So, a giant turtle wants to throw down with me? Hah! It's nothing but a snack in my eyes. Though… it's a pretty darn big snack.
Now that it isn't covered by the goop, I can get a better sense of its core, and it's definitely weaker than mine. This is a tier seven monster who didn't manage to max out its core at some point along the line, or didn't push the limits as far as it could have. I have the advantage in evolutionary energy, but that doesn't mean everything.
This monster has clearly invested much more heavily in its body than I have. The turtle is significantly bigger than me, perhaps double my mass, with that broad shell covering its bulk. Looking carefully, that shell looks like it's where the bulk of the evolution power has gone. It's clearly made of an advanced material native to the fifth, the whole thing reeks of the fifth's unique mana, but more than that, the pulsating holes in the shell tell the real story of the monster's strengths.
There are perhaps a dozen openings in the shell, and from each of them spews an endless stream of thick goop, coating the shell and running in slow rivulets off the edge and onto the ground. This was the source of the pool all along, created by the turtle. Since it can seemingly control the sludge at will, it's a defensive tool, a useful method of concealment, and a weapon all at the same time.
Confronted by a shiny, heroic challenger, the turtle gathers up the remaining sludge, ready to try and pummel me with it. Well, I'm not about to sit around and let that happen. My mind constructs churn, preparing a host of spells as I position myself carefully, ready to spring in any direction.
First thing to do is try and neutralise the goop. If the turtle is going to use it as a weapon, then getting rid of it seems like a good place to start. The sludge is rising up off the ground now, collecting into an enormous ball the beast is gathering over itself, so that makes an obvious target.
I unleash a stream of Dragon's Breath, aiming to superheat the slime and burn away as much as I can, but my opponent responds quickly.
Blinded by my own fire, I don't see the attack coming, and I have to say, without my antennae, I might've already been in a bad way in this fight.
I cut off the flame and throw myself into a roll to the right, just in time to avoid another chomp. Ethereal jaws of dark yellow energy smash shut beside me, and I retaliate in kind.
You wanna bite? I'll show you how to bite!
EMPOWERED VOID CHOMP!
Two mandibles formed of pure darkness form, extending a dozen metres beyond my own as I lunge forward. A screaming void forms between those jaws, dragging everything inward with incredible force as the mandibles slam shut. There's a colossal impact and everything in front of me goes dark, my vision totally covered by debris, dust and rock.
There's so much moving I'm actually taken by surprise when a blast of goop swerves around and slams into my flank. I'm sent sprawling onto my side, but I'm not injured. The impact is strong, but with the carapace and plating that I'm packing, it's not nearly enough to cause any sort of injury to me.
But I don't think that's the point. Instead of stopping, the goop keeps pressing, trying to force its way through the gaps at my joints and burn the precious ant within.
Well, we aren't allowing that to happen….
With all my minds working in concert, I unleash two spells at once. First, an empowered gravity domain flickers into being, covering an enormous space, hundreds of metres in diameter.
Second, an enormous burst of mana flashes before being turned into an avalanche of mud. The target? Me! Buried in my own mud, the stuff instantly hardens, turning into a prison of dense stone faster than a giant turtle can blink.
While this has the unfortunate effect of trapping me, it also cuts off the tide of sludge trying to land on my head, which is convenient while I deal with the slime which managed to get onto me.
Over a few seconds, I manage to shred the goop apart with my mind while the turtle slams more and more of the mucus down on my stone prison. When it finally breaks through, I am, of course, no longer there, having tunnelled out with a combination of earth mana and my mighty face-hands.
Didn't see that coming, did you, turtle-brain?
I burst out of the ground thirty metres away, and before I even get my feet settled, another searing jet of Dragon's Breath is unleashed. Screeching in rage, the monster turns to face me, and I get a chance to see the chunk missing out of its shell. Looks like my void chomp managed to land after all, but I missed my target. Instead of landing a bite on the beast's head, I hit the shell right on the shoulder, which doesn't seem to have hurt it much.
Beneath the empowered gravity domain, the monster is pressed down by the sheer weight of its own bulk, and controlling the mucus, which is unpleasantly dense, isn't as easy as before. In comparison, I'm as light as a dancer and ready to roll!
I keep the blast of fire going as I circle around the turtle. It tries to retaliate by sending waves of slime at me, but I'm able to keep ahead of them without too much trouble. As long as I'm careful, I can avoid them easily, and if I keep an appropriate distance, I don't have to fear the turtle's incredibly painful-looking jaws.
What are you going to do now, turtle? There's like a million ants within range of my Vestibule, all providing a trickle of Will which rapidly turns into a torrent. I'm full of beans. I'm fresh. I can do this all day!
The only thing I can't do with the Vestibule is turn that gathered Will into mana, but I've got a heck of a lot of that in store as well.
We may not be able to use the Biomass of the monsters we defeat down here in the fifth, but the cores are another thing entirely. I've been fighting monsters for days and days down here, and I haven't been letting those cores go to waste.
What I have an incredible abundance of, is gravity mana. The domain draws out a constant stream, but I have oodles more, and using the stuff always gives me a portion back, making my use of it ever more cost efficient.
I guess what I'm saying is, it's time for bombs.
-x-X-x-
I mean, really now. How hard can it be to destroy one nasty turtle? Pretty darn hard, as it turns out!
I send bomb after bomb at the lousy thing. Obviously they aren't large ones, or overly empowered. The Colony is close enough that if I were to unleash my full strength, they, the fortress currently under construction, and most definitely myself, would be in serious trouble. There's no need to risk my own life in order to destroy this turtle, but wearing it down is taking forever.
The first problem is the endless amount of slime it produces. The stuff is dense and packed full of mana, so it soaks up a huge amount of power from the gravity bombs. However, I can produce black holes faster than this stupid turtle can make its dumb sludge, so I can get through the defensive layer, but the turtle won't let me target its soft underside, always turning its shell to take the hit.
And the shell is tough. I don't know if it's mana resistant or just absurdly dense, but it eats up punishment. Or is this turtle just healing really quickly? I'm not sure, but it's a massive pain in the thorax!
From its position in the centre of its now non-existent pool, the shelled fiend glares at me hatefully. For whatever reason, it still hasn't tried to charge me, but every time I get close, them jaws start snapping, without fail.
So we enter this standoff, where it sits there brooding, pumping out sludge from the holes in its shell, and I just throw bombs at it along with a myriad of other spells, trying to wear the lousy thing down.
After all, in a battle of attrition, I'm guaranteed to win!
Once I've thrown my tenth fun-sized gravity bomb, the turtle's patience finally cracks. Despite being under the weight of the gravity domain, the lumbering beast picks itself up and finally decides to make its move.
I'm half expecting the monster to have some hideous slug-like lower body, but thankfully it has the regular four legs that anyone would expect to see. I'm almost relieved.
Under the weight of its massive bulk, I'm not sure what this turtle is going to do, so I watch carefully to see what its next move is going to be. A charge? A headlong assault? A desperate last minute bite combo?!
I'm sure this monster has more up its sleeve than what it's shown so far. The whole reason I'm being so cautious is because I expect more from it. I have the advantage as long as I'm wearing it down, a long battle plays heavily into my favour, so why take the risk and run in headlong?
Now, turtle, show me something new!
After the massive creature levers itself to its feet, it turns to face me, its head finally extending further out from its shell.
And then an absolute flood of mucus bursts out.
MORE MUCUS?! Come on, you damn creature, enough with the mucus already!
Except this isn't what I think it is. At first it appears as though a flood of goop is pouring out from beneath the rim of the shell, but that impression quickly changes as the sludge takes shape and resolves into a dozen tentacle-like limbs. Each one is round and lacking identifying shapes, but they're large.
The monster takes a heavy step forward, then another. When I don't back away, it snaps its massive jaws in warning before its goopy limbs lash out towards me.
Now these are not sluggish like the turtle itself, but super, super quick. With the advantage of my antennae and enhanced reflexes, I'm able to dance away from almost all of the blows, but catch a glancing hit on one of my legs.
That's when I realise that these limbs hold another trick. Where it touches my leg, the lousy thing sticks. As soon as it notices the contact, the turtle pulls back, trying to drag me up into the air and closer to it, even as more of the tentacles slash towards me.
Well, this isn't ideal.
