well you could probably check around the dungeon and see how everyone is handling the new additions. I mean we did just basically double the size of the dungeon recently so it might not be a bad idea to see how everyone is handling the changes.

Might be some people who were moved who liked their old position better, could be some don't feel like their part of the dungeon is getting enough attention or possibly too much attention. Things like that.

>>1059580
This is actually a pretty good idea in general. Most large organizations have an HR department to handle employee satisfaction surveys and such, and we probably have enough employees that one could be useful.

See if you can work with the other constructs and/or Alex to work out a survey for the others. Open to anyone who has the sentience to fill one it. Not sure how many slimes meet that level, but I won’t make any rash judgements. Some starting questions:
>Are you happy with the state of the dungeon? Scale of 1 to 10.
>Are you happy in your current position? Scale of 1 to 10.
>Would you prefer to grow or remain in your current position?
>If you would like to grow, how would you prefer to grow? Training classes? Additional runes (type specified if relevant)? Change in location/duties?
>How would you rate your work environment? Scale of 1 to 10.
>How would you rate management? Scale of 1-10.
>Are there any employees you wish to give a shout-out for?
>What is your favorite food? This response is optional, but we will keep this in mind for future party planning.
>Would you like this survey to be anonymous or have your name on it?

The problem with your approach here is that you aren’t testing your solutions before you apply them! You have to find the most optimal solution before applying it. Surely you can use just a tiny bit more runes to create a copy of Mary you can test health plans on. What would be a good time for that? Fragile? Cloth? Soul?

>>1059642
This is why Mary doesn't trust us to be on anyone else's head. Quit it.

>>1059404
Can you get Mary's phone? If so, then you have en emergency option by asking her mother for advice.

>>1059649
this is why mary doesnt trust us with others D:

>>1059672
Yeah. So far, I don't think she liked the Soup Slime, but she'll probably let it slide as an attempt to help. If we call her parents or make a Mary slime or anything else of the sort, tho? Yeah, I don't see this happening ever again.

>>1059580
>>1059594
That said, this she'll probably be happy about, so I suggest we do so. And asking Alex for advice on how to deal with the whole family thing is also a good idea.

1/2 Demonologist 2023/03/28(Tue)21:00 No. 1059757 ID: 08229c
File 168006241546.png - (142.91KB , 800x600 , 38.png )

I don't think we should make more demons... I don't want to stress out the Dungeon Master anymore. A Mary demon would be... Very... Very interesting to do...

But I have to resist the urge. The very strong urge.

There is work to be done.

First, she finds a place for the Soup Slime outside of providing Mary with soup. Instead she is going to be running a stand in the dungeon proper or work in the tavern in the hamlet. Whichever the adventuring party has access to.

Next she goes to see Alex. The woman is in casual clothing and seems a bit surprised to see the Demonologist. She puts down a book she was reading.

"Demonologist? Is something wrong?"

The construct hands over a piece of paper with questions on it.

"I was wondering if you could fill this out? Mary is resting right now and I'm doing some work on her behalf."

"Oh, I was wondering why things were so quiet. I was going to tell her to get some rest myself.. She was looking a bit pale."

"Indeed. You don't have to fill that out immediately but the sooner the better. Also, I have a more personal question."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Her parents are coming by tomorrow. Is there anything we can do to prepare for that?"

2/2 Demonologist 2023/03/28(Tue)21:13 No. 1059758 ID: 08229c
File 168006318892.png - (140.44KB , 800x600 , 39.png )

"Ah, well, I may not be the best person to ask."

"Why is that?"

"Well, between you and I, my parents abandoned me when I was younger. They went off to fight 'the strongest monster' and I never saw them since... So... Yeah... Not many good memories about parents to relate too... Sorry..."

"Oh. My apologies."

"No, it's fine. I'm over it now. I'll have this paperwork done soon."

"Thank you. And here," She hands her more of the papers, "If you could deliver this to the others like the Constructs and some of the more sentient demons I'd appreciate it."

"Of course."

Hmm... Who do I ask for about parent stuff?

Ask the yum co. rep, she's a parent!

