I Woke Up In Another World As A Slave

The room held its breath after Tanja's outburst. Her hands trembled on the edge of the table. She looked like she regretted raising her voice—but not enough to take it back.

Stick leaned forward gently. "We're listening."

Tanja nodded, brushing a hand through her wild red hair as she sank back into her chair. Her eyes flicked from Big Man to Stick to Nakamura—who, for once, looked more curious than combative.

"Okay," she said, quieter now. "But you're not allowed to laugh."

Big Man nodded solemnly. "We won't."

She hesitated. "I've been stuck here for… years. I registered my guild before killing the Goblin King. Before Carnifex even happened." She sighed. "And I typed the name too fast. Meant to call it Flying Dragons, but, well…"

She gestured to the glowing status above her head.

Affiliation: Fling Drgns

Stick blinked. "You forgot the 'i' and the 'a'?"

"And the 'o,'" she muttered, flushing. "No one wanted to join. Even though I'm a Paladin."

A quiet chuckle escaped Nakamura.

Tanja looked up sharply. "That wasn't permission to laugh."

He lifted both palms. "Apologies."

"I only started playing a Tank class in MMOs because I wanted to name my character after myself," she added. "Tanja Novak. But I typoed K instead of J when registering the first time… And I figured, 'well, screw it, guess I'm a Tank Player.'"

"That's not how class selection is supposed to work," Nakamura muttered, massaging his temple.

"Tell me about it," she said flatly.

Stick smiled despite himself. "So what's keeping you here?"

Her eyes dropped to her plate. "The Goblin King. I can't burst him down fast enough. Every time I try, I get close—and then he goes berserk."

"Hm," Nakamura said, expression darkening. "Yeah. You don't want to be near him when that happens."

Stick shot him a glance. Nakamura's expression turned serious for a moment.

"I've been stuck in the forest zone ever since," Tanja said.

"Why didn't you team up with someone?" Stick asked.

"I did." Her voice softened. "Before Carnifex, we had a little adventurer group. A Ranger, a Healer, an Assassin—Steven, our leader—and me. Tank."

"That's a balanced group," Nakamura noted.

"Yeah," she said, and her smile faded. "We were all Third Wave Players. We quested through the Goblin Steppes together. It took us a long time to reach Level 10, especially since B4 closed off the North Strip… but we made it. In 2015, when the high-LVL NPCs left the zone borders to join the Player army, Steven said we should head to Pridtur. Gear up. Hit the Goblin King properly."

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Stick nodded. Smart guy.

"We noticed the Guild Registrar was still working, and…" Her voice trailed off.

Stick leaned in. "And?"

"I was supposed to handle the registration." Her hands curled into fists on her lap.

She didn't continue, but Stick heard her sniffling.

"What's wrong?" Big Man asked, voice calm and low.

"Fling Drgns," Stick said softly.

"Oh," Big Man murmured.

"50g," Nakamura said flatly. "That's a lot of wasted gold at Level 10."

"It's not wasted," Tanja snapped. "I have a guild."

"Hardly a guild if no one joins."

Stick shot him a hard look.

"What?" Nakamura said. "I'm stating facts."

Stick kicked him under the table.

"You little—"

"Stop it," Tanja said sharply. "He's right." Her voice cracked. "I blew everything we had."

Nakamura looked at Stick as if to say I was right.

"That's why they abandoned me," she whispered.

Nakamura looked away, disgusted with himself.

Stick's throat tightened. "What about other Players?" he asked gently.

"Most moved west before we were even ready for the King," she said. "The few that were left didn't need the Fling Drgns and moved on."

"So… you got stuck here. Because of a name?" Stick asked.

"Yeah," she muttered.

"How stupid."

"Tell me about it."

"Names carry weight," Big Man said.

Stick looked up at him—at the NPC still labeled Prized Possession on his Status—and thought of his own last name: Arslan. A name he gave himself. A name meant to invoke a legend. A name he still didn't fully understand. I'm such an idiot.

"You're right," he said quietly. "Sorry."

"So why not leave after Carnifex took over the Leveling Zones?" Nakamura asked. "Somebody could've brought you to the capital."

"To what, get stranded in the 40s zone?" she said. "No thanks."

"If you joined Carnifex," Nakamura said, "you could at least grind safely to Level 25. Like me."

But she was already shifting in her seat, uncomfortable.

"Also…" she scratched her chin. "I owe a bit of money."

Nakamura raised an eyebrow. "To whom?"

She pointed upstairs, as if embarrassed.

"You owe money to an NPC?" Nakamura was scandalized. "Of course. Bots only know one thing."

"I used to pay a lot." Tanja shrugged. "But Redfield lets me stay for free since I'm the only Adventurer around. I hunt food for the inn and the smith, Aspen—he's across the square, but he mostly sharpens axes now and complains about his knees. Every night, Redfield, Aspen, and I eat whatever I catch. It's… a system."

Stick leaned forward. "But that's not sustainable."

"I know. That's why I want to upgrade my gear and finish paying back what I owe before I try again." She hesitated. "I heard rumors. About people who smuggle NPCs into the west."

Stick noticed that Nakamura held his thought back at the mention of the smugglers.

"If I had the money, Redfield and Aspen could go. Start over. I'd follow after when I was a high enough LVL to cross the border by myself. That was the plan."

Stick nodded slowly. "But if we teamed up… you could fight with us."

Her eyes brightened slightly. "You think so?"

"You're a tank. We're not. We need someone like you."

"What about the Carnifex Players that blackmail him? They only step down when I'm around."

Big Man nodded. "Redfield's tougher than he looks. He'll be fine for a while."

"We won't be gone for long. Just a day or two," Stick added.

Tanja looked conflicted but tempted. "You'd really want me in your party?"

"Yes," Stick said. "You're already doing the hard part—surviving in this world."

Nakamura leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "You need the LVL-up and the loot... I'm not against it."

Big Man smiled warmly. "Tanja," he said gently, "that's your given name. It fits you."

She blinked at him. "That's… That figures, coming from an NPC."

"It's still true," he said, without a trace of sarcasm.

Tanja lowered her gaze, embarrassed but pleased. "Alright," she said. "But I'm not promising to save your butts."

Stick smiled. "We'll take our chances."

"I'll need time to pack," she said quickly, pushing away from the table. "And I have to inform Redfield."

"We're not leaving tonight," Stick said. "Just get ready. We'll head out in the morning."

She hesitated again at the doorway, glancing back at the fire, at the three of them gathered at the table.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

Then she disappeared upstairs.