Happily examining the two piles of loot in front of me, I quickly take inventory of my spoils. The Nox Chameleon dropped thirteen small black scales, its tongue (while kinda gross, it's sticky saliva might be useful), and half of a gem much like the one I found in the last room, but this one glows with a pulsing purplish black energy. Similarly, from the Lux Chameleon I got fifteen small white scales, its tongue, and another half of the gem, this time glowing a yellowish white.

As soon as I pick up the two gems, the illusory forest around me flickers and fades out of view, revealing the plain room behind it. Shaped like a giant cube, flat stone walls lead up to the high ceiling, where an identical surface hangs over the room. In random spots throughout the chamber, tall stone pillars reach up to the ceiling, those must be the weird trees. Otherwise, the room is barren. Hauntingly empty for its size.

Dumping the rest of the loot into my inventory, I set the two half gems aside and pull out my waterskin as I pick a spot to rest while my stamina and health recovers.

Overall, that battle went much better than any other so far. I didn't take very much damage (at least compared to my other combats), and I actually feel like I might be improving. My combat sense doesn't tell me so much as to what to do, rather how to do it. What muscles to use, how to turn my body, etc, it's like having an expert instructing your every move. Powerful for sure, but I still have to work to follow its teachings.

But then, I'm definitely getting better. There have been a couple times where I did something before my instinct’s prompt, or without really thinking about it. I’m in no means perfect, but it's kinda unnerving how fast I’m learning.

Perhaps it has something to do with the game, or the nature of TVR itself? In the lab, we were never able to achieve anything close to this level of VR, but always theorized that if we were able to replicate neurological signals to the point where we could change what a person’s senses are perceiving (and thus put them in a virtual world), it could be possible to completely teach them new skills, ‘downloading’ them into their brains. Of course, this opens up many scary doors, brainwashing, and memory erasure or replacement among other things. If the Erta truly have malicious intentions, there would be no stopping the widespread calamity they could cause. And there would be no way to know until it's too late.

If they do have such abilities, and are actually using them to promote their player’s growth, then that brings up a whole new possibility for the strange place that I’ve been seeing. It is possible that they've been altering my memories to make me remember such events happening? But why? To communicate? Then why didn't they just talk to me? What’s with the weird outsider's perspective? Maybe they only altered some parts of it? Why was that woman human then? Did they just change that? Or maybe they changed nothing at all?

My gut twists and wrenches. One way or another, there is no way to know whether anything has been changed. Or even if they changed any memories outside of the game.

With shaky hands I navigate my menus. I have to get out of here. The longer I stay the more likely they affect me. The power they hold over their players is terrifying, and I want no further part in it. Hastily, I push the logout button.

ERROR: That function is not available at this time.

Great.

I'm probably in the most danger I've ever been in my life, and this is happening again.

With a growl I swipe away the window and jump to my feet. Every second I am stuck in here increases the risk that my brain is messed with, that my memories are altered or my will taken away. That is, if they haven't been tampered with already.

Pacing back and forward, I rub my temples. I try to think back to every precious memory. Every family occasion, event with friends, and random knowledge that I've accumulated. It all seems in order, but I wouldn't know otherwise.

My entire body is shaking, a combination of anger and fear coursing through my veins. I feel powerless and I hate it. There's nothing I can do about this and it's infuriating. This game is forcing me to just go along with it, and I'm helpless against it.

With no other way to release my frustration, I slam my foot into the nearest pillar.

BANG

The white flash of pain stains my vision… and doesn't fade.

I'm standing in a pure white space. No ceiling, no walls, just an infinite white expanse. Much like the one during character creation. A calming warmth fills the space, and I feel strangely weak and sleepy.

A window floats in front of me.

Dangerous mental state detected. Moving to Room#0361

Lowering myself down to the nonexistent floor, I stare down at my hands. Something in my gut tells me this is exactly what I was angry about- the game affecting my brain and the way that I think, but there's no way for me to actually get mad about it. The warmth of this room is comforting, and rests on my shoulders like a heavy blanket.

I sit there staring at my hands for what feels like several minutes. No matter what I do, think about etc, this room doesn't let me build up my anger.

Unable to do anything else, I call out into the white space. “Excuse me, is there an Admin around?” It's a shot in the dark, but maybe speaking to somebody can clarify what's going on.

Soft footsteps approach me, stopping several feet away. Looking up from my hands, my eyes meet those of the tall, silver haired goddess, Evian. Her eyes are filled with worry, and she looks almost nervous, sheepishly approaching.

“Brian? Is everything all right?”

“What are you doing to me?” I want to scream at her, to lash out, but the heavy room presses down on my consciousness, restricting my anger, changing my words into a similar but less angry question. It feels forced and monotone.

“Calming you down. We need to talk.”

“Then talk. What have you been doing to your players?”

“Nothing.” Guilt flashes across her face. “Well, nothing harmful.” She looks down, breaking eye contact.

“Specify.”

“Changing emotions here and there; enhancing fear, increasing dopamine after a battle, a level up or other accomplishment. Things to increase a player's enjoyment, or the game’s realism. No mind control. No memory tampering.”

“How do I know you aren't lying? Telling me this to calm me down while you puppet us in the shadows.”

