Chapter 833 - Diplomacy
Seriously? Another demon city lord showing up now?! What did I do to deserve this? Seriously!
The new arrival looks down on us and the half-consumed remains of Grokus with an imperious gaze that does little to make me think this encounter is going to end peacefully. She appears to be a type of demon that I haven't seen before, a semi-humanoid torso that appears almost skeletal, with four long arms that end in scythe-like claws she looks a little reaper-ish.
On the disc with her are a number of other demons, several of whom may also be tier seven, judging from the strength of their cores. I set my feet and keep my antennae swirling in order to react to anything that happens. The air has become tense between the two sides as we wait for the new arrival to make an opening gambit, but it's not looking good for us.
We're just off the back of putting down two tier seven demons, and it sure as heck wasn't easy. Now this chump shows up with her posse. The timing sucks to say the least.
All of a sudden, I feel the weight of a powerful mind sweep through the remains of Grokus' plaza, pressing down on me with its sheer hunger for authority. This is a demon that wants to rule, not be ruled. Just as quickly as it came, the pressure is lifted and for a few confusing seconds I stand about, tense as a bowstring as nothing happens.
[Ah,] Al's mind brushes against mine. [There appears to have been a misunderstanding. This new arrival has ?ssumed that I am in command as I am the highest level of monster present on our side. I have attempted to correct this by informing her that she should communicate with you instead, but she refuses to believe it. I encourage you to reach out to her yourself and clarify what has happened here. As I understand it, she has arrived in the hopes of battling Grokus for the rights to control the city.]
She's a bit late for that! Irritated at being dismissed, I spin together the bridge necessary and throw it at the demoness above without much decorum. Once it snaps into place I can't help but allow some of my poor mood to slip into my tone.
[Hello there. Welcome to Roklu, city of demons which has very recently come under new management. What exactly can we do for you?]
The eyes within that gaunt head flash with internal fire as the demoness slowly turns her head toward me.
[Yes, hello. I'm an ant. The last city lord who looked down on me for it is currently indisposed,] I point down with one leg at the mound of Biomass beneath me. [My Colony has conquered this city fair and square. If you want to take it from us then you're going to have to fight us for it.]
Should I really be declaring that? These demons are scary! I don't want to be fighting them at all if I can help it! Dammit, Anthony! Shut your mandibles, you idiot! The demoness ponders my mental message for a brief moment before sending anything back my way.
[This is… disappointing,] her thoughts are like a sharp hiss, like nails being dragged down a chalkboard. It sets my carapace to crawling just hearing it. [I had hoped to engage in a battle of conquest to bring Roklu within my control today. As arranged between Grokus and myself, this was to be the day of our formal war.]
[Oi, Al. Help me out here. What's a battle of conquest when it comes to a formal war?]
The fiery eye flickers.
[It means that the city lords had agreed to cede control of one or both cities to the winner of the formal war. It is unusual, but some city lords d?s?r? to shore up their power, wish to command greater territory or resources, or perhaps feel an innate need to conquer. In such cases they will usually find ways to pressure their neighbours to agree to a battle of conquest.]
[Why don't they just attack and take over? Why do they need their opponents to agree to it?]
[You guys are fussy about the strangest things.]
Fortunately, mental communication occurs at the speed of thought, but even so I can tell that the demoness above me is growing impatient. Better play it cool Anthony. You don't want to fight again today if you can avoid it.
[I apologise for being unaware of your schedule,] I say, [the Colony chose to invade today, ignorant of the customs and requirements of demon-kind. It's a little unfortunate, but what has been done cannot be undone. Since the demon with whom you secured your agreement is no longer the city lord, I presume your declaration of a battle of conquest is no longer valid?]
That's about as smooth as I can possibly be. Nice going, Anthony!
[I must agree,] she grates back at me. [Though I am now considering if an agreement is necessary to conquer this city now that there is no city lord in place.]
[What do you mean?]
[Who is the demon in charge?] she demands.
[There isn't one. The Colony is in charge.]
[Your Colony is not a demon.]
[So, who is the city lord?]
[The Colony?]
I flick my mind across to Al.
[I'm guessing that city lords have to be demons?]
He hesitates.
[Yes. Partnerships exist between demons and other races, but those are generally agreements between the city lord and the other party. Demons are not ruled over by others. As a group we struggle with … law.]
I bet. A group of maniacs, each obsessively dedicated to one aspect of living or the world around them can't possibly be an issue to herd or direct in any way.
[We are yet to formally decide on the identity of the new city lord… officially,] I turn my attention back to the demon.
[I see. So, the position is vacant?]
[Al. What the heck happens when a city doesn't have a city lord?]
[I don't know,] the eye flares with sudden interest.
[Don't get curious now! Dammit!]
[It is what I live for.]
Argh! I turn back to this new city lord.
[Perhaps we might be able to reschedule a formal war of conquest? That would give us a little time to have things sorted on this end. Wouldn't want things to be anything less than official now, would we?]
Her eyes narrow as she ponders.
[No, we wouldn't.]
[Any chance I could get your name, by the way?] It seems all tier six demons have names.
She gazes down at me imperiously.
So saying, she gestures with one sharp looking, emaciated arm and the disc spun in a one-eighty and they jetted off again before I could even think to get a word back in.
[I'm… Anthony, by the way?] I sent that thought out into the void the bridge between us had previously occupied.
Well, one week? That could have gone worse!
-x-X-x-
As I watch the disc containing Brixin and her cohort of demons fly back to Orpule I breathe a sigh of relief. That was close, too close! We might have been able to win, but most likely only with the sacrifice of many, many lives and that is a price I am simply not willing to tolerate.
My siblings will fight for the Colony and in that process some of them will perish, I've come to terms with that, somewhat, but I will never accept my sisters utilising traditional ant tactics and choking the enemy with our own dead. I've worked hard to make it so that would never be necessary, and I'll be damned if I allow them to go back to it now.
Not after we've come so far.
Determined to move quickly, I do something I usually hesitate to do and start issuing orders.
"Get this Biomass stored away and make sure that the core is secured. I want to have a good, hard look at it later and it will be valuable as heck, so make sure it isn't lost. Secure the city and I want to see every council member within ten kilometres of this location before an hour is out. Just point them to wherever I happen to be."
The ants around me all salute quickly before rushing to complete their tasks. This whole situation has put another deadline on us and I'm not particularly happy about it. Of course, I knew that we had to move fast, I was just hoping that we could set the clock ourselves, rather than have it be set for us.
Wanting to make sure that me and mine are out of the way of the individuals doing the actual work, I take my pets and Allocrix closer to the pillar and wait for the council to arrive. As time passes, more and more ants flood down the four huge wires they constructed, how they'd managed it I have no idea. The city became flooded with healers and carvers and huge groups of core shapers and their pets who immediately descended to the plains below to establish a perimeter around the base of the city.
The moment they arrived, the healers rushed to render aid to all who had been injured during the fighting, ant, demon or human. The carvers set to repairing the damage that had been done with their usual gusto, the city echoed with the constant rumble of earth magic as buildings were reset and roads smoothed out once more. Through it all I could see the remaining local demon population watch it all happen with somewhat bewildered faces.
[How do you think the demons will react to being managed by ants?] I ask Al, my only resident expert.
He ponders for a long moment before he replies.
[I don't know,] he says with that odd note of hunger in his voice.
He doesn't know, but he's very keen to find out and slide that new brick of knowledge into his wall of obsession.
[But you can hazard a guess or two I'm sure,] I encourage the fiery eyeball, [you must have some thoughts as to how it may go.]
