I couldn’t trol my body; it felt like being trapped in a dream. Oh, I must have fallen asleep.

  “See? No one’s around! Rex, Charlie,” Lucas called in a soft, reassuring voice right o my ear. His rge hand patted my long hair, his smile easing my nerves. I looked up at him, biting my lip; the knot of fear in my stomach began to unravel, and I reached for his hand.

  “I’ll protect you, so don’t be afraid.” He had to yell over the roar of the pne’s engines, and even then, I could barely make out his words. I just smiled as he gently caressed my cheek and lips. A loud siren bred, and the ramp began to lower. My heart shot into my throat as I looked down and saw just how high we were. We moved toward the edge together, but with each step, my fear slowed me until I was almost crawling.

  “You do it! I believe in you, Charlie!” His warm breath brushed my ear, sending a tingle down my spine. A pleasant warmth spread through me, and although I khe reason, I didn’t want to admit it. Despite my hesitation, his fidence gave me the push I o take that st step—and jump.

  Ba my apartment, I woke up sprawled on the floor, massaging my temples. What happened? What was that? It felt too real to be a dream. Was I imagining things? Crap, gaming for hours in these old… I mean, these “brand-new-but-still-crappy” capsules must’ve messed with my head.

  I reached for a spare bra lyio the sofa and put it on. “Tin-. How long was I out?” I asked.

  “Twenty-six minutes.”

  Great. I really passed out. “Call Lucas.” I could feel the cold, metallic surface of the capsule pressing against my back as I crawled over to it. It still had that sterile, “brand-new” smell—like something straight out of a hospital. Lovely.

  The e didn’t take long, and soon his face appeared oV s. “Hi, Lucas,” I waved. “Took me lohan I expected. The old creep wao grope me…” I half-joked.

  I hit a nerve—his face twitched before he sighed. “Charlie… do you still want to go to Patrick’s?”

  “Yep, we could,” I nodded. “But first… I passed out and had this weird dream. Do you remember if we ever tried to jump out of a pne? And I was terrified of heights, but you helped me calm down and jump?”

  “What? Hold on!” he said, sounding genuinely surprised, then abruptly ehe call. What the hell?

  I shrugged, realizing I should at least tidy up before Lucas arrived. To his credit, he showed up in record time—just ten minutes—right as I was stepping out of the shower, ed in only a towel.

  “Charlie!” He pulled me into a hug, his voice shaking. “Your stupid puter let me in! What were you thinking? We o crush it! You ’t trust anyone! We have to talk—about all of this, your memory, the future, everything. Do you hear me?”

  I nodded, but stayed quiet. His sense ency seemed over the top; why was it so critical to talk? Was it just because I’d passed out after leaving my experimental capsule?

  I sent him to the kit to grab us some beers while I slipped into a shirt and my old bck—oversized now—hoodie. He returned with the st beers from my fridge, atled on the couch. I pulled my legs to my chest, resting my on my knees—my new favorite position.

  “Lucas, you were in the military, right? Aive?” I asked quietly. He nodded, so I tinued with a slight smile. “That’s the differeween us. When I try to solve problems, kingdoms fall. When you try to solve problems, you create empires.”

  Lucas fell silent, lost in thought, then gripped my shoulders and said, “Charlie. Let’s make a pn. I o know what you’re pnning.”

  “Alright,” I murmured, mostly to myself, tugging the loose hoodie closer. “The big picture is to make money, obviously.” He nodded in uanding. “Maybe eve my old body baeday, but that’s more of a long-term goal.” He didn’t react, so I let out a sigh.

  “To get stronger, I signed up for a mai. It should only take a few days, and I’ll get to meet Queen Irwen. She’s pnning to attack the empire and start a civil war.”

  “Wait!” Lucas cut in, eyes wide. “She’s going to attack us? Our fortress?” I nodded, firming his suspi. “I’ve actually been upgrading it instead of leveling myself! Charlie, you should’ve told me!” His face flushed with frustration.

  “Wait,” I echoed, leaning over to hug him, which thankfully stopped his outburst. “I was ting on that, silly Lucas. The Emperor is giving out pensation, you know?” I murmured, resting my cheek against his chest.

  He hugged me back, then said, “pensation? We’re… oh, I get it now!” Realization dawned on his face. “Okay, that’s a smart pn. So you meet Irwen, and then?”

  Slowly pulling out of the hug, I grinned. “I know of a pce that boost our defenses, but we’ll need allies for it. You, me, and Ia enough on our own. So I’ll try recruiting a streamer I know—or maybe Lisa. Not sure yet.” I avoided the fact that I liked her. Well, both of them. Great. “Anyway, other issues? Who hem when you’ve got whiskey?”

