1-12 – Fixed Field
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*Whoa, they have these here?* 

At Evon, Jisha was preparing for her second journey into the wild. One of those steps included glancing at the consumables shop to see if their products were worth it. 

*I'm glad I checked this place!* 

It was always worth it to peek around at a hamlet's shops. You never knew if you'd find something you fancied. 

"Excuse me, I'll take... 10 cinnamon buns!" 

Unlike Uval, in which the consumables shop took form of a restaurant, the one here was more like a food stall. The shopkeep had products on display across multiple carts, and the scent of the delicious pastries wafted through the air. 

"100 Copper, please." 

Jisha was about to pay, but tragedy struck! 

*Ah, crap. My inventory's full!* 

"One second, sir. I'll be right back!" 

Jisha dashed over to Evon's materials shop. It, like frontier shops, also had a universal logo plastered on the front: a pyramid of six boullions. Here, she could dump her trash mob loot in exchange for a bit of cash. 

 

*>Inventory:* 

*>Ranged+ Pellet: 100* 

*>Melee Starter Stick: 2* 

*>Ranged Starter Pellet: 50* 

*>Shahar's Token: 1* 

*>Shard of Heat: 2* 

*>Healthy Twine Juice: 1* 

*>Wooden Sling: 1* 

*>Golden Sling: 1* 

*>Slimeball: 9* 

*>Lesser Insect Wing: 7* 

 

Though practically no material was completely useless, all 10 slots of Jisha's inventory were occupied. And her cinnamon snacks took priority! 

"Shia's shop, what can I do for you?" 

"Hi, can I sell these?" 

Jisha dumped all of her trash loot on the counter. 

"Of course. Here's 26 Copper for 9 Slimeballs, 7 Lesser Insect Wings, and 1 Healthy Twine Juice." 

 

*>-9 Slimeball* 

*>-7 Lesser Insect Wing* 

*>-1 Healthy Twine Juice.* 

*>+26 Copper* 

 

"Thank you!" 

Without delay, Jisha sprinted back to the precious food stall. 

"Sorry about that, here's the money." 

"No problem, young lady. Here's the sweets - I've boxed them up for ya." 

 

*>-1 Bronzium* 

*>+10 Cinnamon Bun* 

 

*These are worth it! Worth it!* 

 

*>Name: Cinnamon Bun*  

*>Type: Foodstuff (Edible, Consumable)*  

*>Description: A surfeit of sweet! Eloquently punctuates any meal.* 

*>Rating: F* 

*>Abilities: +1 HP/s for 10 seconds upon consumption.* 

 

In all honesty, if one looked purely at the functionality, they were overpriced. But functionality wasn't the only property of items! 

Jisha quickly took one of the Cinnamon Buns from her inventory, tore off a bite-sized piece, and stuffed it in her mouth. 

"Sho good... mm..." 

One of her favorite snacks had made an appearance! How was this purchase *not* worth it? 

As she nibbled on the soft, sweet bread, Jisha made her way towards Evon's frontier shop. There were several legitimately essential items she needed to pick up. 

The first order of business was a quality appraisal item. The magma slime situation really bothered her. The next time she stumbled upon another uselessly strong mob, she would at least know what to expect. There wasn't anything to fear, necessarily, but ammo management was an issue. It would be incredibly annoying to run out of ammo in another fight. 

The second was a map. Jisha had given her previous map to Abandoned Snow, so she currently didn't have one. With many years of experience in Synergy, she could easily create a mental map of a small area, but it was always a handy tool to have. They didn't cost much, either. 

*Hm... Those are the only things I need at the moment. If they've got some decent ammo, might as well pick some up.* 

Jisha wandered around the store and collected the items she was after. Unfortunately, they didn't have any good ammo, so she had to make do with a pack of 50 more "Ranged+ Pellets". 

 

*>-2 Bronzium* 

*>+1 Appraisal Eyepatch* 

*>+1 Large Local Map* 

*>+50 Ranged+ Pellet* 

 

*Ugh, my inventory's full again...* 

All 10 slots were filled, and this time, none of the slots held a useless item. With this small of an inventory, how was she expected to hold anything? 