[It is difficult to say because I don't believe it has ever been done before. I have interacted with other races, and I get the impression that they don't particularly want to rule demons. They are happy to occupy territory, to trade or seize resources, but they don't want to control demons. Why would anyone bother?]
[Demons have been hired, certainly. If you understand what our obsession is then it isn't hard to come to an arrangement that will involve a fair exchange for a particular demon's services. We ourselves have come to such an arrangement.]
[So, people will treat demons like particularly weird mercenaries, but won't actually try to rule or control them. I'm going to ?ssume because it's just too damn hard?]
[If a slaughter demon follows its nature and kills a human, they tend to get upset about it. From a demon's perspective, they did nothing wrong.]
[I can see how that's going to be a challenge to deal with…]
Before long, the council members I had asked for start to arrive. Tungstant is here, Burke and Wills are both on the scene, along with all the soldiers and both generals. Looks like the Colony wasn't mucking around when they decided to launch this invasion, all hands were on deck! There are others, of course, Bella is here, along with Mendant, representing their respective castes.
"How is everyone?" I greet them all when they've finally ?ssembled. "Everyone doing well?"
"Can't complain I suppose," Advant shrugs her antennae.
"WELL I CAN!" I spray the area with outrage.
"I can only guess that the lot of you have worked yourselves until your carapace is wearing thin to make this invasion happen, and it was successful, well done, but now you've got another demon city wanting a conflict within a week and you're going to have to work yourselves half to death again in order to stave it off!"
"It's not sustainable!" I declare.
"Being honest with you Eldest," Sloan says, "we have to push hard in order to ensure our survival. If we don't secure the resources and territory that we need to fight off those who would seek us harm before they come back to do it…"
I point one sharp antenna\ at the much smaller general.
"You think I don't know that, Sloan?! You think you're giving me new information right now?!"
I'm tempted to unleash the power of THWACK, but I restrain myself by a hair.
"Obviously I know that, but if you are all pushing yourselves to the brink every day, then what do you think will happen when something does go wrong? We are going to be attacked at some point. A nest will be infiltrated, our defences will get tested, Golgari will sneak in and destroy our brood, the legions comes back and siege a new nest. It WILL happen. Nothing goes right all the time. And when it does happen, what state are you going to be in? Is every single one of you going to be down here? Pushing on the front lines? Dragging the Colony to the brink of exhaustion?"
I stare at them all.
"It's difficult, but you have to walk the fine line between going hard, fighting for our future, and holding something in reserve for when things go wrong."
My words seem to resonate with the group in front of me as their antennae waver through the air in slow, thoughtful circles.
"Anyways," I sigh, "what we really need to do right now is work out exactly what we're going to do to defend ourselves against this attack from the nearby city of Orpule. If we lose, then the territory that we've gained will be gone almost as soon as we took it!"
A discussion quickly erupts amongst everyone, and I can tell that Vibrant in particular is talking at a million miles an hour. After a bit of back and forth, it's Wills who puts forth an interesting suggestion.
"If I'm not mistaken," she leads with, "this war of conquest is for control of a demon city, right?"
"I believe so," I confirm.
"Then, if we win, don't we gain control of their city? Orpule?"
"Ah… maybe? I mean, I guess that sounds, right?"
"So… isn't this a way that we can gain more territory and control? Rather than just running at cities and rolling over them like we did here… we can use this… formal war? As our mechanism to gain more territory."
I think for a minute.
"That sounds… smart?"
-x-X-x-
The meeting dragged on for another hour before a reasonable plan of action of attack was determined. We had to consult Al fairly frequently throughout the process, trying to determine exactly what is and isn't allowed in a formal war between demon cities. In the process we got a bit of an overview on the history and practical application of this particular demon tradition. Allocrix doesn't have any idea roughly when it started, the practice is nearly as old as demon kind itself, or at least so he claims.
According to the burning eyeball himself, there was such a time that the third stratum was filled with demons who as of yet didn't have any boundaries or structures as to how to lead their lives. Much as one would expect, it was complete chaos. Or at least, it was more chaotic than things are now supposedly. I did have to ask him one burning question at this point in the conversation.
[Who exactly imposed the rules on you?]
[What do you mean?]
[At one point you had no rules, and then these traditions were... put in place, for want of a better term, then there must be someone who came up with them, right? An individual or group that was the origin point. Or were they just cooked up at some point and spread throughout demon society over time?]
[Ah, you ask who is the origin of our traditions. Arconidem.]
[Arconi-who?]
[Arconidem, the demon god.]
[I didn't realise you demons had a religion?]
I mean, how does that even work? They're literally referred to as demons... or is this why they're referred to as demons? Allocrix stares at me like he's looking at an alien.
[You don't know who Arconidem is?]
I try to think.
[It might ring a bell? I get the feeling I've heard the name before.]
[I believe you might.]
Is that humour I hear in the big eyeball's voice?! A shocking development.
[Arconidem the demon god is one of the nineteen ancients and the progenitor of the demon race,] he informs me in his usual flat tone.
[Ah.]
Well, dang. I probably should have remembered that. Granin and his apprentices had drilled me on what is known about the nineteen ancients, which isn't much, generally speaking. In fact, from what I understood, most people in Pangera can't name them, and many don't believe that they exist in the first place. Which isn't a ringing endorsement. Although the existence of the Cults throughout the civilised world means that at least some people are keeping the, uh, dream, alive?
[Wait a second. He was the progenitor? Of all the demons?]
Al blinks. Which is quite the sight, thankfully it's too quick for me to see... it.
[It is known that he has made the claim. As to the truth of it, who can say?]
[But don't you guys all spawn from the Dungeon? Like, there are millions of demons spawning out there as we speak?]
[Ah, I understand you're confusion. Arconidem claims to be the very first demon, the one that the Dungeon used to pattern the rest of us. Again, who can say? As to the title that Arconidem claimed for himself, he is so powerful that there could be considered functionally no difference between him and a god.]
[But how would you know how powerful he is? I'm going to assume that you've never seen him? Like, how could you?]
[I have seen him.]
...
[WOT?!]
The big eye nods.
[Some demons are taken to see Arconidem when they evolve. I would describe it as a type of vision, rather than physically seeing them. The experience was... haunting.]
[Yeah I bet.]
It's a bit of a shock to realise that I'm not the only one who gets to enjoy these 'wonderful' trips to elsewhere when evolving, or even that it's not a reincarnator thing. Apparently a few of the native born demons get to experience the same level of joy that I do, having their soul circle a drain and sink down to goodness knows where to speak to someone you don't necessarily want to see. I wonder if the Gandalf I see might end up being one of the ancients as well? They haven't given me a name... I suppose it might be possible? Although, from memory I think they might have denied it? Or at least suggested that they and the ancients are not one and the same.
Just in case, I might ask about it.
[Any chance you can describe what he looks like for me?]
The fire dims around Al a little.
[I often get asked this question. Arconidem looks much like a larval demon...]
[Hah!]
[... gigantic and seated on a throne formed of his own flesh.]
[... ah.]
For a moment there I was stuck with the thought of an all-powerful ancient who was about the size of my eyeball.
[Well, I've certainly never visited anyone like that.]
Al eyes me. Which is an intense experience, let me tell you.
[Why would you have?]
[Good point! Moving on!]
A pause.
[What's he like?]
[I don't want to discuss it.]
[Fair enough! You can't blame an ant for being curious. We're talking about one of the ancients here after all.]
