The voice repeated. “Do you yield?”
“Yes!” Syn croaked out.
<[General] You are a Prisoner of Farn [Dungeon]. As a Prisoner, you may not use any Orbs, access any menus, or send or receive messages.>
Hands pulled him to a sitting position. Wilma, Jack, and a woman he didn’t recognize stood around him. Kayla crawled through the tunnel.
“And here I thought I could make friends,” Syn muttered to himself. “I should have known better. This place is crap.”
Wilma flinched, but the unknown woman stepped forward. She was tall, lean, and had short black hair. “The only reason you are still alive is that Wilma advocated for you. I am Captain Vers, Mana Lord of Jin [Village], and I demand answers. Tell me, why would a Level 4 have a ten Gold bounty? You asked Wilma if you could change your name, so you are clearly not ignorant of the issue.” She displayed a paper for him to read. It had his younger face on it.
<Bounty: Syn – Wanted Dead
- Last Known Level: 2 (3 days ago)
- Last Known Location: Alpine [Outpost] (3 days ago)
- Reward: 10 Gold
- Notes: May have high-class teleport crystals to bypass barrier rules.
Report to Alpine [Outpost]>
Syn stared at the paper with dread. After a bit of calculation, ten Gold Chips were equivalent to ten million Iron Chips. He gulped; that was a lot. He had hoped he was far enough away to be out of reach of his pursuers. He berated himself for not being more careful.
However, he was still alive and the people around him stared at him expectantly. Syn sighed. He was trapped in a corner and the only way out was for this group to trust him. And the best way to do that was to give them the truth, or at least a version of it.
“I come from another place, outside of the Realms here. A group of people found a way to travel here and invited me to come along. However, when I arrived, a man killed me. Multiple times. You see, I respawn immediately with all of my memories, though I do lose experience in the process.” Syn chuckled dryly. “I don’t drop a Journal, so I doubt anyone will be able to cash that reward.”
Syn watched the reactions. All of them stared at him with mouths agape, though Vers closed hers quickly. Wilma murmured a word, “Outsider.”
“I-I see,” Vers said, trying her best to remain composed. “How did you escape?”
“While within the Trial, I completed a special quest and received a divine class teleport crystal. It only had one use. I ended up in Wellspring at level 2. I was marked as an Infiltrator, so I snuck out into the forest; I didn’t want to cause a scene. Then I arrived at Jin [Village]. You should know the rest.”
“Why are you being hunted?” Vers asked.
“I have no idea. They captured my friends, and I want to rescue them. I believe others like me will come down from higher Realms to try and rescue them.”
“Is this one of them?” Wilma said as she took out another bounty. Trist. They had more accurate information on her latest location, though not her level.
“She’s my friend,” Syn nodded. “We are the only ones who escaped out of eight.” The silence felt heavy as his new captors processed the information. Syn said, “What do you know about us? Outsiders, you said.”
Wilma spoke up. “When the goddess created this world, she proclaimed that people from another world would arrive here. They would come with new ideas and change the world.”
“Two opposing groups have formed in response,” Jack said. “One for and one against. The one for, the Outside Order, proclaims that the Outsiders are prophets of the goddess and our purpose is to follow them to the end of the Realms. The ones against them, the Isolationists, want to be free of outside influences. Neither has a strong presence in East [Realm].” He glanced at the bounty. “Or at least I thought they didn’t.” Jack laughed. “Who knew that little Syn was a walking legend?”
“I met one,” Kayla said quietly. All eyes turned to her. She was looking at her feet, acting oddly timid. “It was a long time ago. I was up in North [Zone] in a previous life. A man entered our village. He would leave for days at a time and accomplish wondrous things. Someone saw him die fighting to save a person. Me, he saved me, but he came back the next day like nothing had happened. People started to gather around him until one day, he disappeared.”
Quiet again. Vers broke the silence this time. “How do we know you’re not lying?”
Syn shrugged. “I have no idea. I guess you could kill me, but I’d rather you not; that’d just lead me to get captured. Um, maybe . . .” He tapped his wrist, but nothing happened. Right, he was a prisoner. “I have a Meal from the real . . . my world, but it’s in my Inventory. It’s not solid proof, but-“
Wilma shook her head and spoke to Vers. “Lying or telling the truth, it doesn’t matter. I’ve spent some time with Syn, so I know he’s a bit odd. I can believe he is an Outsider. However, his bounty has been placed all over the realm if it’s reached out here. People will be hunting him wherever he goes. I doubt they’d be willing to listen as we did. And people have seen him around; they’ll know he’s been here sooner or later.” She turned to Syn. “I’m not sure what protection we can offer. Ten Gold Chips is a lot of money, and our world has a lot of bounty hunters.”
Kayla nodded. “You can’t go back to Jin; we can’t protect you. Your best bet would be to go travel to a higher realm or wait for your friends to come down. Going to any settlement will only get you caught.”