Making a snap decision, I do something I'm not overly happy about and bite my own leg off. It's not pleasant, I'm not a fan, but it's the only way I can think of to ensure that I can leap out of the way and avoid getting caught completely.
Limbs formed of potent mucus, each as large as a tree trunk, slam into the ground beside me as I somewhat awkwardly leap to the side. Alright, turtle, this is how you want to play, is it? I guess we're going all in.
I brace my legs before I use an empowered dash to explode forward. The world is a blur in my eyes as I almost teleport past the slashing limbs and arrive right in front of the beast. My jaws are primed, ready to bite down on the turtle that looms overhead.
Before it can even turn to face me, my jaws are beginning to close.
EMPOWERED VOID CHOMP!
Jaws formed of black light scream into reality, along with the yawning void just metres in front of my face. There's nothing the turtle can do to escape, but it reacts faster than I expect, rotating its body and presenting its thick shell towards my mandibles.
The jaws close with absurd concussive force. It sounds less like a bite than it does a bomb detonation. I can feel the shell crunching between my actual, physical mandibles, that's how close I was.
Just in case of incoming limbs, I leap to the side, but there's no attack incoming, at least not immediately. When the dust settles, I can see what my bite did to the turtle, and it ain't pretty.
The monster is injured, heavily so, but still kicking, still glaring at me with those eyes filled with rage. Just like everything else in the fifth, it seems to possess that same irrational hatred towards anything not born to this nightmarish place. However, it seems more in control, more calculating, in its response.
The turtle staggers to one side before raising up its remaining limbs, ready to attack once more.
Come on, you lousy thing! Just how much more punishment can you possibly take?!
It turns out, quite a bit, but eventually I stand triumphant over the Biomass of the defeated local overlord. Take that, you lousy turtle! Thought you could face up to me? The Eldest of the Colony!? Hah! Absolutely dreaming!
All in all, this was a successful first run. The generals, namely Solant, were feeling cautious, as always, and wanted to put me up against the weakest of the local boss monsters first. As instructed, I played the fight as cautiously as I could, trying to investigate and draw out as much intelligence as possible.
It went… alright. For now, I need to pull the core out, and get my shiny backside back to the Colony. I'm not tired, because… I'm me… but I am injured and filled with toxic mana. I need a break.
-x-X-x-
The core shapers are absolutely delighted to get their greedy little mandibles on the core I bring back. Investigating the nature and capabilities of the fifth stratum monsters is incredibly important, especially the more highly evolved ones. Bella acted like I handed her the greatest treasure in the world when I dumped the core into her mandibles.
"Hey. The turtle wasn't that impressive. For a tier seven? Barely passable."
"Not all of the wild grown monsters are as smart as you, Eldest," she replies without even looking at me. "Most of them have less than impressive evolutions, let alone the sorts of powers that you have."
Well… I mean… I am impressive. And shiny, in my own uniquely purple way.
She rushes away, ready to study the thing, and I'm immediately beset by a very unimpressed-looking Mendant.
"Think you're all that?" she huffs, somehow reading the smug tilt to my antennae. "You ain't nothing without us to keep you alive."
That is very true.
"None of us are anything without the Colony behind us," I agree. "Without the family, I'm not anywhere near as strong."
Which is both metaphorically and literally true. The Vestibule is transferring the Will, the… I don't know… energy of the Colony, straight into me, but also, without the others, without my family, how could I possibly have made it this far? There's no chance, absolutely none, and I have zero doubt about that.
"Good that you appreciate it," Mendant snaps, already climbing over my carapace and poking at me with her sensitive antennae.
Without anything to do, I flop down on the spot and patiently wait as the medic does her work. Of course, it's never just one healer who shows up to handle my 'checkups,' and soon I'm crawling with five of them, prodding away.
It takes an hour before they're satisfied there's no remaining toxicity within me, and by that time, Invidia, Tiny and Crinis have arrived, along with the general herself.
[Hey, Invidia. I know the healers are awesome, but can you have a look, just for my peace of mind?]
His eye glitters brilliantly, and even without his mouth manifesting, I can still feel the smile.
[Of coursssse,] he practically purrs. [You can countsssss on me.]
No need to be weird about it. Ever since he evolved, he's way too happy when he's asked to help, and I have no idea why. But hey, whatever, I'm happy he's happy.
"How did your battle with the beast go?" Solant asks, wasting no time, as usual. In fact, I'm starting to feel confident she has an actual allergy to wasted time. If there's an inefficiency anywhere near her, she starts to twitch, I've seen it. Nothing huge, her antennae mostly, a leg here or there, but it's there, everytime.
Just to test my theory, I delay my response just a little, and sure enough, the twitch is there. It starts in her antennae, but as I continue to wait, it spreads to her forelegs. It's so slight, I'm not sure anyone else has noticed. I don't want to push my luck too far, after all, wasting the time of this particular ant is, in fact, a really bad idea. She's only running an entire invasion of the most dangerous place in the Dungeon (that we know of), with millions of lives in her mandibles.
"It was fine," I say quickly, feeling guilty. "The monster was unusually durable, but targets further away from the Colony and the construction sites can be dealt with using… more efficient methods."
"Going further out also exposes you to more corruption, which decreases the amount of time you can fight, and increases the risk of major contamination. There's only so far the Colony is willing to expose you to danger."
Guh. This is rapidly becoming a sticking point lately.
"It's never been a problem before. I've put myself on the line for the family time and time again. Gladly!"
"As the family grows more capable, there are more things that we can achieve without you, which means we can afford to save you for those tasks only you can do."
"Bah. There's no need to be so precious about it. I'm here to take on the most dangerous tasks faced by the family. That's what I want. Load me up."
Solant considers me for a moment and I start to get uneasy.
The Colony has been more than willing to throw me at the front of this invasion, because they don't really have a choice, but more and more I feel like they're starting to look at me like they do The Queen. I have to emphasise, I do not want that. Not at all. It would drive me even more nuts than it does The Queen, and I would be completely aware of all their schemes to keep me out of danger via the Vestibule, making the entire effort a complete waste of time.
"You put me in the position I occupy because I don't operate like the others," Solent stated. "Because you needed someone who was willing to do things differently."
She waits for an answer, but I'm not sure what she's after, so I just nod.
"I want you to trust me. As long as you cooperate, I promise I will utilise your strength in the correct way."
Well, I sure as heck don't want to have to consider the grand plan. If I tried to cram everything Solant has been working on into my head, it would explode. I feel fine with her calling the shots, of course I do. I just have to confirm one thing first.
"You don't hold a grudge about our tunnel ball match, do you?"
Her antennae flick derisively.
"Of course I do. I always will."
Well, nards.
-x-X-x-
"Tribune Morrelia, Tribune Joshen. I trust you are prepared for our upcoming engagement?"
Morrelia just nodded, but Joshen snapped out a salute.
"Of course, Commander. Your briefing was very thorough."
Arrayed in his spotless dress uniform, her fellow Tribune was, as usual, the very picture of a dedicated officer. Morrelia, on the other hand, had just come from the field, and she looked like it. Chyron gave her a critical glance, but she just shrugged carelessly. The ants absolutely wouldn't care what she looked like. What she smelled like was much more important.
Judging from the faint whiff in the air, Joshen was wearing some form of scent, and she couldn't help but wonder what the ants' reaction might be when they detected it.
For her part, the Commander was, as always, wearing her armour, fully armed, her helmet tucked under one arm and glaring. In truth, it was difficult to say she was glaring, since that was her usual look. Morrelia had only seen the Commander angry a few times, but on those occasions, her normally severe expression turned positively thunderous.
Right now, the Commander was definitely tense. The Legion had given approval for them to work with the ants during their assault on the fifth, but critically, the Colony itself had to approve. It had been surprisingly easy to arrange a meeting, but they'd been made to wait until they were to speak to someone with… the authority to agree to their participation.
Now, it was time for the meeting to take place, and they were about to depart from the Legion camp, which had already begun being struck.
As Chyron stepped outside, Morrelia and Joshen fell into position behind her, matching her stride and staring straight ahead, even as they scanned their surroundings. Alongside them, twenty fully armoured Legionaries were arrayed, stomping in unison as their magically enhanced Abyssal plate boosted their physical strength.