Actually learning of someone who actually managed to communicate with one of those dudes is freaking me out a little. I always kind of imagined the ancients as being so far away that they could never be reached. It feels like one of them just reached out from the depths of the Dungeon and poked me.
Revelations of gigantic monsters as old as time, the planning for the upcoming conflict went smoothly enough until everyone knew what they had to do over the coming days. Even if they weren't happy about it.
"I still don't understand why I can't be there for the main battle!" Leeroy whined. "You don't want the Immortals at the front, leading the charge, headlong into tier seven demons who will cut us to pieces as fast as they look at us? Why not?!"
I look at her.
"You know damn well why!"
THWACK!
"Ouch!"
"Instead of complaining and sulking that you were left of the last battle, why not try and do something actually useful for your family in the next one? Something that doesn't involve throwing your life away in the hopes of perhaps, maybe chipping a demon's claw as they separate your head from your thorax!"
"I still think I could have been in the last battle..."
"How the heck are you supposed to climb down the cable when you're wearing full armour?!"
THWACK!
The soldier pulled away from me, furiously rubbing her head with one antenna.
"I could have fought without it!"
"Oh, really? And you think you would be trusted not to charge blindly forward as if you were wearing it?"
"I'm not stupid!"
Every Council member present turns to her in confusion.
"I'm not!" she protests angrily. "I would have made a tactical assault!"
Prepared to give her a chance, I ask a leading question.
"Would this 'tactical assault' have involved, in any way, you rushing forward, on your own, into impossible odds?"
...
...
"No?"
"You don't sound entirely certain about that."
"Alright fine. Yes."
THWACK!
-x-X-x-
Our plans made, the council disperses, Vibrant disappearing over the horizon before I can so much as blink. Although... that could be a long measure of time, since I can't blink. I'm actually starting to forget what it was like to close my eyes, to be honest. I mean, how long can you go without eyelids before you forget how they felt? I've been in a carapace so long, I'm starting to forget what skin felt like! It just seems so weird to me now, being squishy on the outside and hard on the inside. How does that make sense? Don't you want the squishy stuff protected? Not to mention the possibilities for shiny perfection that I have embraced through mutation!
Even the demons reject the true doctrine of exo-skeleton. In fact, almost all monsters do... No, I must reject this line of thought. If I continue to follow it I might wind up having sympathy for the centipedes and that is simply something that cannot be done. Spiders... maybe. Centipedes? Never.
Naturally the moment that their leader runs off, a large detachment of suspiciously speedy ants races in pursuit. Now that she's evolved to tier six her follower count has significantly increased once again. Each and every one of her loyal troops is a peak specimen of the Colony, heavily mutated and experienced in battle. Just another example of the powerful influence a champion can have on those around them. She may be a handful, but Vibrant has proven her value to the family a hundred times over. I have high hopes for the next champion also, even if she continues to be a pain in the abdomen.
Speaking of the devil, she's currently playing with Tiny, the giant trying to herd the hatchling with his hands as she schemes to get past him. Despite his massive size and quick reflexes, she almost manages it a few times, faking him out and playing mind games with the poor sod. Though the more I watch, the more I begin to suspect she's conditioning him for an eventual escape.
Just a constant pain.
We remain close to the pillar for the time being, but I'm already getting a little bored. We have things to do and not much time to do them, most important of all, continuing to train and level up the hatchling. Getting her up and running, contributing to the Colony and dedicated to her own niche as soon as possible is my main focus for the time being.
"Alright then Brilliant, time to get busy."
She pauses in her game and turns toward me.
"What do you mean?"
"Did you think we were done? You're not even halfway to as evolved as you need to be! Your older sister is tier six! So am I! What exactly are you supposed to do running around as a piddly tier three?"
"What do you mean? I'm useful already!" she declares, her antennae waving wildly.
"At what? Annoying me or escaping? Those are the only two things I can see that you excel at."
"Oh yeah? What if I told you that my mana shaping skill is tier four?"
"I'd tell you - ... Wait, what?"
"I've been practicing inside Invidia's mouth! No time is wasted!"
"Even mine is only tier five..."
She puffs herself up proudly.
"Told you I'm the best!"
"How are you the best if my Skill is higher than yours?"
"Well," she deflates again, "it will be higher soon!" and then she fires back.
"You know what, I'm starting to believe you. Are you practicing now?"
"Yes, of course."
Dammit! I can't be overtaken by this damn hatchling! What about my pride as the Eldest! Desperate not to be outdone I immediately order all of my mental constructs to start spinning mana, any form, any spell, I don't care! Just get to work!
Still, as I look down on the smug little thing, I can't help but be impressed. I think this might be her talent after all.
"Keep up the good work, Brilliant, but as I said, we still need to level you up. That's going to be our next port of call."
"NOT YET!" comes a wave of pheromones from above.
A few moments later there's a slip, the scent of fear and then a crash which quickly reveals itself as Smithant, covered in various bits of metal plating stuck on her back, legs flailing after her unfortunate fall.
"Ouch! Someone help me up?"
Crinis quickly obliges with a tentacle extended from her place on my back.
"Thanks. I heard you'd shown up here Eldest and I didn't want you to go running off into the third stratum again without having a chance to give you what I've been working on all this time! Down here! Hurry up!"
The last part she shouts up the pillar to a trio of ants carefully picking their way down the vertical slope, each of them laden with more metal and bits and pieces.
"Just how much stuff did you bring?" I ask a little warily.
Don't cover up the diamond!
"Oh, it's not all for you," she informs me, "I've got things for Tiny as well, as well as a few pieces for Vibrant, is she still here?"
"Nope."
"Damn. I was hoping to catch up with her."
"Good luck with that."
"Anyway, let's start getting this stuff sorted out."
The moment her focus turns to the metal it's almost as if the mad ant in front of me starts glowing. She coos and clucks over her work like a mother hen as she uses her mandibles and front claws to pick through the pieces, taking some from her helpers.
"This is what I was able to put together for Tiny. We still can't work with the Legion metal very well, or at all, and there certainly wasn't enough to make a full suit for him, but this should help him."
What she was able to come up with was several individual pieces that can be strapped to Tiny's arms, legs and shoulders. Forearm guards, a chest plate and some reasonably fitted and padded pieces protect his thighs. It's pretty good work, all things considered. And when we take into account his immensely dense bones, the lack of helmet and knuckle protectors isn't nearly as big of a concern as it once was. Just having something to protect his heart in the event something slips through between his ribs is a big relief.
Tiny seems much happier with this smaller and more focused set of pieces than he was with the more complete set he had on before. After scratching at the straps and pulling at the padding underneath the armour a little, he seems fairly content, even rapping his knuckles on the forearm guard to test its strength.
"Well he seems happy at least," I observe, "and I am as well. Great work, Smithant."
She stops fussing with the straps and turns back to me.
"It wasn't easy, but I'm happy with the work. As for what I made for you, have a look!"
With the air of an artist whipping a cloth off a new statue, she throws a series of pieces down onto the ground in front of me. At first I'm a little startled, they appear to be, rings? Weird ones?
"Soooo. What are they?" I ask, confused.
"Well, you said you didn't want full armour and there isn't much I can make that would protect you better than your own carapace, certainly not to the extent that would justify the weight, so I went in a different direction and tried to produce the most pure alloys I could and pack them with the strongest enchantments I could. What you see here is a masterwork of enchanting, by our standards anyway."
She sounds a little deflated at the end, as if not catching up to the rest of the world in a couple of months was somehow a massive failure on her part.
"Nonsense," I tell her, "a masterwork in the Colony is a masterwork the world over. Tell me what they do."
"I think you'll like this Eldest. Should work well with your current Skill set."
