From A Stronghold Chrysalis

by Stayrr

Anthony has been reborn! Placed into the remarkable game-like world of Pangera. However, something seems a little off. What’s with these skills? Bite? Dig? Wait... I’ve been reborn as a WHAT! Follow Anthony as he attempts to adjust to his new life, to survive and grow in his new Dungeon home!

1. 1

Anthony has been reborn! Placed into the remarkable game-like world of Pangera. However, something seems a little off. What's with these skills? Bite? Dig? Wait... I've been reborn as a WHAT?! Follow Anthony as he attempts to adjust to his new life, to survive and grow in his new Dungeon home!

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Chrysalis #Chapter 1 Anthony Reborn - Read Chrysalis Chapter 1 Anthony Reborn Online - All Page - Novel Next

Chapter 1 Anthony Reborn

I had no time to think, pause or consider before I came to be enveloped in a soft, white light. A blinding flash impacting not just my eyes but seemingly my whole body.

Sensation fell gradually away as I tried to gather my thoughts. What had happened? Where was I? I think I made myself dinner, my parents hadn't been home, again. I was eating in my room, at my desk maybe? Then there had been ... white?

I can't tell how long I've been here, floating in this gentle light. Has it been ten days? Or only ten minutes? The light surrounds me, enveloping me like a warm blanket.

Sound begins to swell like a wave in the distance. It rushes toward me and just when washes over me I hear a voice.

[Welcome Anthony]

Well thank you! These are the kinds of good manners that make me feel warm inside.

[you have died]

Dammit!

What do you mean I died, disembodied voice? How on earth are you speaking anyway? Come to think of it, how on earth am I hearing you? Do I even have ears right now?!

So if I died, is this heaven? I mean, it's comfortable enough but I'm not sure if I want to stay here forever you know?

[Be calm, you will soon awaken to experience life again in a new world]

This voice feels somewhat familiar, a deep and gruff intonation that is comforting yet full of wisdom? Is it that legendary bearded figure, dressed all it white? Worshipped with devotion all over the Earth?

Could it be you?

Gandalf?

[You will be reborn on the world of Pangera]

[Destiny and luck shall determine your fate]

Hold on a moment, Gandalf! This ... This sounds kind of cool doesn't it? Reborn into another world? Adventure, peril and opportunity around each corner? Will there be magic? Girls?!

Whoa there ... hold on there, me. Need to be calm. Focus and listen to Lord Gandalf!

[You will be reborn with the following status]

Here it comes!

[Level: 1]

So game like!

[Stats]

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 30

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MP: 0

Oh ho! I sound strong. MP is zero though? Is it because my spirit is lacking? Why are you judging me like this Gandalf?

[Skills: Digging level 1; Acid Shot Level 1; Grip Level 3; Bite Level 2]

Okay! Skills! This is exciting! Just ... bite? Acid? Aren't these skills a little... strange? What about destruction magic or inter-dimensional spirit summoning?

[Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)]

...

Oi.

Oiiiiii.

What the heck was that Gandalf?! Ant? Not just an ant but a hatchling worker ant?! This isn't the glorious rebirth I had in mind Lord Gandalf! Was I lacking in virtue during my previous life? Was I too cruel to my friends? That can't be so, I didn't have any friends!

[You have one Skill point and one Biomass available]

[Go forth and forge your own path]

An ant path? Forge your mother, Gandalf!

At this moment, I sensed a change the light surrounding me. Gradually, it began to condense, shrinking and squeezing against me. Simultaneously it began to take form. Slowly the features and details of my new body were taking shape.

Sadly those features were not to my liking!

Six legs, two antennae, strong mandibles and a large abdomen. This is definitely the body of an ant.

After what felt like only a few minutes my shape was fully formed, my body, still white and somewhat translucent had coalesced around my consciousness.

I was now a fully formed ant.

What the hell am I supposed to do now Gandalf?! I may have kept ants as pets, but that doesn't mean I know what one is supposed to do?! Is that all it takes is it? Pet ants means ant rebirth?

First I suppose I'll try and get my bearings. The first thing I notice is that my vision is terrible. I appear to be somewhere quite dark but a faint blue glow can be seen coming from a wall in front of me, but the details are terribly blurry. Every time I turn my head my vision seems to swim, as if the colours are washed away with water before settling again.

There is a sinking feeling in my... abdomen? Most ants have very poor vision, some are even completely blind. At least I'm not that unlucky. I'll have to adjust to the other senses I have to compensate for my crappy vision!

Of course I mean my antennae! I should, if I recall right, be able to use them to smell the air and detect movement from air currents. I diligently start waving my still white feelers to see if I can sense anything.

Ooooo. This is a bit different.

I'm detecting a few smells I can't identify. The air here certainly seems a bit stale, which makes sense if I'm underground.

But wait. Where are all my ant brethren? Ants usually communicate by pheromones and their sense of smell right? My fellow colony mates should be around here ready to welcome their new comrade shouldn't they?! Why can't I find them?

Wait! I'm detecting a whiff of something nearby. I turn left and frantically wave my antennae in this new direction. Yes. Something that smells much like myself is nearby. By piecing together information from my senses I can work out that I'm in a long tunnel. Across one of the walls there is a faintly pulsing blue light. The tunnel seems to be a combination of rock walls with dirt sections.

Very gradually I begin to proceed towards the scent of my ally. My six legs begin to move, hesitantly at first and then with growing confidence.

I'm starting to hear something as I approach a curve in the tunnel ahead. It's a little hard to make out, like a crunching noise?

Not to fear my fellow ant buddy! Whatever your task may be, I am here to assist, for the glory of the colony!

Antennae waving furiously I approach the curve and poke my head around the corner.

I see movement. An ant is lying flat on its back, legs slowly waving jerkily in the air. Mandibles open and snap at air weakly, but that's not all I see.

Above my brethren I see a long snout open wide, jagged curved teeth revealed within. Two powerful hands grip a weakly struggling ant, lifting it towards those jaws which close with crushing force. The ant victim writhes in silent agony and the predator snaps its jaws a few more times before lifting its head and throwing the food down its gullet.

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Nonononononono.

Nope.

What the heck is this?!

Is this some sort of monster walking crocodile lizard beast?! At the end of its body I can see a massive tail swishing across the ground, two strong looking hands are pinning down the body of its prey, my comrade is still twitching and trying to move but is clearly at the end of their strength.

Fortunately the monster has its back to me!

Don't look at me like that, ally!

What do you want me to do? Fight that giant Croca-beast?! I can tell its easily four or five times my size!

This isn't the colony, there aren't any other ants here. No team, no support, no soldiers to protect us workers. What can I possibly do?

Clearly my best strategy in this situation is to ... Flee!

Before it finishes eating and looks for more I have to run!

Tripping and falling over my own legs I turn and scurry back down the tunnel in the direction I came. Run, run, run!

Wait!

What if I run into another of those monsters coming down the tunnel towards me?! That would be game over man, game over!

Think Anthony, think like an ant!

I stop too quickly and tangle my legs up again, causing me to fall in a heap. Hang on a moment?! I do have an option to ensure my safety. What would an ant do? Dig!

I use my feelers and front legs to scan the walls around me as quickly as I can. There! Aha! This section of wall is softer dirt, not rock!

Dig like your life depends on it Anthony! Because it does!

Raising my forelegs I start to scratch madly at the wall. My legs are still white coloured and faintly translucent, too soft to effectively dig! Hold on, ants don't use their legs to dig anyway. I try opening my mandibles on the front of my face for the first time. In my vision I can see the thick jaws open and snap shut.

I have to dig with my face!

I push my face towards the wall and open my jaws as wide as I can then crunch them shut with all of my strength. My mandibles are yet to harden fully but they are still enough to rip into this dirt wall easily!

Haha!

Frantically I dig without pause, without rest, until I have carved out a small tunnel in the wall large enough to fit myself in and then collapse the entrance, trapping myself in complete black.

If I'm found, I'm dead!

Shivering in my dark hidey hole I begin to ponder my circumstances.

This situation is too strange! A new ant should be born inside the colony, surrounded by allies and protectors, why on Pangera was I born alone in a tunnel with such fearsome beasts! Judging by my poor fellow ant out there I'm not the only one dropped into these hopeless straights.

I can only think of one thing. A raid. Something attacked my home colony and escaped carrying a few unhatched young. A juicy, defenseless food supply to snack on back in their own home tunnels. It may not have even been that giant Croca-beast that conducted the raid, it may have intercepted the creatures that did the deed and stolen their prize.

As a result I was dropped, unseen and managed to hatch successfully, leading to my current position of shaking in the dirt hoping I don't get found.

I can also dismiss the idea that I am a normal ant, just a few millimeters long. I've no idea how large I actually am but I can safely assume I would be a ridiculous size for an ant on Earth. That bi-pedal crocodile-headed beast certainly did not exist on Earth and surely cannot evolve naturally. This evidence, combined with the game like system in this world leads me to believe that it was a monster I saw and that I am also a monster in some underground labyrinth or dungeon.

That's scary! Do I have some sort of monster core that explorers will come to farm? Do I drop money when I die?!

This is some ridiculous hard mode right here Gandalf!

A little help?

Wait. He did say something about a skill point and Biomass?

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Chapter 2 Coming to grips

The world before the System Descent is mystery to us now, any records of that time disappeared during the Rending or were lost in the centuries since. How did those people judge each other, unable to view themselves with perfect numerical accuracy as we so easily can today?

Was that society a more equitable place? When the worth of a human being can be weighed with such precision, strict roles and structures are easy to maintain, perhaps back then, when the qualities of each individual were more nebulous, it allowed greater freedom, greater choice in a persons' life? Many believe the System elevated us, empowered us to fight back against the great cataclysm, but many of the wise question this narrative, we know what we gained in the Descent, but we can no longer recall what we lost.

Exert from page 15 of "Ruminations on the pre-Descent society" by Illarion the heretic.

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Okay. So I have a skill point and a body point to spend? If this is a game-like situation then I would be able to open some sort of menu in order to spend my points and improve myself. How do I access this menu here in my tunnel though?

Erm. Level up!

No, that didn't work.

Escape! Escape key!

... Nothing.

I mean, worth a shot right?

Sigh.

Status!

Whoa!

Name: Anthony

Level: 1

Might:15

Toughness:12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 30

MP: 0

Skills: Digging level 1; Acid Shot Level 1; Grip Level 3; Bite Level 2

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)

Biomass: 1

Skill Points: 1

Wow, this is really interesting! My status huh?

The first time I saw these numbers I thought they looked high but perhaps they are actually really low? I can't imagine a hatchling ant worker has an impressive status in any way. And what are these skills?

Grip? Does this mean I can hold onto things well?

[Grip: Ability to hold onto surfaces and objects without letting go, for example, walking on walls]

The triumphant return of Lord Gandalf! My lord! My savior! Truly your beard is the most luxurious, your eyebrows the most bristly!

So I have some sort of help system built into the status to explain the skills when I think of them? This is amazing!

So my grip skill improves my ability to hold onto stuff with my six legs, including walking on walls and the ceiling? I totally forgot ants could do that. I'll have to try it as soon as I get out of here, why would you walk on the floor if you had the option to use the wall or roof?

What do my other skills do I wonder?

[Bite: Improves the ability to accurately and forcefully apply a bite using fangs, mandibles or teeth].

[Digging: Provides sub-conscious guidance when digging to increase efficiency and effectiveness].

[Acid shot: assists accuracy when attempting to attack from a distance using a natural acid from the body].

Okaaaaay.

There are many species of ant on earth that were able to shoot formic acid from their rear zone. I must belong to a monstrous species of formic acid spraying ant then. This could be very helpful, it gives me an option to attack without getting too close to my opponent, a course of action that I think would, at the moment, lead to my instantaneous destruction.

So I can bite, crawl on the roof, dig and shoot acid? That doesn't seem like a lot of tools to survive in an environment like this.

What I'm missing most is information. I have no real idea where I am, I have no idea what kind of creatures live in this place other than ants like me and Croca-beasts, I've no idea where the surface is or if the surface even exists in this world. I can't communicate with anything since I'm fairly sure I don't even have vocal chords, so even if I found someone prepared to talk to a monstrous ant, dialogue would be impossible.

This means if I want any information I'll have to get it myself. Out, in the tunnels.

Hmmm.

Scary! That's so scary, Gandalf!

You want me to go out there with who knows how many unknown horrors as a lone little ant monster?! Madness, madness I say!

Phew. Came down Anthony, stay cool. Panic will not help this situation in any way. Stay rational, stay cool, stay alive.

So, the final question is, what can I spend my points on and how?

[Would you like to spend your skill points?]

I would! I absolutely would oh wise and magnificent Gandalf, bringer of hope, bringer of light, may your beard be ever fluffy!

Just like with my status, a window opens within my mind.

Skill points: 1

Biomass: 1

[you can use skill points to purchase new skills or upgrade existing ones]

[Biomass can be spent to improve or modify aspects of your physical, monstrous form]

[Skills available to purchase:

Stealth: cost 1sp, improves your ability to hide and move unseen

Dash: cost 1sp, Increases speed over short distances but increases stamina drain

Slashing attack: cost 1 sp, more accurate and powerful slashing attacks

Chomp: cost 1sp, bites pierce more and are more difficult to shake off

Tunnel sense: cost 1 sp, improves sense of direction when underground]

[Body improvements available to purchase:

Exoskeleton 1: harden your exoskeleton to improve resistance to mundane damage

Mandibles 1: toughen mandibles and improve their ability to pierce

Legs 1: improve agility

Eyes 1: improve eyesight

Antennae 1: increase sensitivity to air current and scent

Acid gland 1: thicken the concentration of internal acid]

This is a lot of options! It's very difficult to choose! I have to think logically here.

Being able to run faster would help be escape my enemies, tunnel sense would make it harder for me to get lost whilst underground, chomp and acid would help me fight more effectively...

I must prioritise my survival. I can only improve and grow here if I can survive. Taking abilities to help me fight would only be suicide, if I attack a monster I can't defeat then it'll be game over straight away, improving my speed will be a dead end if I run into something that is faster than I am. Without information, how am I supposed to know what creatures I can fight and how fast any of them are?

As a newly hatched ant worker, I have to assume I am close to the weakest creature here!

Ok I have made my decision.

Select, Eyes 1 and Stealth!

[Would you like to purchase Eyes 1 and the skill: Stealth?]

Yes, please.

Immediately I can feel a maddening itch burst over my eyes, like a thousand mosquito bites erupting at once.

Gaaah!

Don't do this to me Gandalf! I can't even scratch this itch, I might poke my own eyes out!

Fortunately it doesn't last for long. After a minute I can feel the itch recede. It's hard to tell if my sight has improved here in my dark hiding place but I definitely feel that my eyes are a bit bigger than they were before.

So this is body modification? One minute and bam, you have improved from before? This almost seems like cheating. How many hours of effort would a human on Earth have to put in to improve themselves even a little bit? Even then, it isn't like they could do something like improve their eyesight.

I have to get more of these points! With enough body improvement points I may be able to overcome my natural weakness as a relatively harmless species and live with more security here in these tunnels!

Why would I select stealth and eyesight improvement you may ask?

Excellent question!

If we say that it's too dangerous to assume I can fight anything whilst we also assume it's too dangerous to assume I can run from everything then the only path through which survival can be assured is to not be seen in the first place. If you are seen, you are dead! I have placed my hope in stealth in order to live long enough to learn more about how to survive in this environment!

As for eyesight... You know, having really terrible eyesight sucks! Being used to human vision, it's super disorienting to switch these pathetic ant eyes! If something isn't moving I can barely see it at all! Remember that ants are a communal species, thousands, tens of thousands of weak individuals combine to create something strong. Each individual ant has terrible senses but when acting together they are difficult to hide from.

I am alone, however! How am I supposed to survive when I could trip over a dragon which was having a nap?!

Ridiculous!

I will make improving my eyesight a priority and I won't stop until I can spot a cockroach twitch through five metres of solid stone.

Okay.

I've been hiding here for about half an hour now, with my points spent there is no longer any reason to delay.

Take courage Anthony, advance forth and explore!

Very carefully I scrape away at the dirt that I collapsed to enclose myself. Eventually I clear a narrow opening to the tunnel I was born in and poke my antennae through very slightly.

It feels clear, I can't smell anything and I don't detect any vibrations. Here goes nothing then. Moving quickly now I widen the opening and squeeze myself through. Turning on the spot I can't see anything in either direction, the tunnel stretches into darkness, curving slightly at the edge of my vision.

The path to my right is where I saw the beast eating my brethren, I'd rather not go that way since I know for certain there are threats in that direction, which leaves me with only one choice: go left.

Now to initiate the next phase of my plan!

Very slowly, since I still can't coordinate my six legs very well, I begin to walk towards the wall, then I begin to walk up the wall, then I step onto the roof until finally I am hanging upside down, gripping the roof fiercely with my tiny claws.

Success! By hugging the roof and moving upside down, combined with my new stealth skill I may have a greater chance of remaining undetected and passing unseen!

Muahahaha!

It could just be the blood rushing to my head but suddenly I feel more confident that I did before. Onward Anthony!

Despite my now burning spirit I continue to move cautiously down the tunnel. Using my antennae and front legs to look for solid footholds before gripping hard with my feet and moving forward. This takes a fair bit of concentration so progress is relatively slow but I'm okay with that, every moment that passes without being attacked feels like a small victory to me!

Now that I can see slightly better I can make a little more sense of some of the details I noticed before. All around the tunnel, twisting and branching like vines are glowing blue lines, like veins running through the rock. Some thicker, some thinner, some so thin they can almost not be seen, splitting and reforming endlessly in a random pattern.

Every few minutes a pulse flows through the lines, brightening the entire tunnel momentarily as it flashes through. It feels eerily as if the tunnel were alive, but for some reason, the light feels comforting to me, almost energizing.

Just another thing for me to learn in order to understand in this place.

Illuminated by the glow of the tunnel I can see my carapace has begun to harden and turn black. I recall from my ant keeping hobby that newborn ants have a soft white exoskeleton which gradually hardens and gains colour. Seems like I was huddling in the wall longer that I thought.

After an hour of cautious movement, I follow the tunnel around a curve and before me the tunnel walls fall away into a tremendous cavern.

This is huge! You could fit a few sports fields in here surely?

What's more, through my antennae I can sense fluttering vibrations and a myriad of scents assault me all at once.

Monsters!

Chapter 3 Monstrous associates

Growls, hisses and the click-clack of claws echo off the walls in the cavern. Waves of vibrations batter my antennae, dizzying me. This cavern swarms with beasts, fighting and moving through what appeared to be a thoroughfare in the part of the cave network.

Quickly as I can, I dart into the cavern, moving towards the dark shelter of a stalactite, hanging like a spear tip from the roof. Flattening myself against the rock I remain still, and cast my eyes around.

The strange blue lines I'd seen pulsing in the walls are here as well, twisting and branching throughout every surface, even winding around the pillars of pointed rock that burst from the ceiling and floor, illuminating the entire space with the same soft blue light.

Nearby, in the center of a clearing, a basin of water, perhaps twenty meters across had formed in the floor of the cavern. Peering closely, I see it's fed by a steady drip of water from cracks in the ceiling, possibly from a river or aquifer above. The water seems suffused with the blue glow, illuminated from beneath by veins of light in the basin floor.

The thing that makes my poor ant heart leap to my mandibles however, is the menagerie of monsters I see congregating around the pool. What sort of nightmare parade is this Gandalf?! The details are hard to make out thanks to my still crappy vision but thanks to the creatures being so stylishly lit from below as they drink I can see enough.

First let's address two closest to me, they appear to be a kind of dog, or wolf, each with a reptilian tale extending behind them. Their head features an elongated snout filled with what I imagine to be razor sharp teeth. The two creatures take turns drinking, watching over each other and rumbling warning growls at anything nearby, tails swishing over the cavern floor.

Next to them I can make out another Croca-beast, leaning forward, placing its weight on its front legs, scooping water with its elongated jaws. The other monsters seem to give the beast a bit of clear space, I would too! It seems the creatures here understand to let sleeping dragons lie well enough.

Now that I notice it, it seems there is no conflict around the water pool at all. Perhaps the denizens of this place have established an unspoken truce here at their water source? I'm surprised. I wouldn't have expected these terrifying creatures to be willing to share space, especially if they can grow stronger by eating Biomass as I can.

Since this is the case I'll skitter a little closer and try and see better!

Very slowly I approach the pool, one leg moving at a time, keeping my body as flat to the roof as possible. Progress is so slow! If I could sweat then water would be running off me so fast there would be a second drinking pool in this cavern! I test every foothold and sweep my antennae oh so slowly through the air.

[Stealth has reached level 2]

Oh yisssss!

Skill level up! So juicy!

This confirms my suspicion that my skills can be trained by use, in this case my stealth skill has been raised by moving without being noticed by the monsters below me. This gives me a huge opportunity! I can hide here and continuously observe these monsters, moving very slightly the whole time, which will allow me to gain information whilst training my stealth.

Okay, settle down. The worst thing I can do is lose my cool.

I take a few slow deep breaths to calm myself before I continue my approach. One mistake will mean death in this place, I must be cautious three times in everything I do. Combat means instant destruction for me, I can never forget, even for a moment, that being found means being killed.

Steady the ship Anthony!

Eventually I make my way closer to the pool, letting me see the creatures on the other side a little more clearly. What looked like a shifting mound of a creature is now revealed to be a mass of centipede like creatures, twisting and falling over each other as they drink and rear up their bodies to hiss and clack their pointed mandibles.

I can barely make it out, but each centipede seems to have two small arms with pincers, like a crab or scorpion and their long bodies, covered in legs, end in a sharp point.

Disgusting!

These things are massively disgusting Gandalf! There must be ten of them piled on top of each other over there! The way they writhe and twist makes me slightly nauseous. I'll look away.

The last beast I can see is a small, squat creature with four legs, like a lizard, but with long, stone like spikes rising from its back. Of all the creatures here it looks like the least threatening but since the other creatures are giving it a wide space there must be something about those spikes that make them avoid it.

Even though I'm hiding here, there is one thought that excites me greatly, each of these terrible creatures is a possible harvest of Biomass, the red envelope of XP, waiting for me to reap!

First I have to make preparations. The next few hours pass slowly as I diligently stay over the pool, shifting my position gradually so as to stay hidden, observing the way the creatures move, especially taking care to see where the creatures go after they leave the pool.

The centipedes slither away to the opposite end of the cavern and curiously the Croca-beast does as well. The dogs move into a small tunnel opening in the south end, close the tunnel I emerged from. The spiky lizard wanders off towards a wall and starts to climb up before I lose sight of it in the shadows.

Another wall dweller eh? I'd call you brother if I didn't have to eat you! Heheheh.

As the creatures leave they are replaced by more slinking out of the shadows and from behind rocks.

After two hours I am finally rewarded.

[Stealth has reached Level 3]

At last! My poor ant claws need a break!

It might seem effortless to hang upside down here but I'm expending energy and not eating anything. I'm tired and hungry. Food will have to wait for now though. It's still too soon.

I creep back to my tunnel and make my way back into my hidey-hole. Phew! Only when I'm enclosed in this space do I feel safe. Maybe that is the ant coming out in me?

Never mind that! Time to work some more!

I begin to widen the space and I use the excavated dirt to start blocking the tunnel off on the side leading away from the cavern. Using my mandibles to shift the dirt and pressing it down with my body to compact it. It's strangely soothing, this.

Usually, when a colony is excavating a nest they would pile loose soil around the top to create a mound in order to help keep water out of the nest. I don't want this for a few reasons, I'm not worried about rain down here and secondly, I don't want anyone to know there is an ant in here.

So my plan is to try and restrict the tunnel on both sides, leaving only a small gap for me to pass through on the roof. This way the larger creatures will be dissuaded from chasing me here to my hiding place. They could get through if they really wanted to of course, it's only dirt after all, but I'm hoping they wouldn't be bothered and find another way to travel.

After some time:

[Digging has reached Level 2].

Ha! Now I can dig faster!

After a few hours of shifting dirt I was able to completely block off one side of the tunnel, leaving only a small gap at the roof. Also, my digging had reached level three.

I'm exhausted, time for a nap!

Covering up the entrance to my now much more spacious hiding hole, I loosen my six legs and place my body down on the soft earth.

I'm so hungry!

My stomach is twisting and cramping. I know this feeling from when my family didn't send expenses money or neglected to put food in the fridge. I'm no stranger to going hungry.

I just have to wait. When I wake up I'll go to hunt my first prey.

I already have a target!

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Chapter 4 The first prey

I'm so ... So hungry!

Perched here on the roof of the cavern, my claws dug into the cold rock there is only one thought in my mind.

Food!

All the delicious things I was able to eat in my previous life are spinning through my mind, chocolate, cake, steaks, bread, yes even bread! I haven't eaten anything for two days now, the hunger is making my mind play tricks on me. The last time I saw a Croca-beast I swore it looked like a cow and nearly leaped at it from the ceiling!

The centipedes are looking and more like a tangle of noodles. I have to solve this situation before I get myself killed chomping on something I shouldn't.

Two days. I have been planning for two. Whole. Days.

I have studied every aspect of this end of the cavern in excruciating detail. I've spent so long hanging upside down over the water basin that I nearly feel asleep and dropped into the water. That would be a swim I wouldn't enjoy...

A welcome side effect of spending all my time this way has been my sneak has levelled up to four! Thanks to spending my downtime digging away at my hiding place my digging has also reached level three.

Mua HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I prepare, I grow, I hunger!

Sigh.

I know, these skills are pretty much useless, ok? I know. I'll take anything I get at this stage. Hopefully, soon I'll be able to conquer my first prey.

My antennae twitch suddenly. The target is close, I can smell them. Concentrating hard I try to focus my eyes, I'm currently positioned away from pool in a very dark area of the cavern, the snaking light veins along the walls are far apart here, allowing deep shadows to exist.

My chosen prey has been using the wall on this side of the cavern as a resting place, crawling down to the floor and over to the pool once each day to drink.

An isolated creature, with a predictable movement path that I think I can defeat. So rare! This creature is so damn rare!

Wait, I see it!

Cautiously, the armoured lizard moves down the wall. It nests amongst the rocks towards the top of the wall, I haven't been able to see clearly enough to identify exactly where so I couldn't tell when it started moving but I have it now, this is the time to execute my plan.

Moving hurriedly, or as quickly as I can whilst still being stealthy I scramble towards the darkness above the creature. My stomach is rumbling, demanding all the speed I can muster.

Don't worry stomach! I won't let you down.

Luckily the armoured lizard moves fairly slowly, especially on the vertical surface, I get into position to strike.

The armour lizard directly below me now, facing away from my position. The large spines protruding from its back look so solid, as if made of stone. Man, I bet it would sting to get stabbed with one of those.

I can't start thinking negative now, my stomach is counting on me!

Slowly, oh so slowly, I move above the target, my eyes are the eyes of the hunter, the eagle, the tiger! I have to wait for my moment to strike, the timing will be everything.

Now!

Like a flash I flip my body around, take aim and fire my acid spray directly at the target. The liquid falls through the air at tremendous speed, splashing against the rock and covering the Armour Lizards' feet, a flawless strike.

Ha! My secret target practice over the last few days has paid off!

The creature cries out in pain as the acid begins to burn its legs, it tries to turn and find the attacker but I'm already moving, racing down the wall behind it, all thought of stealth gone.

