In the interests of expanding the Colony's knowledge of future evolution options, I take the time to explore the normal evolutions I've been offered and let the eager triad document the stat gains, organ benefits and descriptions offered by the System. In truth, the stat gain for even these 'ordinary' evolutions was much higher than I expected and my hopes climbed sky-high for what the more delectable 'rare' choices would have to offer. With the first three options out of the way, I take the time to go through each of the special evolutions carefully. You never know if there might be a diamond in the rough!

[Special Evolution: Ant Archmage. +60 bonus to Cunning, +60 Bonus to Willpower. This evolution provides a significant boost to the power of the mind, along with a Manaweave Core Crystal. This new organ grows around the core and focuses the user's mind on the mana contained within, making it easier to handle and use. A new eye is also granted, the 'mana eye', which allows the Ant Archmage to project mental sensing abilities through the eye to increase their effectiveness.]

This is a special evolution?! Look at these stats! And the bonus organs are nuts? Manaweave Core Crystal? Excuse me?! This seems like a super useful organ for a monster like me who focuses more on traditional spellcasting using mana from the core than most monsters who rely on mana glands.

Granin looks impressed with the offering.

[That's better than I expected, to be honest. If you wanted to focus on a pure spellcasting build, this wouldn't be a bad option at all. Don't underestimate the Mana Eye either. It might not be as expensive as the crystal in terms of evolution energy, but it's no slouch. You can think of it as directly bumping your mana sense up a rank for free, and that's before you mutate it.]

[That's… super good. Isn't it?]

[Heck yes it is,] Corun seems excited, [if you took this option you'd almost be as good at spell shaping as Invidia!]

Being as strong as one of my pets, one that I already defeated, doesn't make me all that happy. Still, the gulf between Invidia’s and my mastery of magic is vast. Even getting close to his level will be hard. It's tricky to remember sometimes, since he's just a little floating eyeball with tiny wings and arms, but Invidia's mass is like, ninety percent brain.

[The mage ants will want to know about this one for sure,] I muse, [make sure you guys let them know when you complete your report.]

[Of course,] Granin nods.

Onto the next.

[Special Evolution: Colony Guardian. +80 bonus to Might. +80 bonus to Toughness. Focused on physical prowess, the Colony Guardian receives a large bonus to physical stats, furthermore, additional purchase of physical stats are cheaper during this evolution. The carapace of the Colony Guardian will be reforged into Demonic Chitin (warning, this will reset all mutations).]

[There it is,] Granin whistles, [the first reset option.]

I'm a bit confused.

[The raw stats are great, but the bonuses don't seem as good as the first option. Am I missing something?]

[You're probably undervaluing what's being offered quite a bit,] Torrina frowns, thinking. [A reset consumes quite a bit of energy, so getting one for free is always an excellent thing. As to the physical stat cost reduction, this is also an excellent saving. If you poured all your evolutionary energy into physical stats in this evolution, you could gain a truly monstrous boost. It's like getting bonus evolutionary energy from thin air.]

[When you put it like that… I suppose it's better than I thought.]

[Honestly, out of the two options we've seen so far, I think this one is better,] Granin advises, [You would sacrifice your mental stats in this evolution, but you could make yourself a physical powerhouse. Still, as we discussed, I wouldn't recommend a carapace reset this time around.]

[Right.]

… and demonic chitin might sound strong, but it surely isn't as shiny as living diamond. Just wait for me, my precious…

[Special Evolution: Hive General. +20 bonus to Cunning, +20 bonus to Will, +40 bonus to Might, +40 bonus to Toughness. A frontline leader, the Hive general benefits from mixed stats and grows in power the more of their kind fight on the battlefield. The Hive Storm Aura gland will provide a scaling bonus to physical prowess, healing and ferocity to all members of the same species within range, the more affected by the aura, the stronger it becomes. In addition, a Collective Tactical Cortex will be added.]

Yeesh. This one sounds strong also…

[This is good stuff,] Granin looks impressed. [No reset, but that scaling aura is nasty. I've heard about it popping up a few times in the past when hive insects have spawned, it never ends well. Seeing it at tier six kind of surprises me, but then again not many insect monsters get that high, certainly not communal ones.]

It almost sounds a little insulting when he phrases it like that, but I can't disagree with him. With tens of thousands of members, the Colony will struggle to push many members to tier six anytime soon.

[What the heck does the cortex do?] I ask him, I want to see if he knows before I check with the System.

[From what I understand it's like having a mind map of every member of your species within range. You know where they are and how they're doing, generally speaking. I suppose the idea is that you can instantly respond to changes on the battlefield.]

[Fair enough.]

I double check quickly and the golgari is spot on. Granin really knows his stuff.

[Alright, enough with the appetisers,] the old Shaper rubs his hands together, [time for the main course! Let's take a look at the rare options!]

Just as excited as he is, I fire up the menu for the first of the rare options.

[Rare evolution: Elemental Ant. +80 bonus to Cunning, +80 bonus to Will, +20 bonus to Might, +20 bonus to Toughness. The Elemental Ant is a force of nature, with devastating spells that cover all the basic elements. In pursuit of Elemental perfection, some potential is lost. A mythic Omni-Elemental Mana Flux is formed around the core. The Antennae will be remade into Spectrum Crystal, able to better channel elemental mana and sense its flow. An All-Season Eye is granted. As a price, all non-elemental mana glands will be removed and banned. Non elemental mana based skills will be unavailable in the menu.]

Yikes! This is some heavy stuff! Holy stat gain! I relay the information to Granin and he once again nods appreciatively.

[I'm starting to think the System will reward communal insects who make it to the upper tiers. Spectrum Crystal is not third strata, maybe not even fourth… It's clear that your rank five fusion has opened this option for you. I have to say, it's strong. Very strong.]

[What is this Mana Flux thing?]

[A Mana Flux is like a … whirlpool. It draws mana in and changes its attribute before storing it in the core. This is the only way I know of that a core can hold attributed mana.]

[And since its omni-element…]

[It'll hold all of the elements. You won't even need a construct to change it,] he confirms.

Wow-ee. This is impressive stuff.

[And the Crystal thing?]

[It's basically a substance that reacts well to elemental mana. If you were to cast spells through your antennae, they'd become more powerful. Mutations would only enhance that further.]

Right.

[The eye?]

[Lets you see elemental fluctuations. It's a specialised version of the mana eye from earlier.]

[All of this seems like good stuff.]

[It is,] he agrees, [that's why the cost is high. You'll cut off a lot of future potential, but the payoff is massive.]

This bears some thinking about…