Freya looked over her message again. And deleted it again.

She paced around her shop, again.

It’s okay. I need to investigate this game system thing. If it’s a curse that’s just affecting me or if it’s affecting the whole world. It’s part of my shaman duties, Freya nodded in agreement with herself. 

It certainly was not because she was curious. Definitely not because it seemed exciting.

She looked at her wrist. Then started typing.

Once she finished, she only glanced over it then hit send. Any longer and she might have deleted it.

Pacing while straightening things around her shop, her gut twisted and turned. Had she made the right choice? Or just given in to temptation?

Beep!

[Infamous Biscuit: So you changed your mind]

[Infamous Biscuit: Great!]

[Infamous Biscuit: What made you change your mind?]

Freya slowly searched for each letter. Each time she pressed a key, she double-checked that her finger found the right one.

Before she finished typing two words, another message came.

[Infamous Biscuit: Share your location with me. I’ll fast travel]

Remembering what he showed her before about fast-travel, Freya found the button to share her location.

In a blink, the tall, dark-skinned man appeared in her shaman shop. He wore the same fine green clothes as two days ago.

Infamous Biscuit looked around at his surroundings. The smaller front part of Freya’s shop was designated for customers. A small wooden table with chairs sat near the window. She also stored some less valuable potions and materials here. Old wooden shelves held rows of labeled large jars and small glass vials. Just before the dividing wall that separated the back of her shop sat a gnarled wooden counter. On top of it, a small wooden sign had the words ‘Shaman Evenkey’ whittled into it.

“So you’re really a shaman,” he said, looking at the sign.

 “Of course I am,” Freya said. “I’m the Shaman of Safka.”

“But you want to get involved in this ‘game mess’ as you said,” he said, trying but failing to hide a smile.

Wiping a bit of non-existence dust away from a shelf, Freya carefully chose her words, “Well, I want to help finish what we started with your octopus spirit. Plus, this ‘leveling up’ thing might help with my shaman work. I’m responsible for exorcising demons. If I can become stronger through the game system, then it could help me deal with more powerful demons.”

She left out the fact that she had never encountered any powerful demons she couldn’t handle before getting involved with the game.

“Also, I was worried about people in Safka not being able to contact me, but I found something that can help.”

Freya pointed to the stylograph pen on her desk. Alongside it was a note.

{Please use the enchanted pen to leave a message detailing your concern or issue} 

Infamous Biscuit picked up the pen. Freya could see him read the invisible text box that popped up with it. 

“Where did you get this?”

“I traded for it with another player.”

He looked a bit surprised to hear she interacted with another player, but he didn’t comment on the matter. 

“It’s an odd item, but I can see why you got it. Does it work?”

Freya nodded, “My friend tried it with me. Here,” she gave him a blank piece of paper.

Infamous Biscuit scribbled on it. Pulling back her sleeve, she revealed her inner wrist. On it was a neatly written {Hello!}

“Depending on the severity of the problem, I can decide to fast-travel back here.”

“Do you get a lot of emergencies?”

“Well, not really, but it’s my responsibility as a shaman to help with demonic problems.”

Infamous Biscuit nodded, “I see. Sometimes I also have to log off the game when something comes up. So, it should work out. Since that’s all settled, you should get up to speed with the details of this game. Have you tried out any of your other fighting skills?”

Freya shook her head.

“I think there’s a practice field not too far from here. They’re a good place to get the hang of new skills.”

Freya held up a hand, “Wait, just one thing.”

She paused, then stared unflinchingly into his eyes.

Using her most serious voice she asked, “Why are you helping me?”

Taken aback, Infamous Biscuit opened his mouth to answer but then closed it. She felt a twinge of guilt, but she had to know.

It was one of the conditions she laid out for herself. If she was going to get involved with this game mess with this strange man, she had to know why he was helping her. She couldn’t accept that he was just doing it out of goodwill. 

For all she knew, he could be a part of her ongoing hallucination. Or maybe even the perpetrator of the curse keeping a close tab on his victim.

“Well, I need teammates and you seem nice to work with. But if I’m being honest-” Infamous Biscuit scratched his beard.

“It seems like a unique opportunity to work with someone who really knows this world. NPCs can teach skills to other players. A lot of players have tried to get shamans to teach them skills, but none have succeeded as far as I know.”

Freya flashed back to her talk with Azer.