Not far outside their camp, they found a gathering of ants, no more than a dozen, which was unusual. This deep in the Dungeon, the ants usually moved in groups of several hundred. Morrelia had seen their patrols with her own eyes, swarms of ants who moved as if they had a single mind.
No words were exchanged, the ants simply turned and began to walk, matching pace with the Legion as they travelled. It wasn't hard to interpret their intention: follow us.
After eyeing the Commander, who gave a subtle hand gesture, the soldiers and officers fell in line, walking at a brisk pace, weapons drawn and ready for battle at any moment.
It was the only intelligent way to move this deep into the Dungeon. Although there hadn't been any spawns expected along this path, it never hurt to be cautious. Even Dungeon Seers could be wrong.
They were headed towards the entrance to the fifth, of course, and as they approached, Morrelia was shocked by the continued transformation of the area. When last she'd been here, the Colony had been busy moulding it into the staging ground of the invasion, a process that had only continued. It was enormous. Part fortress, part nest, part supply depot, part industrial manufactory.
The number of ants was staggering, and the stream of traffic leading to the massive rampway that likely ran to the heart of the mountain above, and its gates, was eye-boggling. The ants were packed together so thickly they looked like merchant carts packed on the road in front of an inspection point, except the ants were actually moving. Tens of thousands of them going up or down at any time in a constant stream.
Fortunately, they weren't required to step right into the heart of the fortress, something even Morrelia felt uncomfortable about while travelling with so many of her fellow Legionnaires.
The ants leading them came to a halt, and so did they. Shortly after, they were approached by a much larger group of ants. Several thousand, in fact. The tension among her fellow soldiers ratcheted up significantly, but the Commander showed no change in demeanour, merely watching it all take place with a critical eye.
Solant was there, in the heart of the formation, the little general instantly recognisable from her diminutive size and the scale of her presence. Morrelia understood why they were being so careful. This was the general charged with managing the entire campaign; of course they would be reluctant to risk her.
The two groups were still separated by over a hundred metres when Solant and her entourage came to a stop. Not an overwhelming display of trust, but sensible on the part of both sides.
The Legionaries were tense, she could see it amongst the ranks, and no doubt the ants felt the same way, though there was very little to give away how they were feeling. Both sides stood still, waiting, though for what she wasn't sure.
From behind the ants, a human came running, an enormous young man with a similarly large axe strapped to his back.
"Sorry!" he called as he came to a stop beside Solant. "I mistimed my sleep."
Commander Chyron frowned severely, and Morrelia felt compelled to step forward and whisper in her ear.
"It's culturally important to the ants to get enough sleep. They won't disturb someone who's resting if they can help it."
If anything, that only caused Chyron to grow more irritated, and Morrelia understood why. She was probably thinking the ants didn't consider this important enough to wake their translator.
The young man in question was busy nodding and rubbing the back of his head as the ants no doubt berated him for his lack of timing. She wondered which mage was communicating with him.
After a minute, he stepped a little closer to the Legion and executed an awkward bow.
"Hi. I'm Jern. I've been asked to translate for you. I'll pass your words onto Solant. So you can… say what you want."
He was clearly uncomfortable having so many eyes on him.
"You'll pass on my words?" Chyron asked him. "How? You don't look like a mage to me."
"I can talk using scent, like the ants do, thanks to my Class."
Chyron's eyes narrowed, doubtlessly curious about exactly what Class this was. He didn't look like one of the ant priests, that was for sure.
"Very well. Let the general and I talk."
-x-X-x-
"Can I ask how progress is going in the fifth stratum? The Legion is quite familiar with just how temperamental it can be," Chyron stated.
There was only the slightest pause before Jern replied. He must have been passing on the Commander's words as she spoke them.
"You may not. That information is only for those who are part of the expedition."
Meaning, if they wanted to know, then they would have to commit their support for the invasion. Not an unexpected reply.
"I don't want to waste words," Chyron stated evenly. "I know that there have been difficulties down there. The knowledge of the Legion would be invaluable to you, as would our participation."
"Knowledge has no value when there is no trust. The same goes for prowess on the battlefield."
Chyron couldn't help giving a wry smile.
"If you thought we weren't of any use, you wouldn't be here at all."
"I'm the only one in the Colony who believes in the potential of our cooperation. There is also commensurate–did I say that right? I did? Commensurate risk. The key to success in these negotiations is finding an acceptable balance."
"How old are you?" Chyron asked.
"Who… me?" Jern asked. "I'm eighteen."
"Not you."
Only eighteen? Morrelia thought. This guy is massive!
And he moved well. It was difficult to put her finger on, but there was something about the way he placed his feet, his balance, and the way he didn't seem hampered by the axe on his back, but aware of it at all times. Just what sort of training had the Colony put him through?
Solant tilted her head to one side, her antennae waving curiously.
"Does it matter?" the ant replied.
Chyron shook her head.
"The Legion has been fighting monsters for thousands of years. I personally have served for over six decades, and in that time, I've fought in every stratum from the second to the sixth. Don't underestimate what we bring to the table."
Solant flicked her antennae.
"My family is young, but capable of so much more than you imagine. As am I. Let's keep in our minds just why your Legion is here. You want to kill the Eldest, because they have been subjected to the Call, something beyond their control. Naturally, this means the Colony is disinclined to accept your help. Now, without wasting any more words, let us state our positions clearly. What are your conditions for lending aid to the Colony?"
This was the kind of negotiating Commander Chyron preferred, one without pretence.
"A guarantee of safety goes without saying. Access to all information gathered by your Colony in the Fifth stratum. And regular access to the 'Eldest'."
"Why would you need access to the Eldest?"
"Inspection purposes."
There was a long moment of silence as the ants conferred amongst themselves. Morrelia felt the tension rise amongst the troops, and she moved to clap the nearest soldier on the pauldron, catching his eyes and giving him a steadying nod. No good would come from the troops being too tense. A little nervous energy was good, kept a person on their toes. Too much led to errors. She did not want to see any errors.
As she moved amongst the troops steadying a few, the ants finished their discussion, and the translator Jern spoke up once more.
"You will fight as a unit, under the command of your own officers, but under the direction of the Colony and its generals. We will not divide you across more than two fronts at a time, but those assignments will be dangerous, far from the centre of our operations. Is this acceptable?"
"It is," Chyron replied immediately.
"We require that you share accurate and complete information regarding the nature of the Fifth stratum."
"Some things I cannot share, but others, I can. If I cannot answer a query, I will offer other information instead."
"Acceptable. Access to the Eldest will only occur with their permission. We do not order them."
"That isn't sufficient. You know our mission is directly related to that individual. We promise not to harm them, but we must have access to them."
This was not what the ants wanted to hear, and even Morrelia could tell. Antennae waggled angrily back and forth while several audibly ground their mandibles. As she expected, Anthony was a touchy subject amongst them.
Just when she expected Solant to reject the agreement, Jern suddenly raised a hand.
"Uh… the Eldest agrees to the condition."
Suddenly, the ants looked resigned, but there was a ripple of confusion that ran through the Legionaries.
"You speak for the individual in question?"
"No, but I can speak to the Eldest," Jern said, looking embarrassed.
"Really? How do you have that authority?"
The young man looked confused for a moment.
"Oh, thanks. No, I can speak to the Eldest. They were listening in, and agreed to your conditions."
"Interesting," Chyron murmured. "Then it sounds like we may have an agreement."
"It does indeed."
An ant immediately came forward, a thick sheaf of documents held in its mandibles. Moving carefully, in a businesslike fashion, it approached and offered the documents to the Commander. Joshen stepped forward to take them.
"And what are these?" Chyron asked, brow raised.
"Deployment schedule, logistics integration instructions, maps and a step by step plan for billeting your troops."
Chyron flicked through a few of the pages, the corner of her mouth quirked up in a smile.
"This is an awful lot for you to organise on such short notice."
"I didn't. Your participation in this endeavour wasn't… unplanned for."
-x-X-x-
"Is it really necessary for me to be here for this?" Goszi burbled unhappily. "My foot aches like I dipped it in an acid swamp. I'm too old to be traipsing around the tunnels on a long journey."
Zluth didn't bother to dignify that with a response. The older Krath took every opportunity to make himself seem harmless and elderly, while in reality only one of those things was true.
"Pay attention," he hissed, stabbing one of his thin arms towards the other Krath, who, despite his advanced age, managed to parry the limb with ease. "If I have to feed you to a sump sloth to escape after your yapping brings the monsters down on us, I will do it with glee!"
