After Solant returns and the news spreads of the results, there’s a mixed response amongst the Colony. Most of the generals, including Sloan and Victor, are concerned and cautious at the aggravated response of the slugs. So far, these are by a long stretch the most difficult to kill monsters the Colony has encountered.

The rate of attrition is downright awful. Soldiers, scouts and generals are on a constant rotation, recovering from awful burns to their mandibles. Mages are struggling to penetrate the slime defence using their basic elemental magic, leading to horrendously inefficient fights where we pour out ten times the amount of energy their opponents use to attack and infect our tunnels. Even the carvers are in fits, since designing defences that keep out the damned slugs and their corruption is proving to be all but impossible.

Me though? I’m absolutely thrilled.

We’ve proven that the incredibly infectious mana these monsters spread can be countered. That’s massive. The weird jelly-pillars that Solant, Ellie and Bella came up with are pretty much useless for doing anything else, due to just how expensive it is to buy the organs that allow them to perform their cleansing function, but who cares? This is the Colony! We can spoon-feed them xp and cores until the cows come home if we have to.

I don’t think they should even try to make them combat capable. If they get faster at vacuuming up goop and purifying it, that’s all we need. When they get down to the fifth, they’ll have to absorb literal tons of the stuff, gigalitres of toxic sludge just waiting to be cleansed. If they can counter-terraform, fill an area with self replicating anti-sludge, then they’ll have achieved everything they need to.

And as for the super aggro response by the slugs? I’m with Solant, that’s excellent.

“Bella, Ellie! Get me your wuff-squad, we’re going out! You come too.”

“What?” Ellie boggles at me. “Our teams just got back a few hours ago! They need to rest!”

“Don’t give me that, they weren’t even out for that long. I need you for a few hours, tops, and we need to powerlevel the little jellies anyway. These dudes need another two evolutions at least.”

“But we haven’t prepared for that,” Bella tries to reason with me. “We need more time to study the organ and Skill options that will maximise their performance.”

“We learn as we go. Hurry up!”

I’m not to be dissuaded and the two core shapers can only sigh and begin to round up their people as I bounce around eagerly.

[Crinis, Tiny, Invidia. I need you three to hand off your tunnels and come to me as soon as you can. We’re grouping up and heading out on a quick trip.]

[Fight?] Tiny asks.

[Oh, for sure. It’s going to be nuts.]

[Good,] the big ape huffs, and I can feel his grin over the mental connection.

[Where are we going, Master? Are you safe?] asks Crinis, suddenly worried.

[I’m perfectly fine, just get over here.]

In an hour, all the required parties have gathered and it’s time to depart. The moment Crinis arrives, she glomps onto my carapace, whereas Tiny decides to stomp along beside me, with Invidia riding on his shoulder.

Behind us come the core shapers and their charges, who are, I have to say, rather adorable. Also, pretty dang slow.

We make our gradual, inexorable way down into the deeper levels, heading down the spiralling tunnel that leads roughly straight down from the fortress.

Of course, it doesn’t take us long, once we leave the defensive line behind us, to run into corrupted land.

“Send forth the jelly-slugs!” I demand and the core shapers, somewhat reluctantly, comply.

As the pets wiggle their way forward, happily huffing and swinging their face tendrils, Ellie, Bella and the others watch nervously, knowing what’s going to come next.

The pets leap into the sludge with reckless joy and I look on, fascinated, as they begin to draw it into themselves and purify it, releasing their cleansing mist from their tendrils. As the mist fills the air, it seems to neutralise the miasma, even wearing away at the slime and mucous that covers the walls.

Seriously impressive!

And the second we get spotted, by a slug, it goes completely berserk, gurgling and shrieking as it rushes towards us like a slimy missile.

VOID CHOMP!

CRUNCH!

Naturally, I obliterate it with an empowered void chomp before it can get too close, but soon enough, I can sense the shifting gravity as monsters in the area begin to rush towards us. At this point, I take a step back and urge my three pets forward.

[Time to get some XP, you three!] I tell them cheerfully. [As long as those jelly things keep working, there’s going to be an endless supply of fifth stratum monsters to fight. So get ready!]

A broad grin splits Tiny’s face as a fierce, burning light ignites in his eyes. For his part, Invidia reveals his broad, creepy smile, while Crinis rises up from my back, tentacles writhing as she moves forward.

Soon enough, the torrent of sludge arrives. Heaving masses of liquid goop. Toads as big as I am. Slugs dropping hunter-killer mini-slugs. Even a dense floating cloud of gas with a core comes at us. I mean, seriously?

Naturally, my three allies deal with the problem the only way they know how: extreme overkill.

Tiny’s punches have only continued to grow stronger as he sends fists of light the size of cars crashing out into the oncoming beasts, striking down monsters ten metres away from his actual hands.

Invidia hisses to himself as he lasers and explodes everything he can, his minds working like a tireless symphony conducting an opera of boom.

Crinis… well… we know what Crinis does.

And whenever they can, I have them fling a barely living monster back for the little jelly-pillars to climb on and deliver the final blow.

Gweheheheh. This is excellent.