Chrysalis

I really need to mutate my stomach. After powering through the remains of two tier seven demons, I’m absolutely stuffed. Without my capacity upgrades, it would have been impossible to fit them both in. It’s a little saddening that my efficiency upgrades give me absolutely no benefit when eating another monster of my own tier, but such is life. Those mutations exist, but I’ve gotten far more value from my higher Biomass gain from lower tiered food.

As I flop on my side, still surrounded by my gravity domain, I groan and rub at my distended gaster with my back legs.

“Might have gone a little overboard there,” I mumble.

With such Biomass-rich fare on the table before me, it’s not like I could possibly hold back. Like a bloated uncle at Christmas time, I kept going back for more until it was all gone.

As I flop, I idly check on my mana and Altar and am delighted to find that my resources are barely going down at all. With my increased gravity mana generation while using gravity mana, I can sustain the domain almost indefinitely. I will eventually run out, but with this spell alone running, I can sustain it for hours.

There’s enough of the Colony in range to keep the Altar running steady as well. The net result is that I’m able to take some time to digest, undisturbed by the rest of the horde while my three comrades battle fiercely.

It takes them over an hour to finish the fight, but eventually, Tiny, Crinis and Invidia make their way over to me when no more demons remain. Bruised, battered and low on resources, the three of them look absolutely spent.

I stretch my six legs, clean my antennae and stand up.

“Great work, you three!” I congratulate them.

Protectant materialises beside Tiny, looking similarly spent. Her antennae have a definite ‘I’m annoyed at you’ tilt.

rank up your Skills and gain experience. You guys may as well bank some Biomass, and then we’ll make our way

there should be plenty for

think you need to move

isn’t short on the third stratum, it’s hungry mouths. Demon larvae are boiling up from beneath our feet constantly, and they

maw, flicking the little demons off his chosen meals with his

an

as they can until they’re

I lift the group up, since climbing isn’t all that feasible right now. I have to strain much harder than normal, due to all the extra weight we’re carrying, but eventually, we reach the top and crawl into

fighting is sluggish and sloppy to say the least. Thankfully, the

of safety roll over me. I wasn’t truly threatened on our hunt, outside of my fight against the tier sevens, but there’s a vast sense of comfort that comes from being back in the

pheromones is everywhere, trails and markers tingling against my antennae. The Vestibule thunders with energy,

for a minute. I might as well do a little mutating while I’m here. Crinis, make sure you’re prepared for

[I’m ready, Master.]

always count on

Tiny snorts loudly.

[And you, Tiny.]

Invidia blinks, slowly.

you too, of

the safety of Colony controlled land, and with the dignity preserved by

and I’ve got nothing hitting that prestigious mark at the moment. I think my first order of business should be to ramp up my stomach. After stuffing myself silly, I’m reminded of the importance of ensuring my stomach is