp!�
A brief pause rippled out at that one.
��How?�
��What?�
��How do I look sharp? Do I have to angle my carapace to look pointy or something?�
�No, it�s an expression I heard in the last ambush. It means to be focused.�
�Ah��
�Look sharp, soldiers!�
Gawd.
I really need to keep my Pheromone Gland shut� I keep throwing out statements or phrases I learned in my previous life to the confusion of the ants around me. I frequently find myself having to explain things to a puzzled ant, only to have my words repeated back to me by several hundred other colony members later in the day.
News travels
I�m a little nervous. The battle is going to be slightly different in
nature this time. No tunnels will be deployed. Victor has been
increasingly cautious and doesn�t want our attack patterns to become
predictable, which I agree with. We only know a fraction of what is
possible with magic, and I already know they could flood us, use Earth
Magic to crush us to death under the ground, and a host of other things.
Just because they
I run over my status since the last fight one more time, double checking what I�ve gained. It�s unusually important for me to be on top of my status right now, since the colony is kind of depending on me to evolve and somehow battle a dinosaur to death.
Name: Anthony
Level: 36 (Special core)
Might: 41
Toughness: 29
Cunning: 44
Will: 35
HP: 58/58
MP: 187/240
Skills: Expert Excavation Level 5 (III); Deadly Acid Shot Level 3 (III); Enhanced Grip Level 5 (II); Advanced Shattering Bite Level 15 (IV); Advanced Stealth Level 6 (II); Splintering Chomp Level 16 (III); Tunnel Map Level 7 (II); Mana Transformation Level 11 (III); Advanced Condensed Mana Level 3 (III); Finer External Mana Manipulation Level 2 (III); Empowered Mana Sensing Level 1 (II); Core Surgery Level 6 (III); Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence Level 7 (III); Distant Pet Communication Level 2 (II); Rapid Dash Level 6 (II); Expert Water Magic Affinity Level 2 (III); Advanced Stamina Level 9 (II); Pet Growth Speed Level 1 (I); Mana Scrooge Level 6 (II); Expert Cerebral Endurance Level 12 (III); Profound Meditation Level 5 (III); Advanced Precise Shooting Level 5 (II); Severing Bite Level 9 (III); Advanced Mind Magic Affinity Level 5 (II)
Mutations: Heightened Perimeter Eyes +20; Future Sight Infrared Antennae +15; Mana Binding Acid +15; Rapid Osmotic Legs +15; Bright Empowered Mandibles +20; Hardened True Diamond Carapace +20; Regrowth Regeneration Gland +15; Loquacious Pheromone Gland +15; Expansive Gravity Magic Gland +15; Networked Coordination Cortex +15; Supportive Inner Carapace Plating +15; Selective Gluttonous Stomach +20
Species: Dispersed Mind Ant (Formica Sapiens)
Skill Points: 14
Biomass: 146
I�ve gained quite a few Levels during the fighting, especially across my Bite Skills. My sub-brains are working overtime, constantly feeding Mana into my core. The upgrade to External Mana Manipulation gave me, much as the name suggests, greater control over the movement of Mana outside of my body. I�m beginning to catch glimpses of exactly how the Skill can be deployed in more useful ways than just dragging Mana into my hungry core. Such as defending from hostile magic. I think one more rank in the Skill will unlock some juicy knowledge, so I intend to keep grinding it.
I managed to power vacuum in a pile of Biomass after the last battle, all in the hopes of mutating as far as I can before I evolve. Perhaps once this battle is done, I�ll have the chance to do that and secure my first ever, fully upgraded evolution, though I�m starting to doubt it.
I�m also closing in on the Bite Skill fusion I�ve been aiming for. According to Beyn, when all three of my Bite Skills reach the fourth rank, I�ll have the option to fuse them into a more potent Skill. Which is another thing I�ll have to focus on during the upcoming ambush.
As the ants around me continue to pep each other up, I take a deep, slow breath and run over the plan in my head, one more time.
Hunkered down amongst the trees, I wait along with my fellow ants�mostly scouts�for the enemy to arrive. We�re roughly a hundred metres from the road and would have to charge across open ground in order to get close enough to launch our acid strikes. Only the soldiers with sufficient speed and range have been chosen to take part in the first phase of the ambush. For good reason too.
There�s more risk to this plan with a potentially greater payoff. Moving away from the tunnel-based strategy we�d employed in the previous two battles meant we would be more open, but ensured we won�t become predictable and play into the enemy�s hands. Such a strategy will be well worth it.
�Steady, people, they�re coming,� I scent from my left.
The horde crawls into view. A seemingly endless tide of monsters walking with eerie quiet, their natural instincts suppressed to the point they�re alien to me. Well, more alien than the crazy, vicious monster-creatures who spawn out of thin air underground that they normally are.
We continue to lie low and wait, concealed behind the tree line. The plan isn�t to hit the front of the horde, which we�d done in the past, just in case they were prepared for such a tactic. Five minutes we wait after the first monsters pass us by before we creep out of our hiding places and begin to sneak our way closer.
The scouts have all taken Stealth as a Skill, and at this point, they probably have more Levels in it than I do, since I don�t get much of an opportunity to train it anymore. It feels nice to drop into my old habits, flexing my six legs to keep my body low and close to the ground, sticking to the darker shadows and avoiding the light.
This is a night raid, which is one reason why we are comfortable advancing over the open ground. Somewhere overhead, the moon shines down on us�I assume, I can only see a vague shininess overhead�which doesn�t really help me sneak, since I�m so shiny myself.
If I get any more sparkly, they�ll think I�m a vampire. The lame kind! But I do love my Diamond Carapace. After my evolution, the first thing I�m going to upgrade is my carapace to get MOAR diamonds! Gwehehehe. The birth of the crystal ant is not far away!
Slow and purposeful, my team of scouts and I creep ever closer to the enemy. No magic assault at all in this attack, in case we�re detected. The horde appears lifeless and their behaviour is off-putting. Whatever it is that controls these monsters, I don�t like it.
We�ve still not been sighted. Things are looking good so far.
I�m actually not the ant in the front for this manoeuvre. Wills put herself out there since so many of her fellow scouts are the first in the firing line for this plan. I can see her now, a little larger than the other scouts due to her inflated stats, ahead of me and to the left.
Wait!
She paused!
Slowly, the lead scout begins to raise her business district into the sky, huddling her lower body toward the ground until her acid barrage is primed to fly like the third quarter profits, in a high arc. At this signal, the rest of the scouts and myself form up into a line with Wills, and assume the same aggressive posture.
Time for a hostile takeover.
Despite being covered in darkness and utilising our Stealth Skills to their limits, we are still treated to the drill instructor-like shouting of Wills as she organises her scouts.
�Not yet, you scum! Why are you so impatient? Are you scouts or are you larvae? Form up the line! Wait for my signal!� she harangues her troops.
I assume she�s not talking to me, at least. If she was, I might have to have words�
POW!
Along with a pheromone shout of �NOW!� Wills unleashes the first shot of the barrage. One which is quickly followed by dozens more.
POW! POW! POW! POW!
I fire my acid at a steady pace, aiming for power and distance as
opposed to accuracy or concentration. The acid arcs high and separates
into a wider spray as it falls, reducing the concentration of damage. We
don�t really care. The horde is so large and dense, that every bit of
acid we unleash will land on
A dull, muted thump resounds as the acid bursts out, fortunately too quiet a noise to reveal our position. Just like a new product being launched with a stealth marketing campaign. A torrent of acid is in the air before the first of it lands, alerting the enemy to our attack. The sizzle of flesh and the roars and groans of monsters are the first signs that battle has begun.
At first, the enemy isn�t able to spot our position and the monsters mill about, confused and angry. I gleefully continue to empty my acid gland along with my siblings.
POW! POW!
Eat acid, suckers!
Then things change.
A light erupts, blazing into existence above the horde with an intensity that blinds me before it fades a little, allowing me to see. As my vision focuses, three great balls of light now hang in the air above the horde, illuminating the surroundings and stripping us ants of our Stealth.
We�re exposed!
�Run for it!� I shout to the scouts as the horde turns to face us and charge, hungry to feast on ant flesh.
Exposed by the light, the scouts retreat after my order, taking advantage of their now rear-facing commercial zones to fire a few parting shots as the monsters charge toward us. I position myself between the enemy and the retreating scouts, knowing I can take more punishment than my siblings, and hoping to absorb some enemy fire.
The monsters look a touch angry. Let off the hook from their zombie control and endless walking, they�ve clearly embraced the opportunity to massacre the ants with gusto. Unfortunately for them, I don�t plan on allowing that to happen.
The worrying sign is the blazing lights in the sky. Clear evidence that the Lizard Wizard and attendants are taking a direct hand in the battle for the first time. There�s a gnawing sense of anxiety in my gut as I have to consider what else they may do. Lights in the sky are annoying but not exactly terrifying.
Not willing to get surrounded, I run at a right angle to the horde, distracting a number of monsters and forcing them to chase after me. To keep them angry, I use a Dash to charge toward the closest monster and sever it in twain with a savage Bite before Dashing away, the claws and teeth of creatures scraping on my carapace.
Gwehehehe. Can�t catch me, you slugs!
Of course, at that moment a golden fence springs into existence in front of me.
And not just me, it cut off half the retreating scouts from the woods and safety. What the hell? Where the heck did this thing come from?
Illuminated by the burning lights, two of the lizard�s servants appear on either side of the fence. How the heck they got there, I�ve no idea. Perhaps they�d been there all along, just waiting for us to move past them so they could spring this trap.
This doesn�t look good!
My heart pounds in my thorax against the danger we�re in. The scouts are trying to bite the wall or climb over it, but nothing affects it. Their mandibles and legs can�t find any purchase and the ants are left with no option but to hurl themselves in the hopes that it might break. Behind us, the horde roars with hunger, sensing the kill between their jaws.
�Dig under it! Now, now, now!� I bellow, spinning at such a high speed, my claws scratch through in the dirt.
POW! POW! POW!
The last of my acid blasts out and splatters against the magic fence line in three separate locations. Please work, you stupid acid. We need this right now!
I don�t have time to wait and see how it goes, I need to save as many of the scouts as I can. My sub-brains have been hard at work since the moment the wall sprang up, throwing themselves into action before I�d even thought to direct them. Gravity Mana is pulling out of my gland and pumping into the complex construct that is the Gravity Domain.
This is gonna hurt, dammit�
The roar of the horde is deafening. The heat rolling off the monsters, hungry for Biomass, buffets into my antennae and the future glimpses of each monster I see are enough to make me dizzy. I shut it all out. None of that is important. I breathe out slowly, and charge directly into the face of the enemy.
Leeroy would be proud.
I slam into the first monsters, my mass and momentum enough to batter them out of the way. Then more come, and even more. Claws, teeth, spikes, mandibles, all of them grasp hold of my limbs and scrape against my precious, shiny carapace, chipping into my HP. Almost three-hundred-and-sixty-degrees of sight, and all of it is monsters right now!
I pump my mandibles furiously, the jaws of light arcing out and severing multiple monsters into pieces. Yet no matter how many I destroy, there are thousands more behind them. Come on, mini-brains, I need that spell!
I have to endure the battering for several more seconds before the spell finally manifests. The blessed purple light expands out of my body in a delicious hemisphere that pushes down on every enemy inside it with a firm hand.
Yes!
I shake myself like a dog shaking water out of its coat and the monsters climbing over me are knocked clear, unable to hold onto me and contest with the added weight. Nice to have all that added weight roll off my back! The second I�m free, I Dash. I have to get some separation from these beasts. No matter how powerful I am, if I try and take on tens of thousands of monsters at once, I�m going to get worn down and chomped into paste. If enough of them surround me, they�ll grab onto my legs and pile on top of me until I can�t move, forced to wait to get eaten.
Speaking of being eaten, I think I�m missing part of my leg�
Activate the Regeneration Gland! I�ve only lost twelve HP, so it feels like a bit of a waste, but I don�t want to be slowed down. Relief bubbles up in me as I burst out of the horde and into the clear. I was only in there for twelve seconds or so, but I wouldn�t have wanted to stay any longer.
How is that damned fence going?
In an instant, I�m not happy with the current situation. My acid has eaten three gaps into the fence, the edges bubbling and hissing as the fluid continues to chew away at the magic, but the pace is too slow. Ants are throwing themselves through the gaps and they�ve begun digging from the other side, trying to connect with other scouts digging from this side and speed up the process.
It just isn�t happening quickly enough.
I�ve managed to buy some time, but I�m only one ant, and my domain isn�t able to cover the width of space we were attacking from. Already, some scouts are getting run down by the faster elements of the horde�s charge.
�Dig, dammit!� I scream. �They�re coming!�
�Eldest!� It was Wills, appearing on my left side like a ghost. �You need to get out of here!�
She tries to push me toward the fence line, but I throw her off with little effort.
�I�m going back in. Get your scouts under that fence and continue with the plan!� I bellow.
I don�t wait for a reply. Turning on the nearest monster not even ten metres away, I Dash, closing the distance in an instant.
I should learn to hold off on the healing gland. Was I missing part of a leg? Maybe. But in this moment, charging into the literal teeth of a myriad of angry monsters, I think perhaps holding off on spending it might have been the better choice. Because this is going to hurt.
I slam into the front line, their bodies smash into mine, and without
missing a beat, claws and fangs are tearing at my carapace, wild and
eager to rend me limb from limb. I can
My shiny carapace! Don�t damage it! The regenerative upgrade will help heal that damage over time, but I can�t sustain this battering indefinitely.
Thankfully, I still have my Gravity Domain cranked up, meaning most of the weaker, tier one monsters aren�t able to move properly beneath its effects, let alone launch attacks. They feebly crawl through the dirt and run each other down in order to reach me. Most are stomped into the ground by larger, more fearsome monsters.
Bring it, punks!
My mandibles glow with energy as I pour Mana into them, activating my stamina-draining Bite Skills. I need to go all out here. I can�t afford to hold the energy in my core back. Every second I buy will allow more scouts to make it to the other side of the wall. Stupid mage slaves� if they weren�t so far from me, I�d have ripped them a new one. Sadly, I don�t have the option.
CRUNCH!
With a satisfying slice, my mandibles tear through monsters, cutting away limbs and digging deep into flesh. Naturally, I wouldn�t forget, even in the midst of this crisis, to Level my Severing Bite! Gwahahaha! The melee whirls and dances, and a wild excitement builds in my thorax. My little ant heart is pumping with energy as I cut down my opponents and they break themselves on my exo-skeleton.
Impossible odds, high chance of death, it would sound crazy to say that I missed this kind of fight. There is a certain feeling I can only get when my life is on the line. My concentration is honed to a razor�s edge while my mind processes a thousand different things a second. The heat rolling off the bodies that crowd around me. The blurred images of their future movements. The sensations of my sub-brains straining to hold and direct the flow of Mana through my domain spell. It�s draining, exhilarating, terrifying and fulfilling all at once.
Perhaps I�m starting to understand Tiny more and more�
Wait, is that a bear?
OOF!
An Earth Bear tyrant reared up and battered my left side with one mighty claw, sending sparks flying as it dug channels into my carapace but fails to break through. Still, the impact was enough to stagger me, an opening that the enemies swarming are quick to exploit.
Dangit! I don�t have the time or space to rip through one of those bears. They�re too tough to kill that fast. Mind racing, I scrabble my feet underneath me and move away from the horrid creature, Mana-empowered mandibles chomping as I go. Thanks to the domain, the lumbering brute struggles to keep up so long as I keep moving.
OUCH!
I think I just lost a chunk out of an antenna! How much longer?
�Senior!� came a pheromone shout.
Who the heck?
Next second, several new forms appear in my vision, crashing forward and grappling with monsters around me. Then a larger ant leaps into the fray, slashing about with her deadly mandibles. Larger than the regular soldiers, I can tell her body has been heavily mutated due to her higher-than-average colony member Biomass intake. I could never forget the ant that I�d raised from a mere grub what felt like years ago.
�Vibrant! Aren�t you supposed to be at the ambush point?�
�You can�t keep all the fun to yourself, senior!� she cheerfully replies whilst cutting down monsters with every chomp of her mandibles. �The way is clear, it�s time to go!�
Finally!
�Thanks, Vibrant. Let�s bug out!�
Mandibles flashing, I bite several times in rapid succession, draining my energy dramatically as I attempt to clear a space. After crunching through several monsters, I turn my thorax around and get the heck out of there.
Dash! Dash for justice!
Leaving a trail of howling and angry beasts behind us, Vibrant, her squad and I disengage and flee. The magic wall still glitters with a bright magical energy. The acid has continued its delightful work and the gaps have grown larger, but more important than that are the many tunnels that have been dug. Even now, I can see the scouts who were successfully able to flee have begun to retreat into the forest, still firing acid over the wall and into the swarming horde.
I line myself up with one of the gaps and hurl myself through it with a daring leap, legs scrabbling as I land on the other side. Vibrant�s speed aura paid massive dividends as we charge with all our strength to gain some separation between us and the monsters. Once we�re through the fence, the fence works for us rather than against us, the sheer mass of monsters struggling to push through the gaps and narrow tunnels.
It didn�t take long for the slave mages to realise this, and they allow the wall to fade. Free of the obstacle, the monsters roar anew and charge, ravenous for more ants.
The wall hasn�t gained us much time, but each second counts. The scouts had been able to regroup, but my heart twists when I realise a third of them are missing. We�d approached on a front more than a hundred metres wide, and powerful as I am compared to a regular soldier, I wasn�t able to protect all of them. On the left and right flank, the scouts had been overwhelmed. Only those who�d been able to regroup in the centre behind me had a chance to make it out.
I knew things wouldn�t keep going our way forever. Perhaps the loss of one third of the scouting force is a cheap price to pay for the first intervention of the mages in this battle. It�s still bitter to me. The anger toward the mages, Garralosh and the stupid horde itself continues to build inside me, its heat fuelling me onward.
�We made it!� Vibrant cheers next to me. �Are we still going to go ahead with the plan?�
�We are,� I grate out, struggling to control my rage. �We need to kill as many of these trash as we can.�
Vibrant either doesn�t notice or doesn�t care about my aggressive tone. �Sure-sure!� she chirps and turns to her squad.
�Keep running to the next point, spread wide and lead on as many as you can. Get pumped for the battle!� she exhorts them and they respond with a variety of cheers and shouts.
It seems Vibrant�s squad is turning out to be as high energy as she is herself. How� exhausting.
The scouts ahead of us, we run, staying close enough to the horde to tempt them, allowing them to draw a little closer whenever their charge falters, then speeding away before they can catch us. With Vibrant close by, it was childishly simple. Her Speed Aura enhances our already quick ant running speed to the point I don�t need to use my Dash Skill and am able to preserve some stamina. I allow the Gravity Domain to lapse at this point; slowing the enemy down right now would work against the plan, not for it.
If we are to make the enemy pay a bloody price for the damage they�ve inflicted on us today, we need to drag as many as possible with us.
We continue to kite the monsters for five minutes, pulling them farther and farther away from the main body of the enemy. Our plan depends on a few things: that Garralosh and the Wizard Lizard won�t bother to chase us, the former due to a need to conserve Mana in her core and the latter because the Ka�armodo seem reluctant to leave its captive croca momma alone.
The second thing we want to determine, and rely upon, is that whatever control the two leaders have over the horde of weaker monsters, there has to be a limit. At some point, the monsters must begin to regain their savage nature and break free. Maybe they would turn and retreat back toward the main body of the horde.
We need to understand this behaviour, and one of the objectives of this ambush is to determine it.
�Have we seen any sign that the mage slaves have followed us?� I call to Vibrant.
�Nope!� she replies in a thoroughly positive manner.
Gah. I hope Wills is on it.
We continue to run with monsters snapping at our heels, and eventually I begin to detect heat signatures in the trees. We made it to the ambush point! Now to see what the monsters decide to do.
With a burst of acceleration, I rush to catch up with the scouts ahead of us. In the middle of the pack, I find Wills and a small burst of relief fills me. I didn�t want to lose any members of the twenty in such a stupid, small way. The colony has invested in them to the maximum extent possible, and they should continue to repay that for the next hundred years at least!
�Wills! Do we have any idea what the state of the horde behind us is?� I shout.
�No, eldest. We�ll just have to trust that the others have the situation in claw.�
Hope, eh? Fair enough. Things have gone to the dogs already. I�m not about to risk making it worse doing something crazy without information. We run for another three minutes before the monsters begin to slow down. We fire acid, let them get as close as we can without touching us, until we�re practically waggling our commercial zones in their faces. Eventually we come to a point where the monsters stop chasing us, turn and begin to make their way back to the horde.
Holy smokes!
�We�ve hit the edge of the control range! They�re heading back!� I shout.
�We don�t know that for sure,� Wills warns, coming to a stop next to me. �It�s possible they�ve been ordered to return, and the range is much farther than this. We haven�t seen any sign of the monsters attacking each other, they still appear to be firmly in control.�
Dang, good points.
�You�re talking a lot of sense, Wills. I knew raising you lot was a good idea.�
If anything, the compliment put the scout leader off-kilter, causing her to go silent and still. Curious, I turn to inspect her more closely. Is this another Crinis situation? Is Wills weak to praise? I poke her with an antenna.
�Hello in there?� I call.
The scout shakes herself alert.
�I-I�m not used to you giving positive feedback, eldest.�
What? I give compliments out all the time. Is she talking about the training I gave? Now I�m worried all of the twenty are dealing with some kind of PTSD due to my diligent instruction after they were born.
I turn back to the retreating monsters, moving at what humans would consider a slow jog. They must be tuckered out after all of the running.
�So, we follow along as per the plan?� I ask.
Wills nods.
�We�ve no information that would call for us to change our actions,� she confirms.
Vibrant, her squad, Wills, the remaining scouts and I group up and begin to trail behind the departing beasts. I can sense heat signatures in the trees climbing down and falling in behind us or moving toward the flanks.
In order to avoid becoming predictable, the soldiers had been concealed in the foliage and branches of the trees overhead, rather than in tunnels. The dark colours that make up our carapace means there is little chance they would be seen in the dark, and the meticulous cleanliness of the ants means there is very little odour, so long as they control their pheromone glands.
After another minute, there are hundreds of soldiers positioned in a wide arc behind us, with healers and a few mages mixed in. Victor appears out of the gloom to my right, making me jump a little.
�Dammit, Victor! Why even sneak up on me?�
�I�m trying to remain quiet.�
�There are literally
�You can never be too careful.�
I�d roll my eyes if I physically could.
�Is it time to attack yet?� I demand.
�It�s time,� she confirms.
Finally!
The order is spread wide and it doesn�t take long for the eager ants to position themselves for the first strike. The monsters are only twenty metres away, and despite the trees blocking line of sight, they can still be spotted everywhere you look.
Then:
POW! POW! POW! POW!
Another acid barrage! This time from the hundreds of soldiers who patiently waited as their scout brethren risked themselves to pull these monsters this far from the main horde. Their sisters had died to give them this opportunity and they aren�t going to waste it!
The acid streaks through the air and strikes against the retreating monsters, sizzling into their flesh the moment it lands. With a roar, the monsters charge toward the vicious ants who dare to strike them.
The ants� retreat.
Gwehehehe.
We fall back as a unit, maintaining our arc formation with a precision that only insects can muster, firing acid all of the way to further enrage the monsters. When we reach the point where the monsters turned last time, they once again stop and begin to retreat.
Excellent.
�This would appear to confirm it,� Victor says, sounding pleased. �Full engage!�
�FOR THE COLONY!�
From the pheromone glands of hundreds of angry ants, the shout went up and we rush in to carve up the enemy with our face-hands and bathe ourselves in their ichor!
My mandibles work like pistons, slicing and dicing, working to train my Bite Skills to the fourth rank and inflict mandible justice upon the hated foe. Centipedes, hounds, rabbits, lizards, the odd spider, none can withstand our wrath. Several times, I see the larger monsters, the bears, the lion ogres, brought down by dozens of ants blasting them with acid, pulling at their legs and scissoring off their limbs.
Then came the call.
�Retreat!� an ant bellows and the order is rapidly passed down the line. In perfect synch, the soldiers step back and run from the suddenly bewildered monsters left in their wake.
The surprise only lasts for a moment, as the raging beasts roar with fury! Only to slow and stop, turn, and begin to walk away.
If I were capable of it, I would be grinning a wide grin right now.
We can kite and engage these monsters forever at this point! Whatever control over these monsters is being exercised, it clearly has severe limitations, and we�re going to abuse the heck out of that fact.
Call me John Deere because I am about to get my farm on!
[Tiny, Crinis, you can come out now.]
I�d kept my two pets out of the firing line up to this point. They�re positioned with the ambush troops in the woods, hidden from sight and held in reserve.
[Thank you, Master.]
[HRAAAAAAAAA!]
I wince as Tiny hurtles past me to throw himself onto the monsters, viciously pounding them into paste with his fists. The rest of the soldiers are inspired by the sight and charge in again, tearing into the enemy with renewed vigour. Several wounded are being tended by the healers who utilise their Healing Magic Glands to restore the soldiers to fighting condition. Once healed up, the soldiers jump to their feet and charge back into the fight, eager to continue inflicting damage.
Suppose I�d better get back in there!
We slaughter a heck of a lot of monsters in the third ambush. By abusing the limitations of the control used on the monsters, we continuously charge, battle, retreat and recover until our entire force is exhausted from the slaughter, unable to keep up with the last retreating monsters. Even Tiny collapses, punched out.
Soldiers have been lost. Fighting means casualties and I will just have to get used to the idea. Even when including the scouts that we�d lost, a third of the number committed, the losses versus the damage inflicted looks fantastic for the colony. Not only had thousands more monsters been killed, but the experience and Biomass will be claimed by the colony in full. Enough Biomass for every soldier who participated in the battle to pump their evolutions up and empower themselves for the next fight.
I myself slump to the ground, trusting that some ants will keep a lookout, and slip directly into torpor, only to awaken a few hours later with a developing issue.
My core! So empty! The gnawing feeling of my energy bleeding into the air is starting to cause that sharp pain I�d become all too familiar with. I bring up my status and look at how much Mana remains inside my core. Down to under ten MP! I�d gone all out in the battle so it shouldn�t be a surprise, but yikes. That�d been close!
No time to lose!
[Tiny, Crinis, are you around?]
[Yes, Master.]
[Zzzzzzzzz.]
[�Tiny, food.]
[Arruah!]
Damned ape.
[We need to recharge our cores as soon as possible, stuff your faces as best you can and let�s go.]
With no further ado, I join the soldiers who�re busy chowing down on the literal carpet of Biomass across the forest floor, shovelling food into my mouth. Once my first, fully mutated stomach is filled, I diligently switch to my social stomach and keep on going until I�ve expanded in size like a swollen balloon.
Another stockpile of Biomass locked away. I really don�t get the full value out of these low tier monsters, but my mutations are taking a huge chunk out of the penalty, which seriously helps.
With my own feasting done, I waddle over to the nearby scouts and let them know I�ll be heading to the Dungeon location the colony prepared in advance to charge up my core. The poor saps were in charge of disposing of the colony�s dead and it is saddening to see the fallen soldiers lying lifeless, somehow appearing smug and satisfied. I�d been a bit worried at one stage that the ants would eat our dead, Biomass being Biomass after all, but they have unexpectedly followed a more traditional Earth ant path.
Colonies of ants on Earth are, generally speaking, very clean. Since they live in damp, underground environments where mould and fungus can thrive, it�s super important they be as spotless as possible. To that end, the ants undertake many behaviours to ensure a squeaky-clean nest: grooming themselves constantly to remove contamination, using their natural acid to disinfect themselves and each other, rotating the soil inside the nest with soil on the surface to aerate it and very importantly, establish a garbage site.
The garbage site is usually close to, but a respectable distance from the nest itself. It�s in this place that the workers carry the waste of the colony. The poop goes here, the bits of food the ants can�t eat, and the colony�s dead.
In the case of Earth ants, that means a heck of a lot of dead bodies, since the lifespan of most workers is about one month, depending on the species. In the case of my colony here on Pangera, we haven�t had many dead to worry about, so it�s not been much of an issue.
My heart twinges watching the scouts drag the bodies and pile them neatly away from the battlefield.
With Tiny alongside, and Crinis riding on my back, we set off at a solid but obese pace. The horde should be ahead of us at the moment, but since the path they�re following curves wide around the forest and we�re moving through it, we�ll be able to get ahead of them in no time.
We set off at a slow run, each weighed down by our food intake. Me
especially since I had to carry Crinis and her void stomach. How much
she could fit in there, I�ve no idea. Since she weighs more than I do,
it must be a ton! My stick-like legs are shaking, holding up the balloon
of infinite hunger. I vow to myself that after my evolution, I�ll beef
my legs up to the point where carrying
After our bodies start digesting the food and doing� whatever it does with it, still no idea where the waste goes�perhaps our digestive system is faultless and there isn�t any waste?�we are able to pick up the pace.
I take some time to check the Skills on my status after the battle and I�m delighted to see that I�ve Levelled again. It�s getting close! And my more physical battle Skills have also seen a significant amount of growth. Hours of solid battling would do that, I suppose.
Name: Anthony
Level: 37 (Special core)
Might: 41
Toughness: 29
Cunning: 44
Will: 35
HP: 58/58
MP: 8/240
Skills: Expert Excavation Level 5 (III); Deadly Acid Shot Level 4 (III); Enhanced Grip Level 5 (II); Advanced Shattering Bite Level 15 (IV); Advanced Stealth Level 6 (II); Splintering Chomp Level 19 (III); Tunnel Map Level 7 (II); Mana Transformation Level 11 (III); Advanced Condensed Mana Level 3 (III); Finer External Mana Manipulation Level 3 (III); Empowered Mana Sensing Level 2 (II); Core Surgery Level 6 (III); Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence Level 11 (III); Distant Pet Communication Level 3 (II); Rapid Dash Level 8 (II); Expert Water Magic Affinity Level 2 (III); Expert Stamina Level 1 (III); Pet Growth Speed Level 1 (I); Mana Scrooge Level 7 (II); Expert Cerebral Endurance Level 12 (III); Profound Meditation Level 5 (III); Advanced Precise Shooting Level 7 (II); Severing Bite Level 13 (III); Advanced Mind Magic Affinity Level 5 (II)
Mutations: Heightened Perimeter Eyes +20; Future Sight Infrared Antennae +15; Mana Binding Acid +15; Rapid Osmotic Legs +15; Bright Empowered Mandibles +20; Hardened True Diamond Carapace +20; Regrowth Regeneration Gland +15; Loquacious Pheromone Gland +15; Expansive Gravity Magic Gland +15; Networked Coordination Cortex +15; Supportive Inner Carapace Plating +15; Selective Gluttonous Stomach +20
Species: Dispersed Mind Ant (Formica Sapiens)
Skill Points: 14
Biomass: 288
It feels good to be charged up and not on the verge of a horrible death. Woo!
Thankfully, we�re able to make it to the discreet Dungeon entrance the colony prepared close to the forward HQ without too much Mana leaking out of our cores. Using my sub-minds, I turn the External Mana Manipulation up to eleven and drag the Mana down into all three of our cores with some success.
It certainly helps to Level the Skill, if nothing else. Shifting Mana in three different directions is a heck of a lot harder than just pulling it in one, putting extra strain on my sub-brains. They�re fairly cooked by the time we reach the Dungeon and I�m happy to let them recover in peace.
Not now though, now we�re back in the game!
Even better, I take my chance in the Dungeon whilst the wave is still ongoing and chomp through the spawned monsters while waiting for my core to refill. I don�t get a heap of Biomass, but I get enough to give me a nice stockpile to work with! Good thing too. I don�t think I could possibly eat any more�
I digest fast but not quite
Ready to roll, the three of us make our way topside and to the forward HQ�the planning centre of this opening stage of the war effort. I leave Tiny and Crinis on the surface and plunge into the dark chambers packed with ants of all varieties rushing in every direction, zooming at my face and then climbing straight over me as I try to get my bearings, waggling my antennae about to pick up the scent trails I need.
It�s interesting�almost frightening�at how quickly the ants are learning and adapting to new situations. As a species, we Formica Sapiens have never faced a threat like this. Heck, most members of the colony are only a few weeks old! But somehow, under the pressure of this existential crisis, the ants are pouring all of their energy, concentration and newfound mental power into absorbing everything they can.
It�s strange to sit in a room with ant monsters and listen to them
propose ideas,
Speaking of arguing ants, I find the planning chamber and the members of the council inside, along with Vibrant, already arguing over the next steps. It doesn�t take long to work out what the main issue is.
�We don�t need them,� Victor says flatly.
�I lost dozens of scouts in the last attack.
Victor twitches, visibly angered by the statement.
�I do
�Whoa now,� I break in. �I think this might be the first time I�ve ever heard any of you siblings argue with each other.�
I speak in a quiet and calm way as I crawl into the chamber. Regardless, each member of the council freezes, whether they�d been arguing or not. Seems I�d been right after all. It�s not only Wills that possesses a deep-seated fear of their teacher.
Sheesh! I�d been so
The healer, Mendant, speaks first.
�Eldest, welcome back. I am pleased to see you have recovered fully from your efforts.�
Her voice is as calm and soothing as always, but I can�t help detecting a slight wobble to her antennae that betrays her nervousness.
I nod an acknowledgement to her greeting as I continue to step forward until I place myself between Victor and Wills, both of whom step back slightly.
�Now, whilst it�s nice to see some passion from the leaders of the colony,� I say mildly, �and dissenting opinions are an important part of effective decision making, let�s see if we can take a little heat out of the discussion. What�s got everyone so worked up?�
It�s certainly interesting to see this kind of conflict between the members of the council. So far, they�ve been able to reach a consensus in a peaceful manner every time. It seems that emotion is beginning to play a larger part in their thinking, which could change things dramatically. Not necessarily in a bad way, either.
�It�s humans!� Vibrant chirps. �They�ve offered to help us whittle down the horde.�
Hmm.
This is interesting. Wills, upset at the loss of her scouts, wants to bring the humans in to help in order to prevent further losses, whilst Victor doesn�t agree. Perhaps she doesn�t want to increase the number of unknown variables at play as we move into a critical stage of the battles.
It�s odd to see one of the twenty be so emotional about the loss of ant
life. It�s a little cold to say it, but they
I can also understand what Victor is concerned about. The Ka�armodo have begun to respond to our incursions. This means things will be riskier from now on. I�ve no doubt that the trick we used in the last battle will no longer be effective, some sort of workaround having been implemented to prevent such fruitless waste. This means we need to continue to adapt and try new tactics without knowing what could be coming back our way.
Adding in extra risk factors was just a recipe for disaster�
�It�s going to be risky no matter what we do,� I muse out loud.
Wills stirs. �Exactly! More options can�t be a bad thing.�
I turn on her.
�That
I stare her down and she steps back from me.
�That was my point,� Victor chimes in. �There is just too much risk in bringing a force we don�t control to battle.�
I turn around to face her.
�Risks can be controlled and mitigated. There just has to be a
I stare her down in turn, forcing the general to back off.
I sigh.
�Things are getting heated, and I understand we�re all under the pump
here, but you need to be able to keep emotion off the table and deal
with problems as they pop up. The colony depends on you for guidance.
You are
Very nice. Dignified, controlled and powerful.
�Wow-wow, senior! I�ve
Dammit, Vibrant! Give me my moment!
The two ants, who only moments ago were arguing, begin to vigorously groom themselves in an effort to calm their minds. When she finishes, Victor speaks.
�You�re suggesting we accept help from the humans?�
�Yes, but in a way that will allow us to control the risk to our efforts.�
�How are you going to do that?� Wills breaks in.
I shrug my antennae.
�Simple. I�ll go work with them and we�ll form a separate team that works independently. What could go wrong?�
After discussing a few other things with the members of the council in the forward HQ, I head out, collecting my pets, and make my way to where the delegation from the village is purported to be waiting.
I�m not entirely clear on how the humans attempted to communicate with the members of the colony, or why they would attempt such a dangerous thing. The colony is a lot more lenient toward the villagers than they had been before, but they are still very distrustful of anything other than our own kind. I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. Perhaps I should have seen this coming.
A kilometre away, I find a small collection of tents situated around a campfire, sentries at watch around the perimeter. When I take the whole camp in, it looks as if the village has sent twenty or thereabouts people on this forward adventure. A mixture of men and women, and hopefully Morrelia somewhere in the camp. The rest of the villagers would be� interesting to deal with.
And by interesting, I mean awkward as hell.
O my gawd, is Beyn here? The last thing I need is to fight a damned war with that one-armed lunatic priest chasing me around!
With Tiny lumbering along behind me, we don�t exactly make for the stealthiest group of monsters, so they knew we were coming long before we walk into the camp. I�m a little disconcerted to see that Morrelia has not made an appearance. Instead, I recognise the man I saw leading the weapons training in the village before we left, and he�s also the guy we saw in the port city when we liberated it.
Now I recognise him! Didn�t he also try to flex on Morrelia? Perhaps that�s why he was picked to lead this group. He�s clearly suicidal.
As I approach, the tough-looking guard stops leaning on his spear and stands tall before entering into what I can only describe as an interpretive dance.
Just� just what is happening?
As he drew wide, all-embracing circles in the air with his hands, his face a mask of pure concentration, my eyes slide to the villagers lined up beside him. They are staring at me with a fierce energy and a fervent light in their eyes. These people look so intense! That guy literally has sweat dripping down his nose, he�s so focused!
As the leader continues his slow, graceful gestures, I begin weaving a Mind Mana Transformation Construct and extend the Mind Bridge out toward the man. It takes a little longer to weave the spell than it normally would. I�m quite distracted by the bizarre yet fascinating movements being performed in front of me.
[What the hell are you doing?] I ask.
The man stumbles, curses under his breath, and looks about wildly, trying to locate the source of the voice.
[It�s me, over here.] I wave my antennae at him. [Nobody told you I could make Mind Bridges? Did you speak to Enid or anyone before you came out here?]
The man looks at my slowly waving antennae, then reaches one hand up to touch his head. His eyes seem to not believe what it is they�re looking at.
[Yes. Mind bridge. I, the ant, am talking to you. Please speak back with your mind.]
[Well, this is some plops right here,] the man thinks at me.
�Plops?
[I�m not going to disagree with that,] I tell him.
[You heard that?]
[Sure did.]
[So, you�re the ant monster� leader?]
[I suppose you can think of me like that. How exactly were you expecting to communicate with the colony without getting me to come over and talk to you? I�m the only one capable of Mind Magic at this point in time.]
He scratches his cheek, looking a bit embarrassed. [Well, Morrelia had me practise the greetin� dance o� cooperation and�]
[I�m sorry, what?] I break in incredulously.
[The uh� greetin� dance of cooperation?] When I make no move to answer, his face falls a little. [There�s no such thing, is there?]
[Uhh�]
The man growls and curses. The villagers next to him look alarmed at what is coming out of his mouth and stare at me nervously, suddenly anxious at my response.
Chill out people, I have no idea what he�s saying, or at least, I can act that way. I�m guessing it�s not directed at me, in any case.
[I have to say, I�m impressed,] I tell him.
He looks at me, confused. [How so?]
[Morrelia fed you that garbage and taught you that dance with a straight face the whole time? Can�t have been easy.]
He nods ruefully. [She�s somethin� alright.]
I don�t think he and I are quite on the same page with our attitudes toward Morrelia, but at least I appreciate the joke she�d sent my way.
[Okay, so you�re here. I assume Morrelia has continued to delve with other villagers?]
[She sure has. We were wantin� to send her out for this, seein� as how you an� her have worked together before an� she seems comfortable with it. But she said that someone else should go an� help build relationships with the colony.]
And I�m willing to bet she recommended this guy, practically insisted
that he go, in fact. Which manages to neatly put him somewhere that
[Ok, so you approached the colony and they managed to work out that you were offering assistance, and now I�m here to work with you. What�s your name by the way?]
[Isaac Bird.]
Isaac has a look on his face as he gave his name that I have come to interpret as the �I can�t believe I�m having polite conversation with, and offering my name to, a monster of the Dungeon. What a world� kind of look.
[Hey, Isaac. I�m Anthony.]
He hesitates. [Anthony?]
[Yes. Yes it has �ant� in it. We all get it.]
[Right�]
[Let�s sit down and work out how this is going to go then, shall we?]
[Right you are, Anthony.]
So, we get to talking.
[How many people did you bring?] I lead with.
Isaac draws himself up. [I�ve got eighteen o� the village�s finest, as well as some of me old guards back from Midum. They�ll give a good account of themselves, no doubt about it.]
[That�s great, Isaac, just fantastic. So, your thought is to form a spear wall with less than twenty people against a horde of a hundred thousand monsters?]
[Well, uh, not exactly. You see, uh� How many?]
[Did they tell you anything before they sent you out here!]
[Miss Morrelia did try to explain the details of the threat but I was a little� distracted, at the time.]
This guy� I hope he wasn�t staring at something he shouldn�t have. I don�t think he�d have any eyes left if he did.
[Alright, look. We�ve got a powerful Ka�armodo Wizard with a cadre of its slave people assisting a crocodile that looks so thick it shouldn�t be supported by the surface of the freakin� planet. I�m talking about a reptile so massive it should have its own moon! Surrounding those creatures is a horde of monsters almost 100,000 strong. So, let�s think about some hit and run sort of jazz, ok?]
[Y-Yeah,] Isaac stutters. [Sounds good.] He pauses, shuffling
from foot to foot. [We are
[All the way up to our necks, Isaac. Not going to be easy to dig out of this.]
[S�all right,] Isaac chuckles. [I�ve been shovellin� most of my life. You couldn�t have a better man along for the job.]
[Good stuff.]
We sit down under the watchful eyes of the villagers and begin to plan our strategy. With such a small number of fighters, we can�t hope to engage the horde directly in any form, not even using the methods the colony has adopted thus far. That goes double now that the Ka�armodo began to take a direct hand in the conflict. Everything has become far more fraught with peril, and the risks we can take have to be minimised.
In those sorts of conditions, it�s unrealistic to expect that this small detachment will be able to inflict meaningful damage on the enemy. We should instead turn our goals to more reasonable objectives.
[What would those objectives be?] Isaac asks.
[Levels,] I tell him firmly.
[Levels?] he asks, puzzled.
[Absolutely. Don�t worry about killing the entire horde, just
worry about killing. There�s literally
Isaac strokes his chin as he thinks through the idea. [Inflict
[Exactly.]
I wasn�t about to tell him that gaining XP is extremely critical for me, in order to ensure that I can evolve. That is secret colony-only information. This just happens to be the best strategy for him and his people to adopt. If it works out well for both of us, then what�s the harm?
I spent an hour talking to Isaac and having him pass my words on to the rest of his group. I tell them about the scrying magic at play, the way the last ambush panned out, and the best methods we can use to attack the enemy without endangering ourselves.
Satisfied that we�d ticked all the boxes we could, the humans load up their gear and we move out. As we march, I notice it was quite easy to work out which of the humans in the group have come from the �old school� villagers, as I think of those who�d been here in the early days, and those who had come in the latest wave, the people Morrelia and I liberated as we moved through Liria.
