As soon as Bululu opened the door, what met Ai Yue’s eyes was a platinum-blonde, twin-tailed young girl lying on the floor in a “star” shape, rolling around. “I’m going to cause a scene” was practically written all over her face.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Ai Yue looked at Bululu in confusion, and the latter only let out a helpless sigh.
“Sigh, the truth is that a maid came to report an emergency not long ago. She originally wanted to find Master Ai Yue, but after learning that Master Ai Yue was in a meeting, she asked me to help convey the message. Lady Kurimu happened to be present and heard the details as well.”
“An emergency? What kind of matter needs to be conveyed orally?”
Generally speaking, most matters would be reported to Ai Yue via Communication Magic or documents. After all, if something truly happened, it would only be categorized as either urgent or non-urgent, and both could be handled by those two methods.
There was essentially only one reason to use oral transmission — the matter was extremely urgent and required a certain level of secrecy to avoid the Communication Magic being intercepted.
One had to realize that the world of the game *Unreal Garden* was extremely rich in freedom and elements. It was not impossible for someone to exist, or for an item to be used, that could intercept and decrypt information from Communication Magic.
By contrast, while oral transmission also carried the risk of “walls having ears” or being overheard via listening-type skills, there were many more ways to counter those. Moreover, in the eyes of other Demon Race members, Ai Yue was an invincible existence. There were very few people who could eavesdrop on her conversations without being discovered; in fact, they might not exist at all.
Of course, Ai Yue was currently completely incapable of such feats. She was merely relying on her prestige to serve as a deterrent.
“Well… a Dungeon Instance has recently appeared on the outskirts of the Demon Realm Capital.”
Like most games, the term “Dungeon Instance” here covered various things, such as dungeons, illusory realms, and extra-dimensional spaces. In short, it was a general term for places that were different from the surrounding environment, contained many enemies, or were dangerous zones. Because such places usually had magic power deposits or items and equipment dropped by many intruders, there were naturally quite a few treasures, making them very worth exploring.
As for why the original residents of this world also directly referred to them as Dungeon Instances, it was mainly due to the habits left behind by players during development testing and the Closed Beta. In addition, there were technical and cultural influences as well.
It could be said that while players enjoyed their second lives in this world, their presence was also subtly influencing it.
“Dungeon Instances… I remember they are divided into two types: naturally occurring and artificially constructed, right? Which one does this new Dungeon Instance belong to?”
“It is a ruin type. It seems that because of the recent abnormalities in the world, the flow of magic power has changed, connecting it to the surface.”
“I see…”
It was probably because of the Open Beta, right? Although Dungeon Instances would naturally form and pop up during gameplay, the current period was the start of the Open Beta. All Players were working hard to find monsters to grind levels and explore. The gradual natural generation speed could not keep up with those hardcore Players, so the generation rate must have been adjusted.
However, normally, if more dungeons were to be added, they should be opened in the Human Realm or other planes where more Players existed, right? Although Players could choose the Demon Race as their character race, they generally did not respawn in the Demon Realm.
After all, although this game world was divided into different planes like the Demon Realm, the Human Realm, and the Spirit Realm, the differences were basically just in the environment. Overall, they were quite similar, and most places could be reached easily. That meant that even the Human Realm could have members of the Dragon Race, Beastman Race, or even the Demon Race; at most, the survival pressure would be higher.
However, the Demon Realm was different. Because the current Final Boss of the game was set to be in the Demon Realm, the game naturally would not let Players respawn right at the boss’s doorstep. Furthermore, the average combat power of the people in the Demon Realm was generally higher. Wouldn’t a new Player being born directly in such a place just be asking for trouble?
Therefore, there should not be many Players in the Demon Realm at the moment, and Dungeon Instances should not be spawning in such a place.
‘No, could it be because of me?’
Ai Yue almost forgot. Although she had become the game’s Final Boss, she was essentially also a Player. The fact that she could see the quest panels and other Information Panels in addition to her stat panel was proof.
As for the settings and logout buttons… naturally, there were none.
However, since she also counted as a Player, it was not strange for a Dungeon Instance to spawn nearby.
“…Wait, a Dungeon Instance near the Demon Realm Capital?”
Ai Yue suddenly realized something and immediately turned her head to look at Bululu.
“Let me ask, what are the characteristics of that Dungeon Instance?”
“Currently, no one has dared to investigate deeply without authorization. All we know is that the entrance is composed of various metallic structures, looking like…”
“Some kind of machine.”
Before Bululu could finish, Ai Yue cut her off with the answer.
“Ah, that’s exactly it! As expected of Master Ai Yue!”
Ai Yue did not respond to Bululu’s flattery; she simply fell into deep thought.
If she hadn’t guessed wrong, that was a special Dungeon Instance she had designed. The name seemed to be —
*Mmm…*
Suddenly, a sound like a kitten’s low growl reached Ai Yue’s ears.
“Don’t ignore me!”
Ever since they entered the room, Ai Yue and Bululu had not looked at her once, making Kurimu puff out her cheeks in anger. Under the influence of her fury, the magic power showed faint signs of running wild.
“I’m not ignoring you, so calm down.”
Sensing that something was wrong, Ai Yue quickly threw the thoughts in her mind to the back of her head.
If she let Kurimu continue like this, not only this room, but the entire Demon King’s Castle and even the capital might be blown into the sky.
“You were ignoring me…”
“Uh…”
“Waaaah! You guys are bullying me!”
Kurimu lay back down on the floor and shouted again, behaving exactly like a child throwing a tantrum.
Seeing this situation, Ai Yue couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead.
She was someone with social anxiety, and her social experience was close to zero. In the end, they wanted someone like her to take care of a child?
No, wait. Because of game development, she seemed to have focused on watching some works about raising daughters. As for why she watched them, don’t ask. The point was that she had learned the content within them.
Recalling that content, Ai Yue took a deep breath in her heart.
“Fine, fine. Don’t be like this.”
Ai Yue squatted down and gently placed her hand on Kurimu’s head.
Unlike her usual cold aura and expression, Ai Yue now showed a gentle look.
That sweet smile, which seemed capable of dismantling any internal defenses, left both Kurimu and Bululu staring blankly in place.
“Kurimu is a good girl, and good girls don’t act unreasonably, right? So don’t be angry anymore. Let’s play together.”
In an instant, they both recalled the most instinctive and primitive call for a child.
“…Mom…”