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309: Settling Down

Author: John_Doever Word Count: 9776 Updated: 2025-06-10 10:49:02

Settling Down

Aldrich sat in a plush swiveling chair with black leather that shone with a polish that sparkled dollar signs. Facing away from a desk, he looked out at a bullet and bombproof glass wall, staring down at Haven from the top of a forty floor view.1

Bulky orange and yellow repair bots dotted the streets, carrying steel beams and vats of reinforced concrete. Smaller bots did repairs, filling in cracks and holes in roads and buildings. Flying drones buzzed about, scanning structural integrity and assessing repair procedures for the land-based bots.

All of the machinery had the logo of a white hammerhead shark's distinctive head against a circle of black emblazoned upon them.

Hammerhead Industries - Seismic's biggest sponsor.

Like muscles and bones knitting back together after injury, the city was healing.

Aldrich nodded in content. A natural reaction, considering he was Haven's Sentinel. Despite the fact that he had been Sentinel for just a week, he still felt proud ownership over it, and seeing it build back stronger tickled a soft spot in him, sort of like how he felt when he saw Chrysa grow.

A parent's pride.

As it just so happened, in spite of Aldrich's dramatic declaration, war had not come. There were no more attacks following the Stranger's attack on the Judicata and there likely would not be for quite some time.

Right after the attack, Aldrich had consulted with Medula and the Death Lord about the Stranger, using Supermind's corpse, still imbued with demonic energy, and Volantis's recorded memories.

Medula had definitively stated that the Stranger was a demon, but, as Volantis pointed out, the Stranger was a demon from a realm other than Elduin. As a result, neither Medula nor the Death Lord knew who exactly the Stranger was.

They had been able to, however, make general assessments about the Stranger.

First, the Stranger was strong. The magnitude of cursed energy it used in attacking Supermind and the Judicata was considerable, making it at the minimum an Archdemon.

Archdemons started out at level 70, and unlike with Anhil and Nilah - the archdemons of the trial quest, the Stranger was very likely fully incarnated, meaning he did not need a host body to operate and therefore at max strength.

Second, the stunt the Stranger pulled on the Judicata was something it could not do over and over again. Medula did not know the specific cursed magic that the Stranger used, but she knew as a member of the same species that it was a form of Possession. One that could target machines and their neural networks both physically and in cyberspace.

Medula had also identified what she called 'mana flicker' in the cursed energy in the possession spell.

These traces indicated that the mana pool fueling the cursed energy was undergoing huge shifts, 'flickering' because of the instability of mass amounts of energy going up or down.

Usually, this meant that the mana pool was draining rapidly.

Unlike Aldrich, who had easy access to full heals and mana restoration with his build and the Nexus, the Stranger was probably on its own to restore mana. Demons generally did not have easy ways to replenish their curse magic, and in Elden World, a viable strategy to beat demons was to let them run out of mana, at which point they were out of juice.

At best, Demons consumed souls to restore mana like a Necromancer, but they were actually less efficient then Necromancers at this. The Stranger, especially at its high level, likely required a mass amount of souls to top up its mana pool to an appreciable level again.

Which meant that the Stranger was not in any position to make an attack for some time. Medula calculated that it would take one month for the Stranger to be able to pull off a mass possession like that.

This was also evidenced by Aldrich's nomad contacts that kept tabs on the Trident civil war.

The Russian Prong had backed down for now, turtling up in specific strongholds or disappearing altogether. And, to confirm the Stranger's involvement, there were reports of bots that nobody could detect joining the fray.

Aldrich had decided to take the Stranger's brief retreat to get settled. He needed to establish himself strongly first before really revving up the gear on going into any conflicts.

That meant making sure Haven was his. And that the United States government did not get in his way.

So far, things were, well, best put - neutral.

The United States still refused to directly acknowledge Aldrich, or rather Thanatos, as a Sentinel as none of their reps voted for Aldrich. A super majority from the other nations carried Thanatos readily into Sentinel status on the global stage, but the United States used their no votes to try and justify their opposition.