Now my plan enters the second phase, the Lizard sees me approach and tries to turn and bring its fangs to bear, tilting the fearsome spines forward to cover as much of its body as it can. This is the wrong battle ground for you Lizard! You want to battle me here on the wall? With my incredible grip skill at level three, this wall is no challenge, also, I am nimble and light but you are heavy and slow, with your feet burning with acid how well can you possibly manoeuvre here?

Still you want to face me? Courting death!

Even if I say that, I'm still terrified in this moment. My first battle, the first hunt! I cannot fail here or my life may be over, I have to focus. The Lizard is bracing itself for the close range battle but just before I close in I suddenly turn and blast the Lizard with acid once more.

Ha ha! Didn't expect that did you!?

Gripping the wall hard I furiously scrabble my six legs to reorient myself for the fight as the Lizard growls and hisses as acid continues to burn at its feet and now face. It won't be finished from just this however, my acid is still weak, not strong enough to defeat this creature on its own.

As I close in we begin an awkward dance here on the wall, the Lizard trying to thrust forward with its fangs or spines before retreating and me snapping with my mandibles, trying to latch onto a leg or the face.

The sounds of our fight vibrate through the air, bouncing off the rock walls and pillars of stone, shaking the air against my antennae. I've seen more than one fight over the last few days settled by new challengers entering as the original combatants grew weary. I can't allow this to drag out.

As we joust back and forth I can see the Lizard before me is beginning to breathe heavily, the energy required to support its body here on the wall while fighting is taking a toll, its nearly time.

Growing desperate, the Lizard suddenly lunges forward, its spikes rushing directly towards my still pitiful eyes! I have to dodge! A flash of inspiration strikes and I snap my feet further apart, lowering my body closer to the wall. To grip at this sort of angle takes all the strength my tiny claws can muster but it works, the spikes pass just over my head.

Chance!

Before the Lizard can retreat I dart forward, mandibles wide open and snap, crunching them closed on the head of my foe. It releases a pained growl as my jaws continue to squeeze tightly but I harden my heart to its pain.

I'm sorry Lizard, you must become my food!

Now for the final phase. I gather my strength, prepare my heart and then ... leap!

With its head gripped in my mandibles the Lizard begins to fall away from the wall as I sail over its head, scaly feet tipped with claws scrabble and scrape at the stone but burned with acid and worn out from fighting they simply cannot muster the strength to hold the Lizard along with my added weight.

So, we fall.

Crash!

The impact stuns me momentarily and I release the grasp I have on my enemy, however this is also part of my plan. Lying on my back I'm very vulnerable, I must quickly get back on my feet! My six legs begin waving frantically in the air and I resort to rolling back and forth before I am finally able to get my feet under me.

Focusing my eyes I can see my pitiful prey who has fallen into a much more difficult predicament than I did! The long spines and hard shell of the Lizard have plunged directly into the pitfall trap I painstakingly dug after the last visit this Lizard made to the water pool.

Mua hahahahahahahaaa!

Do you see that you stupid Lizard? This is the ingenuity of the human mind combined with my level three digging abilities! I purposefully made the soil loose and soft at the bottom of the trap so the long spines would sink into the earth, trapping the Lizard with its feet in the air unable to escape and indeed, before my blurry eyes my prey is trapped, its feet clawing at the air, trying and failing to roll over.

This is the strategy I obsessed over for two days. Using all my abilities together, shooting acid, fighting on walls, my mandibles, my human intellect and even my digging skill, to be able to triumph over the enemy.

Even so, to cause the Lizard to fall onto its back I was forced into a dangerous manoeuvre. Thankfully the Lizard had such regular habits and travelled on the same path each time, otherwise my trap would have failed.

With the prey incapacitated I start to lose my tension. Using the last of my acid I fire off two more shots, right into the soft belly of the Lizard.

[Acid shot skill has increased to level 2]

So quickly, Gandalf?! Perhaps my skills increase much more rapidly when used in a combat situation as opposed to more casual use, after my stealth skill has taken so much time to level up even when hiding from multiple creatures for hours on end.

Something to ponder after I fill my protesting stomach!

I hoped that using the acid to finish off the Lizard would spare me having to try and bite the creature to death but nature is not that kind, after enduring the cries of the pitiful thing for ten minutes I harden my resolve and use my mandibles to ... uh ... finish the job.

[Bite skill has increased to level 3]

Having to take a life is a bit depressing but getting a skill level feels so rewarding!

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Chapter 5 To the victor goes the spoils

I have hunted, battled and achieved victory.

This is a somewhat complicated feeling. The pain and suffering I endured to achieve this goal, is something I can't recall from my previous life, neither do I remember this satisfaction, this triumph.

Mostly I remember feeling numb.

[You have defeated Level 2 Spineta Lacertos]

[You have gained XP]

[You achieved Level 2, One skill point awarded]

Gandalf?! So talkative all of a sudden! Level two has been achieved eh? Fantastic!

So this Lizard is a Spineta Lacertos? What on earth does that mean? This name sounds vaguely Latin? Come to think of it my species was listed as Formica? If I recall back to my ant keeping hobby, Formica is the Latin name for wood ants? Are all the creatures here named in Latin?

That ... seems odd.

I have to put that question aside for a moment since a few others have been answered at this time. For one, I now know that I can gain experience to improve my level when I defeat other creatures in this place, secondly I know that I gain a new skill point when I level up and thirdly I learned that this is also true for the other creatures here. Since this ... Spineta thing was at level two I can assume there are two possibilities, either it was born level two, or it managed to level up once.

I have to ponder this in greater depth later! I have two other things to worry about now, firstly, I cannot leave my prey here in the open in case other creatures will be attracted by the scent, and second ... I'm starving! I have to eat!

Without waiting any longer I rush into my pitfall and approach the Lizard. Burns and melted flesh as a result of my acid can be seen alongside crushed limbs and puncture wounds from my bites.

It really looks very pitiful.

I'm sorry Lizard, I'm really sorry, you didn't deserve this fate.

However, since the deed has already been done, I will now partake in my first meal.

Did you know that an ant has a mouth on the bottom side of its face? Most people think that the mandibles are the mouth or that the mouth is positioned behind them but this isn't so, the mandibles are more like hands attached to the head whilst the mouth is below them.

I take a bite.

Hmmm, this flavour, how could I describe it?

Disgusting.

This is seriously disgusting.

Despite being so hungry I feel my carapace is constricting this is not a pleasant meal.

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Spineta Lacertos, you are awarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Spineta Lacertos unlocked]

The voice of Gandalf! I am graced by your weathered tones once again o great one!

So many developments so quickly, it's enough to make me dizzy, I'll have to think whilst eating. Apparently I will gain one Biomass every time I am able to hunt a new species of creature, also I was able to unlock a profile? A basic profile? How do I access that?

I'll have to experiment later.

As quickly as I can I finish the Lizard, I feel quite full! I can tell my gaster, my back part, is swollen to much larger than it was before. Just as I finish I get another surprise:

[You have gained one Biomass]

Another one! Truly my harvest has been rich from this hunt!

Only one thing to do now that I have finally achieved success and reaped such a bounty, retreat to my nest and consider my next move.

Keeping my antennae waving, sensing the air, I once again climb up the wall, making my way to the roof and sneak my way back over the water pool towards the tunnel that houses my nest. A range of monsters are still communing around the water but they are too focused on watching each other to look up and detect me.

In this way I return to my place of safety.

Tucked away in a somewhat secure place I can now take some time to assess my situation and plot my next move.

Ok, first thing is to check my status.

[Status].

Name: Anthony

Level : 2

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 30

MP: 0

Skills: Digging level 3; Acid Shot Level 2; Grip Level 3; Bite Level 3; Stealth Level 3;

Mutations: Eyes 1

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)

Skill points: 1

Biomass: 2

Ha ha! Behold my incredible growth! Despite my difficult start I have managed to survive, secure my first meal, level up and improve my skills. I am very proud of this result.

Against all the odds I will survive, this is the burning ambition of my soul!

Now I have to make a very careful decision, two Biomass points to spend. I'll have to carefully consider the options and ...

Eyes! Evolve my eyes to 2 for the love of Gandalf!

[Do you wish to improve your eyes to 2? This will cost two Biomass]

Do iiiiiit!

Immediately the mad, ravenous itching sensation consumes my eyes. I can only endure it by flopping onto my back and rolling back and forth whilst scratching at the earth walls with my claws. I hate this damn feeling so muuuuuch!

Finally the itching fades and I can immediately tell that my eyesight has improved once again. Really, the poor ant eyesight is extremely frustrating to deal with, being used to human eyes, having to cope with such blurry vision that can barely see any creature if it sits still is terrifying.

Taking a look around I can tell that my vision is still not as good as an average human but it is now far superior to what I started with. Objects are still blurry but by waving my leg in front of my face I can detect that my ability to see movement has improved quite a bit.

At this rate I think it will take to 4 eyesight before I can see as well as I did in my previous life. Perhaps even 5. Since the next upgrade will probably take three Biomass since this one needed two it will probably be a long time before I'm able to purchase level four, let alone level five.

I may have to cope with my current level of eyesight for some time.

However I'm pleased with this purchase, my ability to scout as well as fight has been improved with this upgrade, and I've gotten closer to being able to operate as an independent ant, not requiring the communal assistance of a colony to survive.

Now I have to spend my skill point. I've had a skill in mind for some time now, ever since I first saw it. Since my priority is still gathering information, scouting and survival rather than a direct increase in battle strength, this skill will be extremely important to me.

Tunnel sense.

By improving my sense of direction I'll be able to range further from the nest in order to gain information. There is a risk here however, by not increasing my ability to fight and hunt for food I am going to risk more disadvantageous combat. However I will continue to pursue my policy of scouting and research first.

It must be remembered that my capacity to fight is still complete garbage, hot trash, bottom of the barrel filth! Putting one skill point into a combat skill is not going to turn this situation around in an instant!

Survival is the first, second and third priority! For survival, there must be knowledge, for without knowledge, I cannot hope to find prey I can defeat or avoid those I cannot.

I still don't know anything about this place! I'm in some kind of connected network of tunnels that is populated by bizarre monsters, has glowy lines snaking through the walls and for some incredible reason, there is a game like system with skills, level ups and a Biomass mutation system.

Isn't this world... a little weird?

I haven't seen a single person yet, nor any evidence of one. Is it possible this entire place is inhabited by monsters? Is there even a habitable surface? Or is this world wholly populated by subterranean lifeforms?

Still too many questions! All these unknowns make me too nervous, I have to have a clearer understanding of my situation. Tunnel Sense will broaden my range, allowing me to range further and still make it back to the only place of relative safety, my nest.

[Do you want to learn the skill Tunnel Sense? This will cost one skill point].

Yes!

A warm tickling sensation, like water running through my hair in a shower, except deeper, inside my head, comes over me. Perhaps I didn't notice this before since I upgraded my eyes at the same time as I purchased a skill. Its far more pleasant than the eye mutation. Just thinking about that itching sends a shiver down my spine.

Soon the feeling fades, Tunnel Sense has been learned. I can't really feel anything different straight away, hopefully it will show its effect as I explore.

Now, for the first time with a full stomach, I'll get some rest, recover, then push into brave new frontiers! While in stealth, of course.

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Chapter 6 Exploration is perilous

Though many of the modern kingdoms bray of their triumph over the Rending and the manifestation of their grand destiny, the College views these paper monarchies as they truly are: children playing castle in the crumbling remnants of a much greater civilisation.

It has also become surpassingly clear over the years that the lasting effect of the Rending on the human psyche is fear. Our race may never be free of the terror that took root when the very ground beneath our feet became our enemy, the source from which our nightmares sprung to life.

Exert from "Legion College Record volume V: years 213-289AR

--

After a good rest, filled with the contended and happy feeling of being in my own enclosed space with a full stomach for the first time in this world, I awake refreshed and ready to (cautiously) approach my next challenge.

I need to further explore the cavern, gather more information on my situation and try to identify my next prey. Before that however, there is something else I want to try first. After eating, Gandalf informed me I had unlocked a basic profile of the Spineta Lacertos. I haven't yet tried to access this profile, it's time to experiment and see if I can learn something.

Unlock!

Access Profile!

Open Sesame!

...

Spineta Lacertos!

[Spineta Lacertos: Thorn Lizard, spines are sharp and contain mutated venom.]

Whoo! There you go! So the Spineta Lacertos is translated to Thorn Lizard and what is the rest of this information. The spines are sharp?! Contain venom?! Isn't that obvious the first time you look at the lousy thing?

Well, it's only the basic profile after all. Perhaps if I can hunt and consume more of them I'll be able to access a more detailed profile with more useful information.

With that out of the way it is time pursue the next task.

Emerging from my nest I make may across the roof to the rock pool. A now familiar scene greets my eyes, a collection of monsters, types I have seen before, loiter at the waters' edge, warily guarding against each other whilst drinking from the glowing pool.

In fact, with my newly improved 2 eyesight the pool seems to be glowing slightly more brightly than it did in the past.

The curious thing to be about this situation is that all these monsters are here to drink, yet I have not, in the several days I've been here in this monster ant body, felt thirsty. Since I am also a monster, just as these creatures are, what compels them to drink the water from the pool when I feel no urge to do so? Is there something different about them, or me?

The next mission today is to investigate. I will take a bold, brave, possibly stupidly suicidal step in order to shed some light on this mystery. Continuing to move in my almost habitual slow method I creep across the ceiling to the nearest wall, make my way down it and onto the cavern floor. Then, slowly at first, but with growing confidence as each step propels me forward I approach the pool.

First to notice me is a lizard hound, the wolf looking creature with a long reptilian tail, there really is a large proportion of lizard-like creatures here in this place, the huge bipedal Crocadilic monster and the spiked lizard I hunted earlier have some form of reptilian features. Is this some form of pattern?

When the hound sees me it immediately begins to growl, shocking me slightly, but then something odd happens, as I continue to approach the hound begins to back away slowly and make ground for me, almost as if they were afraid.

I watch the wolf carefully and continue to approach the pool, as I step further and further into the light emitted from the pool another heaving mass of centipedes becomes aware of my presence, their reaction is very different!

As soon as they see me the slithering, clacking tangle of creatures begin to hiss furiously and writhe over each other with even more speed. One of the creatures emerges from the tangle and slithers forward on its spindly legs a few metres towards me. Then it begins to posture, hissing and clacking with sharp looking mandibles and claws.

However, it doesn't approach or attack.

Phew! I was terrified when they started heaving. There must be six or seven of the horrible things piled over there, if they tried to attack I would have to escape with all my might.

Luckily, the peace of the water source held. There is only one reason that the survival minded me would risk coming into the open here, only one reason that I would show myself in front of all these creatures who could kill me so quickly: not even one time have I seen a creature approaching, drinking or leaving the pool be attacked.

Not even once.

I saw and heard plenty of conflict during the two days I spent scouting the armour lizard but I never saw any conflict here. There is something important about this water source and I don't think it has to do with hydration. After all I still don't feel any need to drink. Monster physiology in this world does not seem to be simple.

I continue to approach until I reach the edge of the pool. The glow is so bright here up close, it's difficult to see into the water, even with 2 eyes. The pulsing lines on the floor of the cavern seem to converge towards the center of the water source, right at the bottom of the pool, and the most intense light originates from that juncture.

The water itself seemed to flow and move in strange, concentric circles, despite the lack of current or propulsion of any kind. Almost like a lava lamp, the pool seemed to have a motion and swirl all of its own.

Ignoring the continued hissing and posturing of the stupid centipedes I lower my mouth to the water and taste...

It burns!

Holy moly that burns! What is this, hydrochloric acid?!

A fiery sensation enters my mouth and flows straight through my three body segments to my stomach, from which the heat begins to permeate my blood stream until my carapace itself feels like it's on fire.

Yeeouch!

This is what you creatures have been coming here for? This painful, burning water of death?! What is wrong with all of you? Is this the cavern of masochists?!

The burning sensation gradually subsides and I can't help but stare at the other creatures around the pool incredulously. What the hell are you all doing here?! Many pairs of eyes stare back at me, I feel self-conscious now...

I once again examine the slowly churning water before me, the dense light seemingly suspended within, like jellyfish coils, see through and yet not.

Pausing, I carefully analyse my own condition. I don't feel worse in any way. I hurriedly open my status and check my health, no change.

Strange.

This is seriously weird. What on earth is the attraction these monsters feel to this stupid pool. It must be important, otherwise why would there be this unspoken truce at this place?

No answers seem to be forthcoming.

It isn't like my fellow guests at the pool are in a talkative mood!

Feeling more puzzled than before I'd tasted the water, I prepare to leave.

But before I do I can't resist one more sip.

Gah! It burns!

P-tooey! Nyaaarrr! Pff! Pff!

Ugh. Horrible.

Curiosity killed the cat, as they say.

I being to leave by first backing away from the pool slowly, watching for any reaction from my fellow drinkers. Most creatures seem mildly relieved to see me go, moving to take up the space I abandoned and returning to their drinking. The stupid centipede is still snapping and posturing at me as I leave. I can almost hear it flinging insults at me as it scrapes at the cavern and pretends to start charging at me.

Back at you, dumb centipede.

As soon as I reach the comfort of the shadows I spin and race to the wall, not slowing until I have achieved my most secure position, hidden in the deep shadows along the outer edges of the cavern roof.

Ahhhh, home.

I won't be leaving again any time soon I hope!

Now that I've (somewhat) investigated the mystery of the water pool it's time to explore this cavern further and begin to map this cave network using my new Tunnel Sense!

I continue to move in the shadows around the edges of the cavern, avoiding the more dense areas of light veins, weaving between pillars of dark stone that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, as if spears had pierced through the ground or plunged down from above.

Following this pattern I move further from the pool and my own nest than I have before. Along the sides of the cavern I can see tunnels branching off into the darkness every now and again, some large and some small. I approach a few of them and feel strange air wafting through. Who knows what is lurking within these strange tunnels?

I move ahead for another ten minutes, making slow but steady progress. I can see the cavern has begun to widen further so that I can no longer see both sides at once. I start making cautious passages across the center to check both sides as I make my way.

Whoa!

A huge tunnel entrance appears before me. Perhaps thirty minutes travel away from the pool, this entrance is massive, spanning almost from the floor to ceiling of the cavern and just as wide. It clearly tilts in a downwards direction, heading deeper into the earth.

But there seems to something strange about the way the stone here is shaped...

Is that... stairs?!

Chapter 7 Cohabitation?

These are absolutely stairs right?

Tiny eyes boggling, I approach the cave entrance in order to closely examine these stairs.

It definitely appears as if these stairs have been carved directly into the rock. Now who exactly would be responsible for carving stairs into solid rock Anthony?

Why humans of course! Human civilisation! This is the first tangible evidence I've see that any sort of humanoid creature exists in this new world. Fantastic! I can't help but be excited and also a little nervous. I wonder what sort of fantasy like people live here? Will I see dwarves? Elves?!

The idea of voluptuous Elf ladies is almost enough to make me giddy!

This is getting more and more interesting. Why would they bother to carve stairs into this tunnel and not the others? The answer is almost self-explanatory, this is a very frequently used tunnel, therefore they have made it more convenient to travel down here. This means it's likely there may be more stairs nearby, but leading up instead.

Perhaps a path to the surface!

I quickly crawl down the wall and approach the stairs leading downwards. Wow! This is actually the first chance I've had to compare my size to an object I can relate to in my previous life! If we can assume that people in this world are roughly the same size as those in my old world then by comparing my size to the stairs I'll be able to make a rough estimate of how large I am. All I have to do is hop onto these stairs.

Hmmm.

I think I'm a little smaller than perhaps I first thought? Judging by the height and length of each step I can say I'm probably only tall enough to come up to a full grown adults knee, and I'd be roughly as long as a full stride, so perhaps a metre?

But wait! That means all those monsters who looked to terrifying and massive to me, from a human perspective ... would actually be fairly small?! The wolf creature would be almost waist height, the thorny lizard is even smaller than I am, about the size of a badger, and the terrifying, enormous Croca-beast would be less than shoulder height?!

Are all the monsters in this area actually very weak?

Thinking logically it would be a great thing if they were, since I probably would not have been able to survive this long if they were strong. This does raise the possibility of there being much stronger, larger and more powerful monsters elsewhere in these tunnels.

I'll be doing my best to avoid those then! May our paths never cross.

Okay, since the more powerful creatures probably live deeper, since that's how it works in games and this world is so strangely game-like I will operate on the assumption that the safer places are closer to the surface.

I resolutely turn away from the tunnel and begin to move further into the cavern. Yes! I can see more signs of modification here and there. Every now and again there is a step carved into the floor to make passage more easy and I also notice carved areas at about human head height on the walls at fairly regular intervals. Are these perhaps for holding torches and illuminating this space?

In fact, the further I travel the more signs of civilisation I see. The ground is starting to slope upwards more and more as well. Perhaps the surface is actually very close?

Looking around I can see that there are very few tunnels branching off the main cavern at this point, not even small ones, also the pulsing veins of light along the walls are further apart and thinner, making the space a little darker than further into the cavern.

Perfect for a stealthy existence like me! I'll keep exploring!

My heart is pounding in my chest now. I might actually get to see a person from another world! I have so many questions. What do they look like? What race are they? Do they know magic? Is there some sort of adventuring guild that goes dungeon exploring? Maybe I'll be able to communicate with them somehow, perhaps sign language or some form of interpretive dance will work?

This could be breakthrough in human/ant monster relations!

How often would they have seen a human mind trapped in a monster body? Possibly I'm the first of my kind!

The cavern is becoming more narrow, the steps more frequent and the slope steeper the further I travel. Actually ... is that? I think it is.

Sunlight.

My antennae wave excitedly in the air as they get their first taste of dim, reflected sunlight. The surface must be extremely close now!

I continue scuttling forward, excited to get a taste of the surface air on this new world. Gradually I can see a source of light ahead, reflecting off the stone and diffusing into the cavern.

Oooo.

More human construction! It look almost like a wall of some kind. I shift my head to try and get a better view, my eyes seem to work even worse than usual under the effect of natural sunlight, I may need to get closer.

Yes, it seems like some sort of wall constructed against the side of the passage, there are small window slits carved into the stone, presumably so someone behind the wall can see and attack out.

This is perhaps a guard room? It would make sense if you think about it, they would put a guard room here so they can monitor the entrance to the dungeon and fend off any monsters that approach the surface. There is probably a guard in there right now.

Even as I'm thinking that a bright red light suddenly shines through the windows in the wall and I can hear rapid movements, as if someone is scrambling up from a chair.

Suddenly two people emerge from behind the wall, standing on a raised stone platform perhaps a metre off the tunnel floor. Its humans! Real humans! I'm slightly sad they aren't elves but hey, people! They appear to be wearing some kind of metal armour with black leather underneath. They both have swords at their waist and tight boots laced up their shins, also black. Judging from their figures it appears as if one is male and the other is female.

The female guard seems to be holding a crystal of some sort in her hand that is emitting a bright red light, perhaps that is how they detect monsters approaching? It looks as if they are searching the tunnel, trying to identify the threat. Must be hard to find me with my stealth on I suppose.

Suddenly the male raises both hands and incredibly, they begin to glow with a bright, burning light. He appears to close his eyes to concentrate as the light forms into strange shapes or runes that slowly revolve around his hands.

I'm stunned senseless. This is magic! Real magic! Holy Gandalf, Gandalf! Magic is possible in the world after all! Oh boy, oh boy, oh, boy, I wonder if these people could teach me?

After only a few seconds the guard thrusts both his palms forward and the cavern erupts in light. Great flames burst out from the strange sconces in the walls, bathing the tunnel with heat and chasing the shadows away.

The second guard holds the red crystal forward and the light begins to focus and illuminate the threat.

Which is ...

Uh, me.

...

WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?!

The female guard rapidly slips the crystal into a pouch attached to her belt and rips a crossbow off her back whilst the male locks eyes with me and once again raises his hands.

He doesn't look friendly Gandalf!

RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN.

Anthony you stupid idiot, what the hell are doing waltzing up to monster guards when you are a freaking monster!

My six legs start pumping in overdrive as I turn start running like crazy to weave through the rocks further into the tunnel. The harsh lights from the flaming torches burns my eyes making it hard to see but I can't slow down at all, causing me to stumble and miss my footing.

I can here shouting and footsteps pounding on the stone behind me but I don't turn to look. A blast of heat explodes on my right and another on a rock just in front of me in rapid succession. These are fireballs right? Fire magic?! Have mercy on me I'm just a tiny ant!

I can only continue to run at max speed, weaving behind rocks and pillars in order to seek shelter.

Gogogogogo Anthony you moron! If I survive this I'll bathe myself in my own acid as punishment for this idiocy, I'll even drink from that damned pool!

A crossbow bolt slams into the stone directly between two of my legs as I run, spraying stone shards into my carapace. Holy moly! That lady can shoot! I need some help! I need a distraction or something.

Maybe?!

Running at this speed I've quickly made my way back to the wider cavern and smaller tunnel entrances branching off this main cavern are appearing here and there. As I run I try to pass close by and frantically wave my antennae to detect any scent coming from them.

Nothing from the first! Nothing from the second!! Come on you stupid... YES!!! From the third I detect the disgusting smell I'm looking for. Without pausing I screech to a halt, turn my back zone to point deep into the tunnel and immediately fire off three quick bursts of acid. As I do so I take the chance to glance at my pursuers...

DUCK!

Shooting out my legs I flatten myself to the stone as another bolt zips just over my head, smashing the stone behind me.

This isn't looking good Gandalf!

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Chapter 8 Titus

Titus sat heavily behind his desk. The desk was similar to the man in many respects, unadorned, rough even, and solid. Thick boards of stonewood he'd harvested himself in the second strata, made up the surface on which he worked. The desk had to be joined together since he couldn't find a nail that would go through the stuff. The wood was stubborn, unyielding, that's why he liked it.

Gripped in his thick, ungraceful fingers was a folded piece of paper, a letter, covered in angry and insulting scrawl. Another letter of complaint from the Mercenary Union, Tiria chapter.

Titus reached inside his Legionary coat pocket with his free hand, withdrawing a smooth metal box attached to his belt by a chain. Placing down the letter he used both hands to place his fingers just so, frowning when he needed four tries to position his thick fingers correctly, before the box opened with a snap.

From within the case a blue glow spilled onto the desk and briefly illuminated Titus' face as he opened the case and stared hard at the contents, then snapped it shut, placing the case back into his inner pocket.

He opened a draw, removed a fresh piece of paper, collected his pen and began to compose a reply.

"Corrin,

as stated in the initial announcement five days ago, ambient mana levels within the dungeon are climbing and continue to do so, it is the opinion of the Legion that a wave is likely to occur within a week, but AS YOU KNOW, these predictions can be inaccurate and a wave can break with very short notice.

In the interest of keeping YOUR MEMBERS ALIVE we have exercised our right to control Dungeon access in the city of Liria and will be undertaking aggressive action to ensure the safety of the citizens.

If some of your parties are unable to conduct their activities in the dungeon during this time, I regret to inform you that I DON'T GIVE A DAMN.

After the wave is finished or when ambient mana levels return to normal your members will once again be granted access to the Dungeon, not before.

Get stuffed,

Titus.

