In Stillwater Hold, a shrill bell rang out, announcing lunchtime.
The inmates shuffled out of their cells at a leisurely pace and lined up to receive their food. Calling it food was generous. It was barely any better than slop.
A bald man with tattoos covering his entire upper body slowly raised a spoonful to his mouth, chewed, and immediately showed a look of disgust. It was his first time eating this stuff.
Not far away, a pink-haired woman with short hair had already grabbed her tray and was striding toward him with obvious menace. The surrounding inmates quickly backed off to avoid getting caught in the fallout.
"Hold it, Violet." A figure stepped into her path, only to be shoved aside by Vi without a hint of courtesy.
"You want to make sure you never see Powder again?" the man said with a smile, casually tossing out the line.
Vi froze for a moment, then threw down the tray and grabbed him by the collar. "You in a hurry to die?"
Even under such a blunt threat, he didn't look the slightest bit rattled.
"So, can we find somewhere to talk now?"
In a dim corridor opposite the cafeteria corner, the two stood facing each other.
"Let me introduce myself. My name's Caleb." The black-haired man in front of her was somewhat thin, and he gave her a small smile.
"You mentioned Powder." Vi's fist was already slammed against the wall, only inches from Caleb's face. "You better actually know something."
"Of course I do. You left that kid behind in the fire and handed her over to Silco, but before you could even start regretting it, you got thrown in here," Caleb said without concern. "Of course I have news about Powder. I just need to see some sincerity from you first."
"Name your price." Vi's gaze steadied again, and she took a step back.
"By now, she should've blown up a building and killed six Enforcers," Caleb said, rubbing the back of his neck. The bed in this place had dug into him so badly he hadn't slept all night. "Assuming today is Progress Day."
Vi's expression shifted wildly. She remembered the little girl from that alley years ago, sobbing her heart out and begging her not to leave her behind.
Not once in all these years had she gone a single night without regretting what she'd done.
"What do you need?" Vi looked up, her expression firm once more.
"Get me out of here." Caleb lifted his head and stared straight into Vi's eyes. "Of course, you'll have to do exactly what I say."
"Say the word." Vi answered without hesitation.
"Good. You can go beat him up now." Caleb pointed at the tattooed man who was still eating. "Remember to smash his jaw. The more shattered, the better."
Vi curled her lips into a grin, her knuckles crackling as she clenched her fists, then strode off.
"Hah…" Watching her walk away, Caleb's body, which had been held stiff by sheer force of will, finally sagged as he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Seeing the commotion in the distance, Caleb lost whatever appetite he had left and simply got up and returned to his cell.
He had only just transmigrated here. He'd already spent three full days trapped in this sunless hole before finally seeing the tattooed guy get locked up and Vi go looking for trouble with him.
They always said transmigration came with a system, but Caleb's mind had been dead silent.
Luckily, by staking out the cafeteria every day, he'd managed to find Vi in time. Otherwise, with Vi's personality of punch first and ask questions while punching, whether he could've walked away in one piece was anyone's guess.
"What a scam… You dump me into a prison out of nowhere and don't even give me something to defend myself with…"
Lying in his cell and staring up at the pitch-black ceiling, Caleb figured Caitlyn would still take a little while to get here.
Thankfully, this was a single cell. He hadn't showered once these past few days, but being filthy was better than drawing attention to himself.
Sure, he'd chatted with Vi, the biggest name in the cell block, and like her, he'd been thrown into prison without any criminal record, all mysterious and suspicious.
But that still wouldn't stop a few hotheaded idiots from taking a liking to him and deciding to use him to blow off steam or make a name for themselves.
With his scrawny build and his former shut-in nerd background, how was he supposed to stand up to these knife-edge Zaun lunatics?
If Caitlyn didn't show up in time, he might end up scarred for life.
Not worth it.
The noise outside died down a little. By the look of it, Vi would be taken away by the guards for a "talk," then thrown into solitary until Caitlyn came to see her.
There was nothing he could do in here anyway, so he might as well clear his mind and meditate.
[Ding. Congratulations, host. You have officially interfered with Arcane's main storyline. Your beginner's gift package will now be issued.]
"It's finally here!" Caleb shot upright in bed, eyes lighting up. "Come on, let me see what's in the package!"
[Basic Hextech Mastery, Basic Alchemy Mastery, Body Enhancement Lv. 1, Combat Enhancement Lv. 1.]
"Nice." Satisfied, Caleb closed his eyes and felt the flood of knowledge pouring into his mind, along with the strengthening force spreading through every part of his body.
"So what's the next mission?" Now that the system had finally appeared, Caleb's motivation surged, and he asked eagerly.
[Latest mission: Prevent the coming war between Piltover and Zaun, and achieve equality between the twin cities.]
[If the mission fails, this system will no longer provide any assistance.]
"What kind of nonsense is that… I just learned the controls and now you want me laning against Faker?" Caleb propped his chin on one hand and fell into thought. "Piltover and Zaun are practically destined to beat each other bloody, so why do I have to wade into this mess?"
"And it's the hardest possible setup too. Not just stopping the war, but making both sides equal."
Caleb sank into deeper thought. "The Piltover Council and Silco in the Undercity aren't exactly easy people to persuade…"
"Whatever… One step at a time…"
He rolled over, thought for a moment, then asked, "System?"
[What is it?]
"I'm bored out of my mind waiting for Caitlyn. How about you put on Naruto for me? I only made it to the Chunin Exams…"
[That can be arranged…]
While Caleb was catching up on shows, a blue-haired woman arrived at this isolated prison late that night aboard a rocking little boat.
She entered the towering gate alone and came to stand before the warden.
"I'm here to see one of your inmates." Caitlyn lifted her head. The warden, who looked like a troll, was sitting down and still towered a good three feet over her.
"That can be arranged, sure, but the inmates here aren't exactly talkative," the warden said lazily, looking down at this girl from a noble family.
"He was injured by his own accomplices. He must have a grievance he wants to report." Caitlyn's expression was serious, then she thought for a moment. "Hmm… He should be the one who was brought in today."
"Oh, Inmate 2135… But I'm afraid he can't see you."
"Why not?"
"Because there was an… incident."
"What kind of incident?" Caitlyn narrowed her eyes.
"Let's just say it wasn't a good one."
"You don't understand. I absolutely need to question him."
"Oh-ho-ho-ho, maybe later. Once his jaw can move again."
The elevator stopped on Level -40, and Caitlyn stepped into the dim corridor.
From the cells ahead came the sound of fists pounding against a wall, each hit heavy and powerful.
Vi sensed something and whipped around sharply. "Who are you?"