Chrysalis Chapter 1771 - The Hidden Highway

Upon closer examination, the distinction stands out clearly. It’s among those moments where spotting it means you’ll never overlook it again. The tube, a spacious vertical shaft wide enough for even me to pass through, features a membrane bearing the burden of roughly a meter-thick mucus coating. A mere ripple disturbed the surface, sending the slime sloshing and jiggling, which unveiled the concealed passage for the briefest instant.

Yet there’s more.

I’m no fool, and I detect when something strange is afoot. After encountering it two or three times, I’m bound to notice. My eyes consist of Unsullied Crystal, a material attuned solely to truth. Back then, I didn’t grasp its significance, but now it’s becoming evident that perhaps I pierce through illusions, falsehoods, and various visual deceptions.

The mucus layer, ingenious though it may be, couldn’t alone conceal an opening this vast. I’m convinced an illusionary veil also shrouds the tunnel from ordinary sight—the Krath are far too sly to allow mere surface swirls on the lake to betray their hidden access.

Thankfully, Unsullied Crystal saves the day! Those random ripples suffice! Gweheheheheh.

Still, I won’t dismiss the chance this is an intricate death trap laid by the Krath to snare overbold, unsuspecting ants. Improbable, yet with those slugs, entirely feasible.

Feigning casualness, since the lurking slugs still watch me even here, I drift toward the chute. Not straight to it, naturally, but near enough to sneak another peek without drawing attention.

Indeed, a massive vertical shaft lurks beneath that cover. The overlying mucus even blocks it from my mana sense. How might I probe this safely? Dropping halfway and discovering it plunges kilometers deep, only for the Krath to seal it with me inside… disaster….

“Uh, Protectant?”

“...”

“I could… use some help here.”

“That’s… unusual, Eldest.”

Typically you’re not much help, but I won’t voice that to my literal lifesaver.

“Are you able to see the vertical tunnel beneath me?”

“Uh… no. Not at all. Are you sure there’s a tunnel?”

“Absolutely, it’s just very cleverly hidden. I need someone to go investigate, just in case it’s a trap. If one of you goes down there, the Krath won’t even notice, and if it a trap… well….”

“Losing one of our bodies isn’t that much of a problem?” Protectant says.

“Well… uh… yes.”

“This is why we picked this evolution. We will gladly take on the mission.”

A clear note of eagerness colors her voice, making me question if my twenty guards share more with Leeroy than I’d like. Not reassuring. My doubts grow when they draw lots to decide who claims ‘the honor’ of entering the tunnel, as all volunteered.

In the end, Defendant claims the reward and joyfully plunges into the muck, confident I’m not mad and she won’t dissolve in the lake of lethal acid mucus. Her dive stirs the surface noticeably, so I avert my gaze and scurry around to ease the Krath’s doubts. They likely suspect mischief already; I’ve lingered too long, especially near their secret passage.

They can’t act without exposing themselves, though—a stance they’ve held, unlikely to shift. Thus, I distance myself from the chute, even climbing back above the lake to rummage in adjacent tunnels for a bit.

Right as I ponder when Defendant will report back, her voice emerges from beneath my carapace.

“I’ve finished investigating.”

“Gah! Wha… how long have you been down there?”

“Oh, ages.”

“Didn’t you go down the chute?”

“One of me did, yes. I ended up melting into the mucus, nasty stuff.”

My heart sinks.

“So it was a trap after all?”

“Oh, no. It’s a path through. It runs for a kilometre and a half, straight down through the lake. However, a thick coating of the mucus runs down the inside walls and pools at the exit. I couldn’t keep holding onto the sides and had to let go, which meant I fell right into the pool at the bottom.”

That… sounds utterly horrific!

“Are you… alright?” I ask hesitantly. “Need some time off?”

Maybe some counseling? Sheesh, what a gruesome end.

“Why?” Defendant says, sounding genuinely confused. “Are we going down or what?”

“Yes,” I sigh. “Sorry for asking.”

Something’s seriously off with these ants; maybe I only now perceive it.

With sludge lining the walls, no way I’m climbing down. Better to deploy a Gravity Well for descent—a tight fit, but manageable if it stays wide. This scale suggests the Krath transported goods up and down, their pets maybe? Or hefty creatures? Hard to imagine other uses.

Anyway, it benefits me nicely.

Time to uncover the slugs’ subterranean schemes.