Chrysalis

Chapter 2

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?

mean I

hold onto surfaces and objects without letting go,

savior! Truly your beard is the most luxurious, your eyebrows the

have some sort of help system built into the status to explain

with my six legs, including walking on walls and the ceiling? I totally forgot ants could do that. I'll have to

do my other skills do I

Improves the ability to accurately and forcefully apply a bite using fangs, mandibles

when digging

to attack from a distance using a natural

Okaaaaay.

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

crawl on the roof, dig and shoot acid? That doesn't seem like a lot of tools to survive in an

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

information I'll have to get

Hmmm.

so scary,

there with who knows how many unknown horrors as

Panic will not help this situation

is, what can I spend my points on

like to spend your skill

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

with my status, a window opens within my

Skill points: 1

Biomass: 1

to purchase

be spent to improve or modify aspects of

[Skills available to purchase:

improves your ability to hide

speed over short distances but

attack: cost 1 sp, more accurate and

and are more difficult

sp, improves sense

improvements available to

+1: harden your exoskeleton to improve resistance to mundane

and

Legs +1: improve agility

Eyes +1: improve eyesight

sensitivity to air

+1: thicken the

very difficult to

sense would make it harder for

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

have to assume I am close to the

I have

+1

like to purchase Eyes

Yes, please.

can feel a maddening itch burst over my eyes, like a thousand

Gaaah!

scratch this itch, I might poke

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