Chrysalis

After delivering the Biomass to the surface and marking it with pheromones so the colony will pick it up we return back down to the entrance, making sure to conceal it once again. I feel good knowing that all of this Biomass is going to bring the Queen closer to upgrading all of her egg production organs and laying the first generation of the new workers!

For that happy occasion to come to pass we need to work hard! Get to it Anthony! Protect the colony! Kill the invaders!

Once we get back down we backtrack up the tunnel check out the branching paths off this main tunnel. After two hours of meticulous searching we come up with nothing... no tracks, no monsters no nothing.

It seems like that deadly ’wave’ of monsters only came up the tunnel we were in... it seems like too much of a coincidence to write off as luck. There must be something about this tunnel in particular...

After resting briefly (I get Crinis to hop off briefly so I can stretch my legs) I decide that we will venture further down and explore this tunnel a little deeper. We aren’t that far down here, if there is any serious action happening it’s surely going to be deeper than this.

The four of us gird ourselves and begin to venture deeper into the Dungeon.

As we descend I can really feel the difference in the mana. It’s certainly more dense than it was when we fled the Dungeon at the start of the wave, no doubt about it. I think the wave has clearly moved into a new phase as stronger monsters with longer gestation periods are forming in the walls now. On the one hand it means they aren’t popping out every few minutes but on the other it means a stronger fight when they are finally formed.

All in all its slightly better than it was before but not by much.

Still, this change leads me to conclude that something weird is going on in the Dungeon, and I don’t like it. The monsters become tougher as we descend, even if they aren’t necessarily a higher tier of creature. Something I’ve noticed during my time is that even creatures of the same species are often found lower down if they are a higher level. Perhaps it’s a natural instinct of monsters to move lower the stronger they get?

Certainly I have a good reason to be inside the Dungeon, with my core draining until I die if I don’t have access to the sweet, sweet mana.

Whilst we travel I start practicing the formation of the water mana transformation construct. It’s far simpler that the Mind Magic one so it doesn’t take long for me to start making progress. I wonder if this is how human mages train, by repeatedly forming these constructs they get good enough to form them at high speeds so they can cast spells?

It makes sense I suppose. I’m cheating in many ways, since rather than improve my mind through exercises and repeated practice I simply upgraded my brain during the evolution process...

Ha! This is the advantage of monster kind! This is my consolation for having to eat guts and bones all the time without any seasoning!

I let Tiny resume his monster slapping role as we explore, filling in my Tunnel map and tracing the side tunnels a ways when they appear. I wonder if there is an expanse down here somewhere? From what I’ve been told of the Dungeon they appear fairly regularly at various depths. The forest expanse was only unusual for how close it was to the surface. The various expanse are almost like the organs of the Dungeon, the vital ecosystems that keep it running. The connecting Tunnels are like the veins, allowing monsters and mana to flow between them. At least that’s how the Queen phrased it.

It isn’t really a question of is there an expanse down here somewhere but where it is. It may be straight down or off to one side of us. No matter what, all main tunnels will eventually connect to an expanse, so as long as we trace them out we are going to find one.

About twenty minutes later I finally succeed in forming my first water mana transformation construct!

Whoo!

My upgraded brain has already succeeded! Perhaps this

to try

I start feeding some raw mana into the construct and it begins to perform it’s intricate dance, working its special alchemy

So exciting!

the other with feeding a constant stream of raw mana

First.. The bolt!

use the mana to weave the familiar shape until a shimmering blue bolt is formed

Fire!

Fwoosh!

forwards and impacts against a nearby rock formation where it explodes! Water flies everywhere and the stone partially crumbles under

Holy heck!

So nice!

Let’s try the spear!

shape but the spell doesn’t seem to want to

....

Wha?!

the heck did that

the spell simply won’t come together and if I try to force it then it just breaks and dissolves

GAH!

aside for a moment and try

and exhaust my mind so randomly... what other

..... Hmm...

different spells in my mind before settling

within a cylinder and both are engraved with elaborate patterns and signs. Not the worst thing I’ve

the construct and ten minutes later it’s finally

up and see

Fire!

FOOM!

water appears from above my head and blasts forward as if shot from a fire hose! Holy Moly! The