After a lengthy discussion with Granin, Corun and Torrina, the three golgari excuse themselves and head back to the third, but not before promising to continue their painful adaptation process.
Apparently, there's a ton of people who are trying to make their way down to the fourth, only the intense levels of mana standing in their way. I have to say, if we had the priests and human soldiers fighting alongside the ants, it would help a lot in holding off the wave, although Solant would have to rebalance her formations all over again.
In fact… I should probably encourage a group to come down early if they can survive it. The sooner the little general learns to work with our allies as part of her army, the better. It's not like the Colony will turn its back on our allies, we need all the help we can get!
With the triad's valuable knowledge and assistance, I have an idea of what I want to purchase, so I scuttle myself off somewhere I can be alone and start flicking through my menus.
I grab the full package of Skills they recommended, and then start picking out my mutations. For my mandibles, I pick Savage twice and then reinforce it before hunting down the Gravity Injection mutation, which I take twice and reinforce.
To implement the idea Torrina had for my acid, I actually find a couple of workable mutations. It probably helps that I'm looking at +35 mutations, which tend to have more bang for the buck, so to speak. In essence, I want my acid to make the target heavier, to weigh them down, which will, in turn, make them more susceptible to my gravity magic. The simplest method is to go for a hyper thick acid, which sounds like it'd be the equivalent of shooting bricks of acid, which are so dense they basically aren't liquid anymore.
Thanks to my earlier mutations, the 'bricks' would stick to the target, burn them, and start to propagate, creating more of the stuff. Thanks to the intense level of concentration, the acid would be more damaging as well, which would help, but it would reduce my rate of ammo production severely. The stimulation gland and Vestibule will help on that front, making this a simple but attractive method to implement the strategy.
The other method is a little more… odd. Clearly a +35 option, this mutation would imbue the acid with gravitational energy from the jump. Once I fired it and it stuck to the object of my wrath, the acid would then weigh down the monster, the gravity mana pushing it down to the ground.
Both are nice and would be effective, and it's kind of nice that I have the option of resetting my acid gland later if I choose one and end up not liking it as much. In the end, I go with the hyper-thick option, mostly because it has the benefit of concentrating the effects the acid already possesses. It'll burn more, be stickier, eat more mana and propagate faster.
With the mandible and acid selections locked away, I look at my two latest resets and wonder what I'll be doing with them. My Gravity Mana Gland has undergone quite the transformation, turning into a hard stone sitting inside my carapace that regenerates energy from the gravity of the planet, which is handy.
Capacity mutations, at least two of them, are basically a must. Gravity magic takes a hell of a lot of oomph, and although the capacity of the reset organ is a heck of a lot more than when I first received it, there still isn't enough juice in there for my liking. So two capacity upgrades and I'll reinforce it, bam.
I don't quite have enough Biomass to take this all the way to +30 along with the Nave, however, so I'll leave it there and turn my attention to the more important organ. Every part of the cathedral within me is a key component of what makes me strong right now, so I need to give it my best attention.
I've kind of resigned myself to dedicating the first two mutations to increasing the seating capacity of the Nave and then reinforcing it at fifteen. I'm not sure what effect it has, other than granting me communication with the people in there, but that alone is extremely useful. These days, the number of places I can go is diminishing as the demands of my core increase, so being able to get in touch with folks regardless of distance is nice.
But what to do for the mutations between +20 and +30? I've got two selections to make and I don't mind admitting that I've got little to no idea what I want to do with them. Before the reset, my default mutation was one that concentrated the energy passing through the Nave. Now that I actually have an Altar as a focus for that energy, that particular mutation might be a heck of a lot better than it was back then, intensifying the effects of the Altar of Self.
I flick through the list of mutations idly, wondering if I can find something better. There's a lot of odd stuff when it comes to the Nave and I don't quite understand how a lot of them work. Add Columns to the Nave? What the heck does that even mean? It's a figurative cathedral! Not a real one!
… Right?
Ah whatever. I'll take the energy intensifying one, and then look for a new form of mutation when I mutate to +35. There's bound to be some wild stuff at that level.
It all adds up to quite a nice little spend, with a swathe of new Skills and hundreds and hundreds of Biomass going out the door.
Lock it in!
...…. GRAPPABBALAP!
STUPID ITCH!
Name: Anthony
Level: 35 (Mythic) (VII)
Might: 380
Toughness: 342
Cunning: 228
Will: 195
HP: 684/684
MP: 1100/1100
Skills:
General:
Grandmaster Excavation (V) Level 10; Master Grip (IV) Level 31; Expert Stealth (III) Level 18; Tunnel Compass (IV) Level 30; Iron Mind (V) Level 38; Master Stamina (IV) Level 33; Still Meditation (IV) Level 40; Flash Dash (V) Level 28; Expert Predictive Thinking (III) Level 16; Advanced Efficient Movement (II) Level 9; Expert Observance (III) Level 1; Advanced Coordination (II) Level 7; Balance (I) Level 1; Concentration (I) Level 1; Divergent Thinking (I) Level 1;
Mana:
Advanced Mana Craft (VI) Level 33; Condensed Mana (V) Level 18; Grand Finer External Mana Manipulation (V) Level 36; Mana Hoarder (V) Level 21; Layered Mind Magic Affinity (V) Level 60; Extended Directed Mana Sensing (V) Level 35; Master Healing Magic Affinity (IV) Level 20; Advanced Omni-Elemental Affinity (VI) Level 55; Advanced Mana Masking (IV) Level 14; Wood Magic Affinity (I) Level 1; Metal Magic Affinity (I) Level 1; Lightning Magic Affinity (I) Level 1; Advanced Force Magic Affinity (IV) Level 36; Master Barrier Magic Affinity (IV) Level 20; Master Gravity Magic Affinity (IV) Level 2; Mana Weave (I) Level 1;
Pet:
Far-Flung Pet Communication (IV) Level 12; Core Crafting (IV) Level 18; Pet Growth Speed (I) Level 5;
Defensive:
Divine Exo-Skeleton Defence (VI) Level 26; Grandmaster Dodge (V) Level 22; Grandmaster Endure (V) Level 15; Master Grace (IV) Level 16; Expert Mandible Parry (III) Level 12; Six-Legged Footwork (I) Level 1;
Offensive:
Guided Acid Shot (V) Level 12; Grandmaster Precise Shooting (V) Level 16; Void Chomp (VI) Level 40; Expert Chomp Combo (III) Level 15; Spear Charge (III) Level 9;
Mutations:
Senses:
Focal Compound Eyes +30; Future Wave Sight Antennae (Twilight Filament) +30;
Defence:
Horizon Intensifying Compression Carapace (Gravity-Compressed Diamond) +35; Regenerating Amp Displacer Inner Carapace Plating (Boson Agitating Crystal Flesh) +35;
Physical:
Fortified Absorption Legs +30; Vicious Injecting Mandibles (Gravity-Compressed Diamond) +30; Hastened Potent Regeneration Gland +30; Widespread Stinking Pheromone Gland +30; Expanding Discerning Compression Stomach +35; Coiling Hyper-Twitch Musculature +30; Distributed Instantaneous Sub-Neural Network +30;
Acid:
Hyper-Thick Spreading Mana-Feasting Bind Acid Gland +35; Flexi Hyper Pressurised Scattershot Acid Nozzle +30; Enriching Draining Acid Concentration Gland +30; Viscous Enfeebling Acid Stimulation Gland +30;
Mental:
Indomitable Coordination Cortex +30; Crushing Gravity Well Main Brain +30; Mind Mana Mastery Sub-Brain +30; Mind Mana Mastery Sub-Brain +30; Mind Mana Mastery Sub-Brain +30;
Mana:
Bottomless Gravity Magic Gland (Resonant Well Stone) +15; Might Infusing Collective Will Vestibule (Soul Crystal) +30; Grand Intensifying Communal Spirit Nave (Soul Crystal) +30; Vast Starborn Altar of Self (Soul Crystal) +30;
Species: Perfect Paragon
Skill points: 150
Biomass: 129
-x-X-x-
All right! I'm juiced! I'm jacked! I'm fully powered up and ready to go! New Skills to grind, new fusions to chase down and new mutations to get the hang of. By the time the itching finishes running its course and I can get up onto my legs again, the Gravity Mana Gland is already kicking into gear, filling up its vast new reservoirs. Feels good!
