Chrysalis

Suffer not the termite to live.

• Excerpt from 'Wisdom of the Eldest'

[No, we don't need to get settled or any such thing. We came to kill termites, lead us to the front, we are keen to begin the work,] I tell the Grove Keeper, who seems a little disconcerted.

[You should adapt to the mana level before fighting,] he warns me, his slow, deep tones ringing in my head. [You aren't used to what it's like on this level. It can affect this in strange ways.]

He's not wrong about the mana level, it feels as if it's so thick I could swim in it. My legs are on fire, sucking incredibly dense energy out of the ground, which isn't even the Dungeon, I'm just pulling it from the roots of the Mother Tree! What it feels like to actually step on the Dungeon floor where the veins are present… I can't begin to imagine.

[My people hunger to taste termite and even I may not be able to hold them back,] I confess to the large wooden figure, [it is best that you lead us to the enemy, otherwise we will run there on our own.]

He frowns down at me.

your

never seen an insect fight another insect? Best

came beneath the surface and amongst the roots of the tree, I can sense a savage mentality rising amongst my siblings. And, if I'm honest, within myself also. The termite! They're so close now! The hated enemy, the war that has lasted on Earth for over a hundred million years. Only one social

a force of ten thousand mighty insects march passed their

that seemed an endless maze that plunged into the heart of the world. The sheer size and scale of the mother tree seemed endless, but at last

to a nearby tunnel, [the beasts have taken a toll on my people and now the Mother will not allow us

to fight her,] I point out, [and for some reason I feel like your mother isn't as good at fighting

Keeper eyes me

mighty,]

for whatever tier she is, she should be mightier. Exactly how much evolutionary energy did it take for her to be able to create

of the Grove Keeper does not reply, but I don't really notice, the termites are close and it

I warn my family, "we are close now. When we meet the enemy, it will be a savage brawl like you've never seen before. Remember, there are only two things that you need to do: stay alive, kill termites. In that order. Am

of agreement through the Vestibule.

into smaller widths the further we travel. Soon I begin to notice segments of root that have been chewed on, clear evidence of the termite presence. The tree is regenerating the damage, but slowly, judging by the various wounds I see. It's possible the termites are using some kind