"That is interesting, but I still don't know how that can help Natalie's probation and testing," Mum said again.

"I not entirely sure either Mum," Chelsea admitted. "But when the head administrator of health for this planet, who is also my patron, tells me I have to get and play that game, then you had better believe it's going to somehow impact everything."

It was quiet after Chelsea dropped that particular bomb shell onto them.

"Maybe we should open accounts when it goes live Hun." Dad joked. "We could be missing out on a good thing here."

"Yes I think you should both of you," Chelsea said seriously. "It's not going to be just another game made to keep the masses who haven't managed to get good scores happy."

Natalie watched them, thinking hard to herself, Chelsea's admissions were circling in her mind. This was all good information, but it didn't help her much, she would still have work as hard as she could to get a chance for a fair evaluation when she turned 18.

Movement at her door caught her eye, it was a very chastised Brian and Jake. They looked towards their mother and father, who were watching them with hard expressions. Then looked back at Natalie.

"Natalie, I'm sorry for the way I treated you, not just in game but since I heard about your test scores." Brian said. "I had no right to treat you that way will you forgive me?"

Natalie looked at them, they seem to mean it, but her parents were right there. She sighed this was as good as she was going to get from them, she would forgive but not forget she decided.

"Your my family Brian and you as well Jake of course I forgive you." She said, she was a little surprised at herself, she found she meant it.

"That was more then you both deserve," Dad said. "But you both will still be doing the house chores and garden chores for the next two months."

"You Natalie will be having a well deserved rest from it," her mother said. "While we appreciate the thought and effort you put into doing both those chores Natalie, you are not the house maid."

"Now everyone one out, it's time for the night work." Dad said, both parents moved towards the door making her sibling leave. Natalie watched as Chelsea closed the door behind her, then she turned to her pod.

Once inside it she called Sam up.

"Sam why did you do that?" she asked. "It helped I have to admit but I wasn't aware you could do things like that outside of the pod."

"I have the capability to protect my user." Sam told her. "Your mental and physical welfare are my main objectives, letting your parents be aware of the problems had a significant chance of making things easier for you."

"Well thank you Sam," she said. "Did you hear everything that was revealed?"

"Yes and it doesn't surprise me," Sam replied. "It's just more of what I was already finding out in my own investigations."

"Ok well we can talk about this more later it's time for work now Sam," Natalie said and they both began the night shift. They had finished the main shift and the secondary shift by 6am, Natalie was tired but also relieved.

Her brothers would be doing the chores this morning,she could sleep, she was smiling as Sam put her under for a three hour nap.

When she woke she found herself in the game but not in her Sanctuary. She was above it in a office setting made of clouds.

"Sam? What's going on?" Natalie asked "Sam?"

"Its ok Natalie, Your Sam cannot answer in here." Said a woman's voice from behind her. "I just wanted to meet the person who managed to gain so much in the Beta,"

Natalie spun around, surprised, to see a tall and very beautiful elf standing behind the desk that had been empty just a few seconds ago.

"Who are you?" Natalie asked. "Why did you want to see me? Is what I have done so very note worthy? I'm sure there are hundreds of players who have done better then I did."

"No you are the first, it was starting to look like we had made the NPC's reactions a little too hard core." The elf said. "We were thinking of extending the beta to adjust it a bit, when your achievements hit our sights. When you activated the last scroll for your Sanctuary, we used the opportunity to see your entire gameplay."

"Ahh so that's why I had the four hour time differences." Exclaimed Natalie. "But really four hours? It took that long?"

"Yes we had to go though all of it to make sure you weren't using a glitch or exploit, to advance so much." replied the Elf. "Then we had to set and balance your reward for the work you put in, really you did an amazing job Natalie."

"Thank you." Natalie said feeling a little embarrassed.

"Now the other reason I brought you here for is to clarify a few things for you." Said the Elf. "You gave Molly the only Chance Berries that can be used by someone else in the game other then you."

"Yes I did, not that it's going to do her any good, I totally forgot this was a beta." Natalie said sadly. "Molly will be reset and lose what I gave her and she won't remember me."

"Well it's true she won't remember you but as far as the berries are concerned you have a choice with that." Replied the Elf. "When Molly is reset that also resets the Berries for you, and gives you the ability to allow someone else to grow them as well."

"I wondered about that, Sam said I might have lost that completely because I did that with Molly." She said." But what is the choice I have now?"

"It is simple you can let the wipe go though, and chose someone else for the berries, but I personally hope you won't since, two players having those is something I have been against from the start, it's to powerful a benefit." Came the unexpected reply.

"Or you can allow me to take the ability to soul bind anything else you might get in the next two days, In return I can make sure that your gift to Molly remains with her when she restarts, but in a reduced capacity, she will get less berries and only half the seeds you will get."

Natalie was overjoyed, she knew it was silly but she really wanted Molly to have those. So she agreed without a qualm.

"One other thing, Natalie, these last two days will be the last you will see of Wooddale," The Elf told her. " The NPC's will be split up and placed in other starter Villages, Wooddale was always just a Beta Village, we had no intention of continuing it in the main game."

