After visiting the core shapers, there isn't too much left to do. I don't want to take the hatchling in to visit mother, since she's likely to declare something rude like "I could be a way better Queen" and get her head thwacked in. By me. So I abandon that idea and instead decide that it's time to begin doing the real work of the hatchlings' education. Combat!

Not to mention, I need to stuff her full of Biomass and cores in order to assure the best possible evolutions! Gweheheheh.

"All right then hatchling, no more slacking around. Are you ready to be the best ant that you can be!"

"Of course!" she retorts. "I'm ready to be the best ant out of them all!"

"Oh ho! I'm happy to hear that, because it's time for full on, no holds barred combat in the tunnels!"

"Yeah!" she punches the air in excitement.

"… For me and the others. All you get to do is eat."

"What?!" she sulks.

"Come on now. You are a tiny little hatchling, whereas we are mighty tier six monsters, literally the highest tier of any monster in the Colony. You need to work your way up to this level if you want to match us someday, and this is the start of that process. We need to get Biomass and cores into you so that you can start to evolve and get stronger, as part of that, we'll teach you the basics of how to fight like an ant!"

The difference in power is hard to ignore, I'm so much larger than she is that she could walk underneath my carapace without me even having to raise myself up from my normal standing height. At tier one, she's just food for whatever monster happens to look her way, and she's smart enough to realise it.

[All right then, which one of you is going to be on hatchling babysitting duty?] I ask my pets.

[I'm happy to do it, Master!] Crinis, unsurprisingly volunteers, eagerly waving a tentacle in air.

[Hrrr,] surprisingly, Tiny also puts a hand up, offering to care for the little one.

Invidia is totally silent.

[Tiny,] I turn to the big ape, [are you sick or something? You're telling me you want to help look after the little one and not fight?]

He gives an almost offended look.

[Don't give me that rubbish!] I wave my front legs at him. [You ALWAYS want to fight! You don't get to look offended when I get shocked that you are actually asking to do something else!]

At least he has the good grace to look a little embarrassed. I immediately feel bad for being so shocked.

[Hey, being honest? Good for you, big guy. You can guard the hatchling, all right? We need to secure Biomass, cores, and experience for her, so make sure she gets those last hits in and stays safe.]

The giant ape nods and takes a protective position over the little ant, keeping a keen eye on her every move. In this formation, we exit the nest and leave the Colony's territory all together, making our way into the Dungeon proper, beyond the defensive line. The wave has all but sputtered out now, no longer are monsters leaping from the walls and floor every few seconds, claws desperately reaching for anything they can find to devour. Spawn rates are still high though, so there's plenty of prey to find in the tunnels.

Back to grinding my mind magic! Not far away now!

With three tier six monsters in the fight, the second strata just doesn't pose the level of threat that it once did. The shadow monsters are far too easy to take down and the death monsters, though harder, aren't that much of a challenge either. Only in overwhelming numbers were they a threat and those numbers just aren't there anymore. And the experience and Biomass we gain is negligible to say the least. Stupid tier penalty…

If we want to keep progressing, we need to go deeper and find higher tier monsters to fight! It's the only way…

This of course, doesn't apply to the hatchling. The tier one rubbish we just blow up and move on, but tier three monsters we nab and get Tiny to beat them within an inch of their life before pinning them down in front of the tiny ant. It's rough treatment and I'm sorry for it, monsters, but your sacrifice is to a worthy cause. An ant cause!

Predictably, getting experience from monsters two tiers above her own lands the hatchling at level five after just a few kills.

"So, what do I do now? Do I evolve?" she asks, excitement clear in her voice.

All the new things to learn, to see and experience… I can understand that excitement.

"Afraid not little one. First you need to condense your core. It's super important to do and you'll be a lot weaker if you evolve without one. This is the difference between monsters that will be stuck low tier forever and those who can advance and grow strong. The core will mean you have far more evolutionary energy to spend when you do evolve, and by improving and growing your core, you'll get more and more energy to spend on each evolution."

Even though she hasn't been alive for long, the heightened mana levels of the wave and the depth that we've been living in are more than enough for her to have passively absorbed all the mana that she needs, no mana infused water necessary. Listening to my explanation, the hatchling is quickly convinced.

"So what happens when I condense my core?" she asks.

"Basically, you'll pass out and wake up with a weird feeling of heat inside your carapace. It's been ages for me since I did it, but I can still remember that weird sensation. From what I gather, your core forms while you are unconscious, but you can feel the residual energy when you wake up. After that, we need to reinforce your core until it's as large as a tier one monster can have and then level you back up to five."

"Wait. My level resets?"

"Yep, and every time you evolve it does as well. Also, the level requirement for evolving doubles with each evolution."

"Doubles huh? So how many levels do you need to evolve?"

"… a hundred and sixty."

"Oof."

"Big time. I'll be stuck like this for the near future."

As the little ant prepares herself and sinks down into the dreamless sleep that accompanies all major changes for a monster, Tiny hovering protectively over her the entire time, I reminisce about my own time as a hatchling. Those were desperate days, with nobody to talk to but the automated System messages from Gandalf. Every day had been a battle to survive. I can still remember how hungry I was before I managed to defeat my first enemy: a tiny thorn lizard. Things have certainly changed a little since those days…