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Chapter 705: 705

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 doc . u . ment 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…