“Good going, boss!” Zorrack exclaimed, pumping his fist excitedly. Viressa and Cedric nodded their approval.

  [What would you like to name your territory?]

  What did the system call me earlier? “Sovereign of the Hollow Flame”? A little much, don’t you think?

  [It’s a good name,] Joshua said.

  A stern believer in democracy, I turned to my companions. “Any suggestions?”

  Viressa spoke first, “Hellmarch!”

  “The Bloodfields!” Zorrack shouted with glee.

  “Mount Doom?” Cedric said quietly.

  I looked at him, shocked. “Have you seen Lord of the Rings?”

  “No…?” The small demon replied.

  “It’s good, but I want to avoid copyright…” I started. Then, it hit me.

  [Territory Claimed: Mount Boom]

  [It’s not even a fucking mountain!] Joshua raged.

  “A powerful name!” Zorrack exclaimed.

  [I’m surrounded by idiots.]

  Ah, so that’s how I get Dominion Powers.

  I sat in deliberation for a moment, thinking of who would make the best mayor. Cedric was a little too reserved, probably not the best for leading a group of people. Zorrack was a little too… aggressive.

  “Viressa, I would like to make you mayor of Mount Boom,” I said, and the demon curtsied politely.

  “I’d be honored!”

  “How bout me!” Zorrack shouted.

  “You… you’ll be next up in line.” The larger demon looked satisfied, crossing his arms with acceptance.

  [Mayor appointed: Viressa the lesser demon]

  Has a ring to it. Now, how am I gonna create a house?

  “Lucivar, what’s that over there?” Cedric suddenly said, pointing a finger. I followed its point, and saw a small cave-like structure against the side of a nearby hill.

  The Warg's den?

  “Let’s check it out!” I called, and the three demons followed behind me as we made our way towards the cave. As we neared, faint cries could be heard from inside.

  “It’s a baby!” Viressa said, holding her hands up to her face in excitement. Indeed, it was a baby Warg, barely larger than a small sack of potatoes. It glanced up curiously at the four of us, and its expression slowly morphed into fear.

  Then, it spoke.

  “Who are you!?” It cried out, its voice gruff yet also frightened.

  “You can talk?” I questioned.

  I guess it’s not that outlandish for creatures to be able to talk…

  [Agreed, kill him.] Joshua said, echoing the system.

  But my companions were completely enamored by the Warg. Viressa held the animal up to her head, nuzzling him with her cheek. Zorrack turned away with crossed arms, but out of the corner of his eye, he was peeking at the tiny creature. Cedric held out two hands, patiently waiting his turn to hold the Warg.

  “Let go of me, demons!” The creature called out, but his tail betrayed the Warg, wagging fervently behind him.

  “We just killed your entire family,” I said suddenly, gauging the animal's reaction.

  His tail continued to wag. “Oh, those guys? They were mean to me anyway.”

  Heartless.

  “You have a name?” I questioned. The small dog shook its head.

  “They never bothered naming me.”

  Without being prompted, Zorrack immediately shouted a suggestion. “Fangtooth!”

  “Shredder,” said Viressa.

  “Caleb?” offered Cedric.

  As much as I wanted to go with Cedric’s suggestion yet again, I felt that would be showing favoritism, and you can’t show favoritism to your companions.

  I decided to throw Zorrack a bone. “Fangtooth is cool, but how about we shorten it to just ‘Fang’?”

  “Thank you, boss!” Zorrack replied, beaming with happiness.

  [Fang has accepted your friend request!]

  [Recruit Five Loyal Followers (4/5)]

  I gingerly scooped Fang from Viressa’s hands, to her dismay, and plopped him into Zorrack’s.

  “Boss?”

  “You named him, so you’ll take care of him from now on,” I said. Zorrack nodded and secretly began to pet the small creature's head.

  I looked around the den. Some sticks were pushed up against the side of one wall, and its interior was made entirely of stone. Relatively spacious, enough so that even if the Alpha Warg had entered, we would still all have enough room leftover to move around.

  Does this count as a house?

  [No!]

  “Alright, you guys,” I gestured to Zorrack, Fang, and Viressa, “are responsible for building a house. Cedric and I are gonna go explore the area for a bit.”

