The sludge on my back did quite a number, eating into the carapace and multiplying itself along the way. I whip up a little water and try to hose it off with some small success. I think the only way to be truly rid of the stuff is to break down the Mana itself. What a pain in the backside. Literally! Other than that, I’m in pretty good shape, my health ticking back up to full as the regeneration gland does its work.
Still, that fight was way more trouble than I expected from a single monster, even if it was from the fifth stratum. Considering it was wild and more likely than not wasn’t raised with perfect evolutions all the way through to tier six, I should have a significant advantage in overall evolutionary energy, but some of the things it was capable of… Is this the tyranny of the deeper layers? They get this level of crazy advantages?
It’s a real shame I won’t get a chance to eat the thing. I wander over to examine the remains, giving the unbelievably dense sphere a quick poke with one leg, but swiftly give up. This thing is 95% rock. It’ll be almost impossible to extract any Biomass from it, and the core is nowhere to be seen, possibly smashed to pieces by the spell itself. Dammit! This is why I didn’t want to use the Gravity Bomb if I didn’t have to!
I’m impressed at how well the sub-brains were able to mostly put one together without the main mind kicking in to help. Since they can handle the assembly on their own, that means being able to fight whilst putting the Gravity Bomb together is a possibility at last! Muahahahaha! There will be no escape from my clutches! With my deadliest spell far easier to produce in the middle of a conflict, my offensive power has skyrocketed!
Overall, I’m satisfied with how things went, the only issue is…
Turning around, I’m confronted with the oozing pit of slime which Invidia and Crinis are still working hard to try and break down. With a sigh, I head over and start chipping in, pitting my mind against the dreadful sludge, trying to rip apart the truly bizarre Mana it’s made of.
This stuff is the real puzzle, if you ask me. I have no idea what kind of Mana it is, but it’s horrendous to deal with. It does damage, invades monsters’ own Mana-streams, persists in the environment, eats away at things like an acid and replicates itself like a virus, feeding on whatever Mana it touches!
This stuff is exactly as deadly as I wanted my acid to be, dammit!
Although the part where it spreads uncontrollably all over the place is a bit of a pain to clean up, I have to admit. It’s massively draining to exert your mind breaking down Mana, especially on a scale like this. After the first ten minutes, I’ve already devolved into something of a fugue state, despite my energy always being topped up. It’s just boring and taxing work. I can’t imagine how Crinis is feeling right about now. When the greenery first starts to pop up in the tunnel, I don’t even notice. It’s only after a flower literally bonks me in the nose do I notice something is happening and look up to find the infected areas are now covered in a wall of green that reminds me of one specific being.
What in the heck is she doing growing in here? This is the Colony’s territory! I eye one particularly lush-looking shrub with great suspicion, and it has the gall to wiggle innocently. How dare you, shrub! My mandibles flex dangerously, but before I can do anything, the rest of the ants are there, moving in to complete the assault and retake the outer defences now that the threat posed by the monster has been removed.
“Eldest? What exactly has happened out here?” Sloan asks, confused.
Still giving the shrub the stink eye, I explain what we fought and the mess it left behind, followed by the sudden appearance of the bruan’chii’s mother in leaf form.
“Do you think she’s perhaps here to consume the Mana?” Sloan ponders.
“You’re suggesting that a tree is actually seeking out the stuff and wants to consume it?” I say, filled with doubt.
Still, I activate my Mana Sense and try to get a feeling for what is going on now that my line of sight is blocked by a carpet of flourishing plants.
“Holy mackerel, I think you’re right…”
It appears as if the offending Mana is being drawn into the plants which then somehow trap the stuff. I can feel little reservoirs being built up within each bush, flower, and bud, pooling even as something starts to go to work on that energy, nibbling at its edges.
“I’m more worried about a monster from three strata down making it all the way here,” Sloan says, her antennae drooping. “Monsters like that are too strong for us to deal with…”
“We’ll need to work on strategies,” I say. “But I don’t think it’s impossible. The unknown is always harder to fight than the known. Besides, this was always going to happen. The Mana levels rising mean that monsters who need more Mana to sustain themselves can start to climb the stratums. I’m honestly surprised there hasn’t been a tier seven invader yet.”
“Tier seven?” Sloan goggles at me.
“Sure. I think the Mana is high enough to sustain one here, so we shouldn’t be shocked if one turns up. The idea of the Mana concentration rising so a stratum can support higher tier monsters than normal is the scariest thing about a wave, Sloan. Remember?”
“But how would we deal with something like that? We don’t have a pool of tier six warriors we can combine to fight it…” the general mutters.
I jerk an antenna back to Crinis and Tiny.
“What do you think I’ve been trying to do out here?”
“Right! You should get back to it immediately then!”
“I will, but first I want to drop by the bruan’chii and ask a few questions. Catch you later, Sloan.”
69. Tree Talk
[Hmmmmmmmmm,] the big tree slowly blinks at me a few times, as if surprised I still exist rather than focusing on the question I asked.
I wait patiently whilst he inspects me, but my patience is quickly running out by the time he finally gets around to talking again.
[You look different,] he observes.
[Obviously, I’ve evolved!] I explode at him. [Can you explain to me why your plant-based parent is sprouting willy-nilly and soaking up gross Mana around the place? Do I have to ask every question three times or something?]
[No,] he says.
I take a breath.
[So why aren’t you answering my question, then?]
He looks at me with an almost palpable sense of pity.
[Because mother finds it amusing and won’t let me answer.]
The leaves and flowers that sprout from every surface around us seem to wriggle with amused joy, and I slump where I stand.
[This might not be diplomatic of me, Mr. Grove Keeper, but your mother is a massive pain in the thorax. Is she always like this?]
The tree nods in understanding.
[She is always like this, and we know. I ask that you be patient with her. She hasn’t had the easiest life on this planet.]
The leaves rustle angrily, and the Grove Keeper holds up his hands.
[I will say no more, but I think I might be able to answer your question now?]
The bushes sullenly return to stillness and the giant tree dips his head in appreciation.
[Hmmmmm. To answer your question in full, I will need to explain a little about Mother, which may be why she is reluctant that I share, but I do not see the harm in a little truth. It is an extension of trust between us.]
[An olive branch? I can get behind that.]