Chapter 2919 - Chry 126

"Be careful, Tribune. The monster may attempt to manipulate your thoughts."

Morrelia frowned.

"I've received mental fortitude training and raised my Skills to the commander level," she said evenly. "I will of course remain vigilant nevertheless. Thank you for your diligence, Legionary."

[What'd he say?] Anthony's voice echoed in her mind.

[They're still worried you'll manipulate me,] she sighed.

[I mean… is it possible to communicate in any way without allowing for the chance of manipulation? I've seen what the brathian do to people with just words. It's not pretty.]

[You know as well as I do that a mind bridge allows for more than just communication. How did you defeat Garralosh again?]

[Ugh… I'd rather not remember, to be honest; that was nasty. Alright, this is the place.]

The ants' forward operating base wasn't anything special, yet. There were hundreds of carvers still working on it, and she knew full well what miracles they could accomplish.

[Are there really rooms in there for us?] she asked, a little sceptical.

[Of course! We're an accommodating group of insects. Unlike your Legion.]

Morrelia felt a pang in her chest.

[Are you thinking of the bolts we shot at you?]

[Of course I am! While I was falling out of the sky as well. That's such a cheap shot.]

She took a deep breath.

[I won't apologise for it. The stated purpose of the Legion is to protect people from the Dungeon, and to that end, they've determined you shouldn't be allowed to descend any deeper.]

The giant ant turned to regard her directly, the many lenses in his eyes gleaming at her.

[I don't expect you to apologise or anything, you don't run the Legion. I get that you lot are doing what you think is best to protect people. It's the right goal, just the wrong target. But hey, I don't think I'll ever convince the people who run your outfit of that, so it is what it is.]

She sighed in relief. At least he wasn't going to hold it against her personally, but he wasn't done.

[What I'd like to know,] Anthony continued, [is what you think. Am I a threat to the peace on Pangera?]

It didn't take long for him to put her on the spot, hitting right at the heart of her anxieties.

[I'm… I'm not sure,] she said. [The wisdom of the Legion has helped us stand firm against the Dungeon since the Cataclysm. There is tremendous value in it, yet… I still struggle to imagine the Colony turning on us.]

[Hey, you do right by the Colony, and we'll do right by you.]

[Then what happened at the Silver City?]

In an instant, all the energy was sucked out of the massive monster and he slumped to the ground.

[Oof. Don't talk about that…. That whole mess was disturbing and depressing.]

[Was? So it's resolved?]

[Oh, heck no,] Anthony muttered darkly, [not by a long shot. But that's not why you're here!]

He recovered his bounce alarmingly quickly, springing back up onto the tips of his legs. To have such a large monster moving so quickly right next to her was unnerving, to say the least. It was hard to believe this was the same creature she'd fought alongside so long ago.

[If you get any bigger, you're going to have trouble fitting into the nests,] she observed as they walked toward the entrance to the fifth.

[They'll just make the tunnels wider,] he dismissed her concerns, and he was probably right. [This is what you came for, right? You want to know how we're going down in the fifth?]

[That's right,] she said, looking around curiously.

There were thousands of ants, hard at work on a myriad of tasks around her. It was clear the Colony was only beginning to muster the might of their industry to approach this challenge.

[How many are working on this above?] she asked. [I assume this isn't everyone.]

[Of course not!] he barked a laugh. [The initial invasion force is being prepped above. It's going to be around a million strong.]

[A million?!]

[This is the fifth stratum, Morrelia,] he told her condescendingly. [We aren't going to make any progress being half-hearted about it. Here, take a look at these guys.]

He walked over to a separate area where a group of ants were tending to hundreds of… strange… wobbly creatures.

[These are the wuffers,] Anthony told her, [I love these guys. I don't know why they turned out so happy, but they did.]

Indeed, the wobbly, jelly-like monsters chuffed and puffed happily, cheerful expressions on their amorphous faces as they contentedly wibbled back and forth. Morrelia stared hard at the… monsters.

They were cute.

How had they made such adorable monsters?!

[What is the point of these… creatures?] she demanded harshly.

[Whoa, don't be so rough on them, these guys are amazing. This is the initial stage of our detoxification process right here. The wuffers are able to drink up fifth stratum mana and release a purified version. Our initial mission was just to see how well they worked when we put them to the test in the real thing.]

Wuff wuff wuff wuff, the creatures happily chuffed as the ants moved among them, checking them over with their antennae.

[And how well did they do?] Morrelia asked tightly, still unable to take her eyes off them.

None of them better have gotten hurt!

[They were fine! Did a great job. We held them in the middle of our formation, and they maintained a clear, purified field of mana for us to operate in. Next time we go down, we'll have more, and higher tier wuffers to help us. The core shapers are still trying to perfect the design, but it's looking good so far.]

With difficulty, Morrelia tore her eyes away from the cheerful creatures and put her back to them.

[When's the next mission?]

Anthony scratched his head with an antenna.

[Uh… one week. Why?]

She glared up at him.

[Because I want to go down with you. Why else?]

-x-X-x-

"Oh… oh, I don't like the smell of that at all."

Her antennae waggled furiously as she tried to waft away the stink of whatever sorcery had been performed here. Whoever had performed it had gone to great lengths to scrub the signs away, but they hadn't expected someone with her level of intelligence coming onto the scene.

After all…

"I'M BRILLIANT!" she declared to the empty room, then cackled gleefully.

She had so many things to do, so many ideas, it had her head spinning most days, but the Eldest, her largest and most demanding Senior, had requested she complete this task personally, and so she would. She'd left her labs and gone to the third stratum, to the city of Roklu, in order to investigate the former Church of the Path facility here.

As she looked around the chamber, her thousands of lenses each reflected the light differently, each looking at something the others weren't. In just a few moments, she noticed something.

"Interesting…" she murmured.

It was a little irritating, having to adjust the position of her head in order to point the lenses in different directions, but after a few minutes of finicking, she managed to isolate what she'd been looking at. Her eyes were able to see almost everything at this point, each lens picking up on something different. Using her eyes to 'see' in the traditional sense was almost impossible now, she relied on mana sensing for that, but her eyes now acted as sensors, able to scan for thousands of blends of light, mana, energy and everything in between.

"Trying to hide from me? I can see EVERYTHING!" she snapped her mandibles mockingly at nobody as she advanced further into the chamber, antennae sweeping through the space her eyes had identified.

She almost tripped when one of her legs found the edge of the depression in the floor. She'd been so intent looking upward, she hadn't even noticed the floor wasn't flat. Such a terrible oversight! Luckily, no one had been present to witness her mistake.

Not that she made mistakes.

"Because I'm BRILLIANT!" she cackled once more.

Judging by what was overhead… as well as this depression…

She looped around it, casting her eyes across the floor, down into the depression, then back up into the air. She looped around it again. Then a third time.

Finally, she sighed and began to work her own unique blend of mana. She had done everything possible to ensure that there wasn't any speck of existence that was beyond her gaze. After all, secrets could be hidden anywhere, which meant she had to be able to hunt them everywhere. Not even dimensions were enough to hide something from her.

Neither was time.

Slowly, piece by piece, the enchantments that had been built into this room began to put themselves back together. Whoever had broken them had been thorough, extremely thorough. She pitied them. A little.

It was a strain. Using this spell for even a few minutes was a strain, but for this, she needed to hold the cast for much, much longer. Yet, as the mystery began to unravel right before her eyes, Brilliant could only feel her heart begin to pound with the thrill of discovery. The answer was coming… she just… needed… to hold… a little… more!

Eventually she collapsed, quivering onto the hard stone floor. She lay there for a while, recovering, letting her glands and core replenish their energies. When she was sufficiently recovered, she turned her gaze back to see what she had achieved.

Glowing symbols, lines of power and currents of mana, ever so faint, almost ghostly, now hung over the depression and were engraved into the floor around it. Yet, not all of them.

At best, she'd managed to recover a third of the complete enchantment, and even then, she felt there were elements missing. It was too long ago that this had been destroyed, but even so, her mandibles clacked gleefully as she absorbed every detail.

This was a start. A great start! There was much here she didn't understand, things she'd never seen before, which was exciting! If she saw something she didn't know, it wouldn't be long until she turned it into something she did know. After all, just who was she?

The little ant continued to prance around the semi-sphere depression in the ground, examining each piece of the enchantment she'd managed to uncover with obsessive detail.

