Antelligent Design

116. Wrestling with the Core and Appetite

Down into the nest we plunge. Is it just me, or is the opening a lot wider than it used to be? Even Tiny fits into the main shaft quite comfortably. I wonder what that’s all about. As usual, my antennae are assaulted by a plethora of pheromones. Trails that paint the way to each of the different sections of the nest are mixed with an overwhelming number of more short-term messages from ants coordinating the many tasks they’ve been given.

“We need more wood! Follow this trail for the worker teams heading to the forest!”

“Food! Get on it. You think the colony feeds itself? Hunting parties are leaving from the Dungeon staging area now! Special groups for eldest feeding needed!”

“Got nothing to do? What the hell is wrong with you? There’s always earthworks going on, report to the Carver headquarters to join a work team!”

“Hey! Stay positive and work hard! :D”

Not sure what the point of that last one was… Just trying to keep spirits up around the place, I guess. I hardly think it’s necessary, the ants look as if they couldn’t work any harder. In fact, the only ant standing still for any amount of time is… me. Dangit. Better get moving before I start to look conspicuous and lazy.

We cling to the wall and make our way straight down, innumerable ants constantly rushing in and out of smaller side tunnels. I feel as if the population has definitely lifted whilst I’ve been gone. If we manage to hatch and graduate two hundred a day, then the colony will have gained 1400 new members in the time I’ve been gone. Some of that would have been offset by losses at the front. Keeping that in consideration, there would have been roughly one thousand more ants in the colony than there had been before.

If only we had another week! Then I’d be far less concerned.

When I reach the queen’s chamber, I’m quite confused to find that, apart from a few guards, it’s empty. No queen. No retinue of attendant soldiers and Tenders. Nothing! Where has she gone? Curious, I lead Tiny and walk down the walls and follow the main shaft beneath the queen’s chamber into my own room.

Even this space has been widened, at least double the space it was before. Other than a couple of soldiers who sit around the outside of the room, keeping watch for spawning monsters, the chamber is empty. Empty except for the absurd pile of food in the middle, stretching from the floor to the ceiling.

[Home sweet home,] I tell my pets.

[It’s nice to be back,] Crinis assures me.

[Hrrr.] Tiny lets his actions do the talking as he throws himself down to rest.

That was fair enough. Our run back to the nest has been exhausting. Matter of fact, our entire last week has been exhausting. The entire colony must be tottering on its feet unless the mandatory rest has kicked in. The amount of work done is staggering. I know it’s almost impossible for the ants to admit they’re tired, but I hope the council starts forcing the family to rest before the final battle. Even just a couple of hours of torpor could make all the difference. Especially now when the horde is only four hours away!

Tiny is so tired, even the food hasn’t caught his attention. To be honest, I’m kind of with him. I’d rather just fall over and sleep, yet I can’t, I’ve got important stuff to do. The first of which is to stuff myself to bursting… a couple of times. I’m really not looking forward to this.

I pack the food in under the watchful eyes of two guards and my pets until my mutated stomach is absolutely bursting, then I stop. I could keep going, but my social stomach doesn’t benefit from the efficiency mutations and I want to get every drop of Biomass I can out of this. I’ll have to digest a bit and then get back to it.

Gah! There’s no time for this! How can I speed this up? I try doing push-ants, basically just lowering myself until the bottom of my carapace touches the ground, then lifting myself up again.

Come on, Anthony! Pump harder!

To my surprise, it does seem to actually help a little. I cycle between vigorous exercise and stuffing my face as fast I can, living my healthiest life, until I finally reach the total I require and slump to the ground, defeated. I lie there for a few minutes feeling sorry for myself, wondering if my stomach or my core hurts more before pulling myself together.

I need to rush through these final mutations as fast as possible. Let’s do it!

The only three organs left are my acid gland, Gravity Mana Gland and Pheromone Gland. Starting with my pheromones, I’m not really sure what to do. In fact, I may as well continue to make them more persuasive. If the new generation are indicative of how things are going to go, who knows how many ants I’ll have to talk out of ridiculous, dangerous battle plans in future. Especially Leeroy. Lock that in!

As for my acid, I’m quite taken with the Mana eating aspect I added. It hasn’t come into play that much as of yet, but against opponents like the Ka’armodo, I’m sure it’ll have a chance to shine. Besides, I don’t really have other methods to tackle their nonsense at range.

