Chapter 58: Don’t play with demons
With our business there taken care of, we left the blacksmith and headed back home. I took advantage of the idle time to strike up a conversation about her friend.
“It was my understanding that elves and dwarves weren’t particularly friendly towards each other. You two on the other hand…”
“Well, of course we have different traditions and view things differently, but so what? We’ve known each other since we were kids. I was only 50 back then, and she was barely 30.”
“Hold on… you what now? How old are you again?”
“A one hundred-year-old elf would be considered a teenager by human standards. When we reach 50 years, we look like a kid of roughly the same age Limy seems to be. Make that 20 for dwarves.”
“Wow…”
“We’ve stuck together since we met. We grew up together, became adventurers together and pretty much traveled the world without ever settling down in one place. Believe it or not, we spent a couple hundred years adventuring together.“
“Over two hundred years…”
“We came to Cerbalon about 10 years ago. While my plan was to go on with the adventuring life, Imliar decided to settle down and become a blacksmith, just like her grandfather did many years ago. She was finding it tougher to keep up with me every passing year. Age is a bit of a bitch, you know. There is a huge different between the speed with which elves and dwarves age after all, so the gap between us just keeps widening.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Elves have a much greater lifespan. The two hundred years we spent would be the equivalent of roughly half the life expectancy of a dwarf. On the other hand, I’m still fairly young.“
“Can you put that in human terms?”
“Let’s see… She would be about fifty and I’d be on my early twenties.”
“So she’s pretty much twice your age.”
“Yeah, that is precisely the issue. Since we age at different rates, it’s hard to establish lasting relationships. We had our fair share of issues during the years. At one point she had already become an adult while I was still an immature kid. Still, we stuck together through thick and thin.”
“I see.”
‘Two hundred years adventuring huh? Wait, hold on a minute. Shouldn’t her level be much higher then? Well, whatever, maybe we have a different understanding of what “adventuring” entails.’
I was still early in the day, so I wasn’t keen on staying home for the entire day. However, Aeldrya gave me one of those looks that seemed to say: “you better stay here and behave, or I will grind you to dust.”
“I’m gonna go take care of a couple easy quests before it gets dark. If you are up to something with that dungeon of yours, you better tell me about it right now, or else…”
“Well, I’m kind of stuck for the next 7-ish hours. To tell you the truth, I don’t have any big plans for after that either.“
“Master, aren’t you going to create any more monsters?”
“More monsters you say?”
Now that she mentioned it, dungeons generally have a great number of monsters lurking inside. However…
“Nah, I’m good. I have enough with just you, why would I bother creating more of them?”
To be honest, I created the dungeon purely out of curiosity. I just wanted to check it out and see how it worked, I really had no intention to actually create a proper dungeon. Maybe someday I would, but not for the time being.
“This time, I wholeheartedly agree with the idea, don’t create anything more!” Aeldrya admitted
“Master, I do think it would be a good idea for you to create some more monsters.”
“Why? Oh! Do you happen to want a sibling of your own? Well, since you asked… what do you have in mind?”
“Another slime?”
“Thank you, but no thank you. One slime is quite enough. Alright, let’s brainstorm for a bit… what about a lamia?”
“A lamia isn’t really a monster. It is a reptilian, and by the way, I have no interest in having a reptilian living in my basement,”
“A centaur then?”
“Not a monster either.”
“Alright, I got this. What about a beautiful mermaid?”
“Still not a monster. Besides, how do you intend for a mermaid to live outside the ocean?”
“You are quite picky… alright, let’s see what you can come up with.”
“That’s an easy one. Do not create any monsters at all!”
“That’s no fun. What do you think of… an Arachne!”
“Those are endomorphs. And in a sense, they are much worse than actual monsters…”
“Oh, really? I didn't see that one coming. Soooo…. A what about a harpy? They are on the smaller side, so it could be like a humanoid parrot of sorts.”
“Now you are just messing with me, aren’t you? Weren’t you paying attention when I explained to you about Lyudnens?”
“You can’t expect me to memorize every subdivision of the Lyudnens… Oh I got one, this one is a monster for sure: a Dullahan!”
“That’s an undead!”
“You are such a buzzkill. Well, now that I think about it, I can only create monsters that I have previously faced…”
I hadn’t exactly fought a great variety of monsters up until now. A pig faced spider, a vulture with balls on its neck, a nasty bug with a myriad of legs… Nope, not happening.
“Looks like my only options would be to fill the basement with centipedes…”
“That’s a relief… except for the part of the centipedes… Well whatever, feel free to create whatever you want as long as it remains inside the dungeon. If I see anything nasty roaming around in here, I’m gonna annihilate it first, and then you.”
“Fair enough…”
Aeldrya went upstairs to her room to gear up, and once she was ready she headed out to complete a handful of quests. But before leaving, she gave me a stern look and issued a serious threat.
“And do not, under any circumstances, attempt to summon a demon. Do I make myself clear? I’m off, see you at dusk.”
“Have a good one!”
And with that, she was on her way. Limy and I remained alone in the living room. I spent a couple of outs trying to figure out what I should be doing next, until I finally made up my mind.
“Limy, let’s head for the basement.”
“What will you do there, master?”
“Need you ask? We will of course summon a demon. I can’t wait to see what they look like!”
“Understood, master.”
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone