Basically, using the gravity mandibles is a lot more situational than it was before, since they don’t have the desired effect on things that are too massive. If I had more Gravity Mana to pour in, then perhaps I could get it to work as it did before, but I’m limited since I only have what is available in my organ and can’t make more for myself. However, since I mastered the basic elements and learned Omni-Elemental Magic, I now have ready access to every type of basic elemental mana, including the fusions!
Which means a whole host of different types of mana I can infuse into my mandibles that I haven’t really tried yet! I’m not expecting anything world-shattering, but it’ll be nice to see what kinds of effects I can produce. As we march back to the city, following the winding tunnels as they twist and turn back to the larvae-flooded plains, I use my Omni-Elemental Construct to flood my mandibles with every type of mana I can create and chomp on various things, rocks, the odd demon, to see what happens each time.
The mandibles respond incredibly well to the mana, drinking it up like some sort of mega-sponge. Continuing to mutate them down this line has clearly increased the strength of the effect that is produced, while also increasing the ability of the mandibles to take and hold the energy that I give it. I have to throw in a ridiculous amount of mana before they start to feel ‘full,’ and the abilities they grant are quite startling when fully charged.
For starters, Water Mana. To my surprise, the feeling I get from infusing this energy into my mandibles is one of cutting, and when I chomp down on a rock, the mana floods out in a rush as tiny, concentrated blasts of water emerge from the spiked tips of my mandibles. When I withdraw my jaws and inspect the rock, I find the pressurised water has drilled holes deep into the stone. Nasty! This might help me crack tough defences in a pinch! I’m impressed.
Fire Mana, I’ve tested before, essentially super heating my mandibles, though I don’t really feel it, thank goodness, and sizzling whatever I bite. I’m a fan. Not much use in the third stratum, but I still think it’s a strong effect.
Air Mana is a bit of a weird one, similar to gravity in a way. Once fully charged, when I open my mandibles wide, the air in front of me is sucked away, dragging whatever happens to be in front of me forward as the air rushes toward me to fill the void. The range is much less than the pull Gravitational Mana gives me, but this effect is targeted on an individual in the same way. Except anything in front of me will be dragged forward, unless they are strong enough or properly prepared to resist the sudden drag.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with Earth Mana. I mean, it was always going to be an unusual effect, but what I got was surprising and pleasing. The sense of peace and fulfilment that washed over me was immense, and when I turned to the tunnel wall and began to dig, the earth just melted away beneath my mandibles. Bliss. True peace.
Ice Mana was much as expected; when I bit a stone, the mana flooded into it, and even in these boiling temperatures, the damn thing started to freeze, rapidly cooling to the point that frost started to form on the surface. Of course, mixing temperatures like this isn’t particularly healthy for a rock, and the damn thing cracked right in my face.
Blue Fire was much the same as normal fire, except hotter.
Gas Magic was subtly different from Air Magic. Whereas Air Magic created a vacuum in front of my jaws which dragged things in front of me forward, Gas Magic created a rush of air inward to where I was biting, effectively locking in place the target of my ire, unless of course they were strong enough to resist the inrushing atmosphere.
Stone took the previous levels of ease of digging to all new heights, earth and stone positively crumbling away whenever my mandibles got even close to them, the mana leaching out and into the rock, dissolving it from within. This could be useful for the carvers…
12. The Reborn City
Returning to Roklu, we make our way up the plate on which the city was built, the changes that had taken place clear to see. Not ones to mess around, the Colony has clearly gotten to work to an extent that left the remaining local residents’ heads spinning. Around the central pillar, the carvers had clearly decided ‘forget this’ and just gone ahead and built an ant hill circling the base. What had once been Grokus’ compound was now an elegant tower of stone and dirt, already displaying elaborate carvings and intricate arrangements on the outside as the more artistic workers set to their business.
The rest of the city was rebuilt sturdier and neater than before. No longer quite as tangled a mess as it had been, the Colony had imposed some degree of order on the demons without going all the way and tearing down their warrens completely. Thousands and thousands of ants are still in residence, watching in all directions, building, scouting, shifting resources from above and bringing them down into the city. The elevator they constructed is rather impressive, no doubt about that. The ingenuity of the Colony knows no bounds.
Of course, once we are settled, it’s time for Brilliant to evolve.
“Hop to it!” I tell her. “Make sure you think carefully about your choices, and don’t make any dumb decisions. You really can’t afford to waste your evolutionary energy.”
“I know that,” she grumbles. “It’s just that I’m so tempted to choose everything I see.”
“That curiosity is likely to get you killed one of these days,” I scold her. “Obviously you can’t pick everything. Be sensible about it.”
“Fine.”
I carefully watch her until I’m convinced she’s deep into the menus and thus too distracted by the System and the process of evolving to worry about what is happening in the real world.
[Chuck her in the mouth, Invidia, she can evolve in there while we go about our business. Mind you, if she gets too large for you to hold, make sure you let me know and spit her out.]
[Very wellll.]
A few moments later, the little ant is gone, vanished into a pocket dimension whilst the rest of us continue our tour of the city. It isn’t long before we bump into some old friends.
[Sarah! I didn’t expect to see you down here!]
We spot the big bear helping a few carvers by shifting some heavy stone blocks with not inconsiderable strength.
[Oh, Anthony! Welcome back! I couldn’t keep being lazy and thought I should come down here and help. I might have thought twice if I’d realised how hot it would be.]
[I can see that Smithant got a hold of you too.] I flip an antenna toward the rings of metal that adorn her limbs.
She pulls a face.
[This is nothing. You should see the full armour set. No, these pieces are just for helping keep me cool. It’s not great having fur down here!]
I bet. I walk over to her and give her a pat on the back with one leg.
[Just be careful with yourself, alright? You’ll be a big help in the fighting against the tier seven and six opponents we have to deal with here, but if it gets too much for you, make sure you back out before it becomes overwhelming.]
There are flashes of pain in her eyes as she recalls the near disaster she experienced the last time the Colony was under siege.
[Don’t worry,] she assures me, [I’ll be careful.]
We chat for a little while before she remembers to tell me that Granin and crew had come down looking for me, so I bid her farewell and let her get back to building, which in turn gets the carvers to stop accusing us of being lazy, and go looking for the golgari. I eventually find them resting just outside the anthill in a small compound that appears to have been constructed for them to reside in. The Colony is nothing if not accommodating!