There were multiple solutions to this problem, but only two of them would be accessible this early. The first one was to purchase additional inventory slots. The second was to rent a storage container at a settlement. However, in a hamlet, the smallest type of settlement in the game, neither of these options were available. She would have to reach a Village or maybe even a Town to access these privileges. 

It was unfortunate, but Jisha would have to forgo any mob loot she encountered unless it was valuable. 

*I think that's everything.* 

It was always important to double and triple check one's preparations before venturing out into the wild. Even at level 5, Jisha would not overlook this routine. 

In the real world, if one were going on vacation, camping, or some other natural expedition, it would be asinine to not ascertain a high chance of survival. In Synergy, the same concept applied. 

Jisha finished her checks; everything was good to go.

She took off into the wild once more. 

 

*>System message: Level up!* 

*>Name: Fae Sol* 

*>Level: 5 -> 6 (+1)* 

... 

 

Since she was already 97% of the way to the next level, it didn't take very long for her to level up. 

*-61* 

*-61* 

*-61* 

... 

The poor mobs in the area didn't last more than one shot against the Golden Sling. With only one pellet per mob, the cost per XP decreased significantly. 

Firing ranged weapons in a low-pressure environment was as natural as breathing for Jisha, so she used this spare time to scan her socials. 

*Friend requests... All useless.* 

There were a decent number of incoming requests, but they were all either from the Evon or Uval randoms. Was it because of her high level? Or was it because of her beautiful avatar? Perhaps it was both, but there weren't any significant names in the mix. 

*DMs... Ugh.* 

There was a dreaded mountain of unreads from a certain someone... 

*>Synycal: Heeeeey! Answer me! What quest did you get?* 

*>Synycal: omg... How am I supposed to get to Orchid Town? Huh???* 

*>Synycal: Hmph. Fine, I guess I'll trust you (~_~)* 

*>Synycal: AAAAAAH!!!!! I died from falling in a hole!* 

... 

They were all useless messages, but they were just like her. 

*>Synycal: I figured out how to get to the next town! Probably! But you're still not responding...* 

*>Synycal: Where are you?* 

A heavy weight grew in Jisha's heart as she read the last two sentences. 

*Haah, why is it like this every time?* 

The last time they talked was less than two hours ago, so why was she feeling like this? If any of the messages didn't carry Syny's characteristic hyperactivity, Jisha felt guilty reading them. 

*>Fae Sol: You're doing great! I promise I'll get you a gift when we meet up at Orchid Town okay?* 

*>Synycal: Hah? Airhead Jish who didn't even play the beta gave me a compliment???* 

*How did I forget she was a beta player? I guess I don't need to give her any early-game advice.* 

It was an extremely embarrassing thing to forget - her best friend was the reason she got into Synergy in the first place. How did something so crucial slip her mind? 

*>Synycal: But gimme a gift! Let's see, what's it gonna be?* 

*>Fae Sol: Uh...* 

Jisha vowed to give Syny a valuable item when they met up, but she had yet to find one. 

*>Fae Sol: It's a surprise.* 

*>Synycal: "Uh", you don't have anything, do you?* 

*>Fae Sol: ...* 

*>Synycal: Well I'm looking forward to the gift :)* 

*>Fae Sol: I promise it'll be something good!* 

*>Synycal: Sure... I'll bet you forget though.* 

Jisha sighed and closed her DMs. Syny was treating her like an idiot, but it wasn't unwarranted. In her first life, Jisha was notorious for being unable to pay attention to anything important. "Airhead" was probably even an understatement. 

*But was I really that bad?* 

Syny's expectations of her were rock-bottom. She was essentially saying she'd be impressed if even the concept of the gift was remembered... 

*Oh well, that'll just mean it'll surprise her extra when she actually gets something.* 

Jisha looked around as her surroundings finally began to change. The sky turned slightly purple, and a light fog dropped visibility by several metron. It was a sign she was approaching her destination: the Uval Cemetery.

Even though it had "Uval" in the name, it wasn't actually *in* the Uval Hamlet. However, it wasn't far from it. This whole time, Jisha had gone on a massive detour to arrive at a location that wasn't even that far from her original spawn point. 

This cemetery was in a special location, and only those who knew the exact methods to get there could see it. It was almost as if it was in its own dimension, because if you tried accessing it with the incorrect methods, there would be nothing there. It was almost like a certain train station from a certain wizarding world. 

