~A few hours previously~

Infamous Biscuit arrived at the Safka town square.

He checked his messages to see if Freya answered his question yet. The three blinking dots indicated she was still typing. Checking his surroundings, he orientated himself and started walking towards Freya’s shaman shop. Finally, her reply popped up.

[Freya Evenkey: One spoonful every 3 hours]

He nodded to himself and typed back.

[Infamous Biscuit: K cool]

Secretly, he felt a little excited about helping Freya with her shaman work, even if it was just finding a potion in her shop.

Walking just a block from the center of town, Infamous Biscuit came to Safka’s shaman shop. As he opened the door, the bell chimed above him. Nobody was inside. It felt odd not to see Freya here.

Following her instructions, he found the jar filled with dried mint leaves on the top right shelf and dumped out its contents. At the bottom, her spare key fell out. He unlocked her backroom and stepped inside. In the middle of the room sat a large flat bench with various tools and beakers strewn across it. Shelves and shelves of glassware with various liquids and herbs inside filled most of the walls.

It really looks like an alchemist’s workshop in here. I still don’t get why she chose martial artist over alchemist, Infamous Biscuit thought, shaking his head.

Heading towards the far right corner, he looked at the second shelf from the top. Despite the intimidating collection of vials, they were all clearly labeled. Finally, Infamous Biscuit found the potion.

{Leckrierium}

The milky substance in the glass bottle didn’t look as mystical as he imagined.

Fancy name, but I guess it’s probably just like an antacid for indigestion.

Infamous Biscuit pulled up his messages again to look for Freya’s directions to the patient’s house. As he walked out of the backroom, he heard the ting of the shop bell.

He looked towards the door a little sheepishly, not sure how to explain his presence. But surprisingly, the person that walked in was not an NPC townsperson. They had a green text box over their head.

[Nightscythe]

[Lvl 9 Rogue]

The player wore all black and had short bright blue hair. He was shorter than Infamous Biscuit but tall for the average player.

“Hello,” Infamous Biscuit began pleasantly.

“What are you doing here?” the rogue asked darkly. His gaze zeroed in on the bottle in Infamous Biscuit’s hand. “Stealing? Did you kill the shaman here?”

“What no! I-”

Infamous Biscuit dodged as a knife hurled at him.

Pain sliced through his arm. Luckily, only the knife’s edge caught him. Ducking under Freya’s desk for cover, he shouted, “Summon vine-pine!”

Before the pinecone creature could form, Nightscythe was already on him. Bringing out his staff, Infamous Biscuit swung at the other player–knocking him against the wall.

Surprised he landed a hit, Infamous Biscuit scrambled over the desk and headed towards the door. In a close-combat fight, he as a druid, was at a disadvantage against a rogue. He was also worried the rogue might be at a higher level than his text box said. The rogue class allowed the player to hide and manipulate their stats. Although, the fact that he landed a hit on one of the most agile classes suggested the rogue was a low level.

“Come back murderer!” Nightscythe shouted.

“I didn’t kill her!” Infamous Biscuit yelled back, “I was just going to deliver this potion she asked me to. Look if-”

Another knife flew at him. This time he dodged it.

The vine-pine lashed out a long appendage, narrowly missing the rogue. Potion bottles crashed to the floor behind the creature as it recoiled its other arm.

Can’t you be more careful! Infamous Biscuit thought internally. It wasn’t the vine-pine’s fault, but he felt bad for making a mess in Freya’s shop.

But those worries flew out the window when he saw the next thing the rogue was about to throw.

“Wait! Don’t-”

BOOM!!!

Infamous Biscuit flew backward. Wood and glass whizzed past him. He hit the ground with a thud.

Pain blazed his skin and head.

“Healing!” he immediately directed at himself.

Glass shards and splinters wormed their way out of his skin, almost causing more pain than when they entered. His skin began to knit back together, and the foggy feeling of a concussion eased.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at his stats.

[Infamous Biscuit]

[Lvl 20 Druid]

[200/310 HP] [300/350 MP]

Breathing a sigh of relief, he slowly started to move. His clothes were littered with holes, but his quick healing had saved him from most of the damage. Splintered wood and broken glass surrounded him. A strange chemical herb smell hung in the air. Blue sky shone overhead.

Infamous Biscuit recognized the item Nightscythe threw. It was dubbed an “air bomb.” Player wizards had devised them using runes and rare reactive mana stones. He was lucky this one seemed relatively weak.

A few meters away, on the other side of the destruction, lay Nightscythe’s bloodied body. A text box still hovered over him, so he wasn’t dead yet. He wasn’t making any effort to drink a healing potion, either because his injuries prevented him from moving or he didn’t have any.

Glass crunching underneath his feet, Infamous Biscuit walked over to the rogue. Does this guy know Freya? Why is he so concerned about her?

“Why the fuck did you throw that?” he asked, looking down at the player. “I know those items aren’t cheap, and you’re also going to lose a life out of it too.”

The rogue’s unfocused eyes struggled to find him. But once they did, they gave Infamous Biscuit the same look of hatred.

“I have an extra life,” Nightscythe said, blood bubbling from his lips. “They don’t.”

..............................................

~Info Corner~

[Rogue]

[Suitability: DPS]

[Following the rogue way of life can gain one speed, agility, and the ability to get into any place (even places they shouldn’t)! Rogues are adept with daggers and throwing knives. They may not be the most honest, but it’s best not to make an enemy of one!]