Goszi glared at him.
"I'm starting to regret picking you as the next Krath'lath," he muttered. "At least the old one wouldn't force me out of safety."
"With the old Krath'lath, you and the entire tribe would be dead," Zluth scoffed. "To escape that fate, you had to reveal what a scheming, underhanded betrayer you are, which is why I don't let you out of my sight."
The compliments mollified the aged slug a little, and he slid along quietly until they reached the meeting point.
Puzith, Krath'lath of the Suggoth, was there to greet them, along with five of her trusted enforcers.
Hidden amongst a deep patch of moss, the slugs came together and conversed quietly while concealing themselves.
"You made it on time," Puzith observed.
"I would not dream of keeping the leader of a powerful tribe like the Suggoth waiting," Zluth replied, his eyes curving into wicked moons as he did.
Puzith did not laugh, though her eyes also curved, indicating her amusement. The Suggoth were indeed a much larger and stronger tribe than the Slee, even before they were devastated recently, but they were on their way to meet with tribes that were much larger still. The Bulg, the Lirz and Thuuz would all be in attendance, along with a host of smaller tribes, but those three represented the real power in this area of the stratum. They occupied prime territory, close to the heart, and were housed in enormous Slimegrounds ten times the size of the Slee hideaway.
At least, that's what Zluth had heard. He certainly wasn't going to question it when he met them.
"Let us be away, we have a long way to go."
A statement that prompted further grizzling from Goszi, but nobody paid him any mind. For over a day, the eight slugs moved through the treacherous ground of the fifth stratum. Even to the Krath, these tunnels were filled with danger, and one wrong movement could have them killed a dozen times over. The slug tribes had never ruled this place by might, but by their wits and cunning, and it was in this manner that they travelled.
Punishingly narrow and concealed cracks in the walls were used as resting places, or shortcuts from one tunnel to another. They sunk deep into mucus rivers when it was safe to do so, sliding along the bottom and using the dense muck as protection.
Puzith lost one of her guards on the journey when the fool was too hasty, sliding onto an unfamiliar patch of moss. As it turned out, it wasn't moss, but the cleverly patterned tongue of a Slurp Dragon. The Krath barely had time to blink before he'd been wrapped up and pulled into the jaws of the concealed beast.
The rest of them had frozen in place for over an hour, waiting for the monster to finish its meal and move to another hunting ground, Puzith sizzling with quiet fury the entire time. Zluth wisely chose not to say anything.
Fools didn't live long in the fifth.
Finally, they arrived at the gathering place designated for the meeting. Todrool falls, a vast tower of slime that cascaded from the upper levels of the stratum down toward the heart below through a hundred kilometre long vertical tunnel, had been selected for this purpose. First, because it was a place every tribe knew of, and second, because of the immensely powerful monster who made their home in the area. The upper areas of the falls were always clear, for none dared to enter lest they become prey for the beast.
Zluth, Puzith and the others squished themselves almost completely flat as they crept toward the entrance to the falls. There weren't many good places to conceal themselves, and these became even more rare as they approached, as they noticed the emissaries of the other tribes had gathered, huddling in what cover they were able to claim.
As the representatives of smaller, weaker tribes, they made do with what little they could find on the outskirts of the gathering, watching with barely extended stalks as more and more Krath arrived.
Then the first of the major tribes arrived.
Zluth thought it was the Bulg, judging by the distinctive mottled colouring they chose as they moved boldly in the open. A full fifty slugs, their Krath'lath slithering along at the head of the column, enormous and radiating confidence. The other tribes pulled away as the Bulg marched through to take pride of place right at the entrance to the falls, but before they could become settled, the other great tribes arrived as well.
Tensions ratcheted up as the Thuuz and Lirz made their appearance. They also had brought dozens of slugs, who looked down on the huddling leaders of the minor tribes with open contempt. Zluth sizzled with quiet fury, but knew there was nothing he could do about it. He would need to be subtle, and get the great tribes on his side, if he wanted to achieve his goals.
After all, they needed him. No other slug had more information on the invasion than he did.
As the major tribes openly feuded for better positioning at the edge of the falls, the other leaders crept forward. It was time for the gathering to begin.
-x-X-x-
Zluth was instinctively uncomfortable, and judging by the body language and expressions of his fellow Krath, they felt the same way. Of all the dangers in the fifth, there were none more deadly than the slug tribes, even to each other, and as long as he had lived, Zluth had never seen so many different tribes gathered in one place. It was almost unnatural, but the circumstances demanded that the tribes do something they very rarely did: put aside their enmity and fight together against a common foe.
"Scouts from five different tribes have confirmed the invasion," stated Ulliz, Krath'lath of the Bulg tribe. "Even the most suspicious among us has to concede that the assault on our stratum is real."
The leaders of the major tribes stood together, though not too close to each other, right at the edge of the falls. Behind them, the enormous stream of mucus, oozing its way down in freefall at several dozen metres per minute, made for an impressive sight.
Arrayed in a loose semi-circle in front of them, the rest of the representatives looked up at their betters, listening intently, but seething internally.
"I want to hear from those tribes," burbled the leader of the Lirz, a truly corpulent slug named Mulzoz. Despite his size, and advanced age, there was something about him that spoke of immense power. The acid that boiled in his flesh must have been truly potent, Zluth mused.
"Bring them forward," the third major tribe leader, Chozth of the Thuuz, agreed.
She stood out amongst the three leaders, being the youngest and smallest. Despite this, she had already built a fearsome reputation for ruthlessness and violence that had rippled through the gathered leaders the moment she had arrived.
"Try not to die," Goszi whispered as Zluth began to make his way forward.
"You'll die if I do," Zluth whispered back, "I have a deal with Puzith."
Only then did Goszi realise that two of the surviving Suggoth guards had sidled up on either side of him. A thunderous expression came over the old slug, and Zluth knew the traitor had been hoping he'd perish in this gathering. Perhaps he'd even hoped to tip the balance by calling out just the wrong words at just the wrong moment.
Pleased to have outwitted the old slug, Zluth chuckled to himself as he moved to the front, Puzith slithering along with him. Three other Krath'lath of minor tribes in the area moved along with them, arriving toward the front of the gathered Krath, but prevented from joining the three leaders who remained in a higher position.
"I have questions," burbled Mulzoz.
"Then ask them," Ulliz spat.
"Which of you can confirm seeing all the races of the fourth participating with your own eyes?"
Of the five, three raised one spindly arm, Zluth and Puzith included.
"Which of you have seen the Mythic with your own eyes?"
Now only two raised their arms, Zluth and Puzith.
"Describe the creature to me," the oversized Krath'lath demanded, his eyes glittering atop their fattened stalks.
"An ant monster of considerable size," Puzith answered first. "It is covered with a thick, purple shell, some sort of diamond or crystal, which is capable of deflecting very powerful blows."
Zluth was surprised to hear this. He hadn't realised the Suggoth had gotten so close and managed to witness the creature firsthand. Of course, he didn't believe for a second that Puzith herself had gone there, but who was going to call her a liar?
"Anything else?" Mulzoz asked. He was chewing an unnamed substance, as he looked at them, his teeth audibly grinding against something incredibly hard.
"The monster is capable of wielding a type of mana I have never seen or heard of," Zluth said. "It can create a… hole, a sphere of darkness that sucks in and destroys everything around it. I've seen it use this magic against monsters, against toxic mucus, against rock. It annihilates everything it touches."
This statement caused quite a stir. A type of mana that a random Krath hadn't heard of could be anything, but from the description, he was willing to bet that none of them had heard of it either.
"What's more, the monster seems adept at finding and trapping our kind. It can pin us to any surface using a method I do not understand."
"I can confirm this," Puzith spoke up. "We Suggoth lost several scouts in just this way. They were slammed into the ceiling of the tunnel, unable to move at all."
"Were they taken?" Mulzoz queried.
"Of course not. They were Krath."
"That is good."
The oversized Krath continued to chew as he pondered for a moment, then spoke.
"I have received word that the monster has received The Call."
There was a ripple of discontent through the gathered Krath'lath. Even Ulliz and Chozth, the leaders of the other two major tribes, seemed irritated to hear this.
"Has there been any word from the Maker?" Ulliz demanded.
