Chrysalis

There is so much information contained within this core. It's hard to describe exactly how my mind perceives it. I feel as if there is a massive filing cabinet full of data, numbers and values under my antennae, but I can't open all of the drawers.

I can sense that there are things I don't have access to, things beneath the surface that my current level of skill won't allow me to influence, but this is a big development! Using this skill, it would possible to custom design your own monsters! Tweaking every body part and stat, potentially even their behaviour!

Eagerly I give it a try. I'll do something simple to start with… I'll take the instructions regarding the statistics and I'll shift them slightly, swapping points from might to toughness. Simple.

How hard can this be? Let's try it!

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRUNNNNNNGGGGAAAFLOOEY!!!

Are you kidding me!?

As soon as I attempt to exert my mind and change the instructions I can feel powerful resistance against my will. The information recorded in the core does NOT want to change. Only by a supreme effort of mind was I able to shift it ever so slightly and then grip the change tight in my mind, refusing to let it return back to what it was before.

After holding my change in place for a few seconds it gradually settled and became stable, the new normal for this monster core.

Holy munching mandibles that was difficult!

To be honest, if I handed upgraded my will and cunning I'm not even sure that I would have been able to do it at all. Clearly the path of core manipulation is just as draining as that of magic, requiring extremely potent mental resources in order to use these skills effectively.

it at level five will reveal more secrets

Heh.

CRASH!

to drop in! Dashing towards the source of the noise I see that there are several workers already ahead of me, rushing towards the scent of prey. The hatchling workers look even

to scrape xp and Biomass

worry little guys! Together we

solid crowd of them chomping on the Biomass before long. I manage to snag a chunk and give it to Tiny before returning to

finished burying the core when I am disturbed by yet another crashing sound.

a time when the traps are swarming with workers, many of them working over the

from all of the vines and branches. I wince

the fury

reason the traps seem quite

sneak a few mouthfuls myself. I don't gain any points from it

start to reset them, covering over the opening with layers of branches vines and vegetation until they blend fairly well with the

the dirt and into the open. There

through the air and the snarling, furious impacts of battle can be heard in almost every direction. Where the

the area I feel it's even more important that the colony keep a low profile. Even if they are enormous for ants and even if there are hundreds of them, the colony does not have the strength to fight off

plan is working well for the moment, no need

fact, the pitfall trap is working even better than I'd anticipated. With a steady stream of workers scrabbling around the trap network, attracted by the calls to battle and food trails, I'm not really needed to help them win the individual

set I can trust that the workers will be able to handle the situation on their own. The only problem I can imagine is if the workers start to climb out of the pitfalls and explore the forest above, potentially attracting monsters that