Farming aside, I’ve got other things to worry about, namely trying to work out exactly how the Altar of Self actually works. I mean, I have the basic idea, it’s not that complicated; the Will of the Colony flows through the Vestibule, is amplified by the Nave, feeds into the Altar and is consumed to help fuel my Skills.

Simple in concept, but there’s a lot of variables I need to take into account. Which Skills use the most energy? How much do they use? How quickly does it replenish? What effect does it have on each Skill?

I need to put in a lot of reps just to figure out how it all works. By practising over and over again, I can develop the instinctual feel I need to make snap decisions and use the ability in battle.

The issue I have is that I don’t want to be taking experience away from my precious pets. The three of them need a ton of experience to reach the next tier, and I don’t want to slow down their progress in the slightest.

[It’s fine, Master,] Crinis says, [you need experience. We can’t take everything!]

Huh. She must have noticed me musing off to the side while the three of them hunt.

[Don’t worry about it,] I tell her. [I’ve got my own stuff to work on, you three need the levels.]

[A-are you sure? I really don’t mind!]

[Of course I’m sure! I wouldn’t feel right if I stayed stronger than you guys. You need to hurry up and reach my tier!]

[Alright! We will!]

[That’s the spirit.]

Crinis turns and rips into the demons around her with renewed rage and I’m happy to avert my gaze and continue to contemplate what I need to do.

I mean, better start with the basics, right?

There isn’t much room down here in the tunnels, and whenever my three pets have finished pulverising the opposition, I have to pick up and follow after them, but there’s enough space to test a few things.

Facing a wall, I pull back my mandiles, lock them in place and then lunge forward, allowing them to tear into the steaming hot rock in front of my face.

Crunch!

My impossibly hardened mandibles shear through the stone like butter, crashing together with a satisfying clack! Very nice.

I step back and take a look at my mandi-work, pleased with what I see. The ol’ face hands are doing good work. Longer than before, they really have quite the reach now, snapping together metres in front of my face.

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Crucially, I didn’t activate a Skill with that chomp, so as impressive as the result might have been, that was down to pure physicality.

Next, I shuffle a few steps down, give myself a little shake and prepare for another bite.

Everything occurs as before, except this time, I try to draw on the energy boiling away inside the Altar of Self.

When I say boiling, I really do mean boiling. With so many ants running around the plains, and several demon cities within range, each with its own mega-nest built against the pillar, let’s just say the Vestibule is absolutely humming with energy. It’s to the point that I’m actively avoiding dipping into the stream, lest I get overwhelmed with the impressions from hundreds of thousands of ants.

My jaws slam together, but despite my best efforts, the energy, unlike the spice, does not flow. Hmmm, interesting.

So unless I’m actively using something System related, it won’t work? Like, I can’t just run and use the Altar to run faster, I actually have to dash?

Well, let’s make this next test then.

I shuffle down another few steps and set my legs, locking my mandibles in place and getting ready.

Time for the VOID CHOMP!

As I unleash the Skill, the dark ball of energy manifests before my face, along with the mandibles formed of pure, black light. More than that, I feel the Altar surge with power, pouring out from deep within me and filling my mandibles.

The chomp immediately goes berserk mode, soaking up that energy and growing stronger and stronger before my mandibles smash shut with a colossal detonation!

I’d blink if I could.

Rock flies everywhere, along with ash, dust and flecks of magma. It looks as if a bomb went off in front of me as stone comes rumbling down, collapsing on the empty void that I’d created by vaporising the stone in front of my face.

Uhhhh. Whoops.

[Master?]

[Ah! Sorry about that, Crinis. Just trying to work on a few things.]

[P-perhaps work on them… outside of the tunnels?]

[... That might be a good idea.]

I don’t really want to drop a thousand tons of rock and lava on our heads. No more bite testing. Not until later, at least.

As we move forward, the pets continuing to annihilate everything in their path, I reflect on the experiment.

That chomp drained the Altar of about a tenth of its energy, which feels like a lot. I could probably mutate it to increase capacity, but it only takes a few minutes to replenish with so many ants in the area. Something to consider.

Well, if I can’t keep testing the bite skills out, perhaps I can try something else….

As the others are fighting, I find a decent stretch of tunnel that I can use for my next attempt.

I already know the Altar has quite an effect on the dash Skill. When I tried it before, it practically felt like I was teleporting. To establish a baseline, I try a few warmup dashes, about a hundred metres long up and down the tunnel, just to get the feel for it.

Alright, now with the Altar.

Again, the energy thunders through my body like a tidal wave, soaking into my six legs this time as I activate the Skill. All of a sudden, I feel like my legs are just bursting with power, I flex them, kick off, and the world just seems to stretch in front of me, the wind so thick I feel like I’m pushing through a brick wall.

BAM!

Then I smash through several metres of solid rock and bury myself.

[MASTER!]