That said, the United States could not directly do anything to Aldrich. Because, as circumstance just so happened to decide, he was now allied with Dracul.

A two Sentinel alliance was near unprecedented - Sentinels were usually always highly individualistic, stubborn, powerful entities, and those never got along - but said alliance was deadly enough that the United States was forced to tiptoe around Aldrich.

Granted, the United States cut Haven off from their economy, prohibiting any trade or supply lines to it. However, Haven managed so far with private industries carrying them.

That, and a very comprehensive network of nomads coming to and fro from the city.

Once Aldrich obtained Sentinel status, the nomad chiefs barring Desmond and Z recognized him. Their tribes used Haven as a large base of operations, and soon enough, practically all of the nomads on the East Coast were calling Haven, well, a haven.

Haven afforded them security. Aldrich had set up a defense line of undead summons and variants all along the walls, with the most formidable defense being all the giant sand worms from Aldrich's second trial quest.

But most of all, Haven gave the nomads respect. Most cities, especially tier 2 and 1 cities, considered nomads wasteland pests and forbid them from entry.

Haven had no such restrictions. Granted, there was still law and order, but the rules were generally laxer. People had more freedom to do what they wanted.

This did lead to an explosion of illegal trade in Haven, but Casimir regulated that with an experienced hand.

On the AA-Panopticon side of things, Aldrich was comfortably in the clear for now. They were far too busy to deal with Aldrich, especially when he presented himself as a non-threat that cooperated with humanity.

Panopticon systems were still down as they scrambled to find a way to fend against the Stranger, so the AA was stretched far too thin and wide to make a ruckus about Aldrich.

Variant attacks were still on the rise. Aldrich had helped out here and there when he had time, and he had now farmed up to level 52 and padded his undead army with a wide host of insect type variants that generally populated the area around Haven.

But most of the time, Aldrich was too busy getting briefings and managing the city to fight. This was just temporary, though. Once his position was a bit more stable, he planned on passing the rulership torch to Casimir who was much better suited to this sort of stuff.

"Thinking hard, are we?" said Valera. She had crept up behind Aldrich, surprising him for a brief moment. She put her hands on his shoulders, massaging them.

"I don't eat, sleep, or drink. Might as well think," said Aldrich.

"I do not understand how you do it sometimes. I like spending time with my head cleared in meditation, but you actually like it when your brain is all crammed with thought," said Valera.

"Force of habit," said Aldrich. "How's Chrysa doing?"

"She's fallen head first into that thing you call a 'game'," said Valera, concerned. "She spends so much time in her room here, staring at that screen, punching at the device that lets her move her projections to and fro. I fear it is corrupting her, taking her from her training, rotting her brain."

"You sound exactly like a mom," said Aldrich, remembering similar words pouring into his ears from his own mother. A long time ago.

"Eheheh, do I? I suppose I do have to show you I will be an able wife, no?"

"Hold up now, marriage is way down the line."

"Bah, I do not understand it. Among vampires, when passion boils our blood, we choose our mates in the thrill of the moment."

"And as far as I recall, there's a suspiciously high mortality rate among wedded vampires."

Valera shrugged. "A consequence of passion. It is unpredictable."

Aldrich wondered if something like that was in line for him in the future, especially considering Valera's Berserker abilities. "I want to take my time before going too far. There's still so much to do, so many fights to be had, so many-,"

"I know." Valera smiled and patted Aldrich's shoulder, perhaps a bit wistfully. "I know."

A howling wind blew through the room in spite of the fact that it was completely insulated from the outside.

Valera leered.

Aldrich perked up.

Before Aldrich's desk, visible blue tinted winds gathered into a sphere which then formed into a tall, slender woman. In contrast to Valera, this woman had no hint of muscle on her frame at all - she was all long legs and skinny runway body.

She was wrapped up in a ghostly white dress, and a mass of jet black, wavy hair fell from her head in an untamed waterfall, completely covering her face. She looked like she had jumped right out of a horror movie.

Several eyes grew from her hair, wide open with unblinking red pupils.

"Vexa," said Aldrich, addressing his second Chosen Undead.

