The Antventure Begins

82. Mechanic in Training

There is so much information contained within this core. It’s hard to describe exactly how my mind perceives it. Kind of reminiscent of a massive filing cabinet full of data, numbers, and values, but I can’t open all of the drawers.

I can sense there are things I don’t have access to, things beneath the surface that my current Level of skill won’t allow me to influence. Still, this is a big development! Using this skill, it would be possible to custom design your own monsters. Tweaking every body part and stat, potentially even their behaviour.

Let’s give it a try! I’ll do something simple to start with. Take the instructions regarding the statistics and shift them slightly, swapping points from Might to Toughness. Simple.

How hard can this be?

Hrrrruuungaflooey! Are you kidding me!

One measly attempt to exert my mind and change the instructions, and a powerful resistance yanks against my will. The information recorded in the core does not want to change. Only by supreme effort of mind was I able to shift it ever so slightly and grip the change tight in my mind, refusing to let it return to what it was before.

After holding my change in place for a few seconds, it gradually settled and became stable. The new normal for this monster core.

Holy munching mandibles that was difficult!

To be honest, if I hadn’t upgraded my Will and Cunning, I’m not even sure I would have been able to do it at all. Clearly the path of core manipulation is just as draining as that of magic, requiring extremely potent mental resources to use these skills effectively.

There’s definitely a tremendous amount of potential in this skill. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do with it, but Levelling it up and hopefully upgrading it at Level five will reveal more secrets and uses. Besides, it would be a waste not to try and make use of my new mental faculties. If I have the juice, I should put it to use!

Heh.

CRASH!

Oh, hello! Seems some prey has decided to drop in. Dashing towards the source of the noise, there are several workers already ahead of me, rushing to the scent of prey. The Hatchling Workers look even smaller after my size increase. Little adorable things scuttling about under my legs.

To think I was one of them not that long ago. Desperately trying to scrape XP and Biomass out of the hostile caves by myself.

Not to worry, little guys. Together we shall overcome.

The prey turns out to be another large centipede, which is quickly covered in acid and carved up for transport. More and more workers appear once the message gets out, pooling into a solid crowd chomping on the Biomass before long. I manage to snag a chunk and give it to Tiny before returning to the rabbit core and burying it in the wall again. I want to see if I can keep making changes to the same core to grind out XP for the skill.

No sooner have I finished burying the core, I’m disturbed by yet another crashing sound. Another trap has been triggered!

This particular prey is sensationally unlucky, falling into the pitfall at a time when the traps are swarming with workers. Many of them working over the centipede and others just milling about, attracted by the pheromone trails left behind by the traffic.

Our new guest is a Wolf Dragon, writhing and rolling at the bottom of the pit, attempting to release itself from the vines and branches. I wince as many of them are snapped by the creature’s struggle. I’m going to have to replace all of those, you mutt.

Behold the fury of the insect!

Workers are already launching acid and preparing to swarm the beast. I simply join in the tide and land a few pleasing chomps before the monster is put out of its misery. For some reason the traps seem quite popular at the moment. Before the ants can start their messy work of transporting the Biomass, I activate Mana Sensing to see if there’s a core in the body. Sadly not.

I manage to secure another slice of Biomass for Tiny and sneak a few mouthfuls myself. I don’t gain any points but it’s enough to abate my hunger a little.

Tiny fed, I crawl up my pitfall traps and start to reset them, covering over the opening with layers of branches, vines and vegetation until they blend with the forest floor.

I manage to pick up on something almost as soon as I crawl out of the dirt and into the open. There are a freaking ton of monsters about. Like, a lot.

The sounds of prowling beasts are everywhere. Low growls rumbling through the air and the snarling, furious impacts of battle are in almost every direction. Where the hell are all these guys coming from?

Several times I have to pause my work and descend into my pitfalls and out of sight when groups of monsters or particularly large individuals pass through. With so many enemies in the area, it’s even more important that the colony keep a low profile. Even if they’re enormous for ants, and even if there are hundreds of them, the colony does not have the strength to fight off a never-ending horde of larger, stronger beasts.

The pitfall trap plan is working well for the moment, no need to change course.

In fact, the pitfall trap is working even better than anticipated. With a steady stream of workers scrabbling around the trap network, attracted by the calls to battle and food trails, I’m not really needed to help them win the individual battles against their surprised and incapacitated victims.

With the traps set, I can trust the workers will be able to handle the situation on their own. The only problem I can imagine is if the workers start to climb out of the pitfalls and explore the forest above, potentially attracting monsters that will start a loud fight.

To try and prevent this from happening, I do several laps around the upper edge of every pitfall, laying a thick pheromone message of “Dangerous! Don’t come here!”

Claws crossed the workers will comprehend the message and won’t climb out of the pitfalls. I can’t really think of anything else I can do. The workers should be able to take care of the prey that drops into the network whenever I’m absent.

When the work on the traps is finished, I’ve managed to regenerate a bit of Mana, which I immediately put to use practicing my Shaping skills. The difference in difficulty to before is like night and day, putting a smile on my ant dial even as I continue to draw the Mana out of my core and bend it to my will.

[Mana Shaping (II) has reached Level 3.]

Yes! Already the sub brain is paying dividends.

As a bonus, I’m not even particularly tired after emptying my core. What a refreshing feeling.

Tiny fell asleep after finishing off his snack and I rudely poke him awake with one foot. C’mon, you ape, let’s go exploring!

I’ve been cooped up in the trap network for a while now. I want to head to the top of the ant hill and see what’s happening in the forest.

Tiny complies, grumbling along with my repeated prodding and we head towards the nest and up the tunnel to the ant hill. My little ape friend is getting less and less little with every passing meal. The tunnel is going to get a bit cramped for him soon. I might have to make a few modifications in order to ensure my ape companion can fit.

After a bit of climbing, we emerge out of the top of the ant hill and survey the forest. Time to go scouting.