Lucas’s apartment - present day

  Lucas lounged on his sofa, his back sore from all the hard work—pying while in the capsule. Charlie won’t even reize the fortress now, he thought, catg himself with a silly grin. He quickly dropped it, embarrassed even though no one could see. The feeling was strange—knowing Charlie was John didn’t ge the fact that he wanted her for himself.

  That was why he’d pushed himself so hard, building up the walls aing the stage for an ei. Well, that and the absurd amount of money p iill couldn’t believe it. Is this even legal? But a quice at his phone firmed the transfer from the game was already there.

  Charlie wouldn’t mind if I embezzled a few thousand, right? He rationalized, dismissing the thought with a smirk.

  The holo-TV blio life as soon as he thought about it—the sync-reader was w perfectly. On the s, a well-dressed woman was reading a story about dispced truck drivers. Lucas scoffed. They should’ve learo code, like me. Then AI wouldn’t be a problem.

  The thought of Pearl crossed his mind, and he reached out to call her. As always, she only used audio. Her calm voice broke the silence: “You’re finally calling. Lucas, are you sure?”

  “e on,” he said, raising his void leaping from the sofa. “How else are we going to get that much? The game was a good seed, but we need way more. This time, we’re going to succeed.”

  There was a long sileen seds, at least. It dragged on for so long that Lucas checked the e. Still open. Finally, Pearl spoke.

  “Deal. But one dition—I’m holding the money. I ’t trust you with bets.”

  Vilge number seventeen - a guild building

  Because I khere were holes in my pn, I moved faster than my oppo could say Denied. Four fast steps took me closer to her while I unfurled my new favorite on. The guild clerk opened her mouth to say something, or perhaps in astonishment.

  What she inteo say I would never know, because my whip struck her w clothes arated her under-armor without a problem, f a deep shriek from her opened mouth.

  That guard who was cheeky a few seds before jumped to at me with swords ready, but it was too te. It was me who scored the first hit, and the duel was underway. I’ll enjoy this. Show me your superiority now!

  She grinned, and foreboding overcame me. “I yield.” She ended out our duel before I could reach her again. Perhaps I shouldn’t think about that. Perhaps I should have aimed at her mouth instead.

  [You won honor duel.]Damn, she’s smart. Now that I’d won, I couldn’t hurt her anymore. Well, I could—but the w wouldn’t be on my side this time. Gritting my teeth, I lowered my whip and gred at her. “You’re lucky. I wan—”

  A sharp, stabbing pain in my left side cut me off mid-sentence. I staggered, barely able to stay upright.

  An attack!

  Before I could raise my hand to summon a shield, something heavy smmed me into the wall. The impaocked the wind out of me, and a surge of anger bubbled up from my stomach. Whoever did this is going to pay. My mind raced with thoughts of what torture to unleash, but before my fury could take hold, a dull, throbbing pain spread from my neck.

  System, what’s going on?

  [You are stuime remaining: 6s][You are stuime remaining: 2s][You are paralyzed. Time remaining: 5mi. What the heck got into me? Starting a fight inside a guild? Charlie, are you crazy?

  Yes. Yes, I must be.

  So what? Stress got to me. Big deal. Okay, that wasn’t much of a sotion. Time. The ohing I didn’t have. And now, every problem I’d been shoving into the ers of my mind came rushing back to the forefro, my sudden transformation into a girl, the simution itself, betrayal both in-game and by Damon, Lucas’ strange behavior, and that haunting vision of me. Oh, a’s not fet, more debt.

  Stupid paralysis! Why are you f me to think? I didn’t want to! I’d just drink or py. Pying would solve everything. Yes, I’d make money by selling ented items, and that would fix it all.

  “System, what about now?” I thought desperately.

  [You are paralyzed. Time remaining: 4min 36s]What? Are you kidding me? Being stu my own head for five mihis is worse than sleep deprivation.

  Should I log out? Yes, yes, I should. But what would be the point? That wasn’t really my reality anymore. I was a girl there too.

  Stop.

  It didn’t matter.

  Well... it did.

  But...

  They tortured me for the ey of five minutes. Being trapped inside my own head was the worst kind of torment. When I finally came to, I tried to jolt forward instinctively—only to feel the rough, fishy-smelling rope digging into my arms.

  Great. Bound to a chair.

  “You ’t bind me like this,” I growled through ched teeth, writhing against the tight knots. No matter how much I straihey held firm. Knots: 2. Me: 0. I’ll get my revenge.

  The chair, sturdy and rigid, was in the middle of a spacious room paiark white. As I struggled, it scraped slightly against the golden-red rug beh me. To my left, rge windows showed the darkness of the night outside, while the room itself was lit only by a magic mp perched on the desk in front of me. The magic mp’s bright glow shone directly on my face. Someone was watg too much of noir.

  Behind the expensive-looking desk, an imposing Elven man sat silently, his long fingers resting lightly on the polished dark wood. His tailored red wool robe practically screamed luxury—it had to be from the southern pins, known for their ridiculously infted prices, evey years from now. His expression was unreadable, but I could feel the weight of his eyes b into me.

  Dismayed by his silence, I broke it first. “Are you in charge?” My tone was sharp, but I roud of my guess. His attire alone was a dead giveaway. “You o get yuildmates in line.”

  He brushed a strand of his long, dark hair out of his fad fixed me with a pierg gaze. “You’ll have to pardon my colleagues,” he said, his deep, level voiehow calm yet cutting. “They aren’t aced t nobles of the empire.” A faint flicker of emotion touched his face before he tinued. “You o uand that none of us is here without reason. Every one of them has a story about the empire breathing down their neck.”

  I rolled my eyes as best I could with the rope cutting into my arms. “Yeah, I know. So when I try to help you by rep bandits, you side with them instead of me?” I wiggled against my restraints, the chair nearly tipping over. “Is this stupid rope even necessary?”

  The Elf’s lips curled into a faint smile, and he gave a small nod. “If you promise me not to harm my people, I release you.”

  “If you promise not to waste my time and actually listen to me, I won’t o,” I shot back. He frowned, ringing a small bell on the desk.

  We stared at each other for a long, tense half-minute. He smiled. I gred. The faint sound of hesitant footsteps broke the silence as someone finally ehe room.

  The Elf gestured toward the newer, a young woman. “Emilia, Refi took care of you, yes? Good. Now, tell us what happened.”

  “Sir. I regret my boldness,” came a whisper from behind.

  Oh, great. The stupid clerk.

  Straining against the ropes, I gnced back over my shoulder. There she was, her gaze glued to the expensive rug beh her feet. An oversized jacket—probably borrowed—hung awkwardly over her frame, with a bandage peeking out from beh it.

  “Not so bold now, huh?” I said, fshing her a big grin. Her head snapped up, her eyes narrowing with anger as they locked onto mine.

  “Fine, fine,” I added with a mock wave. “You paid for it. My honor’s restored, so we’re square.”

  “You are mistaken, Miss Charlie,” the Elven man interjected, his voice calm but firm. “I still o punish you for breaking at least ten guild and Elven ws.”

  I turned ba, raising an eyebrow. “Oh? Whies?”

  “That is not—”

  “None.” I cut him off, my voice firm. “You know it, she knows it, everyone knows it.” Closing my eyes, I let out a long sigh and shook my head. This is going nowhere, and those ruins aren’t getting explored by themselves.

  “I pyed by your stupid rules, and you all still hate me. Just let me go already.”

  “Permission to sp her, sir?” An unfamiliar voice, deep and gravelly, asked from somewhere behihe sound of shuffli followed.

  The Elf didn’t even flinch. With a raised hand, he silehe newer.

  Why the heck am I this cheeky? Where are all these emotions even ing from?

  Now it was my turn to grin as I caught a flicker of unease in his otherwise calm eyes. “You said something about bandits?”

  “Yes,” I replied smoothly. “We found an old outpost down the road, and I wao report it because I cast a survey using my ring.” Despite the tension in the room, I forced a friendly smile and stopped struggling against the ropes. “ I tra to you?”

  With one quick motion, he waved his hand, and the rope binding me fell away. Then, without a word, he reached under his desk arieved a silver pte. The surface gleamed uhe mp’s light, casting vivid rainbows that danced like at the bottom of a bottle. The sight was so fasating I hesitated, almost afraid to touch it with my ring.

  System transfer survey.

  [Transfer plete]The pte shimmered for a moment before he began ting, his voice weaving together a plex spell. At least seven glowing runes floated in the air before verging into the pte, and in the instant, a lifelike proje sprang up from its surface—almost like a hologram!

  Now I could see what y behind the massive wall: at least fifteen bandits scattered around a camp. Some were sitting around the fire we’d spotted in the dark, while others slept in crude tents. Inside an old ruined building, wulves prowled alongside their master and two other bandits, all of whom appeared locked in a heated discussion.

  “You weren’t lying…” he murmured, almost breathlessly, his gaze fixed on the proje. “The coordinates... That’s only a few miles from here!”

  “See?” I leaned back slightly, my grin widening. “I’m one of the good girls! So... how much for this information?”