Chrysalis

Ah mutating. The subtle joy of making some selections within your mind and then having your body literally transform into a better and more capable version of itself. Not only is it mega-convenient, it's super addictive. The feeling of constant improvement is just fantastic. So it's with a giddy joy in my heart that I start perusing the menus and looking over my status, trying to decide which of my many organs and body parts needs to be upgraded next. Obviously it's an important decision, we have a big fight coming up, multiple tier seven opponents will be present in the city, so I'll need to be at my combat peak.

But then, what entails the combat peak? My carapace and mandibles are upgraded, that's fantastic, obviously, but what comes next in terms of offensive and defensive priority? Is it my legs? Speed is always good and they harden up a little when I mutate them, which reduces the chances of going without limbs, which has been a recurring issue. No wonder the way ants fight each other on Earth was to pull the legs off. It's a low blow, but it's effective as well. The weakness was the legs all along.

So legs are an option. My regenerative plating is another strong contender. Tier seven demons are going to be able to put some serious hurt on my carapace, I've no doubt, so being able to absorb some of that impact and regrow my diamond covering that much faster would be a boon. But then again, there's the mental edge. I could upgrade my brains rather substantially with this Biomass or I could improve the coordination cortex and give each of my brains a small boost that way.

There's always the gravitational mana gland as well, now that I think about it. A big ol’ gravity bomb is what got me out of the last fight against a tier seven alive and if I'm being honest, it's going to be my trump card going into this one as well. Having more gravity mana on hand to throw about sure doesn't hurt.

Of course, improving my nervous system would also be a wise investment. I took my antennae all the way to +30 last time around, so it would make a lot of sense to go ahead and improve this now so I can keep up with what my future sense is telling me.

Gah! So many decisions!

well spread the love out rather than concentrate it in one place. I'll improve my coordination cortex. That'll give each of my brains a small but noticeable boost and help me on the magical side of things. I'll also improve the gravitational mana gland. Each improvement gives greater capacity, faster regeneration and so on, but

reflexes are, especially when combined with my future sense, Grokus showed me that I can't always rely on being able to dodge away, even against foes as ponderous as he was.

carapace plating has a mix of mutations so far, aimed at improving its ability to absorb forceful blows as well as healing the carapace above. I think I'll look at emphasising the former rather than the latter. The healing

organ or element to repair damage to the carapace on the fly. Even those diamond bugs I was offered last time… I'm not especially comfortable with having little parasites inside my carapace, but if they can strengthen and repair it,

to make the diamond

done my upgrades

Inner Carapace Plating +25 -> Fortified Healing

Cortex +25 ->

Magic Gland +25 -> Forceful Unending