Chrysalis: Fated Antagonist

Chrysalis #7

by RinoZ

As the Colony continues to develop and thrive, there's too much to do!

Territory to seize, nests to build, Champions to train! Anthony will have his mandibles full trying to teach his new protege Brilliant while trying to keep a war from breaking out with the ka'armodo.

However, when the Mother Tree comes looking for his help against a particular breed of monster, there is no way he can refuse.

After all, no ant can resist a fight against their ancient nemesis... the Termite!

Book 7 of the hit monster-evolution LitRPG series with nearly 30 Million views on Royal Road. Grab your copy today!

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Magic

652 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2025

Reviews

[Aubria L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great installment! Anthony is getting more OP
And I love it! Looking forward to the next installment in this enjoyable series! For the colony!

[Aiden Tabrah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is like the 7th book. I am enjoying it and I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. My gripe will always be WHY is the protagonist a child and written like it? The writing can be crude and not super enjoyable to read, but this book shines in its worldbuilding and little blurbs before every chapter - my favorite was this travelling adventurer who writes a newspaper about their travels and seeks out the colony to learn more.

The fighting gets dull too and ends up being like "I hit them like this and then Tiny hit them like that and Crinis did this and then Invidia exploded and then Sarah roared as she clawed the things" please can we try something different? These are my gripes, but I love the characters, the changes Anthony brings to the world, and how the world reacts to the colony. I just wish it was better written

[Crystal Diem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing series!

I’ve been endlessly impressed with the series. I know it can feel repetitive, but it’s a progressions story. Progression presumes a paradigm where the MC makes incremental progress. That means all the narrative is going to be built on a narrow set of systemic language and concepts. Anthony is a great character. The story is tight and moves well. This isn’t a book about everything. It’s a book about ant adventures in a dungeon. If you keep your expectations there you’ll be blown away.

[Pípila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it thouroughly.

Lots of short chapters worked better for me and absolutely loved the side characters ones, the emisary chapters, the Tolly ones were what i kept reading for, the raised in the shadows ones were really good, even the ones dedicated to the Legion were good and I don't care much for the Legion other than Morrelia.

All in all, amazing book, ones of the best ones so far for sure.

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love ❤ this series soooooooo much and this book is just as fantastical as the first one. As I expected it to be! 'Cause Anthony the Hive, his pets, and friends are all back and even more awesome than ever as they're continually leveling! And BrilliAnt (in the books the a's aren't capitalized but it's there! Just like Advant, Smithant, Vibrant.) Anyway Brilliant Anthony's studant, the brainiac has reached tier 5, and no longer needs Anthony's support! And poor Leeroy she's soooooooo sad 😆! Read the book and find out what's up with her! And Sarah she's still working on controlling her berserker rage, to embrace it, and not fear it! Demon's are what they are some good and some bad! But the Mother Tree is an ally worth fighting for! And as the Legion of human warriors they're currently keeping out of the Hives way...
So yeah you'll absodamnlutely need to grab the book to keep up-to-date on everyone!

Here's a few quotes for yah:

"Instead, it was as if she clung to the back of a bucking bull, except that the bull was also her."

"Eight hours later, Beyn awoke in a comfortable bed with plush cushions and a stuffed toy tucked under his arm."

"You invite people on suicide missions, just to be friendly? Actually, it doesn’t matter. I want to help."

[Per Erik Løff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am happy the story got better after the disappointed second half of last book (where it was a repeat of Vibrant and just stupendous actions to drive story forward, probably an attempt to be funny (running around in demon city, screaming narrator).

However a complaint regarding the ending. when you just miss to -cleanup- the enemies you been fighting, maybe finish that in the book rather than suddenly (for no reason, would have made sense in the last book, an origin story regarding legion and the tree.. when these forces had no interaction in this book. would have made more sense doing the lizard/tree story, however why not finish off the termites instead of those useless chapter.

(I also think the antmancer classes could either be skipped or atleast made interesting. When was a riding character interesting in Litrpg? if there ever have been one? usually they run faster than horses etc... )

i have higher hopes for the next book than I had for this because of the (for me) the "dumbed down" ending.

