Antelligent Design

17. New Rules

After a couple of hours, I’m able to get the hatchlings to operate in a reasonable way. The little workers chowed down on the first few enemies we defeated with acid once I’d dragged the Biomass clear of the farm. They ran out of acid quick, though, and I was forced to incapacitate the prey before letting the young ants swarm it, training their Bite Skills and gaining experience.

We repeated this process until the farm was empty, then I had them drink their fill from the water before we moved into the next farm.

I’ve only had to stop them from throwing themselves into the fight and embracing their own certain doom a few times. Progress!

Despite having intellectually understood my point that by living, they would be able to contribute more to the colony than they could by dying, the urge to throw themselves in harm’s way to protect their fellow hatchlings was overpowering.

At one point, a new monster had burst out of the farm wall whilst the hatchlings were eating. I’d known about it, of course, but before I could deal with it, one of the workers was already leaping at the enemy, screaming, “I’ll slow it down with my congealed blood! Attack from the flanks!”

Luckily, I’d been quick enough to Dash in and knock him aside before crushing the offending monster with a Shattering Bite attack.

Naturally, I then thwacked the offending ant on the head and launched into a lecture about appropriate crisis response not necessarily including immediate sacrifice. Maybe they would be in a situation that demanded sacrifice one day, but this sure as heck wasn’t it!

After instructing the ants to spend the Biomass they’d accumulated and handing out a bit of advice—none of them so much as twitched, by the way—we move on to the next farm to repeat the process.

I need to stuff these hatchlings full of experience and Biomass as fast as possible. There isn’t long until the next wave will be born, and then we’ll have two hundred of the little pests to deal with!

“We stick to the same plan as before,” I inform my class of diminutive workers as we cling to the ceiling. “We begin with an acid bombardment on the target until ammunition is expended, then we move to Bites. Remember to focus on the Skill you’re using! We want to see some juicy Level ups. Anyone who hits Level five is banned from taking more experience, we need everyone to hit five as soon as possible.”

“Yes, senior!” they shout.

In this way, the twenty little workers rush through the farms at breakneck speed. They team up to devour any available Biomass in record time, and I defeat the monsters we encounter with ease, tying them down with Gravity Bolts.

When we hit the third farm, the first worker reaches Level five. By the fifth, most of them have reached Level five and are ready to form their cores. By the sixth, they all are.

“Excellent! It’s been a great training session, troops! Plenty of Biomass absorbed, Skills developed, and Levels gained. It’s time now to form your cores. Let’s return to the nest and find a safe spot.”

“Roger!”

Dutifully, the little ants follow along behind me as we retreat to the nest proper. Just to make sure they’re looked after, I take them down into my own personal chamber at the base of the nest where Tiny sits on guard, munching on the last thing to leap out of the walls.

With a bit of encouragement, the ants settle in and spend their Levels, condensing their cores. An exciting moment for any young ant!

Whilst they do that, I hustle up the main tunnel, the awkward stillness still reverberating through the nest, to check in with Crinis.

[Nothing has been happening, Master. After the last of the workers returned, it has been very still.]

[You keep looking out and make sure we aren’t attacked. I’m counting on you to defend us if we get into trouble.]

[Of course, Master!] Crinis declared confidently. [I will allow no trash to desecrate our home.]

Well… Good. My greatest fear is that another wave of monsters will attack the surface. In which case, it would be up to Crinis and myself to hold them off for as long as possible and hope the workers start waking up.

It doesn’t take Vibrant long to find me as she darts from chamber to chamber, checking on the workers.

“Hi-hi! How are things going with the new ones?” she asks, not even pausing in her rush by me.

“It’s going well so far. I think they’ll work out… ok?” Nope, she’s gone. At least she’s keeping an eye on all of the chambers like she promised.

Time to head back down.

It’s already been a few hours into the species change, and so far, only Vibrant has awakened. It had better not take much longer. This is really stressing me out.

When I pass through the queen’s chamber, I take a moment to check in on her. The massive ant who is the mother of all members of the colony appears to be slumbering peacefully, sunk deep into torpor.

I really hope Mother wakes up soon. The colony just isn’t the same without her calming presence. Perhaps it’s just me hoping too hard, but I swear her antenna twitched when I turned away to head back down into my chamber. I tell myself it was real and that she’ll be up soon!

With the hatchlings finishing forming their cores, I take a moment to check out my mutable stomach. I had some left-over Biomass from before the hatchlings emerged, and I snuck a little here and there from the farms, so I should have enough to invest in stomach mutations.

The sooner I get this done, the faster I’ll be able to accrue Biomass points! Efficiency is the name of the game. I demand that every mouthful of food be extracted for the maximum possible points. I’ve got a ton of mutating to do, dammit!

[Would you like to upgrade Stomach to +10? This will cost 55 Biomass.]

I quickly confirm I want to upgrade the organ to +10 and dive straight into the menu, desperate to find the best option to increase my intake. I don’t have enough to get to +15, though I desperately wish I did. I’d need a hundred and ten for that, and I just haven’t had the time or opportunity to rack up those sorts of numbers.

There’s a ton of different ways to go with stomach mutations which would all lead to a more rapid intake of Biomass. Increasing stomach capacity is the easiest way, obviously. Being able to hoover in more food without getting full means more Biomass. It’s straightforward, and I don’t mind that, but I feel there may be a better way.

Faster digestion is there, which makes sense as well. As long as there’s a constant supply of Biomass, this will work well, but it still isn’t right.

Regurgitating Stomach? Oh, that’s gross! Basically a mutation to allow a monster to barf up their stomach acid as an attack. No. No thank you. I’ve got an acid attack already.

Aha! This looks a little more like it! The Discerning Stomach. It effectively halves the tier penalty when eating monsters less evolved than myself. This is just what the doctor ordered! In fact, I can take this, and then take a capacity mutation at +10, and as soon as I get the chance, take the fusion at +15, giving me a high capacity, efficient stomach.

With another upgrade waiting for me at +20, I’ll be rolling in Biomass in no time! I confirm the upgrade with Gandalf and for once, I don’t even care that I’m rolling all over the floor with my legs flailing in the air. The entire colony is asleep right now, and I’ll endure this itch if it means reaching my mutation goals! Muahahaha!

When it fades, I pull myself together, clean my antennae and dig out my personal core supply to start fusing together a few special ones. I’m going to have a happy surprise for those little hatchlings when they wake up!

Ah, the joys of being a mentor. It’s tough watching them grow up so fast!