>>1059758
Isabelle should have at least SOME memories of her parents before the horrible Village Incident. She probably had to take care of her own parents. Why not ask her?

>>1059758
Try Novem?
Either her or Isabelle.

Or, maybe you could ask the Mary demon...

>>1059758
Wow, everyone had a terrible childhood here huh?
Without asking the adventurers, I can only think of asking the other guildmembers, granted thats a loooong shot.
Our bets bet at this point is: HOPE AND PRAY

>>1059758
Curi is the best mom. Barring that, well to be honest no set of parents, let alone they and their kids' relationship are the same. It'll be fine regardless.

Also, c'mon. Think of it. Mary demons, several of them just for you. Do the work then needs to be done, then enjoy yourself. If we were REALLY not to be listened to, Mary wouldn't have lent us out.

So we, as we share the authority with Mary, command you to once done with your work to treat yourself. Do something nice for Demonologist. Think of it as us rewarding you for your hard work.

Do any of your fellow constructs have parent-relevant memories or is that locked off?

All I know about proper parent talk is to prepare tea and snacks.

>>1059758
Have Chef prepare a nice Luncheon and afternoon High Tea for the impending visit

>>1059765
One time my dad jumped off the back of our boat and got his ass nipped by a parrot fish that was hanging out in the shade by the rudder. It was funny.

>>1059758
Maybe just think about what you’d want to see if you had a daughter who stopped calling for a while.

Mary is the dungeon mom. Just ask them what they would do for her

Speaking of 'the strongest monster,'that reminds me, were you informed of what that thing in the basement was this whole time? If not, prepare yourself. It's a primordial demon! Cool, huh?

>>1059758

You should talk to Izzy, and make sure that she's been getting everything she needs. Ask her if there's anything she would like and how she feels about meeting Mary's parents.

As for the parents themselves, it honestly doesn't take much. They're coming here to see Mary, and so long as she is present and in good health, they'll likely leave satisfied. The biggest hurdle to communication is going to be the awkwardness of Mary not having talked with them in ages, but there's little that can be done for that other than having some planned diversions into shared activities that can afford Mary some breaks (ie. the spa, snacks, meetings with the staff/demons, and maybe going out shopping with Izzy).

>>1059758
General “moms” we know
>Curi
>Slime Matron

General kids with parents we know
>Isabelle (though hers are dead)
>Lucia (she has trouble calling Mary anything but “mom” at least)

Possible randos to ask
>The DM guild
>Red Widow (we’d probably take the opposite of her advice)
>The recent adventurers (assuming we can contact them)
>The YUM rep (drop that we have a collab project with the first DM, that’d keep her on the line)


Activities to break the ice would be smart since Mary gets awkward when we bring up her parents. Setting up “So You Think You Can Dance” or similar challenges would be smart as Mary could compete in them with her parents without any dungeon creature worrying about hurting her. I’d leave planning those activities to anyone willing to embarrass Mary though, the awkwardness may cause anyone else to falter partway through. Curi or Mirelle seem appropriate.

Maybe… maybe we even set up a little meet-and-greet area for the parents on our own. Where we can intercept them before they get to Mary. It’d let them get a feel for everyone here without Mary’s presence influencing their words. Plus we could let Mary sleep in a bit longer.

>>1059821
Yes, strong agree!
We abmush her parents and let all the slimes and constructs and other demons know how much they appreciate Marry and love her to bits before marry is even awake from her overwork coma!

The best person to go about Mary's parents is Mary, and she's not available right now.

We shouldn't do anything that Mary can't take back when she wakes up.

>>1059869
The annoying part is that Mary has always been tight-lipped when her parents are brought up. It feels like every answer we get has to be dragged out of her.

I figure we do some relatively safe things and toss in stuff that may be embarrassing but ultimately worth a laugh after all is said and done. A construct asking questions about what to do with parent’s visiting feels reasonable given how far outside their expertise that is. The Mary slime proposition and setting up dungeon games… those are in the “funny” camp.

