Chrysalis

I don't know what’s up with these demons, but they are seriously feeling themselves at the moment. Every now and again, we’ll be out on the plains and some tier five Stab Demon will come sprinting at me from out of nowhere, leap ten metres in the air and come crashing down like a spear from the heavens… only to bounce off my carapace without me noticing.

Where is your sense of self preservation, idiot?! Life is precious, a miracle of mana and coincidence, don’t waste it like this. Alas, monstrous life is as cheap as it gets on the third, and the price is currently crashing through the floor. In fact, I’d go further. It crashed through the floor, through the basement and burrowed deep into the earth where it found a portal to a new reality, the EvenDeeperVerse, where it continues to plunge to new, mind-bending levels of depth.

The spawn rate for demon larvae is getting so out of control, they’re starting to scrape the bottom of my carapace when I walk over them. Usually this happens when one of the vicious little stabbers jumps too high, not from being stacked on top of each other!

The vastly increased number of larvae of course means a vastly increased number of higher tier demons roaming the plains. They hunt each other, or, if feeling particularly full of themselves, have a go at passing Mythic Monsters.

But something else weird is happening as well. Something I haven’t seen before.

[Over there, Master. Another group.]

[Where?]

[Tiny is pointing at them.]

[Ah, so he is.]

Hmmm.

[It’s still odd, no matter how many times I see it.]

[It is unusual, Master.]

These are, at some level,

eyeball blinks

issss unnaturalssss,] he says with

growing up. I feel a tap on my carapace and notice Tiny has sidled up to me and poked

is it? What

to

can see his ears twitching

then, what do you think

with the question, he snaps his attention to me, a serious expression plastered on his face. He narrows his eyes and nods slowly,

[Odd,] he declares.

a

I really

thumb jutting proudly into the air, he nods again, pats me on the back and steps to the side. The air coming off him is insufferably smug, as if

I can’t bring myself to

no idea what’s going on in the pea-seed brain

plains. They’re solitary hunters, preying on each other until they reach tier six,

It’s not natural.

this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this lately either. Ever since we broke off the assault on that demon horde,

are

me to

meet up with others who’ve banded together, just like they have, in order to do whatever the Ancient goonball wants them to do… will they

[... Most likely, Master.]

of the blue? Like, if enough of them get together, that’s just a brand new horde that hasn’t come into contact with any of