“What is the significance of tiers and levels you may ask. What is the significance of experience, and how exactly is it possible that killing other lifeforms makes us stronger? These are questions asked and answered by thousands if not tens of thousands of scholars everywhere. But I have heard none ask why is it that we need to level by killing one another? Is it not possible to live in harmony and peace? The answer is of course no. As long as we are different, we will never see eye to eye. My struggles and joys will never be another’s. So why is it that when we die at the hands of another, a “piece” of our existence is carved out of reality and represented as numbers that increase the strength of the one who slayed us? It is because we are all in fact similar at some level! The portions that make up certain parts of who I am can be found in others, but why do they represent different things? It is because we are all unique but fundamentally the same, I am no greater than an ant in the grand scheme of things. So why yet do I feel superior?”

-The ramblings of an old man

**Generating random skill based on luck**

*DING*

Skill has been created

*Skill info*

is a Tier 3 skill that allows the identification and use of plant and animal matter in order to create medicine, tonics, poisons, and stimulants.

The "skill info" didn’t provide much, but the information that was transmitted directly into his head let him understand that his efforts weren’t in vain. The investment in luck quickly paid off as the skill was just exactly what he needed to save his brother. So making his way over to the restroom he made it his duty to every single plant and any piece of animal matter he could find.

His hope was that his luck would pay off once again, but unfortunately in what he observed, almost all of the things he inspected were useless to him. Although he couldn’t identify some things, he noted the interesting ones such as:

Beetle Shell: mixed with grub and beetle blood for a small boost to defensive capabilities

Beetle Leg: mixed with grub and beetle blood for a small boost to agility

Grub remnant: mixed with beetle and grub blood for a small boost to strength

{Crete POV}

The skill so far had been quite interesting to me, the possibility of putting these waste items to use, for boosting our power much less, intrigued me. But I wasn’t able to fully delve into the skill, my dying brother had occupied too much of my mind. As I entered the restroom once more, I wondered if that last-ditch effort was worth it at all. It felt as if I had distracted myself from the fact that he was almost dead instead of actually looking for a way to save him.

He looked so weak wrapped in the moss, so vulnerable so- Wait. Wait a minute, the glowing moss, I never inspected that piece of plant matter, there might be hope just yet. Crossing my mandibles, I inspected the glowing substance, and its description was made known to me.

Glowing green moss: can be crushed and ingested to provide a small boost to healing capabilities

This was it; this was what I needed to save him. With a solution before me, I was eager to see if it had any tangible effect on Meneo’s situation. Carefully, I lifted him up from the bed of moss, my other brothers and sisters were standing confused but curious as to what I was attempting. Handing him over to Vito, I focused back onto the moss, and tearing off a small portion with my mandibles, I placed it into my mouth and chewed.

Waiting until the substance was pasty and as “crushed” as I could possibly make it. I motioned for Vito to place him back onto the bed, where I funneled the substance, along the length of my mandibles into his mouth. Waiting with bated breath for the effects to kick in, I stepped back silently and inspected his “Status” closely for any change in his health.

Silently, the 7 of us waited for about a minute, each of us with eyes concentrated on the “2/40” that spoke of Meneo’s current well-being, until it finally ticked up by 1. I quickly settled the growing happiness and satisfaction stemming from my siblings around me though, for until it happened again it wasn’t worth celebrating. And it did happen again, about a minute after the first, his health points now displaying an even “4/40”. “Hahhh- I did it… he's fine now” letting out a sigh of relief I allowed the emotions to resurface. All of us were pleased that the 8 of us wouldn’t become the 7 of us, and giving instructions to Althaia about how to use the moss I gestured for the other 3 evolved termites to follow me.

“So what happened?” I asked the still injured Dynamis, noting he should use some of the moss if there was any leftover. “We came across a new kind of beetle brother. One like I could never imagine. When I inspected it, it was labeled as [Elite], though I don’t know what that meant. What I did know though, was the beetle also had greater defensive and offensive capabilities compared to ones we’ve seen before. But the most dangerous aspect was its intelligence, the very thing that I underestimated and paid the price for, as you can see…”

Taking in his words I noted the label of “[Elite]” as I had encountered a beetle not too long ago that was an “Alpha”. Quite frankly Dynamis and the others should count their lucky stars it was just a smarter and stronger version, instead of having a literal sonic attack it could use at the range. I imagine that if it had such an ability I would be 5 siblings shorter now. Observing how shook he sounded I empathized, the dislike of the feeling of being vulnerable due to unknown information and factors was something I think we all shared.