It doesn't take much to get Smithant pumped up again, as soon as her attention turns to the task of explaining her creations she is immediately obsessed.
-x-X-x-
I'm not really wearing armour. It's more jewellery than anything else. Which isn't something I wanted to point out to Smithant. She takes immense pride in being a smith, specifically in being an armourer, since she doesn't make weapons. In fact, she takes an unhealthy amount of pride in that, such that pointing out how she has basically made what amount to a series of necklaces. Not that they go around my neck, instead they fit over my legs, basically tightening around the area where my legs meet my carapace, which means that I have six of them overall.
Apparently Smithant tried to create some more to attach around the base of my antennae but couldn't find a way to fit them to an ant without irritating the heck out of them. With antennae as sensitive as mine I imagine the problem would have been even more acute. Still, she was very satisfied with the work she'd been able to do, work that was only possible thanks to a breakthrough she had with her Skills. With whole teams of specialised carvers dedicated to mastering the craft of armoury and enchanting, it's a minor miracle that Smithant still manages to be at the head of the pack.
It goes to show that individual talent is still a thing, even in a world like Pangera with a Gandalf run System in place. I have to wonder if some of my struggles developing certain Skills are simply because I'm not personally suited to them, or perhaps I just get distracted too easily... most likely the latter.
After we get the equipment from Smithant, there's nothing for it but to climb down out of the city again and make our way toward the tunnels between layers. Obviously that means running through vast fields of larval demons who continuously try to tear each other apart, even as they flow away from us as we walk past.
In a small way, my newly enchanted gear helps with this, since one of the functions provided is to reduce friction. It isn't a huge amount, I'm a heavy ant boi after all, but it's enough to make a noticeable difference. I do a few test charges as we travel and it takes a little getting used to, but the reduction in drag is certainly there. A little extra speed, a little extra lightness on my claws, certainly nothing I'm going to turn away! If this is what Smithant was planning to give to Vibrant, then I have to laugh a little. The second she finds out she could be going faster, Vibrant is going to go nuts trying to track Smithant down and beg her to hand over the rings.
Though I'm not the only one who got new stuff.
[How about it Tiny? Feeling comfortable.]
[Hmmmm,] he ponders as he continues to poke, prod and scratch at the straps that hold the new armoured plates to his body. After a few moments, he shrugs.
[Can't be that bad,] I tell him, [you managed to keep the full set on before, this isn't even close to being as restrictive.]
[Hrrn,] he grunts.
[You think so? I think you'll get a ton of use out of it. Getting cut less is a good thing, no matter how you slice it.]
He rolls his shoulders and huffs.
[Invidia is not your personal heal battery,] I scold him. [It's not his job to exclusively follow you around and stop you from getting killed. He had to do that in the past because you weren't smart enough to stay safe, and had almost no protective measures in place. With your bones being as tough as they are now, I feel a lot better about you not getting carved to pieces, but you still have to worry about blood loss, about muscle tears, about a million other things that can pull you down during a fight. You need to learn to defend yourself better and this armour can help with that.]
He's silent for a bit, pondering, before he nods a little sullenly.
[I'm not saying don't be aggressive,] I say, exasperated, [just maybe block once in a while, alright?]
[When do you think I might be given equipment, master?]
[Honestly, Crinis, I think we need to work out what would be the best way for you to wear it. Right now you're more or less whatever shape you want to be.]
[I could manifest some limbs permanently, that would be trivial.]
[I suppose so... alright then, next time we run into Smithant I'll get her onto it. I'm sure she can think of some enchantments that would be relevant to you. Goodness knows what they might be, but hey, I'm sure they exist.]
[Maybe something that enhances my shadow affinity?]
[That'd work.]
It takes a while to reach the tunnels and once we do we plunge right in. It's hunting time and there's a lot that we need to get done. I need levels and Biomass, as does Tiny, Crinis and Invidia. Most importantly, Brilliant needs levels and Biomass.
"Can I fight yet?" the hatchling asks.
"Absolutely not," I laugh at her. "Do you have any idea where we are? This is the third stratum! If we were on the FIRST you'd still be pathetically weak. Down here you might as well be a gentle breeze compared to what we're fighting. You'll need to be tier five, at least, before you can even contribute, and even then, magic only. If you get close enough to a demon to bite it, you're basically already dead."
"Damn," she kicks at the ground in frustration.
"Look, your time will come soon enough. Stuff your face with this Biomass, keep amassing experience, and before you know it you'll be evolving and ready to go. Now come on, we don't have that much free time before the assault, we need to get busy."
So saying we plunge further into the tunnels, seeking out the juicy prey that we didn't manage to get to. It's also handily filling in my tunnel map as we explore new regions of the passages. We're careful not to get too low though. Whatever is going on deeper in the third, I sure as heck do not want to be kicking that hornet nest before we are good and ready. I know my limits and I think I've made enough trouble lately.
-x-X-x-
[It's so damn hot!] Sarah complained.
[Of course it is,] Granin snorted, [it's the third stratum. Place is nothing but ash and lava.]
[You might be fine,] the giant bear grumbled, [but I'm covered in fur. If I was a rock person like you, maybe it wouldn't bother me so much.]
The old shaper harrumphed.
[For starters, I am not a rock person, I am a goglari who has bonded with a true skin, a layer of ore that covers and melds with my natural skin. And I think you'll find that mental toughness, rather than heat resistance, is responsible for my tolerance.]
Torrina rolled her eyes and joined in the conversation.
[Actually, our true skin does provide a huge increase to our ability to endure extreme temperatures. It's one of the reasons the goglari were so successful expanding to the third stratum in the centuries after the cataclysm.]
The giant bear turned her head and fired a glare at the leader of the triad who did his best to ignore the threat of being stared at by a truly vicious tier six Asura Bear. Particularly one equipped in the way that this one was.
[The armour probably isn't helping the situation,] Corun observed helpfully. [I know I'd be hot under all that.]
It was true that the padding and weight of the armour, nearly two tons of it, were doing little to improve the situation. As if being a furred animal wasn't enough, she had layers of cloth and steel covering her to the point she felt as if she were sweating literal buckets every second.
[I need to hydrate,] she gasped.
[I think you need an enchantment to help manage the heat issue,] Torrina observed.
[That's a valid point, actually,] Granin observed. [Usually a first stratum monster is a little more resistant to the environmental changes as you descend through the layers, but I think this is something of a special case. Sarah is much better built to tolerate the cold than she is the heat. If Smithant is still about down here we should approach her to make those adjustments.]
[I'd really appreciate it,] Sarah said.
The four of them looked out from the platform on which they stood for a moment, taking in the absurd view of the wide open space that opened up before them and extended in all directions as far as their eyes could see. The harsh glow of lava burned into their eyes and the taste of ash lingered on their tongues, making their welcome to this place an altogether unpleasant one.
[I hate this place,] Granin grumped, [it's put me in a bad mood. Sorry if I come across as dismissive, Sarah. I'm just grouchy.]
[That's alright,] she sympathised, [I'm much the same as you.]
Torrina could only shake her head at the two of them as she glanced over the side of the platform for a moment.
"I don't know how you do that," Corun shuddered. "I'd get vertigo."
[We should be down in another five minutes or so,] she informed the group. [Pretty quick trip, all things considered.]
[It's impressive the Colony managed to get this lift system in place so quickly,] Sarah said, looking up at the massive rope system that connected them to the ceiling so far above.]
[There's a lot of things that impress me about the Colony, but their ability to get stuff built quickly is starting to become just a normal expectation from my point of view,] Granin shrugged. [How many times do they need to pull of the impossible before I just start to expect it from them?]
