Chương 87: NPC Training

Marcus The NPC heard Tyler. His expression shifted into something between amusement and contempt. It was pretty realistic for an NPC.

"I am an instructor," he said.

"I teach shapeshifting and illusion. Do you have payment, or are you here to stare?" Jenny stepped forward. She'd already pulled her crystals from her jacket pocket. She'd counted them out before we'd even left the car.

"Five crystals for a lesson," she said.

"Correct. One form per lesson. Temporary at first, but the Gaia System will offer permanent activation if your resonance aligns." He took the crystals and examined them briefly.

"What form?"

"Hawk," Jenny said.

"Red-tailed."

"Experience with birds of prey?"

"Former falconer. Ten years." Something changed in the instructor's expression. A spark of real interest.

"Then you understand their instincts. Good. Sit." Jenny sat on the log. The instructor began teaching, and I forgot about everything else for the next twenty-five minutes. He was incredible. He explained shapeshifting step by step, with practical, specific instructions that made the impossible feel like it was just a skill you hadn't learned yet. He talked about muscle memory and convincing your body that it already knew how to be something else. Jenny's hands shimmered after fifteen minutes.

Her outline flickered after twenty. At twenty-five minutes, she shifted. For twelve seconds, a red-tailed hawk sat on the log. Then she snapped back to human form, gasping. I gasped as well. I'd assumed she'd be trapped in her clothes. Part of me was even waiting to see her turn back human with her clothes on the ground. Oh well, I thought.

"The resolution," she breathed.

"Everything was so sharp. I could see the bark patterns on trees a hundred yards away." Tyler had been filming the entire time. His camera and the GoPro in my jacket were getting everything. I wanted to see how the live feed was going, but I didn't want to risk ruining the moment. Tyler went next. He paid his five crystals and asked for a bear.

"No apex predators for beginners," the instructor said.

"How about a rabbit, a songbird, or a house cat." Tyler looked offended.

"A house cat?"

"The nervous system transition is gentler with smaller forms. Would you prefer a migraine and a seizure?" Tyler took just as long to learn his new shape. However, he was able to become a house cat for almost thirty seconds. He was so happy about it that he almost forgot to be embarrassed. Then it was my turn. I put five crystals on the log. My hands were shaking.

"What form?" the instructor asked.

"Raccoon," I said. He looked at my shirt. Then he looked back at my face.

"Raccoon," he repeated.

"Yes." I tried not to look embarrassed.

"Any particular reason?" I could have given him a dozen reasons, such as Bandit or the videos. But really, it was just because I felt drawn to raccoons. I was drawn enough that I had a pet raccoon, which was illegal without a lot of paperwork. Or it could be the fact that I'd quit my last regular job to build a crystal exchange and start a ministry because a raccoon I hadn't met yet. Instead I said, "I just like raccoons." The instructor studied me for a moment. Then he said, "Close your eyes.

Picture the raccoon you know best. Not an abstract raccoon. A specific one." Bandit. Of course it's Bandit. He was thirty pounds of chaos with tiny hands and a permanent grudge against my kitchen cabinets. I could feel his weight on my lap, the way his claws kneaded my jeans when he was comfortable, the rumbling sound he made when he was content. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Focus on the hands," the instructor said.

"Raccoons are defined by their hands. Dexterous, curious, always reaching for something. Feel your fingers change." I felt it. A tingling in my fingertips that spread up my arms. It wasn't painful. It was more like my hands were remembering something they'd always known how to do.

"Don't force it," the instructor said.

"Let your body figure it out." The shift happened all at once. One second I was sitting on a log in the Ozarks with my eyes closed. The next second I was lower to the ground, and my hands were smaller, and my sense of smell had exploded into something I had no words for. I could smell Tyler's deodorant from fifteen feet away. I could smell the sap in the sign's living wood. I could smell something deeper, underneath everything, a richness in the earth that was probably mana itself. I opened my eyes.

The world was different. It was sharper in some ways, fuzzier in others. Colors were muted but contrast was intense. Everything had texture and depth and smell. I looked down at my hands, raccoon hands. Then the Gaia System notification appeared in my vision. WILD SHAPE TRAINING INITIATED. Do you wish to accept the Wild Shape (Raccoon - Common) Skill? Accept Reject MESSAGE FROM GAIA. What a steal. I selected "Accept" so fast I almost fell off the log. Immediately afterwards, another notification appeared.

