Nice. It actually seemed to work. The Core could certainly see something else than just another damned warning that meant nothing in the long run. Pulling it up again, the Entity began to study it more deeply rather than just having a glance at it.

Evolution-Screen

Base creature

Variant

Rarity

Moss

Blood-Moss

Uncommon

Ant

Giant-Ant

Uncommon

Giant-Ant

Infested Giant-Ant

Very Rare

Undead Giant-Ant

Rare

‘Something came up,’ the Core said, beginning its analysis. ‘It’s called the [Evolution-Screen] and is divided into three categories. [Base Creature]. [Variant], and [Rarity]. There are three creatures currently on the [Base Creature] section and five on the [Variant] section where each variant has a different attached [Rarity]. I am not sure what this all means, though, since one of the names appears twice.’

‘I am glad to that it works, at least, even if the current screen isn't too in-depth,’ the Queen stated with no lack of hesitation. ‘Normally, I do believe that each creature also has an attached cost but that might not be true for you currently since you likely don’t know how much each requires for their creation. And it might not work even at that point since you clearly don’t have a stable level that you spawn them at.’

More information was the standard. That was something the Core could understand, though it was mildly annoyed that it didn't have it instantly. Nevertheless, it continued listening.

‘The [Base creature] simply refers to the race that a creature is just before it evolves and not what it originally was. This is the reason you might find a single name appearing more than once on the screen. If I had to wager a guess, I would say that you’re seeing [Giant-Ant] twice?’ the Queen guessed at, not sounding like she expected to be wrong. And not that she was, the Core sent out a confirmation quickly after. ‘With how few creatures you have seen at the moment, it is to be expected to some level. But as you might have realized earlier on, [Giant-Ants] are loosely connected to the original [Ant], different in the way where we have been scaled up by nearly a hundred to one. It allows us to stand toe to toe with the Enlightened and is more than enough to be categorized as a [Sub-Race]. Yet that also doesn't mean that the [Giant-Ants] can’t grow further. I have seen several [Titanic-Ants] throughout my life, that race growing to several meters high. It is also one of the things I want to try and evolve when we get the chance later on but that doesn't matter for now.’

‘Do continue about the [Sub-Races], please,’ the Core reminded the Queen, both wanting to know more about these [Titanic-Ants] but also wanting to move on with the main subject. The idea of having giant guardians sounded perfect for making the Entity feel safer, yet it first needed to know how the system related to it actually worked.

‘I was getting to that,’ the Queen responded, even if she was in actuality likely going to talk about the other races she had seen throughout her life for a few minutes more if given the chance. She was surprisingly talkative, now that the Core thought about it. It wondered why that was. ‘But, since you don’t want my incredible side stories, I suppose I can continue with the previous topic. As I was saying, [Giant-Ants] can further evolve for a variety of reasons, but that doesn't force them to continue having their [Giant-] prefix. That can change entirely, with an example being more extensive growth. Yet I truly do doubt that you have found such a thing. Instead, it is more likely that you have only found [Sub-Sub-Races]. And, yes, that is the name we’re going with since it explains them perfectly. They are alternatives to [Sub-Races] yet not distinctive enough that they deserve their own category. Could you say which you have of these?’

‘I have the [Infested Giant-Ants] and the [Undead Giant-Ants],’ the Core supplied with no real hesitation, avidly listening on in the meanwhile.

‘Perfect examples of what I mean. While each of these is very distinctive visually, they each build upon the structure of the [Giant-Ant] instead of radically changing it around. The [Infested] Variant, as an example, simply fills the outer layer with Moss while allowing the insides to stay the same. And the [Undead] variant? Well, that one is just a dead [Giant-Ant] reanimated. If the System was to designate it as an [Undead-Ant] instead of [Undead Giant-Ant], the naming would make no hints at it being the massive size that it is and instead lead us to believe that it is the size of a regular ant,’ the Queen explained furthermore. ‘Do you understand?’

‘I think I do,’ the Core said thoughtfully, trying to think up of any inconstancies it had seen throughout its life. It wanted to comment on the [Worm] but also understood that it had never actually seen its actual Status Screen and so couldn't know what its true race was designated as. ‘Though… I was wondering if it is possible for a [Sub-Sub-Sub-Race] to exist.’

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

‘Technically? Most definitely. I wouldn’t even be surprised if a new one of those were made every day,’ the Queen answered. ‘However, the chances of us ever stumbling upon such a thing is lower than most things. The requirements to create such a being would be especially hard since it would at that point be very close to just being called another [Sub-Race]. The divergence would simply be too large. And do note that I said [Created] instead of mere chance making it happen. I truly do doubt that nature will ever be random enough to create such a monstrosity.’

Well. That made the Core reject the idea of asking about [Sub-Sub-Sub-Sub-Races], even if it sounded quite fun. If the level one down was near-impossible, it would have to assume that the one above was very impossible. It only made sense to think of it in such away. Not that it was too surprised by such an outcome but still.

‘How about the rarities shown off?’ the Core asked, still wanting to know about that last detail. ‘I am not sure how exactly they are meant to make sense. The step from [Ant] to [Giant-Ant] made it Rarity become [Uncommon], yet the step from [Giant-Ant] to [Infested Giant-Ant] made it [Very Rare]. It seems that further evolutions just increase the Rarity no matter what yet that seems a bit broken later on. Wouldn’t the higher tiers be found within only a few changes?’

