Everything Went Wrong! The Rune Curse That Swapped Everyone's Gender - Episode 2

After sending the signal to Carvel Victor, Etsion Jace stared blankly at the back of her hand. The glowing rune pattern from moments ago had vanished without a trace. But it had definitely been there. Thin, pale blue lines rising up from beneath the skin. That wasn't her imagination. (I need to record this properly.) Jace pulled out her notebook and tried to sketch the pattern she'd seen. Thud! Her foot caught on the chair leg. She fell. "Ow…" She caught herself with her hands and tried to stand. Her hands were thin. Her fingers were long. She wasn't used to this body yet. (Right, my center of gravity's changed.) As a Hextech researcher, she knew where her body's center should be. But knowing it in her head was different from what her muscles remembered—they still thought it was this morning. Every movement felt clumsy, like operating a Hex machine with the wrong controls. "Haha! You fell!" Laughter. Jace turned to see Jynx sitting on top of the research desk, swinging her legs. Even though Jynx was supposed to be in Jace's body now, she looked oddly relaxed. "I'm over here struggling to adjust, and you're…" "But this body is amazing! There's all these formulas packed in the head, and I just did some quick math and answers just kept coming out!" "Wait, really? Don't go abusing someone else's brain." "But it's so convenient!" Zarmon Caitlin stood by the window, arms crossed. "When will Victor respond to the message?" "Um… Victor usually turns off his signal while he's researching…" "In other words." "I don't know." Silence. The Skyrail Line 2 thundered past the window outside. Steam flowed white, then faded. "This Victor—what kind of person is he?" "He's… different." "Be more specific." Jace thought for a moment. "He's a researcher at the Piltover Academy, two years ahead of me. His specialty is Hextech efficiency optimization, but for some reason he collects ancient rune manuscripts. I've never asked why." "Why would he collect them?" "That's the thing—even when I ask him directly, he just says 'because I need to.' Also, he has a pretty bad mouth on him." "Pretty bad?" "Um… fairly bad, I guess." The floor shook. All three of them looked at the door at once. After a normal knock—*knock knock*—the door opened. "You sent a slow response, so I came." The person who entered was a young man in a faded gray coat. His hair was black, with faint shadows under his eyes. He had the pale complexion of someone who didn't spend much time outside. He held a cane in his right hand, but it moved naturally with his gait. His gaze was sharp. The moment he entered, he scanned all three faces once each. Then he stopped. "…Who are you?" He was looking at Jace. "Huh? It's me, Victor! Don't you recognize me?" "An unknown woman is telling me 'it's me, Jace.'" "I couldn't explain it all in the signal, but… we switched bodies." "Switched what?" "Bodies." Brief silence. Victor looked between the three of them. Jace in a girl's body. Jynx in Jace's body, inexplicably sitting on the desk. Caitlin in an Enforcer uniform, but without hair. "…Prove it." "Um, when Victor and I first met, you submitted a report with three pages of errors, and I corrected it and sent it back. There was a typo in the third section—the coefficient was 2.07, not 2.7." "…It's you." "Right!" Victor walked into the room and saw the stone on the floor. He picked it up with his gloved hand, setting it on the desk. "A rune stone." "You know what it is?" "I've read about it in texts. When brought close to Hex crystals, it causes interference. Theoretically, direct biological effects aren't impossible." "That's what's happening now. I need to know how to reverse it." "The only way is to go to Void Row—the deepest layer of the Undercity." Jace instinctively looked at Caitlin. Caitlin sighed. "Same conclusion." "The ruins of ancient rune civilization remain in Void Row. That's where we'll find clues to break the curse. But…" "But?" "Without someone who can read rune script, we'll find nothing." Jace thought for a moment, then spoke. "Victor, will you come with us?" "I have no reason to refuse." "Really? Just like that?" "I get to see actual ancient rune script. It has academic value." Jynx jumped down from the desk. The landing was heavy—she clearly didn't have a feel for the body's weight yet. "Then it's decided! I'll guide you! I know the Undercity inside and out!" "What about the checkpoints? There's the Underground Transit Restriction Act." Jynx grinned. "I always get through there just fine!" "Always? How?" "That's… my secret!" "That's not an answer. I'm an Enforcer." "So arrest me? If you arrest me, you won't have a guide to the Undercity anymore, right?" Caitlin pinched the bridge of her nose. Another deep sigh. "…I didn't hear that. This time only." "Yes!" Victor set the stone back on the desk. A soft *clink*. "One thing I need to confirm." All three looked at him. "Did the stone glow only once?" "…There was a second time." Jace looked at the back of her own hand. Nothing there now. But it had definitely happened. "Right after we switched, it glowed faintly. That's when the rune pattern appeared on my hand, and then it disappeared." Victor's eyes narrowed. "That might not be a result of the switch—it might mean the stone is still active." "Active…? What do you mean?" "The switch might have been only the first stage." The room went quiet. The sound of the Skyrail echoed in the distance. Steam hissing. Steady, slow, fading away. "So there's a second stage coming?" "We should hurry. That's all." Jace looked at the stone. It wasn't glowing now. Just sitting quietly on the desk. But if it was still doing something… (I need to move fast. But going 300 meters underground without knowing what's going to happen…) Jace gripped her own thin hands. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't scared. But curiosity was just a little bit stronger. (A rune stone. Ancient magic. The ruins of Void Row. All of it—nobody's really figured any of it out yet.) "Um… Victor, do you have research scheduled for today?" "I had plans until you sent the signal. Now my schedule's clear." "Then come with me. Will you do this for me?" Victor looked at her face for a moment. It was an unfamiliar face. But the tone of her voice and the way she chose her words—that was unmistakably Jace. "…Like I said. I have no reason to refuse." "Wait, isn't your face a little red?" "Don't say unnecessary things." "Haha!" Caitlin adjusted her uniform. "Then let's go. We'll pass through the Gate of Depths—the major checkpoint connecting Piltover and the Undercity—then head to Rusty Lane to gather supplies. We can't cross the Chemical Fog zone without gas masks." "You can buy gas masks at the Midnight Bazaar! About 8 Gears each!" "Does everyone have cash on hand?" "Um…" Jace searched for her wallet. Coat pocket, desk drawer. Found it. She checked the contents. "About thirty Gears." "Four gas masks at thirty-two Gears total. That's cutting it close." "Mine doesn't count! I'm used to it!" "That body is Jace's body now. I'd rather not have you die." "…Fair point." The four of them left the research room. Jace glanced back at the stone on the desk one last time. A pale blue light seemed to flicker for just an instant. It might have been her imagination. Or it might not have been. Jace closed the door. She started down the hallway, careful of her unfamiliar body's center of gravity. Victor's coat swayed ahead of her in the dim corridor light. For some reason, watching his back made her feel a little calmer. (He's a strange person, Victor.) The moment she thought that, her face grew warm for no reason. Whether that was because of the body swap or something else entirely, Jace still didn't know.

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Episode 2

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

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