[Finally done, eh Tiny? I’m impressed, I seriously didn’t think you’d last this long.]

When he emerged from the consultation, head aching, Tiny found his master waiting in the chamber he was to evolve in, a huge core held in his jaws. Tiny winced when he saw it. He remembered the sting of those things.

He rubbed at his head as a phantom pain echoed at the top of his scalp.

[Yeah, I know. It’s going to suck, but it needs to be done. You’ve got a better chance of getting a mythic evolution than the other two, but it’ll all go to waste if you don’t evolve with a fully pumped up core.]

His master approached and nudged at Tiny’s arm with one antenna until he opened his hand so the giant ant could deposit the gem onto his palm.

[You’re just like me,] his master said. [A first stratum monster who was never meant to make it this far. I’m proud of you, Tiny. You’ve done a great job to survive this long. And you managed to punch the heck out of a ton of monsters on the way.]

Tiny grinned broadly and instinctively flexed while giving a thumbs up, waggling his eyebrows. Anthony laughed.

[That’s a new move. After this evolution, you'll probably be back to being bigger than me, I assume. Don’t let it get to your head, and don’t start thinking you’re invincible. You might hit the hardest, but you take the fewest punches out of all of us. Make sure you toughen yourself up.]

The great ape frowned. He’d never thought of it that way. His punches were the strongest, but he couldn’t take punches himself? That didn’t sound right. That sounded… weak. Tiny wasn’t weak! He was the strongest!

Determined, he clutched the core tight in his fist. Seeing this, his master turned to leave.

[Alright, I’ll leave you to it. See you on the other side, big guy.]

Taking in the core was painful, as always. The moment he was done, Tiny engaged the evolution menu.

[Would you like to use the evolution menu?]

[Congratulations on reaching the maximum level for your current species. Evolution will allow you to change your form and increase your stats as a monster.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Warning: evolving will make securing XP and Biomass more difficult as fewer rewards are given for preying on creatures less evolved than yourself.

Your evolution options are as follows:

Elder Kong Silverback Shadow Kong Winged Collapsing Fist (special) Stone Ape Shadow Boxer (special) Ape Fury Fist (rare) Heavyweight Champion Kong (rare) Flicker Footed Boxer Kong (rare) Stone Ape of the Mountain Heart (Mythic) Elder Kong of the Storm Summit (Mythic)

Two mythic options. His master had been right, as usual. Flicker Footed Boxer Kong sounded fantastic, though….

Tiny shook his head. No, he would ignore it. As much as he loved his fancy feet, he had other things he needed to focus on right now. Punching, and getting punched! Resolute, he turned his attention to the mythic options.

[Mythic Evolution: Stone Ape of the Mountain Heart (Mythic). -20 Bonus to Cunning, +80 Bonus to Will, +250 Bonus to Toughness, +200 Bonus to Might. Your bones are as solid as the mountain, so too shall your flesh be unbreakable. Your blood flows through the mountain heart, and it nourishes your strength. Become Indomitable. Musculature will be reforged with Living Granite. A mountain heart will be granted for free. A magmavascular system will be granted for free.]

That was a lot of Toughness, and a lot of Might to go along with it! Tiny’s eyes gleamed as he considered just how large and powerful his physique would be with these sorts of numbers. A musculature reforge as well, just what he wanted. Living Granite sounded good!

He would become durable, able to absorb much more punishment, which meant he could keep dishing it out. This was excellent!

Tiny recalled that he’d been warned he had to read all of the best options, not that he saw the point. He rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the next one.

[Mythic Evolution: Elder Kong of the Storm Summit (Mythic). -20 Bonus to Cunning, +50 Bonus to Will, +150 Bonus to Toughness, +300 Bonus to Might. Lightning crashes against the mountain peak and the stone is unmoved. You are the storm. You are the summit. Unbreakable you stand, endless is your fury. Lightning Mana Glands will be reforged with tempest glass. Musculature will be reforged with fulmen silver infused flesh. A storm heart will be granted for free. ]

Now this… this was also interesting. There were many words here that Tiny liked. Unbreakable! Endless fury! Lightning! Also a musculature mutation, with metal of some sort? Why not!

And… so… much… Might!

He would have to make up for the lack of toughness in other ways, of course. The stone people had told him of several and he almost remembered them.

He grinned.

This was going to be incredible.