The Antventure Begins

28. True Lords of the Domain

An enormous scaled hand grips the hard ground. Each scale is a polished, dark green that practically glows with the reflected light of the forest. Vicious claws tip each digit, curved blades that taper into a fearsome point. What sets my poor heart beating the most is that each of these claws is probably the size of my head. Thick, powerful ropes of muscle on the hand drag the rest of the monster forward.

The long, pointed jaw, studded with teeth precede the recessed, chilling eyes of the beast. Many teeth can be seen even with that massive mouth shut, giving the impression of a menacing grin. There is a cruel intelligence gleaming within its gaze, striking fear into the heart of every creature unfortunate enough to cross its path.

Across the back of the monster, the overlapped scales are broken up by bony protrusions that end in spikes easily a foot long. With its body kept curiously close to the ground, its movement is sinuous and swift. As it passes by, a second set of shorter, but powerful arms halfway down its body are supporting its low profile.

The creature growls and huffs explosively, releasing a sudden flare of red flame, causing me to almost squeak.

Finally, the powerful rear legs come into view. It’s clear from their positioning that this creature could easily stand on its hind legs should it choose to, but has evolved in such a way that it can move swiftly low to the ground like a crocodile.

The monster is roughly twelve-metres long from snout to tail.

Twelve. Metres.

That’s almost forty feet. That’s like four basketball hoops stacked on top of each other. That’s almost the length of a bowling lane.

Sure, that length includes the creature’s long, muscular tail but…

Isn’t that too stupidly BIG, Gandalf!

That monstrosity is so huge I could never hope to challenge it. What the heck is a giant like that crawling around up here?

I mean, judging by the appearance this is clearly an evolved form of the croca-beast—I just can’t bring myself to call those huge monsters an infant. The crocadilic features are clear, but what I didn’t expect was the extra set of arms, the breathing fire and the stupidly huge increase in size.

These things are so much larger than the croca it almost beggars belief. Is it entirely possible that this titan is actually two evolutions away from the monster I defeated? Judging by the size of those scales, I don’t think my acid would even be able to chew through it. This creature is like a tank. Its weight alone must be several tons. If there is anything here larger and more deadly looking than this thing, I’ll head back up and take my chances with the humans!

Vibrations shake my tiny legs as the tremendous weight of the monster continues to impact heavily on the ground with each departing step. It’s at this moment a renegade thought pops into my mind and I immediately move out of my hiding place and begin to shadow the colossal croc.

For some reason I thought of pilot fish on Earth.

These fish would attach themselves to a larger creature, like a whale or a shark, and follow it around, keeping it clean and eating the leftovers. The larger animal gets a free cleaning service to keep it healthy and the smaller creatures get protection and food.

I’m not about to waltz up to this behemoth and offer to brush its teeth, but I may just have found an amazingly safe way to move about for the time being.

Safe, Anthony? You must be outside of your mind!

Well, wait a moment.

It’s highly likely that almost every creature around here is going to want to avoid this thing like the seven plagues stacked on top of each other. Everything that doesn’t get out of the way quick enough will have to get past the big boy before they could have a chance at me.

As long as I’m not noticed by the croc, then I’ll be extremely safe! And Advanced Stealth has shown its prowess in keeping me hidden. If I continue to trail along and hide, I may get another Level in that skill while I scout around.

There are risks to this plan, but they are manageable ones.

I skitter along in the wake of the titanic monster. Due to its sheer size, it’s fairly fast, forcing me to have to scuttle along too quickly to minimise the sound of my passage. However, the bulky creature makes so much noise on its own, my pattering little legs barely register.

For the next hour I continue to creep about, remaining hidden from my unsuspecting bodyguard. The bizarre scenery of this forest continues to astound me as we travel. At one point we passed by an enormous flower, vibrant petals wide open to reveal a gleaming jewel in the centre the size of my own head.

I was completely stunned at the sight, but the croc continued to stomp past, unmoved. I didn’t get much time to inspect the flower, but I got some strange vibes from it. The petals spread in a dense overlapping fashion across the ground, and the centre of the flower faced directly upwards. Something unnerved me about those thick, fleshy petals. They almost appeared like a welcome mat, rolled out to invite a guest closer to where the incredible diamond like jewel grew.

I also received an unexpected benefit when a large centipede suddenly scuttled out of some bushes in front of the titan-croc, as I’d begun to think of it. One of those large, evolved centipedes would be a tough fight for me, one I possibly couldn’t win. To my new friend the titan-croc? Not even worth mentioning. Barely slowing down, the croc brought one of its claws crashing down on the centipede, instantly squashing it into paste.

What surprised me most was the titan-croc didn’t even stop to consume the precious Biomass. Didn’t even pause before continuing to advance. I remembered at that moment what Gandalf had told me in the evolution menu, that more evolved creatures received less Biomass from those less advanced than them.

Possibly this centipede was useless to the croc.

But that didn’t mean it was useless to me!

It’s possibly a sad reflection on my present life that I would gleefully run over to the smashed remains of a gigantic centipede to eat. The tremendous force of the claw had crushed the poor victim like a human stepping on a bug, causing the guts to burst out everywhere.

Ergh! I’m losing my appetite… But I won’t give up the chance for Biomass!

Remember always, if you would almost rather be dead, then you need to eat and live!

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Adultus Unguibus Scolopendra. You are awarded one Biomass.]

[Basic profile of the Adultus Ungiubus Scolopendra unlocked.]

[Adultus Unguibus Scolopendra: Adult Claw Centipede. This branch of evolution of the basic Claw Centipede vastly increases the base creatures might, without providing much boost to Cunning.]

Interesting, this seems to suggest there are other branches of evolution for the Claw Centipede? I ponder this concept as I quickly munch a bit more.

[You have gained one Biomass.]

Right! I’ve barely consumed even a quarter of the creature before I decide my protection is getting too far away and I need to leave and catch up.

Just before I do, I notice something glittering in the remains of the adult centipede. Just behind the base of the monster’s head is a small, shining gem-like orb.

Is this… what I think it is?

Moving closer I grasp the object in my mandibles.

[Compatible monster core detected. Would you like to reinforce your core or reconstitute a monster?]

It is! A monster core!

I don’t have much time to think about what Gandalf had to say, my protection is getting farther away every second!

Reinforce my core!

The spherical orb immediately melts into thin air and a burning mist of energy swirls through my body before being drawn down into my core in a vortex. Faster and faster the energy circulates as it spirals ever downward while my own core grows hotter and hotter.

Eventually all of the energy is consumed, and with my core still burning inside I hurry off after the titan-croc while checking my status.

Name: Anthony

Level: 3 (core)

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 30/30

MP: 9/12

Skills: Digging Level 4 (I); Improved Acid Shot Level 1 (II); Grip Level 4 (I); Crushing Bite Level 1 (II); Advanced Stealth Level 2 (II); Mana Manipulation Level 1 (I); Chomp Level 1 (I); Tunnel Sense Level 4 (I)

Mutations: Eyes +4; Antennae +2; Acid Gland +3;

Legs +1; Mandibles +2; Carapace +1

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica): Skill Points: 0

Biomass: 2