Ethan's consciousness drifted somewhere between awareness and unconsciousness, his mind sluggish as fragmented voices filtered through his ears.
"—You really did a number on him," a male voice said, tinged with amusement.
A female voice responded, laced with clear annoyance. "It was in the heat of the moment."
"He was already down."
"He was a variable. A strange one. And he disrupted the plan. Months of reconnaissance and infiltration—wasted."
There was a heavy silence before the man sighed. "Yeah, well… I guess he made an impression."
Ethan did not make a sound at first, but activated Appraisal.
What he saw, made no sense to him.
The female's attributes were off the charts!
Name: ???
Race: Enhanced Human
Threat Level: Extreme
STR: 15->ATK: 30
INT: 7->MATK: n/a
VIT: 12->DEF: 12
MEN: 3->MDEF: n/a
DEX: 20->CRIT: 40
And so were the man's but clearly, the two had their own specialties.
Name: ???
Race: Enhanced Human
Threat Level: Extreme
STR: 10->ATK: 20
INT: 12->MATK: n/a
VIT: 12->DEF: 12
MEN: 3->MDEF: n/a
DEX: 20->CRIT: 20
Threat Level: Extreme.
Ethan's stomach dropped.
Fantastic. I'm tied up and helpless with two people who could break me like a twig.
Ethan then groaned, blinking blearily as his actual physical senses slowly reconnected with reality. His head throbbed like hell.
The last thing he remembered was a fist coming at his face at full speed.
Now, his wrists and ankles were bound, a fact he became acutely aware of as he shifted slightly, causing the restraints to scrape against his skin.
And he was a prisoner of two superhumans.
The conversation stopped.
"He's awake," the male voice said casually, as if Ethan wasn't currently tied up like a kidnap victim.
Footsteps approached, and a figure crouched beside him. Ethan blinked a few times, his vision adjusting to the dim lighting of the room. A tall man with sharp features and tousled dark hair regarded him with curiosity, his expression open yet assessing.
Not outright hostile, but not friendly either, just suspicious and vigilant.
"Rough wake-up, huh?" The man smirked. "Sorry about the restraints. You know how it is—new guy appears out of nowhere, causes chaos, kills a few people, which is completely fine because Syncs are not people, well, they are, ahem, never mind that, before I digress; the point is you made a pretty badass impression on the young lady here."
Ethan swallowed, his throat dry. "You know, both of you aren't making good first impressions either—you could've just… I don't know, not puched the lights out of me and not tied me up?"
The man let out a chuckle.
"Oh, believe me, I suggested it. But our lovely friend here—" he gestured lazily over his shoulder, "—thought you might be dangerous."
Ethan's gaze shifted to the side, landing on her.
The girl from the bus.
Her dark shoulder length hair was tied in a loose ponytail and the form fitting, tactical gear only served to exemplify her athleticism that he had seen in action. The most striking feature about her was a faint scar running along her left chin up to her lower lip.
She stood a few feet away, arms crossed, her sharp violet eyes scrutinizing him. She looked exactly as she did before—except now, she looked vaguely annoyed at his existence.
"You're alive because of me," she said flatly. "So help us out, who are you or rather what are you?"
Ethan frowned and stuck to his point. "Pretty sure I was alive before you punched me in the face."
The guy beside him laughed, clearly entertained. "Alright, alright, let's keep things civil. Since you're stuck with us for the time being, let's do the introductions properly."
He patted his chest. "Name's Dain. You're currently in the presence of the Resistance—which begs the question, do you know anything about us?"
Ethan just shook his head.
Dain looked at him for a few minutes and then broke out in a grin, "I appreciate the honesty!"
He then jerked his thumb toward Nayu. "And you already met our lovely Nayu. She's a delight, isn't she?"
"Shut up, Dain."
"See? Warms the heart."
Ethan let his head fall back against the floor with a sigh. "Great. So I get rescued, punched, and restrained. Five-star hospitality, really."
Dain grinned. "Oh, don't take it personally. We just don't know what you are yet. Clearly, you aren't a Sync. Blowing Syncs to bits is very un-Sync like behaviour. But nonetheless you are an unknown and you disrupted our meticulously planned plans, so, restraints are the best case scenario."
