Chrysalis

Yessssss.

YESSSSSSSS!

Tier six perfection has been achieved. My form. My FINAL form. It has arrived at last! Looking over my status, I admire the wall to wall +30's. Every mutable organ in my body has reached its peak. Nothing more can be done until my next evolution. Then, the rat race will begin again. At tier seven, it'll cost me a hundred and sixty five to upgrade just from +30 to +35. For anything new, and anything that I reset, the journey from zero all the way to the new max will be an even more harrowing expense.

At least this time I have an opportunity to build up a reserve, something I haven't really been able to do before. The Colony helped out a lot last time, but with my frequent hunting trips and this war with the termites, getting food hasn't really been all that difficult for me. My family is becoming more and more independent, allowing me time and space to go chasing food and experience. Throw in the odd major conflict and I've got everything I need to rocket up to the next tier!

Speaking of which, what is my level?

133?!

No way! What in the heck?! That's insane! I must have killed way more termites than I thought I did…. Or they're giving more experience now. Either way, I've jumped up a great deal! Let the Skill points rain down on me! Gweheheheh.

My next evolution isn't that far away! At one sixty, I'll be able to make another quantum leap forward in strength. I can't wait to see what sort of options I get. Oh boy. The feeling of going to sleep and waking up as a whole new, better and more capable you is just so addictive.

Although, I have other complications now.…

My core will be getting stronger, which is obviously great news, giving me more evolutionary energy and a higher level of MP. That'll also mean that it'll become harder and harder for me to go higher in the Dungeon. Right now, I can still go to the second stratum. I might even be able to visit the first during a wave, but the surface is right out. I'll never feel the sun on my carapace again.

If I double the strength of my core? Perhaps even the second stratum will be off limits for me. I'm not sure if I can take that… all the grubs are in the second stratum!

Nooooo! My precious grub time! How will I live if I can't be healed by the pure and innocent joy of larvae tickling? I-I'm not sure I can bear the thought of it. I won't be deprived like this! I have to tell the council to start egg production in the third stratum as soon as possible. I will move heaven and earth to ensure that this isn't taken away from me… being formless was never an option!

The other thing I have to deal with is the Call. Damn Ancients. They think they're all that. The constant yanking on the guts of my soul is no more pleasant now than it was when it started. Like an itch that can't be scratched, it's almost impossible to ignore. If they think I'm going any deeper at tier six, then they're outside of their minds. I'm too weak to explore the fourth stratum, forget about the fifth. I feel like they're just trying to get me killed. If they happen to approve of my next evolution, I expect things will only get worse. Which sucks!

If I evolve and then head back up to the third to help with the demon problems… yuck. I don't even want to think about it, it's distressing.

I calm myself down over time and then get to checking in on my allies. The three of them are doing well, each of them having reached a level around a hundred. They too are closing in on the next milestone. It'll be an exciting time when they make it. Having the four of us at the seventh tier will create a far more formidable team than we are now.

With all of us having completed our round of mutations, we spend the rest of the day resting and healing up. It's a nice, relaxing time, chatting back and forth and needling each other, combined with the occasional light snack.

Spending time together like this, with just the four of us, is like food for the soul. The companionship I get from Crinis, Tiny and Invidia is something that I enjoy with all of my heart. I'm almost sad when it comes to an end and we find ourselves largely recovered.

Levering myself up onto my six legs, I lead the group to go and visit Sarah.

team of healers who clack their mandibles and apply waves of their

light chat, but I can tell her heart isn't in it. Subdued and dispirited, she is clearly a little lost in her own thoughts and so I back off

or not you believe it, that is the truth. But remember, you are always welcome among the Colony. You're part of the family.

I leave her with

the tunnels as we travel, but it's different now, more vibrant. The roots glow with life and there is more greenery than before. A sign of the Tree pushing more energy out now that the roots are no longer

They pop up here and there, smaller ones and Grove Keepers alike, tending to the sprouting gardens and interacting with each other in their own curious, silent way. It's strange, actually. I can feel the mana thickening down here. The energy that permeates the atmosphere is beginning to

Circulate? Brighten? Whatever she's doing, the mana is becoming more rich, which I'm going to assume she then begins to

these tunnels, the closest to her roots and trunk, she hasn't been able to utilise this harmonious cycle to her benefit, depriving her of all-important

reach the front, right on the edges of the mountain the tree dominates, we find the Colony has already entrenched to an absurd degree. Thousands and thousands of ants teem through the tunnels and along the shoreline, building walls, traps, medical centres,

for the defence. I'm

I can see, over the crystal blue waters of the lake, the

998

paced around the model the carvers had made, studying every intricate

long time, building underground links between the two mountains. The termites were almost as adept at tunnelling as the Colony itself. The number of connections is one thing, the huge area they covered was another. The front between the two opposing colonies had expanded dramatically and keeping track of all the work going on is more than her brain could handle on its

need to evolve," she says quietly, "more brainpower would be so helpful

want to be a mage?" comes a potent scent

lighting up huge swathes of tunnel while driving the enemy back. Fortunately no-one has told her just how combustible the termite fungus is yet.

suddenly remembered that

intellect and burning passion! What do you need to be smarter for

dozens of fronts involving hundreds of thousands of

That

"I thought as much."

general can only sigh and turn back to her careful study of the model. Having this level of detailed information was a massive help, but for this battle, it couldn't be trusted. Scouts had done their best to

termites leaping out of a concealed entrance! Or new passages could be dug after

similar to the Colony,

her thoughts in odd ways. She'd be glad when this was over and the termites were exterminated once and for all. How anyone could

wander about the model. "If we can find them and burn the place down, we'd

her

they just leave their Queens out in the open? Do we? Obviously they are going to be held in the heart of the nest, as secure and safe as possible. If we could get there so easily then I wouldn't be so worried about this

normal monster termite nest might do that, but this isn't a normal nest. This colony is controlled by the ka'armodo, who want access to

ticking over, the general turned back

that the queens aren't being

just guessing," the mage shrugged, "this could be right or completely wrong.