"Yes… I see… I see!" she muttered (and occasionally shouted) to herself.

"That would lead to… something. And that something would then… do something."

So much she didn't know. What an incredible find this was! She would have to thank the Eldest at some point for this task. It was proving to be far more interesting than she'd imagined.

"Gathering… storing… extracting… but how? Why?"

She accelerated in her circling as her mind began to spin faster and faster, thoughts whirling and tumbling as she tried to fill in the many blanks, given the limited context she had. Sometimes it was easy, like slotting a single word into an otherwise complete sentence. Other times, it was like trying to write an entire paragraph when given only a single word. And the paragraph was in a different language.

Eventually she stopped in place, eyes locked upwards. That was where the source was, that was obvious. The target of all this enchantment was firmly fixed on that point.

And though they had removed the chains, it was still easy to see where they had been affixed to the roof, the fittings were still there, rings of iron embedded in the stone.

Whatever they did here had also been done to a member of her family, and though she wasn't exactly sure what it was… she was growing increasingly confident… that she didn't like it.

Foolish. Such a foolish thing they had done. So foolish to think they could get away with it. Moronic to think that she wouldn't be able to find them.

After all…

"I'm Brilliant," she whispered.

-x-X-x-

So… Morrelia is going to hang out with the Colony again. That's… fine. It's fine.

Though if her two fellow Legionaries could stop looking at me like I spat on their mother's kitchen floor, I'd appreciate it.

I mean, I get it. They think that all the monsters they see around them are going to turn insane and submit to the will of the Ancients, thus turning against all non-monstrous life on Pangera. Every ant they see is a future enemy, so why would you be happy to see so many of them, working so industriously?

You wouldn't! You would be distinctly unhappy.

So I can't quite find it in myself to blame them, but I sure wish they'd get with the program and realise the Colony is different. We won't be succumbing to any such outside influence, thank you very much! Although if they ask me why the Colony is safe from outside influence… I don't think I'll be elaborating much.

Which leaves me with only one course of action! If I amass meritorious deeds and allies, then the Legion won't have anyone to help them if they decide to try and exterminate the Colony.

[So… are you really cleared to stay here for a week?] I ask Morrelia as I escort her and her two fellow Legionaries to their rooms.

[I'm an officer, Anthony. I'm able to make decisions.]

[Really? Your commanding officer doesn't care if you hang around here for a couple of weeks and go on manoeuvres with a group of monsters? That's… not what I would have expected.]

[From the Legion?]

[Well, yeah. You guys don't exactly have a 'monster-friendly' reputation.]

That's putting it mildly.

[In this case, I can justify it by saying the target is inviting us to be near them and allow us to collect intelligence. Why would we decline such an opportunity?]

[Oooo, that's sneaky. When did you get sneaky? I remember you being more of a 'slice first, think later' sort of berserker.]

She grunted.

[The training we go through to be officers is thorough in the extreme. The Legion hasn't lasted for thousands of years without ensuring our officers aren't stupid.]

Well… I suppose that makes sense. Say what I will about the Legion, the fact they're still around speaks volumes about their organisation. They aren't a country, they're an independent military force, who've fought against the Dungeon across the entire planet on every stratum. Well, every stratum that I know of.

[Do you guys have a presence in the fifth?] I ask, curious.

Morrelia hesitates before nodding.

[Yes. I did part of my training there. It… wasn't pleasant.]

[And that's not a secret you aren't supposed to share with your 'target'?]

[I'm trying my best to manage my divided loyalties, Anthony. Don't make it harder for me.]

[Enough said. My mandibles are sealed.]

I snap them shut for emphasis, causing the two accompanying Legionaries to jump in alarm, hands flashing to their weapons. Heh, what could you even do with those? I'm a tier seven mythic monster, two of you aren't going to be enough.

By the time we finish in the fifth, I might even be tier eight. I estimated earlier it would take us a year to get through the stratum below, which might be enough time for me to gain the levels I need. I mean… it's a heck of a lot of levels.

[Well, down this corridor is the section set aside for humans. You can tell because it's too small for me to enter. Pick a room, any room, make yourselves comfortable. We don't have much in terms of supplies down here, given where we are, but I'm sure someone will do a run to get you some creature comforts soon enough.]

[There's no need,] Morrelia assures me, [we have what we our own supplies.]

[Someone will do it anyway,] I shrug my antennae, [we take hospitality seriously around here.]

So saying, I leave the three Legionaries to settle themselves, only to have Brendant approach me the moment I leave the fort.

"Eldest, you met with the Legion and they're staying with us? Can I ask what's going on?"

Whoops. I guess I kind of went and did my own thing without asking if I should. Hopefully, the rest of the Colony doesn't mind.

"Morrelia came with a couple of others to observe and learn about our progress in the fifth. I gave her the details, showed her the wuffers, and she asked if she could come down on the next mission. I thought it couldn't hurt, so I agreed."

Just when I'm wondering if Brendant is going to be mad about it, she merely nods.

"Very well. I'll let everyone know of the change in arrangements. We'll need to send for supplies as well, since our stock of human furniture is poor at the moment. I don't think their rooms even have rugs. Terrible!"

She turns to scuttle away but I call out to her before she can get too far.

"Is it a problem that I've arranged this on my own? Are you worried things might go poorly for us? I invited the enemy straight into our mission…."

She clacks her mandibles in amusement.

"If you think it's worth doing, then it is, Eldest."

Ugh. Not only do my antennae flood with the scent of pure conviction coming from Brendant, but I can feel that same ironclad belief ringing through the Vestibule.

Dammit! I'm not worthy of such blind trust!

Without another word, Brendant is off, ready to take care of the administrative details my change in the plans has brought about. I can only sigh heavily. This level of trust… It's a heavy burden that I'm only beginning to learn how to grapple with.

Hey, as long as I don't make any major mistakes, it'll be fine.

Well… maybe I'll go check in with the preparations and see if there's anything I can do to help. No harm in being careful now, is there?

-x-X-x-

It's amazing how quickly a week can go by when you're trying to make sure you haven't jinxed your entire family. In a blink, we are back at the entrance to the fifth, waiting to descend back into the stratum. This time, we've scaled up the size of our exploratory team to double what it was before. A thousand wuffers, ten thousand ants, me and the crew, along with our Legion onlookers.

[Are you really sure you want to go down there?] I ask Morrelia. [It's gross. And not in a casual way. The fifth is almost professionally disgusting.]

She glares up at me, her eyes dark and stormy, like they always are.

[I've been there before. Are you worried I won't be able to handle it?]

[Handle it? Handle what? You'll be all nice and safe, tucked away in a pocket of purified mana. I'm the one who has to run around in the acid and sludge.]

She looks a little surprised to hear that.

[You can survive in there?]

[Of course! Well… for a while, anyway.]

[I'm impressed. I know firsthand just how hostile to life the fifth is.]

[Bah, no you don't. There's no chance a human could get out there directly. At best, you were in a protective suit thicker than my carapace.]

Morrelia hesitates.

[Actually… there is a human who survived direct exposure….]

[Let me guess. Your dad?]

That guy is terrifying. I never want to see him, or his axe, again for the rest of my days.

[Of course not. It was my mother.]

Of course it was.

[What is wrong with your family?!]

[Don't get mad at me! They're the weird ones, not me!]

[Your parents aren't here, a fact for which I am truly thankful, so I can only yell at you about it! Do me a favour and convince them to retire or something!]

[Hah!] she snorts. [Those two? Resigning from the Legion? It'll never happen.]

Gah. Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

[Alright then. Let's shift the topic to something happier. See you in the acidic, toxic, poison-filled fifth stratum. I'll be going down first.]

[See you down there,] she nods.

Our plan to manage the descent is almost the same as before. The main adjustments revolve around managing double the wuffers, since a thousand wuffers gathered together in one blob would basically block off the tunnel completely. The ones exposed to the mana of the fifth would do their job and purify it, only to expel the cleansed mana straight into the faces of the second layer of wuffers.

Now, they could just let it flow through them, but then there's no benefit to having more of the jelly-monsters for this part of the operation. So instead of one thick layer, we have staggered blobs of cheerfully puffing pets extending downward from the main blob to form the 'plug' that seals off the tunnel as before.

With more surface area exposed to the fifth, the chuffing wuffers can do their job all the more quickly, rapidly filling the tunnel above them with cleansed mana and allowing the ants to pile up behind them and begin their own descent.