WILD SHAPE LEARNED. Raccoon Form - Common Grade Skill Current Form Duration: Approximately 2 minutes Further training and practice will increase duration. Additional forms may be unlocked through advanced instruction. MESSAGE FROM GAIA. Don't waste this chance. I had two minutes as a raccoon and I spent every second of it just sitting on the log getting used to my new form. My sense of smell was amazing. However, when compared to my sense of hearing, it was nothing. My eyes were okay.

They'd probably be better at night. For the first time, I really understood him. I could feel an impulse to move and the need to investigate every single thing in reach. It wasn't misbehavior. It was instinct. Raccoons were built to explore, and the world was full of things to find. When the form faded and I was human again, I sat on the log and cried. I couldn't help it. Tyler looked alarmed. Jenny looked away to give me privacy. The instructor watched me with an expression I couldn't read.

"Sorry," I said, wiping my face.

"That was a lot."

"Don't apologize," the instructor said.

"The first shift is always overwhelming." I wanted to ask him a thousand questions. Who are you? Where did you come from? Is Noyasunai real? Is the Church real? Is any of this what I think it is? Instead I asked, "Is the raccoon god real?" The instructor's expression didn't change.

"I am an instructor. I teach shapeshifting and illusion. Questions about divine entities are above my pay grade." He paused.

"I will say that the Ozarks are full of wonders. Whether you find them depends on whether you're looking for truth or spectacle." I could swear I heard him mutter, "Of course he wants to turn into a raccoon." But when I looked at him, his face was blank.

"Return in three days if you want accelerated training," he said.

"The follow-up sessions cost less. Your gift will develop on its own through practice, but instruction speeds the process." Jenny handed him a business card.

"Do you offer group rates?" The instructor took the card with the careful precision of someone who was still figuring out how business cards worked.

"I will consider it." Even though we hadn't made it to the cabin, all of us were ready to go. Part of it was because we'd just used our offerings for training and part of it was because we'd just been through something life-changing. None of us felt the need to move forward, at least not today. I'd even forgotten about the livestream until Tyler smiled like a manic and pointed to the livestream count. Damn, I thought, looking at the number of viewers.

There was no way in hell that Tyler wasn't going to be coming back. Next time, I'll meet Noyasunai, I told myself. The hike back to the car was quiet. Tyler was busy responding to viewers. Jenny was already making notes in her phone about optimal training schedules and cost projections. I was thinking about Bandit. I could turn into a raccoon. For two minutes, I'd been a raccoon. I could even practice to get better. Then I could hold the form longer. Eventually, maybe, I could shift whenever I wanted.

A shaman who could become a raccoon, just like Noyasunai. From what I'd learned, he taught that the discarded had value and that second chances were sacred. I believed in those things, as well as all of the other beliefs I'd been told about by the Order of the Sacred Raccoon followers. When we got to the car, Tyler uploaded his footage to one of his other Cryptid Chasers channels. Jenny started a spreadsheet of crystal costs versus training value. Both of them were already thinking about the next trip.

I sat in the passenger seat and opened my laptop. Minutes later, I discovered that the domain was available. I bought it without hesitating. Then I started building. It wasn't for Crystal Trading. That was Tyler's and my business project. It could wait until tomorrow. No, this was something else. This was personal. The homepage was simple. A black background with a single image, the silhouette of a raccoon with glowing eyes, the same one from my shirt.

Below it, white text: THE CHURCH OF THE SACRED RACCOON "Find treasure in what others discard." I didn't have scripture. I didn't have doctrine. I didn't have permission from a god who didn't know I existed. But I did have all the stories I'd heard about him and what he stood for. I also had a two-minute video of myself turning into a raccoon, recorded on a hidden GoPro, and I had a story that I believed with everything in me. The world was changing. Magic was real.

A raccoon god lived in the Ozarks, and I was going to tell everyone about him whether he liked it or not. I had a feeling he wasn't going to like it, but that was okay. Prophets rarely got permission. I can't wait to see what he's going to say when we finally meet, I thought.