  “Charlie, you ’t just ignore problems. That’ll eat you up inside.” His haly brushed my shoulder. I forced a smile, but the way he touched me left me uneasy. It showed how much he cared, but not quite like a brother. It was… different, but simir in a way.

  I hope my body won’t ge me; I prefer girls. Beauties like Katherine.

  “I’ve been like this forever; you know that. I’ve always been a coward. Whenever I faced bigger problems, I’d run off to the pub, and just like that, the problems disappeared.” After a pause, I lowered my head aed it against his shoulder. It felt oddly natural.

  Hormones, maybe? Or somethiing my brain? We lived in a simution, after all. “I trust you, Lucas. I know you’ll do what’s best for both of us. And now, I o do what I do best—py the game. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

  He didn’t respond, so I finished my beer and offered him a small smile. “We’re strether than we are alone. Don’t worry—if you tell me to jump, I’ll make sure to give you a kick.” Like Lisa had taught me, I hugged him, adding, “I have a mai ing up, and I o get ready, so I need some sleep. And please… don’t destroy Tin-. I still need him if I’m ever going to get my body back.”

  At st, he seemed to snap out of his thoughts. g his fist, he said firmly, “I uand. I’ll help you. Together, we do this.” With that, a calm settled over me, easing the tightness in my chest. The fact I ged gender and quite like it? Living in simution? Problems to ignore.

  No, you’re not taking over, mister fear, or whatever you are!

  With a ling, Tin- jolted me awake after just six hours. That damn idiot! I almost stormed into the living room to smash him to pieces before remembering I’d set the arm myself. That memory came just in time to stop me from knog over ay beer bottle. With an improved sense of smell now, I realized how badly I reeked. Great—another shower. Siurning into a girl I shower like twice a day iwice a week. Annoying.

  After logging in, I headed straight for the vilge armory. My pathetic stick wouldn’t cut it, so I needed a real on.

  The flickering torches cast warm light across the shields, swords, and spears lining the walls. The owner had decorated the wooden beams with little touches—horseshoes, nails, odds and ends. .

  At the back of the armory was a long ter spanning wall to wall. A nervous-looking vilge soldier stood in front of it. “I’m running low ohing! You ’t just barge in here with nonsense. Scram!” yelled a burly man behind the ter, gesturing even for me to leave.

  The young soldier shook his head, sidestepping to make way for me but not leaving. The mert’s sharp stare hit my pride as a veteran gamer. I wasn’t some clueless vilge punk, but I kept calm and said, “Sir, I’m here to buy, not beg. I’m—”

  “A paying er?! Why didn’t you say so sooner? What does your heart desire?” His abrupt shift to a friendly mert was almost arming.

  “As a priest, I could use your advice,” I said, keeping my voice low as the soldier cast me a strange look. “I have skills that require a melee on, ideally something with a long reach. But I’m not sure which type would be best.” One day the imperial general taught me, g your enemies when they least expect it. Thus, out of the er of my eye, I noticed the soldier cheg out my backside. Oh, I see… okay, no problem.

  Wait—every problem!

  “A le melee on, you say? Well, for your level, I only have a rare whip, but it’s pricey. Most folks stick with swords, he cssiot whips.”

  He pulled a whip from an old, dusty chest, and it gleamed in the dim light. The handle was ed in bck leather, with a blue crystal embedded at the base. Its long body was made from braided strips of deep blue leather. Damn. The whip held me spellbound, and he caught the hungry gleam in my eyes.

  [Whip]Quality: 3-rareATK:5-6Restri:Level 5Armor-pierce:3Effects:twice the damage if the target’s armor is pierced, otherwise damage is halvedPrice:10g“That’s fine, I’ll take it.” Without a sed thought, I handed him ten gold. He blinked a few times, clearly surprised. Did I overpay? Great. I’m rich for a day, and this is what happens.

  Terrific.

  Before I could sed-guess myself, he quickly scooped up the s and added, “Young Priestess, the whip is a one-handed on. You could pick up something for your other hand.” Good point. I almost walked out without maximizing my setup. What is wrong with me today?

  “I’d love a shield, but I ’t—I’m a priest. Maybe a dagger?” I mused aloud, gng over at the dispy cases behind him.

  “I’ve got just the thing for you!” The mert dashed to the ste room and dragged out another old, nearly broke. It creaked as he pulled it across the floor, releasing a cloud of dust as he ope. After muttering a few choice words about the dirt, he handed me a silver bracelet—rge enough to sit fortably mid- my forearm.