Even more impressive are my dangerous and snappy looking mandibles! They didn't extend as far as I expected, but they certainly are longer, a happy median that I can accept. Aside from the length, they look… well… more savage, I suppose. More choppy and definitely spikier, I should have a much easier time punching through hardened defences with these bad boys.
I'm convinced the power of the mandibles has a direct effect on the strength of my bite Skills as well, so the Void Chomp should be even stronger now, which could be… a bit much. But what I really can't wait to test out is my new injection mutation. I have to do a lot of grinding and practice before I'll be able to use it properly, but I'm pumped up for the challenge!
Looking over my Skills, I've made a lot of progress, but there's just so many levels to get, hundreds and hundreds of them before I can meaningfully rank up my key abilities. I'm starting to understand what Granin meant when he said there were fusions that would take decades. A rank seven fusion would be… quite the project.
For now, I need to get back out to the front and into the fight! I've got new stuff to test and an entire Dungeon full of monsters to test it on! If they insist on running headlong toward the Colony, then the least they can do is take part in a little experimentation!
With a spring in my step, I make my way down through the nest and into the lower levels. Apparently, things have been a fair bit calmer on the surface of the island lately, which is good. The Colony has been able to concentrate their efforts down below, which has, along with the reinforcements pouring through the gate, really helped take the pressure off.
I heard some ants are even getting a day off from the frontlines! Outrageous! At least, they would think so.
My three compatriots are still down here fighting, but I don't want to take their experience away, nor do I want to barge in and interrupt Solant as she's generalling, so I head down another tunnel, my mandibles clacking with anticipation.
When I reach the front, I let the general know I'll be taking over the tunnel for a little while and push my way past the defenders, apologising to the troops as I go.
"Excuse me. Sorry about that. Oi, mind the carapace."
In return, they call out as I pass them by.
"Finally getting back to work, are you?"
"Have you been resting, Eldest?"
"Need some more torpor?"
"That's enough of that!" I snap my mandibles at them jokingly. "Why don't you slackers head back down the tunnel and watch while someone does some real work!"
When I reach the front of the line, I dash forward, blasting back the weird mud creature the ants were busy fighting to give them time to retreat.
The beast looks a bit like a spider, at least in the number of limbs, but the details are difficult to make out given it is covered in a constantly dripping coating of mud. Perhaps it's even some form of elemental and there's nothing inside there? Or is it just producing a new layer of the coating all the time? Ah well, no need to stress about it.
I raise up my business district and fire a blast of my new acid.
POW! POW! POW!
Holy smokes! That stings!
I know I used the idea of launching bricks as a metaphor for the new acid, but I didn't expect it to be quite so accurate! Launching the hyper-concentrated acid from the launch-zone is… uncomfortable, but impactful! The creature recoils as the weighty blobs of near-solid acid slam into it with tremendous force, penetrating the outer layer of mud and sizzling away. Not bad. A few more where that came from!
POW! POW! POW!
Oof. Yeah, I might need to mutate my Nozzle to better handle ammunition of this calibre.
Despite the mud coating, the monster is clearly suffering as the acid continues to burn, and indeed, produces more of itself, so it isn't going away any time soon. In retaliation, the mysterious beast charges forward, its many legs flailing before the mud peels back to reveal a ring-shaped maw filled with rotating, diamond tipped fangs. That is terrifying! And shiny!
Only I am allowed to be that shiny!
My mandibles peel back, lock into place, then slam forward with unbelievable strength. The Savage mutations show their power as they slice straight through the coating and the spikes dig deep into the flesh beneath.
Now, witness the power of my venom! Or… mana. Whatever.
The new mutation works seamlessly as gravity mana flows up from the gland, through the mandibles and directly into the monster before me. The longer I hold on, the more I can force into the beast, but I let go before too long, since holding the bite prevents me from using my mandibles to defend myself from the flailing limbs.
Reaching out with my senses, I can detect the mana I left behind, coiling inside the beast, ready for me to use, but when I try to shift it, it's like painting a picture while holding the brush with my aura. There's nothing to grab hold of!
Well, almost. I can get the mana to move, but it takes a hell of a lot of effort. Forming it into a spell or gravity bomb is just wishful thinking at this stage, but it's something for me to work towards! It's great to have goals!
The monster and I stalk around each other as I dedicate considerable willpower towards manipulating the mana inside it. Sadly, the fight ends before I can get the hang of it, my mandibles proving to be enough to finish off the monster. Ah well, plenty more where that came from!
My mind constructs churn as I work to grind all of my new abilities, and my external mana manipulation most of all. Before too long, another beast, maddened and roaring in anger, charges up the tunnel. This time it's a triceratops-looking thing, except it has lightning crackling all over its horns and its feet are on fire.
Holy moly. The monsters down here are something else.
-x-X-x-
The waves in the Dungeon are terrifying occurrences, really. I mean, monsters start leaping out the walls and floors, and it can be very difficult to determine when and where that's going to happen. Not to mention the strata become absolutely flooded with ravenous, crazed beasts, driven into a frenzy by the close proximity of other monsters and the never-ending violence.
I can only imagine what it's like elsewhere in the Dungeon, the various kingdoms of humans, ka'armodo, golgari, brathian and whoever else is out there bunkering down to weather the storm. Imagine being a civilian at a time like this! Knowing that there were billions and billions of monsters spawning each and every day, every single one of which would be able to gobble you up like a snack. Spooky.
The Colony has become a gigantic society of ant monsters with millions of members, but even for us, it's difficult!
As the hours pass and the fighting grinds on and on, I catch the scent of many conversations between the various castes, each with their own woes. The healers are still constantly stretched to breaking point, having to ration their healing fluid and magic. Many, many ants are sent to the hospitals with very curable wounds simply because Biomass and time will heal them just fine, saving more scarce resources for the seriously injured.
And there are lots of seriously injured.
The monsters of the fourth are unlike anything we've seen before. There's fewer of them, but they are much larger and stronger than, say, the average shadow beast. Dinosaur-looking things, elemental creatures of pure energy, rhinoceros covered in fire, snakes made of ice. I even fought a gorilla monster covered in a layer of liquid metal! What the heck is that!? I wish Tiny had seen it. If it impressed him enough, he might actually include some defence in his next evolution.
From one moment to the next, the ants have no idea what is coming for them, forcing them to adapt on the fly, and it isn't always possible to come out the other side in one piece. It actually scares me because these monsters, created by the waves, are low in level and rank. The real monsters are out there, feasting on the weaker prey, holed up in their own little pockets of territory. What might they be capable of?
The carvers are annoyed in a less direct way than the healers. During the wave, all of the Colony's mines, fields and harvesting locations are shut down, out of reach. The ants will dutifully serve the Colony with joy, of course, but they'd rather be crafting, building new nests, toiling away on major infrastructure or working on the millions of artistic projects that pop up all over the fortress than repairing the same walls and traps over and over again.
Even the core shapers are unhappy. It's hard for them to leave the nest during a wave, especially in the fourth, so they're trapped without a lot to do. Some generals are doing a great job folding them into their ranks, seizing on the flexibility that they offer, but others, not so much. So far, the Colony hasn't settled on a doctrine that includes the core shapers and implemented it Colony-wide, and that might be a blind spot of Victor and Sloan. I'm pleased to see that Solant has leapt at the opportunity, working closely with a team of shapers to craft pets that suit her needs.
I'm keen to see what comes of it.
"How are you doing out there, Eldest? Need a rest soon?"
One of the soldiers holding the tunnel behind me calls out. I just finished off a weird smoke leopard thing, so I shift slightly to check the situation behind me. There's a small taskforce back there, a couple hundred ants, but obviously the generals have sent the bulk of the troops holding this tunnel to other locations to make better use of them. They'll need a bit of warning before I go and rest to defend this entrance properly.
"How long have I been out here?" I ask.
My sense of time is a bit fuzzy. I plonked myself here a while ago, and I've just been fighting and eating since then. With so many ants nearby, I simply don't get tired; my body feels as fresh as a daisy.
"It's been a bit over two days, Eldest."
"Two days?!"
Yikes. I had no idea. It's unlike me to work this hard without realising it! I quickly check my Skills and see that I'm getting Levels into the right places. At least my grinding is paying off, though some are harder to raise than others. My minds are constantly churning the mana around me, and every time I inject a monster with gravity, I strain to bursting in an attempt to weave it. With a little luck, I might hit those fusions before the wave finishes.
"Yes, Eldest. The generals were wondering if they should relieve you in this location."
It's not a good look if everyone else has to rest constantly but I don't. On the other hand, I'm the only one with my unique method of eliminating fatigue. Still, I should take a break, for appearance's sake.
"Tell them I'll need to be relieved in twelve hours," I instruct, and the soldier dips her antennae before relaying the message down the line.
I'm sure a full army will be here in less than half that time, which is fine.
It's amazing how quickly someone can get used to basically endless fighting. Life in the Dungeon is a struggle at the best of times, but right now, during a wave, struggle is the only thing you can do, there isn't time for anything else.
I feel a growing disturbance in the gravity around me and waggle my antennae a bit to pinpoint the source. It isn't easy to track it dow—I'm not that sensitive to gravity, considering how weak a force it is, but I find the spot eventually.
Shortly after, the stone and dirt explodes outwards, showering me in it and scuffing my precious carapace. A writhing mass of fanged vines erupts from the ground, lashing out and trying to latch onto me but unable to find purchase on my exo-skeleton. I still have to rapidly shift my head to prevent my eyes from getting bitten, though, and tracking so many moving parts with my future sense is difficult.
Lousy monster. Get chomped!
I lunge forward, bringing my mandibles down and shearing through the newborn creature in a single bite, barely even listening to Gandalf reading out the notification.
It's going to be like this for a while yet. Weeks maybe. I sigh. May as well get back to it.
-x-X-x-
Morrelia blinked the sweat and blood from her eyes as she bared her teeth in a snarl of rage. Berserk fury pounded in her veins, empowering every movement, every strike, but also narrowing her vision. Every fibre of muscle yearned to be unleashed, to slash and cut and stab until the fighting was done. However she couldn't lose herself to the rage like she used to, not anymore. With a monumental effort of Will, she restrained herself, took hold of her own mind and forced it to heel.
"Reform the line!" she bellowed, tearing her gaze from the monsters in front. "Where's the cover fire?"
"Monster spawned behind them, tribune," Gyrex reported, most of his centurion's plume burned away, "they'll clean it up shortly."
"They better," she growled as she shoved her two swords into their sheaths.
It was teeth-grindingly painful to force herself back from the rage, but she did it, recentring her emotions to that point right on the brink, where she might reenter berserking at any moment. It was a mental exercise she had been forced to improve rapidly, and one that she still struggled with. Apparently, her mother was a master of it, able to dip in and out of rage at the drop of a hat, but Morrelia was far from that level. With her new rank and leadership role, she simply couldn't berserk as she pleased anymore.
To her left and right, the massed ranks of the Abyssal Legion stood strong against the tide of monsters. Before them yawned the same opening to the below ground tunnel complex she had been defending for weeks, and in all that time, the Dungeon spawn had never stopped coming.
"The backline is occupied for a few more minutes," she snapped to a runner, "inform the centurions."
The woman tore off at an incredible pace. She would cover the whole front in under a minute before returning for the next instruction, waiting alongside the other two runners.
Gyrex yawned widely as another deep roar echoed from the depths before them, rising over the din of battle.
"Not entertaining enough for you, centurion?" Morrelia asked, an eyebrow quirked in irritation.
"I haven't had a full night's sleep in well over a week, tribune," he excused himself. "Surely, a brief yawn can be forgiven."
"Life would be great if we could get eight hours a day, but sadly, we don't have the numbers for that."
A curious expression flickered across the man's face.
"Why do you suggest eight hours? I could sleep ten, personally."
She grunted as her eyes ran up and down the line, assessing how her soldiers were doing.
"Seems like a good number. I want the fourth and fifth reserve group committed to the blue line," she snapped, judging that area needed reinforcement.
"By your will, tribune," Gyrex said, turning to the runners. Before he could speak, Morrelia interrupted.
"You go with them. Some more time on the front should shake you out of your fatigue."
"Yes, tribune!" Gyrex snapped out a crisp salute and she chuckled with amusement as he rushed off to the front.
With her advisor gone for the time being, she returned to her contemplation of the fighting, wondering at what point she had become so accustomed to the grim calculus of war. Aside from those precious moments where she permitted herself to fight, she was immersed in the role of a leader, her mind running constantly as she fretted over tactics, the condition of her troops, the odds stacked against them and the never ending logistical nightmare of maintaining an army in the field.
How had her mother ever been able to stand it? Despite being her daughter, or perhaps because of it, she knew better than most just how much the famed berserker hated everything that took herself away from the frontline.
Nevertheless, Minerva had not only managed to cope with the demands of leadership, but excel, as she always did, to the point she had been appointed as Consul. It may be difficult for her to admit, but Morrelia was self aware enough to understand she was more like her father.
Commander Titus had attacked his duties with the same grim determination he attacked everything in life, and she found herself modelling her decisions more and more on his patterns. Namely, as simple and straightforward as was possible.
She found herself tightening her hands into fists repeatedly and forced herself to stop. It was a bad habit and displayed a lack of confidence to the legionaries. Instead, she folded her hands across her chest and tried to look stoic as she watched the fighting unfold. The reinforcements crashed into the battle, shoring up the weakness in the line, which held long enough for the archers and mages to start firing once again. With the added support, the line stabilised, giving a much needed reprieve to the exhausted legion.
"Gear check for everyone with the time," she snapped to another runner.
Armour could malfunction and weapons could crack in the heat of battle. She'd lost too many that way already.
Once more, the roar echoed up from the tunnel, closer this time, and Morrelia closed her eyes, listening. A dragon type? A mythic beast type? The latter, she thought. Her hands reached for the hilts of her two blades.
"Bring Gyrex back to the command post," she ordered, "and inform him I'll be on the front."
"Yes, tribune," the next runner in line saluted before sprinting away.
Morrelia drew a deep breath, focusing as she drew her blades and ran forward. The moment she passed the last legionary, she allowed her control to slip and the rage rose up to consume her once again.
All her fears, all her concerns, were incinerated in the white hot anger that ignited once more, surging along her veins and turning her vision red. As the giant beast forced itself up out of the tunnel, jaws snapping, a barrage of sword light met it head on.
-x-X-x-
Hello dear readers! It's been some time, but it is I, Travelling Tolly, at your service to bring you my tumultuous tales from the lands of the Colony!
As we all know, the third stratum isn't the most welcoming to tourists. The weather is simply dreadful, the air filled with choking ash and the heat is positively suffocating. Naturally, being the incredibly accommodating hosts that I have learned they are, the ants of the Colony have gone to great lengths to make conditions more convivial.
"They call this 'air conditioning'," Emilia explained to me, pointing to the strange contraption on the wall. "It will keep your room cool for you, and the temperature can be changed according to the dial on the wall there."
"How wonderful," I exclaimed.
Of course, such technology wasn't unheard of in the Silver City, but I have learned not to feel superior around the remarkable engineers of the Colony. When I carefully inspected the dial on the wall, I realised I didn't recognise the measurements.
"What units does the Colony use to measure temperature?" I asked Emilia, and the young woman smiled.
"They use different units depending on the task. When smithing and crafting, they use the same universal units as everyone else, but for comfort, they measure it in grubs."
"Grubs?"
Emilia gestured for me to examine the dial carefully. In the centre of the dial is a 0, and I see I can shift it to the left or right.
"The default setting is the perfect temperature for rearing grubs. Turn it to the left, and the room will rise in units of grubs, turn to the right and it will grow cooler. One grub is the difference in heat that will add exactly one day to the rearing time of larvae."
"Fascinating."
I was quite chuffed to learn of this little kernel of Colony culture, and I greedily filed it away for you, my dear readers! Of course, such enchanting work is difficult and expensive, so I decided to confirm something with my guide.
"Just to be certain, does every guest room in the nest have this feature?"
"Of course," Emelia smiled. "The Colony doesn't really believe in social hierarchy. All of the guest rooms are the same."
My guest 'room' was a well appointed and spacious apartment with a separate bedroom, sitting room and bathroom, but no kitchen. The Colony would never let a guest cook for themselves, or so I'm told.
"And how many guest rooms are there?"
"There are fifty thousand rooms in this nest."
"Of course there are."
Naturally, since we were here in the third stratum I was excited to see the wonderful sights of the Colony here in this realm of demons! Emilia was only too happy to accommodate my requests, though my two guards were growing increasingly nervous the longer this trip went on.
So what if we are currently surrounded by millions of ants? They're more likely to bring me a cup of tea than kill me! At this point, I think even if they came to kill me, they would bring scones and cream.
