Chrysalis

One of the things I learned from the human Queen is the value of monster cores to their society. They use them for enchantments, magical engineering, powerful weapons, armour, training magicians, jewellery and more. Cores are an integral part of industry on the surface, their ability to absorb mana from the atmosphere and then channel it cannot be replicated. In wealthy circles cores could even be considered a separate form of currency, valuable everywhere civilised enough to conduct trade.

I was also disturbed to learn of the market for monster body parts, using hides, shells, claws and even organs to make equipment, potions or even building materials! Apparently the Queens throne room is buttressed by columns carved from several massive spines extracted from the monsters who dominated this region before their death.

Hearing about the incredible value attached to the body parts of my own kind made me somewhat queasy. I do have to admit that my diamond carapace would make a fairly cracking set of armour…

Don't think about it Anthony! Just because you're a monster doesn't mean you are going to wind up with your head mounted on some wall, your core hung around a duchess' neck and your carapace turned into a truly sweet set of defensive gear. They might get the Anjanath, but not this ant!

That shall not be the fate of me, or my colony!

If anything the conversation with the Queen emphasised again and again the danger of the surface people to me and my family. Truly, humanity is the real monster! I'm super reluctant to enter into any sort of deal with this kingdom. Packing up the colony and rushing into monster territory sounds like the safest and best place for us ants to go!

But… the wealth!

So… many…. CORES.

I could pump the core of all of my pets and myself to max, special cores included! I could do the same for the Queen! I could grind my core engineering to the next level easy.

Hundreds of cores are on the table here! Not two or three, hundreds!

It's almost certainly a trick in some way.

The Queen has no options available to her, that much is clear, but would a wise and savvy Queen really be prepared to hand a portion of her nations wealth to a marauding band of monsters?

Unlikely.

I won't be able to extract value. Is it risky? For sure. The reward though ….. My mandibles are twitching as I ponder that sweet, sweet

I better go check on the real

new seat I scuttle over to the farm and head down to check things out. What meets me at the bottom is a veritable seething mass of ants. Workers are climbing all over each

can see a separate, smaller masses of ants and just when I'm wondering what is going on I see a few workers break off from their smaller groups and walk back to the main mass with

the workers are piling onto every monster the second it comes out of the walls, ripping them apart in their desperation to ensure the Queen

I supposed to talk to the Queen

keep her safe but holy heck fam! You've really gone all

the workers have even made a carpet layer underneath the Queen, squashing their bodies low to the ground to keep a vigilant eye on the ground. If a monster were to burst out of the ground these workers would rather place their own bodies

way through the workers until I manage to come face

The little ant sits

doing mother?" I ask

slowly shifts her

am … better"

voice sounds less thin than it did, some of the warmth that I remembered has returned as well as a little of her vigour. Flicking on my mana sense momentarily I can see that her core is more energetic than in

the Dungeon" I ask hesitantly, "Do

Queen looks at me

not know,

though. It's possible that the monsters with advanced cores, like the Queen, need to

gradually leaking strength? Growing weaker every passing day?! And of course she doesn't say

they could my eyes would be tearing up! THIS is the sacrifice a real Queen makes! No schemes here, just loyal service. Not

been able to cast any