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1: Prologue: A Dark World 2: To Be A Hero 3: To Blackwater 4: Blackwater and Bullies 5: Combat Evaluation 6: Frame Perfect 7: Ghost 8: Friends 9: The End...and the Beginning 10: Necromancer 11: First Fight, First Undead 12: The Nexus 13: Hunting 14: A Crucial Hint 15: Catching a Ghost 16: [BONUS] Catching a Ghost II 17: Vengeance 18: Chosen Undead 19: Valera 20: [BONUS] Getting Ready 21: Phantasmal Mask 22: [BONUS] A Pack Problem 23: Raising the Alpha 24: [BONUS] The Geist 25: [BONUS] Geist Hunt 26: The Settlements 27: The Odinsons 28: [BONUS] Gang Wipeout 29: [BONUS] Gang Wipeout (2) 30: Loot 31: [BONUS] Investigation 32: Investigation (2) 33: Ghastly Preparation 34: [Bonus] Trial Quest 1 35: Clearing the Trial Quest 36: [Bonus] Clearing the Trial Quest 2 37: Clearing the Trial Quest 3 38: [Bonus] Secret Boss 39: Secret Boss II 40: Secret Boss III 41: Fler'Gan the Zealot 42: [Bonus] Becoming a Lich 43: The Death Lord 44: [BONUS] Ritual of Eternity 45: Planning 46: [Bonus] Planning 2 47: [Bonus chapter] Variant Nest 48: Clearing the Nest 49: [Bonus chapter] The Bloodspitter 50: Sudden Attack 151: Tag Out 152: [Bonus chapter] Game Over 153: Aftermath 154: Sponsor 155: A Deal 156: Sentinel 157: Hat Trick 158: Corruption 159: Exposing Hat Trick 160: Time's Up 161: [Bonus chapter] One Last Trick 162: Last Stage Planning 163: Superior Halo 164: Standing By Haven 165: Rebuilding 166: S Rank Encounter 167: A Deal 168: Hear Me Out 169: Imprisoned 170: Another Round of Questioning 171: The Colonel 172: Second Deal 173: Company Politics 174: The Unending Thread 175: A Crypt 176: Until Next Time 177: Pale White 178: Volantis 179: Volantis (2) 180: Into the Crypt 181: 22 182: Into the Nexus 183: [Bonus chapter] Into the Nexus 2 184: Complete Overhaul 185: Bors the Giant Blacksmith 186: Fixing Volantis 187: Second and Fourth Deathguard 188: Volantis Restored 189: [Bonus chapter] Worthy 190: Orcish Might 191: [Bonus chapter] A Hard Headed Counter 192: Burning Agony 193: [Bonus chapter] A Worthy Rage 194: Boundary 195: Top of the Necropolis 1 196: [Bonus chapter] Top of the Necropolis 2 197: Diving into the Chrysalis 198: The Depths 199: Warmth 200: Love and Fear 251: Road Trip 252: 'Cops' 253: Diamondback 254: Interrogation 255: Settling Down in Redrock 256: V Correspondence 257: V Correspondence 2 258: Ready to Go 259: Randall's Repairs 260: Resolution 261: Last Dream 262: An Unseen Cold 263: An Unseen Cold 2 264: An Unseen Cold 3 265: Unanswered Questions 266: Emergency 267: Airbird 268: [Bonus chapter] Clint's Job 269: Seraph 270: Cure 271: Expectations and Rewards 272: More Loot 273: Immortal Advice 274: Resolve to Fight 275: Simmering 276: Trial Quest 277: Demons 278: The Grinner 279: [Bonus chapter] Greater Demon 280: Greater Demon 2 281: Greater Demon 3 282: Insight 283: Defense 284: Defense 2 285: Deimos, the Dark Eye 286: Deimos, the Dark Eye 2 287: Power of the Sun 288: Power of the Sun 2 289: Third Trial Quest Rewards 290: [Bonus chapter] Final Round Preparation 291: Final Prep: Necropolis 292: To Take a Tome 293: Night Parade 294: Stranger 295: Familiar Faces 296: Judicata 297: A Stranger's Offer 298: The