When I reach the bottom, I signal the core shapers above to pull back their extended pets, ensuring no wuffer is exposed to danger prematurely while I scope out the landing zone.

Things appear to be much the same. River of mucous. Thick acid. Clouds of poison. Colourful, toxic mould. And let's not forget, plenty of truly awful-looking monsters, ready and waiting to vomit up an ocean of bile upon any monster who dares so much as whip out a mop down here.

Even more threatening, the potential for the Krath to be out there, watching and waiting, ready to jump us the moment we get comfortable.

Not for the first time, I think back to that slippery slug that got away from me towards the end of the last mission. That thing was fast, and far too clever to be just another monster. I'll be interested to see if something like that pops up again.

For now, I can't see, or sense, anything threatening—more threatening than the usual, I suppose—so I signal the go ahead and head down into the fifth once more. Soon after, a huge blob of cleansed mana follows, packed with ants and wuffers. The local monsters immediately look up, like bloodhounds detecting some powerfully stinky socks, and we are off to the races.

[Tiny, try and make sure our Legion guests stay safe, alright?] I ask the big ape.

He pulls a face at me.

[Hey. Morrelia is cool and the other two are with her, alright? No need for this attitude.]

He flexes his left pec.

[I know you're smart enough to talk! There's no need to communicate via flexing anymore!]

He turns his back on me.

[No! Hey! I don't care what your lats have to say, alright? Just keep them safe! Sheesh!]

I don't know exactly when he decided he didn't like the Legion, but it's really stuck with him. From the peripheral of my extremely wide vision, I can see him signalling with his deltoids, but I'm not paying him any attention. This is the riskiest moment of the operation, and if we fail to establish our foothold, then everything is going to heck really, really fast.

Weird slime and crustacean-looking things run at me, and I don't mess around, unleashing void chomp combos until their shells crack and the notification messages pop up in my awareness. It's best for me to expend my energy reserves now and let them recharge when our position is better fortified, so I continue to lay it on thick.

A massive plume of dragon's breath launches from between my mandibles as I set everything in front of me ablaze. Smaller monsters are straight up roasted, but the bigger ones, and the mucus-filled environment itself, remain stubbornly resistant to fire.

I mean, I could launch a gravity bomb, but that spell doesn't play well with my siblings, so it's off the table right now.

So instead, I do it old school. The omni-elemental construct spins and whirls as I push it to its limits, whipping out multiple elements in a constant stream. Spears of ice. Jets of fire. Globs of Lava. Hissing vents of steam. Shard-filled, cutting winds. I unleash all of it, along with my trusty mandibles, for a full hour, until things finally settle down enough for me to retreat into the safe-zone and dedicate myself to eradicating all the toxic mana that slipped past my guard.

There's a lot.

Using that much magic required many mind constructs, which left my defences too low to fend off the native mana properly. A worthy tradeoff, in the end.

Within the centre of the formation, Morrelia is standing along with her two allies, close to the wuffers, watching everything happen with wide eyes.

[Welcome back to the fifth,] I say expansively, waving an antenna at the surroundings. [Did you miss it?]

[No. No, I didn't.]

-x-X-x-

Morrelia gripped the hilts of her dual blades tight, but knew she wouldn't get the opportunity to use them. Ants were watching her at all times, and she'd been instructed not to participate and throw off their carefully laid plans. The Colony moved with incredible efficiency, every member knowing where they needed to be at any given moment. On the surface, it looked like chaos, giant insects crawling all over each other, working here and there, carrying, moulding, enchanting, digging, but when she followed a single ant, there was always a purpose to their movements.

In almost no time at all, the… oddly innocent-looking 'wuffers' had been installed inside a formation, channels were dug, and a steady flow of fifth stratum mana was being fed to them. It was remarkable looking at them. The creatures seemed to be completely immune to the toxifying effect of the mana, absorbing a constant stream of it and releasing a dense, blue, cleansed energy in its place.

All the while, they wobbled back and forth and released those short chuffing noises from which she assumed the Colony had derived their names.

They were… oddly compelling. She found it difficult to tear her eyes away from them, but she forced herself to. There were more important things to focus on at the moment.

[Are those creatures really unaffected by the mana of the fifth?] she demanded of Anthony.

Not because she was concerned for their safety, she simply wanted to know.

[The wuffers? I don't know, I didn't design them. I'd have to ask Ellie or Bella. Probably after we complete this mission, they'll be monitored and checked for wear and tear.]

The giant ant was resting now after running wild out in the poisonous atmosphere of the fifth. Without him fighting off dozens of monsters by himself, it would have been impossible for the Colony to establish such an effective beachhead so quickly.

[And how badly are you affected?] she asked him.

[Who, me? Oh, it sucks. The acid burns me constantly, I have to regenerate myself all the time or else my joints will dissolve to nothing. The mana invades at every opportunity and I have to keep it away from my core, but it seeps into my body anyway and starts eating me from the inside out. Bottom line? I hate it.]

The Legionary chuckled at his frank dislike for the environment in which he found himself. It wasn't all that surprising. She'd been out there herself and had heard stories of what even a second of exposure would do to a human.

"What's so amusing, tribune?" Marcus asked her.

For a moment, she'd almost forgotten that they were there. Marcus and Greyson, her fellow Legionaries who had come a lot further and stayed a lot longer than they'd expected when first embarking on this trip. Neither of the two seemed all that comfortable here in the fifth, eyeing the surroundings with more than a little wariness.

"I was amused to note that the ants are struggling just as much as we do when entering the fifth," she told them a half-truth. "Though I believe you two haven't trained here before."

"That's right, tribune," Greyson noted. "I have to say, I'm not sure yet if this stratum is living up to its reputation."

Now that made Morrelia laugh out loud, a short and sharp bark of rough amusement.

"I take it I've made an ignorant comment, tribune," Greyson said.

"Yes," she agreed, "you have."

She gestured to the bubble of safety in which they were currently standing.

"If you were to step outside of this blue mana for a few seconds, you would be dead. No if's, no but's, no healing, no saving you. The mana of the fifth is self-propagating. Once it gets a hold, it'll make more of itself until it takes over your body and eats you from the inside out."

She gestured toward Anthony, who now had a full pack of little ants crawling over him which he tried to poke away with his antennae, but they seemed inordinately skilled at dodging them.

"Even this monster, able to survive out there for an extended period, has to be checked to make sure not a speck of native mana remains."

The cries of beasts were becoming more and more common. Squelching roars from the distance, echoing up the tunnel toward the fortified ant position.

Anthony sighed loudly in her mind.

[Time to get back to it, I suppose. The natives here are going to run at us non-stop until we leave. Try to keep your head down for the moment. We'll be setting up a separate node of wuffers soon, and that should mean a bit more space in the safe-zone for you to move around in.]

The giant monster levered himself up onto his legs, sending the smaller ants scuttling, several of them appearing to whack him on the carapace with their legs or mandibles.

[Are they… are they hitting you?] she asked.

[What? Oh, the healers. Yep. I don't know what happened, but the healers are almost universally bad-tempered.]

[Did you wait until they were finished treating you?]

[No.]

[Do you think that made them angry?] she asked, a little flabbergasted.

[Probably, but I had Invidia check me out and he says I'm clear.]

[Why not explain that to them?]

[This is funnier. Off I go!]

Morrelia watched him rush out of the protected area, vowing to treat the Legion medical staff better when she returned. Perhaps now she could understand why they were so constantly frustrated.

It wasn't only Anthony heading back out into the fray. Tiny, Crinis and Invidia, Anthony's other pets, also stepped up and became more active, blasting back the raging monsters as they rushed forward. The rage of the fifth stratum born monsters was a sight to behold. Morrelia felt as if she were in a wave as she watched them throw themselves against the ants with mindless violence.

Only when she noticed how they spewed thick bile, or sprayed clods of mucus, rich with toxic mana, as they died, did she realise what was happening. The fifth did not want to be conquered, and it started fighting back.

-x-X-x-

Hello, dear readers! It has been some time, but I greet you once more from the pages of my tome, the record of my grand adventures!

It is I, Travelling Tolly, and I continue my amazing journey in the lands of the Colony, the remarkable species of monsters who have captured imaginations and set tongues to wagging. As you are well aware, I can never resist a wagging tongue, and as such have made it my mission to thoroughly explore the lands claimed by these boneless creatures and bring my tale of excitement and endeavour to you!

