RinoZ
patreon
Chapter 1559 - Escalation
🕑 Added 2025-03-09 12:02:04 +0000 UTCI have to say, the new armour is working out nicely. Not only is it resistant to the slime and slop of the fifth, but it imparts a little of that resistance to my carapace. Which means, I can endure getting splashed with the filth that comes my way a little better than I could before. Of course, being resistant is one thing, not getting damaged is quite another. As far as I know, there isn’t anything on Pangera capable of surviving prolonged exposure to the mana of the fifth stratum, and this armour will be no different.
If I don’t treat it well, it’s going to need repairs sooner rather than later, and I’d rather not have Smithant mad at me so soon after she went ahead and made something so nice. I’ll do my best to make sure that it doesn’t get damaged too soon.
At least I can stand on the front with a little more confidence than I did before, which is good. Naturally, that’s where I am now, unleashing as much punishment upon the enemy as I can using my starcrusher, gravity bombs and wells, Dragons Breath and all the other tricks I have up my carapace.
The howl of gravity bombs has become a constant refrain lately. They’re so energy intensive, and they become exhausted quickly when they suck up mucus, but they’re still the most efficient method for chewing up problem monsters before they can get too close.
Speaking of problem monsters, there are more and more of them lately. The wave is intensifying and more monsters are crawling up from their hidey holes lower down. Right now, we don’t have the Krath herding them all towards us, which is nice, but the ones who do manage to spot the fortress always come gunning for it. Some of them have been big, beefy beasts, needing empowered gravity bombs to help bring them down.
This is a problem that’s only going to get worse over time. There are still weeks left before the wave subsides, and until then, the pressure is only going to ramp up further and further. Well, I’m also gaining tons of XP from all of this constant fighting. I’ll need to check my Skills and Mutations soon to see what I can improve. If there are any big ticket items, it’ll be a massive help, powering me up for the struggles to come. Although I’m not sure how much Biomass I’ve actually managed to get… not much probably.
Just as I’m lamenting the poor food options in this place, I hear a strange sound come reverberating up the tunnel. It’s not a roar, or scream. I’ve heard an awful lot of those since being reborn on Pangera, I think I’m an expert at monster sounds at this point. No, it’s something entirely different. It’s like… like a rock complaining about its joints.
A grinding, rumbling sound, the sound of minerals cracking and scraping, but in a… living, moving sense.
I have a sinking feeling in my core.
“Everyone brace! Something is coming!” I warn the platform.
Pushing my brains to their limits, I spin together two gravity bombs, packing them tight with mana from a gravitational construct then launching them. I dump the energy of the altar into both as well, giving them the extra oomph they need. Immediately, the howling screech of the bombs sucks away the air and sound of the battle before they expand into voids of pure darkness, pulling in and devouring monsters and mucus alike.
Despite how powerful they are, not even gravity bombs are immune to the degradation of the fifth, filling up rapidly with literal tons of thick, toxic mucus, those two will fade away soon. Using the time they brought, I continue to pump out as much gravity mana as I can, my minds straining as they threads of power are seized and woven into a new shape, one I haven’t used all that much. It might be a bit risky to go for a Singularity right now, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it’s going to prove necessary.
Once again, a deep, reverberating mineral sound echoes up the tunnel. More desperate this time, more furious. It sounds like someone has seriously ticked off a block of quartz. What sort of monster makes a noise like that? I have no idea, but I get the feeling I’m going to find out.
The local monsters don’t seem at all affected. The cleansed mana covering the platform is so offensive to them they continue to attack, heedless of everything else that’s happening. With most of my attention locked into crafting the Singularity, I don’t have the capacity to help my fellow ants much right now, they’re going to have to hold on their own.
The noise is getting closer, and angrier, with every passing second. I’m still baffled, what sort of monster is this?!
Then it comes into view. At first, I thought I saw the tunnel moving in the distance, but no, it isn’t. A block of sentient quartz? I wasn’t far off! This monster is definitely from the sixth….
Comments
ManguKing
I wonder if the leftover of gravity bombs could be liquified into pure mana? That would be so good!!!
ManguKing
I hope that core survives. that's a great pet for the colony
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
Grey Knight Lord
Ch 958, in the chapter it was specifically stated that nothing born had ever set foot in the final dungeon, the realm of Ancients. The 7th is just a deeper strata
Gonvas
we known the 4th and 5th have them, and now the 6th too.
Gonvas
It seems from the 4th down, Elementals are a type of monster the strata have in common.
Gonvas
What Grey Knight said was not from a character's POV or writing in an excerpt. It's different from what characters say based on their knowledge. it's on ch 958.
alt31415
Grey Knight, it was also stated that the Krath are monsters. And the Legion denies having any outposts in the 5th.
Brian Schwab
I found a typo in this sentence: “Using the time they brought, I continue to pump out as much gravity mana as I can, my minds straining as they threads of power are seized and woven into a new shape, one I haven’t used all that much.” Where the ‘they’ before threads should probably be ‘the’.
Grey Knight Lord
The 7th strata is not the realm of the Ancients. In the chapter where the Demon God awoke, it was stated no creature born or of the surface had ever set foot in that realm or could survive.
Brandon14754
the seventh should still have biomass, and strong enough monsters should be able to eat those materials. we've seem monsters eat other monsters like hard skin and such and even iirc anthony eating some shells so if you're a similar tier it should be eat-able. like if someone ate anthony I'm sure his carapace would give biomass despite being diamond
Hayden Leech
Does the fifth have biomass? If it’s all Crystal and metal…
alt31415
Since the description of the 7th was VERY similar to the domain of that one rock-and-metal ancient (A world where metal flows like water) my guess is the 7th is where the Ancients live, and Morellia's parents happened to travel to that ancient's domain.
Anthony Romanov
I don't think it candidate but it could be intelligent monster that may join outpost to weather the wave.
alt31415
Not sure about 'mystic'. The one earlier was a storm elemental type thingy which still usually aligns with 'air'. And I mean, the 4th is the "Land of Myths" anyway.
Brandon14754
that was the 7th not the 6th, the only thing we know about the sixth is the storm elemental made up of purple lightning and blue clouds, and this new quartz/stone elemental are two monsters from it
daroi holtsag
I'd say near zero, It's probably just target practice
Navarog
From what we know 4th is all about nature and elementals there are more like water, earth etc. But 6th is more about mistic. We have seen one strange 6th monster in the last wave too.
Hayden Leech
Sixth!! We saw a glimpse of the sixth from Morelia’s mom/dad.
alt31415
How is the 6th's love of elementals different from the 4th's love of elementals?
Brandon14754
I wonder what the chances are this monster is the other candidate?
Brandon14754
Interesting so the two monsters we've seen so far from the 6th are a storm elemental made of purple lighting and blue clouds and a now quartz/stone elemental, I wonder what the 6th strata is like, does it spawn a lot of elementals? Or do just elementals have an easier time getting through the 5th?
Chiara C
So now it’s confirmed the sixth is home to elementals. I wonder if we’ll see again that strange intelligent elemental he fought during the last wave. And if he/she (IT probably) is someone important
Rick Delallata
Wasn't talking about that particular monster, just the momsters coming up from the 6th
Ozzy
Probably not. There isn't much left after getting blasted by a singularity.
Nathan Emerson
So the sixth are just so tough and dense that they ignore the fifth.
Rick Delallata
Well maybe the monsters of the 6th will provide new biomass and cores the Colony can use