I’ll invest further into this business venture. May my products melt Mana shields with even greater ferocity!

And finally, the Gravity Mana Gland. And I do mean, finally! The very last organ. I did it! Coming from so far back, I’ve actually made it to this point, evolving with full mutations. Be proud of me, Gandalf! Behold this picture of monster perfection!

Well, this mutation is really the simplest of them all. More. I need more Gravity Mana! I always need a greater stockpile of the stuff. No matter how much I expand the gland, I’ll always find a way to spend it all. This type of Mana is so useful, even if all I’m doing is yoinking enemies using my infused mandibles! Greater capacity is the name of the game—Punch it in!

I quickly review the selections and confirm them with a feeling of deep satisfaction. So deep, I don’t even mind when the itch begins to take hold. You can have your moment, itch, I won’t begrudge you. Even if I’m rolling on the ground, twitching and thrashing like a spider who caught bug-spray to the face, you can’t rob me of this sense of pride! Full mutations! I never thought this day would come!

I take a moment, as the dreadful itch finally recedes, to revel in the feeling, before pushing myself back up. There’s a crisis at hand, I don’t have time to muck around!

No more stalling. Time to get that rare core out.

I’ve been dreading this experience for weeks, though it feels like months. I’ve already pushed my core beyond the System-imposed limit. Gaining some Levels and Biomass, combined with a bit of time, has helped ease the pain, but it hasn’t ever gone away. Even now, my core aches with a dull throb, an inexplicable tightness that twinges every time I breathe.

Now where is that stupid thing? I know I left it here somewhere…

Ah!

Flipping on my Mana Sense, my mind is momentarily blinded by the ever-present glow of the Mana flooding out of the Dungeon walls. After a second or two, I’m able to blink the background glare out of my mind and focus on detecting the glowing core I buried in the wall.

There it is!

I scuttle over and extract the gem before retreating back toward the centre of the chamber, the bright, spherical gem held in my mandibles.

[I might need your help with this, Crinis. I’m a bit worried about how it’s going to go,] I admit.

[Anything, Master. I’ll be ready for your orders,] the sphere of cosmic horror and tentacle death assures me.

[Thanks, Crinis.]

This tender moment of bonding between a monster and his devoted pet is only disrupted by the thunderous nasal snoring of Tiny a few metres away.

Alright then, here goes…

[Compatible rare core detected! Would you like to absorb, or reconstitute this core?]

[Warning! Your core has pushed beyond the allowed limit for your evolution. Further absorption may prove fatal. Do you wish to proceed?]

You know… not really? But if I don’t push myself beyond the limit, how can I possibly hope to match up to powerful creatures like Garralosh and the Ka’armodo?

Fear blossoms, along with the constant anxiety that has been bubbling away inside me. The nervous worry I’d shoved into the back of my mind gushes to the fore.

I don’t want to die… again. I’m enjoying my life on Pangera! I finally have a family. I finally feel accepted. I don’t want to lose it all now that things are getting better and better every day.

At the same time, that fear of losing my family is what drives me. If I don’t go this hard and risk it all, I might not be able to defend the colony that has come to mean so much to me. How would it feel, to lose my family knowing I didn’t do all that I could to protect it?

[Bring it! Absorb that core!]

*PAIN*.

Holy smokes! Ahhh! That… that stings—right in the core!

The moment I give the mental command to my good friend, Gandalf the System, the energy leaks out of the core and swirls through the air as a bright energy vapour toward me and into my own core, which begins to expand.

Which is a problem.

Unable to manage the pain, I slump to the dirt floor of the chamber, my legs twitching uncontrollably as my focus is turns inward toward the agonizing changes that are taking place within my body.

HAAARGHHH!

Come on, Anthony! You can do this! Hold on, man!

The pressure builds as the energy flows into me. The outward pressure of the expanding core is pushing against my inner organs, which in turn are pressed into my carapace, causing me to feel like a balloon on the verge of popping.

There’s a vague noise echoing in my antennae, and with a start, I realise it’s my own mandibles grinding against each other. Even my face-hands are starting to hurt! This is absurd. The pressure builds and builds until my core is on the verge of cracking.

The outward force is just too much. I need something pressing down from the other way, otherwise I’m gonna burst!

[Crinis! Wrap me up and squish me!] I scream desperately.

[What!]

[Just do it!]