Chapter 57: To Lyon we go
The camp was still digesting the Sky Emperor’s polite reply when Selena’s voice suddenly came back through the phone.
She hadn’t hung up.
She had only gone quiet.
Now she sounded different.
Not excited.
Not curious.
Afraid.
“Wait,” she said sharply. “Wait, wait, wait—”
Everyone under the lime-oak turned back toward the phone.
“What?” Dominic asked.
Selena drew in a slow breath.
“You’re all focused on the lore drop from Em,” she said. “The Pillars. The thirteen floors. The cosmic ecosystem.”
She paused.
“But none of you thought about the most important part.”
Phong frowned slightly.
“Which is?”
Selena’s voice dropped.
“Em can shapeshift.”
The camp fell silent again.
Selena kept going.
“And it can choose when the system warns people about its presence.”
Janet slowly straightened.
“…Oh.”
Selena’s breathing quickened.
“That means it doesn’t need to appear as a monster.”
“It doesn’t need to trigger alerts.”
“It doesn’t even need to reveal itself.”
She said the next words very slowly.
“Em could just… walk into human society.”
The realization hit like a hydraulic press.
Jake blinked.
Jack swore softly.
Dominic muttered under his breath.
“Jesus.”
Selena almost whispered now.
“That explains everything.”
“How it understands humans so well.”
“How it understands our politics.”
“Our pride.”
“Our rivalries.”
“It’s been watching us.”
“Up close.”
Vanessa leaned into the camera.
“You’re saying that thing could literally be… anywhere?”
Selena nodded slowly.
“In theory? Yes.”
“In theory it could sit in a café and listen to conversations.”
“Attend a university lecture.”
“Watch TV.”
“Scroll social media.”
“And no one would know.”
The thought was so ugly that no one spoke for several seconds.
Even Rico stopped moving.
Then Phong sighed.
“Well.”
Selena blinked.
“Well?”
Phong held up the menu window.
“Since we’re sharing terrifying discoveries…”
He turned the camera toward the Sky Emperor’s request.
Selena read it.
Then she saw Phong’s reply.
Then the Emperor’s answer.
Her brain stalled.
Completely.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
She just stared.
Vanessa leaned closer.
“…Selena?”
Still nothing.
Then Selena’s mouth twitched.
Just slightly.
Right at the corner.
Like a scientist who had just watched an entire field of study catch fire.
The call ended abruptly.
Dominic stared at the phone.
“…Did we break her?”
Vanessa’s voice came back for a split second before the line died.
“She’s about to write a thesis the size of a truck.”
Then the call cut out.
With the academic crisis set aside for the moment, camp shifted to the more immediate future.
Halloween.
Lyon.
Vacation.
For once, something normal.
Before leaving, Phong took a few precautions.
He walked to Camp Harpy and spoke with the Greencap rabbits.
“We’ll be gone for a few days,” he said.
The Rabbit Captain nodded.
“We understand.”
Phong gestured toward Camp Stymphalian.
“You and your civilians can move there while we’re away.”
The rabbits traded surprised looks.
“That is a great honor,” one civilian said.
Phong waved it off.
“It’s also practical.”
With Dominic’s team gone, extra eyes around camp would help.
Before leaving, Phong carefully dug up one sprout from the lime-oak’s new cloning ability.
The tiny shoot glowed faintly with mana.
He wrapped it in protective cloth and placed it in a reinforced container.
Rico tried to reach it out of curiosity and was snitched on by Bruno.
Nyx took a sniff, decided it was beneath her, then floated toward Joanne backpack.
Dominic raised a brow.
“We’re taking that with us?”
Phong nodded.
“That thing can evolve monsters.”
“Leaving it unattended would be irresponsible.”
Janet nodded in approval.
“Good call.”
Their alliance with the Greencap Kingdom was strong.
But even honorable people could be tempted by life-changing power.
Better to remove the temptation entirely than breaking an alliance.
Then it was finally time to go.
The group gathered near the path to the gate.
Séline and Camille took the lead.
Lyon was their city, after all.
Behind them came the rest of the strange little procession.
Phong ended up at the center without meaning to.
Dominic on one side.
