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

experience, all the ridiculous good luck I’ve had? It hasn’t been easy to survive to this point you

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

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

is likely more dangerous territory than I have experienced already, those increased stats would have

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

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

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

level four which will need to be advanced once they reach level five. I won’t even look at

body and shaken the dust off my mind as I reach the end of the tunnel. Beyond here lies the vast underground space

I walk out

place is so

death. To my left and right the walls curve

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

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

Any clues Gandalf?

...

all his immense wisdom

would surely be

me to do but

the small

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

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

time I really think to myself,

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

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