That made Ethan pause.
Nayu shifted, her arms still crossed. "You don't act like a Sync. You don't behave like one. But that doesn't mean you are a friend."
Dain tilted his head slightly. "There are two possibilities. One—" he held up a finger, "—you're some new breed of Sync spy we've never seen before. Two—" he held up a second finger, "—and more likely, you're one of the Iced."
Ethan frowned. "Umm, I have no idea what the either is."
Dain raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's Ice-like behaviour."
He glanced at Nayu. "I am sure he doesn't even know the era, much less the situation."
"That doesn't mean anything," Nayu replied. "A sleeper Sync wouldn't know they're a Sync either. Besides, he could be lying."
Dain deadpanned.
"You're telling me that you do not trust my intelligence now?"
Nayu rolled her eyes.
"It isn't like that, your instincts have mostly been spot on and you are probably the best at spotting lies, but this is a very strange situation. And you do not know what I saw, he summoned weapons out of nowh-."
Ethan groaned and cut her off. "Oh, for the love of—look, I don't know what an Iced is, and I'm pretty damn sure I'm not one of those people who almost killed me back there, a Sync. So how about we skip the part where you both treat me like a rogue toaster?"
Dain snorted. "Well I'd love nothing more buddy! Saves me a lot of stress of being hypervigilant. The problem is, Nayu said she saw you pull out weapons out of nothing. Now, that is very dangerous and hence the suspicion and the paranoia, you know how it is right?"
Ethan did see the point. He sighed and nodded.
I'd do the same if not more.
Nayu rolled her eyes. "Keep him bound. He stays under watch until we know for sure."
Ethan let out a slow breath. He was captured again, but this time, at least his captors were human.
Well, superhumans as per the Appraisal. But then, he did not have a choice and he needed answers.
For answers, he'd have to play along. At least, for now.
Nayu eyed him sharply again.
This bitc-no, she saved your life Ethan, calm down. And she can kick your ass to hell and back. Deep breaths.
"Hey buddy you feeling okay? Your breathing is heavy? ,"Dain asked sounding concerned.
Somehow, that question gave Ethan a sudden urge to smack Dain's face.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Ethan bounced slightly in his seat as the vehicle rumbled over uneven terrain.
His hands remained bound, though Dain had been considerate enough to buckle him in.
Safety first, apparently.
"So, let me get this straight," Ethan said, eyeing Dain, who sat in the driver's seat. "You're telling me that Syncs were actually human?"
Dain let out a low chuckle. "Buddy, they are human. Or…urgh this is so hard to explain to a newbie."
I am sorry that I am not from this world hence do not understand your common sense!
Ethan frowned. "That sounds straight out of a horror fiction."
Nayu, who was seated beside him, scoffed. "More like technological horror. And not fiction. You really don't know anything, do you?"
Ethan annoyed at her attitude, but exhaled softly, reigning in his reactive anger.
"Look, if I was Iced, like you keep suggesting, then yes—technically, I slept through all of this and do not know anything."
Dain glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
"Then let me give you the gist: At some point, some genius idiots decided that humans were too inefficient at running Neuvaris, so the United Nations of Neuvaris, the UNN decided to build an AI—called SAI, or Synchronization Artificial Intelligence. Its original purpose? To optimize human resources and technology to reach the pinnacle of civilization."
"Lemme guess," Ethan drawled. "It went rogue."
Dain let out a dry laugh. "No, the scary part is—it didn't. SAI did exactly what it was programmed to do. It iterated, refined, and found the ultimate solution to inefficiency: Control."
Ethan's stomach sank. "It figured out how to… control humans?"
Nayu's expression darkened. "Yes, re-code them. That's Synchronization."
Ethan swallowed. His mind pieced together the implications, filling in the gaps. "So, the people out there… the ones I saw eating, working, living—"
Dain nodded. "They're all running on SAI's code. No free will. No self-determination. Just a perfect, seamless, optimized world."
Ethan inhaled slowly. "And you guys? The Resistance?"