A short time later the platform finally touched down into the city and they were able to unpin and open the gate, allowing the heat affected bear to stroll out and then slump onto the ground.
[Alright I'm here, take it off now.]
It took nearly ten minutes for the trio to unbuckle all the straps, by which time the platform had already ascended halfway back to the roof.
[Oh thank goodness,] Sarah groaned, [that is so much better.]
[You didn't have to come down here,] Torrina reminded her, [this was your choice.]
The big bear rolled her shoulders uncomfortably.
[It just doesn't feel right, sitting up there, enjoying the benefits of the Colony's achievements without contributing anything. They work so hard whilst I sit around and what? Play with the grubs? It's not right,] Sarah repeated herself as she finally pushed her body back onto its feet.
[That doesn't mean you have to fight,] Corun reminded her. [It didn't work out so well last time did it?]
Sarah flinched a little but then held firm.
[It didn't go terribly,] she defended herself. [I helped protect the nest ... and if I hadn't, who knows what would have happened? It went bad at the end,] she shuddered, [but I think I can control myself better now.]
[I think you can too,] Granin told her, his usual gruff tone just a hair softer than usual. [You just need to remember not to get carried away.]
As they moved through the city, it was heartening to Sarah to hear many of the mage ants and others reach out to her as she passed.
[Friend Sarah! Welcome! You missed a great fight!]
[Sarah! Had enough slacking? We welcome your assistance!]
[It will be good to fight by your side once more! Now that you are finished being lazy that is!]
Sarah pouted, no mean feat for a bear. She wasn't lazy!
Still, as they continued their walk there were many ants who waved or approached the bear to give her a friendly tap on the shoulder, communicating their welcome even if they weren't able to form a mind bridge and speak with her directly. By the time they had made it to the staging ground around the central pillar, the Asura Bear's eyes were wet, as was the fur trailing down the sides of her muzzle.
The golgari triad politely avoided looking too closely or remarking on it in any way, instead they chatted to each other about the work the Colony had done, already rebuilding the city to the point that it was hard to see any signs of the invasion at all. The area around the pillar, once exclusively the domain of Grokus' compound, had been co-opted by the Colony to become their planning and organising centre. The wall that had encircled that section of Rolku was gone, instead an interlocking series of chambers had been constructed which already had begun to look somewhat nest-like. It was almost as if the carvers couldn't help themselves, given that this was their most frequently used design.
There they found Sloan, the general in charge of the defence of the city, pouring over maps and surrounded by a hundred other generals and scouts, each waiting patiently to say their own piece.
Despite the crowd, Sloan noticed immediately as they approached and rushed out to welcome them.
[Friend Sarah! Granin, Torrina, Corun. Welcome all of you,] the general greeted them once a bridge had been established. [We thank you for coming. If you are willing, there is much that you can do here for us.]
Sarah nodded her big head slowly.
[I will do my best,] she promised.
-x-X-x-
"Whooooooooo!" Vibrant cheered as she raced across the Plains of Leng, delighting in watching the larval demons leap from her path just in time to miss her flashing legs.
The air was boiling hot and seared against her carapace as it drove her antennae back. The smell of ash and molten rock smothered her senses as the terrain flashed by but Vibrant cared little for any of it. The rush of pure speed was what she craved and these wide open plains gave her an opportunity to run as she had never had a chance to before.
"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" she hollered, her legs flickering so quickly they couldn't be seen, her brain flashing just as quickly as she processed the barrage of visual information that flooded her eyes each second.
Far behind, though not as far as one might think, her followers were working hard to keep up as best they could. Their job was made far more difficult by the fact that they'd long since fallen out of range of the aura that boosted their own speed, since their leader had raced so far ahead. Still, they too yearned for speed, just as their leader did, and their hearts were thumping with joy as they raced across the plains as a unit, desperate to keep up.
When they eventually did so, they found Vibrant standing rock still, staring up the target of their current mission. Emilia the general was among the first to arrive and boldly approached their uncharacteristically still leader.
"Vibrant? Is everything alright?" she asked.
The large yet sleek soldier twitched her antennae as she recognised the scent.
"Emilia, glad you caught up!" she laughed. "Have a look up there, it's a little different, isn't it?"
Obedient to the whims of her leader, the general leaned back and looked up at the demon city of Orpule far above. Just like Roklu, it was situated on a disc of stone that extended out from the pillar that supported the roof of the stratum so far above, but it was immediately clear what Vibrant was referring to.
"It's much larger, isn't it..." she observed.
Not only was the plate on which the city was situated larger than that of the city that the Colony had conquered, there was more than one plate! The second, which hung beneath the first, in its shadow so to speak, was much smaller than that above it, as if it had only begun to form recently. Which raised the question, how did a demon city expand? Or was this a sign of a more powerful and ambitious leader driving her population to greater heights and expanding the influence of her city?
"Remember, we need to be careful," Emilia made sure to remind her glorious leader. "There are tier sevens here that we cannot fight."
"I know that, Em-em!" Vibrant cheered. "We can have a look around, deprive the city of resources, keep an eye on things and make a general nuisance of ourselves in the meantime! Which means we get to run! Lots! This is going to be a fantastic mission!"
Seeing her so happy, the hundreds of ants who made up her followers were emboldened. When Vibrant was happy, things were generally going well. They might be hectic, or even dangerous, but usually manageable. When she was serious, that was when they knew things were going to be bad.
"OOOOOOKAAY!" Vibrant yelled suddenly, waving her two front legs about in the air for emphasis. "First thing we do is run around and see what we can see! Let's keep an eye on the city as we do and make sure we keep our distance! Let's also make sure that we go super-fast! Do your best to keep up with me everyone, I don't want anyone falling behind! We can regroup here after we get a couple of laps in, make sure you scan the area carefully! Let's go!"
Although she spoke at her usual breakneck pace, a combination of similar mutations among her followers and familiarity with this speed of communication meant that they perfectly understood what Vibrant had to say. As one mind, the group set off, speeding across the plains and running a broad circle around the demon city of Orpule. They were noticed, because of course they were. Nearly a thousand monstrous ants running rings around the city were bound to be seen, that was the point.
When they came across any demon more evolved than tier three, the group set upon it, devouring their hapless victims in a matter of seconds, before setting off once again. The experience and biomass were welcome, of course, but more than that any evolved demon was a potential recruit for the enemy. If one of these were to reach tier six and gain their full awareness, then to Orpule they would go, recruited for the enemy. So long as they were at war with the Colony, then they would be deprived of all resources.
After a few hours it was clear that those watching from above realised what was happening and a sortie was sent forth, powerful demons that included a tier seven foe in their midst.
"Leader!" a mage called, racing toward the front of the pack. "I sense a powerful foe approaching!"
"Veer off!" Vibrant laughed as she turned and sped away, leading her group to flee from the city.
Unable to catch up, the demons pursued hopelessly for a time before they gave up and returned to the city. The ants turned around the same moment the demons did. To the enemy, the message was clear, if you go back, so do we. Chase us forever, or not at all!
Unwilling to commit to trying to catch these damned elusive insects the demons opted to return to the city and so Vibrant and her troops returned to running laps. They kept a watchful eye on the city at all times, looking for any who sought to come or go and continued to deny any demons the chance to rise to tier six around the city.
Once again, the demons sallied forth and once more Vibrant laughed at them as she raced away.
"Slow-Slow!" she taunted with glee as the demons flew along in their wake.
