Chapter 24 Core of the problem (1/2)

I don't know how much time had pa.s.sed before I regain consciousness. The light slowly returns to my eyes and sensation to my limbs.

Deep inside my thorax (the middle bit) a hot, boiling feeling is slowly fading away, drawing in a dense ball of heat. Probably my new core.

Groggily I get my legs underneath me and start slowly moving through the tunnel again. No matter how weak I feel, I cannot stay here to rest, pursuers could be dropping down the shaft to investigate even now. I have to move.

Gradually my muddled thoughts begin to straighten themselves and my coordination slowly returns. As I navigate my way across the rocky tunnel I check my status.

Name: Anthony

Level: 1 (core)

Might: 15

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 18

HP: 30

MP: 10

Skills: Digging level 4; Improved Acid Shot Level 1; Grip Level 4; Bite Level 4; Advanced Stealth Level 1; Tunnel Sense Level 3;

Mutations: Eyes +4, Antennae +2, Acid +3, Legs +1

Species: Hatchling Ant Worker (Formica)

Skill points: 1

Bioma.s.s: 0

Holy mother of downgrades? Why am I level one Gandalf?! My hard work, my acc.u.mulated experience, all the ridiculous good luck I've had? It hasn't been easy to survive to this point you know?! Where is my justice?!

Bitter feelings are rising in my heart as I survey my new status, but when I notice that my MP has gone from zero to ten it raises my spirit a bit. Looks like my hunch was correct and the monster core is the vital ingredient to mastering magic for me and my fellow creatures down here. This could explain why so many monsters were drawn to the pool in the first cavern I was in. By drinking the water which was somehow suffused with mana they were able to absorb it and hasten the formation of their core.

When I think about though, I've sacrificed a significant upgrade to my stats in order to condense the core which has given me, in effect, only ten MP that I can't use. Was this really the correct decision?

I have to advance now into what is likely more dangerous territory than I have experienced already, those increased stats would have been super handy!

I can't help but worry I've made the wrong choice, the prospect of being able to use mana was just too tantalising in my eyes.

Returning to level one may not be that bad, doesn't it mean that I'll be able to level back up to five and evolve again? Which also means I'll be able to gain more of the precious skill points as I do so?

Perhaps this is actually better. I'll have a second opportunity to ama.s.s skill points as an unevolved creature which could allow me to gain more levels and skill points at a faster pace than evolving would have.

I have one skill point available right now but I don't want to spend it yet. I have several skills at level four which will need to be advanced once they reach level five. I won't even look at the skills menu in case mana shaping or spell chanting has appeared in the list. I may not be able to resist the temptation! Be disciplined Anthony! Don't let your precious skills waste away!

Gradually I've regained full control of my body and shaken the dust off my mind as I reach the end of the tunnel. Beyond here lies the vast underground s.p.a.ce I glimpsed earlier.

Taking a deep breath I walk out into the open air once again.

Really this place is so huge.

The roof is sixty, maybe even seventy meters high, so high I absolutely refuse to climb on it. One slip and I would certainly plummet to my own death. To my left and right the walls curve away into the distance to a place I cannot see, my eyesight isn't good enough, even at plus four, to be able to see the ends of the walls.

This is something I've been thinking more on. As an insect, I don't have regular eyes like a human, but compound eyes. This means a few things, firstly, my eyes don't need to be wet, so I don't have to blink, more to the point I can't since I have no eyelids. Secondly, my eyes don't have one point of focus, unlike a human who can see the one place they are directly looking at in great detail, my eyes are able to look in many directions at once, but the detail is poor.