"We're the rejects," Nayu muttered. "Some of us were missed by the system, some resisted the programming, and most…" she trailed off. "Most were deemed unworthy of Synchronization."
Dain gave a half-smile. "Translation? The system has trouble coding people with mental abnormalities, physical disorders, and even psychological defects. The ones who didn't fit the mold were cast out."
Ethan stared at them. "So… you're telling me the only thing keeping me from getting brainwashed is being broken in just the right way?"
Dain grinned. "Now you're getting it."
Ethan groaned. "Fantastic."
The vehicle continued forward, carrying them deeper into the unknown.
"So where are we headed?" asked Ethan.
"To the base. You know, we are the Resistance. Hence we have a base. Oh you will absolutely adore Varia! Our leader. She is the stereotypical resistance leader, you know, all work no play."
Nayu gave Dain a sharp look.
"Fine! Fine! I'll stop."
__________________________________________________________________________________
The vehicle moved on in silence.
It was awkward.
Ethan shifted in his seat, eyes darting toward Nayu briefly.
She remained silent, staring out the window, arms crossed.
Not exactly in the mood for small talk, it seemed.
With nothing else to do, Ethan sighed and opened his System.
Immediately, his eyes widened.
There were major changes in the Quest.
The world name, once listed as "???", had now updated to Neuvaris.
The Type entry had also changed—from "???" to Technological Dystopia.
Ethan swallowed.
Well, that tracks.
But the biggest shock? The World Explored percentage.
51%.
"What the hell…?" he muttered under his breath.
Just a short while ago, it had been zero.
This meant that there was not much to this world other than what Dain had told him about.
But that also means this is effectively another version of Earth, like an alternate dimensional one. He did not have to even know the history for the exploration percentage to fill in over half the way, which meant it was something he was aware of.
His eyes flicked to the Survival Timer. It was still ticking down, but now, only nine hours remained.
He tightened his fists.
I just have to survive this long. Then I can clear the Initiation Quest.
But then his gaze landed on the Discovery Report.
(0/1) Discoveries Made.
Ethan frowned.
So the plot of the world does not count as a discovery?
He had no idea what he was supposed to be discovering.
Great. Survive for a day, but unless you also figure out some massive revelation, we will not let you go home?
The OES was seeming more and more like a black company.
Closing the interface, he leaned his head back against the seat and let out a quiet sigh.
At least one thing was clear—
His time in Neuvaris was not over just yet.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Ethan was jolted awake as Dain gave his shoulder a shake.
"We're here."
Blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted, Ethan glanced outside.
A strange fence-like bubble dome enclosed the area.
Before he could ask, Nayu whispered, "It's the NET—Neural Extent Terminator. It literally terminates SAI's perception of this place. And it also camouflages the area it encloses. That's the only reason we can exist in peace."
They stepped out of the vehicle, and Ethan took in the sight of the Resistance base.
It didn't seem very base-like. It looked more like an idealistic town, the only thing that stood out was the people. Almost all of them wore a tactical outfit similar to Nayu and Dain. And carried weapons, although for a technologically advanced world, their weapons were a bit old fashioned, similar to the ones he had seen on Earth in the Arms and Ammunition store.
Before he could process anymore, a woman approached them.
"Commander Varia is expecting a full debrief," she said.
Dain sighed and looked back at Ethan.
"Well, it seems like the tour is gonna have to wait."
__________________________________________________________________________________
Ethan followed closely behind Dain and Nayu as they walked through the heart of the Resistance base. The deeper they went in, houses gave way to open fields littered with makeshift workstations humming with what looked like repurposed hardware, while scattered groups of people performed maintenance on what looked like scavenged tech.
Despite the hurried movement of people shuffling between the stations, there was a sense of order—everyone had a purpose, a role to play.
Nayu and Dain led him into a reinforced building at the center of the base.
It looked like a steel box and groups of four patrolled around it.
Dain nodded at a passing patrol and flashed what looked like an ID at a scanner built into the wall. Suddenly, the walls slide open.
Okay, I judged too quickly, this does look like a base.
