I had a sneaking premonition that something bad could happen if I carried out the surgery without anesthesia. My Resistance was low, meaning the form of my avatar lacked a certain amount of toughness that could withstand such a physical violation and easily bounce back.

I had survived the first procedure, but found it utterly excruciating. Would there be no consequence to repeatedly exposing myself to that level of pain or worse?

Still, 1,000 Crypt was a lot. I had to rationalize the purchase.

It’s on sale. Half off. 50% discount. You can’t beat that deal. There are always more monsters to kill. More bounty payments to collect.

Two of the implant options involved both eyes, while the Essence analyzing option was described as a single eye implant. Could I mix and match? Could I stack implants in the future? Could I purchase multi-benefit implants?

I simply didn’t have the required Protocol to use a lot of the more beneficial modification options. There was even a Retractable Targeting Reticle to improve ranged weapon accuracy that I did not meet the threshold for.

I wanted all of the above perks. But only the port installation was permanent. I could always swap out implants later. Right…?

I selected the B1-N0C-PRCPT-I 1 option. A +20 bonus to my Perception stat and visual zoom was interesting. I was drawn to the Low Light option as well, but it seemed less useful than the upgraded Night Vision, or some of the more advanced options. I could hold out for that, or even invest in my own pair of thermal goggles.

And I would love to detect the Essence of invasive entities. That would be a game changer. But I could only afford and qualify for the implant that analyzed {common} frequency monsters. I didn’t plan on farming Kappas and Hellhounds every cycle…

Here goes something.

[Modification Integration Procedure - Ocular Port Installation) selected.

B1-N0C-PRCPT-I 1 implant selected.

Selection confirmed. Would you like to apply these changes?]

▶ Yes. But I want anesthesia this time.

The familiar cloying voice responded to me.

With the current 50% discount, anesthesia is available for an additional charge of 1,000 Crypt.

▶ I already said I wanted it.

Would you like to purchase anesthesia?

▶ Yes, for the love of bog!

Anesthesia confirmed.

The round apertures in the black floor opened, and the two narrow pedestals shot up. The indicated places to rest my hands glowed white. I stepped between them and my hands clung tight to the bright surfaces–immobilized.

Please remain still. Administering anesthesia.

A metal arm descended from the ceiling with a syringe and a large gauge needle. I tensed as it whirred and clicked closer, zeroing in over some intended spot on my neck.

That needle is huge!

Without further warning the needle plunged into the side of my neck. Bright red fluid coursed into me.

▶ Oww!

Why does the thing that is supposed to take away my pain have to cause me pain first?

But soon all physical sensation drained from my body. Although my hands were fastened to white hot panels, there was no feeling except complete numbness from head to toe.

Anesthesia administered. Please remain still. The operation will begin shortly.

Two additional mechanical appendages descended, swapping places with the first arm. The ends of each held onto a single metal mask, connected by wires and tubes to the appendages, that was maneuvered in front of the top portion of my face. Inside the mask I glimpsed inert gears, or circular saw teeth, like some sort of mining drill.

I don’t like this…

The arms moved forward until the mask fit tightly over my forehead and eyes, leaving an indentation for my nose. I saw only total darkness.

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Please remain still. Permanent ocular damage may occur if you move.

Frag me.

I braced against the pedestals, forcing myself to be as calm and still as possible.

Thankfully the expensive anesthesia worked. I felt nothing but intense, dull pressure in my eye sockets. There was a burrowing noise and my facial structure vibrated as the machine did its work. Although I could not feel it, I sickeningly imagined my eyeballs removed from my skull, metal rings fastened onto bone, synthetic neural fibers plugged into my visual cortex, and newly modified eyes popped into waiting cavities.

Operation successful. Ocular Port installation successful. B1-N0C-PRCPT-I 1 ocular implant successful.

Draining 3,000 Crypt from my account–successful.

I dragged myself up the spiral stairs and stumbled out of the Supply Depot, my eye sockets deeply sore and my retinas hypersensitive to the moving panels of light encircling the Supply Depot. The numbness of the anesthesia lingered; my limbs were sluggish and numb. Every shining light in The Commons pricked intrusively at my vision.