The OG villagers are super respectful, almost reverent in their attitudes as I walk along with them. The newcomers are more distrusting, their eyes often flicking toward me and my pets and their body language betraying their nervousness.
Not that I�m surprised or unhappy with that. If anything, their response was the more natural one. I fear that in time, these new villagers will adopt the same attitudes as the old ones. Perhaps more exposure to Beyn and his preaching will make this inevitable. That guy must have some seriously high Levels in his preaching Skills. Like rank four at least. When he opens his mouth, every person nearby goes slack-jawed and vacant-eyed until he�s finished. It�s crazy to see.
It takes our group long hours of quick marching to get close to the front line. The horde is closing the distance to the nest and village with every moment that passes. I can feel it in the diminished time it took to reach them. The humans set up camp in a concealed location in a copse of trees, and I take it a step further and dig out a tunnel for Crinis, Tiny and myself to rest in.
When the morning comes, the humans spread out and begin to move more cautiously, scouting the road from a distance for signs of the enemy. It�s close to midday by the time we find them, a thick carpet of monsters that blankets a ridiculous amount of ground. We creep through some low hills, flicking our heads over the top to monitor the progress of the monsters following the road.
It�s interesting. I know for a fact that the colony had covered that road in traps, pitfalls with spikes and even more shallow traps designed to break limbs and inconvenience, anything to slow their approach.
But it doesn�t seem like they care at all. The horde continues to push down the predictable path, generally following the road around the forest to the south, and the front ranks of monsters simply fall into the traps, impaling themselves on spikes only to be pushed farther into the pit as the monsters behind them pile on top. With the pit trap filled with their own bodies, the monsters continue on and crunch their own members under their feet.
It�s bizarre. I can�t make out the details at this distance, but it seems as if the traps may cause more casualties than anything else we�ve done, which feels cheap in some way.
As we draw closer and begin to engage our sneak Skills, we take care to ensure we have eyes on the horde at all times. Due to the scrying magic of the Ka�armodo, it�s possible it knows exactly where we are, but so long as we keep our eyes open for monsters heading our way, we believe we can manage.
I even make Tiny crawl, something he isn�t particularly happy about. The closer we get, the clearer I�m able to make out the finer details, and begin to notice something happening on the edges of the horde�
There were small disturbances around the edges of the seething mass of monsters, particularly toward the front and forest sides, the latter of which I can�t really make out. When we get in range, I�m able to see small groups of ants engaging in a seemingly endless series of running engagements with the horde.
Five or six ants will launch themselves from hiding places, either tunnels or out of the tree line, and make lightning-quick attacks against the monsters closest to them. Some launch acid barrages before they retreat with sharp movements, others plunge toward the mass of enemies and engage them in short, violent skirmishes before they break and flee. At any one moment, there are upwards of thirty groups attacking the horde independent of each other, and those are the ones I can see!
It seems as if Victor is having similar thoughts to me in the next phase. By breaking into smaller groups that manage themselves, the risk to the overall force is reduced and we become too difficult for the horde to tackle. If the monsters were to chase the pesky ants, they�d simply run away, disappear into tunnels or vanish into the forest. If the monsters pursue too far, they regain their senses and break away from the control that bound them, which for our purposes was just as good as killing them.
Some groups are caught, snapped up by monsters who move quicker than they expected, or blasted by magic from the Wizard Lizard and its attendants. Even so, there are only five ants lost at a time. Obviously, five ants is five too many, in my opinion, but I can understand the tactic.
After conversing with Isaac, the humans arrange themselves into small teams, half of which stay in reserve, and the other half move forward to engage the fringes of the horde. I take my pets with me and move up to attack.
I need Levels and there�s only one way I�m going to get them. Time to fight.
[Stay alert, crew. We don�t know what might happen and we�re out in the open now.]
[I will, Master. So long as I live, no harm will come to you!] Crinis declares.
[Punch!] Tiny roars.
Fair enough then.
It feels a little odd to be approaching the horde so brazenly like this. We are dependent on the horde itself being as ungainly as it had proven to be in the past. My senses are sharpened to their maximum, trying to grasp any indication that some funny business is going on. But I detect nothing.
I use every resource available to me to try and detect the Ka�armodo at work, or more likely, its slave attendants. Crinis also utilises her Mana Sense, though it has a much shorter range. As we approach, we sense nothing, so I make the decision to engage.
With Crinis on my back, Tiny and I draw closer to the horde until the masses of monsters are within twenty metres of us. The centipedes clack their claws angrily and the hounds growl a warning which we promptly ignore.
Not giving our opponents a moment to gather themselves, we charge straight into them, ploughing through the front rank with explosive force!
Tiny smashes the enemies around him with powerful sweeps of his fists, the kinetic force enough to shatter the body of any monster he hit. From my back, Crinis extends tentacles to the creatures beyond my reach and saws them apart in a gory and terrifying display of her alien physique.
For my part, I chomp, alternating between the two Skills I need to Level, piercing and slicing each monster as it comes within range.
Then, we flee!
[Get your hairy ape butt out of there, Tiny!]
Grumpy and discontented with the short burst of action, Tiny flings the surrounding monsters away and joins us in our exuberant flight from danger.
The fight lasted only seconds. We�d impacted hard, inflicted as much damage as we could, and fled before the horde could surround us. Using our superior speed, we hurtle back into the hills over a kilometre away from the road itself.
The monsters pursue us for a hundred metres or so before they fell back toward the main body of the horde, following the directives of the mind that suppresses them.
In order to prevent the colony from ambushing them as they had previously, it appears the monsters will no longer pursue away from the support of their fellow horde monsters. Which means the colony now has to expose themselves to inflict damage.
We�re trapped, in a way. We need to inflict damage. It is absolutely necessary that we reduce the numbers of the horde before they reach the colony. There is no way we can hope to fend off tens of thousands of monsters in one pitched battle. They�d simply roll over us.
Once the horde settles at the angle we�d attacked, and the monsters have consumed the Biomass of their fallen brethren, we wait to see if anything changes. After a half hour, I�m confident that no steps have been taken to prevent us from engaging again, so we do.
This is going to take a lot of time.
Our mission is divine. Passed down through the centuries from our forebears who were fortunate enough to hear the words of the Great One. To complete the circle, to finish the work that was begun but never completed. Only then can the path be opened and the way to a greater existence be made manifest.
What is this world, with its endless trials and monsters, but purgatory? This is not where we are meant to be. This is not a place where anyone belongs. Only at one point in history was it possible for our lord to reach out to us, to enlighten us to the truth. Our society was told many secrets which we recorded in the Book of Red Truth.
Since that initial communication, we have not heard from our master, but messages have been passed through intermediaries and we know that progress has been made.
Nineteen is not enough. Twenty are required. There are those with potential out there, we have seen them, found them. If we can raise one up, lift it to the pinnacle that is required, then the circle will close and the way will be opened.
We are everywhere, in all nations and amongst all peoples. It is only a matter of time.
Victor was struggling.
When she first evolved into a general, she�d thought it would be simple. Despite all the lessons the eldest had drilled into her and her siblings, about tactics and preserving lives, her instincts had been clear. Ants would fight as they had always fought: overwhelming through superior numbers and avoiding anything that tactic didn�t work on.
Even with her increased intelligence, it didn�t seem as if that generic
plan had any holes. When the eldest insisted that every ant, every
soldier and worker, be given the utmost opportunity to survive, she�d
listened but not
You couldn�t throw ants at a fight until it went away if each of those ants needed to be preserved to the best of your ability. You couldn�t adopt attrition tactics when you were charged with preserving the lives of your soldiers at all costs.
And the thing that was most grating, the thing that gave Victor the
Increased cognitive function had brought many blessings to the species, but it also meant a shift in behaviours and attitudes. Victor just wished they�d had time to learn these lessons without a crisis hanging over their heads.
�How�s the word from the front?� she asked one of her aides.
The large soldier ant shook her body slightly, intimidated at being in the presence of one of her seniors.
�Yes, General! There has been a message from the scouts delivered in the last five minutes! The Ka�armodo acolytes appeared at the front line and began a spell offensive against our skirmish forces. We�ve had multiple accounts of the acolytes appearing from thin air, the scouts suspect invisibility or teleportation magic is at play.�
Victor winced. They�d been worried about that.
�Casualties?� she asked, not wanting to hear the answer.
�Four groups were destroyed before the general retreat was effected.�
Victor sighed. That meant twenty ants lost, most likely in an instant.
When each soldier had such
The eldest had started something strange in the colony, and Victor could only hope that they knew what they were doing.
�I need to speak to Wills. Do you know where she is?� Victor asked her aide.
�I haven�t heard, General. Last report I received had the scout leader making her way toward the front.�
Victor cursed. Wills had shown an increasing tendency to take matters into her own mandibles. It meant the scouts� operations tended to work smoothly, but it also meant Victor could never get ahold of her sibling when she needed to.
�I�ll go find her. You hold here and inform me of any developments when I get back.�
�Yes, ma�am!� the soldier saluted with one antenna.
Victor crawled out of her chamber, with its increasingly detailed map of the terrain and the horde on it. The enemy would reach this forward base within the next twenty-four hours. The ants would have abandoned it by then. According to projections, the horde would take two days to make the final push to the nest.
Victor could only hope that preparations had been finished at the nest by that time. The digging teams from the front had already been sent back to the nest, laying their traps and digging ambush tunnels.
As Victor crawled through the tunnels, the soldiers and workers didn�t give way for her, that wasn�t the ant way. They simply crawled over the top of each other and called out with their pheromone glands.
�Keep working hard, General!�
�No slacking now, General!�
�Almost time for us to start getting serious, isn�t it, General?�
Victor chuckled to herself. At least some things about the colony hadn�t changed. They�d only become more prevalent. These ants would happily work themselves to death if they were allowed. Actually, that reminded her.
�Don�t forget your mandatory breaks!� she shouted so everyone in the tunnel could hear her.
A chorus of groans and curses rang out, tickling her antennae and making her antennae twitch with laughter. They were still ants. No matter what else had changed.
Enid sighed as she stretched out her aching spine. She�d been on her feet for almost two days, and she just wasn�t as young as she used to be. If this catastrophe had occurred twenty years ago, she�d have been in much better shape.
And Derrion would have still been with her.
Her heart panged thinking of her departed husband. The memory of him still ached and she tried to avoid thinking of him too often. You could only prick your finger on a thorn so many times before you learn to stop poking.
She�d thought that with the disaster which befell her nation, and the hectic days that followed, she wouldn�t think of him much as she�d be occupied. And occupied she�d been, to an absurd degree. Even at the height of her trading enterprise, Enid wasn�t certain she�d ever worked this much. Despite the lack of rest, the endless list of problems people insisted on dropping at her table, she found herself thinking of Derrion more and more.
He would have been the perfect person to lead these people.
His slow, warm smile. His quiet strength and the short cut hair he never bothered to take care of. He�d never lost his affable nature, able to talk to the powerful and the poor exactly the same way, with nobody taking offence.
A legend with the sword, able to unlock a rare class after years of training and delving, he�d achieved a level of Skill that Liria had perhaps not seen since its founding. In this situation, his strength, his confidence and his compassion would have seen these people through. Enid had no doubt about that.
But they didn�t have Derrion Ruther, the legendary sword demon. They had Enid Ruther, the merchant, and she was doing the best she could.
Straightening up, Enid spotted a figure in dark leathers at the end of the street and called out.
�Morrelia! Are you back?�
In answer to her call, a hand was raised and soon the too-serious face of the mercenary came into view.
�Enid, how are you holding up?� Morrelia greeted the older woman gruffly.
Enid tried and failed to keep a scowl off her face. Old she may be, but she hated when the younger folk treated her as if she were made of porcelain. She�d been running trade caravans north to the Iron Kingdom before they�d even been born!
�I�m fine,� she snapped, then sighed. �Sorry, Morrelia. I�m a bit tired, but I�m fine.�
The mercenary grunted and leaned against the wall. �You�re holding up better than I am then. I�m absolutely exhausted. I swear you�re made of something different. Mana infused bones or something. How are you still going?�
�Someone�s gotta,� Enid said simply. �It may as well be me. Maybe what they say is true and people get wiser as they get older. In that case, I�d be the wisest person about town.�
Morrelia chuckled, then groaned as she straightened up. �I could drink to that. If we had any time. Have you seen Beyn? He was supposed to organise the next group heading to the Dungeon and it�s time to be going.�
�You only just got back!� Enid protested. �Aren�t you the one pushing yourself too hard?�
If there was one person pushing themselves harder than Enid was, it was Morrelia. Whilst Enid had been working non-stop, all she had to do was organise people, make decisions and calm tensions. The young mercenary had been fighting with the risk of death hanging over her head as she led the inexperienced villagers into the teeth of the Dungeon. During a wave, no less!
�It�s not as bad as all that,� Morrelia shrugged. �The monsters are low-Level, and to be honest, these villagers are as determined and disciplined as any Legion recruit I�ve seen.�
The older woman couldn�t argue with that. The people who�d washed up in the village from the destruction of Liria had proven to be resilient and driven to an almost absurd degree.
She sighed. �Let�s go and find Beyn. I think I know where he�ll be.�
They set off through the village, frequently having to stop as Enid shared an encouraging word with the people she came across. The smiths were still working hard, pounding the metal that had been dug up by workers three kilometres from the village and smelted at a facility they�d completed not a week ago.
Beyn was right where Enid suspected he would be. He�d recently asked Enid and other senior members to allocate a parcel of land close to the centre of their planned town to him, supposedly for the church.
The only question Enid had, was what exactly he was planning on worshipping?
She had a fair idea she knew the answer, but she hadn�t felt brave enough to ask.
The one-armed priest had a small crowd around him. Enid recognised them as the next group to head to the Dungeon. They each had their heads bowed in reverent prayer as Beyn spoke.
��the spirit of the Great One watch over you and encourage you to embrace the creed of his kind. Selflessness, cooperation, and unrelenting, unwavering faith. With these virtues as our cornerstone, we shall fear no danger, overcome all obstacles and conquer all foes! What say you, brothers and sisters?�
�Aye!� they answered passionately.
�When we are beneath the ground, and the foe presses on us from all sides, remember our creed! Remember that your brothers and sisters are with you. Do not falter, be not afraid! We will rise as a collective or fall as independent creatures. Will you be able to cast aside your ego and unite?�
�Aye!� came the response.
Enid was confused. What was going on here?
The two women watched as Beyn completed his service before he joined them.
�Did I hear correctly, priest?� Morrelia asked quietly. �Did you say that you would be joining us in the Dungeon?�
His face a mask of peace and serenity, Beyn nodded.
�Indeed, I have decided I should join with my brothers and sisters and experience the peril of the Dungeon alongside them.�
�What is happening here, Beyn?� Enid demanded. �You know that you have no business being in the Dungeon!�
The priest simply smiled. His expression was calm, with flickering light burning in his eyes.
�I�ve said it all along, Enid Ruther. I�ve been clear from the beginning, in fact. What is happening here?� He waved a hand at the buildings and hardworking people around inhabiting them. �The world is changing, right here and now. We need all embrace the new order. I shall support our people until it is so.�
Each of my three brains screech with pain as I condense more Mana into the Gravity Bomb. The spell was already dense to the point it turned dark, and now it�s rotating ominously as I pour more and more Mana into it.
I grit my mandibles tight and focus. Much like exercising a muscle until
it burns, straining my minds to this point
I won�t have to hold on for long though�
After a few more seconds of pushing Mana into the spell, just before my control begins to slip, I leap up from my hiding place and let it rip.
The mournful cry of the Gravity Bomb rings out as the sphere of condensed Gravity Mana blasts forth, exerting its terrible pull on the air around it. The monsters of the horde had grown accustomed to this sound, and they scramble to move away from the inevitable death that would soon find them.
Except it wasn�t inevitable any more.
No sooner had I unleashed the spell into the pre-dawn air than I leap to one side and scramble left and right. Good thing too, as a fireball impacts the hill not two metres behind my commercial zone, causing me to curse.
Those buggers are getting quicker!
Thanks to my wide field of vision, even as I dodge and hurl myself about, I can see my nemesis of the last few days approaching from within the horde. The slave attendants of the Ka�armodo wore long, pale robes with hoods concealing their faces. I haven�t had an opportunity to get a glimpse of their features, despite them chasing me around over the last twelve hours.
Two of the mages continue their attempts to crash my stocks with searing-hot Fire Magic whilst the others raise their hands and begin to perform the magic I was here to see. We�d been doing this little dance repeatedly throughout the night, and this bit right here is something I desperately want to understand.
The mages have only seconds before the Gravity Bomb impacts and expands, unleashing its full, terrible might. Despite their desperate flight to escape, quite a few monsters on the edge of the horde are still likely to get caught in the blast.
Come on then, you lizard lovers. Let�s see if you can handle this one!
I try to keep my eyes on the mages as I continue frantically dodging, my Mana Sense active and my aching minds sharpened to their limits.
The mages do two things at once. First, they raise a magical barrier between themselves and the bomb. A tactic I was prepared for.
POW! POW! POW!
Jets of acid arc out of my business district. Liquid justice sent to deliver my wroth to the enemy. The moment I fire, the two fire-flinging mages turn their attention to the acid and manage to catch two of my shots with fireballs.
As the last bomb crashes into the barrier, the magical shield bends to absorb the pressure, as if it were a giant elastic sheet being pressed into by a giant�s finger. The acid impacts not long after and eats through the shield, tearing apart the threads and allowing the bomb to push forward until the barrier shatters like glass.
I feel no triumph, however. I knew what was up, as I�d seen this interaction before. As the spell had been caught by the barrier for precious seconds, no less than four of the mage attendants had been hard at work. With my Mana Sense active, I�d been able to see it as they�d reached out with External Mana Manipulation and began to drain away the Mana contained within my spell.
They tear into it with desperate energy, trying to kick over my sand
castle with fierce hammer blows. The combined efforts of the four mages
rapidly unspool my Gravity Bomb. But this time, something is different.
This is a
It wasn�t an exaggeration to say this was the most potent Gravity Bomb I was capable of creating.
When the spell broke through the barrier, it still had plenty of oomph left, far more than the mages were anticipating. I could only imagine the look of shock on their faces as the spell flew forward, ready to impact in their midst�since their faces were still covered and all.
The bomb crashes into the ground and expands rapidly into a swirling vortex of doom that I�ve come to know and love. Due to the efforts of the mages, the spell lost half of its potency. This appears to be a coordinated technique they use to break down spells. I must master this application of External Mana Manipulation! With my multiple brains on the job, I could be defending and attacking with magic at the same time!
Sadly, for the slave mages, half of a condensed Gravity Bomb is still a heck of a thing to deal with.
Using surprisingly agile footwork, the six mages try to slip away. The speed and grace with which they�re able to move their bodies is strange. Perhaps it�s magical in some way? They don�t appear to shift their feet, but merely glide away at high speed.
All but one, that is.
A little too close to the blast, a little too slow to begin moving, the poor sap finds himself caught in the inexorable pull. The trapped creature shrieks and the high-pitched hiss pierces my ears even from a distance of near one hundred metres.
The other mages turn at the sound and reach out to save their comrade. But it�s too late. In another second, the mage is gone, sucked into the swirling heart of the Gravity Bomb and crushed by the potent forces inside.
[You have defeated a Level 46 Setsulah Bonded Mage Attendant.]
[You have gained XP.]
[You have reached Level 38. One Skill Point awarded.]
Yasss! Finally!
The Setsulah servant wasn�t the only creature to get caught in the blast. Plenty of monsters also suffered the wrath of my Gravity Magic.
Once the Gravity Bomb spends itself and fades into nothing, I sprint away. I�d been playing this game with the mage attendants for hours now, and this is the first time I actually managed to destroy one.
A little nervous at the potential wrath of the Ka�armodo, I decide to get the heck out of there.
[Get your people back, Isaac!] I shout at my human associate.
I feel him acknowledge my words, and continue to sprint into the hills to the southeast of the horde where I�d left Tiny and Crinis.
Isaac and I had spent the last day engaged in the hit and run strategy the colony had begun to employ, and we�ve had good success. The humans will use their bows to pick off monsters from range, and if any monsters detach from the main force, they kite back and engage them with spears, keeping themselves in the clear. For my part, I used acid and my mandibles to inflict bits and pieces of damage.
The pace we�re thinning the horde is worrying, not to mention the poor experience I�m getting from chomping away at these monsters.
I�d previously decided not to hold back and go loud. Which meant charging up Gravity Bombs and hurling them into the horde. Naturally, this meant I started destroying monsters at a rather accelerated pace. In fact, so quickly, there has been a fairly swift response from the other side. The attendants had shown up and began to appear whenever I jumped up and spat one of my localized black holes of death. Using their shield technique, they�ve been able to absorb the spell and break it apart before it could land and cause more damage, whilst also trying to fry me at range with their elemental magic.
Thus, a game of cat and mouse began. Where I tried various methods to surprise them and get my Gravity Bombs to punch through their defences, and they worked to anticipate my movements and be in the right place at the right time. I haven�t been too mad about it, since it means the bulk of the attendants are busy chasing me down and don�t have time to fend off the ongoing skirmishes of the colony. I may have been unable to kill as many monsters as I wanted, but the soldier caste has been hard at work fighting, and many monsters have bitten the dust, I�m sure.
Finally, in order to break the stalemate, I�d been forced to unleash my ace in the hole. The most potent Gravity Bomb I could make. One that finally netted me a mage attendant. If we could remove those mages from the equation entirely, it�d make this whole process a lot simpler. They�ve been cagey though. Always moving together in groups.
[How did it go, Master?] Crinis asks.
[Plan went off without a hitch. Only one of them got caught by the bomb, unfortunately.]
[The least they deserve is death by crushing for daring to attack you, Master. If I ever get a tentacle on them, I�d�]
Crinis didn�t finish the thought, so consumed with rage was she. She even extended a few tentacles and was violently twisting them in the air, rending imaginary slave mages to pieces.
[One down, plenty to go. No need to tie yourself into a knot about it. They�re trying to kill us. We�re trying to kill them. Standard day here on Pangera, from my experience.]
It was true. Sapient or non-sapient, everything I�d come across was either interested in killing me or something else. Except Formo of the Sophos. He�s a good dude. If I manage to survive this business with Garralosh, then I�ll have to spend some time tracking down the Sophos colony and say hi. Formo didn�t seem too interested in my death and they would make incredible allies. The information they could provide the Core Shapers alone would be priceless!
[You�ve kicked the plop pile right hard!] That was Isaac trotting toward us. [The horde is stirring something fierce. I think it�s goin� ta be best to lay low for a time.]
[Any sign of movement from the Ka�armodo?] I ask.
[Not that I saw,] he says with a frown. [But I didn�t want to get too close. An angry, centuries-old lizard mage ain�t exactly somethin� I want to get up�n personal with.]
[You make a good point,] I mutter.
I hastily check my core. Getting a touch low. Firing off all these bombs certainly put a strain on the core as my Gravitational Magic Gland continues to pull energy from it in order to top up.
[Might be time for a tactical retreat. Let things simmer down and take a moment to rest and refuel. How are your people holding up, Isaac?]
The former town guard grimaced. [They�re wrecked. A kip and a hot meal would go over well.]
[Right then. You get to a safe distance and set up a camp somewhere south. We�ll head back to the forward nest and rest up. Don�t act on your own, we�ll find you.]
Isaac nods and turns to speak to his group.
[Fight?] Tiny asks hopefully.
[No. Rest,] I tell him.
The giant ape ponders that, then begrudgingly agrees. If he wasn�t going to fight, then a nap was the next best thing.
Trying to remain behind the cover of the hills, my pets and I circle around to the front of the horde, making sure to keep a safe distance. I want to let the rest of the colony know what happened as quickly as possible. Certainly before I retreat to charge up, just in case.
As it happened, I bump into a larger group of ants led by the most energetic soldier of them all.
�Hi-hi, senior!� Vibrant cheers, hopping from one set of legs to the other. �How are you doing on your side?�
�Not too bad,� I admit, not wanting to prompt Vibrant into a longer conversation. �I did have something I wanted to mention.�
�Oh? Did something big happen? It�s been the same old, same old over here. We�re just running in and out over and over again so much I�m getting dizzy. I�m tired, but hey! It beats not doing anything. I wish I could get more Biomass, though. I�m hungry. Are you hungry? Why is there a cloud over your head?�
�What?� I gape.
She was right. A hundred metres over my head, a cloud was rapidly forming. Way too rapidly.
�Run for it! The big lizard is making a move!� I bellow.
After a moment�s hesitation, the ants scatter in every direction, sprinting to safety.
That�s when the lightning came down.
A lance of destruction spears the ground next to me, sending a shower of hot dirt into the air that thuds into my carapace.
Holy moly!
I leap to the left, but not fast enough. The blinding light explodes in the sky above and my vision fails for a second. When it comes back, there�s a large ape with smoke rising from his fur standing over me.
[Tiny!] I shout.
[Run!] he growls.
Good call! My legs scrabble in the dirt as I accelerate and sprint away from the horde.
The rain of lightning continues to fall.
The storm seems to follow me. A rain of lightning pouring out of the sky and lancing into the earth around me.
Tiny and I, with Crinis on my back, lurch from side to side to dodge the
lightning strikes. How are you supposed to dodge lightning strikes? It�s
I think we made the Wizard Lizard a little bit mad.
Yeeouch! That one was close. The thunder roaring in my antennae is almost enough to cause mental damage on its own. My ears aren�t great, but they sure as heck can hear that.
Whoa!
Another bolt struck where I�d been just a moment before. Even whilst running for my life, I�m shocked�heh�at how well I�m dodging these things. Is this my incredible insect reflexes coming to life? Am I finally one with my six-legged people?
Wait a second�
Another lightning bolt dodged! I�m an idiot, it�s my antennae. Moments
before the lightning strikes, my antennae light up with the power of the
bolt descending. It�s a strange but subtle sensation, which is perhaps
why I didn�t notice it at first. An illusory phantom of real sensation.
It isn�t as if I
Hah! This is incredible! I can even dodge lightning!
GAH!
Spoke too soon!
In an instant, my body lit up like a Christmas tree as a bolt connected with my carapace. The insane electrical energy roasts me from the inside out as it passes through me and into the ground. I immediately activate my Regeneration Gland and scramble to put my feet back underneath me as the cool, healing fluid spreads throughout my body.
That seriously hurt!
Oh my God!
[Crinis! Are you ok?]
[I-I�m alright, Master,] Crinis mumbles from my back. [I can� hold on.]
She doesn�t sound good. I can barely make her out in my vision, smoke rising from her tentacles. We need to get the heck out of here!
The moment I�d been hit, Tiny had roared and leapt to stand over me. He paid for his dedication with another bolt of lightning ripping through his body. Fortunately, he seems at least somewhat resistant to the electrical damage. As a Dire Lightning Storm Kong should be.
[Let�s move it, Tiny!]
�Come on, senior! Dash!� Vibrant shouts.
She runs back alongside me, close enough that she�s able to offer me a speed boost from her aura, but far enough she�s not too threatened by the precision lightning strikes. I�m grateful for her bravery. Every little bit of speed helps!
The lightning rages on like hammers from the sky as the Lizard Wizard continues to display its unrelenting wrath at me for daring to destroy its servant. You�re trying to kill my whole family, pal! Try to think from my point of view!
Never mind then!
My HP had been cut in half by that first strike, only to be gradually rebounding now as the regenerative gland does its work. I clack my mandibles in irritation. I really need to work on my magic defence. Opponents like this one have me at a severe disadvantage.
Or do they?
As I focus on running and sensing the lightning with my antennae, I task my sub-brains with a new job. They look into the surrounding air, using my Mana Sense, and begin to monitor the Mana in an area around me.
There it is! By focusing on my Mana Sense, I�m able to detect the mind-numbing amount of Mana the storm cloud above my head contains. It appears to the Skill as if a burning ball of fire exists directly overhead. That is an astonishing amount of Mana. Is this the power of a centuries-old giant lizard?
And right there, the Mana is concentrating toward a single point! My antennae begin to tingle and I leap to the left. Another lightning strike crashes into the ground, and once again, a hail of dirt clods spatter into me.
We continue on as fast as we can while the lightning targets me with unerring precision. How the heck is that lizard able to target me from such long-range! Is it through the scrying magic? It isn�t as if every lightning bolt targets me, but the vast majority do.
With my sub-minds, I try to reach up to the cloud above my head. If I could use the External Mana Manipulation Skill to break apart the spell, we�ll be able to get the heck out of this hell storm! Sadly, try as I might, I can�t extend my Mana Manipulation to that extent. My sub-minds strain as hard as they can, but the farthest away from my body I can manipulate the Mana is just shy of the clouds.
Dammit!
I
With the help of Vibrant and using the Mana Sense to predict lightning strikes, we run on for a kilometre before the storm finally abates. It�s quite a sight to see a crackling, dark cloud that had been pelting us with deadly lightning simply fade away over the course of a second.
I can only assume that we moved beyond the range of the lizard. I�ve
never seen magic on that sort of scale and at such a distance before.
What rank do the related Skills need to get to before you can start to
cast something like
I guess after a couple of hundred years, I would be able to get a few Skills to rank nine or ten, at least. They must get incredibly powerful at that level.
[Haha! We made it out, senior!] Vibrant did a little dance of joy to celebrate.
[Could you talk to the council about pulling back the skirmishers for a time? I�m worried things are going to get more dangerous from this point on if the Ka�armodo starts to take a more direct hand against all of the colony and not just me.]
[Roger-roger!] Vibrant salutes with one antenna and races off, accompanied by her gang of fifty ants. I swear her group just keeps getting larger�
Desperate for rest and a bit of healing, my pets and I make our way toward the small Dungeon chamber the workers provided for us. Once there, we chew up the creatures who spawned in order to heal and satisfy our hunger before slipping into sleep or torpor.
After today�s excitement, we need a good snooze before tomorrow. That would be the day we abandon the forward HQ entirely and move back to the main nest. I hope things have been going well back there�
The role of the Brood Tender seems straight forward enough. It�s mostly in the name, after all. The brood consists of the unhatched eggs, the larvae and the pupae that are the future generations of the colony. Ensuring they were cared for in the most optimal way possible was the Brood Tenders� primary responsibility.
�How goes the brood today, Florence?�
�Theresant? Nice to see you! You�ve been at the Academy for days! The darlings are busy little grubs, as usual!�
The two council members approached each other with gladness ringing from their antennae. The two ants had a peaceful and motherly disposition, which was why they�d volunteered to take up this role, despite the immense pressure involved.
�Are we going to reach our target for today?� Florence asked her sister. �Two hundred hatchings, two hundred graduations?�
�I believe so. My people in the Academy have assured me the current crop of hatchlings will be ready to graduate on time.�
�Wonderful!�
�I agree!�
They fell into a companionable silence as they moved to a brood chamber near the surface. The larvae needed warmth to accelerate their growth, so they were moved to chambers closer to the surface during the day as the sun shone, and then deeper underground at night, where the heat remained trapped. With the wave at play, however, the Brood Tenders were unwilling to risk their charges in the Dungeon proper, so they�d asked if some fire mage ants could assist in warming the chambers for the brood.
The siblings arrived and were greeted by their fellow Tenders already hard at work. The overlapping nourishing auras washed over them and gave them both a little shiver of joy. The aura gland was an expensive part of the evolution from worker caste to Brood Tender, which seemed like a waste because the gland itself didn�t have a powerful effect. It essentially calmed and nourished infants of the aura owner�s species, helping them grow faster and stronger.
But when the aura effect overlapped with others, the effect became more noticeable. When it had first been noticed that those hatched from chambers with more Tenders in them were slightly more developed, even having a few extra stat points, the colony decided to produce a large batch of Brood Tenders to further investigate this caste.
It was no exaggeration to say that currently, apart from the soldiers, the colony was pouring the most resources into the Brood Tenders. In order to combat the crisis facing the family, soldiers were needed desperately, but so were the specialised ants required to raise them.
Theresant and Florence cleaned the larvae, tickled them and played with them before they moved on to the next chamber, doing the rounds so they could keep an eye on the progress of every member of the brood. As they passed through the tunnels, other ants made space for them respectfully as they called out words of encouragement.
�Tenders, work hard today!�
�How fares the brood today, Tenders? Can I assist in any way?�
�Make sure those hatchlings are putting forth all of their effort, Tenders! We don�t want lazy ants in the colony!�
�Small chance of that,� laughed Florence.
The Brood Tenders were given space wherever they went. Nothing was allowed to impede their work. The brood was the future of the colony. It was ingrained into ant nature to prioritise the rearing of the young above almost everything else, and that hadn�t changed when the species of the colony shifted.
They�d only grown more thoughtful and calculating about how they went about it.
Florence and Theresant gathered in the main brood chamber, where the pupae, those young in their final stage of development before they emerged from their cocoons, were being nurtured by a large cluster of their caste.
�Greetings, sisters,� Theresant called.
�Greetings, senior,� they replied.
�Have there been any further breakthroughs regarding Skill development or progression?�
One of the Tenders stepped forward.
�No, senior. Only a few of us have managed to raise the Nurturing Skill to the third rank, but no new Skills have been unlocked.�
�Make sure the test groups are kept separate. On different sides of the colony, if possible. We need to ensure we can isolate the cause in the event that new options become available.�
�Of course, senior,� the Tenders acknowledged.
The colony was accelerating their efforts to grapple with the System. Test groups for every caste of worker, soldier and artisan were hard at work trying to unlock new Skills, test Skill fusion options and explore the benefits of ranking up Skills. This would enable the paths of future generations of ants to be smoother and more efficient, as they didn�t have to waste time or effort in crafting the perfect build for their role.
It had been Florence who first unlocked the Nurturing Skill by raising a young single-handedly from egg to hatchling. Such a thing had been more likely back when there were fewer Tenders about, but it was still a complete fluke that no other worker had touched that particular larva, right up until it spun its cocoon and hatched. The Skill granted knowledge and instincts when raising the young, turning the Tenders into almost supernaturally gifted carers. Which in turn caused the larvae to develop more rapidly and emerge from their cocoons stronger and smarter than they otherwise would.
Now, every Tender was assigned an egg on their first day in the caste. They felt sure that there were further Skills to be unlocked to deal with rearing that would allow them to provide even better care for their charges.
Theresant had been the one to unlock the Teaching Skill after taking a class of young hatchlings in the Academy all the way through the program solo. She�d been one of the council members assigned to training new hatchlings and was helping to develop the process that turned a hatchling into a thriving member of the colony. The system of teaching young hatchlings developed rapidly in the colony, a far sight from the early days when the eldest had handed responsibility over to the twenty.
Now the Academy was a formal, tested education program that aimed to maximise efficiency and effectiveness. And thanks to Theresant�s efforts, it was discovered that the Tenders had a key role to play here as well. They were in a better position than most to spend their Skill Points on non-combat, non-craft-related Skills.
It was believed that the unlock of the Teaching Skill was tied to a certain number of individuals gaining a certain number of Skill Levels under an individual�s tutelage. Though they hadn�t managed to pinpoint the numbers yet.
After Teaching had been unlocked, the associated Instructor Clarity Skill had been discovered, allowing instructors to better structure their lessons to ensure the message was received during a training session. This Skill had been a lifesaver and greatly expedited the time it took for a new hatchling to grasp the eldest�s decree to preserve life.
�Who would have thought,� Theresant asked Florence, �that our caste would so quickly rise to such a key role in the colony?�
Her sibling dipped her antennae in acknowledgement.
�I have to say, I didn�t expect us to be
�I have to praise the supreme wisdom of the eldest,� Theresant admitted. �Only they could have foreseen how critical the Brood Tenders would be to the colony.�
�Oh, I quite agree,� said Florence. �The Academy, the Tenders, the way the colony continues to grow and develop, is all according to the grand design of the eldest. Such foresight. It takes my breath away.�
The two members of the council nodded solemnly as they each committed to never forget the incredible being who seemed to hold the very future between their mandibles. How lucky were they, to be the creation of such a creature?
My core still hurts and it�s starting to worry me. After gaining some Levels and exercising, the pain has diminished to the point where I don�t notice it so much on a conscious level. It just stings. Sitting in the small Dungeon chamber and feeling the Mana flow in, I�m starting to worry about pushing to absorb the full rare core. Will I actually be able to take it? I know I�m technically pushing my core beyond what the System mandates is the �maximum safe limit,� but that�s probably just a guideline, right?
It�ll be fine! I�m sure of it. What�s the worst that can happen? My core detonates and tears me apart from the inside�?
Well, that would suck. Actually, that would be pretty damn bad. I�ll keep my claws crossed.
Since I�m here in the Dungeon, soaking up some Mana and getting a rest, I may as well tick off all of the boxes I can. I get the feeling I�m not going to get much of a chance to rest over the next two days. Things are going to get intense the closer we get to the nest.
First cab off the rank is my mutations. This is a momentous moment for me. Due to impetuousness, impatience, and a general inability to focus, I�ve never reached maximum mutations before evolving, but this time it�s going to be close. I�m excited! If I get there, I won�t have to struggle as hard to cover the Biomass gap after I�ve evolved!
Gwehehehehehe!
Wait, don�t get so ahead of yourself, Anthony! You have to survive the horrific death army of zombie monsters marching toward the family while you sit here soaking your stock portfolio in Mana. No to mention, you aren�t fully mutated yet!
Ok, let�s do this.
I�ve got a huge store of Biomass tucked away at the moment, enough for five +20 mutations, which will cost a whopping four hundred and fifty Biomass. Such wealth! Such largesse! I�m like a dragon sitting on a horde of precious gold! Muahahahaha! Those stomach upgrades are really paying dividends, I can�t believe how much faster I�ve been able to rack up the points when compared to a non-mutable stomach. Viva the Formica Sapiens!
Five mutations, and I still have eight body parts to go. No time to worry about that, though, I need to work out what I want to pick this time around.
I need to consider what�s going to be most useful for my battle against Garralosh. I mean, I�d rather not have to think about fronting up to that freaking dinosaur, but I don�t really have much choice. These mutations need to count!
The best choices, I believe, are my Coordination Cortex, Inner Plating, Regeneration Gland, Antennae and Legs. These give me a good balance of offensive and defensive upgrades that will hopefully be enough to keep me alive and put the hurt on the damn croc.
Alright, time to dive into those menus.
First, let�s deal with the cortex. I�m a big fan of this little brain connector, and the mutations I�ve picked for it so far are working a treat. It helps boost my brains when they�re working independently or together, so whether I�m trying to pump out weaker spells or one big one, my brains always get some extra oomph!
For now, though, I�m not sure that I want to keep going down that path. I could just keep mutating them along those lines, but what I�m really struggling with in the brain department is mental fatigue. If I can get a mutation that can help when my brains are under high amounts of strain for longer periods of time, that would be for the best. The Coordination Cortex is basically like a traffic controller, a mutation that helps it direct traffic when everything is jammed is pretty much what I want.
Poking around the lists, I eventually find what I�m looking for. The Indomitable mutation. It effectively helps to spread the load across my brains when they�re strained. Perfect! I can imagine my neurons are going to get completely cooked in upcoming battles, so this will help a ton!
Next is the plating! This has been such a good addition. Covering for the weaknesses of my Diamond Carapace by helping to disperse shocks and impacts to prevent cracking has been huge. With this inner layer of support, my outer shell has been able to shine all the brighter! The question is, what do I want it to do now?
The inner plating is doing a great job currently of absorbing punishment, and repairing my carapace, but I can always use a bit more oomph out of the latter.
The issue with my Diamond Carapace is that it can take quite a long time to heal, especially when compared to muscular or organ damage. Maybe the blood flow to the exo-skeleton is poor or something? If I enhance the healing mutation, the plating will be able to release more potent healing fluid directly into the carapace itself from underneath, speeding up the repair of cracks or slashes significantly. I like it!
We�re on a roll here, people! Making awesome improvements to yourself can be quite addicting, I have to say. And there�s no downside. On to the next!
The Regeneration Gland. Unfortunately, I can�t see this thing not getting a workout over the next while. I�m going to have to put my shiny body on the line for my siblings and I won�t come out unscathed, so it makes sense to power up this gland as much as I possibly can. I mean, this one is pretty straightforward. I�ve made it so the gland is better at regenerating my limbs, which is important since they�re by far my weakest points, but I don�t think I need to carry that further. What I really want is more healing with each blast of the gland. Make that precious healing juice go a bit further every time I use it!
The option isn�t that hard to find. Potency. Lock that baby in.
Now, the antennae. The feelers. The ol� back scratchers. So far, we�ve had heat detection added, which is nice, then future detection, which is freakin� cool as heck, and I�ve been pretty much feeling the Future Sight ever since then, emphasising it at my last mutation at +15. If I�m going to fight something like Garralosh, then I�d very much like to get the heck out of the way if at all possible, so improving that ability seems prudent to say the least.
Lock it in! Next!
Lucky last, it�s the legs. This is an important one. It�s three times more important for me than it would be for a human, for obvious reasons. Being able to soak up Mana through my legs has been great, but right now I�m not really running short on Mana. More to the point, the mutation works a heck of a lot better in the Dungeon than it does up here on the surface. There�s not much point doubling down on it right now. No, what I need is for my legs to be a bit more durable, so I don�t lose them as often!
Six legs is the best and correct number of legs. I�m sick of monsters trying to reduce the number I have to something inferior. Scrolling through the lists, I find a nice option to thicken up the carapace layer over the legs and protect my joints. Lock that in, then punch it with a whoo!
[Would you like to improve:
Networked Coordination Cortex +15 to Indomitable Coordination Cortex +20?
Supportive Inner Carapace Plating +15 to Supportive Healing Inner Carapace Plating +20?
Regrowth Regeneration Gland +15 to Potent Regrowth Regeneration Gland +20?
Future Sight Infrared Antennae +15 to Oracle Antennae +20?
Rapid Osmotic Legs +15 to Tough Rapid Osmotic Legs +20?]
Let�s go!
HAGGAK!
Did I really think to myself that there�s no downside? What sort of
moron forgets about the downside! It�s you, Anthony!
The itch erupted instantly all over my body as five separate body parts undergo the mutation process. This never gets better. It only gets worse!
Five minutes later and I�m still on the floor twitching like an idiot. Don�t look at me like that, Tiny!
Preserve my dignity!
GAH!
Fortunately, it comes to a merciful end and I�m able to collect myself from the ground. Nobody appears to be looking too closely. Good.
Alright, I think it�s time to go through the status. I haven�t checked it for a while, what with the constant fighting and eating.
