RinoZ
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Chapter 1524 - Never Ending Stupidity
🕑 Added 2025-01-20 05:34:13 +0000 UTC“You really are a moron.”
“Eldest… please. Don’t you think I feel bad enough already?”
“About what? LIVING?! Tell me you’re upset that you survived, I dare you.”
Leeroy, wisely for once, kept her scent to herself.
I’m tempted to thwack her anyway.
“Evolving in secret, trying to sneak yourself into a fight you couldn’t survive, giving the healers an absolute conniption, not to mention the resources you could have wasted! I don’t like to call my siblings selfish, Leeroy, but holy moly you make it difficult!”
“I’m not selfish!” she protests. “I just want to give my all to the Colony!”
“How about you give ninety-ninety percent, multiple times, rather than a hundred percent just once.”
Leeroy looks confused for a moment.
“Eldest, you know maths isn’t my strong suit.”
“Much like thinking.”
I sigh. This ant is beyond redemption. No matter how many times I try and set her straight, she can’t help but hold fast to her self-destructive philosophy. Somehow, in the process, she managed to turn the others who share her point of view into useful and productive members of the Colony. It’s a miracle, really.
Leeroy now lies flat on the ground while numerous healers pick over her carapace, laughing to the point of losing their grip and falling off. All traces of the fungal growth are gone now, but I’m told it was quite the spectacular site when it was in full bloom.
Well, not like I need to see it in order to know what it does, that’s what Core Surgery is for.
[Eternal Zombie Fungus: A powerful variant of cordyceps fungus, this sem-sentient growth will use its host to spread spores to their enemies. Upon reaching critically low health, the fungus will activate, taking control of the body and drawing in what it has spread to heal the host.]
What makes this even more absurd is I’m pretty sure the spores from one Fungal host will work plenty well on another, since its the same species of fungus and the same species of host. Which means when more and more Immortals reach tier seven, they’ll be spreading the spores all over the place like crazy, making themselves even more unkillable.
“I have no idea how you did it, Leeroy, but you managed to make yourself even more unkillable.”
Unlike the Phoenix Flame Organ, which had a clearly defined weakness, the time it took to refill after being used, this fungus will just keep the ants going forever. They can’t even fall unconscious, the fungus will just take over and keep them fighting, and as long as they are inflicting damage, they’re spreading more spores, which will lead to more healing.
Just thinking of how many spores they would spread on a frontal charge makes my head hurt, they’d be able to stick in the fight for hours. In fact, they would be forced to stick in the fight!
“You’re going to force the other Immortals to choose this evolution aren’t you, Eldest?”
“Obviously. This evolution kicks thorax. Not a word from you about it either. You’ve done enough damage already.”
Leeroy just sighs. I can see she’s feeling pretty emotionally defeated, but at this point I have no idea what to do about it. Still, I don’t sympathise, this moron deserves to suffer if it means she has to stick around and help the family.
Suffer forever, fool!
“Well, not that I’m back, you can go and rest, along with the rest of the Immortals,” I tell her. “I’m sure the others will have a lot of questions about your new form, and Smithant will probably have a few things to say.”
“Alright, Eldest.”
There’s no fight left in this ant. Her glorious moment was snatched away, again. I’m sure it's temporary, nothing keeps these fools down for long. Leeroy and the rest of the Immortals will go back to scheming and fighting soon enough, I’ve no doubt.
Here they come now. Filing past in depressed, ordered ranks, each one with a healer on their back, checking them for injuries and whispering mockery into their antennae.
“You’ll live forever.”
“Look at you, not a scratch. Not now, not ever.”
“I’m so impressed,” one says, pretending sincerity, “you’re dedicated to eternal service of the Colony. Eternal. Eternal.”’
“I heard you the first time,” the poor Immortal complains.
“Eternalllll,” the healer whispers, trailing off as she continues to check for injuries.
Shaking my head, I turn my back on the sorry sight and head back out to the platform, letting the gates slam shut behind me.
As ever, it’s complete mayhem out here, and it's only getting worse as the wave intensifies. Well, nothing else for it, back into the thick of it.
My brains whip into gear as I start to draw deep on my gravitational mana, spinning it together and preparing to unleash a Gravity Well. While I’m at it, I start putting together a gravity mana construct. I’m going to be absolutely pumping out the gravity spells this time around. I need to get used to using my new magic after all. We’ll see how the fifth likes getting blasted in the face with a singularity or five.
I’m going to give the wave absolute heck until they force me to go back and sleep again.
The Templar are already out here, waiting for me as I step to the centre of the platform.
“Feeling rested, Eldest,” Emilia asks me.
I poke her with an antenna.
“Time for fighting.”