“Azer said something about wanting to watch me exorcise a demon and then kill me in order to pick up a skill book,” her blunt voice and hard stare left no room for excuses.

Infamous Biscuit winced, “I’ve heard of that rumor, but I don’t think it’s likely to work. Skill book drops are pretty rare and–as far as I understand–only monsters will drop items. So, it doesn’t seem like a good way to try to get a skill.”

“But, you do want to learn shaman skills?” 

“Not necessarily shaman skills, but I’ve heard shamans are good meridian manipulators.”

“Meridian manipulator,” Freya repeated, trying out the word. “Shaman’s need to have strong meridian lines in order to create qi or, in other words, energy. We need to be able to produce and channel energy into talismans and potions. But I’ve never heard the phrase ‘meridian manipulator.’”

“There’s a lot of skills that require the prerequisite ‘Meridian Manipulation’. In the skill description, it says shaman are experts. A few players have somehow stumbled upon the skill on their own, but it’s difficult to learn apparently.”

Freya looked at him closely. His nervousness seemed to decrease after telling her his reasons. She felt better knowing he had other motives besides just being nice. It sounded like he didn’t have any bad intentions. Or perhaps she was too trusting. 

She sighed and thought to herself, I want to trust him, but I hope I’m not being stupid about this.

“Let me see your hand,” she asked.

Infamous Biscuit held out his hand. 

She took his dark-skinned hand and extended her consciousness. Under her touch, warm energy rolled through his body.

“You have strong enough meridian lines. If you were ten years younger, I’d consider taking you as an apprentice.”

“I’m flattered, wait really? Could I learn Meridian Manipulation?”

“Again, I don’t know what Meridian Manipulation is,” Freya said, rolling her eyes. “But given enough practice, you should be able to channel your qi.”

“Wait a minute. Check your skills. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.”

Infamous Biscuit excitedly walked her through the interface to her extended stats.

[Freya Evenkey]

[Lvl 13 Martial Artist]

[200/200 HP] [100/100 MP]

[Vitality: 7]  [Mental Power: 2]

[Strength: 6] [Stamina: 5]

[Dexterity: 2] [Perception: 12]

[Charisma: 4] [Luck: 2]

[Skills:]

[Meridian Manipulation (Lvl 5)]

[Potion Brewing (Lvl 3)]

[Necrosummoning (Lvl 2)]

[Object Enchantment (Lvl 2)]

[Light Jab Heavy Straight (Innate) (Lvl 0)]

[Sweeping Kick (Innate) (Lvl 0)]

[Self Healing (Innate) (Lvl 0)]

[Shockwave (Lvl 1)]

“That’s interesting,” Infamous Biscuit said after listening to Freya list off her skills. He drummed his fingers across his beard.

“So, you do have Meridian Manipulation! And you also have some alchemist, wizard, and necromancer skills that must have come from your prior knowledge as a shaman.”

“I still don’t understand what Meridian Manipulation is,” Freya said, frowning. She sat on top of her shop counter.

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. Well, did that answer your question?” Infamous Biscuit asked, getting back on topic. “It’s a bit selfish, but I think we can both learn something from each other.”

Freya considered him. Despite only meeting him two days ago, she wanted to trust him. A small voice in her head warned her not to get more involved in this game curse. But when she thought about the boring alternative, the more she wanted to dive into this fantasy.

“Alright, I believe you. Wanting to learn something isn’t a crime, so long as it does not involve killing me.”

Infamous Biscuit laughed.

“No killing,” he assured her.

Freya straightened in her seat, “So what’s this practice field thing?”

---

~Info Corner~

Character Cards:

 

*Freya Evenkey*

Class: Martial Artist

Age: 24

Nationality: Oyosian

Ethnicity: Solangi

Lives In: Safka, Oyosi

In-Game Skills: Light Jab Heavy Straight (innate), Sweeping Kick (innate), Self-Healing (innate), Meridian Manipulation, Potion Brewing, Necrosummoning, Object Enhancement, Shockwave

Likes: Almost any kind of food

Dislikes: Wizards, boats

*Infamous Biscuit*

Class: Druid

Age: 25

Nationality: American

Ethnicity: African American

Lives In: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In-Game Skills: Nature's Blessing (innate), Plantaekinesis (innate), Nature Summoning (innate), Energy Boost, Tangling Vines

Summoned Creatures: Healing Sage, Vine-Pine

Likes: Mint chocolate-chip ice cream, green-colored things

Dislikes: Meat, hot weather