Chrysalis

The aftermath of a monster battle is a fairly gruesome place, especially when it’s ants picking over the field.

This area of the forest has a veritable carpet of deceased monsters. Black furred rabbits mixed with centipedes and the two wolf-dragons cover the ground. On top of them the ants make another layer, bustling with insect urgency. Their job is now the rather messy work of butchery. Most of these workers are still hatchlings, only a few having evolved into mature workers like me. This means they can’t carry an entire monster body back into the nest in one go, instead they are forced to break up the food and transport it in pieces.

All around me this somewhat distasteful work is being done, workers using their mandibles to carve away at the food at then lifting their prize and merrily sprinting off towards the nest in order to make their delivery as quickly as possible and return for more.

Even with over sixty workers here it is going to take a little while before the work is done.

With the Queen now having retreated back to the nest I’ve decided to stick around until the workers have completed their task. If more monsters come to act the vulture and try to steal our hard won prize I want to be here to help defend it. I didn’t work this hard and make the Queen mad just to risk losing everything we worked for!

Still, looking over the remains of the battlefield I feel a slight sense of accomplishment. Each of those monster bodies represents experience that has been funnelled into the workers already, fuelling their growth and bringing more and more of them closer to evolution.

As long as the colony can last until the next generation emerges then we will be in a tremendous spot, growing explosively and becoming much safer.

Tiny has already leapt from my back and started to feast, his little hands shovelling the Biomass into his face with incredible speed.

Slow down there little buddy.. You might get a stomach ache.

I’m pleased to see his increased appetite, the sooner he grows and begins to show the fearsome strength of the monster I took the core from the better off we’ll be. Recalling that his core came from creature strong enough to go toe to toe with a Titan-Croc makes me hopeful that Tiny will be able to exert that same kind of strength in the future.

With all of the monsters here focused on the Biomass I have a different prize in my sights.

There are a few large, evolved monsters here and I am desperately hoping that they will have some cores for me. I refuse to evolve without maxing out my core!

I move over to the two wolf-dragons first and begin chewing through them, not just gaining Biomass but also hunting for a possible core. My own core is deep within the center of my body and it has been thereabouts in every monster I’ve found it in so far, so I have to eat my way down to find it.

I gain two Biomass from the first before I decide there probably isn’t a core and rather than finish it off I rush to the other one, pushing a few workers out of the way in order to secure my place to hunt for that precious sphere.

[You have gained Biomass]

[Compatible monster core detected. Would you like to reinforce your core or reconstitute a monster?]

Bwhahahaha!

The prize is mine!

Mechanic skill I’m not willing to waste any monster core on practicing it

Absorb that core!

I can feel the energy flowing into my own, strengthening and enlarging it, increasing its capacity to store the

Excellent!

Anthony, there is more to

the battle and sprint over to where a few workers

Mine, mine, mine, mine!

the first monster the Queen directly cut in half, making it fairly easy to look for the core. After barely eating at all I decide their isn’t any core to be had and I hustle over the to the next

my worker brethren don’t feel I’m being too greedy ... If I can evolve with a fully

[You have gained Biomass]

you like to

Yessssss!

Reinforce Dat Core!

stretching sensation occurs as my core absorb more energy, growing more

what I was able to sustain before evolving. I kind of expect that this means I’ve reached

out. Crossing my metaphorical toes I move towards the remains of the Titan-Croc. The body lies leaning against the stump of

creature in one blow. The power of Forceful Mana is not to be underestimated! It may be a little cumbersome to use in a fight right now, but as I get more and more level and my core

My mind is boggling!

on the present Anthony! Control your drool,

the Titan-Croc. I almost can’t believe that it’s dead. I feel like the massive creature could just open its eyes and start wrecking

whole situation just feels so unreal I guess. It wasn’t long ago I riding on the coat tails of one of these

conquered one and will feast on

hesitate any further,

source of Biomass: Crescente Gula Garralosh, you are

profile of the

Garralosh this still growing offspring of the Garralosh has reached its development

What the hell?

the "Titan-Croc", is still in its development stage?! Exactly how

crocodiles are the offspring of a single monster? Is this thing

tunnels beneath this place, for all I know, if you go deeper you’ll find even larger open spaces than this, huge open areas the

So who knows?

try and prejudge what I might see anymore. I’ve been shocked so

[You have gained Biomass]