A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

Eldrian's parents had always been against gaming as a career, feeling that there was no way it could lead to a stable life. They had pushed him into studying, which Eldrian himself did not mind much. Due to his upbringing, he had also felt that it was a field where luck played a major role in success. Having a degree could be a safety net for if it did not pan out, gaming could always stay a hobby, he had believed.

Still, he had chosen a field of study close to his passion. Hence why he landed himself in IT. So far he did not really have complaints about it, he found coding fun and enjoyed the classes. It was just that this was not important to him. Naturally, ANW was not at all like any other game and he did not even feel like he was playing a game when in it.

Through these thoughts, Eldrian realized that he actually already had his answer. He wanted to continue with the game, he wanted to place all his time into it.

"When do I need to decide?" Eldrian asked, even though he already had made up his mind. He just wanted a timeline to make sure of his decision. Time is, and always will be, the best way to get a clearer picture.

"I wish I could say you have a few days, or even a week. But they plan to push you into a decision once things settle down. Which already have, now that your in-game character and your NPC friends are safe." Replied Gengxin, sighing and sipping his tea to pace his words.

"What does this mean? And why are you saying it like it is a bad thing?" Eldrain asked, confused by Gengxin's tone.

"Because I do not like how they wish to rush you into deciding. I also do not like the lengths they would often go through to get the things they want. Luckily your case is important enough to give you some room for negotiations."

"What do you mean?"

"They will most certainly try and gain as many benefits as they can when you meet them later. They will try to get you to agree to things you do not fully understand. This is natural, any company would do this. All companies always try to wring their target dry."

"But due to your case, I would prefer if you work with us because you want to. Not because you were tricked and now you are stuck. So don't just take their words at face value. Try to figure out what their aim is, and maybe give them a little, but set up clear limits."

"Thanks... I will try and be careful." Eldrian did not really know how to take Gengxin's advice. It felt really strange to him that someone in a company was warning him about his own company.

"Good. Now let's go to the meeting. And again, remember that you are actually in power. They might try to force your hand by saying they will stop you from logging in, but they really won't dare."

"Just... Don't go and demand anything crazy. If you do that, then you will become like an unwanted child. This can be just as bad as being forced into something, if not worse."

Eldrian nodded, again not knowing how to take the advice. He was certainly thankful for it, he did not have much life experience and certainly would not think of everything. The thing he felt was most important was to try and keep things simple. So simple that there can be no pitfalls and both he and Miracle ended up happy. Like his first contract.

Following Gengxin, Eldrian found that the first floor seemed to be where most people were active. Where the offices were and where they were going to have a meeting. Entering one of the rooms after Gengxin, Eldrain looked at the glass table in the middle of the room strangely, simply feeling it was weird to use a glass table in a meeting room.

At the table sat both Joren and the lady Eldrian had met before. Both of them were busy on their tablets, and a laptop was shifted a bit to the side. There were two open seats and also a TV on the left side, which Eldrian assumed was connected to the laptop.

"Please take a seat, I believe Gengxin already told you what this is about." Spoke the lady, raising her head from the tablet she was browsing on.

"Something about how we will continue to work together?" Eldrian replied as he took a seat on the opposite side of the table.

"Correct. Before we continue I believe introductions are due. I am Micaela and I am here to ensure you know what you are getting into." The lady, Micaela, said. "There are still many things we have not released to the public, and I am not sure what you know already."

"So before we start I would like you to sign a nondisclosure." As she said this she slid her tablet over to Eldrian. "Same as the time where you signed with Joren. This states that what we say here, will stay here."

Eldrian picked up the tablet and it seemed to be just as she said. Simply stating that divulging any information shared in the meeting would lead to legal prosecution.

"I have to agree to this if I wish to continue?" Eldrian asked, receiving an affirmative nod from Joren and Micaela. He did not see anything wrong with this, though the precautions slightly bothered him. Still, he agreed and placed his thumb where indicated, a small sting quickly coming and going.

"Good, now that that is settled, we can move on to the details of our new agreement. Naturally, the previous agreement can no longer be used, since letting you play the game without supervision may be dangerous. We are working on how to minimize the danger, and hopefully completely removing it. But for this, we will need your help..."

From here everyone in the room started explaining the plans they had made so far. How Gengxin will be responsible for checking that nothing happened to his real body. How they wished to continue drawing the data from him playing, and him agreeing to some dangers that will be unavoidable.

Eldrian felt that most of this was actually very much the same as his previous agreement. Only now he had to stay here at Miracle Corporations headquarters until they finally finished their next product. The product which they hoped will remove all dangers of becoming too immersed in the game.

The classical gaming cabin often featured in anime and stories.

Eldrian did not feel like anything they asked was overboard, and they even agreed to some small amendments he asked to make. The most important being that he wished to stop studying for now, but he wanted to be able to continue whenever he felt was right.

Wishing to not link it with playing, or rather logging into ANW. He hoped that once things calmed down and time passed, he would be able to balance both again. They agreed and even said that if he wished, they could organize tutors for him. Something which Eldrian quickly wanted to take them up on, not just in the field of IT but other sciences too.

He hoped it would be easier for him to learn things through this, rather than through the internet. Certain that science is an indispensable part of magic. In the end, Eldrian did not gain much of a pay increase. However, he was fine with this, as he got other benefits and his salary was already far higher than he ever thought possible for simply 'playing'.

They would organize a driver for him if he wished to go out. He would have a rent-free room, with many advanced instruments installed. Though he mostly only cared about the headset for playing ANW. They had a gym, a park, a swimming pool. The place almost resembled a lifestyle resort, only some buildings being for work. There was even a club on site for all the members of Miracle.

In the end, Eldrian left the room with a smile. Heading back to his own room, having been given a tablet to help him around. It had a map of the entire area, at least all the places he was allowed in, and it also acted as his access key. With it, he quickly found his room and logged back into the game.

...

"So how did it go?" Joren asked, not sure what Micaela's hopes had been for the meeting.

"Good enough. Though I had hoped to bind him to us, this will work though. We will slowly build up his trust until we can actually share our secrets with him. In a hope that he can help us unravel them. Gengxin, was it you who warned him to be careful?"

"Of course. How could I not? He is just a young child still. He has no idea of the world, he is still mostly naive. Thanks to the game he had developed somewhat in certain areas, but the time he had been given was too little to let it sink in. Rushing him will do no good. This is why you made me responsible for him, isn't it."

"True..." Micaela sighed, "But do you have to work so quickly? I had hoped to at least get a year-long contract at the minimum. Instead, we only agreed to a month to month one. And he can decide when to quit, we can't pressure him as long as he fulfills the few tasks we ask him to do."

"That won't matter as long as we don't pressure him. He will become accustomed to the life and luxury here. Even if it is month to month, he won't want to leave." Joren and Micaela could not help but nod to Gengxin's words. It was true, once he started learning the advantages of living here, there would be no way he would want to go back to his normal life.