-x-X-x-
The tale of the Colony's expansion is one of conflict, it is true, though many point to that as the sole factor, as if everywhere we trod there was nothing but war and death. Perhaps it is easy to view us as the enemy if that were the only way we have been described. Even a cursory examination of the facts, of the actual events themselves, is enough to put that lie to rest. In truth, the Colony, through the Eldest, held out an antenna in friendship as often as it did not. Where we were rebuffed, conflict surely followed.
The third stratum and the history of our intervention there is a perfect example of this. Although we fought and fought hard, we also built bridges and sought allies where they could be found. Thanks to the Eldest we were more successful at bringing the local monsters to our cause than almost any who had bothered to make the attempt prior to our arrival there.
The record I have gone to such effort to preserve shows that the true strength of the Colony is not displayed by our cleverness, our might or our appetite for work, but in our ability to have all of those things and still build alliances.
It can be hard to tell if the Eldest, in their guidance of the Colony, was exceptionally greedy or altruistic. On the one claw, they always pushed further, deeper, reached for more, and on the other, they were always prepared to share. Perhaps it is this dichotomy that makes them, and by extension, the rest of us, so hard to understand.
From the personal notes of Historiant.
There's nothing quite like a feast at the end of a successful hunt. Perhaps it's the remnant of the primitive hunter in my brain, but chilling with my crew after a huge feast and just letting the drowsiness that follows wash over me is such an amazing feeling. My abdomen is full to bursting with Biomass and my entire carapace is practically sagging with lethargy as I digest.
Tiny is in a similar position, his ape belly bulging as he leans against the tunnel wall, a satisfied smile on his bat face. Crinis is, for once, not currently attached to me, instead sinking halfway into a shadow as she finishes chomping on the last remnants of her meal whilst sending feelers out into the surrounding area to warn us if trouble comes.
Al didn't eat nearly as much, which was interesting, since he claimed not to need it. I assume he's close to maxing out his mutations or has already done so if he's willing to turn his imaginary nose up at free Biomass. Brilliant can barely move. Her carapace is so bloated that it practically drags on the ground when she tries to walk and more than once I've seen the little ant come close to regurgitating the precious resources that we have secured for her.
I made it my mission to feed her until both of her stomachs were as full as possible. It takes a lot more Biomass to fully upgrade at tier three and she needs to pack it in as much as possible! Our time in the tunnels beneath Roklu continues to be fruitful in terms of the Biomass and experience that we've amassed. A healthy number of tier five prey can be found down here, or at least, they could be found down here. Now that we've run through the place over a couple of days, I wager it's going to take a while before more demons filter down here from above. We even ran into a tier six, likely not affiliated with any city, down here hunting. Since they chose to attack us on sight, I don't suppose there was any opportunity to engage in peaceful dialogue.
Invidia hovers in the air nearby, his eye almost closed as he lazily flaps to keep himself in position. A feeding Invidia is always a somewhat horrifying sight as the food vanishes into the mouth, that also vanishes. With him and Crinis eating next to each other, it's almost enough to drive a monstrous ant sick.
[All right then gang,] I announce to my pets. [If you have the points, it's time to upgrade if you haven't already. Go over your available Skills, see what you can find that might spark a bit of joy.]
Then I turn to Brilliant.
"How are you coping little one?"
"So... full..."
I can sympathise, I'm fairly stuffed myself, but not to the same extent that she is.
"I know it's not pleasant, but we want to max you out as soon as possible, so you're just going to have to deal with it. Since we aren't going anywhere in the short term, take some time and purchase the mutations that you want. Make sure you give thought to the overall balance of what it is that you want to do. At +15 you get to fuse your two mutations or emphasise one, so keep in mind how you want to be able to function going forward, alright?"
"Alright, senior, I will," she groans.
A few seconds later and her eyes glaze over in the manner that lets me know she's scrolling through the endless lists and menus that the System provides us. Given that I have a large store of points banked away, from several hunts as well as from consuming Grokus, I should get to spending also!
Ignoring Skills for the time being, I check my Biomass and can't help but clack my mandibles softly at the total. One thousand five-hundred and forty six?! Are you serious?! That is a heck of a lot of Biomass! I knew I was piling up a fair bit back there, but holy moly! That's amazing! I wonder if demons are more Biomass rich than monsters from above? Or did Grokus just provide that much? A fully mutated tier seven is no joke when it comes to the sheer amount of Biomass that's been spent. To take an organ from nothing all the way up to +30, which is my current max, costs over four hundred and fifty Biomass. To upgrade from +30 to +35 costs another hundred and sixty five per organ.
With this ridiculous stockpile of Biomass, I'm going to be able to make a HUGE dent in my mutations. Let's get to it! Oho! The joy of upgrading oneself, I'll never get tired of it.
I hastily bring up my status to confirm my current position.
Name: Anthony
Level: 18 (Rare) (VI)
Might: 205
Toughness: 180
Cunning: 145
Will: 100
HP: 360/360
MP: 530/530
Skills:
General:
Master Excavation (IV) Level 6; Expert Grip (III) Level 15; Expert Stealth (III) Level 8; Tunnel Compass (IV) Level 4; Iron Mind (IV) Level 33; Master Stamina (IV) Level 11; Still Meditation (IV) Level 15; Snap Dash (IV) Level 21;
Mana:
Mana Craft (V) Level 45; Condensed Mana (IV) Level 31; Finer External Mana Manipulation (IV) Level 22; Mana Hoarder (IV) Level 27; Layered Mind Magic Affinity (V) Level 13; Directed Mana Sensing (IV) Level 19; Expert Healing Magic Affinity (III) Level 19; Omni-Elemental Affinity (V) Level 25; Advanced Mana Masking (III) Level 10;
Pet:
Further Pet Communication (III) Level 11; Core Crafting (IV) Level 15; Pet Growth Speed (I) Level 5;
Defensive:
Grandmaster Exo-Skeleton Defence (V) Level 24; Master Dodge (IV) Level 28; Master Endure (IV) Level 8; Expert Grace (III) Level 18; Advanced Mandible Parry (II) Level 5;
Mutations:
Senses:
Sharpened Perimeter Eyes +25, Future Sight Antennae +15 (Twilight Filament);
Defence:
Complete Diamond Carapace +25, Braced Healing Inner Carapace Plating +25;
Physical:
Hardened Rapid Absorption Legs +25, Mana Flooded Mandibles +25, Frequent Potent Regeneration Gland +25, Loud Convincing Pheromone Gland +25, Vast Hungering Stomach +25, Lock Hyper-Twitch Musculature +25, Coordinating Instant Transmission Sub-Neural Network +25;
Acid:
Propagating Mana-Feasting Bind Acid Gland +25, Guided Hyper Pressurised Scattershot Acid Nozzle +25, Thickened Draining Acid Concentration Gland +25, Exhausting Thickener Acid Stimulation Gland +25;
Mental:
Unyielding Coordination Cortex +25, Main brain, Sub-Brains;
Mana:
Compressing Unending Gravity Magic Gland +25, Empowering Collective Will Vestibule +15 (Soul Crystal), Purifying Communal Spirit Nave +15;
Species: Colony Paragon
Skill points: 33
Biomass: 1546
My Skills are coming along nicely. A few upgrades here and there haven't really hurt. Mana Craft has started shooting up since I began competing with Brilliant, and I don't plan to stop until I hit rank six! At least then my rank will match my tier. If I want to see serious improvement in my new Skills, I'm going to have to dedicate more time to grinding them. Using Mandible Spear in an actual fight just feels so stupid though. Charge I've had a use for, but that one? Ugh. Looking at my organs, obviously nothing is fully upgraded as of yet, but I'm tossing up between starting to take things to +30, or getting the newer elements of my body up higher from +15...
