Chapter 407
"If you believe your entire world is a prison, is it wrong to try and break it?"
Question posed by Orisan'shan . Founder of the Closed Circle Society at the Academy of Stone Soul .
After chatting for a little while, I bid farewell to the Queens and let them get back to their important work, namely eating and producing brood . In one month, the colony will have over ten thousand individuals . I've no idea how they're going to manage the education program now that the wave is subsiding, but I'm sure that the council will be able to work something out . Getting literally thousands of monsters to form a core, level up to tier three and get enough Biomass to mutate is going to be a logistical nightmare . Especially now that the farms are not going to be effective .
Wait a second! A flash of understanding hits me and I dash back toward the Queen .
"The Aphid Queen? Where is she?"
Surprise showing in the twitch of her antennae, the Queen turns back to face me .
"My pet? She's down here, producing young aphid . Where did you think she was?"
Excitement thrills through me .
"So it's started then? The aphid project? Are there any in the expanse?"
Victoriant nods .
"I think the first of the aphid went out yesterday . The soldiers and scouts have been hard at work in the expanse getting it ready . Wills, Advant and Sloan have been down here since yesterday . Didn't you know?"
…
"Uh… I've been busy . "
The Queen's antennae begin to vibrate, as if she sensed my lie and is preparing a thwack . I need to clear off!
"I'll go check it out! Thanks-bye!"
And we're outta there! Practically sprinting, I blow past some confused looking Brood Tenders and out into the Dungeon tunnels . From there it's a short hop over to the expanse proper and the ant presence here is immediate .
Soldiers and scouts are in position around the entrance, climbing over the mounds of damp earth and clinging to the trees . There are literally hundreds of them here, and a steady column of Biomass is being hauled out and taken to the Queens in a steady column .
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Holy moly! I blinked and the colony moved into the expanse in a flash! Faced with hundreds of cooperative monsters, it appears as if the monsters of the expanse had little choice but to roll over and accept their fate .
"Eldest? I didn't expect to see you here," Advant's scent reaches me .
I turn to face the much smaller soldier approaching from the nearby column .
"Hey there Advant . How goes the expanse takeover?"
"Smoothly! We managed to exterminate the old aphid population pretty easily . The new aphids are being tended to now and they started producing Biomass just a few hours ago . Want to have a look?"
Of course!
My glee knows no bounds as I follow Advant into the depths of the marsh, helping to pulverise monsters along the way . It doesn't take long before I'm able to witness a tender sight that I'd only seen in documentaries before . High in the branches of the largest, mana infused trees, tiny aphids cling to the thinner branches, extracting whatever sweet tree juice they need to survive . All the while a team of ants watch over them, checking the aphids for problems and shifting them about periodically to ensure they're getting the most efficient meal . As I watch the ants begin to prod the little bugs with their antennae and the aphids happily offer up Biomass for their defenders .
Perfect!
"How many aphid do we have so far?" I ask my guide .
"Roughly thirty . The Aphid Queen only started producing young recently, but the population should rapidly expand . We think we should have over a thousand in a week . "
Makes sense . The aphid, despite their cuteness, are very simple and weak monsters . The only complex thing about them is their capacity to offer Biomass nectar from their business district . No weapons, no armour, no advanced senses . They are helpless without the ants watching over them . Which means, egg laying wise, they are cheap as chips to produce . The Aphid Queen could knock out a couple thousand a week, given enough food .
It's wonderful to see the system coming together!
"This is good stuff Advant . This might help the colony pick up the shortfall in Biomass now that the wave has receded . "
"Just as you predicted, Eldest . "
With that casual expression of confidence in my non-existent foresight, the ant claps me on the side with one antenna and then wanders off to see to her many duties . Which leaves Tiny, Crinis and myself in the middle of the marsh expanse, left to our own devices .
Not willing to put it off any more, I let Crinis and Tiny cut loose to rustle up some experience whilst I try and deal with something I've been putting off for some time: my status .
I might have four brains but I just can't handle the numbers dammit! Since the fight with Garralosh, I got a heap of levels, a heap of skill levels, a ton of Biomass and with all my new glands, there is a metric ton of mutations I need to do . Perhaps the fear of the itch is what did it, or perhaps the fight with Garralosh just left a bad taste in my mouth . Regardless, the time is now!
Right now my status looks like this:
Name: Anthony
Level: 14 (Rare Core) (V)
Might: 91
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