"The first place we should visit is the temple," Emilia told me. "Amongst the Colony, this nest is simply called the Roklu nest, but it holds greater significance for us who live alongside them. We call this place 'Great One's Descent', since this is where the Eldest came down to the third stratum, the first ant to place a claw here. It's considered something of a sacred place."
"How interesting! Is the temple here in the nest?"
"No," she shook her head, "it's in the city itself."
I turned to my two guards.
"You hear that, boys? We're going to the demon city!"
They didn't seem as excited as I thought they should be. Of course, going into a demon city isn't that unusual. If there's one good thing about demons, it's that they don't discriminate. Anyone can go into a demon city, but you can't necessarily leave. Especially if you catch the eye of a Kidnapping demon.
But Emilia only laughs.
"You needn't worry too much. You'll find Roklu isn't much like other demon cities."
And she is so very right.
The six plates of Roklu are all fully grown, expanding kilometres out from the central pillar to create a truly massive city that teems with demons and ants alike. What is truly shocking is that there are even people living here! Not many, to be sure, but still, for any civilian to be willing to live amongst the obsessed demonkind is rather surprising.
I have to say, readers, Roklu was the most orderly demon city I've seen! Wide roads, neat houses and structures. Even the many varied sizes of the demons were accommodated! Naturally, everywhere I looked, there were also ants, keeping the peace and ensuring the smooth running of the city.
However, Emilia didn't take us to see the various sights in the city, but instead led us directly to the centre of the city where we found the temple Emilia had referred to.
Naturally, we saw it well before we arrived. The Colony doesn't seem to believe in doing things by half measures. What was a little surprising were the two gargantuan statues standing guard on either side of the gate that leads to the temple. The two figures flank the gate which opens to a wide set of stairs leading up to the temple itself.
"Who are these two?" I asked my guide, curious.
On the left was a young girl, fire burning in both her open palms, and on the right was a heavily built young man, a massive hammer resting on his shoulder.
"These are the first two of the temple favoured. On the left is Alis, and on the right is Jern. Both of them are celebrated as the first two disciples of the Great One, rising to prominence during the first crusade."
The first? That certainly piqued my interest!
"How many crusades were there?"
"Two dozen."
"That's a lot of crusades."
Emilia blushed.
"The followers of the Colony tend to be passionate people," she demurred.
Another question bubbled up, as you knew it would, dear readers!
"Are Jern and Alis still alive?"
I'm seeking that exclusive interview, of course!
Emilia's smile faltered.
"They are," she said, "but they are standing guard. I'm afraid it will be all but impossible for you to meet them."
-x-X-x-
The interior of the temple was as austere and lavish as one would expect from the Colony. My dearest reader, the ants have made an artform out of taking the simple and the elaborate and mashing them together.
Inside the temple, the columns were enormous and perfectly round, the ceiling was calamitously high with interlocking arches holding up the vaulted roof. The scale was breathtaking, the engineering was magical, the simple elegance was moving. Yet, as was their way, the ants had constructed everything from only the simplest of materials. Plain stone, unenchanted woods, with nary a hint of gold or silver to be seen.
Of course, the precision of the work elevated the final result to something incredible. The perfection of every line and curve was pleasing to the soul, and I have to admit, dear reader, that I teared up once I entered into the remarkable structure.
That was before we stepped a little deeper into the temple and, of course, the ants had covered each and every surface with their now familiar carvings. Beneath my feet, the stones became covered in tiny images of ants so lifelike I feared I crushed a living insect. When Emilia noticed me hopping from foot to foot, she was quick to assure me, bending down to touch the stone to show the carvings.
"The floor is covered in one giant carving," she explained, "depicting the battle for Roklu as seen from above. The further into the temple we go, the more we will see. Of course, it's hard to get a sense of the whole thing at once, since it's so large, and because the floor is covered with seating and people."
Indeed, the temple is busy. Very busy! People thronged throughout the building, moving from holy sight to holy sight, bowing and praying at various sconces and statues positioned around the walls of the temple. Busiest of all was the altar at the front. Thousands of pilgrims wearing robes with antennae poking from the hoods knelt there, pressing their heads to the stone floor and rising with their hands held in the air.
Behind the altar, a man stood, his back to the crowd as he stood with one hand extended towards a grand stained window that stretched a hundred metres from top to bottom.
"The glass window depicts the Great One," Emilia informed me in a hushed tone, "in combat with the demon leader of Roklu at the time they descended, Grokus. It was a difficult fight, a tier six monster against a tier seven, but the Eldest triumphed with their great power and unique magic. Since that time, the followers of the Great One have never doubted in their capacity to overcome a difference in tiers and fight against more powerful monsters."
"And who is that at the front of the temple?" I asked.
Emilia glanced towards the front and blanched before she ducked her head and looked down at the floor.
"What's wrong, dear?" I asked her before the young woman reached up with a shaking hand and snatched hold of my neck, forcing my head down.
"Ack!" I released a dignified and extremely ladylike note of disagreement.
Of course, as they say, when in the Silver city, don't touch any Gold! I will always follow local customs. Who am I to say that old ladies don't have to get their necks seized and heads forced down upon entering the temple?
"Is this a local custom?" I whispered.
"Don't speak," Emilia breathed back to me, leaning close to my ear so I could hear her. "Have you noticed how quiet it is in here?"
Now that she mentioned it, I noticed that nobody was speaking. Not to say there was silence. So many feet shuffling, so many people bowing and rising, was sure to create some noise, especially when so many people were doing it, but absolutely no one was speaking.
It is for this reason that mind magic exists, dear reader!
[Are we not allowed to speak within the temple?] I asked my guide, a little confused. We had been discussing openly, if quietly, earlier.
[No, it is because of the person at the front of the temple,] she replied. [We shouldn't even communicate like this. I will explain when we are outside. For now, we must visit each sconce in the sequence and then bow at the altar. After that, we can leave.]
Unwilling to be rude in a foreign land, I, of course, did as instructed, joining the slowly shuffling throng as they moved about the temple. A fascinating experience indeed! Not only were there humans here on pilgrimage, but also golgari, brathian and even demons! Such an eclectic gathering!
Each of the various alcoves and sconces contained a heart-clenchingly rendered portrayal of the Colony during its time in the third stratum. Assaulting various cities, fighting various battles, often with demons by their sides. The raising of the great nest below us, conflict with the ka'armodo neighbours, the firing of the great mountain forge. Such stirring sights, dear reader!
Of course, everyone had their heads down respectfully and refrained from speaking as we completed our tour. Eventually, we made our way up to the altar, where Emilia silently guided us in bowing and raising our hands.
Now, don't blame me, reader. You know how I am! I have the utmost respect for local customs, the utmost! Was it not Travelling Tolly who dared traverse naked through the jungles of Witna Island? Was it not Travelling Tolly who ate nothing but snake eyeballs for two weeks when sailing with the Reptile Hunters of Parthax?
But I couldn't help myself! I HAD to take a peek, of course I did! My curiosity knows no bounds! And in my defence, Emilia hadn't specifically instructed me that one shouldn't glance at the robed figure.
So I did.
There wasn't much to see, unfortunately. The figure wore a white robe with long antennae rising proudly from the hood, which was up. Since they had their back to me, there was precious little I could make out. One hand was held up, extended towards the great stained-glass window, the other… well, there wasn't another. It appeared that this person was missing an arm, which was rather unfortunate.
When we reached the outside, Emilia was more than happy to explain what had taken place inside.
"I do apologise for grabbing you like that," she said, almost tearfully. "I hope I didn't hurt you."
"Not at all, my dear!" I replied. "I'm as tough as tree roots. Don't you worry."
It's true, dear reader! Very true!
The person we had seen was, in fact, a very holy and respected figure amongst those who followed the Colony. A leader, both civically and spiritually, since the founding of Renewal.
My soul burned to speak with him! What stories could he tell, stories that none outside of these lands had ever heard?! Sadly, it was impossible, as Emilia explained.
"He has taken a vow of silence," she said, a downcast look on her face. "He does not speak, and will not, until the Great One emerges once again. Out of respect, it has become custom not to speak in his presence."
-x-X-x-
Two weeks into the wave and all I've been doing is grinding. Now, I'm as big a fan of grinding Skills as the next person. In fact, my dedication to mindless repetitive tasks has become legendary all throughout the lands! Anthony the dedicated, they call me!