“You don't. But the fact that we aren't erasing your anger emotions completely should help. We aren't allowed to do those things Brian. We just want the players to be happy.” Her voice wavers. She's not telling the entire truth.

“Then what of this other place I keep seeing? The strange pod in the white room. The doctor. The general. The talk of war? Is that all not your doing?” At that her eyes go wide. Her lips press together into a thin line and she takes a step backwards.

“H- how…?” She manages to stutter out, still backing away. “I- I have to t- tell the director.”

“That won't be necessary Evian.” A cold, familiar voice echoes through the space, as a familiar face steps out of a dark, floating doorway. The regal russet skinned doctor stands taller than even Evian, her long lab coat brushes the ground as she folds her hands in front of her. “Let's just keep this between us, yes?”

“Doctor Alting!”

The woman ignores Evian as she steps towards me. “Brian! It's a pleasure to meet you, I've heard you caused quite the ruckus.”

I scramble to my feet. “Are you the one responsible for this?”

“For this?” She gestures around with her hands, “No, you'll have to thank the programming team for that. I'm simply responsible for the…” She trails off, glancing to the side as she searches for a word. “Shall I say, visions? Yes, those are my doing.”

A flood of questions, confusion, anger and frustration pours through my head, but I only manage to squeak out a single word. “Why?”

“Well, you heard right? We’re fighting a war!” She waves her hands with an excited flourish. Scanning my face for any reaction, she sighs. “Evian dearest, won't you please turn off the emotional restrictions? It makes things oh so boring.” The sleepy, calming aura suddenly recedes, and strangely, takes a chunk of my anger with it. “Oh, and I apologise for the anger, I suppose I'm also responsible for that, most of it at least. I wanted an excuse to meet you, you see.”

I close my eyes and take a couple of deep breaths, trying to quell the last scraps of my anger. I'm not typically one to get angry, it clouds my decision making process and is quite frankly not very healthy. At this point I'm tired, I just want answers, then to log out. Shouting at her won't do me any good.

Seeing that I'm starting to calm down, the doctor continues. “You don't need to worry about the impact of the war on your kind, I'm sure they'll barely even notice. As for you, you can consider it… bonus content.” With a burst of movement, she sweeps around to my side and drapes an arm over my shoulders, leaning in close she whispers in my ear. “You’ll be seeing things no one else ever has before.” With a mischievous grin she releases me, and spins back to where she was before. “Of course, you'll have to wait for tomorrow to find out the details.”

Sighing, I rub my face and run my hand through my hair- er, quills. I'm still in the body of my avatar. “Why me?”

“As the first player to choose such a horrible race, as well as one of only a few hundred who chose to keep playing as it, I find you quite fascinating.” She idly fiddles with her sleeve. “Not to mention you've adapted to the combat instincts and to TVR in general much better than most players, something to do with your prior occupation perhaps?”

My shoulders stiffen, even more than they had before. “You know about my personal life?”

“Background checks are a must with stakes as high as ours. We needed to make sure you were suitable for the position. Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything more than that, not yet at least.”

Still tense, I take step a back as I ask my next question. “Then what of the mind control, the memory tampering. Have you really done nothing harmful?”

She lets out a stark laugh. “Who do you take us for? The Fiends? No, we won't do something so horrible to our allies.” With a wave, a bunch of official looking papers appear in her hands. “If you really don't trust me, take a look at these. You're not the first to be worried about this.”

Glancing through the papers, they seem to be specifying what is and isn't allowed when relating to mental effects in the TVR pod. At the end of the document, over twenty signatures cover the page. Over half of which I recognize as station leaders.

“Your government made sure nothing of harm could come to your minds. The most extreme power we have is to lightly influence your emotions, which I'm sure you're well familiar with.” A loud beep echoes as a window pops up in front of the doctor. Seeing the screen, a cold mask slides over her face. “Ah, excuse me. I must take this.”

With a couple taps of her windows, the doctor begins speaking out loud, at least that’s what she appears to be doing. No actual sound escapes her lips. From the looks of it though, her icy demeanour and furrowed brows are still firmly in place.

Glancing around, Evian seems to have disappeared while we were distracted, so I take a moment to organize my thoughts. These guys don't seem to have any malicious intentions, but they've left a lot of things unanswered. What's happening tomorrow? How does us having ‘bonus content’ affect their war? Who are they even fighting their war against?

“I'm sorry about that.” The doctor sighs and scowls as she hangs up the call and drops her mask. “I hate that guy. Always acting like he owns the place…” She trails off into irritated muttering, waving her hands around in some sort of imitation as she releases her frustrations. Snapping out of it, she claps her hands together. “Anyways back to the fun stuff! I have time for one more question!”

Only one!? Rushed, I stutter out the first one that comes to mind. “A- are you really the Erta? You look human.”

The doctor throws her head back and laughs. “Are we the Erta? Heh, no. Not quite. As I've said before, everything will be explained tomorrow.” With that she waves her hands, creating a dark doorway out of the white space. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get back to the surgery. You've caught me at quite the awkward time.” She waves as she steps out through a dark doorway. “Toodles! See you tomorrow!”