Commander, Legionem Abyssi, Liria"

Perhaps not his most diplomatic missive, Titus mused, but he was never very good at playing nice with idiots. One of the main reasons why he hadn't wanted this job.

Almost against his will, his eyes slid to the corner of his office where, tucked behind a cabinet gathering dust, was an enormous battle-axe leaning against the wall. Almost six feet long from head to haft, the thick metal didn't look as if it had been polished in years.

Sighing, Titus once more turned to his letter, folded it, sealed it with wax and placed it in his mail tray for one of the auxiliaries to deliver later in the day.

As he reached for the next letter of complaint, this one from the Minister of the Path, he heard the sound of feet pounding on stone, growing louder as several figures approached his office.

Titus could feel the blood stirring in his veins. Perhaps he could avoid his paperwork today.

Ten minutes later he'd arrived at the forward garrison, blasting open the massive doors with a single hand, he advanced into the building like a storm. The soldiers on duty, Legionaries all, saluted respectfully as he passed by, fists crashing into armored chests and heads lowered wherever he went.

Without speaking the Centurions on duty fell into step behind him as he marched through the stone plaza towards the breach in the earth that was the Dungeon entrance in Liria city.

The opening was four metres wide and similarly tall, wide enough for supply carts and large groups to pass through on extended expeditions. The space around the entrance was flat stone floor for thirty metres in every direction then a circular wall three metres high surrounded it, manned by archers and mages at all times, creating an open killing floor for any monsters who surged out of the tunnel.

Titus stared at the rent in the ground for several long seconds before he stepped down, submerging himself in the darkness. He prevented himself from inhaling as deeply as he wanted to, bringing the Dungeon air and its rich mana into his lungs. Instead he trailed his hand across the stone, his thick skin scraping on the rock as he walked.

Down the steps he could see the first of several guard stations, each usually manned by two legionaries, was now fully complemented with a team of five. They turned to salute him as he passed but were disciplined enough to use the silent solute here beneath the earth, bringing their right fist into the open palm of their left in front of their heart.

Their commander gave them a nod before he moved forward passed the next three posts until he reached the first. Ten legionaries occupied the wall here, two mages took turns to maintain the flame that illuminated the tunnel.

As he approached, with two centurions still in lock step behind him he found the woman he was looking for inside the guard post, pouring over maps on the table with some of her soldiers.

She saw him approach and dismissed her people before saluting.

"Commander Titus".

"Tribune Aurillia".

Titus returned the salute before joining her standing at the table to glance at the maps. All maps of the first strata , passages and mana concentration points marked clearly with neat organised writing. Wouldn't those idiots at the Merc Union love to see this level of detail on their 'guides', they could triple their prices.

"What is the situation Tribune?"

"Commander, fifteen minutes ago the monster approached this guard station before fleeing, the guard team has signaled the Centurion on duty before pursuing into the staging cavern".

"Fled" Titus grimaced, it was rare for monsters in the first strata to show enough intelligence to flee danger. Far more common for them to charge forward blindly and fight to the death.

This was last thing he needed immediately before a wave.

"How are preparations for the wave defense going?"

"The defense is being readied on schedule commander, though I have taken the liberty of advancing the timeline in response to this recent incident".

Titus grunted. "Good. I'll be joining the suppression expedition this time".

Aurillia blanched. "With respect commander, perhaps you would be best deployed ...".

"We both know where I am best deployed Aurillia, something feels off so I'm going down with the expedition".

Aurillia slowly nodded and sighed, this stubborn old man was incapable of making life easy for himself. A whole legion of troops who would gladly plunge into the Dungeon for him but he still chose to go himself. She shook her head, this was why he was the best.

From down in tunnel movement could be seen as five people advanced out of the gloom at the darker end of the tunnel and into the blazing firelight. Two of the members were limping slightly, supported by their comrades, all of the soldiers were filthy, blood and bone, none of it theirs, covered their armour.

Titus stepped out of the guard building and went forward to greet his Legionaries. As they saw him approach they immediately stopped to salute, remaining still until he quickly waved them down.

"Stop that, what are your injuries?".

The five of them grimaced. "Nothing serious commander, we were taken by surprise and sustained minor cuts and poison status".

"Get to the medicus immediately, we need every soldier fit for duty. Tell me where you able to slay the monster?".

The soldiers paused before shaking their heads.

Titus clenched his jaw. Dammit. "Who were the two who first saw the creature?"

Two of the soldiers, one male and one female raised their hands.

"Come with me".

Chapter 9 To live is to learn

Hi Anthony, are you a massive idiot?

Why yes, yes Anthony, I am a massive idiot. In fact, I'm the kind of idiot who dances up to a human guard station to say hello when I am, in fact, a horrible monstrous ant over a meter long.

Wow Anthony! You really are a king amongst all of the idiots aren't you? If all of the idiots in the world were to hear of your incredible achievements in the field of stupidity they may just organise a religion around you, worshipping you as their stupid god of all things stupid.

I agree.

...

Holy moly, I am lucky to survive that nightmare! Chased by those two soldiers, dodging crossbow shots and magic fire, I was able to find a tunnel that bore the distinct odour of those damned centipedes. Thankfully they were at home and when I blasted acid into their tunnel they came boiling out, mad as hell.

With over ten of the horrible things bursting into the cavern I was almost killed by the stupid centipedes before a few of them got hit by the fireballs and they turned and attacked the guards, giving me a chance to flee further into the tunnel.

At this point three more guards turned up and they obliterated the centipedes the gross insect threshing machines and continued to chase me.

I lured three packs of centipedes out, three! Before they managed to occupy those soldiers long enough for me to slip into the shadows and hide.

I'll see those terrifying attack skills in my nightmares surely, flashing blades of light travelling from swords to chop monsters five metres away, blazing flames like a flamethrower shooting out of a soldiers hand to roast the centipedes.

So scary!

What can I do? Bite?! No flashing mandibles fly out of my face to bite enemies five metres away. What the hell Gandalf?!

Well, experience is the greatest teacher, so they say. I've confirmed many things thanks to this misadventure, the existence of magic, the existence of human society and exactly how weak I am compared to those professional soldiers.

I've also confirmed how I take damage. After being blasted by stone shards and being scorched by the fireballs my HP was reduced to 15, half! Thankfully my legs are still fully functional but I can feel cracks in my carapace where the stone shards penetrated into my armour.

I'll have to see how I can regenerate my HP. Perhaps it will have to recover over time or will I have to heal my wounds manually somehow? This is a serious problem at this point.

At least now I have a chance to secure additional benefits from this disaster.

So many centipedes have been killed and their bodies were left out in open, totally ignored by the guards as they retreated. This is a golden opportunity that cannot wait! Those filthy corpses represent nothing less than a golden treasure, a heaped mountain of wealth! Biomass! I have to secure that biomass!

I have to move fast too, since every creature in this place will be crawling over those corpses soon.

Sure enough I can already see some creatures making their way towards the piles of bodies. In order to minimise the chances of having to fight I rush immediately to the bodies closest to the dungeon entrance. I'm on high alert in case those soldiers are coming back but thankfully they aren't.

Time to hustle!

I snatch up a large chunk of centipede (ugh) and dash towards a nearby crevice in the wall. I drop my food and immediately begin to excavate a small hole in the wall, stuffing my food into it and then rushing back to grab more.

After three trips I can see that more and more creatures have emerged to fight for the resources and bloody combat has been engaged. Even centipedes have emerged from some side tunnels to try and eat the bodies of their fallen brethren. Yuck!

It won't be long until the chaos makes its way up to where I am so I quickly make another two trips before I remove the largest chunk and then bury the rest of the haul in the wall, hopefully hidden from sight.

Then I stealthily return to my nest with my prize.

I'm not sure where all these monsters are coming from but they seem to be endless. More and more piled into the cavern attracted by the noise and smell. Hopefully the racket dies down soon so I can go and retrieve the rest of my booty.

For now though I shall eat! All that running around has completely drained me and hopefully I can restore my energy and health with a meal.

Chomp!

...

Erk...

Horrible.

[You have consumed a new source of biomass: Unguibus Scolopendra, you are awarded one Biomass].

[Basic profile of the Unguibus Scolopendra unlocked]

Ah yes, Gandalf with the hunting diversity bonus. As I continue eating I open the basic profile and take a look.

[Unguibus Scolopendra: Claw Centipede, has strong claws and a venomous spike in its tail].

Yep, the basic profile continues to show its uselessness. Claw Centipede eh? Makes sense really. They are centipedes with claws after all.

Come to think of it, doesn't that really lack imagination?

Silent eh, Gandalf? Not that I can blame you really, names are hard.

[You have gained one Biomass].

Phew.

I've finally finished my meal.

I quickly open my status and take a look.

Name: Anthony

Level: 2

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 17

MP: 0

Skills: Digging level 3; Acid Shot Level 2; Grip Level 3; Bite Level 3; Stealth Level 3; Tunnel Sense level 1;

Mutations: Eyes 2

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker

Skill points: 0

Biomass: 2

My health has started to recover! Two whole points! This is fantastic news. As I continue to eat my wounds will surely close over, returning me to the perfect picture of ant health.

I'll have to spend my Biomass as well. More mutations await!

...

That really sounds weird you know, as a human, should I welcome mutating this much?

I think I know what I want to improve though.

Mutate Acid 1 and Antennae 1!

[Do you wish to improve Acid and Antennae? This will cost two Biomass]

Yes I do! But please no itching!

...

HURK

Gah!

Damni -

Fzazzithrap!

Stupid Itch!

Using my forelegs, I continuously scrape my antennae clean but it doesn't help at all. This is an action I've noticed myself doing more and more lately. I know that ants try hard to keep their antennae scrupulously clean and even have special hairs in the elbow joint of their forelegs to help remove dust and particles from their antennae, keeping them in tip top shape.

The cleaning does nothing to help protect from the maddening sensation that erupts every time I mutate however. I also can't do anything about the searing itch in what I can only imagine is my acid gland, deep inside my body.

I hate thiiiis.

Ah, finally!

Phew. Now I have continued on my path of enhancing my senses by improving my antennae, which will increase my sense of smell and capacity to detect air vibrations. I have also taken my first step to increasing my combat ability by increasing the potency of my acid, which is my only reliable attack right now.

Now I have to emerge, pass through the chaos and return with the rest of my treasure.

As I pass through the cavern, attached to the ceiling, I can see that the action is beginning to calm down and monsters are establishing territory and starting to eat.

This makes life easier to me. I make four more trips and manage to bring all of my stash back to my nest. I consider this an amazing success. Considering all the Biomass that was available I didn't get much, but I was able to secure this much with almost no risk, so I'm very satisfied.

Time to eat!

After I finish eating I have gained another two Biomass and five HP but I choose to save these two points in the hopes I can gain one more and improve my vision once again. Maybe with the action dying down outside they were will some crumbs left for a humble ant such as myself to collect?

I'll have to wait.

Chapter 10 The study of the beas

"Alberton! Alberton! Answer your door you deaf idiot!"

Two young Legionaries stood to one side, faces white with worry as they watched the Legion commander smash his massive fist repeatedly into a sturdy, iron framed door so hard that dust fell from the cold stone ceiling into their hair.

These two soldiers were the first see the monster and also had by far the best look at it, so Titus had taken them immediately to the medicus for treatment and from there to the Legion Keep of Liria. Right now they were several floors below ground level and the air was thick with dust and moisture.

To tell the truth, Titus hadn't been knocking for long but it hadn't taken much for the huge man to run out of patience.

"Open this door Alberton or I'll burn your stupid books to warm my backside!" Titus roared.

The door was yanked open immediately to reveal a dishevelled man in a brown robe sporting a hedge like beard that appeared to stab forward from his face like a wall of spears.

"You wouldn't dare Titus you illiterate ape! There's a thousand years of Legion history in here!" the beard shouted back at the commander.

Titus merely grunted. "Good, your awake" he said as he pushed the much skinnier Alberton out of his way and advanced into the chamber.

"I'm always awake" protested the scholar as he absentmindedly scratched at his robes, "what time is it?".

Titus simply shook his head and gestured for the two young soldiers to enter the room after him, which they did with some trepidation.

The room was a mess, every surface dusty and heaped with piles of parchment, book and scrolls of all descriptions. Several tables and a corner desk occupied the center of the room whilst around the walls were huge bookcases that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Every shelf of every bookcase was heaped, stacked full of enormous leather bound volumes each labelled with intricate script on the spine.

Casting a quick glance around the room Titus stuck his head back into the corridor just long enough to bellow "cleaning!" and as Alberton began to protest that there was really no need for cleaning and they always disturbed his concentration anyway he simply ignored him and started speaking.

"Legionary trainee Mirryn, legionary trainee Donnelan, this is the Legionem Abyssi Loremaster of the Liria legion, Alberton. We are here, Alberton, for you to consult the records and identify a beastie the two trainees saw in the Dungeon today".

Alberton peered at the two trainees doubtfully. "Haven't expeditions been banned for a few days now? What could they possibly see on guard duty at the Dungeon entrance that they couldn't identify? Have we stopped teaching legionaries what a thorn lizard looks like?"

"If we have, that would be your responsibility as Loremaster, Alberton" Titus sighed "Alberton we need you to identify an ant for us".

The Loremaster froze.

"You mean ... Formicidae?"

"Yes".

Albertons' eyes drifted aimlessly around the room as he absorbed this information. After a moment he seemed to focus again and brought his attention back to the people present.

Without a word he turned and moved to a wooden ladder propped against the wall in a corner of the room. With some difficulty he moved it to one to the shelves propped it open and somewhat nervously climbed it. On the seventh shelf he reached for one of the volumes and withdrew it before climbing back down the ladder with some difficulty.

Thump!

The massive volume crashed into the table, spraying dust clouds into the air. The trainees could clearly see the word 'Formicidae' in stitched in gold filigree on the cover of the volume.

As Alberton retrieved the book, Mirryn turned to her commander hesitantly, "commander, I know we don't usually see any ant monsters under Liria but why is it so serious that we've seen one here?"

Donnelan also turned to listen to the answer. Titus cleared his throat. "A single ant is weak, pathetically weak, but you will almost never face a single ant. They will swarm in the hundreds, thousands even hundreds of thousands. They are far more cooperative than almost any other monster type, they are fearless, feel no pain and are ravenous. An ant colony can sweep clean vast sections of Dungeon, growing in strength, and if they are spawned in the second strata or higher they can climb up to the surface in search of more food. An ant colony expanding onto the surface is a massive disaster, it has only happened twice and whole kingdoms were burned to the ground before they were destroyed."

"In those cases" wheezed the Loremaster, turning to the two young legionaries, "the people were unable to react fast enough to the threat as the ants are excellent at creating their own tunnels, they didn't climb out of the dungeon entrance but burst into houses, basements and through castle prisons. They could be digging through the dirt around us right now".

Alberton chuckled drily as the trainees eyed the walls with suspicion. "Now describe this creature for me and we'll see if we can know our enemy".

As the two young soldiers began to describe the creature they had seen, Alberton began flicking through pages on the vast volume in front of him, muttering to himself. The trainees could see each page was covered in neat script and detailed drawings of different monstrous ant species, the recorded wisdom of generations of Legion soldiers.

"Large eyes you say? Very unusual, at least we can rule out the dorylus species, thank the legion" Alberton mumbled.

Donnelan turned to Titus with an eyebrow raised. "dorylus ants are almost completely blind" he explained, "but a dorylus queen can lay over a million eggs a month, and their colonies can grow to fifty million individuals. Also, they are nomadic, swarming endlessly and devouring everything in their path. Think of millions of monsters crawling across the ceiling, bursting out of the walls and scrambling on top of each other to kill you, what does it matter that they can't see?"

"Spraying acid to attract claw centipedes?" Alberton frowned as he continued to flick pages, "that is ... rare".

"Do you have anything Loremaster?" Titus asked.

"the colouring of the monster and the acid spraying are very distinctive features. We can be fairly sure this monster was some species of formica, definitely a hatchling based on its size. However, there are a few odd features, the creature appears to have mutated its eyes, which is extremely unusual for an ant, also the very unusual show of intelligence to lure other monsters into the fight in order to secure its escape".

Titus nodded, "I agree with you, a regular ant hatchling has a cunning stat of three or four, this ants' is clearly is much higher. What else have you learned?"

"We may have been extremely lucky here commander".

"In what way?"

"You said it yourself, you will almost never see one ant operating on its own. We also know that ants will almost never spawn in the first strata, so how can we explain a lone hatchling being found so close to the surface? I posit that a nest raid has taken place lower in the Dungeon, and a fairly new ant colony was too weak to repel it. As a result, some of the young were brought out of the nest and carried towards the surface where somehow this lone worker was able to hatch".

"So we've possibly been warned of the threat far earlier than we might have otherwise been" Titus mused.

"Correct. It's possible the queen spawned as little as a two months ago. The thing that puzzles me the most is how did this lone hatchling ant worker, possibly the weakest individual monster in the entire Dungeon, survive for any length of time? Based on the information provided, we can deduce that this ant has mutated its eyes at least once, possibly twice. How did it secure biomass? Why does it display a level of cunning far in excess what we would expect? These are very puzzling elements commander".

"I agree" Titus said, "but being able to move against the colony itself is of far greater concern to me than one lone worker ant. We will need to organise a deeper expedition to find and eliminate this threat. The timing is terrible since we anticipate a wave soon".

Alberton winced, "that seems like more than we can take on ourselves, commander".

"I agree" Titus said, "the legion will push into the dungeon immediately while you and I go to have to have a chat with your aunt".

Alberton sighed bitterly at his commanders words and as a team of cleaning staff filed into the room and immediately began shuffling his papers around to sweep he could only sigh again, looking extremely forlorn.

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Chapter 11 Forced relocation.

The Path is not a creation of any mortal kind, not even the Chal, at the height of their strength could affect such a change to our world. No, the Path descended from above, and it has illuminated the way forward for the world ever since. The Path sees no race, colour or creed, it embraces all and in return all must embrace it.

The Path is our road to ascension, to a greater state of being, the system will uplift us, but only if mortal kind is united will we be able to pursue the Path to its final destination.

Exert from the Holy Book of the Path.

--

Yesterday was a little too hectic for my tastes I have to say. It's my dearest wish that today will be a little more calm. My only aim is to try and secure one more biomass so I can mutate my eyes to 3 and then perhaps relocate my nest to a location a little more distant from the surface.

However it doesn't appear as if my day is going to as peaceful as I'd hoped.

Why on earth are there all these soldiers out here!?!

When I emerge from my nest and move into the cavern there are already human soldiers everywhere! They are moving systematically around the cavern, luring monsters out of their side tunnels and exterminating them with superior force. From my position huddled on the ceiling in the shadows I can see they've established some sort of formation around the water pool. Wooden tripods extend over the water surface and hanging from each is some sort of crystal or device that appears to be absorbing light from within the water?!

What on Pangea is this fancy technology? What are they absorbing? What are these funky crystals?!

More importantly, how am I getting out of here alive!?

The cavern has been completely occupied by them! Even if I try and rely on my stealth, I've already seen the monster detecting equipment they have available. I'd be stupid to think I could sneak past, and even If I could, there is only the large tunnel down halfway up the tunnel for me to head to, but that is clearly how they are going to advance further into the dungeon!

Can I hide in my nest successfully?

No, I don't think so. When they see all the dirt I've shifted into the tunnel they may even realise that it's the work of a monster and start to clear it out. Possibly they already have knowledge of that tunnel and will realise something is off when they notice the dirt obstruction!

In that case, what the hell am I supposed to do?!

Stupid humans!

There is only one option left available to me, but that choice is almost certain death! I have to escape past my nest and further into the tunnel towards the area I saw my first Croca-beast!

Isn't this a classic case of out of the frying pan and into the waiting jaws of doom?!

As I cling to the shadows near the entrance to my tunnel the disciplined soldiers are already beginning to sweep around to my side of the pool, waving torches to illuminate shadows and identify every stray nest and tunnel that may be hiding. I haven't got much time left before they make their way to my tunnel.

Why do these soldiers need to work so hard? Take a break guys! Relax! No? Dammit.

I've no choice. Time to face the music/death.

Moving quickly I skitter back into my tunnel and make my way to my nest. My heart pangs a little as I crawl through the small gaps I left on the ceiling and leave my temporary lodgings behind.

This was my place of (somewhat) safety in this world, my only refuge. It was only for a few days, nest, but we had good times. If I'd had a few of my fellow ant bros to stay with me it would have been a real home.

You know what? If I could find my birth nest then that may be the safest place for me. I've already seen the kind of reception I get from surface society in this world (it wasn't great), so maybe it's time I try and get along with my own kind. Ant kind!

After all, how far away from my nest could I possibly have been dragged before I was born? The nest may be closer than I think!

Stay positive Anthony! Charge forth and find the queen! That is to say, Mum!

However I will do so in a safe way, without being seen, I hope.

I emerge out of my nest and into the unexplored side of this tunnel. I haven't been out here since the first day I awoke in this place and saw one of my brethren being chomped to death by a horrible, bipedal crocodile.

Things have changed a little since then though! I'm level two now, have a few Biomass points spent. I'm not as weak as I was!

I latch onto the roof tightly with all six of my claws and begin to carefully make my way forward. My antennae are waving in all directions and my eyes are staring hard at every shadow as I advance.

Is it just me or does the tunnel seem brighter than it did last time? I swear the veins along the wall are glowing more brightly and are pulsing with slightly more frequency than they did before? What is that?

Gingerly, I approach the corner around which I saw I first monster.

I have serious trauma about this place dammit!

Please no monster, please no monster.

I sneak a peek and thankfully there is nothing to see.

Phew!

Casting my eyes around I can't see any signs of the ant who was eaten here or the beast that did the eating. For now the tunnel seems to continue to a wide curve to the left (my right since I'm upside down). I can also tell, perhaps, that this is my tunnel sense kicking in, that the tunnel is slowly starting to slope downwards, away from the surface and further underground.

This is fantastic news! Take me away from the cursed surface and its nasty human armies!

I once again advance boldly whilst sneaking the entire time.

Wait. My antennae are starting to pick up something in the air. Only a hundred meters further into the tunnel I sense a change in the air. Very quickly it becomes apparent why. The tunnel splits into two paths.

Hmm.

Using all of my senses I try to determine if one path is safer than the other.

I can't see anything nearby, and despite wiggling with all their strength my antennae aren't picking up anything either.

I'm not happy about this setup. One of these tunnels could mean instant death! BOTH of these tunnels could mean instant death!

I can't hold back any longer.

[Do you wish to improve Antennae? This will cost two Biomass]

Do it!

BUGAAAA!

I can't even try and scrape at my itch right now since I'm trying to stay hidden. Why are you like this Gandalf!?

Eventually it passes and my antennae have now grown noticeably longer than they were before I upgraded them the first time.

With my new and improved senses I again try to determine if either of these choices is less death insistent that the other.

Hold on! What the heck is that! My whole ant body starts tingling as I grasp the faintest wisp of a scent from the left tunnel. There is something about this scent that speaks to me. What on earth could it be?!

Drawn by this sensation, I will choose the left tunnel. Whatever this is, it doesn't feel threatening to me, so I will investigate. I really have no other information to go on anyway.

Disregarding the right tunnel I move into the left, sticking to the ceiling and moving cautiously as always.

As I more forward the subtle smell becomes more and more noticeable, from a distant waft of a mist it has now grown to the strong tendrils of a smoke.

The walls of this tunnel are almost entirely stone, webbed with the now familiar branching lines of blue light that seem to permeate almost everywhere inside this place. My claws make soft scritching scratching noises as I grasp the rock in my tiny claws, supporting my body with four legs at all times as I reach forward with two.

I'm still not a fully coordinated ant but I'm making a lot of progress in this body, if I do say so myself. To go from four limbs to six isn't easy at all but to go from two legs, two arms to six legs, no arms is even greater a shift!

It only takes a few minutes before I locate the source of the scent.

But there isn't anything here?!

Confused I glance around, there definitely isn't anything. The tunnel continues to curve to the left and slightly down but there I cannot see any bodies or creatures of food of any kind.

I use my antennae to feel the stone in front of me and gradually follow the scent down off the roof and onto the floor of the tunnel. As my antennae tip tap here and there, suddenly I am zapped with inspiration.

Pheromones!

How do ants keep in contact without being able to speak? How do ants create those long trails away from the nest to sources of food?

The answer is pheromones! By using a pheromone gland they can lay a trail of scent for other ants to detect and follow. Something is telling me that this is a pheromone trail laid down by a scout ant seeking either food or perhaps trying to locate the stolen brood from the nest!

My people are calling me home!

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Chapter 12 The trail

This is an exciting development! The colony is calling me, lighting the beacon to bring long lost Anthony home!

Still, let's not get carried away. Remember what happened the last time you got carried away, Anthony? You still haven't returned to max HP!

After inspecting the source of the scent on the tunnel floor, I immediately move back to my comfortable stealth position on the ceiling and continue down the tunnel. I'll have to continue down this path until I can pick up the trail somewhere.

The tunnel itself is becoming more irregular in direction, zigging and zagging through the earth, even as it continues its downward slope.

As I move I'm beginning to feel vibrations in the air from down the tunnel. Something is definitely happening in front of me. I must proceed with all caution!

Thirty metres ahead the tunnel splits once again. I'm starting to feel that these tunnels and caves are going to be splitting into a very messy network of tunnels. This is going to be hard to keep track of.

[Tunnel sense has reached level 2]

This is what I'm counting on! According to its description this skill helps maintain a sense of direction whilst underground. I suspect because of this effect I've been able to know which way the tunnel is sloping or curving almost without having to think about it. I'll have to depend on this to help me navigate and remember which way is which.

Since I can't detect any pheromone trail from either tunnel and one seems no safer than the other, I decide place a mark in the ceiling right at the split which indicates which direction if have taken. If I create and maintain a simple set of symbols to mark the tunnels it will hopefully help my memory.

After scraping a simple arrow into the rock with my mandibles I move down the right hand path.

Ten minutes later I have returned to the juncture.

Well then! Not going down that way anytime soon! It hadn't taken long for me to discern something was wrong with that tunnel and without having to travel far I encountered an area wherein the tunnel widened slightly creating a sort of hollow that had been occupied for a group of wolf lizards. Five of them were lounging on the rocks, gnawing on bones of what appeared to be recently killed prey. I wasn't prepared to try and sneak past them so I turned my tail and returned.

What symbol should I use for instant death?

In the end I scratch a rough X for danger and a ~ shape next to my mark for the right tunnel to try and represent the wolf lizard tail before marking the left tunnel and moving into it.

Hopefully this path is a little more manageable!

After a few hundred meters the tunnel seems quite safe, almost pleasant, as tunnels go.

HOLD IT!

I freeze in the process of walking, one foreleg poised in the air to advance as I stare hard at the space in front of me.

Is this ... What I think it is?

Before me I can see, barely see, a thin, silvery line of delicate thread stretched taught across the tunnel.

Very gently I bring my leg back towards my body and place it down before taking a few steps back and examining what I see in front of me.

Without having 2 eyesight there is no way I would have been able to notice in time.

Reflecting the soft blue light of the rock walls there is a web of whisker thin strands stretched across the tunnel. I had been so close to walking headfirst into a welcome I would not have survived.

Monster spider! I shiver.

I can't help but feel indignant.

