Congratulations!

You have levelled up and reached level [4] You have been granted [1] attribute point.

Congratulations!

You have levelled up and reached level [5]!

The Core saw the two messages side-by-side, both coming at the same time. Which was weird, since one should have come much earlier than the other. It should have come within the first few kills during the skirmish, yet no such thing had popped up. The Entity thought it weird for a minute before thinking it over more, an excuse quick to be found. Perhaps it was the system’s way of protecting the Core from getting distracted. If it had been one of the ants, fighting a deadly battle, standing toe to toe with an enemy ready to rip away its entrails, any distractions would have been damned down as much as possible.

So it instead waited, giving out the messages when the storm had passed. That much was becoming rather obvious to not just have been the Core’s experience. Most of the remaining [Giant-Ants] began to steadily grow, the larger ones having another spurt of growth as well. While the Core felt a larger longing to look at their status screens that very instant, it also felt a need to take a look at its own. There was a point to give to itself, after all, and such a thing would not be wasted no matter what. Even the act of not bringing it up was a waste. The Entity was hardly able to concentrate for enough time to make it show, though. Yet when it did, it was like a golden light.

Character Screen

Name:

-

Gender:

-

Level:

5

Class:

Core

Race:

Core

Title:

The Ancient One

Health:

160/160

H-Regen:

0.15/sec

Mana:

21/130

M-Regen:

0.13/sec

Stamina:

-/-

S-Regen:

0/sec

Basic Stats

Strength:

-

Wisdom:

13

Vitality:

15

Intelligence:

12

Dex:

-

Willpower:

12

Available points:

1

Everything was present, just as it was supposed to be. The Mana was rather low, but it would increase with time. Health was as high as always, never having taken any real hit during the fight. The stats… did nothing but bring the Core a bit of shame. It still felt slight annoyance at its previous choices, not accepting them no matter how much gain it had given out. While it might have been able to take as much Mana from the air as it wanted, the fight had proven that having larger containers, to begin with, was a needed extreme.

[Wisdom] was where the Core wanted to put the point, not trusting itself to even look at [Vitality] or anything else. More Mana was perfect, after all. Right? More time to fight effectively while also letting the chances of the early stages of a fight prove to be in the Core’s favour. Yet… there was another side to it all. An issue that had been found.

There hadn't been enough of a mental capacity to focus on manual regeneration and making sure that the minions were kept alive. That had made the middle and end stages of the fight next to impossible to retain favour in. The Core had been taken to its limits, twisted around the bend without mercy, and had then been expected to do it all again without complaint. Yet there were complaints. Many of them, in fact, with the first being the topic of the Entity not possibly having a single chance of going through the process for more than a minute.

Had the enemy not decided to retreat, blood would be shed. And it wouldn't have been the blood of the [Wild]. No, with their abilities of aggression and higher numbers, there would have been nothing to stop them from overrunning the Core with simply that, nothing it could have done proving good enough. While the early stages were important to set the stage for later, the middle and endpoint were the most important of all. Therefore, the choice was obvious. The Core needed the method to gain more than the method to contain.

The point went to Willpower. And while the effect wasn't instant, the Core did slowly feel its mind widen by the tiniest bit, as if some more thought could fit in without feeling cramped. There were no revolutionary ideas, yet the things that had seemed on the brink of understanding were now just past the finish line. The change was minor yet still more than eno9guh to be noticeable. And it would soon prove to be so much more than that.

Finally looking away from its own mechanisation, the Core took its gaze to the creatures that it owned. Not a single one seemed to hurt in any way, the healing during the fighting being more than sufficient. Some had even gone back to tending to the [Moss], which was not hated in any way. Those plants needed some attention after all that stone had been thrown around. More than a few of the pebbles had come into the foilage and needed to be removed that instant.

A few of the now-large creatures were experimenting with their new bodies, just as the Core always dreamed they would. Instead of standing around and observing the maximum number of ants tend to the garden, the creatures instead attempted to walk around while fixing small errors in their gait. It seemed that suddenly gaining five centimetres of length on one's legs was not something good for the short-term, it being drastically harder to complete tasks without seeming like a massive buffoon.

