When I tell him about the existence of a village where the colony and humans coexist, he’s equally interested in taking a peek. Then, it’s my turn to become a little cagey. I’m not wasn’t against him looking at the village, so long as Enid doesn’t mind, but I don’t necessarily want him to know where it is, either. Without a more full and thorough understanding of Portal and Gate Magic, we don’t know that more advanced societies can’t just pop a magic portal into existence anywhere they want.
Grey himself mentioned that sections of the Folk are likely to be openly hostile to us without denying that he himself may feel that way, so it’s not as if he’s necessarily a trusted agent. In the end, we part ways with a generally positive vibe. I’ll leave the particulars of how this interaction is handled from this point onward to the council. I’ve managed to put my point of view across, I think, and I get the sense that Grey is prepared to be upfront with the colony, which is better than anticipated.
White is another story. I get nothing out of her, regardless of what I try. When I direct a question to her directly, she merely turns to Grey, and he answers in her place. When I try to slip a sneaky question to her directly, namely: [Is this ugly guy keeping you against your will?] She stifles a giggle and shakes her head. In the end, White remains a mystery. An apprentice of some kind, but more than that, I have no idea.
Heading out into the tunnel, I rejoin my pets and we make our way back through the tunnels of the nest to our private chamber. Interestingly enough, the colony hasn’t made much of an effort to decorate this space without asking me. This chamber reminds me of the original ant nests, back before I’d made them smarter. Unadorned dirt walls, a nice ovoid sort of shape. It’s cosy. Also, it’s nice not to see my own damn face every time I look at a wall.
[Alright, gang. Get your Biomass and Skills in order. We need to crunch the numbers before we head out and do some power Levelling. Make sure you’re in tip-top shape!]
Each of my pets, my closest allies, react in their own way. Tiny smacks himself on the chest with both fists, excited for the battle to come. Crinis tightens her grip on my carapace at the mention of danger, no doubt considering all that she’ll need to protect me from, and probably worrying about a few far-fetched scenarios. Invidia’s eye just gleams as he thinks about the Biomass and experience his victims possess, resources that he now yearns to seize.
I just shake my head and crack open my menu, ready to poke about and check on my progress.
Name: Anthony
Leveclass="underline" 53 (Rare) (V)
Might: 91
Toughness: 79
Cunning: 64
Wilclass="underline" 55
HP: 158/158
MP: 330/330
Skills:
Generaclass="underline"
Expert Excavation Level 20 (III); Expert Grip Level 7 (III); Expert Stealth Level 6 (III); Tunnel Guide Level 9 (III); Iron Mind Level 21 (IV); Expert Stamina Level 19 (III); Still Meditation Level 4 (IV); Snap Dash Level 5 (IV)
Mana:
Mana Craft Level 15 (V); Master Condensed Mana Level 7 (IV); Master External Mana Manipulation Level 13 (IV); Mana Hoarder Level 15 (IV); Master Mind Magic Affinity Level 17 (IV); Expert Mana Sensing Level 20 (III); Empowered Healing Magic Affinity Level 11 (III); Advanced Blue Fire Magic Affinity Level 2 (V); Stone Magic Affinity Level 18 (IV); Gas Magic Affinity Level 26 (IV); Ice Magic Affinity Level 31 (IV)
Pet:
Further Pet Communication Level 4 (III); Core Crafting Level 13 (IV); Pet Growth Speed Level 5 (I)
Defensive:
Master Exo-Skeleton Defence Level 26 (IV); Expert Dodge Level 19 (III); Expert Endure Level 10 (III); Expert Grace Level 5 (III)
Offensive:
Deadly Acid Shot Level 19 (III); Master Precise Shooting Level 11 (IV); Omen Chomp Level 35 (IV)
Mutations:
Senses:
Heightened Perimeter Eyes +20; Far-sight Oracle Antennae +25
Defence:
Complete Diamond Carapace +25; Braced Healing Inner Carapace Plating +25
Physicaclass="underline"
Tough Rapid Osmotic Legs +20; Mana Flooded Mandibles +25; Frequent Potent Regeneration Gland +25; Convincing Pheromone Gland +20; Vast Hungering Stomach +25; Hyper Twitch Musculature +20; Instant Transmission Sub-Neural Network +20
Acid:
Mana Feasting Bind Acid +20; Hyper Pressurised Acid Nozzle +10; Thickened Potent Acid Concentration Gland +10; Rapid Fatiguing Acid Stimulation Gland +10
Mentaclass="underline"
Unyielding Coordination Cortex +25
Mana:
Unending Gravity Magic Gland +20; Endless Collective Will Vestibule +25
Species: Juvenile Colony Paragon (Formica Sapiens)
Skill Points: 12
Biomass: 434
Quite a few Skills have ranked up recently, and I have a ton of Biomass to spend. I really want to check and see if anything new has been unlocked recently, but I need to be careful. I’ve only got twelve points in the tank. Aiming for a rank five fusion means I’ll need to hold a good number of points in reserve.
69. Finessing the Numbers
Once again, I’ve managed to pile up a respectable amount of Biomass, though far less than I could have. The priority was given to pumping up my siblings on recent trips; on the next one, I can afford to be more… dare I say it… selfish.
It’s not selfish to feed myself, dammit! I need to max out my mutations before I can even think about evolving. Anyone who thinks I’m going to miss out on that juicy, free bonus evolutionary energy for maxed evolutions is insane! Insane I tell you!
To that end, I need to stuff my face. I won’t apologise for it.
The other thing I need to do is use combat to pump up my Skills as fast as possible. Elemental Magic needs to be the priority. Once I finally achieve the rank five fusion, I’ll be able to push my practice in other directions. Mind Magic will probably be the next area of magical study. Those Mind Constructs will allow me to raise my prowess to a whole new level once I evolve and enhance my brain power.
I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve even considered evolving. The colony has been expanding so fast, and conflict has come to find us at such a rapid pace, I haven’t had any time at all to consider my own progress. I guess in the back of my mind, I’d kind of pushed all thought of evolution away, since Level eighty was such a ridiculously long way away. Not anymore, though! Only twenty-seven more Levels! Sounds like a lot, but it’s a heck of a lot less than eighty!
I’m getting excited just thinking about it. Evolution is so addictive, I swear.
Alright, let’s get busy, if I sit around here and keep pondering my next evolution, then nothing is going to get done. Leaving my pets to sort out their own numbers—even Tiny appears to be counting on his fingers, his face a mask of concentration—I duck out into the corridor and flag down a passing ant.
“Hey there, any chance you can get word to the golgari, Torrina and Corun, to come and drop by here?”
“Sure thing. Work hard!”
“When am I not?”
Their silent pheromones speak volumes.
“Alright already! Geez!”
Everyone’s a critic. Just because I’m not currently doing something, doesn’t mean I’m not doing something. Sort of. I brush up on the Skills I’ve upgraded recently whilst I wait for my advisors to arrive.
Flicker Dash ranking up into Snap Dash was a nice one. The improved Dash Skill has a dramatically shorter windup than before. Not that the charging time was long, but if you cut half a second down to a quarter of a second, you notice. It’s similar to the feeling of gathering strength in your legs before you jump. With Flicker Dash, there was a brief windup before the explosive speed was unleashed, now that time is almost gone. Combined with my reflexes, even faster dodging is now possible. Gwehehehehe.