Elina's laughter slowly came to a stop. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, her grin lingering. "Oh boy, it's been ages since I laughed that hard."
Alex remained deadpan, giving her an unimpressed look. But deep down, his mind wasn't even on the same ground. Thoughts bumping into each other.
First off, his body. Something was off. Actually, something was on. He felt... good. No back pain. No stiff neck from hunching over a desk. His eyes didn't itch from staring at screens for too long. No sluggishness. No soreness. He didn't feel like a guy who lived in a corporate dungeon anymore. If anything, he felt brand new.
Secondly, there was that weird thing he remembered the moment he woke up—floating text. It had only flashed for a moment, barely visible before fading out. Was it a hallucination? Or was his brain just phasing out?
Thirdly, why exactly couldn't he remember his own name?
And fourth, the biggest question of them all: where the hell was he? Who were these people? What was this place? He remembered being dragged underwater, drowning, passing out and then boom. He was tied up, labeled a curse bringer, and nearly barbecued alive.
He cleared his throat and finally asked, "Where exactly is this place? You said something about a kingdom earlier. Is this like… some medieval part of Britain or something?"
"Britain?" Elina repeated, "What's that?"
Alex blinked. "Huh?"
"This is Ashgrave," she said casually as they started walking again, her boots crunching against the dirt path.
"Ash… what now?"
"Ashgrave, idiot," she repeated, side-eyeing him. "Well… at least that's what it's called now."
"Now?" Alex raised an eyebrow.
"This place used to be called Ashreign," she explained, sighing as she shook the empty flask and tilted it upside down. Nothing. "Back in its golden age, it was a kingdom on par with the Great Five. Majestic, feared, respected. But…"
"But?" Alex repeated, already sensing where this was going.
Elina looked away, her expression bitter. "But then came the Great Anarchist. My grandfather to be precise." She said it with no pride. Like someone spitting poison. "Worst anarchist this world's ever known. Took over the kingdom. Made all the wrong choices known to the living. Burned alliances, ruined infrastructure, destroyed order and boom. Ashreign crumbled into Ashgrave."
She twirled the flask in her hand. "Now it's just the dumping ground of society. Thieves, murderers, outlaws, rejects, and anyone with a knife and no conscience. Slavery's banned, though. That's something, I guess. My father and brothers have tried to pull it out of the mud, restore whatever scrap of dignity's left in the name. It's... a work in progress."
Alex gave a slow whistle. "Wow."
"Yeah," Elina muttered. "So if you ever find yourself walking through Ashgrave without a title, reputation, or a kill count that makes people nervous—hold on to your stuff. Doesn't matter how useless it looks. Someone will try to steal it."
"I don't even know what I have on me," Alex admitted, patting himself down.
She snorted. "Never seen you around before. What kingdom are you from, No-Name?"
"Uh…" he stalled, eyes darting.
"Did you forget that too?" she asked, smirking as she turned to a shadowy alley.
"I wish it were that simple," Alex muttered under his breath, following her.
The alley buzzed with rough voices and smell of smoke, sweat, and some other smell Alex couldn't recognize. Men lounged on crates and dirty ground, bottles in hand. Most of them looked half-conscious, their eyes dull. As they spotted Elina, a wave of greetings poured out.
"Elina! The Wicked!"
"Her Highness!"
"Our Queen!"
Alex blinked. Queen? He looked at her sideways. Elina didn't seem to acknowledge the titles, just gave them a lazy nod and a wave of her hand as she walked.
The path opened up to a worn-down building that reeked of booze from the outside.
"Let's go," she said with a grin, pushing open the door.
Alex followed and immediately gagged. The air inside was thick. Booze, sweat, something oddly fishy. Men and women were scattered across broken tables, playing dice, arm-wrestling, or passed out flat on the floor.
They made their way to the counter, where a young girl was drying mugs with a torn rag.
"My usual, Koret," Elina said, slapping her flask onto the bar.
Koret couldn't have been older than eighteen. Her eyes looked far too old for her age. The world had clearly forced her to grow up fast in Ashgrave. Without missing a beat, she began mixing booze from several containers, sprinkled in a glowing blue dust, and filled Elina's flask before handing her a fresh mug.
"Thanks, sweetheart," Elina said, taking a long sip.
Koret turned to Alex. "How about you? You're new here. I can't guess your usual."
"Uh… something light. Really light," he said, cautious.
"Got it." She nodded and disappeared into the back.
