25 Scammed by a Sham!

Almost reaching his destination Zach slows down while catching his breath, he takes a shortcut through an alleyway that he is familiar with. As stated before Zach has memorized escape routes all over London, it's sad but efficient and has become even more useful lately.

He approaches the exit of the Alley and starts to hear whispers, the voices start getting louder as he steps out into the crowded street.

.Was this part of town usually this weird?.

The street is covered in fabrics and weird looking stalls selling a variety of things, looking up he sees more fabrics hung from the Victorian style windows blocking the suns rays on the stalls below.

He looks left and right and sees a sign that says "Sunshine Bazaar",

.I feel out of place.

Almost everyone is dressed in white gauze with the exception of a few people confirming that Zach had not gone back in time.

Zach feels the need to ask someone what the occasion is but is too anxious and self conscious to initiate a conversation.

Forgetting about it he begins to walk in the supposed direction of the outdoor gym, continuing on his path he enters a part of the "Bazaar" that is filled with games. Dice games, card games, guessing games and even fighting competition.

Shouts come from all around him but one particular one draws him in,

"Young man! You look quite strong don't you, come on over and you can make a quick buck!"

A decrepit old man invites Zach over with a large smile revealing his semi-toothless mouth. He squats over a small wooden table and has a £20 note lying atop it.

"Sit sit! Attend this old one for a minute, whats your name lad!"

Zach sits upright on his knees politely due to the previous promise of money,

.What's the problem?.

"Problem? Ha! There's no problem, I just want to have a wager with ya."

Zach seems a little confused but realises he's about to be scammed, hes newly formed pride won't let him leave without showing off a bit.

.Wager? I'll beat anything you got old man!.

"Hahaha! Thats the spirit, ok its simple. Beat me in an arm wrestle and you earn the £20!"

Zach hears these words and is assured of his victory, hes been upgrading his strength ever since he got the system and is now at 17!

.Ok lets do it!.

Zach places his arm down on the table and waits for the old man to follow.

The old man lifts up his long sleeve revealing a skinny saggy arm, he places his arm opposite Zachs and locks his hands with him.

"Ill count to 3 and then we start"

.Ok.

"1"

Zach balances himself making sure he can't be pushed too easily,

"2"

Zach slightly moves his elbow to get a better angle on the old man,

"3"

The old mans arm inflates like a balloon turning into a huge muscled monstrosity,

.What the-.

BANG

Zach doesn't have time to be surprised as he is buried into the floor.

...

...

A few moments pass before Zach unstably stands up while rubbing his head,

.What was that you cheater!.

"Cheating? I don't recall any cheating?"

The old man grins and extends his hand as if asking for something,

Zach seems confused and shakes his hand,

"I don't want to shake your hand i want you to give me compensation!"

.What compensation?.

"The compensation for winning, gimme your coin!"

He grabs at Zachs neck and lowers his T-shirts collar revealing a bizarre golden chain with three coins hung on it.

.Whats this?!?.

Zach is astonished at the necklace that has appeared around his neck and accidentally lets the old man grab a coin from it, instead of snapping the chain the coins phases through the necklace and connects itself to the old mans necklace.

"I DID IT HAHAHAHA"

The man runs down the road leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

Zach touches his neck feeling at a loss of what to do,

.Was that important, i hope not.

He gets a bright idea,

.System, what is this place and what is this necklace?.

[Access limited]

...

.Ok, are the coins important.

[Very likely]

.Whatever lets leave before i get into more trouble, this place obviously has some magical origins so ill come back later when i have access to the system.

Walking forward towards the gym Zach finds himself at the same spot that he was at before, he tries again and the result is the same.

.Fuck, what is this a time loop? Ah! i get it, it's one of those "Back from whence you came" puzzles.

Zach quickly backtracks through the Bazaar, and as he walks the sun seems to be getting hotter... It's never been this hot in England before!

He enters the alley way and is relieved as the heat fades as he walks, he exits and the sky is still bright and cloudless.

The necklace also seems to have disappeared.

Marking this down in his head Zach tries to memorise the conditions of entry and carries on with his previous journey.

.Please nothing go wrong, please nothing go wrong.

Zach mutters to himself as he approaches the park that holds the gym, it used to open up into a field but with the increased awareness of the value of exercise they turned it into a massive outdoor gym.

He looks over the fence that encapsulates the gym and spots a dozen or so muscular men covered in body oil.

They seem to be working pretty hard on the equipment and showing off to onlookers,

.I guess if there is anyone to learn from, it's them.

He enters the gym while wearing his school shoes and scuffed dirty T-shirt, Zach certainly looks like he has no clue what hes doing.

.Someone will help if they see me struggling... Right?.