Even the Mary slime is practical on reflection, can you imagine how effective a dungeon raiding party would be with an auditor-class that can appraise items mid-run for value and audit an opponent’s weapons? Calculator would have field day putting several such slimes to work in investing. We could even start a bank catering to DMs and really show Drachma Bank what for!

And yeah, Mary could buy into the plan first but we overwork her enough with our brilliant ideas. Let someone else have them for once.

Demonologist 2023/03/29(Wed)20:15 No. 1059871 ID: 08229c
File 168014615673.png - (163.82KB , 800x600 , 40.png )

>Do any of your fellow constructs have parent-relevant memories or is that locked off?

If I think really hard I can sort of remember something. But not really, no. If I could help more like this I would.

>Isabelle should have at least SOME memories of her parents before the horrible Village Incident. She probably had to take care of her own parents. Why not ask her?

I would rather not involve the little one in any matters involving her parents. I -am- self aware enough to know I'm not the best at dealing with social issues. So, I'll just not.

However...

>You should talk to Izzy, and make sure that she's been getting everything she needs. Ask her if there's anything she would like and how she feels about meeting Mary's parents.

Yes, this is a good idea I think. Mostly just to make sure she's got everything she needs.

Not that she has been neglected but there may be things she wants that she doesn't bring up to the Dungeon Master.

Demonologist goes to look for Izzy. The child is playing with the other slimes while Colt watches over them all. The older slime nods to Demonologist as she enters and steps off to the side.

"Hey, Isabelle?"

The child looks up from her play and smiles.

"Hey, Deemo."

I can't believe Dungeoneer made that catch on...

"Hi. I was wondering if you'd be willing to answer a few questions on this paper here?"

She hands her a sheet similar to one she had passed Alex. This one asks her what she likes, wants, needs, etc.

She reads it and looks mostly confused by it.

"Ah, it simply asks if there are things you feel are lacking that the Dungeon Master has not provided."

"Auntie Mary?" She thinks for a good moment, "No, I'm okay."

"Oh. Are you certain? Is there nothing you'd like?"

"Hmmmm... Brownies." She says, resolute in her choice.

"Brownies? Very well. Oh, uhm... The crown had mentioned you might want more clothes? Is that a thing you'd desire?"

"Sure." She says, simply.

It is a simple matter for the string and cloth slimes to fashion her some clothing.

>Maybe… maybe we even set up a little meet-and-greet area for the parents on our own. Where we can intercept them before they get to Mary. It’d let them get a feel for everyone here without Mary’s presence influencing their words. Plus we could let Mary sleep in a bit longer.

Yes, I think this will work. We can stop guessing and get some solid answers.

This is a good ide-

>Speaking of 'the strongest monster,'that reminds me, were you informed of what that thing in the basement was this whole time? If not, prepare yourself. It's a primordial demon! Cool, huh?

=Data Unlocked: Primordial Demon
Track: 16c3
Established Thoughts from Parallel 5
Minor Deviation: 0.00004% (Acceptable)=

A... A Primordial..?

I... I see...

Well, it would be negligent of me if I didn't check on it, right? Now that I know this.

>>1059871
>should check on the basement<
PLEASE DONT DO SOEMTHING DUMB AND DIE

>>1059871
D-did Deemo just get horny for Jeffery.....

Mary's sick, remember! And trusting you to run things! Wait until she's back on her feet!

>>1059871
I’m guessing that little blurb is Demonologist’s data unlock, followed by her “reaction” triggered by the system, followed by how many other constructs have gone down that “track”, and her deviation from the baseline of the rest.

Sooooo yeah, not a lot of Demonologists get to have this reaction, but all of them are expected to behave in this way.

>>1059871
You can check from the console, right?

Can you ask the original you what your parents were like? Er, her parents?
It would be negligent of you to be destroyed in a manner that leaves the crown damaged or irretrievable. Why don't you review past logs where adventurers encountered Jeffrey, while locking yourself in a room with a cozy fireplace and a Mary daki.

>>1059871
Go, do it. Evaluate the primordial in the basement.

>>1059871
Wait a sec no-

>>1059879
Yeah good point.
Since we've got control of the room now we should be able to view it remotely like any other part of the dungeon right?

