Chrysalis

Beyn stared at the notification in front of him in complete shock.

[You have reached level 20.]

[Your current Class: Antmancer, has reached its maximum level. Class evolution is now available. Would you like to evolve your Class?]

Finally! He'd finally done it! After all this time working alongside the ants of the Colony and assisting his brethren in completing their work, it had finally paid off and he was now the first who would be given the chance to evolve this sacred Class and see the wonders which lay beyond! O blessed day! O joyous occasion!

He wanted to run, to leap and shout his joy to the heavens, but he refrained from doing so only with the greatest of effort. He was currently on patrol with a mixed detachment of human and ants, sweeping away the monsters from within a swamp expanse in order to allow the Colony to return their aphid workforce in safety. It was slow, gruelling work and the humans were tired and drained. Even the ants were beginning to flag, their antennae drooping in a tell-tale sign of insect fatigue.

"Something the matter, priest?" one of the nearby human guards asked him, concern plain on the young man's face.

"Not at all," he quickly replied, not wanting to distract anyone in an active combat zone. "Please, focus on your task and I will ensure that my Skill remains active."

Indeed, the presence of the Antmancers meant a great deal to both human and Colony participants in these patrols, the buff it provided to any mixed group was invaluable and allowed even the relatively green guard force from Renewal to perform well above their level so long as there were ants nearby. The ants themselves also enjoyed the buff, though they needed it less, especially when clearing monsters from here in the first stratum. The speed at which they'd been able to sweep through the various expanses within their territory spoke volumes of the growing strength of the Colony.

"I think we'll be done here in a few hours," another guard commented to the group, her eyes never leaving the surrounding foliage.

Several of them had been injured by underestimating the plant life around here. Only the intervention of ant healers had saved their lives.

expanse," the first guard chuckled and the others laughed along,

the pheromones of one of the soldiers, a huge soldier the size of a small building who had been up

listening to words with his ears, to smelling them with his nose, it was always a struggle to

check with the antennae'd one." a

was his cue to step forward. The ants had taken to calling the order of Antmancers 'antennae'd ones' since they functionally had antennae, both on their

his own and the ordered thoughts of the mage intrude on

has been noted that your fellow humans have been making noise. Is something the matter? Can we

tolerated it unquestionably, but eventually they'd learned that deafening mental communication was not in fact the natural state of human mind to mind speech. This had caused Beyn no end

of

bow as he spoke to

were quite pleased to be referred to as 'worker' no matter the caste. In fact, to address them by any other name, subtly implied that they were not, in fact, workers, which displeased them to no end, [we are simply remarking on how quickly we have progressed on our mission today.

mage tilts

natural,] she remarks, [when many of us work together, we achieve far more than we could working without support. This is the strength

emotion roll through him at the ant's words. Yes. It was true. This path was so simple for the members of the Colony to walk on, it was their natural mode of life. Whereas others were riven by jealousy and greed, they instead had harmony and peace. He

half, their sweep had been completed. The monsters were dead, the expanse secure, and the ants began to escort their precious aphid cattle into the open space, planting them

the human barracks that the ants had constructed for them within the territory of the Colony. It was called a barracks, but in reality the furnishings and accommodation were far beyond anything most of them were used to. The comfortable beds, clean, fresh sheets daily and surprisingly delicious tea were one thing, but apparently at some point an ant had taken great fascination with the art of

before he could eat, before he could even wash off the muck from his journey, there was a task that had to be fulfilled! He couldn't even bring himself to pause and speak to his brethren, such was his rush to discover what

as he gathered paper, ink and a quill with his shaking hands. With all at readiness, he

reached its maximum level. Class evolution is now available. Would

Great One!