"As far as I am aware, the Maker yet sleeps," Mulzoz replied.
"Then what do we care for the schemes of the others?" Chozth spat, her eyes bulging red with anger. "We will annihilate this invasion and consume this ant in its entirety."
There were muttered snarls and angry hisses of approval from the gathered Krath at her words. This was the sort of thing that they wanted to hear.
"All I will say is that we must be prepared to change course should the Maker awaken and direct us to a different path," Mulzoz warned.
"Should such a thing occur, we will of course listen," Ulliz said impatiently, "but until that happens, we have an invasion to crush! We must discuss our plans going forward. Who will go to fight, and how will they do it?"
To the surprise of no one, Chozth was the first to raise her arms.
"I will go myself!" she raged, visibly quivering and popping with the force of her anger. "These invaders must be destroyed and devoured!"
"Don't underestimate them," Mulzoz burbled in warning.
Chozth turned and glared at the corpulent slug.
"You want to tell me how to war? I underestimate no one," she spat.
Watching her glare at the other two Krath'lath, Zluth was left with no illusions as to whom she was referring to.
-x-X-x-
Well, this is awkward.
I knew it would be. I mean, obviously, it was going to be awkward, anyone could have foreseen that. But now that I'm here, in the moment, I really wish I hadn't been so ready to acquiesce to this particular demand.
Anthony of the past, why are you always such a pain in my business zone?
To say the tension is high would be a bit of an understatement. The Legion weren't permitted to send many soldiers to see me. Four, to be precise. However, Solant, or more likely the council, have seen fit to surround me with several thousand guards in case they try something nefarious.
Bit wasteful, if you ask me.
[Hey there,] I wave an antenna at them. Looks like the commander came, along with her two highest ranking officers and a mage. [How are we all this fine day?]
The commander, decked out in her full Legion armour and looking like she's ready to take on the unending hordes of the Dungeon, glares at me before she replies.
[Is it necessary that I talk back?] she says.
[Of course it is! I stipulated conversation. CON-VER-SA-TION. That means you have to talk back, otherwise it's just me jabbering at you!]
[I'm not accustomed to speaking with monsters.]
I bet that's the understatement of the century. I'd be shocked if she'd ever spoken to one at all. This is the Legionem Abyssi we're talking about. They don't exactly get along with creatures spawned from the Dungeon.
[It's not like a little chat is going to hurt you, is it?]
She doesn't waver in her steady glare.
[There are creatures in the Dungeon who can invade your thoughts and plant eggs in your brain using a mind bridge and just a few thoughts. It's one of the most dreadful ways to meet your end in the entire Dungeon.]
[Holy moly! Why would you even say something like that? I feel like my brains are getting itchy just thinking about it!]
Ugh, that sounds awful.
[What stratum do those monsters live on? I don't want them anywhere near me.]
For once, the Commander smirks, breaking her stiff expression for the briefest of moments.
[This one.]
Well… nards. Why is it that I suddenly want to leave this place and never come back? Perhaps a vacation in the third is just what the doctor ordered.
[Is that even true, or are you just trying to creep me out as a punishment for forcing you to talk to me?]
[Who knows?] she shrugs. [Surely, a little more time in the fifth will give you the answer.]
[Is she always like this, or just with monsters?] I say, turning toward the two tribunes, giving me an excuse to bring Morrelia into the conversation.
[I've instructed them not to reply to you. I'll be the only one you can engage with your prattling,] the Commander tells me.
How rude. Although…
[So… you're saying they have to stand there, are forced to listen to me, but aren't allowed to reply?]
[That's… correct.]
Oho! Well now. Well, well, well.
[Hey there, bud. How are you?] I say, prodding an antenna toward the male tribune. [I hate to tell you this, but you absolutely stink. Ants have incredibly fine senses of smell, surely you're aware, and I have super, super sensitive antennae. Being frank, you smell like dead plants and whale vomit. If I were you, I'd run to find a bath or something to get rid of the stench immediately. Sadly for you, there's no choice but to stand here, surrounded by several thousand ants who all think you stink.]
I point at a nearby soldier.
[See how she's standing a few steps further away from you than that one over there is from the Commander? It's the stink. Your stink. You smell so bad you're making an ant compromise on their duty. I cannot tell you just how rare a thing that is. It's like you smell so bad that water ran uphill just to get away from you.]
Now, is it true that he smells like perfume? Yes. Is it offensively strong? Also yes. Is it as bad as I'm making out? No.
But it's funny to watch him squirm. This guy is getting progressively more uncomfortable as time passes, and his eyes have started tracking the ants around him against his will, as if wanting to see if they really are avoiding him.
Gweheheheh.
[Are you quite finished?] the Commander demands, irritated.
[I could literally do this all day.]
[I couldn't. Can we be done with our business so that I can go kill some Dungeon spawn?] She rolls her shoulders. [I feel as if I need to work out some tension.]
[Can't imagine why. Alright then, I'll let you off the hook easy today. What do you need?]
[Our mage will simply need to approach you. They won't examine your core, but they will be able to use their Skills to glean information about you.]
[Some sort of Dungeon Seer nonsense? Fair enough, let's get this done.]
The Legion Mage, to his credit, doesn't appear nervous at all, striding towards me with confidence. The ants are extremely tense in this moment, but as far as I can tell, nothing really happens. The guy walks up, holds out a hand and closes his eyes for ten seconds, then nods, turns around and walks away. I wasn't able to detect anything happening at all, not a whiff of mana or energy in any form.
[That's it?] I ask, a little surprised.
[That's it,] the Commander confirms. [Now if you'll excuse us, we will head to our designated tunnel and start fighting.]
[Hey, good for you. Hope it all goes well.]
She cuts off the contact with what I can only describe as an unnecessary amount of force before turning away and marching off with her fellow soldiers in tow.
I'm not exactly sure what I expected, but I don't think that was it. Still, to get the Legion in here helping with the assault, it's a small price to pay. They might not contribute as much as they could if they really wanted to, but having a couple of tunnels locked down by the premier fighting force in the Dungeon brings me a little peace of mind.
Even if they are here to kill me.
-x-X-x-
"What do you estimate to be the level of fortress completion?" Solant asked softly, her eyes fixated on the maps and models laid out before her.
"It's almost impossible to give an accurate figure," Tungstant groused. "We've never done anything in such a piecemeal fashion as this. Some parts are nearly complete, while others haven't been started!"
"That's why I asked for an estimate."
The carver paused for a moment to gather her scattered thoughts. She wasn't used to working in this manner, and the pressure was enormous. The Colony had invested an enormous wealth of resources in this endeavour, and she had never before been so painfully aware of the risks. Combined with a lack of torpor that had her looking over her shoulder, and… she was getting irritable.
At least Solant was always calm and patient, which at times was an irritant in and of itself.
"Twenty percent," she said finally. "Of all the components, the channels, tanks and platforms are probably the furthest along, but foundations, reinforcement and the outer walls are woefully behind. There's almost no chance we can finish according to the schedule."
"I completely agree," Solant nodded, not taking her eyes off her precious models. "There will be a new timetable issued within the hour. Our deadline has been pushed back a week, which should give everyone time to catch up on their torpor."
"A week?" Tungstant said, shocked. "Why a week?"
The vents had slowed them down tremendously, but they hadn't lost that much time, had they?
Solant clacked her mandibles softly.
"You keep telling me that this is the most complex and ambitious construction project the Colony has ever undertaken. Am I right?"
"Yes. Because it is."
Not just in scale or complexity, but the manner of construction as well.
"We cannot allow there to be any errors, not one, in the final fortress. The extra week will allow time for every build team to maintain minimum rest standards and double-check their completed builds to iron out faults."
What Solant didn't mention was that the reinforcements they'd received from the Legion allowed them a little more leeway. Should the worst happen, the Colony could concentrate their forces in fewer tunnels, which would make all the difference and allowed them to push the clock out a bit further.
"Fine," Tungstant said slowly. "I'll let the teams know."
"I appreciate your time, Senior," Solant said, finally turning her head. "Make sure you get some rest as well."
"I will."
That would be one less thing she had to worry about, at least. As Tungstant moved out of the command post, Leonidant, the trusted scout of Solant's twenty, moved to her side.
"You aren't going to tell her?" she asked quietly.
