Finally. Finally! It wasn’t easy, but I managed to shepherd all of my pets through their evolutions. Holy moly, that was a lot of work. As expected, Tiny was the most difficult, but now the big guy has settled in, obviously running through the menus, judging by his furrowed brow.

Although I feel elated for them to finally reach my tier, I also feel a bit lonely. The evolution to tier seven is a big one, and the crew might not be together again for a week or more. What am I supposed to do with myself? There’s not even a wave going on to keep me busy!

I head back toward the room the golgari were set up in and poke my head in.

[Hey there, the triad of power comes through again. How’d it all go?]

They were in the process of packing up, but as I stick my massive face through the entrance, they turn to me.

[Tiny was a lot of work, but probably will have the best evolution,] Granin says. [I get the feeling Crinis and Invidia are going to see a more major jump in power when they reach tier eight.]

[That’s a long way away,] I scoff. [These exponential Level requirements are ridiculous.]

Granin shoots me a look and I can tell he’s about to launch into a lecture. My immediate instinct is to run, but then again, where do I have to go? My antennae slump in defeat. I may as well listen and try to learn something.

[The Level requirement doubles every time, but so does the evolutionary energy contained in the core. Every tier is a more significant jump than the last one. From tier eight onwards, you can pretty much forget about fighting anything more evolved than you. Especially since higher tier monsters are usually smart enough to ensure they max out on cores and mutations before evolving, even if they didn’t at the lower levels.]

[Even with my… advantages?]

I’m a little surprised to hear this. I fought multiple tier eights, after all. Now he’s telling me when I’m tier eight, and stronger than I am now, I’ll have no chance of fighting a tier nine? I thought my Altar was an all-conquering cheat code! Well… of sorts.

Granin, Corun and Torrina all look at me as if they know exactly what I’m thinking.

[Probably not,] Granin tells me in a flat tone of voice. [For your Altar to be fully effective, you need a ton of ants to be within its range, which is huge, I understand that, but it was dangerous for them to be that close even against tier eights. Against tier nines, or tens? Monsters with that kind of power could annihilate hundreds of thousands of ants without even aiming for them.]

That seems… possible? I suppose?

[How much do you really know about monsters that powerful, Granin? I thought you’d never delved deep enough to come across something like a tier nine.]

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One of the advantages of having a layer of stone on top of your skin is that nobody can see you blush. Not that I think Granin is blushing, I doubt the man ever has in his life. I do feel like I’ve caught him out, though.

[I haven’t,] he readily admits, [but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t Shapers who have. My understanding of monsters at that tier comes from the writings of those who saw such things and worked with monsters at that level. It’s rare, but it does happen. There are probably more restricted and secret texts that deal with even more powerful and highly evolved monsters than that.]

[What about the knowledge you’ve garnered from the cult?]

[There’s a bit of that too,] he readily admits. [It’s not as if the Ancients shower us with information, quite the opposite, but a few things have been gleaned over the millennia.]

I hear a strange sound, like a rushing wind, and a moment later I’m covered in dust, coughing and scraping it off my antennae.

“Vibrant! What the heck!? I just got these clean!”

“SorrySenior,butIwashopingtocomeandevolve.Isitfinishedyet?Oh,Iseetherockpeoplearestillhere,that’sgreat!Doyouthinkthey’llhangaroundforabittotalktomebeforeIevolve?”

“Holy. Moly. Slow it down! Pah! All this dust is getting into my mouth. Pah! Pfffft!”

“Why are you making those noises, Senior?”

Oh right… I don’t talk with my mouth… I can spit out the dirt without making a sound. Doesn’t quite feel right, though.

[Granin, Vibrant was wondering if you’d be willing to do a consultation for her as well. I promise she’ll talk normally.]

His eyes immediately light up.

[Another tier seven ant evolution? Absolutely! Would she mind if we get to record the options she’s offered? They’re likely to be less unique than yours and might be universal for your siblings.]

I doubt it.

[I’ll give you the heads up. All she’s ever wanted to do is go as fast as possible, so I’m guessing that’s the direction her questions are going to go. She’ll probably be happy for you to look at her core as well, so long as she can sit still long enough for you to do it.]

I turn to the vibrating Vibrant.

“Settle down a bit. I’m getting the jitters just from looking at you.”

“I’m just too excited, Senior! This is a huge-huge day for me!”

“Because you get to go faster,” I sigh.

“Because I get to go FASTER!” She cheers.

“Look, I’ve told Granin that you’ll be on your best behaviour. Talk slowly, sit still, and pay attention to what they have to say. These three are experts in the field of monster biology, so if anyone knows a way to make you zippier, it’s them. Alright?”

“Got it, Senior! I’ll be good!”

“All right then. Wait. Do you have a core ready?”

“Yep-yep! Not to worry!”

“What sort of core?”

“Mythic!”

Sheesh! Are these things growing on trees now? How many mythic grade monsters are running around out there?! Or perhaps her army made one for her by fusing together a literal ton of cores? Better not ask too many questions.

“Go for it. I’ll wait out here and have a chat with you when you’re done.”

“Yay!”

In a blink, she’s through the door, which closes behind her, and I settle down on the spot to wait. For some reason, I don’t think I’ll be waiting all that long.