Chapter 26 – I Didn’t Agree To This

“What just happened?”

“Not now, Veron. Please, a minute.”

He said something in reply, but Kairon put it out of his mind.

That was exhilarating! And now, instead of multiple scripts, I attained a sigil.

In his mind, the star had melded away. In its place was a small string of characters. A string that fit together snugly like a puzzle. When he tried touching it, a weight descended upon his mind. The sequence came alight, vibrant blue light flashing to life.

Gold -1

Gold -1

Gold -1

Gold -1

No! Stop, stop!

Immediately he looked away, letting the sigil go dormant. Its characters returned to void black.

Okay. For now, no experimenting with the new sigil. Just touching the thing cost him four gold in less than a second. How would he actually use it? And what did it really do?

Questions he would explore later. Right now, notifications were waiting.

Two options this time. Does this mean the third ring has three? Either way…

The city needed growth more than anything. And to do that, they required additional worker imps. More claws to gather timber, stone, and food. A brood district was a must. No question was in Kairon’s mind about that.

But the second option…

He pondered what it should be. Already having a wrath district with two open building slots left, another wasn’t needed. And forge was out of the question.

Kairon saw three viable choices. A second brood district, void, or pact.

A double brood district strategy could be an interesting path. It would offer him the chance to build more spawning grounds and spark an all-out population boom.

But… My population is already at 27/50. And the one camp is already at capacity. Meaning all new imps would be sleeping in the dirt…

The math just didn’t work out. He’d waste too many slots on camps. No. Two brood districts was not an option. What Kairon needed was a way to amplify his new workforce.

Pact and void both have the potential to do that.

Void unlocked ritual circles and focused on research. And if his guess was correct, it would likely use the essences he found. If that leads to ways to unlock and improve new infrastructure and production options… A void district could be incredibly valuable. And the earlier he got that, the sooner he could consider specializing his city or adjusting their future growth strategy.

On the other hand, pact was a wildcard. It unlocked a whispering hall, but seemed to focus on diplomacy, agreements, and intelligence. While the information side interested him, the real draw was pacts. Could he form contracts with other demons or entities?

That has all kinds of potential…

The notification in front of him seemed to be growing impatient. Frankly, Kairon was too.

Mind made up, he made his choices. He needed guaranteed growth. Not a gamble.

The last city project he’d gained was a wall. It had been a one-time deal.

Ashroot. Repeatable and a potential food source! That was very promising.

Around the tower, the new ring’s surface was slowly tinted. The void half was purple, and the brood green.

“Well! That’s a nice surprise! Three pacts this time!”

“What? Pacts? Kairon?” asked Veron.

“Sorry. A moment more, please. Nearly done here. I’m just deciding on our next ally.”

He tried focusing on each option, but no new information surfaced. The city lord only had the trio of titles.

The first choice clearly is inspired by the brood district, while the second is from void. But the third… Maybe a mix of the two?

Shrugging, Kairon thought about what would actually make the biggest difference.

While growth is the goal, my biggest weakness is a lack of knowledge. Particularly when it comes to the demonic plane. So Sythara seems like the obvious decision.

And, from another perspective, a fellow mind seeking knowledge might have less friction than Vorathrex.

A familiar pressure snared his heart in a vice-like grip. This time, he didn’t resist as a chunk of something was taken. And, just like last time, he felt less than before. As if a piece of vitality was sliced from his body and swept into the wind.

He made a pained groan, dragging himself against the tower wall and leaning back.

“I hope that gets easier. It was quite… unpleasant.” Kairon closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, letting his body acclimate.

And is it just my imagination, or did that chunk feel a good measure larger than last time? The ring did say the power level was two…

The city lord wasn’t fond of paying a cost he didn’t understand. Especially when it was only going to be larger and larger as his domain grew. What would happen if there wasn’t enough of whatever it was the pact took? Would he simply die? Would it fail?

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Cracking his eyelids, Kairon peered down, inspecting his frozen webbed foot. It sat uselessly, each scale now a snow white contrast to the rest of his onyx body.

“Tsk, tsk. Such a greedy child,” came a new voice. It was silky and smooth, flowing like warm honey. But it had an undercurrent of something hidden beneath.

Veron yelped, gawking at the shrouded figure standing in the middle of the tower.

“Ah! You must be Sythara,” said Kairon.

“Indeed.”

Midday sun spilled into the tower, but where golden light traced stone, ropes of ethereal darkness intertwined. The newly summoned demoness had tendrils of black billowing out, creating a mess of smoggy shadow around her body. All Kairon could truly discern were two sapphire blue eyes that glinted from within a hood of night, with bits of pale tattooed skin underneath.

It was hard to tell on the ground, but the demon swore he saw scripts moving along her body.

“Just who the hell is she?” hissed Veron.

“Our new ally. I told you this.”

In a louder voice, he put on a weathered smile. “Forgive the poor welcome, but getting you here took some doing,” sighed Kairon.

“Did it? Creating a pact offering is costly, but that is altogether something different,” she said, pointedly looking at his damaged foot. Her gaze traced over the black scales, stopping for a second time when it reached the melted claw on the opposite limb.

She gave a short laugh. “My, my. It’s a wonder you’ve got any appendages left.”

The city lord just yawned and held up one arm, also showing her the charred claw that never healed.

Sythara’s smirk melded away.

Before she could ask, Kairon spoke up. “For another time. We have much to discuss, and I fear my friend can’t take much more of this. Veron, why don’t you see to the imps? Perhaps something to eat and a drink may do you good.”

“Yeah… I just may do that.” With that, he stumbled outside. Watching him go, Kairon frowned.

Since when did Veron’s arms have black veins? That was decidedly not how humans should look.

“Oh? Did I scare him away? My apologies,” cooed Sythara.

Kairon cocked his head. There was a connection still. One that…

“Unless I’m mistaken, I believe our pact isn’t formed,” he muttered.

“Ohhh? You caught that, child?”

Unnaturally smooth steps brought the demon within arm’s reach of Kairon. She paused, cloaked arms crossing in front of her chest.

Meanwhile, Kairon was flicking through his interface.

There it is.

A blue floating parchment appeared in the air, and judging by the demoness’s eyes she saw it too.