Chrysalis

The power wielded by the Eldest, that of Gravity, was examined by the Mage caste many times. After all, it had shown incredible destructive power which could prove vital to the Colony, especially in times such as these, when the Eldest is asleep.

However, research was difficult to perform. Learning the Skill was difficult, so some mages were tasked with purchasing the Gravity Mana Organ and experimenting with its use. Despite our best efforts, pursuit of this magic was eventually abandoned.

To produce even the weaker effects that the Eldest was able to create was difficult for those who tried, and the more advanced spells were never replicated in any way. Even now, the Colony cannot simply produce high tier Mages whenever it chooses. The same amount of resources distributed over a wider number of ants will create a greater outcome in the long run.

For that reason, we believe the Eldest would support our decision.

- Excerpt from an internal memo of the Colony Mage Antministration. Written by Coolant

That was… disgusting.

Seriously disgusting. I mean. Giga disgusting.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I spread the Gravity Well out over such a large area. I mean, I'd packed it full of as much power as I could manage, but that's a massive amount of space to cover. From edge to edge, that's a circle with a two kilometre diameter! There must have been tens of thousands of demons packed into that space.

Forget that, probably well over a hundred thousand considering how many larvae there were.

I figured it might have turned out as a larger, weaker version of the domain spell I already had active. Maybe force the lower tier monsters down to the ground and hinder the stronger ones a bit. If that was all that happened, I would have been fine with that. Pleased, even.

Instead.

Shudder.

Pancaked. Just… completely pancaked. If you are wondering what, exactly, was pancaked. Everything.

The Well discharged with an almost visible burst of power, followed shortly by pretty much every monster within the radius getting flattened in an instant. After that, the tunnels below us began to collapse and I hurriedly shut the thing off before I was sent on a one way ticket to the layer below.

Which leaves me in my current position, surrounded on all sides by flattened demon-cakes. For some reason… I'm just not hungry.

[You have slain… ]

[You have gained experience.]

[You have slain…]

[You have gained experience.]

SHUT UP! Dammit Gandalf! Are you going to carry on like that for an hour? Even stacking the announcements on top of each other isn't enough… they just keep on coming!

I haven't had to put up with the wizard's voice this much since the termite nest incident. Enough is enough already!

[Master?! Is everything alright?]

[Ah. No problems here Crinis. Just wanted to work on some things.]

[Work on some things? I was worried the floor would collapse!]

[Don't come back here! That's an order!]

I can already see a tentacle stretching toward me from a distance. If I give her a chance, she'll latch onto me in a heartbeat, dragging the rest of her Shadow Flesh behind to glomp onto my carapace.

The sneaky tentacle wobbles in the air for a moment before reluctantly retreating.

[I-if you insist,] she sulks.

Can't let my guard down. From what I can see, the three of them are doing well fighting as hard as they can. The endless demon swarm isn't going to let up… ever, so there's plenty of targets for them. The number of tier five prey in particular is much higher than I expected. That's some good experience right there. I mean, they lose half of it due to the tier penalty, but it all adds up!

Now, what am I going to do with this endless field of….

Never mind. It's full of larvae already. Oi! They're snacking on my Biomass! I'm sure there were at least a couple of stronger monsters within range. If a bunch of baby demons chow down on my tier six prey, I'll throw up in rage!

I quickly start to scurry around, looking for the best Biomass, and scoff what I can. Sadly, the bulk of it has already been consumed by the ravenous larvae who boil forth from the ground in an unending stream. Before long, they're a metre deep again and all signs of what I'd done are gone. Including all the Biomass.

Just too many hungry mouths!

Well, I got a little something out of it, but I can rule this kind of wide application of the Gravity Well out for Biomass farming purposes. Considering there were precious few higher evolution monsters around, I didn't get much in the way of experience either, despite the ridiculous numbers. I get the feeling larvae kills are basically being rounded down to nothing for me now.

Shame.

Well, as the demons continue to pile up, I suppose I should start to fight them in a more normal way. Time to apply the ol' chompers. Wading into the thick of it, I begin to lash out left and right. As a potent, tier seven monster, there isn't much that can stand up to me around here. At least at the moment.

We continue to battle against the wave, a futile endeavour if ever there was one. With so many ants around, I can't even get tired. Despite biting constantly, my face doesn't even get sore. The Altar is packed full of energy, my muscles are humming with energy, my core is brimming with power.

I could probably fight like this right up until I get bored of it!

Which… isn't that long. These monsters are just no challenge, regardless of how many there are!

Well, that's not true, if they turned around and fought me together, it'd be a pain, but caught up in the frenzy, they're chomping at whatever is closest.

Thankfully, it seems like my fears of boredom won't last that long. Something is going on around here…. Something to do with the mana. It always thickens as a wave goes on, but this… this feels different. The ebb and flow of the energy around me is weird. Almost like… it's being influenced or something.

The thought is preposterous, though. What could possibly shift mana on such a scale as that?