Yet many learned it within minutes, going around in circles without issues. Those that learned it the quickest even went so far as to look around the holes in the front walls, which the Core had forgotten all about. The Entity had been wondering about the speed at which air replenished itself. There were more openings than it had realized. But, instead of instantly closing them up, the Core ordered a few of the balanced creatures to instead go out and scavenge any remains there was to be found. While it was perhaps not meant to hide their location, it would more than provide the Core of extra Mana. While the air was as good as ever for that task, Mana-Born creatures were always filled up just a tad more than anything else.

And those before it were even more than usual. In the bodies, especially the core, there was that darker type of Mana. It had been noticed before in small amounts, yet it seemed that it had an extra layer of influence on the recent enemies. The energy sat in the centred organ meant for distributing Mana, making the Entity think that something akin to the [Stamina-Recovery] skill had been used to give the enemies a long-term buff. Or perhaps one that grew with every fallen comrade? Though… the latter guess had some issues. While being shown to happen in practice, there was no real clue on how the Mana inside one creature knew about the state of another. It was hardly like the energies could communicate through longer distances without there being a direct tethering, right?

… It was something to think about, the Core not entirely dismissing the idea. An example of it had been seen in more minor situations, though it had never been thought about in such away. If it turned out to be true, there would be much to reconsider, least of all the effects of creatures that grew stronger the more around them fell. It could always be that they fed off the death and the energies they sent out… No, that would be stupid. Even the Core knew better than that.

The Core itself was now level five, with the attribute points to show for it. With every second level-up giving another point to give out, the Entity had thought itself needing over a hundred before the results would start in true amounts. Yet… another creature had reached only level nine yet had still been so much higher in stat-count, that being the total number of stats present. At the current moment, the Entity had fifty-three. When it gained another four levels, it would have fifty-five. How many did the Queen have? A hundred and five. It was nearly double what the Core would have when at the same level. And that was when the very extreme title on its side was factored in as well. Though, there was a chance that the enemy had one as well. [Queen of Hollows]? The sheer energy coming from it spoke volumes, the context sorely needed yet also not wanted to know. It promised that the enemy had strength. And that it would be used against the Core.

The sharing of the creature’s stats seemed more and more like a demoralising play. It worked so effectively at bringing the mood down, at the very least. There was not a single thought in the Core’s head centred around anything else but the fact that it was so full and utterly screwed. It had no real chance of going up against the creature at its current level. And with how growth was currently projected, the next encounter would only leave it more powerful.

Power. The [Mother Carapace] must have gained it somehow. The creature showed off more than enough skill to hold over fifty ants under its feet, yet also showed no signs of being tired or any of the creatures being of weaker control. Every step was controlled, every tilt of the head was to attack, and never was there a moment where the Entity thought the enemy would disobey their leader. They had been pulled out of their own attacks, for the love of power! Their instincts had been disregarded in favour of allowing another's words. That was a sign that things were not as if they were meant to be.

How long had it taken to attain? How many thoughts had been spent figuring out the process? How long would it take the Core to do the same? It needed numbers more than anything. Twelve, now thirteen, wasn't enough. It needed more than that. It needed for an upgrade to soon commence. The maximum limit was decided through using the [Willpower]? The enemy had shown that was not always the case. And the Core wanted to know how it could do the same.

Perhaps it was resistance training? The ability to go through the process of adding more without stress, without that damned headache. There was no way to currently know, and there was similarly no real chance that the Core would check it out. Nearly all its creatures were above level one now, with three even reaching above that. Though, if that meant they had reached level three, four, or five, there was no current idea. The Core still needed to check, after all.