Name: Anthony
Level: 38 (Special core)
Might: 41
Toughness: 29
Cunning: 44
Will: 35
HP: 58/58
MP: 240/240
Skills: Expert Excavation Level 5 (III); Deadly Acid Shot Level 5 (III); Enhanced Grip Level 5 (II); Advanced Shattering Bite Level 15 (IV); Advanced Stealth Level 7 (II); Splintering Chomp Level 2 (IV); Tunnel Map Level 7 (II); Mana Transformation Level 12 (III); Advanced Condensed Mana Level 5 (III); Finer External Mana Manipulation Level 5 (III); Empowered Mana Sensing Level 6 (II); Core Surgery Level 6 (III); Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence Level 11 (III); Distant Pet Communication Level 4 (II); Rapid Dash Level 9 (II); Expert Water Magic Affinity Level 2 (III); Expert Stamina Level 3 (III); Pet Growth Speed Level 1 (I); Mana Scrooge Level 9 (II); Expert Cerebral Endurance Level 14 (III); Profound Meditation Level 7 (III); Advanced Precise Shooting Level 7 (II); Severing Bite Level 15 (III); Advanced Mind Magic Affinity Level 6 (II)
Mutations: Heightened Perimeter Eyes +20; Oracle Antennae +20; Mana Binding Acid +15; Tough Rapid Osmotic Legs +20; Bright Empowered Mandibles +20; Hardened True Diamond Carapace +20; Potent Regrowth Regeneration Gland +20; Loquacious Pheromone Gland +15; Expansive Gravity Magic Gland +15; Indomitable Coordination Cortex +20; Supportive Healing Inner Carapace Plating +20; Selective Gluttonous Stomach +20
Species: Dispersed Mind Ant (Formica Sapiens)
Skill Points: 14
Biomass: 5
Holy mackerel, that�s a lot of Skill ups! I didn�t even remember that Splintering Chomp had reached rank four! Nice! Only one Bite Skill to go before the fusion shall begin! I managed to gain a lot of Levels in the Mana-related Skills as well. Always a good thing in my mind.
And finally! Level 38! I�m actually a bit concerned� I need two more Levels in two days if I�m going to evolve before they reach the nest. Actually, not even two days. If the Lizard Wizard is going to keep hurling lightning storms at me whenever I get close, that�s going to be a serious problem! Not to mention the three mutations I still need to complete�
I might need to consult with the council on this one�
The evacuation of the forward HQ has already begun when I exit the Dungeon. Hundreds of ants, perhaps as many as a thousand, are rushing this way and that, digging, lifting and generally getting things done in every direction. A long trail has already been established, and soldiers as well as workers are vanishing into the distance as they march back to the nest and home.
They�re very different ants from those who started this fight. Thousands of Biomass has been consumed over the last five days. Not to mention the experience and Levels gained. Mutations are evident across the sea of ants. Soldiers with glittering carapaces, even a few diamond-looking ones, long, flowing antennae, thicker, more powerful legs.
For those who survived, the battles have been a forge in which their strength has been tempered. They�ve emerged bigger and badder than before, ready to put their lives on the line in defence of the colony and queen in the final battle to come.
I spot a dense cluster of ants communing near the main entrance and make my way over. Sure enough, the leadership is grouped there, giving out instructions and consulting on last-minute changes in strategy.
�Hey, Victor! Wills! Mendant! How�s things going?�
The three members of the twenty turn at my call.
�Well, ever since the er, lightning incident, things have been tense,� Victor admits.
Yeah, I kind of had a feeling that might be the case.
�Any more casualties?� I ask, nervous.
�No, eldest,� Mendant answers gently. �We have simply been reluctant to engage with the horde with such an unstable element at play.�
�I can understand that. I may be able to help, even.�
Wills perks up at my words.
�You�ve come up with a way to attack the Ka�armodo? That�ll be incredible.�
�Ah, no. Nothing that grand. I still need two more Levels before I can
evolve, right? Which means I�m going to have to go back in. I�ll join up
with the humans and hit the horde from behind, which
�Meaning the colony will be able to operate with far less risk from the front,� Victor muses.
�You�re taking a lot of risk onto yourself, eldest,� Mendant worries. �Isn�t there a better way that we could approach this?�
I shake my antennae in refusal. �I won�t have members of the family sacrificing themselves so I can farm experience peacefully,� I say firmly. �I refuse. This is the way it�s going to be. It�ll also work to minimise the risks to the greatest number of us.�
I give Mendant a friendly pat on the head with an antenna.
�Not to worry, I�m not easy to kill. Enough monsters have tried, but I�m still here.�
The healer shifts uncomfortably under my antennae, like an embarrassed teenager as they suffer the affection of a parent.
�How long until you move out, eldest?� Victor asks.
�No time like the present, I suppose. The humans should already be waiting close to where I left them. I�ll need an hour to circle around and meet up at their location, then another hour to get into position behind the enemy. I get the feeling you might notice once I have their attention.�
Victor nods. If the sky starts sprouting lightning bolts again, it�ll be hard not to notice.
�Ah,� I say, a little embarrassed to be bringing it up, �there is something you could do for me.�
�Of course, eldest, anything,� Victor replies.
When you reply like that, I only feel worse.
�I�m� short on the Biomass I need to complete my mutations. Do you think you might be able to help me out?�
Diverting resources away from the rest of the family feels terrible. The amount of food I need to complete my mutations could be spread over so many ants. I hope I�m not being selfish, but I really feel like I need every edge I can possibly get.
�That�s not a problem, eldest. We will have teams gather everything you need,� Wills says, and the others nod enthusiastically. I can tell that they�re genuinely happy to be able to help me out.
�How goes the evacuation?� I ask, shifting the topic.
�Quickly and efficiently,� Victor states proudly.
As if it could be anything else. You�re
�Fair enough. I�d better get moving. The sooner I get to fighting, the sooner I can evolve.�
�Be careful out there, eldest,� Wills warns me. �We�re going to need you by the end.�
�Miss out on the final showdown?
After a final few words to the council members present, I turn to run only to find many of the surrounding soldiers and workers frozen in place, watching me.
Uhhh� What�s happening, people?
The air itself seems to still, so perfectly motionless is every ant present. I twitch my antennae nervously, uncomfortable under the attention of so many of my siblings. What are they waiting for? Do they want me to say something? Since when did they need me to tell them what to do?
Ah! Come on, Anthony. Think! Say something inspirational. Something moving. Something with meaning!
�Ah�� Nice start! �Ahem. Uh� Work hard! Er� for the colony?� I mumble.
There was a moment of silence before:
�FOR THE COLONY!� roar a thousand ants in unison.
Then, just like that, they go back to working, even faster than before. Confused, I turn to Mendant who has quietly approached my side.
�They look up to you,� she says, having seen the query in my eyes. �They seek guidance from you on how to be proper Formica Sapiens.�
I goggle at her. �You are all far better ants than I�ll ever be,� I tell her honestly.
The ants who heard me fall silent for some reason, but I pay them no mind. It�s time to get moving.
[Let�s go, Tiny.]
With my pet ape in tow and Crinis on my back, I speed off from the ants and out into the open space. The horde shouldn�t be far away from this place, so I make sure to keep my head down and avoid getting too close as we run a wide circle.
Lightning bolts falling on my head isn�t something I�m in a rush to experience again.
We loop around far enough and manage to find the humans camped in a copse of trees, sensibly concealed from prying eyes.
[Seems like things are coming to a head,] Isaac observes as I bring him up to speed.
[What do you think?] I ask. [Do you want to stick around and take a few more jabs, or do you want to head back to town?]
Isaac rubs his chin thoughtfully. [I think me an� the gang are up for some more action. I�d say Enid has things arranged back at the village.]
[And Morrelia will still be in the Dungeon.]
The man deflates before my eyes.
[That�s true too,] he mutters.
This man was sure going to die soon. If not to the horde, then to an angry berserker.
Isaac and his squad pack their stuff and we mosey our way to the back of the horde. It takes an hour of careful movement, creeping where we can and generally doing everything possible to prevent the monsters from seeing us. The entire time, I keep an eye on the sky, worrying that at any second, a dark cloud might form, and I�ll be forced to start dancing the dance of life.
Thankfully, it doesn�t happen. Whatever the Ka�armodo is doing, it doesn�t appear to be scrying for my location. At least it isn�t actively throwing spells at me. I understand I volunteered to draw the Wizard Lizard�s attention in order to relieve the burden from the rest of the colony, but I don�t want to take that heat before I�ve even started to engage the horde in combat!
So, we creep, crawl and sashay to the rear of the horde, and once we�re there, we group up to hatch a plan.
[You want to draw the attention, and lightning, of the Ka�armodo onto your head?] Isaac asks.
[That�s right,] I confirm.
[I love it. I won�t stand next to you, but I love it. What do you want from me and my team?]
[We�ll split up into two teams and engage separately. I�m assuming that once the Ka�armodo notices me, the fireworks might begin, so I�ll try and be cautious. It makes sense that you stay a reasonable distance from me. When the lightning slash fire slash doom begins to rain on me, I want you guys to keep an eye out for the mage slaves.]
Isaac nods as he rubs his chin.
[You want us to try and find a chance to jump �em,] he observes.
[Nothing fancy,] I warn. [Try and take a few pot shots. Chances are you won�t be able to actually take one of them down, but if you can distract them, that�ll help me a ton. Just remember, if you actually manage to take one of them down, you�ll need to hightail it out of here lickety-split.]
The former town guard doesn�t hesitate to nod with vigour.
[I don�t plan on letting me or my crew get cooked.] He laughs. [We�ll tag along with you on this one. Give me a chance to talk with my people and we�ll be in position soon.]
As Isaac gathers his team, who are still keeping a respectful distance from me, Tiny, Crinis and I make our way toward the horde.
It�s stressful creeping up on the business end of the mass of monsters, half expecting magical death at any moment, but surprisingly, we continue to evade notice. It isn�t long until we manage to sneak close enough for the back end of the monsters marching away to come into view.
Yes, even Tiny sneaked up to this point. That�s how little attention they�re paying us.
It�s almost a letdown. Here we are, hugging the ground, shoving our
faces into the dirt, even Crinis is off my back and crawling tentacle by
tentacle in order to lower our profile.
We�ll show them!
I grit my mandibles to contain my indignation and we crawl even closer, until the vast field of monsters is only twenty metres away. We�re so close, I can smell them and sense the heat rising from the densely packed beasts.
Then I start weaving a spell.
Not the Gravity Bomb. I�m concerned the Ka�armodo might sense the potent Mana build up before I�m ready to release.
No, this time I�m aiming for the condensed Water Cannon. At this range, I�ll be able to slice through the closest ranks of monsters like a hot knife through a soft and meltable spread of some sort.
[Tiny, prepare to charge lightning,] I instruct my battle hungry ape friend and get a devilish bat-grin in return.
[What about me, Master?] Crinis asks, eager for direction.
[You know what to do, Crinis. Make them afraid,] I tell my pet horror ball.
[Understood,] she purrs.
As she continues to creep forward on her short, permanent tentacles, the shadow beneath her body darkens to an impossible black and she begins to extend tentacles into it. It won�t be long before she�s ready to bring them up directly underneath the monsters.
As I direct my sub-brains to do the heavy lifting on the spell I�m working on, I activate my Mana Sense. This Skill has been coming in handy lately and I honestly don�t know why I don�t have it on all the time. It does make more material things harder to perceive, but when my number one threat is death by Wizard Lizard, keeping an eye on the flow of Mana around me makes a lot of sense.
As my vision transforms, becoming coloured with the density and flow of Mana, shock overcomes me at what I see. A vast confluence of Mana is forming in the middle of the horde. It rotates slowly, like a tornado gathering speed, and is pulling the Mana from the surrounding air into the centre.
Even the Mana around me, on the outside of the horde, is starting to move, to flow toward that grand working. Energy is continuously extending farther into the sky, rotating faster and faster as it goes.
What the heck is going on?
�GOOOOAAAAARRRRRR,� a voice growls, so deep, the ground beneath my feet trembles and the air itself batters into my brains.
Garralosh. It has to be!
My heart speeds up as the cyclone of Mana grows stronger each second. Are they working a grand spell that�ll annihilate the colony from here? No way, right? We�re still two days� travel out! What could they possibly need all this energy for?
Garralosh stands tall in the centre of the horde, raising her massive
body onto her rear legs. She�s
I switch off Mana Sense so I can better see her physical body, and can
only swallow my shock. How the heck is she so
Holy smokes!
When she evolved, she must have pumped points into muscle density rather than size at a crazy ratio to end up like that! It�s less efficient than getting larger in terms of raw stats, but it does allow her to pack an incredible amount of power into a smaller frame. Not that her frame is small!
The gigantic monster throws her head back and opens her jaws wide, exposing the absurdly long croc teeth held within. In order to blur my sight of those teeth, I flick my Mana Sense back on and am treated to the sight of the Mana cyclone inverting itself.
Instead of rising into the sky, the conflux turns and begins to shrink, still pulling in the Mana from the air toward the centre. All of that Mana continues to sink toward the hulking croc looming in the middle.
They�re feeding Mana to Garralosh! Trying to keep her core topped off!
In which case, now might be the perfect time to attack�
With the Wizard Lizard and its collection of friendly mage slaves occupied with drenching the gigantic croc in their midst with Mana, now seems like the perfect time to rip into the horde. Claws crossed they won�t be able to divert their attention to us whilst engaged in this sort of activity.
[Let�s hit �em hard!] I roar at my pets and open up the condensed Water Cannon I�ve been working on.
The super dense beam of water blasts out and drills into the back of a particularly annoying-looking giant centipede before I turn the spell to the side and begin scything through the ranks of monsters. With an excited grin on his face, Tiny climbs to his feet and thrust his hands forward, unleashing his lightning to the limit.
At the same time, Crinis sets loose her tentacles, allowing the curled limbs to emerge from the very shadows of the monsters before us, grasping them tightly and rending them apart before they even realise they are under attack.
Gwehehehehe!
Yesssss. Feel our power! Behold our might! Surprise attack right in the commercial district! How you like them apples, huh? Bet you don�t like it much! You�ll regret attacking my colony.
Cackling to myself, I continue to play the concentrated beam of water on the monsters, sweeping it back and forth in slow arcs. Spray fountains into the air, covering monsters as far as fifty metres away in droplets of water that leave them vulnerable to the oncoming lightning onslaught.
There is something cathartic about unleashing this level of mayhem against an enemy so much larger and more powerful than myself. Part of me rejoices in this risk-taking behaviour. Exposing myself to danger was becoming habit forming.
At least Tiny is happy�
As much as the giant bat-faced ape loves to get his fists on the enemy,
he also enjoys a good roasting from time to time. It isn�t
Our onslaught is so rapid and overwhelming that the monsters don�t know how to respond at first. Milling about in confusion, turning this way and that, seemingly devoid of direction. And perhaps they are! If the big croc and the Ka�armodo are busy doing the Mana thing, then regardless of which of them is responsible for voodoo�ing these monsters into line, they aren�t getting directions from either right now!
This is the time to strike!
[Let�s go loud! Tiny, once you�re out of electricity, get your fists in there. Try to cover us, Crinis, I�m going in!]
Tiny�s grin grows so wide, every one of his fangs is revealed as he
doubles his efforts to output his Lightning Mana as fast as possible. We
might be able to harvest some serious XP if the response is going to be
I start to step forward whilst maintaining my concentration on the spell. The effective range on the Water Cannon isn�t as much as I�d like, and if I want to keep cutting through the monsters then I need to close the distance. The first targets of our assault are already beyond saving. We need to press deeper into the belly of the beast in order to find more victims.
With Crinis staying slightly behind to position for our escape, we step into the mass of monsters until a wide semi-circle of carnage has been created before us. The notifications of the bushy bearded one ring constantly in my mind. I push them to one side. No need to get distracted by that miscellaneous noise, I�ll check my status after we get out.
At this point, the monsters begin to turn and push back into us. The lethargy is gradually falling away from them and being replaced with a more customary aggression and rage as the light returns to their eyes. Growls and roars begin to fill the air, along with the clicking of mandibles and stomping of feet.
I notice the change immediately and snap my Mana Sense back on. It still
seems as if the Ka�armodo is performing its grand working, the Mana
continuing to flood toward the centre of the horde. The area around here
is going to be
I take a moment to consider my options. The monsters are fighting back, which is bad, but the Ka�armodo is still distracted, which is good. The farther we push the more vulnerable we�ll be, which is bad, but the more we push in the more damage we can inflict, which is good.
Gah!
[Keep swinging, Tiny! We�ll hit �em for two more minutes and then skedaddle!] I holler to my pets.
Tiny roars and starts throwing his fists around with wild abandon, fresh out of electricity with which to aim at his opponents. Bellowing with anger, the monsters around him engage, trying to bite, claw and beat the giant ape into submission. Reluctantly I let my spell fade in order to relieve the pressure on my sub-brains. After maintaining the Water Mana Construct and pumping out condensed Mana for so long, they are reaching their limits.
I do get them to keep the Water Mana Construct formed, just in case.
With the jet of piercing water no longer holding them back, the monsters
start to collapse toward me, baring their fangs at Crinis and I. Settle
down, monsters, you�re about to catch these
Receive the Severing Bite of my Justice!
CHOMP!
We�re in deep now and getting deeper. More and more monsters are responding to our aggression and piling into the melee that�s developed. Crinis does her best to keep us from being surrounded, but as time goes on, she�s forced to dedicate more tentacles to defending herself as foes swarm around her.
Things are getting dicey. As an evolved rabbit attempts to kick my head in, sending shockwaves through my carapace that are absorbed by my inner plating, I think that perhaps we are in a little too deep. I twist my body to avoid the claws of a Wolf Dragon Hound and sever the rabbit�s legs.
Time to enact our exit strategy.
[Tiny! Scream!] I shout.
Immediately, the giant ape throws his head back and unleashes his Sonic Scream. The mind-numbing blast of sound explodes out, stunning everything within earshot and making my head ring.
[Break free! Time to get out of here!]
Following my own advice, I stumble only a little due to the stun before I manage to shake off both the effects and the monsters hanging onto me. Satisfied with the havoc caused and the damage inflicted, Tiny and I run for the hills.
That�s when a magic fence popped up.
I�m not a fan of magic fences at the best of times. When I�m trying to
break out of an encircling horde of thousands of monsters, I
Because it doesn�t take a genius to know who�s responsible for this inconvenient impediment. Sure enough, to either side of me, two Setsulah mage servants have appeared, seemingly from thin air.
Aren�t you guys supposed to be somewhere else right now? Why the heck are you here!
My feet scramble to halt my momentum as I tumble forward, but I fail to stop in time.
BAM!
I slam into the barrier of flowing light, the shock of the impact reverberating throughout my exo-skeleton. That frickin� hurt! But they stuffed up this time. Those mages are closer than they were last time. I brush off the impact and focus my eyes on them. Robed and hooded as always, there is very little I can make out of their bodies, but they�re close. Each not even ten metres away.
I don�t know if this is a trap or if they�re just taking advantage of the situation, but I�ll happily take another one of these guys down, even if it means having to ride the lightning again.
Dash!
Activating Dash, I streak forward at high speed, my mandibles open wide, ready to rend and tear at the mage to my right. Before I chomp down, a tingle from my antennae warns me something is coming. I slam on the brakes, my legs scrabbling to halt my momentum, just as another barrier springs into existence, shielding my target behind a protective wall of golden light.
Dammit!
Out of the corner of my eyes, two more of the mage slaves appear, their barriers joining together with the first, protecting them from my wrath. I don�t like this. Not one bit!
Indecision and uneasiness strike me. What should I do? Dig under? Run back? What if more of them are coming or are already there? Will my acid break through?
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
The air rumbles at the power of that voice and, in the back of my mind, I note the suffocating aura that rolls off momma croc growing stronger, ever so slightly. And then again.
She�s coming!
Oh no-no-no-no-NO-NO-NO!
I�m NOT going down here like this!
I refuse to end my second life as croca plops. Refuse! I�d rather be fed to a nest of claw-centipedes. I�d rather be melted down and eaten by an acid slug. Heck, I�d prefer to be chewed up by a stupid thorn lizard than get eaten by Garralosh!
I spin in place, expertly presenting my business district to the first barrier.
POW! POW! POW! POW!
As I spin, I unleash my acid of perpetual prosperity which splashes into the barrier and adheres to it, sizzling as it begins to eat away at the Mana.
[Tiny! Get over here, buddy!] Unfortunately, Tiny has been caught inside the barrier with me. [Crinis! Any chance you can tenderise any of these mage slaves?]
Since she�d been hanging back, Crinis hasn�t been trapped with us, but she still has plenty of monsters to deal with, even if they�re temporarily stunned for a moment.
[I�m trying, Master!] she cries. [There is something blocking me!]
I curse. They must have planned ahead after seeing how Crinis operates in order to prevent her getting a tentacle on these mages. Makes sense. I don�t think the big lizard wants to risk any more of them and wouldn�t have sent them out if he thought they�d be separated into bite size chunks.
My acid is bubbling away at the barrier, but it�s taking its sweet time. Were they able to counter the effects of the acid in some way?
I�m not a fan of this, not a fan at all.
With a flash, another barrier forms behind me, completing the encirclement. Most frustrating of all, every one of the six Setsulah used to create this cage of light walls is on the outside. Cowards! How dare they entrap me like this. What did I ever do to them? Other than kill one of them that time�
What�s happening now?
To my shock and surprise, the combined barriers beging to slowly extend
upward. Looks like they�re intent on creating a complete cage! I check
on the progress of my acid, but it isn�t working fast enough for my
taste. They
However, they didn�t count on one thing.
[Tiny! Grab me and jump out of here!]
[Raaaaah!]
Not needing to be told twice, Tiny grabs me up in his arms and throws me onto his back where I cling with all the strength my claws can manage. As the barrier continues to close overhead and the oppressive aura of Garralosh presses down on us, Tiny takes two running steps and explodes forth.
He pushes every fibre of his bunched leg muscles to the limit and
Holy smokes!
The air whistles over my carapace, pushing my antennae back against my head and driving the micro hairs on my face nuts.
I knew Tiny had some jumping power, I�d seen him leap often enough, but being carried by him is a very different experience!
We soar through the air and out of the still-forming cage, the light barrier melding shut beneath Tiny�s feet.
We slam into the ground and only my Grip Skill keeps me from falling flat on my face. Haha! Stupid mages! You think you can trap us that easy?
Oh snap!
No sooner do we soar out of the barrier and heavily land, than fire begins erupting around us. The Setsulah mage servants had dropped the light barrier the moment we�d escaped and are now attempting to BBQ what they failed to contain.
Yeeouch! That was close. Fireballs fly through the air, accompanied by jets of flame and arcing balls of flaming death that rain down from above.
Isn�t this a little excessive?
I cling to Tiny for dear life as he begins to shift and sway, displaying the full extent of his Fancy Feet. With a grace that belies his size, he shimmies here, spins there and navigates the maze of destruction by the thinnest of margins. By gosh it�s close!
The sharp sound of whistling arrows pierce through the roar of flames, lifting my heart. Isaac has turned up! Right on time.
On a nearby rise to the side of the road, Isaac and his archers appear, each one bending their bows and taking aim at the mage slaves. As the arrows speed through the air, the mages are forced to split their attention, raising barriers to defend themselves from the barrage whilst maintaining their own offensive.
Some of the mages turn their attention to disrupting Isaac and his hunting party, flinging spells that sear the air. But at this range, it�s hard to be accurate and deadly enough. The archers are able to scramble out of the danger zone, avoiding injury. Except the mages succeed in scattering the archers, which was their aim.
All this time, Tiny weaves his way through the danger. He is doing remarkably well, enough that I�m convinced we�re going to get into the clear.
Then came the lightning�
Damn, Wizard Lizard! This may be a bit unreasonable, but I wish you�d let me kill off your servants without exacting vengeance.
With my Mana Sense flipped on, I can tell the great working is finished
now. Garralosh has topped off her core and is heading this way, and the
Ka�armodo have enough free attention to weave together another lightning
storm. Which is something we do
[I�m jumping off, Tiny!] I shout and leap clear of the big ape the moment I see a chance.
Crinis is frantically waddling through the grass to the side of the road, her basketball-sized body supported on her small, stubby permanent tentacles. It would have been adorable in a situation less fraught with mortal peril.
[Crinis, reach out to me!] I bellow.
As she wiggles and wobbles, Crinis extends a long limb from her main body out to me.
DASH!
Stamina infuses my body, sending me hurtling forward with vital energy. Bursts of flame erupt around me, singeing my carapace as lightning begins to rain down from above.
I focus my sub-brains to their limits, using them to analyse the information from my antennae, the heat I sense from the fire and the blurry lines of the future that are whispered to me. By juking left and right, I do everything I can to throw off the aim of my tormentors as I make my way to Crinis.
[Grab hold!]
My charge takes me close enough that Crinis is able to latch hold of my carapace and begins to haul herself onto me.
[Don�t let go, Crinis!]
[I never will, Master!]
That� didn�t sound right. Never mind it now. We need to get the hell out of here! Once again, time to Dash.
The rolling thunder sounds more like an explosion as the strikes land just metres away. Tiny leaps close and is struck multiple times, shrugging it off as best he can as he tanks the lightning magic for me.
Isaac is on the hill, hopping from one foot to the other and shouting at me. I can�t understand, you moron! I�m not about to create a Mind Bridge in the middle of this fiasco! His fellow archers are still dodging the odd fireball and unleashing arrows when they can. It�d be nice if their leader would bother to help out.
With every second that passes, we put another metre between the horde, the mages and us, and before long, it�s becoming easier to dodge and avoid the spells, with the obvious exception of the lightning strikes.
With my Mana Sense on, I keep tabs on the roiling Mana overhead. It really is impressive how much is packed into that spell. All of that energy just for little old me? The Ka�armodo must be more than slightly attached to the slave attendants. I�d feel bad for the Lizard Wizard if they weren�t marching a giant monster along with a giant army toward my home.
No mercy for invaders!
But for now, run to the hills!
Run for your lives!
The dark cloud begins to spark and ripple with electricity. The lightning bolts cease for a beat and I can see in my Mana Sense that the power in the spell is condensing into a central point.
Deep within the cloud, a light begins to glow. It grows brighter by the
second until it becomes a near-blinding radiance that pierces my eyes.
Something big is coming. I�m
DAAAAAAAAASH!
With a plop, Crinis hauls herself onto my back after reeling herself in using the tentacle she�d stuck to me, and now she�s clinging on for dear life as I sprint, my legs a blur to my eyes as I cover the ground at high speed.
[Watch out above, Tiny! Get clear of me!]
The bat-faced ape shakes his head and growls angrily, but is forced to obey my direct command and leap to the side, putting some distance between us. Overhead, the cloud shrinks in on itself as the remaining Mana within concentrates down to a single point.
Isaac has collected himself, now with a spear in hand. As a javelin thrower might, he runs forward and with a mighty roar, launches the spear into a high arc that seems to be heading right for me.
Wait a sec� It IS heading right for me. The heck?
HAH!
At the last second, I throw myself to one side, my legs tripping over each other, and I fall as several things happen at once.
The spear punches into the ground right where I�d been running with a reverberating thud, the metal-hafted weapon pushing deep into the ground as the momentum pushes the butt forward until the weapon stands vertically.
Like a lance from the heavens, the lightning falls. Intense light blossomes in an instant, and not for the first time, I wish I had eyelids. This is going to give me some serious retina burn! The impact pierces the ground and sends a shower of earth into the air. So fierce is the force, it ripples through the air and smashes into me, burning me and sending me tumbling end over end, squashing Crinis into my back.
I�ve been cooked! Also, I can�t see�
Not only that, my brains are ringing as if I were a bell that was struck. What the hell was that? Everything�s all white!
[Are you alright, Crinis?]
[I� I think so.]
[Tiny?]
[Raaaah!]
Ok, that�s good.
[Uh, Crinis?]
[Yes, Master?]
[Any chance you can let me know which way is forward?]
[I-I�ll try!]
And we�re off! Standing still is death. Using her ability to sense Mana, Crinis points us away from the horde and we disappear into the distance.
Blinded and frantic, I run as fast as I can away from the horde�I
hope�whilst Tiny bounds alongside. As I stumble and trip over what feels
like every obstacle, bump and uneven patch of ground on my path, I try
to lunge left and right to avoid the fireballs and other spells that are
endlessly flung my way. The odd explosion actually lands quite close,
but thanks to Crinis latching onto my mandibles with a tentacle each,
she is able to steer me away from the spells she detects by
It is undignified, but I�m more interested in survival than my pride.
I am confused as to what had occurred in that strange confluence of events, but I don�t have time to ponder over it until the very real mortal peril I�ve found myself in subsides. I persist in running as far and as fast as I can.
Ouch! I�m under attack! Still blinded and bewildered, my forward momentum is suddenly and forcefully brought to a halt by something blocking my path. Feel my wrath!
Shattering Bite!
My jaws flood with energy as the active Skill takes effect and snaps shut on whatever was barring my way. I felt whatever it was splinter and shatter beneath the force of my bite, followed by a vague tingling sensation from my antennae. What is this thing in front of me? I don�t detect any heat from it, so it shouldn�t be a monster. My antennae are telling me something is leaning over this way?
OOF!
A crunch of a different sort rings out as the tree I just felled lands squarely on my carapace, the weight and force of the impact flattening me in an instant and puting several hairline cracks in my exo-skeleton. At least those�ll heal up fast.
[Are you alright, Crinis? I think I just dropped a tree on us.]
[I�m alright, Master. A little flat, but otherwise fine.]
I feel her shift about on my back before another downward spike in pressure forces the wind out of me again.
OOF!
Crinis extends a few tentacles and succeeds in lifting the tree off of us before she threw it to one side.
We lay on the ground in a battered daze for a minute or two, neither of us sensing any danger and neither of us willing to move without a motivating force.
[Are you here, Tiny?]
[Hmm,] came his grunted reply.
Fantastic, the gang�s all here.
As I lay in a daze, waiting, the white gradually begins to fade as my normal vision returns. Blessed light! The power of eyeballs in all their glory. After spending so much time obsessing over my vision in my early days on Pangera, it�s more than a little disconcerting to have that sense removed, even temporarily. That lightning had surely been something special. I�ve never seen anything like it. The force, the power, the sheer destructive impact. I�m not sure even Tiny could have survived such a thing hitting him directly.
So how did I survive?
At that moment, I saw Isaac and his crew approaching.
My weary and still somewhat scattered minds put together the necessary Mind Mana and I reach out to the former guard captain.
[Well, if it isn�t speary mcspearface.]
He halts his step. [What the heck does that
[Nothing,] I harrumph. [I was just a little miffed when you threw that spear at my head!]
[If I hadn�t done that, the lightnin� bolt would �ave turned you into a crispy husk of yer former self!] Isaac protests. [I was expectin� thanks, to be honest!]
[Er� You mean to say you threw that in order to make it act as a lightning rod to save me?]
He nods vigorously. [Of course! Why would I try an� kill ya?]
[I�ve no idea. I just didn�t think you�d be smart enough to think of something like that.]
Isaac stares at me for a moment before he mutters something to himself. Then he laughs. [Well, perhaps I�ve a little more goin� on upstairs than you give me credit for.]
I can only nod in agreement, still exhausted from my misadventure.
[Thanks, Isaac. You really pulled my portfolio out of the bear market.]
[You�re� welcome?]
[That was one heck of a throw, though. I don�t think I�ve ever seen someone with an arm like that.]
[Where would you have seen someone throw? I don�t think you ants have quite the physiology for it.]
He isn�t wrong, but he�s not quite getting what I�m saying, either. I was speaking of my experience on Earth. Obviously, there are tons of fantastical and insane things that are possible in this world that simply aren�t on Earth. The different levels of ability between humans is the one that keeps surprising me. He must have thrown that heavy spear over a hundred metres! An unspeakable feat of strength on my old world.
The man in question smiles as he pictures the scene in his mind. [I wasn�t sure I�d get there, to be honest,] he admits. [I saw the lightnin� buildin� in the cloud over ya head and figured you�d be toast if that hit ya. My throwin� Skill isn�t the best, so I was worried I might skewer ya, but I couldn�t think of another way to divert that lightnin�.]
The more he concentrates on the image in his mind, the more his rustic accent comes to the fore. It�s one of the more interesting things I�ve noted about direct mind to mind communication, is that a person still tends to think messages in much the same way they speak them, accents and all.
[Well, let�s say I owe you and leave it at that, Isaac.]
[As you say, Anthony.]
We sit in silent contemplation for a time.
[What�s the play now?] Isaac says, breaking the peace first.
[I�m not exactly sure� We need to keep killing stuff, but it�s going to get more dangerous the longer this goes on.]
Isaac grins. [Danger, I can handle. As for the rest o� my people here, they seem mighty devoted to keepin� your shiny shell in one piece. I think they�ll stick around.]
[It�s not a shell. It�s a�never mind. The first thing we need to do is change our position and wait for the heat to die down. We�ll have to be extra vigilant at all times. The Ka�armodo could be scrying us and those mage servants have a habit of appearing rather suddenly in awkward places.]
[We should stay spread out as well,] Isaac points out. [If they try to spring another cage on us and we all get caught inside, things�ll get ugly.]
[Right you are,] I agree.
With the basics of our next steps planned out, we shuffle off with Isaac and his group to find somewhere to recuperate not far from the horde, but far enough to be comfortable. I desperately need that XP, and I�m going to have to keep taking risks in order to get it.
�How�d it go, Tungstant?� Cobalt asked.
The Carver ant slumped into the council chamber, exhausted but with a glimmer in her eye that suggested she was more energetic than she appeared.
�Well enough, I suppose,� the small ant replied, wearily dragging her antennae through her front elbow joints.
�Will she be able to move more freely now?� Antionette asked, her concern for her mother bleeding through.
�Should be fine now,� Tungstant replied. �We had to be a little careful in places, seeing as the structure is more complicated than it was before, but with a bit of care, we were able to widen the main shaft and strengthen the walls to bear her weight. She should be able to move vertically within the nest without too many issues.�
Each of the ants relaxed slightly upon receiving this news. The evolution of the queen had been a major event in the life of the colony, and one that required several adjustments the moment the queen had awoken in her new form. For one, she�d needed to retreat slightly lower in the Dungeon, meaning a new chamber had to be prepared and more soldiers placed on guard to ensure no harm came to her or the brood.
Secondly, the Carvers needed to make several adjustments to the main body of the nest to ensure the main pathways were able to accommodate the queen�s new size. The main shaft had been dug just large enough for her to move through before she evolved, as she was by far the largest ant in the colony. Her new size had necessitated some careful work to ensure the widening project didn�t collapse or disturb any other chambers.
�The newly discovered Architecture Skill is already paying dividends to the Carver caste,� Cobalt observed. �Along with Engineering, our ability to make precise structural changes is vastly improved.�
�I agree, sister,� Tunsgtant responded with building enthusiasm. �But you know, I think we also need to investigate the possibilities behind the utilisation of Earth Magic in nest construction.�
�You aren�t worried about the increased Skill training load?�
�I think the Brood Tenders may be able to offset that.�
�With the education Skills?�
�Exactly!�
�It may be worthwhile, even without. It feels like there is sure to be a Skill unlock in there somewhere.�
�I quite agree.�
�Do you two want to save that conversation until
�Apologies.�
�Sorry about that, sisters.�
The twenty took a moment to clean their antennae and settle into their spots as they prepared for perhaps the most important council meeting of the colony�s history. It wouldn�t be long until the horde arrived at the nest and the family would engage in a battle for its very survival. To make matters more complicated, the eldest was still engaged in Levelling up and had yet to return. Meaning the twenty would be forced to make the final preparations on their own.
They were arrayed in a circle in a similarly shaped room that sloped down slightly toward the centre. Each of the council members had their own place, including two spare positions for the eldest and Vibrant, should either choose to attend.
For the time being, Vibrant had chosen to attend to the queen, ensuring her safety and providing food to pick up the pace of egg production. One of the things to come out of the queen�s evolution was an increase in her daily maximum egg production from two hundred to three hundred. Not a massive increase, since the queen had emphasised other aspects of her form with her chosen evolution path, but it would make a difference over time.
Every member of the council knew that casualties were going to be inevitable in the upcoming battle. Perhaps as much as half of the colony would be destroyed, maybe even more. By ensuring a healthy amount of brood was prepared in advance, the colony could ensure they would regenerate as fast as possible.
�How far from evolving are you two?� Mendant leant over and whispered to the two Juvenile Queens to her side, Antionette and Victoriant.
�Still quite a ways, I�m afraid,� Antionette whispered back. �The jump for tier three to four is large, only the eldest has reached it.�
�Yes, but the eldest hasn�t had the colony-force feeding experience down their throat,� Mendant pointed out.
�Due to the oncoming conflict, we�ve asked that the combat castes and members of the colony be given priority over our own growth,� Victoriant chimed in. �Every advantage must be seized in order to achieve victory. Even if we were to evolve before the battle, which we couldn�t, our eggs wouldn�t have hatched by the time we had to fight.�
Mendant nodded.
It was a fair enough stance. The colony had placed great importance on evolving these two queens into an egg-laying state, but even with the support of the colony during the wave, reaching Level forty was no easy feat. Once the threat had been dealt with, then the family would return to funnelling resources into the two young queens.
�I believe our preparations are almost complete on the construction side of things?� Sloan spoke out to get the discussion rolling.
�Absolutely,� Tungstant agreed. �The traps are done, the ambush tunnels are ready, the wall and moat have been prepared. Without any brilliant ideas popping up, I�m not sure what else we�ll be able to do.�
�Great work. Our gratitude goes to the Carver caste.� Sloan dipped her antennae in a show of respect, a gesture which the two Carvers reciprocated.
�The Academy has been running on schedule. We should have our final class of graduates ready twelve hours before the horde arrives,� Florence chipped in.
Grant the soldier nodded. �We�ve got as many troops as possible battling and strengthening themselves in the Dungeon. Every Skill Level counts at this point.�
�How many are down there?� Sloan inquired.
�A touch over four hundred, at last count.�
�Combined with the harassing forces we have in the field, we�ve committed a lot of soldiers outside the nest. Is the queen secure?�
�Of course!� Grant huffed, her antennae twitching in irritation. �Do you think we�d leave Mother in any way vulnerable?�
Sloan raised her own antennae in a mollifying gesture.
�I apologise. Of course you wouldn�t. How goes the preparations of the Mage caste, Coolant?�
Coolant raised her head, as if she hadn�t been paying attention and only tuned in once her name was spoken.
�What�s that?� the Mage ant asked.
Sloan bit back a curse. Damn Mages, always had their heads in a cloud.
�How are the preparations going for the Mage caste?�
�Oh! Right as rain. We need a
All the members of the council waved their antennae in approval at this. It had been a risk to produce so many this close to the arrival of the horde, but recent breakthroughs in the Academy program, as well as Coolant and Propellant nailing down their desired Skill progression path, meant the time to develop a new Mage ant had been drastically reduced. With the numerous Skills required to be effective, the Mage ants were still a long-term investment for the colony, but their help would be invaluable in distracting the enemy mages.
�We project our project should be completed in fourteen hours,� Bella the Core Shaper chipped in.
�That�s cutting it close,� Advant the soldier frowned.
�Modifying cores is exhausting and difficult work,� Bella defended her caste. �Not to mention there aren�t that many of us.� The second statement was a little cutting, since the Core Shapers had been neglected in favour of other castes.
�Considering the number of shadow beast cores we�ve handed over, the results had better be worth it,� Advant muttered.
Ellie bristled.
�You needn�t be concerned. Our early field tests have been extremely promising. The first Shaper teams with their modified beast pets will be deployed to the Dungeon in the next two hours. We think you�ll be impressed at their effectiveness.�
The council nodded soothingly toward the grumpy member. It was well known that the Shapers had a near perpetual headache due to spending every spare moment modifying cores in order to raise their Skills. Elligant and Bella had been desperate to prove the worth of their caste, and the shadow beast pet initiative had been their best chance to date.
�Has there been any word from the eldest?� Victor turned to the two scout leaders.
Burke and Wills both shook their heads.
�Not a peep. We�ve got scouts keeping an eye on the eldest, obviously, but it�s been difficult to get close. Lightning storms, fireballs, even boulders and ice spears seem to be filling the air around the eldest almost constantly.�
The council shifted uncomfortably at that. None wanted to see the eldest fall.
�From last report, the eldest is still alive and battling the mage servants to try and gain the experience required for evolution. No need to worry.�
�By distracting the mages, the eldest has ensured our advance force has been able to operate in much safer conditions,� Victor affirmed. �Casualties have dropped massively, and the damage inflicted on the horde has risen accordingly.�
The twenty fell into silent appreciation at the risks the eldest was taking on behalf of the family. All except one Soldier, who, when considering the glorious, almost suicidal fight their senior was embroiled in, couldn�t help but curse softly.
�Lucky bastard.�
Damn this horde. Damn it to its monstrous, scaly core. I�ve been at this for hours now. Engaging in an endless tug of war with Setsulah mage servants, and to a lesser extent, their hidden master who remains tucked somewhere in the centre of the slowly moving monster mass.
Thankfully, Garralosh hasn�t reared her ugly head again. When I felt
that aura pressure mounting on me, my heart nearly leapt out of my mouth
and into my loving face-hands. I am
Given that�s the case, I do have hope. I think the queen is tier five, which means she�ll advance to tier six, with the aid of the rare core, no less. Although a lot of her evolutionary energy has been spent on her reproductive capacity, I�m hopeful that between the two of us, we�ll be able to hold off the big croc and the Ka�armodo from devastating our family members.
Claws crossed.
But to get to that point, I need to defeat some monsters and that is proving difficult.
Oh snap! Lightning!
Throwing myself to the side at the last moment, a jagged lance of light stabs down from above, sending a burst of soil into the air. Stupid Ka�armodo! Annoyed, I pick myself up and wave one claw at the sky.
I know you�re watching, you stupid Lizard Wizard! Too bad I don�t have any fingers, otherwise I�d give you something to look at!
I generally don�t like to be rude, but this lizard is really getting on my nerves. Every time I take a rest anywhere close to the horde, the pot shots come out. To say that it�s getting irritating would be an understatement. Without my Future Sense antennae, I�d have been thoroughly cooked by now.
Procuring raw XP is getting harder and harder the closer the horde gets to the nest. I can�t afford to wait much longer!
At least I�ve managed to gain a few Skill Levels:
Name: Anthony
Level: 39 (Special core) (IV)
Might: 41
Toughness: 29
Cunning: 44
Will: 35
HP: 58/58
MP: 186/240
Skills: Expert Excavation Level 5 (III); Deadly Acid Shot Level 7 (III); Enhanced Grip Level 6 (II); Advanced Shattering Bite Level 15 (IV); Advanced Stealth Level 9 (II); Splintering Chomp Level 2 (IV); Tunnel Map Level 7 (II); Mana Transformation Level 13 (III); Advanced Condensed Mana Level 7 (III); Finer External Mana Manipulation Level 8 (III); Empowered Mana Sensing Level 9 (II); Core Surgery Level 6 (III); Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence Level 14 (III); Distant Pet Communication Level 5 (II); Flicker Dash Level 2 (III); Expert Water Magic Affinity Level 3 (III); Expert Stamina Level 5 (III); Pet Growth Speed Level 1 (I); Mana Coveter Level 1 (III); Expert Cerebral Endurance Level 19 (III); Profound Meditation Level 10 (III); Advanced Precise Shooting Level 8 (II); Severing Bite Level 18 (III); Advanced Mind Magic Affinity Level 7 (II)
Mutations: Heightened Perimeter Eyes +20; Oracle Antennae +20; Mana Binding Acid +15; Tough Rapid Osmotic Legs +20; Bright Empowered Mandibles +20; Hardened True Diamond Carapace +20; Potent Regrowth Regeneration Gland +20; Loquacious Pheromone Gland +15; Expansive Gravity Magic Gland +15; Indomitable Coordination Cortex +20; Supportive Healing Inner Carapace Plating +20; Selective Gluttonous Stomach +20
Species: Dispersed Mind Ant (Formica Sapiens)
Skill Points: 13
Biomass: 7
All of my goals are currently within reach! Just two more Levels in Severing Bite and I�ll be able to prompt the System for the Skill fusion. And ONE. MORE. LEVEL.