Stupid spiders! You think you're the king of the insect world? Huh!? You let your webs do all the hard work for you! Not an honest, straight forward worker like an ant. If I had two hundred of my kind here, boy you'd have to watch out!

After inspecting carefully I can't see any spider on this web, but that doesn't mean it isn't nearby.

I hesitate. I either have to move through this tunnel or back to the family of wolf lizards and try and sneak through. Since I don't like my odds of sneaking I may have to try and gather some information about this spider monster to make an informed decision on the best path forward.

After some consideration I move to the floor of the tunnel and gather up a few loose rocks. I practice using my mandibles to toss them a short distance, the hard impact sound of rock on rock echoes through the tunnel.

I get the hang of it pretty quickly and line up a few rocks close to the web. Swinging my head I lob a rock at the web. The stone impacts the strands, causing the entire web to shake but it doesn't stick and falls to the ground. Without waiting I throw a second one and then turn and scurry away to hide in the shadows to observe.

At first, nothing happens. The shaking of the web makes it much easier to see, a neat pattern covering the whole of the tunnels width. Eventually the motion stops but still, I wait.

Here it comes! I almost missed it at first since it was moving on the ceiling, the show off! One leg and then the next emerges from the shadows as the monster appears to inspect the prey that shook its web.

Ugh, this thing is hideous! Eight furry legs (clearly too many) support its fat bulbous body as it moves forward and begins to daintily touch and examine the web.

Now as I recall it, a spider is an arachnid, not an insect like me. I have three body segments (head, thorax and abdomen) and six legs whilst a spider has eight legs (yuck) and two body segments (head and abdomen).

This spider is not part of the mighty insect family, he's lower on the food chain! Looking closely, it appears to be roughly my size as well. It's possible this is not a high level monster.

The spider begins to move off the rock and onto the web itself, inspecting the strands more closely. An idea is beginning to form in my mind. Let's just wait a little for our many-legged fried to sit still for us...

The spider is moving slowly across the web, still trying to determine the cause of the disturbance, meanwhile I am carefully pointing my rear at the target, trying to accurately judge the distance.

Hold ... Hooooold... Fire!

Pow!

I blast out a mighty shot of acid, trying to force the attack at my maximum range. Immediately after letting the acid fly, I begin to change locations and watch the target to see the effect of my artillery.

At this range the accuracy was a little lacking and rather that hitting the spider straight on the abdomen as I'd hoped, the acid sprays across the legs on the right side.

The spider reacts immediately, flailing around at incredible speed! Loathsome fangs are bared, dripping dark fluid as the beast turns this way and that, its many eyes glaring into the tunnel as it attempts to locate its antagonist.

This is something the spider clearly has over me. Even upgraded, my eyesight is probably no match for the natural eyes of a spider. Most spiders have up to eight eyes! As solitary hunters they need excellent senses, much for the same reason I do!

The stealth skill is currently displaying its strength as my foe seems unable to identify my location. Perhaps I was able to catch it unawares, the creatures attention focused on the web rather than observing the tunnel.

I watch the movements of my target like a hawk. After scrambling for a while, the spider calms down and moves defensively to the side of the web, near the walls, watching the tunnel carefully. I can see its eyes gleaming slightly in the tunnel light. It clearly thinks it has hidden carefully.

Stupid spider! I've been watching you all along!

And now you are perfectly still!

Moving slowly, oh so slowly, I turn and prepare to fire a second shot.

Take into account the elevation and angle, no breeze to worry about, think of the arc.

Fire!

I turn just in time to see my acid shoot over the spiders head and spray onto its abdomen, sticking and clinging to the monsters hairy body. I can hear an audible hiss of pain from the spider as once again it thrashes and charges about behind its web, trying to find me.

But I am long gone! Once I confirm the hit I put the jets on and run the heck out of there!

Chase me if you want you dumb spider! If you're brave enough to leave your web that is!

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Chapter 13 Insect Arachnid

Despite my tough talk I was shivering inside my own carapace as I waited to see if the spider would pursue me into the tunnel.

I retreated all the way to the junction, thinking that if worst came to worst I could hide close to the wolf lizards or aggro them onto the spider and try to slip though their den.

Fortunately this spider appears to be as cautious as me!

And why not? All he has to do is sit inside his web and wait for the prey to be delivered, stuck and unable to fight! Practically free Biomass! Truly, being a spider is like easy mode in this dungeon!

My resentment is building towards this web spinning noob. Thinking of all the hardships I've been through whilst this chump is sitting here collecting free XP. My rage is reaching towards the sky, to the very heavens themselves!

To ease my fury, the spider must die!

Of course, I only consider this course of action since I have weighed the odds and I think I can win. There are a few reasons for this, firstly, the tunnel is unusually bright, so spotting the spider and its web is not as hard as it would have been just after I arrived in the dungeon, secondly, the spider appears to be small, possibly as weak (stats wise) as I am, if I can remove the natural advantage it gains from its web, I can win.

That only question is, how can I ensure I never fight it in its web? Phase one is already complete. With my two acid attacks yesterday I can presume that the spider has lost at least five HP. Unless it can secure food to replenish its strength I will continue to attempt to lure it to where I can attack it from range.

Simple.

The weakness to my plan, is that I need to ambush the spider a number of times in order to be victorious, however, if the spider can ambush me even once with its poison fangs ... Lights out.

Antennae, forward! Eyes, open! Brain, focused to a razors edge! There must be no mistakes! Moving in this way I advance towards the web once more, inspecting every stone and fold in the rock for hidden arachnids.

No sign of it however, the horrid thing is probably licking its wounds behind the safe walls of its web, provided it has a tongue.

Since I can't see it, I will process as I did before, trying to lure the fiend here by disturbing the web. As I did before, I prepare some choice stones and line them before flicking them one by one into the web. I use four stones this time, trying to create a larger disturbance to convince the creature a juicy prey has become entangled.

I quickly hide in a shady position and prepare to wait.

And I wait.

And wait.

Half an hour goes by without any seeing even one hairy leg. Not coming out eh? Yellow are ya?! Too chicken to fight face to face like a man?!

This is also fine.

First however, I need to be sure.

One again I prepare some stones, line them up and flick them into the web using my mandibles. I ramp up to seven stones this time, the web shakes and wobbles under my rocky assault.

Once more I retreat and observe. Come at me spider!

Still, nothing. The tunnel, is perfectly still and quiet, not even a whisper echoes off the stone.

I learned during my first hunt that patience is everything to a monster. Death lurks around every corner, no safe guards can afford to be cut. If this spider wants to play a waiting game with me, I'm game. I wait an hour before I make my move.

The spider is either more wounded that I initially thought or is too wary to approach this side of its nest after getting an acid bath last time.

I must move onto phase two of my web disruption plan. Using my antennae I find an area of softer, looser stone and begin to shift it close to the web using my trusty face hands, otherwise known as mandibles.

Once I have enough finer material I begin flicking it up onto the web, sending it wafting and shivering once more. Unlike the heavier stones I was using before, this stuff doesn't get the web really shaking, but it does do something the heavier rocks couldn't.

It sticks.

Flick, flick, flick. Again and again I send the fine stone into the web where some of it rebounds and falls, and some if it impacts the threads, remaining hanging in the air.

I don't need to cover all of the web, just enough for me to be able to pass through without being stuck. Then I will be able to infiltrate the inner sanctum of my foe.

When I'm half way done I take another opportunity to retreat and hide, just in case the spider has at last been drawn out by my constant interfering with its web.

Thirty minutes later and I'm back at work.

Since the spider refuses to emerge I try to cover as much of the web as I reasonably can from the ground with as thick a coating as I can. If I get a leg stuck to this damned web I may not be able to free myself.

Eventually I'm satisfied enough that I'm willing to try and squeeze through. Being as careful as I can I pass my antennae across each strand I plan to walk past, checking for residual stickiness. Finding none, I pass through in the lair of the beast.

This is the most dangerous phase of this conflict. Although I have secured a path of retreat, here in the creatures lair, there could be any number of hidden threads. I must be careful.

Foothold by foothold I creep forward, my eyes scanning every inch of wall and ceiling. A single lapse of concentration will be deadly here. I try to be as stealthy as I can but dark, shadowed areas are becoming harder and harder to find. The flowing blue light the runs through the walls of the tunnels has definitely become stronger over the last few days.

At least this is trouble that runs both ways, although I can't hide very well, neither can my opponent.

Here inside the nest of the spider I can see threads running along the walls and floor here and there, some of them so fine they barely catch the light. I hesitate with almost every step, trying to be certain I don't place a foot wrong.

What's that?

I can see a shape over there, close to the wall! I can't be sure though, is it a fold in the rock, or is it ... a leg!?

Take this you bastard!

Like lightning I blast off a shot of acid.

[Acid Shot has reached level 3]

Ha! Must have been a hit!

Only one thing to do now. That's right, run for it!

Bwahahahaha! You won't catch me spider! I'm like the wind across the fjords, like the gazelle leaping across the plains, like the falcon soaring in the clear skies.

Bah, a thread! I'm stuck! It's got me, ITS COMING TO GET ME!

Will I die here? Before even meeting my colony? I have so many regrets! I'm too young to die! Come to think of it ... I'm not even one month old!

[You have defeated Level 1 Puer Aranea]

[You have gained XP]

Please don't kill me spider! I have so much to live for, I still don't know if I can evolve like a pocket monster, how cool would that be?! You don't want me to die before I find out do you?

And ... And ...

...

What?

Turning around I can see that one of my legs has brushed a spider thread on the ground, by pulling hard I'm able to break free.

Once liberated I return to where the spider was sighted only to see the small creature, severely burned by acid, lying on its back presenting its curled legs to the ceiling.

...

I'm sorry spider. I misjudged you.

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Chapter 14 The express lane

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Puer Aranea, you are awarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Puer Aranea unlocked]

[You have gained one Biomass]

[Puer Aranea: Child Spider. A newly born spider monster, relies on its web to secure prey.]

I feel great shame.

Clearly the rage I directed at this spider, the contempt I felt for it growing fat on biomass behind its cozy web was very misplaced.

This is a level one baby spider monster. It's possible it never managed to consume any biomass at all.

How pitiful.

Your existence is so pitiful!

We won't talk about your end...

I'm sorry young spider!

After my first two blasts of acid the spider was already heavily wounded, without any way to recover the damage caused by my acid, its pitifully small health pool had shrunk to almost nothing.

When I entered the nest to continue the battle it was already on the edge of death, my last shot was enough to defeat it. Being only level one, I'm sure the experience I've gained isn't much, but by consuming it (the taste was as you could imagine), I have gained two more biomass.

Once again, eyes 3 is within my reach!

With my vision finally in a non-life threateningly sucky state I'll be able to concentrate on other aspects of my body.

Maybe then I'll be able to actually fight something.

Wishful thinking! I suck!

I have to find out how I can grow into at least an adult ant. Perhaps I need to achieve more levels? Before that can happen I need to locate a place I can hunt.

Having consumed the unfortunate arachnid I have at least secured a path forward, so I've little choice but to continue on my journey.

I use broken rocks and dust in order to break through the web on the other side of the nest and squeeze myself between the threads once more.

Enter stealth mode!

Scrabbling back to the ceiling I move cautiously down the tunnel once more.

It isn't long before I find something new.

A shaft plunging straight down into the dark.

Directly in the middle of the tunnel the floor drops away instantly and before me is a hole, four metres in diameter that I cannot see the bottom of, despite the winding light threads that twist through the rock walls.

How far down does this thing go?!

The tunnel I'm in keeps continuing forward so once again I am left with a choice.

If I assume that deeper means more dangerous then I should leave my exploration of this shaft for later. I still take time to sniff the edge of the hole carefully with my antennae, seeking any sign of the trail.

Nothing.

I'm a little disappointed but at the same time a little relieved. I'd rather not have to pursue the trail deeper into these tunnels if I could avoid it, but since going higher in the tunnels isn't safe either (due to the threat of painful death by human), going deeper may be the smarter option...

Gah! My head hurts!

I will have to explore all options in the end probably. No need to keep thinking about it. Onward!

Passing over the shaft opening I proceed further down the tunnel, warily scanning as I do so.

After twenty minutes I encounter another development.

It turns out my small tunnel connects to a much larger one, similar to the cavern I was in before. This large passage is at least thirty metres wide and twenty metres high. Sitting at the opening to my small tunnel I can already see other small tunnel openings breaking off from this main passage.

I know what this means...

More monsters!

I can already see a few prowling between rock formations and I can hear even more. I wonder if this passage links back to the first cavern I was in? Have I just done a wide loop and reconnected to the very passage I was trying to get away from?

I have to be careful.

First things first, I retreat back into the smaller tunnel and start searching for a section of soft dirt I can use to dig. I have to move back about a hundred metres but I find a section of wall I can work with.

Next I begin to construct a nest once more, opening a hole in the tunnel wall and removing the chunks of dirt and rock to block off the tunnel. I just don't feel safe unless I can put even a very flimsy layer of protection around myself.

It takes a few hours but I excavate a cosy, dark nest and manage to block off the tunnel towards the new cavern, leaving my small opening on the ceiling to allow my passage.

Also:

[Digging has reached Level 4].

Even if it is a fairly useless skill, it feels good to grow and improve! When I think about it, I'm already a vastly improved little monster than I was when I started. My senses are sharper, my acid stronger and my skills have improved.

I'm still pathetically weak in combat, I know that, but still.

Let me be proud of myself.

Nest site secured. Time for a nap!

To explore new terrain and possibly hunt, I need to be sharp, so I decide to get some rest in first. I flop my hard carapace down, with my legs splayed out. I can't actually shut my eyes, since I have no eyelids. It's a little weird, to say the least. Since I raised insects in the past I know that ants don't actually sleep, but basically stay still and rest for a while. It's a state called torpor.

As I stay still and unmoving I gradually drift into a fuzzy state of half attention. All stimuli fades into a background noise and my mind slowly drifts away from my senses.

Getting some shut eye... Without actually shutting my eyes.

Sometime later I shake myself awake and pull my legs under me, ready to stand and venture forth.

My mind is refreshed! Peak performance has been reached, it's time to explore.

There are two things I'm concerned about right now. Firstly, I want to try and secure one more biomass so I can improve my eyesight once more. Once that has been achieved I won't try and amass four more points to achieve 4 but start to upgrade the rest of my body. With more powerful legs, carapace, mandibles and acid gland I'll feel a lot more comfortable exposing myself when hunting.

Secondly, I need to secure more XP. With more levels I may be able to increase my stats or progress into an adult ant which may increase my chances of survival greatly. I also have a plan to try and secure more experience safely. Hopefully I'll be able to try it out in this cavern, as long as there is enough monsters, I think I will.

I emerge into the large tunnel and quickly take shelter amongst the rock formations on the ceiling. My stealth has long reached level three. Hopefully I can raise it further by shadowing some monsters in here.

Looking back and forth I can tell that to my left the cavern slopes gradually upwards as it curves into the distance. I can't help but worry that this tunnel is the path that extended from the cavern I was in before. Have I circled around just to put myself directly in front of the soldiers again?!

It seems as though this area of dungeon mostly consists of these larger 'main' tunnels with small ones branching and twisting off in all directions, creating spaces for smaller monsters to exist and group together.

So the large tunnels are the highways and the smaller ones are the backstreets?

Something like that.

Sweeping my antennae I move towards the downward sloping side.

[Tunnel Sense has reached Level 3]

Huh. So trying to decide direction and map the tunnels in my mind is levelling my tunnel sense? Feels a little weird to think the system is able to monitor my thoughts...

Well, skill levels is something that can only help for now!

Hopefully somewhere in this direction I'll be able to find what I'm looking for.

I've noticed two new types of monster in this area already. The first is like a large rat but with three tails, each one tipped with a spike of some sort. Absolutely don't want to mess with that guy. The second is a mollusc looking creature, its long slimy body coated with organic looking spines of bright colours, almost like coral growing directly from the creatures back. Something to consider about this thing is that it is at least twice my size and is clearly capable of moving on the walls since I've seen two of them sliding up vertically already.

I hate slug like things! Yuk! They don't appear to able to move very quickly but I would be shocked if these brightly coloured bros weren't poisonous in some way.

I'll avoid their trails as well, just in case.

Ah ha! I'm starting to hear the sweet sound I've been hoping for! Growls of beasts and the gnashing of claws are starting to happen further ahead! Onward, with the speed of Shadowfax!

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Chapter 15 How to last hi

This world contains a bizarrely game-like system. The information I'm in need of most is exactly how this system functions, for example, how does the system award XP when a monster dies?

Is it divided evenly amongst everything that caused damage? Or is all of the experience awarded to the one who deals the final blow? I've never received a system announcement awarding experience during combat, only after the prey has expired.

So I can assume that only when something dies is XP awarded for it.

Let's test a few theories then.

As I draw near the sounds of combat are growing louder and louder. Sticking to the shadows I peer around the rock crevices to identify the combatants.

Locked in furious battle I see four of the filthy claw centipedes and a croca-beast.

By the shining beard of Gandalf I hate those stupid centipedes, they think they're so great! The four crawling monstrosities have surrounded the much larger, hulking, walking croc, advancing and retreating to distract their foe and create chances for the others.

The croca-beast is doing its best to watch all of its opponents but they are simply too slippery, always moving, circling and feinting. The beast has already been wounded in several places, green ichor can be seen leaking from wounds on the creature. It isn't going down without a fight though, one centipede already lies twitching at its feet, completely torn in half.

Slash!

Bite!

The monsters whirl in deadly combat, swinging claws and chomping fangs!

This is quite thrilling!

I try to keep an eye on my surroundings however. The last thing I want is one of those stupid slugs to slide up and eat me when I'm not looking. Surprisingly, it seems as though most monsters are giving this fight a wide berth, unwilling to get dragged in to a fight between such dangerous opponents.

I'm happy to chip in however.

The croca is snapping its jaws towards one centipede whilst using its claws ward of the others. Its tail swings furiously behind it, trying to defend its vulnerable back as it turns. Suddenly it coils up, crouching low.

This is it!

I hurriedly turn and begin to take aim and as the croca launches itself forward at one of its tormentors, I fire a blast at one of the centipedes, drenching the foul thing in my acid.

As quickly as I can I re-aim and fire another shot at the croca itself, splashing the burning liquid down its left side.

By this time the giant croc has already clamped its jaws shut on its victim, swinging its massive head from side to side it snaps repeatedly down, audibly crunching the exoskeleton of the centipede that writhes and twists madly in the death grip.

However, in leaping forth so boldly the croca has left itself open to retaliation, the remaining three centipedes, including the victim of my sneak attack, heave leapt forth, unwilling to let this chance slip. By taking advantage of the certain death of their comrade they plunge forward with wriggling glee, sinking fangs and claws into the croca beast, tearing away at their prey.

One of the centipedes rears up the end of its body, displaying a spike which it flips forward and drives into the croca's back, surely injecting some form of poison.

The larger monster roars in rage and with a massive swing of its head snaps the centipede in half, flinging pieces away into the darkness, before turning on the remaining pests. However with my acid burning it and the poison in its system its moving slower and slower.

The three surrounding centipedes withdraw from the monster, circling at range, waiting for the poison and damage already done to wear down their prey. The target of my attack has withdrawn further that the others, playing extra defensive at it hisses and clacks at the surroundings, unsure where the hidden foe lies.

Gweheheheh.

Over here!

Once more I fire a burst at that centipede, splashing it squarely on the tail. The creature shrieks and squirms about, clacking fiercely as it attempts to locate my hiding place with its beady eyes.

No such luck, pinchy!

I normally wouldn't act so brazenly but with their hunt almost successful and the threat of surrounding monsters joining in, I doubt the centipedes would be so foolish as to abandon their prey to try and hunt for me.

So once again I nestle into the shadows and prepare to watch how things play out from the safety of the ceiling.

The croca-beast is heavily wounded now, air rasps between its massive jaws as it struggles for air. The eyes of the beast are still alive with fury however and the centipedes give due respect to their monstrous opponent and continue to wait it out, retreating slightly every time the beast steps forward.

My victim is moving slower now, clearly wounded. It refuses to back too far away from the croca-beast, but also remains close enough to claim its stake.

The croca is close to finished now, unable to put up much of a fight. Every breath is a labour at this point. Its blurry eyes lock onto its final target, the wounded centipede I have attacked.

Dash!

With the last of its strength the monster hurls itself forward, desperate to bring down even one more enemy as it goes. The wounded centipede darts to one side as the others once again close in on the beast from behind but the acid has burned away for too long.

The waiting game the centipedes played has weakened the croca significantly but it has also worked in my favour, allowing my acid to slowly burn and accrue damage.

It's just enough of a hindrance that the beast is able to land a vicious swipe with its claws.

Slash!

The centipede reels back from the blow but doesn't fall. Combine with the acid attacks from earlier, the centipede is clearly heavily wounded now.

This was the final burst of strength from the wounded croca, immediately after the furious attack, it collapses to the floor, spent of all its energy.

My heart pounds in my tiny ant thorax, this is perfect!

Once the unharmed centipedes close in on their prey to deliver the finishing blow I once again take aim. This is the last of my acid for the time being, this shot has to count!

Pow!

Once again my acid fires true, straight onto the wounded centipede.

My victim contorts its body as the hateful acid burns away at it once again.

For some reason I have very little sympathy for these clawed centipedes. Hopefully not just because they look so hideous, I like to think I'm not that shallow.

The two healthy centipedes turn to inspect their heavily wounded comrade before turning back to the now collapsed croca beast and finishing it off. As the large monster breathes its last breathe I tense slightly.

...

No system announcement.

I didn't receive any XP, even though I damaged it. This means that being part of a successful fight isn't enough, only the last blow matters!

[You have defeated Level 3 Unguibus Scolopendra]

[You have gained XP]

[You achieved Level 3, One skill point awarded]

Speaking of which! Even though the fearsome blow from the croca-beast surely dealt 80% of the damage to the centipede, I am the one who reaps the reward as my acid has claimed the final hit!

Muahahahahaha!!

The final two centipedes seem scarcely bothered by the loss of another ally. One of them immediately scuttles towards a nearby wall and darts into a side tunnel as the other centipede circles the beat carcass, clacking and hissing at the surroundings, defending the Biomass.

It isn't long before another five centipedes burst out into the main tunnel and quickly surround the prize. Once centipede even crawls over and seizes the remains of the one I defeated and starts dragging it back towards their nest!

Oi!

You dirty thief, I curse your father! I glare down at them from my hiding place on the roof.

[Stealth has reached level 5, upgrade available]

Oh ho! The great Gandalf has bestowed his wisdom upon mine head! So supple his facial hair! So aggressive his eyebrows!

I'll have to investigate this upgrade a little later. For now I must monitor this situation!

The centipedes move quickly to secure their hard won biomass, dragging away the croca-beast and also the body of the first centipede to perish in the battle. They really don't intend to waste anything, even to the point of consuming their own kind...

This isn't really that odd if we consider normal insect behaviour. Some species will consume their own dead rather than let those precious nutrients go to waste. This dungeon is a highly competitive environment after all, I can really blame them.

Still... As expected of these gross monsters.

They run a very slick operation though, I have to give them that. It doesn't take long for them to get their precious biomass back into their own side tunnel, safe from jealous eyes and the predations of their competition.

However...

If I had a proper mouth I would be grinning the sly grin of a scamming cat.

Foolish centipedes! Not as clever as you thought!!

Chuckling smugly within my mind I snake my way down a stone pillar, moving towards the remains of the centipede tossed away by the croca during the fight.

The final prize, is mine!

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Chapter 16 Currents and undertows

The waves are a mystery to us. Ever since the very first, during the cataclysm that came to be known as 'The Rending', when huge surges of monsters were spawned in the Dungeon below and tore their way onto the surface in great numbers, we have failed to find the reason why 'waves' of monsters suddenly flood the dungeon.

Some of my predecessors have postulated that the Dungeon uses the waves as a device to repopulate itself when monster numbers are too low and regular spawns are not sufficient to maintain a healthy population, whatever that may be. There is evidence to suggest that lower monster numbers increases the likelihood of a wave.

Yet there are records of waves occurring even when the dungeon is pact to bursting, though it is far more rare for this to happen, to be sure.

From the private notes of Alberton, Loremaster of the Legionem Abbyssi, Liria.

--

"You look fine".

"I don't feel fine".

"Do you ever feel fine?".

"Shove off".

"It's just a meeting".

"You can't be serious. A formal call to arms before the entire court is a 'meeting'?!"

Titus shrugged, "this is the way your dearest aunt wanted it done".

Alberton grimaced and tugged at his lace collar once again, "you know I don't like having to face my aunt".

"We really made a brave Legionary out of you, didn't we Alberton?"

"Shove off".

"That's shove off, commander".

The two men stared at each other for a moment before chuckling awkwardly. Neither of them enjoyed this kind of formal appearance. Titus felt compressed in his court garb, the lace, the buttons, all of it stretched and pinched at his massive shoulders.

A large insignia was sewn into his coat above his heart, the symbol of the Legion stitched in blue thread on a deep, black background. Under one thick arm he carried his dress helm, polished to a mirror shine until the metal sparkled in the light.

For his part, Alberton was draped in his most elegant robes, his beard had been washed, washed again and then combed before being oiled. The Legions court auxiliaries, charge with overseeing the organisations' interactions with the nobility, had almost had to tie the Loremaster down as he howled and protested the grooming.

If he was forced to it, Titus would have to admit that watching Alberton get presentable was the only enjoyable part of appearing at court.

At present they were stewing in an antechamber outside the throne room, waiting to be announced. After some time an overdressed, wheezing courtier entered to fetch them.

They were brought before the carved and gilded entrance doors, where, after a pause they were announced.

"Commander Titus of the Deep Legion, Loremaster Alberton of the Deep Legion!" boomed the chamberlain.

After calling their names the official struck the floor three times with his staff, a massive stone shaft with an elaborately carved lion head at the head.

The sharp sounds echoed off the vaulted ceiling as the two Legionary officials stepped forward into the massive hall. To their left and right the courtiers, officials and local power brokers turned to eye their approach, stepping back to clear the center of the floor, allowing them to approach the dais on which the throne stood.

Titus had to admit, the light streaming through the large, arched windows and playing across the elaborately carved pillars that supported the ceiling were impressive each time he saw them. Liria had been prosperous for a long time and the throne room reflected that wealth and power very well.

Atop the throne sat a matronly woman, advanced in her years but with the sharp gleam of intelligence still bright in her eye. Queen Verita had ruled with grace and wisdom for more than thirty years, much beloved by her people. The Legion had benefited greatly from her trust in that time.

As they approached the throne Titus was irritated to see amongst the officials gathered near the dais some people he didn't particularly want to meet. As if detecting his souring mood, Corrin, the Mercenary Union president in Liria, winked cheekily at him as he approached.

Titus could only sigh and glance back at Alberton, who appeared to be completely rigid, his eyes locked to the throne on which Verita sat.

He would be completely useless, as usual.

When the two men had reached the edge of the dais they immediately saluted and remained still.

"You may be at ease Legionaries" Verita greeted them warmly.

"My thanks, Queen Verita" Titus replied formally.

The Queen turned her attention now to Alberton, who by this point was almost in panic as the eyes of the court focused on him.

"Nephew, it is so wonderful to see you again. For too long you have avoided our presence, burying yourself in study. I am very pleased you were able to attend this formal meeting".

