"So... Let me get this straight. You two are here, under contract, to... How did you phrase it again?"

"Combat and Movement analysis under experimental simulations and modified game states." *sip* Lucas responded calmly to Soren's inquiry, while taking a sip from one of the two coffee cups Soren had served for his two guests.

"Uhmm... And in human terms, that translates to..."

"Playing the game normally, while recording your gameplay data. It's not anything to worry about. You'll occasionally have to switch the game's settings, but nothing else will be expected from you, aside from keeping quiet for the whole thing." Nora responded next, as she held on her own coffee cup.

"Got it... And here I was expecting you two to grab me and shove me in some secret facility..."

"It's not necessary to use such drastic measures. If anything, you're one of the more... Cooperative testers..."

*sigh* "Is it alright to let that kind of information slip?" Soren asked nervously, as his back was sweating profusely.

"Don't mind Nora and her sense of... *sip* Humor... She just loves making everyone uncomfortable with her 'conspiracy jokes'." Lucas explained, as he took out his own smartphone and connected it to the helmet with a white cable below the helmet, before moving the conversation towards their work. "Anyways, we've got four hours of continuous playing data to gather, so if you can..."

"Got it, I'll start playing. Never thought that playing a game could become an actual job..."

"You do know there are actual videogame streamers on the internet? Heck, most of them are currently streaming their BCO playthrough and are getting paid for it." Lucas asked sarcastically, as he stared at Soren disdainfully.

"I know, but I'm not getting myself involved with that toxic cesspool. We both know why." Soren responded back casually, as he put on his helmet and asked once more. "Should I be worried about any modifications that might fry my brain?"

"It only has an additional port for my tools, now log in already. I need to get started on calibrating my analyzers, while you're logging in." Lucas explained stoically, as Soren started the logging sequence.

"Say... Want to raid his pantry?" Nora asked mischievously, as she looked around Soren's apartment.

"Don't you have any manners Nora? *sip* This isn't like the company. Seriously... You really need to learn some self-control."

"That's rich, coming from the man who nearly ended his own coffee cup within minutes."

"Hey... The coffee is good. Besides, I'm not the one who's weighing over-" *smack* *bam* *pow*

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

While Lucas was experiencing a beating, Soren was standing in the darkness, waiting for the game to load and slowly, the world materialized around him, as if the darkness was a thick layer of fog that was slowly dissipating.

Welcome back to Birth of Cosmos Online. Have a pleasant playing experience.

"Guess I made it without any complications. I'm not missing any limbs either..."

"I don't see how you could have lost them either." An armored man commented behind Soren, giving him a fright.

"Ah sh*t! When did you appear!?"

"Uh... I've been standing here? All day? Do I have that little presence to you?"

"Ah... Right... Guess I need to be a bit more aware of my surroundings..." Soren commented awkwardly, before deciding to change the topic. "Anyways, mind if I ask what kind of settlement is this?"

"Uh... It's just a small frontier settlement, barely housing over thirty people. It's meant to be a base for explorers who're searching through Gervana's Forest." The guard explained while pointing at the forest around the settlement. "It's not exactly rare for us to find explorers in pursuit of knowledge, glory or riches these days, so we're not exactly bothering to check every individual who enters and leaves, but we do expect you to follow a few rules, such as don't steal, don't kill, don't rape and don't go causing any unnecessary trouble. Are we clear young man?"

"Crystal sir. Is there anything else I should be careful of?"

"Hmm... Maybe the occasional critters from around the area. They do enter the settlement quite a bit, so they've become a bit of a nuisance lately. If you do want to deal with them, just take the request from the Hunter's Guild, the wooden house with the bow and arrow sign over there." The guard then pointed towards a two-story house with a bow and arrow sign over its door.

"Thank you for the information sir. Have a nice day."

"Take care kid."

After Soren left the guard with a wave of his hand, before he slowly made his way towards the Hunter's Guild. While doing so, he scanned the settlement around and aside from the Hunter's Guild building, there were three more similar looking buildings in the settlement, with the other twenty or so buildings looking like simple wooden huts with thatch roofs. Those other three buildings had different signs in front of their doors, with those each being a potion, shield and crown sign respectively. Just before he entered the building, a familiar voice entered his ears.

"Hold on Soren. Don't just enter the building yet."

"Jesus! Lucas!? Is that you?" Soren asked, as he looked around to find the source of his voice.

"Relax. I'm talking to you through an installed microphone on the helmet." Lucas explained, as he stared at Soren's figure, standing near the Hunter's Guild.

"When did you install it?"

"About now-ish. Anyways, that's not the point. I want to ask about your conversation with the guard."

"What about it?"

"I want to hear your opinion on it."

"My opinion? I mean, it felt like it was just a normal conversation to me. The man talked and explained things like a normal, human person."

"Hmm... I see. Anyway, just play however you want today. There'll be no specific objectives or changes for today."

"Got it. Catch you later." Once Soren ended his conversation with Lucas, he swiftly made his way inside the Hunter's Guild. The Hunter's Guild interior was about as ordinary as he expected, with just a single wooden counter, a couple of empty tables and a wooden board covered with sheets of paper. Although Soren could spend time marveling its simple interior design, he wasn't on leisurely trip and had to get to grinding immediately, since he was far too behind everyone else, hence he made his way towards the counter to get himself registered. Once he arrived in front of it, he was met with a tired-looking individual who looked fast asleep, despite being on a standing position.

"Um... Hello? Sir?" Soren asked, as he tried to wake the man up in a gentle manner.

*groan* "Oh... Just a new kid... Let's get the registration over." The man mumbled tiredly, as he grabbed a sheet of paper from below his counter. "Name?"

"It's Soren (Neros)." Soren answered with his own name, despite trying to use his username.

"Affiliations?"

"None..."

"Criminal records or activity?"

"Uhh... None...?" Soren answered, as he suddenly felt a chill on back.

*groan* "Good enough for me. Congrats on entering the Hunter's Guild and yada yada yada. The rules 're the same as the settlement's, plus not betraying the guild and all that. You'll start as a Gray Rank Hunter, so you only get Gray Rank Quests from our board. If you want to promote, just do enough quests and then you'll get our rank-up quest. To accept one, just grab a mission paper and tear it. Repeated failures to quests will result in immediate expulsion from the guild and ban from all of its services... And I think that's all. Now move on kid. You're interrupting my nap." The man explained in a single breath, before sitting down on his chair and falling immediately asleep, leaving Soren completely dumbfounded, before his stupor was broken by the sudden appearance of a gray card in front of him.

"What in the actual f*ck was all that?" Soren couldn't help but ask, as he was still processing the entire sequence of events.