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.]

Just one problem... one little query that I have... I’m a boy! Why the heck do

Wait.

known this for

I’M A FEMALE ANT!

DAMMIT GANDALF!

it funny?! Huh?! Taking someone who was a boy and stuffing them into a female monster body?!

Grrrrr...

be that good. Male ants basically mate with a Queen and then crawl away to die, acting like disposable fertilisation machines who are then frequently eaten by the colony. In this world I’m not even sure male ants exist at all. The queen seems to be doing just fine without mating, laying eggs at a steady rate. I’m

important to a monster. But

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 moving away from my humanity but laying eggs

Next option.

a larger, more combat oriented worker, this evolution

the

but let’s move

species formica and becoming a generic Monster worker ant, this selection allows two free body part

time I would get two free choices of body part. Is this because my species would change but generally everything

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

in it who won’t attack me is

don’t think I’ll take this

see if the special

this evolution comes a +5 bonus to

eh? The might bonus is nice but I’d get a free aura effect to buff nearby workers?! That is super

the colony all of the workers would be stronger? Oh boy, that is

One to go.

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

Ohhhhhhhhh baby.

is also tasty! Cunning was freakin’ expensive for me to upgrade last time so a free boost is pretty damn attractive. Not to mention the magic affinity gland, would that let me produce one kind of force naturally? Like how Tiny can make lightning or the

they both give me options that

one to

being an incredible ant general, leading troops into battle is

I could be spitting fireballs or lightning, or

Gah!

This is hard!

with other ants, since the aura will be able to show its full effect only when I’m with the rest of the workforce, whereas the mind ant will be more

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!