Do monsters dream when they evolve?
I can't even close my eyes, let alone properly sleep. When I evolved I had no concept of time or sensation. I can remember confirming my choices and then… nothing. All of my thoughts vanished. Almost as my brain had been completely switched off.
…
And then back on again.
Whoa! What the heck??
I feel… Different.
Um… this is weird. I feel like my core is gradually cooling, as if it had been on fire just moments ago. What is that about?
It's really strange. It isn't like as a human you could go to sleep and then wake up in a different body. Like, I can already tell I'm significantly larger than I was before…
Forget this! Check the status!
Name: Anthony
Level: 1 (core)
Might: 31
Toughness: 22
Cunning: 25
Will: 18
HP: 50/50
MP: 0/20
Skills: Excavation Level 1; Improved Acid Shot Level 3; Grip Level 4; Crushing Bite Level 2; Advanced Stealth Level 3; Chomp level 3; Tunnel sense Level 4; Mana Manipulation level 3
Mutations: Focused Eyes +5, Antennae +2, Restrictive Acid +5, Legs +1, Mandibles +4, Carapace +1, Regeneration Gland, Pheromones
Species: Mature Ant Worker (Formica)
Skill points: 1
Biomass: 0
Hmmm.
Hmmmmmmm.
Huuuu ha.
Hahahaha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!
Behold! Witness my power!
My strength has grown by leaps and bounds! I managed to more than double my Might stat and also increase my Toughness significantly! Evolution is clearly incredibly important to a monsters' growth in this place. After just a single evolution I've been able to make such a huge different to my stats!
This is also due to my extremely wise decision to condense my core, as well as the good luck I had to reinforce it to the maximum before evolving. The bonus provided by the core was no joke and my evolution would not have been nearly so powerful without.
I have to make sure I max my core out before I evolve the next time as well.
Ha!
I haven't even had a look at my new self yet and I'm already thinking about the next evolution.
Out of the chamber!
Chortling with glee I did myself out of my seemingly much smaller chamber and out into the forest again.
Oh ho! The evolution has done a lot! I'm significantly larger now, probably twice as tall? Maybe the same for length? Which would make me roughly sixty centimetres tall and a bit less than two metres long?
Holy mackerel! If you'd seen an ant that size on Earth you would absolutely lose your mind!
The size change has impacted in other ways as well. My Mandibles are significantly larger than before, with a little more edge in them, which should assist me in getting through enemy defences. I can also feel that my acid gland has increased in size along with the rest of me, possibly enough to store five or six shots at once!
I can also assume my stomach capacity has increased, allowing me to take in more Biomass at one time.
Ho boy! So exciting!
I jump about a little bit and turn on the spot, trying to get used to the feeling of my new body. I really feel much stronger than before! I can't wait to test it out!
Being excited is good but I need to chill out a moment. Checking my status again I notice that my mana is empty so I join the monsters around the lake for a quick drink.
The Titan-Croc appears to have gone out whilst I was evolving. I'll have to be extra careful since I don't want to run into him away from this neutral territory.
I take about half an hour to drink five times, taking it slowly and feeling out my new body.
What should I do first?
Considering how important it is to improve my monster core during an evolution, it's even more important that secure more monster cores.
So the first mission is to go collect my buried stash.
It doesn't take long to move around the Lake and head towards the camp again.
I try to stay hidden and not move on the path they took directly from their camp to the lake. Eventually I arrive at the tree were I buried the cores without incident.
Thankfully Gandalf doesn't have an issue with me absorbing all four of them and my max MP goes up to twenty eight.
Last time it took five cores to max me out, for this stage of evolution can I expect it to take ten or perhaps twenty?