Gah. Even the self-help pep talk is failing to do anything at this point. My three loyal associates are doing their best to get all the Levels they can and I don't want to interfere, so what can I do other than sit here and fight, grinding my own Skills as I push towards my new fusions? Perhaps it's a character flaw, but I seriously struggle with this repetitive grinding! My brain doesn't want to sit still! Having multiple brains, each controlling multiple mind constructs, doesn't help the problem, it makes it worse!
Can you even imagine what it's like to be bored in thirty-six different brains?!
I'm literally hanging off the roof, juggling fireballs off shields while rolling balls of rock through an obstacle course using force magic and I'm booooooooored!
Of course, that's not all I'm doing. Whenever a new monster rolls up the tunnel or pops out of the wall, I'm forced to enter combat and dispose of them, which happens every few minutes. Then there's the mind-bendingly difficult external mana manipulation practice I'm putting myself through, burning my brains to try and move mana inside my opponents, or shift the energy at the very limits of my range. It's exhausting work, only it isn't because I can't really get tired.
When I finally notice the toxic miasma creeping up the tunnel, I'm almost glad to see it. Almost.
"You might all want to move back," I warn the ants behind me.
It's on the very edge of my awareness now, a slow moving sense of virulence. When I reach out to take hold of the mana, I can almost feel it trying to cling to me, to infect me via even the touch of my mind.
Yuck.
"In fact, you're probably going to need to spread the word to the others in case they haven't picked up on it yet. The fifth stratum monsters and mana are arriving."
"Yes, Eldest!" comes a snappy reply and I can hear them scurrying off behind me.
It's not like we weren't expecting this. I fought a monster from the fifth before, but this time we are sitting directly over the top of it. With how much that mana loves to spread, I'm not shocked at all to see it sliding on up the tunnels to the bottom of the nest.
I am NOT looking forward to exploring the fifth stratum. Not even a little bit.
I wait for more monsters to come, but perhaps unsurprisingly, none appear. With the evil miasma of doom making its way up through the tunnels, I can only assume the regular spawns are getting melted before they have the chance to sniff out the Colony. Which means more time for grinding Skills! Whoo.
An hour later, I get my first sighting of the goop. The air in the tunnel ahead of me begins to darken and almost… thicken. A green haze wafts about, and not like, a healthy, full of life haze, but more a 'melt your face off' kind of haze.
Naturally, there's only one thing to do! Dragon's Breath!
My concentrated fire breath spell packs quite the punch, if I do say so myself. The flames rockets forth, burning the ever-loving heck out of everything for over a hundred metres down the tunnel. When the flame clears, so has the haze, but it doesn't take long before it starts to creep back. As if it would be that easy.
Somewhat because it's necessary, and somewhat because I'm desperate for something to do, I advance down the tunnel and away from the nest, burning out the toxin where I find it. The stuff is already doing a number on the lower tunnels; the normally abundant life mana, and the abundant grasses, flowers, plants and other cool stuff that comes with it, have been subsumed. Everything I find is withered and corrupted, starting to emit the poisonous mana instead of its own natural variety.
Holy moly. This stuff is seriously gross.
The ability of this mana to infect whatever it comes across is way too potent. How the heck has the fourth managed to stay free of it for so long? Does it only creep up here during a wave and then descend when it's over? Or do the people here have to actively fight it off constantly?
At any rate, this is what the Colony is doing all over the base of the nest now. Using whatever means necessary to prevent this invasive mana from entering the fortress, no matter the cost.
In the process of annihilating every hint of poison with Dragon's Breath, I come across my first monster in a while. Unfortunately, it's not something from the fourth.
The further from the nest I go, the worse the infection is, until I round a corner and find it opens into a cavern, the centre of which contained a pool of water not long ago. I say contained, because that water has been converted into a pool of noxious snot. At least, that's what it looks like. In fact, the walls, ceiling and cavern are starting to drip with… questionable-looking goop, strands of it sticking and stretching from rock to rock. Already, it looks like I'm in a different stratum altogether!
That's when I see it.
Emerging from the pool comes an eyestalk, quickly followed by another. At the tip of each, a burning red orb rotates freely, until they spot me, at which point both lock onto my position and the rest of the creature begins to emerge.
Imagine a slug the size of a truck. Now make it really wide. Now cover its back in waving tendrils that ooze out a constant flow of bright green goop. That's pretty much what we got here. The goop is so bright I worry it has more in common with nuclear waste than it does some sort of slime. There's no way I'm getting anywhere close to that thing. It shall burn in purifying flame.
Dragon's Breath!
The fire roars like its namesake as I bring it to bear upon the slug… thing. I hold it there for a full minute before I release the spell to see what's left of the disgusting monster.
To my shock, it appears almost completely unharmed. Even more shocking, it's gotten a lot closer! I don't believe in stereotypes, but shouldn't you be a lot slower?!
-x-X-x-
Despite my protestations, the slug is surprisingly manoeuvrable, slithering towards me with those burning orbs fixated on my position. Judging by the mana sense I'm getting, this isn't some freshly spawned creature, but an actual monster from below who's climbed up for some easy pickings.
Unfortunately, you aren't going to find any here! Only death! Your death, specifically!
Yes, this creature absolutely has a core thrumming away within that slimy body, and I'm not especially sure how I'm going to get at it. I can only assume attempting to eat this thing is going to dissolve my body from the inside out.
While I'm busy wondering about how I'm going to consume it, the slug is busy attempting to ensure that never happens. The tendrils on its back, dozens and dozens of them, all thicken at the same time, and only my future sense allows me to react in time as they suddenly shoot a wide spray of sizzling acid at me.
Yikes!
I scramble backwards up the tunnel as fast as I can as the acid rains down, almost clipping the tip of my antennae. The moment it touches the ground, the thick slime begins to burn into the rock, and then, even more scarily, it begins to spread so quickly I can see it happen! In mere moments, the area I'd been standing in has been converted to a thick coat of steaming goop over which the slug effortlessly glides.
Not a fan!
How the heck did it take no damage from the fire attack? I need to study the opponent further! Still assuming that fire is a weakness of these creatures, I spin up multiple minds that begin hurling concentrated balls of flame at the creature. The spells streak through the air, crackling with potent heat, only to sink into the slug and dissipate with a rather limp puff sound.
What the heck? It's only then I realise that I'm not actually looking at the monster itself, but rather an incredibly thick and dense layer of sludge. The stuff is so dense it looks like flesh! I am not liking this at all. Again, with surprising speed, the slug slithers towards me, and the moment those tendrils start to thicken, I start hightailing it out of there, back up the tunnel and towards the nest.
I don't even think it's aiming for me. By unleashing the acid spray, the monster continues to build a little highway for itself and create an area I can't really get to without risking my precious feets. The inexorable advance of the slug!
Fine. If that's how you want it, try and resist this.
Using more of my minds, I pull together the mana I need and compress it hard before unleashing another Dragon's Breath, superheating the tunnel in front of me and evaporating the acid in a second.
Gweheheheheh! You think you're fire resistant? Let's put it to the test! Obviously, I can't see a thing with a huge jet of fire blasting out in front of me, but I can still sense the monster, and now that I'm paying attention, I can tell it's still advancing, even into the teeth of the flame!
What the heck is with this slug?!
My future sense screams at me and I roll to the side, cutting off the spell as I scramble.
A slimy… thing spears through my previous position, topped with a ring of needle-thin teeth. Having missed the target, the slug begins to reel the appendage back, the teeth flexing and gnashing as they slide past me along the ground.
Despite the appearance to the contrary, I can definitely see that the slug has taken some damage from my fire. Whatever coating it's using to cover itself is clearly extremely fire resistant, but even though that's the case, a significant portion of the coating has been burned away at the front.
However, before my eyes, the stuff is regenerating. That's just irritating.
Fair play, slug. Fire is obviously an inefficient way to deal with you. I credit your evolution and mutation choices. You've overcome this weakness in spades.
Now, how do you feel about black holes?
HOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLLLL!!!!!
Not nearly a full power version; nevertheless, the gravity bomb rips through the air toward the slug as I scrabble backwards to gain some distance. I didn't even bother infusing this one with the altar since it's too close to the nest, and to me, but I trust that it'll still get the job done.
Too slow to dodge, the slug gets hit right in the face, trusting its dense coating will be enough to protect it from the fury of my spell. Not the case, as it turns out. When the gravity bomb expands and begins to pull in and shred everything it touches, the slug is no exception. Halfway through the spell's duration, the sweet experience notification rings out in my mind.