  Cedric looked surprised that I chose him, and Zorrack and Viressa immediately set out, looking for whatever materials demons think a house is made of.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Maybe I should’ve given more explicit instructions… It'll be fine.

  “C’mon, Cedric,” I said, and the small demon obediently followed behind me. We made our way in the opposite direction as the other three, who were walking towards a forest on our left. Our side had a small hill, and as we crested its peak, I noticed something far off in the distance. A massive ravine.

  I wonder how big the territory is?

  [Would you like to see territory borders?]

  Yes.

  Instantly, a huge blue square appeared around us, extending about two or three football fields in every direction from the Wolf’s den, which was near the center of the square. We walked to the edge, and a message popped up.

  [Warning: exiting your territory will render all Dominion Powers useless, proceed?]

  I stepped out of the barrier, and it faded from existence. Together with Cedric, we made our way towards the ravine. We were quite far from Mount Boom, now a speck in the distance. The ravine was deep, at least a hundred feet to the bottom. Its interior walls were built from mossy stone, and the bottom was covered in grass and boulders dotting the landscape. A small river snaked along the bottom, leading off into the distance.

  There might be something down there.

  “You happen to have any flying skills?” I questioned the young Demon beside me. He shook his head in response.

  [Demonic Claws]

  My nails sharpened, and I gingerly lowered myself down the edge of the ravine. I stabbed a hand into the rock, making sure it would hold.

  “Climb on my back!” I shouted, and Cedric cautiously climbed on top of me, holding my shoulders tightly. We slowly made our way down, jumping the last few feet onto the ravine floor. Almost at once, I noticed a small edge of the ravine wall jutting out, creating a natural outcropping. Beneath the ledge of stone, I spotted something.

  An egg. It was gray with a white stripe down the center and had a scaly texture.

  Some kind of lizard, maybe?

  [You should eat it.]

  I do wonder how it would taste…

  Cedric and I nervously crept towards the egg, wondering what creature had laid it.

  Our unspoken question was answered by a deafening roar.

  “What the heck was that!” Cedric shouted. At the same time, I saw the shadow of a massive, winged creature crossing across the ravine.

  Seriously!? A dragon? What are the odds?

  [You’re so fucked.] Joshua cackled evilly, as if praying for my demise.

  I looked up and saw it. A massive, obsidian-scaled dragon with molten eyes, spiraling downward like a hawk. Its wings kicked up gusts that howled between the ravine walls. Unlike the previous monsters, no panel of information appeared, but I didn’t have time to wonder why.

  “Run,” I whispered urgently. Cedric didn’t argue. We bolted forward, ducking beneath the outcropping. I grabbed the egg without thinking. It was warm, radiating heat like a furnace, but not quite hot enough to burn my hand.

  [Dragon egg +1]

  [Good going, you broke into its home and stole its child.]

  The dragon landed, the ground shaking beneath it. It raised its snout, sniffing at the air. Its tail swept, crashing into the ravine walls and sending rock and debris flying everywhere.

  “Shit, it knows,” I whispered, still running along with Cedric at my side.

  “Over there!” The young demon shouted, pointing towards a small crevice in the side of the rock face, barely wide enough to fit a single person. I let him crawl in first, following hurriedly afterwards. A pillar of fire lit the air where we just were, sending its heat washing through the narrow passageway and charring stone.

  We crawled through the tight passage, and suddenly it opened up into a massive room. It looked like an old, forgotten ruin, half buried by stone. Carvings lined the walls, only barely legible, but in a language I did not understand.

  [Location Discovered: The Sanctum of the Justice Aspect]

  [Exp +250]

  I momentarily ignored the level-up screen, instead surveying my surroundings for any dangers.

  “What the hell is an Aspect?” I wondered aloud, but Cedric only shrugged in response. I stared at the half-destroyed images along the walls of the room, some showing a man in black and gold armour, holding a blade of light, fighting what looked like an army of demons.

  He probably wouldn’t like us very much.

  On the other end of the ruin, I spotted a staircase leading upwards. I waved Cedric forward. As we made our way up, I thought about what to do with my new level up.

  On one hand, the last one I had used had given me a very… interesting reward, but perhaps that luckiness was the only thing stopping me from not being a dragon's dinner. I was still slightly traumatized from the first time I had picked a new skill, so I decided to see what upgrading a skill would do.

