Upping The Ante

93. New Dawn

There they are. Look at them. Peacefully sleeping, awaiting the day when they awake and take their first steps into the world. Shhhhhh, little ones. You don’t know it yet, but the world will be your oyster. Yes it will! You will roam wherever you wish and bring prosperity to our family. Our enemies will flee before your strength and become food beneath your mighty mandibles.

Yes they will! You adorable little things!

[Master.]

WHA—! What now?

[Crinis, why are you interrupting my egg time?]

[I’m very sorry, Master, but I believe I have detected another wave approaching from the tunnels below.]

Haaaa. These stupid monsters just won’t stop! I’m going to have to work out a solution for this problem before the time approaches. These waves have caused no end of headaches and significant losses to the colony over the last week. Those crocs are going to get what’s coming to them, and the sooner the better.

[I’m on the way, Crinis. Tiny, wake up! Time to fight.]

[Oh? Ohhhh! FIGHT!]

Reluctantly, I turn away from the twenty small, white spheres occupying the egg chamber. They’re the only occupants of the egg chamber and the workers have been caring for them diligently, but I can’t help coming up to take a look at them every now and again. When I think of the future these little eggs could bring for the colony, I get so excited I just can’t help myself.

I put in a lot of work to create those eggs. I deserve to be a little happy now that they’ve finally arrived, dammit!

Just three days ago the queen managed to gather the Biomass necessary to lay this small clutch. It’ll take a few more days before they hatch and then two weeks for them to complete their time as larvae and become pupae. Then a little while longer and they’ll finally take their place under my tutelage.

It’s so loooong!

I know it’s my own fault for extending the development time of the workers in order to squeeze more stats into them, but I’m so frustrated right now. I feel like kids probably felt at Christmas when there were presents waiting under the tree. I didn’t get to experience that during my human life, but I think I finally grasp that emotion now. The wait is torturous!

Grumbling to myself, I descend through the main shaft of the nest, through the queen’s chamber and into the area my pets and I have made our home. It’s been somewhat expanded recently, mainly to accommodate Tiny and allow us a little more space in fighting off the Dungeon monsters that have swarmed up the tunnels periodically over the last week.

My pets and I have been training our skills, using our shortcut to venture deeper into the Dungeon and harvest Biomass for ourselves and the queen. We’ve seen significant gains in pumping up our new skills and our overall combat effectiveness has risen as a result. I’m quite pleased that my pets now have properly allocated Skill Points and mutation advancements, even if it took way too much effort to finally get them there.

We ran into serious trouble twice during our escapades. When Tiny and I ventured down, leaving Crinis on guard duty, she had to fight off a wave on her own. Thankfully the ants from the chamber above became aware of the ruckus and rushed down to support her. By the time Tiny and I returned it had been cleaned up and casualties were minimal. We were a bit more cautious after that and tried to make sure no monsters were able to slip past us.

Still, the second time, through some twist of tunnel, one of the waves managed to find an alternate access point to the surface. We had no idea they were up there until the colony engaged and started calling for reinforcements. When the Queen’s Guards in the chamber above started moving out, we were alerted and rushed out with them. Eventually we were able to find the monsters and defeat them, but not before a significant number of workers had been killed in the engagement.

The human refugees had almost been caught up in it. When the battle raged, the fighting had gone right to their doorsteps. Being saved by the colony seems to have driven their affection for ant monsters to even greater heights. When workers wander past their growing encampment, they bow respectfully and cheer. It’s getting a bit unnerving.

We’ve been even more careful since then.

I would’ve rushed straight into the Dungeon and shoved my mandibles through those stupid crocs’ faces if I could, but I wanted to make sure the colony was safe first. That was a few days ago now. We’ve been quietly building our strength since then, getting ready to launch our invasion and claim the marsh Expanse for ourselves!

Nobody messes with my family and gets away with it!

Entering the chamber, Crinis and Tiny get ready for action. Crinis has extended her tentacles down the tunnel for more than a hundred metres, stretching her strange flesh to the limit in order to detect vibrations.

[Bring it all back, Crinis. Time to get ready to fight]

[Yes, Master.]

The little tennis ball of boundless hunger begins to retract the thin, wire-like tendrils she had painstakingly extended down the tunnel back into her body. When the task is done, she inflates herself to her combat size, ready to unleash destruction upon our foes.

Tiny has long been primed. His hands clench and unclench repeatedly as if he can’t wait to allow his fists to go to work. The silver hair on his arms is already beginning to rise as electrical current begins to flicker across his body.

Ever since advancing his skills, Tiny has become even more obsessed with fighting, if that were even possible. I think that now he knows he can advance his skills again there’s even more relish to be had in the thrill of battle.

Actually…

Where the heck is he going?

Unable to contain himself anymore, the ape dashes down the tunnel, whooping with delight!

[Damnable ape… Let’s go, Crinis!]

Rushing after him, Crinis and I hurtle down the tunnel. In front of us, Tiny moves with impressive speed, hands and legs flailing with a strange grace as he propels his massive frame like a hairy, overweight gazelle.

I should never have told him about the Dash skill…

With us hurtling down and the monsters rushing up, it doesn’t take long for the two sides to crash into each other like speeding trucks.

Boom!