That’s worse than I thought…
It isn’t hard to see what the problem is. Far from the usual tier one shadow beasts that are jumping out of the walls higher up in the stratum, these ants are battling against much more formidable foes. Death Magic infested brutes, huge shadow dogs, spiders, and more highly evolved monsters shriek and scream as they throw themselves at the Colony’s defenders without end.
Despite their advanced tactics and cooperation, the fight simply never ends, and ironically, it is the ants who are being worn down by the overwhelming number of foes.
I can also spot mixed into the endless hordes a few creatures similar to those I fought the last time I came out here. Demons.
36. The Paragon Emerges
The demons are powerful monsters, no doubt about it. It should have been a given, seeing how strong Invidia is, but I thought he was an exceptional case. Handcrafted and raised by a team of Shapers who supposedly knew what they were doing, whereas the monsters of the third stratum that I’ve run into are purely wild. Even so, the natural advantages they have seem to far outstrip those of the natives to the second stratum. Incredible, overpowered strength and defence combined with body parts and shapes more advanced than those that the members of the Colony were born with.
In a conflict between first and third stratum monsters, the differences in starting conditions really do become apparent. The chitin we ants are born with simply doesn’t match up to the tough hides and devastatingly sharp claws and teeth of the demons. Combined with their ability to pack obscene amounts of brain power into small, nimble bodies via their dimensional insides, it becomes easy to see how even intelligent ants are going to struggle against them. The wall we have to overcome is just that high.
“How’ve you fared against the demons so far?” I ask, and the general flicks an antenna in irritation.
“They’re either tough as rocks, strong as the Queen, fast as Vibrant, or smarter than Cobalt,” she complains. “And so far, we haven’t seen any beyond tier four. Every time one of them comes close, we combine our firepower and bring it down as fast as possible. Even so we struggle sometimes. If we don’t kill them fast enough, the rest of the monsters close in on us and the fight turns nasty until we can stabilise again.”
“Sounds rough. I had a chat with the Council before I came down here and I’m told that there will be a flood of reinforcements that will meet you once the defensive line is finished building. Almost the entire graduating class of the Academy is being poured into combat castes.”
“That’ll be welcome. We lost a lot of good soldiers during the siege.”
We both dip our heads in a moment of silence.
“Have you been able to capture any cores from the demons? The sooner we get them into the hands of the core shapers, the sooner those beasties will be fighting on our side.”
Even if they don’t make any changes, reconstituting those cores and raising the demons up to fighting strength will give us a force of shock troops to throw at the wave without worrying too much if they survive. At the very least, they’ll be able to mow through most of the shadow creatures.
“We’ve retrieved some. But we haven’t been able to deliver them back to the nest yet. We haven’t seen a runner in a while.”
“They shouldn’t be too far away,” I say. “I know the scouts have set up relay stations all through the area. If something happened to your runner, then you should see another one in an hour or so.”
“That’s good,” the general says before she gives me a bit of side-eye, no easy task for an insect. “So, what kind of help can we expect from you, Eldest? How long are you here for?”
I stretch my legs and clack my mandibles in amusement.
“I just evolved and I’m keen to see what this new body can do.” I chuckle. “So I think my pets and I might take a stroll deeper into the Dungeon and relieve the pressure a bit. As for how long, we’ll see how we go.”
The general nods and snaps out a quick salute with one antenna.
“Right you are then, Eldest. My girls will appreciate a break, the longest you can give them.”
“Coming right up!”
Our discussion complete, the general turns back to her people and I face mine. Tiny is as eager as I would expect, ready to deliver fist to face, his armour polished to a high gleam by Smithant before we left. Crinis is a little nervous. I can tell by the way she keeps shifting and morphing on my back. Invidia looks… mostly bored, to be honest.
[Alright, gang. Make your final checks and then we’re going in. Don’t go too crazy,] I warn them, mostly for Tiny’s sake. [This is going to be a long fight. Our aim is to go the distance, not wear ourselves out in ten minutes. I want to push deep and try to clear out the monsters all the way to a major junction. That will relieve the pressure on as many defensive points as possible. If things go south, we collapse the tunnel and get the heck out of dodge. With any luck, the rubble will slow the monsters long enough for us to retreat to safety. Any questions?]
They each shake their heads and I give them a nod.
[Let me just come to grips with my status and then we’ll be good to go.]
I haven’t been actively avoiding looking at my status, but I’ve been a bit nervous about it since evolving. This evolution was a big jump and, strange as it sounds, I’m a little intimidated by the changes.
Name: Anthony
Leveclass="underline" 1 (Rare) (VI)
Might: 205
Toughness: 180
Cunning: 145
Wilclass="underline" 100
HP: 360/360
MP: 530/530
Skills:
Generaclass="underline"
Master Excavation Level 3 (IV); Expert Grip Level 9 (III); Expert Stealth Level 6 (III); Tunnel Guide Level 11 (III); Iron Mind Level 30 (IV); Master Stamina Level 6 (IV); Still Meditation Level 12 (IV); Snap Dash Level 11 (IV)
Mana:
Mana Craft Level 24 (V); Master Condensed Mana Level 18 (IV); Grand Master External Mana Manipulation Level 16 (V); Mana Hoarder Level 22 (IV); Master Mind Magic Affinity Level 20 (IV); Directed Mana Sensing Level 12 (IV); Empowered Healing Magic Affinity Level 14 (III); Omni-Elemental Affinity Level 4 (V); Mana Masking Level 6 (II)
Pet:
Further Pet Communication Level 7 (III); Core Crafting Level 13 (IV); Pet Growth Speed Level 5 (I)
Defensive:
Grandmaster Exo-Skeleton Defence Level 11 (V); Master Dodge Level 25 (IV); Master Endure Level 6 (IV); Expert Grace Level 14 (III)
Offensive:
Unerring Acid Shot Level 6 (IV); Master Precise Shooting Level 23 (IV); Doom Chomp Level 23 (V)
Mutations:
Senses:
Sharpened Perimeter Eyes +25; Antennae (Twilight Filament)
Defence: