《Full Yellow Jacket》 Chapter 1: The Man with No Name I squinted into the light, my heart racing. I¡¯d just been shot, I was dying! There was no pain, looking down I couldn¡¯t see my body. I panicked glancing around the white endless expanse I was in. This wasn¡¯t where I had just been I¡¯d been bleeding out in¡­in¡­ I couldn¡¯t remember where I¡¯d been. I¡¯d been shot and dying I knew that but why was I shot, who was I? I started panicking again realizing I couldn¡¯t remember a thing about myself right now, name? Nada, what I¡¯d done for a living? No clue. Why and where I¡¯d been shot? Hadn¡¯t the foggiest. The lack of information actually made me start to lose my panic and focus. It¡¯s hard to be afraid of, well nothing. Taking stock of my situation I looked around me. Where was I?
Welcome to Anthora! You have been reincarnated into the world of Anthora to help repopulate it, the world has suffered a series of cataclysmic events within the past century which have massively depopulated its species. You have been randomly selected to be reincarnated as one of the lost species, please select from the following options.
Dolomedes Plantarisu Sapiens (Raft-Spider Humanoid): Starting gender male or female.
Starting Skills: Water Walking (Uncommon), Silk Weaving (Rare), Hibernation (uncommon), Tremor Sense (Rare)
Starting Mutation Paths: Spinnerets (Rare), Paddle Legs (uncommon), Fangs (uncommon), Feeler Hairs (Rare)
Stenophylla Cryptus (Monstrous Mantis): Starting gender male or female (Warning starting intellect may be affected by base Stats)
Starting Skills: Camouflage (Uncommon), Carnivorous (Common), Sneak Attack (Uncommon), Jump (Uncommon)
Starting Mutation Paths: Raptorial Legs (Rare), Compression Muscles (uncommon), Mandibles (uncommon)
Dolichovespula Sapiens (Yellowjacket Humanoid): Starting gender male or female.
Starting Skills: Hivemaker (uncommon), Carnivorous (common), Social (Uncommon) Flight (Uncommon)
Starting Mutation Paths: Adhesive Saliva (uncommon), Stinger (Rare), Venom Sack (Rare), Hunter Antenna (uncommon)
Dorylus Sapiens (Nomadic Army-Ant Humanoid): Starting gender female.
Starting Skills: Command (Rare), Social (Uncommon), Omnivorous (Uncommon), Healing Feelers (Rare)
Starting Mutation Paths: Pheromone Gland (uncommon), Mass Ovipositor (Rare), Mandibles (uncommon), Regenerative Saliva (Rare)
Lumbricina Sapiens (Earth-Worm Humanoid): Starting Gender, male or female (Can switch between genders as needed).
Starting Mutation Paths: Adhesive Mucus Gland (Rare), Absorption Gland (uncommon), Pressure Sensors (Rare), Toxic Blood (uncommon)
Starting Skills: Digger (Uncommon), Herbivore (common), Segmentation (Rare), Tremor Sense (Rare)
I ignored the screen for a moment as the revelation I was dead hit me. I wanted to deny it but the words from the screen just felt true in a way I couldn¡¯t describe. I was dead, I had left whatever life and or world I¡¯d come from. Now I was being reincarnated, maybe this was something that happened to everyone, maybe it had happened to me already. Since I couldn¡¯t remember anything about my past life, I couldn¡¯t be sure. I could still remember things, I wasn¡¯t a blank slate; I knew for instance that sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter combine to form gunpowder, that you shouldn¡¯t mix bleach and ammonia, or you¡¯d get mustard gas. But when it came to personal details like my name, my family, job or friends I couldn¡¯t remember a thing. Feeling the panic coming back I pushed it aside to focus on the prompt I¡¯d been given. There was a scientific name followed by a translation, Raft-Spider Humanoid. As I read those words, I was suddenly sure I had been human in my past life. I held onto that tiny piece of who I was, every detail vital for my sense of self. Looking over it I read the starting skills and whatever a mutation tree was. I looked like I¡¯d be some sort of water dwelling insect person if I chose that option. It didn¡¯t sound bad and being some sort of spider sounded kind of cool, but I¡¯d look over all my options before coming to any sort of decision. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Monstrous Mantis sounded awesome but the warning about a possible reduction in my intelligence was a serious problem. I didn¡¯t think I was a genius or anything, but I knew that intelligence was way more important than just raw brawn or physical toughness. Ask tigers and lions how being stronger and faster than humans is working out on the survival success rate. The monstrous mantis¡¯ abilities all focused around being some sort of stealth assassin hunter which was interesting but not enough to look past the intelligence penalty. The next option was much more palatable, Yellowjacket humanoid. Wasps were assholes so that wasn¡¯t great, but I could always choose not to be an asshole. Its abilities were another point in its favor, I wasn¡¯t sure what Hivemaker was exactly, or Social but having a stinger sounded great, and Flight instantly put it at the top of my list. The other options of Hunter Antenna and Venom Sack I could guess what they did and they both sounded useful. Carnivorous was self-explanatory but it sounded like it would limit my food choices, but I could live with that. The next option Nomadic Army Ant was interesting but looking at its gender restriction and abilities made me discount it. I felt down to my core that I had been male in my past life, and I wanted to hold onto as much of who I¡¯d been before as I could. Plus, the abilities made me think I¡¯d be playing as an ant queen creating soldiers to send out instead of doing anything myself. I wanted to be active not some passive manager of others. When I read the last option Earth Worm Humanoid, I was equally disappointed. Just the name was bad, there was nothing cool about the idea of being a worm. Its abilities were all bummers to and I didn¡¯t see a single ability or mutation that looked like it gave an option for offense. No wonder these people had gone extinct. After reading everything I went back to the Yellowjacket option. ¡°I pick this one?¡± I said my words more of a question as I was unsure how to actually make my selection or who I was talking to.
Congratulations on making your selection! As you are a reincarnate on Anthora you will be given an additional trait of your choice! Please select from the following options.
What proceeded was a list thousands of options long, I tried reading carefully at first but eventually I just started skimming through them. There were ones that would increase all damage I dealt, one that would allow me to rapidly heal during combat, one that would give my natural weapons an electric property, one that allowed me to see perfectly in all conditions. There was a trait for almost everything, but they all had their downsides. For instance, one called diamond carapace would make my exterior incredibly hard but would reduce my movement speed by one quarter and reduce Flight to Gliding. I kept reading until I settled on one choice that stuck out.
Analyze Absorption (Unique): For the cost of one tenth of your current XP you absorb a creature via touch gaining access to one random branch of an ability¡¯s evolution tree, continuous use on the same type of creature reduces the chance of gaining a new branch by 10% per successful use. Doing so destroys all biomass in the creature but will allow you to modify your biological structure to gain new organs with that species specific ability.
The description of the trait told me a lot about the world I was going too. For instance, it was like some RPG with experience points to earn. There was biomass which presumably I¡¯d need for something. I liked the trait it seemed like a way for me to farm anything I fought for new abilities or ways to upgrade myself. If I thought of my species like classes, then this would be a way for me to play as one class and steal different features from other classes multiclassing into something that no one could prepare for or predict. The ability had a cost, I¡¯d lose XP and all the biomass from the creature, but I would gain something potentially infinitely more valuable. Ultimately, I didn¡¯t know enough about the world I¡¯d be spawned into to tell if this was a good choice or not, but I decided to take the risk. ¡°I want this option,¡± I told the mysterious voice my voice audible but coming from no source and everywhere at once.
Trait selected! Finalizing character creation, please select from your species base starting traits and then select your gender.
Warrior (Uncommon): A soldier of your hive you gain increased experience from combat. Increased chance to learn new combat related abilities.
Crafter (common): Focused on building up your hive to expand your borders you gain increased experience from finishing structures and items. Increased chance to learn new crafter related abilities.
Breeder (Rare): A hive¡¯s strength is often in its numbers; you gain a percentage of the experience from all your spawn. Increased chance to learn new social and rearing abilities.
The options here were much more limited but that made it easier to choose. The first option would be for me if I planned on being more aggressive. The second didn¡¯t seem very wasp like but a strong base was probably an important thing to construct. The third was something someone playing the long game would choose no increased experience for your direct actions, but you could eventually rake in loads of experience if you had enough children, and your hive was strong. I dismissed crafter, I didn¡¯t dislike the idea of building but doing so as my primary method of leveling up wasn¡¯t appealing. That left Warrior and Breeder, Breeder was the better of the two options, but it had one major downside, I would need other wasps to make it work. Since I was literally the only current member of an extinct species as far as I knew that would be extremely hard to find. ¡°I select Warrior and male,¡± I said. Congratulations and welcome to Anthora! The voice chimed out. Please select a name or one will be entered for you. I¡¯d had a name before I was sure of it, but I had no memory of it now. What was a name for a wasp? Wasps could fly, had stinger, lived in hives and hunted other bugs. I was a warrior, and both my starting traits incentivized me to go out and kill as many other bugs as possible. Wasps and hornets were at the apex of the insect hierarchy capable of killing spiders, frogs and small rodents five times their size. ¡°Predator,¡± I told the voice. Everything went black. Chapter 2: Kill Steal
Spawning new Denizen of Anthora!
Name: Predator
Health: 10/10
Stamina: 20/20 Recovery: 1 per 30 seconds.
Focus: 35/35 Recovery: 4 per 30 seconds.
Brawn: 10 Intelligence: 16
Dexterity: 14 Perception: 14
Toughness: 10 Charisma: 8
Species: Dolichovespula Sapiens (Yellowjacket Humanoid)
Traits: Warrior (Base), Analyze Absorption (Reincarnation Bonus)
Skills: Pulp Hivemaker (uncommon), Carnivorous (common), Social (Uncommon) Flight (Uncommon)
Mutation Paths: Adhesive Saliva (uncommon), Venomous Stinger (Rare), Venom Sack (Rare), Hunter Antenna (uncommon)
Available Biomass: 0 Experience: 0/10
Once again, I was blinded by the light blinking out into a vast expanse of wilderness. Trees towered over me, and when I say towered, I meant they went so high the details of their branches were blurry from where I stood. No skyscrapers I¡¯d ever heard of even came close to how big they were in comparison to me. I was insect-sized in a massive world.
System Quest! Bring Back from Extinction: You are a member of a formerly extinct race, bring back your race from the edge of annihilation.
Step One: Find a viable mate to pass on your genetic code. (No viable member of your species is detected nearby.)
Reward 1000 XP and a personal Race upgrade.
Looking around I saw I was standing on a massive flat rock at the edge of what would have been a brook but to me was a river bigger than the Mississippi. I looked down at myself and saw I wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes, luckily, I didn¡¯t see any dangly bits although I could feel my privacy down there. I had some thin carapace guards along my legs and crotch with a mental stretch they opened out and my two best friends were hanging out along with my flagpole. I retracted them again, my crotch plate keeping my boys safe. My feet were weird, they looked more like two knives than what I¡¯d had before, I could grip things with them which was a new experience and I imagined it would hurt something to be kicked by them. ¡°Well at least I¡¯m not naked,¡± I said. ¡°My voice sounded normal to me, it wasn¡¯t base or gravely but was still clearly masculine. My new body was around six feet tall if I had to guess or maybe only a few inches depending on the standard measurements in this world. Holding out my two arms I saw the yellow carapace guarding my forearms. The carapace was black and my skin a bright saffron yellow with the occasional yellow markings. My right arm had a strange thing attached to its outside when I focused on it a smooth pointed singer shot out its tip dripping with a dark fluid. Looking behind me I was relieved not to see some massive thorax. I had a pair of two wings extending from my shoulder blades extending down to my ankles. I felt something in my back and my wings began to buzz. ¡°Whoa there!¡± I said as I lifted four feet off the ground. Managing to land I stumbled for a few feet before coming to a stop.
Flight Level Up! Flight, Level 1!
I blinked away the words in my vision. I wasn¡¯t sure what it meant for my abilities to level up but hopefully, it would prevent me from falling to a horrible death. Feeling up my face, I felt a mouth which was normal apart from the jagged sharp teeth, I had a nose and my eyes felt bigger than what I what a humans were. I couldn¡¯t tell if I saw the world differently than how a human did. I had long hair but no facial hair. Thick fur covered the back of my calves and along the inside of my arms and I could feel the air as the wind blew through it. I had a pair of antennae that felt at the air and I could smell through them which was the weirdest thing I¡¯d ever felt. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Well, I¡¯m level zero in pretty much everything,¡± I said to myself and felt a rumble in my belly. ¡°And I¡¯m starving and need some biomass. It¡¯s time to see what this world is like.¡± It was nerve-wracking at first but eventually, I psyched myself up enough to jump off the edge of the rock. My wings buzzing, I made a controlled dive slowly approaching the ground. I landed on top of a leaf of a bush.
Flight Level Up! Flight, Level 2!
Even though I was incredibly small in comparison to the world I was in I was just going to go with measurements in relation to my size. I was about fifteen feet off the ground and looked around. I heard what sounded like a helicopter and ducked down. A bee the size of a Volkswagen buzzed by before flying up to a tulip about fifty yards away. When I looked at the bee words popped into my vision.
Gigas Anthophila Cryptus, (Monstrous Giant Bee); Level 10
The thing had an entire ten levels on me not to mention its size so fighting it was out of the question. I waited until it left and scanned the ground for more prey. A column of ten ants moved passed me.
Ergates Formicidae Brutus (Ant Worker Beast); Level 3
Each of the ants was level three but they still had levels on me as well as numbers and I didn¡¯t fancy a fight will all ten for my first combat in this world. Jumping off the leaf I took to the air buzzing above the ground as I scanned for my first target. I spotted two bugs fighting and stopped atop a large rock to watch them from above. A centipede was fighting with a group of four ants like the ones I¡¯d seen before, more lay dead around it, the ants were retreating likely to get reinforcements, but the Centipede was winning for now.
Lithobius Forficatus Cryptus (Monstrous Stone Centipede): Level 5
The Centipede was three times as long as I was tall, and the ants were each around the size of a massif. I watched as the Centipede was tired out but only two ants remained alive, but they¡¯d finish off soon, and if not them, then their reinforcements. I had to act now, standing up from my crouched position, I extended my stinger from its sheath on my arm and jumped. I dived my wings guiding me as I slammed into the centipede from behind driving my stinger into the back of its head.
You have killed a Level 3 Monstrous Stone Centipede, 28 Experience Earned
Level Up! You are now Level 2!
Learn to kill in combat with your stinger! Skill Gained, Stinger-fighter level 1.
Kill an enemy from ambush in a single strike! Skill Gained, Sneak Attack level 1.
¡°Well, that sucked,¡± I said looking down at my kill, all that experience wasted. Then I looked at the two ants who seemed to be stunned. Jumping forward before they could act; I rammed my stinger through the first ant¡¯s head.
You have killed a Level 3 Ant Worker Beast, 4 Experience Gained.
Level Up! You are now Level 3!
The other ant lunged at me with its mandibles. They clamped down on my left arm and pinched hard, my carapace held barely but I could hear it crack and screamed with pain. I stabbed forward over and over in pain-infused desperation. ¡°Get off! Get off!¡± I screamed as I flailed at it. Luckily, I managed to hit the ant in the head and my venomous stinger killed it instantly.
You have killed a Level 3 Ant Worker Beast, 4 Experience Gained.
Level Up Stinger Fighter! Stinger-fighter Level 2!
I didn¡¯t level up from that kill. I cradled my mangled arm but pushed away the pain as I smelled the approach of more ants with my antenna. I didn¡¯t have time to eat the massive centipede of course but I could do something else. Placing my hand on it I tried to think about absorbing it.
Would you like to absorb Lithobius Forficatus Cryptus for the cost of 1 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
Mentally selecting yes, I felt energy flow through my palm into the creature, it expanded through the whole centipede before flowing back into me. The Centipede was a literal husk looking like it had decayed in the sun for several weeks.
Pincers Unlocked! You now have access to the Pincers mutation path! Error! Subject does not have Pincers, ability disabled until mutation is activated.
I didn¡¯t have time to gloat or look over my new gains because the ants would be here soon. I still had three XP left I could spend. I touched the nearest ant and used my trait on it.
Would you like to absorb Ergates Formicidae Brutus for the cost of 1 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
I selected yes mentally and began the process of absorbing.
Pheromone Gland Unlocked! You now have access to the Pheromone Gland mutation path! Error! Subject does not have Pheromone Gland, ability disabled until the gland is acquired.
Each use of the ability took about ten seconds, and I could smell the ants getting closer, I had maybe a minute at most. Touch the next ant I proceeded to absorb it.
Would you like to absorb Ergates Formicidae Brutus for the cost of 1 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
Thick Muscle Support Unlocked! You now have access to the Thick Muscle Support mutation path! Muscle Support Found, upgrading to Thick Muscle Support; You can now lift much more weight than normal.
My body twisted in pain and I spasmed to the ground for a few seconds until it finally ended. There were only three more ants left that I could absorb. Placing my hand on the biggest of them I pushed my energy into and pulled out its life essence.
Would you like to absorb Ergates Formicidae Brutus for the cost of 1 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
Light Carapace Unlocked! You now have access to the Light Carapace mutation path! Error! Subject does not have Light Carapace, ability disabled until carapace is acquired.
I picked up the other two ants under each arm. They were bulky and heavy, but I managed. I couldn¡¯t fly with them, but I could use my wings to give me extra speed as I ran. I kept running until I was a few hundred yards away.
You have learned to carry loads much heavier than you should be able to with your mass! Skill Gained Heavy Porter Level 1.
Flight Level Up! Flight Level 5! Skill point gained.
Panting for breath I looked down at the corner of my vision, there were three bars like in video games, one red, then green and blue. The green bar was flashing empty and the red one was at the halfway mark while the blue one hadn¡¯t even been touched. I waited until the green bar filled a little then jumped/flew to the top of the rock about fifteen feet off the ground. Setting down my two prizes I pulled off a leg and began to eat. Chapter 3: Yum! Biomass!
Carnivorous Level Up! Carnivorous Level 1!
1 biomass gained.
The message appeared as soon as I finished off the ant leg. ¡°What is biomass used for?¡± I asked hoping the voice would answer. I got nothing. ¡°Open menu,¡± I tried. Still nada. ¡°Status,¡± I tried again.
You have leveled up to twice, four Stat points available.
One skill point available for Flight.
Name: Predator
Level: 3
Health: 25/25
Stamina: 20/20 Recovery: 1 per 30 seconds.
Focus: 35/35 Recovery: 4 per 30 seconds.
Brawn: 10 Intelligence: 16
Dexterity: 14 Perception: 14
Toughness: 10 Charisma: 8
Species: Dolichovespula Sapiens (Yellowjacket Humanoid)
Traits: Warrior (Base), Analyze Absorption (Reincarnation Bonus)
Skills: Hivemaker (Level 0), Carnivorous (Level 1), Social (Level 0) Flight (Level 5), Sneak Attack (Lvl 1), Stinger Fighter (Level 2)
Mutation Paths: Adhesive Saliva (uncommon), Stinger (Rare), Venom Sack (Rare), Hunter Antenna (uncommon), Thick Muscle Structure (uncommon)
Available Biomass: 1
Experience: 2/40
Available Stat Points: 6
Thinking back to my starting stats my health, stamina, and focus had each gone up by around five points per level. I still had no idea what Focus was even used for. I also didn¡¯t know what my abilities did even though I¡¯d been leveling up a few of them and even had a skill point for Flight. Ripping off another ant leg I chewed it, the raw meat didn¡¯t taste bad, and eating it made me feel substantially better. I had skills but I had no idea what they did for me or how to use my mutation paths. ¡°Skill Description,¡± I said. I was greeted with a wall of text I¡¯d never seen before.
Hivemaker (Uncommon) (Level 0): A member of a group of hunters you know how to construct a home to rear your young and protect your mate.
Increases the durability of structures you create by .5 points per skill level. Benefits from Toughness.
Carnivorous (Common) (Level 1): A predator and hunter you eat your kills to sustain you and fuel your growth and that of your hive.
Eating meat recovers hit points at the rate of 1.5 per minute on a full stomach. Recovery increased by .5 for every skill level. Benefits from your Toughness.
Social (Uncommon) (Level 0): You are capable of working and fighting well with other members of your species.
At the cost of 1 focus per second, all damage increased by 1 while within thirty feet of another member of your species. This ability benefits from your Charisma.
Flight (Uncommon) (Level 5): The greatest strength of an aerial predator, more important than any of their weapons, the ability to strike from above or retreat when necessary is vital to the hunter.
For the cost of 1 stamina per second, you fly above the ground and are capable of aerial maneuvers. Fly speed equals 33 ft per second; fly speed bonus 3%. Increases your flying speed by .5% per skill level. Benefits from Dexterity and Toughness.
Stinger Fighter (Common) (Level 1): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to fight with your stinger fills you.
Increases your damage with your stinger by .5 per skill level. Benefits from Brawn and Dexterity.
Sneak Attack (Common) (Level 1): You know how to strike in a sudden and lethal fashion.
Damage increased by 30% to a creature that is not aware of you. Damage increased by 0.5% per skill level. Benefits from your Dexterity.
It was hard to take it all in, but I managed. Based on them Toughness and Dexterity were the ones used by most of my abilities. Brawn was a second followed by Charisma which was also my lowest stat. The abilities that used Charisma however were also the ones I couldn¡¯t use so that would be my lowest stat for a while now. I scarfed down the rest of the ant¡¯s leg and ripped off another. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
1 biomass gained.
¡°How do I get Light Carapace?¡± I asked. Again, the voice didn¡¯t say anything. I sat and thought while I chewed. Swallowing the leg I ripped off another, despite eating mas that weighed as much as two chickens I was still hungry. Also eating would help me regain my health and level up Carnivorous. I needed to grow or acquire the carapace and pheromone glands to use them. ¡°Spend Biomass,¡± I said testing out another command.
Available Biomass: 2
Unlocked Mutation Paths: Hunter¡¯s Antenna, Adhesive Saliva, Stinger, Venom Sack, Thick Muscle Structure
Available Mutation Paths: Head, Body, Arms, Wings, Legs, Genitals
Available Biomorphs: Pincers, Pheromone Gland, Light Carapace
The various submenus inside the Biomass Menu all had lists of options, I could see a few and guess from context what they were about. Selecting the first one I decided to investigate my unlocked mutation paths. I then selected Hunter¡¯s Antenna to see what would happen. I looked at a glowing dot with three branching paths going from it to circles with a pulsing glowing border. Each circle was a separate path that I could pick for my antenna.
Ranged Sensors: The range from which your antenna can gather sensory information is greatly enhanced. Cost: 5 Biomass.
Analyzing Sensors: You can use your antenna to get more detailed information on creatures you are facing. Cost: 5 Biomass.
Feeler Antenna: Your antenna can learn enhanced information on materials, objects, and creatures by touching them. Cost: 5 Biomass.
I guessed that picking one path would block off the others. Looking them over I tried to think which one would help me in combat and to survive the longest. It was probably Analyzing Sensors, if I knew more about the creatures, I was facing I could make better decisions on whether to fight or flee. It didn¡¯t matter much since I only had two biomass right now. I finished off the ant leg I was eating and got another point of biomass and ripped off a fourth leg.
1 biomass gained.
Going back to the main Biomass Menu I selected the option for available Mutation Paths. There I clicked on Head since it was the first of the options there. Again, I saw a filled-in circle representing my head with three branching paths to black circles with a white pulsing border. This again implied to me that I would only be able to choose one of the available options.
Pincers: Can be used as weapons or tools for fighting or clearing and manipulating materials such as wood or fibers. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Pheromone Gland: You can send chemically transmitted messages to other creatures with a way to receive them. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Compound Eyes: The facets of your eyes are trained to lock onto motion helping you see potential threats and prey easier. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
I suddenly felt excited as I looked at my list of options. I looked at the first option, I didn¡¯t even need to consider this as one of my paths. I¡¯d unlocked it by analyzing the corpses of the ants. If my biomorphs didn¡¯t count against this, then I¡¯d be able to unlock multiple branches in my upgrade trees rather than being locked to one as supposedly everyone else was. Going over to my Biomorphs menu I clicked on Pheromone Gland to see how much it would cost. I didn¡¯t have a nice circle with branching paths from it this time. Instead, I had several circles that glowed an angry red. They floated in a vast empty space; I could see other orbs as dark shadowy impressions in the distance, but they moved or disappeared whenever I focused on them.
Pheromone Gland: You can send chemically transmitted messages to other creatures with a way to receive them. 25 Biomass to activate this Biomorph.
The cost of activating the biomorph was way less than unlocking a new mutation path. I had to guess that had to do with me already having all the requisite information and genetic code and just needing the materials to create it. I still didn¡¯t have enough biomass to do anything with but I had two ants to eat. I began tearing off legs and chewing methodically before swallowing as I ripped off the ant¡¯s remaining two legs getting another point of biomass per leg. I ripped off the ant¡¯s head next, it dripped fluid from one end and I tipped it back and began slurping it down. I wasn¡¯t sure if my human self would have found this disgusting, but my new species had no problems with eating the ants raw. I drank the fluids from the ant¡¯s head and scrapped the inside for meat like a coconut. Dropping it to the side I grabbed the ant¡¯s midsection before doing the same to the thorax leaving them all scraped clean of meat.
15 biomass gained.
I¡¯d gotten two from the remaining legs, three biomass from the head, four from the midsection, and five from its thorax. I felt stuffed but forced myself to start on the second ant¡¯s legs. I kept eating my stomach starting to bulge as I chocked down every last bit of the ant.
18 biomass gained.
Level Up Carnivorous! Carnivorous Level 2!
I had a total of thirty-six biomass now. That was probably enough to unlock one biomorph and upgrade one of my mutation paths. Going over to a biomorph I hadn¡¯t looked at I selected Light Carapace.
Light Carapace: You reduced the physical damage taken. 25 Biomass to activate this Biomorph.
I had a thin carapace already, but it was like a fingernail in its thickness. If it provided protection, it wasn¡¯t much and certainly not enough to rely on when taking damage from razor-sharp pincers or fangs. Mentally selecting yes, I fell back spasming. It felt as if electricity was running through my body, I thrashed as a painful ich grew all over my skin, then I passed out.
Congratulations! You have activated Light Carapace.
When I opened my eyes again the sky was darkening. I shuddered, realizing I¡¯d just been lying there helpless for hours. Looking down at myself I saw my thin mostly decorative carapace had transformed, it was now as thick as shoe leather and what looked like the start of spikes protruded over it giving it a bumpy, knobby surface. I felt up my neck where the carapace thinned out feeling more like leather than hardened plates. Pulling up the description of the mutation I looked it over to see exactly what it did.
Light Carapace (Common): The armor of a mobile agile soldier of the hive.
Reduces physical damage taken by 1-6. Damage reduction is increased with Toughness and the Armored Defense Skill.
With this biomorph purchased I had eleven biomass leftover. It would be enough to upgrade two of my mutation paths. Before I upgraded anything else I wanted to improve my stinger. Selecting it in the mutation menu I looked over its options.
Stinger, the chosen weapon of the wasp family, is deadly sharp, and poisonous.
Edged: Stinger can now deal slashing damage. Cost: 5 biomass.
Puncturing: You can pierce through armor and ignore damage resistance. Cost: 5 biomass.
Extension: Your stinger can now extend to a greater length letting you attack from a greater distance. Cost: 5 Biomass.
Slashing damage wasn¡¯t something I needed for my stinger, just a simple cut wouldn¡¯t be enough to inject them with my venom. Puncturing had a lot of promise, it would let me deal with other creatures with carapace armor more easily. Extension also merited thought, staying farther away might help to reduce the amount of damage I took. Eventually, I dismissed Extension settling on Puncturing, the mutation path behind that would likely help me take out higher-level targets more than a bit of extra reach would.
Stinger (Rare): The chosen weapon of the wasp, sharp and lethal and capable of delivering lethal loads of poison. Yours is specially designed for bypassing a creature¡¯s carapace.
Deals 4-12 piercing damage plus poison damage if added. Your attacks ignore up to 4-8 of a creature¡¯s Damage Resistance.
Damage and DR bypassing are increased by Dexterity and Brawn and the Stinger-fighter Skill.
Again, I spasmed with pain as my right arm and stinger burned with a fiery agony, I passed out, but it was only for a few minutes this time the changes were much smaller than from the change to my carapace. The only difference I could see to my stinger was that the tip had changed from a smooth point to a more triangular one. With only six biomass left, I had to be very particular in my next upgrade. I wanted to upgrade my Venom Sack, but I should probably work on something besides just damage. Going back to my Hunter¡¯s Antenna I selected the option for Analyzing Sensors. There was a burning in my sensitive antenna, and I wanted to rip them out of my head. Luckily, I passed out before I could act on the irrational impulse. When my vision returned, I wiggled my antenna but running my fingers along them and dipping them in front of my eyes I couldn¡¯t see any outward changes.
Hunter¡¯s Antenna (Uncommon): The sensory detectors of a predator, allows for nonverbal signals and for smelling the presence of prey.
Provides information on creatures and the environment within 32ft of you. You can see the Health Bar of a creature as long as they are within x2 your level.
Sensory range and information increased with Perception and Detection Skills.
You cannot upgrade this body part again until level 10.
With my current skill, I would be able to see how much health any creature under seventh level had. I didn¡¯t have the Detection Skill, but I guessed trying to detect things would eventually unlock it. With only one biomass left all I had left to do was spend my skill point for flight and my stat points. Going through my menus again I pulled up Flight. Congratulations! You have leveled Flight to level 5! Please select a skill upgrade. Unlike the set options for my mutation paths, there were lots more for skills. There was one that would let me do turns midair faster, another that would increase my diving speed, and another that would increase how fast I could ascend. They all revolved around making some part of flying faster. I¡¯d barely done any flying yet, so I wasn¡¯t sure which option was best. Finally, I spotted a generic option that I thought would help everything.
Swift Flight: You focus on flying faster in general rather than a massive increase in specific maneuvers.
