Chrysalis

Chapter 24

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

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

my hunch was correct and the monster core is the vital ingredient to mastering magic for me and my fellow creatures down here.

order to condense the core which has given me,

have to advance now into what is likely more dangerous territory than I have experienced already, those increased stats would have

I’ve made the wrong choice, the prospect of being able to use mana was just

up to five and evolve again? Which also means I’ll be able to gain

skill points as an unevolved creature which could allow me to gain more levels and skill points

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

I’ve regained full control of my body and shaken the dust off my mind as I reach the end of the tunnel. Beyond

a deep breath I walk out into the open

place is

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

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

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

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

Any clues Gandalf?

...

immense wisdom the grey one has been very taciturn, or perhaps

advice would surely

left for me

more down the slope, leaving the shelter of the small tunnel and exposing myself to the open air

isn’t even a large enough word to describe this place, it feels like a

as I can. Strange twisted trees, huge oversized mushrooms and a carpet of plant-life underneath face me everywhere I

alien, for the first time I really think to myself, this is absolutely

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.

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