Hearing Begins 299: [Bonus chapter] The First Vote 300: Second Vote, First Offer 301: [Bonus chapter] Second Vote, Second Offer 302: Sentinel 303: Sentinel Vote...? 304: Attack on the Judicata 305: Rescue 306: Rescue 2 307: [Bonus chapter] Aftermath of the Judicata 308: The End of the Attack 309: Settling Down 310: Vexa's Merits 311: [Bonus chapter] Project Arachnophobia 312: New Laboratory 313: Learning Room 314: [Bonus chapter] Spider Bait 315: Back to the Nexus 316: A Deal with a Demon 317: A Reasonable Understanding 318: The Forest 319: A Trapped Spider 320: Capturing the Spider 321: Mollusk Hunt 322: Mollusk Hunt 2 323: Winding Down? 324: [Bonus chapter] A New Challenger 325: Boss Geist 326: To the Death! 327: Worthy 328: Etal Reversion 329: Execution 330: Boundary 331: The Entity 332: The Entity 2 333: Arcadia 334: Ceasefire 335: [Bonus chapter] Support 336: Lightspeed and Valkyrie 337: The President 338: [Bonus chapter] The President 2 339: The President 3 340: The President 4 341: Spider Mining 342: An Inheritance Issue 343: [Bonus chapter] An Inheritance Issue 2 344: An Inheritance Issue 3 345: Hammerhead Meeting 346: Hammerhead Meeting 2 347: Despair, Ye Mighty 348: A New Party 349: A New Party 2 350: Relationship Progress 101: Art of Battle 102: Incident of a Certain Flight 103: Incident of a Certain Flight 2 104: Incident of a Certain Flight 3 105: Theory of a Soul 106: [Bonus chapter] Meeting Minuteman 107: Twin Wills 108: Into the Bunker 109: Portal Girl 110: The Final Plan 111: Leaving Minuteman 112: To Battle 113: {Holding the Wall} 114: [Bonus chapter] {Culling the Weak} 115: Undead Assemble 116: Camaraderie 117: [Bonus chapter] Formations 118: The Humans Strike Back 119: The Perfect Moment 120: King of the Oceans 121: [Bonus chapter] From Despair, Hope 122: The Legion 123: The Battle Rages 124: A Storm is Coming 125: Spirit Boundaries Activated 126: Bring Down the Thunder 127: [Bonus chapter] Bring Down the Thunder 2 128: Raising Merman 129: Valera's Merits 130: Valera's Merits 2 131: [Bonus chapter] Valera's Merits 3 132: Restoring Seismic 133: The Connector 134: [Bonus chapter]Danger 135: Sudden Attack 136: [Bonus] The Counter 137: The Final Fight 138: Attack, Attack, Attack 139: Beatdown 140: Quest? 141: Contingency 142: All Out 143: Bear Witness 144: [Bonus chapter] {Observation} 145: In the Zone 146: Draconic Might 147: A Bloody End 148: The Voice 149: Survival 150: Seismic 51: [Bonus chapter] The Chrysalis 52: Chrysalis 2 53: Raising the Chrysalis 54: Alchemy 55: {A Meeting to Be} 56: Meeting in the Red Circle 57: [Bonus chapter] Meeting in the Red Circle 2 58: An Experiment 59: An Experiment 2 60: The Final Phase 61: Disaster 62: {Seth Solar} 63: {Seth Solar 2} 64: Calm Before the Emerald Storm 65: [Bonus] {A Certain Report} 66: The Party Begins 67: A Night of Dying 68: Acquiring the Editor Sample 69: [Bonus] {Unending Misery} 70: {One By One} 71: [Bonus] {Volantis, the Tyrant of Bone} 72: {Volantis, the Tyrant of Bone 2} 73: Loot and Summons and More 74: {Red Circle Defense 1} 75: [Bonus] {Red Circle Defense 2} 76: {The Final Act} 77: Dying Sun 78: {The Ocean's Call} 79: {The Ocean's Call 2} 80: The Finale of Vengeance 81: The Finale