"Oh that's a shame," Natalie said. "It's very beautiful here. I will miss this."

"Yes it's beautiful, but there are other areas just as beautiful and some even better then this one." The Elf replied. "When the you start the main game I suggest you reroll your avatar, there are going to be a lot more to chose from and your white Dogkin is too well know, it could cause difficulties for you going forwards."

Natalie looked at her in surprise at that, but she remembered the mobs she had to deal with. It was probably a good idea.

"ok that just about covers it all." The Elf said. " and to make sure you take my advice seriously I'm going to do this."

With that statement a message played across her eyes.

World Announcement

Congratulations

Player Crystal

for having gained a rare soulbound item, for having completed the acquisition of all sanctuaries in your start up Village for having your Sanctuary upgraded to Tier 1 Copper rank 5/15 for having your Sanctuary and soulbound items currently in your possession upgraded to account bound

you have gain the title

Beta Achiever

This title when equiped allows the bearer to gain a 5% boost to all experience gains.

Natalie stared, why would the Elf do that! It would make certain she had to change the avatar, but with that title how was that going to help?

"Do not be alarmed Natalie," the Elf said with a smile. "You can hide your titles and still get the benefits from them, just change your avatar."

"You have left me with no choice on that," Natalie said quietly.

"Nonsense you could still keep the avatar you have and just ride out the coming trouble." She was told. " you always have a choice child."

There was a flash and Natalie found herself in her two roomed cottage. With a very concerned Sam calling to her.

"Natalie! Answer me !" Sam was bellowing. "Why can I not see you? Where are you ?"

"Sam calm down I'm here," she hastily replied. "It's ok, I was just taken by a game dev to sort out a few issues."

"Game dev?" Sam asked. " they blocked me from my user? Why ?"

So Natalie found herself retelling everything that had just occurred.

"Now I have no real choice but reroll my avatar," she told Sam. " the elf said I had always had a choice but this one isn't much of one."

"No it's not," Sam replied. "It would be stupid to keep playing this avatar in the main game, player's looking for opportunities will be around you constantly."

"Yes and I've already had a taste of that," she replied.

"It's worse then that Natalie." Sam said. "By making that world announcement she has made it so today is your last day of the beta, there will be an outcry about all you have done and received. They will use your avatar and achievements as advertising, which in the Beta sign up you agreed to gives them full legal rights to do."

"Oh I didn't think about that." Natalie was dismayed. "So if I tryed to go outside the Sanctuary I will be continuously mobbed?"

"Yes and already I can see they are coming and are building up around your Sanctuary." Sam told her. " you still have time to revoke your Sanctuary and place it into your inventory but after that you will have to logout quickly."

"Why do I have to revoke my Sanctuary Sam?" Natalie nervously asked. "Can't I just leave it up and let the server wipe take care of it?"

"No afraid not Natalie, they posted all sanctuaries left up at wipe will be deleted regardless of being soulbound." Replied Sam. "Quickly now Natalie time is running out revoke it then I will log you out."

Natalie swallowed hard, gathered her courage and called out "I revoke my Sanctuary return to the scroll!"

She found herself in the middle of a large circle of surprised players, she quickly grabbed her scroll case from the ground, the last thing she could see were the players sprinting towards her as she logout.

Natalie breathed a sigh of relief, when she found herself in the familiar surrounds of her Virtual Room.

"That was intense, thanks Sam for reacting so quickly." She said.

"Your welcome Natalie, but we have another situation out side of this pod right now," Sam said. "Your family are calling and demanding I let you out they are worried by what they had witnessed in the game."

"Ok so I had better go talk to them then log me off Sam." She replied.

Natalie was grabbed and hugged by her mother as soon as she opened the pod.

"Your ok? Your really ok ?" Her mother was asking. "We had just logged in with Jake and Brian and watched your Sanctuary disappear and you in the center of that crowd."

"Yes I'm ok Mum." Natalie said. "But I had to revoke my Sanctuary so I could logout"

"What happened," asked her Dad. "We received the world notification and then things just went wild in that Village."

Natalie settled down and told them everything that had happened when she login that morning to the game.

"So you see I can no longer play that avatar, if I try I will be constantly harassed, it was done that way so they could have clear control of it for advertising the game," Natalie finished. "All legal and above board."

"But not very ethical," her father said. "They legally stole your avatar."

"By the terms of the Beta contract it was never mine Dad, only the things I earned and have account bound are mine." Natalie said. "I am lucky they let me keep all of those, I think."

"No," Brian said. "They really couldn't take those from you, but they have taken all the other stuff from you, you would have been able to buy animals for your farm, items, weapons for the next two days and they would all have been account bound to you."

"Yeah by doing this they have limited you." Jake confirmed.

"Yes I guess so," Natalie replied. "But what I have already is no small thing so I guess it's fair all told."

Natalie smiled at her family, she was satisfied, now that she had a chance to think about it all further. She was now buzzing with excitement, she couldn't wait for the restart to occur, she had a lot she wanted to do ingame.