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Changed line(s) 51,52 (click to see context) from:
** Played straight during the dungeon waves, when mana levels rise and monsters spawn endlessly out of the Dungeon walls. They start at level 1, and so they are mostly easy enough to kill, but they just keep coming, for ''weeks''. And then, the ones that spawned further away, and successfully competed with others to survive, come stomping along with some more experience and levels..
** Initially played straight by the Colony, then defied when [[spoiler:Anthony modifies the Queen to produce more intelligent offspring]] -- much to the horror of everyone who finds out.
** Initially played straight by the Colony, then defied when [[spoiler:Anthony modifies the Queen to produce more intelligent offspring]] -- much to the horror of everyone who finds out.
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** Played straight during the dungeon waves, when mana levels rise and monsters spawn endlessly out of the Dungeon walls. They start at level 1, and so they are mostly easy enough to kill, but they just keep coming, for ''weeks''. And then, the ones that spawned further away, and successfully competed with others to survive, come stomping along with some more experience and levels..
levels...
** Initially played straight by the Colony, then defied when [[spoiler:Anthony modifies the Queen to produce more intelligentoffspring]] offspring]], causing the ants to use much more sophisticated strategies -- much to the horror of everyone who finds out.
** Initially played straight by the Colony, then defied when [[spoiler:Anthony modifies the Queen to produce more intelligent
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* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The more Anthony evolves, the harder it becomes to survive in the relatively thin mana on the surface of Pangera. [[spoiler:At tier six, it's only possible to visit the village of Renewal for a few hours during the peak of a wave, largely to say goodbye.]]
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* BigEater:
** Monsters need eat to satisfy mundane hunger, but they also accrue biomass points that can be used to mutate their body parts into superior forms. As a result, Anthony frequently eats as much as possible, especially from higher ranked monsters with higher biomass density, and later discovers stomach mutations that allow eating even more, so that accruing points is easier.
** Crinis goes further and has an extradimensional stomach with nigh-infinite capacity. Unfortunately for Anthony, who is usually carrying her, she still takes on all the weight.
** The ant Queen has organs that turn biomass into eggs, so she eats huge amounts every day to enable the Colony's rapid growth. She can also use it to mutate herself, which Anthony wants her to do, but she prefers to just pour it all into her children.
** Monsters need eat to satisfy mundane hunger, but they also accrue biomass points that can be used to mutate their body parts into superior forms. As a result, Anthony frequently eats as much as possible, especially from higher ranked monsters with higher biomass density, and later discovers stomach mutations that allow eating even more, so that accruing points is easier.
** Crinis goes further and has an extradimensional stomach with nigh-infinite capacity. Unfortunately for Anthony, who is usually carrying her, she still takes on all the weight.
** The ant Queen has organs that turn biomass into eggs, so she eats huge amounts every day to enable the Colony's rapid growth. She can also use it to mutate herself, which Anthony wants her to do, but she prefers to just pour it all into her children.
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* CharacterWitness: Enid attempts to provide this for the Colony, testifying of how the town of Renewal is safe and prosperous under the ants' care and supervision, but Titus is unmoved.
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* {{Workaholic}}: Every ant except Anthony works practically non-stop. Even their greetings are gentle chiding to work hard. They need a ''Gestapo-style police force'' to make them get enough hours of sleep. (Anthony is no slacker by human standards, but he does like breaks and vacations.)
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* PredatorTurnedProtector: The ordinary behaviour of any monster is to view everyone as a source of experience and biomass, but after [[spoiler:the kingdom of Liria is massacred by Garralosh]], the refugees take a chance on the ants who had previously passed them by without eating them. Anthony is exasperated by the risk they're taking, but allows them to stay, where they form the town of Renewal. It's not long before the Colony's aggressive pacification of the surrounding wildlife makes the villagers a good deal safer than they could be anywhere else. [[spoiler:After the Colony gains sapience, there is a brief hiccup where they nearly ignore Anthony's perimeter and eat the villagers anyway, but they're eventually helped to see the value of an alliance, with the humans bringing a wealth of knowledge about skills and industry. And then the ants kill Garralosh, winning them the undying gratitude of the humans.]] Story snippets from years in the future show the two species highly integrated.
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* InevitableMutualBetrayal: After Anthony helps [[spoiler:the queen of Liria to return to her throne]], she declares, "You can only blame yourself for trusting too easily, creature!" and summons her guards. Tiny then breaks into the room, having already taken all the cores that were promised as payment, and they make their escape. Anthony reflects while running away that it would have been a bit embarrassing if she had actually honoured their deal right to the end after the Colony had already broken in and looted everything.
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* RashEquilibrium: After Anthony helps [[spoiler:the queen of Liria to return to her throne]], she declares, "You can only blame yourself for trusting too easily, creature!" and summons her guards. Tiny then breaks into the room, having already taken all the cores that were promised as payment, and they make their escape. Anthony reflects while running away that it would have been a bit embarrassing if she had actually honoured their deal right to the end after the Colony had already broken in and looted everything (but it was clear from everything she said and did that she wouldn't actually keep faith with a monster).
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* InevitableMutualBetrayal: After Anthony helps [[spoiler:the queen of Liria to return to her throne]], she declares, "You can only blame yourself for trusting too easily, creature!" and summons her guards. Tiny then breaks into the room, having already taken all the cores that were promised as payment, and they make their escape. Anthony reflects while running away that it would have been a bit embarrassing if she had actually honoured their deal right to the end after the Colony had already broken in and looted everything.
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* BlindObedience: Anthony gets an uncomfortable level of this from Crinis, the Colony, and ''especially'' from Beyn the preacher. Even accidentally throwing a shield at Beyn, almost killing him, just makes him think he's been assigned to carry it and protect others, despite it being really too heavy for him. Anthony, who tries to avoid Beyn's devotion as much as possible, doesn't even realise he thinks that.
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* BlindObedience: Anthony gets an uncomfortable level of this from Crinis, the Colony, and ''especially'' from Beyn the preacher. Even accidentally throwing a shield at Beyn, Beyn during combat, almost killing him, just makes him think he's been assigned to carry it and protect others, despite it being really too heavy for him. him (and Anthony, who tries to avoid stay away from Beyn's devotion as much as possible, doesn't even realise he thinks that.that).
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* {{Yandere}}: Since romance doesn't appear to be a feature of monster life, Crinis doesn't expect any from Anthony, nor does she seem to harbour any resentment toward the other pets, leaving her somewhere between Yandere and ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend. Nonetheless, her stammering dialogue shows that she is extremely devoted to Anthony, overprotective, very shy about her feelings, wanting to be and do whatever Master wants, and ''psychotically violent'' toward any monsters who would threaten Master, or fail to show proper respect, or whom Master tells her to kill.
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* HappyFunBall: Anthony's ball-shaped pet monster, Crinis, is so sweet and affectionate and shy! Just a compliment from her beloved master is enough to send her into a tizzy, possibly even collapsing in a quivering heap. Those who ''threaten'' her master, on the other hand, will probably get the (brief) chance to see her unfold into a mass of independently mobile razor-barbed tentacles of shadow flesh, imbued with fear magic and tipped with "soul seeker cilia" that drive into an enemy's brain and push them over the brink of sanity, before tossing them into the maw of teeth that makes up her centre.
--> '''Anthony''': Such an innocent looking little ball of endless despair. Who could possibly imagine that this tennis ball sized black orb would contain so much terror?
--> '''Anthony''': Such an innocent looking little ball of endless despair. Who could possibly imagine that this tennis ball sized black orb would contain so much terror?
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* FascistsBedTime: PlayedForLaughs when some of the ants take Anthony's admonishments for regular mandatory rest breaks ''very'' seriously. They form a shadow organization, utilizing unlit hidden tunnels to rapidly travel through the nest in search of those workaholics who have kept awake for days, knocking them out with special pheromones and putting them to bed. Serious offenders may even find themselves facing carapace waxing and aromatherapy!
--> '''Nameless one''': Working hard I see...\\
But work time is.. OVER!
--> '''Nameless one''': Working hard I see...\\
But work time is.. OVER!
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* CurbStompBattle: Anthony's first tournament match-up is ''very'' poorly chosen, all brawn and defence, no brains -- or flexibility. It doesn't land a single hit before Anthony is able to pin it down (even though it's still quite hard to actually kill).
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* TheFundamentalist: Beyn's preaching is actually very light on fire and brimstone, but his fanatical worship of the ants really goes UpToEleven. Such as when he's invited on a first-of-its-kind visit inside the Colony, quite close to the breeding chambers as a gesture of trust, and is so ecstatic at the thought of being close to them, warring with his knowledge that touching the brood will get him killed and eaten, that he can't relax his self-control enough to speak or even ''breathe'', and literally passes out red-faced on the floor. The ants are a little perturbed, but accept the explanation that he felt honoured to be in the Queen's presence.