The moment the heavy doors shut behind them, the atmosphere changed. The inside was like a huge empty warehouse. There were make-shift workstations but they looked more professional than the ones outside.
Tension filled the air.
A woman stood at the far end of the room, behind a makeshift control station.
Commander Varia.
Ethan could tell immediately—this was not someone to mess with.
She was tall, broad-shouldered, and had sharp, calculating eyes that seemed to peer into the very soul. Her dark auburn hair was styled short in a professional version of a pixie cut, and her tactical outfit was perhaps the most loaded one he had seen until now, with various guns and knives lining every possible pocket and holster.
If Ethan had to summarise it, there was a quiet intensity to her, like a storm barely contained in a jar.
Ethan activated Appraisal and was not disappointed. She definitely was capable enough to be a leader.
Name: Varia
Race: Enhanced Human
Threat Level: ???
STR: 25->ATK: 50
INT: 15->MATK: n/a
VIT: 20->DEF: 20
MEN: 6->MDEF: n/a
DEX: 40->CRIT: 80
She didn't look up at first, instead skimming over a digital pad before setting it aside. Then, she exhaled sharply and met their eyes.
"Dain. Nayu. Report."
Dain sighed, clearly not looking forward to this, and stepped forward.
"The mission went sideways. We lost the primary objective. Couldn't track the Synchronization Facility."
Varia's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why?"
Nayu's tone was clipped. "A variable showed up."
That was apparently Ethan's cue, because Varia's piercing gaze zeroed in on him. He had to resist the urge to take a step back.
"And that," she said slowly, "is the variable?"
Ethan opened his mouth, then closed it. He had wanted to refute being referred to less than human but Varia's countenance suppressed him.
Dain gave a half-hearted shrug. "We're still figuring that out."
Varia did not seem amused by that answer. "Did he compromise the mission?"
"Unintentionally," Nayu admitted. "He disrupted the synchronization transport, but… he also took out multiple Syncs. Alone."
That got Varia's attention. Her expression didn't change, but Ethan could feel the weight of her scrutiny deepen.
"And how, exactly, did he accomplish that?"
Ethan felt an uncomfortable prickle on the back of his neck. He knew what she was really asking—was he human?
Dain smirked. "He's an Iced, probably. Woke up recently, but not too recently since he possessed SAI classified contraband, hence he has had enough time to collect and stock up, but he also doesn't seem to know jack about the world."
Varia folded her arms. "That doesn't explain his combat capabilities."
Before Ethan could answer, a stray thought hit him—why hadn't Nayu mentioned it? And why hadn't Dain either.
Back on the bus, he had literally summoned weapons out of thin air. A shotgun and a handgun—retrieving them instantly into his inventory and calling them back into existence.
Nayu had seen it.
She had to have seen it.
And she obviously told Dain.
They questioned him.
But, they had yet to mention it.
And now, even standing in front of their leader, they still weren't bringing it up.
Why?
Nayu and Dain exchanged a brief glance—Ethan barely caught it.
They were keeping this quiet. But why?
Nayu then broke the silence.
"The variable seemed to have a stroke of luck and the element of surprise. But he could only take down a few, before I had to step in and prevent his elimination."
Varia's sharp gaze fell on Nayu and she looked back, in what seemed to be a confrontational staring game.
"He is your responsibility," she finally said. "No one has the time or resources to get an Iced combat ready, that is if he wants to go for it. We maybe at the end of the times, but we do uphold freedom of choice to whatever degree we can. But he will have to earn his upkeep nonetheless, so give him the Perfect Synchronization Serum and if he lives, I expect you all to formulate a new plan within a month to remedy your failure on this job."
Ethan's jaw tightened. The words "Synchronization" and "Serum" together in a sentence?
Am I gonna be a lab rat now?
As Varia walked off, Nayu and Dain snapped to a sort of a military salute.
Once she was out of earshot, Ethan's panic surfaced and he looked at Dain.
Seeing the pitiable and panicked look on Ethan's face, Dain chuckled softly.
"Dude, don't look at me like that, it is not what you think. Let's go, I'll explain on the way."
Saying so, the three of them walked out of the oppressive and tense building.