"What would be the point?" Solant replied. "We have accounted for the changes in the updated schedule. Let Tungstant focus on what she does best: coordinating and managing the build teams. We will handle the rest."
As she was speaking, a scout rushed into the room, exchanged a few words with one of the generals, then ran back out, returning to her post. Solant waited patiently, still watching her models and maps, trying to see the reality that lay behind the markers, numbers and indicators scrawled on everything in front of her.
Ceasant approached a few moments later.
"Readings from the deep finders just came in," she reported.
Solant clacked her mandibles thoughtfully. She'd been waiting for these numbers.
"Update the model and let's see what we're dealing with."
Ceasant, with the help of Leonidant and a few others, gathered together, shifting markers and updating numbers with new indicators. When they were done, all the ants moved away and allowed the little general to lean forward, taking it all in at a glance.
"Sooner than expected," was all she said.
"If the mana is starting to rise already, will our timetable still hold? I know you said the carvers can take it a little easier, but can we still afford that luxury?" Ceasant worried.
"Having rested and confident build teams is not a luxury, but a necessity," Solant corrected her.
In her head, one scenario after another flashed by, taking into account this new data. She weighed and measured, trying to find the right way through the myriad of possibilities.
The mana was rising, and sooner than expected. There was still time before the wave, but it was coming, sure as The Queen was hunting her own food.
More and more, the delay caused by the vents was coming back to bite them. The Krath would organise soon; she had estimated they would begin to escalate their attacks over the next few days. One small blessing, the slugs had proven to be less organised than she had accounted for, but it wouldn't last for long. With the rising wave, that meant things were going to get very tight towards the final stages of construction. So long as the fortress was completed before the wave arrived, the first stage of the invasion would be a complete success. If not…
They would abandon everything and retreat to the fourth. It would be the single greatest loss of material the Colony had ever suffered. Not only that, the Krath would not be caught unawares a second time, making any future invasion much more difficult.
They had to succeed. They had to. Solant would do anything to win, that was why she had been chosen for this role.
They were going to win.
No matter the cost.
-x-X-x-
It was truly impressive to see what the family was capable of when they really put their minds to it. I'm so used to my siblings' unified way of thinking, thanks to the Vestibule, that I've stopped considering what it actually looks like to others when all the ants work in such a coordinated fashion.
During a break from exploring and fighting territorial monsters, I take a little time to creep back up to the entrance to the fifth, just to check things out.
I have to say, I like what they've done with the place.
It hasn't been that long, all things considered, but the narrow entrance into the tunnel, and indeed the tunnel itself, don't look anything like what I remember when I first came down here.
In fact, it couldn't be more different.
The entrance has been widened and the engineers have been busy working on it. A series of lifts are in constant motion, rising and falling as a never ending stream of ants, people, materials and everything else needed to fuel the invasion comes down. I can only imagine the shenanigans going on above in the fourth to maintain this flow. Solant's logistical mastery at work, no doubt.
The tunnel itself has transformed completely. Cleansed by the blue mana, it's lost the toxic atmosphere and hazy yellow-green hue I see everywhere else in this place. Instead, the carvers have turned it into a massive hub for receiving and distributing everything coming down from above. There are stockpiles, warehouses, wide paths filled with traffic I guess I could describe as roads.
Unsatisfied with the existing network of tunnels, the Colony has been busy boring their own channels through the rock to make more direct and efficient connections. I can already see the colossal fortress that Solant has envisioned starting to take shape, and this right here is intended to be the beating heart of the operation. We may never be self-sustaining here in the fifth, but as long as we can move things efficiently from the fourth, we should be able to get everything we need to make it through the coming wave.
Just thinking about the wave is enough to dim my spirits a bit. I mean, they're always terrible, but this next one…
Take any stratum, and during a wave, whatever makes it a pain in the carapace is dialled all the way up to eleven and beyond. I still shudder to think of the never ending hordes of demon larvae on the third clawing and chewing on each other as far as the eye could see. Just what is the fifth going to be like? How much more awful could this place really get?
I know the answer to that question: a lot. It's going to get a lot worse. I may not be able to articulate how, but I can feel the slimy doom coming in the tiniest hairs on my antennae. Man, they're twitching already, that's how bad it's going to be.
Actually… that makes no sense, what the heck is going on?
I am definitely detecting something, and I'm fairly sure it isn't my own future despair, so just what am I picking up?
To the surprise of everyone around me, I launch to my feet and start crawling over the area, my antennae sweeping from side to side as I track down the sensation like a bloodhound on a scent trail.
Luckily I'm large enough to step over everything in the way, but that doesn't mean it's not discomforting for the non-ants who have to watch the giant monster crawl overhead.
Thankfully, I don't cause too much of a disturbance as I move through the area, focused on the faint feeling I'm getting. It's definitely gravitational, I decide. There's a slight eddy in the field, or perhaps several, but they're quite small, barely enough to register in the 'noise' of everyone else moving around in here.
I spend ten minutes moving this way and that, doubtless getting in the way of many people, but for some reason, this is really sticking in my mandibles, and I'm determined to work out why. Eventually, I come to what I'm fairly sure is the source of at least one of the disturbances, but find myself quite confused to be staring at a wall.
I mean… it's a nice wall, as far as they go. Natural, Dungeon-formed tunnel, vintage stuff, newly cleaned of slime and mucus, top quality rock, all that good stuff. So why in the heck am I getting vibrations coming from it? The wave hasn't started, so there shouldn't be monsters forming in there, so what exactly is going on?
That's when I notice the very slight hole, little more than a crack, and I lean closer to investigate. Yes, there's definitely a cavity of some sort behind this wall, though it isn't very big. I don't suppose it'll cause much of an issue, so I shrug and engage my mandibles, tearing chunks of stone away to reveal the little hidden pocket… and the monsters tucked away inside.
Aha! A sneaky little spawn point must have formed in there, but… but what have we got here?
There's roughly a dozen of them, bigger than demon larvae, possibly the size of ant hatchlings, and they are aggressively red, glaring up at me with fluid-adjacent eyes and limbs. With little to no warning, they throw themselves at me and I rear back, instinctively unleashing a barrage of fire magic that evaporates the little creatures.
[You have slain Level 1 Vas Rubrum]
[You have gained XP]
Uh… excuse me?
-x-X-x-
The Eldest is sleeping now, which is only right. They will wake eventually, of course they will, but hopefully, by that time, we will not need them to achieve the work.
If all goes well, we will complete our objective without having to disturb the Eldest at all. My only regret is that I will not get the chance to share the triumph of my greatest campaign.
- From the personal notes of Solant
"We've got weird monsters popping up in the tunnels!" I roar as I burst into the command post.
"I know," Solant says, unperturbed by the sudden outburst. "You were not the first to find them, though you were close."
"How long ago did you find out?"
And who could have possibly been faster than me? I tracked them down using tiny eddies of gravity, for goodness sake!
"One minute," Solant replies.
A minute.
"Vibrant was the first to arrive with the news."
"Vibrant?!"
"Hi-hi!"
I turn to see the tier seven speed-soldier hopping on the spot excitedly from one leg to another. I'm still a little surprised to see that she isn't larger than I am, but holy moly is she looking sleek. This is an ant designed for a single purpose: to go fast.
"How are you, Vibrant?"
"I'm great, Senior! Things are going well above, so I thought it was about time I came down here to help out! It's been going well so far-far! It's a shame I'm not allowed to run through the yucky stuff, but there's enough blue for me to run in now, so that's ok!"
It's kind of fascinating to see the physical modifications she's gone through in order to facilitate her need to go faster. I can tell that she's a lot lighter than I would expect. I think she reforged her carapace into a tough but lightweight substance in her last evolution. Her legs are the other area that's undergone massive change. Her legs are much thicker than mine even, and in particular, the joints where they connect to her body are enormously bulky. Not just to run fast, I surmise. To turn and manoeuvre at that speed, she needs to be able to absorb absolutely ridiculous amounts of force.
"Make sure you're careful," I sigh, resigned to her hijinks at this point. "It's extremely dangerous down here, and you can run into trouble very, very fast."
"I know that, Senior!" she pipes. "That's why I keep making it so I can think faster. It takes a lot of energy, but the micro-naps really help!"
I forgot that she sleeps between words in order to facilitate something approaching normal speech. Not wanting to get distracted, I turn back to Solant, intent on getting answers.
