Ragnar Vhagar, Demon King of a newly and awkwardly merged territory, sat on his spiky obsidian throne and surveyed the absolute mess that was now his life.
One moment, he was the master of a grim, functional stone dungeon. The next, a hostile corporate takeover, except he was the one doing the taking over, had smashed his fortress together with a university library.
The result was an architectural nightmare. Long, gloomy stone corridors would abruptly open into cozy reading nooks with comfortable-looking chairs. Ominous purple magic crystals in the ceiling cast their light on cheerful shelves of children's picture books. It was deeply, profoundly weird.
His minions were just as confused. Smashy the Orc was standing in a corner, repeatedly and gently poking a large, leather-bound encyclopedia with one huge finger, seemingly baffled by its refusal to either fight back or break. Gary the kobold had discovered the poetry section and was sniffing a book of sonnets with an expression of intense, scholarly focus.
"This is a disaster," Ragnar announced to the room. He pulled up his phone, his one constant comfort in this chaotic new world. His gamer instincts took over. After any big event, you check your loot and your stats.
A wave of pure, unadulterated greed washed over him as he saw the numbers.
[Domain Unification Complete!]
[New True Core Acquired: The Seed of Knowledge (F-Rank)]
[Your Maximum Creation Points (CP) have increased by +100!]
[Current Max CP: 300/300]
[CP Debt: 100. Natural CP Regeneration is Halted.]
[Time Remaining to Repay Debt: 29 Days]
His CP cap was now 300. The cost of creating Chloe had left him with a debt, but the merger had given him the exact amount he needed to cover it, once he started earning CP again. It was a massive boost to his potential power. But his eyes narrowed on the new, second Domain. It was a liability. A huge, sprawling, and completely undefended territory three sectors away.
"Right. We need to talk strategy," Ragnar said, looking at his two most intelligent subordinates. Chloe, his Dark Elf Bloodkin, stood silently by his throne, a graceful shadow of deadly potential. And floating nervously near a shelf of romance novels was Pixia, the tiny pixie librarian and former Demon King.
"Pixia," Ragnar began, steepling his long, pale fingers. "Give me the data. What are the pros and cons of keeping your old library?"
Pixia adjusted her large glasses, which were in constant danger of falling off her tiny face.
"My Lord, the advantages are purely statistical. Retaining the second Domain provides a permanent +100 bonus to your maximum CP cap and a secondary point of influence on the world map.
However, it is currently undefended. It is a massive drain on resources and a very tempting target for other Demon Kings.
From a purely defensive standpoint, abandoning it to consolidate our forces here would be the most logical short-term strategy."
Ragnar nodded. It was exactly what he had been thinking. "One fortress is easier to defend than two. We cut our losses, abandon the library, and build this place into a single, impenetrable meat grinder. It's the smart play."
"If I may, my Lord?" Chloe spoke for the first time, her voice as crisp and cool as winter air. "Abandoning territory feels… like a retreat."
"It's a tactical repositioning," Ragnar corrected her, sounding like a CEO explaining layoffs. "We can't afford to split our forces. Not with Isabelle Thorne and her 'Liberators' probably trying to figure out why they suddenly got booted to the login screen."
"There is one other factor, my Lord," Pixia added quietly. "A Domain that is fully abandoned, with its True Core removed, can be 'Liberated' by the human faction. Once liberated, the land can never again be used to create a Domain. It is a permanent loss of territory for all of Chaos."
Ragnar paused his pacing. He stared at the tiny pixie. "It's lost forever? You can't ever get it back?"
"That is my understanding of the System's rules, my Lord. The world is a chessboard. The humans are not just taking our pieces; they are removing squares from the board itself."
A cold, grim understanding settled over Ragnar. He had been thinking like a player in a single match. But this was a campaign. A long war. And in a long war, territory was everything. Every square inch of land he gave up was one less inch he could use to build his empire.
"This changes things," he said slowly. He started pacing again, his mind racing. "I've been looking at this all wrong. We're not just surviving; we're competing. This is the screening phase. The early game of a planet-sized battle royale.
All the weak Demon Kings, the ones who build their armies out of paper cranes, are getting wiped out. The strong are absorbing the weak. Soon, it'll just be a few dozen of us left, ruling over huge territories. If I start giving up land now, I'll be on the back foot for the rest of the game. I'll be a minor power, waiting to be swallowed by a bigger fish."
He stopped and looked at his two advisors, a new, predatory light in his vampiric eyes.
"We're not abandoning anything. We are keeping the library. We will defend both fronts. We will expand. We will be the ones who swallow the others."
Pixia looked slightly terrified but also deeply impressed. Chloe simply nodded, a sharp, approving smile touching her lips. "Your command is my will, my Lord. We will make them choke on every inch they try to take."
"Good," Ragnar said. But his mind was already moving to the next, even bigger problem. "But defending a territory this size, and preparing for future conquests, is going to require an army. A huge one. And my CP regeneration is frozen until I pay off my debt.
We need a new source of minions. We need to become self-sufficient."
He looked at Pixia, whose large eyes widened behind her glasses as she realized what he was implying. "My Lord… are you suggesting… a residential area?"
"I'm not just suggesting it," Ragnar said with a wicked, fanged grin. "I'm making it our number one priority. This isn't just a dungeon anymore. It's going to be a city. A city of monsters. And I am going to be its king."
He felt a sudden rush of energy and purpose. The fear was still there, sitting like a rock in his stomach, but something bigger was taking over. A bold new idea. A dream that actually meant something.
But for the first time, it felt like a real possibility.