She was the ant queen, the mother of the strongest generation. Her kingdom of greatness was built by the efforts of those who came before her.
Her children were harvesters, who tended the soil. They worked with Shimmer to distribute the seeds of the sage grass. They were born to harvest seeds and store them below the earth. It was their purpose in life they saw to fruition with great fervor.
Every seed to sprout, every blade to grow, they could feel the dungeon grow stronger. The Crown that oversaw all gained new territory as the grass conquered the hostile land. With fresh territory came additional space to expand. Her colony branched out.
Some children took to Shimmer far more than others. With each generation, their bodies diverged as they grew smaller. They no longer planted seeds, as they found a new purpose in tending to the grass after it sprouted. They mimicked Shimmer as their bodies produced nectar to feed the colony.
> Species Diverged: Aphids
These new insects fed her worker drones. They gifted sugar so the colony could grow stronger. A new strength we used to help this fledgling species that lacked a queen.
Yet these aphids were not alone in their changes. The hive evolved in tandem. The relics of invaders were incorporated into their bodies. Tiny stones of condensed mana took the place of a heart, a fragment of divinity that mimicked the Crown that created them.
> Mutation in Ant Colony: Mana Stone Biology
With the change, the queen felt herself fade away. Her body, created from pure mana, was being recycled. This queen would die but be reborn as a better queen. One more capable of leading the colony. Her new form would have its own mana stone.
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She was the ant queen. Mother of the strongest generation. Strength built upon the foundations laid by the previous.
Her children sowed seeds and farmed aphids. The nectar of the tiny insects let the colony expand. Their population bloomed, but so did those who died. Each death, whether through age or accident, was brought to the graveyard. A hill that reached for the skies as the number of the dead climbed higher.
Yet some ants stayed at the graveyard. They worked together to tear apart the corpses and return them to the soil. The dead became fertilizer for the living. She saw her children diverse and split again, as the grave tenders adapted to their environment.
> Species Diverged: Springtail
With the dead of her colony disposed of, she focused on the living and improving their lives. With the mana stone, she could learn the secrets of the monolith at the center of the colony. An enchanted stone, shattered from when the invader cast it upon her home. It had harmed her ancestors, but now it held the secrets of strength. A secret she shared with her children.
Under her care, they replicated the spell. Their shells grew thicker and stronger as mana imbued their exoskeletons.
> Mutation in Ant Colony: Stonekin Shell
With the knowledge of the monoliths, her children became greater than her. Knowing she was at the end of her value to the colony, she let her body return to the Crown. In her rebirth, she would have the same shell as her children.
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I am the ant queen. I am the mother of insects; of ants, aphids, and springtails. The efforts of those who came before I built this kingdom of greatness I ruled over.
Under my care, we became more.
We did not falter when our hive divided. A few of my children were driven mad under the mana influences, they desired more. Drunk on their own power, they preyed upon our own to devour mana stones. We ostracised them for their cannibalistic ways, yet they did not die.
Left alone to fester in the shadows of my domain, they mutated. Their dark ways twisted their forms until they resembled the embodiment of fear in my children.
> Species Diverged: Arcane Infection Spiders.
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Yet we did not falter. My children did not lose hope. Through war and strife, division and separation, we remained strong. Diversity brought us together as we grew.
The happiness my children found was all a mother could ever wish for. Yet, I knew it would not last. I had been reborn every day with the rising sun to lead, and as the sun set on this day, I felt this would be my last day. I would return, but I would not be me. My entire life was to set up my family for success, and they had found it. With the goals of lineage completed, it was about to end.
As my body faded, and my mana stone heart turned to dust, I knew this wasn’t the end.
I would return, though I did not know the form I would take. I only prayed it would be a form that allowed me to spend at least one more moment as a family.
> Evolution Unlocked - result of mass adaptations, no choices available.