It seemed simple enough and even if it wasn¡¯t the best option, being faster at all maneuvers in the air couldn¡¯t be bad. I didn¡¯t feel any pain this time. Since it was just a skill instead of a body part there was nothing, the system could do to my nervous system. I had six stat points to spend. A lot of my abilities revolved around Toughness, so I decided to bump it up by four, the other two points I¡¯d put into brawn and bring it up to twelve. When I spent the points, my body shuddered. It wasn¡¯t as unpleasant as unlocking or upgrading a mutation path, but it wasn¡¯t pleasant either. I felt the muscles under my carapace swell and shift a bit and my skin and carapace felt a bit heavier as if I¡¯d put on a couple of pounds of weight. I stood up. I needed biomass and experience and there was a colony of ants around here somewhere that was a source of both. Chapter 4: Poking the Nest I found a trail of ants carrying bits of flesh in their mandibles. They were marching in a column. There were about fifteen in the group, and they were protected by two much larger ants that walked at the front and back of the column. None of the worker ants were above level four with most of them being level two or three. The ants stood out clearly their bright red carapace making them like a column of old British soldiers marching back to their colony.
Dorylinae Formicidae Brutus (Ant Soldier Beast); Level 5, Health: 55/55
The soldier ants had a little than under double my current health. Upgrading my toughness had raised my max health from twenty-five to thirty-one. I seemed to get an extra point of health per level for every two points of toughness I had above ten. These ants must have either had a much higher toughness or gained more health per level than I did, perhaps both. Trying to straight-up fight both ants and the entire column of lower-level worker ants would be suicide. That didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t attack them, but a stand-up knockout fight was out of the question. Picking a level three ant in the middle of the column that only had thirty health. I readied myself, ejecting my stinger from its sheath and testing my wings. Jumping off the fallen branch I was perched on I dived down. I struck the worker ant in the neck between his head and midsection. The ant died immediately from the damage my stinger inflicted. With the multiplier from sneak attack and my added poison damage, the ant hadn¡¯t stood a chance.
You have killed a level 3 Ant Worker Beast! 10 XP gained.
Snatching up the ant¡¯s corpse I took to the air again. The ants had dropped the food they were carrying and rushed me immediately, but I was already gone. Luckily for me, they didn¡¯t have good eyesight and couldn¡¯t see the way I¡¯d come. They marched around the spot I¡¯d landed tapping it with their antenna and spreading out in a circle searching. After about two minutes they gave up and went back to their mission of delivering food to their colony. I¡¯d landed on the top of a twig from the oak tree above. It was the size of an entire fallen tree to me. The acorns themselves were only the size of my torso but still, everything was on a scale I still hadn¡¯t adjusted to. Bugs and the environment weren¡¯t the same as I remembered them on Earth, ants were much bigger in proportion to their environment although we were all still dwarfed by most things. Grass rose a few feet over my head making walking through a lawn the equivalent of hiking through a jungle. Perched on my spot I ate the ant dropping its parts as I finished sucking the meat and juices from them. I cracked them with my hands like crab legs. When I was done, I let out a belch of satisfaction.
18 biomass gained.
My work wasn¡¯t done, not for a long shot, I wasn¡¯t just eating to survive, I was in it for the biomass and XP. Another column of ants, or maybe the same one I couldn¡¯t tell was returning the way they come from. I followed them for a time coming to the body of a massive cricket. It was the size of an elephant and the ants began stripping it of meat as the now three soldier ants patrolled around them. Unfortunately for the workers, their guard¡¯s attention was fixed in the wrong direction. I fell from above, I landed hard on my legs and grunted with discomfort, but my stinger had already pierced through a level four worker ant¡¯s head.
You have killed a level 4 Ant Worker Beast! 18 XP gained.
Level Up Stinger-fighter! Stinger-fighter Level 2!
Grabbing the ant, I took off into the air again. The ants swarmed my previous position, but they were far too slow. I was already landing as the soldier ants reached the spot where I¡¯d slain the worker. Again, they tapped the spot with their antenna and spread out to search. I snorted; I was in the air there was no way they could track me. Snapping off its legs I began eating, I needed a lot of biomass to activate my available biomorphs and unlock my remaining mutation paths. Finishing the ant quickly, I looked at the ants who had gone back to work and were now about to leave each with a chunk of the cricket¡¯s flesh in their mouths. Jumping down again, I went into a glide and hit a small level three ant in the head grabbing them while I was still flying, never even landing as I soared away with my prize.
You have killed a level 3 Ant Worker Beast! 10 XP gained.
The ants had only just dropped their prizes as I perched above them on the edge of a massive log. I began eating the ant as I watched them mill about helplessly. They kept searching for around five minutes then picked up the cricket meat and marched off. I finished the ant and dropped it to the ground.
18 biomass gained.
Flying down to the cricket corpse my antenna twitched as I smelled the food source. There was no point in letting the ants take all this biomass for themselves. I began stuffing my face, my antenna twitching all the while on the lookout for the ant¡¯s return. I picked up their scent after about half an hour. I was stuffed to bursting at that point.
55 biomass gained.
I took off my wings feeling sluggish as I took to the air. Landing above the ant¡¯s kill I watched as an even larger force returned to the clearing under the log. There were five soldier ants this time as well as a few larger ants and some thin agile ones that were only three times the size of a worker, instead of the six times larger soldier ants. I wasn¡¯t close enough to examine them yet but the risk of farming these ants was growing larger. Swooping down my antenna twitched as I examined the ants.
Sagittarius Solenopsis Brutus (Fire-Ant Arbalist Beast); Level 16, Health: 240
The jump in health was astonishing. Even using all my charges from my stinger on that ant I don¡¯t think I could have taken it down. The ant¡¯s head jerked up as I passed overhead then it turned its back on me and lifted its rear end. A jet of acid shot out, I pulled up spinning to get out of the way; the acid passed under me, but it still struck one of my left wings and a hole began to form as the acid burned into it. I flew up and landed on the top of the log. I looked back at my wing. The damage had stopped but flying would be much harder with that hole. I looked down and saw the ants converging on my position. The smaller agile ants were easily climbing the sides of the log, their antenna waving as they tracked me. This wasn¡¯t good. I started running towards the other end of the log. Jumping off I pushed off with my wings. My left wing had to beat extra hard to make up for its damaged brother and I felt my stamina draining twice as fast as normal. I couldn¡¯t keep flying for long like this. I landed two-hundred yards away. Looking back, I saw the tips of the grass swaying as the ants continued their tracking of me. I had to rest to regain my stamina. I stayed atop the rock and let the ants come closer. One of the agile ants came up the rock and charged me.
Rimor Formicidae Brutus (Ant Scout Beast); Level 8, Health: 72/72
This ant was a higher level and had more hit points than the soldier ants I¡¯d seen. It lunged at me, its mandibles snapping at my torso. I rolled to the side and stabbed out at its flanks scoring a five-inch-deep cut.
You have learned to avoid an attack by jumping and rolling to the side! Skill Gained, Dodge Level 1.
The ant wasn¡¯t dead yet, but I¡¯d dealt twenty-five points of damage. I dodged another lunge from its mandibles and watches as another ten points of damage dropped off as the poison damage ticked away. Another second passed and it took another fifteen points of damage, but the damage stopped after that.
You have learned to let your poison do the work for you and slowly kill your target! Skill Gained, Poisoner Level 1.
I rolled and jumped to the side moving an impressive distance with each jump. I didn¡¯t escape without punishment every time; the scout managed to get in a few hits here and there, but my armor reduced the damage to nonlife-threatening. You have learned to use your carapace to absorb and deflect attacks. Skill Gained, Armored Defense Level 1.
Level Up Dodge! Dodge Level 2.
Using Dodge took up stamina, so I wasn¡¯t actually regaining the stamina I needed to fly. I needed to end this. Using my wings to give me a boost I jumped forward landing on the scout¡¯s back. I drove my stinger into its thorax. My attack dealt thirty points of damage. The scout spasmed then collapsed and I retracted my stinger from its back.
You have killed a level 8 Ant Scout Beast! 72 XP gained.
Level Up! You are now Level 4!
I sagged; my stamina was almost empty. My antenna twitched alerting me of the approaching ants. Another scout climbed up the rock and charged me. I stood firm, I couldn¡¯t run and there was no more time to dodge. Snapping forward the ant lunged at my abdomen with its mandibles. I sidestepped and drove my stinger into its brain. The second scout had over fifty hit points, but my attack had instantly dropped it. Apparently, it didn¡¯t matter much how many hit points you had a venomous stinger to the brain was still instantly lethal.
You have killed a level 6 Ant Scout Beast! 28 XP gained.
Level Up! You are now Level 5! You are eligible for a race upgrade.
The other ants were a little behind their two scouts. I bent down and touched the first scout I¡¯d killed. I didn¡¯t have time to eat them, and I didn¡¯t want to leave them behind.
Would you like to absorb Rimor Formicidae Brutus for the cost of 3 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
Selecting yet my energy passed into the scout before leaving and reducing its body to ashes. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Ranged Sensors Unlocked! You now have access to the Ranged Sensors mutation path! Error! Subject does not have Ranged Sensors, found Analyzing Sensors. Incorporating Ranged Sensors into Analyzing Sensors.
There was a terrible itching in my antenna. I screamed but I managed to keep myself from passing out this time. With my enemies approaching I couldn¡¯t afford to be unconscious. Touching the second scout I began to repeat the process.
Would you like to absorb Rimor Formicidae Brutus for the cost of 2 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
Again, I selected yes. The scout¡¯s body was reduced to ash in seconds as the energy passed through ravaged it.
Trophallaxis Stomach Unlocked! You now have access to the Trophallaxis Stomach mutation path! Error, subject does not have Trophallaxis Stomach ability disabled until the organ is acquired.
I had around ten stamina now. It would be enough to hopefully get me out of the ant¡¯s detection range. Taking to the air I flew toward the base of an oak tree which loomed like an impossible mountain above. I made it around four-hundred feet before running out of stamina. I crashed more than landed. I couldn¡¯t move, I was so bottomed out on stamina.
Level Up Flight! Flight Level 6!
I lay in the mud. I heard the pattering of feet behind me. I managed to push myself to my feet, but I¡¯d only regained around three stamina. Four more scouts were closing in one rushing to take the lead. I couldn¡¯t fight them all and turned and started to run. The scout was much faster on its feet than I was and closed the distance quickly. I started to buzz my wings when the ant tackled me, and a searing pain went through my back. Rolling over I shoved my stinger into the ant¡¯s underside two times. It struggled and snapped at me for a bit but then the poison reduced its health to zero.
You have killed a level 5 Ant Scout Breast! 28 XP gained.
I looked at the ground to see the ant had done some devastating damage. My wings had been torn from my back. I was trapped on the ground with the other ants closing in quickly. Shoving down my panic I looked around. There was a massive puddle at the base of the oak. I dove in and started swimming, I had to hope that ants either couldn¡¯t or weren¡¯t good at swimming. I made it out to the middle of the puddle which was the size of a lake in comparison to me. Ants had gathered around the puddle, but they didn¡¯t seem willing to enter the water. I crouched down on my piece of bark. I was crippled, no wasp hive would want a member who couldn¡¯t fly. I didn¡¯t have tear ducts, so crying wasn¡¯t an option for me. I shook with fear and rage at my predicament. I took several deep breaths; I needed to survive now and worry about the future later. I had stat points and biomass to spend and new skills to look at. ¡°Status,¡± I whispered, I wasn¡¯t sure if the ants could even hear but no point in taking chances.
Name: Predator
Level: 5
Health: 5/45
Stamina: 3/59 Recovery: 5 per 30 seconds.
Focus: 50/50 Recovery: 5 per 30 seconds.
Brawn: 12 Intelligence: 16
Dexterity: 14 Perception: 14
Toughness: 14 Charisma: 8
Species: Dolichovespula Sapiens (Yellowjacket Humanoid)
Traits: Warrior (Base), Analyze Absorption (Reincarnation Bonus)
Skills: Hivemaker (Level 0), Carnivorous (Level 1), Social (Level 0) Flight (Level 5), Sneak Attack (Lvl 2), Stinger Fighter (Level 2), Dodge (Level 2), Poisoner (Level 1), Armored Defense (Level 1)
Mutation Paths: Adhesive Saliva (uncommon), Stinger (Rare), Venom Sack (Rare), Hunter Antenna (uncommon), Light Carapace (common)
Available Biomass: 110
Experience: 37/110
Available Stat Points: 4
Warning! You are severely damaged! Missing Wings! Would you like to spend 15 biomass per day for the next five days to regrow your wings?
Seeing the alert, I sagged with relief. I wasn¡¯t crippled permanently, well as long as I survived the next five days. I spent the fifteen-biomass required to get the process started. There was a slight itch in the stumps of my wings but other than that, nothing. I first spent my stat points putting them all in toughness. I was trapped on the ground so I needed as much defense and hit points as I could get. I felt an itch all over my body that quickly subsided as my entire body swelled and grew in size putting on mass. Next, I went over my available biomorphs. What to select?
Available Biomorphs: Pincers, Pheromone Gland, Trophallaxis Stomach
Getting my face really close to the jaws of an angry ant didn¡¯t seem like a great idea so I put Pincers to the side for now. Pheromone Gland had some promise while not directly applicable to combat the ants all used Pheromones to communicate being able to understand and communicate with them might provide valuable information. I wasn¡¯t really sure what a Trophallaxis Stomach was, but it didn¡¯t seem like it would help fight an army of ants. I spent the twenty-five required biomass on Pheromone Gland. There was a searing pain in the base of both antennas. It lasted for fifteen minutes before finally fading.
Pheromone Gland (uncommon): A method of primitive chemical communication, that allows the reading and leaving of messages for others with this gland.
Allows you to send and read simple short messages between others with this gland for the cost of 1 focus per second of communication.
Complexity and length of messages understood and made increases with Charisma and the Communication Skill.
I had low charisma and didn¡¯t have the Communication Skill. Still, it did do what it said and that¡¯s why I¡¯d gotten it in the first place. After activating this biomorph I had eighty-five biomass left. I pushed off activating any more biomorphs for now. I needed to upgrade the mutation paths I had now. I selected Pheromones first since it was the one, I¡¯d just unlocked and was the most familiar with.
Command Pheromones: You are skilled at giving orders to other members of your hive. Cost: 5 biomass.
Fear Pheromones: Your pheromones trigger a flight response in other creatures not a part of your hive (effect based on Charisma). Cos: 5 biomass.
Infiltrator Pheromones: Your pheromones mask your scent and allow you to forge signals from other creatures letting you leave false messages or alter existing ones. Cost: 5 biomass.
Looking them over I dismissed Command Pheromones, it was the sort of upgrade a queen bug might take but it wouldn¡¯t help me survive. Fear Pheromones would help to scare off the ants, but it only had a chance of doing so and since it was based on Charisma it would be a low chance. The last one had the most promise, avoiding the ants would be my best chance of surviving. They seemed to track me by scent so blocking that off would help to move past and escape from them without being hunted down like I had been. Infiltrator Pheromones was my best bet in the long run I felt. Selecting them I felt more burning in the base of my antenna but not as bad as last time.
Infiltrator Pheromone Gland (uncommon): A method of primitive chemical communication, that allows the reading and leaving of messages for others with this gland, the altering of messages left by others, and masking your scent.
Allows you to send, read, alter, and falsify simple short messages between others with this gland for the cost of 1 focus per second of communication. You can also mask your scent for the cost of 1 focus per second eliminating any trail you leave.
Complexity and length of messages understood and made increases with Charisma and the Communication Skill.
This was exactly what I needed. I didn¡¯t have my wings anymore, but I might be able to sneak by the ants on foot now. I still had biomass to burn so I sat down and got started upgrading. Next was my armor to upgrade.
Light Shadow Carapace: Adds a camouflage effect to your skin and carapace that lets its shift colors to match the light conditions and blend in more easily. Cost: 5 biomass.
Hardened Light Carapace: A superior version of Light Carapace Armor that gives even more damage resistance. Cost: 5 biomass.
Padded Light Carapace: Reduces fall damage taken and gives extra damage resistance against bludgeoning damage. Cost: 5 biomass.
If I¡¯d looked at this before taking Infiltrator Pheromones, I probably would have taken Light Shadow Carapace. I didn¡¯t want to devote myself to a rouge build too heavily, however. That armor upgrade would be useless as soon as I broke stealth. Considering I couldn¡¯t even fly now Padded Light Carapace was pretty useless now. That left Hardened Light Carapace, it wasn¡¯t flashy just a straight-up upgrade to the armor I had now. The ability to resist even more damage was something I was probably going to need soon so I selected it. I did pass out this time. When I opened my eyes, the sun was setting but the ants hadn¡¯t left. Their numbers had reduced but several of the larger higher-level variants were now patrolling the perimeter of puddle scouts running about their antenna¡¯s waving about as they searched for me. I pulled up the description for my upgraded armor and looked it over.
Hardened Light Carapace (Common): The armor of a mobile agile soldier of the colony. Reduces physical damage taken by 5-15.
Damage reduction is increased with Toughness and the Armored Defense Skill.
The damage reduction had gone up a lot since I¡¯d last looked at this ability. I assumed this had to do with my much higher Toughness than before as well as me unlocking the Armored Defense skill. Speaking of unlocked skills, I¡¯d gained a number of them but still had no idea how they worked. Going over to my skill in my menus I pulled up the description for Armored Defense, Dodge, and Poisoner.
Armored Defense (common) (Level 1): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to deflect and absorb damage with your carapace fills you and strengthens your armor over time.
Damage reduction increases by .5 points per skill level. Benefits from Toughness.
Dodge (Common) (Level 2): You know how to roll and jump to avoid attacks that would do more damage than your armor could absorb.
For the cost of 1 stamina your speed, jump height, and distance are increased by x6 for 1 second. Speed, height, and distance increase by x.5 per skill level. Benefits from Dexterity.
Poisoner (Uncommon) (Level 1): The power of your poison and the knowledge of how to best apply it increases with each kill you make.
Your poison damage and duration increase by .5 damage/seconds per skill rank. Benefits from Toughness.
They were all still low-level, and it would take some grinding before they had a major increase to my abilities. I¡¯d already spent my stat points, but I¡¯d gained something called a race upgrade when I hit level five. Going over to my description I saw that my race was flashing. On selecting it I received a prompt from the system.
You have reached level 5 and can now select a sub-species. Upgrade will take twelve hours to complete, make sure you are in a secure location before beginning upgrade.
Upgrade Now? Yes/No
Looking around I wasn¡¯t in a safe place however it was safe from the ants so it would have to do for now. Praying I wouldn¡¯t be killed during this upgrade I selected yes. Chapter 5: Once You Go Black
Congratulations you are now eligible to advance your race, please select your sub-species.
Dolichovespula Maculata Sapiens ((Yellowjacket) Blackjacket Humanoid)
Skills: Venom-arbalist (Rare), Carnivorous (common) -> Omnivorous (uncommon)
New Mutation Paths: Venom Sprayer (Rare), Enmity Pheromones (uncommon)
Dolichovespula Sylvestris Sapiens ((Yellowjacket) Tree Wasp)
Skills: Hivemaker (uncommon) -> Advanced Hivemaker (rare), Carnivorous (common) -> Omnivorous (uncommon)
New Mutation Paths: Driller Stinger (Rare), Swarm Pheromones (common)
Dolichovespula Saxonica Sapiens ((Yellowjacket) Saxon Wasp)
Skills: Killer Instinct (Rare), Carnivorous (common) -> Omnivorous (uncommon)
New Mutation Paths: Necrotic Stinger (Rare), Rage Pheromones (uncommon)
Looking over my options I scanned their differences. They all upgraded me from being only a carnivore to an omnivore. Each of them had another rare skill they granted me as well as two mutation paths. Each one had another mutation path for my stinger and some type of pheromone. Apparently, I would have unlocked pheromones either way but this way I¡¯d gained two separate paths I could go down. I had no idea what the different pheromones did, so they didn¡¯t factor into my decision. That left the skill given and the stinger mutation paths as the deciding factors. I didn¡¯t like the upgrades for tree wasp, it seemed to push me some sort of builder path. The Saxon wasp was more interesting and seemed to focus on combat much more with a more deadly stinger. However, it was the first option that had caught my attention, Venom Sprayer and Venom-arbalist both implied a ranged attack. With my lack of wings right now I needed every advantage I could get, and a ranged attack was something I lacked and could let me pick off targets before they could even threaten me. Ultimately all my options were a gamble. I picked the option for Blackjacket. My mind went still, and my vision darkened. I couldn¡¯t close my eyes since I didn¡¯t have eyelids. I just entered a dreamless sleep as my body underwent its metamorphosis. My eyes snapped open. I looked around. The sun had moved its position from just setting to having just risen. There were still ants along the shore of the puddle although far fewer than there had been last night. Apparently, their colony couldn¡¯t waist resources forever just trying to hunt me. I looked down at my body to see what had changed. My carapace had changed from striped yellow and black to mostly black with a few white stripes. My shape and size hadn¡¯t changed much so I had to guess most of the changes were internal.
Congratulations! You have passed from the hatchling stage to young-adult!
What? I¡¯d been a hatchling this entire time! The system had just shoved a hatchling out into the world with no backup and just expected me to not only survive but save an entire extinct species? I guess to be fair I¡¯d done the first part so far if with some injury to myself. Still, I was all by myself and apparently barely older than a toddler in the eyes of the system. I suddenly felt very lonely. I couldn¡¯t remember the family I¡¯d had before but I was suddenly very conscious that I didn¡¯t have one now. I pushed the depressing thought to the back of my head. I would find other members of my species, I told myself. For now, I had to survive until my wings regrew and I could go out and find them. Pulling up my new skills and mutation paths I looked them over to see what my changes were.
Omnivorous (uncommon) (Level 2): A mature wasp you are now capable of digesting all food sources.
Eating food sources recovers health at a rate of 8 hit points per minute minimum on a full stomach, healing increased base on energy density of food. Recovery increased by 1 for every skill level. This ability benefits from Toughness.
Venom-arbalist (Rare) (Level 1): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to fight with your Venom-sprayer fills you.
Increases your accuracy by .5% and your range by .5ft per skill level. Benefits from Dexterity
Venom-sprayer (Rare): The chosen weapon of the Blackjacket, capable of spraying its deadly poison out at enemies at range allowing for deadly aerial bombardments by their hive¡¯s swarms.
Range 27ft, Base Chance to hit 52% at max range (increases in proportion to how close you are to target). Damage determined by Venom Sack. Range and Accuracy increased with the Venom-arbalist Skill. Benefits from Dexterity.
Enmity Pheromones (uncommon): Your pheromones induce a rage state in you and other allied wasps within 30ft of you, reduces all feelings of pain and increases your damage by 1, costs 1 focus per 5 seconds of use.
Damage and range is increased by the Social Skill. Benefits from Charisma.
I could use every skill and mutation path I had. Even Enmity Pheromones could be used but I suspected it wouldn¡¯t level up until their were other wasps around to use it on besides myself. What I needed was experience and biomass, I needed to find some creatures in ready number to grind my skills on. Hopefully a species that didn¡¯t have a massive colony with high level members that would come out to seek revenge if I killed some of their members. For now, I had to escape this pond and sneak past the ants on guard for me. First, I needed to spend all the biomass I could. If I did get into a fight with the ants I wanted to be as prepared to face them as I could. I pulled up the biomass menu and selected Venom Sack. My new mutation path revolved around me shooting poison, so I needed to upgrade the poison I shot.
Agonizing Venom Sack: You poison causes incredible pain that can incapacitate your targets. Cost: 5 biomass. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Compressed Venom Sack: Your poison compresses the liquid inside, doubling the number of available charges. Cost: 5 biomass.
Necrotic Venom Sack: Your poison causes additional necrotic damage. Cost: 5 biomass.
Before my race upgrade I would have chosen necrotic poison for the extra damage but since my subrace revolved around shooting my venom out I needed Compressed Venom Sack. Having a ranged weapon wouldn¡¯t do me any good if I didn¡¯t have enough ammo for it. When I selected it there was a searing pain in my chest above my heart. It went on for about ten minutes before ending.
Compressed Venom Sack (Rare): The deadly fuel of a hunter¡¯s attack, can be used for massive damage, debuffs and other effects, you have specialized in the quantity of available poison.
Poison deals 5-23 damage per second for 5.5 second. The sack has 12 charges, regaining 3 charges every 5 minutes. Damage, charges and regen rate are increased with Toughness the Poisoner Skill.
Twelve shots weren¡¯t much but it was better than six. Hopefully with more charges to do poison damage I could level up my poisoner skill faster to get even more charges and increase the regeneration rate for my Venom Sack. Since I was level five now, I could upgrade all my abilities twice instead of just once. I was going to upgrade Venom Sack again since it affected my two primary methods of doing damage.
Pressurized: Your venom sack increases the pressure it can exert, doubling the range for your Venom-sprayer and allowing you to inflict multiple doses of poison at a time when injecting with your stinger. Cost: 15 biomass.
Enlarged: Your venom sack increases in size doubling your number of charges. Cost: 15 biomass.
Twin Sacks: Your venom sack splits in two, the amount of poison remains the same but the regen rate is doubled. Cost: 15 biomass.
This choice was more difficult, all of them would benefit my fighting style in some way. However, if I were to focus more on my ranged attacks which I felt I would have to in order to survive the next five days I¡¯d need to focus on keeping my distance. With that in mind I chose Pressurized. The pain above my heart returned and lasted for around fifteen minutes this time. I barely held onto consciousness this time but managed through sheer will.
Pressurized Compressed Venom Sack (Rare): The deadly fuel of a hunter¡¯s attack, can be used for massive damage, debuffs and other effects, you have specialized in the quantity of available poison. Doubles the range for your Venom Sprayer. Poison deals 5-23 damage per second for 5.5 second. The sack has 12 charges, regaining 3 charges every 5 minutes. Damage, charges and regen rate are increased with Toughness the Poisoner Skill.
You cannot upgrade this mutation path again until Level 15.
I¡¯d hoped my next upgrade would be at level ten but apparently there was a lot bigger jumps in-between ranks then what I had guessed at. I could upgrade my stinger and armor again. I hadn¡¯t upgraded most of my mutation paths, but I needed to focus on the ones directly applicable to combat first. I hadn¡¯t touched Venom Sprayer yet. Pulling up that mutation path I looked over the options.
Rifling: Your venom is concentrated into a narrow stream greatly increasing its accuracy. Cost: 5 biomass.
Spread: Your range is halved but you attack in a wide spray that effects multiple targets at a time. Cost: 5 biomass.
Blob: Your poison splashes out dealing damage in a small radius. Cost: 5 biomass.
I had to specialize in either multiple targets or single targets. Thinking it over I selected rifling. It would increase my chance of actually hitting my targets and wouldn¡¯t affect my range. Not everything I went up against would be in large groups and accuracy was more versatile than crowd control.
Rifled Venom-sprayer (Rare): The chosen weapon of the Blackjacket, capable of spraying its deadly poison out at enemies at range allowing for deadly aerial bombardments by their hive¡¯s swarms, you have specialized into accuracy.
Range 27ft, Base Chance to hit 72% at max range (increases in proportion to how close you are to target). Target has a -25% to dodge your attack. Damage determined by Venom Sack. Range and Accuracy increased with the Venom-arbalist Skill. Benefits from Dexterity.
I could upgrade it again and was curious to see what the accuracy tree of this mutation would provide me.
Smooth Nozzle: The tip of your stinger is smoothed to prevent any drip or spray, so all venom is used in the shot. Cost: 15 biomass.
Split Nozzle: The tip of your stinger is divided so your venom splits into two shots each dealing half damage but increasing your chance at least one shot will hit. Cost: 15 biomass.
Narrow Nozzle: The tip of your stinger is thinned so your venom comes out thread thin making it harder to see and dodge. Cost: 15 biomass.
Looking over my options I picked the third. The first didn¡¯t seem like that big an issue to have and the second wasn¡¯t what I was going for. I was looking to be able to take down my targets with one shot hopefully not pepper them with a series of shots. There was more burning in my stinger focused towards its tip as the mutation took effect. It lasted only for a minute the changes made very small.
Rifled Venom-sprayer (Rare): The chosen weapon of the Blackjacket, capable of spraying its deadly poison out at enemies at range allowing for deadly aerial bombardments by their hive¡¯s swarms, you have specialized into accuracy.
Range 27ft, Base Chance to hit 72% at max range (increases in proportion to how close you are to target). Target has a -25% to dodge your attack. Damage determined by Venom Sack. Range and Accuracy increased with the Venom-arbalist Skill. Benefits from Dexterity.
There was no name change this time just an alteration to weapon¡¯s description. I still had forty-five biomass left to spend. I pulled up the mutation path for my carapace.
Spiked Carapace: Your carapace grows spikes all over dealing piercing damage when you come in contact with another creature. Cost: 15 biomass.
Spartan Carapace: Increases the damage reduction for your carapace when taking physical damage. Cost 15 biomass.
Angular Carapace: Chance to deflect moderate strike when hit and take no damage. Cost 15 biomass.
I picked Spartan Carapace. More armor equaled more better in my opinion. Spikes could get caught on things or damage my own allies and a chance to avoid hits wasn¡¯t good as guaranteed damage reduction.
Spartan Carapace (Common): The armor of an elite warrior of the hive designed to offer no impediment to movement and motion while providing maximum protection.
Reduces physical damage taken by 12-22. Damage reduction is increased with Toughness and the Armored Defense Skill.
That upgrade had practically doubled my damage mitigation. With that done I just needed to upgrade my stinger. Opening the menu, I brought up my options.
Needle-tipped: Your stinger can pass farther into your target to deliver you poison to more vital areas. Cost: 15 biomass.
Broadhead: Your stinger creates larger wounds on your target doing more physical damage. Cost: 15 biomass.
Diamond-tipped: Your stinger¡¯s armor piercing properties are further enhanced. Cost: 15 biomass.
Looking my options over I was most attracted by the first and second. The first would let me do more poison damage while the last would let me bypass even more damage reduction. Doing more poison damage was good but my Venom Sprayer focused on that, and I didn¡¯t want to specialize to heavily into only one form of damage. If I encountered a creature resistant to poison, I¡¯d be screwed if that was the only thing I was good at. Picking Diamond-tipped my stinger burned as the biomass was extracted to enhance it.