When last we left you, I had been a resident of the Demon city of Roklu and the grand nest which the Colony had made underneath. Such an incredible place, the architecture, the customs, the people!

However, and I'm sure this is no secret to you, precious reader, the third stratum is not, shall we say, the most salubrious of locations.

Oh! I have travelled in the most miserable swamps, the most explosive of volcanoes. Never forget, 'twas I who plunged into the depths of the forbidden mountain of Krak'tooa in search of the Crystal Fountain, hidden within the subterranean jungle of death, Amagor!

However, it's no secret that your Tolly is getting on in hiser years. Breathing the smoke and ash all day long isn't good for the lungs, reader. I assure you that my doctor has said so!

So it was that after my gentle urging, my host, guide and dear friend, Emilia, was persuaded that we might take our travels down to a deeper layer of the Dungeon.

"Are you sure, Ms Tolly?" she asked me, wide-eyed.

The precious thing.

"If you need me to, we can slow down the tour. It's important you get enough rest. Eight hours of sleep a day is best."

"I am perfectly well rested, dear," I assured her.

"But there is still so much to see here in the third! The Tower forge of Smithant is here, which is said to reach fifty kilometres high! Also there is a monument raised not too far away to commemorate the Eldest's triumph over the demons! Are you sure you don't want to see them?"

"I am quite sure," I told her firmly. "I am certain the Colony has left wonders everywhere they've set down roots, and I am eager to witness their triumphs below."

One should always search for the correct framing, reader. It is the key to any discussion! At my gentle urging, Emilia agreed to speak to the representatives of the Colony, and we secured passage via one of the gates to the home of ant-kind within the fourth.

I don't mind saying that my heart fluttered upon learning our application had been approved, reader! The fourth stratum is, after all, my home!

The moment we stepped through the gate, we left the darkness, smoke and ash behind, and entered a world of light, life and beauty. Ah, it soothed my soul to set foot once again into that vibrant place, and I was most keen to see what the Colony had made of themselves in this, the most densely occupied layer in all the Dungeon!

Naturally, it was necessary to endure a period of mana acclimation before we travelled, reader, don't think I didn't take sensible precautions!

(In fact, we weren't allowed to travel without having done so. The Colony is quite strict on such things!)

Stepping out and into the legendary mountain home of the ants, it was an exciting moment, reader! After all, who hasn't heard tales of the great nest? My fellow old biddies and I have exchanged many a salacious rumour over cards, not that I believed any of it, of course, but it is fun to speculate!

No, I wasn't expecting to see any human sacrifice or such nonsense here, and indeed I did not.

My first impression, which I took in most eagerly, I assure you, was one of prosperity. We stepped out of the gate and into the major gate reception of the ant mountain, and it was busy! We all know of the incredible mercantile efforts of the brathians in conjunction with the Colony, but seeing it firsthand, I was taken aback by the sheer scale of it!

So many gates, with people and loaded carts and wagons going to and fro in a seemingly endless stream! The mana requirements for such an enterprise must have been absolutely absurd, and I could see huge arrays gathering the required energy all throughout the vast chamber we found ourselves in.

It was quite a thrill, reader, to be amongst such to-ing and fro-ing. Such a scene wouldn't have been out of place in the place I call home, the Silver City!

My guards were perhaps a little more relaxed in this space, due to the sheer number of non-ants around, but I think it was rather foolish of them, considering there were still thousands and thousands of them! Directing traffic, inspecting cargo manifests, and performing all of the millions of administrative tasks that go into running a gate hub of this size were teams of ants, performing their roles with the efficiency and aplomb I've come to associate with their species.

"Welcome," Emilia greeted me, "to Lightnest, home of the Colony in the fourth stratum."

She seemed just as excited as me to be here, and I had to ask her.

"Have you been here before, my dear?"

She smiled at me, brilliantly.

"Only once, when I was much younger, but it is a treasured memory of mine."

"And what about the Eldest? Would we be able to find this most august of ants somewhere within this nest?" I pressed her.

Her smile slipped just a little.

"I'm afraid not, Ms Tolly. The Eldest is presently very deep, and not available to speak to. I must apologise."

Well, that's fine. You know as well as I do, dear reader, that I don't give up on an exclusive so easily!

-x-X-x-

As I've come to expect from the Colony, their hospitality was exquisite, just exquisite! After arriving via the gate, Emilia led our little group to what I can only describe as an ant concierge (complete with an adorable little hat), who directed us to the most fitting place of residence.

"The Colony doesn't really have 'tourism' or 'hotels' like you might find where you come from," Emilia explained. "There aren't that many people who want to come and stay here outside of the people who fall within their territory."

That's an understatement and a half! Information about the inner workings of the Colony is almost totally unknown! If that weren't the case, would I, Tolly, the bold adventurer, have come here to investigate? There are no wastelands I will not endure, no dangers I shall not brave, no teas I shall not sample in the pursuit of enlightenment.

Despite Emilia telling me of the paucity of accommodation, I had become accustomed to the ways of these ants by now, so I knew what to expect when we finally reached our residence.

I could only describe it as an enormous, shared apartment, complete with kitchen, private bathrooms, several living rooms, a dining area and a SWIMMING POOL.

Emilia must have registered the shock on my face, so she rushed to explain.

"The Colony learned that humans, along with brathians, quite enjoy the feeling of being submerged in water. So they tend to include these when they can spare the room."

If anything, I was given an even greater shock when I went into my own bedroom and saw the facilities there. I have to say, reader, that nobody could have been more impressed than I at the level of comfort provided. The bed was rather enormous. Well, it was both large, yet not too large, just the right size for a person to be perfectly comfortable within. And the mattress!

The older I get, the more I appreciate a good mattress, and I have to say, the moment I lay down to test it, I knew I would take it home with me. No matter what I had to pay!

I'd steal it if I had to, reader, I don't mind confessing to you!

Such a gentle-firmness, I can't imagine how they achieved it. It goes without saying that the linens and duvet were of the most sublime quality as well. I truly looked forward to immersing myself in their warm embrace. Even more surprising was the incredibly-well made, soft and appealing plush toy I found sitting on my pillow.

It appeared to be of a rather manic ant, a cheeky glint in her eye and a wild grin on her face. Definitely a strange colour to her carapace as well, far from the usual russet red of the ants I'd seen. Looking closely, I could see little glimmering pockets of light woven into the fuzzy exterior of the toy, which left me speechless. Why go to such lengths for this little thing?

I emerged to ask Emilia just what was going on, only to find her clutching her own fluffy ant toy, a broad smile on her face.

"Oh, you got Brilliant," she told me cheerfully. "It's considered lucky to get her."

Then she held out her own toy for me to inspect.

"This is Solant."

The plush in question was quite different from my own. It gave off a serious, even contemplative feeling, yet there was a sternness, a certain steeliness in the gaze of the ant in question.

"Is she… a famous general of some sort?" I guessed.

"That's exactly right!" Emilia enthused. "She's extremely capable, the Colony's greatest general."

Then my guards emerged, with confused expressions on their faces, each holding their own plush toy. One held a fuzzy gorilla-looking creature with bat wings, while the other was an indescribable horror of nightmares that I couldn't look at without losing my sanity.

"Oh! You got Tiny and Crinis! They're so rare!"

It turns out the plushies are quite the collectible items within the Colony, since they don't give out that many and most of the ants want to have at least some of them. Naturally, I asked which was the most rare, because of course I did, reader! If there is a rare collectible item, I MUST have it, to display over my mantel so that it may lord over my social circle silently with its majesty.

I was quite surprised when I got an answer to my question.

"The rarest of them all?" Emilia pondered for a moment. "Let me think for a moment."

"It isn't the Eldest?" I asked. I certainly expected it to be that most revered of ants.

"Oh no," Emilia laughed, "everyone has the Eldest. They make way more of them, the demand is so high."

Where I had expected that the esteem in which the Eldest was held would place that august figure as the most rare in the collection, instead they became the most common. They've done it backwards! I still insist that it's backwards!

"If I were to say which was the most rare, though I'm only guessing, I think I would say it's The Queen."

"As in…"

"As in the first Queen, yes."

That confused me a little. I thought she, too, would be wildly popular.

