Chrysalis

GAAAAAAAH!

The itching continues for a good long while and this time I can actually see my own mandibles changing shape during the process. They being longer, more vicious looking and heavier. To compensate for the increased weight the muscle density in my face is also shifted as part of the mutation, causing even more itching to consume me.

After flailing around on the ground for five minutes the feeling finally fades away and scrabble back onto my legs, try to retain my dignified pose before once again hitting up the menu for more mutations.

As much as I hate the feeling, I have to mutate! Mutate or die! I didn't spend those days eating dumb plants because I needed a fibre boost.

Now I have a single body part at +10 and all of the rest at +5. I don't have nearly enough to upgrade everything. To take one body part from +5 to +10 will cost me 40 Biomass and I only have 53 left. That means I'll be able to take one more part to max level and one more to +7.

…

I have to admit… I'm quite disappointed by that. I spent all of that time trying to fill myself with food, eating until I was practically a bouncy ball rolling around on the floor and it only gets me this far!? Two body parts at +10?!?!

I'm very tempted to go back down into the Dungeon for another few days to pile up more Biomass. I haven't been able to get nearly enough!

A small part of me regrets not eating those humans when I had the chance. I wouldn't be in this position if I hadn't gained all of those levels without eating anything at the same time! Still …. Eating humans is not quite right with me.

Sighing internally I'll just have to power forward as is. The urge to evolve is strong within me. I'll just have to make sure I dedicate a significant chunk of time to bringing my mutations up afterwards. Tiny and I will need to go much deeper and expand our shortcut into the lower reaches.

Perhaps after evolving we'll be able to press into the boundary of the second strata!

The Queen told me how the surface people have roughly divided the Dungeon into layers. The top layer goes about one fifty kilometres down and is called the first strata or the layer of beasts. By far the smallest of the strata and containing the weakest monsters, the first strata is populated mostly by beast type monsters, mutated and powerful versions of animals found on the surface living normally. Lions, tigers, pigs, centipedes and also plant types. Ants are rarely found I was told and mostly right at the edge, between 45 and 50 kilometres down.

The second Strata is much larger and known as the layer of nightmares. The Queen was a little less forthcoming with information about this layer, either because she didn't know it or was trying to hide it. Apparently this layer extends from 30 kilometres to over 200 down. The Queen wasn't able to tell me exactly how far down it went.

creatures that defy nature and reality. They can employ bizarre mind bending magic and some of the most powerful species are able to utilise space

beasts, even Crinis

from the second strata I was extremely excited to see what she would be capable of in the future after

Queen couldn't tell me much at all, not even how deep it is. All she could say was that it is called the layer of demons and in this area of the world nobody knows much about it. In older, more established and powerful empires they are able to delve that far but the Queen claimed to have never met anyone who had been

get in touch with the

Time

I get that, but having upgraded my mandibles, the carapace seems to be the next

to upgrade Carapace to +10? This will

Hit me!

you can choose a mutation advancement,

Gimme dat menu!

flexi-carapace

here. My carapace is for defence, to absorb damage and make me an unkillable, unstoppable ant monster. That

at options that

handy since the Diamond carapace is already hard to crack, any damage caused to it closing itself over

of elemental resistance carapace options but I reject them out of hand. The element specific road has been sealed by me long

there any upgrades to Diamond

Aha!

Carapace. Solidifies the carapace and increases resistance

Carapace. Can

abilities by absorbing light?! Man that sounds

hardened Diamond Carapace sings to my heart the loudest. A straight up boost to my defence. I'll take

I'm at it I'll upgrade my eyes to +7, better vision hasn't

Carapace to +10