Diamond-tipped Puncturing Stinger (Rare): The chosen weapon of the wasp, sharp and lethal and capable of delivering lethal loads of poison. Yours is specially designed for bypassing a creature¡¯s carapace.
Deals 5-13 piercing damage plus poison damage if added. Your attacks ignore up to 8-16 of a creatures Damage Resistance. Damage and DR bypassing is increased by Dexterity and Brawn and the Stinger-fighter Skill.
I stood up, I still had thirty biomass left but I would save it for now. I needed to test my current upgrades before deciding on my full build. My first step would be to sneak past the encirclement of ants and find a better hunting ground. Diving into the water I started swimming to shore. Chapter 6: Trash Mobs I came ashore on the northern bank closest to the oak tree. An ant the size of a pick-up was marching with a squadron of ten soldier ants alongside it and a scout ant taking point. I dug myself into mud and my antenna waggled as I sprayed myself with Infiltrator Pheromones. I extended out my senses with my Hunter¡¯s Antenna analyzing the massive ant.
Custos Solenopsis Brutus (Fire-ant Guardian Beast); Level 15, Health: 330
You have learned to use your powers of perception to analyze creatures from afar! Skill gained, Detection Level 1.
It had even more health than the arbalist ant. The massive tank of an ant sported mandibles that looked like they could cut through stone easily and its carapace was at least five inches in thickness. I wiggled deeper into the mud willing myself to not even breathe. The ants marched past one of the soldiers coming within ten feet of my position. Not even the scout turned to face me as they moved past.
You have learned to hide from prey and predators! Skill gained, Stealth Level 1.
You have learned to disguise yourself to match your surroundings! Skill gained, Camouflage Level 1!
When they¡¯d gone thirty yards past, I got up slowly and began shadowing them along the trunk of the oak. The patrol of ants continued along the trunk of the oak stopping when the puddle began to angle away from the Oaktree. They turned around and began to march back my way. Diving into the mud again I smeared it across my carapace and held still. The ants passed by again this time I was nearly stepped on by a soldier ant as the column passed by.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth level 3!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 2!
Apparently dodging vastly higher-level creatures than you was good for your skill levels. Waiting until they passed me again I got up and crept away. Once I was into the thick grass under the oak again I broke into a run. I kept sprinting until my stamina was completely empty.
You have learned to use your legs for rapid movement! Ability gained, Sprint Level 1!
I was gaining lots of skills, but I guess that was to be expected of a newborn. My antenna twitched as I looked around, I couldn¡¯t detect any nearby ants, but I made sure to cover my scent trail for awhile as I headed deeper into the jungles of grass and weeds. I¡¯d been hiking for an hour before I was attacked. A red creature with six legs the size of a large terrier jumped off the top of a giant clover onto me. It knocked me back a step as its pincers dug into my shoulder. I yelped in pain and stabbed my stinger up into it reflexively.
You have killed a level 2 clover mite! 2 XP gained.
I dropped the small bug to the ground only to have another one launch itself at me. While painful, the first mite had only done two points of damage. The second mite latched onto my arm as I brought it up to block. Its pincers dug into my carapace but only managed to do a point of damage past all my armor.
Bryobia Praetiosa Cryptus (Monstrous Clover Mite); Level 2, Health 10
Level Up Armored Defenses! Armored Defense Level 2!
Piercing the mite through the head I dropped it down onto the first. I heard more chirping and looked to see I was surrounded by the mites. They began launching themselves at me in waves. They weren¡¯t so fast I couldn¡¯t hit them midair, but they were so many I couldn¡¯t dodge them all or hit them all. Five of them were latched onto my legs steadily gnawing at my carapace with their pincers.
Level Up Armored Defense! Armored Defense Level 3!
I stopped killing the ones already attached to me and just focused on dodging and killing the other ones that leapt towards me. The ones attached to me weren¡¯t doing much damage and this seemed like the least dangerous way to level up my defense skill.
Level Up Stinger-fighter! Stinger-fighter Level 3!
Shaking off the mite impaled on my stinger I added it to the ever-growing pile. I hadn¡¯t seen a mite over third level yet and they only gave me a max of three experience points. I¡¯d killed over a dozen so far and gotten only twenty-two experience from them total. Rolling to the side I dodged four more mites jumping to latch with the rest of them.
Level Up Dodge! Dodge Level 3!
I had three more on my back and one on my arm and six on my legs now. They weren¡¯t doing no damage, and I would have to deal with them eventually. For now, they were a source of skill levels. I think I¡¯d gathered all the mites in the immediate area; they were surrounding me, taking turns to jump at me from all directions. Killing another two dozen I¡¯d only gained an extra 36 XP and was at half of my maximum hit points.
Level Up Stinger-fighter! Stinger-fighter Level 4!
Rolling to the side I managed to pierce two mites on my stinger at a time like a giant bug shish kebab. My stinger was sticking out the end so rather than shaking them off I just shot off a blast of venom. The mite I hit thrashed on the ground for a second before going still.
Level Up Venom-arbalist! Venom-arbalist Level 2!
Level Up Armored Defense! Armored Defense Level 4!
The remaining mites didn¡¯t seem afraid or discouraged no matter how many of them I killed. A few of them tried abandoning the fight but I shot the each in quick succession.
Level Up Venom-arbalist! Venom-arbalest Level 3!
Level UP Poisoner! Poisoner Level 3!
Level Up! You are now Level 6!
It had taken over ten times the number of bugs to kill to get to sixth level as it had the bugs to get to fifth combined. Granted these ones were a lot less dangerous and was probably why they gave so little experience. A level three clover mite would have no chance against even a level one worker ant from what I¡¯d seen. A group of them could take down a few ants for sure but then the whole colony would descend on them. I was down to around twenty hit points left. I started stabbing wilding with my stinger clearing the mites off me as I rolled to the side dodging the jump attacks of the remaining mites.
Level Up Stinger-fighter! Stinger-fighter Level 5, Skill point gained!
I started blasting off all my remaining venom charges. My poison left gaping fist sized holes in the mites as it spread and melted their flesh from its impact point. Soon I was out of charges, but I was rewarded for hitting with every shot, though it was hard to miss at such close range.
Level Up Venom-arbalist! Venom-arbalist Level 4!
Level UP Poisoner! Poisoner Level 4!
There were only a few mites left, three on my back and five still trying to bite and latch on. I dodged three jumping at me skewering one midair and letting the fifth latch onto my leg. I retracted my stinger which I¡¯d found was the fastest way to get something off; then I stabbed it through the mite, and it fell to the ground, its legs curling in. Quickly dealing with the remaining three that circled me I only had to deal with the ones on my back.
Level Up Armored Defense! Armored Defense Level 5, Skill Point gained!
It took a few tries stabbing behind my back, it was like trying to get a particularly hard to reach itch. Eventually I cleared off the remaining three mites. I sat down exhausted. I¡¯d totally dominated the mites but still their had been tons. I¡¯d lost count but I guessed I¡¯d killed at least eighty in the fight. I had a total of twenty-six experience points now towards my progress towards level seven. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Picking up a mite I started eating it as I went into my skill menu to see the new skills I¡¯d gained and to spend my skill points.
Stealth (Common) (Level 1): You know how to move silently and unseen to avoid other predators and sneak up on prey.
You have a 33% chance to not be seen by creatures actively searching for you or threats. Increases by .5% per skill level. Benefits from Dexterity.
Camouflage (Common) (Level 1): You¡¯ve learned to make yourself blend into your surroundings to prevent yourself from being seen.
You gain a x2 bonus to your Stealth Skill while in terrain matching your camouflage. You gain a x.5 increase to your Stealth skill per skill level of Camouflage. Benefits from Dexterity.
A lot of my current build turned me into a sort of rogue. My stinger was only about fifteen inches in length and so most closely resembled a dagger rather than a sword. I would have to grind these skills for awhile before I could really rely on them, but they would work terrifically together. Reading their description made me paranoid about creatures that might be stalking me right now that I just couldn¡¯t see. Being stealthy might be necessary to survive and avoid other creatures out here looking for prey just like I was. I had skill points to spend so I turned to those skills. The mites were going down much faster than the ants had and I¡¯d already eaten six tossing aside their red empty shells. There wasn¡¯t enough meat on their legs to justify eating them. They each gave me three biomass. It wasn¡¯t much but it would add up with them all. Pulling up the description for Stinger-fighter I looked over it first.
Duelist: You focus on combat against single targets doing increased damage against them.
Warrior: You focus on using stinger in formations with other members of your species doing more damage in group battles.
Knight: You prioritize using your stinger for heavy attacks at speed. You gain a bonus to your damage depending on how fast you are moving.
Since I didn¡¯t have a hive warrior was out as a viable option. That left Duelist and Knight, Duelist would likely be great for boss fights but would limit me mass combats or against swarms of creatures like the mites and ants. Knight would be a much better choice if I still had my wings. I couldn¡¯t pick all my upgrades based on the here and now though, eventually my wings would grow back, and I would need my build to account for that. Knight was the best option for a wasp, even if it wouldn¡¯t give me an immediate advantage now. I selected it and my skill upgraded. There was no pain, and it was over in an instant.
Stinger-Knight (Common) (Level 5): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to fight with your stinger fills you, giving you insight on dealing damage while on the move and at high speeds.
You deal an extra .5% damage when moving (damage is doubled if you hit while moving at your full flying speed), Increases your damage with your stinger by .5 points and the amount of DR you ignore by .5 points per skill level. Benefits from Brawn and Dexterity.
The upgrade to my skill had changed some of its description and its name. I had one other skill point to spend and so I pulled up the options for Armored Defense.
Guardian: You specialize as a tank, your armor is especially flashy drawing attention to yourself and is capable of absorbing more damage at the cost of movement speed.
Legionary: You chose a middle ground between increased defense and maneuverability.
Skirmisher: You chose only a minor increase to your armor¡¯s damage reduction but maintain your maximum speed and maneuverability and gain extra flexibility for dodging attacks.
Looking them over I first dismissed Guardian. Losing speed would be directly counter to the skill choice I¡¯d made for my fighting style. Legionary was better but again losing speed would reduce my damage and also make it easier to take more hits. That left skirmisher, sure it wouldn¡¯t give me a massive increase to my damage reduction, but I could always dodge attacks, and this wouldn¡¯t impede any of that. Making my choice, my skill immediately upgraded.
Armored-Skirmisher (common) (Level 5): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to deflect and absorb damage with your carapace fills you and strengthens your armor over time you are focused on mobile defense rather than raw damage absorption. Damage reduction increases by .5 points, and you have a increased .5% chance to dodge an attack per skill level. Benefits from Toughness and Dexterity.
My skill had upgraded to also benefit from Dexterity instead of just Toughness. I guess this had to do with it being the defense style based on maneuverability. Having spent all my skill points it was now time to spend my stat points. It was tempting to put them all into Toughness again, but I needed to do more than just take hits and increase my health. Dexterity was one of, if not the most, important stats. It had been high originally, but I hadn¡¯t upgraded it all since I¡¯d been spawned into this world. Putting my two stat points into Dexterity my work for now as done. I focused on chowing down and finished every last mite. After counting them as I ate it turned out I¡¯d killed ninety-four of the clover mites.
282 biomass gained.
Level Up Omnivorous! Omnivorous Level 5! Skill Point gained!
I couldn¡¯t move, I was so full. I needed to spend some biomass just so I could stand up again. I had plenty to upgrade my existing mutation paths. Maybe what I needed was to unlock a new mutation path and see what options that gave me. Pulling up the menu I looked at the list.
Available Mutation Paths: Head, Body, Arms, Wings, Legs, Genitals
It was very vague, but I guessed it would allow me to unlock a mutation path related to that section of the body. I selected headfirst.
Warning! You may only select one new mutation path per body section.
Pincers: Can be used as weapons or tools for fighting or clearing and manipulating materials such as wood or fibers. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Pheromone Gland: You can send chemically transmitted messages to other creatures with a way to receive them. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Compound Eyes: The facets of your eyes are trained to lock onto motion helping you see potential threats and prey easier. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Pheromones were listed as an option, but it was crossed out. Since I hadn¡¯t unlocked it the usual way, I was still allowed to select another mutation path, but that option obviously wasn¡¯t available since I already had it. I could get pincers if I wanted with a biomorph so Compound Eyes was the only choice. Deciding to look at my other body parts first before selecting anything, I pulled up the list for body.
Secondary Limbs: You gain a second set of smaller arms under your main pair. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Light Carapace: Your base carapace hardens into a usable armor that doesn¡¯t compromise flight. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Medium Carapace: Your base carapace hardens into chitin plates that provide incredible defense but reduce your flight speed. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
The first option was fascinating, how many times would it have been useful to have an extra pair of hands? This was a literal extra set of limbs making it a top contender in my book. I already had light carapace so that was crossed out. I wasn¡¯t sure what would happen if I took medium carapace since I already had the light version. Its drawbacks didn¡¯t enthuse me on it either. I moved over to the list for arms to see what I could get there.
Talons: Your fingers gain a set of claws for use in crafting combat and exploration. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Striker Muscle: The muscles of your arms is strengthened to let them strike with more power, increasing the physical damage you deal. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Bracer Carapace: The carapace along your forearms is hardened and thickened further to let you easily block attacks with them. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
I didn¡¯t need talons and it didn¡¯t seem like they would be that beneficial. Plus, I was pretty sure I could eventually unlock those with Adaptive Analyze. Striker Muscle increased damage so it was in top place. Bracer Carapace didn¡¯t sound as useful, but I had been getting my arms chomped on by a lot of pincers lately. Going with the option that would increase damage I picked Striker Muscle. If I got those extra set of arms this mutation path would be effecting four separate limbs. I didn¡¯t even bother to look to see what I could get for wings; I didn¡¯t have them right now, so it was moot point. Pulling up my options for legs instead I looked them over.
Absorbent Legs: Reduces the amount of fall damage you take when landing on your feet. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Sprinter Legs: Increases the speed you can run at while on the ground. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Spring Legs: Increases your jump distance. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Absorbent legs were useless to me right now, but it wouldn¡¯t be forever. Sprinter Legs would be useful to me now but less useful when my wings grew back. Spring Legs were a middle ground and could be useful at all times. I wasn¡¯t sure and so tabled the decision for now. I couldn¡¯t purchase everything, so I¡¯d come back to it when the decision was more relevant. Pulling up the last and strangest option I decided to see why the system though an entire mutation path for my genitals was necessary.
Rapid Growth: Your speed encourages rapid growth in your offspring, increasing the rate at which their size increases. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Egg Splitter: Your seed has a chance to cause an egg to divide resulting in twins and increasing your number of offspring. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
Ancestral Power: Your offspring have a chance to be born with mutation paths you have already unlocked. 100 biomass to unlock this mutation path.
The last option fit the best with my trait but right now this mutation path was a luxury I couldn¡¯t afford to spend my biomass on. I could unlock three new mutation paths, or I could unlock two and still have some biomass left over to upgrade those I had. Deciding to go with two and upgrade the rest I selected two of the mutation paths I thought might be the most useful.
You have unlocked the mutation path Secondary Limbs! This mutation path has reached the end of its branch and will merge with the next mutation path you select for your arms. New set of arms will begin growing now, please stand by.
Pain exploded in my sides. I passed out again, when I woke up I guessed an hour had passed based on the position of the sun. Looking down I could see a pair of arms that were maybe two-thirds the size of my main pair. I only had three fingers and thumb on my smaller set so my grip strength wouldn¡¯t be as strong there. I had two-hundred-and-twelve biomass left. I picked Compound Eyes the ability to see threats was equally as important as the ability to kill them. This would hopefully help to level up my Detection skill and let me pick my battles better.
You have unlocked the mutation path Compound Eyes! Your eye facets will now adjust to this mutation path, stand by.
I screamed in pain for a few minutes but it was much shorter this time since it was just adjusting an existing structure and not creating an entirely new one. Standing up shakily I looked around with literal fresh eyes. I¡¯d wait on future upgrades for now. I needed to see If I could find some more mites or other creatures to grind my skills on. Chapter 7: Nose to the Grindstone Scanning the grassy jungle for a new targets with my antenna and compound eyes I stalked forward. I kept moving deeper into the thicker grass. I was trying to level my stealth by smearing my carapace with mud and sticking to the shadows. I spotted a giant centipede.
Lithobius Forficatus Cryptus (Monstrous Stone Centipede): Level 7. Health: 84.
This was the same species as the first bug I ever killed. It was a higher level and a lot more hit points than me, but I thought I could take it. It was just one creature as opposed to an entire swarm of ants or the dozens of clover mites. The centipede was moving along the ground, its antenna tapping at the ground and air in front of it. Slowly following in its passage, I waited for the opportune moment to strike. It entered a dark tunnel and I frowned but slowly followed it inside.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 4!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 3!
It was dark in the tunnel, and I could barely see but I crept after the centipede. Mindful of my footing so as not to make a sound my antenna twitched providing me sensory information on the environment around me. I entered into a much larger chamber with tunnels branching out in other directions. The centipede was curled around a pile of white orbs. Eggs, I realized. Moving forward inch by inch I readied myself to strike. It was difficult to tell which end was the head but eventually I saw the two beady eyes and made sure to target the correct end of the centipede lining up my stinger, I crouched then sprung.
Level Up Sneak Attack! Sneak Attack Level 3!
My attack had been a sneak attack and on a critical area and I saw from the creature¡¯s health bar that it had done double damage. My stinger had done its full sixteen points of physical damage and twenty-one from my poison, Sneak Attack added an extra eleven points of damage bringing it up to forty-eight points of damage from a single strike. I¡¯d halved the centipede¡¯s health in one strike. It reared back as I jumped out of its reach dodging a blind counterattack from its tail. Its pincer¡¯s snapped out but it my poison was still effecting it the damage over time quickly eating away at it. The centipede spasmed then stiffened, falling to the ground, its legs curling inwards.
Level Up Poisoner! Poisoner Level 5, Skill Point gained!
You have killed a level 7 Monstrous Stone Centipede. 26 XP gained.
I frowned I should have gotten a lot more experience than that. Was I getting less experience after upgrading my race, I¡¯d assumed the clover mites just gave crappy experience but what if since I was a higher tier creature or something the system was rewarding me less for these kills. It was probably to force me to go and face much tougher creatures that would provide more of a challenge but without a hive to back me up I couldn¡¯t take those kinds of risks. Sighing I resolved myself to long and slow grind. At least the experience for skill growth didn¡¯t seem to be effected by my upgrade. Looking down at the centipede I was again confronted with the question of whether to eat it or absorb it for a biomorph? I still had some biomorphs to unlock but I had the biomass to purchase them. I decided to purchase them first before absorbing anymore. I began consuming the corpse as I pulled up my biomorph menu.
Available Biomorphs: Pincers, Trophallaxis Stomach
Each biomorph cost me twenty-five biomass to activate. Pincers were fairly self-explanatory, but I wasn¡¯t sure what a Trophallaxis Stomach was. It would only cost me fifty biomass total so I decided to just purchase them both and decide on investing more resources into them later. There was a terrible itch and earing burn in the corner of my jaw as a knub began to grow. It split open and pushed out slowly. The pincers were on the outside of my face were my jawbone hinged. I pulled up the description for my new mutation to see what I was working with.
Pincers (common): Weapons or tools, capable of injecting venom from the poison sack and for assistance in chewing food or materials for construction.
Deals 2-7 piercing damage per hit plus poison damage if added. Damage is increased by the Pincer-fighter Skill. Benefits from brawn.
It wasn¡¯t that impressive; I definitely wasn¡¯t planning on sticking my face new to my prey to learn a new combat skill. I¡¯d stick to my much more practical and useful stinger instead. I spend the next twenty-five biomass to unlock Trophallaxis Stomach to see what it did. A burning in my gut lasted for ten minutes leaving me doubled over and unable to eat while it lasted. Pulling up the description to see what this did I was greeted by something interesting.
Trophallaxis Stomach (rare): A secondary social stomach used for storing food when bringing it back to the hive. Nectar stored in this stomach will begin the process of being turned to honey. Allows you to store up to 25% of your body weight in the Trophallaxis Stomach.
So, this was something that ants and bees had, very interesting. There was no skill or stat bonus applied to this mutation, to upgrade it I¡¯d have to spend the biomass to continue its mutation path. I finished off the centipede leaving only its empty carapace and legs scattered across the ground.
88 biomass gained.
I looked down at the centipede remains. I reached down for its head and grabbed one of its pincers. After a great deal of struggling, I pulled it off, it was about the length and thickness of my stinger but curved instead of straight. I placed it in one my secondary hands and had it stab out experimentally. Yanking off the other pincer I armed my secondary set of limbs with pincer daggers. They wouldn¡¯t deal poison damage, but a bit of extra physical damage wouldn¡¯t go amiss. Stepping up the eggs the centipede had been guarding I picked one up. It was about the size of my chest and weighed around thirty pounds. It wasn¡¯t hard like a bird¡¯s egg but had a more leathery feeling to it. My antenna tapped across it and told my senses that it was edible. I didn¡¯t need food right now but this burrow could be a base for me if needed. Before I went out hunting again I needed to upgrade a few of my skills.
Lasting Poison: Your poison can be applied to other weapons or put into a food source to poison your target without directly using your stinger.
Poisoned Weapons: Your skill with poisoned weapons lets you always deal the maximum possible damage with a melee poisoned weapon.
Venom Sniper: Your skill with launching your poison from afar lets you always deal the maximum possible damage with your poison.
The first option was probably for someone who used a weapon like a bow or maybe a spear and wanted to apply their stinger¡¯s venom to their ammunition or the tip of their weapon. It wasn¡¯t something I needed so I dismissed it. Poisoned Weapons and Venom Sniper were two sides of the same coin, one for ranged damage the other for weapon damage. I had to think about this, doing even more damage with my stinger would be good but Venom-sprayer only did poison damage instead of mix of it and physical so it would benefit more. I made my choice and selected Venom Sniper as my upgrade.
Poisoner (Uncommon) (Level 5): The power of your poison and the knowledge of how to best apply it increases with each kill you make; you specialize in ranged poison attacks. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Your ranged poison attacks with your bio-weapons always do the maximum damage. Your poison damage and duration increase by .5 damage/seconds per skill rank. Benefits from Toughness.
I¡¯d only leveled up one skill to level five, so it was time to leave. Exiting the tunnels, I entered back into the grass jungle. I crept through the shadowy foliage the sun high above only visible through the breaks in the grass and weeds that grew thick and close. Spotting another centipede, I began to follow it. After seven minutes of tracking it, my antenna twitched. The centipede stopped and looked about. A dozen ants poured out from either side of the centipede. There were five workers, two scouts and seven workers in their assault force. The centipede fought back but the Soldier ants rushed forward blocking its pincers from attacking the much weaker worker ants. The scout ants moved in bit down with their pincers then retreated while the workers each grabbed a leg and pulled putting the centipede on the rack. The centipede had only been level six and didn¡¯t stand a chance. The scout ants began patrolling the area. One came across my trail and its antenna twitched frantically. Enemy! Enemy! It said, it didn¡¯t speak with words, but my pheromone gland let me translate the chemical signals it was sending. The other scout took off running and my blood went cold. They were going to send out scouting parties again like last time. Well, it wasn¡¯t going to go like last time had. I activated my Interceptor Pheromones I couldn¡¯t keep them on all the time with the Focus cost of using them. The scout ant was tapping its antenna long my trail, I pressed myself into a thick clump of grass and waited. The scout walked right up to and past me without even turning as it followed my trail. Striking as fast as a cobra my stinger took it through the head before it could let out off a pheromone alarm.
You have killed a level 5 Ant Scout Beast! 7 XP gained.
Level UP Sneak Attack! Sneak Attack Level 4!
The soldier ants were moving around the corpse of the centipede guarding it as the workers set to the job of butchering and consuming it. Dragging the scout¡¯s body off I crept back towards them.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 5, skill point gained!
Tapping my antenna on the ground I laid a signal of my own. Danger! This Way! Retreating from the simple message I continued to leave it along the path. The soldier ant came across the message and stopped, I¡¯d done my best to mimic the chemical signature of the scout ant and now was the time to see if it worked. The soldier ant turned and began to follow the trail I¡¯d left for it.
You have learned to use trickery to fool your prey into doing what you desire. Skill gained, Deception!
Deception (Uncommon) (Level 1): You¡¯re able to mislead others with your communications causing dissent and mistakes from others based on bad information.
Your communications resemble others, your lies have a 1% bonus per skill level to the believability of your communications. Benefits from Charisma.
Waiting in ambush on top of a wide leafed weed I waited until the soldier ant passed under me. It was only level six and had sixty health. I dropped from above and drove my stinger through its head killing it instantly.
You have killed a level 6 Ant Soldier Beast! 13 XP gained.
Level Up Stinger-Knight! Stinger-Knight Level 6!
The soldier ant was much larger and harder to move. Deciding to wait on this for now I placed my hand on it.
Would you like to absorb Dorylinae Formicidae Brutus for the cost of 7 XP and all the creatures Biomass?
Serrated Mandibles Unlocked! You now have access to the Serrated Mandibles mutation path! Error! Subject does not have Serrated Mandibles, ability disabled until mandibles are acquired.
Grimacing at the price I selected yes. My energy ravaged the soldier ant¡¯s body leaving a pile of dust behind. Moving back to where the remaining soldier ants were, I repeated the trick again. Another soldier ant began following the trail. This one was a much higher level than the others.
Dorylinae Formicidae Brutus (Ant Soldier Beast); Level 12, Health: 180/180
I didn¡¯t think my first strike would instantly kill it but this was the last ant I planned to kill from this group. Dropping down I drove my stinger into the back of its neck. My two secondary arms plunged their pincer daggers into the cracks of the ant¡¯s carapace where its joints were. Its health dropped to half and the ant reared throwing me off its back.
You have learned to use the bioweapons of others as daggers. Skill Gained, Dagger-fighter.
The soldier ant turned, and its mandibles snapped at me as I barely rolled under the strike. Stabbing up into its thorax my stinger met resistance but my focus on armor penetration let it bypass the carapace and stab five inches deep delivering another dose of poison. My two pincer daggers stabbed out but they mostly just scratched against its carapace doing no real damage. Rolling out from under the soldier ant it shuddered then collapsed to the ground. I retrieved the smaller body of the scout ant. Putting my shoulder under the soldier and I heaved it up onto my back. The soldier ant was the size of a small horse, and the scout ant was about the size of a pony. I staggered back to the centipede den, my antenna wagging the entire time as I covered up my trail.
You have killed a Level 12 Fire Soldier Ant Beast! 49 XP gained.
Dumping the two ant bodies into the den with the eggs, I returned out into jungle. I¡¯d be dealing with ants for awhile now so I should find some way to even the odds. I was just one person against an entire colony, so I needed a way to make it seem as if I were in multiple places or to scatter and confuse them. Looking around I surveyed my environment for something to help. I spotted a thistle plant and looked it over. The thistle needles were only eight inches long but they were nice and sharp. I started breaking them off at their base gathering and armful of them. I didn¡¯t have any tools, but I used my pincers to cut through a blade of grass. Used my fingers and stinger to help split the grass in half then I started ripping into strips. I found a spring weed stem and began tying thistles along it. Jamming it into the base of a cluster of rocks I tied a grass cord to one end and pulled back drawing the thing back like a bow. My attempt at a trap wasn¡¯t complicated but figuring out the tripwire mechanism was. It took me over half an hour and dozens of failures and a few times where I nearly impaled myself on it before it was successful. Moving along I constructed another. This one only took me twenty minutes. I kept going and after my tenth trap I was surprised by a notification from the system.
You have learned to create mechanisms to deal damage in place of weapons wielded by you. Skill gained, Trap-maker Level 1.
Why had unlocking this skill taken so long? Thinking it over I realized it was my other title that had been getting me so many skills, I had the Warrior title, if I¡¯d chosen the Crafter title instead my first trap would have likely gotten me the Trap-maker skill. Traps might be one of the ways a crafting focused character got their XP. I knew I wasn¡¯t in a video game but thinking of myself and others as just characters and mobs did a lot to help keep me sane. I spread out from my location stripping the bottom half of the thistle bare as I took the material, I needed to create parts.
You have killed a Level 3 Monstrous Aphid! 2 XP gained.
Level Up Trap-maker! Trap-maker Level 2!
I guess one of my traps had gone off. It wasn¡¯t an ant but every bit of experience was a bonus. I backtracked for a bit until I found the paid, it was about the size of clover mite and green ichor was dripping down from it as it hung suspended on my trap. Taking down the mite I hid it away in my camp and kept working. More and more traps were made and my skill slowly began to grow. I branched out and spotted one of the scout ants as I was setting up a trap. Fading into the shadows I watched as it scuttled along the trail, its attentat tapped across one of the false pheromone trails I¡¯d set, and it eagerly began to move along it. The trap didn¡¯t kill it, but the ant was pinned against the ground, and I could see its health bar over its head had been cut in half. I moved forward and rammed my stinger through it head. I quickly reset the trap and dragged the ant away masking my trail with my own pheromones.
You have killed a Level 8 Scout Ant Beast!
Level Up Trap-maker! Trap-maker Level 3!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 2!
With my kill stored I headed back out. There wasn¡¯t more time to set up traps, the ants were starting to comb through the forest, I could tell from how much my trap maker skill was gaining experience.
Level Up Trap-maker! Trap-maker Level 4!
A few more minutes passed again, and I got another notification.
Level Up Trap-maker! Trap-maker Level 5! Skill Point gained.
It was another ten minutes as I crept through the thick jungles of grass and weeds before I got another notification.
Level Up Trap-maker! Trap-maker Level 6!