The Queen chortled at that, amusement clear in her body language. While the Ant might not have been able to laugh directly, the slight shaking of the body made it obvious what emotion was overpowering her.

‘It is not as broken as you might think, little rock,’ the Queen tried to explain as she got herself under control again. ‘While it might seem like every step along the way makes the creature exponentially more powerful, I can assure you that increases like those witnessed are very rare. Most of the time, the change in abilities will be either minor or they might even make the creature weaker in some aspects. It is not uncommon for a creature’s Rarity to fall as well. I can most definitely assure you that the [Very Rare] creature in your possession will not be upgraded in Rarity for a very long time. You might even have hit one of the best evolutions possible at that moment for the [Giant-Ant]. Not that you should put so much weight on Rarity, however.’

‘I shouldn't?’ the Core asked. ‘Doesn’t Rarity reflect a modifier to power?’

‘In general, it does, yes,’ the Queen agreed. ‘When it comes to Race-Rarities, however, it can be a mixed genre. While a higher Rarity does imply that the creature is more powerful, the actual decider on the rarity is the chance of the creature evolving into the new Variant. Again, the rarer Variants are more likely to be powerful but that doesn’t mean that the common ones can’t be just as powerful as well.’

That was certainly something to note. The Core needed to both consider the rarities of creatures but also not see it as an absolute. While it might not have been too sure about it before, it was just getting more and more confused. Was there truly any way to be sure about knowing the power level of another creature?

‘And you also need to take into consideration that the Rarity of the same [Sub-Race] can be different depending on the [Base Creature],’ the Queen added, just to make the mess even larger. ‘There are many ways to reach the same result, after all. I am decently sure that we could make an [Infested-Ant] and then make it into a [Infested Giant-Ant] and have it be an [Uncommon] evolution. It would be a roundabout way of doing it but it would be possible without enough dedication.’

‘So I should trust the Rarities to some degree but not base my entire understanding on them due to them being prone to change according to the base creature?’

‘Exactly,’ the Queen agreed. ‘There are an infinite amount of evolutions but only a few need to be taken seriously. It has to be done on a case-by-case basis but I am sure it can be figured out with enough experience.’

The Core sure hoped so, not exactly confident in its ability to guess which Evolutions were good and bad. It had ideas on what could be used for different purposes, knowing that the [Infested Giant-Ant] was more powerful than the [Giant-Ant] Utilitywise. And since it was overall still the same structure inside, there were only bonuses, making the Entity think that the [Very Rare] meant a positive thing overall. Yet could it be that one could at the reasoning behind the Evolution instead to figure out the power increase? The Entity certainly imagined the effects of having [Blood-Moss] grow on another creature well before it happened. But would that work for other reasons behind evolution? And how exactly would the Core force such a process?

‘Is there any standard methods to Evolve creatures?’ the Core questioned, wanting to know the actual procedure instead of just trying to pump foreign Mana into a creature. The last time it had done such a thing, during the trials for [Stamina-Recovery], the result had been quite explosive and likely painful for any test subjects. While it did not lash away from the idea of sacrificing a few underlings, it still desired to have some manner of restraint. The pain was not a necessity in testing and the Entity would take care to avoid it if that didn’t hamper progress overall.

‘Of course, there are,’ the Queen answered. ‘With how long this plane has been trying to create the perfect killing machines, it is expected that somebody found a way to do it efficiently. And it might even be the reason that the [System] has a [Skill] for it, that aforementioned ability being called [Force Evolve]. Its name is as it seems. It forces a creature through the process of evolution at extreme speeds.’

‘And how do I gain it?’ the Core asked, ready to spend some time on that process so it could get right into it.

‘It requires a lot of coordination and materials before the [System] deems you worthy of this skill. It might even be more materials than we currently have access to. Stone and Ore would be perfect if we already had some [Elemental] creatures that were attuned to it, yet my children are not of that class. And since it is rather unlikely that we can successfully force a [Very Rare] or even [Legendary] Evolution on our first attempt, I think it is best to leave this skill until we reach the surface.’

That was a shame but not one which the Core would object to. It was not experienced in that field of Magic and would rather trust a person who was than just try and mess around with a low chance of success. If the [Giant-Ants] at its disposal had a higher chance at evolving when subjected to the resources possible to gain on the surface, then the Core would get it for them.

‘Are there any other Screens you need to show, then?’ the Core asked, moving around its Mana to get a feel for it again. It could understand how direct control was needed before the Energy could truly be used. While it was mouldable, it was only to a fraction of what it could normally contain. It was stiffer, not able to stay in the patterns set for it and instead of reverting to what it was before.

It was annoying. Yet the Core had to make do with it, lest it wouldn’t be able to adapt in the long run. If there was a moment where it had to move it around, there would be no time for confusion at it had never practised the motions. Getting it in early was the safest method of training itself.

‘I don’t have any which I think you will be able to gain, so it would be best if we leave such things for later,’ the Queen stated. ‘And since you already seem to be in the mood for expanding this place, I suppose we can start on that. Build the walls, fill in the gap in the middle, and make it long enough that we reach the surface. That is all.’