Chrysalis

Why are the monsters of the third strata called demons? This is a question frequently asked of me by those unfamiliar with that particular strata, or less well read on monsters in general. It's a general misconception that it was the civilised races of Pangera that designated the monsters of the third strata as 'demons', as a response to the particularly intelligent cruelty inherent in the more highly evolved monsters encountered there. This simply isn't so. It was, in fact, the System itself that assigned the name of demon to those monsters, probably long before any surface being encountered and slew one.

As to why this may be the case? Ah, here we come to the crux of the matter. This question is the cause of much debate and speculation in the academic community even to this day, and despite what many of my colleagues believe, I don't think it will be possible to arrive at a conclusive answer.

Some posit the theory that the System itself contains a sense of 'good' and 'evil', and use the language associated with various Skills, Classes and monsters to support this idea. The argument has some merit, I admit. Various healing classes, or those with a predilection to endeavours that one can argue are for the immediate benefit of society, do in fact receive affirming and positive language in their descriptions as given by the System. Other classes that are… less savoury in nature, such as torturer, executioner or thief, are far less complimentary in the text, though it must be noted that neither does the language of the System strictly condemn such classes.

So it is by this argument that the most 'evil' of all monsters have been denoted by the System as demons, as they are the most deserving of this title. Others argue that this concept is inherently flawed, as all monsters from the Dungeon are, in essence, highly motivated killers. The less intelligent monsters may pose less of a threat than their smarter… colleagues… but the motivations of both are similar: kill, eat and grow stronger.

It's only the natives of the third strata, to my knowledge, that seem to enjoy what they do, even go out of their way to inflict pain, fear or terror in their victims. There have been numerous witnesses to testify that the demons will act like this even when preying on each other. And each demon will attempt to indulge itself according to their nature as described by their species. Wrath demons engage in horrific displays of anger and rage against those who they see have wronged them, Greed demons will go to absurd lengths to collect and accumulate that which they desire whilst delighting in the pain inflicted, Envy demons are known to strip everything from their foes, reducing them to literally nothing before dealing the final blow.

Why do they act this way? Why have they been named and designed to be this way by the System? In my humble opinion, there are none who can say for certain.

• Excerpt from Lecture Series "On the nature of Demons" by teacher Sooka of the Tempest Alliance.

enough to take it out of anyone, even a tier six, as it turns out. We did actually try to bury ourselves into a wall and hide from the wave for a

being so persistent! Leave us alone,

managed to get a tiny rest by digging further in and forcing the monsters to work harder to get to us, but it wasn't nearly enough to recharge the batteries. In truth, we should have turned around a long time ago, but I can feel that we're getting closer to the third strata with every step and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't super interested in taking a peek. This is the new frontier! The next leg of the Colony's conquest of the Dungeon! What will the terrain be like? What sort of tunnels, what sort of mana, are we going to find? The sense of adventure is welling up within me and I

must recommend against this course of action,” I

glimpse of the third strata? Not to mention the benefit to

demons into the second strata beneath the Colony the pressure on all of the checkpoints above will diminish

that you remain alive," comes back the reply, "going

you lot helped out more," I

helping more than you think. We've done as much as

must be getting a hell of a lot of stealth levels

"… yes."

what they've been up to. Their thoughts and desires, their Will, has been flowing into the Vestibule, being enhanced by the Nave, and giving me a window into their activities. What they want, what they do and how they do it, aren't really mysteries to me anymore,

across the ceiling where the rest of them are hiding, "I know you've been working hard to level up. A bit more of a push and you'll reach

six, my group will have reached a much higher level of power, making us a mobile fortress that the Colony can fling at

forward again!" I declare. "We aren't going home until I catch a glimpse of the third strata. If

at the ones who commissioned you in the first place. Having reaffirmed my desire to push on, the group girds themselves and continues to press onward into the teeth of the endless flood of monsters. The deeper we go, the more necessary it becomes for the bodyguards to get involved, working in groups to knock monsters off balance, put damage on targets from range with coordinated acid barrages, or use magic to thin out the weaker opponents. It makes a noticeable difference and my

first thing I notice is the heat. The irrepressible cold of the shadow sea gives way ever so slightly, the faintest hint of warmth brushing against my carapace. Thank goodness! The temperature was getting so low that my legs were on the