Jessica Stanley did not expect the first response to her Craigslist post to come from Portland.
She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, rain ticking against the window, her burner phone propped up against a stack of textbooks like a makeshift streaming rig. Her face changed to the Unknown preset. The Portable Camera (Animal Crossing) was recording quietly, its little leaf icon glowing in the corner of her vision.
The text was short.
"If this is real, I don't want to be undead anymore. Name your price."
Jessica exhaled slowly.
"So," she murmured, "guess we're doing this."
She sent back a single message:
"Video call. Consent required. You can hang up anytime."
The system stirred — not a mission, not yet — just a quiet awareness, like it was leaning over her shoulder.
The man on the screen looked… wrong.
Not monstrous. Not feral. Just tired in a way that didn't belong to the living. His eyes tracked movement too smoothly. His posture was rigid, frozen in a body that hadn't needed to relax in decades.
A vampire.
Mid-tier, if she had to guess. No human-eating red eyes. No newborn volatility.
"I don't want to die," he said immediately. "I just don't want this."
Jessica nodded. "I can't erase what you were. But I can change what you are, if you consent."
"I consent."
The system finally chimed.
[OCCULT TEMPLATE DETECTED: VAMPIRE]
Compatibility Check… APPROVED
Consent: VERIFIED]
Jessica reached — not physically, but internally — for the humming core of her legacy ability.
She didn't overwrite him.
She translated.
She selected an extant template the system flagged quietly in her periphery:
[OCCULT OPTION AVAILABLE: GLOAM-FAE (Sylvan Variant)]
Environmental Binding: Required
Longevity: Reduced
Predatory Instincts: Suppressed]
She applied it gently.
The change wasn't dramatic. No screaming. No light show.
The tension drained from his face first. His breathing hitched — then started, shallow but real. Color warmed his skin, just enough to look alive without becoming human.
He pressed a hand to his chest. "I… can feel the forest again."
Jessica swallowed. "You're bound to it now. You'll need emotional equilibrium. No feeding on fear. No isolation spirals."
He nodded frantically. "That's fine. That's— that's perfect."
Her phone chimed.
[TRANSACTION CONFIRMED]
Client Funds Converted: +4,000 SC
Jessica stared. The system had just extracted payment from the client and converted it into SC.
"Oh," she breathed. "This is going to get out of hand."
---
The second call came from Seattle.
A human this time. Late twenties. Anxiety vibrating off her like static.
"I don't want power," the woman said. "I just want… quiet."
Jessica hesitated — then checked compatibility.
[OCCULT OPTION AVAILABLE: GLOAM-FAE (Urban Drift Variant)]
Consent: VERIFIED
Risk Level: LOW]
This conversion was lighter.
No immortality. No predation. Just longevity and emotional dampening, a physiology that absorbed chaos instead of amplifying it.
When it finished, the woman blinked like someone waking from a long nap.
"Oh," she whispered. "It's quiet."
Another chime.
[+2,500 SC]
Jessica leaned back against her pillows, heart pounding.
---
The third attempt failed.
A vampire tried to lie about consent.
The power stalled instantly — resistance snapping back like a rubber band, leaving Jessica dizzy and nauseous.
[ERROR: CONSENT WITHDRAWN]
[REMOTE ALTERATION FAILED]
She ended the call without apology.
"Okay," she muttered, rubbing her temples. "So that's a hard no."
What she learned remote use worked — but only with:
* Full consent
* Emotional stability
* Existing occult templates
* Lower resistance targets
Anything stronger would require proximity.
Good to know.
---
Jessica was halfway through documenting the first successful conversion — rewinding the footage, checking emotional stabilization markers — when the system finally stopped pretending she hadn't just done something unprecedented.
A sharp, clean chime cut through the room.
[MISSION #1b: TEST YOUR LEGACY ABILIT
Objective: Alter a willing target.
Status: COMPLETE
REWARD: +1,000 SC]
The SC total ticked upward without fanfare.
Before she could comment further, the system continued — tone adjusted, more formal now, as if correcting its own oversight.
[MISSION #2: TEST YOUR POWERS ON WILLING SUBJECTS
Objective: Perform safe occult alterations.
Conditions Met:
• Consent verified
• Extant occult template used
• Remote application successful
• Subject stability confirmed
Status: COMPLETE
REWARD: +300 SC]
Jessica leaned back against her pillows and laughed quietly.
"Oh, you're definitely scrambling," she said fondly. "I love that for you."
The system did not deny this.
[MISSION #5: EVALUATE CLIENT EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
Objective: Scan post-alteration emotional stability and satisfaction.
Status: COMPLETE
REWARD: +500 SC]
Jessica raised an eyebrow.
"So now you're grading me on bedside manner?"
No answer.
Still, the reward processed instantly.
Curious she checked her system log.
[SC COMPLETE SUMMARY – VERIFIED:
• Previous Life Transfer (Sera White – Influencer Status): 50,000 SC
• Mission #1 Completion: +500 SC
• Mission #1b Completion: +1,000 SC
• Mission #2 Completion: +300 SC
• Mission #3 Completion: +500SC
• Mission #5 Completion: +500 SC
• Client Conversion Payments: +6,500 SC
SC Withdrawals/Purchases
• Playful Charm Aura (Infinity Nikki): -1000SC
• Port Angeles Withdrawal: -90SC
• Portable Camera (Animal Crossing): -500SC
• Trustworthy Glow (Infinity Nikki): -1200SC
• DIY Toolkit (Animal Crossing): -800SC]
[TOTAL CURRENT SC: 55,710]
The number sat there, bright and unapologetic.
Jessica stared at it for a long moment before smiling.
"Yeah," she murmured. "This is going to change everything."