[You have defeated Occultus Toxicus Limax (V) Level 32.]
[You have gained XP.]
When the spell fades and I release my tight grip on the stone, I immediately skitter towards the impact zone. What I find is a little surprising, and disturbing.
The slug wasn't fully consumed by the gravity bomb. I can see the real body of the creature now, barely a fifth of the monster's full, coated size. The eye stalks were real, but are far longer than I initially thought, extending through all that slime to the outside. Unsurprisingly, the real body is still sluggy, without arms or legs, but with a series of those strange, ringed-tooth spears dangling from its face.
Missing a good chunk out of the middle of its body, the slug couldn't hope to survive, but the sludge coating was so thick, or so magic resistant, that it managed to avoid being destroyed by the gravity bomb. Holy moly, that's new.
Considering I can't burn them, or realistically get close enough to bite them, what the heck am I supposed to do, fling bombs at every monster I see?
And what about the rest of the Colony? What are they going to do?
This is going to be a major pain in the thorax, I can already tell.
-x-X-x-
Soooooo this description is a thing.
[Occultus Toxicus Limax: Hidden Toxic Slug. A hardy, defensive monster used as a forward scout by the Krath tribes. With its dense coating of ascended slime flesh, the Hidden Toxic Slug is difficult to kill, and is capable of changing the environment to better suit itself, and its masters.]
Actual useful information in the basic profile? Gandalf, you feeling alright? This is most unheard of!
Of course, information only leads to more questions, but at least I know what direction the investigation is going to go. Who in the name of heck are the Krath? Was this monster a pet? Or do they raise these monsters in the depths somehow? As far as I know, that's not possible, you can't get monsters to cooperate unless they have sufficient intelligence or are born from a queen-type pet, like the aphids.
Ok, actually there's several ways to get monsters to cooperate with you.
I grab hold of the core and examine it. Thankfully, it wasn't chewed up by the gravity bomb. Interestingly, the monster seems pretty well designed, either by the Dungeon or the Krath. Most of its evolutionary potential is bound up within its two main functions, the terraforming acid spray and its hyper defensive slime coat. Looking at the details of it, outside of me sitting in its acid for a prolonged period of time, or stabbing me through the eyeball with the mouth-spear, there wasn't much chance the thing would have been able to hurt me.
If I'd been willing to get close enough, an empowered void chomp would likely do the trick in one shot. Still, the benefit of being born in the deeper strata of the Dungeon is alive and well with these damn slugs. Just imagining a world in which every ant is born with a diamond carapace out of the gate, or other powerful alternate materials, makes me green with envy. Well, if these slugs think they can slide up here and take on the Colony, they've got another think coming.
I take a bit of time to roast the heck out of the tunnel before me again, burning away the goop and slime, including boiling the slime pool to nothing. Hopefully it fills up with water again soon.
Job done, I rush back to the troops waiting at the tunnel to report what I've seen.
"Creepy slug thing! Hard to kill! Someone take this core to the generals!"
The ants look vaguely confused as I unload my perfect and clear description upon them.
"Uhh, sure, Eldest. We'll get someone to run that core to the command centre straight away."
"I want a report of what's happening in the other tunnels as well. The monsters from the fifth are pushing up and it seems like they might be organised rather than random attacks."
When I organise my thoughts I realise that this situation might be worse than I initially thought. Could this be a full on assault by a civilisation buried deep in the fifth? Or does this happen all the time? Dammit. I really wish I could talk to the brathian again, although it might not be a good idea to reveal a weakness or lack of knowledge to them.
There's nothing for it… I'm going to have to ask the tree. Hopefully, I can get the branchies to answer my questions so I don't have to talk to the Mother Tree herself. She's always… difficult.
"You guys will have to take over the tunnel for a bit," I tell the soldier eventually.
Of course, handover isn't quite that simple and it's ten minutes before I can leave my post and make my way deeper into the nest. Before long, some runners come and give me a clear picture of what's going on around the place.
The rising poison mana has been seen pretty much all over. Only a few tunnels, closer to the surface, are completely free from the taint, and slug monsters, along with poison frogs and other nasty things, have already been encountered. So far, the Colony is trying to solve the problem with overwhelming firepower and numbers, which usually works pretty darn well for us. The monster I fought has only been fought in two other tunnels, luckily. Tiny was able to roast one with lightning, then finish it off with his devastating punches. The other was brought down by over a hundred mages using earth and lava magic to trap and cook it, then stabbing through the coating with hardened spears of compressed rock.
Perhaps we need our battle mages to start training in more advanced elements…. If lightning works as well as it sounds, that could be the solution.
I ponder the issue as I scuttle through the long tunnels as quickly as I can. There's only one long tunnel that the Colony has committed to keeping open outside of the nest and it connects our mountain fortress to the territory claimed by the Mother Tree and her children. Thankfully, it's high up and relatively isolated, so there isn't too much trouble I have to punch through before I reach the garden-infested underground.
Before too long, I run into a large bruan'chii keeper tending to the plants and smiting the monsters emerging from the walls.
[Thank goodness. Great to see you. How's things? Life good being a tree-thing? I imagine it is.]
The large wooden creature turns to me slowly, blinking as it sees my giant form occupying space within its carefully tended garden.
[Hmmmm. Greetings, six-legged one. The Mother has told me of your arrival.]
[Of course she did. I hope she's in a welcoming sort of mood?]
The plants around me writhe and shake, communicating her state of mind.
[Not… really,] the keeper informs me.
[Ok. I've just got a few quick questions, then I'm out of your… vines. Is that alright? It's about the wave.]
The Keeper seems to be listening to something, his head cocked to the side.
[You can ask, and hopefully I can answer you,] he says finally.
[It's about the slugs, the Krath? And the toxic mana from the fifth stratum. I've fought monsters from down there before, but I've never heard any mention of these Krath.]
The big tree stands silent for a moment, then he nods.
[I am permitted to answer. The Mother does not like those of whom you speak.]
The plants around me writhe violently again.
Does she like anyone, though?
-x-X-x-
[Mother is beginning to recover the energy she spent in our defence,] the keeper noted happily, running his long, root-like fingers across the nearby flowers. [Biomass is accumulating steadily, but more importantly, her root network is bringing in vastly more mana now.]
[That's great news. I suppose.]
Technically, the Mother Tree is an ally of ours, so if she's doing well, then that's great. If only she wasn't so petty, I wouldn't worry about her regaining her strength. At any moment, I expect a vine to creep out and trip me up, just so she can laugh at me.
Lousy tree.
All around us, the chamber is bursting with life, and sometimes I have to remind myself that everything I see is an extension of the one monster. This garden is a part of her body, created to harvest mana and biomass, then funnel it all back to her main body. I have to say, life is very different for a plant-type monster. Being able to spread herself out over multiple strata is pretty darn sweet.
[Is she raking in the experience as well? From what I understand, she's been this way for quite a while now. She must be getting close to her next evolution, right?]
The keeper shakes his head, a little sadly.
[Our Mother does not intend to evolve any further. Hmmmmm. The ideal living conditions for us, her children, are here on the fourth. If she were to evolve, she would be forced deeper into the Dungeon, and we would follow her.]
That's a little unexpected. I gather she spent a lot of her evolutionary potential to be capable of creating the bruan'chii, which means she's probably lacking a bit on the combat side of the equation.
[So she's deliberately leaving herself vulnerable? There's a chance she'll get attacked again.]
[We are very concerned, but she will not listen to us. This is why we have been pushing to forge more alliances, like we did with the Folk. Your Colony arrived at the perfect time and we are very grateful to you. Our Mother is… less inclined. She generally doesn't trust monsters.]
I'm about to retort 'but she's a monster!' when I realise that's exactly the reason. She knows how motivated we are by Biomass and experience. Luckily for her, the Colony is so united and without rogue elements. I could easily imagine some monster scheming to take down the tree and convincing others to go along with the plan.
[The Krath,] I steer the conversation back to what I need to know. [All I know about them is that they're some kind of slug tribe in the fifth, and I only know that much because I got it from a basic profile. I fought a tough slug creature that they use as a forward scout or something? Are they invading, or is this normal behaviour?]
Even in the wooden expression of a keeper, I can plainly see the distaste he has for these sluggos.