Janet on the other.
Jake and Jack just behind.
Joanne trailing with a travel mug of coffee already in hand.
Alex walked beside Phong, their fingers linked with easy comfort.
The animals followed with full enthusiasm.
Bruno trotted proudly in his little armor.
Nyx flicked her tail with quiet dignity.
Little Fireball slept inside Phong’s hood. Phong tried to give the chick a little head scratch, but she remained asleep.
“She seemed tired.”
Joanne glanced into his hood, commented.
“Maybe that just her growing up.”
They chalked that down to growth hormone making Little Fireball tired.
They didn’t know that the so called “hormone” had the form of a moutain of flesh with eyes and mouths all over it.
Rico had claimed the best seat.
He rode on Séline’s shoulder like a tiny navigator, the treant sprout strapped to his back like an oversized backpack.
He pointed dramatically toward the horizon.
“Forward!”
Séline laughed.
“Relax, captain.”
The dungeon path slowly opened toward the gate.
The great structure shimmered with dimensional energy.
Beyond it—
France.
Lyon.
Cobblestone streets.
Autumn air.
Halloween decorations.
A few days without monsters.
Without sieges.
Without cosmic things showing up disguised as celebrities.
For once, Camp Stymphalian was just going on vacation.
And together, the strange little caravan stepped through the gate toward France.
By the time they came out through the Lyon gate, the autumn air already smelled of roasted chestnuts and burnt sugar. Halloween decorations hung from balconies. Orange lights crossed narrow streets. Kids in costumes were already racing through the squares with plastic pumpkins.
Dominic stretched like a man released from prison.
“Fresh air that isn’t trying to kill me,” he declared. “I missed this.”
Janet replied, unimpressed.
“You say that every time you surface.”
Joanne pointed down the old street.
“And you still run back into the dungeon two days later.”
“That’s beside the point.”
Before anyone could wander off, Dominic clapped loudly.
“Alright.”
“Costume time.”
Everyone groaned on cue.
Dominic had been waiting weeks for this.
With Alex’s public mess with Olen still circulating online, disguises were the smart move.
Halloween gave them the perfect excuse.
Dominic, of course, had planned everything.
Phong looked down at his outfit and shook his head.
“I still think this is ridiculous.”
“Your nickname is literally farm boy,” Dominic said. “Clark Kent is perfect.”
Phong wore a simple suit, glasses, and a loosened tie. Mild-mannered reporter on the outside. Superman underneath.
Alex stood beside him dressed as Lois Lane.
Red jacket.
Pencil skirt.
Confident posture.
She crossed her arms smugly.
“Honestly, this fits too well.”
Phong shrugged.
“You look like someone who’d interview Superman and bully him at the same time.”
Alex smirked.
“Accurate.”
Dominic himself had committed fully.
Black Panther armor.
Full costume.
He had even practiced the Wakandan salute back in the dungeon.
Janet stood beside him dressed as Storm.
White wig.
Cape.
Elegant and deadly.
Dominic pointed proudly between them.
“King and Queen.”
Janet rolled her eyes.
“You just wanted to shout ‘Wakanda Forever’ at strangers.”
“…I regret nothing.”
Jake and Jack had gone more theatrical.
Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens.
Jake wore the white coat and soft expression of the angel.
Jack leaned all the way into Crowley’s chaos with dark glasses, a sharp grin, and a black suit that screamed I make problems for fun.
They walked side by side perfectly in character.
Jack whispered dramatically,
“If anyone asks, we’re just ineffable.”
Jake nodded solemnly.
“Very ineffable.”
The women handled their own costumes.
Séline, Camille, and Joanne disappeared into a nearby costume shop.
Twenty minutes later they came back with a theme.
The Lyoko Warriors from Code: Lyoko.
Joanne wore Yumi’s sleek dark outfit.
Camille took Aelita’s pink aesthetic.
Séline proudly wore Ulrich’s black-and-orange look.
Dominic blinked.
“…I feel old.”
Phong nodded.
“Same.”
Rico popped his head out of Séline’s jacket.
“Kids these days.”
Nyx smacked him with her tail.
Once the costumes were settled, Séline and Camille took charge.