It doesn't bother Vibrant at all. Seconds later, I hear an excited 'Crin-Crin!' as some tentacles start appearing from the shadows, sending Vibrant to hopping again. I'm sure they'll have a good chat.
"Did you know that monsters would spawn in the cleansed tunnels?" I demand.
"You thought they wouldn't?" Solant asks, calm as ever.
I want to thwack her for answering a question with a question, but deep down, I kind of did think they wouldn't spawn. Or… if they did, then they'd be toxic monsters who would be instantly melted by the clean mana. Does it count as monsters spawning if they evaporate a second later?
"Kind of?" I reply.
"I did not, and do not, believe the Dungeon would ever tolerate not spawning monsters wherever it can. They were always going to appear in the cleansed tunnels, that's why we have a patrol schedule."
"It's not that the monsters were spawning so much, but that they were… different! They weren't toxic, they could survive in the blue mana! What's going on there?"
This is the real question. Is the Dungeon already switching gears and starting to spit out different monsters in the places we've cleaned out? That seems like a short span of time for the Dungeon to adapt to a change in environment in such a small area.
And I swear to goodness, if Solant answers with a question, she is going to get such a thwack—
"I don't know," she replies simply.
Huh.
"I only found out it was happening two minutes ago," she states, rather fairly, "so I don't have any answers. The mages and Dungeon Seer specialists will look into it. We may even contact Brilliant, since this is the sort of thing she likes to investigate, but for now we can only guess as to why a different breed of monster is appearing in our tunnels."
Well, that's totally reasonable, but doesn't really do anything to feed this hankering I have for answers.
"Any chance you could share some speculation with me? I don't care if it doesn't turn out to be right, I just want someone else to bounce ideas off."
Solant clacks her mandibles.
"I am rather busy…"
"Thanks, I appreciate it. So, are these even new monsters, or are they the original monsters, but just, non-goopified versions? Or are they the monsters that were spawning here before the place was toxified? Wouldn't that mean these creatures haven't been seen in the Dungeon for thousands of years? That's crazy!"
"These are all viable theories," Solant says, impatient for me to go away and do something else, "but we can't know. Perhaps you could learn something by consuming the Biomass of these creatures and letting us know what you find."
"Consume the Biomass?" I ask, puzzled.
"Presumably they aren't toxic, so why couldn't you eat them?"
I… didn't even think of that.
"That's a great idea, Solant! I'm going to investigate."
"We do need you to take on that snake…"
"Dammit."
I guess my eating spree will have to wait a bit. It shouldn't be too much of an issue, I'll pop down, take out the giant slime snake, and be back in time for breakfast.
A breakfast of unknown, mysterious Dungeon spawn! Gweheheheheh!
-x-X-x-
The problem with trying to get my mandibles on these newly spawning monsters, is that they're rare and only just beginning to appear in these tunnels. There are plenty of areas within the safe-zone where they aren't appearing yet, and when they do pop up, the Colony is, of course, dealing with the problem as soon as they can.
What this means is that, even though I go looking for some monsters to chomp on, I can't find any. Though I search high and low, every time I think I've come across something to chomp on, the Colony has already swept in and dealt with the matter.
This level of efficiency is… good… I suppose… but now I have nothing to do except go and fight this stupid snake! Lousy Colony, being all super good at doing stuff all the time.
All I can do is sigh, give my antennae a clean and head off to let Solant know I'm on the way. She gives me a nod, but I can tell she was already aware it was going to end up like this. Know-it-all.
My suspicions are confirmed when I reach the lower levels of the safe-zone to find a medical team and a large battalion of ants ready to hold the line should the snake try and make it up into our territory.
Hey, if the monster wants to ram itself headfirst into the purified mana, then I'm all for it, though I suppose we'd want to minimise the damage a creature this size would inflict should it get in there, even for a few moments.
With a final wave of the antennae to the waiting ants, I head out into the toxic mana, making my way toward the vertical shaft I'd found previously.
Things are much as I remember them from last time, with the exception of the centipedes. CURSED CREATURES. They are, blessedly, still nowhere to be found, not having returned since my last visit. Now that I'm here, I enter stealth mode, as much as a monster of my size can. I pull my mana in close and tight, sticking to the walls of the shaft and keeping to the shadows wherever I can, and all the while, my senses stay sharp and on the lookout for goop-snake.
To my surprise, I find it doing pretty much the same thing as it was the last time I was here: lazily coiled about itself, basking in the slime and thick mana pooling at the bottom of the junction. I have to be careful, since fighting while on a vertical surface isn't exactly my strong suit anymore. My Grip has been improving bit by bit, but it's proving difficult to keep pace with my size.
I might have to make my claws mutable in my next evolution, so I can be as mobile on odd surfaces as an ant should be.
Though… I'm probably going to become pretty darn huge after my next evolution. I'm already larger than a bus, I'm like a full on truck. After the next one… I'm running out of vehicles to compare myself to. Do I have to upgrade to buildings?! If I keep evolving, am I going to get to the point I could look King Kong in the eye?!
Best not to think about it.
Instead, I'll focus on my opponent for the day, this slippery, slime-coated, snake. Now that I look more carefully, it really is a rather large monster. Its body isn't as wide as I am, but it's so much longer that it probably outweighs me two to one, even with my gravity-compressed diamond. That's a heck of a lot of Biomass, which nobody is going to be able to eat… such a shame.
This snake must have massive amounts of Might. Getting grabbed by it will spell near instant doom, so I'll need to be careful. Not to mention the slime coating that covers the creature. Doubtless it's just as toxic as everything else around here, and probably helps it move quickly, now that I think about it. Strong and speedy, that's the impression I get from this foe.
Not to toot my own horn, but I've gotten pretty good at evaluating these big, territorial monsters after my recent experiences. The key is to make a careful examination of them before the fight to try and determine their strengths and weaknesses. The choices buried within the evolution system are endless, so it's impossible to say exactly how a particular monster might function, but judging their general strategy isn't that hard.
Looking at this snake, my guess is that it uses that long body and slime mutation to move quickly and bind its foe, squeezing them and letting its toxins go to work. Nasty.
To minimise the chances of that happening, I maintain a safe distance, doing everything I can to conceal my presence, and begin to work on a gravity bomb.
This far from the Colony, I'm able to deploy a pretty strong one, even if I can't go all out. With any luck, it'll severely damage the snake and allow me to handle the rest of the fight with relative ease. Launching one from here, stuck to a vertical surface without any cover, is a recipe for self-squishing, however, so I take a little time to dig out a discreet little hidey-hole in the wall. Once I fire off the bomb, I can duck inside and dig in.
Genius!
Actually thinking ahead for a change? Who would have ever thought that would be the case? Not me!
When the bomb is prepared, I open my mandibles and let it rip, empowering the spell as I do so. As usual, the devastating magic rips into existence, sucking in the air and stirring up a terrifying wind as it flies towards its target.
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLL!
Enjoy, snake. I'll be back to check on you in a moment!
Just before I crawl into the small opening I made and prepare to dig myself in, the snake moves, much faster than I expected.
As the bomb hurtles towards its target, the snake does something I truly never expected to see. It rears up, opens its jaws obnoxiously wide, and unleashes a ball of massively condensed mana.
Oh no you didn't!
-x-X-x-
This is outrageous! How dare you, snake! This is my secret, personal technique! Have you been peeking at my notes, stealing my private writings and copying my homework? This can't be allowed!
Gandalf! Intervene in this situation immediately.
My gravity bomb screams and howls as always, but even through that din, I can still hear the spell unleashed by the snake monster hiss and spit as it shoots forward. My mana sense is screaming about the dense, potent mana contained within, some form of venomous mana.
It doesn't feel the same as the fifth's native energy; this is something different entirely, though likely just as deadly.
The two energies collide and I belatedly leap into my hidey-hole, digging in my claws and sticking my head out over the edge to watch what happens.
The gravity bomb expands, turning into a whirling vortex of inescapable doom. Just the sort of thing I wanted to see.
Your bomb is a cheap imitation, snake! How dare you try and copy my technique?!
However, even though I know my spell is overpowering the other, I can still see it. I don't even need my mana sense to tell what's happening, I can see it with my own eyes. The black hole I've created is flecked through with that potent venom. Every now and again, it splashes out in bursts and arcs like coronal ejections from the sun.
