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Chapter 705 - Evolution pt 3
🕑 Added 2021-01-30 03:26:55 +0000 UTCI'm not trying to drag this out, I promise. This chapter is over 1500 words!
After discussing the various benefits of the Elemental Ant, which were impressive to say the least, I was read to move on. As cool as the evolution is, I'm not about to throw away my precious gravity mana. Powerful elemental spells? Sure, that'd be great and all, but would they really match up to what the Gravity Bomb can do? Can they match up to what the gravity bomb will be able to do in the future? The more mental strength I accumulate, the deadlier the gravity bomb will get. If I ever manage to actually snipe the Gravity Mana Affinity skill, then my proficiency will soar!
Besides, trading future growth for strength in the present is just not my style. I'd much rather go the other way!
Moving onto the next option, the Diamond Soldier. I've got a good feeling about this one!
[Rare Evolution: Diamond Soldier. +20 bonus to Cunning, +20 bonus to Will, +100 bonus to Might, +100 bonus to Toughness. The Diamond Soldier is an unbreakable frontline warrior and leader who is capable of turning the tide of battle single handed, without drawing on the support of others of its kind. The carapace and mandibles will be reforged into Fetid Diamond, a material as hard as it is toxic, enemies who draw too close, or suffer a bite, will experience the immensely powerful poison embedded within (warning, this will reset all mutations). In addition, a diamond parasite hive will be added.]
Uh… what? Granin winces.
[I was worried about this happening,] he says.
[What do you mean?]
[This is basically the option you wanted next evolution. Despite how it sounds, this is actually better than I thought you might get at this stage. Fetid Diamond is a fourth strata material, it's exceptionally powerful. Hard as nails, much more so than your current exo-skeleton, and even a touch of the stuff is capable of killing the unprepared. Your mandibles would effectively get not only a hardness upgrade, but an exceptionally potent toxin upgrade for free.]
[But what's this about a parasite hive?! I'm not sure how I feel about that!]
Torrina raises her hands in a calming gesture.
[It's a good thing, even if it sounds… a little weird. Basically a small nest of symbiotic parasites would be crated within the carapace and they excrete material that hardens and toughens your shell over time. It's a powerful upgrade.]
I'm really not comfortable with voluntarily adding parasites to my carapace.
[If you'd gotten this option next time, you probably would have seen some of the diamond types from the fifth strata, like I told you about. There's still a chance you might see it, but since it came up here…]
[The odds are diminished…]
[Right,] he nods.
Well damn.
[Is Fetid Diamond even shiny?] I ask.
All three of the golgari look away.
[It's more of a dull yellow-green,] Torrina mutters.
REJECTED, DAMMIT.
I really had my hopes up for the Diamond Soldier! The stats are great, the cash-ins are good, just the material is wrong! What a waste! If this costs me my perfect diamond upgrade next time, I'm going to be super annoyed! Annoyed I say! Bah to you, Gandalf! Even if I have to pay for the cash-ins myself, I'm getting me a sweet, fifth strata diamond shell, no matter what!
Next!
[Rare Evolution: All-Seeing Scout. +40 bonus to Cunning, +30 bonus to Will, +80 bonus to Might, +80 bonus to Toughness. To see all and know all is the purpose of the All-Seeing Scout. The eyes are remade into Demonic Lenses (warning, this will reset all mutations). In addition, a Visual Array Matrix will added to the brain, along with a Spectral Wave Eye. Together, these will eliminate the ability of the All-Seeing Scout to see, instead allowing them to view all things in the mind's eye.]
Wait… So becoming an 'All-Seeing Scout'… makes me blind?!
[Pretty much,] Granin says, [you'll be a bit like Crinis, except with much more potent non-visual 'sight'. The two Demonic Lenses don't act like eyes at all, more like receptors that will coordinate with the Spectral Wave Eye to capture signals that normal eyes just can't see. The Visual Array Matrix is pretty much a must for this sort of build since your normal brain won't be able to interpret the scope of information that you'll be getting.]
Huh. So if I think about this with an Earth analogy, the two demonic lenses are like satellite dishes, the Spectral Eye is like the antenna and the Matrix is like a computer. The eye detects the signals collected by the dishes and the matrix interprets it all. I mean, it sounds handy and all, but I'm not convinced that it's for me.
[This is actually strong,] Corun pipes up, [sensory upgrades are expensive, very much so, and a package like this is pretty much top of the line for a monster of your tier. You'd be impossible to sneak up on, and don't underestimate the benefits that these types of senses can have for mages.]
I turn to Granin.
[It's true,] he shrugs, [your sensitivity to mana will go way up. Forget Mana Sense, with this setup you'll be able to see mana. Heck, you can actually 'see' a short distance into stone if my memory serves. And this is all before mutations. You can upgrade the lenses to be more sensitive, have longer range, collect in a wider area, specialise in a certain type of input, and ditto with the Spectral Eye. A small side benefit, demonic lenses are, as I said, not eyes. They're hard, much harder than chitin. You'd effectively eliminate the weak point in your carapace with this evolution.]
That is an unexpected and potentially juicy side benefit. Initially I was quite disappointed in this evolution, but I've warmed up to it after their analysis. It's true that having better information is a key component of battle. Knowing where your opponent is at all times, finding them before they find you, it's all extremely important, especially for the stealthy, one on one style combat that scouts tend to engage in. If I spent more time roaming out on my own than I did fighting alongside the Colony, this would be a better combat evolution than even the Diamond Soldier in my opinion. I'll have to think about this one carefully if the next evolution disappoints.
I hesitate for a moment.
