Wanted: The NPC Who Sold Out Six Times

Rina woke up in a body that belonged to an NPC, and the first thing she noticed was the dialogue box that kept forcing safe answers into her mouth. She had crossed into a game world where real players moved freely, while she had a job route, a locked room key, and the uneasy memory that she had once died as something far larger than a human. Her hands still knew how to fix broken gear, draw strange marks, and calm angry customers, even when the game should not have allowed it. Then the first handwritten note from the mystery buyer was read beside her sixth sold-out circle box, and the words on it made her realize someone had been tracking her for years.