A few moments later, she returned and placed a mug in front of him. He raised it and froze.
Inside the cup was a swirling fog, thick and pulsing, like it was alive.
"What the…" Alex whispered, staring at the strange mist.
"What?" Elina stared at him, genuinely surprised. "Never seen fogberry wine before?"
"Fog what?"
"Just shut up and drink," Elina said, taking a long gulp from her mug and slamming it on the table with a satisfied grunt.
Alex blinked at the oddly glowing liquid in his own mug, then hesitantly brought it to his lips and took a cautious sip.
"If it's not sour, then she likes you," Elina added slyly before he could even process what fog actually tasted like.
But to Alex's surprise, it wasn't sour at all. In fact, it was sweet. Something about it reminded him of fruit he'd never eaten and dreams he couldn't remember. It slid down his throat, cool yet oddly warm at the same time.
"Wow," he said, staring into the mug as if it were some kind of magic trick. "It's… great."
Elina leaned back with a smug look on her face. "So, when are you planning to take your new girlfriend out?"
Alex immediately choked on the mouthful he had just taken, coughing violently. His eyes watered as he tried to recover.
Elina burst into laughter. She couldn't contain it. Her laugh rang out through the tavern, drawing surprised glances from nearly everyone around them. Most of them looked up sharply, clearly shocked. They all knew Elina too well—seeing her laugh like that was about as comman as seeing the sun rise from the west.
Then, just like that, she slammed her palm down on the table. A heavy thud echoed through the room.
Everyone instantly turned back to their own drinks, pretending as if nothing had happened. That single gesture was enough to reassert the atmosphere. Whatever Elina's authority was in this place, it demanded respect.
Alex blinked. "I just met her. How do relationships even work in this place? Besides, she's too young." he asked quietly, leaning toward her. Despite his confusion, he couldn't help but be impressed and a little intimidated by how effortlessly she controlled the room.
Elina was still catching her breath, so she didn't reply immediately. She only gave him a playful smirk and reached for her mug again.
With a shrug, Alex raised his own and took another long sip.
Then…
As soon as he opened his eyes, a translucent green screen flashed in front of his vision.
.
{PLAYER HAS BEEN INTOXICATED!}
{INTOXICATION LEVEL: 20%}
{SOURCE: FOGBERRY WINE}
{6% HARMFUL TO PLAYER}
{DETOXICATION CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE!}
.
Alex's eyes widened. That screen. He had seen it before. It was just like the one that had appeared when he first woke up in this strange world. But before he could study it, the screen vanished in the blink of an eye.
He waved his hands around in the space where it had appeared, hoping to bring it back. Nothing.
"You okay?" Elina asked, now mostly composed but eyeing him carefully.
"Well," Alex muttered, glancing down at the mug, "first it was my whole existence begging for a break, and my mind somehow stayed sane through it all. But now, just when things are starting to feel perfect for once… I think I might be losing it."
He set the mug down hard and stood up abruptly. "Can't we just go on your heist already? I can't stand this place."
Before she could say anything, he stormed out of the tavern.
Elina sighed and took another gulp, emptying her mug completely. She picked up her flask, gave the mug one last look, and followed after him slowly and unhurried.
Not long after, as the sun began to dip low in the sky, casting a golden glow across the town, Elina stood calmly in front of one of the three largest buildings Alex had seen so far. It looked like a palace that had been remodeled into something else—still majestic, but stripped of its royal charm.
Alex looked up at it, baffled. "This where we're stealing from?"
Elina simply knocked on the door.
Alex's jaw dropped. "What!? You're about to steal something and you're knocking?"
"You really don't know how this works, do you?" Elina replied with a smirk, eyes still on the door. "Now!" she commanded, like they had planned something.
The large doors creaked open, revealing a heavyset guard.
"Who's you meetin', lad?" the guard asked gruffly. "Or are you here to steal somethin'?"
"Oh, uh, I-I'm here with a frie—" Alex stammered, flustered, and pointed to where Elina had been just moments ago.
Except… she was gone.
He spun around in a full circle. No sign of her. "She was just here. She—"
"Thieeeeefff!" the guard suddenly yelled dramatically and tackled Alex to the ground with force.
Before he could even protest, more guards stormed out and grabbed him, yanking his arms behind his back and dragging him inside.
From somewhere within the building, just out of sight, "He really does not know how this works." Elina muttered, now veiled. Watching from the shadows, her face hidden behind the veil.