Chrysalis

I really need to mutate my stomach. After powering through the remains of two tier seven demons, I'm absolutely stuffed. Without my capacity upgrades, it would have been impossible to fit them both in. It's a little saddening that my efficiency upgrades give me absolutely no benefit when eating another monster of my own tier, but such is life. Those mutations exist, but I've gotten far more value from my higher Biomass gain from lower tiered food.

As I flop on my side, still surrounded by my gravity domain, I groan and rub at my distended gaster with my back legs.

"Might have gone a little overboard there," I mumble.

With such Biomass-rich fare on the table before me, it's not like I could possibly hold back. Like a bloated uncle at Christmas time, I kept going back for more until it was all gone.

As I flop, I idly check on my mana and Altar and am delighted to find that my resources are barely going down at all. With my increased gravity mana generation while using gravity mana, I can sustain the domain almost indefinitely. I will eventually run out, but with this spell alone running, I can sustain it for hours.

There's enough of the Colony in range to keep the Altar running steady as well. The net result is that I'm able to take some time to digest, undisturbed by the rest of the horde while my three comrades battle fiercely.

It takes them over an hour to finish the fight, but eventually, Tiny, Crinis and Invidia make their way over to me when no more demons remain. Bruised, battered and low on resources, the three of them look absolutely spent.

I stretch my six legs, clean my antennae and stand up.

"Great work, you three!" I congratulate them.

Protectant materialises beside Tiny, looking similarly spent. Her antennae have a definite 'I'm annoyed at you' tilt.

"And of course, great work to you twenty as well!" I say enthusiastically. "A hard fought battle is the best way to rank up your Skills and gain experience. You guys may as well bank some Biomass, and then we'll make our way back to the Colony."

Looking at the field of carnage around us, there should be plenty for all of them to eat.

"Though, I think you need to move quickly…."

If there's one thing that isn't short on the third stratum, it's hungry mouths. Demon larvae are boiling up from beneath our feet constantly, and they aren't picky eaters.

Tiny is already shovelling food into his maw, flicking the little demons off his chosen meals with his salami-thick fingers.

After he evolves again, those fingers will need an even larger food item for comparison… ham, maybe?

All of them rush around the field, stuffing their faces as quickly as they can until they're all full and we depart the field. It's time to get ourselves back up to the Colony.

Invidia and I lift the group up, since climbing isn't all that feasible right now. I have to strain much harder than normal, due to all the extra weight we're carrying, but eventually, we reach the top and crawl into the tunnels.

All of us are feeling lethargic as we digest, so the fighting is sluggish and sloppy to say the least. Thankfully, the demons we meet aren't the strongest and I can swat them away when they get too close.

When we climb up onto the plains of Leng, I feel a sense of safety roll over me. I wasn't truly threatened on our hunt, outside of my fight against the tier sevens, but there's a vast sense of comfort that comes from being back in the lands of my people.

The scent of pheromones is everywhere, trails and markers tingling against my antennae. The Vestibule thunders with energy, the collective will of hundreds of thousands pouring into me in a constant torrent.

[Alright, gang. Let's chill here and digest for a minute. I might as well do a little mutating while I'm here. Crinis, make sure you're prepared for emergency shielding.]

[I'm ready, Master.]

[I can always count on you.]

Tiny snorts loudly.

[And you, Tiny.]

Invidia blinks, slowly.

[And you too, of course.]

Geez. Since when were they all so sensitive? Here in the safety of Colony controlled land, and with the dignity preserved by the dedication of my loyal shadow monster, I dive into the menus and see what I've got going on.

+35 is the maximum I can manage at my current evolution and I've got nothing hitting that prestigious mark at the moment. I think my first order of business should be to ramp up my stomach. After stuffing myself silly, I'm reminded of the importance of ensuring my stomach is as prepared as it can be to accept Biomass.

The question is, what do I improve? So far, I've got a combination of capacity increases and penalty reduction mutations. Either one would be an effective choice right now. I mean, it's hard to go wrong, really. Of the two, the penalty reduction is the most generally applicable, there isn't always enough food to stretch me to capacity, after all.

I flick through the menu, idly scanning for anything else that might be impactful. I mean, I've been through this list a thousand times, so I don't… really… expect to… find… anything?

What the hell is this stuff?!

There are choices here that I've never seen before, I'm sure of it! Why in the hell would new options be popping up now? Some of this stuff looks good, too.

Pocket Dimension stomach, increasing capacity whilst also tucking the stomach away out of the body and in its own space.

Chambered Blitz stomach, adjusting the digestion process to be both faster and more efficient.

Synthesising Stomach Acid, creating additional Biomass from consumed material.

I mean. What the hell?! This stuff is amazing! There's a host of new options, each with crazy, multi-part effects, or new, more potent applications.

I mean, Synthesising Acid? Does that mean I would be like… partially producing my own Biomass?

Wait. Does this mean there are other, new options for my body parts that are available to mutate to +35? Burning with curiosity, I whip open the menu for my carapace and start flicking through it.