Titus inwardly sighed. As he suspected, the Queen had only called this formal meeting in order drag Alberton out to visit. The idiotic Loremaster was supposed to scrub himself up and come to court every now and again to keep his doting Aunt happy. If he'd been skipping out on coming here then forcing him to attend in full formal garb was possibly the Queen subtly punishing her shy nephew.

"My honor, your uh, Aunt" Alberton mumbled.

Seeming satisfied by her wayward relatives discomfort, Verita indicated to the gathered dignitary adjacent to the dais. "We have gathered representatives here of many of our great cities prominent groups to discuss the activity within the Dungeon and the course of action to take from this point forth" Veritas said, "to begin, commander Titus of the Legion".

At the Queens' announcement all chatter in the room ceased and Titus cleared his throat to speak.

"Mana levels within the Dungeon are climbing quickly, according to our projections we can expect a wave to break in the first strata in as little as three days, perhaps four. In addition to this, Legionaries on guard witnessed a monster ant close to the surface. Due to the special nature of this creature, the Legion intends to advance deeper into the Dungeon and exterminate the colony. In order to facilitate this level of activity, the Legion is formally requesting military aid from the throne to assist in securing the city from the wave, freeing Legion resources to delve for the creatures nest."

At the conclusion of his speech, spoken rapidly with military precision, there was a slight pause before several officials began chuckling openly whilst others frowned in disapproval.

Corrin, dressed in her official Union leather armor, blue cape expensively cut to flow from her shoulders, stepped forward.

"Your majesty, if I may?", she bowed towards the throne.

"You may speak, Corrin" Verita nodded.

The mercenary leader stood and straitened her cape and turned to address the throne room. "For over a hundred years the city of Liria has prospered under the enlightened rule of Queen Verita and her forebears. The citizens of this city enjoy a peace and prosperity that has seldom been seen, even in the millennia following the great cataclysm".

Titus' eyes narrowed as Corrin continued to speak. He could easily see where this was going to go.

"In all that time", she continued, "the responsibility of managing and policing activity within the Dungeon has been placed into the hands of the Deep Legion. Despite their continual, overbearing and disruptive activities, Dungeon delving has been an economic cornerstone of Liria and through the bravery of the Mercenary Unions' membership has this resource been exploited".

Corrin turned now and gestured towards Titus, "yet now we see the Legion come begging to our great queen for assistance in defending the city, proving their inability to meet their obligations, whilst jumping at shadows and ants".

The Queen raised an eyebrow. "Your point being, Corrin?"

The Mercenary Union president turned and bowed once more to the Queen, her silky brown hair falling around her ears.

"The Mercenary Union once again petitions the throne to allow the Mercenary Union direct authority over Dungeon access, allowing us to properly administer this resource and police our own members. We are supported in our petition by the Associated Merchants Guild", she gestured to one side.

One of the few non-humans in the room stepped forward. The merchant was a Brathian, his silver skin containing an aquatic, translucent quality that revealed their peoples origins.

"Our projections estimate that a restraining of regulations around Dungeon exploitation would double profits within two years your majesty" the tall humanoid said.

Brathian voices had an almost singing quality to them, resonating in the air slightly after they had finished speaking.

The Queen nodded thoughtfully, then spoke, "You are denied once again Corrin. If you would dismiss the threat represented by an ant then I highly recommend you brush up on your history. The land our beloved city is founded on once belonged to another Kingdom, this Queen will not repeat the mistakes of those rulers and underestimate the Dungeon. It is not a resource, nor a mine, for all the wealth and resources it brings us. It is a threat, and should always be treated as such."

The Queen then gestured towards Titus, "If you read that history you will find it was the Deep Legion who liberated this land. For this reason the rulers of Liria have placed their trust in them."

Corren gracefully bowed towards the throne, "Your loyal subject is more concerned with the future prosperity of the citizens than history. The Dungeon is to be respected certainly, but not feared".

The Queen acknowledged her words with a wave of her hand and then stood, the attention of the room was immediately upon her. "The crown will place the royal guard at the disposal of the Legion for the duration of the wave. Let it be known once again that Liria places its trust in the Legion to oversee the Dungeon. Commander, how confident are you that you can exterminate this nest of monsters?"

Titus saluted, hand over his heart. "We are the Legionem Abyssi, the Deep Legion, your majesty" Titus said, turning to face Corrin, "for over three thousand years, in all of the lands of Pangera, one fact has always been true. Under the ground, nobody can match our strength".

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Chapter 17 The deep roads

That centipede was not a pretty sight... ripped right in half, with its internal organs spilling out...

Urk...

However I couldn't pass up the precious opportunity that the hideous remains of the creature represented. Sweet, sweet biomass!

Using all of my guile, I retrieved the corpse, one half at a time and returned to the security of my nest for the ... Feast.

Holy moly this is awful eating.

This is almost so disgusting I would rather starve. Almost. This is a very key word, almost. Would you like to starve to death Anthony, or eat this pile of smashed centipede? I would rather eat, but only just!

[You have gained one Biomass]

Huh.

It seems each creature usually contains one biomass.

Something interesting that I pay more attention to this time is the leftovers. I can't eat every part of these monsters, the fangs, the carapace, teeth and anything else that is too hard for me to ingest, so what happens to these pieces?

After I wait more than an hour a faint blue glow begins to surround these pieces and before my very eyes they sink into the ground.

What the...

Creepy!

These left over materials are being absorbed straight back into the soil? Does that mean this cavern network is absorbing monster pieces from all over? What for?!

The more I learn the more questions I have...

Well, now for the important business. I currently have three Biomass and one skill point to spend. Firstly the biomass.

[Do you wish to improve eyes? This will cost 3 Biomass]

Ugh. Here we go...

Yyyyes.

ggggggggggUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

The itch!! ITS WORSE THAT BEFOREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

How?? HOW CAN IT WORSE!?!

As if an entire swarm of bees has decided my eyeballs were the greatest offense to their species, my eyes light up with spectacularly intense itching. After much scrabbling, rolling and beating my head against the wall the feeling finally fades away.

Phew.

Now to the next task, assigning my skill point!

[Would you like to spend your skill point?]

Yes indeed!

The usual menu appears and another mystery is quickly solved. Now that my stealth has reached level five I was informed that an upgrade had become available and now, looking my list of skills to purchase, along with dash and the skills I'd seen before is a new option.

[Stealth - Advanced Stealth. cost 1 sp: The upgraded Stealth skill, further improves the skill holders' passive ability to avoid notice whilst also greatly increasing this ability when remaining still]

Oh ho!

So when my skills reach level five I can upgrade them to an improved version at the cost of another skill point? Interesting! Of course I will have to select this skill, not being seen is the same thing as being alive! The new passive seems very handy as well...

So now my status is like this:

Name: Anthony

Level: 3

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 30

MP: 0

Skills: Digging Level 4; Acid Shot Level 3; Grip Level 3; Bite Level 3; Advanced Stealth Level 1; Tunnel Sense Level 3;

Mutations: Eyes 3, Antennae 2, Acid 1

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)

Skill points: 0

Biomass: 0

Finally level 3! I've come so far, I could almost cry.

This is my pride, my determination. I will conquer these caves! They will bow to my incredible strength!

...

At some point in the future.

For now I need to lay low and continue to scout. In a one on one fight with almost anything I'm going to flat out lose. However now that I have advanced stealth I feel more confident exploring the shaft, heading deeper into this place.

I wasn't able to detect a pheromone trail in the cavern, and although I haven't been able to scout it properly, I can't deny that I'm very curious to see what lies down below.

If I didn't have my new upgrades to my eyes and stealth I probably wouldn't chance this.

Time to witness what lies in the depths!

Giving my antennae a quick clean (got to keep them shiny) I make my way out of the nest and back towards toward the shaft. Okay, this is a little tricky. Moving directly downwards still makes me a little nervous. It isn't something that humans can have a chance to do after all! Walking directly down a wall is one thing but walking down a black hole where I can't see the bottom is another entirely.

Steady now, steady!

Moving slowly I start to make my way down the shaft.

Now that I think of it, it's actually quite bright here in this tunnel. The pulsing veins of blue soft blue light run the length of the walls here, illuminating the rock in their glow. Although not as bright as regular daylight or a light from my own world, it is a well-lit environment compared to what I've experienced so far in this place.

As I continue to descend, the walls pulse every minute or so, the light waxing and waning in intensity, giving the shaft a very organic feel. Also, it's hard to detect but, very slightly I think the light is becoming brighter the further down I go.

After cautiously climbing down fifty metres I see something that surprises me greatly.

What the heck is this?!

Growing out of the wall, directly atop a light vein is a small tuft of something similar to blue grass, except in the center of the small mound of plant matter is a stalk atop which is a tiny blue crystal flower.

There is plant life here in these caves?! How? There isn't any sunlight at all? Perhaps these veins in the walls are able to provide some kind of sustenance? The blue flower is extremely small but by shoving my ant face right up to it I can see it is exquisite in its detail.

Just beautiful.

Leaving my discovery behind I continue to move down the tunnel only to discover the small patches of grass with their accompanying flower are appearing more and more often, I also manage to detect another welcome surprise.

Pheromones!

My antennae start waggling like crazy as I detect the scent of the chemical trail left by my colony. My clan, my tribe, my people/insects!

I have chosen the correct path, clearly the scout from my colony originated down here somewhere and pursued the thieves who raided our nest higher into the caves.

What a brave scout! How diligent, how bold! Giving his all for the colony, just as I shall when I get home!

Excited by my find I continue on my way downwards.

Another forty metres down and the shaft comes to an abrupt end, instead, a narrow tunnel branches to the left. This tunnel is not at all straight, jagged corners and bends come one after the other, slowing my progress to a crawl.

I refuse to barrel blindly around corners in this place, there could be more spiders of all sorts of horrible things hiding. Especially since I'm worried that the monsters about the place will be stronger down here.

I crawl around another corner and the tunnel abruptly opens wide in front of me. What. The. Hell... is this?!

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Chapter 18 The world below

Spreading out before my very (small) eyes is an impossible vista. A huge underground world of incredible size, the entire floor covered in strange, magical plant life.

Bizarre looking trees and giant mushrooms loom below me, casting deep shadows over a forest floor covered in grasses and plants similar to the strange crystal flower I saw in the shaft. The entire scene is suffused with the blue light I've seen in the tunnels before, the plants themselves have the creeping veins of light twisting through their forms.

As I watch the entire seen pulses, just like I'd seen in the tunnel walls.

This is insane.

...

Gandalf? What is going here?!

How can an under-ground space of this scale exist? I can't even see the other side?! The roof looks like its 60 meters high! I didn't expect to see this flourishing eco system?

This place must be absolutely crawling with monsters!

The thought grips my little ant heart. Somewhere in this massive cavern my colony exists, or perhaps they are even further away than this and the scout passed through this area on its way higher up!

At any rate, I somehow have to explore this space.

I can't help but feel depressed. The vista in front of me is exotic and exciting but I can't appreciate it whilst I'm in a position of not knowing the first thing about it! In such a massive open space, what size could the monsters have grown to? How much Biomass could they pile up in a flourishing area like this?

I have no idea!

Gah!

Firm your resolve Anthony! You are going to make it! You will conquer this space and reunite with your colony!

However!

First I will retreat to higher up and get some levels.

Don't look at me like that, this is clearly the sensible choice! I need to raise my level and gain more mutations before I'm prepared to explore this space. I will conquer the known before I attack the unknown!

Back up we go!

I retreat up the shaft and regroup back in my nest.

I'm feeling pressured by time now. If my suspicions are correct then the 'main' tunnel up here is connected to the cavern I was in earlier, which is now fully occupied by soldiers. They could come down in this direction at any time, so I have to stay safe, assuming that they will.

Once they do come down, I won't have access to the easier XP and Biomass I can gather from there and will be forced into the open space below without any further preparation. Taking all this into consideration...

I have to move fast. It has become necessary to throw some of my earlier caution to the wind and make bold moves. Without XP and Biomass I won't survive if I push deeper into this place and I can't take my time acquiring said XP and Biomass as I'd like to. Time for this ant to go into battle.

My mind made up I zip back out to the main tunnel and immediately stealth up to the ceiling, antennae waving in the air as I cast my eyes about to spot prey. If I want to maximise my Biomass gains then I should be sure to target the creatures I haven't been able to consume yet, ensuring I get the bonus point from Gandalf, which means I would need to try and hunt one of the mollusc creatures (ugh), the tail rat and if possible one of the croca-beasts.

I have no idea how the hell I would hunt one of those giant crocodiles, they are so much more frightening than everything else around here.

Looking about I notice one of the slug creatures is sliding along on the wall to my left. I don't have two days to sit around starving myself as I obsessively study the creature, I'm going to have to move quickly!

Entering shark mode, I sneak up behind the hideous snail creature, making sure to avoid standing in its slime trail. I keep a constant eye on my surroundings as I do, not wanting get caught out by anything as I'm hunting.

Up close the creature is even less appealing, probably twice my body length they are very sizeable, a long slimy body topped with brightly coloured spines that seem to grow organically from the creatures back. I absolutely won't touch those!

Two stalks poke out from the front of the monsters head, either eyes or antennae on the end, I'm not sure, they could be a vulnerable point to attack later. As I draw closer to still to the creature I'm able to notice something else, the body constantly releases a thick covering of mucus, presumably to help grease the path of the creature to increase its speed but I suspect also for another reason.

Backing away from the slug slightly I nip behind a rock and then quickly give it a surprise blast of acid!

Aaaaaaand nothing happens.

The monster continues to slide along the wall, seemingly totally oblivious to my sneak attack. I thought as much. That thick layer of mucus is protecting the creature from my acid and will do exactly the same thing if I try to bite it with my jaws, I'd probably just get stuck!

Damn slug.

Of all the defensive measures you could employ, you had to use a slime barrier?! Could you make this anymore disgusting for me?

If that's the way you want to play, fine then. I will show you the power of a human mind!

...

Actually this is a trick that even ants on Earth are able to do. As the slug continues to slide its way along the wall I quickly scout around for some dirt. Grabbing a mandible full I sneak up behind the slug and place the chunk of soil on its side before immediately backing off, looking for a reaction.

Nothing. It isn't clear the slug can even feel what I'm doing.

Gweheheheh.

Moving quickly I repeat the process four more times, piling up dirt on and around the same place towards the rear of the slug on its side. The dirt quickly grows claggy and thick, covered in the oozing slime, soaking in it. Once the soil has become a sticky ball of yuck I grab chunks of it with my mandibles and peel it away from the body of the slug, then replace it with fresh dirt.

Repeating the process for ten minutes I manage to soak away the defensive slime layer covering this one area while the slug continues to show no reaction.

Let's see what happens this time.

I retreat from the slug once more and find a sheltered spot before turning to present the b-zone and firing acid once again.

As soon as the acid impacts the slugs' delicate spongy flesh the creatures shudders with surprise. Felt it that time did you, Slug? How about another shot!?

Pow!

Nailed it again! The slug is visibly in pain now as its body writhes from the burning. Actual steam is rising from the sticky flesh of the monster as the acid continues to eat away.

Yyyyyyuck.

Rearing back with its front half the slug lifts its head from the wall with a sticky plop and turns its head towards the source of the damage. Detached from the wall I can see the creatures 'foot', the undulant muscle that snails and slugs use to move, writhing and wriggling in the air. The long stalks, far longer that what you would expect to see on a slug, wave wildly in the air, seeking the foe.

In that moment my danger senses start tingling and a thought flashes through my mind at light speed: how does one of these slow slug monsters get food up here? There aren't any plants, so how do they hunt monsters?

No sooner does the thought occur to me than I dart out of cover and scramble away from the slug as fast my little legs will carry me!

Turning back I can see the slug withdrawing in on itself, almost compressing its raised front half, before out of the slime a mouth opens wide, revealing a hideous maw of fangs. Bursting forward like a spring, the slug blasts out a massive spray of thick mucus, covering the rock wall behind me in a noxious goo that immediately starts bubbling and eating away at the stone.

Whoa! Sticky acid! By the looks of it that acid is much stronger than mine too!

Without pausing again I continue my retreat, moving up to the ceiling and getting lost amidst the rocks before I turn back to check on the slug. The monster is clearly enraged now, its eyes sweeping the rocks as it reorients itself and moves in my direction, its surprisingly vicious looking maw gnawing at the air.

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Chapter 19 The Harves

This is clearly one ticked off slug. I really wish I had considered what I would do if the monster turned out to be an acid spitting nightmare of death.

Too late to weep ant tears, since ants can't cry anyway. Only thing to do is finish off this slug. The problem is that I have a limited supply of acid within me, usually only three or four shots worth at a time. I haven't managed to time exactly how long it takes to regenerate each blast yet so after firing one more round I won't know how long it will take until another becomes available.

Since I can't really attack the slug with my mandibles, the acid is my only option. Somehow I have to land a decisive blow with my final acid attack.

I can think of one strategy but I really don't want to have to take such a risk!

Why have you forced me into this situation Gandalf!? If I wasn't in such a hurry I'd never even consider this!

Gritting my mandibles I begin to move towards the slug, trying to keep my profile low by moving between uneven folds in the rock wall.

[Grip has reached level 4]

Finally! How long do I have to scramble about on walls and ceilings before this skill will level up?! Perhaps I it only really considers time I spend fighting whilst on walls?

No time to worry about it now, battle is at hand!

The slug is moving through its own acid now, sliding over the adhesive muck without taking any damage, probably protected by its slime barrier. I think the monster usually hunts by immobilizing and burning its foe with this stuff before closing in for the feast.

Here goes nothing.

I've managed to close to within ten metres of the slug. I'm sure its seen me moving closer but probably hasn't been able to pinpoint me. Seemingly unfazed the slug continues to advance towards my location.

I take a deep breath and then attempt my strategy. Leaping to a standing position, I proudly present my backside to the slug, waggling it about in front of the creatures disbelieving eye stalks.

Get an eyeful slug! Like what you see?

Apparently even a monstrous slug creature over two metres long is unsure how to react to an ant wiggling its bum at it. The creature pauses is shock before rearing back with its toothy mouth wide open.

Now! Fire!

[Acid Shot has reached Level 4]

A shot so perfect even Gandalf approves!

The sizzling liquid erupts out of my gaster at tremendous speed, arcing through the air in a solid jet of death. The slug has compressed its body, preparing to lunge forward and fire another blast when my own acid splashes directly into its face and crucially, straight down the monsters gullet.

The reaction is immediate. The slug contorts itself in response, falling off the wall and slapping wetly against the floor where it continues to writhe as the acid burns away inside it. The rocky protrusions along its back scrape and scratch against the stone with loud rasping noises. Hopefully nothing is drawn to investigate...

A flawless plan!

I'd hope by baiting the monster I'd be able to fire a critical shot inside its mouth, which I'd figured would be the only way I could deal fatal damage with one shot of acid, since the rest of the creature is still protected by its slime barrier.

I continue to obverse my victim as it suffers under the effects of my attack.

I mean, I hope I dealt fatal damage...

[You have defeated Level 4 Alcyoneum Slug]

[You have gained XP]

Triumph! The slug has finally ceased its writhing and gone limp, a two meter long sludgy picture of disgusting mollusc.

Now for the task of consuming my prey..

I mean, now that I think about it... Do I really have to ... eat ... that?

If an ant could vomit I'd be on the verge of it now...

Don't be stupid Anthony, people on Earth ate molluscs like snails all the time! You can't afford to turn up your nose at any source of Biomass so stop whining and dig into that slug!

Ugh.

Approaching the slug I take note of its slime layer. The creature isn't producing slime anymore but most parts of it are still coated in the stuff, I'll have to remove it before I can eat the whole thing.

Using more dirt to soak away the slime I clean off one half before I start to eat it. I only manage to get halfway through before I become full ... this is one big slug.

[You have consumed a new source of biomass: Alcyoneum Slug. You are awarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Alcyoneum Slug unlocked]

[Alcyoneum Slug: Coral Slug, This creature uses powerful acid to attack its foes, before wary of the poisonous spines on its back]

[You have gained one Biomass]

Even more disgusting that I'd though, I mean, the texture alone...

I'm not able to consume the rest of the slug immediately so I quickly dig a hole in the wall and bury it before returning to my nest. I can't rest on my laurels now even if I did just have survive a nasty fight. Time is limited and my pace has to be high. Risks can't be avoided right now.

I use my new Biomass to upgrade my acid, my primary weapon, to 2 and after enduring the mutation I return to the cavern to scout for more prey. I can vaguely feel the acid inside my acid gland building up again slowly, I think at the moment I only have one shot, not enough to take on a creature so I'll have to continue scouting for now.

The improvement to my Grip skill is scarcely noticeable, I can tell that its slightly easier to carry my weight as I crawl about on the ceiling, but that seems to be it. Any advantage at all is well worth it I suppose. I wonder what Grip will advance into once it reaches level 5? You won't cop out and just call it advanced grip will you Gandalf?

Once more moving quietly I begin to scout up and down the tunnel, searching for opportunities. I can see monsters moving in small groups here and there, a pair of lizard hounds are sniffing about and a group of claw centipedes similarly snooping, sliding around rocks and up onto the walls, looking for an opportunity.

Out of the corner of my eye I happen to see a flicker of movement and I turn just in time to see a familiar shape ducking in between two stone outcroppings on the wall.

If it isn't my old friend the Thorn Lizard! I'm almost feeling nostalgic for the very first hunt. I haven't seen another one of these creatures since the first one at the water pool.

Well then, the next prey is decided!

I can reuse some elements of my first plan for this attack. I'll use the wall terrain and my acid to battle the creature. I won't try and prepare a trap again, I'll battle it head on with acid and mandibles to see how I last.

Approaching cautiously I try to position myself above where I last saw the lizard and try to track it down. Using my improved antennae and eyesight I'm eventually able to spot it tucked up against the rock, resting. My Biomass investments are continuing to pay off!

Having located the creature I slowly scrabble about, looking for footholds as I position myself for the shot I want to take. I only have enough 'juice' in the tank for one shot, possibly two. If I want to succeed in this hunt then I need to make it count.

I shift across the roof to the other side of the lizard, opening up the angles to its face. Next I painstakingly creep, one leg at a time, forward to try and get as close as I can. With only one shot, it needs to count.

Since the Lizard is resting I'm able to sneak within five meters of the target, moving with such incredible patience it takes me almost fifteen minutes to close this distance.

It takes a lot of concentration to focus on being still for this much time! I'm exhausted by the time I get into position. My last fight was too risky, this time I want to improve my odds as much as possible.

After slowly turning and present the blast zone towards my target I tilt my head and take careful aim.

Boom!

Bullseye!

At such short range against a non-moving target I'm able to land my acid directly onto the face of the Thorn Lizard. The creature snarls and growls before shutting its eyes and trying to use its claws to swipe the stinging acid off its face.

Taking advantage of the distracted target I close in quickly from above. The creatures long spines swing wildly through the air as it sweeps its pained head through the air tries to dislodge the acid. I approach with caution, trying to avoid getting stabbed and poisoned before I lunge forward with a vicious bite.

My mandibles aren't a fantastic weapon at all, as a worker ant they are intended for digging, shifting dirt and holding onto stuff, not piercing or cutting. For that reason the 'teeth' on the inside of each jaw are very flat, not able to rip or tear into creatures.

Some ants, like bull ants, have nasty looking mandibles, long and sharp whilst others, like the trap jaw ant, have strong locking muscles that can coil like a spring before slamming the jaws shut with tremendous force.

Without any such potential, my bites are more like squeezing the poor creature repeatedly. I'm sure it's annoying but each bite isn't doing a whole lot for me. In which case I will make up for any deficiency with quantity!

Take that! And that!

Darting forward over and over again I crush the blinded creatures head within my mandibles over and over again.

[Bite has reached level 4]

Another level four skill! Excellent!

The Thorn Lizard tries to blindly stab forward in response to my aggression, trying to catch me with its nasty spines, but the creature is too slow and its moves too telegraphed. Without a solid idea of my position its forced into large movements that are too easy to see coming.

Eventually the Lizard is defeated.

[You have defeated Level 3 Thorn Lizard]

[You have gained XP]

Chapter 20 Offence is defence

Quiet was something commander Titus had found very difficult to come across over the last few days. This expedition had come as surprise, well outside of the usual schedule and an endless number of things needed organising before departure.

The Queen providing her own personal Guards had been unexpected but helpful, the Legion had been expecting regular front line soldiers to plug the gaps, worthy soldiers to be sure but far from the quality and discipline of an outfit like the Guards.

With their assistance, most preparations were expedited the second they showed up in their burnished, decorative armour, polished to a mirror shine and started demanding things hustle along in the name of the Queen.

Titus brushed his hands along his desk, feel the smooth stone surface. Incredible stuff, stonewood, grew just a like a tree, straight out of the ground deep into the Dungeon, but was solid stone the whole way through. The flecked, dark texture of the stone had always pleased him, to the point he'd hauled this slab back to surface on his own back in order to fashion this desk.

His hand drew down to the underside of the desk, right next to the wooden draws that had been attached beneath the surface. He pressed for a moment and waited. There was a soft click and a small rectangular section of stone began to rise on the surface of the desk, its seams invisible just a second before.

Using one hand Titus lifted the section up to reveal a small fabric lined compartment beneath, inside were six small glass vials, capped with twisted silver carved with tiny but precise runes. Two of the vials were empty but the other four contained a brilliantly glowing liquid, the blue light instantly filling the dark office.

With a sigh Titus began to roll his sleeve up his arm, when the sleeve moved past his elbow, intricate script began to appear, stamped onto his skin. Concentric circles of strange symbols, not inked onto the skin but imprinted in some way that left them pulsing with a semblance of life.

Taking one of the vials, Titus placed the silver cap directly on the center of the network of symbols.

Slowly at first, then with growing speed the circular designs on his arm began to rotate and emit light. As they gathered speed the liquid began to drain out of the vial. Faster and faster they span until the sparkling fluid was completely gone.

Unclenching his teeth, Titus returned the vial to case and fixed his sleeves. He then carefully returned the case to its compartment inside his desk and replaced the cover, which slowly sank into position until the seams were once more invisible.

The commander grimaced, hopefully he wouldn't need another one of those for a while. As always however, the injection lifted a weight off his shoulders that he hadn't quite realised was there. As if he'd been grinding his teeth and only now did he stop and realise just how tight his jaw had been.

Enough of these distractions, thought Titus, time to get back to where a good Legionary belongs.

Abruptly standing, he moved to the corner of the room where his oversized battle axe rested. Using a single hand, he hefted the huge mass of metal and threw the haft over his shoulder. He'd have to get the old thing sharpened today if he wanted to get it prepped in time for action.

--

"Do you have any idea why they are bringing those guys down with us Mirryn?" Donnelan asked.

Mirryn shook her head. She was also puzzled as to why the ragged group of a dozen prisoners, each of them sentenced to death, where being escorted into the Dungeon by a squad of senior Legionaries.

The two trainees had finally reached level thirty in their respective jobs, Mirryn as a ranger and Donnelan as a Fire Mage. When a Legionary reached level thirty they were able to be promoted to full Legionary status, however the induction ceremony took place deep in the Dungeon.

Mirryn was excited to be finally inducted but also a bit anxious. None of the trainees had any idea what the ceremony was or why it had be done deep in the Dungeon and the full Legionaries who did know never said a word.