  [Magic shield]Quality: 4-exceptionalDEF:3Restri:Level 5, 20 INTActivation cost:reserve 20 mana while the shield is activePrice:100gWhat?! I’d always thought magic shields were exclusive to magien! I bit my lip, holding back my excitement and f myself to shake my head. No more overpaying!

  “How long have you been holding onto this junk? Someone must’ve pulled a fast one on you,” I said as calmly as I could manage. Hide the excitement, that’s the key here.

  “I thought a fine priestess like you would find it useful. Clearly, I was mistaken.” He started to put the shield back, and my eyes followed it, a little too eagerly.

  “Alright, it’s better than nothing. I’ll give you fifty.”

  “Fifty? I paid seventy gold for this heirloom! I ’t go lower thay.” He hesitated, his expression somewhere between bargaining and genuine offense.

  “Oh, so you got ripped off?” I sighed dramatically, him a sweet smile. “Look, I’ll cover your loss and even throw in a little extra. Seventy-five, and we’re done.”

  He narrowed his eyes, then muttered, “You cheeky… Fi’s yours.”

  I happily strode out of the Armory and headed to my stop - the Entment-Alchemy shop. As a nouveau riche, my thoughts were about how to spent the fortune, so I browsed the most expehings.

  [Ring of mini Alchemy]Quality: 5-epicDEF:3Restri:Level 5, 20 INTEffect:shrinks normal potion to small sizePrice:800g* use the ring maximum of 10 sed after creating the potionThe ring was stunning, with intricate red ruched around its band and twinkling ruby stohe price was high, but that was exactly why I, The Exploiter, could justify it—assuming this exploit worked. Even though the shop was empty, I grabbed the ring before anyone else could “snatch” it and brought it to the dy at the ter.

  “Wele back, dear! You’ve picked a lovely ring, but you’re just beginning your enting journey. You should at least be a begi enting before you delve into alchemy,” she cautioned.

  “Actually, dy, I’m an Expert Entress now,” I replied with a broad smile, clutg the ring tightly. My precious.

  With a warm ugh, she offered me a quest. “The ring is yours, and I’ll even throw in two bags of supplies for free—but only if you’re truly an Expert Entress.”

  Ouch. That pricked my pride as an exploiter. “Watch me work my magic,” I said fidently, and made my way to the ter of the shop, where she had enough open space to ent freely.

  Carefully, I removed my tiara and anoi with essence, making sure to coat every inch. Then I focused on the rurag each tour slowly and deliberately. Maybe I’m more tale this than I thought.

  As the old pervert had taught me, I took my time, eling my mana gradually, not rushing. It was tough to keep my focus, but I felt more in trol, steadying the flow of mana. The rune began to glow, drawing dust from the tiara. Surprised, I quickly replehe dust, feeling a spark of satisfa as the entment took shape.

  When I presehe tiara to the dy, a soft red light illumihe crimson hue of the snowfke I’d etched on it.

  [You ented the Wreath Tiara. Rating: 83%][Wreath Tiara]Quality: 1-o:+1 INTEnting:+6% fire resistance* use the ring maximum of 10 sed after creating the potionHer eyes widened as she carefully hahe item. “I’ve never seen such talent! To reach Expert level in a single day—amazing! Though your enting speed is still slow, even slower than most novices, you’ll improve. Speed isn’t everything, but you’ll o work on it.”

  I shrugged. Even exploiting has its drawbacks.

  As a reward for the quest, she handed me two bags of supplies, one for each profession. These bags were a lifesaver, able to hold up to eighty different item stacks, making enting so much easier.

  Finally, some det gear.

  Then, I added a stack of recipes to the ter. She chuckled. “Dear, have you fotten? You only learn three recipes per stage. Yes, you’re allowed twelve runes as an Entress, but just three for Alchemy.”

  Damn, she was right—I’d fotten. I’d already had a rough time as a bcksmith for learning recipes for three swords instead of small daggers like I should have. The memories of all that time wasted in mines flooded back, and I let out a heavy sigh as I put most of the recipes aside.

  [Rune of Agility]Quality: 1-o:Adds Agility to equipmentIngredients:1x Enting powderPrice:20c* use the ring maximum of 10 sed after creating the potion[Agility Potion Recipe]Quality: 1-o:+5 Agility for 10 minutesIngredients:1x Alchemy Reagent, 1x RodumbinePrice:10c* use the ring maximum of 10 sed after creating the potion[You have learhe sedary job: Alchemy][You bought cauldrons x10][You lost 825 gold]The st thing I needed was ten cauldrons. Each cauldron was about the size of a small pot—at least, the iron-be was—and small enough to hah one hand. I smiled politely as the dy cautioned me that I’d only need one. Little did she know, my pn required all ten, and no amount of persuasion could sway me. A newly discovered exploit was waiting.