After I finished talking with the others and getting some answers I did not have before, I asked the System about Monster Mutations, something Darkness, one of the group chat members highly recommended I look into.

'What are Mutations, and how do I mutate my monsters?'

This part of the Monster System was inspired by Chrysalis, an Ant Evolution Novel on Royal Road and Webnovel

[Mutations are changes and evolutions to a specific part of a Monster, giving them new organs, modifying and changing an organ, or changing/enhancing something else about their body]

[Monsters and the Dungeon can initiate a Mutation with enough Energy and Biomass]

'So that's why my Monsters have been so fond of eating though they don't need to eat?'

'Can you add some kind of biomass and energy counter to my Monsters statuses?'

[Applying changes]

[Done]

[All Dungeon Monsters have a new row dedicated to the tracking of Energy and Biomass]

'How does a Monster obtain Energy for the Mutation?'

[Through the collection or infusing of Mana, or other energy, a Monster will eventually have enough energy set aside and running through their body that they can mutate a part of their body with enough Biomass]

Deciding to check this out, I opened Vesh's status.

Name: Vesh Titles: Progenitor, Named by the Dungeon Race: Queen Widow Ant Pup Gender: Female Type: Giant Insect, Progenitor Element: Earth, Fire, Death Level: 10 EXP: 7,890/10,000

Health Points: 825/825 (87.5 Per Hour)

Mana Points: 240/240 (45 Per Hour) Stamina Points: 1,250/1,250 (30 Per Hour)

- Stats -

Strength: 15-->30 (+5) Perception: 25-->25 (+5) Vitality: 15-->20 (+5) Endurance: 20-->25 (+5) Dexterity: 10-->10 (+5) Intelligence: 10-->25 (+5) Wisdom: 10-->20 (+5) Charisma: 5 -->5(+5)

Abilities/Skills: Powerful Chomp Lvl 9, Acid Shot Lvl 4, Digging Lvl 8, Grip Lvl 5, Queen's Aura Lvl 3, Mana Bolt Lvl 6, Mana Skin Lvl 4, Mana Manipulation Lvl 9

Resistances: Death Magic Lvl 10, Fire Magic Lvl 5, Earth Magic Lvl 5

Special Traits: Tremor Sense, Pheromone Language Gland, Petty Mana Core

Mutations: None

Energy: 16 Units

Biomass: 9 Units

Description: Created in The Fractured Realms Dungeon, This Widow Ant was created in the Image of a Fearsome Monster of Death that would pose a significant challenge against those that would wish harm against the Dungeon Core, and as it is the first of its species, it bears the Title of a Progenitor.

Bio: Unique to the Fractured Realms Dungeon, not much is known about these Monsters other than they have great potential for Magic and even a potential or sentience, considerably raising the level of Danger of this species of monsters.

Drops: Ant Meat(Consumable), Petty Mana Core(Material), Slab of Chitin(Material), Pheremone Gland(Material/Consumable), Widow Ant Eye(Ingredient)

When I focused on the new addition to the status, a screen appeared when I focused on the Mutations.

<>---[ Mutations ]---<>

[Brain]

[Eyes]

[Antanne]

[Carapace]

[Inner Carapace Plating]

[Legs]

[Mandibles]

[Stomach]

[Acid Gland]

[Musculature]

[Nervous System]

[Petty Mana Core]

[Pheremone Gland]

[Mutate new organs]

Just clicking on one of the organs revealed a long list of options and ways I could mutate Vesh.

And I felt it was fitting to start by looking through her brain mutation list, which revealed quite a few things.

Faster thinking, sub-brains, memory enhancement, multi-thinking, thought reading, and much more.

Not wanting to rush, I made sure to put some thought into this, seeing as it may heavily impact its future.

After some thought, I lowered the ones that would be useful to a small list.

>---[ Brain ]---<

Name: Proto-Hivemind Mutation

Description: Mutates the Brain to allow for the forming of a Proto-Hivemind. This mutation will allow the Mutated to connect ten individuals and form a single mind that allows each of the connected to work harmoniously and fluently without trouble, knowing each other's thoughts, emotions, feelings, and intentions.

Energy Cost: 350 Units

Biomass: 100 Units

Name: Complex Thinking Mutation

Description: Mutates the brain to allow for more complex thinking and thought, allowing the mutated to perform more complex tasks or find better solutions to complicated questions.

Energy Cost: 500 Units

Biomass: 250 Units

Name: Sub Brain Mutation

Description: Mutates and forms a second brain connected to the Mutated's main brain. This second brain will be able to perform separate tasks from the main brain allowing for multiple things to be done at once. As the saying goes, two minds are better than one.

Energy Cost: 400 Units

Biomass: 200 Units

Name: Empathy Mutation

Description: Mutates and modifies the brain to sense the emotions and feelings of others.

Energy Cost: 100 Units

Biomass: 50 Units

Name: Thought Reading Mutation

Description: Mutates and modifies the brain to sense the surface thoughts of others, sometimes allowing the mutated to know what the target is thinking or an action they might do before they do it.

Energy Cost: 250 Units

Biomass: 100 Units

Name: Mind Magic Gland Mutation

Description: Mutates a Mind Magic Gland into the brain of the mutated, giving them the ability to cast Mind Magic.

