Chapter 1020: What To Say

Granin felt as if he had a headache coming on. Scratch that, he felt like a boulder split straight down the middle. Shock after shock had come from that gigantic ant until he felt as if the ground were shaking under his feet. It was even more aggravating that Anthony had no idea what he had become. To the people of the Cult, an Ancient was a G.o.d. A peerless being of almost fathomless power. The strongest creatures on Pangera, each and every one of them could destroy cities, or devastate armies, with contemptuous ease. And they had, during the Rending.

Anthony had become a proto-ancient, a demi-G.o.d, with power beyond what a normal monster would have. Every Mythic monster was powerful, but what he was now capable of went beyond that. Granin was certain that the young monster had no idea just what the Cathedral inside him would enable.

The ant had described the torrent of power that came flooding through the Vestibule. Hundreds of thousands, possibly more than a million ants were currently within range, so the flow of Will was doubtless enormous.

But the Colony was only what… a year old? Maybe two? What would happen in ten? Or fifty? With enough mutations, Anthony might be able to fit a billion of his siblings within the range of the Vestibule. What then?

After a long life working toward a single goal, to have that goal suddenly so close to hand was almost painful to Granin. The weight of the combined Cult members, from all of the Cults around Pangera, over thousands of years, pressed down on his shoulders.

Success here could stave off a second Rending. Would bring fruition to the grand design of the Ancients.

Failure would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"No pressure," he rumbled to Corun and Torrina, "but we need to give Anthony some advice, and it had better be good. He"s finally opened up to us, we can"t let him down."

"My mind is completely blank," Corun stated, still in shock. "All I can think about is centipedes."

"What? Why?"

"I don"t know!"

Granin turned to his youngest student, almost in desperation.

"Torrina, please tell me you have something."

She stared at him for a long moment, her eyes clearly critical of him. Her stare asked the question "aren"t you the teacher?" but she answered anyway.

"There"s a few things we can suggest. I have a few ideas about what he might do with his acid gland, and there are some Skills that Anthony has definitely overlooked. Predictive Thinking would be an excellent addition, given his ability to see slightly into the future."

"That"s a great idea, actually," Granin praised her, calming himself down a little. "What about the Nave, though? He wants ideas about mutating it."

"It would take a long time to patiently go through all of the options with Anthony, and we all know he isn"t patient enough for that."

"Very true…. Any thoughts, Corun?"

"... Why do they have so many legs? And the claws as well? Centipedes are… so weird."

"Forget him. Thoughts on the Nave, Torrina?"

"His previous mutations concentrated the energy he received through the Vestibule, and that"s not a bad thing. I think he should strongly consider taking that mutation at least once. His most powerful a.s.set is the Altar, and that mutation will allow him to squeeze more power out of it. After that, he should carefully consider mutations that accentuate the unique properties of the Nave. It allows him to communicate with those contained within, right? Perhaps he can create more "seats" which will allow him to host more "orbs of Will". Instant communication, regardless of distance, is absurdly strong."

"Not necessarily in a fight, but for coordination and communication, it could be invaluable. Perhaps there"s an option which will allow others to talk back to him?"

"Probably not necessary, given the number of mind constructs he can host," Torrina refutes. "It would be trivial for him to check in on everyone within the Nave every five minutes."

"Good point. Well done keeping a cool head." Granin turned a hard frown at Corun who still seemed lost to the winds. "This idiot is going to get a stern talking to."

"Do you have any other Skill suggestions? There"s a couple more I could suggest, but spreading out too thin is a real risk."

"Better to have higher rank Skills than many low-ranked ones. That"s true."

The big golgari pondered for a moment.

"I"ve got some stuff which will work well for him right now. Let"s go back."

They had to prod Corun a bit to get him moving, but the three of them were able to move back to the table at which Anthony was waiting. The ant was an intimidating sight; the force of his aura, even when he wasn"t actively flexing his Will, was unstettling. Even as a physical presence, he was domineering. His diamond carapace gleamed a faint purple, along with his mandibles, and the light almost seemed to get pulled into him. Sitting on the ground, his legs propped up, the monster felt incredibly ma.s.sive. Just how much did he weigh now? Probably a lot more than they thought.

[Thanks for waiting, Anthony. We didn"t want to waste your time, but we don"t want to be reckless with what we suggest. Given more time, we can cook up some more interesting combinations,] Torrina apologises for them and the big ant waves one antenna to brush it off.

[No problem. I"ve got a little time, and poking at people in the Nave is more entertaining than I expected.]

Please, Endless Worm, do not let me wind up in that thing, Granin silently prayed. Having Anthony pop up in his thoughts at random moments sounded like a nightmare.

They discussed Torrina"s ideas for the acid array that Anthony had built, as well as their thoughts on his Nave, and then went on to suggest some Skills which would work well with his current capabilities.

[Predictive Thinking will really help push your advantage with foresight,] Granin said. [The drawback is that the Skill takes a lot of brainpower, especially at the higher ranks, but you should have enough to make full use of the Skill.]

[That sounds good!] Anthony clacked his mandibles happily. He"d been very pleased with the acid plan and everything else only seemed to make him happier.

[Then, there"s a few other General Skills that you could really make use of. Efficient Movement pairs well with Stamina to help preserve your energy. It may not be especially useful for you, given the Vestibule, but the two Skills will fuse at rank 5. It"s a common pickup for many monsters.

Observance is a slightly unusual Skill. Very weak at lower ranks, but it can help you track enemies in a chaotic fight. It effectively improves your visual tracking. Organs and mutations are far better at doing this, but you don"t have any of those, so this Skill could help out.

Lastly, I think Coordination will round out your basics. Again, there are organs and mutations that can make a huge impact on body control, and those are frequently taken for up close fighting monsters. In fact, I think Tiny should seriously consider taking one as well as getting this Skill.

We could go into more, but weighing you down with too much stuff to train wouldn"t help in the end. You"ve seen for yourself just how much more powerful rank five, and especially rank six Skills can be. None of our suggestions are all that radical, but they"ll help you do what you"re doing now a little bit better.]

[Sounds great!] Anthony enthused and Granin could tell he was busy purchasing those Skills already. [I"ll be back in a few weeks to check in again. Thanks, all!]

With a cheery wave, Anthony retreated from the table, turned, and skittered off into the distance, leaving Granin and Torrina feeling exhausted, while Corun still drifted, lost in the clouds.