(dumbed down is when the story is reliable on the characters to do something incredible stupid to move forward)

[Jordan Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is best listened to via audiobook. With that being said, by the Gods is this series too damn good - granted you must enjoy puns and background humor to get the most out of it. Even the main voice used by Jeff Hayes is a pun, since ants must be British because they colonize.

I do understand that this series is not for everyone, especially when the book format does have text-based sound effects. I implore you to listen to the audiobook, because it is truly a unique and endearing story.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun

Antony and family continue their exploration of the world dungeon as they are driven ever deeper due to increasing mana needs. They conquer the third stratum or at least several cities and are called on to fight an enemy on the fourth stratum. Once there Antony finds it nigh impossible to return as the compulsion to descend is too strong. His family defeats the enemies they find on both stratums and end with newly conquered territory

Still a fun series. Great narrator. Excellent pacing and humor continues. Please enjoy

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anticipation cantinues

Anthony and the colony continue to grow and spread. If you've read this far, you know exactly what to expect and this book delivers. Humor. Puns. Complex characters forced to confront ingrained social structures. Monster fights. A world on the cusp of change and calamity. Slay ants.

[Tom Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ants go marching ton by ton

The ants are massing for war. Really wars. Fighting on all sides The Colony comes face to face with their ancestral enemies. The cursed termites.
The latest fun book in a fun series. One of the better monster as MC/hero series. Additionally, the final confrontation with the worm. Tom out

[Darrin Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than 6 but still no 3 or 4. I didn't hate the worm and didn't care. I felt like so many missed opportunities. Like the city leader demon. More Brilliant. Stuff just seems to drag out too long. It still had many parts that made me smile or laugh out loud. Looking forward to the next.

[Amalga Mat1on · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was this book.

I've enjoyed this series since book one, even though it was admittedly a slow start. I've thoroughly enjoyed the growth of the skills, the characters, the world-building, and development. Finishing this book, it's cemented that this series is, and will likely stay, one of the best LitRPGs I've ever read. The quirkyness, long live the immortals and nameless, and what the story grows to be is nothing short of amazing.

[Thomas Kung · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel more than most in the series. It feels like RinoZ has found a style that works well for the series, the story continues to be interesting, and I like a lot of the little side stories going on as well, although I often wish they were longer. The LitRGP elements are also back and we get Anthony's status at least a couple of times, even though we don't see the pets in this book.

[William Newbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man he still didn’t get tier 7 after the termites!

I would think he should have gotten tier 7 and the book should have ended with him wiping out the termites. It was still a long book and it was interesting with intense fight scenes. Just wish an ending of the current crisis. He is also giving giving a lot of background for other characters.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book continues the antventure into the third and even fourth stratums of the dungeon. It develops Sarah's character more, expands the world building, and introduces an ancient enemy: termites! Evil!!!

[Robert Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story continues to be exceptional!

Book 8 already... wow! Normally, I'm getting a little bored by this point. But, Anthony's story continues to be fresh and interesting, if a bit dark at the end here. No spoilers but read it yourself. It's worth your time!

[Aaron Eichler]

Guess who's calling

The colony has moved into a new level and an old enemy is attacking an ally because someone made them. It was also interesting that Anthony caught some unwanted attention. The best part was that their new champion caught the traitor.

[Brett Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continues to Delight

At first, I wasn't even sure I wanted to read this series. I'm glad I gave it a chance as it delivers over and over a great story with solid writing.

[Mike Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Stuff

This story of a dude who loved his ant farm becoming a monster ant of a dungeon was an absolutely fascinating entertaining read that I really enjoyed reading.

[IU_read · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just don’t know how i feel about Jim and sarah.
anthony also become weirder as well….
4.5 stars

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

for the colony

[Joe Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable with great humour and cleverness. The action is interesting and fresh. Also, its great that RinoZ included a summary at the start!

[Vulpes · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

[Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5☆

[Wesley Schwind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continued to include Colony, which is good. Also broadened lore & worldbuilding.

[David Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review for book 1.

[Travis Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bigger this world and story gets, the better! 👍🏽👍🏽