"She has always hated being overly revered by her children," Emilia confided to me, leaning forward and speaking softly, "so nobody wants to be caught with a plush of her and make her sad. In the eyes of The Queen, things like this are frivolous wastes of resources and she doesn't approve."

A down to business sort of woman! I can certainly appreciate that!

"I know I've asked before, but surely now that we are this deep there is a chance of gaining an interview with The Queen?" I ask, ensuring to capitalise properly.

Emilia hesitated.

"It's… unlikely. But I can ask."

She implored me not to get my hopes up, but you know me, reader. When I have a foot in the door, you may as well shake my hand. What an exclusive!

-x-X-x-

Ah, the fifth. Such a lovely place to be. I mean, the acid isn't all that enjoyable, but what this stratum lacks in good atmosphere, it makes up for with hospitality.

A disgusting, bloated lobster comes running at me, its eyes boiling with rage, and hissing globs of unspeakable goo bubbling up from its carapace so fast the monster leaves a thick trail of ooze behind it.

I mean, what do I even do? I don't want to bite the thing. If I actually manage to hurt it, my mandibles will probably melt off. Its claws don't seem any more appealing than the rest of it. It has four, because of course it does, and the pincers look more like mouths than anything else, each of them streaming virulent yellow bile.

Let's just say, it isn't the kind of fight I really look forward to.

Gravity Bomb!

A smaller bomb rips into space and howls toward the offending monster. Unthinking, the beast runs straight into the spell and vanishes as the bomb expands to consume whatever it can.

The lobster screams and rattles, and for a moment, I can see it flailing wildly, bits and pieces pushing out of the void, but only for brief instants, until the spell eventually winks out and the lobster, now missing a large chunk of itself, slumps down defeated. Yeesh. I'm having to do this more and more as time passes. That monster was almost the same size as I am, so it can't have been too low of a tier, which means I would have loved to get my mandibles on the core.

But these darn things are all so toxic. If I let them anywhere near the safe-zone, they start spraying goop all over the place like they're firefighters trying to hose down a petrol station before it can explode. Even one of them can put a serious dent in the good work the wuffers have been doing, setting all of us back hours, if not more.

Speaking of wuffers, they've been doing good work. I cast my eyes about, but I don't see any more major threats for the time being, which gives me a little time to check myself over, and inspect the work the Colony has been doing.

Which is a lot. The wuffer zone has now been expanded to include a brand new zone, the two separated by several hundred metres. There's all sorts of fancy shenanigans going on between the two packs of wuffers, channels dug into the floor of the tunnel to move both toxic and pure mana from one side to the other. I'm not sure how it all works, I certainly wasn't the one to do the math, but it seems to be working well, and it won't be long before the two separate bubbles of purified mana connect in the middle.

When that happens, we'll have a long stretch of tunnel that has no toxic mana in it whatsoever.

I have to say, I'm super impressed at how well it's all working. The thinkers in the Colony have really outdone themselves on this one. I know the idea is to use these 'nodes' of wuffers in strategic positions to support each other and maintain the clean mana zone, so this is the test run to see how the current designs on these connections will perform. Of course, the usual ants are there, closely monitoring the situation, taking down numbers on their pheromone slates and checking that things are working as intended.

The main bottleneck I can see is our wuffer count. No way we can maintain a whole pack of five hundred wuffers at every section. I have no idea what cores these little globs are made of, but we can't have an unlimited supply of them. Which means we need to get them to evolve and hope we can do more with less.

"How's it going out there, Eldest?" Brendant calls out to me, her pheromones somewhat fuzzy. "Can you continue?"

"For a little while," I respond, "but I'll need a break in around ten minutes."

I flip the majority of my mind-constructs over to cleansing my internal mana, breaking down the infections as fast as possible. It's a never ending battle, since no matter how much I remove, more will always come in. While I'm at it, I trip my regeneration gland and feel a brief moment of relief as the ice cold fluid rushes throughout my body, concentrating in my carapace and joints as it repairs the damage done by the acidic mana.

Only by constantly refreshing my regeneration gland and washing the fatigue from my minds via the Vestibule am I able to remain out here for as long as I do. Endless stamina and regeneration really do come in handy.

Just as I ready myself to intercept another large monster rushing forward, one of my antennae twitches.

I swear I just sensed something….

Another gravity bomb explodes into reality, flying toward the offending monster, a snail with four acid-spitting heads, and I turn my attention toward the mucous river. Just for a second, I registered a little something in here, I swear. Something… odious.

I wander over to the edge and look down into the slowly flowing, bright yellow sludge.

Which is when thick tendrils burst out of the surface and try to enfold me.

Ah, a trap.

-x-X-x-

The nature and origin of the Krath has been a matter of debate for many years within academic circles, yet it isn't one that invites a scholar to delve too deeply.

Secretive to the point of obsession and more elusive than word of the Ancients themselves, the slug tribes of the fifth are difficult to study. Not that there is no enthusiasm amongst academic circles to learn more about them, nor indeed a dearth of driving force among the various authorities of the fourth. With every wave, the Krath torment the lower tunnels and send their servants upward to spread poison and filth. Knowledge of their methods and techniques would greatly benefit all of us, yet no one is willing to attempt it.

Not anymore.

The Krath, living in the fifth, are almost impossible to reach as it is, yet expeditions have been made to try and secure this intelligence before. All of them failed. Not just failed, but were made an example of. As barbaric and cruel as they are, the Krath seem to hold a special place in their twisted hearts for those who try to learn their secrets.

Expeditions were returned to the fourth, twisted and maimed beyond recognition. Sometimes, only pieces were recovered, left in the open for others to collect. Famously, a group from the Empire of Stone were recovered, minds almost completely gone from the horrors they had endured. The members clutched journals in their quivering hands, records that the Krath had forced them to keep detailing their own torture.

As a result, we do not seek to learn the secrets of the Krath.

Not anymore.

- Excerpt from 'The Fifth and Beyond' by Scholar Ralis

"Oh nooooo, they got meeeeee."

The tentacles latched onto me writhe with glee as they forcefully attempt to yank me into the mucus river.

Emphasis on "attempt".

Am I the strongest creature around, physically? No, of course not. I'm not the physically strongest in my own group of pets. Am I going to let myself get yoinked into a river by some fifth stratum slug? Absolutely not!

I dig my claws into the ground, grit my mandibles and hold tight. Think you can get me to dunk my head into a river of snot?! You're crazy! It ain't happening!

Oh, they sure are hitting me with a heck of a lot of toxic mana, though. Yikes. Everywhere the slimy limbs touch me is flooding my body with the horrible stuff, so much so my mind constructs are struggling to break it all apart before it can begin to replicate.

Still, I'm not in real danger. Any second now, this situation is going to change.

Anyyyyyy second.

[GET YOUR FILTHY CLAWS OFF OF MY MASTER!] Crinis screeches.

In an instant, the tunnel around me is plunged into perfect darkness. I can't see a thing, but I can certainly sense my loyal friend's mana. As the light is chased away, she emerges from all around me, latching onto the monster who's taken hold of me and devouring all of it she can reach.

[Hey, Crinis! Don't eat that stuff, the poison will get inside you!]

[GET OUT HERE, TRASH! I MUST REND YOU APART FOR THIS INSULT!]

Heedless of my warning, she plunges her own limbs into the river, a thousand of them, seeking and twisting through the thick sludge, seeking their target.

I can only sigh to myself. She's as dedicated as always, but seriously… she needs to look out for her own health a little more.

[Invidia, can you make sure to detoxify Crinis as much as possible? She's being a bit silly right now.]

[I ssssshallll.]

There's a violent tussle in the water, a vigorous struggle, and then… Crinis employs her most deadly weapon.

The moment she finds the creature, she homes in on its head and drives in her Soul Seeker Cillia with a cry of savage triumph. A moment later, the beast itself emerges from the river, howling in despair and flailing wildly as it tries to fight off the monster of darkness attacking it.

I feel a bit sorry for the thing at this point, but it's too late now. At least I get a good look at my would-be attacker. This monster clearly comes from a different evolutionary tree than most of what I've fought so far in the fifth. It doesn't look slug or snail-like at all, rather a kind of mucous starfish, except with way more than five points. Crinis has driven her tentacles right into the centre of the beast, tormenting it while the monster thrashes about, flinging goop all over the place.

[Crinis! Finish it off or let it go, but don't let it get muck into the safe-zone! It's going to mess up the formation.]

