Everything Went Wrong! The Rune Curse That Swapped Everyone's Gender - The Rune Stone and the Thrilling Adventure Full of Mistakes - Episode 1

The ceiling had a hole in it. No, to be precise——something had crashed through the ceiling and fallen. A dull impact sound. Shattered plaster rained down in white powder. Etsion Jace dropped the measuring device in her hand. 　Third floor, East Wing, Piltover Academy. Jace's research lab. Through the window, the second Skyway rail line was visible, and a steam-powered vehicle had just thundered past on schedule. The room was packed with prototypes, measuring instruments, and crystal storage units. Desks were crammed so tightly there was barely anywhere to step. In the center of that chaos, a stone about the size of a fist lay rolling. It glowed pale blue, faintly luminous. Rune-like patterns ran across its surface. "……What is this?" She'd muttered it without realizing. Her voice was low, calm. Yes, at this point, it still was. Jace stared at the stone. As a Hextech researcher——or more accurately, a student-researcher——she'd been affiliated with this academy for three years now. What Hex crystals were, how spells worked, how to measure energy conversion efficiency——she could think about those things from morning to night. But this stone was different. The way it glowed was nothing like a Hex crystal. It felt older, somehow. The moment she picked it up. The stone blazed brilliantly. "Wh——" Light spread outward. Engulfing the entire lab. ------ There were two other people in the research lab. One was Ravel Jynx, who'd brought a delivery from the Undercity. A girl who slipped through the Gate of Depths——the major checkpoint connecting Piltover and the Undercity——without a pass every time (she'd never explained how), and today she'd brought a large box filled with machine parts. The other was Zarmon Caitlin, an Enforcer. As a member of Piltover's law enforcement division, she'd come to the lab for a routine inspection. A Hextech Regulation Act compliance check. Making sure no unauthorized experiments were being conducted. A regular thing. All three were swallowed by the light. ------ The light faded. For a moment, no one said anything. Only dust hung in the air of the room. Jace tried to stand up——and noticed her body felt light. Strangely light. Something felt thin. She looked at her arm, and it was definitely thin. It was supposed to be her own arm, but it looked like someone else's. (……Huh?) In the corner of the lab, there was a mirror used for adjusting prototypes. A tall one, the kind where you could see your full height. Jace approached it slowly. One step. Two steps. She stood in front of the mirror. She stopped. Long, jet-black hair hung down. Bright violet eyes looked back at her from the glass. A thin neck visible beneath a white research coat. Cheeks with a faint rosy tint. A one-piece dress with a purple ribbon. A girl. "……I, I——" A high voice came out. Jace froze. She opened her mouth again, hesitantly. "I……w, wa——" Another high voice. Her voice wasn't her voice anymore. "Wh. Wh? Wh?" "Yes! I'm a bit taller! My arms look strong!" An energetic voice came from the other direction. She turned around——it was Jynx. But she had a much more muscular build than usual. She was spinning around, striking poses. "……My hair is gone." Caitlin was patting her head, her face contorted. "「「「………………」」」" Three people's silence. Stillness fell over the lab. ------ "Wait. Calm down." She managed to speak, despite the shock of the high voice. Jace took a deep breath. As a scientist, first you organize the facts. Panicking wouldn't solve anything. She knew that. "That stone just now glowed, and then……our bodies switched. That's what happened, right?" "I think so! And honestly, I kind of like it! Broad shoulders!" "You like it?" Caitlin said it flatly. Her hand didn't stop touching her head. "There's an Enforcer inspection tomorrow. If this gets out, who knows what questions I'll get. We have to find a way to switch back today." "……Agreed." Jace approached the stone. That glowing stone that had fallen earlier. It didn't react when she touched it now. But the rune characters on its surface still glowed faintly. (Not a Hex crystal. But it contains some kind of energy. These characters are……) "Hey, there's writing on it! Can you read it?" Jynx leaned in. With her broader shoulders, she cut right into Jace's field of vision. "Rune characters." "What's that?" "An ancient spell system from before Hextech. Almost no one can use it anymore. Even the academy only has fragmentary records——" Her voice trailed off. Jace stared at the stone. Hextech was born about 200 years ago. A technological system that embedded Hex crystals into machines and converted energy into heat, light, and power. It had supported Piltover's prosperity. But rune characters were older. They'd existed for an estimated 800 years or more, a separate spell system. Sealing the energy of earth and living things into characters——a power that acted directly on the body without needing machines. That's what the fragmentary records said. It made sense that bodies had switched. "So this……interfered with the Hex crystals?" "It was pulled toward the crystals we had stored here. And amplified." "You're talking to yourself." "I have a habit of thinking out loud." Caitlin said it, arms crossed. "How do we switch back?" "……That's what I was trying to figure out." She picked up the stone. Examined the back. Rune characters were carved densely across it. But she couldn't read them. The resources at the academy were only fragmentary. A complete decipherment of rune characters would require more systematic knowledge. Jace thought. The deep parts of the Undercity. Voidrow, the deepest layer——at 300 meters underground, ancient rune civilization ruins were said to remain. That's what the records said. If the key to completely deciphering rune spell systems was in that place. "The Undercity." "Huh?" "The key to breaking the curse is only in the deepest ruins of the Undercity. Probably." "Did you just say probably?" "Logically speaking, that's the most likely place." Caitlin pinched the bridge of her nose. She sighed. "There's a subsurface access restriction law. Piltover citizens need a permit to enter the Undercity. And the deepest level——even Enforcers don't usually go there." "An Enforcer is saying we'd have to break the law to go?" "I'm not saying that! But……" But hung in the air. All three of them understood. If they did nothing, by tomorrow their bodies still wouldn't be back to normal. Caitlin couldn't go to the inspection. Jynx couldn't return to the Undercity. Jace would——well, she'd have to continue her research as a girl. That would be complicated in various ways. "I'm fine! I slip through the checkpoint all the time anyway!" "I'm pretending I didn't hear that." "But there's a problem." Both of them looked at her. "I can't decipher rune characters. Even if we find that ruin, if I can't read what's written there, it's useless." Silence. A Skyway vehicle passed outside the window. The sound of steam. Growing distant, then fading. "There's only one person I know who might help." Jace placed the stone on the desk. "Carvel Victor." "You know him?" "Another researcher at the academy. He's an odd one who collects rune character materials——the most knowledgeable about ancient spell systems." Jace pulled a Hex signal device from her desk drawer. A simple wireless communication device that used the faint light of Hex crystals to transmit signals. Researchers at the academy used them frequently with each other. She entered Victor's signal code. Before hitting send, her hand paused. (How do I explain this? Our bodies switched, so come with us to the deepest level of the Undercity——that sounds completely insane.) "Well, showing him in person should convince him." She placed her finger on the send button. That's when it happened. The stone on the desk glowed faintly. Not the explosive light from before. A small light, like a candle. But it definitely glowed. "Ah, again——" The light vanished. Jace looked at the back of her hand. A pattern like rune characters had appeared faintly. Pale blue, thin lines of pattern. It disappeared in just a few seconds. "……Did you see that?" "I saw it." "I saw it! Wasn't something carved into your hand?" Jace stared at her hand. Nothing. A normal hand. But it had definitely been there. Something cold spread through her chest. (Is the stone's influence still continuing? Or is something else happening?) She didn't know. But one thing was certain. They had to hurry. Jace gripped the signal device again. Carvel Victor. Send. Only the muffled sound of steam pipes remained in the lab.

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Episode 1

Name: Everything Went Wrong! The Rune Curse That Swapped Everyone's Gender
Author: Novelia

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