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> Species Adaptation; Harvester Ants have evolved into Ancient Ants - Left to their own, the population of ants has experienced genetic drift, influenced by the relics of stone they possess. Warning: May become a cult if they continue worshipping their monoliths.
> Ant Spawner Atrophied - The population of ants has grown into their own. Anthill will experience a slower spawning rate as existing monsters breed naturally. Mana no longer consumed to spawn ants.
> Intelligence increased: 1
Dungeon grows stronger. Ants have grown to become stronger. Most of information is useless, but not all. Ants no longer take mana to grow. This means more food for dungeon. This is good.
Dungeon not know what cult is. Not important.
> INFORMATION: Cults are very bad, don’t start one.
Words not matter, not important. Cults are fine.
Magic ants help grow magic grass. This good as dungeon expands. Magic grass turns dead mana of outside into food. Dungeon likes food.
Grass also attracts feathered invaders. Invaders like hunting seeds and ants for food.
They not know dungeon is best at hunting. Dungeon master of [hunt], of [kill], of [consume].
So dungeon command monsters hunt. Shimmer becomes lure for invaders. Ants become weapons that kill invaders. Dungeon eat successful hunt for mana and knowledge.
> Understanding Increased: Birds - Creatures that fill the sky with their unique biology of flight.
Yes, birds. Fast and strong, they appear and kill quickly. This is monster dungeon needs. Ants strong but birds are bigger. That makes them stronger and better.
But birds are stupid. They see food and forget everything else. This is why dungeon is smarter. Dungeon sees food and thinks. Birds not think, so they attack insects and slimes. Birds keep dying.
Dungeon learn from them. Birds are strange. They have bones, which is backwards exoskeleton. They have two legs but are faster than ants. They breathe… dungeon not understand breathing.
But dungeon learn from them. Expensive and takes a lot of mana, but dungeon can create bird. It take long time, but bird is created from mana. It is powerful, but not perfect. Monster bird need more mana to grow even stronger. It will become best monster.
Ants kill more birds. Birds become knowledge to grow. All new mana pushed into dungeon bird.
> Species Discovered: Snow Buntings - Similar to sparrows and finches, this small bird is adapted to the arctic mountains where it nests.
Species not matter. All that matters is strength of newest bird monster. More mana, grow stronger. Become lord of the sky.
> Warning: Please stop…
Bird become best, become strongest of all monsters!
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System really didn’t like where this was going.
Letting the ants start a cult around the few magic items in the dungeon was bad enough. But this is even worse.
The newest bird monster was a horrific mess of creation. It was species-less, created using a generic ‘bird’ template by the dungeon. System tried to give options for evolution paths, but the Core ignored them. It flooded the creature with raw mana, and ignored System’s plea for help or to slow down.
The Core’s greater mana control capabilities became a detriment. It rushed the process as it no longer needed to integrate the mana slowly. The raw mana degraded its biology as the creature was forced to accommodate the surge of will.
And now… the bird was created. Its body warped, spine hunched, organs covered in scar tissue, and patches of missing feathers. The bird had grown sick from the mana given to it. Yet it refused to die.
Strength that System admired. And stupidity by the Core they had grown accustomed to.
To help the creature out, they integrated the bird into the dungeon. This time, they did it properly. Its unique biology allowed it many unique paths in life, System just had to find one that would relieve its suffering if only a little.
> ‘Undying’ Title Attained - Stuck with more than a lethal amount of cancer and mana burns the title holder has survived. The closer to death the title holder is, the higher its base stats.
> Understanding Increased: Pollution - smoke and smog that choke the skies; poison in the body; Bad mutations from too much mana…
System was confident that they had made the best of the situation, as horrific as it was. However, they were not satisfied. There was one more thing they could teach the Core. One final lesson to be gained.
> Understanding Increased: Mistakes - please never do this again.
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Mistakes? Dungeon not care. Words are useless. Words are the mistake.
Dungeon strong and smart. Dungeon not make mistakes.