[The Krath are the dominant intelligent monster species in the fifth,] he explains, [and they are dreadful, horrible creatures. Cruel, conniving and insidious, they delight in the suffering of others. Their tribes are nomadic, constantly raiding and fighting each other, subjecting the captives to slow, painful deaths. During a wave, they will always try to extend their reach into the fourth. They are looking for captives that they can drag back and throw into their sludge pools.]
Uhhh… gross. These slugs sound like a serious pain in the backside.
[Why are they trying to dunk people in pools of goop? They get a laugh out of it? Is the pool acid and it melts us?]
The tree shakes his head, real anger burning in his eyes.
[The pools are filled with an invasive and corrupting mana. Whatever is subjected to it will be twisted in mind and body, transformed into a loyal minion of the Krath. Even now, we fight the Krath below the roots of our Mother, and bruan'chii have been taken many times in the past. We hunt them down and put them to rest, every time.]
I get the feeling that doing so comes at quite the cost.
Mind controlling, body morphing sludge pools of doom? This is nasty stuff! What the heck is going on down in the fifth?! The true horror of what I'm being told only strikes when I realise what might happen if they get ahold of one of us. One of the Colony.
Any ant could evolve into a Queen if they really wanted to. If I wanted to add a full set of egg production organs in my next evolution, it would barely scratch my evolutionary energy. A high tier ant, going from five to six, or maybe even four to five, could do the same.
Would the Krath be able to produce an entire slave race of corrupted ants from just a single captive?
"Nards," I mutter.
[Well, thanks for the tip. Could have told us this before, though, might have come in handy.]
[You didn't ask,] the keeper shrugs. [We assumed you already knew. Fighting off the Krath is a common occurrence here in the fourth. It happens every wave, all over the Dungeon.]
So basically every empire in the entire stratum is currently engaged in this activity. Good to know.
[Alright. Tell your Mother I said… hello. I'm glad to hear she's doing well.]
So saying, I rush back to the Colony. This is something we are going to have to handle very, very carefully.
-x-X-x-
"This is disturbing news, Eldest," Sloan and Victor don't look pleased with what I have to say.
"Apparently, this is going on everywhere in the stratum right now, but as monsters, we are especially vulnerable."
The two generals nod as they ponder this issue. The idea of having a hostile monster group raising a corrupted Colony to fight against us is certainly not a welcome one.
"We will take every precaution to prevent someone from being taken, and implement checks to ensure we can act swiftly to recover any of our family who are… but…"
The two look very uncomfortable as Sloan lays this out.
"But what?" I ask, impatient.
"It's impossible that we would be able to succeed forever. Even if we get through two, three, ten waves without a single member of the Colony being captured, they only have to succeed once. In the long term, defence is not a viable strategy."
I can see what they mean. We can fend off the Krath here in the fourth ten thousand times, but they only have to succeed a single time, drag a captive away and throw them into the sludge. From there, it's only a hop, step and a jump to creating their own colony.
"We have to go on the offensive," I say the thought out loud, and the two generals agree solemnly.
"Eradication of the Krath is our only viable path forward. We must exterminate them from the Dungeon completely."
From what I understand, the fifth is a completely corrupted layer of the Dungeon, hostile to life in an almost comically extreme way. It's going to be horrendous fighting down there, and without losing a single ant in the process…
There's only one general who I think is going to be capable of making the hard decisions to run a campaign like that.
"It's going to take time for us to prep something like this," I tell the generals, "so let's do our best in the meantime, but start planning now. One thing I want to establish at the outset, I think Solant should be the one in charge of the fight. It'll be unconventional, and our opponents are renowned for their slipperiness and cruelty. We need an unconventional general."
I won't straight up tell them to use Solant, I'm not in charge of the Colony and I don't want to be, but I definitely think they should give her strong consideration. I know the generals are reluctant to put their trust in the little general due to the odd way she thinks, but we're talking about the ant who was prepared to poison the Eldest in order to win. To achieve victory in the fifth, that's exactly the attitude we need.
"I'm going to try and position myself centrally," I tell them. "When there's a tough slug monster, send for me and I'll take care of it."
"That will help a great deal. Thank you, Eldest."
So saying, I find a spot out of the way and park myself down in the central chamber beneath the nest. I'm not exactly close to the front lines here, but at least I'm equally far from them. I reach out to my three companions to inform them of the situation.
[If you run into any dangerous beasts from the fifth, be especially careful when engaging with them. If you have trouble driving them back, call for me and I'll come help. Don't think that what we've seen so far is as bad as it's going to get.]
[These filth are disgusting, Master,] Crinis sniffs. [They leave disgusting slime and putrid mana everywhere they go.]
[I get the feeling they do their best to spread it as much as they can; makes it easier for them to fight. That's a good point actually, if you can safely burn off or otherwise destroy the terrain advantage, then make sure you do, but not at the expense of draining your resources too much. Got that, Tiny?]
[W-what?] the big ape grunts.
[Don't use all your lightning burning off slime and goop, alright? You'll struggle to fight against those monsters without it.]
[Punch.]
[Tiny...]
[Punch!] he insists.
[I'm not underestimating your fists, big guy, I know you've got some firepower in those cannons, but if you get that close, you make yourself vulnerable to poison shenanigans. You have to be careful against these monsters, they don't fight fair.]
There's a brooding silence from the big ape before he replies.
[Okay,] he grunts. [Will be careful.]
That's about as good as I'm going to get from him.
[You be careful too, Crinis. If you stick a tentacle into one of these creatures, they might poison you through it.]
[I've already had to cut off several of my own limbs, Master.]
[Oooookay. Well… make sure you don't run out of shadow flesh, then. Invidia, you should be fine if you just keep blowing everything up or melting it with your eye laser.]
[Thessssseeeee beastsssss. Too greeeeedy.]
[Yeah, I'm not a fan of them either, buddy. Give them the business for me.]
[Yessssss. They shallsssss be mineeeee!]
A bit unusual for Invidia to be making a moral judgement about the monsters he fights, but hey, the Krath suck, what can I say? How impressive, they even managed to get an Envy demon to think they're terrible. Perhaps I should applaud.
After making sure my precious comrades are aware of what's coming, I turn my attention to the Vestibule and what it has to tell me. Naturally, I want to focus on the battles my siblings are undergoing against the fifth stratum monsters, but something else catches my eye and distracts me.
Stupid guards. They're multiplying!
Where before I had two stern golden statues taking up residence within the Nave, now there are four. Two more people have picked up these strange classes, and I've got no doubt that they are part of that pilgrimage gone wrong. That damned priest, he's never going to stop causing me issues! If I could get him to shut his mouth for a week, I'd be satisfied.
I don't have time to deal with it now. I've got other things to focus on. First off, let's see how Solant is going.
-x-X-x-
Solant watched the battle unfold from amongst the very thick of it. Close enough to the front that her own mandibles had seen their fair share of action, she looked into the jaws of the enemy and directed the fighting from amongst the thick of it.
"Burn and slide," she ordered.
"BURN AND SLIDE!" roared the troops around her.
Instantly, powerful blue flames erupted, igniting the air in front of the line. Monsters cried out in the heat, but the flames continued; they had learned not to underestimate these creatures.
For a further ten seconds, the mages continued to burn the tunnel as the soldiers and scouts massed behind them with generals for support.
At the same instant, every mage cut off their burst to reveal the tunnel ahead had become a searing wasteland, the rocks still smouldering as they glowed cherry red.
For a single second, the ant force assessed the field ahead of them, then launched their slide manoeuvre. Soldiers dashed, forcing their bodies forward, building speed until the front rank lifted their legs completely off the ground, held aloft by the momentum of the ants locked behind them. The moment they cleared the searing stone, their feet touched the ground again and the soldiers behind lifted their feet. Across the walls and ceiling, the scouts and generals surged, mandibles gnashing.
Solant had found that fire, while not sufficient to burn through the sturdy defences these monsters coated themselves with, did slow them down. Burning away the outer layer of sludge and clearing the rock allowed the ants room to approach and attack with their natural weapons.
An advancing wall of chitin and burning ant willpower, the leading soldiers dove forward, slamming into the slug monster and gripping tight with their jaws. Acid hissed and steam filled the air, but the soldiers endured. From the flanks, the ants came, latching on and cutting deep with their jaws.
The slug pulsed, preparing to release an explosion of acid and slime, but it was too late, Solant was already in control. In one smooth motion, the soldiers, scouts and generals rotated around the tunnel like the hands of a human clock, flipping the monster onto its back. Far from the devastating barrage of goop, the creature unleashed the acid directly onto the stone floor of the cavern. With its belly exposed, the remaining ants dove on its weakness, jaws scissoring and tearing through the burning protective flesh until they found the true creature within.
