Chrysalis

I have high hopes for this upgrade. At the moment I can’t use my mana for anything other than practice, it serves no offensive purpose, and I can’t help but wonder if I’ll eventually be able to manipulate my mana into different elemental types eventually. If I’m right then this could be a massive advantage, even if it is a long way off.

For now, this upgrade will give me what I want most, which is a rounded offensive boost.

Choose Infused Mandibles!

ooooOOOOHHHHHHHH GOD!

MY FACE!

MY PRECIOUS FACE!

Once the mutation begins my entire face erupts with painful itching. It almost feels as if wires are tunnel through my head, connecting my mandibles and my inner body.

This is the WOOOOOOOOORST!

It takes a long time for the mutation to end. When it finally stops I feel like crying in relief and once again I’m forced to remember that ants have no tears.

But my heart, my heart is weeping.

Getting stronger is an amazing feeling but the process completely sucks. Having spent my mana and my Biomass it is time to rest up. I still have skill points to spend but I’ll keep holding them for skill upgrades and potential magic skills.

Time for a nap!

Without further ado I flop onto my side and begin to drift into the dreamless state of torpor. Tiny scratches around for a while before leaning himself against my back. Before my senses finally fade away I can hear him snoring softly behind me.

Aaaand UP!

With a jolt I shake myself awake, ready to take on another day of challenges! Since there isn’t really any hurry I make sure to spend the mana I accumulated whilst resting on more manipulation practice.

I try something different this time, inspired the Queen, that is to say, mother, passing on her healing spell through her antennae. Using my mind to control the flow of energy in my core I direct it out, into my body and up through my antennae. Eventually the mana is released as a brightly glowing wisp of smoke, drifting from the tip of each antennae.

I wake up Tiny, who is still snoring happily (is it just me or is he a bit bigger today?) and

any rush to get started quickly today so I

little white grubs don’t’ have much going for them at this stage in their development, no eyes or ears of any kind. They are totally dependent on the workers to care for them until they are large enough to spin

though. I try tickling them with my antennae and they start wriggling around happily, rolling away to escape. This starts a new game where Tiny and I take turns to roll the little guys back and forth as

Heheh.

playing around, time to go and secure food for the

Wait, I smell something...

to see the workers rushing about, extremely agitated. It doesn’t take long for me to work out why. The scent I detect in

is going on

forward, Tiny in his customary saddle on my back, rushing down to the

many as thirty workers clustered around her defensively. There is one other tunnel leading further down in this chamber and workers are streaming down it at the

forward, bursting into the

on guys? Tunnel collapse? Food located? Are we

a few minutes of running down the tunnel I get my answer, the sounds of brutal impact and flesh being torn are

We are under attack!

Defend the colony!

front line and smash our enemies to bits! How dare they

fellow workers litter the ground already but as soon as more arrive they throw themselves

seem to

clawed feet, their hunched upper bodies are grotesquely bulked with muscle, with almost no head or face to speak of. From the center of their chest protrudes a hideous beak. Instead

heck are

from further down below? They look like

don’t have the luxury of waiting, workers are being slaughtered as I

shoving and dragging workers out of my way I put myself at the forefront of the reinforcements. It’s difficult to see how many of these insane creatures there are since the narrow tunnel only allows two of them to fight at a time but I can

to take Tiny into the middle of this. I quickly shake my body left and right, like a wet dog, until I dislodge the little guy. He cries out

can’t do any more for

you

me to reach their immediate death

Slash!

strike but already there are more