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.

did not realise your kind were so

seen an insect fight another insect? Best

enemy, the war

nervously peeking bruan'chii who watched a force of ten thousand mighty

winding paths of intertwined roots 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 we came

is near here that they have been incurring against our Mother,] the Grove Keeper sounded grim as he pointed to a nearby tunnel, [the beasts have taken a toll on my people and now the Mother will not allow us to fight. She takes on the burden herself, but mighty as she is, she is not built to fight against this

out, [and for some reason I

eyes me

mighty,] he assures

tier she is, she should be mightier. Exactly how much evolutionary energy

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

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

the Vestibule. There will be no energy wasted on scent when the enemy

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 of saliva or mandible mutation to slow her healing process. Just how far did the kaarmodo go to prepare this enemy?