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.

explain it. For whatever

slime they can find and soaking it up like a paper-towel, wuffing away

gone

probably closer than we would have liked. Invidia hisses with satisfaction as rock and debris trickles

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

is the

the fifth, the mist is… difficult to describe. Wherever it touches the poisonous gas, the two just seem to… cancel each other out. As it rises into the air and

boosting organs they gained 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 produce mist. Since the slime is self-propagating, they need to be making much more mist than they are eating

they ahead of

it will take another evolution before they are just ahead of breaking

Huh…

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

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

me for a minute, I’m just going to make sure

course. N-not

more than happy to let me, remaining behind with the small team of shapers they’ve brought with

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

appear to be almost literally holding back the tide against a tsunami of sludge, slime, frogs and slugs. The tunnel is full of them.

tell me it was getting this

Tiny roars,

It ssssshall be minessssss,] Invidia

[DIEEEEEEEE!] Crinis screams.

bit greedy. That’s fine, we can work with

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 too much of the

to shriek and fight, a forest of tendrils lashing out at