Not for the first time she was struck by exactly how much common people didn't know about the Deep Legion. A private army that had existed for three thousand years, since civilisation had been brought to the brink of destruction when the Dungeon first opened, the Legion was something everyone had heard of, but knew very little about.

She firmed her resolve, soon the Legions' secrets would be her secrets, and she would keep them well.

The two of them were currently stationed in what the trainees liked to call 'noob cave'. The monsters that usually occupied this cavern where the weakest one could find in the Dungeon, making it the perfect learning ground for newcomers.

Many would be Dungeon mercs were still hurt here, no matter how many times they were told that Dungeon monster levels are totally different to monsters on the surface they would never listen. A level one monster down here could easily crush a level ten on the surface.

Those stupid jocks were a constant thorn in the Legions' side. Everyone wants to level up, hunt monster cores and valuable components for profit but spare a thought for the Legion rescue teams who had to constantly bail them out when they bit off more that they could chew.

Staging for the expedition had been going on all day and all night. Supplies had been brought into the cavern and lowered through a secret shaft in the wall. Donnelan had told her how the Earth Mages had undone their illusions and shifted the rock walls to reveal supply elevator, complete with rope pulley system, that allowed for materials and supplies to be lowered deeper into the Dungeon, to be retrieved at another concealed location when the expedition reached it.

"Are you prepared for the expedition, trainees?" a confident voice said.

Recognising the sound of Tribune Aurillia, Donnelan and Mirryn immediately snapped to attention.

"Our armour and equipment has been checked and polished Tribune!" Donnelan hastily reported.

The experienced Tribune chuckled in the face of his enthusiasm. "I wasn't talking about your equipment, trainee. Every Legionary keeps that in top shape at all times", her blue eyes flashed icily, any soldier under her command would quickly regret it if they didn't keep their gear in top shape.

"I was talking about up here" she raised one hand to tap her temple with one finger, "the Dungeon is a dangerous place, even for old hands like me and the commander. The reason we live to get this old is because we don't underestimate it. You two will be promoted when we get down below, that is a great occasion, one you'll remember forever, but don't let it distract you from our task".

"We won't Tribune" the two snapped out quick salutes once again.

"Tribune, how much longer until we advance into the Dungeon?" Mirryn asked.

The older woman shook her head. "Eager to get started are you? I don't blame you, I was young once too. Shouldn't be more than a few hours, then we'll start sweeping the upper area clean before we set up the forward camp in the Forest Expanse".

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Chapter 21 Eye for an eye

Phew, that was a furiously busy day. They have said in the past that great risk bring great reward and of course that is true.

It isn't like I didn't know that already, but I'd hoped to minimise as much risk as possible, circumstances have forced me into being aggressive and thankfully it has paid off!

I check my status to behold my incredible bounty!

Name: Anthony

Level: 4

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 28

MP: 0

Skills: Digging level 4; Acid Shot Level 5; Grip Level 4; Bite Level 4; Advanced Stealth Level 1; Tunnel Sense Level 3

Mutations: Eyes 3, Antennae 2, Acid 2

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)

Skill points: 1

Biomass: 4

After consuming the Thorn Lizard and remains of my Coral Slug I had two Biomass, I held onto those and found another isolated Coral Slug to battle. By repeating my trick from earlier I was able to deal critical damage by landing a shot inside its mouth, however I wasn't quite as quick and didn't manage to avoid the acidic mucus the slug managed to project at me.

Having that sticky goop fired on me was bad enough but oh boy did it burn. I had a partially melted section of carapace on the back of my thorax and lost 10 HP before it stopped melting into me. Even just that small bit of acid was a third of my health! I'm severely tempted to upgrade my carapace in the hopes it provides better protection but there are so many priorities!

Thankfully after consuming the slug (which took a good while) I was able to regenerate eight HP and mostly restore myself to a picture of ant perfection.

After using so much acid in combat the rewards have finally shown in the form of Acid Shot level 5! Ready to be improved.

There are still a few basic skills I'd love to purchase but I cannot pass up the chance to improve my most effective offensive weapon!

[Acid Shot - Improved Acid Shot. cost 1 sp: The upgraded Acid Shot skill, continues to improve accuracy with ranged acid attacks whilst giving additional improvement to attacks from increased range]

Buy!

Immediately the warm trickling sensation of skill learning melts through my brain. So nice!

With this additional range boost I'll be able to make more reliable shots from greater range, improving my safety as well as my ability to reliably output damage. It's a win-win!

If only I had access to more skill points! I'll have to level up again as quickly as possible, so many skills are converging to level four! I want to upgrade all of them if possible, leaving them behind and losing out on XP would be a crime...

Now for the tricky bit.

The Biomass.

I really want to upgrade my eyesight to 4. Having superior vision to other monsters has been critical so far in allowing me to locate isolated prey and prevent others from sneaking up on me, the advantage in senses must never be lost!

However if I want to battle and gain more Biomass then directly improving my combat effectiveness would mean improving my acid, this would then leave one extra Biomass that I could spend on legs, carapace or mandibles, all of which would increase my capabilities.

Let's work with a process of elimination, carapace upgrade would probably be pointless, 1 won't make much of a difference to anything, my defence is terrible, I'd rather work on speed first.

Which means that 1 legs is tempting, I'd become a bit more mobile which would help for scouting, retreating and fighting all together, cost effective indeed. 1 Mandibles doesn't tempt me much, larger, stronger mandibles would help me dig a bit and sharper mandibles would help fight a little but not much, the only creature I've managed to bite much at all is the Thorn Lizard and they seem quite rare.

This leaves me with really only two viable paths, 4 eyes or 3 acid with 1 legs. Do I continue to place my senses at the top of my priority list? My instinct is to be more defensive. Moving into another unknown environment down below I want to have every possible advantage I can get. That means being able to see the enemy before they see me.

It's settled then.

[Would you like to purchase 4 eyes? This will cost 4 Biomass]

Oh boy...

Yes.

hhhhuuuuuuuuUUUUUUAAAARRRRRRRRGHHHH!!!!

I can't describe the itch that overcame me in that moment. I could feel my eyeballs growing, stretching and my carapace shifting to make way for them.

Please Gandalf... this torture... Make it stop!

I hate mutating. Mutations are amazing! But mutating itself...

Eventually it settles down and my vision is one again improved.

I can tell that now since my eyes bulge further out from my head, my field of vision has improved quite a bit, I can even see my own gaster waggling behind me when I'm facing straight ahead! Impressive.

My vision still isn't what I'd like it to be but it certainly is massively improved from when I was first reborn here in Pangera.

Sniff... You've come a long way Anthony, and soon, soon you will be home with the colony.

No time to hang about being misty eyed! I have to continue to harvest XP and Biomass as fast as I can! Those humans will come roaring down into this cavern blasting everything they see before long.

Back into the main tunnel I go, scurrying onto the roof and once more going on the hunt. If possible I want to take advantage of the bonus Biomass for new targets... Since I'm fully rested, now it may be time to try and take on one of the blade tailed rats...

The trick is finding one of them alone. They tend to move around in groups of two or three and they certainly can move fast. There is also the possibility that their thick fur, which covers most of their body will be able to nullify my acid to some extent. The only exposed targets I could aim for are their faces, feet and tails.

I'll just have to wait and see if an opportunity presents itself.

Ooo what's this? I'm sensing vibrations from a disturbance up ahead, must be another fight between monsters. I'll make my way over there. Considering how often the monsters are battling each other in these tunnels it's kind of surprising that there are any left... where are all the replacements coming from?

Are they just popping out of the walls? Are they born, as I presume I was? I wouldn't put anything past this place, it certainly baffles me with its mysteries constantly.

For example, isn't it brighter in here yet again?

The light from the tunnel walls seems to become more intense with every passing hour. I'm sure of it now. The light is definitely growing stronger. Why? I haven't a single clue.

Since I don't know, I just have to keep moving forward.

Creeping up I can see that once again a group of four Claw Centipedes has gone into battle, this time against three of the wolf like creatures with the long, almost draconic tails.

It's a fierce one this... the centipedes are outnumbering their opponents (as usual), they really are the schoolyard bully of this place, but the hounds are flashing their huge fangs and swinging their powerful tails to fend off the assault.

Time for a young ant to make an intervention...

First I make sure to stealthily move into a good position, slightly further away that I would have previously been. I want to take advantage of my new skills to stay as safe as possible.

With careful aim I wait for the perfect moment. The melee ebbs and flows, with moments of sharp speed interspersed with lulls of posing and threatening. The moment the two sides break apart a little I take my shot.

Bam!

A lightning fast stream of acid erupts from my rear field, splashing over a Claw Centipede who had just raised its claws to clack threateningly at its foes. The creature reacts immediately by retreating and flipping its many legged body over, trying to throw off the horribly burning liquid.

The hounds take advantage of the break in the enemy formation, pouncing forward to attack. Whilst two of the hounds keep three of the healthy bugs occupied the remaining hound charges at the Centipede to the left of the wounded one, cutting it off from its allies and shaping up for the 1v1.

This should be interesting, my money is on the hound.

The centipede seems to agree, backing itself away whilst rearing up its back section, threatening to stab forward if the hound approaches. This hound gives absolutely no fricks to the threat and leaps forward immediately!

Thunk!

Pressure by the aggression the centipede immediately lunges forward with lightning speed, striking like scorpion, but showing incredible agility the hound is able to twist itself the side, causing the venom spike at the end of the tail to strike stone.

Not willing to wait for the opponent to recover the hound immediately positions to the side, not lunging in to bite, putting itself at risk of the claws, but swings its thick, muscular tail with tremendous force!

Crack!

Chapter 22 Once more into the breach

The centipede is crushed into the stone floor of the cavern. Deep cracks appear on its carapace after the kinetic force rips through its body, shattering the hard outer skeleton.

I'm stunned.

That was one fearsome strike! If I was hit by that I'd be squashed into a pancake, no doubt about it.

Scary!

The centipede doesn't seem to have fared much better, it twitches on the ground, barely moving. The hound steps forward slowly, a murderous glint its eye. Almost as if its thinking 'take that you bug, how dare you threaten my greatness!'.

Before it can deal the finishing blow however something unexpected happens.

Sizzling acid streaks through the air and sprays down the hounds' left flank, immediately burning into its flesh.

Oops.

Heheheheheh.

Sorry to interrupt your proud moment there hound, but I don't want this battle to end just yet.

Of course, one blast of acid isn't enough to finish off a hound, but the same is also true for the centipedes.

The Claw Centipede I hit earlier has now recovered enough to once more join the fray. It advances cautiously to reinforce its three unharmed brethren against the two healthy hounds.

This is the critical moment. With one centipede essentially down for the count but still living and one wounded hound the battle has become very even.

The centipedes seem a little unwilling to proceed with the fight now. They continue to posture aggressively but don't actively make any moves to attack against their larger opponents.

The hound I injured is mildly wounded by my acid but not badly enough to keep it out of the fight, disregarding the source of the acid it returns to the aid of its allies in fending off the swarming assailants.

At that moment.

Splash!

Another fierce arc of acid is launched through the air onto the wounded hound! It howls miserably as the burning liquid strikes it once again, rolling and scrabbling at the rocks as it desperately tries to free itself of the liquid.

A chance! At this moment the three living centipedes rush forward, hundreds of tiny legs skittering so fast the creatures almost seem to flow over the ground. Distracted momentarily, the hounds respond a beat too late and one is quickly seized in the claws of an advancing centipede.

Snarling furiously the hound tosses its head trying to dislodge the attacker before swinging its vicious tail around to slam the centipede away. Too late however as another centipede has taken advantage of the moment and struck down with its poison stinger!

In the meantime I have taken the chance to manoeuvre off the roof and down the wall, cautiously approaching the outskirts of the fight.

The poisoned hound howls in anger and throws itself at its attacker, striking with fierce claws and fangs. When another centipede approaches from the side it is brutally slapped away with a swipe of the tail.

With one hound possibly fatally poisoned and other badly burned, the hounds are very much the worse for wear. Of the four centipedes, one is hanging on by a thread and the other three are all injured to some extent.

There isn't any pause in the carnage however as the poisoned hound, seeming to sense its demise, pushes further into the fray. Emboldened, the remaining hounds also press forward on the attack.

[You have slain Level 3 Claw Centipede]

[You have gained XP]

After a few quick chomps with the mandibles the almost dead centipede is finished and I quietly drag the carcass away to a secluded fold in the rock nearby.

The battle is really reaching a climax now on the other side.

The three remaining centipedes are giving their all to survive, lashing forward with their poisoned spikes over and over again, trying to ward off the desperate hounds.

The poisoned hound is labouring hard now, barely able to put up any kind of fight as the poison takes its toll.

The final hound, suffering from claw marks and several bites, stumbles at a critical moment allowing a centipede to catch it in the shoulder with the spike, sealing its fate.

The enraged victim launches itself into the centipedes, suffering bites and claw attacks as it does so. Enduring the pain, the hound pours all of its momentum into a massive swipe of the tail, catching two centipedes and sending them slamming into the rock walls.

The stunned creatures can barely move after the incredible force has shattered its legs and deeply cracked the carapace in many places.

All that is left now is one wounded centipede and the burned hound, both are severely injured, barely able to put up a fight. Slowly they circle each other, watching and waiting for an opening.

The hound is limping, its forelegs are badly bitten by this point, the centipede isn't much better, several legs are crushed, hindering its mobility.

Almost as if a hidden start gun has gone off they simultaneously launch at each other! The two monsters quickly converge and bite forward, latching onto each other. The centipede has gripped the hound by the throat, the hound is crunching down just behind the centipedes head!

Who will hold on?!

It turns out neither, as both creatures gradually collapse, completely spent, unable to continue the fight.

Emerging from the shadows I behold a scene of ridiculous carnage. The three hounds have collapsed, exhausted and on the verge of death. Their opponents, the centipedes, are similarly disabled, unable to defend themselves.

...

Hmm...he...hee...hu hu ha HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

FOOLS! You were dancing in the palm of my hand all along!

Even if I beheld the entire process with my own eyes, I still cannot quite comprehend exactly how well this has all worked out for me.

All of these creatures are on a sliver of health. Effectively 1 HP. This is an unprecedented harvest of XP and Biomass!

It's a little interesting how rapidly a persons' attitudes can change isn't it? Not too long ago I was an average person. I lived in a normal society and wouldn't consider harming another person, I had never been in a proper fight during my past life.

And yet, after being here for a few days I have already become accustomed to battles just like this. Being forced to fight and take the life of your own food quickly changes ones' attitude on the sanctity of life...

Perhaps in my mind I justify it by saying they aren't people but monsters, but, isn't that what I am myself?

Time to worry about that later! I need to secure the last hit on these hounds before the poison steals my XP!

Moving efficiently I move from hound to hound, using my mandibles to apply bite attacks until the familiar and soothing refrain of Gandalf rings in my mind.

[You have defeated level 4 Lupus Draco Cub]

[You have defeated level 3 Lupus Draco Cub]

[You have defeated level 4 Lupus Draco Cub]

[You have gained XP]

And then I move onto the remaining centipedes. Sadly one of them was unable to hold on to life and has already succumbed to its wounds, but the others are still kicking.

[You have defeated level 2 Claw Centipede]

[You have defeated level 3 Claw Centipede]

[You have gained XP]

[You have reached Level 5, one skill point awarded]

[You have reached the level cap, evolution menu available]

wwwwwwwWWWWHHAAAAAAAT?!

Gandalf?! Is it true!? I can evolve?!

No Anthony! Don't get distracted, no matter how much you love the idea of evolving you have to secure this Biomass before anything happens. With all of these bodies just lying about, any creature is going to want a slice of the pie!

At this moment my antennae detect a trembling vibration shuddering through the air.

I immediately become still.

There! Again! Faintly, a thudding impact is carrying through the tunnel, originating further up, towards to the first cavern.

Wait.

No. NO. Not now, not like this.

It can't be now!

Chapter 23 The invasion

As quickly as possible I start chowing down, trying to get as much Biomass as I can.

[You have consumed a new source of biomass: Lupus Draco Cub, you are awarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Lupus Draco Cub unlocked]

[Lupus Draco Cub: Wolf Dragon Cub, The young form of the fearsome Wolf Dragon, they have a high resistance to flame]

Good to know, looks like these creatures are only the young? Crazy.

Must keep eating!

The sounds are slowly growing louder now, I still can't see anything but I have a terrible feeling I know exactly what is coming my way.

If I only I had an extra hour, even ten minutes would be enough! Don't think, just eat!

[You have gained one Biomass]

Must.

Keep.

Eating.

[You have gained one Biomass]

Dammit, I'm starting to feel too full to eat. I've consumed an entire wolf dragon at this point, my stomach is full to bursting!

Wait! I just remembered a disgusting thought... Something I recall learning due to my hobby of keeping a pet ant colony at home.

Ants have two stomachs... Scouts and workers don't always carry prey back to the nest. Sometimes they eat and fill up their 'social stomach' and then walk back to the nest and regurgitate the food for other ants to eat.

If I recall correctly, honeypot ants take this to a massive extreme, where some worker ants will turn themselves into living storage containers, their gaster swelling to ridiculous sizes as they stay in the nest and give food to their hungry colony.

So if my personal stomach is full...

Time to fill the social stomach!

Each more!

I move over to the centipedes and start wolfing down food as quick as I can.

The rapidly growing sounds are like a whip on my back, urging me to work faster. I can make out the sounds better, the clash of swords and the roar of flame are growing closer and closer.

I need one more Biomass and then I'm outta here!

Cmon'.

CMON.

[You have gained one Biomass]

Finally! Thank you Gandalf!

Gogogogogo. I need to get back to my nest and down the shaft and quickly as possible!

I try to burst out with all my speed, only to find my back section is too heavy, weighed down by all of the Biomass, it's dragging on the floor!

Noooooo. Don't do this to me!

Scrambling as fast as my little legs will carry me I crawl and drag myself towards the wall and stat climbing up.

I'm so damn heavy!

Climb, climb climb you fat ant!

Slowly I pull myself up the wall and start moving towards the side tunnel where my nest is. I can hear the roar of monsters as they throw themselves into battle and the shouts and clash of arms of human soldiers as they rip the creatures apart.

I can see my nest now, only ten more metres!

I can see something else too! Soldiers are starting to come into view!

Advanced Stealth! I need you now!

Haul Anthony, haul yourself up this damn wall!

More and more soldiers are appearing up the tunnel, advancing in organised groups they are blasting every monster they see apart with coordinated fire, moving to side tunnels launching magic and arrows down them before sending pairs of soldiers in to make sure they leave nothing behind.

This is an extermination!

Finally I reach my tunnel and rush as quickly as I can up to my dirt wall. I pass through the gap I left at the ceiling, but just before I'm through I realise I've become stuck!

My back section is too fat to fit through the gap! Dammit! I've got too much junk in the trunk to squeeze through?!

Pull man! I mean, pull ant!

Using all six of my legs I grip the wall as hard as I can and drag my body through the small gap.

With an audible 'pop' I get through, the sudden momentum causing me to lose my grip and fall off the ceiling, landing flat on my face.

I've got a tiny bit of breathing space now, I'll spend my Biomass quickly and then haul down the shaft!

[Do you want to purchase Acid 3 and Legs 1? This will cost four Biomass].

Go for it!

The horrible feeling of mutation immediately erupts, especially in my acid gland but I don't wait for it to subside, the fear staying here and getting caught propel me to keep moving.

Straight away I crawl to the shaft and start making my way down, my increased weight slowing my descent more than I'd like. I'm having to carefully shift my bulky backside, making sure I'm properly supported before each step so I don't immediately fall to my death!

Hopefully the 1 Legs will be able to sustain my bulk a little better and allow a safe journey.

When I'm almost halfway down a muffled boom echoes down the shaft above, followed by dirt cascading down over me.

It takes me a moment to realise what has just occurred.

They've detonated my dirt wall! This means they're coming past my nest and will find the shaft shortly!

I redouble my efforts, accelerating down the wall at a dangerous pace, my claws begin to slip and slide as I risk unsafe footholds on the wall to expedite my passage.

Eventually I'm able to reach the bottom of the shaft without anything drastic happening, but I don't feel safe yet.

I'm worried they want to explore this place and make climb down, which means I can't remain here for too long. I leave the bottom of the shaft and make my way into the narrow tunnel that connects to the vast underground tunnel.

Before I exit this place I have one important task, I can only hope that I have enough time.

[Would you like to use the Evolution menu?]

Yes I would!

[Congratulations on reaching the maximum level for your current species. Evolution will allow you change your form and increase your stats as a monster.

Warning: evolving will make securing XP and Biomass more difficult as fewer rewards are given for preying on creatures less evolved than yourself.

Your evolution options are as follows:

- Mature Worker Ant (formica)

- Condense Monster Core]

Oh ho! Two different options? I don't have a lot of time here Gandalf, hit me with the details!

[Mature Worker Ant - advance from a Hatchling of your kind into an adult. Base stats will significantly increase, new skills will be unlocked.

[Condense mana absorbed by the individual into a monster core. The core allows monsters to store and utilise MP, can also be utilised to empower custom evolution. 100% of mana required has been obtained]

Ooooookay. So the option that will provide a significant increase in stats for me right now is to advance into a mature worker of this wood ant species.

I'll put that aside for now. The second option is very intriguing. So monster cores are a real thing in this world after all! What's more it allows me to store MP! Presumably storing MP will put my tiny feet on the path to being able to use magic! This is exciting!

Mind you, according Gandalf I've stored 100% of the mana required? When the heck did I do that? Perhaps I've been absorbing some just by walking around, or maybe the water in the rock pool? Was that shocking taste my body drawing in mana?

Advancing to a mature worker ant will give me the greatest boost to my survival chances immediately, gaining stats and perhaps some useful skills. Condensing the core and opening the door to being able to use magic is incredibly tempting however! It won't boost my survival chances in the short term but in the long term it may pay off huge dividends!

This could be a time to take a risk to seize the late game!

[Would you like to spend this evolution to Condense your Monster Core?]

... Yes!

My vision immediately goes black.

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Chapter 24 Core of the problem

I don't know how much time had passed before I regain consciousness. The light slowly returns to my eyes and sensation to my limbs.

Deep inside my thorax (the middle bit) a hot, boiling feeling is slowly fading away, drawing in a dense ball of heat. Probably my new core.

Groggily I get my legs underneath me and start slowly moving through the tunnel again. No matter how weak I feel, I cannot stay here to rest, pursuers could be dropping down the shaft to investigate even now. I have to move.

Gradually my muddled thoughts begin to straighten themselves and my coordination slowly returns. As I navigate my way across the rocky tunnel I check my status.

Name: Anthony

Level: 1 (core)

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 30

MP: 10

Skills: Digging level 4; Improved Acid Shot Level 1; Grip Level 4; Bite Level 4; Advanced Stealth Level 1; Tunnel Sense Level 3;

Mutations: Eyes 4, Antennae 2, Acid 3, Legs 1

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)

Skill points: 1

Biomass: 0

Holy mother of downgrades? Why am I level one Gandalf?! My hard work, my accumulated experience, all the ridiculous good luck I've had? It hasn't been easy to survive to this point you know?! Where is my justice?!

Bitter feelings are rising in my heart as I survey my new status, but when I notice that my MP has gone from zero to ten it raises my spirit a bit. Looks like my hunch was correct and the monster core is the vital ingredient to mastering magic for me and my fellow creatures down here. This could explain why so many monsters were drawn to the pool in the first cavern I was in. By drinking the water which was somehow suffused with mana they were able to absorb it and hasten the formation of their core.

When I think about though, I've sacrificed a significant upgrade to my stats in order to condense the core which has given me, in effect, only ten MP that I can't use. Was this really the correct decision?

I have to advance now into what is likely more dangerous territory than I have experienced already, those increased stats would have been super handy!

I can't help but worry I've made the wrong choice, the prospect of being able to use mana was just too tantalising in my eyes.

Returning to level one may not be that bad, doesn't it mean that I'll be able to level back up to five and evolve again? Which also means I'll be able to gain more of the precious skill points as I do so?

Perhaps this is actually better. I'll have a second opportunity to amass skill points as an unevolved creature which could allow me to gain more levels and skill points at a faster pace than evolving would have.

I have one skill point available right now but I don't want to spend it yet. I have several skills at level four which will need to be advanced once they reach level five. I won't even look at the skills menu in case mana shaping or spell chanting has appeared in the list. I may not be able to resist the temptation! Be disciplined Anthony! Don't let your precious skills waste away!

Gradually I've regained full control of my body and shaken the dust off my mind as I reach the end of the tunnel. Beyond here lies the vast underground space I glimpsed earlier.

Taking a deep breath I walk out into the open air once again.

Really this place is so huge.

The roof is sixty, maybe even seventy meters high, so high I absolutely refuse to climb on it. One slip and I would certainly plummet to my own death. To my left and right the walls curve away into the distance to a place I cannot see, my eyesight isn't good enough, even at plus four, to be able to see the ends of the walls.

This is something I've been thinking more on. As an insect, I don't have regular eyes like a human, but compound eyes. This means a few things, firstly, my eyes don't need to be wet, so I don't have to blink, more to the point I can't since I have no eyelids. Secondly, my eyes don't have one point of focus, unlike a human who can see the one place they are directly looking at in great detail, my eyes are able to look in many directions at once, but the detail is poor.

This explains why I've been so frustrated by the blurry nature of my vision, especially over a distance. It probably also explains why I've been able to avoid having anything sneak up on me, since I'm essentially watching every direction at once.

I still believe upgrading my eyes has been the correct choice for me and they'll probably be the first body part I mutate to 5. Since skills can evolve at 5 I'm very excited to see what will happen when a mutation reaches that level. Will I be able to advance my mutations into some crazy new thing?

Any clues Gandalf?

...

Ah well. I shouldn't be surprised at this state. For all his immense wisdom the grey one has been very taciturn, or perhaps he's just shy?

A little extra advice would surely be helpful though...

Enough stalling. There isn't anything left for me to do but move into this new territory.

Moving slowly I more down the slope, leaving the shelter of the small tunnel and exposing myself to the open air of this incredible cavern.

Cavern isn't even a large enough word to describe this place, it feels like a fully enclosed world, like a biome or terrarium.

As I descend, picking my way through the rocks I strain my eyes to see as far into the distance as I can. Strange twisted trees, huge oversized mushrooms and a carpet of plant-life underneath face me everywhere I turn. The whole ... forest ... pulses with the now familiar ambient blue glow.

These scene is just so alien, for the first time I really think to myself, this is absolutely another world.

I nervously poke the grasses and plants with my front claw, snipping at them to see if they react. When they don't respond I move toward a giant mushroom. These things are easily twice the height of an adult person.

After a moments' hesitation I use my claw to prod it. After there isn't any reaction tentatively give it a chomp with my mandibles. What is this thing?

The stalk of the mushroom is soft and fibrous, giving way after my bite. The second my mandibles tear a tiny gap they immediately flare with pain and I pull back swiftly. What the hell was that?!

Where I've torn the mushroom a purple sap is slowly starting to ooze out. Is this some sort of acidic sap? Checking my HP it appears as if I've taken minor damage. Phew. Although it may seem silly to lose HP chomping on a mushroom, every piece of information I can gain about this place makes me feel a little more comfortable.

So the mushrooms have acid ooze inside them, do not bite.

Nice.