Character Screen

Name:

-

Gender:

Male

Level:

3

Class:

-

Race:

Giant-Ant

Title:

Dungeon-Born

Health:

150/150

H-Regen:

0.12/sec

Mana:

-/-

M-Regen:

0/sec

Stamina:

160/160

S-Regen:

0.15/sec

Cost:

90 MP

Basic Stats

Strength:

18

Wisdom:

5

Vitality:

14

Intelligence:

5

Dex:

15

Willpower:

5

Just as it had guessed. The increase in mass had been obvious, but the level increases less so. Another point for [Vitality], it seemed. The Core was happy to see it, another increase bringing along less of a chance of the creature dying without its notice. And the extra weight was nothing to scoff at, the ability to throw another creature more easily coming from that specifically. While strength would also provide a bonus to it, though, overall mass was what worked best in the end. A pebble wouldn't be able to move a mountain, no matter how strong it was.

But another factor had the potential to lead into that. It was something that had been found during another [Appriasial] of the newly increased ants, all being level four. Or… that wasn’t entirely correct, one having gone even further beyond. It had reached beyond the grasp of a newer creature and had gone one step further than the other two. However, the increases witnessed were unlike what had been seen before.

Character Screen

Name:

-

Gender:

Male

Level:

4

Class:

-

Race:

Giant-Ant

Title:

Dungeon-Born

Health:

150/150

H-Regen:

0.12/sec

Mana:

-/-

M-Regen:

0/sec

Stamina:

160/160

S-Regen:

0.15/sec

Cost:

90 MP

Basic Stats

Strength:

18

Wisdom:

6

Vitality:

14

Intelligence:

5

Dex:

15

Willpower:

5

The creature had gotten wiser with time, increasing from five to six. It was quite incredible, the Core slowly beginning to wonder how long it would be before real conscious action would be taken. Those slow head-turns saw so many times and the chance of meaning something more now. Something that was with thought behind it instead of mere instinctual curiosity driving it along. It could learn the secrets behind farming, improve its craft, and become a better fighter over time as well.

The possibilities were as wide as the Core’s imagination, the chance for a real fight coming soon. Growth might have halted for mass, but the mind seemed to be the focus from that point on. Would the next couple of levels assist the creature into reaching an intelligence of ten? If so, there was much to ponder about. Would the Core soon have an equal on its side? While it was quite happy with its thirteen Wisdom, the presence of another with a soon-to-be equal score proved to be quite foreboding. Would control still be had? There was only one way to truly find out, with the requirement for that experiment being time itself. However… if it proved into a negative event, it could always return the ant into the world of non-intelligence, no matter which method for it was required. The hierarchy would remain.

All corpses from the outside had been removed, brought into the point where they could be absorbed fully by the Core. This then allowed the Entity to seal up the remaining holes, ignoring the entrance, making it feel much safer than it had in the short time since the attack. There was much to be scared for, after all, least of all that being the [Wild] ants coming back. It would only take a second to reconsider and continue the attack, after all. Just the thought made the Core curse itself for not closing up the temporary entrances quicker. The risks they brought was just too extreme.

Yet there was still much to do, even if the corpses were consumed and walls were restored. Through the act of checking on the queens status, the Core had realised another fact about its previous methods. The Burst-fire method seen so long ago, used before the constant rate was even thought of, was something that could be further improved upon. A mix of constant output and a short burst, so to say. The Core had thought about it for a long time and had come up with something that could prove useful.

The distance was an issue that the Entity had daily. No matter what it did, its regeneration was never quite enough to keep up the radius of influence that it desired so much. There was always more to see but so little power to use. To widen the borders would take too much effort and resources, the [Moss] needing to grow for a much longer time before they could prove useful enough to use as an energy resource. Until that time, another widening needed to occur.

It would not remain constant. That would require constant upkeep, after all, and that was not something that the Core could look at as anything close to sustainable. Instead, the rate that was so highly desired would be kept on a much shorter time scale, much like the burst fires which had been used previously.

However, it still wouldn't be exactly like that burst-fires. That method brought more or less a snapshot of the world, all in all. It was a good method for scouting out areas and getting a general understanding of where things were. However, it couldn't do much more than that, any specific requiring much more time than it could prove itself worthy.

[Appraisal] was a prime example of what couldn't be used in par with the burst method. The snapshot, while pretty to look back at, proved unworthy of the requirements the skill had, that being a clear line of sight in the current time. It couldn't just think back to a previous sight and appreciate that, after all. It needed to be within sight at the same moment that the skill was used.

