Chapter 17 : My Fair Lady

"It feels strange actually being outside again." Emma commented, as she kicked a fallen tree trunk out of the way for having the audacity to block the road ahead. "I know we only spent three days or so in the Dungeon, but it's nice to see the real sky again. The fake stars just didn't look the same, you know?" [Astronomical charts from the Dungeon Core match the currently visible layout in the sky. Any issues arising are most likely due to imperfect replication of scale and perspective, leading to an uncanny valley effect emerging from the simulation.] "Like all the 3D animation that's been popping up in recent years. Creepy as hell, some of it." Grimacing at the reminder, Emma changed the current song, no longer in the right mood for listening to Studio Ghibli's Greatest Hits. Before, she would have been happy to head off-road to circumvent obstacles, but doing so after night fell was a different proposition altogether. Emma had already wasted some time doubling back after getting turned around in a small valley, and was now staying firmly on the dual carriageway heading due west, dealing with any obstacles as they arose. [Fox - Level 1] "Oh hey, more wildlife, I was wondering where they all went off to." Emma murmured, barely managing to see the small canid scampering across the road, disappearing into the nearby undergrowth soon after. Her minimap on the other hand had no trouble tracking the creature, though the small red dot soon also vanished off of the visible radius. "They're all pretty docile though; no enemy attacks at all, even at night. I dunno, I was expecting some more combat by now?" [Whilst not truly intelligent, even lesser Demons are capable of rudimentary threat analysis. At Level 4, the weaklings know better than to try anything with you. You also won't get much EXP for slaughtering the weak, so don't get too hung up over it.] "Right. Eyes on the prize then." "Good morning!" He greeted her cheerfully once his sight was restored. "Are you here for the Medieval fair? You're a bit early, but I must say that that's a fabulous costume, you may well win the top prize this year!" "Thank you," Emma replied awkwardly, unable to think of anything better at that moment. "I've put a lot of work into this armor." That was even true, from a certain perspective. "Come in, come in, get out of that dreadful rain, dear! Would you like some tea?" "Please." Emma agreed, seeing no reason to refuse when her host didn't even register as a threat on the System. Led inside, she was offered a spare towel to wipe off her armor, before being ushered onward to the living room table. "Are you sure you don't want to remove the armor?" He offered. "Must not be comfortable, sitting in that." "Removal is a very cumbersome process," Emma demurred. "Best just to keep it on, as I won't be taking too much of your time. It even comes with a drinking straw, see?" Extending said straw was sufficient to rebuff her host, who went off to the kitchen to put the kettle on - an old metal model on a fireplace, Emma noted. Glancing around, she couldn't find a single electrical appliance nor plug socket anywhere, as a sneaking suspicion arose at the back of her mind. "So what brings you around these parts?" The old man asked as he served the tea with surprising deftness. "You're the first visitor we've seen all week; even old Tom hasn't been around, and he never misses a mail run! Some of us are getting real worried about him." Well what do you know? Emma marveled. Apparently some places are so small even the apocalypse passes them by.