Antvance into the Unknown

74. Hanging with the Eyeball

With Tiny and Crinis asleep in the evolution chamber, I feel as if something of a weight has been lifted. Not in the sense that I don’t have to worry about them anymore, I’ll always be worrying about them, but it’s nice that they’re going to be as strong as I am now. With a group of potent, maxed out tier six monsters running around together, we’ll be able to fight off the depredations of the wave far better than before. Even the possibility of a tier seven rising to challenge the Colony isn’t as threatening.

The two of them are now surrounded by the soft glow that heralds the beginning of their change. From this point, they will undergo the metamorphic process of growing into something entirely new. For this evolution, it’s likely to take a day, perhaps more, so the big question is, what do I get up to in the meantime? With the ape and the murder-ball out of action…

[Well then, it’s just you and me, chief,] I say to the hovering eyeball. [I think these two are going to be just fine here on their own, considering all the guards the Colony has in place. Why don’t you and I head into the Dungeon and cut loose for a while. You can finally get some experience for yourself!]

That massive eye flashes green.

[That would be pleassssant. I have yearned for my sssshare.]

[I bet you have.]

Come to think of it, isn’t it sort of nasty to force an envy demon to sit around watching others get something that he’s forbidden? I’ve made him float about healing and shielding while myself, then Tiny and Crinis, soak up all the experience right in front of him. In hindsight, it seems a bit rough. I say a silent apology to my loyal pet as we make our way through the tunnels and into the open spaces outside the nest.

The farming of the wave continues at a furious pace out here. Thousands of workers rush this way and that, carrying loads of cores or piles of Biomass for distribution or storage. The sheer volume of resources being pulled in is boggling to the mind, making our first farming effort seem like child’s play. With any luck, this spree will fuel the Colony for months after the wave has ended, providing the raw materials necessary to raise the next generation even better than the one before.

I should check in with the core shapers at some point. They sent out hundreds of teams to farm beyond the boundaries of the Colony in the upper second and lower first stratum. Hopefully they manage to stay safe out there. Raising pets is an expensive and trying ordeal, so I know what they’re going through.

Eventually we reach the front, and after a short wait, we get ready to push our way through the outer wall and into the Dungeon to face the wave. Before that, I decide to chat with Invidia about strategy.

[This is your moment to do as you please, really,] I tell the demon. [We can start funnelling experience into the two of us, so I guess it doesn’t really matter who’s doing the most damage. You can just cut loose and let the enemy feel your wrath.]

[I have no wrath,] he corrects me, [only envy.]

[Wait… so you don’t feel wrathful ever? How does that work?]

[It’ssss a demon thing.]

[Fair enough then. Feel free to go crazy, just don’t bring the tunnel down or anything like that. Use your eye laser if you want to—just, again, don’t collapse the tunnel on our heads.]

[Issss there anything elsssse?]

[Mmmm, not really. Let’s get to it! Unleash the magic!]

[I sssshall!]

I whip together the Omni-Elemental Mana Construct and start churning out some varied Mana for my brains to practise with, ice for one, blue fire for the other. It’s hard for them, but whipping together two separate spells with two different types of Mana just makes me feel giddy. My dream of ultimate magical power is nearly achieved! Soon I’ll be throwing out dozens of spells at once, using four or five different Mana types! How do you defend against that? Gwehehehehe.

For his part, Invidia looks just as excited as I am, his eye practically glowing with eagerness as he pushes forward, pelting the first monsters with a magical barrage of fire and explosions that practically dissolves them on the spot. Then it turns out it wasn’t my imagination that his eye was glowing, as the light grows more and more intense before a beam of pure energy lances forth, cutting through the dark tunnel and detonating every monster it touches.

BOOM!

[Holy smokes, Invidia! You aren’t holding back!]

[I havessss no need to.]

I laugh. [True! Go for it, little buddy!]

I can feel his prodigious mind at work, weaving Mana together at an unbelievable pace to form detonation after detonation that rocks the air and sends shards of stone flying everywhere. It’s like an artillery barrage has landed around us, the noise, light, and devastation are savage.

Into the mix I throw my own shards of ice and jets of flame, roasting or spearing everything that manages to survive the ongoing explosions. At long last allowed to revel in his full and complete power, Invidia does not let the opportunity slip by and rains hell upon his opponents until even demons are shattered by the power he unleashes.

After ten minutes, the tunnel is a pockmarked warzone, covered in Biomass, shards of ice, and superheated rock. Invidia chuckles, an eerie ‘ssssshhh-ssssshh-shhh’ sound, before his teeth unveil themselves from thin air and he flaps his way over to the Biomass and starts chomping. Not far away, we can hear the tide of monsters swelling again, it won’t be long before we’re forced back into the fray. But, for now, we’re content to recharge our Mana, chow down on some Biomass, and reflect on the joys of magic.

[Feel good to go full force for a change?] I ask the demon.

[Yesssss,] he almost purrs. [I have been waiting to takessss what they had for myself, for sssso long.]

[You mean their experience?]

[It belongssss to me.]

[I mean, it does when you finish them off, I suppose. Or are you saying that all experience in the Dungeon belongs to you?]

[Not all,] he corrects me.

Oh? That’s a little surprising.

[That’s not what I expected to hear from an envy demon,] I tease him a little.

[I cannot take from the massssster. Or that which belongssss to the masssster.]

[Ah. So you mean, all experience in the Dungeon belongs to you, except for me, Tiny, and Crinis.]

[Yesssssss,] he purrs as he chomps down some more Biomass. [Alllll for meeee.]