Chrysalis

Biomass has been spent, food has been dispensed, traps are taken care of and Tiny is happily sleeping off his food coma.

The time is ripe!

There is something so exciting and freeing about being able to become a completely new creature via evolution. A human changes over their lifetime also, going from baby to toddler to child to teen to adult but the process is so slow that the change doesn’t always feel meaningful. Only in hindsight can you appreciate the different stages of your life.

I didn’t even make it to adult in my life as a human! After more than ten years!

I’ve not even been in my new world of Pangera for a single year and I’ve already reached my second evolution. If I were to line it up with the stages of human life, then I’ve been a baby monster, currently I’m a toddler monster and I shall promote myself to child monster!

Considering how weak the ant species is individually, these analogies actually feel pretty accurate to me.

Ok, no more stalling Anthony, time to go for it!

[Would you like to use the Evolution menu?]

I would!

[Congratulations on reaching the maximum level for your current species. Evolution will allow you change your form and increase your stats as a monster.

Warning: evolving will make securing XP and Biomass more difficult as fewer rewards are given for preying on creatures less evolved than yourself.

A special core has been detected, by advancing your core beyond normal limits special options may be available.

Your evolution options are as follows:

- Juvenile Queen (formica)

- Soldier (formica)

- Monster Worker Ant

- (Special) Command ant (formica)

- (Special) Mind ant (formica)]

What the heck!? So many choices?! I only had two last time, and one of those involved changing my species! Ok.... Let’s slow down and not prejudge. Take the options one by one and let Gandalf explain each one.

[Juvenile Queen (formica). A young queen of the formica species, this evolution includes wings and an egg laying organ allowing the new Queen to begin her own colony.]

Egg laying! All very Queen like stuff. Just one problem... one little query that I have... I’m a boy!

Wait.

How could I be so stupid? I’ve known this for ages. All

I’M A FEMALE ANT!

DAMMIT GANDALF!

who was a boy and stuffing them into a female monster body?! Is this your hobby? You lousy bearded buffoon! May your robes

Grrrrr...

are then frequently eaten by the colony. In this world I’m not even

I guess gender isn’t all that important to a monster. But still!

Queen anyway, to be honest. The wings sound awesome but I don’t really want to be stuck inside the colony laying eggs all the time. I mean... I may be

Next option.

combat oriented worker, this evolution includes +10 might bonus

route then becoming a larger, fighting oriented worker would be the choice. This selections seems to come without any free body upgrades but instead a significant boost to the might stat all

seems interesting but

generic Monster worker ant, this selection

but this time I would get two free choices of body part. Is this

be, I would be forced to abandon the colony and go back to leading the solitary monster life. I guess I would still have Tiny with me but I’m reluctant to take this choice. I like staying with the colony, it’s almost like having a family, something I didn’t get to experience

in it who won’t attack me

don’t think I’ll

for the real juice. Let’s see if the special evolutions

unlocks a new evolutionary chain a formica commander. With this evolution comes a +5 bonus to might and a choice of aura gland which would be tuned to

hype! A new evolutionary path of commander ant eh? The might bonus is nice but I’d get a free

all of the workers would be

One to go.

formica mind ant. This evolution grants a +5 bonus to cunning and a

Ohhhhhhhhh baby.

upgrade last time so a free boost is pretty damn attractive. Not to mention the magic affinity gland,

of the special evolution choices. They really do live up to the billing. I definitely plan to choose one of the special options, they both give me options that are extremely tempting and hard to come by, with the added bonus of not removing my formica species tag, so I don’t have to risk

which one

and the aura bonus is so tasty, the idea of being an incredible ant general, leading troops into battle is so appealing my heart is thumping just

giving me a free affinity to boot. I could be spitting fireballs or lightning, or goodness

Gah!

This is hard!

effect only when I’m with the rest of the

have a magic affinity organ for healing magic... making her the ideal support mage. I could do something similar possibly, or I could

I just can’t decide!