Months blurred into a rhythm of consumption, replication, and a new, fascinating form of expansion. The frantic battle against the Dominator Fungus felt like a distant memory, though the capabilities gained from its defeat were now the engine of his mastery over the forest floor. His swarm had exploded in numbers, a vast, distributed collective stretching across a significant portion of the forest, the grey Fog of War pushed back dramatically, revealing a complex tapestry of terrain, resources, and life.
He had spent the initial period after gaining the fungal abilities in rigorous, instinct-driven experimentation. Attaching units – [Hitchhike] – became a primary method of exploration. He directed lone Juvenile or Armored units to lie in wait near paths or animal trails, the internal urge to attach a new, compelling directive. The sensation of a unit successfully latching onto a passing creature was a strange jolt, a new node added to his distributed awareness, suddenly moving faster, higher, experiencing the world from a vastly different perspective.
A bird's swift flight… the swaying view from a deer's back… the low rumble of a wolf's growl through the earth…
He learned the nuances of [Parasitic Sustenance]. Initially, he let attached units consume rapidly, gaining quick biomass, but this often weakened or killed the host too fast, ending the connection and limiting long-term spread. A different approach emerged, guided by an instinct for efficiency and a strange, strategic patience. A symbiotic relationship. Attached units learned to consume just enough for slow, steady biomass gain, prioritizing the host's health and vitality. As long as the host lived, the attached units provided a continuous, low-level resource stream and maintained that crucial link to a mobile awareness node.
With only a few units attached, he couldn't exert direct [Cumulative Control] over larger hosts. But he discovered a different form of influence was possible. Through the connection, he could sense the host's state – a deer's nervousness near a perceived threat, a wolf's hunger near a potential meal, a bird's instinct to migrate. More subtly, he could push simple suggestive thoughts or images into their rudimentary minds.
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A mental nudge towards a patch of berries he'd located on his map… a faint, unpleasant 'feeling' associated with a danger zone he knew from his ground units… the comforting 'image' of a safe den site.
He used his vast network to serve his hosts, reinforcing the symbiotic bond. His ground units, spreading across the map, located prime foraging spots, safe resting places, even the trails of potential mates for his attached hosts. This information, processed by his strategic awareness, could be translated into those subtle mental nudges, guiding the hosts to benefit them. A deer might be subtly directed towards a lush meadow, a wolf towards the scent of prey located by a scout unit hours earlier. His hosts thrived, and through them, he expanded, a silent, unseen master benefiting from the vitality he helped maintain.
He had attached units to a variety of creatures: the steady, ground-level perspective of deer and other grazers; the swift, wide-ranging view from birds soaring above the canopy; the predatory focus of wolves and other hunters. This web of symbiotic connections provided him with an unparalleled awareness of the forest, a constantly updated, multi-layered map revealing dangers, resources, and the movements of life across a vast territory. His swarm, now numbering in the thousands, spread both conventionally across the ground and dynamically via his hosts.
Amidst the constant hum of consumption, replication, and the intricate management of his symbiotic network, a new sensation began to register within a few of his older, more developed units – primarily Armored variants that had survived many cycles. It was a deep, internal pull, an instinct towards stillness and enclosure. A biological imperative unlike the drive to consume or replicate. It was a call to transform.
A time for change… Enclose… Restructure… Evolve…
He focused his awareness on one such unit, feeling the powerful, internal shift. The urge was clear: burrow deep, cease all external activity, and undergo a profound metamorphosis. The sensation had a name that surfaced from the hidden depths of his being: Cocoon. A new evolutionary path was not just available; it was actively manifesting within his most resilient forms, signaling the next stage of his growth in this real world. The potential for an Adult form had arrived.