My eyes… ah. I might need some time to get used to these things.

I planned to immediately back up my data at the Restoration Point. Unfortunately, I felt the first drops of pink rain lashing me. Dram. That would have to wait.

I made for the Residential Towers, fighting against the numbness to clamber up the slick emergency stairs to the elevated road above. Streams of pink liquid ran over my boots. Wetness dripped off the sleeves of my new jacket. Crossing the street, I narrowly avoided tripping in a pothole concealed by the flooding waters. Benefit of increased Perception?

I scanned my code in the rattling cage elevator and rode it to my floor, rubbing my eyes. Locating my hole in the wall partway down the dim residential hallway, I scanned again and ducked to enter my little domy.

What the frag?

The white storage cube sat in the corner. The one I just purchased before the surgery.

How did… when… ?

Scratching my head, I crawled closer and carefully inspected the box. Yes, it was the exact same one. How did it get here before me, and how did it get inside my place? I couldn’t figure it out, and I couldn’t leave until the rain stopped.

A sudden recollection came to me–Camel had two cubes similar to this in his residence. I had forgotten. Similar, but not identical. I could perceive subtle differences in design. Maybe his cubes were an older model, before they fell out of favor. The vendor said these were not popular storage options for Volunteers anymore.

That may be so, but there was another reason I wanted to buy it. After my involvement with the heist, I didn’t feel comfortable showing my face at the Repository. Not yet. Maybe after things cooled down. I was sure the investigation was ongoing, and the threat of ColSec surveillance weighed in the back of my mind.

Every action has a consequence. By agreeing to help Antisoc, I was now avoiding utilizing a service that many other Volunteers enjoyed.

I needed to adapt. Adapt or… well, not die, exactly. Adapt or suffer.

I scanned my code in front of an etched circular pattern on the side of the cube. A red ring flashed white, and I heard a distinct ‘clink’. The cube did not open. Not physically.

I held my hand over the box and highlighted it. Soon, a separate menu appeared in my vision.

Ah. The cube has its own storage menu. I see now. Time to test this out.

I opened my personal menu, then dragged and dropped the items from my Equipment and Inventory into the cube: the fern flowers, coco de mer nut, white linen cloth, vial of pure water, the six Minotaur fragments, and even the throwing knife. They instantly dematerialized into the cube.

I’ll keep the Kappa fragments in my Inventory for the time being.

Then–I hesitated. Did I want to stash the manuscript pages?

Little Knifey was out there, somewhere. Was it possible he could come looking for the missing pages? Perhaps he had no idea the missing pages even existed. Either way, I had no experience dealing with invasive anomalies, or what the leader of the Serpents called ‘relics.’ Just how prized were there? Valuable enough for Little Knifey to paralyze me and leave me for dead.

I dragged and dropped the two Voynich Manuscript pages into the personal data storage cube. Temporarily kept safe behind two Volunteer ID-dependent locks.

I checked my new stash:

[STORAGE CUBE

* 26 / 100 metabytes

* * Voynich Manuscript page (?) (5 metabytes)

* * Voynich Manuscript page (?) (5 metabytes)

* * 2 {common} fern flowers (2 metabytes)

* * 1 {uncommon} coco de mer nut (1 metabyte)

* * 1 white linen cloth (1 metabyte)

* * 1 vial of pure water (1 metabyte)

* Minotaur data card fragments - 6/10 (6 metabytes)

* THROWING KNIFE (5 metabytes)]

And that brought my on-person storage (factoring in the +40 cumulative soft cap) down to:

[MEMORY

* STORAGE

* * 300 / 300 (340)]

I scanned my identifier a second time and the circular light clicked back to red. Cube locked.

I was tired. My eyes were sore. My body tingling with numbness.

It was time to rest, reset, then back up my data.

I removed and set aside most of my armor and tried to get comfortable on the thin pallet. My cramped capsule was even more cramped with the addition of the cube.

I twisted off the light and waited.

Eventually, my awareness faded. I imagined the gentle sound of lapping waves. But no terrifying visions came.