Chrysalis

[Before you get too carried away,] Granin chips in, [remember that manipulating mana outside of your body is much harder than the mana inside it. Manipulating energy within someone else's body is another level of difficulty above that. You’ll need to train hard before you can even dream of setting off those insane bombs you can make.]

That makes sense. If it was easy to manipulate energy inside an opponent, then almost any other method of fighting would be completely redundant. Even so, I like this idea. It would give me an almost unstoppable trump card if I can master it, and I can think of a few other uses for it outside of just the gravity bomb.

[I like it a lot!] I declare.

The triad has really come through for me and exceeded my expectations, so I tell them so. I never would have considered some of these ideas. I’m glad I finally opened up to them.

The three look pleased with my words, Corun grinning up at me, Torrina wearing a slight smile, and even Granin looks less grumpy. That could just be a trick of the lighting.

[We’re working on mutation packages for your legs, regeneration gland and your whole acid… collection, in the event you reset those next,] Granin tells me. [For now, though, this is what we’ve come up with. It’s more difficult for us to contribute to your Vestibule, Nave and Altar, since we haven’t worked with those organs before.]

I’m a little disappointed, but Granin frowns at my drooping antennae.

[We still have to talk about your Skills,] he says, and I perk up immediately.

New Skills! This is what I’ve been waiting for!

[What have you got for me, Granin? Some sweet fusions? The mega-instant-death-to-all-foes Skill?]

[That is a good one, but no.]

[Wait, that’s a Skill?!]

not! And don’t forget, I’ve warned you before, learning too many Skills will become a weakness, not a strength. Without time to train them properly, you’ll have a ton of Skills

I could roll my

yeah, yeah. Surely, you’ve got a

bring it up at

the list of fusions for what we think will be the most optimal combinations for you to work towards. I set a hard limit

Corun look a little disgruntled at this,

Balance Skill, as well as one other. Took a bit of research to find this, since there isn’t a lot of documentation on ants, but there’s also a six-legged version of the Defensive Footwork Skill.

[Ooooooo. Sounds fancy.]

coordinated in

Combined with my sturdy carapace and plating, not to mention my extraordinary regenerative capacity, my multi-layered defence will only grow stronger. Am I an ant, or a fortress?

lately and handling

didn’t realise I was missing anything

us in the first

[Right.]

take Concentration, Mana Weave and

thought I didn’t need it, due to the brains that

mana manipulation you need, but there’s a particular fusion for which the Skill is necessary.

[Which does what?]

Weave Skill into the mix boosts each of those minds in their capacity to manipulate mana. This will be almost