Comments
Elmithian
Nah, I'd love having RinoZ keep kicking the horse that simply won't die... *foreveeer*
Jonathon Noha
Perfect
saltyApple
Tauntant
1536539
Well, not that I’m back, you can go and rest Well, now that I’m back, you can go and rest
Jonathon Noha
The healer ant that kept whispering "eternal" needs a name so I can call it my favorite healer ant.
saltyApple
Leeroy chapters are always so good. Great to come back after a while of not reading and read about my fave younger sibling struggling against the weighty burden of life itself. Shes so iconic. I love how unexpected that evolution was.
BelligerentGnu
Yes. Let them win.
alt31415
And let the Immortals win?!
DrDankness
Lol its like an angry healer deliberately throwing hydrogen peroxide on their mental cuts. You will not escape the grasp of lifeeeeee...
DrDankness
So you are pretty much saying they have to either fight an incredibly powerful t8 that has a move like Anthony's singularity, or fight a T9 or ancient outright and get deleted. So... they are effectively immortal most things considered except for when challenging one of the ancients or going into the deep floors.
alt31415
The field of effect is 'longer' but not nearly as wide. It was described as being 'meters' across. Oh wow, whole meters!
alt31415
Gandalf is just fucking with them at this point.
alt31415
Eh... "It spent time ambushing me instead of going for the Colony! I win!"
Brian Schwab
Not quite, if they try and fight just one enemy that is too strong to even damage especially alone, then they would have spores on enemy to pull back and heal themselves as they take damage from it, and that might be able to kill them, unless the fungus will still take over and make them retreat in that scenario. But I think they need at least some way to die be possible to not get all depressed again, no matter how unlikely it is or that the colony will do its best to avoid putting them in the situation where it could happen.
Runaway_Cactuar
Well, it has a weakness, just like the Phoenix Organ. If some Tier 8 ambushes Leeroy without getting damaged, death is still possible lol. It just won't be the glorious kind that she wants~
BelligerentGnu
*sigh* Just let them die already.
Caleb Herring
Love to see the healers get to blow off some steam by supporting and encouraging their immortal sisters lol
Fabian
I think it starts growing on the enemies the Zomie ants did damage to, developing on inflicted wounds. With their charge doing widespread damage, they fill the whole battlefield with spores, making "not enough spores" unlikely in the short run.
Buck
Poor Leeroy. Despite being misguided, she does her best fir the Colony.
Loulatsch
I kinda dont get this fungus thing. So it starts growing when ant is on low hp. Ant with low hp uses spores to heal itself. What if there arent enough spores how do new spores regenerate? I kinda would like to see the other evolutions maybe another immortal will pick pne of the other options?
Vibious
Eternallll lol
Peter Cigáň
Leeroy’s new nickname? The Eternal? The first Imortal? Sounds cool
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
Colin C
Typo "Well, not that I’m back," -> "Well, now that I’m back,"
Anthony Romanov
Singularity is like a beam but it also sucks everything around it like gravity bomb. It field of effect is much higher from what can be seen. You can't dodge it as it will you into it.
DrDankness
Point still stands. The immortals might literally live up to their name hahaha
Anthony Romanov
Monsters don't age unlike sepients and then sepients have long lives due to their level. So as long as monster survives they don't age.
ZaneofBane
So, what happens if they don't die? Do the fungal spores use the biomass some other way?
DrDankness
Hahahahahaha You are telling me the fungus not only zombifies them but deliberately restores the host? And that shit stacks with each other? Holy shit no one but these mad idiots would take that kind of gamble on an evolution but man did they hit the jackpot in terms of making themselves absolutely utterly impossibly unkillable. At this rate leeroy might end up outliving the rest of the entire colony.
alt31415
Lol, Rino loves cranking out the Leeroy chapters. Can’t blame him, I love reading them. “Somehow, in the process, she managed to turn the others who share her point of view into useful and productive members of the Colony.” – Leeroy, undercover Champion “that’s what Core Surgery is for.” – Speaking of which, PET CORE ANALYSIS, PLEASE. I MUST KNOW WHAT INVIDIA GOT OTHER THAN BEING NICER! “This evolution kicks thorax.” – Wouldn’t it be ‘kicks abdomen’? “not that I’m back” – Now that I’m back. “We’ll see how the fifth likes getting blasted in the face with a singularity or five.” – I dunno, Singularity seems really unimpressive as a vs monsters attack. Like it’s a beam, move out of the way. As a fortress-buster, though…
Wensber
Thanks for the chapter!
Zack Collier
We seek
SleepingNight
I love the sass/gloating of the healers at the Immortals.
Jimmy James
Love how they tease the immortals and even the Eldest at times. It really feels like family siblings messing with each other.
Brandon14754
I'm glad the healers finally found an easy job that can bring them joy
Suer
Eternaaaaaal
snips
Lol will the immortal be ghost next? Will they be truly satisfied. Only time will tell.
kev mil
Tyftc
Bethany Bluebird
Rino. Rino you are SPOILING ME AGAIN. 2 CHAPPIES BECORE BED??? AND they involve Leeroy??? Blessed are we by the presence of the great one!