Changes needed to be made. That obvious answer was to switch over to the constant rate, as that had been done before with decent results. Yet since it was very limited in range, an in-between needed to be made.

How much Mana had the Core used to go twenty meters out in a very specific direction while using the burst-fire method? Something close to twenty full Mana. The very act had felt more than a little draining. However, the Core wanted to take it to the next level. While still keeping the Mana output down a specific direction, it would channel the Mana for a single second, costing just about eighty Mana in the process. The time would be more than enough to use [Appraisal] multiple times in a row without the largest amount of difficulty, while also allowing enough in the container to make those activations happen.

It seemed like a wild idea, but it was exactly what the Core would attempt to do in the future. Or, maybe not even that. It would be what the Entity would try within the next couple of seconds, the time in pause allowing it to regain all that had been lost. To put it even more extremely, the Core had put more than it normally carried, being twenty Mana over the technical maximum. It felt bloated to a point of extreme uncomfortableness, yet it bore through it like it was nothing.

The sensation vanished after a single moment, the channelling of Mana starting up. Like before, so many sights were seen. Even just at a range of twenty meters, there were so many new sights to see, so many parts that were more than a little important. Yet… there was one thing that was focused on more than anything else. It was not that plants sitting by the side or the weirdly bright offshoot in the ceiling. No… it was the type of stone seen in the walls that were the most interesting of all.

Basalt

Uncommon material found in the wild

It was just another type of rock. Tens of those were seen in the sight that the Core was privy to. Yet… that was one the only one that the ENtity truly cared for. While it was perhaps not the biggest vein there was, the contents of that vein still told a tale that was more than just good to see. It was more compact, more adaptable, and generally better than every kind of other stone that could be seen.

It was made to handle pressure, handle scratches, and the Core was sure that an Ant would have a harder time digging through it. Which was why the Entity wanted it so dang much. Instead of looking around and trying to find more things to appraise, the time remaining was instead spent taking off a small piece of the material, making sure that the Core could rep0licate it for itself.

And when the time came to cut off the channelling, the Core was more than confident in its prowess. Already, it had studied the material to great detail. It wasn't truly that different from normal stone, the inner structure being the true divider. It was more compact than anything, requiring more thought to get through without issues.

Yet that was hardly enough to stop the Core. With careful refinement and patience outmatching anything seen before, the ENtity began to slowly replace all the walls around it, adding a layer of the material to make sure it was stable. It was hard with the sidewalls, the stone weight-bearing. Yet careful and quick replacement at certain points made sure that nothing fell on the Core’s head. That and fixing the fractures as they came along. While the Core prided itself on carefulness, it also prided itself on fixing its own mistakes before they became too serious.

With time, it all began to grow into its new colouring. Not that the Core could see which colour the basalt was, the lack of eyes making it hard. However, it could see the more orange glow that was given off, how it slightly interacted with the material around it, and how the effects from the replacement were slowly settling down into nothingness. It was perfection, and the Entity was more than happy about doing it. The harder walls would certainly alleviate some concerns, even if it would take more time to repair. A cubic meter of stone would take five seconds to do without error. Basalt would take something closer to ten but less than fifteen. If there ever came a time where the Core would be able to expand, it would most certainly use the material.

Yet it would remain in its place, for now, knowing that anything else would be stupid. With time, it could perhaps go into thoughts about trying to expand with the help of natural regeneration being increased, yet that was hardly something that would happen soon. Any increases in points available would be given to [Willpower] without a doubt. Those increases were more important than more land. The Core knew that much.

Perhaps it would be able to increase its capacity for that soon. Regeneration had not been something that the [Queen] had increased herself, yet the idea behind it was more than a little interesting. As an example, the conversion from one own reserve over to another seemed to be a one in five, with the gain being the favour. While it had been only seen in conversions from Mana to Stamina, there was a theory about it working backwards as well. Quality was not shown in quantity, after all. It was something to think about.