Chrysalis

Resource distribution amongst the young in the Colony is far more generous than one might expect from ants. Of course, grubs are given high priority for food, ensuring they grow into their full potential in the proper time. Hatchlings always form a core before evolving to tier two, and they always do so with maxed mutations.

Naturally, this requires a tremendous amount of Biomass. That phrasing doesn’t really do justice to the reality…. The Colony requires an OCEAN of Biomass on a daily basis, not just to fuel the growth of the young, but to feed the millions and millions of grown ants. Vast tracts of Dungeon are routinely swept clean by them, with an efficiency that none can rival, but even that isn’t enough. Other solutions, such as the aphid herd, are required to extract additional Biomass in unconventional ways in order to make up the shortfall.

Cores, of course, are the true limiting factor. The Colony would love to have each and every ant evolve with flawless cores, fully reinforced and with a special core absorbed on top, but it simply isn’t possible.

There is only one type of ant who is given this luxury as a matter of course: the Queens.

- Excerpt from “Evolutions of the Ant” by Granin Lazus

“An impressive win-streak, to say the least!” Poppant praised the hatchlings, and they nodded seriously. “A completely undefeated run! I know how hard you all worked for this. The other Tenders are wondering just how long your streak will be.”

“Endless,” Solant said simply.

She didn’t intend to fail, ever. Anything less than perfection would be a blemish on the Colony as a whole, and that wasn’t to be tolerated. She’d expressed this view to her teachers several times, and they had warned her it was dangerous to hold unrealistic expectations, that a belief in an unobtainable victory was as deadly as an undefeatable enemy.

What they had said was wise, yet Solant knew, deep down, that if there was a chance to win, she would find it. The longer the training course went on, the more her ideas were put to the test, and the more they were proven correct. The Soldier trainers told her to be more direct, less reliant on trickery and deception, the General trainers said her strategies were too elaborate, with too many points of failure, the Scout trainers said that she couldn’t always rely on perfect information, the Mage trainers said that as they and their opponents grew stronger, the battlefield would become too difficult to predict, the Carver trainers said she couldn’t be smart enough to foresee every outcome, the Shaper trainers said her allies weren’t pets and couldn’t always execute her intentions flawlessly, and the Healers told her that victory without sacrifice was the ideal, but often unattainable.

Even still, she would win.

The more her confidence grew, the more her broodmates believed in her. An unshakable unit with complete trust in each other, a group with complete and total knowledge of the capabilities and intentions of every other member.

“Our victory is determined by our training and preparation,” Solant said to Poppant, “every advantage we use was honed there.”

looked down on the little superior hatchling,

knows how hard and efficiently you train more than I do,” she said, “I’ve been with you the

to have such wildly divergent ideas, and to command such respect from their peers. By this time, the administration of the Antcademy heavily suspected they had a Champion on their claws. The first that they knew

your next evolution, and as a reward for your exemplary record in Tunnel Ball and every other training exercise, you’ve

winced, but Poppant hastened

brought the tea and sugar,” she said, as she clacked

process as best she could before she engaged the menu and chose

level for your current species. Evolution will allow you

XP and Biomass difficult as fewer rewards are given for preying on

evolution options are

- Superior Soldier (Special)

- Superior Scout (Special)

- Superior General (Special)

Ant

Superior Core Shaper

- Superior Carver (Special)

Superior Brood

Superior Juvenile

Healer Ant

Great

Juvenile War Brain