I wasn¡¯t a crafter so the ants must have been stumbling into every single trap I had to raise this skill this much. I hadn¡¯t gotten any experience from kills, so I had to assume none of my traps had been lethal. I would have to change that personally. It was time to grind my combat skills, the ants had taken my wings and I was going to make sure they realized which of us was the real apex predator of the insect kingdom. Chapter 8: Going Rogue I slung the massive frame of the ant over my shoulder and began stealthing through the jungle of grass stalks. My antenna tapped the stalks around me dropping pheromones to obscure my trail. I dropped down a hole in the ground and moved to my nest dropping my prey down. I had a sizeable stockpile of biomass now and I¡¯d explored the tunnels all around this section of the lawn. The tunnels must have been dug by some old colony of ants, but they¡¯d left or been killed off. The fire ants were still combing through the lawn above searching for my trail. I sat down to eat I¡¯d managed to completely avoid their patrols and gathered two more ant corpses and now I had a choice. I could leave this area and search out new territory farther away from the ant¡¯s colony or continue farming them. They were a deadly threat, there colony would have thousands more just like them. So far I¡¯d been lucky and gotten lots of new mutation paths from them but I was close to a seventy percent chance failure rate on my absorption trait for getting new mutation paths from this species. On the other hand there was the matter of just grinding experience for my current skills and stockpiling more biomass. That colony represented a fortune in food if I could avoid getting killed by them. I was alone but that had its own advantage, I could slip in and out without having to worry about anyone else. To do that however I would need to increase my stealth level. Luckily there were a lot of enemies searching for me right now. If I snuck around them without being seen I could follow them around and find out where their colony was while leveling my skills. Standing up I decided to do it, I needed to become like a living shadow. I had one skill point to spend on my Stealth and now was the time to do so.
Your Stealth Skill has one Skill Point, please pick your Skill Path from the list of options.
Evasive: Your stealth is focused on letting you live your life in peace without fear of predators.
Stalking: Your stealth is focused on being the hunter as you go from prey to prey.
Skulking: You focus on moving amongst other creatures seen but unremarked upon.
The descriptions weren¡¯t descriptive in an actionable way, but they told me what the path would be about. There was only one real option, the second. The first was totally against everything I¡¯d set out to become and the third was useless and more appropriate to some sort of spy build.
Stalking-Stealth (Common) (Level 4): You are the skill stalking predator able to move up on prey and predator alike making the first attack of any fight.
You have a 33% chance to not be seen by creatures unaware of your presence. Increases by .5% per skill level, the damage you deal with sneak attacks is increased by x.5 per skill level. Benefits from Dexterity.
52 biomass gained.
My attentat tasted the air before I went above ground as I checked for any nearby ants. I crept through the thick jungle of grass and weeds coming across dismantled traps. Some of them I quickly reset as I kept moving hearing the heavy rapid tap, tap of multiple limbs I slipped into the shadows of a fern. A patrol of soldier ants with several of the scout and arbalist variants with them moved by. They carried a massive caterpillar at the center of their column. I might have considered attacking to steal their kill but that wasn¡¯t what I was here for this time. Slowly I moved behind cover behind the ants. Several times they stopped their antenna waving in the air. Every time they did that I drenched my body with Infiltrator Pheromones.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 6!
The patrol of ants joined up with another one, the number of ants increasing to around two dozen. I fell back a little more to keep my distance in case I needed to run but still close enough where I was in danger enough for my Stealth skill to gain xp.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 7!
As I moved, I scooped up some more mud and smeared it over my carapace with some pits of plant matter to camouflage myself. The ants followed an established trail my antenna reading the pheromones all around me. They conveyed simples messages like, ¡°this way¡± ¡°home¡± ¡°food¡± ¡°enemy over here¡±. There was little information to be gathered based on what I could understand.
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 4!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 3!
My rogue skills were going up steadily. I needed more XP for each level but I had more and more enemies and higher leveled ones to sneak around to grind my skills on. The patrol turned into a column of ants all carrying food as we left the grass of the yard into a rocky and sandy field. I crouched in the shadows and picked the greenery off my carapace. Spitting into the dirt I used my Adhesive Saliva to mix the sand and dirt to replace my coating of camouflage to match the new environment.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 8!
More and more ants moved past my position but my infiltrator pheromones made me a ghost among them. I finished my application of new camouflage and followed the column of ants.
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 5! Skill Point gained.
The ants grew more and more numerous and a second column of ants joined up with the first. I moved slowly going from rock to rock and slipping into cracks in the ground where the dry earth had cracked open. There were the base worker ants, soldier ants, arbalists, scouts, and heavier versions of the base worker ants that hauled the massive corpses of other bugs like oxen.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 9!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 6!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 4!
I moved across the rocky plains until the terrain began to rise. I looked up at the mountain in front of me realizing I was climbing a massive anthill. The column of ants grew thicker and thicker and there were less and less spots to hide.
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 7!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 5! Skill Points gained.
Crawling across the mound I kept a low profile. I wasn¡¯t even sure what my goal was now. I found a large rock and slipped into the shadow under it. The column of ants was a mere fifteen feet away as I watched them move passed.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 10!
I had been hoping to get another skill point but it seemed it would follow the same route as my mutation paths and I wouldn¡¯t get one until probably I hit level fifteen. I wasn¡¯t safe but the ant¡¯s hadn¡¯t noticed me yet so I decided to use this time to rank up my Camouflage and Deception skills.
Your Camouflage has one skill point please pick from the following skill paths.
Mimicry: Your camouflage bonus to stealth is increased while remaining motionless.
Cloak: Your camouflage suffers less of a penalty while you are moving.
Disguise: Your camouflage branches off granting you the rare Disguise Skill allowing you to mimic other similar humanoids.
Mimicry would be very useful right now but it was more suited to some sort of sniper, while I had a ranged attack now most of my fights ended in a melee brawl and I then had to flee. While a rare skill sounded good I had yet to see another humanoid and it would only let me match similar humanoids. While it might be useful to infiltrate other hives it was too limited and wouldn¡¯t help me survive right now. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. I picked Cloak and their was a warmth in my chest as the skill ranked up.
Cloaked Camouflage (Common) (Level 7): You¡¯ve learned to make yourself blend into your surroundings to prevent yourself from being seen even while on the move.
You gain a x2 bonus to your Stealth Skill while in terrain matching your camouflage. You gain a x.5 increase to your Stealth skill per skill level, reduces your Stealth penalty while moving by x-0.5 per skill Level. Benefits from Dexterity.
Now I just needed to rank up my Deception.
Your Deception has one skill point, please pick from the following skill paths.
Honeyed: Your deception is better at convincing others of your good intentions.
Misdirection: You deception is better at misleading and confusing others.
Frightening: Your deception is better at causing others to feel fear and apprehension.
While I had the Deception skill, I didn¡¯t actually want to be the kind of person who others couldn¡¯t trust. The first option seemed like the type of skill a con man or pick up artist would take, and it just wasn¡¯t me. Misdirection was more in line with what I¡¯d been using the skill for, but Frightening had some promise if I could convince other creatures I was more of a threat than I really was I could avoid even stronger creatures that I couldn¡¯t take down. Making up my mind I selected the third option.
Frightening-Deception (Uncommon) (Level 5): You¡¯re able to mislead others with your communications causing dissent, mistakes and fear from others based on bad information.
Your communications resemble others, your lies have a 1% bonus per skill level to the believability of your communications, your lies are x.5 more likely to cause Intimidation when applicable. Benefits from Charisma.
Both skill points spent I went back to grinding my skills. I slowly scooted closer and closer moving about an inch per minute. While my movement was slow the XP was a steady stream. I sat and waited as notification after notification came and went.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 11!
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 12!
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 13!
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 14!
Even my slight movements next to so many hostile enemies were enough to give me tons of necessary XP for my stealth. Whenever it started to slow down on how much XP I was getting I moved closer using my pheromones to mask my presence and just blend into the rock with the help of my camouflage.
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 8!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 9!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 10!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 11!
My pulse raced as I watched giant lumbering ants move passed me. Only the workers were same size as me with every other one ranging from the size of ponies to small elephants.
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 6!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 7!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 8!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 9!
I inched closer and felt something crunch under me. I froze as one of the ants nearest me halted and moved out of the column. It walked over its antenna tapping at the air. I dumped pheromones over me masking my scent and froze not even my antenna twitching.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 15! Skill Point gained.
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 12!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 10!
The ant stepped and one of its legs landed on my chest. I had to bite down on a scream as I felt my carapace crack and ribs break.
Health: 43/55
I didn¡¯t move as my health dropped.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 16!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 13!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 11!
The ant shifted on me its antenna tapping at the air.
Health: 34/55
Biting back another scream all I could do was wait if I was spotted I was dead even if this ant¡¯s weight didn¡¯t do the job first.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 17!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 14!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 12!
Whatever force gave XP awarded risk and with the ant literally on top of me I was getting a variable flood of experience points. Another rib broke as the ant stepped off me and I had to resist sucking in a loud breath as the ant moved back into the column of moving ants.
Health: 26/55
Level Up Armored-Skirmisher! Armored-Skirmisher Level 6!
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 18!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 15!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 13!
I slowly breathed in and began to crawl away. I needed to find something to eat to start regaining hit points. I had to move slowly and my slow movement were agony on my chest but any verbal release of pain would mean death by hungry pincers.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 19!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 15! Skill Point gained.
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 14!
Inching away bit by bit I pulled myself towards cover.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 20!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 16!
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 15! Skill Point gained.
Moving farther away I pulled myself behind a large rock out of sight.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 21!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 17!
I found a stick and bit down on it as I pushed on my chest carapace popping it back into place. I needed to get back into the grass jungle and my biomass stockpile. I was at less than half health again and it wasn¡¯t good. I slowly got to my feet moving in a crouch as headed back the way I came. It was a lot less fun now with half my ribs broken. There were still thousands of ants in sight of me at all times as I moved from cover to cover. The sun was starting to set luckily, and the shadows were growing in length and strength. I moved into a crack in the dry ground and hunkered down for a minute. I needed to upgrade my Stealth Skill if I was going to make it through this.
Stalking-Stealth has one skill point, please pick one of the options for this skill path.
Ghost: You deal more damage with your first attack after breaking stealth.
Wind: Your movements cause less noise while in stealth.
Shadow: Your body absorbs the light around you making you blend in with the shadows.
I needed not to be seen so I picked the third option. The heat in my chest expanded as the skill ranked up.
Stalking-Shadow Stealth (Common) (Level 21): You are the skilled stalking predator able to move up on prey and predator alike making the first attack of any fight moving through the darkness unseen.
You have a 33% chance to not be seen by creatures unaware of your presence. Increases by .5% per skill level, the damage you deal with sneak attacks is increased by x.5 per skill level. While in stealth for the cost of 1 focus per second you dampen the lights within a 1-foot radius around you, radius increases by x.5 feet per skill level. Benefits from Dexterity.
Pushing myself up and moved towards the jungle it was slow going with my injuries but I made progress towards the line of grass stalks in the distance.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 22!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 18!
The experience points were slowing down as I moved away from the hostiles, but they were still enough to push me higher and higher in my levels. I kept moving, my injuries weren¡¯t getting any better but I was dealing with the pain better.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 23!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 19!
I pushed forwards and froze as a patrol of ants crossed my path. I didn¡¯t have any cover to hide behind, that was it, I was done. The ants walked right on past me carrying large grass seeds in their pincers not even twitching their antenna towards me.
Level Up Stealth! Stealth Level 24!
Level Up Camouflage! Camouflage Level 20!
I breathed out a sigh of relief and pushed forwards entering the grass jungle. I moved faster and faster coughing out some blood as I moved. My antenna covered my tracks with Infiltrator Pheromones, nothing else spotted me as I dropped down into my hidey hole. I sagged down and began eating feeling my health begin to tick up. Chapter 9: Its not a War Crime if you have a Good Time My stinger drove through the back of soldier ants head as I dropped down on it from above.
You have killed a Level 12 Fire Soldier Ant Beast! 49 XP gained.
The ant spasmed under me in it death throws and I jumped off towards the soldier ant ahead of me. It turned hearing the sound its breather made in death and took two blast of poison spray to its face. The attack only took off about a third of its health, but its health was still going down from the damage over time. It snapped its mandibles forward and I rolled under the strike stabbing up with my stinger to where it head met its thorax.
You have killed a Level 10 Fire Soldier Ant Beast! 35 XP gained.
Three scout ants rushed me, and I sidestepped the first two rolling to the side of the third stabbing my stinger into its side as I went passed. It didn¡¯t kill it instantly, but I could see it health bar ticking down over its head. I blasted off three shots into one of the ants I had side sidestepped. It clacked its mandibles in what might have been its version of a scream. The other ant rushed me, and I stepped back letting its mandibles nip me just barely. It was a deadly game of toying with death, but I had to take a hit to level up my armor skill. The ant I¡¯d shot in the face rushed me but I easily dodged its attack then lunged forward and rammed my stinger through its head.
You have killed a level 5 Ant Scout Beast! 9 XP gained.
The other ant I¡¯d stabbed limped towards me only a quarter of its health remaining, I ignored it for now focusing on the uninjured one. It snapped at me again and I jumped back then lunged forwards, it jerked its head back dodging my own attack before striking forwards. I rolled under its mandibles driving my stinger up through its thorax.
You have killed a level 6 Ant Scout Beast! 13 XP gained.
The last remaining scout stumbled forwards than crumpled to the ground succumbing to the poison finally.
You have killed a level 5 Ant Scout Beast! 9 XP gained.
Half a dozen notifications popped up as the battle concluded and my skill leveled up.
Level Up Dodge! Dodge Level 4!
Level UP Sneak Attack! Sneak Attack Level 5! Skill Point gained.
Level Up Armored-Skirmisher! Armored-Skirmisher Level 7!
Level Up Stinger-Knight! Stinger Knight Level 7!
Level Up Venom-arbalist! Venom-arbalist Level 5! Skill Point gained.
Level Up Poisoner! Poisoner Level 10!
My dodge had gone up by two levels and was close to getting its first skill point. I was really close to reaching level seven. One more patrol like this and I¡¯d reach it. I reached out my hand and tried to absorb it.
Would you like to absorb Dorylinae Formicidae Brutus for the cost of 1 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
I selected yes and the creature crumbled to ash before me but I didn¡¯t receive any new mutation path. It was to be expected having already gotten most of my mutation paths from this species already. I would try to get as much biomass as possible, but I just couldn¡¯t carry all of this and the ants would collect their dead if I just left them. There was still a roughly twenty-five percent chance that I¡¯d get a mutation from them though it would continue to go down with this species. Trying my luck, I attempted to analyze three more but failed each time. Sighing, I shouldered the massive horse sized soldier ant up and began to carry it back to my lair.
Level Up Heavy Porter! Heavy Porter Level 5! Skill Point gained.
All my time carrying my prey that weighed as much or more than me had finally leveled up that skill aided by the Thick Muscle Structure mutation path. I set down the soldier ant and began to eat my massive store of bio-mass as I looked over my skill upgrades.
16 biomass gained.
I munched on the ant a pile of other insects behind it for me to eat my way through.
Sneak Attack has one skill point, please pick one of the options for this skill path.
Opportunist: You can now use sneak attack against creatures that are aware of you but unsuspecting.
Backstabber: You deal 1/3rd of your Sneak Attack damage to a creature when attacking it from behind even if it is aware of you.
Assassin: Sneak Attack damage modifier is doubled increasing your chance of taking down high level opponents in one hit.
Looking over the options I dismissed Opportunist it was some sort of spy skill to let me gain trust then assassinate my target. It was a toss up between backstabber and assassin, one would be still usable during a long fight while the other would let me potentially snuff creatures double my own level. I went with Backstabber it just had more reliable continuous uses and I wanted these skills to be useful continuously not just in narrow circumstances. I looked over the skill to see how it had changed.
Sneak Attack (Common) (Level 5): You know how to strike in a sudden and lethal fashion and to hit your target in their weak points.
Damage increased by 32.5% to a creature that is not aware of you, damage increased by 10.7% when attacking an aware creature from behind. Damage increases by 0.5% per skill level. Benefits from your Dexterity.
Next I needed to level up Venom-arbalist, I¡¯d chosen my subrace based on the ability to shoot venom but I really needed to work on upgrading it more.
Venom-arbalist has one skill point, please pick one of the options for this skill path.
Venom-Slinger: You will be able to fire your venom much more rapidly from your stinger at the cost of a bit of accuracy.
Venom-Sniper: Your attacks will have increased single target damage at the cost of a cooldown between shots.
Venom-Bomber: Your attacks will have enhanced AOE damage at the cost of single target damage.
Looking them over I went with the first option the other two were just to specialized plus one of my mutations increased accuracy so hopefully it would help to counterbalance this skill evolution
Venom-Slinger (Rare) (Level 5): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to fight with your Venom-sprayer fills you. You focus your skill on rapid fire pinning enemies down under a torrent of venom.
Increases your accuracy by .3% and your range by .5ft per skill level. You can fire your venom 2x as quickly now. Benefits from Dexterity
Next came Heavy Porter.
Heavy Porter has one skill point, please pick one of the options for this skill path. .
Oxen: Doubles the weight you can carry even further but does not effect speed.
Bulldozer: Allows you to push massive objects equaling 10x your body mass.
Raider: Reduces your speed penalty when carrying heavy loads.
This wasn¡¯t a skill I thought to much about, but I used it all the time and the way I used it dictated how I spent my skill point. I selected Raider, I was always having to run off with my food so not being penalized for that was something I prioritized.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Raider (Uncommon) (Level 5): The skill to carry massive loads, a necessary tool for when constructing your hive¡¯s nest or bringing back food. You specialize in quickly moving and stealing food and material.
Increases the carrying capacity of your muscles by x.5 your body weight and temporarily increases your speed by 1% per skill level while overburdened for an extra 3 stamina per second. Benefits from Brawn.
With my skill ups finished I began to seriously cram in food. My stomach bulged by I kept at it ignoring the notifications until finally I literally couldn¡¯t push down another bite. I¡¯d gained three-hundred-and-fifteen points of biomass from my accumulated kills I¡¯d stored but now my larder was empty. I felt tired and curled up in a corner of the tunnel and fell asleep. I awoke to a terrible itching on my back. I rolled around on the ground rubbing my back until finally with a wet plop something ripped. I sat up and looked back, my wings wet and soggy had finally regrown and were quickly drying. ¡°Yes!¡± I shouted. ¡°I¡¯m back baby!¡± I immediately shut my mouth, who knew what sort of monster might hear me and come to take a bite out of me. Arrogance and overconfidence was the thing that had cost me my wings in the first place. With my wings back it was time to upgrade them. I hadn¡¯t even bothered to do this before since I didn¡¯t have wings at the time so these were all fresh options to me.
Feathered Pannels: tiny feathers develop along your panels cushioning them slightly reducing flight speed but enabling stealth while flying.
Armor Pannels: Slightly reduces flight speed but your wings now benefit from your armor skills and carapace mutations.
Aerodynamic Pannels: Massively increases your flight speed.
Armored Wings (Uncommon): Armored wings you can take hits while in air and keep going.
Your wings now benefit from your carapace mutations relating to damage reduction and they massively benefit from your Toughness.
While my rogue build would recommend the Feathered Pannels and my desire to fly free and fast told me to get the Aerodynamic Pannels experience told me to get the Armor Pannels. There was no point in upgrading wings if you didn¡¯t have them and my time being grounded had shown me the importance of durability. I chose that mutation path and screamed my wings feeling as if they were being dissolved in acid again and ripped apart by ants. An hour later I looked back at the sleek wings they were still semi-transparent, but they looked thicker now and had a glossier sheen to them. I touched them, feeling the much harder panels now covered in a thin carapace. The upgrade had cost me one-hundred biomass, but I still had three-hundred-eighty-seven biomass to spend on upgrades. There were limits on what I could do, I couldn¡¯t choose more upgrades for certain body parts without unlocking new paths for them with Analyze. Looking over my mutation paths I¡¯d selected everything but legs. I remembered the option for legs, I¡¯d thought about it for a long time and made my selection.
Spring Legs: Increases your jump distance and power tightening and adding muscle fibers to enable jumping and landing from long distances.
You can jump a distance equal to 30ft + your Jump (replaced with Dodge) skill. Benefits from Brawn.
I climbed out of my hole in the ground and buzzed my wings. Laughing I took off into the air, I only needed nineteen XP to level up. It was time to grind levels and my Flight skill. I jumped and took off letting my wings carry me up and away. It was time to be a proper wasp and hunt from above. I spotted a group of ants with one of the dreaded arbalists that had taken me down before. I buzzed overhead immediately opening fire before the arbalist could. My venom splashed against it, and I watched the Fire-Ant Arbalist¡¯s health drop down. My venom dealt twenty-three damage per second for 5.5 seconds. I hit it with three shots missing with a fourth one, but its health was already dropping to nearly half. I did a barrel roll as a glob of fiery poison fired past my head. I had my notifications set to silent, but I could feel my skills shooting up. Dropping down to a branch I resisted for a moment to let my stamina go up and took shots at several of the massive guardian ants and the soldier ants as well. I felt the level up and dropped off the branch taking flight again as more barrages of fire acid shot towards me. The arbalist I¡¯d shot finally died as its hit points ticked down and I felt another level up come as I killed the much higher-level creature. I only had a few shots left in my venom sack. I spotted the two remaining arbalist among the ants and took my shots giving each four shots from my stinger feeling my venom go dry as I ran out of shots. The health of the arbalist ticked down as I dodged their return fire. The arbalist¡¯s and several of the tanks died and the ants scattered retreating deeper into the grass jungle towards their colony. I dropped down onto a large leaf of a plant exhausted and nearly out of stamina. I looked over my notifications and level ups condensed into one notification. I¡¯d killed three arbalists, two of the guardians, three soldiers and two workers.
Level Up! You are now level 11 (20 stat points available)
Flight Level Up! Flight Level 13!
Dodge Level Up! Dodge Level 9! Skill Point Available
Venom-Slinger Level Up! Venom Slinger Level 10!
Sneak Attack Level Up! Sneak Attack Level 6!
Poisoner Level Up! Poisoner Level 14!
I had almost doubled in level from just that one fight! My Flight skill had also massively increased almost reaching level fifteen and its next upgrade. Dodge had gone up which was a surprise but I guess made sense as well and it made me feel better at acquiring it and leveling it up. I opened my status and spent my stat points. Something about advancing my race had increased how much attributes I gained per level. Before it had only been two, now it was four per level. I put eight into brawn increasing its neglected state from twelve to twenty. I put four into Dexterity bringing it to twenty, and two into Toughness bringing it up to twenty also. I put four points into Charisma bringing it from its measly eight to twelve and the last two points I put into Perception.
Name: Predator
Level: 11 Race Tier: D (Young Adult)
Health: 85/85
Stamina: 80/80 Recovery: 16 per 30 seconds.
Focus: 70/70 Recovery: 14 per 30 seconds.
Brawn: 20 Intelligence: 16
Dexterity: 20 Perception: 16
Toughness: 20 Charisma: 12
Species: Dolichovespula Sapiens (Yellow jacket Humanoid)
Traits: Warrior (Base), Analyze Absorption (Reincarnation Bonus)
Skills: Hivemaker (Lvl 0), Omnivorous (Lvl 5), Social (Lvl 0) Flight (Lvl 13), Sneak Attack (Lvl 5), Venom-Slinger (Lvl 5), Stinger-Knight (Lvl 7), Dodge (Level 9), Poisoner (Lvl 12), Armored Skirmisher (Lvl 7), Detection (Level 2), Stalking-Shadow Stealth (Lvl 25), Cloaked Camouflage (Lvl 20), Deception (Lvl 15), Communication (Lvl 1), Trap-maker (Lvl 6)
Mutation Paths: Adhesive Saliva (uncommon), Stinger (Rare), Venom Sack (Rare), Hunter Antenna (uncommon), Trophallaxis Stomach (Rare), Venom Sprayer (Rare), Enmity Pheromones (uncommon), Secondary Limbs (common), Pincers (common), Spartan Carapace (common), Infiltrator Pheromones (uncommon), Compound Eyes (Rare),
Available Biomass: 387 Experience: 50/670
Available Stat Points: 0
While this battle against the ants had almost been entirely one sided on my part and I¡¯d routed them it had also taken all my venom and left me nearly drained of stamina. I needed to do what I could with their bodies and get lost before they came back with reinforcements. Gliding down I began attempting to absorb them, I lost XP and was met with failure after failure as I tried to analyze the Guardians and soldiers. I analyzed one of the arbalists and was finally met with success.
Fire Acid Unlocked! You now have access to the Fire Acid Gland mutation path! Error! Subject does not have Fire Acid Gland, synergy between Fire Acid Gland and your Venom Sack detected would you like to merge these separate mutation paths for the cost of 50 biomass?
Yes/No
I had plenty of biomass, so I selected yes.
Pressurized Compressed Venom Sack has evolved to Concentrated Fire Venom Gland
The upgrade had changed the name, but I didn¡¯t have time to go over all it changes just yet. I kept trying to analyze the rest of the ants. I lucked on the last arbalest after failing on the second one.
Expanded Acid Gland Unlocked! You now have access to the Expanded Acid Gland mutation path! Since you have previously merged this path with your Venom Sack this upgrade will apply there as well.
I felt a painful swelling in my forearm as my Venom Gland underwent another change.
You have a 0% chance of analyzing any new information from the species, Solenopsis Brutus, select other species for future analyzation.
The ants were an evolutionary dead end for me now, but I¡¯d gotten so much from them and they were still a plentiful source of biomass. I grabbed a soldier and took to the air leveling my Raider and Flight skill as I fled the scene of my massacre. I sat down to eat as I looked over the changes to my Venom Sack¡­Venom Gland now.
Concentrated Fire Venom Gland (Rare): The deadly fuel of a hunter¡¯s attack, can be used for massive damage, debuffs and other effects, you have specialized in the quantity of available poison.
Doubles the range for your Venom Sprayer. Poison deals 5-23 venom damage per second and 3-6 Fire damage for 5.5 seconds. The sack has 24 charges, regaining 3 charges every 5 minutes. Damage, charges and regen rate are increased with Toughness and the Poisoner Skill.
The two mutation paths had upgraded my Venom Gland¡¯s damage and doubled the number of charges I had. Fire damage might have been considered unethical by some but I for sure was going to have a lot of fun burning my enemies down. Chapter 10: Black Wasp Down Perched on a fallen branch I quickly devoured the soldier ant adding twenty points of biomass to my storage, where all that mass was actually stored who knew. I was level eleven now and I wanted to push that to level fifteen and hopefully get another race upgrade. The sun was beginning to set but I still had plenty of energy and so I began to scout the area more confident in my survivability. I flew up as far as I could then let myself drift regaining stamina while I descended slowly. I could see for a long ways. A wall of bushes far to the north rose like distant mountains. The towering oak overshadowed everything and next to it ran a brook with cattails and reeds growing along its bank. The jungle of grass and weeds extended nearly as far as I could see to the west and south. With these new points of interest scouted out I headed towards the stream. I had to stop and rest several times but my Flight skill was quickly advancing and passed level fifteen. I stopped to rest again and use the skill point. I had a narrower selection than last time but it was still more than the three mutation paths you could branch down. All these new options revolved around going faster which made sense since I had focused on going faster last time. I looked over my options, some let me fly faster against the wind, or in rain. Other let me fly faster when in a group of other wasps using our combined wingbeats to create a sort of air current to carry us. I looked through the many abilities before settling on one I liked.
Accelerated Flight: You flight speed increases the longer you fly as you gain increased momentum.
I looked over the changes to my skill.
Accelerated Flight (Uncommon) (Level 18): The greatest strength of an arial predator, more important than any of their weapons, the ability to strike from above or retreat when necessary is vital to the hunter. Your flying speed is focused on being especially fast in all maneuvers in the air.
For the cost of 1 stamina per second you fly above the ground and are capable of aerial maneuvers. Fly speed equals 53 ft per second; fly speed bonus 24%, you gain an additional 5ft of movement per second for every second you are flying without turning. Increases your aerial movement speed by 1ft per second & flying speed bonus by 1% and momentum bonus by .1ft per skill level. Benefits from Dexterity and Toughness.
My stamina back to full now and my skill level up I took off again making much faster progress as my wings carried me above the ground faster than any land bound bug, like a stupid ant for instance, could ever travel. I was the king of the skies absolutely nothing could threaten me. Something buzzed behind me and I stopped beating my wings and dropped down just in time to avoid being skewered as a massive insect flew past where I had been. It turned around and I got a good look at it.
Culicidae Sanguis Cryptus (Monstrous Vampiric Mosquito); Level 21, Health 560
This thing was nearly three times my level, luckily its hit points weren¡¯t to high I buzzed backwards and blasted at it with my stinger. The mosquito moved to the side faster than I would have thought something its size should have been able to, and its wings beat faster the currents of air pushing aside my venom. It charged towards me again its long rapier-like beak glowing red which didn¡¯t look like a good sign to me at all. I darted to the side barely dodging its beak and getting slapped with its wings throwing my flight out of control. I steadied my flight and had to jerk to the side again as the mosquito came at me again. I needed to land, as much as I like flying I was running out of stamina and couldn¡¯t do this forever. I dove for the ground. I¡¯d set my notifications to silent but could feel my Flight and Dodge skill going up. I landed and rolled as the beak of the mosquito tried to impale me from behind. Whirling around I shot off another three shots with my stinger. One hit while the mosquito managed to dodge the other two. With my poisoner skill focused on dealing damage with my poison at range I knew that one hit should take out a fourth of its health. The issue was the mosquito was so agile it could dodge most of my shots or buffet them away with air currents with its wings. The long legs of the mosquito let it tower over me, and it charged forwards stabbing forwards with its beak. I rolled to the side and tried stabbing its beak, but my stinger just bounced off it. It swiped its stinger to the side, it wasn¡¯t edged so it didn¡¯t cut me, but the impact still did fifteen points of damage. It struck again scratching my leg with the tip of its beak. Red lines traveled up its beak and I watched as its health bar went up by twenty points while mine went down by the same amount. Shit! Shit! Shit! I rolled towards the mosquito now was the time to act desperately I was almost at half health. The mosquito darted backwards but I used my spring legs to jump forwards and drove my stinger up into its abdomen. The physical damage and my poison and fire damage began to eat into its health bar. The mosquito suddenly dropped down intent on using its bulk to squash me between it and the ground. I rolled out from under it pushing off back into the air and firing down on it hitting it three times with a volley of venom shot. It was bound to die within the next five seconds, I just had to survive until it gave into the poison. I dodged another attempt of its to charge me. It lashed out with its beak striking me and hurling me towards the ground. I managed to catch myself with my wings just before I hit the ground and rolled to the side. As it plunged after me. The mosquito staggered towards me then collapsed.
