Chrysalis

I need to prepare. Granin's gone to check my draw for the next round and time is going to be short. I was up first for the first round, the second is likely to be the same. I've done what training I can to improve my elemental magic and there have been definite gains. The temptation to fuse them is real. I'd have a weapon in my hands that I could employ right away. The fact that the weapon would be so flawed is holding me back. It might be useful to me right now, might even help carry me through this tournament of death. After that? It'd fade in power quickly and become a waste of Skill points. I refuse to allow the effort I've put in go to waste! Instead, I'll use it as the foundation of even greater strength in the future.

All I have to do is survive.

To that end, I need to make use of the resources I have available to me right now, and the resource I have in greater abundance than any other is Biomass! It's itchy time! After the hunting that I did with Tiny and Crinis, the Biomass I secured from the Rhino, as well as the food Granin was able to secure for me here in my cell, I've piled up quite a little money bin of points. As I've already begun, I'm going to push my upgrades to +25 for the maximum effect I can get. With a little bit of time, hopefully, I can become accustomed to my new mutations before the fight begins.

Alright then, let's see what we need to upgrade. At one hundred and fifteen Biomass a pop, upgrading from +20 to +25 is so costly it makes by carapace hurt, but there's nothing for it. I want to get all my mutable organs up to +25 as soon as possible. I still have quite a few at +20 that need to be given that final push. My Carapace plating, my eyes, my antennae, my legs, mandibles … GAH! So many! It's going to take thousands of Biomass to get all this done… Luckily I'm getting some nice and dense food from this tournament I suppose.

I think the first thing I want to upgrade is my mandibles. My primary physical attack option and certainly a powerful one. I think the best choice will be to continue the emphasis of the mana channelling. The more types of mana that I become able to fuse into my mandibles the more variety I'll be able to introduce to my attacks. Being able to target the enemies weakness will certainly help me. When I eventually fuse the elemental Skills to create some powerful new Skill then I assume it'll propel my bites into a new realm along with the rest of my magic.

I'd better

Cursed mandibles, diamond mandibles(!), Paralyzing mandibles, extending mandibles and so much more. Making my mandibles as shiny as the rest of me is certainly tempting, I take a great deal of pride in my diamond exterior. The extending mandibles are pretty cool. A new part is added to my face that essentially allows the mandibles to extend outward from my head, increasing the range by almost fifty percent. I assume it would do the same for the energy projected by my Skills which would represent a powerful extension in my range. Alas, I can't allow myself to be distracted by these baubles. I have to knuckle down and

you wish to improve Bright Empowered Mandibles to Mana Flooded Mandibles? This will cost one

Although this means I'll become more reliant on my mana infusion for damage as opposed to raw physical power, I think the versatility will make it a worthy

give me a massive burst of healing without requiring me to form a mana structure in the middle of a fight,

best. My focus with the plating has been to increase its capacity to absorb damage and tack on a little healing. The idea is to increase the physical defence of my carapace to an almost unbreakable point whilst giving it some in-built healing. The trick here is, do I want more damage absorption or more healing? Hmmm. Last time I went with healing, so this time I think it's

with direct force. After sorting through the options, I decide to take one of these. The idea behind the

then move onto

not as thin and spindly compared to the rest of me as normal Earth ants would be, they're still very weak and not nearly covered by the same level of protection as the rest of me. Right now the limb regeneration is pretty darn quick, but not quite enough for me to be able to pop out new legs in the middle of a fight. I have healing magic now

helps to recharge and refill the gland faster when more ants are around me. This might make me look at faster recharging mutations as a waste, but instead, it makes me think of what Granin spoke to me about. Synergy. If I can stack recharge effects on my healing gland, won't I be able to repeatedly heal myself throughout a single fight, thus transforming myself into some sort of unkillable juggernaut of

Inner Carapace Plating to Braced Healing Inner Carapace Plating +25? Do you wish to improve Potent Regeneration Gland +20 to Frequent Potent Regeneration Gland +25? This