Feeling strangely encouraged by having my face burnt by a mushroom I begin following the wall around to the right, scouting the edge of the forest. I need to move away from the shaft in case the humans use it but I want to stay close to the rocky wall so I can dig myself a hiding place further around.

I won't feel truly comfortable unless there is a place I retreat to if I get into trouble.

After ten minutes or so I'm beginning to wonder just how many creatures there are down here, since I haven't seen a single one!

Is everyone asleep?

CRAW!

Well there is my answer!

A piercing cry blasts out and echoes off the walls. Like lightning I stuff myself between some rocks, trying to get as much cover as possible. A few seconds later I get sight of the source of that terrifying cry.

First one, then another and another blurry shape peels off the ceiling and unfolds massive wings before plunging down in the forest. In the distance I can see each of the creatures has a wide fanged maw and reaching, grasping claws on the ends of their feet. Seven of them in total have dropped down like comets and from all the scuffling and roaring they are clearly battling against something down there.

After a few minutes the flying monsters can be seen lifting up above the trees once more, but they seem to be struggling with something. Moments later their still struggling prey becomes visible as the flying monsters drag it into the air.

It's a massive centipede, easily twice the size of those I saw in the tunnels above. Its body is covered in savage claw wounds and it can do little more than thrash weakly as the triumphant hunters ascend with it in their claws, back to their hidden nest in the ceiling above.

SCARY!!

Chapter 25 New frontiers

I'm willing to admit it. I was a little overconfident. With my skills improving and my core being condensed, I was feeling quite strong. Not that I could devour all in my path but that perhaps I could hold my own as I explored.

NOPE.

Did you see that centipede? It was massive! Clearly the evolved form of the creatures I'd seen above. How is that fair Gandalf?! If I'd evolved into a mature ant worker would I be three metres long and two feet thick?!

How much Biomass is that thing worth?!

Not to mention, as soon as it exposed itself death immediately rained down from above!

I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd been crawling about on the ceiling or gone further into the forest.

I steel my resolve. I knew the creatures would be stronger when I came down here. I also understood the risk I took when I chose to spend my evolution on my monster core instead of boosting my stats immediately.

I refuse to believe there isn't something in this enormous underground world that I cannot hunt!

Advance Anthony!

Relying on my stealth and my superior senses I will survive!

Refusing to be cowed by the sudden display of lethality from this place I resolutely advance in to the forest.

Stealthily, of course.

As I move properly amongst the foliage, with these bizarre trees and fungi above my head I could almost believe I was on the surface, since the rock ceiling is too obscured for me to see from here.

The strange foliage of the trees is interesting. I presume the trees don't need sunlight to survive, since there isn't any down here, so why do they have these strange fleshy leaves? Rather than having many individual leaves the trees have huge, long ones that hang down , some of them almost to the ground. Most of the leaves are a deep shade of purple but others tinge into red, creating a remarkable display of colour everywhere I look.

Presumably these trees are gaining energy from the veins of light, I'm guessing now these are mana veins, that twist everywhere through the floor, branching into their endless patterns.

Until I'm 100% certain that these trees aren't venus ant traps I'm going to carefully avoid touching those leaves. It wouldn't shock me to see that even the plants down here can be deadly.

It isn't long before I begin to detect vibrations with my antennae. Crouching low, trying to take advantage of the vegetation that covers the floor I move carefully in the direction of the disturbance.

I can't chicken out, there is only one way to gather information and progress in this place and that is to move forward and seize my chances.

Like a stalking panther I keep my posture low and move in a wide arc towards the noise, my eyes watching every possible angle simultaneously. My antennae poke forward, sticking out of the brush ever so slightly, feeling for vibrations.

[Advanced stealth has reached level 2]

Fantastic! An advanced skill level up. It has taken a very long time! I assume that advanced skills require far more use before they level up than their basic counterparts. Thankfully this skill, which I rely on the most, has levelled at the perfect time! With renewed enthusiasm I continue to stalk the vibrations I sense.

I find what I'm looking for in the shape of a hulking Croca-beast! Why the heck are these so many of these monstrosities around here?! Thanks to pristine white robes of ascended Gandalf that it wasn't an evolved version!

I have to admit, I'm still terrified of these things.

This was the first monster I'd ever seen, and it was eating an ant alive when I saw it!

If ants could have nightmares I'd still be having them over that.

This particular Croca appears to be wounded. Across one of its arms there is a wide slash, dripping with green blood as well as a few other slashes. It appears this Croca-beast has been involved with some heavy fighting, the beast is breathing heavily through its massive maw of curved fangs.

Don't focus on the teeth Anthony!

This is a golden opportunity, a heaven sent chance. I'll never get a better chance than this to take on one of these horrible crocodiles one on one. This is a chance to finally put my fear of these creatures behind me as seize the bonus Biomass I wasn't able to get before.

Let's do this!

Before I can talk myself out of it I turn and blast the Croca-beast with acid. Come at me you giant croc!

My plus three acid fires out at lightning speed, splashing down the wounded monsters side. I was careful to aim the acid so that it would impact onto the wounds, hopefully causing more damage by seeping inside.

The furious beast roars with pain, its massive jaws wide open as it turns to face me. As it does so, POW.

Another acid shot directly into the creatures face! About half the acid goes directly into the creatures mouth, the other half blasts past the target, but I'm satisfied with the shot. How do you like that?!

If these monsters are going to keep letting fire acid directly inside their mouths like this I'm going to have to patent this move. The dreaded 'Anthony mouth shot!'... Sounds wrong somehow...

The Croc thrashes its head wildly as its throat burns with terrible pain. Combined with the terrible wounds it had already sustained this is clearly a bad day for this particular beast. Having decided on the origin of the ranged assault the Croc charges forward with its massive bulk, green scales glittering in the light.

Holy moly!

Quick as a flash I leap to one side, all six legs skittering as fast as they can do dodge past the brutal dash. The Croc has both hands out, long claws gleaming with cold light. As I attempt to dodge past it takes a massive swipe at me!

Slash!

As I leap to one side I can feel the air brush past me from the fearsome strike. If that had connected it may just be lights out! I'm afraid this Croc has more life it that I had assumed!

Focus Anthony, there isn't a way to back down now.

As the creature corrects it balance and turns to face me once more I turn my head slightly to get good vision behind me and suddenly brace my legs.

Fire!

The creature stuns me by predicting the move, lunging to the left as the jet of hissing liquid flies through the air. Smarter than you look eh Croc? Had it been uninjured it may have escaped completely but with its reactions dulled and its body not moving the way it wants, it isn't able to fully escape the spray.

The bubbling acid is now eating away at the monsters chest as well, in addition to the damage being done by the earlier two shots I refuse to believe the Croc has much more in the tank.

I keep moving, if I stand still the far larger monster will have a much easier time closing in on me for the kill. In a straight up fight it's obvious who would have the advantage!

The Croc is labouring hard but murderous intent is oozing from every pore as it glares at me, circling it from range.

Such a fearsome monster this Croc! Although it may be shorter than an average person, it is clearly heavier, its powerful frame stocked with muscle. Not to mention, to someone like me, who is probably only as tall as a persons' knee, this creature towers over me. The intimidation factor is real!

As if it knows that the clock is ticking against it the beast growls fiercely and charges, aiming to cut me off as I keep circling around it.

I have to dodge! But left or right?

All six legs kick into overdrive, moving so fast they almost begin to blur. I continuously feint this way and that, trying to throw off the creature as it rapidly advances, building a fearsome momentum as it does so.

As it draws closer the Croc rears back with its right arm, claws fully extended, if I take this head on I'm dead! Where do I go? My heart is pounding in my chest until I think it might explode.

But somehow I'm able to stay cool.

In a flash of inspiration I rush decisively in a direction the Croc would not have expected, directly into it!

The claws swoosh over my head, catching on one of my antennae and shearing part of it straight off!

The blast of pain makes me feel nauseous but I double down and bite hard on the Crocs leg, hauling with all of my strength and weight to pull it down before it can regain its balance.

[Bite has reached level five, upgrade available]

Not. Now. Gandalf!

Chapter 26 Conqueror

Actually scratch that, now Gandalf! Now!

[Would you like to improve Bite to Crushing Bite? This will cost 1sp]

Quick!

Before the Croc can react I rear back and chomp down on its leg once again, trying to inflict some damage and drag the creature off its feet.

As I prepare to bite, something shocking occurs!

My mandibles begin to glow faintly and I can feel a new strength building within them. Is this my new skill?! Some sort of active attack?! Finally!

When I bite down with all my power the feeling of crunching scales reverberates through my jaws. This bite is so much more powerful!

The success of my strike has shocked me, causing me to pause momentarily and the Croc leaps at this chance!

Sacrificing its own balance it turns and falls, swinging out with its tail and catching me a solid blow across my body!

BAM!

The impact sends me flying three meters! Once again pain explodes in my side but I push it away. I cannot lose this fight, I will not lose this fight!

I've taken a fair bit of damage from that impact, my carapace has been cracked in a few places and I think one of legs may be broken.

As I steadily pull myself to my feet I check my status, yep, HP has been cut in half!

The Croc must be suffering just as much. This is the final showdown!

Indeed my opponent is struggling hard. Suffering continuous damage from my earlier acid attacks, not to mention the internal damage from the acid to the mouth, and now my new crushing bite has caused a severe wound to its leg. As I watch the Croc is attempting to get back onto its feet, I won't let it!

One leg dragging uselessly behind me I stumble forward to pressure the foe, lunging and darting at it, not letting it relax and stand. The Croc has a newfound fear of my mandibles, not willing to let me get a good bite in it keeps swiping with claws and snapping its jaws, preventing it from standing up.

Time is on my side in this battle, as long as I stay out of reach I'll be able to outlast it.

The Croc knows this too however, rolling and twisting it flails out with its tail one more time, the long appendage whipping out with lightning speed!

JUMP!

With only five functional legs I leap as high as I can and pull my legs tightly under my body. Missing by millimeters the tail brushes the air beneath me, the incredible momentum of the strike throwing the Croc onto its face.

Chance!

Nipping forward I climb onto the crocs' back where it cannot reach with its claws or teeth and forcefully chomp with all of my force!

Don't hesitate just chomp chomp CHOMP!

The Croc struggles violently but I grip with all of my strength and continue to bite. Gradually the accumulated damage it too much for it take. It moves less and less before finally growing still.

[You have defeated level 7 Garralosh Infantem]

[You have gained XP]

[You have achieved level 2, one skill point awarded]

[You have achieved level 3, one skill point awarded]

...

YYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

Anyone walking past would treated to the truly bizarre sight of a monstrous ant, standing on the back of its defeated foe and lifting its two front legs in the air, roaring silently with triumph!

I manage to make a few grunts of male dominance.

Did I just absorb the dragon soul?! I feel mighty in this moment! I have conquered my fear!

That battle was so intense! I was driven to my limits, experienced tremendous pain. Actually, I'm still experiencing tremendous pain!

Ouuuuuuuch!

One of my antennae has been cut clean off! It stings Gandalf! It stings real bad!

I have to eat quickly and regenerate my HP. There isn't any more time to stand here posing.

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Garralosh Infantem, you are awarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Garralosh Infantem unlocked]

[Garralosh Infantem: Garralosh Infant, The young offspring of Garralosh, this advanced creature is powerful, beware the crushing jaws]

Infant?! These things are infants?! What the heck is Garralosh? Are all of these the offspring of just one creature?

Worry about it later, keep eating!

Stuffing all of my stomachs full I'm able to gain a further three Biomass from the ... Infant... giving me a total of four and two skill points.

What a haul!

After consuming the creature my HP has recovered to 23/30 as well, giving me some level of comfort.

I don't feel comfortable staying out here in the open. I decide to search for a section of soft ground and excavate myself a nest in order to rest and spend my points.

It takes only five minutes before I find a patch of soft earth further into the forest. Working as quickly as possible I dig out a small nest, digging straight down and then across to make an L shaped recess in the ground where I can hide. Not willing to take chances I cover over the opening to reduce the chance of me being spotted.

It's hardly a perfect camouflage but I'd rather have this at the minimum than no protection at all.

Phew.

I'm still coming down from the incredible intensity of that fight. I came close to death on multiple occasions but was able to pull through and win tremendous gains.

This rush and thrill are like nothing I've experienced before. I can understand now why some people are such thrill seekers back on Earth! But this goes beyond anything they could hope to experience, this was a real life or death battle!

As it exciting as it was, I don't want to get in the habit of challenging powerful monsters. I wouldn't have gone into that fight if the Croc hadn't been injured in the first place. This was a lucky encounter and I can't let my victory get to my head.

Now to spend my incredible wealth!

With my newly improved Crushing Bite skill I decide to upgrade my Mandibles twice, using three of my Biomass and spend the last one on upgrading my carapace to 1.

This will broaden my offensive options and provide a tiny upgrade to my defence.

After enduring the mutation process (I hate it soooo much!) it's finally time to spend my precious skill points.

Two skill points to spend, this is unprecedented wealth. My power is growing at an accelerated pace!

Checking my skill list finally I see all the skills I had before with one new addition.

[Dash: cost 1sp, Increases speed over short distances but increases stamina drain

Slashing attack: cost 1 sp, more accurate and powerful slashing attacks

Chomp: cost 1sp, bites pierce more and are more difficult to shake off

Mana manipulation: cost 1sp, basic skill to manipulate absorbed mana]

It's heeeeeeeeere!

Mana manipulation will open the gateway to magic powers! I couldn't possibly be more excited for this!

I have one more point to spend, I don't see the value of slashing attack, my claws are designed to grip surfaces, not fight with. Since my mandibles have seen such an improvement I will double down and take the Chomp skill to stack buffs on my bite attack. The chomp skill adds piercing power and grip to my bite attacks, with my shiny new 2 chompers and crushing bite skill I might be able to do some serious damage in a fight now.

Once again the warm trickling sensation engulfs my brain. Why is learning skills so pleasant but mutating so horrible?

Once all is said and done I admire my new status.

Name: Anthony

Level: 3 (core)

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 30

MP: 10

Skills: Digging level 4; Improved Acid Shot Level 1; Grip Level 4; Crushing Bite Level 1; Advanced Stealth Level 2; Tunnel Sense Level 3; Chomp Level 1; Mana Manipulation Level 1;

Mutations: Eyes 4, Antennae 2, Acid 3, Legs 1, Mandibles 2, Carapace 1

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)

Skill points: 0

Biomass: 0

Look at this incredible growth. My mutations are getting really nicely spread. It's a little inevitable considering the way the system is designed. If I want to upgrade my eyes again I need an entire five Biomass. For the same amount I could get two or three upgrades for other body parts, providing a better upgrade to my overall strength.

Now that I've reached this point I've taken the lowest of the low hanging fruit. My legs and carapace are still only 1 but I really want to try and get my eyes to 5. The main reason for this is to see what happens when a body part gets to 5. Will they be able to adapt or improve in some way, like my skills do?

Learning the ins and outs of the strange game like system that applies to me here in this world is the most important this for me to do right now.

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Chapter 27 Long roads

Thanks to my last encounter I'm finally starting to gain a little confidence in this new world. Perhaps I'll be able to survive and find my colony after all!

I mean ... I've always been confident! Heh.

...

All right then. Time to focus on the next task at hand. Along with my purchase of the Mana Manipulation skill some knowledge on how to apply it has been planted in my brain.

It's a little disconcerting to think that purchasing a skill is directly modifying my brain and memories. Exactly how intrusive is this system? I don't really have the luxury of being able to worry about it now, so I push any doubts out of my mind.

According to my new understanding, the mana absorbed by my body comes from the air and is stored in my monster core. In order to use that mana I need to bring it out of my core and shape it. Hence the Mana Manipulation skill. With this skill I'll be able to take the first step of using my MP to do something cool.

Time to make an attempt.

If I concentrate I can feel my core within me, sitting right in the center of my mid-section. It feels like a tight ball of heat, faintly pulsing with energy. That would be my mana. Before I attempt to draw my mana out, I want to have a firm image in my mind of what I want to happen.

Something simple for the first attempt, OK? Let's go with ... I want to release it as a cloud from my mouth. Just a harmless puff of mana from the mouth, easy.

Concentrating hard I focus all of my mental energy on my core, sinking my mind deep within myself. My core is still tiny, probably the size of a grape. I'll probably get chances to grow it in the future, my max MP is only ten right now, surely that isn't enough to do much.

My consciousness locks onto the core and then draws within. I feel like I've been transported inside a crystal world. Fractal angles reflect off in every direction. Within this space, the mana is floating lazily, turning in slow circles. Without anything to direct it, this is the state it will maintain.

I can feel the moment when the energy within begins to respond to me. Gradually it begins to move, to flow in the direction of my thoughts. This is so damn hard! Forcing with all of my mental might the mana moves reluctantly out of my core and through my body.

I feel the force welling up in my throat now, like water caught in my oesophagus. Opening my mouth wide a small puff of glowing, transparent gas is released and quickly disperses into the air.

GASP.

That was so fricken difficult! I feel exhausted just from that!

I get that my ability to shift mana is as low as it gets but I'm completely wrecked after just one harmless puff of mana? Magic is HARD.

Even more then I want to master it!

Quickly checking my MP consumption I see that I've only used two points. All of that effort for only two points is a little depressing.

Never the less, the more I practice, the faster my skill level will rise and the easier it will be to practice, causing the speed of my training to get quicker and quicker.

An exponential growth loop. The faster I get through these early levels, the faster my future my growth will be!

Summoning all my determination, I once again focus my mind on my core, trying to replicate the effect.

HHHHHRRRNNNNGGGGG.

puff*.

GOD. Gandalf this is ridiculous! How did you master these mystic forces? Do I need a beard and staff?!

I manage to practice another three times to use all of my mana but on the last my mental energy runs out and I don't manage to force the mana outside of my body, causing it to dissipate harmlessly.

I'm so exhausted by this process that I decide to have a bit of open-eye to recover. I wish I had some way of knowing how much time has passed, being born here with a smart phone would be way too convenient.

When I wake up I assume it hasn't been that long, possibly three hours. I'm guessing based on how full my stomach feels. Digesting all that Croc will take some time.

I've also regenerated six out of my ten MP. I won't bother trying to use it all up until I get back to full. If I were to make another three attempts right now I'd only be wearing myself down mentally before going out, which would be too risky.

Even after emptying all of my MP practicing I still haven't gained one level of Mana Manipulation. I can already tell that mastering magic in this world will be a long project.

I can only take on that challenge if I manage to survive!

Time to head out and scout!

Emerging from my nest I take a little time to conceal the entrance before I leave, covering up the hole with some dirt and vegetation. I may not even return to this nest but if I can create a few hiding places as I move around it will only improve my chances of survival.

With that job done I take a quick note of my surroundings. There doesn't appear to be any creatures nearby, nor can I detect anything with my antennae. Thankfully as I've been digesting my Biomass, the insured antennae has begun to regrow. If I continue to secure food for myself my sensory organs will be returned to their former glory, at the moment they are only running at about 70% of capacity, thanks to my injury.

I can't get too mad about it, I gained so much from that encounter, the price I paid was easily worth it.

The priority for this mission is scouting and information gathering, not combat. Unless I'm able to identify a truly juicy opportunity I'll be passing it up in favour of information gathering.

There's been enough risk taking for the time being!

Satisfied that there isn't anything nearby I start to move out, keeping low to the ground. The massive cavern is just so wondrous to me. Such a ridiculous amount of open space under the surface just doesn't make any sense. I mean, I'm not sure exactly how large caves underground were on Earth, but you could probably fit a city inside here, so long as you lopped the top off the buildings.

It just doesn't seem possible for it to be natural.

As I move through the undergrowth my eyes are constantly focused in all directions. I especially don't want to be paid a visit by those horrible gargoyles from above.

I notice that the terrain in here isn't completely flat. Here and there I can see hills and large rock formations, reaching up towards the ceiling. It wouldn't surprise me if many creatures made their homes in these places, nesting in a more secure location will always be safer but also invite competition. I think I'll skirt around them for now.

Now that I'm inside such a large space the weakness of my eyesight is once again weighing down on me. It would be possible for me to climb a tree and be able to see a very long distance if my eyes were good at focusing on distant objects, like a humans.

My compound eyes are fantastic for focusing on all directions at once, protecting my from ambush but they are not good at seeing things far away, even if the range has been upgraded by my 4 mutations. This means I can't get a good idea of the whole area at once by looking from a high vantage point or through a clearing in the trees, I have to move and get somewhat close whilst building up a map of what I see in my mind.

[Tunnel Sense has reached level 4]

... Which is exactly what this skill is useful for. By maintaining my sense of direction I can get a rough idea of what landmarks are placed where.

About time you levelled up, Tunnel Sense!

Some skills really do take much longer than others to skill up.

Wait!

Somethings coming... I can feel it through my feet and antennae. Possibly something big. Looking around I scan the terrain. The thick, pale mushroom stalks sprout straight out of the rock here and there supporting the multi-coloured caps above them. The strange trees take up spaces between them, their twisted roots creating a gnarled carpet, spreading out from the trunk and piercing into the stone floor.

I can use those!

Instead of running and perhaps getting caught, I'll need to rely on my stealth to protect me as I'm out scouting. This creature could have incredible hearing, or sense the air vibrations caused by my running. They could be incredibly fast and chase me down. I just don't know. Better to hide.

Quietly I move to a particularly large tangle of roots and slowly climb through them, concealing myself against the dirt and behind the strange wood. With careful positioning of my head I'm able to see some of what transpires nearby.

Thud. Thud.

The sounds of heavy footfalls is growing closer and louder. This is definitely a huge monster. When I finally lay eyes on it I almost pass out.

What the hell is this thing?!

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Chapter 28 True lords of the domain

An enormous, scaled hand reaches forward and grips the hard ground. Each scale is a polished, dark green colour that practically glows with the reflected light of the forest.

Vicious claws tip each digit, curved blades that taper into a fearsome point. What sets my poor heart beating the most is that each of these claws is probably the size of my head.

Thick, powerful ropes of muscle on the hand drag the rest of the monster forward.

The long pointed jaw, studded with teeth precede the recessed, chilling eyes of the beast. Many teeth can be seen even with that massive mouth being shut, giving the impression of a menacing grin. There is a cruel intelligence gleaming within its gaze, striking fear into the heart of every creature unfortunate enough to cross its path.

Across the back of the monster the overlapped scales are broken up by bony protrusions that end in spikes easily a foot long.

With its body kept curiously close to the ground, its movement is sinuous and swift. As it passes by I can see a second set of shorter, but powerful arms halfway down its body are supporting its low profile.

The creature growls and huffs explosively as it passes, releasing a sudden flare of red flame, causing me to almost squeak.

Finally the powerful rear legs come into view. It's clear from their positioning that this creature could easily stand on its hind legs should it choose to but has evolved in such a way that it can move swiftly and low to the ground like a crocodile on earth.

The monster is roughly twelve meters long from snout to tail.

Twelve. Meters.

That's almost forty feet. That's like four basketball hoops stacked on top of each other. That's almost the length of a bowling lane.

Sure that length includes the creatures long, muscular tail but...

ISN'T THAT TOO STUPIDLY BIG GANDALF!?

That monstrosity is so huge I could never hope to challenge it! What the heck is a giant like that doing crawling around up here?!

I mean, judging by the appearance this is clearly an evolved form of the Croca-beast (I just can't bring myself to call those huge monsters an infant). The crocadilic features are clear to see, but what I didn't expect was the extra set of arms, the breathing fire and the stupidly huge increase in size.

These things are so much larger than the Croca it almost beggars belief. Is it entirely possible that this titan is actually two evolutions away from the Croca?

Judging by the size of those scales I don't think my acid would even be able to chew through it. This creature is like a tank. Its weight alone must be several tons!

If there is anything here larger and more deadly looking than this thing I'll head back up and take my chances with the humans!

Vibrations shake my tiny legs as the tremendous weight of the monster continues to impact heavily on the ground with each departing step.

It's at this moment a renegade thought pops into my mind and I immediately move quietly out of my hiding place and begin to shadow the colossal croc.

For some reason I thought of pilot fish on Earth.

These fish would attach themselves to a larger creature, like a whale or a shark, and follow it around, keeping it clean and eating the leftovers. The larger animal gets a free cleaning service to keep it healthy and the smaller creatures get protection and food.

I'm not about to waltz up to this behemoth and offer to brush its teeth, but I may just have found an amazingly safe way to move about for the time being.

Safe Anthony?! You must be outside of your mind!

Well wait a moment.

Its highly likely that almost every creature around here is going to want to avoid this thing like seven plagues stacked on top of each other. Everything that doesn't get out of the way quick enough with have to get past the big boy before they could have a chance at me.

As long I'm not noticed by the croc, then I'll be extremely safe! Thankfully Advanced Stealth has shown its prowess in keeping me hidden, and if I continue to trail along and hide I may get another level in that skill while I scout around.

There are risks to this plan but they are manageable ones.

I skitter along in the wake of the titanic monster. Due to its sheer size it moves fairly quickly, causing me to have to move a lot faster than I can realistically keep up with whilst minimising noise, however the bulky creature makes so much noise on its own my pattering little legs barely register in my own ears.

For the next hour I continue to scuttle about whilst remaining hidden from my unsuspecting body guard. The bizarre scenery of this forest continues to astound me as we travel. At one point we passed by an enormous flower, vibrant petals wide open to reveal a gleaming jewel in the center the size of my own head.

I was completely stunned at the sight but the croc continued to stomp past, unmoved. I didn't get much time to inspect the flower, but I got some strange vibes from it. The petals spread in a dense overlapping fashion across the ground as the center of the flower faced directly upwards. Something about the way those thick, fleshy petals unnerved me, they almost appeared like a welcome mat, rolled out to invite a guest towards the center of the flower where the incredible diamond like jewel grew.

I also received an unexpected benefit when a large centipede suddenly scuttled out of some bushes in front of the Titan-Croc, as I'd begun to think of it. One of those large, evolved centipedes would be a tough fight for me, one I possibly couldn't win. To my new friend the Titan-Croc? Not even worth mentioning. Barely slowing down, the Croc brought one of its claws crashing down on the centipede, squashing it into paste instantly.

What surprised me most was that the Titan-Croc didn't even stop to consume the precious Biomass, not even pausing before it continued to advance. I remembered at that moment what Gandalf had told me in the evolution menu, that more evolved creatures received less Biomass from those less advanced than them.

Possibly this centipede was useless to the Croc.

But that didn't mean it was useless to me!

Its possibly a sad reflection on my present life, that I would gleefully run over to the smashed remains of a gigantic centipede to eat. The tremendous force of the claw had crushed the poor victim like a human stepping on a bug, causing the guts to burst out everywhere.

Errrrghhh...

Even I'm losing my appetite...

I won't give up the chance for Biomass!

Remember always, if you would ALMOST rather be dead, then you need to eat and live!

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Adultus Unguibus Scolopendra, you are awarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Adultus Ungiubus Scolopendra unlocked]

[Adultus Unquibus Scolopendra: Adult Claw Centipede, this branch of evolution of the basic claw centipede vastly increases the base creatures might, without providing much boost to cunning]

Interesting, this seems to suggest that there are other branches of evolution for the claw centipede? I ponder this concept as I quickly munch a bit more.

[You have gained one Biomass]

Right! I've barely consumed even a quarter of the creature before I decide my protection is getting too far away and I need to leave and catch up.

