Chrysalis

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

ridiculous good luck I’ve had? It hasn’t been easy to survive to this point you know?! Where

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

the core which has given

to advance now into what is likely more dangerous territory than I

I’ve made the wrong choice, the prospect of being able

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

a second opportunity to amass skill points as an unevolved creature which could

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!

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

out into the open

place

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

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

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

evolve at +5 I’m very excited to

Any clues Gandalf?

...

at this state. For all his immense wisdom the grey one has been very taciturn, or perhaps

advice would surely

left for me

small tunnel and exposing myself

it feels like

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

first time I really think to myself,

grasses and plants with my front claw, snipping at them to see if they react. When they don’t respond I move