Eventual Issues

Chapter 121

With a technically new and exciting issue on my hands, I started looking up information after awkwardly excusing myself from the future halfling settlement. There was an absolute brick of data on the subject of demons, but it was all the hearsay variety. I skipped to the factual description quickly. From there, I started taking down notes about the key points.

Demon, as a term, encompasses fifty species of infernal origin. Each is distinct and tends toward chaos and neutrality, with only a few individuals embracing law. Evil is expected but not a mandated feature of the species. The majority are neutral in this respect.

Traditionally the term Demon Lord denotes individuals who have risen to power among their kind and achieved the highest leadership position. Those who manage to bring two or more species under their control would become known as Demon Kings. Currently, the system fills Demon Lord positions, and they combat each other to become King.

I had to cull through quite a lot of information to get those main points together. The bit about them originating from an alternate plane was a topic that threatened to eat my brain if I let it. I hadn't thought too hard about planar cosmology despite accepting there were different realities which people like me were pulled from—thoughts for another moment.

The encyclopedia didn't give me any idea where said demons lived in relation to me nor their likely reaction to a dungeon. A less than ideal turn of events, but after a while, I just sighed and gave up. If they were hostile, the system would probably trigger a raid should they trespass into my domain.

While the information indicated they were strong, that didn't mean they'd be a problem for me. On the contrary, they were another source of points unless I was missing something. The alignments might prove an issue, but I was hopeful since I wasn't listed as evil anymore.

Mulling the pros and cons, I decided to leave things as they were but add a few security measures. I already had a quick block choke point for the forest side entrance. I made a point of reinforcing it and mapping out a new layout option.

Next, the blue entry layer would need to be divided rather than continuous. I'd read that demons were naturally stronger than other species, even without class levels. So a separate teleporter and stair lobby would be waiting for them.

The basics would be the same, but from the green layers down, the difficulty would rise much more quickly. Hardmode, as it were.

All of this was easy to draw but would take time and testing to pull off. Still, since I was aware of a possible threat, it was best to plan for it. Pessimism was no one's friend.

While I was working on the potential demon issue, Mirabella dropped in. Caught up in what I was doing, I quite literally hovered into her. I wondered if that was a feature of her prestige class of Lore Keeper or just a natural talent of library lovers. She was absurdly quiet, even for a halfling.

"Oh, hey," I said, surprised to see her. The text had said the halflings liked my modified plan for their community. Outside of some aesthetic issues, anyway.

"You seem calmer now, Mistress," Mirabella offered with a grin.

"Oh, good," I said, trying for an even tone. Mirabella had scared the crap out of me earlier, along with Hetcha, but it hadn't seemed intentional on Hetcha's part. The jury was still out on Mirabella.

"I came to propose we do the next round of layout tests at night. You mentioned before that colors shift despite being able to see perfectly in the dark. So while it's not ideal for choosing paint, it should be fine for testing layouts," Mirabella offered.

"I was that bad, huh?" I asked. Mirabella bowed her head once in reply. I winced, but it wasn't unfair. I could be a bit reactive at times, but outside of when I'd thought another Dungeon Master appeared out of the blue when I got my appearance editing options, I usually wasn't that dramatic.

"I don't know why I got so anxious like that… We'll see how it goes. It might get better if I spend more time topside, and I wouldn't want it to get worse from giving in," I said after a moment. Managing it when I needed to go up was one thing. Avoiding it because it was uncomfortable was another. I didn't like the idea of eventually being trapped underground by fear, no matter how much control I had over the environment.

"As you say," Mirabella said.

"So, thinking about running a library or bookstore topside or happier down here?" I asked. Mirabella was one of the newer skeletons since I hadn't focused on Bard prestige classes until much later, unlike the fighter options.

"I'm considering all options, but… I prefer it in the crypts. I don't dislike my illusion, but I don't have much interest in mortal affairs anymore. At least outside of acquiring new academic information. Perhaps that will change, but I think I'll be content only occasionally going above to do research," Mirabella replied after a few beats of thought.

"Fair. I don't know that it needs anything formal management-wise, but if you like it enough or don't want to do raids, I can get a new Lore Keeper. One just for raids, and you can stick to the library," I offered. I still had positions to fill out, but I wasn't in a hurry for the moment. I doubted the demons would be coming in mixed parties with Halflings.

"Thank you. I'll consider that as well," Mirabella said and gave a little bow. She left skipping, which mixed oddly with her relative formality when she spoke. Like a little kid trying to make sure all the grown-ups knew they wouldn't steal cookies. It would clearly have to be the work of some less mature and intelligent child, no matter how many crumbs were around their mouth.

Later, I got another set of texts when the mortal girls were done with their inspection. It seemed they approved of the setup in general. However, there was some confusion about where I expected all the wealthy merchants and lesser nobles to inhabit the homes I'd set would come from.

"Fuck," I muttered even as I laughed. It wasn't the first time my lack of local common sense had been brought to my attention. I'd just forgotten about it since it hadn't mattered before. I hadn't been on any kind of a clock.

Mina was the only one who didn't think I'd gone overboard, but that wasn't a comfort under the circumstances. The girl from full dive VR future Korea's perception of normal was not the best of benchmarks.

I assured Hetcha and Mira I'd try and make things a little less glaringly strange before the valley got any new guests. No sense in spooking people before they had a chance to settle in after all.