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* RunningGag: Anthony always refers to his acid-shooting abdomen with various synonyms for "business end", frequently confusing allies who don't know what a "commercial district" is.
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* BlindObedience: Anthony gets an uncomfortable level of this from Crinis, the Colony, and ''especially'' from Beyn the preacher. Even accidentally throwing a shield at Beyn, almost killing him, just makes him think he's been assigned to carry it and protect others, despite it being really too heavy for him. Anthony, who tries to avoid Beyn's devotion as much as possible, doesn't even realise he thinks that.
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* WeakButSkilled: Invoked by Anthony when he [[spoiler:alters the Queen's core to produce brood with longer hatching times and less physical prowess, but much greater Cunning]], trusting that intelligence will triumph over raw power. [[spoiler:It works beyond his wildest dreams.]]
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* TheBerserker: The System has various options for this.
** Morella has a Berserker class that lets her enter a powerful rage while she can maintain her anger, but leaves her fatigued afterward.
** Sarah has a darker variant in her Asura, feeding on ''any'' negative emotion to pump her strength to massive heights, but increasingly robbing her of reason, to the point where she is likely to turn on her allies.
** Morella has a Berserker class that lets her enter a powerful rage while she can maintain her anger, but leaves her fatigued afterward.
** Sarah has a darker variant in her Asura, feeding on ''any'' negative emotion to pump her strength to massive heights, but increasingly robbing her of reason, to the point where she is likely to turn on her allies.
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* GenderBender: Downplayed; Anthony takes quite some time to realise that all the ants are biologically female, and is initially startled by it, but soon shrugs it off since it's rarely important (especially as monsters do not use sexual reproduction), and the story continues to use male pronouns.
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* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: The System draws a line between the Old Races, including humans and a handful of others, vs monsters, and the Abyssal Legion considers all monsters to be acceptable targets -- even if fully sapient. Indeed, sapient species are considered to be high-priority threats. Some of the New Races have gathered enough clout to be left alone for practicality's sake, but there is always conflict between the New and Old.
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* BloodKnight: Tiny the gorilla has only three loves: eating, sleeping, and above all fighting -- preferably with his fists. Unfortunately, he has no sense of self-preservation in pursuing a fight, requiring constant intervention to keep him from getting killed. The fact that every evolution reduces his Cunning stat doesn't help, either...
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* KillSteal: The Dungeon operates on strict "last hit gets all the experience" rules. Anthony and the Colony exploit this extensively for farming experience, with stronger combatants disabling enemies and bringing them to weaker combatants -- or to the Queen -- for a finishing blow. (Especially important since stronger monsters get smaller XP rewards.)
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* ScratchDamage: Anthony actually bites [[spoiler: a Rhinoserrgardron pinned down by Gravity Bolts]] so many times that he gets worn out and has to ''rest on his opponent's back for five minutes'' before he can finish the job.
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* ThisIsUnforgivable: Anthony declares a vendetta against [[spoiler:James the giant earthworm, his former friend,]] after the death of many brood.
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* AttackOnOneIsAnAttackOnAll: Played very straight with the Colony, which is community-minded to a literally inhuman degree, but really taken UpToEleven with their larvae, where natural instincts combine with practicality to make the ants very protective indeed.
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* SuperPrototype: To an extent, Anthony functions as this to the entire Colony, as do the Twenty. Justified by the fact that gaining maximum strength at each evolutionary stage requires a considerable investment of valuable resources; when scaling up to hundreds or thousands of ants, they can't afford to max them out quite so much. (But they do make use of the lessons learned to give it a solid try.)
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* MeaningfulName: Ants have typically not had names before; even the Queen has only her title. When Anthony trains the twenty, though, he gives them individual names related to their evolutions -- [[PunnyName each including "ant" somewhere]], such as Propellant the fire mage.
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* DeathSeeker: Leeroy and the Immortals want to die for the good of the Colony, but with so many resources invested in them, their peers all want to keep them alive, and keep working to save them (and they're still too loyal for actual suicide). They end up as an elite fighting unit because they have so many power-ups, and have yet to take any casualties.
--> '''Immortals''': '''WE SEEK!'''
--> '''Immortals''': '''WE SEEK!'''
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* WhatHaveIDone: Anthony is horrified to realise that rushing back carelessly and openly to warn the Colony of [[spoiler:the approaching wave]] has resulted in a large group of monsters following, and many resulting deaths.
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-> '''FOR THE COLONY!'''
