Sworded Affair

Chapter 86: Go Fish

"You definitely did this because of my new weapon," Emma complained, treading water inside an oversized glass tank while using her rubber fish as an impromptu float.

[Would you believe this was all a coincidence? The tenth floor layout has been modified since I was last here in 1765.]

"I can understand the layout changing over time," Emma agreed. "But not that this was unplanned; I've seen you set things up far too precisely to believe that."

[Fair enough; it's not all bad though, don't you think? Any intense exercise is best followed by a proper cool down.]

One of the locals swam lazily past, interrupting Emma's reply as she turned to stare.

[Giant Goldfish - Level 3]

"Good game?" Emma mouthed aloud, then grimaced. "Okay, I think this tower has officially overstayed its welcome; time to go outside and touch some grass."

No longer making the motions to stay afloat, Emma dragged Efishency down with her to the bottom of the tank, unbothered as usual by the lack of air. A few seconds of intangibility were enough to bypass the glass enclosure, setting her back on solid ground. Besides the fish tank behind her, the room was otherwise bare under Emma's observation; all plain white surfaces save for a single fireplace, which Emma naturally moved towards. The hearth was already well-stocked with logs, which lit up by their own volition as she neared; the smoke coalescing into two distinct gateways.

[Wall Portal - Level 1]

"Well played," Emma sighed, glancing past the gate to the left depicting what looked like an erupting volcano, and selecting the right-hand portal showing the familiar reception she'd entered from. "I didn't expect the first ten floors to take that long; not sure exactly how much time has passed either on the outside, but hopefully Dad is feeling a bit better now."

The transition was instantaneous as Emma stepped through the portal, bringing her back to the pitch black room where the first set of trials had begun; the only difference in appearance this time being that the first three runic circles were glowing red, and were now labelled as Floor 1, Floor 10 and Floor 11 respectively. The circles at the very back remained dark, which she presumed led to floor 20.

"Where's the circle for Floor 30?" Emma's eyes wandered, looking around for a hidden fifth circle somewhere in the room.

[Floor 30 is the rooftop, anyone who gets there can just fly or teleport away. Adding a save point was deemed unnecessary, since there's no reason to revisit the tower after earning a Mastery.]

Accepting that answer, Emma turned for the door, passing the threshold this time without any commentary from the overseer. She summoned Sir Bearington once outside, clambering atop the bear and commanding him to retrace the steps that brought them here; an easy task for the bear's keen senses, even as night approached. It didn't take long for them to approach the nearby settlement, which looked nothing like she remembered. Gone were the ragged tarpaulin tents and shipping containers from before; replaced by smart looking houses in semi-detached rows. There was a distinct rustic theme on display, the houses being made primarily of wood with thatched straw rooftops, and they were smaller than Emma was used to seeing in the suburbs; but they were still actual homes, giving the whole setup the look of a proper town rather than the refugee camp it had been before.

The fortifications had received similar upgrades; Emma could spot several heavy machine guns positioned in concrete pillboxes, connected by a proper network of tunnels staffed by soldiers carrying anti-materiel rifles and even the occasional rocket launcher. One of those soldiers had spotted Emma, and was waving and gesturing frantically in her direction.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma squinted at the hand gestures, before reflexively going intangible as she was lifted explosively into the air.

[Sir Bearington defeated.]

Emma remained intangible as she walked the rest of the distance, returning to the material world in front of the soldier who'd been signalling her.

"That's what I was trying to warn you about," He explained, trying and mostly succeeding in hiding his shock at her survival. "After a few close calls with big demons, we've mined the surrounding area extensively."

"It's fine," Emma waved him off as she walked past. "Good to see you're taking security seriously, you wouldn't believe the dodgy fortifications I've been dealing with lately."

Leaving the confused soldier behind, Emma headed into the town, looking for some hints for where to go. The medical tent her Dad had been recuperating in was nowhere to be seen, but she did spot a single detached house, noticeably larger than any of the semi-detached rows, with a sign hanging out front naming it as Noah's Arc.

"Really?" Emma laughed as she made a straight line to the property.

There were a few people milling about; smoking cigarettes or chatting on armchairs. The conversation dimmed as Emma passed, and she heard a number whispers, most including her name in some capacity though a few observers were wholly confused and others focused on the rubber fish over her shoulder. As she reached the front garden, noting the beginnings of a flower patch and the use of real grass, she was caught entirely off guard by a familiar cat.

[Saint - Level 8 Druid of War]

"How'd you get here?" Emma wondered as she bent down to pick up the orange feline, who accepted the handling with surprising grace given how their last meeting had ended with Emma falling on them. "Also, Druid of War? Is that an advanced class?"

[A mixture between a traditional Druid focusing on nature magic, and a war shaman specialised in multi-target buffs and debuffs. Useful to have in any circumstance; they can make your crops grow faster, and also turn your farmers into fearless berserkers to protect those same crops.]

"Interesting," Emma hummed, already thinking of several ways that could have been useful in a few of the trials. "What's archetype formation look like for a cat, anyway?"

[Lots of bloodshed, mainly.]

"Sounds about right," Emma laughed, scooping Saint up into a proper hold before finally knocking on the door of the new family home with her free hand.

"Anyone home?"