Either she hears me, or she decides she's had enough, and Crinis unleashes her pent up fury on her helpless prey, annihilating it in moments.

[I'm… I'm sorry about that, Master. I appear to have let my emotions get the better of me.]

Oi. It's way too soon for you to make that apology and have it sound sincere. You clearly enjoyed that! Even though the toxins are currently eating you up from the inside, you still enjoyed it! I can tell!

[Let's get you back to the safe-zone,] I tell her. [You need to be cleansed before something bad happens.]

And of course, as If I'd spoken it into being, something bad immediately happens.

More goopy limbs burst forth from the river, seeking and writhing toward me. Warned by my antennae, I leap back. I might have let myself get caught the first time, but this looks a little more serious.

Seconds later, the thick sludge of the river surges as a dozen of the same creepy starfish emerge, ring-shaped mouths gnashing on the lower side of their centre mass.

Even more alarming, the first monster, which Crinis had… separated into fun-sized components… has begun pulling itself together, the pieces undulating together and merging into a congealing pile of goo.

This… this seems a little too coordinated to be a random Dungeon attack, right?

-x-X-x-

Before Crinis can dive headlong into the enemy and give herself a terminal case of toxic mana poisoning, I rush back to the safe-zone, alerting the ants as I go.

"We've got an attack! Weird… things coming out of the river!"

Once I'm close enough, I use my antennae to try and scrape Crinis off my carapace and fling her into the purified mana, but she clings onto me, refusing to go. More accurately, she lets her body become shadow, and my antennae just slide straight through her. Heck of a trick.

[Crinis, get into the safe-zone, that's an order.]

[I want to help fight!]

[Sure, do it from inside there. Go! Shoo!]

Unable to resist a direct order, she has no choice but to accede to my demand and slink back inside the blue mana. Invidia is already there, hovering over the blob of darkness, healing and cleansing her of the infection she's accumulated.

Seriously, eating the things that live here is dangerous business. If we could work out a way to clean the Biomass so we could consume it safely, that would go a long way to helping us break through the stratum.

Considering there's literal tons of inedible monster coming towards me right now, it's a bit unfortunate we haven't worked out that solution yet. Ah well, no time to worry about it now, I've got weird… slime things to destroy!

Mandibles wide and mind-constructs spinning, I run forward to put myself between the monsters and the Colony. The only problem with that strategy is the fact the river runs all the way down the length of this tunnel, which means there's a good stretch of it within the safe zone, and of course there are enemies emerging in there as well.

The way they react to the cleansed mana is interesting to see. We know that they hate and try to destroy it, but actually being inside it? Let's just say it doesn't seem to agree with them. The moment the monsters emerge, they writhe in pain as the mana which is safe for us proves to be deadly toxic to them.

There's a limited number of them inside the purified area. Perhaps they were all going to emerge in there, but one of them jumped the gun when I got too close to the river. As it stands, I shouldn't need to help out with that part of the fight, considering who else is inside.

[Tiny! Take care of the monsters in there! I'll deal with the ones outside!]

I don't need to see him to feel the grin stretch across his bat-like face. With a primal roar, the giant ape leaps into battle, fists crackling with lightning and eyes blazing red.

[And keep a close eye on them even after you beat them! They seem to be able to pull themselves back together or something. Keep fighting until you get the notification from Gandalf!]

If anything, the news that these opponents can take a lot of punishment only seems to fire him up more. Typical.

As for me, what the heck am I going to do? I don't want to get too close to these things; I've already got a dangerous level of toxin exposure, and getting wrapped up by half a dozen of these things wouldn't help the situation. With the bulk of my mind-constructs devoted to purifying myself, I guess I'm going to have to go about this the old fashioned way.

The monsters rush towards me, crawling over the rock floor of the tunnel in a disgusting tangle of gloopy limbs. The muck of the river sloughs off them as they move, leaving a trail behind that will have to be cleaned up later. Ugh, these things are awful. This might get a little messy, but I can only think of one way to deal with them appropriately.

The monsters are shockingly quick for their size, squelching and slurping as they use their many limbs to propel themselves forward. Every now and again, I catch a glimpse of their gnashing maws, right in the middle of their bodies.

They really are like an awful, fifth stratum version of Crinis gone wrong, aren't they? If she'd been like this the first time I saw her, there'd be little chance I'd ever think of raising her to be a friend.

Well, let's see how they deal with this!

When they draw close enough, the monsters begin to shoot limbs toward me, trying to latch on and poison me further. Using my reflexes and forewarning, I dodge efficiently out of the way, letting them draw closer. A little closer…

VOID CHOMP!

My mandibles begin to slam shut, and I empower the ability with the Altar. A flood of energy rips through my body as I my jaws close. Mandibles of dark light manifest, extending from my own for dozens of metres as the void itself begins to manifest right in front of my face.

Along with the void, comes the pull. The monsters are helpless to resist it; no matter how strong their strange flesh may be, some things cannot be fought against. My vision darkens, the air howls, my jaws continue to close.

They finally latch onto me, trying to pull me off balance, trying to inject their poison into me, but it's far too late.

When my mandibles finally slam shut, there comes a great detonation in front of me. Stone shatters, mucus flies, and a rain of flesh begins to fall.

Oh, that's disgusting.

The empowered Void Chomp has, once again, created quite the scene in front of me, the terrain of the tunnel having been rearranged rather significantly. The problem is, the monsters charging me basically exploded under the impact of my bite. There are bits of them everywhere.

And I still haven't heard any notifications….

All over the tunnel, even within the purified area, little globs of monster begin to pull themselves together….

-x-X-x-

These things seriously don't want to become biomass so bad they're going to reconstitute themselves from tiny chunks of goop?! How are they even alive?! I feel like I'm fighting the fifth stratum equivalent of Leeroy and the Immortals. Did this monster put all of its evolutionary points into cheating death?

The individual blobs writhe and roll over the floor, leaving a sizzling trail of acid behind them as they go. My fellow ants are hesitant to engage, wary of spreading toxic mana throughout the safezone, whereas Tiny is enthusiastically smashing every bit of ooze he can see into ever smaller pieces. He doesn't seem to be successful in actually finishing them off, though. No matter how small the pieces get, they start to pull themselves back together all the same.

That doesn't make any sense, there has to be a core in there somewhere. Well, I suppose there doesn't have to be, but a monster that evolves without one is hardly going to be strong at all, no matter how far they go.

Or perhaps cores can take a different form? I was offered an evolution that basically turned me into an insubstantial wisp of energy sort of thing. Where the heck would my core go in that body?

I have to say, if we manage to find a way to finish these lousy things but don't get a core out of it, I'm going to feel cheated.

There are globs of these monsters all around me; in fact, some are even on me, having showered everywhere after my cataclysmic bite. The acid burns fiercely as they slowly crawl their way together, leaving slime trails on my precious carapace.

I am having none of this!

Time to spin up the omni-elemental construct! Soon enough, I have a powerful stream of water blasting myself clean and a roaring burst of fire attempting to cook the goop as they try to merge.

Of course, it doesn't work that well. The fifth seems to have known instinctively that burning everything here with fire would be most people's reaction to seeing the place and has built in resistance accordingly. The more I attempt to burn the stuff, the less effective I'm sure it's being. The outside of every chunk is being cooked, but inside? No effect, as if the slime hunks were sacrificing an outer layer to fireproof themselves.

SERIOUSLY?! Just how resilient are these things? This is getting ridiculous.

All around me, the goop piles are growing larger and larger as more of the masses pull themselves together. Limbs are starting to reappear, and soon enough, some of them will be whole again, as if I'd never hit them with an empowered void chomp at all.

That's the empowered VOID CHOMP! To think a monster exists who can just shrug it off as if it was nothing… I'm not happy about this, Gandalf! Someone is cheating the system! I call foul!

Bah. There has to be a way to destroy these things, and I'm going to figure out what it is.

I angle myself away from the Colony and the safe-zone, switching my regular fire to Dragon's Breath.

A superheated jet of almost-white fire blasts forward, instantly raising the temperature of the entire tunnel. Surely, this will cook those lousy chunks!

This is more like exposing the monsters to a rocket engine than a flamethrower, a whole new scale of fire.

And… it actually works! A bit.

I manage to actually burn away some of the smaller pieces still wiggling their way back together, but the larger masses are able to resist. Even if I burn a third of them away, the inner core of slug-like flesh is protected.