Just before I do, I notice something glittering in the remains of the Adult Centipede.

Just behind the base of the monsters head is a small, shining gem like orb.

Is this ... what I think it is?

Moving closer I grasp the object in my mandibles.

[Compatible monster core detected. Would you like to reinforce your core or reconstitute a monster?]

It is! A monster core!

I don't have much time to think about what Gandalf had to say, my protection is getting further away every second!

Reinforce my core!

The spherical orb immediately melts into thin air and a burning energy swirls through my body before being drawn down into my core like a swirling vortex. Faster and faster the energy circulates as it spirals ever downward whilst my own core grows hotter and hotter.

Eventually all of the energy is consumed and with my core still burning inside me I hurry off after the Titan-Croc whilst checking my Status:

Name: Anthony

Level: 3 (core)

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 30/30

MP: 9/12

Skills: Digging level 4; Improved Acid Shot Level 1; Grip Level 4; Crushing Bite Level 1; Advanced Stealth Level 2; Chomp level 1; Tunnel sense Level 4; Mana Manipulation Level 1

Mutations: Eyes 4, Antennae 2, Acid 3, Legs 1, Mandibles 2, Carapace 1

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)

Skill points: 0

Biomass: 2

Chapter 29 Croc Landing

New learnings!

So I'm able to consume the cores of my fellow monsters in order to reinforce my own, and this has the effect of increasing my max MP?

Fantastic! This means I'll be able to practice one extra time when I do my mana manipulation practice. It also means I've learned one more thing about the system that governs my growth in this place.

If I want to gain more and more MP then I need to consume monster cores to do so.

That feels like it would be a massive challenge though, in order for a monster to have a monster core it must have reached max level and spent an evolution on it. By definition that means the monster will be strong, not something I'll usually be able to mess with.

I was lucky this time. I can't expect I'll be able to gain more monster cores this easily in the future.

Enough thinking! Time to chase after the Titan-Croc.

Even if it isn't rushing, the sheer size of that monster means it moves fairly quickly and I really have to hustle to get back into my shadowing position behind the massive tail trailing behind the beast as it moves.

It isn't long before we finally reach the place this unstoppable beast has been heading toward this whole time.

The forest suddenly gives way and an open vista appears before me.

It's a lake.

A huge body of water, glowing with incredible light occupies a large clearing. After travelling for over an hour we have moved toward that center of this huge cavern, but something tells me we haven't even reached it yet.

This lake is easily a hundred metres across, I can even see small rivers and tributaries running off it. I suspect this lake is fed from an underground source, the water flowing up from beneath the rocky bed and then overflowing to create these small streams.

What really dazzles me is the twisting ropes of blue light that rotate slowly around each other in a slow dance within the water. Almost like a double helix pattern. These ropes appeared to be connected to the source of the lake and drifted around, pushed by some invisible current.

Mana!

I had seen this phenomenon before in the rock pool above but it had been far, far weaker, the twisting ropes had been almost invisible. Even so, the water had been suffused with mana, causing it to draw monsters from all over the cavern to drink and absorb the energy, trying to condense their cores.

This water must have truly dense mana in it!

Just like before, all manner of creatures had been drawn to the water source to drink and absorb the energy. Perhaps a good chunk of these monsters had already condensed their core and were just restoring MP they had used up, I would have to test that idea!

Within my range of view I could already see a huge range of monsters, some I had seen before but others I had not.

A large tangle of the basic centipedes is here, I think I glimpsed inside a slightly different one, something about its colour or shape but it was concealed within the writhing bodies of the more basic kind and I couldn't be sure. Perhaps it was nothing.

An evolved version of the Wolf Dragon cub is here, larger and more intimidating that before, it has what looks almost like a lions mane around its neck, thick proud fur that projects pride and status.

I could swear that the creatures eyes were on fire, it's hard to make out the details but the air seems to be shimmering with heat haze right around its eyes...

Surely not?

There are other creatures I've never seen before. A gorilla looking thing with massive, thick arms and a bat-like face, smaller monkey like creatures swarming and screeching around its feet.

Over there I can see a few of those gargoyle like monsters I'd seen descend from the roof.

Past them is what I believe is an evolved Thorn Lizard, not much larger than the original but looked more densely muscled and its spikes more menacing than before.

Another creature had the appearance of an armoured bison of some kind. Built with its legs low to the ground and thick plates of a rock looking substance protecting its face and back.

More and more I spotted new types of monsters around the lake, the sheer variety of them was dizzying. Just how many different types of monsters were there down here?

It was going to be a real pain trying to remember all off this!

Unfortunately, most of them look too strong for me to deal with, I'll have to continue to choose my targets very carefully.

As the giant Titan-Croca approaches the waters' edge the nearby monsters wisely create space for it. I can see the area the Croca has settled in is a large, flattened muddy zone where the monster can stretch out its full length and lap up the mana charged water at leisure.

It sure looks good to be the king!

Even with all of these monster types here around the lake there isn't anything that looks like it could go one on one with this guy.

What the heck was a Garralosh that could produce such fearsome offspring?!

Since the peace of the water seems to hold here as well I move a little ways around from the Croc and approach the waters' edge to get a taste.

zzzzzzZZZAAAAAP!

Wow!

Pah!

That tingling, burning sensation is back in full force! The difference now is that after the feeling floods through my whole body it then recedes back, like ocean water from a beach, drawing further and further in until it settled completely inside my core.

Checking my status I can see that my MP has regained two points.

Right on!

I take another sip in order to refill myself to max and then sit for a moment until the intense sensation fades.

Since I'm here at this lake and can essentially refill my MP for free, this is a perfect opportunity to train my mana manipulation skill. I can grind non-stop until hunger forces me to go out for a hunt!

Excited, I start snooping around for a place soft enough for me to construct a basic hiding hole and get stuck into digging as soon as I can.

I manage to find a good spot close to where the Titan-Croc is currently flopping, I'm thinking that the presence of the dominant monster will help dissuade others from sneaking about here looking for prey.

With my small chamber excavated I start training my Mana Manipulation immediately, bringing it out of by core and directing it to my throat, letting it build up before releasing it in a small puff of magical energy.

Phew!

It is still punishingly difficult, requiring fierce concentration on my part. Thankfully after my third attempt Gandalf chips in some moral support.

[Mana Manipulation has reached level two]

Hooray!

I've been waiting for those words!

I eagerly begin my routine again and there is a barely noticeable change in the difficulty of drawing the energy out of my core and directing it to where I want it to go.

One level was never going to make much difference I suppose...

However, with the support of my improved skills I'm able to completely exhaust my mana (and my mind) with six complete sets of practice.

Completely drained, I drag myself back to the lake and start drinking to refill my MP. It takes a while to do this since I find the experience of absorbing mana from the water to be quite intense.

The only thing I'm really disappointed in right now is that even though I covered so much ground when following the Titan-Croca about, I wasn't able to find the pheromone trail lain down by the scouts from colony at all.

Not even a sniff.

I ponder this as I continue to drink from the lake.

...

Wait!

If monsters from all over this area of the cavern have come here to drink, then there exists a possibility that members of my colony have also come to this location! I highly doubt a scout would pass such a rich mana source as this and not mark it down for the rest of the colony to come and get a taste!

This could be it!

Once my MP has been refilled I immediately start to scurry around the lake, tippity tapping the ground with my antennae as I do so (the severed one has continued to regrow and is about halfway back now, thankfully!) seeking the welcoming scent of my tribe.

Other monsters eyes me suspiciously as I make my way past but I don't pay them much mind, even accidently walking over a Wolf Dragons' tail without realising. Thankfully the monster was too shocked to react quickly and too reluctant to break the water truce to do anything as I continued on my way.

When I get halfway around the lake my antennae start to tingle with a response to the now familiar scent. It's here!

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Chapter 30 Juniors are for light duties

The expedition had been proceeding smoothly so far, something Mirryn was exceedingly grateful for. The royal guards and the Legion had cooperated in the clearing of the upper levels and hundreds of lower levelled monsters had been destroyed in preparation for the wave.

It normally wouldn't take long for such high level warriors to move through this area of Dungeon. To the higher levelled Legionaries this place was simply no threat at all, they could probably walk through with six monsters hanging off them and hardly take any damage.

To be completely thorough and clear out every side tunnel, every passage and all of the branches systematically took a lot of time and effort. With two forces as sharp as the Guard, who only accepted the best, and the Deep Legion, who lived for this kind of fighting, the task was done as quickly as it realistically could be done.

"Don't they look relaxed over there" grumbled Donnelan, indicating the senior Legionaries standing by the tunnel wall chatting and laughing together.

"I wouldn't stare too much if I were you, and keep your voice down" Mirryn whispered back, keeping her hands on her crossbow and her eyes on the tunnel, "Aurillia is rumoured to have incredibly advanced hearing skills. If they hear you whining you'll be digging latrines into the rock".

"It just doesn't seem right that us lower levelled trainees with weaker jobs have to do all the heavy lifting whilst the full Legionaries stand about and watch. I've launched so many fireballs in the last ten hours my fingers have almost burnt black" Donnelan moaned.

Donnelan usually wasn't the type to whinge and complain when he was on the job but fighting monsters and being on constant alert for the better part of half a day was enough to get anyone in a foul mood. To make matters worse, even the trainees were high enough of a level that they received very little experience for using their skills or killing monsters this high up in the Dungeon.

"Hold on a little longer you sook" Mirryn admonished, "we'll make it down to the first Expanse soon and set up the advanced camp. We're scheduled to rest once the fortifications are in place".

"Great, more digging".

Mirryn could only roll her eyes at Donnelans' continual complaints. She couldn't blame him too much. Mages who specialised in fire magic like Donnelan were often called "Blast Mages" because they were effective in wiping out large amounts of lower levelled creatures, Donnelan had been forced to work much harder than she had.

"How are you two travelling? Managing to stay awake?" laughed one their Centurions, Alexi, as he approached to check on them.

The two trainees immediately saluted. "Just fine Centurion!" Donnelan declared, his voice full of vigour, "I'm ready to serve another ten hours, easily".

Alexi snorted. "No you're not, in another hour you'll be snoring on your feet."

The well-built officer gave them both an encouraging slap on the back.

"Remember, for you and the other trainees this mission is a rite of passage. Expect that you'll be worked extra hard. By the time we're done you'll feel dead and reborn at the same time".

Mirryn winced and Donnel audibly groaned, causing Alexi to laugh again.

"Don't worry too much, me and the old fogeys will start to pick up the slack once we reach the first Expanse", Alexi leaned closer to whisper conspiratorially, "you may not know this but us higher ranked Legionaries are built to function a lot deeper in the Dungeon than this, it hard to show our stuff up here".

Donnelan choked back a laugh. "What? Because the monsters are too weak?" he scoffed.

"Nooo", Alexi drawled, "because the mana up here is too thin. The ambient levels in the Expanse is just baaaaarely enough. You'll see some good stuff then. Watch out for the commander especially, he's a living legend for a reason you know".

"Alexi!" came a shout from across the tunnel.

The three of them immediately snapped to attention. "Yes Tribune Aurillia!"

The older woman was glaring at Alexi with a heat he could almost feel. "IF you're done running your mouth to the trainees centurion, then I suggest you take the trainees to the supply cart and locate three shovels. We'll need latrines dug once we reach the Expanse!"

Donnelan almost wept.

As the two trainees trudged away, cursing silently at their Centurion, Titus was chuckling quietly to himself.

"You think I shouldn't be so hard on them?" Aurillia asked, one eyebrow raised.

Titus shifted his grip on the massive axe resting on his shoulder. Instead of answering the question he asked one. "Do you remember your promotion expedition?" he said.

Aurillia grunted. "How could I forget, you ground us into paste, put us back together and then ground us down again".

Her answer drew a fearsome grin from the commander. "Now you're one of the finest officers I've ever seen. We don't coddle Legionaries Aurillia, we liquefy them so we can pour them into our mould. If those kids aren't crying themselves to sleep tonight we haven't worked hard enough".

"And Alexi?"

"..." Titus frowned, "I'll have a word with our chatty Centurion myself".

Aurilla winced. After a 'chat' with commander Titus, Alexi wouldn't be speaking for some time. The healing alone might take weeks.

"Is the Royal Guard clear on their duties until the wave, Tribune?" Titus asked.

"Yes commander. We can leave protecting the Dungeon entrance and the upper tunnels to them. I'll have to thank the Queen personally when we get back, her Guards really know their stuff".

Titus grunted. It was true the Guard where highly skilled, but he wasn't sure it was necessarily the best idea for the Queen to send her most competent defenders into the Dungeon to manage the upper tunnels.

With all of the upper tunnels swept it was time to make the push into the Expanse. This is where the true strength of the Dungeon began to reveal itself, as well as its wealth. Monster cores were just one of the valuable materials that could be harvested from the depths, minerals, powerful crystals as well as the raw XP the monsters provided all commanded a price.

The deeper the expedition progressed into the Dungeon, the easier Titus began to move. After so many years of campaigning, it was difficult for him to spend such an extended amount of time on the surface. He wasn't built for up there, writing letters and managing the budget. With his axe in hand and the mana burning in his veins he felt much more comfortable.

Within the hour the expedition was prepared to advance further into the Dungeon. Titus positioned himself at the head of the caravan, leading his Legionaries towards the forest.

After ten minutes of marching with the occasional pause to crush a few monsters that came their way the tunnel opened wide suddenly to reveal the vast underground space that had been named the Forest Expanse.

The glowing forest spread before them in a wide arc, their faces illuminated by the blue light of the forest.

In orderly fashion the Legionaries moved swiftly to set up camp.

Earth mages moved quickly to raise walls using their powerful spells to create temporary barriers made of the soft earth of the cavern floor. The trainees were charged with unloading the supplies from the carts, erecting the tents and of course, digging the latrines.

Titus watched his troops go about their tasks with a critical eye. One hundred Legionaries made up this expedition, twenty of those were trainees on their promotion delve, the remaining were full Legionaries. Twenty five auxiliaries were also part of the force, responsible for medical aid, logistics and of course, the cook.

The Deep Legion would construct a forward fort here, barricading the tunnel leading towards the city of Liria and defending it during the wave.

From here they would also launch their scouting missions to locate the ant colony.

Suddenly Titus heard a monstrous roar from the edge of the forest. Bursting through the trees was a mature Lightning Fist Ape, its huge gorilla like fists thumping into the stone as it charged, full of rage towards the Legionary force.

The commander could only sigh. This high in the Dungeon it was common to see monsters with stunningly low Cunning. He was hardly surprised to see a Lightning Ape engaged in such a suicidal charge, of the evolutions possible to the spark chimp, the Lightning Fist Ape was the only one that actually lost cunning in the process.

In exchange they gained tremendous Might and a strong affinity to Electric mana shaping, which they usually discharged through their fists.

As the monster hurled closer the rest of the Legion showed no reaction as the commander stepped slowly forward. When the beast was directly in front him, its fetid breath washing over his face, Titus finally moved.

With one hand he hauled his famed axe, the enormous blade more a block of steel that a refined weapon, before he brought it down just in front of the charging monster.

When the axe impacted the rock there was a thud, then a pause, before a massive roar erupted, as if a meteor had struck the earth.

When the dust settled a thirty metre long groove had been cut into the cavern floor, the severed corpse of the Ape, cut directly in half straight between the eyes, lay either side of the cut.

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Chapter 31 Unwelcome guests

The trail has been detected!

It looks the members of my colony have been to this lake after all! This is incredible news, I could possibly just wait here next to the lake for them to show up and follow them back to the nest!

Staying close to the lake I tip tap my antennae on the ground and follow the trail away from the water. It absolutely seems like a solid trail has been lain down here. The more often ants use a particular path the more they will reinforce the trail with pheromones, making the trail more and more solid.

I don't think this path this path has been in particularly heavy use but members of the colony have certainly been here a few times.

I retreat back to the safety of the lake and can't resist a small dance of happiness.

Nearby monsters are looking at me funny out of the corner of their eyes. It probably isn't very often they are treated to some amateur ant freestyle tap.

My new family is with reach!

After being on my own in this Dungeon for days on end it'll feel so nice just to see another entity that doesn't want to eat me!

I'll get to see my Mother in another world, the Queen. I wonder how big she is?

I really didn't get to see my mother much back on earth, most of the time I'd been on my own. Hopefully this time I'll be able to help out a bit more and we can work together!

Gah! I'm too excited!

Need to chill, need to calm down.

It's important I don't forget where I am, this environment is incredibly dangerous. If I run about whilst this distracted I'll just get myself killed.

I scout around for a few minutes until I find a nice nest site and dig myself my now patented L chamber and close over the top.

Ensconced in total darkness I once again begin the exhausting process of training my Mana Manipulation.

puff*

The chamber is briefly illuminated every time the small cloud of mana is released from my mouth.

puff*

Eventually I exhaust my mana, once again failing at my last attempt, unsuccessfully directing the energy due to my exhausted mental state.

The road ahead is still long.

Once this is done I decide to rest, entering the state of torpor, the sleep equivalent of the insect. I'm getting more and more accustomed to this rest. Without closing my eyes, just going still and sort of zoning out for an extended period of time.

Eventually I wake up feeling much more rested and calm.

Phew.

Too many exciting development have happened here. I need to continue to take it slow for a little while and take stock of things.

My original plan of staying here to level up Mana Manipulation isn't a bad one, the added benefit now is that if I keep track of the lake there is a chance I'll be able to join up with a group of my colony mates and follow them back home to the nest!

The other option available is to try and follow the trail back to the nest on my own but I'm reluctant to take that risk when it may not even be necessary.

I'll stay here and continue to train up a few skills!

The other skill I want to increase is Dig. It may not be the flashiest skill, the best use in combat or indeed, particularly useful for anything really.

But I like it!

If you had to ask me what the fundamental skill of the ant is, it would be their incredible capacity to construct their nests and at the center of this is the ability to dig like a boss!

Besides, it is super easy to level up, all I have to do is dig about. With this in mind I start to make extensions to my small chamber, digging small, narrow tunnels in a few directions just a meter under the surface, diverting around, under or stopping a tunnel completely when I run into rock. For some reason the work is soothing, I'm almost humming to myself as I ship loads of dirt back and forth in my mandibles.

The ground here is particularly wet as well, I have to extend away from the lake and it isn't long before I encounter tree roots the buried stems of the giant mushrooms in my tunnels.

Every now and again I dig up to the surface to create a little ventilation and also just to scope out what is happening around the place. This mini exits also provide a nice place to ditch my soil as I go.

I get so engrossed in digging that I didn't even notice when the notification for the skill reaching level came through. When I stop working and try to think about how much time has passed I realise I must have been digging for almost six hours.

Level five Dig!

If only I had a skill point, I'd be super curious to see what this skill will upgrade into!

Come to think of it, I am getting a little hungry, it may be time to think about trying to hunt for some food.

I should also check to see if my colony has shown up for a drink!

Excited I rush back to the lake hoping to see my own kind there getting some refreshments but unfortunately it isn't to be.

There is still a wide variety of creatures drinking here but I can't see any ants amongst them.

Ah well.

Hopefully next time!

I guess the only things left for me to do is to either try and go hunting or wait and continue to train my mana.

Wait a sec...

What the hell is that?!

In the distance I can make out some shapes making their way over the crest of a small hill overlooking the lake. At that distance I can't see perfectly but I can see enough to think that I know what are.

And they aren't monsters!

Without a second thought I dive into my tunnel and start scurrying away from the lake and I don't stop until I make it under the roots of a tree.

What the heck are these humans doing here?!

Those were definitely some human shapes over that hill. Have they followed me here already?

That's way too quick! I came directly down a shaft, the most direct possible route, who knows how many winding tunnels they had to go through to make it to here?

Also, although I didn't get a perfect look at them, something about these humans didn't seem quite the same as the ones I'd seen in the tunnels above.

Perhaps their demeanour? Something about the way they'd looked? I'm not sure...

I'm torn, part of me wants to investigate but another part just wants to get the heck out of here.

Dammit! I can't just keep running every time I see a human! Even if they are super dangerous, I can rely on my stealth to protect me at least a little. There is only so much I can learn by following the monsters around, by shadowing these humans for a while I might be able to learn a lot!

Its decided then.

Deep breath Anthony!

Making my way down my tunnel I find an opening and carefully poke my head through. My antennae has almost fully regrown now, I'll probably need to get more food into me before it will begin to regenerate the final part. At least my senses aren't affected too badly.

Ok, the coast is clear.

Slowly I emerge above ground and enter full stealth mode, keeping my body to the ground and sticking to as much cover as possible.

Moving in a wide arc I aim to circle around the back of the hill where I saw those figures, keeping myself out of their line of sight as much as possible.

There they are!

I snoop a little closer until I can make out some more details, hiding myself in some thick vegetation with my antennae poking out.

There are five humans, all with their back to me as they gaze down onto the lake, or more specifically, the monsters grouped around it. With their attention focused away from my I take the chance to advance a little closer.

[Advanced Stealth has reached level 3]

I love you Gandalf.

I can almost make out the words they saying, although it doesn't seem to be in any language I can understand. They are talking to each other and gesturing down towards the lake. Oh wait, they seem to have agreed on something.

I freeze as the five figures separate and ready their weapons before one of them raises their staff and begins to focus.

Blazing runes form around the head of the staff start to rotate at an ever increasing speed until finally a massive fireball appears, burning brilliantly at the top of the staff.

I can hear the cry and roar of monsters on the other side of the hill as they notice this disturbance. It's almost as if the monsters are shocked that there would be any sign of attack here at lake!

Before they can react, the staff is swept down and the fireball rockets out of my sight.

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Chapter 32 Seeking but not finding

The fireball streaks out of my sight like a meteor, but I don't have to wonder what happened. Immediately a tremendous shake rocks the ground accompanied by a massive explosion, lighting up the area with a brilliant flash of light.

The roars and screams of monsters below immediately fills the air. That blast must have wounded quite a number and aggravated a heck of a lot more. I can see the other four humans are chuckling to each other as they brandish their weapons and begin to advance down the hill towards the lake, out of my sight.

The spell caster remains on the hill. I think its female? I'm finding it hard to tell, perhaps my eyes are still too poor to discern those details. She begins to prepare more spells, not quite of the same size as before, conjuring flaming lances out of thin air and sending them streaking into the monsters below.

It feels strange to see the peace of the lake broken in this way.

I mean, I shouldn't be surprised right?

Imaging that humans had come across a valuable resource, would they share it? If they had the strength to take and monopolise it, would they leave it be and allow others to use it? I don't think they would. They would lie in ambush and kill those who came. They would build fences and walls to keep others out. They would keep everything they could to themselves and grow their strength so that they could take and keep even more.

The monsters here in this place are very stupid. If we look at the stats in the system, I can imagine most monsters I've seen have a cunning less than ten. They can be tricked, baited and trapped easily.

For some reason they don't even think of taking and controlling the resource that is the mana lake. They don't even fight there, ensuring that they themselves and others can benefit. From a human standpoint, it's stupid.

Not to mention, what are monsters to humans anyway? Just resources, just experience. If I'd been born a human I'd be doing just what they are doing, right? I'd be attacking monsters and gaining XP, taking their cores to sell and celebrating.

But I wasn't born a human in this world.

I was born something else.

A monster.

And for some reason, seeing these humans here, breaking the peace of the lake.

It just really pisses me off.

I don't think too much, I just turn, take aim, and fire.

POW.

Sizzling acid streaks through the air directly towards the female mage. I've aimed directly toward the back of her head.

Splash!

The acid impacts a barrier of some kind, spreading over the surface to reveal a spherical, invisible barrier covering the mage and protecting her from harm.

Startled, the mage turns around, trying to locate this source of this surprise attack, but I've buried myself back into the vegetation, completely hidden from view.

I'm nervous that she'll be able to detect me using a spell of crystal like the guards in the upper cavern, but after staring hard at the terrain she returns her focus to the battle happening below.

POW.

Once again acid arcs through the air, splattering over the barrier. I can hear the acid sizzling as it tries to chew through that layer of protection.

The mage turns fiercely and launches a jet of fire from her hand, scorching the area behind her, sweeping the flame around like a flamethrower to burn away any cover close to her.

I'm not that close.

Still, the searing flames twinge my still healing antennae. Good lord Gandalf but that is hot!

I'm not even sure what it is I want to achieve with this intervention...

I just wanted her to stop bombarding the monsters below.

Well, mission successful I guess Anthony, what the heck are you going to do now?

The mage is observing the flaming wreckage of the forest immediately behind her, trying to identify the pesky source of these acid attacks.

However, I am not about to show my adorable face!

The mage is visibly irritated and not finding what she is looking for but her attention is dragged back to battle below.

Her allies are probably relying on her support as they fight the monsters and she cannot afford to have her attention diverted.

Now that her back is to me once more I take a little time to reposition myself, darting out of my cover to move slightly further away. I dive in amongst the roots of a nearby tree and turn to observe my target again.

She has returned to conjuring the brilliant lances of flame and sending them flying into her targets below. The lances begin as a hovering ball of dense fire before they streak forward, accelerating until they resemble a long spear of pure heat.

Just as she is about to cast once again I take aim and fire.

[Advanced acid shot has reached level 2]

Nice!

From this extended range my aim is less perfect but the majority of the acid still impacts against that invisible barrier, eating away at the mages defences.

What I didn't expect is what happens next.

With an audible shattering sound the barrier vanishes and the acid which had been covering the surface immediately drops through, a small portion of it falling directly onto the mage.

She cries in rage as the acid begins eating into her robes and stops casting her spells instantly, trying to brush away the offending acid and protect herself from further damage.

I actually didn't expect I'd be able to harm this mage at all, seeing my acid doing its deadly work against a human is somewhat more shocking to me than I expected it to be.

Without the support of the magic bombardment from above, I imaging the other four fighters below will be a having a harder time of it.

My main objective has been accomplished in that the mage has stopped working so I decide to try and sneak out to see what is happening down by the lake.

Moving carefully I emerge from my hiding place and sneak about is a wide arc, making sure I'm a good distance away from the mage and the path her allies would take I skirt around the hill and make my way back towards the side of the lake.

What I see is a scene of devastation.

Dozens of monsters have already been slain on the edge of the water, some had clearly tried to charge up the hill only to be killed by the mages' four allies without achieving anything.

The monsters on this side of the lake have already been routed, those prepared to charge and fight are dead whilst the more discreet creatures made good their escape as soon as they could.

The humans are picking through the bodies now, I can see them using long knives they had strapped to their legs to open up the creatures and search for their cores, cursing when their search fails or chuckling merrily as they pocket the shining, gem like material.

The mage has made her way down the hill to her allies and they laugh as she angrily speaks and gestures towards the hill, probably explaining the sneak attacks I had performed, causing her be to burned by the acid.

One of the others, a particularly large warrior looking type, pulls what appears to be some kind of bottle or flask from a carry bag on his hip and passes it to his wounded ally who gratefully accepts and drinks it immediately.

Healing potion?

Once they have completed their harvest of cores the five of them group up together and make their way over the hill, their silhouettes blurring into obscurity as they move further away and then disappearing as they leave altogether.

The edge of the lake and the distance up the hill are strewn with the dead and I feel numb.

As a former human and a current monster, what exactly is the morality of this world?

Regardless, there is a wealth of Biomass here and no monster would approve letting it go to waste. I'll eat first, then think later.

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