Day 3
The perk [Breedable] allowed any unit to mate with another unit of the same perk. This meant that if Joe acquired the same perk for the ants, they would also carry the [Breedable] perk.
Joe hoped that the mixing of the qualities would be more systemized than evolutionary. It would be difficult to create a species that could survive if the mixing of the genes were completely random. But, if the creature’s mixed properties, in a system like manner, than this experiment turned very profitable very quickly. When you considered the amount of properties available in the insect world, it was clear how scary this perk was.
The perk was expensive, costing a whooping fifty truemass for the stone ladybugs, and sixty for the ants. He needed to collect all of the truemass in the ants to afford the price.
After he’d done it, he directed one of the ladybugs and one of the ants to stand beside each other. Ego seemed confused at the sudden orders, and stared at the two creatures hesitantly. As hesitantly as a caterpillar’s black shining eyes could. They looked more horrifying than anything else.
The two looked humorous standing beside each other. The ant was more than ten times the ladybugs size, and Joe hoped there wouldn’t be any physical action involved as one of them would certainly leave unsatisfied and the others with their ego shattered, or who knew, perhaps they’d gain a new kink.
The system didn’t mention anything about opposite genders being required for the two to work, but Joe thought the system worked on a need to know basis, only displaying enough information to get the process started.
“Breed,” Joe stated.
Joe ordered the two bugs to touch each other, which the ant mistook as an attack command and ate the ladybug whole. It turned to look at Joe for more instructions, and then looked at the other ladybugs, perhaps finding the snack more tasty than the stone.
Sigh. Their instincts are going to be come a bug problem for me in the future.
Joe couldn’t get any truemass out of the ant. He wondered why. It had to have gone somewhere. The system had said that units were capable of evolving, so perhaps the truemass turned into some sort of experience. In the end, Joe would have to go with the loss.
Perhaps I’ll be able to create evolutions through this manner. When I get more truemass I’ll try it out.
He sent the ant back to mining, and made the ladybugs start trying to dissolve the ore. It was dark gray, a color Joe hadn’t seen on ore before. He knew that iron had little sparkles in it, setting it apart from the surrounding stone.
Because of the ladybug’s smaller size, they were able to focus on the ore, scavenging it out without wasting any effort on the stone around them.
“Great heavenly master,” Ego said, having crawled closer. “Could I also have a snack?”
“We’ll have to wait until we make contact with others,” Joe said and sighed. He returned into a daze.
Day 4
He realized that there were four ants and twelve ladybugs. This wasn’t of his making, and he wondered if it might have been the [Breedable] perk. He summoned all of his creature’s to the center.
Only three ants and nine ladybugs followed his instructions. The rest continued eating away at the stone wall. They weren’t attacking each other, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t make them listen to his orders. They didn’t feel connected to him like the others.
He commanded some of his ladybugs to go attack the others that had spawned, hoping that he could use his innate perk. It must have been quite confusing for the children to have their parents suddenly try to kill them.
Life ain't easy.
What followed were three ladybugs flying all around the room, desperately tying to avoid their cannibalistic parents who flew right behind them. Joe had the best seats for this action, and he watched avidly. He’d never known that the innocent and cute looking ladybugs could be such fierce predators.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Two of the ladybugs that died. The others had given them injuries that were simply too fatal for them to survive. They were eaten with such speed that Joe barely had enough time to see their corpse, the ladybugs surrounding them like hungry zombies.
Can’t do that to the stone can they.
He saw something interesting with the third one however. There was only one ladybug attacking it, before suddenly freezing. A blue line shot out from the ladybug and connected to the new one. Joe noticed the amount of units he had control over ticking up by one as it happened.
The two ladybugs stopped fighting although the captured one was in a bad state.
Heal?
Cost: 0.2 truemass
[Yes] [No]
The window popped up over the ladybug. Joe noticed it was cheaper than creating a new one. He directed one of his ladybugs to give him their truemass, gaining him five full truemass. The ore they had been mining had been profitable.
When he clicked yes, a burst of energy shot out of him and into the ladybug. Its legs snapped back into place, growing in some areas, twisting in others. It was fully healed after a merely two seconds.
Interesting. I can heal them for a reduced price, although if this were to happen away from me on the battlefield I don’t know if it would be effective. I’d need my units to bring them all the way back to me. Hmm.
“You are truly a master,” Ego said, watching over the entire thing. Joe felt bad for the guy and hoped that some sort of combat opportunity would present itself shortly.
“Thanks,” Joe said.
He directed only one of the ants to go and attack the new commer, as he didn’t want to kill it. To his surprise that and died after a quick skirmish, and his body was quickly feasted upon. Joe felt personally offended at the sight.
“Ego, you wanted a snack right?”
“Yes great master.”
“Well have at it, that ant is all yours.”
Ego didn’t need to be told twice. Joe had never seen him move so quickly. The large caterpillar was on the ant in no time and crushed it, before quickly devouring it. Soon after, Joe saw something happening to Ego.
Spikes shot out from his green skin, covering each inch of him. The system mentioned that elites evolve much faster. They were roughly half the length of a forearm, and they looked both sharp and durable.
“I gained a new perk!” Ego said, very pleased with himself. “It’s called spiked protection. These bad boys, can hurt anything.”
Joe created another ant, making his total truemass go down to one. If something terrible happened he could always create one new ladybug. It was enough to calm him from the ceiling crashing down on them.
“Nice. Did you gain any truemass?” Joe said.
“No,” Ego said.
Whilst the system had stated that killing a unit with truemass on it would give you its truemass, it hadn’t said what would happen if a rogue creature did it. It seemed that the truemas the ant carried had been transformed into pure experience, explaining why Ego had evolved.
Taking his mind back to the [Breedable perk, he wondered if it had activated because the units had spent time beside each other. He directed one of his ants and one of the ladybugs to stand beside each other.
He entered his dazed state.
He was awoken a few hours later, standing beside the ant and the ladybug was an abomination. His theory had been right, and it seemed that the system mixed properties instead of genetics.
The abomination was the size of the ladybug, except carried the ants mandibles alongside the ladybug’s wings. Directing his ladybug to attack it, as any mother with a newborn child would do, the ladybug was quickly killed.
He didn’t want to direct the large ant to attack the tiny one as that would quickly result in the death of the tiny ant, so he got another ladybug to attack the ant, and it was quickly killed and devoured.
Five ladybugs later, with the same results, and the barely touched ant evolved, its mandibles growing longer and fiercer. Angered, Joe sent three ladybugs to attack it, but they quickly met their demise… and were devoured.
The winged ant no longer waited to be attacked but set on its own course towards the two ladybugs which were still mining away. Joe directed them to come to him as quickly as they could, gaining eleven true mass each, before desperately telling them to avoid the ant.
“Can I help glorious reader?” Ego said.
“Not at the moment,” Joe said, not wanting his new creation to be killed.
The ladybugs didn’t survive for a very long time, finding themselves killed and devoured. The tiny ant rested on the top, waiting for more pray, as Joe wondered how he’d be able to incapacitate it.