Delicious, delicious mutations. Horrible, horrible itch.

How could I describe the itch I experienced when I locked those three in and confirmed them with Gandalf? I’d expected it to be bad, obviously. The moment the wizened, gruff tones of the grey one faded away, I had braced myself for the worst.

It turns out, my understanding of ‘worst’ was appallingly incorrect.

I felt as if my itches had itches of their own. The first itch, unaccustomed to the sensation, took out its rage and discomfort on me, by itching ever harder. My carapace and plating cover my entire body, so this feeling covered every inch of my outside.

The moment it started, Crinis shielded me from the world, and I flung myself to the ground and engaged in a vigorous rolling session. It did not help.

I tried to use mind magic on myself, to overwhelm my senses with false impressions so I couldn’t feel it. That didn’t work either. Ultimately, I was forced to surrender to my fate, and thrash uncontrollably until it was over.

The intensity of the itch is related to the sophistication of the mutation, I’ve known that for a long time. Having my antennae sense the future was a heck of a lot more itchy than having them sense heat. These new mutations are crazy, involving powerful forces and weird dimensional stuff. It stands to reason that having my body change to house these new effects would be an intense experience.

Should have thought of that before I’d done it….

Too late now! Having dealt with that, I check my remaining Biomass and find there isn’t enough for much more significant mutating. I’d love to upgrade my Nave and Altar, but without enough to significantly boost the two of them, I’d run the risk of not properly considering them as a pair.

Better to wait and then mutate the two of them in tandem. The more I use the new Altar, the better I understand what it can do, and what I want it to do better. There’s no rush, especially when I won’t get a second shot at these mutations. The Altar is already made of a top tier material, or at least, as top tier as I can afford. It’s unlikely I’ll ever reset it.

With that done, I race over to the main nest beneath Roklu to have a word with my favourite three rock-coated people in the world. I really need to know what’s up with these funky new options.

[You’re pretty much on the right track,] Granin rumbles, scratching at his cheek with one granite covered finger. [Mana plays a part, Biomass richness plays a part. The main thing is your core. A Mythic core can sustain a more powerful and demanding body than a weaker one. Your monstrous form is constantly absorbing and draining mana in order to keep yourself… doing anything, really. Unlike a natural animal, you’re totally dependent on mana to keep yourself alive. With the abundance of energy flowing through that fancy new core of yours, you can sustain much more demanding mutations.]

[Then why do they only show up at +35?] I demand. [I had the core already, so why couldn’t I pick them from +0?]

[Because only a tier seven monster can get to +35,] Granin harrumphs impatiently. [I can’t explain it any better than that.]

Fair enough I suppose.

[How are you finding your current evolution?] Corun asks, eager, like an eight foot tall, ore covered puppy. [You’re a mythic monster now, so you should notice a significant jump in power.]

I scratch at my head with one antenna.

[I guess so. Using my new… abilities, I’ve been able to fight pretty evenly with the other tier sevens I’ve run into. Though I’m not sure if any of them were mythic.]

[They probably weren’t,] Torrina shakes her head. [Basically every tier eight monster is a mythic, but not many tier sevens are. Without a strong enough core to fuel their evolutions, they end up outpaced and defeated by monsters with more concentrated cores. If they’d had the same level of evolutions as you, then I think you might have found them a little more challenging.]

[How many did you fight out there?] Granin asks, curious. [I’d heard you’d smashed one when rescuing the Queen, but what about on this trip out?]

[Three.]

Granin nods, looking a touch impressed for once.

[I’m surprised you found that many and fought them in one outing. Your evolution is paying dividends already.]

[At once.]

….

He looks up at me. I look down at him.

[What do you mean, ‘at once’?] he growls in my mind.

[What do I mean? Is… is there another meaning to the phrase I’m not aware of? Where are you getting confused?]

[You’re telling me that you fought three tier sevens at once?]

[Yes.]

[Tier seven demons.]

[Yup.]

[And beat them?]

[... Would I be alive if I hadn’t?]

[You could have run away!]

[But then I wouldn’t get to eat them!]

After a moment, Granin manages to calm himself and shares a significant look with the other two. They seem solemn all of a sudden. Dammit. I should have kept my mandibles shut.

[Nope!] I exclaim over the mental link.

[What do you mean, “nope”?] Corun asks, surprised.

[I refuse to be an Ancient, thanks, baiiiiiiiiiii!]

I turn and run. No way, no how am I getting dragged into their shenanigans. All I want to do is keep my family safe. Everything else is meaningless if you ask me.