In the end, despite how much I want to see my old organs rise to the grand old height of +30, I decide to start with the new stuff, specifically, the Vestibule, Nave and Antennae. These reforged body parts are high performing and important to me so I need to invest in them. With the huge wealth that I have right now, I can blast them all the way up to +30 with a massive amount of change in the bank.
For starters, let's look at the antennae. One of the interesting things I discovered in my fight with Grokus is that looking into the future a few milliseconds is all well and good, but when you can't do anything about what you see, you can run right into the wall. In a way, the strategy the city lord applied against me was ideal. He didn't need to act first, he waited to see what I would do and then reacted. Given that he was much faster with his hands than I would have given him credit for, this was nearly enough for him to snatch me out of the air and crush me for good.
I have to keep reminding myself that I can't rely on my future sense alone, no matter how much of a leg up it might be. Where I'm going, deeper into the Dungeon, there might be creatures who can see whole minutes into the future, who knows? Either perfect one strategy of survival, or diversify, that's the only way to go about it.
Right now I have Future Sight Antennae +15 (Twilight Filament). The reforged antennae are hyper sensitive, tingling with every fluctuation of air, detecting scents far better than my old antennae did and enhancing my future sight once the mutation was applied. Right now I have a decision, do I index further into future sight, or do I now seek to add another sense to my antennae? I previously had heat detection, which was interesting, but I don't think it was useful enough for me to want to return to it. Given how sensitive the twilight filament is though, no matter what sense I apply to them through mutation, they will enhance it like a high quality radio dish.
It's a tough call. Right now my future sight isn't incredible, just a moment, maybe two, into the future. When combined with my reflexes though, it's more than enough for me to get myself out of the way of danger or angle my carapace to help deflect the blow. It's a good system and one that works well, really well. Even monsters that are significantly faster than me aren't able to get the jump and that makes a huge difference. But I'm just not convinced that I need more of it. At the very least, before I commit, I want to investigate to see what I may be able to add to the antennae.
Into the lists I dive, the innumerable different possible mutations rolling by in front of my mind. All sorts of incredible, bizarre and impossible seeming options swim past but I filter them out. What I'm after are senses. This is what will synergise with the material my new antennae are constructed from and I need to take advantage of it!
Of course the basic stuff is there. I can improve my sense of smell through mutation, which is probably more useful than I might give it credit for. My sense of smell right now is far better than a human's, it's not even close, I pick up all sorts of stuff wafting on the breeze when I'm paying attention, but generally I ignore it. If I chose to, I could improve my sense of smell to the point where I made a tracking dog look nose-less. It would be powerful, I've no doubt, but I can't really think of that many times that I've been looking for something that I haven't had other methods to find. Pass.
Eyes on the antennae? No. I mean, it's not really eyes, but photo receptors. Still, no.
Ears? My sense of hearing is quite possibly my worst, given that I don't really have ears in the sense that humans do, big flappy bits that hang off the side of the head that help to collect sound. I don't even have holes in my head, I mean, why would I? That'd disrupt my perfect carapace. Ants hear by interpreting vibrations through our legs and the hairs across our bodies. Increasing the ability of my antennae to detect sound waves could make a huge difference in my ability to interpret what is happening around me. I'll put it down as a maybe.
Taste? Obviously not. That'd be stupid.
Enhancing touch also seems like a total waste of time.
It's in the other options, the non-standard ones, that I turn over the really weird stuff.
Detect emotional state? That would be a little odd. Why would a monster even want that?
Detect lies? Again... I'm a monster ant, not a detective!
Detect Mana. Juicy. This is similar to how Crinis perceives her surroundings, by 'seeing' the mana in an organic way. My detect mana skill performs a similar function, though probably not nearly as well, still not sure I want to use a mutation slot on it.
Heat? Pass.
Electrical Current? No...
Movement? I mean... maybe? Looking at the details it seems like an upgrade to the ability to detect shift and vibrations in the air. Might be handy, might be handy.
Toxins? Being honest, the ability to detect poisons is going to be super handy if I live to see the fifth. Apparently the place is absolutely swimming in it. And the monster I faced from that level was no joke either. That perfect mana toxin was insane.
Dammit there is just so much here, as always. I flick through the lists and even narrowing it down to just senses is enough to give me a headache.
Then I stumble across something that gives me strangely mixed feelings.
The ability to sense, Gravitational Waves?
I mean... what?
I don't recall seeing this before... if that's because I wasn't looking for it or if it was unlocked somehow... I can't be sure. Being able to detect Gravity? In what way? As in, the strength of the gravitational field in any particular area? Or from a specific object? Or both? Or neither? The description provided by the System is vague at best. I nervously eye the entry for a few long moments. On the one hand, I want to take it. This may help push my way to unlocking the gravitational mana speciality that I want so very badly, but on the other hand, it might not. And then what? I'm stuck with this sense that I don't even know the usefulness of?
Let's not forget, I already reset my antennae! I'm not resetting them again! If I end up picking this mutation, then I'm going to be stuck with it forever, most likely. Argh!
After several long minutes of agonising back and forth, I decide to stop thinking so hard and go with it. I committed to gravity early on with my choice of free mana organ and I'm not leaving it behind now. Who knows? With a little luck, it'll turn out to be useful in the absence of the mana speciality and I won't regret this choice in any way. Without too much hesitation, I ramp it all the way up to +30 choosing to diversify my two separate mutations rather than emphasise one over the other.
Done.
Moving on! Think, but not too much, that's my policy! With my Vestibule, I'm keen to keep rolling down the path that I've embarked upon. Using the energy to supplement my physical strength has been a huge help in the clinches when the Colony is around and gives me a massive leg up when I want to frontline, which is usually all the time the way things are at the moment. Getting those free stats has been juicy to say the least. Sure, it detracts from my regeneration, but it's not like it cancels it out.
I'm fairly confident in ramping that mutation all the way to +30.
And finally, we come to the Nave. Right now, my Purifying Spirit Nave is concentrating and enhancing the energy it receives through the Vestibule, which goes on to fuel my regeneration or strength, so it magnifies that effect. I wager that if I were to have another organ added to the end of the Nave then this enhanced energy would have an even greater effect.
I've long suspected that this evolution path was going to be a three-parter, from the moment I saw the Nave really. The energy is collected in the Vestibule, magnified in the Nave, and then...?
Obviously, something is meant to come next! Which means I will step into my true power in my next evolution! Gwahahahahaha!
Maybe. Perhaps. I mean, who knows? Perhaps I'll veer off script and take a different evolution entirely. If there's one that offers me juicy resets for my carapace and mandibles that will enhance my incredible diamond shine, then I'm almost certain to take it, consequences be damned! Alright then, with the Nave I'll continue on the path that I've already set down. There's still a chance that I'll end up resetting the organ, so I don't feel too attached to my choices here. More concentrated and magnified energy? Can't go wrong with that.
That takes these three critical organs from +15 to +30 for the low, low price of one thousand and thirty-five Biomass.
...
Nooooo dammit! My wealth! My incredible wealth! Gone already?! Is this some sort of joke?! Damned greedy and despicable Gandalf! What's with these costs!? This is nothing but robbery!
For a few long moments I gnash my mandibles in disbelief before I manage to grind my frustrations out. Obviously levelling up means spending huge amounts of Biomass, I should know that by now. I can't have expected to bring half my organs up to +30 in one shot...