“Okay I understand- To be fair it was my fault. I should have made it very clear how dangerous performing impromptu actions were, but I think the lesson would be learned. Especially by Meneo, I’ll let his heavy conscious be his punishment.” I couldn’t punish him, to be honest, I wanted to but seeing as nobody got seriously hurt, other than himself, as well as everything he did to rectify his mistake. I decided to let this one slide and let him off with a stern conversation after he fully recovered.

Finally having time to myself once more, I contemplated a lot of things. The significance of Skill “Tiers” had fascinated me. I assumed it had something to do with the skill level resetting once it had reached a certain point, similar to the concept of evolution. However, I decided to deal with the importance of “Evolving skills” another time. Something much more urgent and much more desirable occupied a large portion of my mind.

The consolation skill I received was called >, and unlike any skill, I received so far it didn’t have a level associated with it. It just was. There was no “*Skill info*” attached to the skill either, so I was unable to deduce what it was meant to do. But ever since I received the skill, I noted the energy I could sense before was no longer perceivable unless I actively tried to feel it out. It felt like the skill had something to do with that, but I wasn’t sure how it was related.

That also brought another question I had to mind, which I guess was already answered- but did that mean the mysterious energy was mana? It most likely was… Seeing as the only major difference between my status, other than numerical increases, since I evolved was the addition of values associated with “Mana Points”. I also took my reasoning a step further. What if the mana that was flowing into me was stored into my core and that was what determined how much of the energy I could store?

Whatever- it wasn’t like I could do anything to test my theories, as all I was able to do was feel the energy. Although I could trace it quite a way back now, about 30 feet, no matter how hard I tried to control it or how much I willed it just continued moving as it pleased. Flowing through my grasp completely, and somehow I felt I would never be able to control it in its natural state, it was more an instinct than anything else. On the other hand, however, I felt like if my total mana points decreased I could absorb the energy from the surroundings to fill that void.

That also lead to another train of thought- Does that mean I should be able to manipulate the mana in my core? But I eventually dismissed it, because just as it was before I had the skill, I was unable to even figure out where the damn thing was in my body. Trying my best to avoid the frustration that caused, I brought my attention to my newest skill, which was truthfully my most useful skill to date.

had made known to me the value of things I had thought to be useless, and I felt there was way more to the skill than what I’d seen so far. I also understood in such a monotonous environment, where there weren’t many plants or animals the skill wasn’t being fully utilized. I was unsure if it was normal to have a skill one “tier” above your own, however, so I fully intended on keeping the skill a secret or at least the specifics of the skill.

Finding my way in front of the mound of organic waste once more- no - these things could no longer be labeled as “waste”. Instead, I considered them ingredients for possible “experiments”, the word I felt was most appropriate for my intent, also elicited another feeling inside me. One of… Nostalgia? I couldn’t quite put my leg on it though, and I wouldn’t let it stop me from trying out different types of mixes either. Even mixes that weren’t exclusively mentioned, for example, I wondered what would happen if I mixed all the ingredients I had together? I couldn’t wait to find out.

{Vito POV}

My brother was an enigma. The things he did couldn’t be understood by simple termite minds such as ours. For when we all lost hope in being able to save our brother he sprung into action, dashing away towards the colosseum to do “something”. I felt my sister’s gaze on me looking for some sort of explanation, and to be honest I was quite happy she did that but unable to give her a reason I just shook my head. “What’s he going to do…? Can he save Meni…?” the timid sounding Aretha broke our unspoken communication.

“… To be honest I don’t know but we should have faith in him, I believe he’ll be able to do something” the words came out more trusting and faithful than they actually were. As although I had an unhealthy amount of confidence in our oldest brother’s abilities, I doubted they would help in this situation. I could clearly see how deformed and injured our brother was, and even if I put myself in his situation I wasn’t sure I would be able to survive such injuries. The only reason he was probably alive now was that his unnatural Endurance had protected all his vital organs, so the most he was suffering was blood loss. Something we tried dealing with by feeding him the blood of the few grubs we had.

Sometime after Crete left, however, we all noticed one point of health tick down on our brother’s status. Everyone began to panic, and Amore ran out probably to find our brother, well everyone besides me and I guess Dynamis, but he was sleeping so he didn’t count. I saw his body twitch and his head raising at that belief though, and he shakily tried standing in which I assisted him.

“..Wh- Where is Meneo…?” He spoke in a weak but clearly heard voice. The panicking triplets calming down at his words and responding I said “He’s still on the bed…Unconscious and dying…” I saw the recognition flash in his eyes, and it settled on what I could feel was dejection. So, trying my best to cheer him up I said “But don’t worry Crete is looking for a way to save him, so I think he’ll be okay” reassuring words that I slowly began to put my hope into as well.

