Chrysalis

At this moment, with my head filled with the glorious victory of the new super-ant race, I notice something a little odd.

There is a dull ache coming right from my core.

What the heck is with that? What on Pangera makes your core hurt? Do I have core-itis? Flu of the core? Seasonal Core swelling?

I’m unusually disturbed by this inexplicable pain. Once formed, the core is attached to a monsters life force. If anything where to happen to it I’m not sure how long I’d last!

Focusing intently on this feeling I try to analyse it. When I carefully sense the area around my core the issue becomes clearer, there is more going on than meets the eye. Almost like a lung that is slowly leaking, as time passes my core is slowly draining energy out into the air. Almost as if when my body tries to draw in mana there isn’t anything there and then I ’exhale’ mana out.

I’m losing mana!

As time passes the loss becomes more noticeable until I was stuck with this pain that I can now feel. It’s literally my core gasping for air! I need mana! Whilst the pain is completely debilitating now it’s only going to get worse the more energy I leak.

I suddenly realise that this must have been what was inflicting the Queen! Weakened and in pain by the lack of mana she had literally been bleeding her life out into the air until I had finally noticed something was wrong.

I can’t help but get a little emotional.

Dammit Mother! Just how self-sacrificing can you be!? Just because I’d said the colony would be safe on the surface you were willing to bleed mana from your core until you died?! Why is it the best Mother I’ve ever had is a giant ant?

Well now I feel like garbage. Not only because my core is increasingly pained but the guilt of unknowingly causing such suffering to a dear parent. I’ll make it up to you Queen! You’ll be the mother of the most successful ant colony in the history of the entire .. Wherever we are!

I’m not really sure if this is the same universe as the one I was born it, come to think of it. Something to ask Gandalf if I ever see him again.

Well now that I know about this problem, what am I going to do about it? The fact that it took a few days for the problem to grow this severe means I’m not completely unable to operate on the surface, I’ll just have to take frequent trips underground. Actually, is this the reason that Tiny has relocated himself underground? It’s possible that his core has also advanced to the point where he can’t sustain himself on the surface level of mana.

Sighing to myself I grasp my bag of unworked on cores in my mandibles and make my way down to where Tiny is currently sitting munching on some low level plants that leapt out of the walls and into his waiting hands.

begin drinking energy in a steady flow the pain in my core begins to ease. I can feel myself getting a little more energetic and alert as I stop leeching out my

home at something that Gandalf said. When he told me I might join him one day he suggested I might have a choice but to go further down. Is this what he meant? Every time I condense my core and evolve I’ll have a higher requirement for mana, forcing me to live deeper and deeper in the Dungeon? I guess this

about this. Obviously evolving is the best thing in the universe I should keep

....

Think about

and

time to hollow out a chamber for us to use, shoving the loose soil further down the tunnel. Once that’s done I ask Tiny to keep watch for me and rest a little before resuming my

Back to grinding!

mental power, grinding through so many cores in such a short time has pushed me

hundred

to monsters and grinding that precious xp to get to this point. How long would it have taken me

up. He’s at the same level of evolution as I am so it takes fifty cores for

reached max capacity for

Hue hue hue hue.

evolving and my core is already maxed out. It feels so good! All we need now is the special cores but there is no way I’m going to put up with that pain for an

would you get used to it enough that

head a glares at me with his dark

....

Never mind!

raise the skill any higher for the short term, so I take good nap, getting Tiny to defend me from the

I’m fully refreshed. Time to

of beans I push my way through the crowd of workers and come face to face with Mother once again. The giant

are

reaches forward to tap on my head. "I am well little one. The colony has been safe here, you have

shucks! I’m not used to this sort of

I beam, "I’m glad I