[I'm not sure how much I'm going to tell you about the next evolution,] I tell the triad, [it has to do with my current species and there's a few things in there I'm not sure I want to share.]
[I wondered why you wouldn't let me take a look at your core,] Granin muses, stroking his chin, [I can make a few guesses, obviously, but I was never confident I was right.]
He turns to look at his triad mates. Torrina gives him a small nod and Corun shrugs, then Granin turns back to me with a smile.
[Our advice will obviously be limited without full information, but you have every right to your secrets. I will just say this, evolutions that go in a sequence, like from minor to major or young to mature, are usually better to be seen through all the way. There's a pattern or a set of benefits that the System intends will be completed over the course of multiple evolutions. If you bail part-way through, you generallywon't get the full package that the System intended. Sometimes there are perfectly good reasons to go in a different direction though, so don't feel trapped.]
I nod my antennae.
[Thanks, Granin, and you guys also. I appreciate you respecting my boundaries.]
[Hey, this is your decision,] Granin tells me, [we're just here for the ride.]
[More like you want to stuff me on a throne.]
Granin laughs.
[More like I want you to climb onto the throne on your own. But that's still a long, long way off.]
Who knows how far off, I still don't even know how deep the Dungeon is. I asked Granin and he told me that he had no idea, apparently nobody did. According to what the Cult of the Worm knew, nobody had ever encountered the Ancients on their own strata, only in higher layers during particularly powerful waves, and of course during the Cataclysm. For all I know there's thirty strata and I won't reach the strength of an ancient until I'm tier fifty!
Bah! No more stalling. I'm nervous for this one. Okay. Here we go.
[Rare Evolution: Mature Colony Paragon. +40 bonus to Cunning, +40 Bonus to Willpower, +90 bonus to Might, +90 bonus to Toughness. The Colony Paragon grows in strength and stature, pioneering in all areas in which the Colony seeks to excel. A leader, a soldier and a symbol, the Paragon is one with the Colony and the Colony is one with the Paragon. The Collective Will Vestibule (formica sapiens) will be reforged into Soul Crystal (warning, this will reset all mutations). In addition, a Communal Spirit Nave will be attached.]
Uhhh, wot?
Comments
Storm
generallywon't (generally won't)
Storm
I was read to move on (ready to move on)
Vampiric Dust
Yeah, think it was meant to get across the point that they help him, but hurt his enemies.
Greyg
The trill from startrek had symbiotic parasites gave them knowledge with the side effect of merging their personalities in scifi and fantasies the laws of lifeforms from earth doesn’t exist another example futurma tuna sandwhich worms
Sam Beasley
I don't want to harp on this too much, but just from a scientific standpoint, two organisms can have a symbiotic relationship or a parasitic one, not both. It doesn't make scientific sense to have 'symbiotic parasites'. But he's not picking that one anyway, so who cares in the long run.
Runaway_Cactuar
Imagine being able to hear that crazy priest preach about your greatness 24/7... he'd go mad! Don't do it Anthony!
Derar
I hope not I like s/he being their elder sister!!!
Tyrunex
My guess would be that Anthony becomes a knowledge server. He receives all knowledge of the castes and shares his own with them
Danidreye
So, anyone agree with the theory that after this upgrade, ant's souls can be stored in Anthony? The Vestibule already takes in stamina from everyone, the Soul Crystal probably upgrades the Vestibule so it can take in souls, and the Communal Spirit Nave could be a warehouse for the souls of dead ants. This would make Anthony 'one with the colony' and would maybe make it possible for him to revive any dead ants who enter the Communal Spirit Nave.
Yeno Memevig
Dont think so iirc there was an evolution path for the vestibule to include other races. If this is an upgrade maybe that's just built in?
ZaneofBane
The real question is, is faith only limited to the colony?
Gonvas
The working would be similar to the War Queen
Gonvas
Maybe the nave will have the function of transforming the faith into a active boost of power. As a side effect Anthony will start to shine 😆
Jacob Nightwolf
Basicly he just want to show up what he came up with even if he wont use it :D and i love it too
The Walrus Transcendent
No worries, I can guess what you're asking. It's a pretty common trope in litRPG that improvement options are ordered by rarity, which correlates directly with effective combat prowess. Common, uncommon, rare, epic/legendary+. So, if it's more rare, it's lower in the list, and more powerful (in sometimes abstract ways). I think the ONLY exception I've seen is in "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale", where the order is the exact opposite: rarest and most powreful first, so in a stressful situation (or if you're sub-sapient and too dumb to understand the interface) it's the default pick.
Patryk Drygiel
Anthon always takes the last improvement, is it because the system positions the evolution choice against the choice probability? (sorry for my eng)
Anthony Romanov
Well as much as Anthony dislike being leader and even less prayed to. He really has little choice as it will benefits Colony as all other sapient races have some core beliefs to support them. Colony is youngest race and ants aren't mindless drones while they do roles assigned to them, they take role model of Eldest to improve and discover new ways to do their role.
Edgar maya
Well damn
The Walrus Transcendent
It's a church thing. You pointing out that they're structurally related made me remember that this parallels the internal structure of Byzantine churches, in terminology if not in actual layout. I think Lee Ortiz below points it out well: Anthony will have a de-facto place for worship built into his body.
Lee Ortiz
He'll become a literal god to his people or something like that. I assume that aside form sensing them now, they can directly commune with him spiritually like going to a church, if he's really like a god he may be able to grant blessings later on.
Edgar maya
I had to google nave, even though I build homes I honestly don’t know how the nave relates to the vestibule
Damian
Bah, damn cliff-kun!
Edgar maya
Love it man 🥰🥰🥰