He responded with a nod and in the next moment, Amore burst back into the room telling us Crete was looking for a grub. I was confused at the statement but along with her and two of the triplets we set about looking in the other corner of the chamber. A short and unsuccessful search as we returned shortly after, empty-handed. The sorrow was palpable in the room- I needed to do something, I needed to cheer everyone up- but what could I do? I was no more helpful than the next termite, so instead, I prayed to the Queen for a miracle.

And on cue, Crete once more sauntered into the room, although he might have well been an angel of death with the smell of decay and the bits of rotting grub I could see on his back. He didn’t give any of us a chance to ask why he looked like he just rummaged through the garbage though, as he moved directly to our dying brother. His movement gave us hope and picking up Meneo he handed him to me before ripping off a portion of the bedding and chewing it, after which he gestured me to place the nymph back onto it.

And in a careful motion, he dripped the chewed-up moss along his mandibles into Meneo’s mouth before stepping back and looking at something in front of him. Realizing he was observing his status, the rest of us did so as well, and a short time after he did that we all witnessed our brother’s slowly depleting health tick back up. It was a miracle- Thank the Queen- Thank the Que-. He stopped the building excitement with a gesture, however, and that caused a sinking feeling to replace it. But another minute later Meneo’s health points increased again and with an audible sigh- I saw him turn around and gesture to us to celebrate now, and celebrate we did.

He didn’t stay long, however, carefully passing instructions to Althaia and having a conversation with the 3 of us after that. He disappeared from the room, probably off to somewhere else to do something none of our simple termite minds could understand. For my brother, he was an enigma.

{Crete POV}

In front of me lay an array of different “concoctions”, some failures, well mostly failures but a few successes. At first, I just stuck to the basic description and recommendation the skill gave me for things I inspected. Looking at the four puddles of liquid I had placed into appropriate holes in the ground, I inspected them once more, their description clear.

Unnamed 1: grants a boost of +2 Endurance for 5 minutes

Unnamed 2: grants a boost of +2 Agility for 5 minutes

Unnamed 3: grants a boost of +2 Strength for 5 minutes

Unnamed 4: grants a boost of +2 Vitality for 5 minutes

They were all listed as unnamed with different numbers, and with a little conscious effort, I decided to call the first one Beetle shell soup. The second I called Beetle leg soup, the third Grub soup, and the last one I called Moss paste. The repeated use of “soup” to describe the first 3 was the most appropriate, as I envisioned the word to refer to items of food that are ingested in a liquid. I could think of no other word that was able to accurately depict a beetle shell and leg, as well as pieces of grub floating in beetle and grub blood.

The Moss paste was probably my favorite of the 4, as on top of tasting better being and easily transportable, which the other 3 were not. It was also able to act as a portable health pack, how much health? I didn’t know as yet but I was eager to find out. Onto the more… well "undesirables"…

Unnamed 5: grants +1 strength +1 agility for 2 minutes

Unnamed 6: grants +1 strength +1 endurance for 2 minutes

Unnamed 7:…….. for 2 minutes…..

I had created a plethora of other “concoctions” by taking one of the +2 ingredients and mixing them with one another in smaller portions. So for example Unnamed 5 was essentially just grub meat skewered on a beetle leg and dipped into the mixture of blood. Unnamed 6 was similar as it was essentially grub meat floating in a mixture of blood inside of a beetle shell. I also found out what happens when I mix all the ingredients together. Absolutely nothing- and I was unable to understand why either, but that was beside the point.

The biggest downside that made these “undesirables” however, was that the effect they had, on top of the stat gains being equally distributed between the main ingredients, lasted only about less than half the time that the pure ingredients did. In addition, I tried to consume numerous “undesirables” but unlike their pure counterparts, the effect didn’t stack. So that means If I consumed two undesirables that gave +1 strength each, consuming another would not increase the strength gain. While I could consume each of the 4 and enjoy a total bonus of +8 stat points, so that was another con.

While I was experimenting, however, time had no doubt zoomed by, as I was able to see Vito instructing the triplets in another corner of the chamber. It appeared he had gotten some inspiration from Meneo’s acts and were making them run laps or jump over obstacles he made. I also concluded it wouldn’t be long until hopefully, the next batch of grubs dropped so we could get opponents for them.

Although the dungeon core had lost a lot of ambient mana because of my attempt to subjugate it, I concluded it wouldn’t be long before it recovered and started spitting out beetles again. Hopefully, by then the triplets would have evolved so we could finally get out of this place. I was way too eager to see the rest of the world, and even more eager to let my skill loose. It was time for the world to know… bear witness to Crete the Apothecary.