You have killed a Level 21 Monstrous Vampiric Mosquito, 571 Experience Earned
Despite the massive influx of XP I didn¡¯t level up from this kill.
Poisoner Level Up! Poisoner Level 17! Skill Point Available
Dodge Level Up! Dodge Level 13!
Stinger-Knight Level Up! Stinger-Knight Level 9!
Accelerated Flight Level Up! Accelerated Flight Level 21!
Venom-Slinger Level Up! Venom-Slinger Level 12!
More buzzing filled the air and I looked up to see more Mosquito¡¯s headed towards me. I felt panic rising in me until I saw these ones were much smaller.
Culicidae Sanguis Brutus (Vampiric Mosquito Beast); Level 10, Health: 120
I briefly wondered what made something at Monstrous vs Beast as I took aim and fired at the swarm of mosquitos.
You have killed a Level 10 Vampiric Mosquito Beast, 35 Experience Earned
These smaller mosquito¡¯s must be closer to hatchlings since I was getting reduced XP from them. I kept firing, I had twenty-four venom charges to work with but I was already down to fifteen. I just began blasting as they dive bombed me. I rolled the side and stabbed out with my stinger taking down them as they landed or shot overhead. They dropped down their legs curling inward and I dodged attacks the few that got through doing little damage, but I was already at half health from my other fight. I felt the level up come and I rolled into the shade of a large flower. The cover from the flower was what saved my life as the swarm of mosquito¡¯s was destroyed as an insect three times the size of the monstrous mosquito swooped in snatching up a dozen of the little ones in its jaws.
Anisoptera Terribilis Cryptus (Monstrous Terrifying Dragonfly); Level 30, Health: ????
The swarm of little mosquitos was devoured in a moment. The dragonfly then darted off and I breathed out slowly. I hadn¡¯t even been able to see how much health it had but it had been in the four digits so at least a thousand. I would have to grow much stronger before I even thought about taking on something like that although the mutation paths that thing had would have to be spectacular for me to unlock. I crept forward my stealth active, I couldn¡¯t stick around here and I needed to analyze my kills quick and get out. Looking up now I saw this area was heavily arial contested a war between different flying species going on. I¡¯d been lucky just of face those mosquitos something like that dragonfly would have one shot me.
Would you like to absorb Culicidae Sanguis Cryptus for the cost of 42 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
It was a larger XP cost then I would have liked but there was no way for me to eat the whole creature and I couldn¡¯t leave it behind for some scavenger to steal while I tried to level up again. I selected yes and the mosquito turned to a dried husk. I¡¯d never analyzed this species before so I had a 100% success rate.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Vampiric Beak Unlocked! You now have access to the Vampiric Beak mutation path! Error! Subject does not have Vampiric Beak! There is synergy detected between your Stinger mutation path and Vampiric Beak mutation path, would you like to merge Vampiric Beak with you Stinger¡¯s mutation path for the cost of 50 biomass?
Yes/No
I selected yes and my right forearm burned as my stinger began to evolve. I grit my teeth to keep from screaming and breaking stealth. I grabbed one of the small misquito¡¯s and left, I still had several hundred XP and the cost for analyzing more was still higher than I wanted to pay. I looked around fearfully then flew up to the top of the flower and ducked inside the flower petals and settled down to eat. A sweet, tantalizing smell drew my attention as I sat down and my antenna twitched. I followed the scent and found a drop of liquid the size of my head I reached out gripping the blob and pulled it towards my mouth.
Omnivorous Level Up! Omnivorous Level 5! Skill point gained!
I slurped down the sweet nectar and felt my health begin to skyrocket up as the calorie and energy rich food filled me. It only added a point or two to my biomass but it gave a huge boost to my omnivorous skill. I sighed as my health began to tick up and sat down to eat the mosquito as I looked over my notifications from the battle.
Level Up! You are now Level 12! 4 Stat points available
Poisoner Level Up! Poisoner Level 19!
Dodge Level up! Dodge Level 14!
Stinger Knight Level Up! Stinge-Knight Level 11!
Striking Shadow Stealth Level up! Striking Shadow Stealth Level 25!
Venom-Slinger Level Up! Venom-Slinger Level 14!
Some of my skills were very close to their next skill up. I spent my four stat points putting two into Toughness and the other two into Dexterity. I had a skill point available for Poisoner and a skill point for Omnivorous to spend as well. I looked over the options for Omnivorous which had replaced my Carnivorous skill. Some would give me more hit points when on a full stomach, faster healing while eating, a slight increase to the amount of biomass a gained from eating, temporary stat bonuses depending on the quality of what I ate and so on. Looking over the many options carefully I selected one that I thought would help me survive the most.
Sweet Tooth: You regain hit points instantly when consuming sweet food sources instantly such as nectar or honey.
I looked over the changes and was satisfied with them.
Omnivorous (uncommon) (Level 5): A mature wasp you are now capable of digesting all food sources. Eating food sources recovers health at a rate of 13 hit points per minute minimum on a full stomach, healing increased base on energy density of food. When eating super energy foods such as nectar or honey your body immediately metabolizes them restoring the full hit points you would gain in 1 second. Recovery increased by 1 for every skill level. This ability benefits from Toughness.
The other skill branches were good but this would basically let me use foods like nectar as health potions, if I could find a way to carry them I would be set up in a battle to instantly top off my health mid fight. With Omnivorous taken care of I looked over the options for poisoner. I had chosen my ranged poison to do max damage which had proven to have been the right choice and now all my options were related to that skill path. There were options to make my poison do more damage over time at the cost of immediate damage or to make my poison act more like a bullet doing more immediate damage at the cost of less damage over a longer period. I chose one that would simply make my poison harder to resist or cleanse. There would be no point hitting a target with poison at all if they could cleanse or ignore it.
Poisoner (Uncommon) (Level 19): The power of your poison and the knowledge of how to best apply it increases with each kill you make; you specialize in ranged poison attacks.
Your ranged poison attacks with your bio-weapons always do the maximum damage. Your poison damage and duration increase by .5 damage/second and is 1% harder to resist per skill rank. Benefits from Toughness.
I¡¯d upgraded my stinger so I brought it up to examine the changes.
Vampiric Stinger (Rare): The chosen weapon of the wasp, sharp and lethal and capable of delivering lethal loads of poison. Yours is specially designed for bypassing a creature¡¯s carapace, it also absorbs a portion of the damage dealt to heal you. Deals 17-25 piercing damage plus poison damage if added. Your attacks ignore 16-20 of a creatures Damage Resistance and restore 16% of the damage dealt as health to you (Increases with Toughness). Damage and DR bypassing is increased by Dexterity and Brawn and the Stinger-Knight Skill.
I did a lot more damage now, the amount of health I could get back wasn¡¯t a lot but as I increased my Toughness that would only go up, so many of my skills and mutations were dependent on Toughness and Dexterity that I decided those would be my main stats, I would try to raise and get my other stats up but I was always going to put two points from each level up into either Dexterity or Toughness. I¡¯d gained about thirty points of biomass from the mosquito and with my health and stamina full I could go out again. I looked up at the darkening sky. There were lots of aerial predators out there I could sleep in this flower and wait for the next morning or see if I could get away at night. As of right now I¡¯d just stumbled into a zone that I wasn¡¯t sure I could take, there were opportunities here but also lots of dangers. I decided to keep moving through the night and get back to the grass jungle. I didn¡¯t like the ants but I did understand them. I crept up to the edge of the flower and waited as I watched the orange sun descend below the horizon. My wings beat and I jumped from flower to the top of a thistle to a branch doing quick short flights. I couldn¡¯t see well in the dark but I hoped to avoid creatures like the dragonfly. My compound eyes looked about and I could actively feel my Detection skill level up as I kept my eye out for predators. I landed on a flower and looked down I was about to jump again when my notification went off.
Detection Level Up! Detection Level 5! Skill Point Available!
A flash of movement in the flower made me pause. I didn¡¯t see anything and kept looking down my antenna twitching.
Detection Level Up! Detection Level 6!
The outline of the insect came into view as I broke past its stealth.
Lepidoptera Chamaeleontis Brutus (Chameleon Moth Beast); Level 12, Health: 100
The moth began to take off realizing its stealth had been broken. I shot it once and it squeaked before collapsing to the inside of the flower. Dismissing the death and XP notification I dropped down and examined it.
Would you like to absorb Lepidoptera Chamaeleontis Brutus for the cost of 51 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
This creature was unique, it wasn¡¯t some predator, but it was wildly different than anything I¡¯d killed before. I selected yes and its body disintegrated to dust.
Chameleon Feathers Unlocked! You now have access to the Chameleon Feathers mutation path! Error! Subject cannot use feathers without replacing carapace. Synergy found with carapace would you like to merge Chameleon Feathers into your Carapace mutation path for the cost of 100 biomass?
Yes/No
The biomass cost was much higher than usual but then again, my carapace was much larger than other parts since it covered my entire body. I crouched down and examined my carapace¡¯s new description.
Spartan Chameleon Carapace (Uncommon): The armor of an elite warrior of the hive designed to offer no impediment to movement and motion while providing maximum protection.
Reduces physical damage taken by 12-22. At the cost of 1 Focus per second your carapace shift¡¯s color to match the environment. Damage reduction is increased with Toughness and the Armored Defense Skill.
This would pair perfectly with my Camouflage and Stealth skills. I felt a lot more comfortable in this environment now and looked down at my arms mentally focusing feeling my carapace shift to match the blue hues of the flower petal I was inside of. I flew out of the flower and looked around spying another moth of a different species. I shot towards it and opened fire before I even fully registered it. It tried to fly off but the poison and fire damage made it collapse to the ground.
You have killed a Level 13 Monstrous Ghost Moth, 171 Experience Earned
I dropped down to examine it as well, its white feathers stood out against the dark ground.
Would you like to absorb Lepidoptera Exspiravit Brutus for the cost of 65 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
It was a big XP cost but if I could get something similar to the chameleon mutation it would be worth it, these moths seemed stealth focused so adding their mutations was something that would enhance all my rogue like skills. I selected yes.
Silent Feathers Unlocked! You now have access to the Silent Feathers mutation path! Error! Subject has wing panels not feathers! Synergy between Silent Feathers and Armored Wings discovered would you like to merge Silent Feathers into your Armored Wings mutation tree for the cost of 75 biomass?
Yes/No
I selected yes I had a feeling what this mutation would allow and it was something I needed. A burning sensation in my wings filled me as a layer of semi-transparent feathers layered over my wing panels. I activated my camouflage and moved into a thick clump of grass before reviewing the changes to my wings.
Silenced Armored Wings (Rare): Armored wings you can take hits while in air and keep going.
Your wings now benefit from your carapace mutations relating to damage reduction and they massively benefit from your Toughness. Your wings now have a layer of feathers along your wing pannels that soften your wingbeats to reduce the sound you make allowing stealth while flying.
My wings buzzed but the sound was now a whisper and I grinned as I took off. I flew low to the ground using my focus to blend in. I considered going back to the tunnels but I didn¡¯t like being so close to the ground where any ant or other predatory bug might come across me. I spotted a tulip like flower and flew up and curled up at the bottom of the flower and fell asleep. Chapter 11: Epic A loud buzzing woke me. My eyes didn¡¯t so much as snap open (no eyelids) as my awareness returned to me. I looked up and the ass of a giant bee was moving towards me as a bumble bee. Its eyes spotted me and it buzzed angrily aiming its thorax towards me. The tip of its stinger shot forwards like a spear extending nearly teen feet out of its body as it telescoped out. I rolled to the side and the stinger pierced the petals of the flower ripping a hole through it before retracting back into the bee¡¯s body.
Eukaryota Bombus Cryptus (Monstrous Bumble Bee); Level 10, Health: 450
It stabbed its stinger at me again and I rolled to the side. I lifted my arm and blasted the bee with five shots of venom. The health bar ticked down but not as much as it usually did. Even with my Poisoner skill specialized to help bypass poison resistance The stinger of the bumble bee continued to stab out as the bee furiously pursued me angered by me occupying one of its flowers. Its stinger tore apart the flower petals. I charged forward driving my stinger into its head and unloading a charge of poison. The bee buzzed angrily for a moment then died.
You have killed a Level 10 Monstrous Bumble Bee, 105 Experience Earned
I breathed heavily I looked down at the bumble bee, I hadn¡¯t planned on a fight first thing in the morning but I was alone and without any backup to be on the lookout for threats. I reached out and touched the bee.
Would you like to absorb Eukaryota Bombus Cryptus for the cost of 75 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
That was a lot of XP but I was quickly learning that XP was something that could quickly acquire, at least for now. I actually had way more XP then biomass at the moment and would need to stop absorptions to get my reserves of biomass back up. I selected yes and the bumble bee dissolved to dust,
Extending Stinger Unlocked! You now have access to the Extending Stinger mutation path! Stinger found upgrading now!
A burning in my stinger I looked down an saw ridges in the stinger now. With a thought the stinger shot out almost as long as my arm as it tripled in length. I pulled up the description of it to examine its changes.
Vampiric Extending Stinger (Rare): The chosen weapon of the wasp, sharp and lethal and capable of delivering lethal loads of poison. Yours is specially designed for bypassing a creature¡¯s carapace, it also absorbs a portion of the damage dealt to heal you. Can at will extend to three times its normal length.
Deals 18-26 piercing damage plus poison damage if added. Your attacks ignore 17-21 of a creatures Damage Resistance and restore 16% of the damage dealt as health to you (Increases with Toughness). Damage and DR bypassing is increased by Dexterity and Brawn and the Stinger-Knight Skill.
Despite all the upgrades my stinger was still only classified as rare, I wondered what had to happen for it to increase in rarity and what even was the next rarity or did it not exist? It was time to leave this flower it was heavily damaged and I needed to find more biomass. I flew out from my ruined temporary base searching for new prey. I spotted a group of pill bugs. This area was far enough from the fire ants territory that I felt comfortable in not having to worry about swarms of them descending upon me but it could be the territory of something else so I was still careful. These would be good targets, they were heavily armored but I doubted they had much if anything in terms of ranged attacks. Quickly analyzing one I examined the pill bug.
Oniscidea Cryptus (Monstrous Woodlice); Level 25, Health: 1,555
This bug had the largest health pool I¡¯d ever seen. There was no way that just came from its Toughness, it had to have some skill or mutation that gave it more hit points or perhaps its species just had more hit points naturally. I doubted I could kill it but I needed to train and try. I began to hover midair and blast the woodlouse with venom. My shots hit and burned against its carapace, the pill bug curled up the rest of its herd curling up as well. The bug was as big as a semitruck and I just kept shooting hitting the same spot over and over again burning a thick hole through its carapace. It took every shot I had but I dissolved a hole through its carapace literal flames starting to grow as the venom burned against its shell. Its health began to tick down and I waited until at last it hit zero.
You have killed a Level 25 Monstrous Woodlice, 819 Experience Earned
Level Up! You are now Level 13! 4 stat points available!
Most of the XP went to waist but I was one level higher and had a massive feast of biomass before me. I swooped down and crawled into the hole I¡¯d melted in its carapace and began to gorge myself on the pill bug as crawled into the gooey mess of its biomass.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The notifications of all the biomass began piling up and I felt my stomach began to distend as I ate more and more. Eventually I couldn¡¯t stomach another bite and lay exhausted in a meat cave within the shell of the pill bug corpse. My eyes slowly drifted close as I went into a mini food-coma. The pill bug¡¯s shell began to move and my eyes snapped open. I poked my head out my antenna waving as I looked for the source. Ants, a legion of ants were surrounding me. Guardians, arbalists, scouts, soldiers and thousands of worker ants. The other pill bugs had left but this legion of ants was trying to pry open the pill bug. Dirty Scavengers! I couldn¡¯t fight the legion, there were way to many arbalists and who knew what other variants they had in their ranks. I would get back at them eventually but I had to abandon my prize. I¡¯d gotten six hundred biomass out of it. I sprung into the air and fled dodging blobs of acid through the air before disappearing from their range. I flew back towards the brook keeping my eyes open for more threats. I landed a ways from the aerial contested zone and looked around for potential threats. I took the time to spend my four stat points putting them all into Toughness I needed the Hit points and stamina it provided. So many of my skills also relied on Toughness and it contributed to the damage my venom dealt so raising it helped in both offense and defense. My compound eyes spotted movement and I spied a mosquito flying low to the ground separated from its swarm. I swooped in after it trying to take it by surprise but it was difficult to use camouflage midair and it spotted me whirling around. This mosquito was one of the smaller variations with black carapace and a long sharp looking beak.
Culicidae Machaera-rostrum Brutus (Saber-beak Mosquito Beast); Level 14, Health: 150
Its health was very close to mine and I fired with my stinger. The mosquito dodged nimbly to the side and I instantly could tell this thing had a Flight skill and dodge skill way higher than mine. It¡¯s stinger didn¡¯t have the red glow of the vampiric mosquito¡¯s but it slashed at me and I barely got out of the way in time. Its beak slashed and cut at me its edge sharp unlike my stinger or the other vampire¡¯s beak. Its wings let out loud buzz that sounded very much like an alarm and I could hear the answering buzz of many other mosquito¡¯s approaching. The bladed beak of the mosquito cut into my wing hampering my flight but my choice of armored wings proved correct as I was able to maintain my altitude and fight on. I shot my stinger several more times missing with each shot as the mosquito ducked and dodged an expert duelist as it cut at me. My added reach of my stinger provided effective as I used it to bat and push aside its beak to keep it from hitting my chest.
Parry an enemy¡¯s attack with your weapon! Skill Gained, Parry level 1.
The reverberations up my stinger lessened as I gained the skill and began to fight the mosquito stinger to beak. It slashed at me while I poked at it I finally managed to lunge forwards and shoot it point blank with a charge of my venom. A few seconds later the mosquito dropped and so did I activating camouflage.
You have killed a Level 14 Saber-beak Mosquito, 214 Experience Earned
Dodge Level Up! Dodge Level 15! Skill Point gained!
Armored Skirmisher Level Up! Armored Skirmisher Level 9!
Stinger Knight Level Up! Stinger Knight Level 12!
The other mosquitos came into view but I stayed low blending into the ground as my depleted stamina slowly recharged. They flew off and I reached out and touched the mosquito.
Would you like to absorb Culicidae Machaera-rostrum Brutus for the cost of 21 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
I selected yes.
Bladed Beak Unlocked! You now have access to the Bladed Beak mutation path! You have previously integrated Beak upgrades to your stinger path, would you like to apply this mutation upgrade now for the cost of 50 biomass?
I had plenty of biomass at the moment, so I selected yes. My stinger burned as it shifted the round smooth surface changing as it shifted gaining a single shard edge on one side
Vampiric Stinger-Blade (Epic): The chosen weapon of the wasp, sharp and lethal and capable of delivering lethal loads of poison. Yours is specially designed for bypassing a creature¡¯s carapace by either piercing with its tip or slashing with its edge, it also absorbs a portion of the damage dealt to heal you. Can at will extend to three times its normal length.
Deals 17-25 piercing or slashing damage plus poison damage if added (only available when piercing target). Your attacks ignore 16-20 of a creatures Damage Resistance and restore 16% of the damage dealt as health to you (Increases with Toughness). Damage and DR bypassing is increased by Dexterity and Brawn and the Stinger-Knight Skill.
Apparently, I¡¯d passed whatever benchmark there was for my stinger as it now registered as Epic. It had lost the extended part in its name, but I was grateful for that since increasing adjectives just made it a mouthful to say. I slashed my stinge through the air mentally extending its length. I couldn¡¯t wield it like a proper sword, except maybe a gauntlet sword, since it was fixed to my forearm. Still the added reach and ability to cut was appreciated. I couldn¡¯t inject my poison when I cut the nozzle for that at the end of my stinger not along its edge. The blade maintained the upgrade I selected for my stinger with the ability to more easily pierce armor, my power to absorb mutation paths was letting me game the System by incorporating abilities that would never have been able to come together otherwise. I considered what I needed to do next. In order to upgrade a lot of my mutation paths I either needed to get to level fifteen or to unlock new ones from killed creatures. My stinger had evolved to the point where I was very comfortable with it but my skills were lacking behind in a lot of areas. I needed to find a new place to gain skill levels and XP. Insects like the pill bugs couldn¡¯t fight back against me but were good for leveling my Poisoner, Venom Slinger and Flight skill against but I needed something that could fight back but wasn¡¯t instant death. My mind went back to the ants. They were a dead end mutation wise but they were still a plentiful source of biomass and XP. What¡¯s more since I could no longer gain mutations from there it would take the issue of whether to absorb them or not out of my hands. It was time to get some major payback, I would have to be stealthy, ambush them in small groups, set up lots of traps and fallback positions and be careful not to grow cocky but I could do it. My mind made up I took to the air heading back to the grass jungle it was time to begin work. Chapter 12: The Killing Zone
You have killed a Level 4 Worker Ant! 6 XP gained.
Level Up Trap-maker! Trap-maker Level 7!
My first kill with my traps. I¡¯d finally gotten around to upgrading the skill specializing in damage, there had been options for capture or debilitation, but I was just here to kill. I¡¯d spent the rest of the day and night turning the grass jungle into death trap using my Infiltrator Pheromones to disguise my presence and lure the ants into my traps.
Deadly Trap-maker (common) (Level 7): You know how to make traps to capture and kill other creatures to passively gain experience and biomass, you have specialized on damage dealing traps. Increases the damage of traps made by 1 point and there durability by .5 points, reduces the chance of your traps being spotted by .5% per skill level. Benefits from Perception.
The group of ants I was following went into a panic as one of their workers was impaled as it tripped the trap I had made driving a sharpened wooden spear through its thorax. Not sure if that trap would have killed a Soldier ant or higher but the ant all grouped up together as they huddled around their fallen member tapping her with their antenna. I moved forwards through the grass and began blasting them with my venom shot into their guardians.
You have killed a level 17 Fire-ant Guardian Beast, 355 XP gained
I sprung forwards in the ant¡¯s midst as I dropped my camouflage. The two remaining guardians spun to face me their heavy carapace locking together like a shield wall as they shielded their weaker sisters. I blasted my venom into their eyes and their health dropped to zero. I dismissed their death notifications and the corresponding level up, I jumped over their corpses and met the charge of the soldier ants. Dodging to the side I slashed out at a soldier ant cutting deep into its neck. It didn¡¯t die right away but staggered and I had to abandon attacking it as the other soldiers charged. They tried clamping down on me with their mandibles. I¡¯d seen how ants fought gripping limbs and pulling in multiple directions to rip insects apart, well that wasn¡¯t happening to me. I somersaulted over one attack driving my sword into the soldier¡¯s back. I jumped into the air using my spring legs then dropped down driving my sword through the thorax of another ant injecting with a charge of venom. I knocked aside the snapping mandibles of another ant with my blade and reposted stashing across the ants eyes. The ants¡¯ numbers didn¡¯t help them as I used my wings and ability to jump to avoid them. The scouts were able to keep up, but I side stepped and cut into them with my sword. Then they did manage to chomp down on me my armor was able to withstand most of their damage and my hit points were nowhere near as low as they had been when we first fought. Their deaths were dismissed as I racked up XP. Whenever I spotted one of the ants trying to flee, I ran them down ensuring no call for reinforcements could get out. My stamina was almost bottomed out at the end of the fight and I¡¯d lost thirty percent of my health but every ant in the group was dead. I began chowing down, no time to drag them away and eat later. I looked over my notifications as I feasted on my kills.
Level Up! You are now Level 14! 4 stat points available
Venom-Slinger Level Up! Venom-Slinger Level 17! Skill point gained!
Stinger Knight Level Up! Stinger-Knight Level 15! Skill point gained!
Dodge Level Up! Dodge Level 17!
Poisoner Level Up! Poisoner Level 21!
Armored Skirmisher Level Up! Armored Skirmisher Level 12!
I consumed the ants as fast as I could stocking up my biomass. I couldn¡¯t eat everything, their hard carapace, claws and mandibles being tossed to the side. Notifications from my traps continued to go off but I seldom got kills but the skill did slowly rise reaching level ten. I spent my four stat points all on Toughness again bringing it up to thirty. There were two skill points to spend for my combat abilities. I looked up the options for Stinger-Knight, they revolved around momentum thanks to the path I had chosen. I picked one not dependent on flying but would always be useful increasing my general attack speed. If I¡¯d just had a regular stinger, it wouldn¡¯t have been that useful but with my stinger-blade I could hack and slash now making it infinitely more useful.
Stinger-Knight (Common) (Level 15): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to fight with your stinger fills you, giving you insight on dealing damage while on the move and at high speeds and adjusting your movements to gain a faster attack speed as you gain momentum in combat.
You deal an extra .5% damage when moving (damage is doubled if you hit while moving at your full flying speed), Increases your damage with your stinger by .5 points and the amount of DR you ignore by .5, your attack speed increases by .5% per second while in continuous combat (max of 50%), points per skill level. Benefits from Brawn and Dexterity.
With my current skill rank that was a seven point five percent attack speed increase per second. Of course that would depend on me standing and fighting in long drawn out fights to really ramp up. Next I pulled up the options for Venom-Slinger I¡¯d focused on attack speed and more options in that vein appeared. There were ones for supercharging my venom recharge speed at the cost of lots of stamina and focus, others for increasing the velocity of my shots or supercharging a shot to come out as one major shot all at once. I selected one that let me aim faster while moving.
Venom-Slinger (Rare) (Level 17): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to fight with your Venom-sprayer fills you. You focus your skill on rapid fire pinning enemies down under a torrent of venom.
Increases your accuracy by .3% and your range by .5ft, penalty for shooting while moving reduced by -.5 per skill level. You can fire your venom 2x as quickly now. Benefits from Dexterity
I managed to consume half my kills gaining two-hundred-and-thirty biomass. I fled the scene of my crime and into the deeper parts of the grass jungle obscuring my trail with my Infiltrator Pheromones. I took many sharpened claws and mandibles with me from the ant corpses, I couldn¡¯t eat them, but they would help to make better traps. I used my stinger-blade with my secondary limbs to quickly cut some plant fiber into makeshift string and rope as I made new traps.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I got new ides for traps, I wasn¡¯t sure if I was getting more creative or knowledge from my trapmaking skill was slowly filling me as I leveled up the skill. The grasslands were turning into a deathtrap, small creatures like aphids were constantly dying in them and I slowly modified the traps to only trigger when larger insects like the worker ants hit them. Moving into the tunnels below the grassland I started trapping them as well creating a mental map of the area. A hissing and chittering sounded in front of me and I activated camouflage as I moved through the darkness. I could barely see in the pitch darkness and my antenna waved at the air smelling the air in front of me. A hulking figure moved forwards filling the tunnel in front of me. I recognized the scent of the creature, not its individual scent but that of its species, centipede. I focused on it and its health bar and description appeared above its head.
Lapis-Chilopoda Cryptus (Monstrous Stone Centipede), Level 19, Health: 1,800
The centipede didn¡¯t seem able to pinpoint me but it was aware of my presence. My stealth was high enough to not be seen but not high enough to go by unnoticed. I crawled up the wall my arms and the toes of me feet taking slow careful purchase as I moved up. The centipede began to move beneath me tapping the floor and walls with its antenna. I dropped down driving my stinger-blade down with my body weight. The centipede writhed as I pumped venom into it through my stinger. It seemed somewhat resistant to poison but my stinger was pumping massive doses of poison into it and combined with the sneak attack damage from my stinger saber. That didn¡¯t mean it went down without a fight it reared up slamming my body against the tunnel¡¯s ceiling. It thrashed around blunt force trauma taking huge hits out of my health my light carapace helping to reduce the damage a bit, but it wasn¡¯t hard enough and my skill in my defenses not high enough to negate all the damage. Its legs went still and I felt a rush of XP as it died.
You have killed a Level 19 Monstrous Stone Centipede, 459 Experience Earned
It wasn¡¯t enough to level up but I did get some level ups for skills.
Level Up Stinger-Knight! Stinger-Knight Level 16!
Level Up Poisoner! Poisoner Level 23!
Level Up Armored Skirmisher! Armored Skirmisher Level 15! Skill Point gained
I¡¯d gained the most level¡¯s in Armored Skirmisher from how much damage I¡¯d taken. Looking down at the centipede I considered absorbing it but put that to the side for now, I needed to level up to fifteen so I could progress the evolution of my different mutation paths. I wasn¡¯t going to eat it either I would come back and absorb this later or eat it if scavengers found their way to it. The options for Armored Skirmisher revolved around movement but I needed to make it a bit tankier.
Armored-Skirmisher (common) (Level 15): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to deflect and absorb damage with your carapace fills you and strengthens your armor over time, you are focused on mobile defense rather than raw damage absorption but also using your movement to transfer damage making you a moving wall of carapace.
Damage reduction increases by .5 points, and you have a increased .5% chance to dodge an attack, when moving your damage reduction is increased by an additional 1% per skill level. Benefits from Toughness and Dexterity.
This was a big prize of biomass so I didn¡¯t leave it undefended heavily trapping the tunnel around it to keep out scavengers and kill any scouting ants. I emerged out into the grass jungle and found it a war zone. The ants had brought out more variants as they scouted for me, variants of the scouts and arbalists with wings flew above the grassland dropping acid that burned wherever it fell. If they thought the addition of aerial troops would dissuade me they were wrong. Territorial instincts awoke in me to defend my airspace. I popped out of the grass cutting a flying scout in half before falling back into the grass taking my prize with me. I would drag the scout underground before emerging in a different spot as the previous section of grassland was flattened as the ants marched through it. The ants were an army but I was just one wasp, that meant I couldn¡¯t face them in any direct conflict but they couldn¡¯t pin me down either. Minor skirmishes between me and small groups of ants leveled up my various combat skills, twenty-five wasn¡¯t the rank I got a new skill level but I was hopeful about level thirty and pushing to try and get all my skills there. Trap-making, the only construction skill I really worked on was steadily rising reaching level fifteen quickly and I put another point into it. I¡¯d focused on direct damage and now found a new option in the skill tree unlocked due to another skill I had.