"Ice and Fire, two kilometres," Solant ordered, "retreat and triage. I want it completed in five minutes this time."
The ants didn't salute, Solant considered it a waste of precious seconds, instead they simply leapt to their task. The mages, accompanied by their dedicated support troops, rushed to the front and began to work their elemental magic to push back the corrupted mana. Freezing followed by burning had proven to be far more effective than pure flame when purging the sludge the monsters of the fifth left behind, but such rapid cooling and heating of the rock was dangerous. Since it wasn't in the Colony's best interest to destabilise the tunnels, they had to use this technique judiciously.
After all, if they collapsed and closed off the nest, that would stop all the experience, cores and Biomass from wandering up to them!
Thousands of ants rushed in many directions, yet there was no chaos, it was almost a dance, as ants filed into neat lines with perfect synchronisation, flowing between each other with effortless timing. The more time she spent with them and the more time they drilled, the smoother each and every movement became. Solant felt true joy spark in her carapace as she watched the flawless execution of their drills.
Truly, it was on the training ground that wars were won.
Using their mandibles to dissect and defeat the slug foes had proven to be the fastest and most effective method, yet it wasn't without cost. Stoic and determined, the soldiers and scouts who had closed with the beast marched back to safety, despite the heavy burn wounds they suffered. As they passed, each was blasted with water magic to cleanse them of the offending slime and doused in healing fluid to kick-start the mending process.
With proper treatment, they would be back on the frontlines in only a few hours, but having to rotate so many members of the army was putting a great deal of extra strain on Solant's troops.
A more permanent solution was needed. She needed a tactic, method, or tool that more specifically countered these sludge monsters, something more efficient and targeted.
Fortunately, the Eldest, in their wisdom, had the foresight to ensure the Colony would always have a method to conjure solutions at a time like this. Solant had spent a great deal of time working with the core shapers lately. There were many things they could be used for in specific niche roles, something the ants weren't always suited to do. Now here was a monster that was difficult for them to defeat, but that didn't mean they couldn't create something that worked.
When she rotated off the frontline at the end of her shift, Solant bid her troops to continue their drills under the guidance of her broodmates before she set off to speak with the experts.
Ellie and Bella were present in the fortress, having arrived through the gate not that long ago. Solant felt it was time to take her concerns to the two of them directly. Surprisingly, she found the two Council members resting, without anyone demanding their time. When she entered, the two of them sprang up, delighted to have a general enter their chambers.
"Come in! How nice to see you!" Ellie greeted her.
"Please, try some tea!" Bella encouraged as she guided Solant to a seat.
"That is… very kind," the little general said as she accepted their hospitality.
It took a little time, but eventually she was able to convince the two she didn't want cake, or biscuits, and get down to business.
"I believe that the core shapers are the key to solving our current crisis, and will be of critical importance if the Colony is to make any headway moving into the fifth stratum," Solant said. "The monsters we currently face are difficult for us to fight directly, and we are yet to see the true might of the fifth, so it will only get worse. We need solutions that only you can provide, dedicated pets that will counter these monsters directly."
The two Council members looked at her soberly for a long time before they collapsed into each other, sobbing as they used their forelegs and antennae to embrace.
"At last! Our time has come, sister!"
"The core shapers will rise, at last!"
-x-X-x-
The Krath. What can be said of the vicious nightmare creatures of the fifth that hasn't been said already? The earliest records are confused; so close to the Rending, much was lost in the frantic expansion down into the Dungeon. The Empire of Stone and the chal were amongst the first to settle at this depth, but progression stalled like it had run into a brick wall. The fifth was incompatible with life in almost every conceivable way, even the air was poisonous to breathe.
The chal were the first to solidify their position in the fourth, and perhaps greed took hold of them as they made a strong push to extend their empire ever deeper. Harnessing the immense strength of their empire, they invaded the fifth, only to fail. They met the Krath, and within twenty years, the chal had fallen to ruins; even their holdings within the fourth were lost. According to scholars, the chal are the only one of the Old Races to be exterminated from Pangera.
With this example, none have been willing to follow in their footsteps. Instead, they content themselves with their holdings in the fourth, only making slight incursions below and fighting off the slime whenever it tries to rise.
-?????Excerpt from 'The Wall That Lies Below, Fear of the Fifth' by Kallor.
Ah, how wonderful. Tedium of an all new kind. Before, I'd planted myself in one tunnel and fought off the monsters who came my way. It was repetitive and dull, as much as fighting against giant monsters can get dull, I suppose, but now I have an all new problem. The stupid slugs just won't stop coming. My days have devolved into sprinting from tunnel to tunnel and savagely annihilating whatever monstrosity I find there using a no-holds-barred combination of Void Chomps and gravity bombs.
After I burn back the sludge and toxic mana, I return to the central chamber, only to be called out again ten minutes later.
And so on, and so on. Of course, the Colony is getting better at fighting against these horrible monsters, but taking them down without significant injuries is difficult for anyone without overwhelming firepower.
Vibrant can get the job done, but her followers can't. Leeroy has been desperate to sortie against them with her braindead brigade, but the generals won't let them. As heavy and cumbersome as they are, those idiots will just get bogged down in the slime and be unable to extract themselves. Which is exactly why they want to go, obviously.
I sense the next encroachment coming through the Vestibule even before a runner reaches me, the ant's determination to fight and win flowing into me and signalling the danger. I lift myself and get to running, speeding my huge frame through the tunnels toward the fight.
"Eldest! There's another incursion in tunnel B3!"
"I'm already on the way, can't you see that?! Look at me! I'm running!"
"Better than resting!"
"Is it, though?"
I've been getting more than my fair share of sass from the ants seeing me resting in the central chamber. Sheesh! Can't an Eldest get five minutes to take a load of their legs without some smart-ant poking their nose in? Apparently not!
I keep a couple of minds sifting through the Vestibule and I can tell that this battle is a little more serious than the previous ones. Multiple monsters from the fifth are pushing hard while the ants are doing their best to perform a delaying action, keeping damage down and holding off the slime as it creeps toward the nest.
When I arrive, the tunnel is already a steaming mess of green goop. Through the acrid, stinking steam, I can see the bulbous form of some monster filling the air with noxious gas and launching great waves of sludge towards the Colony's entrenched position.
"Pull back and fortify," I tell the army of ants. "I'll take responsibility for this mess."
"Understood, Eldest!"
First thing is first. I gather up my mana, concentrating hard and pushing my brains to their limits before I fire off an unenhanced gravity bomb. With careful aim, I shoot for the maximum distance, and the dreadful ball of doom screams down the tunnel through the steam.
HOOOOOOOWWLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.
Chew on that, you lousy sludge-faced boogers. With the bomb covering for me, I unleash the Dragon Breath, burning away the offending mana and slime, advancing behind the jet of absurdly hot flames as they scorch the rock clean. If I've learned one thing fighting against these monsters, it's that you can't rush things. They're so toxic, so poisonous, that if they manage to infect you, it'll take hours for the healers to purge the offending mana. Not to mention, the amount of energy required to cleanse the infection is ten times the amount that went into it! It's like they're trying to wage a war of attrition against our healers!
Obviously, I can heal myself, so it isn't a drain on the Colony, but it's a serious pain in the thorax for me! And it stings like heck!
No, far better to push them back, take away the terrain advantage before tearing them apart with overwhelming force. I'll work my way closer, use an empowered Void Chomp, and that'll be the end of it.
Keeping my distance as the gravity bomb works itself out, I thoroughly cleanse the tunnel, and when the dark sphere of slowly rotating doom fades, I dash forward into the gap, ready to take on all comers.
Of course, what I find there is far from what I expected. The walls, the ceiling, everything is positively dripping with noxious goo, thick strands of mucus-like slime connecting the floor to the roof. In the middle of it all, the bulbous form of the monster I saw before expands before me, puffing up like a blowfish before it pumps out a thick cloud of vile, yellow-green gas.
Heck. No.
Even worse, I can see dozens, maybe hundreds of little slugs rushing towards me through the slime, their heads ending in what appear to be sharp, drill-like teeth.
THERE AIN'T NO WAY. BURN IT ALL TO DEAAAAAATH.
Gravity Bomb!
HOOOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!