Just
I�m so damn stressed! Just let me fight some stupid monsters already. I need to evolve!
Wait�
HAP!
Missed again, you stupid lizard! Shove off already. I throw myself onto my back and wiggle aggressively at the sky. Scry THAT you reptile�Gah! Whoops!
Haha! Getting mad, are you? Not liking my dominance display? I�ve got plenty more where that came from.
Oh boy� The clouds are starting to gather. Think it�s time to move on. I gather myself and skitter around the horde toward the location I sense Tiny and Crinis operating. I�d asked them to fight away from me in the hopes we could split up the mage servants, but it hasn�t worked. The horde is seemingly happy to absorb the massive losses my two pets are able to inflict. So long as I�m kept at arm�s length.
Which means they�re getting some great experience and raising their Skill Levels, which is great. Just a shame it didn�t help me to do the same. Ugh! I�m tired of going around these stupid mages to get at the horde. With their very own eye in the sky, I just haven�t been able to get a hold of them. Nightfall is approaching, and the horde is expected to reach the colony sometime tomorrow. I�m running out of time!
Wait a second. Maybe I�m thinking about this situation all wrong. What if I didn�t try and avoid the servants to get to the horde, but avoid the horde and try to get at the servants? After all, the servants are perfectly prepared to step forward and fight me. I don�t have any trouble at all getting into a scrap with them. It�s not an easy fight by any means. With the exception of that one time, I haven�t actually been trying to fight them, just keep away from them.
If you won�t let me get experience from the horde, then I�ll just have to take it from your servants, Mr Ka�armodo. I can hardly be blamed that it�s come to this.
Gwehehehehehe.
How am I going to do it? I�ll need help, that�s for sure. Tiny and Crinis will have to group up with me. Maybe even Isaac and his group. They might be able to provide some ranged fire support. It�s risky, though. The second the Lizard Wizard realises what I�m doing, they�re going to come down on me hard. Even harder than they have before.
And I�ll need to be quick. If the fight drags on, there�s a good chance Garralosh will wander over, and that�s not something I�m prepared to deal with right now.
One last roll of the dice to Level up. Let�s see how this goes.
Putting the servants on the defensive is only phase one of the plan, and it appears to be working. There are five here at the moment, and possibly more still in hiding, but so long as we�re careful, we should be fine. It�s rare that every mage comes when I turn up. In fact, the one time they did, we just turned around and ran off. However, it seems the Lizard Wizard can�t spare them and that remains the only time I�ve seen all of them in the field at once, luckily for us.
[Don�t let yourselves get roasted,] I warn my pets.
I wouldn�t put it past either of them to go too far and try to tank a few spells in order to help me. It�s a wonderful spirit. I�m just not willing to risk the health of my pets for something as small as this. If this attempt doesn�t succeed, we�ll try again until either we succeed or die trying.
[I�m being careful, Master,] Crinis assures me.
[Grrrrr,] Tiny grunts.
Time to put more pressure on these mages!
I continue to blitz around with Dash, which rapidly drains my stamina. I don�t have much of a choice. What with the fireballs and infernos that are being conjured around me. Even so, I manage to find the time to squeeze off a cheeky shot from the business district. A bit of guerrilla marketing, if you will.
POW! POW! POW!
All three shots hammer home onto the hastily raised shield of one mage who has the enjoyable experience of their line of sight being covered with a sticky, adhesive acid that begins to bubble and hiss as it eats away the magical protection that surrounds them. Nasty!
Another mage hampered. Another step closer to the ultimate victory. Now for the next one. Rolling underneath a jet of flame, nearly catching my own antennae on fire, I spin expertly and fire once again.
POW! POW! POW!
Three more blasts of acid, one more inconvenienced mage!
The mage servants are having a hard time maintaining their barrage against the imminent threats to their lives. The pressure has begun to ease off wonderfully, allowing me to comfortably fire my last three shots.
POW! POW! POW!
With three mages tied down by acid, and Tiny and Crinis occupying one each�Crinis extends even more tentacles, completely covering her victim from view�that leaves me with just one mage with an unobstructed view of the fight. Let�s call that mage, Biomass A. Even with the hood up and full body robes preventing me from seeing them directly, I can tell that Biomass A is feeling nervous as I alter the angle of my run and close in on them.
My antennae tingles and I jump high just in time for another jet of flame to pass underneath me. Close, but no cigar! I wonder why these mages rely on Fire Magic so much in fights like this. They clearly have other options, but fire seems to be their go to. A question I�ll never get answered, I suppose. Ah well.
Once I get close enough, I put my two sub-brains to work. Filled with malicious intent, my smaller minds begin to activate the External Mana Manipulation Skill they�ve become so familiar with over the last week or so, and begin to try and drain away the Mana that sustains the barrier around my friend, Biomass A.
The body language of my target becomes frantic the second the mage feels what I�m doing. They desperately attempt fending off my physical body as well as the intruding tendrils of my sub-brains that are busy deconstructing their spell.
Gwehehehehe� Yessss. Struggle all you want. It won�t help, my dear friend, Biomass A. I shall taste the sweet, sweet experience that is contained within you nest-attacking slaves soon enough!
I mean, I kind of feel sorry for the Setsulah on one claw. They don�t really have a choice in what they get up to, magically bound slaves that they are. Ultimately though, what does it matter? Willing or not, they�ve been doing their darned best to kill me. I�m certain they�ll do the same to the colony when they get there. Heck, they already did it to Liria and all of its people!
Uh oh. Here we go, then. Big daddy�or mommy, I shouldn�t assume�Lizard Wizard is getting mad now that I�m directly attacking its servants. The storm overhead is brewing and it�s looking like a big one.
Powered by magic, the dark clouds form out of thin air at a ridiculous speed. It won�t be long before the lightning starts to rain. Fortunately, this time, I came prepared.
Rushing from their hiding places come Isaac and his crew, each wielding metal spears they�ve diligently been practising throwing for the last few hours. Like a hunting party of angry tribesmen, they loft the spears over their shoulders as they run, and hurl them high into the air with mighty roars. The weapons arc gracefully through the sky before they thud into the dirt, standing tall and upright as convenient lightning rods.
The storm churns and I can almost feel the Ka�armodo�s agitation as it stares down at a small field of newly sprouted metal poles. At this sort of distance, you can�t control the lightning too precisely, can you, Mr. Lizard? No, no, you have to use this big overhead mess of a spell, and although you might get through to me eventually, how much time do you think you have?
My pets persist on aggressively battering their respective targets, but it�s me who draws the ire of the lightning. By circling and tormenting my target, Biomass A, I appear to have angered the Wizard Lizard deeply. Which means Tiny and Crinis are able to torment their own victims in lightning-free peace.
Lightning stabs down from the sky, and thanks to the spears, things are made more difficult for the Ka�armodo. Sometimes, the lightning falls close to me, but other times, it jags toward the spears and discharges all that energy straight into the ground.
I continue to run circles around the mage, ripping and tearing at its barrier with my minds and even chomping on it to test its strength. The entire engagement has only taken a minute up to this point, and things are rapidly coming to a head.
This is a smash and grab tactic. We�re here for a good time, not a long time.
C�mon, c�mon, c�mon, c�mon!
Target me! Fire at me!
It�s only a matter of time!
Another five seconds pass before Crinis� voice rings in my mind.
[Master!]
Nice!
I turn and sprint away from the fight, the lightning bolts falling around me. Jump left! Roll right! Stop for a second! My concentration is pushed to the limit avoiding the furious barrage from the skies whilst putting distance between myself and the fight.
After all, I�m the distraction in this fight, and it appears my plan has worked perfectly!
[Are you ready, Crinis?] I yell back to my pet.
[Ready!] she declares, holding her prize high, wrapped in her tentacles.
Gravity Mana floods into my mandibles from my Gravitational Magic Gland and causes them to glow with purple energy.
[Now, Crinis!]
On my signal, Crinis opens her tentacles to reveal the Setsulah mage servant she�s successfully dug out of the ground, still encased in its light shield. We�d suspected, and later confirmed, the shield roots the mages to the ground somehow, but with sufficient arm, or in this case, tentacle power, we figured they could be dug up. We just hadn�t tried it yet.
And now that they were airborne, they could be
Focusing on my Gravity mandibles, I reach out with the energy, latch
onto the shield and
I�m not sure how the slave mage feels soaring through the sky and into my waiting mandibles, but it can�t be pleasant. I try not to dwell on it. I�ve already had to defeat human opponents in the defence of my family. Taking down the Setsulah shouldn�t weigh on my conscience any more than that did.
I bring my mandibles down hard on the shield that protects my bag of experience. The spell isn�t so weak as to break as of yet, but my mandibles sink into it with a satisfying crackle. With the mage safely trapped within my jaws, there is only one thing to do. Flee!
Thunder crackles overhead as I push my tired legs and Dash to freedom carrying my prize!
[Get out of there, guys! Tiny, pick up Crinis and run for it!]
Even if I thought I was going to draw the majority of the fire, it was necessary for them to get out of there as fast as possible. Tiny might be able to take a few shots of lightning, but I don�t want to put his tolerance to the test.
Nor mine, for that matter! Lightning continues to crash down in my wake, fleeing the scene of the heist. The Ka�armodo must be furious! Having to watch as I escape with one of its precious servants.
Gwehehehehe.
Starting to regret coming for my colony yet, you stupid lizard?
I run as far and as fast as I can, leaving the range at which the Ka�armodo can threaten me. It seems as if the lizard isn�t willing to risk more of its servants trying to retrieve this one, which leaves it in an unfortunate situation indeed.
I won�t go into the details of what comes next. It�s a little unfortunate. I was able to crack the shell and� end the mage.
[Severing Bite has reached Level 19.]
[You have defeated a Level 48 Setsulah Bonded Mage Attendant.]
[You have gained XP.]
[You have reached Level 40. One Skill Point awarded.]
[You have reached the maximum Level for your Tier. Evolution Menu is available.]
At last� AT. LAST!
I�ve done it!
Not caring if the Ka�armodo is scrying from above, I throw myself onto the ground and wiggle with sheer joy, my legs kicking ecstatically in the air. Finally ready to evolve to the fifth tier after all this time. My Levelling speed has been severely knocked back by having to fight against lower tier monsters, but I�ve done it. And just in time!
Suddenly recalling that I don�t have the time to sit around wiggling, I right myself and reach out to my pets.
[Are you guys close?]
[Nearly there, Master.]
[I�ll come and meet you. We need to make our way back to the colony as quickly as possible!]
[S-So you�ve finally reached it?]
[I have indeed, Crinis! It�s time for this mighty one to reach an even greater height!]
[That�s fantastic, Master!]
Crinis is overflowing with happiness and congratulations. All I can feel from Tiny is a grudging jealousy.
[Aww, not to worry, Tiny. You�ll get your chance to evolve soon,] I tease.
[Grrrr!] he rumbles back.
It doesn�t take long to meet up with my pets and we begin our trek around the horde toward the colony. We make sure to back off a good distance, though. I�m sure the Ka�armodo is mad as heck about losing another servant, and I�m not especially keen on dodging lightning bolts from on high the entire way back.
After a short while we run into Isaac and his team, who managed a successful retreat.
[Ho there, Isaac. Made it out alright, I see.]
[Nothin� to it,] the former guard says, grinning. [You look like you got what you wanted out of it.]
[Sure did,] I happily admit. [It�s time to get back to the colony and prepare for the final battle. What are you going to do?]
Isaac strokes the scraggly beard developing on his chin. [I think it might be time to regroup. We�ve got, what, less than a day? My group needs a chance to rest and I want to ogle�I mean, talk to Morrelia once before the battle.]
[Right you are then. Pass on my thanks to your group. They�ve been more helpful than I expected.]
[That seems unnecessarily harsh,] Isaac mutters, but turns to speak to his squad.
Oddly, upon hearing his words, they face me and bow low as one, their faces beaming with happiness and pride.
Odd.
Never mind, I�ve got bigger fish to fry. Evolution! And I mustn�t forget that my Bite Skill is on the verge of reaching the fourth rank also. I feel like I�ve been slicing limbs off of monsters for weeks, and only now am I close to getting the Skill fusion I�ve been waiting for.
For the squad�s safety, I recommend moving separately from us. No need
to put themselves at greater risk than they have to. For our part, we
creep our way around the horde, only approaching for me to
For an evolution like this, tier five and with a rare core, I think it would be for the best to be safely ensconced in the Dungeon so my core is charged once I awaken.
It takes six hours of crawling and chomping on monsters for us to make it to the front of the horde, where we�re forced to hang about for another few hours whilst I pull more enemies to a grisly end before the voice of Gandalf rings in my ears.
[Severing Bite has reached Level 20. Upgrade available.]
It�s all coming up Anthony! Muahahahahaaa!
Now I can head to the nest without regret and submit myself to the painful experience of absorbing the rest of that rare core. Claws crossed I don�t die!
�Are you returning to the colony, eldest?� one of the scouts asks.
�Yep! It�s time for me to evolve.�
�With your permission, eldest, I shall inform the council of this event.�
�Go for it.�
Once I reach the front, I start to run into more and more scouts and soldiers, as well as other castes mixed into the small raiding teams. It appears as if the colony is scaling down their raiding operations, withdrawing the forward squads to the nest in order to spend the final hours before the battle preparing and resting. Which makes a lot of sense. Ensuring the ground is prepared and the warriors of the colony are fresh will make a huge difference compared to the starved and tired horde monsters, who�ve been forced to march for a week solid on almost no food.
Even though the ants start with very poor stats, it shouldn�t be forgotten that every ant is a tier three monster after having gone through the training program. They don�t have the benefit of maxed evolutions like I have, but they�re certainly a cut above the average monster in the horde. Bizarrely enough, this fight will be a battle of quantity against quality, and the colony of ants will be on the quality side of the equation.
At least, that�s true for the general horde. Garralosh and her children are a whole different kettle of fish. That�s where the queen and I come in. Hopefully, it�ll be enough to tip the balance.
�Off to evolve, are you, eldest? Keep up the hard work!�
�When am I not working hard?�
�That�s the spirit!�
Gah! The closer we come to the nest, the more ants we bump into. Running back and forth between the nest and the front, passing messages and keeping eyes on the situation, or just returning to regroup or sleep. Each and every one of them is happy to chip in with a comment. Which is nice on the one hand, but gets exhausting after a few hundred repetitions.
Still, it�s nice to be wanted.
My pets and I make sure to motor as quick as we can, and it still takes several hours to make it back. Colony activity continues to rise the closer we get. We find workers digging here and there, soldiers patrolling and scouts rushing about. It feels good to be back amongst the family again. The heart of the family.
I can�t help but let my mind wander over what has occurred in the time I�ve been gone. Has the queen evolved yet? Have the defences been completed? How many new ants have been born and trained? I�m also looking forward to the progress made by the different artisan castes over the week. The ants are collaborating and pushing themselves so hard, their speed of development is getting out of control.
When I try to picture what the colony will be like in a year�s time, I just can�t. I knew the ants would have incredible potential if I was able to increase their intelligence, but how could I have anticipated it would be this successful? If we�re able to survive the coming battle, the sky will be the limit for my colony.
When we begin the final approach, the first thing I see is the nest
itself. They�ve made it even
As we draw closer, the huge amount of work that has gone into the
defences becomes more noticeable. Traps are
Beyond the traps are layers of walls leading toward the nest. Each wall isn�t large, only two to three metres, but after the enemy crests the first wall, a second lies a hundred metres beyond it, and a third a hundred metres beyond that. A lip of dirt a metre thick at the top of each will provide some defence from enemy projectiles and spells, whilst the ants can unleash their own barrage upon the horde with the height advantage and in relative safety.
There are eight walls in total that form a wide ring around the main nest, and we climb over them one by one. Holy mackerel! There�s even traps in between the walls! The colony has really gone all out on this one. I wonder how many trees they�ve had to cut down in order to form this many stakes� Hopefully, we haven�t caused a deforestation issue in the local area.
Someone has been directing the construction to maximise the colony�s chances against the horde of weaker monsters that are coming our way. There are probably hundreds of concealed tunnels dug through the area. I can detect some of them nearby from their pheromone markers. It�ll be interesting to see what the twenty have planned for those.
When we make it to the main hill, we begin the climb and receive the friendly greetings of every ant we walk past. I have many opportunities to engage in some friendly antennae slapping and exchange pleasantries with the members of the colony.
�How are you, eldest?�
�Looking forward to the battle, eldest?�
�Who�s going to defeat more enemies, eldest, you or the queen?�
�The queen, obviously,� I scoff at the ant who asked.
She�s tier six. With a rare core evolution! Don�t even try and compare us. That�s just madness.
It�s a relief when I finally reach the top and take a look around. From this high up, it�s easy to see the village in the distance, many of the trees between the two locations have been cut down, ensuring a clear line of sight between the two locations. My eyesight isn�t good enough to make out what the humans are up to, but I�m sure they�re just as busy preparing for the oncoming disaster.
My anger at the horde and those behind it hasn�t diminished. In fact, it�s only grown larger. Garralosh and the Ka�armodo will pay for what they�ve brought upon my family. I can only hope the rage is enough to sustain me for what is to come.
[Let�s go down and find the rest of my rare core. It�s time to do this.]
Down into the nest we plunge. Is it just me, or is the opening a lot wider than it used to be? Even Tiny fits into the main shaft quite comfortably. I wonder what that�s all about. As usual, my antennae are assaulted by a plethora of pheromones. Trails that paint the way to each of the different sections of the nest are mixed with an overwhelming number of more short-term messages from ants coordinating the many tasks they�ve been given.
�We need more wood! Follow this trail for the worker teams heading to the forest!�
�Food! Get on it. You think the colony feeds itself? Hunting parties are leaving from the Dungeon staging area now! Special groups for eldest feeding needed!�
�Got nothing to do? What the hell is wrong with you? There�s always earthworks going on, report to the Carver headquarters to join a work team!�
�Hey! Stay positive and work hard! :D�
Not sure what the point of that last one was� Just trying to keep spirits up around the place, I guess. I hardly think it�s necessary, the ants look as if they couldn�t work any harder. In fact, the only ant standing still for any amount of time is� me. Dangit. Better get moving before I start to look conspicuous and lazy.
We cling to the wall and make our way straight down, innumerable ants constantly rushing in and out of smaller side tunnels. I feel as if the population has definitely lifted whilst I�ve been gone. If we manage to hatch and graduate two hundred a day, then the colony will have gained 1400 new members in the time I�ve been gone. Some of that would have been offset by losses at the front. Keeping that in consideration, there would have been roughly one thousand more ants in the colony than there had been before.
If only we had another week! Then I�d be far less concerned.
When I reach the queen�s chamber, I�m quite confused to find that, apart from a few guards, it�s empty. No queen. No retinue of attendant soldiers and Tenders. Nothing! Where has she gone? Curious, I lead Tiny and walk down the walls and follow the main shaft beneath the queen�s chamber into my own room.
Even this space has been widened, at least double the space it was before. Other than a couple of soldiers who sit around the outside of the room, keeping watch for spawning monsters, the chamber is empty. Empty except for the absurd pile of food in the middle, stretching from the floor to the ceiling.
[Home sweet home,] I tell my pets.
[It�s nice to be back,] Crinis assures me.
[Hrrr.] Tiny lets his actions do the talking as he throws himself down to rest.
That was fair enough. Our run back to the nest has been exhausting. Matter of fact, our entire last week has been exhausting. The entire colony must be tottering on its feet unless the mandatory rest has kicked in. The amount of work done is staggering. I know it�s almost impossible for the ants to admit they�re tired, but I hope the council starts forcing the family to rest before the final battle. Even just a couple of hours of torpor could make all the difference. Especially now when the horde is only four hours away!
Tiny is so tired, even the food hasn�t caught his attention. To be honest, I�m kind of with him. I�d rather just fall over and sleep, yet I can�t, I�ve got important stuff to do. The first of which is to stuff myself to bursting� a couple of times. I�m really not looking forward to this.
I pack the food in under the watchful eyes of two guards and my pets until my mutated stomach is absolutely bursting, then I stop. I could keep going, but my social stomach doesn�t benefit from the efficiency mutations and I want to get every drop of Biomass I can out of this. I�ll have to digest a bit and then get back to it.
Gah! There�s no time for this! How can I speed this up? I try doing push-ants, basically just lowering myself until the bottom of my carapace touches the ground, then lifting myself up again.
Come on, Anthony! Pump harder!
To my surprise, it does seem to actually help a little. I cycle between vigorous exercise and stuffing my face as fast I can, living my healthiest life, until I finally reach the total I require and slump to the ground, defeated. I lie there for a few minutes feeling sorry for myself, wondering if my stomach or my core hurts more before pulling myself together.
I need to rush through these final mutations as fast as possible. Let�s do it!
The only three organs left are my acid gland, Gravity Mana Gland and Pheromone Gland. Starting with my pheromones, I�m not really sure what to do. In fact, I may as well continue to make them more persuasive. If the new generation are indicative of how things are going to go, who knows how many ants I�ll have to talk out of ridiculous, dangerous battle plans in future. Especially Leeroy. Lock that in!
As for my acid, I�m quite taken with the Mana eating aspect I added. It hasn�t come into play that much as of yet, but against opponents like the Ka�armodo, I�m sure it�ll have a chance to shine. Besides, I don�t really have other methods to tackle their nonsense at range.
I�ll invest further into this business venture. May my products melt Mana shields with even greater ferocity!
And finally, the Gravity Mana Gland. And I do mean,
Well, this mutation is really the simplest of them all. More. I need more Gravity Mana! I always need a greater stockpile of the stuff. No matter how much I expand the gland, I�ll always find a way to spend it all. This type of Mana is so useful, even if all I�m doing is yoinking enemies using my infused mandibles! Greater capacity is the name of the game�Punch it in!
I quickly review the selections and confirm them with a feeling of deep satisfaction. So deep, I don�t even mind when the itch begins to take hold. You can have your moment, itch, I won�t begrudge you. Even if I�m rolling on the ground, twitching and thrashing like a spider who caught bug-spray to the face, you can�t rob me of this sense of pride! Full mutations! I never thought this day would come!
I take a moment, as the dreadful itch finally recedes, to revel in the feeling, before pushing myself back up. There�s a crisis at hand, I don�t have time to muck around!
No more stalling. Time to get that rare core out.
I�ve been dreading this experience for weeks, though it feels like
months. I�ve already pushed my core beyond the System-imposed limit.
Gaining some Levels and Biomass, combined with a bit of time,
Now where is that stupid thing? I know I left it here somewhere�
Ah!
Flipping on my Mana Sense, my mind is momentarily blinded by the ever-present glow of the Mana flooding out of the Dungeon walls. After a second or two, I�m able to blink the background glare out of my mind and focus on detecting the glowing core I buried in the wall.
There it is!
I scuttle over and extract the gem before retreating back toward the centre of the chamber, the bright, spherical gem held in my mandibles.
[I might need your help with this, Crinis. I�m a bit worried about how it�s going to go,] I admit.
[Anything, Master. I�ll be ready for your orders,] the sphere of cosmic horror and tentacle death assures me.
[Thanks, Crinis.]
This tender moment of bonding between a monster and his devoted pet is only disrupted by the thunderous nasal snoring of Tiny a few metres away.
Alright then, here goes�
[Compatible rare core detected! Would you like to absorb, or reconstitute this core?]
[Warning! Your core has pushed beyond the allowed limit for your evolution. Further absorption may prove fatal. Do you wish to proceed?]
You know� not really? But if I don�t push myself beyond the limit, how can I possibly hope to match up to powerful creatures like Garralosh and the Ka�armodo?
Fear blossoms, along with the constant anxiety that has been bubbling away inside me. The nervous worry I�d shoved into the back of my mind gushes to the fore.
I don�t want to die� again. I�m enjoying my life on Pangera! I finally have a family. I finally feel accepted. I don�t want to lose it all now that things are getting better and better every day.
At the same time, that fear of losing my family is what drives me. If I don�t go this hard and risk it all, I might not be able to defend the colony that has come to mean so much to me. How would it feel, to lose my family knowing I didn�t do all that I could to protect it?
[Bring it! Absorb that core!]
Holy smokes! Ahhh! That� that stings�right in the core!
The moment I give the mental command to my good friend, Gandalf the System, the energy leaks out of the core and swirls through the air as a bright energy vapour toward me and into my own core, which begins to expand.
Which is a problem.
Unable to manage the pain, I slump to the dirt floor of the chamber, my
legs twitching uncontrollably as my focus is turns
HAAARGHHH!
Come on, Anthony! You can do this! Hold on, man!
The pressure builds as the energy flows into me. The outward pressure of the expanding core is pushing against my inner organs, which in turn are pressed into my carapace, causing me to feel like a balloon on the verge of popping.
There�s a vague noise echoing in my antennae, and with a start, I realise it�s my own mandibles grinding against each other. Even my face-hands are starting to hurt! This is absurd. The pressure builds and builds until my core is on the verge of cracking.
The outward force is just too much. I need something pressing down from the other way, otherwise I�m gonna burst!
[Crinis! Wrap me up and squish me!] I scream desperately.
[What!]
[Just do it!]
Unable to refuse my order, Crinis is forced to extend multiple tentacles, which she unwillingly begins to wrap around my carapace and squeezes, the lacklustre force evidence to her confusion and reluctance.
[Crinis!] I cry out in agony. [If you don�t compress me, I�m gonna pop! Please!]
The energy in my core swirls dangerously, drawing more and more from the rare core into itself and growing larger with each moment that passes.
Deep within my body, a horrific sound reverberates and waves of pain wash through my entire body, sending me writhing and twisting on the floor.
[Crinis!]
[I�ll do it!]
Suddenly afraid, Crinis reaches with more tentacles and wraps them
around my body, covering almost every inch of my carapace and begins to
I grow still, not because it hurts any less, it actually starts to hurt more, but with Crinis wrapping me up so tight, there isn�t anywhere I can go. In her rush to obey my desperate plea, she inadvertently catches one of my legs up in her tentacles and the limb is immediately crushed.
She�s strong!
Holy moly, this hurts. The outward pressure of the growing core has now been met with the inward pressure of Crinis. I have no sound medical basis for this procedure, but I�m rolling with my gut instinct here! If all goes well, maybe I�ll survive�
Please finish soon. Please finish soon. COME ON!
In the centre of my thorax, my innards are being shredded. Pressed down onto the core, they�re being used in an attempt to hold the stressed gem together whilst also having to endure the core pressing back against them. Ravaging pain, the likes of which I�ve only experienced once before, wracks my form.
Back then, the only thing I had to live for was my colony.
Strangely enough, that�s still true today!
I REFUSE TO DIE!
[Give it everything, Crinis! Don�t worry about hurting me!]
[Ahhhh�OK!]
More and more, Crinis� limbs grind down on my carapace with such force, even my diamond shell begins to crack and splinter beneath her ministrations. The inward force and the outward pressure continue to grind my insides to paste and it�s all I can do not to pass out.
Activate the Regeneration Gland!
I have a horrible feeling this is gonna hurt. But if I can keep my organs functioning for a bit longer, maybe I�ll be able to survive.
AAAAARGGGHHH!
I�d writhe in pain, but I can�t. How much longer to go?
I stare at the core lying on the ground. A steady stream of energy vapour pours off it and into me. I think I�m about halfway through absorbing what�s left of it. Halfway through and I�m barely hanging on.
Come on, Anthony! Would the queen whinge and moan like this? No! Hold yourself together. Show the other ants how it�s done.
This agony truly defies the odds. Just stop it, pain! Nobody asked you to get any worse! EERGHHH. I�m losing my sense of things, as well as my senses. At least I think I am, is everything fading?
I startle Crinis by banging what little is exposed of my head into the floor.
Wake up, Anthony! No time for sleeping. There�s a lot of stuff to do and it won�t get done if you pass out and die here. Grit those face-hands and endure, you son of a queen!
Inch by agonizing inch, the core is absorbed. I better get one hell of an evolution out of this. Despite my best efforts, my mind is starting to fade. The pain is too much. Is this what it would feel like if Tiny tried to do math? Reality is slipping from my grasp.
It�d be so easy. So easy, just to let it all go. But I won�t. I�m a stubborn creature at heart.
Did I let it go when I was abandoned by my family? Nope. When I was kicked out of school and shunned by everyone I�d known? Negative. I�m not likely to give up now that there are people�ants�who actually need me!
Despite the intense pain, a sense of purpose and determination wells up inside me and I grab hold of it with all six legs plus my mandibles. I can take it!
And I do. I hold on until the final wisp of energy leaks out of the rare core and disappears inside me, the ordeal finally complete.
Except it isn�t.
It still hurts like all get out! If I don�t evolve immediately, I might not be able to hold onto consciousness, pass out and die.
My guts have been blended, mashed, pureed, minced and then blended again for the hell of it. How much health have I got left? 6 HP! Is it still going down? I nervously watch my health for a moment to see if the recovery gland was healing me. After twenty seconds my health hasn�t moved at all�
In fact, it feels as if a terrible pressure is squeezing me from all sides, forcing the air from my lungs!
Oh�
[Crinis, you can let me go now.]
[Oh! O-Of course!]
Not being crushed to death by my own pet helps the pain a little, but not much. It�s time. I need to engage the evolution menu!
I can�t handle this suffering anymore, gimme the menu!
Forget about doing anything else, I�m worried about dealing with the evolution system properly in this state. Isn�t there a pain resistance Skill or something?
Apparently, not.
[Would you like to use the evolution menu?]
ABSOLUTELY! PLEASE!
[Congratulations on reaching the maximum Level for your current species. Evolution will allow you to change your form and increase your stats as a monster.]
[You have maximised your mutations! As a reward, an additional ten percent evolutionary energy will be granted.]
WHAT! Bonus energy?
[Warning: Evolving will make securing XP and Biomass more difficult, as fewer rewards are given for preying on creatures less evolved than yourself.]
[Your evolution options are as follows (Each evolution is of the species Formica Sapiens):
� Veteran Mature Worker
� Senior Mage Ant
� (
� (
� (
� (
� (
Ohhhhhhh boy! Putting aside the bonus energy thing, these options look�ARGH�tasty.
I just wish I was in slightly less agony so I could properly enjoy this moment�
If it weren�t for my�ARRRGHH�current circumstances� I would love to go
through all of the options. Some of them sound so
Tell me about the Nascent Hive Mind!
[Rare Evolution: Nascent Hive Mind. +100 bonus to Cunning, +100 bonus to Willpower, -30 penalty to Might, - 20 penalty to Toughness. This evolution will weaken the host physically, transforming them into an almost immobile entity. A rare Mental Dominator Cortex (Formica Sapiens) will be granted with this evolution that will allow the host to usurp and control the body of other members of its species, acting as the �brain� for all.]
What the heck is with these bonuses?
100 to Cunning
What is this then? I�d turn into some sort of giant brain that can control each member of the colony? I guess such a thing would be�HUCK!�powerful. Imagine millions of swarming insects, all controlled by a single mind. That level of coordination would be unstoppable.
But I didn�t make the colony smart just so I could take away their free will and do all the thinking for them. Rejected!
Ugh! This hurts� What�s next?
[Rare Evolution: Collective Mage Ant. +40 bonus to Cunning, +40 bonus to Willpower. This evolution grants significant mental prowess and includes a free rare Social Processing Cortex (Formica Sapiens), which allow the host to temporarily draw on the mental stats of the specified species within a radius. This organ effectively allows the user to utilise the minds of nearby members of the specified species to assist the host with mental cognitive activity.]
Holy Gandalf!
Forty to Cunning and Willpower
The kind of spell flinging I could do with that� I could probably even use my sub-minds to manage the job of coordinating the extra minds. The power I�d be able to wield would be boggling! Not to mention, more ants would mean more processing power!
This is some serious mind power. Possibly enough to match the Ka�armodo in raw spell-flinging ability.
HACK! Dammit! I wish my guts didn�t feel like they�re about to burst. Thinking would be much easier.
Despite the raw power, I�m not sure if this is the evolution I want. Borrowing my strength from the colony isn�t really what I want, and I also hoped to evolve into something a little more rounded, rather than continue down my mage ant path to the end. If I�m going to survive in battle against Garralosh and the horde, I�m going to need to be able to take a few hits. Not to mention have the raw physical might to use my new Bite Skill to its fullest potential. I�ll need to take care of that fusion after evolving.
Let�s shelve this evolution as a �maybe� and check the next one.
[Rare Evolution: Juvenile Colony Paragon. +15 bonus to Cunning, +15 bonus to Willpower, +40 bonus to Might, +40 bonus to Toughness. This evolution will transform the host into the paragon of their species, the ideal form. This evolution includes the rare Collective Will Vestibule (Formica Sapiens). This organ collects mental energy generated by the faith and goodwill of the specified species and transforms it into regeneration.]
ARGH! Is it the pain or this blinding stat boost that caused me to cry out? Rounded bonus to all stats is nice. It�ll allow me to spend my evolutionary energy on other things, not to mention the overall gain is massive!
Since Will and Cunning take more energy to generate than Might and Toughness, the overall stat boost lines up, and is more in line with my wishes of rounding out my stats. And the unique gland seems powerful. I�m not sure what faith and goodwill energy is, or how it will help with regeneration? At least I won�t be taking over my family members� minds or borrowing their brains for my own purposes� This gland seems more in line with what I feel comfortable doing.
GAWD this hurts. Distract, distract!
This evolution also mentions it�s a juvenile. Which means the mature version must be even more impressive.
Alright, I think I�m settled on this one!
Choose Juvenile Colony Paragon!
After selecting the species I would evolve into, the expanded manual evolution menu appears. I�m thankful just to have the distraction; my core is full to bursting with energy and I can�t wait to drain the stupid thing dry with improving my body and ceasing this horrific suffering.
Now that the menu is in front of me, there�s a few things I want to look into. I definitely want to take a leaf out of Tiny�s book and enable my muscles to be mutable as well. He�d been able to upgrade his musculature to incredibly powerful heights, and if I want my bite to pierce the heavens one day, I�ll need to do the same thing. How much energy do I have left?
Holy smoking mackerels! I have freakin� tons. Is this the benefit of pushing my core beyond its limits? And then pushing the extra 10% bonus for a completed mutation set on top? I�ll be able to go much further than I already have with my stats. Not to mention glands! What should I buy? More organs? An aura! Ah, the snowball effect of my repeated special evolutions has finally come into play! I feel like a kid in a store. Except that I have money to spend.
It�s so intoxicating, I might pass out!
No wait, I really might pass out� Hold on, me! Nearly there.
The first thing I do is go for the Cunning. I�ll play with my stats until I�m happy and then I�ll worry about organs and other such things afterward. Alright then. With the +15 I got from my evolution, I decide to spend most of it shaping a third sub-brain, which I place between the other two and connect to the Coordination Cortex. I have the cortex, after all, it�d be a massive waste to not take advantage of it, which means more sub-brains!
My new third brain, I make larger and more potent than the other two. I want it to act as a kind of boss brain that will lead the way in combined spellcasting, acting as the guide and brunt force. While I�m at it, I beef up the other two sub-brains slightly, giving them a little extra punch. Having done that, I have a shade of my free +15 Cunning and Will left over, so I spend it upgrading my main mind, and I give a little extra boost from my spare energy as well.
When that job is done, I sit back and admire my new brain power. Fearsome! With this evolution, I�ve taken my mental game to a whole new level.
Now on to the physical stats. I want to spend my Might on roughly sixty percent size and forty percent density. It�ll make me a bit larger and a bit faster, but I really need to emphasise raw stats. In my next evolution, I may be able to correct the imbalance and give more energy back to density.
Adding a straight up forty Might goes a long way in making me a larger boi. I try to ensure the density of muscle is concentrated in my head, since those are the muscles responsible for powering my bite. I�ll need all the juice I can get in that department if I�m going to match it with a giant crocodile. I supplement the free stats with some extra from my evolutionary energy pool, making my overall Might gain fifty points. If I�m going to address my terrible physical stats in this evolution, then I need to commit.
Toughness is mainly spent thickening and powering up my carapace, but I spare some thought to buffing up the walls of my internal organs. It�s unlikely to help much, but some types of energy, such as electricity, are able to go straight through my outer defences. Toughening up the insides should help reduce that damage, at least a little. As with my Might, I spend some energy to bring my overall Toughness gain up to fifty, rounding out the bonus stats nicely.
Since I�m already in the menu, I decide to poke around at my new
Collective Will Gland. Each of the three rare evolutions gave massive
stat gain. In the case of this evolution, it was the Collective Will
Vestibule. Rather than an organ, it almost appears to be formed from
crystallised flesh, which is creepy enough. More staggering than that is
the sheer
This was one expensive organ! It cost more than most of the high-end
aura glands.
I�m not even perfectly aware of what this thing does, but I�m
OK. Cool it off. We have a fair whack of energy still to spend. More stats? Hmm. Not sure. Wings? Again� not sure. Will I really need the wings underground? Flying sounds nice and all, but I like getting my face-hands and claws into the dirt. Perhaps I�ll revisit the wings idea another time.
I could put a stinger onto my back zone. Lots of different ants have stingers, and I can definitely see how they�d be useful by injecting painful venom into my enemies. But no. I�m firmly in camp acid. The products released from my business district have widespread renown and fame after my aggressive marketing. I wouldn�t want to turn around and start advertising a whole new line of wares. Perhaps there�s something I can use to give my acid a boost.
I flick through the exhaustive menu, my mind happy for something to focus on other than my screaming innards, until I find a few items I like the look of.
[Acid Nozzle: An attachment organ that allows for more flexible and precise aiming from acid glands.]
This gland is quite cheap and essentially acts as a small, flexible barrel on the end of my acid gland that can help me aim without having to change my body position as much. For example, I�ll be able to lift my abdomen up high and use the nozzle to fire directly forward without having to turn around. Nice!
Whilst I�m at it�
[Acid Concentration Gland: Attached to the acid producing organ, this gland will secrete a concentration that will cause the acid produced to condense and purify, improving its qualities.]
Nice one! Essentially improving the power of the mutations that I already have. Meaning my acid will do more damage, be stickier and eat through Mana faster. Not bad for one cheap gland. Heck, I�m on a roll, why not keep it going!
[Acid Stimulation Gland: Improves the speed of acid production in the attached gland.]
Since my acid is going to be more flexible and potent, I may as well ensure I have more of it. Phew. It�s a good thing my back zone is so much larger than it was before, I never would have fit this gear in there otherwise.
What else can I do? I�ve bought three little cheap glands. I think it�s time to spend the rest of the energy on something big. Something expensive and powerful that�ll help tie my mental and physical attributes together.
Maybe I can do something with my nervous system?
After all, that�s the part of the body that connects the mind to the muscle!
I poke through the menu and find a
After some consideration, I spend the remainder of my energy on this:
[Sub-neural Network: An extension to the main nervous system that reduces response times by allowing automatic reaction processing in the extremities.]
Gwehehehe. With my nervous system ready to be upgraded my reaction speeds will be extraordinarily fast! When I consider what I might be capable of with my Future Sense antennae� hopefully it comes together.
I can�t wait to see my status when this evolution is done. It�s going to be craaaaazy. I�m already getting a headache just thinking about having to upgrade all of these new glands. So many!
It�ll be worth it. I may have gone on a bit of a shopping spree, but the utility I�ve gained is immense, not to mention my all-around beefier stats. My size is possibly going to double, perhaps even more than that after this. I�m gonna start pushing Tiny around once I�m done. Gwehehehehe.
Alright then. Time to confirm everything and drain this dangerously overloaded core. Just being free of this pain is enough for me to eagerly finish up with the menu and welcome the deep embrace of torpor. As it has in the past, a feeling of lassitude falls over me immediately, my vision fading to black, and sensation falling blessedly away. Ah, no more pain. No more sensation of a physical body at all!
Wait a second� I remember this sensation.
My mind continues to sink, falling deeper in on itself as if I were circling a cosmic drain to the centre of the world.
Here we go again. Off to chat with Gandalf.
Being my second ride on the� whatever this is� I let myself go and try to enjoy it without the sense of vertigo kicking in. I have to say, it isn�t easy to enjoy a disembodied experience since there isn�t really any actual sensation, but rather a vague dizzying sense of movement. Without any ability to perceive my environment, and without any real sense of distance, I become vaguely bored as I wait for the ride to be over.
[I do apologise if you find the trip dull. There isn�t really any other way to bring you to me.]
Ah, the gruff voice of the grey one himself. It�s seriously uncanny how much they sound alike. Is this some form of cosmic accident?
Yes, well. It is what it is, I suppose. How�ve you been, Gandalf?
A deep chuckle resounded around my free-floating mind.
[This name you have for me is amusing. You continue to insist on using it?]
It�s not as if I know your real name, now is it?
[And if I told you my real name, would you change your way of speaking?]
No�
[You�ve certainly kept up your fast pace,] the voice says, changing the subject. [I didn�t expect to see you here so soon after the last time. I suppose your circumstances can be somewhat to blame.]
You can tell what�s going on up there? I�m a bit shocked.
[It shouldn�t be
Yeah well� Any chance we could get some help out of you? It doesn�t seem entirely fair. How are they controlling all those monsters anyway? Isn�t that infringing on your role?
[Not really. Certain monsters have that authority. It�s all part of the design.]
Right�
[You should have died, you know,] Gandalf says. [You weren�t made to push your core that hard at your current level of evolution. Your core should have cracked, killing you. That�s how the System was designed.]
Well� what can I say? Sorry to disappoint you?
[Oh, I�m not disappointed. Quite the opposite. You�re a promising specimen. It would have been a shame to lose you so soon.]
I guess I�m annoyingly good at surviving when I shouldn�t. You said the System was designed, was it you who designed it?
[Oh, think you�re going to ask the questions, do you?]
I try to roll my eyes, until it occurs to me, I don�t have a body� or eyes, that can be rolled.
You brought me down here just to talk
[You know, it�s been a long time since I was able to talk to someone like you. As I mentioned before, those that I�ve brought into the Dungeon tend to be on the broken side, and being let loose in that environment tends to warp them even further.]
There�s a pause before the voice continues mildly.
[�Like that Garralosh, for example.]
Well
Garralosh is an outsider like me?
[Of course. She�s from your world. I can�t say if the timeline
was close to yours. Temporal vectors tend to get very fuzzy with this
sort of summoning. But yes, she was like you. Unleashed on the Dungeon,
alone, and had to rely on her wits and savagery to survive. She�s been
here for hundreds of years now. She did very well at first,] Gandalf
muses. [Perhaps
Yeah, who would have thought that someone would make desperate choices when thrown into a murder pit and forced to fight for their life.
[Are you being sarcastic?]
Not at all.
[I had high hopes for her, you know. She was much like you, rose up quickly. But in terms of long-term impact, you�ve already surpassed her in a lot of ways.]