“So, you guys aren’t going to kill me?” Syn asked hopefully.
“Of course not,” Wilma said along with Kayla and Jack.
Vers said, “That hasn’t been decided yet.” Vers’s three companions stared at her. She relented. “Fine, we won’t kill him. I don’t know what to do with him though. As Kayla said, he can’t come back with us.”
“I . . . might have an idea,” Wilma said. “We just need to find a good cover story about why Syn is no longer with us. People know that Jack and Kayla took a quest to escort him.”
Everyone thought for a minute, then Jack grinned. “What if we say Syn got captured by Favia [Outpost]? We did get attacked by a group after all. We’ll say they took him back to their base and maybe even killed him. The bounty hunters will probably raze Favia to the ground at the hint of a rumor; Syn will be far away before they realize his Journal is not there. Solves two of our problems.”
Vers broke out into laughter. “That’s a plan I can get behind. Very well, you have my full support. What was your idea, Wilma?”
“I think the fewer people know, the better,” Wilma replied. “The best way to keep a secret is to not tell anyone.”
Jack sighed. “Too bad. I guess this is goodbye, Syn. It was fun. Maybe when this all blows over we can hand out again.” He held out a hand for him to shake. Syn took it.
<[Social] You have become friends with Jack.>
Kayla hesitated for a moment, then extended her hand as well with a warm smile. “If you ever meet John, tell him ‘thank you for saving Ned’s life’.” Syn nodded and shook her hand.
<[Social] You have become friends with Kayla.>
Jack and Kayla left through the front tunnel. They could have teleported back through the nearby Mana Crystal, but Wilma said she needed more time to set up her plan. Plus, they needed it to be convincing that they came back in an injured state. Kayla looked far too happy she would get to beat Jack up.
Vers approached but didn’t extend her hand. “I wish we met in better circumstances. You have befriended three of my comrades in a short amount of time. I wish you the best of luck.” Vers nodded and used the Mana Crystal to teleport away.
“So,” Syn said once Wilma and he were alone. “What’s this secret plan?”
Wilma hesitated again. “I believe I have a way for you to hide. If you’re willing.” She touched the Mana Crystal and pulled something out of her Storage. A small bottle with a pill inside. She handed it to Syn. He took it and the small flask disappeared immediately. Wilma looked at him expectantly.
“Um, I’m still a Prisoner. I can’t access my Inventory.”
“Ah, right,” Wilma said, clearly flustered. She played around with some menus until Syn got a notification.
<[General] You are a Visitor of Fern [Dungeon]. As a Visitor, you may not use any Orbs unless the Dungeon is under attack.>
Syn relaxed his shoulders which he didn’t know were tense. Syn examined the new pill he received.
<Gender Swap Pill: Female [Gold] – 1 / 1
- Upon consumption, you will permanently change your gender to Female.
- Requirements: Rank 1, Male>
Syn stared at it blankly and had to read it again. “This . . . wow. Will this change my name?”
“Yes, for the most part,” Wilma said. Syn looked at her questioningly. “You see, for the people you’ve met as ‘Syn’, you will still be displayed as Syn to them within the Friend’s List, at least until you meet them again and shake hands. But, for everything else, yes. You will be a different person.”
“This is . . . there’s no way I can pay you back,” Syn said. It was the first Gold class item he’d seen. “Where did you find this?”
Wilma waved it off, then blushed. It was odd to see the large woman acting so timid. “I, uh, made it myself.”
“You’re an alchemist?”
She shook her head. “Not now. In a past life long ago. I made both Male and Female variants, but I used the Male one a long time ago.” She mumbled under her breath. “Or I would have used it now.”
Syn hugged her. “Thank you, Wilma.” Wilma tensed but hugged him back gently.
After Syn let go, Wilma explained, “You will need to use the pill outside somewhere. I don’t want to see your new form, know your name, or where you’re going. The dungeon will register your new details if you change in here. You must not meet anybody who knows you already unless you completely trust them. Stay safe.” She ruffled his hair. “I’m going to miss you. I’ve got one more present for you.”
“I can’t take anything else from you,” Syn protested.
“Hush, here you go.” Wilma pulled out an Orb and handed it over.
<[General] You have received Wilma’s loot. Items added to Inventory:
- Pygmy Draco Orb x1>
“Draco’s start weak, but they can grow to be quite strong,” Wilma said. “I think it’ll suit your style perfectly.”
“Thank you, Wilma. Why are you going so far for me? We only met two days ago.”
“In one of my previous lives, I was a bit of a scumbag. Someone gave me a chance and offered me a spot in Moss [League]. If someone gave me a chance who didn’t deserve it, then the least I could do is help someone who does.”
“I promise I’ll always come to your aid, either in this life or your next ones. I won’t forget.”
Wilma smiled. “I’ll be looking forward to what you become. Take care, Syn.”
TheXtra Path 
Leave a comment