My remaining stock of... five hundred and eleven will give me enough to upgrade... three. Darn it!
Which three to choose? I mean, carapace and mandibles are the obvious choices. I rely on them a great deal, the carapace to keep me alive and the mandibles to make other things not alive. I briefly toy with the concept of disregarding my mandibles and instead upgrading my coordination cortex, but I end up disregarding that. Although I fight with my minds just as much as the rest of me, the mandibles will always hold a special place in my heart. Chomping is love; chomping is life. When all the chips are down and there's nothing left in the tank, the mandibles will still be there.
Which means I just have one more organ to take from +25 to +30. I could always do eyes, but I'm not doing too badly in the overall 'senses' department these days. I need to prioritise staying alive more than anything else, so a more combat oriented choice makes more sense to me. Inner Carapace Plating seems like a sensible choice, although the regeneration gland has proven its worth. Hard to go past legs... more speed and durability aren't exactly bad things to have. The neural network to boost reflexes would also be handy...
Gah! Don't think on it too long! Regeneration Gland! There, done.
For these organs, I think the choices are relatively clear. The carapace is simply a matter of reinforcing once again, there isn't a second line of mutation to be considered. With the mandibles, I currently have a few things going on. There's the infusion mutation, the savage mutation and from that point on I focused on the infusion aspect, which I'm yet to really test to the fullest extent with all the elemental properties I now have at my disposal. They are definitely next on the reset list at any rate, so I'll just double down on that. The regeneration gland has two aspects going on right now, the rapid refilling mutation line and the limb regeneration line. For now, I want to emphasise the rapid refill. With my reflexes and toughened legs, I've not had to worry too much about losing my legs right now.
Which means my final upgrades look like this:
Empowering Collective Will Vestibule +15 (Soul Crystal) -> Might Infusing Collective Will Vestibule +30 (Soul Crystal);
Future Sight Antennae +15 (Twilight Filament) -> Future Wave Sight Antennae +30 (Twilight Filament);
Purifying Communal Spirit Nave +15 -> High Purifying Communal Spirit Nave +30;
Complete Diamond Carapace +25 -> Thickened Complete Diamond Carapace +30;
Mana Flooded Mandibles +25 -> Mana Drenched Mandibles +30;
Frequent Potent Regeneration Gland +25 -> Hastened Potent Regeneration Gland +30;
Now it's onto the Skills! I feel I've done enough to shore up my foundations for now.. It's time to see what the future holds in store now that I've pushed mind magic as far as I have. Come onnnnn Gravitational Mana! I can practically taste it!
Except it isn't there. DAMMIT! I'll have to check again after I get my mutating done, but holy moly I'd hoped it would be there... I'd ripped open the magical skills list the moment I had an opportunity and raced through it, my brain practically screaming for some sweet, sweet gravity. I'm crushed it's not there. There are new things for me to look at, I was able to recognise that much, but the disappointment after waiting so long and not getting what I was after is genuinely crushing.
Damn you, Gandalf! Just give me what I want already! Haven't I suffered enough!?
GAH!
Well, forget that bearded fogey and let's have a look at what was unlocked instead. It better be good! The earliest magic skills available were, of course, the basic elements, which evolved into the advanced elements and can be fused into other elements. Once I'd raised those high enough, I gained access to healing, mind magic as well as light and shadow. I was never particularly interested in light and shadow, but I've put a lot of effort into mind and ... some, into healing. Enough to make it useful at any rate.
What has this earned me in the eyes of the System? A few things apparently.
For starters, barrier magic has appeared, which is the field that Invidia has been pouring the majority of his effort into. A highly useful field of magic to be sure! I'll pick that up just on the off chance that I need it. Getting it to rank three or four shouldn't prove to be too much effort and I have a sneaking suspicion that those flying discs the demons use is based off an advanced or fused version of this. The second new field of magic to appear in my list is curse magic and right alongside that is inspiration magic. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what these two fields do. Curse magic exists to weaken enemies you cast it on and inspiration magic buffs those that you cast it on.
I'm not entirely sure I want either of them. I know that both are useful, but I need to be realistic and consider exactly how much time I'll have to devote to raising these Skills. I can't just buy every Skill in the shop. The cost of levelling them in terms of Skill points will become prohibitive, for one, but mainly I just don't have the time to level them to the point of being useful! If I get some clear air and have a month to sit on my backside and grind out spells, then sure, I can come back and buy a few of the branches I skipped over, but for now I need to focus on the ultimate goal!
And that goal is driving forward through the ranks of magic until I get what I want, which is gravity! Even the taste of the basic forms of its power have been enough to whet my appetite, nothing I've seen has come even close to the gravity bomb in terms of the sheer pants wetting terror it induces. I have to have the full power of this spell form at my disposal!
The other reason I'm not massively keen on curse and inspiration is that I know, through discussions with Torrina, that they are generally fused with dark and light magic respectively, to create the respected and feared Horror and Hope fields of magic. The spell forms unlocked by these combinations allow the effects of curses or inspirations to be applied more powerfully and over a wider area, using light or shadow as a means of spreading the buff/debuff.
This is probably a field that Crinis could go down if she wished, although the other option she has is to fuse her mind magic and shadow magic together to form Nightmare. From what I gather it's rather unpleasant. Actually, I wonder if you could fuse mind, curse and shadow together? Torrina didn't mention anything on that topic, but it would be interesting to find out.
[Hey Crinis, when you get the chance, see if you can buy curse magic and start levelling it. There may be an interesting fusion you could use with shadow and mind if you get far enough down the line. Maybe at rank five?]
[Alright Master! I will!]
...
That was probably a bad thing to do. Haven't the monsters of the Dungeon suffered enough?!
Moving on! There are a few new magical fields that I want to take a look at which might be good. Wood, Metal, Lightning and Force magic. I've heard mention of these as 'advanced' elemental magic which are a lot more common with higher levelled Delvers and Dungeon dwellers according to the golgari. Usually, one would skip over the basic stuff as fast as possible and then invest their time more effectively in these, more potent elements. At least, that's what I hear. Lightning is generally considered very powerful offensively, I only need to look to Tiny for that to be proven true. Wood and metal are common magics for builders and crafters, though also have their uses in combat. Throwing a spike of ice at someone is generally dangerous, sure, but throwing a spike of metal? More threatening to put it mildly. Then there's force magic. Good ol' kinetic energy. Wanna grab someone by the throat with magic in the most literal sense? This is the method! Care to throw out a claw and have a wall of invisible pressure extend outward, knocking down your well armoured but comically inept foes? Boom.
Of course, I have to pick them all. Which ones I'll specialise in, I have no idea, but I'm sure there are some immensely juicy fusion options out there for combining these. There's even a chance that they all combine into something strong, just like my omni-elemental construct. I mean, now that I'm on a roll of collecting elements, I kind of want to have them all. I won't waste time levelling each of them, but I do want to have them, just in reserve.
The goal is to power through as many layers of magic as I need to in order to unlock gravity after all! I won't be stopped here!
With a sweep of my mind, I select each of the new elemental magic specialisations and nod with satisfaction. I may not have gotten what I wanted, but I least I have moved forward, taken another step on the path that will get me there. With my current stable of elemental magics to hold me in good stead, I won't have to grind nearly as long on this level before I plunge through and into the next.
Running through the list of purchases I have selected; I feel good about my decisions. I think this marks another step forward for me and having the first of my organs reach +30 is a very pleasant milestone. Let's do it!
...
Oh right.
...
Here it comes!
...
MAGGLESTAFFEN!!! DAMN ITCH!