Deadly Trap-maker (common) (Level 15): You know how to make traps to capture and kill other creatures to passively gain experience and biomass, you have specialized on damage dealing traps. Your skill as an assassin now lets you apply your sneak attack modifier to your traps.
Increases the damage of traps made by 1 point (trap¡¯s damage multiplied by your Sneak Attack damage modifier) and there durability by .5 points, reduces the chance of your traps being spotted by .5% per skill level. Benefits from Perception.
As I began making more traps they began to get more kills, not just on the young worker ants and soldiers who were still in the hatchling and young adult tiers but the higher-level ants as well further boosting my XP. I didn¡¯t get as much XP as if I had killed them my selves in melee since I had chosen the Warrior trait instead of the crafter trait, but it was an almost passive form of XP. I hit level fifteen and looked at the notification I got
You have reached level 15 and can now upgrade your race. Upgrade will take twelve hours to complete, make sure you are in a secure location before beginning upgrade.
Upgrade Now? Yes/No
I selected no, I was not in safe place. I continued to fight against the ants getting more XP leveling up a few more times and advancing my skills. I started to get less XP per ant, it was very slight only a few points here and there, but it was almost as if I were being punished for exclusively fighting the same species. Night began to fall, the ants began to retreat back towards their colony. ¡°That¡¯s what you get,¡± I said with satisfaction I said from atop my perch on a thistle as I watched the swaying stalks of grass retreat as the legion of ants fell back.
Level Up! You are now Level 17! 12 stat points available
Level Up Deadly Trap-maker! Deadly Trap-maker Level 17!
Level Up Stinger-Knight! Stinger-Knight Level 26!
Level Up Venom-Slinger! Venom-Slinger Level 23!
Level Up Armored Skirmisher! Armored Skirmisher Level 20!
Level Up Poisoner! Poisoner Level 27!
Level Up Stalking Shadow Stealth! Stalking Shadow Stealth Level 31! Skill point gained
Level Up Sneak Attack! Sneak Attack Level 13!
Level Up Dagger-fighter! Dagger-fighter Level 5! Skill point gained
Level Up Deception! Deception Level 20!
Level Up Dodge! Dodge Level 20!
Level Up Parry! Parry Level 5! Skill point gained
Level Up Cloaked Camouflage! Cloaked Camouflage Level 28!
Only my stealth had gotten to level thirty, no surprise there since it was used almost constantly against the searching ants. The long list of skills was a good return on results as I¡¯d balanced on the razor edge of death any moment I could have been cornered and ripped apart by the fire ants. I began clearing my traps, the ants had recovered most of their dead and trashed the traps they came across but I reset many and fixed others my higher trap making them even better and harder to spot. I hauled the prey still in the traps back to the tunnel with the centipede corpse. Piling all the biomass in the tunnel I bunkered down to eat and rank up. Sitting down I put eight stat points into Dexterity, and four into Perception. I would upgrade my skills after my race upgrade.
You have reached level 15 and can now upgrade your race. Upgrade will take twelve hours to complete, make sure you are in a secure location before beginning upgrade.
Upgrade Now? Yes/No
I selected yes and passed out. Chapter 13: Big Boy Carapace My eyes opened slowly and I sat up I looked at the blinking notification in my vision.
Congratulations! You have passed from the young-adult stage to adult!
8 stat points gained per level now, you may now progress your mutation paths further. (XP gained from creatures of any stage below you will be greatly reduced).
I somewhat regretted continuing to fight the ants, if I¡¯d upgraded at level fifteen I could have gotten an extra eight stat points for leveling to level seventeen. I pushed the regret aside I would have gotten much less XP from most of the ants due to their lower stages as I finally reached adulthood for my species. I wondered what was past adult, extra adult? The old sense of loneliness filled me as I looked at my mark of progress reached, I should have a hive around me to celebrate my achievement but I was on my own. Pushing the feelings I aside I forced myself to move on but resolved to work on trying to make progress on my quest and find a mate somewhere. There was a massive pile of biomass next to me to consume I looked at the centipede, it was time to decide to absorb or eat it. I picked absorb the XP cost right now as low and I had a huge number of ants to eat.
Would you like to absorb Lapis-Chilopoda Cryptus for the cost of 12 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
¡°Yes,¡± I said and the corpse turned to a dry husk before crumbling to dust.
Medium Carapace Unlocked! You now have access to the Medium Carapace mutation path! Error! You already have Light Carapace cannot have both Light and Medium Carapace at the same time, synergy detected between these two paths. Would you like to merge Medium Carapace into your Light Carapace mutation path?
Yes/No
I thought about it then selected yes, I¡¯d yet to have a bad experience merging paths and a heavier carapace while possibly negative did have some significant positives that came with it.
Praetorian Guard Carapace (Uncommon): The armor of an elite warriors of the hive that guard the Queen herself; designed to offer no impediment to movement and motion while providing maximum protection, hardened sections of the armor allow them to take harder hits in place of the Queen. Evolved to at will camouflage to match the surrounding environment.
Reduces physical damage taken by 40-120. At the cost of 1 Focus per second your carapace shift¡¯s color to match the environment. Damage reduction is increased with Toughness and the Armored Defense Skill.
The armor had advanced from common to uncommon, my defensive skill now let it block a large amount of damage, creatures like the aphids wouldn¡¯t be able to do a single point of damage against me now. I looked over the changes seeing how much damage my carapace could potentially negate, I didn¡¯t feel any loss of speed or flexibility and I suddenly considered how much more I could improve this. Imagine if I could merge the Heavy Carapace path, something I doubted wasps even had access to into my own path. How far could I potentially increase my DR even further? That was something I had to think of, for now I needed to eat and upgrade my different paths. I began to chow down on the ants and other stockpiled insects letting my biomass tick up as I looked over my skill ups for Stealth, Dagger Fighter and Parry. My previous skill ups for Stealth had resolved around pulling in the shadows and doing more sneak attack damage. My new options were tailored along those lines, there were skills for dealing more damage on my first attack out of stealth further increasing that bonus, ones to help me move more silently, one to help block my scent and so on. I chose one that incorporated the previous concept of darkening the area and would pair well with my chameleon mutation.
Phantom Stealth (Common) (Level 31): You are the skilled stalking predator able to move up on prey and predator alike making the first attack of any fight moving through the darkness unseen and making your profile more blurry so you blend in to your surroundings more easily.
You have a 33% chance to not be seen by creatures unaware of your presence. Increases by .5% per skill level, the damage you deal with sneak attacks is increased by x.5 per skill level. While in stealth for the cost of 1 focus per second your pheromones dampen the lights within a 1-foot radius around you, radius increases by x.5 feet per skill level when using this skill your silhouette is blurred by your pheromones and harder to spot. Benefits from Dexterity.
My hope was that this combined with my camouflage would make me a ghost even while moving the heat in my chest, perhaps my soul if I had such a thing settled and I moved onto the parry skill. There were lots of potential skill trees to pick from but I had no idea where any of them would lead. There were ones that increased my parry strength based on the weight of my weapon, others that let me use my parry skill with my shield skill (which I didn¡¯t have) and ones that let me parry with carapace on my forearms. I selected one that would increase my parrying skill and make it more reliant on my Dexterity instead of Brawn.
Parry (Common) (Level 5): You use your weapons to knock an incoming attack to the side either negating its damage or reducing it, you are skilled at using minimal force to parry an attack so that it relies more on your Dexterity than your Brawn and requires less strength to do so but has a lower chance of fully parrying the attack.
For the cost of 1 stamina, you reduce the damage of an incoming attack by 30%, damage reduction increases by 1% per skill level. Benefits from Dexterity++ and Brawn.
Lowering my chance to not fully parry my attack wasn¡¯t great but parrying the attack so it hit my leg instead of vital organ in reducing its damage was still better. There was also the matter of my improved carapace and my plans to further improve it. I didn¡¯t know if I would ever be a tank but I did plan to make it so I could survive on the front line of battle. I had chosen the ability to spray venom to avoid having to do that but it had been a choice made for survival and it wasn¡¯t something I was opposed to. I brought up my options for Dagger-Fighter I had leveled up the skill to rank five mostly just to see if it would be worthwhile as a skill so far the daggers hadn¡¯t done much to contribute to my damage not able to compete with my significantly upgraded stinger. I was disappointed with what I saw, they weren¡¯t bad options but I wasn¡¯t actually planning on relying on daggers that much and using them instead of my stinger was interfering with leveling up Stinger-Knight. I spotted one skill that gave me a flash of insight, it would pair perfectly with my Parry skill and let me continue to use daggers without sacrificing XP for my other combat skills.
Dagger-Defender (Common) (Level 5): You have learned to fight with dagger weapons, external from your body. You have specialized in blocking and parrying attacks with your daggers.
The damage you deal with daggers is based on the weapon + .5 slashing or piercing damage per skill level. Gives a .5% bonus to your chance to Parry an attack equal to your Dagger skill. Benefits from Dexterity.
Now I could use my secondary limbs for parrying, they weren¡¯t as strong as my main arms but that didn¡¯t matter with the skill tree I had chosen for Parry, I could constantly parry attacks reducing the damage and letting me continue to attack with my stinger. With my skill points spent I focused entirely on eating until my stomach was bulging as I¡¯d consumed three-hundred biomass already. I sat back letting my body digest the biomass and put it to wherever it stored it and brought up my options for my mutation paths. I had lots of things to work on for all the major groups, head, body, arms, wings, legs and genitalia. That last option was still untouched, and I¡¯d never unlocked any mutation that was related to it. Looking over the options for it that I had ignored last time I decided to upgrade it. Quests didn¡¯t seem to be a common thing, or at least I didn¡¯t know how to get more of them. The only quest I had was to repopulate my species, but I had yet to see any wasp humanoids or even wasps. The closest I¡¯d gotten was a murder bee that tried to impale me for breakfast. I chose the option I¡¯d known I would always pick Ancestral Power
Ancestral Power: (Rare) Your offspring have a chance to be born with mutation paths you have already unlocked.
Your offspring have a 10% chance for each body slot to hatch with the mutation tree you selected for that slot. (Error! As you have multiple mutations for the same slot your offspring will have multiple chances to hatch with a mutation path for that body slot)
That might not have been the best choice for others but with my Analyze trait it was a no brainer, I had access to mutation paths no other wasp would ever obtain and passing them on would help to assure my descendants survival. The upgrade cost one-hundred biomass and I felt the greatest pain of my life as my genitals were physically altered. After getting up I checked that they were still intact, they didn¡¯t look different but I hadn¡¯t really expected (or wanted) them too.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I never want to do that again,¡± I said to myself closing my crotch plate with a mental though sealing my manhood behind a carapace shell again. I was going to wait until I upgraded that path again. Of all my biomorphs my most important ones were my venom sack, stinger and carapace. I brought up my stinger first, I wasn¡¯t greeted by just three options. There were three options related to the mutation path I had chosen for my stinger initially related to bypassing armor from the puncturing path I had chosen and gone down with the next upgrade, Diamond-tipped. However, I wasn¡¯t just limited to those three options, I had three options related to extending the reach of my stinger further, three for effecting the blade of my stinger, and three related to its vampiric ability. I was excited to go down all those branches until I read a notice.
Your Analyze trait has unlocked new branches for your biomorphs but be warned that selecting one branch will lock off other branches.
That made me pause, apparently while my analyze let me upgrade a biomorph and unlock new paths that didn¡¯t grant permanent access to those paths. I was now left with a choice as I looked at the glowing nodes in the tree of the biomorph. Based on what I knew every other insect and person¡¯s biomorph tree would be a straight line unless there was some other way to gain new mutation paths I wasn¡¯t aware of. The options I had now weren¡¯t my only consideration but also whatever future options lay behind that tree. I dismissed the bladed options, my stinger had a blade now and that was enough I didn¡¯t need to keep refining that. The same went for the extended tree I already had a descent reach granted by that mutation it wasn¡¯t a necessity to keep extending it, bigger wasn¡¯t always better. That left the puncturing tree and the vampiric tree. This was a difficult choice piercing heavy carapace was always going to be a necessity but I doubted I¡¯d ever gain access to something like the vampiric mutation again. In the end I went with the vampiric mutation based on this, the puncturing ability of my stinger wasn¡¯t going away and already increased with my Brawn and Dexterity. The vampire mutation healed me and it was so exotic that it set me aside from almost every other insect. The biomass cost for the upgrade was massive and I looked at the price my heart dropping. Two-hundred-and-fifty biomass! The jump in cost was enormous, the first upgrade to this had been just five! I wondered if the cost varied based on what it was but I was committed now and I could always collect more biomass. Selecting the biomorph I felt my stinger burn the red glow around the stinger intensified and the hardened carapace it was made of turned from a dark black to blood red.
Improved Vampiric Stinger-Blade (Rare): The chosen weapon of the wasp, sharp and lethal and capable of delivering lethal loads of poison. Yours is specially designed for bypassing a creature¡¯s carapace and absorbing a portion of the damage dealt to heal you. Can at will extend to three times its normal length and has a bladed edge.
Deals 66-74 piercing or slashing damage plus poison damage if added. Your attacks ignore 34-38 of a creatures Damage Resistance and restore 30% of the damage dealt as health to you (Increases with Toughness). Damage and DR bypassing is increased by Dexterity and Brawn and the Stinger-Knight Skill.
The life steal from my stinger jumped up nearly by half after the upgrade restoring almost a full third of the damage I dealt directly with my stinger back as health. I thought about upgrading my carapace but paused, based on what I knew now about the biomorph paths for my mutations and my plans for trying to merge my carapace with heavy carapace I wanted to wait to upgrade it until I had all three types, light, medium and heavy carapace all merged into one path and select from my options at that point. With my stinger upgraded it was time for my second most important upgrade my Venom-sprayer, while contained withing my stinger it was counted as a separate mutation path. There hadn¡¯t been many ranged bugs that I had encountered, the fire-ant arbalists had been the only ones and they had offered no improvements to this biomorph, so I only had three options to pick through. I¡¯d chosen rifling before increasing my accuracy and the next three branches were all related to that.
Strengthened Crown: The bore of your stinger is reinforced so that damage to it is less likely helping to prevent your venom¡¯s accuracy from dropping.
Instinctive Trigger: You gain a new neural pathway that allows you to target and aim faster.
Steady Arm: The muscles in your arm are stiffened and strengthened resulting in a slightly slower movement but preventing recoil and swaying while aiming.
The options all continued the theme of accuracy but each in their own way. I hadn¡¯t had a problem with my stinger being damaged and I suspected its strength was somehow related to the strength of my carapace so that would hopefully be solved by analyzing heavy carapace. That scratched off the first option from my selection the second option was a lot better, it didn¡¯t actually effect my stinger in any way only in how I used it having a lot more in common with my skills than a typical biomorph. The third option was good but clashed with my fighting style and the build I was being moulded into. The second option was the way to go and it cost two-hundred biomass, fifty less than the mutation for my stinger but still large chunk. I had three-hundred-and-ninety-two biomass in storage so this would probably leave me short for my next upgrades. The searing pain in my head as I selected the mutation left me rolling around on the ground but I sat up, there were no outward changes that I could see and I suspected I wouldn¡¯t notice the difference until I fought next time.
Rifled Venom-sprayer (Rare): The chosen weapon of the Blackjacket, capable of spraying its deadly poison out at enemies at range allowing for deadly aerial bombardments by their hive¡¯s swarms, you have specialized into accuracy and quick aiming (allows this mutation to now benefit from Perception and Intelligence).
Range 27ft, Base Chance to hit 72% at max range (increases in proportion to how close you are to target). Target has a -48% to dodge your attack. Damage determined by Venom Sack. Range and Accuracy increased with the Venom-Slinger Skill. Benefits from Dexterity, Perception and Intelligence.
The upgrade hadn¡¯t so much as increased some base percentage of my accuracy or reducing an opponents chance to dodge but by adding the new neural branch in my brain for just this biomorph it had linked this skill from only benefitting from Dexterity to now also improving based on my Perception and Intelligence stat. I needed more biomass now before I could continue upgrading, I started to eat again as I began to look over my options for my venom gland. Unlike my Venom-Slinger I had unlocked improvements to this just one but it opened more options but as I looked them over I realized I would be deciding between fire and the charges I had to use for damage. A bit of additional fire damage was interesting, but I needed more shots to make that effective. The options for my venom gland didn¡¯t relate to its damage but its charges. There was one that just straight up increased the number of charges by enlarging the gland, the second distilled the venom into more of a sludge so less of it was needed per shot and the third didn¡¯t immediately upgrade the number of charges I had but split the venom gland in half creating two smaller versions of the gland. The first two options had immediate application to combat but I wanted to go with the third. My gut told me that having two versions of the gland would benefit more from possible future biomorphs I unlocked with Analyze. I selected the upgrade and felt the burning in my forearm as the mutation took place. It wasn¡¯t as bad as mutating my genitals or brain but still burned like hell. It had cost another two hundred biomass leaving me with forty-five at the moment.
Concentrated Fire Venom Glands (Rare): The deadly fuel of a hunter¡¯s attack, can be used for massive damage, debuffs and other effects, you have specialized in the quantity of available poison in two glands connected to your stinger.
Doubles the range for your Venom Sprayer. Poison deals 38-56 venom damage per second and 36-39 Fire damage for 8 seconds. The sack has 28 charges, regaining 7 charges every 5 minutes. Damage, charges, Damage over Time, and regen rate are increased with Toughness, the Poisoner Skill increases Damage and effectiveness.
The damage, time and charges had all increased since I¡¯d put so many points into Toughness. It looked like I got about two more charges for every five points in Toughness above ten and the same seemed to apply to my regen rate. The damage seemed in increase at a ratio of one damage per two points of Toughness in addition to the damage increase from my Poisoner skill. The time for the poison had gone up but I wasn¡¯t sure what the math was for it yet. I only had forty-five biomass left and I would run out of ants soon so I probably could only get one more bio-morph upgraded before I had to go out hunting again. Crunching through carapace with the pincers on the side of my cheeks I slurped up the hemolymph and scraped the inside of their shells clean. It took about half an hour but I finished off my kill¡¯s I¡¯d stored gaining three-hundred-and-ten biomass. I¡¯d upgraded all my bio-morphs that could be put in the weapons category apart from my pincer which I had no intention of wasting bio-mass on to upgrade. Looking over my mutation paths I selected one for arms that I had only upgraded once. Striker Muscle let me deal more damage based on my Brawn attribute, I¡¯d neglected this bio-morph so the next upgrade was only fifty bio-mass and hopefully I could afford another for it. Looking over the list there were various options all related to increasing damage but I chose one that I best thought would fit my build as it looked like it would take advantage of a focus on dexterity.
Fast-twitch Striker Muscle, (common): You are a warrior and deal increased damage when striking your foes in melee focusing on fast precise hits rather than just brute strength.
Increases your damage in melee by an additional 3 points per point of Brawn above 10 and an additional 2 points per 2 of Dexterity above 10.
With my current stats of twenty Brawn and thirty Dexterity I dealt an extra fifty total physical damage with just this bio-morph. Looking through the next available mutations for this biomorph I selected another also relying on my dexterity but this time to increase attack speed. This cost me a further two-hundred-and-fifty biomass.
Fast-twitch Striker Muscle (common): You are a warrior and deal increased damage when striking your foes in melee focusing on hyper fast precise hits rather than just brute strength.
Increases your damage in melee by an additional 3 points per point of Brawn above 10 and an additional 2 points of damage and .5% attack speed per 2 of Dexterity above 10.
With all my prey eaten and down to just fifty-five biomass it was time to go out on the hunt again. Chapter 14: Big Game Hunter I reset my traps gathering a few more kills and quickly consuming them to gain a storage of biomass in case of emergencies adding around a hundred-and-twenty biomass to storage. As I reset the traps I saw the area was relatively clear of ants, they appeared to have withdrawn from this part of the grass jungle for now. My goal of acquiring heavy carapace to merge into my carapace mutation path wasn¡¯t something I thought I could do here. None of the bug¡¯s I¡¯d come across looked like they even had what would be classified as heavy carapace. The pill bug I¡¯d killed was likely a good candidate for unlocking that biomorph. As soon as I was done resetting my traps, I moved out returning the area I¡¯d killed the pill bug. They weren¡¯t there and the corpse had long sense been dragged off by the ants after stealing it from me. Scouting the area I found a herd of pill bugs under a log feeding on the detritus under neath it. Hovering midair something I was able to do after leveling up Toughness enough to where my stamina regeneration let me fly continuously as long as I didn¡¯t have to do any complex aerial maneuvers like dodging. I began blasting one of the pill bugs with my venom the acidic poison burning through carapace to the vulnerable flesh beneath. The pill bug rolled up on itself but its health ticked down and I got the notification and XP for its death. I dropped down and touched the pill bug to analyze it.
Would you like to absorb Oniscidea Cryptus for the cost of 93 XP and all the creature¡¯s Biomass?
I selected yes.
Multi-legs Unlocked! You now have access to the Multi-legs mutation path! Multi-legs not found, would you like to spend 300 biomass to grow this biomorph?
I frowned and selected no. I suppose the random biomorphs would not always be compatible or desirable. I had to wait for my venom charges to recharge as I tracked the retreating pill bugs. Once I was recharged, I took down another of the wood lice.
Level Up! You are now Level 18! 8 stat points available
I had a massive increase in stats per level since I had advanced from young adult to adult. Placing a hand on the wood-louse to analyze it I accepted the prompt.
Stone Covering Unlocked! You now have access to the Stone Covering mutation path! Stone Covering not found, synergy between Stone Covering and Praetorian Guard Carapace would you like to merge the two mutation paths?
Yes/No?
I hesitated then selected no. I needed to fly and stone covering sounded like it might add a lot of weight to my carapace. I sighed and pursued the remaining three pill bugs. I blasted through the next one¡¯s carapace leveling up my venom slinger another few levels and then the pill bug finally died.
Venom-slinger Level Up! Venom-slinger Level 28!
Accelerated Flight Level Up! Accelerated Flight Level 25!
The gains to my Flight skill were slowing down but being able to constantly hover was steadily pushing it up. I dropped down and analyzed the wood-louse for the cost of one-hundred XP.
Food Sensor Antenna mutation path unlocked! Antenna found, would you like to add this mutation path to your antenna for the cost of 25 biomass?The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Yes/No?
The cost was so small that I accepted if. My antenna hurt like a son of a bitch but I needed to wait and let my venom recharge anyway. My antenna recovered and twitched and I could sense all the sources of food around me, most of it was just little things like aphids hidden in the grass but I also could smell the sweet tang of nectar up in the flowers above. Jumping up into the air I flew after the fleeing pill bugs as they led me away from my usual hunting ground farther north. I began to blast the next wood-louse and burst through its carapace. I leveled up my venom-slinger making it easier to do even more damage in the future. It curled up and died as the venom ticked down its health bar to zero. Dropping down I analyzed its corpse for the cost of one-hundred-and-seventy-five XP.
Rot Gut mutation path unlocked! Error this mutation path conflicts with your Omnivore skill and will replace your current stomach if accepted and prevent the consumption of certain food types while unlocking new food types. Would you like to accept this mutation path for the cost of 50 biomass?
Yes/No?
No. I selected it and dismissed the notification. So far pill bugs seemed to be a evolutionary dead end to me in terms of gaining new mutations. I followed the last remaining pill bug as my venom recharged then melted through its carapace and claimed another kill.
Level Up! You are now Level 19! 8 stat points available
Venom-slinger Level Up! Venom-slinger Level 30! Skill Point available
Accelerated Flight Level Up! Accelerated Flight Level 28!
I dropped down onto the top of its carapace and analyzed the last pill bug.
Segmented Carapace mutation path unlocked! Carapace found, would you like to merge this mutation path into your biomorph for the cost of 70 biomass.
Yes/No?
Again it wasn¡¯t Heavy Carapace but I sighed and selected yes. A horrible itching and burning covered my body I¡¯d gotten used to, or at least I thought I had the sensation of my body mutating but this was on another level. I passed out and woke up a number of hours later. ¡°You stupid fuck,¡± I cursed myself. ¡°Never mess with your mutations out in the open like that again something could have eaten you when you were passed out.¡± My carapace did feel different, and I looked down seeing my carapace had changed. There were no longer any gaps in my carapace and there was a strange sensation over my body. I focused on the sensation, and it was like that of having a new muscle. Flexing the muscle the carapace around my head moved closing in around my face. My vision was somewhat obstructed by I had a visor and my face which had been a vulnerable gap in my carapace was now also covered.
Praetorian Guard Carapace (Rare): The armor of a super-elite warrior of the hive that guards the Queen herself; designed to offer no impediment to movement and motion while providing maximum protection, its segmented joints and sections allow seamless coverage of the entire body and you to cover your face at will; hardened sections of the armor allow them to take harder hits in place of the Queen. Evolved to at will camouflage to match the surrounding environment.
Reduces physical damage taken by 12% and then further reduces the remainder by 90-270. At the cost of 1 Focus per second your carapace shift¡¯s color to match the environment. Damage reduction is increased with Toughness and the Armored Defense Skill.
My carapace now offered a damage reduction percentage as well as a flat damage reduction. I flexed the muscle in my neck again and my carapace retracted, clearing my vision again. While it was disappointing to have not gotten heavy carapace, I did level up several times and increase my skills for flight and Venom-slinger as well as get an unexpected upgrade to my carapace. I looked around where I was, I was far from my usual hunting ground but still near the fire ant territory, closer to their ant mound then the grass jungle was. Taking to the sky to catch my bearings I surveyed the land around me. I spotted something strange, it wasn¡¯t a natural structure or something made by insects like the fire ant mound. I flew towards the ruin and examined the dilapidated and burned structure. Blackened stones formed a ziggurat that rose above the plants around it crowding around its base and vines growing along it disguising its presence from a distance. The structure was abandoned and I wondered what had happened to its inhabitants. I landed down and went into stealth, since coming to this world this was the first sign I¡¯d ever seen of other intelligent life. I remembered my quest, Find a Mate, it was not likely to happen here but perhaps I could find something that would point me towards other people here. Chapter 15: Widow Maker I walked into the dark hole at the top of the ziggurat. The area was clearer of weeds and overgrowth which made me uneasy. It was clearly a dilapidated ruin that wasn¡¯t being maintained but it was less clear if it was unoccupied. My antenna tapped at the air and my focus was going down quickly as I maintained my camouflage. I descended a set of stairs that had been cleared of debris. I entered into a large central chamber and found my first signs of more recent activity. The ashes of a fire were set in a circle of stones with piles of leaves and blankets around the fire. There were packs beside the bedding and objects that had been clearly crafted by humanoids. I pocked at one of the packs and felt the soft silk material they were made of. The pack contained wrapped, provisions? I wasn¡¯t sure what they were. Bottles which were very interesting to me, nets, and weapons made of carapace and shaped somehow into swords, spears and bows. The bedrolls, silk packs all clued me into what sort of humanoids these were, spiders of some sort. Now the question was, should I wait to meet them? No. Instinctively I felt these were not allies, I was a wasp, and they were spiders and we weren¡¯t on good terms. They had no incentive to help me and could have countless ones I didn¡¯t know about to wish me harm if for no other reason than XP and biomass. I knelt down and began to gather some of the stuff. I tapped my antenna across the weird food wrappings but it didn¡¯t seem appealing so tossed them out prioritizing the bottles and jars. I wrapped them in the silk cloth to keep them from breaking filling a pack full of them. I hurried out but I wasn¡¯t as lucky on my way out. Before I even got to the opening I heard voices and could smell the approach from up the tunnel. I flew up the roof and clung to some roots growing through the brickwork. A group of humanoids walked in under me talking and laughing amongst themselves. Irrational, seething hatred filled me as I looked on the spider humanoids. There was some sort of deep seated rivalry between me and them that went down to my DNA. I briefly considered just dropping down and killing them but I restrained myself and analyzed them carefully making sure to mask myself with Infiltrator Pheromones.
