D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 1933: Chapter 1933 Stuck Inside

--- Green ---

Green wasn’t sure she should be doing this. ”Please retrieve form Alpha D Plus Seven Q and fill it out using a 2B Pencil from corridor Seven, Five, Cross”

See, Green had found... a person? A golem? It was super unclear. It was definitely Thyme, they hadn’t disguised that part... but Green didn’t know how sentient the thing was meant to be. They were pretending to be a super old man... or maybe pretending to be a golem pretending to be a super old man. Every time she came back, they’d send her on some other wild goose chase in the stupid building... but the rewards were a little too good for her to just give up on them.

Everything she returned gave her a good number of orbs, alongside a key or a chest. Obviously she’d opened them and... well it was a bit of a mixed bag. She now had a great sword that could set itself on fire hot enough to scorch the walls from a distance while keeping her temperature normal. A fancy set of boots that could summon ice beneath them allowing you to sort of skate on the air, a mask that let you breath underwater, and finally, a full set of armour...

That didn’t resize at all. Sure it was fancy and Green was certain she’d be quite protected if she used it but the fact it didn’t fit at all? It made it essentially unusable. In fact, Green wasn’t even sure who COULD use it. The armour was much too big for anyone except Ugalaz... and it was to small for him to use it. Green really wasn’t sure what the point of the suit was. Perhaps you were meant to trade it to someone else? The issue with that though, is that it took up way too much space to store long term.

”What do you think Timmy? Do you think I should be doing these weird quests? I haven’t really got anything that makes it worth it... but I’m earning enough orbs to keep myself afloat,” queried Green. *I also don’t know how to find the exit but I keep finding myself back in that room.*

Timmy, of course, had no answer for Green. They also weren’t particularly useful at the moment because not only did the building house a great number of orbs itself, she was currently on a quest for more orbs. Green didn’t exactly expecting anything though, she was just complaining.

Green sighed and shifted the planter nearby off to the side expecting a portal... and not finding one. Except, she was maybe getting a little used to the madness because she slapped herself lightly in self-recrimination, put the planter back... and lifted up the plant itself. The roots kept the dirt mostly together and underneath it all was the portal she’d been expecting. Green gently tossed the plant upwards and ducked into the portal before it could fall back down. She could think about her future plans while searching.

--- Kress ---

Kress had his coat pulled in tight, a scarf covering most of his face and a hat helping hide the rest. The town he’d managed to get inside? It was a trap. The whole place was paranoid in a major way and it wasn’t even properly warm! Though that was perhaps a blessing in disguise. Like he currently was. Timmy was told to wait back in the sewers for a few days before coming to find him. The little guy would stand out too much. Kress would be the same... except well...

Kress had stolen a few different bits and pieces of various citizen’s wardrobes in an attempt to not stand out. This was easy because there wasn’t much variety on display here. Sure some people were a bit more colourful, but he’d only chosen his current jacket after noticing SIX other similar ones before that. Pants and shirt had a bit more variety but not all that much. His boots were the most out of place, theoretically. In reality nobody was paying them any attention because leather boots were common, even if the exact material wasn’t. A bit of dirt made it impossible to tell that at a glance anyway.

Guards, and golems dressed like them, roamed the street constantly looking out for troublemakers. There was a strict curfew in place and occasionally, guards would just bust into taverns or homes looking for ’criminals’ and your best bet was to just keep quiet. Things were extra tense because rumours were going around that someone from the outside had snuck in and was causing trouble.

Kress had initially been scared of this rumours... but his eavesdropping had revealed that the ’outsider’ had apparently broken in a week ago so while the person in question remained a mystery, Kress at least knew they weren’t looking for him. Well, not intentionally anyway. It was till making things difficult.

Just early today, one of the guards had asked to see his face. A lesser infiltrator, one that hadn’t spent years with Nixilei, might have panicked at the request. Kress however had simply taken his hat and scarf off as quickly as possible... and sneezed, just before he looked away. Just barely spraying the guard with snot and spit. ”Sorry, sorry about that. I don’t know why such sickness has come to me recently,” apologised Kress at the time.

The guard had been pretty grossed out, but Kress hadn’t hidden his face at all after the sneeze. He’d turned right back... and all the guard saw was a puffy face, with some snot running out of his nose, red eyes, a few tears to really sell it. The guard had told him to cover back up just as fast. Kress had listened of course. He was tempted to thank the guard for his efforts... but that was a bit to cheeky. Nobody who actually lived here THANKED the guards. Would’ve been a dead give away even if it was funny.

Setting up that little ruse had been a bit painful... but after he’d found a bunch of chili powder in storage he’d been inspired. Sticking a bit up his nose and accepting the pain that came with adding a bit more to his eyes was more than enough to sell the illusion of being quite unwell. Kress could say he really felt it as well.

Even still, getting through that one encounter? It had perhaps been the best thing for him. Plenty of people had seen it, a few golems were around and hopefully made note of the conversation as well. It meant he wasn’t suspicious at all and rather unlikely he’d be targeted too much in the future. Sure they might still ask him to unmask... but it had already proven to work quite well so he was probably safe.

And Kress was planning to abuse the heck out of that. This little town had orbs EVERYWHERE. Simply brushing his band up against a few was easy, and pocketing them wasn’t any harder. He didn’t do that often though, not worth the risk of getting caught. Especially when plenty of people DID tap against the orbs scattered around the place to charge things. Usually lanterns, a few things that acted as warming stones and Kress had seen someone recharging a blender that way. A little odd, but it meant dimming a bunch wasn’t going to get him investigated.

At the same time, Kress was finding that to be exactly the problem. It felt like he was spinning his wheels now. There wasn’t any obvious way for him to get ahead of the competition. Sure he could swipe and orb or two... but they didn’t really go missing. Recharging? That was fine. Swiping them though? Especially if they were in those big bundles? That was cause to investigate.

The ones Kress had on him at the moment was exactly one from the bundles, one he found in a bush, and another that he’d found in the pocket of the coat he’d stolen for his disguise, which was perhaps an extra boon. If the owner wanted this jacket back he could just mention all the orbs he found inside. The fact it only contained originally wasn’t his problem. Still... what else was there to do?

Getting caught exploring the town rather then just wandering a bit could be an issue, and there was no sign of keys or chests to help him get ahead. He could maybe do some odd jobs for the residents... but that might reveal more of his capabilities then he’d like. Not too many people here seemed to have any power at all. Even the guardsmen. Most of them weren’t even at Rank 1.

The golems were the real issue if it came to combat... but Kress wouldn’t put it past Thyme to have hidden other things. This meant a fight was something to be avoided... but so was showing off his increased strength. So where exactly did that leave him? He could roam around, hide up on rooftops or perhaps in spare rooms that didn’t seem to get much use. He could stay here for weeks... assuming the original outsider didn’t stir things up too much.

*Hmm... yes that does seem like the right play. Keep things going steady here until something big happens then profit from the chaos.*