That lousy venom is eating my gravity mana!
The two energies are busy cancelling each other out, but the gravity bomb is stronger, much stronger. Despite its own spell, the den of the snake is far from unaffected by the magic. Slime is getting ripped into the air, stones are crumbling, the walls of the tunnel shaft are cracking, chunks breaking off and falling into the void.
But the venomous properties of that slimy-toothpick's mana are eating away more of the bomb than I'd like, weakening it quickly.
When the black hole finally sputters out and fades away, the snake remains, unhurt, glaring up at me.
I glare right back.
You think you have the right to feel upset just because I launched a devastating and deadly spell at you out of the blue with no warning? Nonsense! I'm the one who has a legitimate grievance!
Well… honestly, now that I think about it more closely… the gravity bomb technique isn't all that secret.
I learned super early on that it was possible to compress mana… and I killed a monster by shooting a ball of plain, unchanged mana at it. Not long after, I got access to gravity mana and naturally used that to perform the technique from that point forward, since gravity mana works super, super well with it.
But… you could make a bomb out of any type of mana, and it's not like it's complex to do it, you just take a massive amount of mana and cram it into as small a ball as you can, then launch it.
Honestly, I wonder why more people don't use it?
A wave of all of my near-death experiences caused by the gravity bomb flashes through my head in an instant.
Ah.
That's probably why.
Also, even if it isn't complicated, it is hard. Condensing mana to the extent necessary to create a bomb requires dedicated Skills and is mentally taxing… putting it mildly. Not to mention, using regular spell forms is probably ten times more efficient.
Anyways! Stupid snake!
It's still down there, staring up at me, menacingly. Deadly venom drips from its massive fangs as it shifts its body slowly. Is it priming for a leap?
I tense.
Instead of springing forward, I feel a powerful surge of mana as dozens of bolts begin to form in the air. The snake hisses as they surge forward, flying toward me at dizzying speed.
You're actually a mage-snake?! You'd go this far just to defy my expectations?!
I snap a barrier into place, more than enough to block such weak attacks, only to double-take when the venomous mana starts to eat through the shields.
Anti-mana mana… that's cheating, surely.
I refuse to accept this!
My brains kick into gear. Leveraging my constructs and Skills, I push them hard and begin weaving mana like a master weaver with a hundred arms making two-dozen rugs. More shields spring into existence as bolt after bolt of blue flame is launched down towards the lousy serpent.
You want to throw bolts? I can throw bolts just as well as you! Better, even!
Unsurprisingly, the slime coating over the snake snuffs out the flames quite easily, but I suspect with enough heat it'll eventually be burned away. For its part, the monster isn't all that pleased by my attack, and though it doesn't defend itself, it redoubles its efforts, adding spears of condensed venom to fire at me alongside the bolts.
These spears punch into my shields with tremendous force before splattering and dissolving them in moments, forcing me to make more and more. The two of us have fairly comparable cores, so in a battle of mana, we're likely to come out even… depending on who has the better organs and mutations.
In that sense, using regular mana isn't to my advantage. It's probably drawing from an organ, or network of organs, to produce this venom mana, whereas I'm working with energy from my core.
I'm way more efficient when using gravity mana anyways.
I cast away my blue fire bolts and dedicate those minds to drawing out and weaving the dense, potent energy contained in my gravitational mana gland. It isn't cheap to cast gravity spells, and I only know the one, but we'll see how well this lousy snake likes being crushed under the might of an empowered well.
-x-X-x-
You want to get into a spell-war with me, snake? Then prepare to be crushed! Literally!
As well as figuratively!
I keep snapping new shields into existence just as fast as they get eaten away, all the while building and weaving the dense mana necessary for the well. Naturally, the snake is just as capable of sensing mana as I am. Since it already detected my first bomb, it can tell that something big is coming its way. It too begins to weave, drawing out even more mana from within its massive body, but although it seems to have evolved along the path of a mage, the difference between us soon becomes apparent.
You can't whip together a spell as quickly as I can, you slippery serpent! Prepare to eat the force of an empowered gravity well!
All the energy contained within the Altar rushes out in a great tide as the spell snaps into place. Able to manipulate the incredible force of the well with my will alone, I pour every ounce of power within it to crush the snake against the ground.
Stone cracks, pillars crumple and the snake screeches in pain as it is smashed into the ground, its head pressed against the tunnel floor by the force.
Gweheheheh! How do you like it, snake? You can't steal this technique!
Sensing its vulnerability and surprise, I choose to go aggressive and leap down towards the foe. It's risky to get this close to a powerful enemy, but I have more cards up my carapace I can play if things go south.
As I fall, I turn and unleash the full fury of my business conglomerate. The spray of potent acid covers the flattened snake and begins to eat away at it. I haven't been using my acid much in the fifth because the creatures here practically swim in the stuff for fun. Most of them are covered in slime that protects them from it, or have flesh that is resistant.
Despite all the investments I've poured into my acid producing capabilities, this is the worst possible stratum to use them in.
As expected, the slime covering the snake begins to bubble and steam the moment my acid touches it, counteracting the burn before it even has a chance to start propagating itself.
Damn this stratum! On top of everything else, they refuse to partake of the finest goods I can produce! It's rude! Rude, I say!
Pressed down by the power of the well, the snake continues to weave its mana as I plummet down to engage in close combat. Writhing and hissing in fury, it's doing its best to try and move, but at best, it's only able to slither a little bit. The time is right to apply the mandibles!
My jaws flex as I draw closer to the beast, but I'm wary of whatever spell it's cooking up, so I remain cautious even as I go in for the strike. The well is continuing to exert its power, causing the rock beneath the snake to shift and crack as it continues to be crushed.
I land with tremendous force that my legs absorb, leaving me trembling for a moment as I regain my balance. This snake really is big. It must be a hundred metres long if it's an inch, perhaps even more. Its body must be several metres thick at its thinnest to boot. This is a chonky boi, is what I'm saying. Despite its prowess with spells, there must be a formidable amount of muscle within that frame, there has to be.
Right now, with the well in place, the creature is at my mercy, so I dash forward, jaws wide and ready.
VOID CHOMP!
I'd empower it if I could, but even with hundreds of thousands of ants within range, there isn't enough energy flowing in to refill the Altar that quickly. Even so, the bite is a potent weapon in and of itself.
My mandibles crunch home, the jaws of pure black energy slicing into the snake with ease. The slime coating is thick and sticky, so I'm lucky I didn't bite into it with my physical mandibles, but then… I notice something strange.
What's going on with this snake? The response from the bite is… a little off.
Sensing danger, I leap back and observe my opponent carefully, waiting to see just what the heck is going on.
As I peer closely, the monster in front of me… looks like a snake. It might be covered in a layer of slime, but it has a clear pattern of scales, a snake-like head, long, curved fangs, and it even hisses! It's hissing right now!
So why oh why, when I chomped into it, does it look like I chomped straight into slug flesh?! There's no scales! No meaty, fibrous muscles, just squishy slug flesh!
Then something happens that sends me for a spin. The snake's eyes burst outward, and for a moment, I think it might have succumbed to the pressure of the well, but then I see the stalks.
The eyes extend atop their stalks, fighting against the well, trying not to be crushed into the ground, and the entire body of the snake begins to change. The scale pattern fades as its body puffs out, thickening slightly as it transforms from slick, serpentine grace to somewhat puffy slug body. Its body flattens down, pressed by the power of the well, but like this, it's able to move a little more freely, reeling around to face me and hissing with fury.
What do you mean, hiss?! You aren't a snake! Well, it's clearly part snake, a slug-snake!
Yuck.
It still has the fangs and snake-shaped head, but its body has become pale and squishy, the slime coating leaking out of it even thicker than before. My minds work furiously, pumping multiple forms of mana and preparing an array of spells as the creature continues to build up its spell, even as it tries to work its way towards me, hoping to draw nearer.
You might be able to move better than before, but the well is still giving you plenty of trouble. There's no chance you'll be able to catch me, you disgusting thing! For now, eat Dragon's Breath!
I blast the monster with a jet of hot flame and it recoils from the searing heat, hissing furiously.
In a final attempt to protect itself, the slug-snake whips its face around, directly into the path of the fire, and opens its mouth, launching another dense ball of potent venom directly into my face.