Latrodectus Tenebris Sapiens (Black Widow Humanoid); Level 55, Health: 800/800
Holy, fucking shit, no. That was not something I wanted to fight. There wasn¡¯t a spider there under level forty, these weren¡¯t dumb ants either, they all carried weapons, they had something like my stinger on both wrists that looked like fangs and they all had multiple sets of limbs, not all had eight but each had at least six their limbs varying as did there weapons. ¡°Which one of you chuckle fucks messed with my shit?¡± one of the warriors fumed. ¡°Come on Marcius,¡± one of the other said taking off a helmet. They didn¡¯t have carapace of their own from what I could see, it might not be an available biomorph based on the fact that I didn¡¯t see a single one with it. ¡°Hey I got stuff missing too!¡± another warrior complained. ¡°My bottles of qymyz are all missing.¡± The widow warriors began opening their bags seeing all the items I¡¯d taken were missing from their packs. There ire and irritation grew but their leader stopped their bickering. ¡°Someone else has been here!¡± he snapped. ¡°No one among us has had the opportunity to do all this, one thing going missing, but this is too much for one of us to have nicked while the others weren¡¯t looking.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t smell anything,¡± Marcius, the one warrior whose name I knew said. ¡°Too many footprints to tell whose tracks are whose,¡± another warrior grumbled. ¡°Spread out, we weren¡¯t gone long they can¡¯t have gone far,¡± the leader said. ¡°Do you think it could have been the Mud Daubers?¡± another asked. ¡°We¡¯re too far north, and this is just an infrequent hunting camp,¡± Maricus objected. ¡°Enough!¡± the Leader snapped. ¡°We¡¯ll learn more when we find them, now spread out and hunt this thief down.¡± The Widows spread out going down the tunnels most importantly the exit tunnel. I thought through my actions, I could just wait, try to sneak out, or fight my way out. They were spread out now but¡­ No, I told myself pushing down the aggressive murderous instinct from my wasp nature to kill these spiders. I needed to try and sneak out, maybe I could kill them another day but they were to a high level for me to get now. I began to creep along the ceiling gripping the roots out of the brickwork as I approached the exit to the ziggurat. My luck failed me, and a root came loose, and I dropped, the spiders at the entrance rushed forward almost to fast for the eye to follow but I was fast too. Dust fell around me outlining my position and keeping my camouflage from working correctly. My stinger rose up and I blasted off several shots of venom, one hit and the Widow jerked to the side and began ripping off his chest piece as my venom began to melt through it. The other Widow moved forwards, it had to large arms that came out at its shoulders and a tertiary set of smaller arms below it carrying daggers like my secondary limbs did. Chitin swords slashed at me and I ducked under them, its other set of arms punched before the natural weapons on it snapping out like my stinger. The fangs bit into my carapace but couldn¡¯t get through but that didn¡¯t stop them from spewing a good deal of venom out onto my carapace. Just as I had done to so many insects before venom started to burn through my carapace and unlike the Widow warrior, I couldn¡¯t just pull it off. My health started to tick down, I wanted to stay and fight to prove that a wasp was always better than a spider, but pride couldn¡¯t make my decisions here. I flew backwards and rolled as something flew overhead. It hit my wings, and I was worried I was going to lose them again but it wasn¡¯t venom, luckily they couldn¡¯t shoot that like I could, instead a sticky net of webbing covered one wing weighing it down. That would throw off my flying and it they hit me with another of those I might not be able to fly or worse be trapped in one spot and at their mercy. I ran down the tunnel with more of the Widows in hot pursuit as they shouted to alert each other. Another of the warriors rushed me and went into a flying kick and shot another web net out of his ass. Ok, it wasn¡¯t exactly his ass but it was around that area too close to it for my comfort. The web clipped my left arm and stuck me to the wall. I snarled in frustration and slashed at the web with my stinger slicing through it and freeing myself but not before I was stabbed by another fang and more venom began chewing through my carapace. The warrior was to cocky though and I blasted him point blank in the face with my stinger, the Widow screamed, clawing at his face and eyes and I ended him with a slash across his throat. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
You have killed a Level 48 Black Widow Humanoid, 2,866 Experience Earned
Level Up! You are now Level 19! 8 Stat points gained, 16 Stat points available
All that excess XP went to waste given our level differences, but every extra level helped. I knelt down there was no question about trying to eat these things it was time to analyze and run.
Multi-Eyes Unlocked! You now have access to the Multi-Eyes Biomorph! Error! Subject does not have Multi-eyes , would you like to unlock multi-eyes for the cost of 100 biomass?
I didn¡¯t answer right now, it was time to move not go unconscious while I went through a mutation. I pushed off and started running again taking the ruined stairs two at a time as the Widow warriors moved up behind me in hot pursuit. The stairs had twists and branches and in my panic I took a wrong turn, I realized it was wrong when I hit a dead end. Taking a moment to plan I jumped up pushing against the walls with my arms and legs; I activated camouflage expending Focus to blend into the blackened ceiling and darkness above. The Widows spread out again as they began searching the upper tunnels. A warrior scanned the tunnel with its eight eyes before turning around to head back up the tunnel. I dropped down on the Widow driving my sword through its back my sneak attack instantly killing it.
You have killed a level 47 Black Widow Humanoid! 2,755 XP gained
Level Up! You are now Level 21! 8 stat points gained, 34 Stat points available
Reaching down I touched the corpse of the Widow and analyzed it paying the XP cost.
Sex-Pheromone Unlocked! You now have access to the Sex-Pheromone Biomorph! Would you like to unlock Sex-Pheromone for 40 biomass?
That made me pause, what was a Sex-Pheromone? I shook my head and kept moving, I would find that out later if I survived. I moved down the tunnel trying to find another way out. I crept along and came across two more Widows guarding the stairwell. I looked at them then steeled myself then jumped. My feet collided with the chest of the first Widow kicking them into the well and they disappeared from sight. Simultaneously with my kick I drove my stinger through the other Widow warrior.
You have killed a level 46 Black Widow Humanoid! 2,646 XP gained
Level Up! You are now Level 22! 8 stat points gained, 42 Stat points available
Sneak Attack Level Up! Sneak Attack Level 13!
It didn¡¯t die right away but the combined damage of the sudden attack and poison quickly dropped it. The Widow I¡¯d kicked down the stair well must not have died since I didn¡¯t get any XP from it. I reached down and analyzed my most recent kill.
Necrotic Poison Gland Unlocked! You now have access to the Necrotic Poison Gland Biomorph! Synergy Detected between Necrotic Poison Gland and Concentrated Fire Venom Glands, would you like to merge this biomorph path for the cost of 75 biomass?
Yes/No
I dismissed the notification without selecting either option. I started running up stairs as the sounds of pursuit sounded behind me. Webbing shot around me and I dodged the snares as I took the stairs three at a time. I turned and fired over my shoulder as I rounded a turn in the stairs. Another web netting hit me catching my left leg this time. Two warriors rushed me, and I had to block and parry several attacks to my torso with my crude fang daggers. I was able to survive the exchange of blows but there quickly became a difference in Level not just in the number above their head but in their Skills and skill, I fought dumb bugs, but these were humanoids with intelligence who had trained and studied with the weapons they were using. My stinger lashed out cutting off one of the warrior¡¯s arms with a lucky strike, he would be able to regrow that if he survived. I shot wildly at close quarters. I was so close that I almost couldn¡¯t miss but I panicked so did still manage to miss about a quarter of my shots. I got another hit against my torso with a carapace sword, but the Widows screamed as multiple shots of venom hit then in unarmored sections and ticked down their health as they also caught fire. My stinger cut and stabbed, and two more warriors went down as my stinger which was much longer than their fangs was able to cut through the carapace armor they wore.
You have killed two Black Widow Humanoids above level 47!
Level Up! You are now Level 23! 16 stat points gained, 58 Stat points available
Parry Level Up! Parry Level 8!
Stinger-Knight Level Up! Stinger-Knight Level 27!
Armored-Skirmisher Level Up! Armored-Skirmisher Level 23!
I hacked at the webbing around my leg and reached down to analyze the two widows.
Spinner Gland Unlocked! You now have access to the Spinner Gland Biomorph! Would you like to unlock Spinner Gland for 150 biomass?
Yes/No
I dismissed it again without selecting yes or no.
Toughened Hide Unlocked! Error! Subject does not have Toughened Hide, subjects Carapace is occupying the slot for Toughened Hide. Would you like to replace Carapace with Toughened Hide?
Yes/No?
I dismissed it and ran breaking out into sunlight and shooting up into the air. My health was ticking down and I was about to become like the Widows I¡¯d just killed. While they didn¡¯t have as much health as something like a pill-bug, likely having something to do with size and the humanoid vs monster dynamic; I was poisoned, and my health was going down faster. I spied a flower and dove into it. I prayed that I was lucky as my antenna twitched and I used my Food Sensor adaptation to search for what I needed. Finding the nectar I slurped it down, immediately my health shot back up. It began to tick down again but I wasn¡¯t nearing the single digits for awhile again at least. I hunted around the base of the tulip finding another drop of nectar as big as my head.
Resist being poisoned long enough to gain a natural resistance to it! Skill Gained, Venom Resistance level 1. Prerequisite Toughness 30
I only just had Toughness thirty and it made me wonder what other unknown skills might be locked behind Stat requirements. I opened the skill to look it over keeping a side eye on my health bar.
Venom Resistance (Rare) (Level 1): Your body is slowly learning to deal with poisons and venoms and better adjusting to fight them and reduce the damage taken and the duration they can affect you.
Damage from poison and Venom is reduced by 1 point per Skill Level and 1 point for every 2 points of Toughness above 10. Benefits from Toughness.
The time on the poison in my blood expired and I drank another drop of Nectar restoring myself to full health again. That brief encounter with the Widows had been the closest I¡¯d been to death in a while, they didn¡¯t have as much health as nearly any of the creatures I¡¯d fought but I guessed what they lacked in hit points they likely made up for in Level and probably Skill level as well. I sagged down in the flower. That had been touch and go but¡­I¡¯d shot up in level and gained several biomorph paths. I¡¯d also found a new group of enemies to keep an eye on and use to gain more level from. Chapter 16: Cross Log I looked over the new biomorphs that had become available to me. Multi-eyes, Spinner Gland, Necrotic Poison Gland, Toughened Hide and Sex Pheromone. Toughened Hide was out right away it would replace my carapace and seemed inferior to it, especially since the Widows wore armor to make up for it. Multi-eyes was no doubt useful but¡­it was to spidery, my instincts warned me that looking like a spider would drastically effect my standing with other wasps when I ever found them. That left Spinner Gland, Necrotic Poison Gland and Sex Pheromones. Spinner Gland was spidery but it didn¡¯t sound like it would effect my out appearance much and it would give me access to making my own silk. Necrotic Poison Gland was a no brainer since it would just merge with my current venom gland. Sex Pheromones sounded¡­well I didn¡¯t no what it sounded like but it did seem somehow linked to my main quest I¡¯d spawned with. Right now I only had a hundred-and-fifty biomass and upgrading my venom glands would cost seventy-five and the Sex Pheromones would cost forty. I couldn¡¯t even think about the Spinner Gland since it would cost my entire available biomass at the staggering price of a hundred-and-fifty biomass. I needed to hunt again and go back to farming the ants. I spent the biomass for the two biomorphs I could take and endured the pain of them upgrading the horrible burning in my arm and antenna as they mutated leaving me vulnerable in the base of the flower.
Sex Pheromone: (Rare) You are able to put females into heat, this pheromone is only available for those a Queen has selected as a breeder.
You are able to activate a compatible female Queen putting her into heat and activating her reproduction glands.
This pheromone was weird but looking at it was something vital for my quest and I wondered how I would have acquired it normally; it hadn¡¯t been in my initial list of options. This gave me something to think about, the system had given me a quest but this was a necessary component to complete it so there must have been some other means to get it.
Concentrated Necrotic-Fire Venom Glands (Rare): The deadly fuel of a hunter¡¯s attack, can be used for massive damage, debuffs and other effects, you have specialized in the quantity of available poison in two glands connected to your stinger. Your poison deals Venom, Fire and Necrotic damage.
Doubles the range for your Venom Sprayer. Poison deals 38-56 venom damage per second, 36-39 Fire, and 15-22 Necrotic damage for 8 seconds. The sack has 28 charges, regaining 7 charges every 5 minutes. Damage, charges, Damage over Time, and regen rate are increased with Toughness, the Poisoner Skill increases Damage and effectiveness.
The change to my venom gland wasn¡¯t big, a minor change to its description and the addition of necrotic damage but no new charges or variant effects. Once I was recovered I looked at my stolen loot. I opened one of the bottles, I wanted to store some nectar in them but they were full of something else right now. I sniffed it and wrinkled my nose but hesitantly took a sip. Immediately my health started ticking down as I was poisoned. ¡°You stupid shit!¡± I swore at myself searching for a drop of nectar in the flower.
Venom Resistance Level Up! Venom Resistance Level 2!
I paused waiting to drink the nectar but the poison effect reached its end. I looked down at the bottle and took another sip. My health ticked down again and the effect ended, I took another sip of the fowl fermented poison and received more progress.
Venom Resistance Level Up! Venom Resistance Level 3!
I wondered if this was why the Widows had kept this stuff, to train their Venom Resistance. But why had they screamed so when I shot them with my venom? Perhaps the fire damage had done more to them then my own native wasp venom I theorized with no way to really test. Or maybe you just couldn¡¯t train with your own venom? I through about that then extened my stinger. ¡°This is stupid,¡± I told myself then shot myself in the leg. My venom struck again the carapace of my leg, stuck there for a moment burning against it. I was definitely taking some damage but not as much as I would cause another creature. Interesting. I kept drinking the bottle my head growing fuzzy. This was likely the real purpose of this liquid, it wasn¡¯t a weapon or training tool it was just booze to the Widows. My hangover started to clear as I polished off the bottle and my Venom Resistance was now level ten.
Venom Resistance Level Up! Venom Resistance Level 10! Skill Point available
I had a skill point to spend and looked over the options. There weren¡¯t as many as some skills but then again how many different ways could your resist poison? There were the ones that reduced the duration you would be poisoned, ones that specified on specific types of venoms but I selected the generic option that was just a straightforward increase to the base damage reduction. I liked my health and anything that did damage to it I wanted less of.
Venom Resistance (Rare) (Level 10): Your body is stronger and more internally equipped to reduce the effects poisons and venoms have on your systems and health.
Damage from poison and Venom is reduced by 2 points per Skill Level and 2 point for every 2 points of Toughness above 10. Current Damage Reduction -40 damage per second. Benefits from Toughness.
I looked at my stat points, I had fifty-eight to spend. I wanted to put a bunch into Toughness but paused. I still had a lot of bottles to go through and if my damage reduction outpaced the damage this fermented venom could deal to me I wouldn¡¯t be able to use them for training anymore. I thought then sighed, I wouldn¡¯t invest anything into Toughness for the meantime. Since I¡¯d discovered that there were skills locked behind stat requirements raising all my stats had suddenly become a lot more important to me. I wanted to get them all to thirty but I would still heavily invest in my Dexterity and Toughness. Dividing up my points in my head I spent eighteen on my most neglected stat, Charisma, brining it up to thirty. I put fourteen into Intelligence, ten into Perception, another ten into Brawn. All my stats were at thirty now and I invested the last six into Dexterity taking it to thirty-six. I was very balanced but that wasn¡¯t necessarily a strength, a jack-of-all-trades and a master of one might always be better than a master of one unless that one had a Brawn attribute of a hundred and pasted that Jack-of-all-Trades into a fine mush. The pain of my stats upgrading was bad but not as bad as gaining new biomorphs. I¡¯d had to drink several drops of nectar to heal myself, the sips of venom did around seventy to ninety damage per second for four seconds. It took about ten sips to empty one of the small bottles. I filled up the bottle with nectar and flew to another flower having emptied this one out. I kept training my Venom Resistance until I had about four empty bottles of venom to use as healing potions to use in battle. My Venom Resistance had hit level fifteen, but I wanted to wait on upgrading it, the stronger the skill was the less benefit I¡¯d get out of training with the Widow¡¯s fermented venom. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. This was what made humanoids more dangerous than beasts and monsters. No dumb bug was out there grinding its skills like this but if the Widows had a way to train their Venom Resistance like this I had no doubt they would be. I needed to get stronger, to get skilled not just Skills. It was time to go hunt my preferred prey again. I landed back in the grass jungle and tore into a patrol of fire ants. The surprise attack left no survivors and I began eating them on the spot not dragging them away. Once I¡¯d gotten a hundred-and-fifty biomass from them I flew back to the tunnels I¡¯d been hiding in and tucked myself away. A hundred-and-fifty-biomass latter and a short coma and I now had the spinner gland. I looked down where I sensed the biomorphs there were two holes on the inside of my left and right thigh. Going through my notifications I pulled up the description for the Spinner Gland.
Spinner Gland: (Rare): A gland in your legs that produces tough silk cord, usage of which will depend on your skill.
You can spend 1 biomass for 5 meters of silk cord either sticky or smooth, each section of cord has 120 durability (increases by 2 per point of Toughness, base 60).
The cost for the silk wasn¡¯t free, my venom theoretically needed biomass to be made but I just needed to not be starving it didn¡¯t have a set biomass per shot. That was game, or life balance I supposed. With a shrug I headed back out, I would resume my hunt for Heavy Carapace later I needed to fuel up on biomass and XP for now. The ants were a slow if plentiful source of both and I had a new biomorph that would help me immensely in creating traps. The rest of the day was spent by me creating new traps using the silk cord in place of the plant fibers I¡¯d used previously. I found out the sticky webbing was great for tripwires, I wasn¡¯t a spider making a web but I had my own ways of setting deadly traps and as my skill level with them grew they became deadlier and deadlier as I thought of new and inventive ways to use them. While I set the traps I also trained my venom resistance, it took awhile the levels coming farther and farther apart but once I¡¯d finished the last bottle it was my highest level skill to this point.
Venom-Resistance Level Up! Venom Resistance Level 34! 2 Skill Points available.
I upgraded the skill once again just choosing the base damage reduction path for the skill for both points.
Venom Resistance (Rare) (Level 34): Your body is very used to the effects of poison and in eliminating all manner of toxins and venoms from your system taking barely any damage from most venom types.
Damage from poison and Venom is reduced by 6 points per Skill Level and by 3 points for every 2 points of Toughness above 10. Current Damage Reduction -264 damage per second. Benefits from Toughness.
While my skill with base melee fighting was still inferior to the Widows at least I felt a lot more confident it just tanking the hits from their fangs. It also gave me pause, I was very reliant on my own venom to do most of my damage, what would happen if I came across someone else with a Venom Resistance skill equal to or higher than my own. All the more reason to train with my stringer I resolved, physical damage, especially if you hit a weak point was a lot harder to negate. I began hunting the fire ants in earnest no longer having to worry about my low health due to training my Venom Resistance. I filled my bottles with nectar for mid-battle healing and began to strike at the ants even emerging out of the grass jungle into other zones to attack them before retreating back into the grass death trap. The ants followed every time, they had some intelligence but were still beasts and couldn¡¯t resist the urge to chase the thing that kept killing them even if it meant entering the killing field. When night fell I¡¯d already devoured enough ants to gain about a thousand points of biomass in my system. Where that was all stored who knew, the gains to my skill level had not been small either.
Level Up! You are now Level 25! 16 stat points available
Level Up Deadly Trap-maker! Deadly Trap-maker Level 26!
Level Up Sneak Attack! Sneak Attack Level 19! Skill Point available
Level Up Venom-Slinger! Venom-Slinger Level 34!
Level Up Stinger-Knight! Stinger-Knight Level 33!
Level Up Dodge! Dodge Level 30!
Level Up Poisoner! Poisoner Level 34!
Level Up Armored Skirmisher! Armored Skirmisher Level 29!
Level Up Stalking-Shadow Stealth! Stalking Shadow Stealth Level 35! Skill Point available
Level Up Cloaked Camouflage! Cloaked Camouflage Level 33!
Level Up Dagger-Defender! Dagger-Defender Level 17! Skill point available
Level Up Parry! Parry Level 18! Skill point available
It had been a fruitful day in terms of building strength but I still felt¡­empty. I was alone with no one to share my triumphs, no hive to use my strength to bolster. I hadn¡¯t always been alone I¡¯d been among brothers I¡¯d fought with once back when I was a¡­ The train of thought ended as it always did whenever I made a conscious attempt to remember. Back to work I needed to upgrade my skills then back to hunting down Heavy Carapace and wasps. First stat points, I put all of them into Toughness raising it to forty-six. Next Sneak Attack, one of my most valuable skills and the first one I¡¯d earned myself. I looked over the options, last time I¡¯d taken this I¡¯d chosen the option that let me deal some of my sneak attack modifier when attacking from behind even if the creature was aware of me. My options were all similar to that now as I went down that skill tree. I selected one that would apply a third of my sneak attack modifier when attacking from the front if my opponent was off balance. If I was quick, clever, sneaky or surprising enough I would always do just a bit more damage exactly what every rogue wanted.
Sneak Attack (Common) (Level 19): You know how to strike in a sudden and lethal fashion and to hit your target in their weak points and when to hit when your target is off balance.
Damage increased by 46% to a creature that is not aware of you, damage increased by 15.33% when attacking an aware creature from behind or from in front if they are off balance. Damage increases by 0.5% per skill level. Benefits from your Dexterity.
It was hard to train sneak attack since I only got XP from it in the first kill or attack in a fight before it was all base combat. While the benefit I got from it wasn¡¯t limited to that first initial hit it seemed for game balance reasons the XP still was. My stealth skill had gotten another skill point my only skill to reach level thirty-five although I had a bunch of other skills just hovering before it ready for their own upgrade once I gave them another level or two. I looked over the options for Stalking-Shadow Stealth then selected one increasing the damage I dealt with my Sneak Attack even further. While it was a one shot attack it was big shot and my traps also benefited from it. My stealth skill boosted my sneak attack by a multiplier not a percentage and my traps applied my sneak attack modifier which ended up being both bonuses.
Stalking-Shadow Stealth (Common) (Level 35): You are the skilled stalking predator able to move up on prey and predator alike making the first attack of any fight moving through the darkness unseen often ending battles before they even have the chance to begin.
You have a 50.5% chance to not be seen by creatures unaware of your presence. Increases by .5% per skill level, the damage you deal with sneak attacks is increased by x.8 per skill level. While in stealth for the cost of 1 focus per second you dampen the lights within a 35-foot radius around you, radius increases by x.5 feet per skill level. Benefits from Dexterity.
The increase wasn¡¯t a lot it only went from point five to point eight multiplier but that was being multiplied by the skills level so it ended up being a ten times multiplier in the difference right there. It was a massive deadly attack but it was a one hit shot and I was sure there were different defensive skills and biomorphs that would let some creatures tank something like this. With my tank full of biomass and all my upgrades taken care of I went to sleep for a few hours. When I woke up it was still dark but I headed out anyway. I traveled north east this time to the opposite side of the oak tree as I¡¯d traveled the day before. The brook was visible and there were many deadly aerial predators around but I kept low and didn¡¯t approach the water to closely. At least I didn¡¯t until I spotted a settlement. It was my only way to describe it. Mud huts, a palisade made out of thick branches sharpened to points protecting them flanked by a hollow log that spanned the width of the river with the settlement continuing on the other side. I moved closer being very cautious not to be seen. I looked at the humanoids moving about the settlement there was farmland outside the palisade with various insects moving about them. As I got closer I saw that these bugs weren¡¯t Widows, well most of them weren¡¯t I spotted a few moving through the gate but they looked like merchants not residents. The humanoids were beetle like but I wasn¡¯t close enough to identify them and the grass jungle ended before the settlement began and I didn¡¯t want to cross that open distance. I began to circle them, my plans for Heavy Carapace might need to be put on hold for a bit this was something I needed to check out. Chapter 17: Silk Matriarch Queen Yula looked down with a bit of distaste on the males who had returned. They had gone on what should have been a simple hunting mission but had lost six members to what seemed to be a single attacker. She sighed, they were only males who had been born with the misfortune of having the warrior trait instead of the crafter, at least then they could have been put to use in Silk Nest but since they were warriors they were disposable. Well all accept one of them, her favorite Regald had been sent to gain some levels, he had been a breeder, he didn¡¯t have the trait but his bloodline and ancestral mutations would have let one of her daughters breed excellent warrior stock. ¡°I am tired of your ramblings,¡± Queen Yula snapped silencing the warriors as they talked over eachother trying to gain favor and deflect her anger. ¡°Speak plainly, what attacked you.¡± They went silent until finally, Huragan, the hunts leader spoke up. ¡°We could not tell,¡± he admitted. Yula raised and eyebrow and he continued. ¡°It had some sort of camouflage skill or ability, it was very stealth focused, we tried trapping it but it cut through our webs and it had some sort of burning venom it shot from a stinger and its carapace deflected our swords, then it flew away and we couldn¡¯t track it. It also reached down and destroyed the bodies of our fallen with a single touch, no biomass or blood remained when it was done.¡± ¡°You could not smell it to identify it?¡± she asked. ¡°No,¡± Huragan said. ¡°Some sort of mask was over it we only got question marks, if one of us who had gotten close had survived, we only saw its level.¡± Queen Yula braced herself for the terrible beast that must have come from the great wilds. Huragan hung his head. ¡°Level twenty-two,¡± he admitted. ¡°It was heavily poisoned when it fled and its health was draining fast but none of us received an XP notification from the Mother to confirm its death.¡± She froze in shock, the entire story sounded like something out of a hatchling¡¯s tale but for Huragan to humiliate himself by admitting he had lost six warriors to a single creature under half his level¡­.it had to be true. She thought through every story, but no creature matched the descriptors. Camouflage was something the Ghost Moth tribe from the east could do but they were many sparrow flights away and the other descriptors didn¡¯t match up. Moth¡¯s didn¡¯t have stinger, venom or carapace, the tribes that had those couldn¡¯t camouflage and their venom wouldn¡¯t burn that was what the extinct Fire Ant tribe possessed but only the beast variants existed now. Could a wasp have mutated to develop camouflage or a moth to gain a stinger? Such things were possible and entire sects of tribes had formed because of such, her own clan had developed a life-drain attack, only present in the female gene of course, which had earned them their sect here in Silk Nest high above the brook. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. It could also be chimera, a rare half breed but a male and a Queen from different clans being compatible was a great rarity so that was more unlikely than being a new mutation. That was why she had been grooming Regald after he had hatched with the Extended Fang mutation and she had hoped to pass that along in their clan giving the protecters of the clan an advantage from the hatchling phase. ¡°Leave us,¡± Queen Yula said. ¡°Meditate on your failure and return to the warrior lodge.¡± While it was called the ¡®Warrior Lodge¡¯ it was just where those males who had not been born with Crafter or Breeder trait were kept. Her real warriors her daughters, grand-daughters and great-grand-daughters were here real warriors. The males did not argue or question her, their place already precarious enough. Queen Yula turned to her guards, her daughters wore fine silk and carapace armor forged by their chitin smiths. Their many eyes blinked and they gathered around her. ¡°What is it mother?¡± her eldest, Princess Chera asked, she was being groomed for a breeder roll her abdomen large as she worked on her build to mutate it to guide the next generation by guiding their traits, and increase their strength as soon as they hatched. ¡°I fear a new enemy has entered our territory,¡± she said. ¡°And it is dangerous if only for the fact that we do not know what she is.¡± ¡°You assume she?¡± her youngest Mayra asked. ¡°Of course,¡± Queen Yula laughed. ¡°Our males may be dull but not even they could fall to a single male half their level, it is likely a young queen driven from her nest and seeking to establish her own clan.¡± ¡°Beast or humanoid?¡± Princess Chera wondered. ¡°The males described a humanoid but a beast or monster would make more sense to be able to take out so many.¡± ¡°But it stole items, which one of their kind wouldn¡¯t do,¡± Mayra pointed out competing with her eldest for her mother¡¯s attention. ¡°True,¡± Queen Yula agreed appreciating the conflict, it would make all her daughters stronger. ¡°We must wait but be warry if we can capture this young queen all is well but if we must kill it we will.¡± ¡°Why capture?¡± her guard captain asked. ¡°It sounds dangerous my queen I would not want such a creature brought into Silk Nest.¡± ¡°Dangerous yes but if we can broker an alliance as we have with the Ground Beatle Tribe and gain a new nest to subordinate to us it will be worth it,¡± Queen Yula explained. ¡°You wish for more aid against the Mud Daubers?¡± Mayra asked. ¡°Mud Daubers!¡± Princess Chera scoffed. ¡°I have already arranged a strike force to attack them, the Mud Daubers will be no threat to us soon.¡± Chapter 18: Shell Shock I moved around the settlement sticking to the cover of the weeds and tall grass. There were hundreds of the beetle men. I finally got my chance to analyze one of them when I saw a farmer moving close to the grass line. Creeping forwards my antenna twitched and I received the information on it.
Nigrum Carabidae Sapient (Black Ground-beetle Humanoid); Level 29, Health: 280
I considered attack and killing him but¡­ He hadn¡¯t done anything to me and unlike the Widows I felt no innate hatred towards them. They were working with the spiders, but they weren¡¯t spiders themselves. I moved away and looked over the river. There was new territory to explore there. I flew across the river and landed atop a massive rock near the settlement on the opposite side. This side of the brook was out of the shadow of the oak tree I¡¯d been under my entire time in this world. There was a massive fallen tree to the south of where I was, the scale of everything from when I had been human¡­my memories were blocked again. I shook my head as the strange suppression came over me, things looked like miles away that I felt were only a few dozen yards. My new perspective was taking some time to get used to but I stopped trying to fight the suppression and just got back to hunting and exploring. I circled the rock and saw a gap between it and the ground. Swooping down I landed and looked into the darkness. My antenna tasted the air and I moved into the shadowy cavern my Food Sensors telling me there was prey down here. Small insects the size of mites ran from me but I wasn¡¯t interested in them. I kept moving until I spotted something I thought might be what I was looking for. A snail the size of a young pill bug moved its mouth chewing on some root beneath the rock.
Cryptomphalus Aspersus Cryptus (Monstrous Garden Snail); Level 29, Health: 1,500
¡°That had better be heavy carapace,¡± I said to myself. I brought up my stinger and fired. My venom hit the soft section of the snail¡¯s body and I expected it to just start buring through but the slime of the snail just sloughed off there and the venom fell to the ground. The snail¡¯s head turned towards me and it spat. I rolled to the size and a ball of acidic goo sizzled where I had just been. Moving surprisingly quick for a snail it charged me spitting another blob of goo. I rolled to the side again and slashed out with my stinger, while my venom hadn¡¯t done much when shot my stinger blade cut deep into the bugs side and I ejected a charge of venom. With a bit of my venom deeper in its system the snail seemed to have a harder time ejecting it but its body was still expelling it but I got a few more seconds of damage. The snail reared up, its body stretching to tower over me. I jumped back as it slammed down, the impact shaking the ground. My wings buzzed and I took to the air, I couldn¡¯t fly high and the tunnel limited my maneuverability. Pushing off with my legs against the tunnel walls I swooped around the snail. It tracked me with its eyestalks, spitting more globs of acid. I dodged between them rolling on the ground and pushing off its shell and the wall, firing volleys of venom at its shell and soft flesh. My venom did even less against its shell then it did against its soft flesh. The venom sizzled against its slime coating but didn''t seem to be doing much damage. I needed a new strategy. Landing beside the snail, I darted in close and slashed with my stinger-blade. The sharp edge cut through the slime and into its flesh. The snail writhed in pain, its body contracting before it slammed its side down but I had already dodged to the side. I pressed my advantage moving back in and hacking and slashing at its vulnerable underside. My venom pumped into the wounds doing damage for a few seconds before being expelled but steadily bringing down its health. The snail rolled to the side and clipped me with its shell hitting me with the force of speeding car slapping me across the tunnel. My carapace cracked against the dirt and stone and I slumped down dazed for a second. The snail charged towards me, its massive body sliding across the tunnel floor with surprising speed. I shook off the daze and rolled to the side just as it slammed into the wall where I had been. Chunks of dirt and stone rained down from the impact. My health had taken a significant hit from that shell strike taking off about forty percent of my hit points from that one hit. I needed to end this quickly before the snail got in another lucky hit. As the snail turned to face me again, I activated my camouflage ability, blending into the shadowy tunnel walls and surroundings. Whatever it had put its biomass into it hadn¡¯t been Perception or its eyestocks, I moved around flying up my wings masking their sound with the The snail''s eyestalks swiveled around, searching for me. I crept along the edge of the tunnel, circling behind it. When I was directly behind its vulnerable tail end, I deactivated camouflage and lunged forward with my stinger extended. I drove my stinger deep into the soft flesh where its body met its shell, pumping a massive dose of venom directly into its system. I slashed and hacked it spun its head around and I dove right at its mouth driving my stinger deep into its head. I didn¡¯t know the size of exact location of its brain but the head shot took out a third of its health. On its last legs it spasmed and I slashed hacked until it finally dropped to zero.