of Vengeance 2 82: {Dance of Duels} 83: [Bonus chapter] {Dance of Duels 2} 84: Final Duels and Ascension 85: Ascension 2 86: A Farewell 87: The Rise of a Lich 88: Forging a Body 89: Learning Spells 90: [BONUS] Exterminating Pests 91: New Mount 92: Return of the Lich 93: Connection 94: Sky Fight 95: [Bonus chapter] Corpse Nova 96: Ruler of the Storm 97: Holding Out 98: [Bonus chapter] Minuteman 99: Resolve 100: Knightly Intervention 201: Boundary Overcome 202: Boundary Details 203: Resting 204: Love, Past and Present 205: [Bonus chapter] Love, Past and Present 2 206: Love, Past and Present 3 207: Love, Past and Present 4 208: Ambition and Training 209: Learning 210: Mana Flow 211: The Chrysalis's Talents 212: Shaping 213: Competition 214: Returning to the Crypt 215: Nomads 216: The Nomad Chiefs 217: Negotiating with the Chiefs 218: Negotiating with the Chiefs 2 219: Negotiating with the Chiefs 3 220: Agreement 221: Blackwater Students 222: Stick and Carrot 223: Technos 224: Okeanos's Quest 225: Maze 226: Invincible Formation 227: First Trial Quest Revisited 228: Flower Fight 229: Training Payoff and Meeting with Z 230: Meeting with Z (2) 231: Blackwater Allegiance 232: [Bonus chapter] Eileen's Conversation 233: Stay and Fight 234: Megaloptera 235: Megaloptera 2 236: Megaloptera 3 237: [Bonus chapter] Clint, the Unbreakable 238: Infiltration 239: Desmond 240: V-Parasite 241: Feast 242: Feast 2 243: Feast 3 244: Feast 4 245: Feast 5 246: In Sync 247: Explore Time 248: [Bonus chapter] Samples 249: Instinct 250: Name 351: The Soulmonger 352: A Sudden Intrusion 353: Mel Morales 354: Omega 355: Three Minds, Three Directives 356: Machines and Demons 357: Mysteries of Birth 358: Scrapheart 359: In the Future 360: In the Future (2) 361: Plans 362: [Bonus chapter] Plans (2) 363: Balar, the Eyed 364: Feather's Meeting 365: Raid Plans 366: Clint's Decision 367: Assassination 368: Healing Procedure 369: Preparing for the AA 370: The Journal 371: The Journal 2 372: Heist Planning 1 373: Heist Planning 2 374: Journal Entries 1 375: Journal Entries 2 376: Journal Entries 3 377: Panopticon Cure 378: Panopticon Cure 2 379: [Bonus chapter] Panopticon Cure 3 380: Panopticon Cure 4 381: Appraisal 1 382: [Bonus chapter] Appraisal 2 383: Appraisal 3 384: Appraisal 4 385: Dragon Strategy 1 386: Dragon Strategy 2 387: Dragon Strategy 3 388: Heist Intrusion 389: Heist Intrusion 2 390: Heist Intrusion 3 391: The Dinner Incident 1 392: The Dinner Incident 2 393: [Bonus chapter] The Dinner Incident 3 394: The Dinner Incident 4 395: The Dinner Incident 5 396: Breaking In 397: [Bonus chapter] {Shuten Doji} 398: Happiness 399: {The Search} 400: {Usurper} 401: {Aftermath} 402: {Oni } 403: Happiness 2 404: {To the Vaults} 405: {Subject 6A } 406: {Break In} 407: {Twin} 408: A Dream 409: A Dream 2 410: A Dream 3 411: A Dream 4 412: Dream's End 1 413: Dream's End 2 414: Raid's End 1 415: Raid's End 2 416: Raid's End 3 417: Raid's End 4 418: Meteor Labs Demolition 419: The Return 420: Down to Earth 421: Lab's End 422: Unsealed 423: Cycle of Life and Death 424: Restored 425: Swords 426: The Monk 427: Split 428: Sheathed 429: Blackwater Plans
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