Like how? By creating a new species?
[By creating such a
Gandalf sounds very dismissive of the croca-beasts. Almost as if they�re insulting in some way.
I�m not a big fan of the crocs, for obvious reasons, but they seem pretty killy?
[Bah. Without the support of their parent, the species would have been wiped out by normal Dungeon spawns within ten years. They provide no value.]
How are monsters supposed to provide value anyway? As long as they�re killing things, they�re serving their purpose, aren�t they?
[In some ways, yes. But in others, no.]
Alright then, stay cryptic.
[I�m curious. Does knowing that your enemy shares so much in common with you change anything for you? Are you still willing to fight against a fellow human?]
Who�s a human? She�s a giant crocodile and I�m a massive ant. Of course, it doesn�t change anything.
[Oh? I expected a little more sentiment from you.]
I�m a big believer in loving the skin/carapace you�re in. Had a human life, and it was fine�
[You starved yourself to death, remember�]
I feel like you�re never going to get over that. It�s fine and over now. New life, new family, and I�m not about to let someone destroy it just because they happened to be a human before they were brought here.
[I find your commitment toward your second life admirable. Not many in your position have been able to say the same. I hope you wake up in time to defend your home.]
Wait� What do you mean? I should have heaps of time, right?
[Well, this evolution is a bit special. You
I�m suddenly frantic at this news. I
Dammit, Gandalf�
It was a busy time for the soldiers. Grant had been run off her six legs over the last week. In some ways, it was a relief to have the enemy finally arrive on the doorstep. Now she�d have the chance to rip into them directly with her mandibles and not have to stress about extraneous matters.
�Make sure you watch over the eldest carefully,� she commanded the guards who remained in the chamber where the eldest was undergoing their evolution.
The soldiers would hardly have done any different, but they saluted the council member with an antenna anyway, continuing their careful observation of the chamber walls. The eldest lay close to the centre of the chamber undergoing the process of evolution. The two guardians sat nearby, watching over their master, and Grant was careful to give them their space. The two creatures were quite revered in the colony, and their unending loyalty to the eldest was firmly to their credit.
Grant stepped out of the chamber and made her way farther down into the newest section of the nest. The Carvers had been excited to have an excuse to expand the nest in a new way, and the queen�s evolution had been the perfect opportunity. She�d needed more space and to be deeper in the Dungeon, which required an extensive expansion to the lower reaches of the nest.
�Nice work, soldiers. Keep up the hard work,� Grant nodded to the many soldiers she passed.
She came across a general patrolling with five soldiers trailing behind her moving in the opposite direction.
�How goes things, General?�
�The extra patrols are putting a strain on resources, senior,� the smaller soldier variant replied. �The Dungeon wall spawns have been faster than usual over the last day. It feels as though something has changed.�
Grant swiped her antennae in a concerned gesture. �Have any other patrol groups reported this issue?�
�All of them,� confirmed the patrol leader.
Grant pondered for a moment. There were a few implications of increased Dungeon spawn rates, and she didn�t like any of them.
�I�ll speak to the council,� she assured the patrol. �If we can spare any more soldiers, they�ll be sent down as soon as we can manage.�
�I appreciate it, senior.� The general snapped out a quick salute before she moved on with the rest of her patrol.
Grant shook her head. This wasn�t what the colony needed. At a time when not just every soldier, but every member of the colony was required topside to deal with the upcoming battle, committing yet more soldiers to the Dungeon sections of the colony was far from ideal.
But it would have to be done. The queen was down here, along with the eldest. Any risk at all to either of them was unacceptable. She supposed they could remove all members of the colony to the above-ground section of the nest for the duration of the battle, and leave the freshly spawned monsters to battle each other here in the lower tunnels. Abandoning any amount of territory to those filthy creatures angered Grant deep down. Though she couldn�t say exactly why.
As she mulled over her emotions, she made her way into the Dungeon until she came to the chamber the council had made for their use, directly above the queen�s chamber.
�The eldest has begun to evolve,� she announced.
There was a relieved rustle as the few members of the council present shifted their bodies and their antennae twitched. The twenty members of the council were extremely busy. There wasn�t so much of a formal meeting, as a rolling series of consultations with whoever was present at the time. For the time being, Mendant, Victoriant, Florence and Coolant were in the chamber, the others out on business. For many in the council, this chamber had become something of a break room. Shameful as it was to admit it.
�How was it?� Mendant asked, concerned. �Absorbing the core?�
Grant paused as she considered how to describe the scene she observed from the tunnel above the eldest�s chamber. Like a fool, she�d feared for the eldest�s life as his own guardian had engulfed him in tentacles that writhed and squeezed with tremendous strength. Even covered, she could sense the agony that rolled through the air in waves.
�Difficult. But the eldest succeeded, as always.�
�Of course,� Coolant pitched in. �We can only marvel at how powerful a mage the eldest will become once the evolution is complete.�
Grant stabbed her antennae forward in irritation.
�I believe the eldest will seek physical strength in order to lead the soldiers from the front,� she said with certainty.
She could see it in her mind. The colossal strength of the eldest, scattering the foe and harvesting their lives as wheat before the scythe. The soldier caste charging through the wake.
�D-Do you think the eldest will invest in a Healing Magic Gland?� Mendant asked hopefully.
�No,� the others replied, which caused the healer to drop her head in sadness.
�The patrols need to be increased in the lower tunnels,� Grant said.
Victoriant focused on the soldier, surprise clear in her voice. �Again? I hope this trend doesn�t continue.�
�We�ll have to wait and see,� Coolant replied. �There�s no use engaging in idle speculation.�
Grant nodded in agreement. Guessing would get them nowhere in a hurry.
�Has most of the colony been pulled in for the mandatory rest period?� Coolant asked.
�I think so,� Grant confirmed. �I haven�t spoken to Burke or Wills for a few hours, but I think they�ve managed to bring in everyone. The upper nest has been turned over to the Brood Tenders to monitor, since they are non-combatants, whilst the soldiers are patrolling down here.�
�Did Vibrant come in?�
�I heard she had to be dragged in by a team of scouts,� Grant chuckled.
�I was there,� Coolant confirmed. �It took twenty of them to hold her down whilst her team was blocked by thirty soldiers. She wanted to get one last food run in before the battle started.�
Grant sighed. Vibrant�s work ethic was second to none. She had the respect of every ant in the colony for it. But it was by far the better choice for the colony that she and her team were rested and fresh for the battle, than having a little more food stored away.
�She ended up coming peacefully in the end,� Coolant continued. �Once we pointed out the eldest was returning to the nest to evolve, she was happy enough to come back.�
Once again, the eldest did work for the colony without even being present. Truly something special.
�I�m heading down to consult with the queen,� Grant announced. �I think Sloan is down there as well. I want to make sure my soldiers are in position.�
The others nodded.
�Keep working hard,� Coolant said.
�Of course,� Grant replied.
Grant exited the small council chamber and returned to the widened main shaft. Gripping onto the walls that glowed with intense, blue light, she made her descent to the lowest chamber in the nest where the queen now rested.
As the shaft opened up, Grant took in the contents of the room at once. It was crawling with ants. Over a hundred had been committed to the defence of this room. The spawns were happening rapidly, shadow beasts and plant monsters erupting from their cocoons at regular intervals. No harm would be allowed to come to the main occupant of this chamber.
She loomed large in Grant�s eyes. She sat in the centre, her protectors revolving around her, as if she emitted a powerful force that kept them close but unwilling to approach. Grant saw a shadow beast erupt out of the floor, right under the giant form. Before she could even shout, the queen shifted her weight and stabbed down with one leg, impaling the shadow beast clean through. The queen brought the leg to her mouth and swallowed the Biomass in one go.
�Have you come to greet me, child?� her warm voice rang out.
Grant started and came back to herself. �Ah, yes, Mother. I�ve been checking on the soldiers and I wanted to speak to Sloan, if she was here.�
�She is.� The queen flicked an antenna toward one corner where Grant could see a small cluster of scouts, generals and soldiers had gathered.
Grant completed her climb down the wall and steadied herself on the floor, looking up at the new form of her only parent. The queen had already been the largest ant in the colony by a wide margin, but her evolution pushed the boundary even further. Grant was one of the largest ants as well, being a Mature Soldier with the benefit of maxed core evolutions. Yet the queen towered over Grant. Her mandibles were almost equal in size to Grant�s own head.
The power contained in the rare core was no joke.
�Tell me, did the troublesome one return?� the queen asked.
�Yes, Mother,� Grant said. �The eldest has begun their evolution in the chambers above.�
The queen tilted her head to more directly face the roof of her chamber, as if she could penetrate the layers of rock and soil that lay between and stare at her wayward offspring.
�That is good then,� she huffed.
�Were you worried that the eldest may not make it back?� Grant enquired.
The queen lowered her head to look Grant compound eye to compound eye. �I am always worried about that one. Do you think I don�t have cause?�
Grant shifted, uncomfortable with the scrutiny. She was unwilling to
admit wrongdoing or poor judgement in the eldest. How could she? The
eldest had done more for the colony than any other, the queen included.
The eldest literally
�The eldest has been known to push a little too hard at times,� she admitted.
The queen chuckled. The scent of her mirth spread throughout the chamber and tickled the antennae of every ant present, causing them to pause as the warmth of her emotion washed over them.
�I have to agree,� the queen hummed.
It was a delicate thing, what the colony was undergoing. For the queen to not be the eldest member of their colony was possibly unprecedented in the history of ant monsters. The council had been wary that there may be a power struggle between the two most revered members of the colony. On the one claw, there was the queen, mother to them all, who raised the colony from nothing. On the other, the ant who caused the colony to be reborn into something new, something better, and in so doing claimed the position of the eldest Formica Sapien in the Dungeon.
To their relief, no such conflict had become evident or even appeared to be brewing. The queen remained devoted to all her children. Uninhibitedly so. But she appeared to hold extra concern for her most troublesome child. The eldest, for their part, appeared devoted to the queen and the colony without reservation. Both appeared happy to leave the day to day running of the colony to the council. Which seemed to work fine.
It wasn�t normal. It wasn�t
�What are they talking about over there?� Grant muttered as she watched the huddle around Sloan.
�They are discussing how to adapt the plans for the upcoming battle,� the queen chimed in.
�Adapt the plans?� Grant cried. �Why are they changing the plans? We�ve pinned down every angle we can possibly cover!�
The queen shifted.
�That�s my fault,� she sighed. �They are trying to account for what I�ve said I will do during the battle.�
That brought Grant up short. �What have you said you�ll do?�
�Lead from the front, child, as I should,� the queen calmly replied.
�What!� Grant panicked.
No, no, no, no, no! Unacceptable! The queen couldn�t be on the front
lines. She should be in the nest.
As if reading her mind, the queen chuckled again.
�I did not take this evolution to be sheltered here during the battle, child. I will fight, as I did when the colony was young.�
Grant took a few deep breaths and looked up at the queen, taking in her new form.
Thick plates of hardened carapace covered the folds in her exo-skeleton and around her head. Her legs were thicker and tipped in sharp spikes that gleamed wickedly in the cold light of the cavern. The sheer size of her, possibly double what she�d been before, was a testament to the muscle mass she possessed.
The queen�s body had transformed. No longer was she just strong, she�d become a physical powerhouse. That was just the outside. Who knew what powerful organs or glands she chose as part of her evolution.
�What was the name of your evolution, Mother? If you don�t mind me asking.�
�War Queen.�
The queen raised herself to her full height. Lifting her body from the ground, she dominated the room with her majestic aura.
�There will soon be other queens for this colony. Queens who will be able to raise young and provide the future generations of the colony. What is needed now is not a queen who will hide behind her children and allow them to sacrifice themselves for her safety. I will step forward and shield my children with my own body and, should I fall, I will fall with the knowledge that by my efforts, I have given all I could in the defence of my family.�
The queen looked down at Grant.
�Perhaps I am being selfish. But I
She reared back and reached up with her powerful front legs. She dug them into the wall and began to pull her massive body up the vertical face of the tunnel. Grant watched her climb in stunned silence. The idea of the mother of the colony charging forward into almost certain death drove her to the brink of panic.
When the queen left her sight, she woke up and rushed to the huddle in the corner.
�Sloan! What are we going to do?�
The general glared at her fiercely as she barged into the meeting. �We keep her alive,� she hissed. �No matter the cost.�
�What do you think, Ellie?�
�They�re magnificent, Bella. Works of engineering, imagination, and unyielding effort! This must be the art that the eldest spoke of when we were in training.�
�I agree!
�Do you think the other members of the council will agree?� Ellie asked hopefully.
�Not a chance,� Bella replied.
The two Core Shapers didn�t allow the perceived dearth of culture in their fellow council members to dim their enthusiasm at the successful culmination of their project. The colony had entered the mandatory rest period, and almost all members of the family had entered torpor. As non-combatants, the two Shapers were not expected to participate in the battle. That didn�t mean none of the Shaper�s caste would be present. Fifty Shapers rested in the large chamber that had been constructed once the colony approved the project.
They were young, barely hatched in time through the dedicated nurturing of the Brood Tenders, and put through a brutal, accelerated training regime in the Academy in order to bring this project online in time.
�I wonder if this is how the queen feels. Gazing down on her children,� Bella wondered.
�Perhaps,� Elligant mused. �Though, as beautiful as our creations are, can they really compare to the wonder of the ants the elder created?�
�Of course not!� Bella scoffed. �I do wish we could have gotten one more evolution into them before they were forced into battle.�
�No point fretting. We were lucky to get this project off the ground at all. Don�t you have confidence in our work?�
�How could I not? The eldest put us onto this path with their own words! It�s sure to succeed.�
�Which do you think will perform better, the Manglers or the Reavers?�
The subjects in question were the one hundred shadow beasts that were also resting in the chamber. The council had been loath to give up the resources, but saw the potential in a force of Core Shapers with pet soldiers. How could they not? The eldest deployed such tactics with tremendous success. It also helped to bolster the numbers of the colony and provide them with disposable soldiers who could be reconstituted and raised again, provided the colony recovered the cores.
The Shapers had laboured long and hard to turn shadow beast cores into these modified troops. Elligant�s design, the Shadow Reaver, boasted enhanced arm strength and more devastating claws and fangs than the regular beasts. The Mangler, Bella�s concept, sported increased leg strength and a streamlined body, dramatically increasing speed, along with nasty venom secreted by needle-like claws.
Both Shapers had found the budget for their modifications by shaving away at the Cunning and Will of the original monster. With the Core Shaper controller in charge of the thinking, fully tooled up with pet-related Skills, the pets didn�t need that much intelligence.
�Do you remember how they performed in the Dungeon?� Bella gushed to her sibling.
�I do! I do! Wasn�t it marvellous?�
�Who could have imagined the devastation they would cause? Such ferocity!�
�And we didn�t lose a single one! Mark my scent, Bella, after this battle, the Core Shapers will rise high in the colony! The Shapers will become the true elite force of our family.�
The two ants huddled together in the dark chamber with eyes that sparkled, imagining the bright and glorious future of their caste. The thought that they might lose the battle never entered their minds.
Elsewhere in the colony�
�Surely, the fire mages will cause the most damage!� Propellant declared.
�Nonsense!� Coolant refuted coolly. �The Water Mages will wash away the stain of the invaders by the hundreds. If not thousands. I struggle to see how your hot-headed members will keep up.�
�Bah! You really think the enemy is going to be scared off by getting
DAMP? My Mage ants will be causing
The two council members continued to bicker as their fellow caste members rested within the chamber. Soldiers patrolled the space, as this chamber was below ground level, a deliberate choice in order to afford the mages a chance to refill their cores and Magic Affinity glands.
A curious phenomenon had been observed by the colony as the numbers of the Mage ants continued to swell in the build-up to the battle. Of the four base elements that were the cheapest and easiest to train, the vast majority eschewed earth and air, following their elders into either fire or water. A mild rivalry between the two camps had appeared immediately.
�Do you think the open field will have an impact on the result?� Coolant mused.
�You mean, as opposed to fighting in the Dungeon tunnels?� Propellant queried, her earlier ire vanished as if it had never been.
�Right. I�ve been thinking about the impact of the more open space on our respective elements� spell selection.�
�Any particular construct you have in mind? I can�t imagine the bolt spell will be much less applicable in the open than it is in a tunnel��
�I think it will be
Propellants eyes lit up. �Do you mean, using them in an offensive capacity?�
�Quite.�
�Ho! Ho! That does sound interesting. Have you calculated the Mana expenditure against the expected damage inflicted?�
�The numbers appear to be very promising.�
�Surely, the fire barrier outperforms water in this capacity.�
�It
�Ha! Do you think we�ll be able to work it into our tactics before the battle starts?�
�Depends on how long we have after the imposed rest period ends and the call to deploy comes from the scouts.�
�Hmm. It�s going to be tight.�
The two Mage ants fell into contemplative silence as they pondered on the possible timelines they might be confronted with in testing and utilising this possible new tactic.
�You know,� Propellant spoke slowly, her mind still occupied with the problem of timing. �After this battle is done, we, Mage ants, will be hailed as the heroes of the colony.�
�Naturally,� Coolant said absently. �We should already be seen as such, really. The battle will merely establish in the others� minds what we already know.�
�Our resource allocation should double at least.�
�Triple, I should think.�
�What we could do with triple the resources��
In the minds of both members of the twenty, a glorious future began to unfold. The colony would be reborn. At the pinnacle of the new structure would be the Mage Ant! Given priority for cores, Biomass and the best assignments, the Mage caste would lead the colony into the future, every other caste subsumed into serving their more capable siblings.
After all, isn�t the eldest primarily a Mage ant?
The two Mages continued to imagine the incredible future that awaited them, neither one considering for a moment that they might lose the fight.
In the distance, a rising tide of fangs, claws and flesh approached. When Morrelia squinted, she could make out the individual forms of the monsters as they undulated across the land and between the trees. There didn�t seem to be an end to the horde. They spread. Like water pooling over the floor from a spilled cup, until they filled the space in front of her.
It wouldn�t be long until they lapped up against the fortifications the villagers erected and the battle would begin in earnest.
�I�m still not certain we shoulda put ourselves so close to our neighbours,� Isaac muttered.
Morrelia rolled her eyes. �You spent several days with their leader and came home just fine. Do you really think they�re going to eat us?�
The former guard shifted uncomfortably. �I�m jus� sayin�, we might want to be on our guard once the fightin� is done. Maybe we look appetising at that point.�
�If we live to see the end of this battle, there�ll be tens of thousands of dead monsters right over there. I don�t think they�ll need to turn on us for food,� Morrelia pointed out before turning her back on the man.
Despite his experience in the field with Anthony, he still had difficulty overcoming his instincts to distrust monsters.
Morrelia couldn�t be entirely sure why she wasn�t afraid of the colony of strange ants or their stranger spokes� ant. She just, wasn�t. She was cautious, always cautious, but not afraid. Perhaps she was just losing her edge. More likely, grabbing onto whatever piece of debris she could reach after a tsunami had washed the nation of her birth away.
�How much longer until they arrive?� Enid asked, walking up behind them.
Morrelia faced the leader of the human village and nodded respectfully. Enid may never have been a soldier, but she had Morrelia�s respect for her attitude and grit alone.
�Should be less than an hour before the main body of the horde reaches us. Could be a lot less if they decide to pick up the pace as they reach the final stretch.�
Enid frowned as she looked over the edge of the dirt wall at the monsters. Morrelia choked back a laugh as she watched the older woman. Enid looked as if she were staring at a dog that had spread mud on her carpet, rather than a slavering mass of Dungeon monsters the likes of which the surface hadn�t seen in thousands of years.
�I suppose we�ll have to get our people in position then. Is everyone ready?� Enid sighed.
�Ready as they�ll ever be, ma�am,� Isaac chipped in, flashing a broad smile.
The man had been on the charm offensive the moment he�d met Enid. If the age difference were any less severe, Morrelia would have suspected him of ulterior motives. As it was, she believed he was simply accustomed to greasing the wheels of leadership whenever he could. A vital Skill for a guardsmen, she was sure.
�I�ll go ready the troops,� Morrelia grunted before she leapt down from the rampart and jogged toward the shaded area the villagers were resting in.
She was decked out in her full fighting gear and the boiled leather gave her an intimidating air that was only heightened by the plethora of weapons gracing her form. Her bow, dual blades, knives strapped to her forearms and sheathed in her boots. Morrelia was ready for war.
The troops in this case were lying flat on their backs, many of them
asleep, resting in the shade spread by nearby trees. Looking at their
tired faces, Morrelia mentally kicked herself. She had to continuously
remind herself she wasn�t dealing with professional soldiers, trainees
or mercenaries, but determined village people. They were farmers,
traders and craftspeople. Most of them hadn�t
But they were willing. By the Legion, they were willing. When she beat them down, they stood up. When she drilled them to exhaustion, they wanted more. When the monsters charged, they charged right back.
In the face of such determination, how could she hold back? In the past week, every able-bodied refugee had been pushed to the edge of their tolerance and then a little further. Constant practice in the village, constant delves into the Dungeon, brought everyone to the edge. Morrelia herself had barely slept in the past week. Snatching a few hours when she could. She was used to it. Broken sleep like this was standard practice when on a delve. The villagers had no such tolerance, and once the training had been declared over, they�d collapsed in a heap and barely moved since.
She drew a deep breath.
�Time to GET UP, you useless sacks of sick! There�s BLOOD to be spilled, and it sure as hell isn�t going to SPILL ITSELF!� she bellowed.
Her roar echoed off the earthworks and the distant trees, returning to thunder in the ears of the unfortunate villagers a second time as they responded instantly to her call. Sleep was rubbed out of eyes and limbs were stretched as the men and women she trained picked themselves up.
Little did she know, on the rampart, someone was having a very different reaction.
�Puts my old drill instructor to shame,� Isaac sighed as he watched Morrelia�s distant form, her shout still ringing in his ears.
Enid looked at the man sidewise before she shook her head slightly to
clear her ears. Apparently, she wasn�t deaf
Used to this sort of treatment, and volume, Morrelia�s troops were up and in almost neat rows in a respectable amount of time. Their gear was even mostly worn correctly. Morrelia couldn�t help the twitch in the corner of her eye when she spotted a shirt not tucked in or scabbards not fastened correctly.
She took a breath. These aren�t professionals, just villagers trying to survive. Don�t judge them by the old standard. In fact, looking at their drawn faces, covered in grit, their hands blistering with fresh callouses, and the determined light in their eyes, incredible pride filled her.
�The ENEMY is no longer coming!� she roared, pausing before she raised a finger to point at the wall behind her. �THEY ARE HERE!�
She watched their faces closely. No fear did she see. No terror. Only determination. Her heart lifted. She wasn�t much of one for speeches. If she was a leader, then she was a leader in the mould of her father. Her brother had the charm, the magnetism and decisiveness of their mother that she always lacked. In so many ways, she was Titus� daughter. Maybe that was why she found it so hard to forgive him. Just as she knew that he would never forgive himself.
�REJOICE!� she bellowed. �REJOICE! The waiting is over! There is work to be done! Get your BACKSIDES up on that wall!�
And they did. Faces hard and shoulders square, they marched to the wall and took in the sight of the endless horde. Their armour was ragged, nothing but sewn leather and smashed together metal plates. Their weapons were chipped in places, the hafts splintered in others, the best the forges could produce on such short notice, but they didn�t care. The hands that had once known the plough now gripped a spear just as surely. The men were grizzled, no time for shaving in the last week. The women had hacked their hair short, much as Morrelia had done. No time for vanity when fighting.
They would do themselves proud today. Filled with a resolute spirit, Morrelia joined them. Her twin blades rattled as she drew them from their sheaths. They would work hard today.
Up on the wall, Isaac brushed a single tear from his eye.
�One day, I�m gonna marry that woman.�
�About time they got here,� Burke muttered to herself as the horde made its final approach to the outer layer of fortifications the colony had erected.
�Everything ready?� Wills asked for the fourth time in the last five minutes.
�Yes, everything is ready. You really should have rested when you were told to.�
�Couldn�t,� Wills flicked her antennae. �The scouts were still out there.�
�That doesn�t mean you had to be.�
�We disagree on that point.�
�I know.� Burke lifted an antenna and brought it down with a gentle thwack on her sibling�s head. �Now that the battle has arrived, you�re useless. Go back with the other late returning scouts and get an hour of rest. This isn�t going to be over by then.�
Stubborn, Wills shook her head.
�I�ll be fine for a while yet,� she said. �I�ve got a full load of acid and I�m not sleeping till these invaders have felt every drop of it.�
�Fair enough. Just make sure you don�t push too far forward. Stick to the plan. Deliver the product and then get to safety.�
The horde was on its final approach. One hundred metres. That�s all that separated the enemy from the first defensive line. After a week of solid fighting, it was a relief to have it come to this.
�About time then,� Burke announced.
�Seems like it,� Wills agreed.
�Pass the order to open fire,� Burke told the general resting behind her.
The ant snapped out a quick salute. �Of course, elder. Fire when ready!�
All along the outer wall, the order was passed in rapid pheromone communication. Not a single sound was uttered, yet a thousand monstrous ants leapt into motion simultaneously. Not far away, the human defenders could only marvel and the eerie quiet in which the ants operated.
To the ants however, the noise was deafening.
�Scouts, prepare to fire! Long-range will engage in ten seconds�Ten seconds! Soldiers and generals will fire in thirty seconds. Wait for the command!�
�Here they come! Are you ready to work?�
�Five seconds! Five seconds! Check your angles. Don�t aim for the front line. Second row!�
�Show them what
�Two! One! FIRE!�
In an instant, the entire scouting brigade of the Formica Sapiens, their collective business districts pointed at the foe, unleashed a barrage of acid skyward.
A faint whistle emitted from each ant�s volley as the acid cut through the air with incredible power. Altogether, the shrill sound pierced the air and quickly faded as the acid lost momentum and began to reach its apex.
Even from this range, Burke could see the rage and pain on the monsters� faces as the acid fell amongst them, eating into their bodies and chewing into their flesh. Any monster who fell was set upon by its fellow horde members, torn apart and consumed in seconds. Hundreds of monsters were felled in this way, but it barely made a dent in the sea of enemies that lay before them. The ants were undaunted.
POW! POW! POW!
The scouts continued their steady barrage, firing in sequence as a well-drilled unit would.
�I�m about half empty,� Burke observed. �What do you think of the range?�
�I think it�s close. I haven�t been tracking the time,� Wills replied.
�Soldiers and generals, FIRE!� the order rippled down the line.
POW! POW! POW! POW!
The rest of the soldier caste on the wall joined in the barrage. So much acid filled the sky, it began to fall on the horde like burning rain. The ants were careful to spread their fire as much as possible. It wasn�t as if it were possible to miss in this scenario, but to inflict maximum damage on the horde, the ants didn�t need to inflict fatal damage. It was better to wound as many as possible and allow their ravenous allies to deal with the rest.
Despite all this, the horde advanced. An unstoppable wave of momentum that couldn�t be halted. The colony may as well have been spitting in the wind.
�I�m empty,� Burke declared, reorienting herself so she could look out over the wall. �Ten more seconds till they hit the wall, I think.�
A pervasive feeling of determined calm possessed the warriors of the colony. Everything was on the line today. Mistakes could not be afforded. Not even the slightest mishap. Unless every member fought to their utmost potential, the colony would fall. An outcome that could not be allowed.
The ants had planned a defence in depth to maximise their terrain advantage and the unthinking nature of their enemies. The battle would be long and brutal. There would be an opportunity for the desperate rage of the final stand, but not yet.
�Alright then,� Wills said, retreating from the wall where her position was taken by an eager soldier. �I�ll head back and rest.�
�Good on you,� Burke approved. �I�ll try and make sure some of them are alive for you when you come back.�
Wills waved an amused antenna and made a hasty retreat. If she wasn�t going to be fighting, then she had no business on the front lines muddying up the waters.
With her sibling gone, Burke focused her attention back on the horde as it crashed into the first earthen rampart. Monsters of dozens of shapes and sizes crushed against the solid barrier and were smashed into the ground as those behind them climbed over them. Roars and screams of rage, and the dying rattle of monsters filled the air as the soldiers in the front row began to lean forward and chomp at the first enemies to come within range.
Burke took her position, not at the front, but one row behind. The council determined this was as close as any member was allowed to get to the thick of the fighting. Truth be told, only the soldiers and scout portion of the twenty would dare fight here. Burke felt it was necessary that the council shoulder the risks of the colony along with their siblings. They weren�t some protected caste whom the colony existed to serve. The very idea was repellent. They existed to serve the colony!
The soldiers at the edge of the wall continued to lunge, snapping at monsters below Burke�s line of sight. There was no risk the soldiers would fall, they could grip as well as any other ant, obviously, but if they were caught hold of, they might be pulled down.
The horrific din of the horde reached a fever pitch as the monsters pressed against the wall and sought to climb it. The wall wasn�t immense, only three metres tall, but most monsters weren�t as adept at climbing vertical surfaces as the ants were.
Some of them could, though, and after a few more seconds, Burke noticed the first creatures reach the top of the wall. Like lightning, Burke lunged and brought her mandibles closed on a spider that had poked its hideous, fanged head over the edge.
The beast�s eight legs�disgusting!�scrabbled and scratched at Burke�s carapace while the scout leader pulled the creature back over the wall. In seconds, it was surrounded by soldiers and scouts. The ants worked together and ripped the monster apart before it could free itself. As the soldiers pulled back to return to their positions, healers rushed in to grab the Biomass. They�d use it to create stockpiles close to the front to assist with their healing efforts.
First one down, Burke told herself. A heck of a lot to go.
�Take that!� Leeroy roared as her mandibles tore down yet another foe.
The blood and Mana within her body
�Hahahaha! Die for the colony!� she screamed as she tore into another creature.
Was she telling the enemy to die for the colony or inviting herself and
her siblings to do so? Even she wasn�t sure as the joy of battle
overtook her senses. She�d put herself on the front lines, obviously. As
close to the action as she could get. She figured the others had
Freed from concerns of the grand strategy, self-preservation or any sense of the situation around her, Leeroy was able to embrace and indulge her burning desire: to fight! To put her life on the line in the service of her family. What was the point in preserving her life if she could spend it to save even a single one of her siblings? None! Joy soaring in her heart, Leeroy continued to engage to a dangerous degree, teetering over the edge of the wall so she could reach more foes.
The nearby general assigned to this section of wall eyed the manic council member warily. She couldn�t help but sigh at the vagaries of fate. That her unit would be tasked with the mission of ensuring the safety of Leeroy was not something that filled the ant with glee. She would do her duty, naturally. She just felt that, what with the apocalyptic battle the colony was facing, her job didn�t need to be made any harder.
�Step up the line,� she bellowed.
Moving as one, the reserve soldiers pushed to support the ants on the edge of the wall. Some of them grabbed onto the legs of the ants in front, whilst others moved alongside them to help prevent them from being overwhelmed. It had only been a minute since the horde made its first contact. Already, the enemy was beginning to wash over the top of the wall. It was too soon. The colony needed to drag out the fight whilst minimising their losses.
They would need to hold at this wall as long as they could.
�Hold the wall!� she cried. �For the colony!�
�FOR THE COLONY!�
In complete silence, the soldiers roared as one. Thousands of individuals moving in a coordinated unit, they battled furiously.
Where the hell is our mage support? The general worried as she watched her soldiers battle under the umbrella of her aura. How long were they planning to take? If this goes on much longer, we�ll start to lose soldiers.
Just at that moment, a roar of flames erupted behind her. Long pillars of fire from the second wall tore into the sky. Like furious dragons, they took flight before arching down. Searing heat and the crackling sound of flames assaulted the ants as the spells passed nearby, but it was upon the enemy the full force of the strike fell.
Ten metres past the edge of the wall, the fire impacted and spread. The fireball swelled and hundreds of monsters were engulfed in the blaze. The fire mages had struck!
The smell of burning Biomass and the shrieks of monsters pierced the air. The monsters had piled themselves high against the earth wall, and now that density came back to haunt them. Hundreds were roasted in an instant. The flames roared hot enough to singe Leeroy�s antennae as she continued to hang over the edge of the wall.
�That�s what you get!� She cackled at the monsters suffering beneath her, indifferent to their pain.
Any pity would have been needless, as the monsters did not suffer for long. Those who had fallen to the spell were consumed, and only seconds later the enemy threatened the wall once again.
�A chomp for you! And a chomp for you! You dare face me? Feel the edge of my mandibles of wrath!�
Leeroy was driven to the peak of excitement by the carnage. Her eyes shone with such an intense fighting spirit, her enemies may well have been losing HP when they looked too closely. The clash of monsters! The colony fighting as one to repel the invaders! It was intoxicating.
The words of the eldest rang in her ears.
No sacrifice without purpose. Preservation of life is the fundamental principle of a flourishing society. Leeroy had been drilled on these points many times. Much more than her siblings. Yet in the heat of the moment, even this was not enough to contain her boundless spirit of sacrifice.
As the large soldier ant screamed and roared her defiance at the enemy, the nearby general began to notice a change come over the figure. It was almost as if she were vibrating with pure energy. The general sharpened her attention. It would be soon�
After chomping away one more foe, Leeroy could no longer contain herself. She shuffled back a few steps and paused for a single heartbeat to gather her strength.
�WITNESS ME!� she screamed, scrambling forward a few steps and hurling herself off the wall.
In that one glorious moment, when her legs left the ground and her body began to sail into the air, Leeroy felt as if she could see her own future. She would fall amidst the enemy and fight with every fibre of her being. Like a burning flame consuming its fuel, she would flare bright, and many monsters would fall before her.
Eventually, she would be overcome. Torn apart by the enemy, she would pass away at the foot of the wall, selling her life in its defence.
But so great would be her sacrifice, so expensive her death, that she would turn the fate of the battle! Right here, she would save her family!
Alas, it wasn�t to be. After too short a time, Leeroy felt her legs seized by powerful mandibles and her forward momentum was seized.
�What!� she cried. �Let me go! It�s all part of the plan!�
The general sighed.
�It may be part of
Damn you, Sloan! Leeroy raged. I�ll get my chance yet!
A delivery system of flesh and bone. That�s what the horde truly was. As an instrument of the dark will that controlled it, the massive gathering of enslaved monsters had been used to scour the Kingdom of Liria and possibly neighbouring kingdoms as well. Here and now? That mass of bodies served a different purpose. To deliver Garralosh and her children to the target of her wrath as easily as possible.
Sloan knew that only when they destroyed enough, thinned enough of the horde away, would the true enemy show its face. Until then, Garralosh and the Ka�armodo would be content to stay back and allow their unwitting soldiers to absorb the punishment.
�The key to this battle, is holding enough strength in reserve that we can deal with the croca-beasts when they come,� Sloan had declared at the planning meeting.
To that end, the colony prepared waves of tricks and schemes they could employ. The horde would pay dearly for every inch of ground they took. The worry was, the primary reserve force of the colony still hadn�t woken up.
The eldest was still sleeping!
Sloan couldn�t help but clean her antennae over and over again in an attempt to calm her nerves. Something her sibling couldn�t help noticing.
�Calm down,� Victor advised.
�I would if I could!� Sloan snapped.
�The eldest will awaken in time. How could you doubt it?�
�You do realise what will happen if they don�t?�
�I suspect we�ll all be wiped out and the colony will cease to exist,� Victor replied, unruffled.
�Y-yes! That�s right!�
�And how does you stressing about it change anything? Have a little faith in the eldest. When have they ever let us down?�
Sloan dragged her antennae through the knee joints of her front legs once more before she settled with a sigh. The two generals were positioned in the main nest in a chamber close to the surface. In a room next to them, scouts came and went at a furious pace, passing information to a team of generals who sorted it and manipulated a large three-dimensional map carved into the chamber floor.
�Let�s see how the battle is progressing,� Victor suggested and moved to inspect the map.
Sloan clacked her mandibles in irritation. �I don�t like that we�re stuck here, Victor.�
Her sibling sighed, but sympathised. �I want to be out there on the wall just as much as you. But we�re the best generals in the colony. We can best serve the colony from here. Don�t go Leeroy on me.�
�I wouldn�t go
Unlike the two relatively calm generals, the war chamber was a flurry of activity, filled with the muffled scents of a dozen different conversations. Ants crawled carefully over the map, making constant adjustments to the sticks and place markers.
�Looks as if the first wall has done its job,� Victor observed as she pored over the map.
�We can still hold it,� Sloan proposed. �If we commit the reserves from the second wall, we could hold on for another thirty minutes, at least.�
�The risk would be too high,� the other general countered. �And unnecessary. The outer wall wasn�t built to hold and was never intended to resist assault for an extended period.�
Sloan nodded. This was how the two of them did their best planning. One proposed a plan, the other tried to tear it down. After the back and forth was done, they felt comfortable that they had the best strategy they could make.
�Alright then. Time to sound the retreat.�
Victor turned to the scouts waiting to carry messages to the front.
�Pass the word for the retreat from the first wall. Prepare the reserves. We want every family member to make it back.�
The scouts saluted and raced off to deliver their prepared messages whilst the two generals turned their eyes back to the map. Ants pored over it once more, making the delicate adjustments based on the events they knew were going to play out above.
Furious activity exploded within the nest. Ants ran over the top of each other, hastening to reach their assigned positions. The potential for devastating loss was huge. The retreat needed to be managed carefully, with precision. An orderly retreat back to the second wall was the aim. Not a scattered manoeuvre with the lines being overrun and soldiers being cut down left and right.
To this end, Propellant had taken her place amongst the fire mages.
When the word came for the retreat, the spell slinging ants leapt into action.
�Get ready for it!� Propellant bellowed. �Draw out every scrap of your Fire Mana!�
The ant Mages had been striving to master the Skills of spellcasting and Mana Shaping ever since the eldest shared the knowledge of them with the colony. Few had achieved a reasonable level of mastery. In fact, most of the ants were still stuck drawing from their Fire Mana Gland until it was empty, and then retreating to the Dungeon to recharge.
It had been an endless source of frustration for Propellant and Coolant,
but the reality was that the Mage ants lacked the raw
In teams of five, the fire mages began to draw out the Mana contained in their glands. The ants were positioned in a circular formation, facing inward. In the middle of each group, a bright flame sparked into life. The flame grew brighter over time as more Mana was fed into it. At this stage, the lead mage in each group, the one with the highest manipulation Skills, began to shape the raw energy into the desired construct.
It was a delicate moment, but each of these ants had trained hard for this. Propellant watched each of the five teams closely, seeking out any sign that the spells might go awry. As the intensity built, the council member�s focus grew sharper, until the spells were completed and the pillars of flame roared into the sky.
As they did, the generals on the front lines prepared their soldiers, with scouts rushing to cover each section of the wall, launching an acid barrage deep into the horde to further muddy the waters.
Grant grit her mandibles as the flames began to arc down.
�Get ready to fall back!� she roared.
�Push!� came the order, and the soldiers all along the wall shoved forward, snapping and biting at the monsters who threatened to tear them down into the mouth of the horde. Using their bodies and the strength of the ants who assisted them, the ants shoved back against the attackers, throwing them off the wall and creating a breath of distance between the two forces.
�Run back! Now! Go, go, go!� From the pheromone glands of hundreds of ants all along the perimeter, the call came, slamming into every set of antennae.
As one, the ants abandoned their first layer of defences, Dashing back as fast as they could. The scent trails for the retreat paths had been lain days ago, and they did not deviate from those safe passages in the slightest.
Grant waited until her section of wall was abandoned completely before she turned to go. Monsters were already climbing over in increasing numbers. It didn�t matter. She Dashed away just as the fire spells fell on top of the wall, incinerating the monsters and creating more distance between the attackers and the retreating ants.
The first wall had been taken at great cost to the horde. Grant felt deeply satisfied at the work that had been done. On to the next one.
The colony succeeded in pulling back to the second of their defensive lines with minimal losses. Each of the walls was shorter in length than the previous, allowing the ants to compress their numbers further each time they fell back.
Wills was pleased with the progress of the battle so far. After her too-short rest, she�d emerged in time to witness the retreat from the first wall and touch base with her people. The scouts had served as message runners and long-range attackers for the most part. Very few had fallen during the initial stage of the battle. That could change at any moment. The scout leader felt sorrow as members of her colony had fallen at the first wall, an emotion she was still coming to terms with. Each death only hardened her resolve to see the enemy fail.
From the second wall, she looked down as the horde pushed over the lip of the first in increasing numbers. Unthinking and without restraint, the horde didn�t pause to consider what the hundred metres of open ground between the two walls might mean. When the monsters saw their enemies crawling up the face of the next wall, they charged.
A ripple of glee shivered along Will�s antennae as the monsters triggered the first traps. Pitfalls, dead drops, spiked wooden stakes. The open ground was littered with the efforts of the worker caste. Some of those chutes dropped more than twenty metres straight down, where teams of workers waited to collect the fresh Biomass and bring it back to the nest to restock the colony�s supplies.
If the monsters were stupid enough, those chutes would continue to provide Biomass during the day. If the monsters decided to attack the nest through the drops, the ants would collapse the tunnels and move back to similar positions behind the next wall.
�Lucky our enemies are this stupid, eh Wills?�
The scout leader turned to look more fully at her sibling, Grant. �True. But I�d still be happier if there were fewer of them.�
�That�ll be us, soon enough,� the soldier prophesied. �Uncountable thousands of us. We�ll be able to smash a pathetic pile of monsters like this with ease.�
�It won�t be monsters like this that�ll challenge us,� Wills disagreed. �We�ll be fighting against creatures from much deeper in the Dungeon. How deep have we explored? A few kilometres, if that. According to the eldest, the Dungeon is thousands of kilometres deep. Who can say what opponents await the colony down there.�
�That�s why we need to continually improve and rise to the challenge!� Grant slapped her sibling on the back with one powerful, soldier leg. The impact caused the smaller scout to stumble slightly.
�Perhaps let�s focus on the battle at hand?� Wills winced and distracted the larger soldier.
�Good idea.� Grant turned her attention back to the onrushing monsters, still triggering innumerable traps on their way to the second wall.
Already, the ants had begun another acid barrage, the scouts who�d emptied their reserves had returned to unleash the fresh product they made whilst the battle raged at the first wall.
Wills was satisfied with the devastation. By the time the mass of creatures reached the final wall around the nest, there would only be the croca-beasts left. When the colony finally had a chance to feast on those crocs, Wills would be first in line for a chomp.
Just as she prepared to unleash her own acid at the enemy, what little she had in the tank, at any rate, she felt a change come over the colony. A silent ripple of emotion rolled through the defenders. A stillness that brought quiet with it even as they continued to go through the motions of defending their home.
It wasn�t as if the ants were made quiet, or sleepy, or pacified. Quite
the opposite. Within each ant defending the wall, a spark had been lit
that filled their frame with
Wills felt it within her own carapace. Her blood
What is happening?
She didn�t have to think for long. Rising from the top of the nest behind her came a sight that lifted her spirit even as her heart sank. First the long antennae, then powerful, elongated mandibles, followed by the heavily armoured and muscled head of the largest and most beautiful ant Wills had ever seen, emerged. Powerful, thickened legs followed and pulled through the rest of her body. The queen stood atop the peak of her nest and surveyed those who had come to attack her children.