You have killed a Level 29 Monstrous Garden Snail! 1099 XP gained!
Dropping to the ground I looked at the creature¡¯s soft flesh, I was not eating that. I touched its corpse analyzing it and it withered to dust as I paid the XP cost.
Slime Coating Unlocked! You now have access to the Slime Coating Biomorph! Would you like activate Slime Coating for the cost of 100 biomass?
Yes/No
I grimaced and selected no, I was not covering myself in slime regardless of whatever advantages it gave me. There was a gurgling from deeper in the cavern and I looked up from the disintegrating corpse to see three more snails approaching. They were each half the size of the snail I had just fought. My antenna twitched as I analyzed them.
Cryptomphalus Aspersus Brutus (Beast Garden Snail); Level 22, Health: 850
That was just one but the other two were only a few levels higher and lower than that one. These snails had a lot less health then their monstrous brother which made me think there really must be a difference in the amount of hit points a creature gained based on their classification and it wasn¡¯t all just based on Toughness and Level. The snails charged me, while they weren¡¯t as big as the monstrous version there were three and they spit their acid in volleys and some of it splashed on my leg as I had to dodge the multiple projectiles. At least my Dodge skill was getting a lot of training and XP. My leg burned as the acid bit into it but luckily it had only been a bit of the stuff but it reinforced how important it was to not get any of it on me. I darted between the snails, slashing with my stinger-blade as I passed. My attacks cut through their slime coatings more easily than the larger snail, but they were still tough opponents. I focused on hit-and-run tactics, striking quickly then retreating before they could retaliate but soon most of the ground was covered in those dangerous pools of their acidic bile. I activated my camouflage, blending into the shadowy tunnel and used my stealth ability to darken the air around me further reducing visibility in the already dark cavern. The snails'' eyestalks swiveled, searching for me. They didn¡¯t group up which would have been the sensible thing lacking the intelligence to think that tactically. I circled behind them, looking for an opening. When I was in position I drove forward my stinger extended and dripping venom from its tip. My stinger plunged deep into its soft flesh where body met shell. I pumped venom directly into its system deep into its insides under where its body was protected by its shell. I figured it might have a harder time removing my venom from deeper in its body and sure enough I was right. It did expel the venom eventually, but it had already done a tremendous amount of damage by the time it did so. As the venom did damage I focused my attacks on this single snail, I slashed and hacked. The snail writhed in pain, its health dropping rapidly. The other two turned, spitting more acid and charging me. I used the dying snail as a shield, its shell faring much better against the acid then my carapace did. One of the snails just rammed its brother its force launching me like I¡¯d been hit by a catapult. I lost about twenty health and grimaced. The snail died as its wounds did it in.
You have killed a Level 22 Beast Garden Snail! 630 XP gained!
I was back on my feet and rolling to the side as the two beast snails spit and charged me rearing up and slamming down. They didn¡¯t have as much force as the monstrous snail had but it was still enough to make the ground shake. I cut at their exposed underbelly as they reared up but the risky attack nearly cost me dearly. One of the snails slammed down, nearly crushing me. I barely managed to roll out of the way, feeling the rush of air as its massive body crashed into the ground inches from where I had been. My heart raced as I realized how close I''d come to being flattened. Regaining my composure, I pushed off the ground then kicked off the wall buzzing around the snails'' heads in a swooping dive to disorient them; I couldn¡¯t really fly in here, but my wings still gave me a bit of extra maneuverability. They tracked me with their eyestalks, spitting globs of acid that I narrowly avoided. I needed to end this quickly before my luck ran out. Diving down, I slashed at the soft flesh of one snail''s neck as I passed. It recoiled in pain, giving me an opening. I drove my stinger deep into its neck pumping venom directly into its vital organs. The snail thrashed violently, nearly dislodging me, but I held on with grim determination. I cut and hacked and it dropped as the other snail charged me.
You have killed a Level 19 Beast Garden Snail! 459 XP gained!
I kicked off the snail¡¯s shell just as the other snail impacted it. I hung suspended in the air for one second before dropping down driving my stinger into the other snail¡¯s head with the full weight of my body pumping in two charges of my venom directly into its brain. It spasmed and went down.
You have killed a Level 23 Beast Garden Snail! 691 XP gained!
Level Up! You are now Level 26! 8 stat points gained
I was getting better at fighting these snails, but I was still down to twenty-five percent of my health. ¡°Wave two complete!¡± I crowed triumphantly. A rumble sounded as another monstrous snail and four of the beast snails came into view. ¡°Oh you¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± I said. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that as a challenge!¡± Fate, karma, the system or whatever was fucking with me right now ignored me as the new threat charged me. I only had thirty-eight hit points left to me right now about thirty percent of their health. I reached into my back and grabbed one of the bottles surprised it hadn¡¯t broken and downed the nectar in it. My health shot back up to about a hundred hit points, not full health but a lot better. I rolled to the side dropping the bottle and it was time to fight for my life again. The monstrous snail charged forward, its massive body dwarfing the beast snails around it. I took to the air, my wings buzzing as I dodged acid spit and slashing attacks from the smaller snails. The confined space of the tunnel made maneuvering difficult, but it also limited the snails'' ability to surround me. I focused my attacks on the beast snails first, knowing from experience they were easier to take down. Darting in close, I slashed with my stinger-blade, cutting deep into the soft flesh of one snail''s neck. It recoiled in pain, giving me an opening to pump venom directly into its system and I did so gripping the edge of its shell as I used it as a living shield to block the acid of the other snails. The concept of friendly fire didn¡¯t seem to exist to the snails, and it took damage from them as well as me. The snail thrashed violently, but I held on, continuing to slash into its neck conserving my venom until it finally collapsed. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
You have killed a Level 21 Beast Garden Snail! 571 XP gained!
One down four to go. I jumped up as the body of the beast snail was pulverized by the monstrous snail. I gripped the stone of the ceiling camouflage myself. I kicked off the ceiling swooping down using my momentum and speed from the kick and my wings to drive my stinger through another beast snail¡¯s head, I got a minor bonus from my semi sneak attack but the damage was doubled due to moving at my full speed courtesy of my Stinger-Knight skill. I dropped the beast snail in that single hit, but it had been the weakest of the bunch.
You have killed a Level 17 Beast Garden Snail! 355 XP gained!
The remaining two beast snails and the monster snail were left. I dodged the globs of goo that were incoming and sprung at the next snail, it swiped with its head to bludgeon me but I pulled up and its attack missed then I struck forwards my stinger slashing up down left right into its head dropping its health to half. I jumped away unable to finish it off just yet as the monstrous snail reared up and crashed down. Its body splashed into the pools of acid across the cavern ground spraying it in a fine mist everywhere. I was unsure if that had been intentional, but the end result was still me getting a thick coating of acid over my entire body. It burned and ticked my hit points down. I retreated and downed another ¡®health potion¡¯ but my health was at seventy even with that healing. The acid burned as it ate away at my carapace, but I couldn''t afford to focus on the pain or wipe if off. I had to end this fight quickly before the damage overwhelmed me. I darted towards the wounded beast snail, determined to take it out of the fight. As I approached, the snail reared up, preparing to slam down on me. At the last second, I veered to the side, letting its massive body crash into the ground beside me. In that moment of vulnerability, I struck. My stinger plunged deep into the soft flesh of its neck, pumping venom directly into its system then I gave it a few slashes, putting it out of its misery as it took out its bit of remaining health.
You have killed a Level 21 Beast Garden Snail! 571 XP gained!
I charged the last remaining beast snail dodging its spit then tore into its face. I sliced off an eye stalk and moved in close using my daggers to add to the damage. While my secondary limbs were weak, and I had specialized into parrying and not doing damage with them but still every point counted. I cut and used three venom charges leaving me with only eight remaining and those I¡¯d need for the monstrous snail.
You have killed a Level 24 Beast Garden Snail! 754 XP gained!
I jumped up dodging the swipe of the monstrous snail¡¯s shell and it sent the corpse of its fallen friend flying. I slashed at the snail taking off an eye stalk, but it retracted its other eye stalk leaving just its eyeball poking out as it protected its remaining eye stalk. The snail and I stopped surveying each other for a moment. I couldn¡¯t read snail body language and truthfully didn¡¯t even know if these creatures were capable of feeling emotion, but it seemed to me as if the snail exuded hatred for me. I knew I had to end this quickly. My venom charges were running low, and my health was steadily decreasing from the acid damage. The snail seemed to sense my desperation, its massive body tensing as it prepared to attack. We moved simultaneously. The snail reared up, its body rising to tower over me as it prepared to slam down with crushing force. At the same time, I launched myself forward, wings buzzing as I aimed for the soft underbelly exposed by its attack. Time seemed to slow as we both committed to our attacks. I saw the snail''s body beginning to descend, knew that if it hit me I¡¯d go down in one hit. I rolled through the air performing an aerial dodge. Its body hit the ground filling the air with acid spray but I used its own shell to shield me from most of the corrosive rain. I flipped up over its neck onto its shell. It began to thrash rolling but I held on and slashed at its neck driving my stinger deep with each attack and expending another charge of poison. One attack, it rolled and shook. Three attacks it slammed into the wall trying to dislodge me nearly succeeding. Six attacks it thrashed as agony overwhelmed it. Eight attacks and my venom was gone. Its spasmed and then went down and I slid to the ground being careful to land in a non acid covered section of ground.
You have killed a Level 30 Monstrous Garden Snail! 1174 XP gained!
¡°At least its done,¡± I panted reaching out an analyzing the monstrous snail for the cost of three-hundred-and-forty-two XP.
Acid Gland Unlocked! You now have access to the Acid Gland mutation path! Synergy between Acid Gland and your Concentrated Necrotic-Fire Venom Glands! Would you like to merge these mutation paths for the cost of 75 biomass?
Yes/No
¡°I definitely will,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°But not here.¡± ¡°What the hell did he just do?¡± a voice said behind me. I spun around. Two humanoids, more of those ground-beetle humanoids stood there pickaxes on their back and a ground beetle beast behind them its back loaded with wooden crates. ¡°He just destroyed that snail with a single touch! Run we need to report this!¡± the other man, I¡¯m pretty sure it was a male said. The ground beetles were allied with the Widows, I couldn¡¯t let them report.
Nigrum Carabidae Sapient (Black Ground-beetle Humanoid); Level 15, Health: 115
I didn¡¯t want to fight these guys, they weren¡¯t a threat to me and looked like miners not hunters or warriors but my survival came before theirs. I jumped forwards and drove my stinger into the back of the first humanoid as he turned to flee.
You have killed a Level 15 Black Ground-beetle Humanoid! 259 XP gained!
Their beast of burden charged me clicking its mandibles, it was even lower level and it died as I took off its head.
You have killed a Level 8 Black Ground-beetle Beast! 24 XP gained
¡°Please no!¡± the remaining miner said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said and killed him with a lethal strike to his face. The acid finally stopped melting my carapace and the XP for my skills finished tallying.
You have killed a Level 16 Black Ground-beetle Humanoid! 306 XP gained!
Level Up! You are now Level 27! 16 stat points available!
Stinger Knight Level Up! Stinger Knight Level 36! Skill point available
Armored Skirmisher Level Up! Armored Skirmisher Level 32!
Cloaked Camouflage Level Up! Cloaked Camouflage Level 34!
Venom Slinger Level Up! Venom Slinger Level 35! Skill point available
Poisoner Level Up! Poisoner Level 36! Skill Point available
I felt a bit somber but knelt down, I wouldn¡¯t waste their deaths. I paid my favorite XP cost for analyzing, zero. With my fresh level up my XP had been reset to zero and ten percent of zero is always zero.
Feeler Hairs Unlocked! You now have access to the Feeler Hairs mutation path! Would you like to activate Feeler Hairs for the cost of 50 biomass?
Yes/No
I began walking from corpse to corpse analyzing each of them not accepting any of them at the moment. From the ground-beetle beast I unlocked something called Periostracum Coating, from the other humanoid I unlocked Shovel Mandibles. I went to the snails analyzing my hard won kills the biomass disappearing as their corpses withered to ash. Each time I hoped for Heavy Carapace and each time I was disappointed. Liquid Body (that was an automatic no for me), Aragonite Hardening, Eye Stalk (another no), and Conchiolin Matrix. I checked the rest of the cavern but it was empty. I searched the remains of the two humanoids and the wooden crates there pet had been carrying. I found some rocks that after a minute I recognized as flint and hematite. I gathered some of those rocks into my pack and took one of their pickaxes, it wasn¡¯t made of metal but the carapace it was made from might have been harder then iron as I tested it. There was a shovel which I also took and strapped to my pack with a strand of silk from my spinner gland. I flew off to bulb of a flower and rested at its base. I drank some nectar to restore my health. I spent my stat points putting four into Dexterity, four into Toughness and splitting the remaining eight stat points evenly between my other stats. While I hadn¡¯t gotten Heavy Carapace, I thought a good number of my options seemed viable, I couldn¡¯t automatically tell what they did but based off where they had come from, but they all had synergy with my Praetorian Guard Carapace being some sort of shell and carapace upgrades. I crossed off Shovel Mandibles and Feeler Hairs, with the options I¡¯d already dismissed from the snails that left Acid Gland, Periostracum Coating, Aragonite Hardening and Conchiolin Matrix. I decided to do the single upgrade for my venom gland before going through all those biomorphs for my carapace. I paid the cost for the Acid gland and gritted my teeth enduring as it upgraded.
Concentrated -Fire-Necrotic-Acid-Venom Glands (Rare): The deadly fuel of a hunter¡¯s attack, can be used for massive damage, debuffs and other effects, you have specialized in the quantity of available poison in two glands connected to your stinger. Your poison deals Venom, Fire, Necrotic and Acid damage.
Doubles the range for your Venom Sprayer. Venom deals 43-66 Venom, 41-44 Fire, and 43-50 Necrotic, 34-40 Acid damage per second for 8 seconds. The sack has 28 charges, regaining 7 charges every 5 minutes. Your venom reduces the damage reduction of opposing armor and carapace by 14 per second for 8 seconds in the area affected. Damage, charges, Damage over Time, and regen rate are increased with Toughness, the Poisoner Skill increases Damage and effectiveness.
The damage was insane and the only reason I was able to take on creatures like those snails alone. I could do a couple hundred damage every few seconds. My new upgrade not only added more damage to my arsenal and a different damage type. My poisoner skill had leveled up to thirty-six and I¡¯d gotten a new skill point, I looked forward to seeing what that would let me do later. The biggest upgrade and also eye opener was the new effect, Acid was a dangerous damage type since not only did it do damage it would also increase the damage I took from subsequent attacks by reducing my damage reduction. ¡°Note to self do not make it a habit of fighting acid wielding bugs,¡± I muttered. ¡°Or get some acid resistance skill.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if there was such a skill, I¡¯d taken a lot of acid damage but hadn¡¯t unlocked it yet but maybe it had a super high Toughness requirement in order to unlock it or was just super rare and hard to unlock. I paid the biomass cost for each passing out for about an hour between each upgrade as my entire body lit up with fire as the upgrades mutated my carapace. I looked over the changes when it was all done having spent a total of four hundred biomass.
Elite Praetorian Guard Carapace (Epic): The armor of the supper-elite personal bodyguards of the Queen herself; designed to offer no impediment to movement and motion while providing maximum protection, its segmented joints and sections allow seamless coverage of the entire body and you to cover your face at will; the durability of the armor has been increased with a fine Conchiolin Matrix binding the minerals in together in the most optimal pattern for hardness and flexibility with aragonite crystals making it as hard as granite. A coating of periostracum coats the carapace granting resistance to Fire, Acid, and Venom damage. Thickened sections of the armor allow them to take harder hits in place of the Queen. Evolved to at will camouflage to match the surrounding environment.
Reduces physical damage taken by 33% and then further reduces the remainder by 148-444. 75-150 damage reduction for Venom, Fire and Acid damage. At the cost of 1 Focus per second your carapace shift¡¯s color to match the environment. Damage reduction is increased with Toughness and the Armored Defense Skill.
¡°Holy shit,¡± I said looking at the numbers. ¡°One-hundred-and-forty-eight to four-hundred-and-forty-four physical damage reduction.
Name: Predator
Level: 27 Race Tier: C (Adult)
Health: 235/235
Stamina: 290/290 Recovery: 47 per 30 seconds.
Focus: 245/245 Recovery: 38 per 30 seconds.
Brawn: 32 Intelligence: 32
Dexterity: 40 Perception: 32
Toughness: 50 Charisma: 32
Species: Dolichovespula Sapiens (Yellow jacket Humanoid)
Traits: Warrior (Base), Analyze Absorption (Reincarnation Bonus)
Skills: Hivemaker (Lvl 0), Omnivorous (Lvl 5), Social (Lvl 0) Accelerated Flight (Lvl 28), Sneak Attack (Lvl 19), Venom-Slinger (Lvl 35), Stinger-Knight (Lvl 36), Raider (Lvl 7), Dodge (Lvl 30), Poisoner (Lvl 36), Armored Skirmisher (Lvl 32), Detection (Level 6), Stalking-Shadow Stealth (Lvl 35), Cloaked Camouflage (Lvl 34), Deception (Lvl 20), Communication (Lvl 1), Dagger-Defender (Lvl 17), Deadly Trap-maker (Lvl 26), Parry (Lvl 18), Venom Resistance (Lvl 34)
Mutation Paths: Adhesive Saliva (uncommon), Improved-Vampiric-Stinger-Blade (Epic), Venom Sack (Rare), Hunter Antenna (uncommon), Thick Muscle Structure (Uncommon), Trophallaxis Stomach (Rare), Stricker Muscle (common), Venom Sprayer (Rare), Enmity Pheromones (uncommon), Secondary Limbs (common), Pincers (common), Elite-Praetorian Guard Carapace (Epic), Infiltrator Pheromones (uncommon), Compound Eyes (Rare), Ancestral Power (Rare), Sex Pheromone (Rare), Spinner Gland (Rare)
Available Biomass: 525 Experience: 0/3,560
Available Stat Points: 0
I could potentially negate an attack that would one shot me. While my added durability might have made Heavy Carapace somewhat unnecessary it only fueled my desire to unlock it. I was going to become unstoppable, and nothing was going to get in my way of achieving that goal. Chapter 19: Dire Health I continued to explore this other side of the brook. The fire ants were on the other side, but I was sure there was some dominant species here but then again with the presence of those ground-beetle humanoids maybe not. It was possible I was finally getting close to civilization or whatever passed for civilization on this world. I hopped from flower to fallen brank to thistle and so on using stealth to keep myself from being targeted by some unknown predator. I also did it to keep from any potential prey from spotting me. Thanks to my flying I spotted a new target, a giant caterpillar chomping away at a broad-leafed plant.
Eacles Imperialis Eruca Cryptus (Monstrous Imperial Moth Caterpillar); Level 20, Health: 2,240
Wasps often preyed on caterpillars and I was no different. It had tons of health for its level even to what I¡¯d grown accustomed to from the monstrosities. Its health didn¡¯t help it though, it had no ranged attacks, wasn¡¯t very fast and its defenses were extremely lacking or non-existent. I didn¡¯t even know how it got to the level it did unless plants somehow gave XP.
You have killed a Level 20 Monstrous Imperial Moth Caterpillar, 57 Experience Earned
That was weird, why had I gotten so little XP? It was hatchling! The realization added more information about my new world. I¡¯d noticed that I¡¯d gotten only one third of the XP when I went up in tiers from creatures of a lower growth level than me and this thing had been two tiers lower. I¡¯d gone from Hatchling, to Young Adult to Adult. This caterpillar despite all its size, its descent level and massive health pool had only been a hatchling. Oh well, every bit of XP counted but now it was time to decide whether to eat or analyze this creature. It was way to big to eat it all before something else came along to contest the kill. On the other hand what would I get from a caterpillar. I sighed remembering my main objective, I was here to look for other wasps and hunt down heavy carapace, I¡¯d eat ants later if I needed biomass. I reached out and touched the caterpillar, I paid the six XP and it dissolved into dust.
Dire Growth Gland Unlocked! You now have access to the Dire Growth Gland mutation path! Would you like to grow the Dire Growth Gland for the cost of 200 biomass?
Yes/No
I winced at the cost, but it actually sounded like it might be useful bigger wasn¡¯t always better I knew but I was pretty tired of being dwarfed by absolutely everything. I flew up to a flower finding one to hide in and spent the biomass. I bit back a scream then passed out. When I woke up, I didn¡¯t notice anything different at first, so I pulled up the description.
Dire Growth Gland: (Epic); Size in fact does matter. Your body is larger than normal for a creature of your species giving you extra strength and hit points.
For every five levels your size increases by 1%. You gain a +3% Brawn and Hit Point bonus for every 1% size increase.
¡°This biomorph is more like a skill,¡± I mused. While most of my biomorphs were based off my attributes I¡¯d never had one that connected to my Level before. At my current level it wasn¡¯t a huge bonus, but it was percentage. I needed to focus on this biomorph a lot. Screw Heavy Carapace at least for the meantime, I needed to upgrade this biomorph as far as it would go. I started to move back towards the brick then saw movement in the distance. I didn¡¯t know what it was but felt nervous and landed on a branch perching myself high above the ground and activating my stealth. My paranoia was rewarded as the grass and plants began to sway and the ground shook. I clung to the branch I was on and waited doing my best to remain motionless and unseen as I camouflaged myself into its bark. What emerged was terrifying, I¡¯d thought I¡¯d seen big, pill bugs the size of semi-trucks, caterpillars as long as seven train cars. A mouse the size of a fortress emerged its nose twitching.
Apodemus Sylvaticus Deus (Wood Mouse World Boss); Level ??, Health: ???????
I counted the question marks and nearly shit myself. It had at minimum a million hit points and I was no expert but a skull in place of a number is never a good sign. The mouse moved off and my heart eventually stopped trying to be on the outside of my chest. ¡°Just when I think I¡¯m starting to understand things I see something like that,¡± I said shivering. I took off flying again darting across the brook and to the safety of my trapped grass jungle. My traps would do nothing against something like that but I still felt better. I started killing ants my mere presence enraging them as they recognized my scent but only their heavy units were much of threat to me now. I killed and ate going up in level and most importantly biomass. I didn¡¯t even bother using stealth just killed with my stinger in straight up combats luring them into my traps when they pursued me. After I¡¯d consumed enough ants to gain a thousand-and-five-hundred biomass.
Level Up! You are now level 29! 16 stat points available
Stinger-Knight Level Up! Stinger-Knight Level 38!
Venom-Slinger Level Up! Venom-Slinger Level 37!
Deadly Trap-maker Level Up! Deadly Trap-maker Level 31!
Poisoner Level Up! Poisoner Level 38!
I¡¯d been working on new traps as well, taking some of the fire glands from the artillery ants and the flint and hematite rocks to make fire traps. I also used my silk cord and my long-neglected Raider skill to lift and suspend bits of rock the size of boulders into various traps. I retreated then to my tunnel hunkered down and looked over the options for my biomorph for Dire Growth Gland. I already knew what I was looking for, a Brawn bonus was nice but I was Dexterity and Toughness focused. I picked the option that increased my hit point bonus, my body burned but I didn¡¯t pass out this time. It had cost four hundred biomass but it was worth it. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Hearty Dire Growth Gland: (Epic); Size in fact does matter. Your body is larger than normal for a creature of your species, giving you extra strength and lots of hit points.
For every five levels your size increases by 1%. You gain a +3% Brawn and +6% Hit Point bonus for every 1% size increase.
It was only an extra three percent to the hit point bonus but that would stack, already it was at thirty percent and in one level it would be thirty-eight percent. That wasn¡¯t the end of it, I hadn¡¯t returned to my hideout for a single upgrade, I needed to upgrade it again. I had more options and my eyes focused on a new option related to the mutation tree I¡¯d selected. Regeneration. There weren¡¯t a lot of details besides that.
Regeneration: A slight increase to the health bonus and gains a passive regeneration to your hit points over time.
I selected it and endured the pain in my stomach of the gland evolving and the pain of my body as it toughened and changed to grant me more hit points.
Regenerative Dire Growth Gland: (Epic); Size in fact does matter. Your body is larger than normal for a creature of your species, giving you extra strength and lots of hit points.
For every five levels your size increases by 1%. You gain a +3% Brawn and +9% Hit Point bonus for every 1% size increase. You passively regain 1% of your health per minute. Requires you to eat much more to survive and not cannibalize your own flesh.
It wasn¡¯t a big regeneration bonus, I wasn¡¯t some troll able to weather a storm of attacks and have my hit points just shoot back up, but it would let me get back into fights much faster without having to use my health potions. My bonus had also gone up now at forty-five percent. ¡°Nice,¡± I said with a smile. I tried to upgrade it again but was prevented.
You lack the power to upgrade this biomorph path again, complete major tasks to unlock the ability to upgrade this path further.
¡°What¡¯s a major task?¡± I asked but got no answer. I had to guess ¡°tasks¡± were something like my quest. I¡¯d intended to upgrade this thing four to five times but apparently it wasn¡¯t to be. It was no information and made me consider that my analyze trait might be an even bigger cheat than I thought letting me upgrade biomorphs beyond not just what I could do based on my level but what even higher level creatures could as well without finishing these ¡°tasks¡±. While I wanted to go back to my hunt for Heavy Carapace, I had some other upgrades to go over. I had a skill point for Stinger Knight, Venom Slinger and Poisoner as well as sixteen attribute points. I dumped five points into Toughness, five into Dexterity and split the remaining eight across my other stats again. I decided to go over Poisoner first since its upgrade might affect both Venom Slinger and Stinger Knight. I¡¯d chosen to make my poison harder to resist and my options were all related to that, right now I already had a thirty-eight-resistance difficulty, not low but not super high either. I looked over the options then spotted another one that I just had to take.
Accelerated: Every time your target fails a resistance check to your Venom the amount of damage they take is increased.
It was perfect, I thought back to the mouse. If I ever wanted to fight anything like that I¡¯d have to do absurd amounts of damage or attack it with an army but this skill could potentially ramp up my damage against something like that. If I got my Poisoner skill high enough and a creature kept failing to resist its effect the damage would just increase. Of course, my poison only lasted for eight seconds right now but that was a problem to plan for in the future.
Accelerated Poisoner: (Uncommon) (Level 38): The power of your poison and the knowledge of how to best apply it increases with each kill you make; you specialize in ranged poison attacks.
Your ranged poison attacks with your bio-weapons always do the maximum damage. Your poison damage and duration increase by .5 damage/second and is 1.5% harder to resist per skill rank. For every time a creature poisoned by your Venom fails to make its resistance check the damage dealt by your venom increases by 1%. Benefits from Toughness.
I brought up my skill options for Stinger-Knight next. I¡¯d focused on doing damage while moving, all part of my skirmisher rogue build. Now with my carapace upgrades and my new Dire gland I was branching out as a tank. With my new capabilities I looked over the options. I selected an option that would let me do both rolls.
Unstoppable Stinger-Knight: (Common) (Level 36): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to fight with your stinger fills you, giving you insight on dealing damage while on the move and at high speeds and adjusting your movements to gain a faster attack speed as you gain momentum in combat.
You deal an extra .5% damage per skill level when moving (damage is doubled if you hit while moving at your full flying speed). Increases your damage with your stinger by .5 points and the amount of DR you ignore by .5, your attack speed increases by .5% per second while in continuous combat (max of 50%), points per skill level, damage is increased by 1% for every kill made within the past 3 minutes. Benefits from Brawn and Dexterity.
Brining up the options for my last skill, Venom-Slinger, I¡¯d focused on accuracy and rapid fire which had paid off, but I was still not accurate enough when panicked or up against smart enemies as I¡¯d discovered when fighting the Widows. I selected the option that reduced my penalty to shooting while moving. I didn¡¯t know what the penalty was, but I definitely had struggled when shooting and retreating from the Widows in the ziggurat. I selected the option that reduced my penalty when rapid firing and moving.
Venom-Slinger (Rare) (Level 37): Knowledge from your ancestry on how to fight with your Venom-sprayer fills you. You focus your skill on accuracy and rapid-fire pinning enemies down under a torrent of venom.
Increases your accuracy by .3% and your range by .5ft, penalty for shooting while moving and rapid firing reduced by -1 per skill level. You can fire your venom 2x as quickly now. Benefits from Dexterity.
I shrugged my shoulders as I stood up. My size had increased by five percent, well no, I reasoned that if I went up by one percent per five levels then it was probably cumulative, not just based on my original size but the size I grew at. If I ever got to level one-hundred just how big would I be? Suddenly I wasn¡¯t so sure if this mutation had been the best choice but it was done by now. I looked at my status and saw that I had four-hundred-and-six hit points now, my health had gone up by almost half and I had almost as much hit points now as those Widows who had been twice my level. ¡°As soon as I get Heavy Carapace I¡¯ll make finding other wasps my priority,¡± I told myself. Once I had that kind of damage reduction and the amount of hit points I would end up getting I¡¯d feel a lot more comfortable ranging wider and exploring farther from this area I¡¯d cleared out for my own.