Energy Cost: 300 Units

Biomass: 200 Units

Name: Eidetic Memory

Description: Mutates and modifies the brain, giving it the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision for a brief period after seeing it only once and without using a mnemonic device

Energy Cost: 150 Units

Biomass: 50 Units

Name: Hyperthymesia

Description: Mutates and modifies the brain, giving it the ability to recall nearly all past experiences in great detail.

Energy Cost: 350 Units

Biomass: 100 Units

Name: Mind Palace Mutation

Description: Mutates and modifies the brain, allowing the mutated to enter their mental palace, a mental construct that will allow for a better storing of memory, reviewing of memory, and protection against Mind Magic.

Energy Cost: 500 Units

Biomass: 50 Units

[Poll at the bottom, do note that if you want a hivemind, other monsters are available, such as Xenomorphs, the Swarm from Starcraft, and a few others I can't remember at the moment]

Each mutation was good in its own way, and all of them would improve vesh in some way. However, I was also debating whether I should make Vesh and her Colony a Hivemind.

Would a Hivemind mess with the evolutions of the Colony? Would it damage the species' potential? I had many questions and no answers.

Or should I let the Colony grow as individuals, like that one Ant Evolution novel I read[Chrysalis]?

I should also mention, Mutations seemed to be quite expensive!

After some experiments, I found that 1 point of Mana equaled 1 unit of energy, meaning I would have to give my Monsters lots of energy if I wanted to mutate them when I could use the Mana elsewhere.

As for Biomass, I still couldn't tell how much it was per unit, but it shouldn't be that much.

Now knowing that my Monsters could be mutated so long as I had enough Mana and other Monsters for them to eat, I had all the more reason to continue expanding with more enthusiasm.

I was also trying to gain the trust of my Dungeon Subordinate, and I could tell while it still held resentment towards me, it did start opening up as I talked to him daily and gave him a small amount of my Mana.

And I even let it start making low-level Golems under my supervision and was thankful that it hasn't tried stirring any trouble with them.

I wanted to give the Core a new home within my Dungeon, but until I knew that it could be trusted, it would stay by my side and continue to be given the Mana I offer.

Besides that, I have also been looking through the System Shop, seeing quite a few interesting things.

Things that went from how to make things like Dark Matter-powered weaponry, Singularity Reactor, and blueprints for things like Reapers from the Mass Effect Universe or Dyson Spheres.

The Shop was never-ending and seemed to have so many things that I probably would never reach the end of the list.

However, I kept my eyes on a few things and saved them to a list where I could purchase them later.

List #1

Name: Basic Stat Potion Recipe

Description: The recipe for the creation of Stat Potions Grade F to Grade D

Cost: 500 System Points

Name: Marvel Metals

Description: An information packet showing exactly how to create every metal from the Marvel Universe

Cost: 5.5 Million System Points

Name: Skill Book Creation

Description: A Skill allowing for the creation of Skill Books using Images and Mana. Skill Books can be set as drop loot or chest loot.

Cost: 5,000 System Points

Name: Ark Element Creation

Description: An information packet showing exactly how to create Element from the Ark Universe.

Cost: 800,000 System Points

Name: Dungeon Enchanting for Newbies

Description: An informational packet for new dungeons on how to enchant loot with Dungeon Magic.

Cost: 150 System Points

Name: Elementals and you

Description: An informational packet showing how to create Elementals, monsters known to be embodiments of Nature and capable of reaching levels that mold them into living disasters.

Cost: 12,000 System Points

Name: Dungeon Spawner Creation

Description: An information packet showing how to create a Monster Spawner for your Dungeon

Cost: 10,000 System Points

Name: Diverse Traps for your Dungeon Divers

Description: An informational packet written by Dungeon of Traps showing how to create hundreds of traps for every type of Dungeon Diver

Cost: 1,500 System Points

Name: Delver Comfort and why you should make Safe Zones

Description: An informational packet written by Merciful Dungeon of Dreams

Cost: 100 System Points

Name: Cyblerlife Androids

Description: An informational packet showing how to create realistic yet artificial Androids.

Cost: 2,500 System Points

Name: Dungeon Economy and why you should install monetary drops on your monsters

Description: An informational packet written by The Dungeon of Wealthy Kings

Name: Xenomorphs and Yautja

Description: An informational packet showing how to create Xenomorphs and Yautja

Cost: 12,000 System Points

Name: How to create a Darkhold

Description: An informational packet showing how to create the Divine Grimoire of Chton, a book that reveals spells for any situation, but the cost of using this book will be the corruption of the soul.

Cost: 12.75 Million System Points

Name: How to create an Infinity Stone

Description: An informational packet showing how to create an Infinity Stone, objects capable of manipulating fundamental aspects of the Multiverse.

Cost: 20 Billion System Points

Name: Recreating the Flood, a Multiversal Threat

Description: An informational packet showing how to create the Flood, an all-consuming organism that is almost impossible to stop.

Cost: 10 Billion System Points

WARNING: Recreating the Flood or similar monsters will result in the utter destruction of your Dungeon to prevent the potential destruction of the Multiverse!