One snap of her mighty jaws sent a wave of emotion through each of her children. Her rage and disgust toward the enemy had been conveyed in that gesture, and each member of the colony felt a ferocious impulse seize hold of their thoughts.
Mother was here.
Without consultation, the colony answered their queen. Over a thousand soldiers, scouts and mages on the surface snapped shut their mandibles as one. The noise was sharp and piercing, like the slamming of a thousand doors.
Her royalty clear in every line of her stance, the queen looked down at her children and felt her heart surge with emotion. Such good children they were. She would defend them to her final breath!
Even as her instincts screamed at her to exult in the presence of her queen, Wills could only fervently hope that her mother would not come down from the nest.
She begged the queen in her mind over and over, but it would do no good.
Mother had come for her children.
Once more the queen snapped her enormous mandibles shut, and this time she moved down from the peak of the nest. From behind her, a swarm of soldiers, mages and even Carvers boiled out of the nest and surged to surround their queen.
The colony answered, and this time, they didn�t stop, rhythmically snapping their mandibles as the queen strode from the nest to the front lines.
Each time they brought their mandibles closed, the sound grew louder. Wills herself felt as if her jaw might break but neither could she stop herself. She both shivered with fear and exalted with joy.
The queen was here! The queen was here!
The monsters of the horde rushed in, uncaring of the deafening noise that thundered over the lip of the wall. They knew only to press forward as their instincts demanded. But when they reached the wall and began to climb, they would find something had changed.
The queen had stepped forth and the ants would not hold back any longer.
When the monsters boiled over the lines of traps and climbed over each
other to ascend the wall, they found a ravenous wall of ants waiting for
them. The soldiers were desperate,
When the queen herself arrived at the front, the ferocity of her soldiers increased. She pushed through the mass of her children until she reached the edge of the wall and looked out over the horde that threatened her nest. Somewhere out there was the mastermind of this attack. The queen�s blood boiled with anger at the thought. When would they come to suffer her wrath?
Until then, she would have to sate her hunger on these minions.
The queen�s legs were no longer tipped with standard claws, but rather a new version that she could close together to form a fearsome spike. She extended her front legs over the edge of the wall and began to spear monsters as if they were fish.
The queen had dutifully examined the Skills she could purchase after her evolution, where a stab-related option had unlocked for her. The knowledge of how and when to most optimally strike had been trickled into her mind, and now she put it to good use.
Every time she stabbed, she pierced a monster straight through. She would then lean back on her rear legs and haul the valuable Biomass over the wall to pass to her children and turn to stab once more. It was easy. The monsters were packed so thick it wasn�t as if she could miss.
The queen was elated. For so long, she had been trapped in the nest, hearing about her children striding forth to do battle with their enemy, unable to help. Now, she was here. She was ready. She would fight alongside her children and shoulder her portion of the burden. It was gruesome and difficult, but it made her glad. Pheromone waves of satisfaction and savage joy emitted from her, radiating along the wall and striking the antennae of every ant present.
A feeling they reciprocated. But there was a deeper emotion that possessed them. The ant colony would fight at their fiercest for two things: the brood and their queen. Ingrained in their instincts was the need to defend the future generations. They would sacrifice anything to protect them. The brood, the next few generations of the colony, was safely tucked away in the nest, as secure as the colony could make them, whilst the queen, who embodied countless generations of colony members, was exposed to tremendous danger.
Newfound intelligence battled with inborn instinct, and the intelligence was losing. In the face of the threat to their mother, their sense of self-preservation began to fall away. What replaced it was pure, ferocious and unthinking aggression.
All along the wall, the colony members took dangerous risks to put their mandibles on the enemy. Around the queen, the fervour reached feverish levels. Even the non-combat castes had emerged from their secure chambers within the nest to follow their queen into battle.
Victor watched from the top of the main nest, despair rising in her
thorax. The queen�s influence on the mentality of the colony was too
strong. Even from here, she could feel it, the urge to rush to the
forefront of the battle and put her body between the queen and danger.
Only through an effort of Will was she able to resist the call. She
would be more useful managing the colony�s strategy, she
The feeling was so powerful, Victor began to suspect it was more than just her own instincts. It was possible the effect was enhanced by an option the queen chose in her evolution. Some organ or gland that whipped up the fervour of the ants within a certain range. Imagine if Leeroy were still out there�
What could they do? They couldn�t control the queen. They wouldn�t even want to try. So long as the queen fought, this rage would possess every ant who went anywhere near her. Victor and Sloan had workshopped a range of strategies to manage the queen�s influence on the battle, but they hadn�t expected her pull to be this strong. It was threatening to throw away the careful planning and effort that had gone into preparing for this battle.
It was only the second wall! There were so many more traps and tricks prepared before the colony needed to make their final stand.
As Victor chewed over her options, the queen had pushed such concerns to the side. She knew her place and was willing to sacrifice herself for the survival of her children. Indeed, she would welcome such a fate.
In order to preserve her energy and the Mana that was draining out of her core, she limited herself to simple stabs. She had more cards to play, but it wouldn�t do to reveal them this early in the battle. It didn�t take long for the monsters to press up against the wall and begin to spill over the top. Their screams of rage filled the air and they reached out desperately with their claws, only to be met with the queen�s mandibles.
Longer than any other ant�s and savagely barbed, her mandibles crashed together with a shattering snap that ended three monsters in a single bite. With a toss of her head, she flung the Biomass back to the waiting workers and stabbed forward again. The monsters within reach tried to scratch and bite her forelegs, but newly armoured and reinforced, the carapace there was far too tough for them. They could only watch as two more victims were lifted high into the air, back over the wall and out of sight.
So engrossed was the queen in the battle that she paid no attention to the clouds forming with unnatural speed overhead. Light flashed, electricity crackled and lightning began to fall.
Electrical energy crackled overhead as the ants continued to battle mindlessly on the wall. With a crack like the sound of a whip, the first strike fell. Conserving her energy, the queen was holding her section of the wall with ease when she was struck. The bolt landed on her abdomen and electricity pierced her carapace and roiled through her insides.
The smell of burnt flesh rose as the queen�s enormous frame began to smoke. The ants close by were driven to the edge of madness by the attack on their mother, but were helpless to retaliate against the clouds overhead. The queen herself remained calm. Her antennae glowed softly with light as she channelled Healing Magic from her Healing Mana Gland to repair her wounds.
She hadn�t suffered much damage, not even close to critical damage. During her evolution, she�d toughened herself a considerable amount, a decision that paid dividends now. The Healing Mana washed through her body, restoring damaged muscle and repairing her organs in moments.
But the lightning continued to fall.
The skies crackled with an immense amount of energy and each bolt struck unerringly on the giant figure that towered over the rest. It was clear the Ka�armodo had identified the queen as a threat and was trying to weaken her, if not destroy her.
The queen endured. Bolt after bolt fell from the sky, driving the ants into a frenzy. Their mother was under assault! How could they stand it? The queen focused on healing herself and ensuring that none of her children were caught in the discharge. Even whilst enduring the pain and concentrating on her Healing Mana, she was still able to keep her section of wall clear with repeated snaps of her giant mandibles.
�Mother!� screamed Victor, who had rushed to the front when she noticed the gathering clouds. �Mother, you must retreat!�
The queen shook her antennae in denial.
�I can still fight,� she insisted as she crunched more monsters with her jaws. �My children are fighting and so shall I!�
�You�re starting to smoke! You can�t tell me you aren�t taking damage,� Victor cried, trying to make her scent detected over the roiling pheromones being released all around.
�I can take it. Better me than the children,� the queen stubbornly insisted.
Victor tried to maintain control of her instincts which demanded that
she fight to defend her mother. Fighting was
If only the eldest were here. Mother listened to the eldest, trusted them. How much longer until that damn evolution was finished?
�The colony is going crazy! If you stay here taking this damage, they might just charge over the wall. You need to get back, even just for a time!�
With a blinding flash, a tremendous bolt of lightning lanced down from the roiling clouds above and connected to the queen. The mother of the colony threw her head back, frozen in pain as the energy burned through her body, sizzling her internal organs and causing her HP to plunge.
�MOTHER!� screamed Victor, overcome with anxiety.
Agony rippled through the queen, and she poured more effort to directing her Healing Mana to close her wounds. Pain was not enough to deter her from her course. Neither pain, nor danger or threat to her life would turn her from this path. In fact, she was glad. Every bolt of lightning that fell on her was Mana and effort expended on her and not on her children. She would be the bulwark for her family. The strong tower behind which they could find shelter.
She pushed her feet under her and lifted her head to snap out once more with her deadly mandibles. She tried to push the voices away and focus. She had much work to do, but one broke through.
�Look at your back!� Victor cried. The general had crawled onto the wall directly in front of the queen, her back to the enemy in an effort to capture her mother�s attention.
The queen hastily swatted the much smaller ant down from the wall and back to safety with one leg before she reared her body up to observe her own back.
It was covered in ants.
Were she the type to curse, perhaps the queen would have indulged herself in this moment, but she didn�t. She turned. And she ran.
The clouds crackled and the queen wasted no time rushing back from the second wall toward the nest. As she retreated, the storm overhead began to disperse. The Ka�armodo was apparently unwilling to commit to holding it in place if she were not on the front herself.
With the presence of the queen fading from the front line, the battle returned to a more controlled type of frenzy. Generals were able to organise and arrange their soldiers, scouts shook off their rage and returned to their work as runners. Over the next few minutes, the colony was able to restore order to their efforts.
As she rushed back to the nest, the queen appeared outwardly calm, but was boiling with frustration on the inside. She wanted to fight and defend her family, but it appeared as if her children would not allow it. When she was threatened by the lightning, they had selflessly climbed onto her back to protect her.
It was a gesture that filled her heart while breaking it at the same time. She did not want her children to die for her. She wanted to fight and die for them!
The non-combat caste members who exited the nest with her, escorted her back, anxiously crawling in every direction to ensure her safety. When she reached the peak of the nest, the queen looked back to the second wall, several hundred metres away, where her family was fighting and dying for its survival. For a short, glorious moment, she had been able to share in that struggle, and she would again before the end.
With a small sigh, the queen plunged down into the darkness. She would recharge her core, heal her injuries, and prepare to emerge again. The battle was not done, and neither was she.
For her part, Victor was relieved. The queen wouldn�t stay put for long, but for the time being, the battle was back in control. The queen and the eldest were the trump cards of the colony. They couldn�t be played too early. If the queen had remained at the front and prompted Garralosh to come out before the eldest had finished evolving�
It could have been a disaster!
Come to think of it, the wall was no place for her to be either. As the two sides threw themselves at each other, Victor ran from the front, over the remaining walls and into the nest. Inside the planning chamber, Sloan awaited her.
�Sounds like things have stabilised for the time being,� Sloan said. �Great work.�
Victor shook her antennae in denial. �It�s only a matter of time until the queen comes up again. The next time she comes up, I don�t think she�ll go back. No matter what.�
�But that�s good information to have,� Sloan insisted. �We know that the next time she fights, we�ll have to play all our tricks.�
A shiver of fear ran over Victor as she considered what might have happened in those moments.
�She could�ve died up there, Sloan.�
Her sibling came closer and patted her on the head with one antenna.
�We won�t let that happen. No matter what.�
�No matter what.�
Antionette and Victoriant sat in the secure chamber in which the eldest was evolving. Soldiers and scouts lined the walls, Brood Tenders, with their soothing growth auras were in attendance, and the two guardians watched all with a sharp eye from their positions on either side of their master.
�How long until the eldest wakes up, do you think?� Antionette asked for the fifth time.
�I have no idea,� Victoriant gave the same reply.
The two Juvenile Queens fidgeted, giving their antennae a restless sweep through their knee joints before they settled. The eldest had undergone many changes over the last hour, a dramatic increase in size being the most obvious, but still they showed no sign of awakening. This deep in the nest, the battle could neither be felt nor heard, but it weighed heavily on their minds.
�I didn�t think it would be this frustrating,� Victoriant sighed.
�I�m beginning to understand why the queen is getting so restless,� her sibling agreed.
�At least Mother can actually perform her function. She can lay eggs and create a future for the colony. What about us? We aren�t allowed to fight, can�t try to gain experience and can�t lay eggs. I just feel so useless.�
�Cheer up, Victoriant. We knew we would need to be patient when we chose this path. If you look on the bright side, the two of us are closer to our next evolution than the other members of the council.�
�That�s only true because
Speaking of which, after a short tussle near one of the walls, a soldier came toward the two of them carrying a heavily damaged beast which was promptly deposited at their feet.
�Thank you very much,� Antionette called as the soldier returned to her post.
�I�m Level fifteen,� Victoriant told her sibling.
�Me too,� Antionette confirmed.
�Then, who got the experience last time?�
�I believe it was me.�
�Alright then.�
Victoriant leaned down and finished off the heavily wounded monster with a quick snap of her mandibles. In truth, they were weak fighters. Their large size was less due to a powerful physique and more to create space for the numerous organs necessary to facilitate the egg laying process. Unlike the queen, their evolution wasn�t designed to battle in order to get the colony off the ground. The eldest had designed their path with pure egg laying in mind.
One more evolution and they would be able to start producing a small number of eggs per day, and one more after that until they would fully mature as queens, able to produce hundreds of eggs each day. So long as they were provided the Biomass to do so.
The two siblings absentmindedly consumed the Biomass in front of them. In truth, the pair had already maxed out their mutations. They only ate to stockpile Biomass for their impending evolution. Indeed, the colony had been willingly funnelling resources into the pair, hoping to increase the growth rate of the colony as soon as possible. They already boasted maxed-out cores and had both been presented with special cores some time ago. Five more Levels and they would be ready to evolve on the spot.
Their contemplation was interrupted by Tungstant storming into the chamber from above and rushing down the wall.
�How is the eldest?� the harried-looking Carver ant asked.
Victoriant flicked a curious antenna at her sibling before she responded. �No change since the last time you came in, as you can see.�
The smaller ant slumped in frustration before she wandered over to where the eldest rested. The two guardians shifted at her approach, not hostile, but ensuring the little Carver was aware they knew she was there.
Fortunately, Tungstant was familiar with this task and gave the guardians their due as she approached. Victoriant and Antionette watched as the Carver performed the now familiar dance of measuring the height and length of the eldest by stepping out the distances with careful, measured steps. This job done, Tungstant began to wave her antennae over the eldest�s carapace, using her sense of smell and the fine touch of micro hairs to examine any changes she could detect.
Job done, the little ant turned back despondently, only to be pounced on by her two siblings.
�How goes the battle!� the two Juvenile Queens demanded.
Tungstant jumped back at the surprise attack and sighed.
�Preparations are being made to retreat from the second wall. The call should be made any moment now.�
�Only the second wall? There�s still six to go! How long will this battle go on?� Victoriant exclaimed.
�It takes a long time to kill tens of thousands of monsters,� Tungstant
replied, irritated. �We�ve made our calculations to the best of our
abilities. This was the maximum number of defences we could prepare in
time, and it
Victoriant deflated a little, frustrated at the prospect of having to sit, under guard, in a chamber so far from the battle. With no capacity to influence the battle, they could only wait as others battled to protect their future.
Tungstant softened her voice. �I know it�s painful. I�m in much the same
situation as you are. It isn�t as if I can dig or build anything to
influence the battle at this point. I�m just running messages and
checking on the eldest. Who
�It doesn�t seem as if they�ve grown since the last time you were here,� Antionette offered. �Perhaps the evolution is close to completed?�
Tungstant shook her antennae. �I�m afraid that may not be true. The change in size is probably the first and easiest part of the evolution. I can�t sense much from the outside, but I believe there are significant changes taking place within the body of the eldest. It may yet be some time until the change is completed.�
�But�� Victoriant protested. �What about the battle?�
�We�ll just have to hold on,� the Carver shrugged her antennae. �According to my predictions, we won�t be able to end this battle without the eldest taking part. We�ll just have to last until they can join the fight.�
The ants fell silent as they contemplated the next few hours and the future of their colony. The struggle up above would be brutal, vicious and filled with danger. And each of these siblings would rather they be allowed up there than trapped down here, waiting.
The master was irritated.
Assan�diri could feel the rising ire of his master through the Bond. Like a Blackened Death Asp monster, it hissed, sibilant, at a constant measure that put all of the Setsulah on edge.
�Diri!� muttered a nearby voice.
He turned to see Chen�thra, his wife, approach.
�Master is losing his patience,� she hissed. �His black mood hangs over us like a storm.�
�I feel it, my heart. Of course I feel it. Ever since the loss of our kin, the master has been losing faith in this mission.�
They shared a moment of quiet sorrow. They had not had the time to perform the proper rituals to commemorate their lost Bond Kin, something which doubled their grief. Killed by the devilish monster that plagued and taunted them for so long, their kin would not rest properly until the rites had been observed.
The rage of the master had been as hot as the desert sands when they�d
fallen. The Setsulah shared in the blazing intensity of it. That even
one of their sacred number would be lost to such a monster had rankled.
The creature
They consoled themselves that the final reckoning would be theirs. Garralosh was determined to exterminate all the humans from the pathetic frontier kingdoms and she would destroy these pesky monsters whilst she was at it.
At first, they worried the humans and monsters would flee, but rejoiced when repeated scrying showed no such movements were taking place. The Setsulah had not wished for their master to spend years chasing rabble and refuse through the wilds. Thankfully, he hadn�t needed to. They expected the humans and monsters would crumble the moment they arrived. Crushed under the weight of the thousands of monsters that rushed at them.
They could not have been more wrong!
�Have you ever seen a collection of monsters like this?� Chen�thra asked, bewildered.
�I have not, my heart,� Assan�diri confirmed, just as confused.
The walls, the traps, the ambushes, the stratagems. One after the other, after the other.
�Did you hear what happened in the last hour?�
�The third wall was taken, was it not?�
�It was, and when the
�They
�They flooded them. The sand blasted creatures built a covered reservoir
and they knocked out the walls. The
They shuddered, and Assan�diri reached out, his hand unconsciously seeking that of his wife. To those who lived their entire lives in the deserts and mountains of the true kingdom, death by water sent shivers down their spines.
They were deep in the belly of the horde, surrounded by
�Come, my heart, let us return to the compound.�
To his relief, his wife nodded her assent and they turned their backs on the battle and strode to the source of the simmering anger that thrummed across the Bond.
Assan�diri tried to ignore the Garralosh spawn as they passed. The monsters stared at the robed figures with scarcely concealed hunger. Only the iron will of their parent was able to keep the primitive brutes in line. Even the knowledge that the master would scour their flesh from their bones should they lay one scaled claw on the Setsulah wasn�t enough to sink into their simple minds.
He tried not to be too disrespectful of the creatures in his thoughts. His master had dedicated a great deal of time to this project, and it wouldn�t do if the Kin were to harbour ill thoughts toward something the master had devoted such attention to.
[
Assan�diri and his wife both stumbled at the sudden touch of the great mind of their master through the Bond.
[Master. I prostrate myself. I did not mean any offence.]
He made good on his words by immediately dropping to his knees and bowing low in the dirt. Chen�thra joined him without hesitation.
[
The two Setsulah straightened themselves, their thoughts seized by the weariness they sensed in their master.
[
The servants shared a significant glance.
[Do you anticipate the Setsulah will be deployed? We are willing to serve.]
[
There was finality in that response.
[
Assan�diri clamped his fangs shut and grimaced within his hood. If it weren�t for that cursed monster hunting them, the master would not need to tax himself in this way.
[
The servant hissed in agitation and once more threw himself on the dirt to bow low in the direction of his master. Even without being able to see the blessed form of his Bond holder, he was able to bow directly toward him.
[I mean no offence, Master! Please discipline me as you see fit.]
[
[As you wish, Master.]
The touch of the master over the Bond faded and the two servants rushed to fulfil their master�s instructions. It seemed as if their long quest would finally reach a conclusion. The Setsulah longed for the hot winds and sheer peaks of their mountain home. Whether Garralosh was successful and broke through or failed and languished in this cage of her own making, Assan�diri no longer cared. So long as the master was able to discharge his duty, they could return home with pride.
�Am I gonna make it, Miss Enid?� the boy begged tearfully.
Enid glanced down at the horrific gut wound the soldier suffered, her face set in a calming smile.
�You�re going to be fine, soldier,� she soothed, wiping the sweat from his face with a grimy cloth. �The healers will get to you as soon as they can.�
Fear boiled in the young warrior�s eyes as he clutched at her. He wasn�t going to make it. Black blood leaked from the wound in his gut. Monster claw, she guessed. She felt helpless, but continued to comfort the doomed lad as his lifeblood drained away.
She�d seen many things in her life. Travelling the caravans hadn�t always been safe. On occasion, when her husband had caved to her pestering, she�d even been able to join him on a few delves. The danger had been real, and many times, she�d feared for her life.
But nothing could have prepared her for this. Even now, she could hear them. The roars. The screams. The clash of steel ringing out across the clearing from the wall. Nestled against the side of the ants� defences, the human wall had held strong, but the cost had been steep. The medical tent had seen a steady stream of wounded from the moment the battle began. Without any Healing Magic practitioners, there was nothing they could do for those with serious wounds but bandage and clean them. With that done, the injured could do nothing except languish on pallets alongside a growing assembly of their fellow warriors.
Enid had also been on the wall during the fighting. Not for long, of
course. She knew she�d only be underfoot when the fighting got hot.
However, she couldn�t resist the need to
The sight would haunt her for the rest of her life.
As gruesome as it had been at the human wall, the monsters that were their neighbours fought a far more brutal battle. The sight of the monster versus monster combat had been horrifying to behold. Creatures torn to pieces and consumed on the spot. The wounded stomped underfoot or dragged away. The attacking horde howled and shrieked until one�s ears rang with pain.
And all the while, the ants battled in an eerie silence.
Only by their body language was it possible to get a sense of their
emotions, and that was almost impossible at the best of times. Only when
the queen emerged had Enid been able to clearly sense their fear. Once
that gigantic monster made herself known and rushed to the front, the
ants had become
Enid had been afraid at that point. Afraid of what would have happened if the queen had fallen to the lightning and been torn apart by her attackers. What would have happened to the ants who remained? What would they have done in their grief and rage? She shuddered to think of it.
�Mary,� Enid called softly to a nearby nurse. �Could you get me another cloth, please? This young man needs to have his wounds cleaned.�
The young girl looked down at the suffering young man before she glanced back at Enid�s face and nodded quietly. The boy gripped her hand tighter.
�Do you know if my brother is okay?� he gasped.
�I haven�t seen him in here,� she reassured him. �I�m sure he�s still fighting.�
He relaxed back onto his pallet.
�I saw him fighting next to the beast,� he forced out, a rictus grin on his face. �He always looked up to her.�
Enid couldn�t help but snort at the use of Morrelia�s nickname. She didn�t know when they�d started referring to her as �the beast� but she sure as heck didn�t want to be about when the young berserker found out. To Enid�s knowledge, Morrelia had been on the wall battling like a maniac the entire time. With her reckless, two-handed style, it would be a miracle if she hadn�t suffered major wounds.
If only they had healers! Enid would happily cut her left arm off for a decent apothecary, even.
Ultimately, Enid had begun to despair. What if, despite everything they�d done, it still wasn�t enough? Just like the young boy, who couldn�t be more than fifteen, she felt her hopes slowly dying. She would never let it show on her face or in her demeanour, but she was afraid. Not for herself, but for her people. They deserved so much better than this.
At that moment, a stir ran through the medical tent. A wave of energy that crackled in the air. Tension, excitement, and fear, all rolled in one.
�Miss Enid!� Mary rushed back, a cloth forgotten in her hand.
�What is it, child?� Enid asked, concerned.
�They�ve come! They�ve come to save us!�
�Who?�
It didn�t take long for the question to answer itself. From her position
seated on the ground, Enid could see people shuffling to one side,
trying to make space for
Antennae twitched and mandibles clacked as a dozen monstrous ants pushed their way into the medical tent. Without a word or a sign, they split up and moved about the tent, each headed to a different wounded. One came right next to Enid and brought its antennae down on the dying lad. When Healing Mana began to flow down the antennae and into the boy, Enid could hold her tears no longer. As life came back into his face, so too did hope blossom inside her.
She did not know where this strange colony had come from, but in that moment, she had to admit that Beyn was possibly onto something. How could they not be heaven-sent?
�Hold the line!� sprayed Grant to the ants around her. �Don�t let these motherless scum over the wall!�
She faked left before biting down hard with her mandibles on a clawed hand that threatened her. The dirt wall defences of the ants had held firm so far. Only by voluntary retreat had they been taken by the enemy. As each consecutive wall had been surrendered, the ants� defences had become concentrated and more sophisticated.
Now on the sixth wall, the greater preparations were bearing fruit. The moat was deep here and filled with Biomass. Sharpened stakes dotted the face of the wall where many monsters lost their lives pushing into them.
Spears of water erupted out of the moat and dozens of monsters fell back, pierced through their sides. Not far from where Grant fought, the Water Mage slumped to the ground, exhausted.
�Get back to the nest,� Grant ordered, her pheromones cutting through the myriad scents of the battle.
�I�ve got one more in me,� the Mage forced out.
�Denied. Get back in the nest and recharge. One spell here isn�t worth delaying your return to the field later,� Grant ordered, even as she fended off another attacker on the wall.
The Mage ant pushed her feet back under her, and with the assistance of a nearby healer, crawled away from the fighting.
The general assigned to this section of wall shook her head. The colony was pushing itself hard and the will to sacrifice themselves had risen. When push came to shove, each individual would rather die than allow another to die in their place. It had become harder and harder to get soldiers to take breaks, to make healers recharge their Mana Glands. Even the generals had become obstinate, some had even pushed into the fight themselves!
The generals were no larger than a juvenile soldier. All the evolutionary energy in their second evolution went into raising their Cunning and the Combat Aura gland. When it came to applying damage with their mandibles, even scouts were superior. Forget about the soldiers themselves.
�Get back!� Grant yelled.
The ants around her scuttled away from the wall just as a giant rotting toad monster opened its distended and grotesque mouth and unleashed a gout of putrid liquid that washed over the surface.
�Dirt! Go! Go!� the general ordered, running in with her mandibles filled with soft earth.
The green liquid bubbled and steamed as the ants scrambled to cover it with dirt. After a few seconds, the horrific mess was nowhere in sight and they leapt back to the edge of the wall to battle against the monsters who threatened to spill over the edge.
Grant cursed inside. Those stupid toads had become a problem ever since they�d first appeared at the fifth wall. If they weren�t spotted in the heaving mass of monsters before they spewed out their poisonous, acidic soup, a great deal of damage could be done to the ants in a short period of time. The wounds caused were excruciating and required a massive amount of Mana to heal. Almost every healer on the wall had been sent back to rest at one point, drained of their Mana after treating the burns.
�Hold the line!� Grant shouted, and her fellow soldiers, with their larger bodies and powerful mandibles, stepped up once more.
The ground beneath Grant�s feet vibrated as a low growl from hundreds of throats shook the air. She stared out over the thronging horde, much smaller now than it had been at the start, and she saw them.
They pushed their way through the horde in packs of three or four. Standing upright, they towered over many of the monsters. Light glinted off their dark scales and razor claws. Some of them opened their massive jaws wide and flashed their teeth as their growls continued to rumble deep in their chests.
�THEY�RE COMING!� she roared. �The crocs are coming!�
All along the wall, the ants rippled with energy as the word raced down the line and back up to the nest. Excitement pounded in Grant�s thorax. Finally, the filthy crocs were prepared to show their faces. At last, the battle would move to its destined conclusion!
Since the smaller crocs had made their move, the big one couldn�t be too far behind!
Sure enough, it didn�t take long for the order to come back from the main nest.
�We�re abandoning the wall! Prepare to push on the count of ten!�
�Get ready!�
�Still work to do here! Don�t slack!�
�Don�t slack, yourself!�
�Five!�
Grant braced herself and she felt the soldiers on either side do the same.
�Mages, start to channel! Stay clean on the lines!� the generals hollered.
The smaller ant Mages came forward until they were right behind their soldier siblings and began to channel the Mana within them.
They crafted it into the mind-bending shapes and constructs that would bring death to their enemies and a reprieve to the colony. If only for a few seconds.
�PUSH!�
�RAH!�
As one, the soldiers shoved forward and ripped into the monsters. They teamed up to throw monsters down from the wall and throw them back, clearing space to allow them to disengage. The soldiers backed up and turned around before they rushed away from the wall, leaving the smaller Mages as the front line.
Up and down the wall, a hundred ant Mages completed their spells and unleashed them on the horde at the foot of the walls. Gouts of flame and spears of water poured forth. The shrieks and roars of injured, infuriated monsters filled the air as the ants silently completed their deadly task.
With their limited cores and Mana Glands, they weren�t able to maintain the magical onslaught for long, only a few seconds, but it was enough. As the monsters of the horde descended on their wounded members to feast on their Biomass, the ants fled to the seventh and penultimate wall.
�Looks like the number crunching by the bigger brained castes was pretty much dead on,� Grant observed to the nearby general as they retreated together.
The two ants carefully followed the prepared scent trails as they narrowly dodged the traps and tunnels that dotted the open ground between the walls.
�We might even have one wall to spare,� the general chuckled.
Grant shook her antennae.
�We�ll need more than one to hold off Garralosh�s children. They�re bigger and stronger than most of the trash we�ve been dealing with so far.�
The ants crawled up the face of their seventh defensive layer and took position at the top. They would have a few precious seconds of rest before they were tested again. Rested troops greeted them as they crested the wall. Scouts, soldiers, healers and generals, already in place and ready to battle the enemy.
The ant hill rose high behind them, much closer now than when the battle started. The colony was prepared to make their final stand now. Once this position was overrun, only one wall would stand between the horde and the nest itself.
�How many casualties so far?� Grant asked one of the healers.
�Below three hundred,� the worker replied.
A remarkable number. A miracle almost. They�d defeated thousands of mindless enemies for the cost of only several hundred colony members. It would get harder now.
At that moment, Grant noticed a disturbance at the peak of the nest. A flood of worker and artisan caste ants poured out of the opening at the peak, followed by a familiar, massive frame.
Grant was conflicted, but she had to admit, it was a good time for the queen to reappear.
�Haul your abdomen, Sloan!� Victor yelled at her slower contemporary.
�I�m coming!� Sloan grumbled back.
The two generals were exhausted. They hadn�t fought on the front line during the course of the battle, but they�d been debating, planning and coordinating the efforts of the colony without pause for over a day without rest.
�Finally getting to the good part and you want to miss out?� Victor joked.
�I�ll push you into the mouth of a Garralosh spawn,� Sloan promised. �Watch yourself up there.�
�I�m not worried. Leeroy will probably already be in there and can push me out.�
At the mention of the more� enthusiastic, of their soldier siblings, an irritated twitch flicked through Sloan�s antennae. Now that they�d come to this point, nothing could be held back. Which meant Leeroy, and the soldiers who�d kept her pinned down in the nest, had been sent back to the wall.
The two generals rushed out of the dark nest and into the bright light of the surface. Victor shielded her eyes with her antennae as best she could as she stared at the carnage taking place beyond the walls. From this high up, the children of Garralosh were in full view, flames trickling out from between their teeth.
�About time you slackers made it up here,� Burke said from nearby.
�We haven�t been slacking!� Sloan ground out.
�I know that, obviously.� Burke turned to Victor. �Why is she so tense?�
�Not much torpor.�
�Ah.�
They continued to observe the battle. Things were heating up, and not just because of the flame-spewing crocodile monsters. The queen had re-joined the front line, and the ants there had quickly reached a boiling peak of rage and fury.
�We need to get down there,� Sloan gasped urgently.
�I know,� Victor replied, intent.
�Do you really think you can stop her?� Burke asked the two generals.
�Not a chance,� Victor replied.
�We managed to convince her to return once. Why not once more?� Desperation crept into Sloan�s scent.
Victor flicked her antennae toward the battle that raged at the seventh wall.
�The queen is committed. I don�t think she expects to survive this battle. The only reason she retreated last time was because she would have caused more deaths than she saved. There is nowhere else to retreat to now. If the colony puts itself between her and danger again, she�ll just push us to the side.�
�We have to help her!� Sloan pleaded.
�Of course we will. Coming, Burke?�
�Let�s go!�
The three members of the twenty rushed in to join the battle. There was nothing left to do now but fight. The closer they came, the more their senses were overwhelmed by the din of battle. The roar of the monsters, the clash of claws, mandibles and carapace, the stink of Biomass mixed with a thousand messages pouring out of the ants every second.
More than that, the boiling rage and feverish heat that built within the closer they came to the queen. Before they could reach the edge of the wall, the queen and the ferocious worker and artisan caste ants that followed her crashed against the enemy like a tidal wave.
Acid flew in the air, so thick it fell like rain over the enemy, and the
Garralosh spawn roared with pain and anger. The ants cared not and made
no sound as they doubled their ferocity. For every monster that made it
to the top of the wall, four or five ants were there to meet it. The
soldiers on the front line were the first to move. They seized the
victim in their mandibles and
Then the smaller ants got hold of them and the unfortunate creature was buried under a swarm of bodies.
Then the children of Garralosh reached the wall. Flames roared into the sky and hundreds of ants fell back from the edge, lest the inferno claim them. The wash of heat was felt dozens of metres away as the air crackled against Burke�s antennae.
The only ant not to take a backward step was the queen.
The flames licked against her carapace, but she didn�t appear to care. Her attention was seized by the face of her enemy, after all this time, at last they would feel her wrath!
The moment the hideous creatures came within her range, the queen reared back and raised her head before she unleashed a torrent of acid from her mouth! Garralosh spawn in front of her were bathed in acid in an instant, their scales sizzled and melted as they stumbled through the downpour.
It didn�t take long for some of the monsters to retaliate, raising their multi-mouthed heads to belch powerful flames to counteract the acid. The queen didn�t relent and continued to pour it on. The powerful stream rained down on monsters up to thirty metres away. When acid and flame met, the stream exploded into boiling hot clouds of acidic steam that wafted over the battlefield, scalding all who touched them. Sadly, the colony had no wind mages to direct the horrific steam, and some small amount drifted toward the walls.
Unwilling to drain all her acid away, the queen relented in her opening salvo and clacked her mandibles eagerly. She hungered for vengeance!
�Queen! Please be careful!� Sloan sputtered, exhausted from the run.
�I�ll not go back. Not this time. I�m needed here,� the queen spoke sharply, unwilling to waste time arguing.
�I know that! Just� try not to die!� the general begged.
Before the queen could respond, another scent intruded on their conversation.
�Your time�s up, Sloan! Let�s do this!� Leeroy shouted as she barrelled forward, excitement and rage evident in every inch of her frame.
Victor groaned. The enthusiastic approach she didn�t mind, it was the
complete lack of a sign that Leeroy intended to
�Leeroy�!� she tried to call, but to no avail.
The soldier anticipated her siblings would attempt to cut her off and moved to render their efforts useless.
�Not this time, Sloan! I will fight�MY WAY!�
With a daring leap, she launched onto the abdomen of the queen and Dashed up her back, rising above the tumult of battle. Even the queen was taken by surprise by this manoeuvre and didn�t move as the much smaller ant scrambled up her back.
�Leeroy! Don�t be stupid!�
�I AM AWAITED! My carapace will gleam forever, shiny and red! LEEROOOOOY!�
So shouting, the soldier ant heroically leapt from her bewildered mother�s head and soared high into the air. So powerful was her jump, she appeared to float in defiance of gravity above the heads of the monsters below.
�By my two antennae, why is she screaming her own name?� Sloan despaired.
The generals could only watch as their over-enthusiastic sibling sailed above the horde of gnashing monsters and hulking crocodiles, before she began to fall.
Stillness had fallen across the colony, as all the ants watched this majestic leap to glory. Their poor ant hearts, already filled to bursting with the urge to fight, boiled over in that moment and they threw away all restraint. The queen was with them, how could they fail?
Ant after ant threw themselves off the wall and into the fray. Casting aside the high ground and the benefit of their defences to better take hold of the enemy.
�Do you think Leeroy remembered this was part of the plan?� Victor asked Sloan.
�I
The sibling in question fell into the horde and vanished into the swirl of bodies.
�Time to go?�
�Let�s do this.�
The two ants tapped antennae in the classic ant high-five, before they took a running start and leapt off the wall. They�d worked hard on this aspect of the plan. It was time to launch: The Leeroy Initiative!
The queen could only watch in shock as more and more of her children literally threw themselves into the jaws of the enemy below before she too hurled herself over the wall, Healing Mana charging within her antennae.
Please be on time!
�At last, our time has come!� Bella exulted.
�Our moment to shine!� Agreed Ellie.
�I�ll be glad to get out of this damp hole,� Bella huffed.
The two Core Shapers glanced around at their cramped compatriots and their loyal shadow beasts, crammed into this small underground chamber.
�We can go. Time to move out!� A scout near the entrance confirmed.
�Here we go!� Elllie cheered as the ants and their pets charged to the entrance of the surface tunnel.
It took a long time for the Carvers to complete this chamber, time in which the Core Shapers had further refined their tactics and tried to squeeze the last few mutations out of their charges before the battle.
They were as ready now as they could possibly be, given the circumstances.
�Do you really think that
�I mean, I know we agreed
�You make a good point.�
�So, let�s go!�
From just behind her, two massive shadow beasts raised their heads and
began to move in support of their masters. The two of them weren�t
Not to mention, how were they supposed to properly train their Skills and test the limits of their caste without their own pets? With such reasoning, they�d convinced themselves to not only create their own pets, but invest in them to an absurd degree. Even giving up their own food to ensure the maximum amount of Biomass was received by their creations.
�How far beneath the ground are we?� Ellie asked the scout who led their procession into the narrow, upward sloping tunnel.
�The chamber we just left is thirty metres down. The final staging chamber above is ten metres below.�
�I�m surprised they were able to build so many tunnels without the ground collapsing on our heads,� Bella commented.
�The Carvers are beginning to unlock some truly impressive Skills,� the scout replied.
The Carvers were proving their worth to the colony and every member of every caste approved of their work. Who could disapprove of such skilful digging?
Through the soil, there came a dull thudding as creatures above brawled back and forth. From the ceiling, dirt broke away and trickled down over the ants and shadow beasts that marched.
Up and up they went, following the winding path, like a spiral staircase through the cold, damp soil. The ants moved in complete silence, even more so than usual. The Shapers didn�t have much time to talk to each other and were engaged in mental communication with their pets, preparing them for what was to come.
Soon they came to the staging chamber. Multiple tunnels, even narrower than that which they came through, lined the walls.
�Remember your number and head to the designated tunnel entrance. Pets first, Shapers behind,� hissed the guide.
The ants moved with greater urgency as the rumbling clatter from overhead grew ever louder. Dirt fell regularly, trickling over carapaces and irritating the ants by getting caught in the sensitive hairs on their antennae.
It was made worse by the fact the ants were unable to stop and clean them in such narrow tunnels. It�d delay the ants behind them!
Bella ground her mandibles and resisted the powerful urge to clean herself.
[Move up,] she told her two pets.
[Hrmm,] they grunted in reply.
It was a shame they�d reduced their intelligence to this extent, she reflected. It would be nice if they could hold a decent conversation. But their battle prowess was what actually mattered. They�d done all they could to punch that up a level.
Noise and heat grew as they drew closer to the surface. After a few short minutes, the tunnel came to an end. Each of these short tunnels opened into a pitfall that was possibly already full of Biomass, they needed to collapse the entrance with care.
Bella instructed her two pets in the lead to scrape away at the softened dirt wall with their claws until it crumbled away to reveal a grisly sight. The pitfall did indeed do its job and the bottom of it was filled with Biomass. She bit back her hunger, there was work to do. Since the opening of their tunnel was two metres above the bottom of the pitfall, her two pets were able to push their way out into the open, standing on the broken bodies of the monsters in the bottom of the pit.
Light, heat and sound buffeted against Bella as she crawled into the open. Above her head, the battle raged, monsters of the horde and even Garralosh spawn shoved each other as they attempted not to fall.
Once she cleared the tunnel entrance, more Shapers and their pets followed until the bottom of the pitfall became dangerously overcrowded.
�It�s time to go!� shouted Bella. �Let�s show them what the Shapers can do!�
�Charge!�
Despite their surging spirits, the Shapers themselves did not charge. As members of the artisan caste, they were amongst the smallest of all the members of the colony and not well suited to direct combat.
But they enthusiastically cheered their pets on!
Chaos already reigned on the battlefield. The ants had begun to pour down from the wall and take the fight to their hated foes. The queen herself had leapt down and begun to charge her antennae with Healing Magic.
At that exact moment, hundreds of raging shadow beasts erupted from within the pitfall traps and began to tear into every enemy they could reach with wild ferocity.
The queen landed with a calamitous thud. Several unfortunate monsters were crushed beneath her bulk or stabbed through by her claws. Her legs strained to the breaking point, but she absorbed the shock and bulldozed her way toward the place her wayward child fell.
She reached deep into her Healing Mana Gland and dragged the dense fog of energy out and into her antennae where it was amplified. More and more of her children were pouring off the wall and into the crowded space. The melee was quickly spinning out of control.
Conflicting emotions battled in the queen�s thorax. She feared for her
family. Terrified they would suffer due to her actions. At the same
time, she exulted
System notifications rang within her mind but she paid them no attention. Her focus was on the healing energy building to a peak in her antennae. When she could contain it no more, the energy exploded outward in a rolling nova of light that washed over the battlefield in an expanding ring.
Only the ants were affected by this Mana, its invigorating properties washing away their fatigue and easing their pain in an instant. Already filled with the burning rage and desperate anxiety that seeing their mother fighting on the front lines caused, colony members of all castes were driven to a frenzy and threw themselves upon the enemy in groups, tearing their foes apart with their vicious jaws.
After stomping her way another ten metres forward, the queen stood over the healing body of the soldier who leapt so energetically from her head. The ant in question was quite wounded, even in the short time she�d been submerged in the churning soup of monsters.
�Did� did I win the battle?� she croaked.
The queen defended the space of the smaller ant with savage chomps of her mandibles.
�No, child,� the queen responded, puzzled. �You must get up and fight.�
��Fine.�
At that time, hundreds of dark shadow monsters erupted from out of the pitfalls. In a nightmarish scene, the creatures reached out of the holes in the ground with their dark, shadowy arms and dragged struggling monsters back into the pits with them. It didn�t take long for the creatures to push their way out and begin to engage the monsters all around them.
Then more Garralosh spawn arrived.
Flames belching from their open mouths, the giant crocodile monsters bounded forward to tear into the shadow pets and smaller battles broke out everywhere.
�My queen! Be careful!� Sloan had arrived next to her mother and couldn�t resist trying to caution her.
�Don�t be ridiculous, Sloan!� Victor scoffed. �It�s a battle! Start worrying about yourself!�
The queen quite agreed with Victor on this point and turned her attention to the approaching crocodiles. These were the monsters who were responsible for bringing this battle to her family. She would delight in returning the pain to them.
The queen snapped her mandibles shut with tremendous force. The sound cut through the noise of the battle with ease, a whip crack that punctured the din. A wall of crocodile flesh rose up and she began to step toward them. As she did, her carapace began to glow bright with energy that unfolded and encompassed her entire body.
