Chrysalis

How does one tier of monster stack up against another? It's a difficult question to answer, contrary to the expectations of many. "Bigger numbers are better, surely" is a sentiment I have heard repeated far too often and from those who should know better. It's amazing how easily you can find idiots, no matter the field. Walk into the highest centres of learning in all of Pangera and I assure you that there will be a blithering idiot occupying one of their most prestigious seats.

This is why I seldom trusted any members of the Shapers circle who weren't prepared to go out into the field and put their knowledge to the test. Just because you trust in the theory doesn't mean you shouldn't go and put that faith to the test. That was my approach and though my fellow mages were proven correct ninety-nine times out of a hundred, I learned so much from that one nugget that my entire perspective was able to hinge around it.

So, a tier five monster fights against a tier six. Who wins? Well, that depends on so many factors that the question almost has no meaning. Perhaps the most important factor, the one with the greatest influence over the result, is the respective strength of the cores. A monster from the second stratum can still defeat one from the fourth, even overcoming the tier gap, if it has a large advantage in core strength. The strength of the core reflects not only how much mana the monster has access to for spell crafting, or how much evolutionary energy was available to that monster, although both of those are massively important, it also speaks to how adapted to mana the monster’s body is.

The core is not just a storage container after all, it's so much more than that. And the effect that it has within the body of a Dungeon creature is immense. Monsters are made from mana, it flows through them, strengthens them, moulds them. A monster who has more mana flowing through them has numerous advantages compared to one who is more deprived.

And that is just one consideration. The rest could fill a book in the telling.

• Excerpt from 'Raising Monsters' by Granin Lazus

down onto the second plate, subduing the local population. It was a huge concern of ours that there might be a non-demonic presence to be found here, one that might object to our management, or indeed our existence, but thankfully that hasn't turned out to be the case. At least

securing ground around the pillar for the construction of a command nest in which the Colony safely occupy. When we take over a place, we really don't

Such a construction on Earth would have taken months, even when taking into account modern equipment. The sheer ludicrous mass of the thing,

wait for Brixin and her allies to appear. Perhaps I should have a little more tension about it, but I just can't summon the adrenaline right now. After flying through the air twice during the battle I feel as if I've bungie jumped from a helicopter that

act so casual when the trio do

expected, on a disc that they likely used to escape from the city whilst we were still busy hurling literally tens of thousands of MP worth of

with the most rules when it comes to conflict. Supposedly it has to be this way since, once upon a time, shredding each other for

begin to feel a little trepidation. The three of them combined could quite easily

I ask Al as the fiery

war is not a

Of course there are.

a sizeable force to respond to the first sign of aggression. Thousands of ants are converging on my

distance away, I feel a powerful mind reach