  The issue is, which skill should I upgrade?

  I took a look at my current skills. I had typically used Demonic Claws most often, but Abyssal Rift and Command Lesser Demon seemed interesting as well..

  [Upgrade. Me.]

  I’m good.

  Abyssal Rift had too long of a cooldown, and while Command Lesser Demon was useful, I wouldn’t be able to go back to the demon's realm for another three days, so it seemed impractical to upgrade it now.

  [Demonic Claws have evolved into Bloodrazor Claws!]

  Pretty useful!

  [Just upgrade me you dimwit!]

  I ignored Joshua’s complaints as Cedric and I reached the top of the stairs. A large stone trapdoor stood at the top, and I pushed it open, squinting at the sudden light. The sun was getting low on the horizon, casting vibrant streaks of orange and red across the sky. We climbed out, and the trapdoor magically shut behind us. I tested the ground, trying to see if I could open it again, but to no avail. It seemed the only way to enter would be to go back into the dragon’s territory.

  Maybe not for a while.

  We made our way back to Mount Boom, carrying the dragon egg gingerly in my arms. For some reason, I was unable to put it in my inventory, so I was forced to hold it.

  “Did you get any new skills or anything from that?” I asked my small demon companion. He nodded, then held out an arm, probably bringing up his profile.

  “I got an item called Ring of Shadows from my level-up. It says I can turn invisible as long as I still have mana.”

  “You’ve definitely seen Lord of the Rings.”

  He stared back at me blankly. With a sigh, I began to speak again, “Why don’t you give it a try?”

  Cedric procured the small black ring and closed his eyes, focusing. Suddenly, he disappeared completely from view. After a minute or so, he reappeared, gasping for breath.

  “You alright?” I said worriedly, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he coughed, “it uses a lot of mana, I probably wouldn’t be able to sustain it for very long.”

  “It’s alright, I’m sure it will come in handy,” I reassured the young demon.

  “How about the dragon egg you stole?” Cedric questioned. I faced down, and an information panel popped up.

  “It doesn’t really say anything…” I replied.

  We finally crossed back into the boundary of Mount Boom and made our way towards the Warg’s den. As we approached, I spotted the “house” Zorrack, Fang, and Viressa were working on.

  “What the heck is that supposed to be?” Cedric gasped, barely able to contain his laugh. Several logs were haphazardly strewn together by lengths of fiber, probably from some plant. Zorrack was responsible for maneuvering the logs, while Viressa tried in vain to direct him where to place them. Fang ran around aimlessly in the field of grass like a puppy who had escaped from its owners.

  I need to find an architect.

  Zorrack and Viressa reddened as I approached, clearly embarrassed by their creation.

  I don’t want them to feel bad…

  “This looks great!” I lied, a fake smile beaming across my face. I moved forward, lying on the grass beneath the sad triangle of nearly falling logs.

  [Create your first house (1/1)]

  [They’re just handing this shit out!] Joshua screamed in my head.

  “Good work!” I shouted from beneath the log teepee. “Since you guys made it, I’ll let you all decide who gets the privilege of sleeping here tonight.” I slipped out from the “house” carefully and made my way towards the Warg den, where I would actually get some protection from the cold of the night. Zorrack and Viressa stared at each other, then began shouting.

  “You’re the one who was telling me what to do! I did my job perfectly!” Zorrack raged.

  “Perfectly?! If you think that was perfect, I hope you never do anything badly, or we might all die!” Viressa replied, matching the larger demon's tone.

  “You’re sleeping here!”

  “No, you!”

  “Why don’t we just make Fang sleep here? He didn’t even do anything!” Zorrack accused the small Warg. Fang stared back, offended.

  “I don’t even have hands! What do you want me to do?”

  Cedric and I looked at each other, then walked over to the den, snickering. After a while, Viressa and Fang joined us, the female demon smiling proudly. I could still hear Zorrack whining outside.

  “‘I’m the mayor, so you have to do what I say,’” The demon mocked in a high-pitched voice.

  “Good night, everyone,” I said, and we all took different spots in the den and closed our eyes. We drifted off into sleep, peacefully.

  That is, until I was woken by an earth-shattering scream.

  It was rather high-pitched, but I knew it could’ve only belonged to one person.

  Zorrack.