As she gathered speed, the light built in intensity, the pure blue light of Mana built to a brightness that almost pained the eye of the monsters forced to gaze upon her. She had no eyes for any of the smaller creatures she crushed beneath her feet, she hungered to unleash her strength on those that caused the conflict that harmed so many of her children.
Maybe if she were to destroy enough Garralosh spawn, then their mother would feel the pain.
The crocodiles reared up before her and unleashed their flaming breath. The energy that had accrued in her carapace flared brighter, warding off the damage, and the queen continued her assault.
The moment the first was in range, she brought her mandibles down and crunched. Her savage, barbed jaws crushed the creature, and without pause, the queen swung her body to fling the Biomass away and free herself for another bite.
[You have defeated a Level 8 Garralosh Bellator.]
[You have gained XP.]
At last, she had the chance to seek retribution and she would seize it!
�The queen has gone in deep!� Sloan worried to Victor, her scent barely able to cut through the chaos of the battlefield.
The queen was barely visible now. She�d pushed beyond what any of the ants who were in position to support her could reach. Beyond even the positions of the Core Shapers and their pets! If it weren�t for her glowing carapace that seemed to ward off damage, they might not have been able to see her at all.
�We have a task force for this,� Victor reminded her sibling,
frustrated. Did she really have to put up with Sloan�s anxiety
Victor ducked back from a claw that swiped in her direction and retaliated with a careful bite, aimed low to hamstring her hound-like opponent. Her jaws found purchase and she twisted her body, allowing the mandibles to inflict maximum damage before she released her grip and leapt back, creating space for other ants to make use of the opening.
�I don�t see them, though,� Sloan whined.
�You want to go looking for Vibrant? Go then. The rest of us will just stay here and� you know� fight this battle.�
Not for the first time, Victor was grateful she didn�t need to use her mouth to talk like humans did. Ridiculous notion.
�Hi-Hi! Did someone call me?�
The scent arrived at just the same time as Vibrant did. A large bulky soldier who could move with incredible speed, the two generals hadn�t seen her coming in the slightest until she was on top of them.
�At last! You need to go protect the queen!� Sloan shouted.
Vibrant lifted her herself up to take a look.
�Uhh. She looks like she�s doing pretty fine to me? And she glows! That�s so nice. Wow! What a bite!� Vibrant cheered her parent on with enthusiasm.
A moment later, Vibrant�s personal followers arrived. The twenty had been unable to explain why, but some ants felt compelled to follow the energetic leader, as if the colony were calling them to assist and aid her. The council weren�t going to complain about it, Vibrant and her group did more work for the colony in the field than almost any others. They were a mixed team by now, soldiers and scouts mostly, but the odd ant Mage and a healer were mixed in for good measure.
�Could you at least fight your way forward so she has a path of retreat?� Sloan begged.
�Sure-sure! Sounds fun!�
With that, Vibrant took off and her squad followed closely on her heels, wreaking havoc amongst the enemy.
Vibrant was elated. After hunting and working right up until the battle had begun, she�d been told she and her squad should rest so they�d be able to fight at their best when it mattered the most. Naturally she�d refused. Rest? REST! Laughable! With so much action going on, how could anyone possibly think to rest?
After all, she�d hunted for food in the Dungeon, battled the endless waves of shadow beasts and creatures in wild conflict, and then they�d dragged the Biomass back to the nest only to turn around and set out again once they�d gotten there. When they weren�t doing that, they�d been out harassing the horde in an endless series of hit and run attacks that had them fighting on the razor�s edge of life and death for hours on end. And they�d been doing those things for aboooooout� three days straight?
She�d awoken a few hours later, recharged, refreshed and ready for action. She�d missed the start of the battle, but that was okay. She�d be able to make up for lost time if she fought fast enough!
�Go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go-go!� She laughed and her squad followed at blinding speed.
Vibrant made sure the first things she maxed out were her Speed Aura gland and the mutations on her legs. The thrill of running as fast as she possibly could was intoxicating. The wind in her antennae! The confused look on a monster�s face as she zipped past them. So funny!
After following her for so long, her squad had become accustomed to living at a certain pace. She�d never asked them. Merely assumed they enjoyed it just as much as she did.
�Get �em!� she hollered and they crashed into the ugly croca-beasts with a vengeance.
�Aha!� she cheered as her first visceral
Acid flew over their heads and rained down on the crocs. The massive beasts retaliated with tremendous gouts of flame that roared into the sky, whilst others ignored it. They allowed the acid to fall upon their scales and continued on to swipe and bite at any ant foolish enough to draw close.
The battle was a cacophony of sensation to Vibrant and her mind swam with it. The smells, sights and sounds battered into her brain until she was giddy.
Her followers, fifty of them now, Dashed to support their leader as she recklessly leapt into battle. Claws raked along her side, great lines were gouged into her carapace and one of her antennae was near bitten off in just moments, but Vibrant continued to laugh and push forward.
Forward! Forward! Forward!
Vibrant didn�t know any other way.
She grew tired of being stuck in one place. She didn�t want to stand
here and go back and forth with these stupid crocs. She wanted to
�Slow-Slow!� she teased as she raced away.
As her senior had done, she raced from fight to fight and aided her colony brethren in their struggles. The fight had been joined in earnest now. Ants fought in large groups against the monsters that pressed in on their home. The Garralosh spawn had reached the front lines and the risk toward the ants was magnified by a hundred times. Stronger and less stupid than the mindless, starved zombie monsters of the horde, the croca-beasts were cunning and brutal in their tactics.
For the next five minutes, Vibrant was everywhere. She moved so quickly that not even her own squad could keep up with her racing through the battle unimpeded. Her wounds piled up but she hardly noticed. This was exciting! So many powerful opponents in one place made her heart pound deep inside her thorax as their auras washed over the field.
She chomped a leg here, knocked a croc off-balance there. She danced through the chaos whilst refusing to stay in one place and engage any one foe for too long. Large and highly evolved crocs challenged her but she simply laughed in their faces and ran to another conflict.
Farther back, Grant kept her eyes on the sky.
�I don�t see any storm clouds brewing,� she noted.
Mendant clacked irritably.
�Stay still while I�m healing you. If you�re going to get yourself cut near in half, the least you can do is not move when I�m putting you back together!�
�Sorry, sister,� Grant apologised.
She thought her sibling was being a touch overdramatic. She wasn�t cut in half or anything like it! Whilst the healer continued to draw precious Healing Mana, augmented through her antennae and into Grant�s body, the soldier contemplated the sky.
When and where was the Ka�armodo going to strike? The queen had felt the
wrath of the powerful mage when she first appeared. Her recent
appearance on the field had gone on for nearly ten minutes and not a
single spell had been sent her way. There
�Do you have much Mana Sense?� Grant asked Mendant.
�Would you shut up and stay still if I answer this question?� the healer replied.
�Maybe,� Grant hedged.
Mendant scoffed a little. �Yes, I do. The ambient Mana is being sucked beyond the wall. We think Garralosh is getting a top-off before she comes out.�
�
�Stay STILL, you idiot!� Mendant flared.
Grant slumped in agony. The healer hadn�t targeted her head with that strike, but the wound instead.
�I thought you were supposed to
�You running off and getting yourself killed doesn�t help the colony. The generals have been told. The second she shows up, the retreat to the final wall will occur. Until then, we fight it out here.�
�But what about the queen!�
�She isn�t likely to listen to you, is she? The eldest is going to be the only one who could get her to back off, and hopefully they wake up soon.�
So deep, it almost couldn�t be described as a sound, the growl rumbled through the air and ground. Grant�s carapace vibrated from the force of it.
�Real soon.�
�Hi-Hi! How�s it going, Mother? You can glow now? That�s cool! Can I glow someday, or is it a queen thing?�
The queen didn�t have time to spare to turn to the babbling child who appeared beside her. She was deep in battle with a colossal Garralosh spawn, far taller than she was, and the wounds on both sides had piled up. The creature leered with both its jaws as the queen lowered her body to build the energy in her legs.
It came again. That rumble which shook the world itself. There was hunger in it. The queen could sense it. A vast, hungry appetite without end, and rage. She had no idea what had driven the old monster to such anger, but she cared little.
�Someone sounds upset! I wonder why? Not enough Biomass, maybe? That always annoyed me. The senior used to stuff Biomass into my face all the time! Sometimes I wouldn�t be able to talk for hours. The senior really wanted me to grow up strong!� Vibrant nattered.
Somehow, the little soldier managed to Dash back and forth as she battled at extreme speed, all whilst she talked at a constant, rapid rate. The queen felt the faint beginnings of a headache. Distracted, she missed a dodge and a long-armed swing from her opponent thundered into her side. Her Mana Enhanced carapace flared and sparks flew as the claws penetrated the energy and gouged into her side.
�Too slow! Gotta move faster than that, Mother!� Vibrant laughed as she Dashed.
Before she could twitch an antenna, the smaller ant appeared by the leg of her foe and latched on with her mandibles. She savaged the leg with all of her strength before darting away and dodged a sweep of the monster�s tail.
She wasn�t going to fall for
Seizing the moment, the queen bulled her way into the face of the massive lizard. Knocked off-balance, the creature roared with both mouths. The queen feinted high before she bit low, her mandibles digging deep into the torso.
Every monster shivered as the air seemed to vibrate inside their lungs. Such a thing would terrify any normal creature, but the ants were indomitable. The aura released by the queen pumped them full of energy and filled their hearts with the thirst for battle. They continued to tear into the enemy, their own wounds and safety a distant thought.
The battle raged before the eighth wall. The ants threw themselves at the Garralosh spawn and the remnants of the horde with reckless abandon and wounds mounted on both sides. Even with the flanking attack of the shadow beast pets, their superior teamwork, mages and healers, the ants were sustaining damage. Soldiers, scouts and more had begun to fall in increasing numbers, but no backward steps would be taken.
The queen fought at the front throughout it all. Tireless and without peer on the field, she threw herself into the more powerful Garralosh spawn over and over again. Supported by her children, she was able to lay many of them low. But they were many and she was but one. Even she began to flag as her wounds mounted.
�The queen�s started to struggle up there!� Advant shouted. �We need to get healers up there immediately!�
�What healers?� Grant called back, exhausted. �Almost all of them are recharging their glands and cores. We just have to get up there somehow!�
The ants� ferocity rose to a fever pitch. Every time the queen was injured, it was as if the entire colony flinched before they hit back twice as hard. The Core Shapers themselves dared to rise out of the pitfalls and fight alongside their pets. Mages poured out their Mana, holding nothing in reserve. The fight became increasingly bloody on both sides.
�She�s coming!� the pheromone message smashed into Grant like a truck.
�What?� she called back.
A scout raced up and down the line of battle as she repeated the same message.
�She�s coming!�
Grant froze. Her heart seemed to slow in her chest. The time had come. The white-hot frenzy of the ants cooled as the message sank into their antennae and reality asserted itself.
�RETREAT! Back to the final wall if you want to live!�
Would the colony survive, or would they perish here and now?
�Someone has to go tell the queen�� she muttered.
Would the queen retreat?
This torpor feels different somehow. I�m not sure exactly what it is. I try to put my feelers on it, but thinking is difficult, elusive. My awareness is washing to-and-fro. Separate pieces that come together only to float apart.
Am I awake? Perhaps it�s a lucid dream.
Something is different.
Faint whispers tickle in the back of my mind. They creep up to my ears� antennae? I don�t know. Perhaps they speak straight into my thoughts, I don�t know. Strange whispers they are, indistinct and blurred, I can�t fully understand them. In some ways, they�re more like impulses or desires, but they�re not my own. As time passes, they become louder and there are more of them. They drag and pull at my skin, my carapace. No� deeper than that. A thousand tiny hooks that tug at my very soul.
I feel helpless to answer them. I�m adrift in a dark river, distant from my own body and unable to react. I�m changing. Even as the whispers grow louder and my body shifts at the edge of my awareness, something more fundamental is changing. This is evolution.
What does it mean to evolve? To change oneself in a physical sense? I�d thought that was the case. Even as I float, half asleep, I can still tell this is different. This is deeper. The longer it goes on, the more my mind wants to sink, to fall into the centre and stay there. Why move? When I move, things are destroyed. Better to be still and quiet.
Stop whispering to me. Stop pulling at me. I want to sleep.
But I can�t. The hooks are insistent. Each moment that passes, they drag me a little further out of the river and closer to shore. A thousand hooks and a thousand voices, each with their own particular tug and tone.
Over time, my mind and body come back together to meet once more in the middle. The light returns to my eyes. So slowly.
I�m so hungry. Yet, and it�s the strangest thing, on the inside, I feel so full. The whispers are louder. Insistent and desperate. They need me, very much. They need me and so I will go. The call alone is enough.
With great care, I lift a leg, then another, then another, until all six
are positioned around me. Then I
But still the whispers. Still the hooks with their endless pull. It isn�t pain when they drag at my heart, but something far worse. I need to go to them.
I�m coming. I�m awake.
�Vibrant! We need to get to the queen!� Grant punched out her pheromone message with all of her strength.
�Wha? To Mother? Why?� The fast-moving ant slowed for just a moment to respond.
�Garralosh is coming to the wall! We need to bring her back a bit closer to the nest. Heal her if we can.�
�Okay! :D� Vibrant replied.
Grant was frustrated by her sibling�s seemingly flippant attitude and bit back her anger. For the colony to have the highest chance of success, the plan needed to be followed. Draw the queen back to the eighth wall and she can fight against Garralosh there.
If they did that, then maybe they would buy enough time for the eldest to awaken. Perhaps then, they might just survive.
�How fast are you?� Vibrant asked.
�Fast enough,� Grant grit her mandibles and replied.
�Then let�s go! Follow me!� Vibrant chirped before she ran toward a member of her squad.
�Give us a boost!� she called and the soldier in question ducked her head to allow Vibrant to race up onto her back.
Bewildered, Grant had only a moment to think before she threw herself forward and she too leapt from the poor soldier�s back.
�Go-go-go-go-go!� Vibrant cackled as her legs flashed at impossible speed and she took off across the backs of ants and monsters alike, racing to where the queen fought.
This is insane! Grant could only sharpen her mind and race on, trying to maintain her balance as she dodged snapping jaws, belched flames and raking claws as she scrambled to keep up.
�Hahahahaha!� Vibrant laughed with delight and began to fire acid into the crowd of monsters beneath her as she ran.
Grant cursed. Since she was
Nonetheless, they made it. Vibrant flung herself from a monster and onto the still glowing carapace of the queen, followed a few moments later by Grant.
�Mother!� Grant pushed out, exhausted. �Garralosh herself is coming! The colony is going to pull back to the eighth wall. You need to come with us!�
�I can see the creature already, child.� The queen sounded exhausted, but calm.
Grant scrabbled a little higher up her mother�s back and looked out over the roiling mass of monsters. The entire battlefield was a mess. Biomass and broken walls spread before her like a carpet. The ground was pockmarked with holes and traps, and to her right, she could see the human wall beset by Garralosh spawn. The fighting was fierce, but it didn�t hold Grant�s eye for long. The slow approach of the titanic crocodile did that.
Unhurried, Garralosh�s mouth gaped open to reveal her enormous teeth in a cruel grin. Every time one of her feet came down, the ground groaned beneath her weight. Any Biomass she stepped on was crushed to paste. The giant crocodile looked inevitable, like a mountain of scales and teeth. Her claws gleamed, each likely as hard as diamond and as thick as Grant�s own head.
How were they supposed to kill
�That�s a big croca! Like, the biggest. Look at those teeth! They�d chop me in half with one bite, no doubt! I wonder how she tastes?� Vibrant spoke in a constant stream.
�Pull back to the wall, Mother! The colony will be able to support you from there, and you can get healing!� Grant pleaded.
The queen�s antennae drooped.
�Very well, child.�
Having made up her mind, the queen didn�t hesitate. Under the influence of Vibrant�s Speed Aura, she made excellent time stomping her way through the field, stabbing down with her legs to spear monsters on the way. The closer she came to the wall, the more ants swarmed around her. They feasted on any enemy that was foolish enough to come too close, and when the queen reached the base of the final wall, she allowed herself a moment to rest.
The pressure from the horde and the Garralosh spawn had begun to slack as their mother approached. The largest crocs were the first to pull back, followed by their younger siblings and then the horde monsters. The prepared barrage of artillery spells and interference tactics of the shadow beasts were almost unnecessary as the colony enacted its final retreat.
Healers, fresh from the nest, moved in to tend to her wounds and restore her energy. A dozen of the small ants climbed over her, their antennae glowing bright with energy as they touched the Healing Mana to her carapace.
The queen checked on her core and sighed. She had begun to run low on Mana. Her infused carapace put a great deal of strain on her core and it wouldn�t be long until she leached out enough energy to cause pain. Hopefully her fight with Garralosh would be swift.
The ants once more employed their acid barrage from the top of their final wall. The encroaching Garralosh spawn suffered from the rain of acid, the numerous traps and the sneak attacks from shadow beast pets launched from hidden tunnels in the soil.
Like a nightmare made into flesh, a giant, clawed hand reached over the wall. Claws dug into the packed dirt and muscles bunched as the mother of crocodiles pulled her massive frame over the seventh wall. She slowly swung her head to regard the final layer of defence, as well as the towering nest behind it, before she pulled the rest of her body onto the wall.
The Garralosh spawn shrank back in the presence of their parent. Whether through fear, respect, or if they were cowed by the crushing aura she emitted. The ants grew still as their nemesis drew closer. After a week of frenzied battle and preparation, she was finally here.
Even from a distance of one hundred metres, it was clear to see that Garralosh towered over the queen. Even without standing up, the croc was far more massive than the largest ant in the colony. It was clear the enormous beast felt no threat from the colony in front of her. She opened her mouth and huffed, an action which caused dark red flames to flicker in the depths of her gullet.
As stillness overcame the battlefield, Garralosh stepped forward at a slow pace. The ants on the wall held firm. The crushing aura and presence of the most powerful monster they�d ever seen weighed down on them, tried to press them into the dirt, but they would not succumb. The colony stood tall as one and faced down the demon who decided they should die.
Up on the wall, Sloan was calm.
�Let�s get into the bunkers. It won�t be long until we get to see the mother croc�s fire.�
�Good idea,� Victor agreed.
Scout ants began to run up and down the line as they passed along the message. Ants scurried to protect themselves. They threw themselves into prepared bunkers or behind walls in anticipation of Garralosh unleashing her flames.
The queen was too large for such measures. She readied herself for the onslaught, unaware of the dozen Water Mages on the wall behind her, ready to lend what aid they could.
Garralosh watched the flurry of activity with amusement. As if playing with her food, the massive beast took slow, measured steps. Flames licked against her teeth with every step, but the anticipated roar of flame never came. Instead, the looming pressure grew each moment as the nightmare beast approached.
The queen had had enough.
With a fierce snap of her mandibles, she charged as the light in her carapace flared to its brightest point.
Air
The queen of the colony barrelled toward her much larger foe, her momentum building with each step. To the ants on the wall, she was majestic. A shining beacon of strength that attacked with grace and courage.
But the closer she drew to Garralosh, the more hopeless it appeared.
Garralosh was a
Unable to contain herself, Grant scrambled to keep up with her mother�s courageous charge. What she could do to assist in this battle, she didn�t know, but fear had taken a grip on her heart. She could not sit back and watch her mother die.
The ants on the wall poked their noses out from behind their earthworks and scrambled to assist their parent. Scouts and mages launched a ferocious barrage of magic and acid that soared and rained down on the beast.
Garralosh ignored it all. Her sunken red eyes were locked on the queen, and even though her scales steamed from acid burn, she did not react.
When the queen drew within twenty metres, she stopped on the spot and unleashed her acid spray for the second time. A deluge of acid in a concentrated jet erupted from her mouth and she blasted the hated monster before her in the face. The barrage continued for a full minute, the massive figure of Garralosh almost completely obscured beneath the flames and steam.
The temperature rose. The bubbling acid hissed and steam belched into the sky faster and faster. The heat buffeted the queen�s carapace and dried her eyes. Something was wrong. She backed up a few steps as her acid spray ran dry. She remained watchful, on edge as the massive form of Garralosh remained hidden behind the mist.
Like a mountain that had begun to walk, the beast stepped forward, no sign of haste evident in her movements. The queen was wary. She doubted something as old and successful as Garralosh could possibly be this slow. She kept her legs tensed.
Garralosh�s enormous snout came into view first. The scales atop her jaw were no longer the deep green they�d been before. Instead, they�d turned orange, streaked with violent shades of red that pulsed underneath. The air rippled as it heated and the shape of the giant monster became further distorted in the haze.
The temperature was intense. The queen backed away. The heat was so thick she could feel it even through her Mana Infused carapace. Were she to charge, she may take damage just from the air itself.
Ultimately, she had no choice. If she were not to commit to the battle, there were no others in the colony who could. Thankfully, her children were not incapable. The Fire Mages ceased their activities once it proved ineffective. Instead, the Water Mages stepped up and began to collaborate in small teams. In moments, spires of twisting water rose into the sky and speared down toward the hulking beast.
When the water slammed home, an explosion of steam followed, and the
queen sensed her time had come. She assumed the beast would be blinded,
and she
The queen regretted, not for the first time, that she hadn�t taken more time to raise her Skills. Her experience came mostly in the form of almost dead monsters her children brought to her. Most of the time, she hadn�t even bothered to use a Skill when she�d finished them. A waste.
Her mandibles glowed bright with the power of her stamina as she lunged.
Only to
The scales were just too hard. She couldn�t get through!
TSSSSSSS.
The queen noticed the tips of her mandibles had begun to steam and pain radiated from them as they burned. She was undeterred. Pain wouldn�t be enough to stop her. Only death would suffice.
Garralosh turned lazily, under no threat from the assault of this small ant.
The queen was unwilling to allow the giant beast to face her directly.
Again she
The tail, which had drifted lazily in the air only a moment before,
To see the queen under assault in this way was unbearable. Their minds boiled with rage and their hearts demanded vengeance, their instincts warring against their intellect. They knew there was nothing they could do to harm the mother crocodile in direct combat. The soldiers could attack her with all their might and Garralosh could sleep through it. Her scales were impervious to their bites. She could ignore the Fire magic, dissolve the Water Magic. Even the shadow beast pets had no hope of causing an injury.
All they would do was get in their mother�s way and cause her pain when Garralosh destroyed them with ease. They might have gone anyway, running into suicidal danger, they�d done it before. But somehow, they felt their hopes were being listened to. That someone would come for them. So, they stayed.
Even the monsters of the horde and the Garralosh spawn pulled back to allow their mother her fun. The horde was but a tattered remnant of its former self, and even the numbers of the croca-beasts had been thinned, brought low by the fury of the colony.
The queen pushed herself up and drew on the strength of her evolution.
She couldn�t afford to hesitate. From deep within the nest, where the
Brood Tenders cared for the brood, to the thousands who lined the walls
of the colony and huddled in bunkers, the queen
The queen felt herself grow larger as she borrowed the strength of her children. The ants could feel themselves diminishing, but they allowed it willingly. They would sacrifice far more for their queen. This was nothing.
Garralosh lazily swung her powerful tail through the air as she watched her prey with cruel eyes. She moved unhurriedly. Every movement of the giant monster gave the impression of power and confidence. Even as the weakling before her grew larger, she felt no threat.
The mother of the colony was concerned. Her core had begun to run low. The queen had poured out all of her Mana to empower her carapace and now she�d spent much of what remained to activate this feature of her War Queen evolution. She�d gained two main things when she evolved. First, the aura to empower and drive her children in battle, and second, the ability to gain strength from those she birthed herself.
She grew until she was half again as large as she had been. She took a moment to steady herself and then engaged.
She slammed into the side of the giant croc and the creature shifted ever so slightly. Encouraged, she opened her jaws wide.
Her mandibles closed with shattering force and the sound of something cracking rose in the air. The queen pulled back to take in the damage of her assault. Before her eyes, a single, glowing scale now sported a crack several inches deep.
She sensed danger, pushed down with all six legs, and
The queen settled herself before a blinding pain rocked her head. Her antenna! Between the teeth of Garralosh dangled a singular antenna, so small and tiny in those jaws. The croc snapped her jaws again and the organ was gone. Biomass for the great beast.
Garralosh chuffed her laughter. Air swirled around her, as if a titan had gripped a bellows.
The pain could be ignored. The threat to her family could not. The queen pushed her suffering aside and stalked on her six legs around Garralosh. Grant despaired. The queen had grown to be the second largest monster she�d ever seen. A titanic ant who wouldn�t be able to fit within the nest, even after they�d modified it for her evolution! Even with her strength increased to such a degree, she still couldn�t penetrate the defences of that monster.
Even if the eldest were to awaken, what could they do? A lower tier than the queen, with none of her physical strength, would they be able to inflict a wound to this creature? Would the colony really die this day?
Perhaps they should have run. They should have hidden themselves away. Would Garralosh really have pursued them? Perhaps, if the colony had given up the humans, then Garralosh would have left them alone. Would that have been acceptable?
For the first time, she doubted. She herself had gone in to assist the queen, but now that she was here, what could she do? She could only watch and try not to get in the way while the queen battled on behalf of her family.
The queen herself hadn�t given up. Whatever damage she was able to do would aid her most troublesome child when they came out to fight. Every second she fought drained not only her own core, but that of the beast as well. Each moment she endured was a small victory. She would fight for as long as she could, until death claimed her. She could only believe that the troublesome one would be able to finish the work she could not.
That child� full of strange ideas and dispensing such careless wonders. With such a leader, the queen was certain the colony would survive without her.
And so, she would hold nothing back!
With a silent cry, the queen Dashed. She pulled greater strength from her children, which caused her core to sputter and blink as the final wisps of Mana were drained from it.
Still larger, she grew. As she drew near, Garralosh opened her great mouth wide in delight. Would this prey give a proper struggle? It had been so long�
A low growl rumbled in the back of the monster�s throat and shook the air. The queen paid no heed. She would strike a blow here for her children. Nothing could shake her indomitable will. Again, Garralosh, who�d returned to moving in her lazy, unfocused way, accelerated with shocking speed for a monster of her size, her jagged teeth flashing in the sun.
The queen had anticipated it and
But the mother of the colony had no time to clean her remaining antenna. Before Garralosh could reposition her tail, the queen struck.
With the strength of her whole body behind the strike, the queen chomped down on her hated enemy.
And this time, she broke through. Hot blood sizzled as it flew into the air. A surge of wild joy filled the queen when the scales crumpled beneath her mandibles, revealing the soft flesh underneath.
Garralosh rumbled a growl. Not in pain, but anger! How long since she�d suffered a wound? Prey should know its place! The great monster struck out with her second arm closest to the queen and knocked the puny insect backward a few metres. The queen scrambled to regain her footing. There would surely be a follow up coming.
Quick as a snake, Garralosh whipped her head around, her throat contorted as if it had become engorged from within.
�Mother! Time to move!� Vibrant said.
The smaller ant had zipped into the battle without the queen having
noticed. She was grateful that her daughter made a move, as a moment
later she
Just in time. Garralosh�s grossly bulged throat gave way to her open maw, and from between her jaws spewed a blast of boiling magma. The air hissed and steamed, the temperature soaring. Garralosh shifted her head and lunged again, unleashing another blast of liquid rock. The queen desperately shifted her position, but even with Vibrant assisting, she wasn�t able to avoid the splash completely.
The magma sizzled into her Infused carapace, which caused the queen to clack her mandibles in pain. Hot! She backtracked to put some distance between herself and the beast. When she tried to steady her footing, she slumped to the ground.
Shocked, the queen checked her condition. With dismay she realised her core was empty. Crippling pain exploded through her body and she writhed on the ground. The ants on the wall froze in horror as their mother appeared unable to move.
The Garralosh spawn who watched from a distance grinned malicious grins and drool dripped from their elongated teeth. Play time may be over at last, time for the feast to begin.
Garralosh herself leered hungrily at her fallen opponent. She swallowed the magma that had accrued in her gullet and stomped toward the queen, her mouth open in a horrific crocodilic grin. Now she would feast. Then she would burn the nest to slag, sending her children in to purge it of the meddlesome insects. Only then would she crush the humans beneath her feet. Her revenge would be complete. With each step, she loomed closer to the ant queen until she was nearly on top of her. A delicious morsel.
In that moment, when delightful images of her victory rolled through the mind of the great croc, she failed to sense the dense magic that came her way. A roiling sphere of immense power that slammed into her side and expanded into a vortex of death that attempted to crush her body to pieces.
Garralosh roared in pain and tried to fling herself away. To her shock, she found even her own boundless strength wasn�t enough to escape the pull of this vile magic! She dug her claws into the soft earth and scrambled to avoid the damage that rent her side.
For the ants on the wall, that spell was a welcome sight, and so were the pheromones they heard coming from behind them.
�Get away from her you BITCH!�
How long have I been asleep! Just what on Earth went on around here? From the mound of the nest, the surrounding area is a complete disaster zone. The rings of walls the colony worked so hard to build are in ruins, smashed apart. The dirt walls are collapsed in places to create wide ramparts now covered in fallen monsters.
In fact, just about everything is covered in Biomass. Holy moly! Just how many enemies did they manage to kill whilst I was sleeping? Judging by the thick carpet of remains spread before me, just about all of them! This much Biomass will feed the colony for ages. We could triple our numbers if we manage to shovel all of this into the queen.
Actually, speaking of the queen�
Gotta get down there!
Garralosh is scrabbling in the dirt as she tries to escape the howling vortex that is my Gravity Bomb. Good luck with that, you mega lizard. If I�d had enough time, I�d have condensed it and maybe you�d be dead already. My three sub-brains are already weaving another one as I concentrate on my rush to the front line. I need to get there before my spell is finished.
�Eldest, you�re awake!� Sloan appears at my side to say.
�Obviously! What the hell is going on? What happened to the queen?�
�She�s been fighting Garralosh. The creature is too powerful for us. We could only try and support her from a distance. I think her core has run out of Mana!�
I curse.
�I�ll rush over and distract the fat croc. When you get a chance, get down there and get Mother out. You understand me?�
�Of course, eldest! Good luck!�
I�m gonna need it�
When they see me, the rest of the colony chips in their ten cents.
�Finally awake, eldest?�
�The slacker has arrived! We�ve been doing all the work!�
�Shove some Biomass in it, you lot,� I grumble. �I�m here now, aren�t I?�
�Barely in time! Work hard, eldest!�
�Show them what the colony is made of, eldest!�
As I speed past the ants huddled at the wall, I can
That change is� abrupt! I�m not used to this size. I�m freakin�
The moment I woke up and got moving, I took a peek at my status and the change is stunning.
Name: Anthony
Level: 1 (rare core) (V)
Might: 91
Toughness: 79
Cunning: 64
Will: 55
HP: 158/158
MP: 250/250
Skills
General:
Expert Excavation Level 5 (III); Enhanced Grip Level 6 (II); Advanced Stealth Level 9 (II); Tunnel Map Level 7 (II); Expert Cerebral Endurance Level 19 (III); Expert Stamina Level 5 (III); Profound Meditation Level 10 (III); Flicker Dash Level 2 (III)
Mana:
Mana Transformation Level 13 (III); Advanced Condensed Mana Level 7 (III); Finer External Mana Manipulation Level 8 (III); Mana Coveter Level 1 (III); Expert Water Magic Affinity Level 3 (III); Advanced Mind Magic Affinity Level 7 (II); Empowered Mana Sensing Level 9 (II)
Pet:
Distant Pet Communication Level 5 (II); Core Surgery Level 6 (III); Pet Growth Speed Level 1 (I)
Defensive:
Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence Level 14 (III)
Offensive:
Deadly Acid Shot Level 7 (III); Advanced Precise Shooting Level 8 (II); Omen Bite Level 1 (IV)
Mutations
Senses:
Heightened Perimeter Eyes +20; Oracle Antennae +20
Defence:
Hardened True Diamond Carapace +20; Supportive Healing Inner Carapace Plating +20
Physical:
Tough Rapid Osmotic Legs +20; Bright Empowered Mandibles +20; Potent Regrowth Regeneration Gland +20; Convincing Pheromone Gland +20; Selective Gluttonous Stomach +20; Musculature; Sub-Neural Network
Acid:
Mana Feasting Bind Acid +20; Acid Nozzle; Acid Concentration Gland; Acid Stimulation Gland
Mental:
Indomitable Coordination Cortex +20
Mana:
Unending Gravity Magic Gland +20; Collective Will Vestibule +3
Species: Juvenile Colony Paragon (Formica Sapiens)
Skill Points: 5
Biomass: 0
I put all of my available Biomass into bringing my Vestibule to +3. If
anything is going to help me out in this fight, it�s going to be that.
Then I bought my fusion Bite Skill for nine�
When I reach the wall and fling myself off, to my shock I find my three sub-brains have already completed a Gravity Bomb. Far from a maximum power one, but I�ll take it! The first spell has begun to flicker and die so the timing is perfect!
Fire!
Another spinning, dark purple sphere of death erupts from my mouth and speeds straight toward Garralosh�s monstrous bulk. She seems distracted, failing to dodge, and the spell strikes home again! Gwehehehehehe. Take that, you stupid lizard! Feel the superiority of ant-kind with your own body!
Man, my brains have really taken a step forward. With each gaining more grunt in the form of buffed stats, and the addition of the third, more powerful sub-brain, coupled with the multiplicative effect of the Coordination Cortex allowing them to achieve more together than they could apart, they are really proving some serious worth.
Now that I�m this close to Garralosh, I need to be careful with Gravity Bombs. I switch the pilot sub-brain into forming a Mind Magic Array and put the other two to the task of forming Gravity Bolts. If Garralosh wants to be the heaviest monster around, I can make that wish come true.
�Hi-Hi, senior!�
�Vibrant? Why are you down here?�
�Helping, of course! Did you have a good sleep?�
�I think I slept a little too well��
�It�s been booooring without you here. Are you gonna fight?�
�Well� yeah? Think you can stick around? I could use your speed.�
�Everyone needs more speed!� she giggles and Dashes behind me.
�First thing�s first, we need to cover for the queen until the others can get her out.�
I
I can use that.
�Troublesome child.�
The warm scent of the queen washes over my antennae.
�Hi there, Mother. How�s the battle going?� I try to be flippant, but I can�t help showing my relief that she�s alright.
�Better, now that you are here. I� can no longer fight.�
�You did your bit, now it�s my turn. The others are going to get you out of here any second now.�
Even when I look back at the wall, I can�t see any activity. Where is the rescue party? They must be up to something. No chance they�d leave Mother down here to die.
�Time to get to work then!� I say.
I leave my mother and run to engage the humongous croc from another angle. Her scales are glowing orange. Is that normal? Damn, it�s hot! This is going to limit my acid options�
No matter. I can make it work!
With my Mind Magic Array ready to go, I fire off my prepared Gravity Bolts, focusing both spells on one of Garralosh�s feet, and begin to weave a Mind Bridge to her.
Let�s see what goes on in the mind of a former human who turned into a giant lizard.
I weave the bridge deftly and with incredible ease, the likes of which I hadn�t felt before. The extra stats flex their muscles. The Cunning allows me to comprehend and visualise the complex patterns with so much more clarity. The Will allows me to handle the Mana and direct it to my wishes far easier.
It�s so nice!
When the bridge connects, my second Gravity Bomb flickers out of existence and an extremely large, angry crocodile is staring at me with pure rage. Across her flank and toward her back leg, there are chunks of flesh missing, carved out of her by the crushing force of gravity. The blood that leaks from the wounds sizzles into vapour in an instant due to the incredible heat emanating from her body. Before I can try and speak to her, I notice her throat bulge impressively and I think it�s time to motor.
�Vibrant! You still with me?�
�Yup-Yup! Ready to roll!�
�Great, let�s move!�
A huge gout of magma erupts from her mouth and lands behind me in my attempt to get around the massive croc. HOT! Seriously hot! Lava now? Is that the next level after flame? Weren�t happy with the super-hot coloured flames, were you? Needed to take it to the next level? Sheesh!
Garralosh twists her body with shocking speed and the pressure of her magma spray increases exponentially. Hot lava flies at my face and I have to jump. My legs push down hard and I fly into the air as the spray of magma hits the ground not seconds after I depart.
Yikes!
She�s a lot quicker than she looks. I should have expected that. She didn�t live this long and get as strong as she did without having a couple of tricks up her sleeve� scales� Whatever.
[How does it feel to get this old?] I ask her.
[KILL! HATE! CRUSH! KILL! HATE! CRUSH!] a deep and powerful voice rages in my mind.
Ooookay!
Near bottomless depths of anger, fear and thirst for killing wash back
against my thoughts through the Mind Bridge. Holy moly, her mind is a
freakin� mess. I�m not sure what I expected to find in there. A former
human, thrown into the Dungeon and forced to live as a crocodile monster
for over a hundred years, it would mess up a lot of people. But there is
[Uh� How�s crocodile life?]
[DIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!]
[Sooo� not great then?]
I�m starting to think I�m lucky to get words of any sort out of her. Thank goodness for Mind Magic. Not that I think talking her down will ever work. I�m starting to think no communication at all is going to be possible.
Instead, I divert my energy to more standard tactics. My sub-brains begin to craft horrible experiences and sensory tricks to send through the bridge, and I devote my main mind to concentrate on the fight.
�Still here, Vibrant?�
�It�s hot, but I�m fine!�
She�s way faster than me, no chance she gets hit.
�Stick with me but don�t get too close, alright? It�s going to get hairy!�
It may have been unfortunate what happened to you, Garralosh, but I�m not going to hold back just because you were once human! I gather my strength and Dash, this time I don�t head around the enormous enemy, but straight at her.
My nerves are firing on all cylinders and my antennae are blaring warnings. The glimpse of the future I can see isn�t pleasant. My enhanced nervous system fires so fast my brain barely has time to register the input before my body begins moving. So quick! I throw myself to the left just in time to avoid a powerful burst of lava from that cavernous maw.
That�s one huge mouth. She could fit Tiny in there standing up! I shiver. Good thing I told my pets to hang back. Tiny would get carried away and eaten in about five seconds. I doubt Crinis could do anything to this monster anyway. She�s just too damn tough.
My legs scrabble beneath me and I throw myself forward again, closing in on the beast. That last dodge threw me off targeting her wounded side, I�ll have to make do with the healthy side. I zip past the open maw and slip past her front leg when my antennae blare a warning.
She�s crafty!
To my mind�s eye, I can �see� her middle leg rise, claws grasping to stomp down at my head. I roll left, putting myself underneath her torso just as the claw stomps down, blasting a cloud of dust into the air from the sheer force of it.
If I got hit by that, I�d be a pancake! I�d pop like a balloon! Just what are her stats like, anyway?
I roll myself back the other way and spin my body to properly angle my head. I sure as heck hope this Skill proves to be worth it. Rank four fused Skill. The bite of destiny! Those searing scales burn before me as I make a small prayer to the pearlescent sheen of the great Gandalf�s beard and activate my new Skill.
I worked so hard for this damn Skill. Please be awesome. Please be awesome.
The moment I activate it, I feel that something is different. My stamina depletes by a massive chunk all at once, enough to make me stagger as the drain briefly leaves me lightheaded. But that doesn�t stop the Skill from executing. The jaws of light that would normally appear and extend my range do not manifest. Instead, the jaws are dark and full of foreboding. Two metres beyond the reach of my own mandibles, they extend out and appear as a horrific mash of all three of my old Bite Skills combined.
Sharp, for piercing armour. Bladed, for cutting flesh. Flat, to crush and crack. They�re a nightmare of different surfaces designed to do nasty things to places monsters would rather not have nasty things happen to. I plunge with my head and those mighty jaws close on the fearsome scales of Garralosh.
Sparks fly as my mandibles grate along the scales, leaving behind deep trenches, before halfway through my bite motion, the �teeth� find a better purchase.
It�s a special feeling. When the enemies� defences crumble before the incredible might of your face-hands. Even if my face feels like it�s on fire, and my mandibles are starting to smoke, the sensation of the scales cracking and splintering before my might is a delight!
Not for Garralosh, though, obviously.
She ain�t happy.
I revel in my triumphant bite for a fraction of a second too long. Even the tingle of my antennae and a lightning-quick response isn�t enough to completely save me from the retaliatory sweep of Garralosh�s mid-leg. It�s hard to twist an ant body. Hard in the sense that you can�t do it. She clips me on the way through, and all of a sudden, I find myself airborne.
Ouch, that stings!
How much HP did I lose just then? Thirty! She barely touched me!
I land in a heap and scramble to get back on my legs and running. I
don�t want to stand still with this massive croc on my case! With
Vibrant nearby, all my movements are that tiny bit sharper and it makes
all the difference when Garralosh
Let me tell you. Watching something large move fast is kinda weird. Tiny
with his Fancy Feet, which he uses to move with a lightness and delicacy
that an over three-metre-tall gorilla has no business moving with? Even
The croc must weigh as much as a truck, if not more. Even lying down,
she�s absurdly taller than I am, and the sheer
DODGE!
Holy mackerel,
My legs explode with energy and I throw my body so hard I can�t even land, and instead roll end over end before I can get my feet underneath me. So scary! She�s so damn quick!
AH! AGAIN!
Without pause, Garralosh uses her Dash to appear directly in front of my face.
MOVE IT OR LOSE IT, ANTHONY!
I swear to Gandalf, if I check the menu later and realise there�s a Dodge Skill I never bought, I�m gonna kick myself right in the abdomen!
I scramble my legs beneath me and
She�s coming for me. I can feel it!
And it works! In the mind of the giant croc, she gets an image of my dodging to the left, but instead, I fling myself to the right and she takes the bait. Her indescribable jaws slam shut where I�m not and I take a moment to accelerate away to get some distance.
Gravity Bolts!
Mentally, I inspect the damage as my sub-brains try to slow down that
stupidly fast monster with a few Gravity Bolts to help weigh her down.
My poor leg! It hurts like fire! Holy heck! Not to mention I�m already
tired from the constant Dashing and the
Actually� I�m not as tired as I should be?
Without the benefit of three-sixty-degree vision, it takes Garralosh a precious second to locate my new position and she rumbles with anger once she spots me.
[Had enough yet?]
[CRUSH. CRUSH. CRUSH. CRUSH. CRUSH.]
[Calm down! Sheesh!]
Her mind still boils with red rage. I can�t get any sense of the human
who was once inside, only a cruel beast of anger and hate. Only one
thing for me to do� turn and run!
Seriously,
And what�s this? My HP is increasing. What�s going on! Deep inside me,
an outpouring of energy is happening. A continuous flow that pours into
both my stamina
The whispers, the hooks, the tugging, the energy. It�s all coming from the Collective Will Vestibule! The faith of the ants is being transformed into regenerative energy. It�s flooding into me! It�s still not enough to regenerate my leg in time�
Activate the Regeneration Gland!
As the gland empties itself and its healing fluids flood my system, my limb regrows at a visible pace. Not to mention the cracks I collected in my carapace after getting hit start to close over. Then, to my shock, energy floods from my Collective Will Vestibule and into my Regeneration Gland, refilling it at an unprecedented speed.