So frustrating!

In another few seconds, some of them will be fully mobile again, and I haven't worked out a solution. I suppose what I can do is make sure they aren't a threat while we try to figure things out in the meantime.

[Tiny, don't worry about the little pieces, but when they get big enough, smash them apart again. I'll try and figure out a way to finish them off.]

[Fine…]

Tiny has been happily rampaging away inside the purified mana, but he's only made the problem worse, spreading toxic goo all over the place.

We need to figure out a way to break these things down on a fundamental level….

I could just bite them all into small pieces and burn them, but not everyone has access to dragon's breath. In fact, only I do, so how is anyone else going to deal with them?

I race around the battlefield, chomping away at every near-reformed monster. My mandibles slice through their bodies, but receive significant acid damage in return, which isn't ideal. After cutting through a dozen of them and flinging the pieces apart, it's going to take another minute or two for them to reform, but I can use that time to come up with a solution.

[Invidia,] I ask desperately, [do you have any ideas on how to deal with these things?]

The demon's voice purrs in my mind, inordinately pleased.

[Yesssssss, you can dependsssss on meee!]

I mean… alright? I suppose I am at the moment….

[They mussssst be dessstroyed by breaking apart their mana.]

[That sounds completely exhausting. How long would that even take?!]

Break them down, piece by piece, by attacking their mana? First of all, breaking apart the mana within a creature is hard. Second of all, fifth stratum mana is self-replicating. Could I even break one down faster than it repairs itself?!

[There issss no need to breakssss them.]

[Wait… You just said…]

[There are creaturesssss here who sssspecialissse in doing thisss.]

Is he… is he talking about the wuffers?

[You want us to feed these monsters to the wuffers? Would that even work?]

[It issss possssssible. It will be fasssster than doing it all mysssself.]

That's when I finally notice Invidia floating around inside the safe-zone, flapping his little wings every now and again to get a little more lift. Everywhere he goes, chunks are withering away and dying, but only the smallest ones. Even he is struggling to manage the larger pieces.

[Alright, we'll give it a go.]

-x-X-x-

By the time we manage to isolate some small pieces and place them into the wuffer intake pipes, several of the lousy monsters have pulled themselves back together and I'm forced to chomp them again. Repeated exposure to toxicity and acid is really starting to take a toll on me, and I'm going to need a break sooner rather than later.

Even Tiny is struggling inside the safe-zone, his fur becoming patchy in areas where he's been burned. Invidia is staying close by, healing and cleansing him as much as he can, but I can tell the ape is getting worn down.

Using the heavily enchanted trenches drawing toxic mana toward the groups of wuffers as a delivery system seems to make the most sense. It'll get the problem to the wuffers and isolate it from the rest of the safe-zone at the same time. The only concern is… how will the happy wibble-wobble pets take it?

Even I watch with bated breath as the test sample is absorbed. The wuffers have been happily doing their thing for ages now, absorbing the toxic mana in a constant stream and releasing a dense cloud of purified energy that fills the safe-zone.

For a moment, it's difficult to tell what is happening. Even my senses struggle to keep tabs on such a small bit of mana.

[Invidia, can you tell what's happening in there?]

[It appearssss the pieces have been absssorbed.]

[Oh snap. So one of the wuffers has actually taken it in?]

[Yesssss.]

A few moments later, I pester him again.

[So… what's happening now?]

[Waitssss a moment.]

Exactly one moment later.

[How about now?]

[Interessssting. You sssshould be able to sssense it too.]

I cast my mind toward the wuffers, confused. I don't sense anything! Certainly no toxic mana…. Wait, that's the point!

In fact, the purified mana being released is ever so slightly more dense! It actually worked?!

With a solution at hand, the ants spring into action, working as industriously as they always do. I'm no exception, since I'm the only one who can gather up the many chunks of monster still outside the purified area.

I spend the next ten minutes slicing up monsters and delivering pieces to others inside the safe zone, wherein they are further 'processed' until they can be fed into the toxic mana lines and eventually absorbed by the wuffers.

Soon, the purified mana cloud is expanding even further, pushing back against the fifth and expanding the safe-zone beyond its previous limit. It won't last long, this is a temporary boost after all, since the wuffers can only maintain this level of output while they're… eating? I guess?

But dang, I'm exhausted. Not physically, or even mentally, thanks to my constant state of refreshment, but I am thoroughly toxified at the moment and my body does not feel good.

I stagger into the safe-zone and plop myself down in some clear space. The moment I step inside, I feel a bit better. The purified mana begins to seep into me, warring against the poison I've absorbed. I turn my weary mind-constructs over to meticulously cleansing myself, and I don't even protest when a few grumbling healers come over to tend to the worst of my wounds.

My mandibles have it the worst, they've been etched and melted by the act of biting and carrying chunks of those creatures around. My precious mandibles!

"Eldest, you're a mess," one of the healers mutters. "How did you get this much damage to your carapace? Are you even trying out there?"

"Hey! I'm working hard! It's not easy out there, you know?"

Sheesh!

Truth be told, my carapace isn't nearly as bad as it looks. The acidic effect of the fifth is strong, sure, and every monster I fight only makes it worse by spreading goop, slime or mucous which is even more acidic. However, my carapace is made of gravity compressed diamond. It's dense. Absurdly dense. It's going to take a heck of a long time for any acid to burn through it.

No, the worst of my injuries is not the carapace, but my joints, antennae, eyes and other, less well protected bits of myself. Despite regularly flushing my system with regeneration fluid, the damage outpaces my rate of healing at times.

Gradually, my body begins to feel better, and Tiny, Crinis and Invidia come over and plop themselves down next to me. Tiny also suffered quite a few burns, but Invidia has been patching him up well.

[Nice work, gang. Crinis, are you feeling better? No major issues?]

[Ah, no… I'm fine, thank you Master.]

[Good. Maybe don't eat any more fifth stratum monsters?]

[I will… try.]

There's quite a bit of excitement over at the wuffers from the many core shapers watching over them. Lots of running about, antennae waving and prodding.

I snag a messenger shooting past me and ask what's going on.

"The wuffers have levelled up and seem to have absorbed Cores, Eldest!" she reports before dashing off to report to the generals, and presumably Brendant.

Cores? XP? So they actually did finish them off? That's… interesting. Did they get Biomass too?

I look over at the wibbly blobs of blue goo, happily chuffing as they continue to absorb pure filth and turn it into clean, bright mana.

Are these things going to be the worst nightmare of the fifth stratum monsters? Stranger things have happened, I suppose.

The idea of Krath running in fear from a cheerful pack of slow-moving wuffers is amusing, but unlikely to come about in reality, I suppose. If that speedy slug I saw was actually a Krath, it would be impossible for the wuffers to ever catch up to them.

Brendant soon rushes over to confer with the core shapers. She chats to them for a while as I recuperate, then comes over to speak with me.

"Quite a development," I say.

"The core shapers are extremely excited. It's been difficult to level up the wuffers, since they have basically no offensive capabilities at all. Now they realise that they don't need any at all. If their pets can 'purify' these toxic monsters for experience and cores, it will be huge for the sustainability of our project."

Interesting. Well, good news is good news!

"Give me an hour to rest and I'll get back out there. I'll try and pass over as many monsters as I can so we can give them to the wuffers."

"That's exactly what I was going to ask, Eldest."

-x-X-x-

Things were not meant to have gone this way.

Zluth compressed himself a little as he slid to the side, carefully not looking at the gruesome scene taking place nearby. Though, try as he might, there was nothing he could do about the sound.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH. SLURP.

All Zluth really cared about in the moment was that it wasn't him who'd been on the chopping block. When the Krath'lath was done with her grisly task, she gurgled grotesquely as she absorbed the flesh of her consumed tribesmates.

"Failure is not acceptable," she said when she had finished. Then turned her stalks toward Zluth, who froze in place for a moment.

"Of course not, Krath'lath. The three urudesh who proposed this assault were clearly inferior, a blight upon our tribe."

"We are indeed stronger for having removed such weakness," the Krath'lath agreed, her eyes burning into his. "As the one responsible for the health of our tribe, I only wonder if I have removed all of the failures."

She was still hungry? Zluth fought with himself to maintain his calm.

"In what way have I failed?" he declared confidently. "I was the one who found the intruders. I was the one who escaped their notice and brought word of their impure mana back to the tribe."

Burning red eyes atop dozens of stalks turned toward the Krath'lath, who visibly gnashed her teeth. Her body was visibly shuddering in pain as she digested those she had consumed, absorbing their potent acid and using it to refine her own. Punishing weakness was accepted, welcomed, celebrated, within the tribe. Wanton slaughter was… at times forgivable, but not when it would impact the tribe.

A weak tribe would become food for their rivals. Literally.

"Very well," she declared finally, before she released a particularly noxious cloud of gas. The very air seemed to sizzle with the potency of it, and Zluth felt his own guts roil at the scent.

The current Krath'lath had been in her post for some time, and feasted on many of her fellow Krath. She had clearly refined a powerful acid indeed, and he hungered to add it to his own.

But this was not the time; his position was not strong enough to warrant a challenge.

"We must come to a decision on how to best torture these invaders," the Krath'lath declared, grinding her jagged teeth. "Speak, and I shall decide our path."

It wasn't lost on any of them that it was she who'd accepted the proposal of the three, now consumed, Krath who had proposed using their pets to assault the invaders via the river. They'd been confident, and their pets were based on a strong design. Zluth was still surprised it hadn't worked. Not only hadn't worked. Had empowered the enemy.

"We must be careful not to aid our enemies any further," Zluth proposed. "We have learned they are capable of strengthening their… filth-makers," he spat.

A glob of iridescent green slime sizzled into the rock beside him.

"... by using our creatures. Every time we assault them with pets or proxies and fail, they will grow stronger."

"I did not ask what we should not do," the Krath'lath turned her bulging eyes toward him again.

She really had it in for him for some reason. Zluth felt the stirring of both fear and rage coiling in his slug-flesh. This was a dangerous moment, but also one with great potential. Fortunately, someone else spoke up to distract attention away from him.

"Our first priority should be to capture one of our enemies alive," burbled Zassin. "Once we toxify them in the sludge pits, we will know everything needed to deal with them."

Attention turned back to Zluth, and he held firm under their gaze. As the only Krath to lay eyes on the invaders directly, it was natural that he would be called on to comment.

"It would be extremely difficult. The enemy remains inside their field of corrupted mana at all times. Even entering it will cause harm to us. Only one ant emerges from their blue filth."

"We capture that one, then," the Krath'lath declared.

"That ant is easily tier seven, possibly eight."

Having her words challenged in this way was too much for the Krath'lath. Despite her disgustingly distended flesh, she launched herself toward Zluth, mouth gaping and thick gastric juices leaking from between her teeth.

It took four others to tackle and hold her down until the rage had passed. When she had regained control of herself, she growled low until they released her and she pulled herself upright once more.

Losing oneself to the rage was a common enough occurrence, so nobody looked at her the worse for the loss of control.

Discussions amongst the Krath were always… spirited.

"A tier seven or eight…" she muttered.

Zluth paused for a beat to be sure she didn't intend to speak any more before he continued.

"Who is possibly a mythic. I wasn't able to get a precise reading of the monster's core, but it was very strong."

"A tier seven, possibly mythic, ant," Goszi said. "Something odd is happening here."

The other present Krath agreed. Too many unexpected occurrences were taking place. An invasion, by monsters, ant monsters at that, and such highly evolved ones? They'd even designed pets to refine the fifth's mana.

"We must observe and learn more," the Krath'lath declared. "We will continue to hound them by directing natural spawns in their direction as we scout."

A sensible decision, but Zluth knew exactly what was going to come next.

"Zluth, you have had some success scouting these creatures. You will take the lead."

Her eyes bulged red once again as they rotated on their stalks to face him. He did not flinch.

"Of course," he burbled. "I will not fail the tribe. How many Krath will come with me?"

The tribe leader considered for a moment.

"I will give you four scouts. Use them well. Ensure you return before the breeding season. I wish to have further discussions with you at that time."

Zluth's eyes wilted on his stalks for a moment as he realised what she was saying. That was a dangerous experience for a male Krath, and not one he felt the Krath'lath intended to let him survive.

He would have to make sure he 'missed' this appointment.

"Of course, Krath'lath. I will depart shortly."

-x-X-x-

Fighting for several days down in the fifth is a truly unpleasant experience. The only thing that makes it bearable is seeing the gradual transformation taking place within the purified area.

Unable to survive without native, fifth stratum mana, the poisonous moulds, toxic flowers, slime and mucous strands that cover almost every surface here have died off. Even the mucus river, thick and disgusting as it is, can't help but be somewhat purified by the time it's made its way through the safe-zone.

If we were to remain here long enough, I wonder if we might see the original, natural environment of the fifth begin to return and flourish, but goodness knows how long that would take. In fact, I doubt it ever could, considering we would need to restore the mana that had persisted here before it had become corrupted. I doubt anyone on Pangera can remember what that was, except perhaps for the Ancients.

However, eventually we reach the end of the experiment, and it's time to pack up and go home to the fourth.

"The more time we spend in the fifth, the more I want to conquer it," I confess to Brendant.

The dutiful soldier has been in stellar form as the leader of our expedition. Her cool and collected leadership from the front has been the anchor holding this entire operation in place. Honestly, I've been impressed.

"I think I know what you mean, Eldest," she confesses. "This place rejects any attempt to even live here with such ferocity, I can't help but want to rise to the challenge."

The Colony is in the process of removing all our temporary defences and earthworks. Naturally, we terraformed the safe-zone to be as convenient as possible, but since we're leaving, there's no reason to leave it behind and let the Krath go over everything.

I have no doubt that they're watching us, but the damn slugs are so sneaky I can barely catch a whiff of them with any of my senses. Their mana, their appearance, their scent, everything about them blends into the fifth so perfectly they're practically indistinguishable from a wall. Every time I think I've caught a glimpse of one, it vanishes just as quickly.

Though their malevolent interference didn't stop at just watching.

It's impossible that the monsters we fought were only those naturally spawning in the area. We battled against way, way more than that.

"What do you think the Krath will have waiting for us when we return?" I wonder.

"Who can say?" Brendant shakes her antennae. "We know basically nothing about them, but they don't know anything about us either. Winning the war for information will be crucial to our success."

"I'm going to assume Solant has a plan in that regard?"

"Solant has a plan in every regard."

That's her method. I shudder to think just how detailed the plans for invading the fifth have become at this point. The thought of hundreds of thousands of ants rigorously training for this upcoming war fills me with confidence. I've no doubt we will be successful in the long run.

"Still, how are we supposed to get information on the Krath? We haven't come close to capturing one…"

Brendant flicks her antennae dismissively.

"We haven't been trying to capture one. The more they fight against us, the more we will learn of their methods, capabilities and thoughts. So long as they don't manage to overwhelm us, we will absorb their pressure and counter attack with double the force. Under Solant's command, agility and adaptability are our greatest strengths."

That's a good point. We were too rigid before, but Solant has shown that a willingness to shift strategy and methods can be powerful. Heck, there's nothing she won't throw away or change in order to achieve victory.

As before, the wuffers are among the last to be taken up to the fourth, seeing as how the safe-zone must be maintained at all times. Eventually, the time comes, and the happily chuffing pets are gathered up from their place on the specially constructed pads and lifted up into the shaft above. Once this happens, there's only a few minutes until the purified mana is completely overwhelmed, so we have to work quickly.

The trenches are destroyed, all sign of enchantment removed and then the ants themselves rush up the shaft.

Tiny, Crinis, Invidia and I are the last remaining members, and I send the three of them up first before I retreat myself.

As I climb up the wall and make my way across the roof, I spy a pair of eyes peeking out from behind a mucus strand, watching me with a burning hatred.

Oho… Mr Krath. Let your guard down now that you saw us leaving, did you? How delicious.

Masking all sign of my efforts, I continue to climb toward the entrance to the shaft, and the moment I set my claws upon it, I let the spell rip.

Gravity Bomb!

HOOOOOOOOWLLLL!

It's not a super strong one, nor is it empowered, but it's sure to cause a heck of a mess. I don't remain to see what happens, but begin my climb back to the fourth stratum, chuckling to myself.

By the time I reach the top, I haven't received a notification from Gandalf regarding any dead Krath, so I assume it managed to squirm away somehow.

Gweheheheh.

Hope you liked my farewell gift, slug. Don't worry, you'll be seeing me again before too long.