Chrysalis

“Wuff, wuff, wuff.”

I don’t know why, but these new pets the shapers have designed seem to have such a positive outlook on life. There’s a gleam of simple joy in their eyes as they wibble and wobble about the place, soaking up vile goop and emitting their mist.

After evolving, they’re a bit bigger, but not by as much as I expected. It makes sense on reflection, what would they need Might for? Or toughness? They have one job, and all their evolutionary energy can go into that.

“Why did you make these guys so cheerful?” I ask Bella as my comrades continue to go to war against the enraged fifth stratum beasts in the background.

“Do they… need your help?” she replies, looking nervously over my shoulder.

“I’m sure they’re fine.”

“There seems to be a lot of screaming….”

“That’s the slugs.”

I do check before I reply, of course I do, but I snatch my senses away as quickly as I can. Even still, I continue to hear Crinis raving in my mind.

[FILTH! YOU DARE CONTAMINATE THE MASTER’S AIR! I WILL RIP UNTIL YOU CAN BE RIPPED NO MORE!]

Shudder.

“Well… we didn’t, really. I don’t think we spent any time shaping their personalities at all. Perhaps it’s come about as a result of their function?”

“What, as cleaners?”

She shrugs helplessly with her antennae.

Eldest, I legitimately can’t explain it. For whatever reason,

foul, noxious slime they can find and soaking it

efficiency has really gone

another explosion goes off, probably closer than we would have liked. Invidia hisses with satisfaction as rock

when Solant… and you… took them out. Originally, we’d wanted them to have at least reached this stage before

or is the mist more potent as

to… cancel each other out. As it rises

at this tier. We thought that the most critical issue for them would be how much cleansing mist they can produce per unit of slime consumed. If they aren’t ahead of that curve, then they need to absorb more slime than they can

ahead of that curve

before

Huh…

is a raging success! The wuffers are doing a stellar job eating slime, and it just so happens to be summoning an endless buffet of experience for my pets, which is fabulous! I can’t wait to see what their Levels are like once this rampage is done. Fingers crossed they’ll be getting close to the tier seven

continuous explosions, punches and the shrieks of Crinis’ victims are absolutely deafening. I think I might need to head over there and check

just going to make sure those

N-not at

small team of shapers they’ve brought with them, the actual ‘masters’,

find that things are as busy as I thought they were. In fact, I’ve never seen anything quite like

of them appear to be almost literally holding back the tide against a tsunami

moly! Why didn’t you tell me it was getting

FIGHT!] Tiny

experience. It ssssshall be minessssss,]

[DIEEEEEEEE!] Crinis screams.

a bit greedy.

over a bit, then, make a little room for me. I’ll help out, and I’ll do my best to make sure that I’m not taking

agree, while Crinis continues to shriek and fight, a forest of tendrils lashing out at the monsters ahead