Holy Moly! This is powerful stuff!
My trusty sub-brains have been pumping out the Gravity Bolts, and I manage to smack the big croc with two more. Hopefully, that can help slow down her insane speed.
The remarkable effects of the Vestibule are shocking. If it can
replenish my stamina, refresh my organs
Have� have I finally become awesome? Well, defeating the giant croc would be one way to find out. Let�s have at it!
[Ready to surrender yet?]
What comes back across the Mind Bridge couldn�t really be described as words, but rather a psychic blast of a boundless hunger for violence. Garralosh doesn�t seem to have had any chill time in the last hundred years. I can sense she�s being dragged in many directions, pulled this way and that by the System, by her own mad desires and by the struggle to survive. It�d be nice if I could help her, but she feels way too far gone for that.
Having put a little range between the two of us, Garralosh�s throat bulges as she once again brings up magma from wherever the heck she�s storing it inside her body. I only need ten more seconds for my leg to come back. I�ll just have to hang on until then.
In order to facilitate my dodging, I start to weave together more mental distractions to torment my foe. I decide to take a slightly different tack this time, and I weave an illusion with elements from Earth in it. Let�s see how she reacts to this!
Perhaps, somewhere deep inside the leathery hide and muscle-bound
physique, there still exists the person Garralosh was before she came
here. Maybe I can shock her with an image or sensation. It�s been a heck
of a long time since she came here, but it might get
As the mountain-like crocodile prepares to charge me, I spin together
the first sensation I could think of from my past life on Earth. Ice
cream. It�s pretty universal, right? It�s possible she never ate it, but
maybe she
Rumbling with anger, Garralosh Dashes toward me, her enormous jaws wide open. Those are some serious jaws! I swear she could snap a megalodon in half with one bite. Thanks to my antennae, and her avenue of attack being completely predictable, I manage to Dash out of the way. Sadly, I lose my balance due to not having all of my legs.
Yikes!
Quick! Hit her with the ice cream! My minds slam the prepared stimuli across the Mind Bridge and hammer them into that raging mind. The cold sensation on the tongue, the creamy rich texture, the curled sphere of a scoop. Every aspect of ice cream I can think of, I bundle together and throw it at her.
And she froze.
NICE!
With Vibrant tailing behind me, I Dash on an angle to get behind the beast. Anything to get me away from that mouth! Come on leg, how much longer? The flesh is extending down, the claw beginning to form at the end at a ridiculous speed. It itches like mad, but not nearly as terrible as mutating. A few more seconds and I�ll be good to go!
But wait. She�s still not moving? This could be a chance! A few moments have passed and Garralosh is still frozen in place, perfectly still. Since I�m this close, I might as well get a quick chomp in! I change direction to bring me a little closer to her body and position myself near the base of her tail.
Once more, my stamina drains precipitously and the dark mandibles of energy manifest to tear into Garralosh�s body.
And another wound is struck! Her scales are so thick, even with my extended mandibles, I can barely reach through to the muscle beneath, but reach it I do. With a satisfying tear, I can see the damage has been done and immediately sprint away to get more distance.
My bite has snapped Garralosh from her reverie, and she turns toward me, a glowing ball of raging fire in crocodile shape. Luckily, I have a few things going for me at this point. One, my leg has been reformed, and second, I have a new mental package to send her.
The speed at which my brains can weave this stuff together is truly incredible. Evolutionary energy well-spent! All around us, the battlefield has come to a complete stop. The croca-beasts in all their forms remain poised away from the wall. Growling, they snap their jaws and flex their claws as they watch their mother fight. Hundreds of them stand together in this way. An intimidating sight, to say the least.
On the ant side, they poke their heads up, and thousands stare down at me as I fight. Are any of them going to come down for the queen? Actually, what the heck is happening to the queen! I can barely see her now. It appears as if she�s sinking into the ground. Oh, they�re digging underneath her! Smart. She�s already more than half underground at this point, a minute or two more and they�ll be able to drag her deeper into the Dungeon to recharge her energy.
Other than that, the only ants near me are Vibrant and� is that Grant? Close to the wall but not quite in its shade, the soldier is hesitating, caught between her desire to help and the certain knowledge she would get in the way.
Get back to the wall, you idiot!
I don�t have time to worry about the spectators, I need to worry about the ant in more direct danger. Namely, me.
[Not a fan of ice cream then?] I ask Garralosh.
[DON�T.] she screams back.
Uh.
[Don�t what?] I ask, confused.
[DON�T.]
Not sure how to take that. Let�s discuss again after I hit you with this one. Before she can Dash, cough up pure lava or do anything else that might snuff out my life, I smack her right in the frontal lobe with another Earth memory.
Birthday cake.
Flickering candles, cream, icing and the sponginess of a good cake. This one was a little harder for me, since I don�t remember having my own birthday cake at any point, but I did eat a few when I was first in school. The teacher would bring out a cake for each student on their birthday. Quite a shock to me. I�d never heard of anything like it. But the fun of it, the song and taste stayed with me.
About to Dash forward, saliva dripping from between her gigantic teeth, Garralosh stumbles and her chest smashes into the ground. The croca-beasts watching from the sidelines fall silent witnessing the rare sight of their mother stumble. I�m sure that to those idiotic beasts, their mother must appear as an all-powerful existence. To see her fall must be quite the shock.
It�s definitely getting to her! Who�d have thought she would still have
these memories buried deep in that skull of hers. I�m not going to let
this chance go by. Once again with all six legs, it�s time to
Unleash the Omen Chomp!
As I position myself to deliver another savage bite, a blast of anguish smacks me over the Mind Bridge. Garralosh is screaming.
[DON�T MAKE ME REMEMBER!]
Uhh, what? Bit late for that, I�m afraid!
The scales shatter and flesh tears as my mandibles dig deep into the body of Garralosh and she howls in pain.
[Remember what?] I ask.
[STOP IT!]
Don�t think I have an option to stop, actually. In fact, I�ve got another one in the chamber and ready to go. This is something that I�ve actually missed from the old life. Something simple, but I feel it�ll have an impact.
Bed.
Beds are wonderful things, don�t you think? Especially if you have a
I wonder if Garralosh felt the same way in her past life. Gandalf, the
System, said all of us were a little
As the increasingly irate crocodile prepares to attack, I hit her right in the face with all of my most fluffy bed time memories. Sinking into a mattress, drowsy with sleep, cool sheets covering me and my pyjamas. Pyjamas! Damn, I miss pyjamas. Why the hell didn�t I wear them all the time? Superior to regular clothes in every respect.
Ah!
I let myself get distracted by my own mental attack! How�s Garralosh responding? The giant crocodile has faltered and I take the opportunity for another cheeky Omen Chomp. The mountainous reptile is missing a few chunks from various places, and ichor is steaming off her still-burning scales. The hiss and bubble of it is a constant background noise in the battle at this point.
Take that! In fact, she still isn�t responding. I�ll take a chance and
go for a sneaky second chomp, inflict some of that
The hit to my stamina is massive, but the outpouring of energy from the Vestibule replenishes me. The Will of the colony is becoming my strength! Already, my health is near full and the Regeneration Gland is almost ready to go once more. This is insane!
A wall of anguish slams into my mind, stunning me for a short moment.
Awww, snap. She is
[STOP BRINGING IT BACK!] she screams and then promptly
Not literally explodes in the �flesh flew everywhere� kind of way. But
power and heat
�Vibrant! Are you alright?�
�Fine-fine! I�m too fast!�
�HCK! Good for you��
I cough and a small cloud of smoke is spat out of my mouth. I need healing! I activate my healing gland, the precious fluid that built up since my last use floods into my system. Only half of a full dose, but I�ll take what I can get!
My vision is hazy as the wall of fire that rolled over me toasted my eyes to a degree, but the Mind Bridge is painting a picture of what Garralosh is currently doing.
She is full of rage, thrashing and clawing at the dirt, snapping at the air. Tons and tons of reptile lashing out with all her strength is a heck of a thing to be close to. Her anger is cataclysmic. The ground shakes. The air fills with the sound of her fury. She�s like a natural disaster made manifest, a titan, something primordial from before the gods were born.
All I can do is try to keep my feet and scramble to create some distance as I heal up. I really need to thank the unshakeable faith the colony has in me at this point. Their energy continues to flood my body, healing me and restoring my reserves. I�m not sure why they have faith in me right now. I�m not sure I would!
My eyes come back into focus and I can see Garralosh in all her fury. Her eyes are mad with rage as she unleashes her terrifying strength in an uncontrolled frenzy. So strong is she, her strikes into the ground cause shockwaves that collapse the colony�s tunnels beneath us. Long sections of ground fall straight down to create troughs and trenches where before there was only flat earth.
She�s not liking this! I would go so far as to say that she�s
I should keep going!
My sub-brains continue to churn out magic. The most powerful of them is maintaining and operating the Mind Magic Construct on its own while the other two cooperate to weave together the sensations and illusions. It appears as if the Vestibule is also supporting my brains, as even they seem to be holding up under the strain of constant spell weaving admirably well. The Vestibule is the gift that keeps on giving!
The ground around Garralosh is destroyed, burnt and thrashed into a mess. She doesn�t look like she�s going to stop any time soon. With Vibrant behind me, keeping her Speed Aura covering me, I decide to go in for another hit and run. I need to take every opportunity to do damage!
As I Dash, I smack her with more memories from Earth. Cola. Fast food. Couches. Television. Sports. Anything I think she might be able to remember. Anything that might disrupt her thinking.
As the barrage of Mind Magic slams home, I maintain a little distance, just in case she decides to explode again, but she doesn�t. I�ll have to take a chance.
At this close range, I decide to take a risk and do something different. I raise my abdomen up and lower the front sections of my body to improve the angle and expose my business district. Even with just this position, I can easily fire my acid straight forward thanks to my new additions!
POW! POW! POW! POW!
I rapid-fire a few blasts of my new and improved merchandise straight into the wounds I just caused before I turn and Dash away as fast as I can. A ripple of pain runs through the enormous frame of Garralosh as the acid eats into her. Why isn�t she healing? She must have a healing gland of some description, surely�
All the while, I continue to send a constant stream of Mind Magic across the bridge. Any impression, any thought or sensation that might work, I package it up and blast it across. I can feel it impact against her mind. Each time the magic hits home, her thoughts shudder away from it, desperately trying to protect herself from remembering what her life had been like.
Then something changes. Her mind opens up, reaches out across the Mind Bridge and seizes hold of mine. I�m a mouse gripped in the fist of a gorilla. What the hell is happening? She batters me with her pain and fury, turning her madness into a weapon she uses to beat me right in the mind.
You want to play this way? I doubt you know Mind Magic like I do! If she�s going to open herself up to me like this, then I�m going to step on through.
All four of my minds switch focus and my body grows completely still as I spin together a spell of incredible complexity. When it�s finished, it appears like a ship woven together of spider thread. I put myself aboard and launch it across the bridge, straight into the mind of the maddened croc.
I�d not attempted this spell before, but I�ve known how to do it since my Mind Magic Affinity Skill ranked up. Essentially, the spell allows the wielder to invade the mind of the other. Garralosh has almost successfully done something similar with pure, raw emotion, but my attempt is more sophisticated. Since she opened herself up by exploding across the bridge, I�d be a fool to throw away the opportunity.
Matching the titanic croc physically is impossible. I need to use other methods, and this could be my silver bullet.
Borne on a gleaming craft of pure Mind Mana, my consciousness crosses the bridge and plunges deep into the turbulent waters of Garralosh�s mind. It�s a weird sensation, I have to say. My body fades away from my thoughts and I no longer receive feeling or sensation from it. The pains, aches and general rush of sensory information are gone and the universe turns black.
Then like a diver knifing into water, I pierce the barrier around my enemy�s thoughts and I�m beset on all sides by her emotions. Let me get this out of the way. She�s nuts. It�s madness in here! Everywhere, I sense violent, roiling emotions that smash into the spell that shields my mind. Flashes of memory appear and disappear with explosive speed. Each one a shard that stabs toward me in an attempt to hurt and maim.
I see Garralosh, large and powerful, feasting on the broken remains of a gigantic, multi-headed centipede. Wounds cover her frame, but the exultation of victory burns in her chest as she gulps down the Biomass.
A flash and then another memory surfaces.
Croca-beasts quiver in fear as I look down on them through their mother�s eyes. All she feels is rage, hunger and a drag on her soul that never seems to cease. Beneath her front feet, pinned to the floor, is a commander, heavily wounded. With a savage twist of her claws, its life is over and it�s time to feast.
A human wields a massive axe like an extension of his own body, his movements powerful and fluid. He�s impossibly strong and batters Garralosh away when she pushes close. Her mind is afire with a desperate, frantic yearning. She�s so close. The deep tunnels are just beyond her reach! With a flash, the human vanishes from her sight and an explosion of pain shatters her mind. One of her limbs is gone.
I shove these memory shards away and push deeper, plunging my spell further into the recesses of her mind. I�m a ship�s captain sailing directly into the teeth of a hurricane. The further I go, the more her memories batter me in attempts to drag me down. But I press forward. If I can get deep enough, I can seize her mind. In the best-case scenario, I�ll be able to seize control of her body. She won�t be able to move a muscle whilst I chop her down. It�s risky, but any way of fighting her is risky!
Deeper still.
A giant lizard with attendants on either side stands fearlessly before her might. An offer is made. A bargain is struck. Garralosh can barely understand it, her mind no longer used to moving in such convoluted ways. She needs to eat. She needs to go deeper. That is all she can understand.
Deeper.
My perception grows darker as I descend, like a stone sinking to the bottom of a pond. More memories assault me. Endless scenes of hunting, of killing and feasting. Garralosh becomes younger and younger the further back I go. Less evolved, smaller. Desperate battle after desperate battle flashes. Her life an endless stream of fights where her survival is on the line. She�s wounded severely countless times, but always emerges victorious.
My vessel is starting to crack under the pressure, but I don�t think I can go back. Would the spell even make it? Part of me worries, but the other part is fascinated by the incredible scenes. I want to know more!
There are other memories beginning to surface now. Long buried, they�re washed out and faded. Perhaps only my mental assault was able to bring these out at all. How long has it been since Garralosh thought of herself as a human? Perhaps at some point, she simply began to imagine she�d never had another life. That she�d always been a monster.
But deep in her mind, she remembers.
I see a girl; a young woman, really. Perhaps in her twenties? There�s anger and fear in her. She lashes out, a knife in her hand. Red splashes and she runs, laughing, crying. She doesn�t get far. She�s cornered. They�re angry, but she doesn�t care. She tries to push through. Black.
Even further back�
She�s younger. In a school, maybe? There�s kids in uniforms, regular classrooms. It�s confusing. It doesn�t look as if Garralosh lived on Earth much earlier than I did. Things are outdated, sure. There aren�t any computers, but it isn�t as if it�s the eighteen hundreds or anything. More like the eighties�
Yikes! Judging by that guy�s hair, this
Focus, Anthony. Got stuff to do right now. Have the existential crisis later.
The world through Garralosh�s eyes is grey, isolated and threatening.
She flinches away from people. Except when they come for her, then she
moves
The fatigue is real. It�s been a desperate struggle to get this far, and frankly, if it wasn�t for the support of the Collective Will Vestibule still trickling energy into me, I�d be in far worse shape.
But I�ve made it. Hovering before me in the dark is a sphere of pure white. I reach out and I seize it.
[You really should�ve spent some more points on Will.]
My advice doesn�t seem to go down too well. The
[Steady now,] I command, and bring my mind to bear to force her to be still.
She fights me the whole way. Even after I manage to get her still, she continues to writhe with rebellious energy. How long has it been, I wonder, since she wasn�t in control?
[Let�s have a chat.]
I�m not sure what I expected, honestly. Here in the base of Garralosh�s psyche, I kind of thought I�d be talking to a person. Instead, her mind is represented by an amorphous shifting mass that is at any one time part human, part crocodile, part Escher painting.
[I WILL KILL YOU.]
Good start!
[You do a lot of that. Killing, I mean. Why do you have such a grudge against the people up here anyway?]
[THEY HURT ME.]
When she communicates, it�s like a psychic scream that punches into my mind with brute force. Unpleasant, to say the least.
[How the hell did a bunch of farmers and townsfolk hurt you? They could barely hurt me!]
[NOT THEM. OTHERS. VENGEANCE.]
To get back at the person who chopped off her arm, she annihilated a kingdom full of innocent people� Yeesh.
[Care to explain that dragging feeling I noticed in your memories?]
The second I mention it, her struggles double in intensity and my mind starts to ache under the strain of pinning her down.
[GET OUT OF MY HEAD!]
[No.]
I�m able to master her again. My Will is superior. Neglecting her mental stats is proving to be a grievous error. I suspect the Ka�armodo has done a fair bit of Mind Magic on her and she doesn�t even remember it. I can only imagine the Lizard Wizard would have magnitudes more control and finesse than I do. I barely know what I�m doing!
[THE PULL. I EVOLVED TOO MUCH. TOO FAST. I WAS CALLED TO THE CENTRE. OTHERS LIKE ME. ALL DEEPER.]
Called? By the System or something else?
[You don�t like remembering that you were human, do you? Tried pretty damn hard to suppress it. Must have been part of what kept you� sane-ish. Even a cruddy life as a human was better than being a monster in the Dungeon, I suppose.]
[DON�T WANT TO REMEMBER.]
[Yeah, I know. I�m not minding it so much, you know. Then again, I�ve always sort of gone with the flow. The constant danger and the threat of death isn�t great, don�t get me wrong, but it�s nice to feel like I have a purpose, you know?]
[NO.]
[Fair enough. So, what was the plan in the end? You came to the surface, destroyed a kingdom, maybe two, and then what?]
[PULL THEM AWAY. BREAK THROUGH. KILL.]
[Always the killing with you. It�s never just �kick back and relax� or �vacation from murder.� Just kill, kill, kill. What about my colony then, huh? What about us? We never did squat to you!]
[KILLED MY CHILDREN.]
[They tried to kill me first, to be fair.]
[THEY ARE MINE. THEY ARE FOR ME.]
[In what sense? Wait, I�m not sure I want to know.]
I honestly thought the mind of Garralosh would be� more than this. She�s super old! More than a century�maybe even two! Where�s the accumulated wisdom of the ages? I suppose if you spend all your time sunk in a brutal, animalistic fog of fighting and eating, your mind doesn�t exactly develop a great deal.
She�s a mass of instincts and emotions. There isn�t much left of the human inside. Just enough for me to taunt her with, basically.
As fun and interesting as the conversation is, and I
Not exactly a glorious victory, but I�ll take what I can get!
Even as I communicate, the careful weave of my spell continues. A cage. A prison of Mind Magic that will bind this weak psyche from its decidedly not weak body. Mind Magic is so damn useful. Who�d have thought!
[What happened to you, huh? You were a human being at one stage.
I get you felt like embracing your new life here, I can relate to that.
[NO ONE CAN STAND IN MY WAY!]
[Well� obviously, they can. It already happened.]
[I�LL KILL THEM!]
[Yeesh. Back to this.]
Distantly, I can feel my brains working that sweet, sweet Mana with all the grace and dexterity they can summon. The cage is rapidly taking shape.
[I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL EAT YOU!] Garralosh roars, her words a psychic barrage of madness. [I will kill ALL OF YOU. ALL of the insects will be CRUSHED beneath my feet. I will consume the humans and turn them into more of my kind. THEN I WILL DESCEND. And there will be DEATH. I will slaughter everything I see until I find the thing that brought me here, and I WILL KILL IT!]
Whoa there!
Along with her assault, she again tries to break loose from my control
and I hold on for dear life. My mind strains to the breaking point. The
very fabric of my mind coming apart at the seams as her desperate
insanity gives the beast new strength. We fight a silent, mental war for
a few minutes until I manage to subdue her. Come on, cage! I need you
[So, you�ve spoken to Gandalf, then? Err� the System, I mean?] I gasp out.
[FOR WHAT I HAVE SUFFERED, I WILL KILL THAT CREATURE A THOUSAND TIMES.]
Holy moly. Got some serious rage issues here. Not entirely unjustified, I suppose. It doesn�t sound as if Garralosh has truly enjoyed her second life experience. One out of five stars, wouldn�t stay again. My spell is almost complete. Just need to keep her talking a bit longer.
[One quick question. I know you don�t want to remember, but I can�t help but be curious. My name�s Anthony, by the way. I�ve kept that name from my old life. May as well, right? Do you remember your name? From� before?]
I�m not sure what I expected from the twisting, amorphous blob of
white-hot fury that is Garralosh�s mind as a response. Perhaps she would
fly off the handle again or go nuts in some other way. Instead, she
grows still. I can
Not that I get an answer. Cage is ready to go! Finally! Enjoy jail!
Wait� Why am I the one that�s locked up?
[You have done enough here, insect.]
What in the jimminy�s! A new voice speaks from nowhere, shocking me
right down to my commercial zone. Unlike the mind of Garralosh, which is
shallow, wild, and unruly, this one is still, old, and
[Uh. Mr Ka�armodo, sir, I presume?]
I get a chuckle out of it for that. Desperate, I attempt to free myself from its grasp, but much as I had held Garralosh, I am now held. How the heck did the Wizard Lizard even follow me in here! Did he craft a bridge to Garralosh and follow me in� or�
Oh snap.
Did he have a bridge connected to me the whole time and concealed it from me? That�s freakin� scary!
[So, uh. Heck of a time to intervene in the battle. I really had her on the ropes, you know� Any chance you�ll let me finish the job? Fair and square and all that.]
I can feel a gentle probing from the alien mind as it considers my words and investigates my mental projection.
[You are like her.] Wonder and confusion fills the voice. [You are not from this place.]
[Nope. One hundred percent imported goods. Does that mean anything?]
[It means everything.]
That strange, powerful mind turns slowly as the Ka�armodo ponders. For my part, I�m freakin� out! I�m literally at the mercy of the Wizard Lizard! Stay cool, Anthony. Lizards can smell fear.
[I had decided I would not interfere much in your confrontation with Garralosh. Should she emerge triumphant on her own, that would prove her worth. But when the opportunity came to take revenge on the creature who slew my Setsulah, I could not resist. Now. Hmmmm� I will let you go. I can say that I have aided Garralosh as I was instructed to do. That is enough.]
[Well, that�s great. Good choice! I�m behind this
[Not quite even.]
A cold flash of reptilian anger.
[I let her out a few moments ago.]
My awareness slams back into my body and the light returns to my eyes. A giant tail descends toward my face.
Well, nards�
That crafty leather-faced lizard! He�d let Garralosh regain control of her body a few seconds before me. Now I�m deep in brown town! My enhanced neural network fires at a speed beyond what would normally be possible and I�m dodging before my brain can fully process what�s occurring. She rockets past me as I avoid the claws and fangs, but I�m not out of danger yet!
Synapses spark, muscles fire and I fly to the right as the mountain-crushing might of her tail falls down on me like a meteor. Burning scales consume my sight and all sound fades. Heat is all my antennae can sense and the brief glimpse into the future is giving me confusing signals. The tail is obviously my main concern, but something is also coming from my left? I don�t know! It does seem clear on one thing, though.
I�m not going to make it.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! I can�t fail here. Not now! That damned Wizard
Lizard isn�t going to get the best of me! My four minds frantically spin
to come up with something,
As the devastating tail of Garralosh is brushing against my antennae and
about to crush my face, something�rather, some
Like a mountain collapsing, the tail of my enemy crushes the ground, sending dirt flying into the air. My left side is still caught by the strike and my carapace explodes in pain as part of my body squishes in a very unpleasant way. My organs! My precious organs! And my legs? Forget �em! Stupid stick-like ant legs�
Before Garralosh can recover, I throw my dignity to the wind, tuck what�s left of my legs, and roll like a tumbleweed, scrabbling to put some distance between us. My health has been cut in half by that one strike. Even the Diamond Carapace wasn�t able to withstand the devastating power of that strike.
Her mind may be weak, but her body is OP. Way too OP!
Frantically discharging my healing organ, desperate to fix my legs and injured body, I notice Vibrant is caught up with me, sprawled on the ground by my side.
�Vibrant?� I sputter. Talking hurts. Everything hurts.
For once, the hyperactive ant is quiet.
Not far away, Garralosh appears to be going mad. She raises her tail and repeatedly smashes it into the ground in an uncontrolled frenzy.
�You weren�t moving! Both of you went still and we weren�t sure what was going on! We tried to make sure you were okay, and then the fat croc started moving, but you didn�t! We had to get senior out of the way!�
�We?�
�Where�s Grant?
That stupid soldier had been down from the wall during the entire
battle. She�d been wanting to help. I could see it in every line of her
body. I�d hoped she would see some sense and retreat. She was
�Vibrant? Where is she? Where THE HELL is GRANT?�
�Look out!�
Garralosh isn�t willing to wait. She casts her head around until she sees her strike has failed. A choking roar bursts from her throat as she Dashes madly for me. Reason and thought are gone from her eyes, only insanity and rage remain.
At this moment, I can�t bring myself to care about the human inside the monster. She�s going down. At this point, the Mind Bridge has outlived its usefulness. With Garralosh in a frenzy, she�s sending across waves of aggression and lunacy, assaulting my thoughts every second. Even if I try to send distractions, I doubt they�ll register. Time to drop it and move to more aggressive forms of magic.
Any semblance of cunning or thought in the gigantic beast is gone from her actions. Her claws tear great rents in the earth as she carves the ground apart to fling herself forward that little bit faster.
Need to dodge! Now!
Trying to match the timing, I wait until the last moment before I throw myself over. Without the use of all of my limbs, I can only get so far and Vibrant lunges to bite down on my legs and haul me clear. It�s almost enough. I catch a battering from one of her legs as the giant beast barrels past, snapping at the air like a wild beast. More HP gone. The Vestibule is helping with a constant trickle of healing energy, but it�s going to take too long. I need to end this fight, and soon!
I need to slow Garralosh down if I�m to have a hope of lasting that long. It�s time for some serious Gravity Magic. I can only hope the Ka�armodo feels he�s interfered enough to satisfy whatever reptilian sense of duty he has. I don�t have the capacity to deal with both giant lizards at once.
All four of my minds devote all of their attention to the task. My
Gravity Magic Gland is seized by four separate wills and Mana pours out
at an unprecedented speed. The Mana is gathering together and then
Naturally, this means I can�t spare the attention to know when Garralosh is about to eat me.
Vaguely, I sense the giant beast turn, her movements feral as she tries to wrestle her momentum and direct it into another charge. Saliva sizzles in her mouth and boils on the ground where it drips freely from between her teeth.
�Tell me when to dodge, Vibrant!�
�Wha-what!�
�JUST TELL ME WHEN TO DODGE!�
Perhaps it�s stupid, but this is all I can do right now. Everything is
being poured into this. Dammit! The Mana isn�t flowing fast enough! The
Gravity Bomb isn�t going to be ready by the time Garralosh reaches me.
If I throw everything I have into preparing the spell, it
This is no small Gravity Bomb. I�m going all out. Nothing else will satisfy my rage.
Grant had always been a quiet one, even when I�d trained her. I wasn�t shocked at all when she�d evolved into a soldier. Low-key dedication to the colony was always her way. As I watch Garralosh charge in an unthinking, mad frenzy, I feel so lost that such a bright and promising member of the colony, of the council, has fallen to such a creature.
Former human? Who cares if she was a former human? Grant was my
The momentum Garralosh builds is terrifying. All that weight, all that mass� When she�s able to Dash, she�s like a freight train. The kinetic force must be out of this world.
I�m only dimly aware of it. Vibrant will tell me when I need to dodge, my focus is inward. Within, the sphere of Mana grows in power. More Mana floods into it every second, and as each moment passes, it fights harder to escape my control. My Gravitational Mana Gland is emptying at a ferocious rate, a veritable torrent of energy being directed into a ball that grows smaller and smaller as I tighten my grip.
To inflict real damage on Garralosh, it needs to be as strong as possible! The colour has already begun to shift, turning from purple and deepening toward black. The sphere of energy starts to revolve as its density rises, further threatening to escape my control.
Dammit! I direct two of my sub-brains to holding the Mana in place, relieving them of Mana extraction duty. With that change, I�m able to stabilise the spell and continue to condense it, my main mind and major sub-brain directing more Mana into it.
�Senior! Now!�
It only takes Garralosh a few seconds to cross the distance between us. Physics tells me that a monster that size should tear itself apart if it were to move that quick, but Pangera doesn�t follow the same rules. The world quakes and trembles at the tread of her clawed feet. There is nothing left behind her eyes but bottomless hunger and a hunger for death.
When Vibrant calls, I snap my attention back to my body for the split second it takes to fire my synapses and throw myself to my left as hard as I can. In that moment, a terrifying sight flashes into my brain, the myriad sensations of the battle instilling into one moment that assaults all of my senses. The shuddering of the ground beneath my claws, the rolling waves of heat searing the air around Garralosh, the maddened red gleam of her eyes, and the light flashing from her curved crocodile teeth. With her mouth wide open, I can see the back of her throat, something countless monsters must have seen over the last century. It�s dark back there, her mouth is so cavernous.
Then, in a fraction of a second, it�s gone. I�ve flung myself away and her head tries to track me but she�s moving too fast�or is she? With her two front legs on her right side, she swipes out, her jagged claws cutting through the air with a vicious howl.
The air punches out of me as my Diamond Carapace crunches under the force of her claw. I try to angle my body, but one claw, the last claw, spears home and pierces my abdomen. The momentum of my jump and the force of the blow send me tumbling through the air until I land with a crash, choking in the dirt.
I gasp in pain. My insides have now been introduced to my outsides, but it�s not enough to shake my resolve. Even now, with a sliver of HP left, my attention is still inward. Nothing matters except for this spell. Regardless of how broken my body is, my mind is like a steel trap.
The energy that trickles into me through the Vestibule is yet to falter
in any way. In fact, I think it�s probably increased as the battle has
gone on. Which seems to mean that the belief of the ants has
�Are you ok, senior?� Vibrant calls to me, worried.
�Never better,� I manage to sputter out. �Has she turned around yet?�
�Just about! I don�t think you can dodge again.�
�Don�t plan to.�
I can throw this spell at any time, but I want to pour in as much energy as possible before I let it rip. The Mana condensed into the spell is running wild, but still I pour more in. Desperate to maintain control, I task my main sub-brain to assist in containing and compressing the Mana. The Gravity Bomb itself shrinks down to a tiny point. Smaller than any bomb I�ve made. It�s close to pitch-black. The spell revolves in silent menace within my mind as I recklessly rip out all the Mana I can control and throw it into the violently rebelling spell.
A few more seconds is all I need!
�She�s coming, senior! She�s about to charge!�
All of my focus is internal. I don�t want to devote any attention to my eyes, I can barely spare a thought for my antennae.
�Which way is she?�
�Wha-Wha?�
�Point me at her!�
After a moment, I can feel something push into my side which further tears my wounds, unleashing another wave of pain I roughly shove away.
More. More. More!
The spell, by far the most powerful I�ve ever formed, is ready to be unleashed. The sheer density of Mana is starting to play havoc with my body as the spell battles to unleash its energy. It�s now or never! My three sub-brains scream in pain as they strain to their limits to contain the unimaginable energy I�ve unleashed and I try to focus my eyes.
Garralosh is coming. Hurtling herself, still in the grip of her mindless rampage. You could have been so much more than this. You should never have come here and harmed my family.
You think your hunger is bottomless? See if you can match up to this!
Experience the fury of this Mega Gravity Bomb!
I push my body up with my shaking legs, open my mouth and unleash a demon. The world goes dark.
And then it screams.
I swear I see a flicker of fear in the eyes of Garralosh as the spell rips into reality, but it�s too late. She can�t turn. She can�t dodge. The spell slams home into her chest and all hell breaks loose.
Air, sound, even light itself drains away as the Gravity Bomb tears through the space between us. Even deep in her frenzy, Garralosh has enough awareness to know that the dark, rotating sphere screaming toward her face is bad news. Her claws dig into the ground in a vain attempt to shift her momentum. It�s an impossible task.
She�s too damn big. Even with her high-Level Skills assisting, she can�t possibly turn that ship around in time. Garralosh barely manages to turn, getting her head out of the way, before the spell strikes her in the side.
Broken and leaking blood, I watch the sphere slam into my foe and then expand. Like the eye of an angry god, the sphere flashes open in a split second and tears into reality. The sound is unbelievable. I�m certain Garralosh is screaming, bellowing in pain, but I can�t hear any of it. The ground rips into the air, being sucked into the spell. The air is dragged in from over a hundred metres away. The flow causes the wind to rise which cascades onward until a raging storm has arisen, the Gravity Bomb in the centre. The wind circles and shrieks so quick, I feel as if it could cut me. Particles of dirt caught in the storm stab at my wounds as I struggle to stay on the ground.
My legs are so damn weak!
My wounds have really piled up, and the healing isn�t coming through fast enough. My body is trying to stitch itself back together, muscles knitting, carapace healing over, organs closing themselves. I need all the strength I can get to anchor myself to the ground. In desperation, I trigger my healing gland, a pathetic trickle of healing stimulant drains into my system. It�s not enough.
My muscles cry out. My minds, no longer distracted by the formation of the spell, are hit full force with the severity of my wounds and I struggle to cope. To block it out, I sink deep into the cold embrace of the Meditation Skill. The needs and wants of my body fade slightly and I watch my work unfold with a detached curiosity.
The edges of the Gravity Bomb are almost impossible to make out, the light around it has grown so dim. It�s hard to even see Garralosh as she suffers the direct influence of the spell. It hangs in the air where it first expanded, motionless, whilst the rest of the world is destroyed around it.
With a snap that rings in my ears and echoes from the distant trees, the ground cracks and shifts. Directly beneath the miniature black hole I�ve created, the rock is pulled upward. Great, jagged rents appear and extend in moments as Pangera, here in this place, begins to pull apart. Still, the air is howling and descending in a twisting spiral. Dimly, I�m aware that even the clouds overhead have begun to move, to turn as the winds reach even the atmosphere.
�Senior!�
The pheromones barely register to my antennae before they�re snatched away by the wind.
�Hold on, senior! You aren�t going flying today!�
It�s Vibrant. She stuck close to me during this entire battle, and even now, she refuses to abandon me.
�Get out�� I wheeze, but she doesn�t seem to notice.
�Sorry about this, senior!� she chirps, irrepressible even in these
circumstances. Then she bites down on my carapace and digs her claws
into the dirt. Just in time. I�m holding on with all my strength, but my
legs� well� I don�t even have all of my legs at this stage, never mind
the state of the ones I
The pull from the Gravity Bomb is ridiculously strong. What Garralosh is feeling, caught in the middle, I can hardly imagine. Bit by bit, my claws begin to lose their hold on the ground. It also doesn�t help that the ground around my feet is losing the hold on itself and is starting to break apart.
�Let go of me, Vibrant!� I push out. �No point coming with me!�
�Nope-Nope!� is all she says.
It feels as if the world is disappearing into that black sphere of death. Chunks of soil begin to break off the eighth wall and fly through the air to vanish inside the ominous void. I hope the ants are safe! With a spasm, my claws give up the ghost, my muscles no longer able to sustain my grip. With a lurch I rise into the air, only to be yanked back down to the ground by a force I can�t see.
What the heck was that?
I shift my body and catch a glimpse of a darker than dark patch of soil beneath me from which a small forest of black tentacles have emerged, wrapping themselves around my waist.
Crinis! What timing! Please tell me Tiny isn�t going to come up here. I�m worried he might try and fight the Gravity Bomb if he were to see it.
Moments later, more chomps and bites appear on my extremities and carapace. Even as the insane drag of the spell tries to pull me into the air into its ever-hungering maw, I feel more stable than ever. What�s happening?
I take a risk and shift myself a little. To my shock and horror, I see a forest of ants behind me, each of them gripping onto each other and the ground as those closest have gripped onto me. They�ve formed living chains that emerge from tunnels dozens of metres away to bind me to the ground.
That�s insanely risky!
�You idiots!� I rage. Well, I attempt to rage. I don�t have the energy for anything like raging.
�We�ve got you, senior!� I catch a message, from Leeroy of all ants.
�How the� heck are you� still alive?� I squeeze out, but nobody can pick up my message. Unless they�re choosing to ignore it.
Pinned to the ground by my colony, I have little choice but to flop in place as the two competing forces seek to rend me in half. I do have the time to look out across the field of battle to see that no such aid is being rendered to Garralosh. Her children have fled. Even now, they�re seeking shelter behind the seventh wall, dragging themselves away from the Gravity Bomb on all fours�sixes for those with the extra set of legs. Fear is written in every one of them, and not one seeks to defend their parent.
Suffering the horrific forces unleashed by my spell, Garralosh struggles alone. And struggle she does, for she isn�t dead. I�ve been paying close attention in the hopes that the gruff voice of our noble system wizard will resound in my ears, but no luck so far.
We stay like this for far too long. The Gravity Bomb devouring and consuming everything it can until it flickers away. All at once, the nightmare I unleashed is over. The howling wind, the circling clouds, the groaning earth. All of it fades away and the light returns once more.
Garralosh is alive. But only just. A full third of her body has been carved away, eaten by the void.
�Heal me, quick,� I say.
As Garralosh lies, heaving in pain, her aura diminished almost to nothing, I receive healing from a team of hastily summoned ants. Though the battle has drained them to the point of exhaustion, they manage to squeeze out enough Healing Mana that I�m able to push my legs underneath my body and stand.
�Eldest,� Victor speaks up as she approaches from my right. �Is it over? Do you think Garralosh can still fight?�
�I don�t know. I�ll go and sort it out. Get the colony back to safety. If the croca-beasts come back, we could have trouble.�
She hesitates. �Are you sure? We can send a team of soldiers.�
I must look like absolute hell. Truth be told, I feel that way. The healers have done what they can, but even then, I�m barely together. The cracks and holes in my carapace are in the process of closing over, and my organs are back on the inside of my body, which is a win. The pain is still incredible, though, and� I�m desperate for a nap. But I won�t risk anyone else. Not after what happened to Grant.
�I�ll go. Stay back.�
With that, I pick up my legs, one at a time, and walk to my fallen foe. Even most of the way dead, Garralosh is still mighty in appearance, her enormous frame dwarfs me. The pure madness is gone from her eyes. Instead of rage, they�re filled with pain and anguish. Which isn�t surprising. The Gravity Bomb has taken a massive chunk out of her. From her left shoulder to her mid-section, part of her body has been perfectly carved away where the sphere of the spell touched her. What�s incredible is that she was able to prevent the rest of her body from being dragged in, even though she was so close. Being that strong has its upsides, I guess.
Shudders ripple through her, the nerves afire with agony. To think, she wouldn�t have ended like this if she hadn�t chased after a few hundred survivors and me. Hundreds of years of fighting in the Dungeon, reduced to this. I can�t find any sympathy. Can�t find much emotion at all. I�m just tired.
Though my brains are collectively fried, I push myself and spin together a Mind Magic Construct. It takes time. Both to arrive at Garralosh�s exposed neck, and to form a Mind Bridge. I can feel something drag me forward. The Collective Will Vestibule is whispering, trickling life-giving energy back into my body. A thousand tiny voices urging me to one action. Not that it would have mattered. I�d have done it anyway.
Her eye tracks me, barely focused.
[This could have gone better for you,] I say to the fallen crocodile.
[My� My�]
She struggles to speak. My mandibles open wide. She�s alone in this moment. Her children have abandoned her. Even the Ka�armodo appears to have retreated in the aftermath.
[�Name� My name� was�]
[Her name, was Grant.]
[You have defeated a Level 132 Unique Monster � Garralosh.]
[You have gained XP.]
[You have reached Level 2. One Skill Point awarded.]
[You have reached Level 3. One Skill Point awarded.]
[You have reached Level 4�]
I let the voice of the System fade as the air flows of out of Garralosh like a bellows. A moment later, she lies inert. After a life of senseless violence, she�s just Biomass now. Nothing more. Nothing less. And if I�m not mistaken, quite a lot of Biomass. In fact, there are thousands of monsters� worth of Biomass waiting to be collected� This is going to take ages to clean up.
I try and take it in. I�d wondered how it might feel, to be in this moment, to exist in this place. I can�t explain it. There�s relief, I suppose.
Damn, I�m tired�
I slept for so long and I�m tired again already. The workers will give me hell for it if I go back to rest now.
Speaking of which, the colony has begun to gather. Those who emerged already, those who remained behind the walls, even the Core Shapers and their pets who hid underground, they all emerge and make their way to the fallen titan.
In moments, almost the entire colony gathers around me. The queen is still resting in the Dungeon, of course, defended and guarded by a watchful contingent. The Brood Tenders are doing their thing, I�ve no doubt. Just about everyone else is here.
The silence and stillness are heavy. Not many creatures can do silent
watchfulness like a huge crowd of ants can. They don�t move. They don�t
speak. They physically can�t
What would I even say? Oh boy. I�m getting stressed. I don�t know how to deal with this level of attention. If someone could give me a level of direction here? Some instruction? No?
Think for a second, Anthony� If you were a giant ant monster who�d just
achieved a long-sought after victory, what would you want to hear? Wait
a second. I
Here goes!
�Ah. Hello.�
Nice start! Super smooth.
�Today, through the efforts of every member, the colony has emerged victorious in our battle against Garralosh and her children. The mother of crocs is dead. Her children are scattered, and the horde has been smashed.�
I give my audience a quick eyeball to judge their reaction. It�s not helping, they don�t have one. Thousands of blank ant-faces stare at me. Even their antennae don�t twitch. The air is perfectly still. After the chaos and calamity that has occurred here, the silence is bizarre. Almost otherworldly.
�We� uh�� I stumble there, I can admit it. Keep pushing forward! �We lost many members of the family today. It�s important that their struggle isn�t forgotten. They were not soulless creatures who served unthinkingly, that was what the horde had been. Our fallen served their family with all of their strength and gave everything they had, willingly.�
As the Will of the colony trickles into me, I grow stronger and more confident, my pheromones reaching far and wide.
�I want all of you to remember this. This is the kind of family I wish
for us to be. It is right, it is
There�s a flicker of agreement in their eyes. It�s natural, of course. The colony should be placed above all. But I�m not done. That alone is not enough.
�Remember. If you do that. The colony will give
Hmm. I�ve lost them on that one. I don�t think they understand what I mean. Never mind. I�ll teach them, and they�ll learn in time.
�We�ve achieved victory today. Don�t forget it. For the colony!�
�FOR THE COLONY!�
Their response is so intense, my antennae freeze up as the wave of �voices� smack into me all at once. And it keeps going, on and on and on.
�FOR THE COLONY! FOR THE COLONY!�
Only when I raise my antennae high does it stop.
�There is an enormous amount of work to do. Stop slacking! The Biomass here will birth ten thousand new siblings. Don�t waste it!�
And with that, the crowd disperses. All at once, every ant moves in a different direction. Within seconds, there are teams everywhere carving up the Biomass, and trails of workers form to haul it seemingly from thin air. Everywhere I look, the battlefield teems with ants, the battle forgotten, intent on their work.
Except behind me. The body of Garralosh lies still and untouched.
[Tiny, Crinis. I need you two over here. No chance I�m going to be able to eat this all on my own.]