Come to think of it, doesn't that give us access to that treasury thing the speedrunner looted that one time too?
It'd be nice news for Mary when she recovers if we found out there was some form of more dungeon resources to play with.

>>1059871
It will kill you if you enter its room. Even the First Dungeon Master died instantly!
It's fine to observe from a distance though, if you wanna do that.

>>1059871

It KO'd the First DM without any apparent effort after the First Demonologist specifically warned her not to mess with the thing. DO NOT.

"Auntie Mary"? Cute.
"Primordial Demon"? Not cute. DNI. DNT. DNR. DO... what >>1059879 suggests and observe from a location that is outside of its room.

>>1059878
It could mean that, but I think it's more likely that the deviation is her deviation either from the track or the parallel. Probably the latter, based on context.

I have some other speculation, but the most important is that we might be causing her thoughts to deviate from the parallel.

>>1059871
Go check on the Primordial Demon, but have Artificer construct an external body so you can experience its majesty without risk of head explosion.

>>1059912
I read it the same way basically. Track is the thought process, parallels are other copies that ran the same track in the past. But I would assume some degree of deviation is normal, especially in such a small sample size and when we already know some constructs inherit different personality traits even within the same class. We shouldn’t worry about causing her to deviate too much.

Yes, I realize I’m tempting fate there. I’m okay with being wrong and it turns out we’re a corruptive force on the very fabric of dungeons. It’d give First DM some “excitement” to deal with.

>>1059871
I hesitate to even say this, but if you're dead set on going there physically and ignoring all of us yelling "don't do it, it's certain death"... then the only thing you can do that can result in you staying alive for 30 seconds is to bring Ruth with you.

>>1059921
She’ll die too. The bat may be indestructible due to how she wields it, but it doesn’t mean much against multi-pronged or AoE attacks.

She might be able to hurt it with a baseball if she hits one in from outside the room. Could be too shocked to hit her back before the door gets shut. That doesn’t really help Demonologist though.

Suggestion 2023/03/30(Thu)16:42 No. 1059932 ID: cecad0
File 168021976646.png - (73.58KB , 800x600 , Larry.png )

>>1059929
Maybe we boost Ruth's INT score first or put another rune in her, then show her the video of Larry the Peasant's trowel run. I think I remember that Ruth's bat is both enhanced by adamantine and is considered a physics object, so the Trowel Run strategy might be possible if she learns how to parry...

>>1059932
That's actually literally what she's doing right now with the bat. And boosting her int or giving her another rune would backfire, cause then she'd stop being able to do that anymore. This was all confirmed back in thread 8.5.

>>1059933
Larry’s existence proves it doesn’t HAVE to backfire. He’s clearly got more than a few INT points to figure all these tricks out even if he doesn’t talk like it.

A smarter Ruth would need to rely on wielding the bat “naturally” instead of overthinking it. In her case, she learned to hold it like a physics object so that should be “natural”.

That said, I like how terrifying she is with so few runes. She’s one of our mascots, like Ms. Bloops. Leveling her would feel wrong.

>>1059936
Did we ever make Ruth's bat a dropped weapon?

>>1059936
>A smarter Ruth would need to rely on wielding the bat “naturally” instead of overthinking it. In her case, she learned to hold it like a physics object so that should be “natural”.
Thing is, in this world equipping a bat is the natural way of using one, and she's only managing to do otherwise cause she doesn't know any better. Once she's smart enough to know to equip a weapon, she'd find it really hard not to. It's one of those things that's a lot harder to do wrong once you learn the proper way of doing it, she'd basically have to constantly convince herself that the bat is not an item and thus not equippable. She might be able to figure that out, but not with a single extra rune.

>That said, I like how terrifying she is with so few runes. She’s one of our mascots, like Ms. Bloops. Leveling her would feel wrong.
That I will agree with.

>>1059939
I'm not sure anyone ever managed to kill Ruth since she became her own slime.

>>1059939
If Ruth died, I think she would drop her actual bat. It's something she's holding, not something she has equipped as a weapon.