The location wasn't the only thing special about it - Uval Cemetery was a special type of zone called a "Fixed Field". Fixed Fields were incredibly important for competitive integrity. They were often located in battle domes or colosseums of large settlements, but it was also possible for them to show up in the wild. 

In this environment, by default, every player's level would be reduced to the lowest's. For example, if a level 50 player entered a Fixed Field with a level 5 player, the level 50 player would be reduced to level 5 for as long as they were both alive in the designated zone. 

However, this wasn't the only thing it could do. It depended on which particular Fixed Field one was in, but across the board, they could host almost any type of custom match. Team matches, solo duels, battle royales... If there was a tournament format, it was useable in a Fixed Field somewhere in Synergy. 

And the one she approached now was infamous in her first life. 

A 12.5 metron wall laced with vines showed up in front of her. A black gate with detailed engravings of phoenixes guarded against the outside. It was time to complete the "Grave Robbery" quest. 

Yes, of the thousands of tombstones in this large cemetery, one of them was dedicated to none other than the legendary Shahar. And since this place was famous, nearly everyone who knew about it knew which tombstone was Shahar's. Jisha was obviously one of these people. 

*I'm literally hacking.* 

Was time travel a hack? An extremely complicated quest became excruciatingly simple with this easy hack! Just travel back in time and know everything about the future! 

Jisha bitterly smiled when she thought of the poor soul that would go through all the legitimate red tape to access this quest only to find that the reward was already claimed... 

*Well, that's none of my business.* 

She pushed the gate in front of her. 

... But it didn't budge. 

*Huh?* 

This was genuinely surprising. If the gate didn't open, it only meant one thing. 

*Who the heck found this place already?* 

It should have been expected. After all, someone in the beta could have easily found this place by accident. Maybe she had underestimated how lucky new players could get? 

*Eh, whatever. Let's just see what's going on in there.* 

Another convenient feature of a Fixed Field was its spectator mode. The method varied across Fixed Fields - usually in a colosseum, you would just sit with an audience. But this was a cemetery, so naturally, the spectator mode would be properly themed! 

The light disappeared from Fae Sol's eyes as Jisha became a free-floating spirit. Naturally, her body was vulnerable like this, but this wouldn't take long. She was curious as to who was fighting. What would a low-level battle look like? 

*Will it even be watchable?* 

Skilled players often found low-level gameplay unbearable to watch. Jisha typically had a high tolerance for this compared to others, but who knew what would happen on the literal first day of the game? On the first day of any new game's launch, nobody knew what they were doing. Everyone sucked. 

After floating around for a bit longer, Jisha found the source of her predicament. 

*9 players???* 

It wouldn't have been too surprising if one or two people found this place. But 9? 

*How?* 

They must have been a large friend group. There was no other possibility. Jisha grumbled about how these people had so many friends... but these thoughts quickly dispersed as she recognized two of the nine players. 

How could she not? After all, they were two players Jisha had spent a significant amount of time with in this life. 

It was obvious what was happening here.

Like a well-oiled machine, the seven other players turned to look at the girls of ice and fire. 

And in a very well-coordinated manner... 

*-25* 

*-20* 

*-10* 

*-44* 

... 

The seven players pounced. 

The elemental girls weren't unskilled. They put up a decent fight. But it was two versus seven. They had no chance. 

In less than 5 seconds, Hearth Ember and Abandoned Snow met a cruel fate. 

It wasn't a very long engagement, but Jisha watched it from start to finish. It was a cowardly assault. Even though they greatly outnumbered their opponents, the seven players still used ambush tactics to grasp victory. 

"Hahaha..." 

Jisha coldly laughed. 

Why? Even she didn't know. 

Technically, there wasn't anything wrong with what just happened. At the end of the day, this was a battle. Battles were meant to be won; the means were irrelevant. 

So why was she feeling this way? If Jisha had a physical body right now, what kind of face would she be making? She didn't know. What was this emotion? Annoyance? Lament? She didn't know its name, but the feeling was crystal clear. 

The depths of her heart were shrouded in both ice and fire. 

These seven players... 

They were in her way.

 

Thanks for 500 readers! - rz

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