Upon his untimely death, Anthony is enveloped in white light and hears a voice telling him that he will be reborn on the world of Pangera. Will elf girls await? Likely not, since it turns out he's being reborn as an ant! Lowly, weak, and somehow separated from the other ants, Anthony is near the bottom of a very active food chain. Unlike the monsters all around, though, Anthony has human intelligence and cunning, to exploit the mysterious System that governs everyone's growth. It's a constant struggle to survive in the Dungeon, but with the intelligence of a reincarnator and the growth potential of a monster, an ant just might shake the world.
Oh, and the Colony is still out there waiting for their lost child...
''Chrysalis'' is a LitRPG WebSerialNovel by [[https://www.royalroad.com/profile/97247 RinoZ]], posted on [[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/22518/chrysalis Royal Road]] and [[https://www.webnovel.com/book/chrysalis_11236791006300205 WebNovel]].
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* HeroicSacrifice:
** This is the instinct of all ants, even when sacrifice isn't necessary, much to Anthony's concern. [[spoiler:Even when they become sapient, ants still emerge from their pupae declaring their readiness to die for the Colony, until they're reeducated to save death for when it's actually needed.]]
** Subverted [[PlayedForLaughs for laughs]] with the Immortals. [[spoiler:They all took the Phoenix Flame evolutionary upgrade, but didn't ReadTheFinePrint; instead of taking their enemies with them, it revived them with full health.]]
* LeeroyJenkins: Lampshaded with an ant who never really adjusts to the "dying is bad" mindset, and continually wants to make a HeroicSacrifice for the Colony; Anthony names her "Leeroy".
* [[OneManIndustrialRevolution One-Man Antdustrial Revolution]]: Played with; Anthony doesn't provide any of the technical information, but he does push the Colony into seeking out the right experts to learn it themselves.
* ZergRush:
** Played straight during the dungeon waves, when mana levels rise and monsters spawn endlessly out of the Dungeon walls. They start at level 1, and so they are mostly easy enough to kill, but they just keep coming, for ''weeks''. And then, the ones that spawned further away, and successfully competed with others to survive, come stomping along with some more experience and levels..
** Initially played straight by the Colony, then defied when [[spoiler:Anthony modifies the Queen to produce more intelligent offspring]] -- much to the horror of everyone who finds out.
Upon his untimely death, Anthony is enveloped in white light and hears a voice telling him that he will be reborn on the world of Pangera. Will elf girls await? Likely not, since it turns out he's being reborn as an ant! Lowly, weak, and somehow separated from the other ants, Anthony is near the bottom of a very active food chain. Unlike the monsters all around, though, Anthony has human intelligence and cunning, to exploit the mysterious System that governs everyone's growth. It's a constant struggle to survive in the Dungeon, but with the intelligence of a reincarnator and the growth potential of a monster, an ant just might shake the world.
Oh, and the Colony is still out there waiting for their lost child...
''Chrysalis'' is a LitRPG WebSerialNovel by [[https://www.royalroad.com/profile/97247 RinoZ]], posted on [[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/22518/chrysalis Royal Road]] and [[https://www.webnovel.com/book/chrysalis_11236791006300205 WebNovel]].
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* HeroicSacrifice:
** This is the instinct of all ants, even when sacrifice isn't necessary, much to Anthony's concern. [[spoiler:Even when they become sapient, ants still emerge from their pupae declaring their readiness to die for the Colony, until they're reeducated to save death for when it's actually needed.]]
** Subverted [[PlayedForLaughs for laughs]] with the Immortals. [[spoiler:They all took the Phoenix Flame evolutionary upgrade, but didn't ReadTheFinePrint; instead of taking their enemies with them, it revived them with full health.]]
* LeeroyJenkins: Lampshaded with an ant who never really adjusts to the "dying is bad" mindset, and continually wants to make a HeroicSacrifice for the Colony; Anthony names her "Leeroy".
* [[OneManIndustrialRevolution One-Man Antdustrial Revolution]]: Played with; Anthony doesn't provide any of the technical information, but he does push the Colony into seeking out the right experts to learn it themselves.
* ZergRush:
** Played straight during the dungeon waves, when mana levels rise and monsters spawn endlessly out of the Dungeon walls. They start at level 1, and so they are mostly easy enough to kill, but they just keep coming, for ''weeks''. And then, the ones that spawned further away, and successfully competed with others to survive, come stomping along with some more experience and levels..
** Initially played straight by the Colony, then defied when [[spoiler:Anthony modifies the Queen to produce more intelligent offspring]] -- much to the horror of everyone who finds out.