“Alright,” Camille announced.
“You are now tourists.”
“And we are your guides.”
Dominic looked suspicious.
“Are we going somewhere expensive?”
Séline waved him off.
“We use our euros.”
“You pay us back later.”
Phong nodded at once.
“That actually helps.”
They all understood why.
With media still obsessed with Alex and Olen, using the French girls’ money avoided card trails and curious reporters.
Sometimes the smartest move was just being hard to track.
Lyon in autumn was beautiful.
Old stone streets wound through the city like veins.
Cafés spilled warm light onto the sidewalks.
Market stalls sold roasted chestnuts, pastries, and cider.
The group wandered through the old districts while Séline and Camille explained everything with the energy of overqualified tour guides.
“That street leads to the traboules,” Camille said.
“Secret passages used by silk workers.”
Dominic perked up at once.
“Hidden tunnels?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent.”
Janet sighed.
“We are not starting a dungeon expedition in France.”
Eventually they stopped for lunch.
A small restaurant with outdoor seating.
Fresh bread.
Wine.
Hot soup.
Dominic ate like a man who hadn’t seen civilization in months.
Joanne judged the coffee with the cold focus of a professional inspector.
Then Alex glanced around the restaurant and grinned.
“You know,” she said casually, “German bakery culture is superior.”
Séline froze.
Camille blinked slowly.
“You… did not just say that.”
Alex leaned back smugly.
“I absolutely did.”
Camille set down her fork.
“This is Lyon.”
“The capital of French gastronomy.”
“And you say German bakeries are better?”
Dominic leaned toward Phong.
“…We should leave.”
Phong raised both hands.
“I said nothing.”
Alex smiled sweetly.
“Prove me wrong.”
Ten minutes later they were marching through the city in a full food-war duel between German and French bakery culture.
Meanwhile, Phong drifted slightly off route.
Then suddenly stopped in front of a small shop window.
His eyes lit up.
“…Bánh mì.”
Authentic.
Vietnamese bread.
In Lyon.
He walked in.
A few minutes later he came out with a sandwich and the most peaceful expression anyone had seen on his face in weeks.
“Found happiness,” he announced.
Dominic stared.
“You abandoned the French food war for that?”
Phong nodded calmly.
“Happiness.”
Elsewhere, chaos had already begun.
Rico had slipped away.
The raccoon walked up to a couple sitting by a park bench.
Then he activated his strongest skill.
Puppy eyes.
The couple melted instantly.
“Oh my god, he’s adorable.”
One of them handed him an energy drink without even thinking.
Rico grabbed it in triumph and sprinted away.
Moments later he was bouncing through the park like a caffeinated missile.
Then he saw them.
Ducks.
Dozens of them in the pond.
Rico froze.
A deep vendetta lit up in his tiny raccoon heart.
He launched himself forward with the fury of someone avenging ancient raccoon honor.
The ducks scattered in complete confusion.
Children screamed with laughter.
Tourists pulled out phones.
Dominic arrived moments later.
“RICO!”
The raccoon tried to dodge.
Too late.
Dominic grabbed him mid-leap.
“You are not declaring war on French wildlife.”
Rico clutched his energy drink with dignity.
“I regret nothing.”
The ducks quacked furiously from the pond.
Phong sighed.
“Our vacation lasted… two hours.”
Alex laughed and leaned against him.
“Still better than the dungeon.”
For the moment, Camp Stymphalian was just a group of friends enjoying Halloween in Lyon.
---
Some trivia about our level 1 farmer:
Phong spent his childhood in Vietnam and only moved to the US to live with his uncle and aunt when he was 10. He was a massive nerd, but since he was exposed to an entirely different pop culture, some of the things he thought were cool weren't appreciate in the states. I.e: naming all of the camps after monsters from Greek Mythos, playing gunplas instead of 40K, knowing Kamen Rider, etc.
He slept with night light on. The reason for this was he couldn't seem to be able to tippy toe when he couldn't see, and the creeks of the floorboard would wake his aunt and uncle.
He's 1m77 ~ 5'9 - 5'10. So Alex would actually be taller than him if she wore high heels