“You’re looking good, Tom,” he said, smiling. “Not as good as me, of course. But still, it’s an improvement. Last time I saw you, you were a monk, if I recall. The robes didn’t really suit you.”

This had never happened to me before. Out of instinct I looked around for enemies, and for an escape. There was none of either, just featureless walls with no clue of how someone could get in the room, or out. I had to be careful. Whoever this man was, he probably couldn’t be trusted.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Come, take a seat,” he said.

He looked like a more sinister version of Clive. Where my next-door neighbor had a pleasant smile, this man’s grin was sarcastic. He wore red silk trousers and a shirt, which made him look as if he’d just gotten out of bed.

“You don’t seem happy about the clothes,” said the man. “Your stress levels rose by 1.3% when you saw me. I’ll change.”

He clicked his fingers, and then he was wearing a brown shirt, ankle boots and normal-looking trousers.

“Better?” he said.

I nodded. He was either an NPC, or a game dev, then. That was the only explanation for the change of clothes. I couldn’t imagine why I’d be summoned into a room with an NPC, unless it was some kind of error. But how would he know my name?

That meant that he could have been a dev. Why was I here, then? Was it to talk about my character-selling business? I knew the devs weren’t over the moon about resellers, but it was 100% legal.

I’d heard whispers of players being summoned to meet with mod teams before. A while back, scammers worked out that there was a bug in the game that allowed you, in the right circumstances, to access another player’s inventory and steal his things. I’d never done anything like that, but I needed to watch what I said while I was here.

I looked around. There was nothing in the room except us and the table. Where was I? Was this some kind of loading screen? Or was there a problem with my subscription?

“I’m Bolzar,” he said. He beckoned me over. “Come, come, park your bum.”

There was something about his grin that I didn’t like. It was as though he knew secrets, but he wanted to hoard them to himself because it made him feel better. Even so, there was something about him that I liked. He had an easy manner, completely comfortable with himself.

I walked forward toward the table. I had to be careful. For a second, I thought about reaching for my sword. You know, just in case.

“Weapons don’t work in here,” said Bolzar. “Neither do spells, cantrips or abilities. Now stop messing around and have a seat.”

With no obvious exit, I walked over to the table. Truth be told, I was feeling tired, and it would be good to rest my legs. I took hold of the chair, pulled it out and lowered myself into it. As I did, a surge of pleasure ran through me, flowing through my body and then out to my limbs, running through my veins until it flushed to my fingertips. I brought up my character screen and saw that my HP and stamina stats had refreshed.

Bolzar leaned back in his chair. “Can I trust you?” he asked.

“Trust me with what?”

“Yes or no.” He stared at me intently.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

What was this? It was a strange way to open a conversation with a stranger. I shrugged. “For what it’s worth.”

“Right answer,” said Bolzar. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pipe. He then sprinkled tobacco into it, tapped it against the table, and put the end in his mouth. He clicked his fingers, and a flame burnt from his thumb. He lit the pipe and took a deep breath of tobacco.

“What am I doing here?” I asked. “And why do you need to know if you can trust me?”

“Because they wouldn’t like me smoking in here,” said Bolzar. “So, it would be great if we could be buddies and not mention it to anyone. Besides, part of the shadow walker class is an element of integrity. I needed to know you’re on the right path. Here, have this for your trouble.”

[Sneak bonus gained – 0.25%]

“What is this place?” I said. “And who are you?”

Bolzar leaned forward and breathed a plume of smoke. He twisted his lips this way and that, to make shapes with the smoke. I could have sworn that one of his smoke-shapes looked like a goblin.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” he said.

I looked at him. Apart from looking like Clive’s evil twin, I couldn’t place him. Even with my limited travels in Infarna, I’d seen countless NPCs and players over the last year. I’d forgotten most of them. The more I looked at him, the more familiar he seemed.

“I was a merchant in Ikiele for a couple of years,” said Bolzar. “Then they reused my face and texture design for this.”

Ah, that was it. I’d probably sold loot to him in the past.

“You’re an NPC?” I asked.

He nodded, the stood up. He opened his arms wide, as if he was speaking to an audience.

“Top marks for Tom Amos,” he said. “Let’s show him what he’s won!

[Perception increased by 0.01%]

As increases went, this wasn’t high on the scale. Still, it was strange. That was the second stat increase I’d had since I had been in here. Your stats increased as you played the game, but usually you weren’t shown such small changes. Most of the time, they worked in the background.

I’d never heard of an NPC who was aware of game mechanics before. Usually, they were programmed to live in ignorance, since it broke the immersion of the game otherwise. It was weird that someone had made sure Bolzar was aware of how the game worked. There had to be a reason for that; he couldn’t possibly have been that way by accident.

“I’ll cut to the chase,” said Bolzar. “Infarna Corp wants to make the game better for its customers. And to do that, they need to listen to them. If you’ll come here when you level up and answer a few psychological questions, there will be something in it for you down the line.”

“Like what?” I said.

“A skill bonus. Something good.”

I thought about it. There was something a little off about Bolzar, almost as though he was trying too hard to be sarcastic. Sometimes, when he wasn’t looking at me, he had a look on his face that seemed sad. Then it disappeared in an instant.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “You’re wondering why you got stuck with me. The devs requisitioned a few NPCs for the task, and they gave us all a sprinkling of self-awareness. There are a few different personalities being used, but you drew the short straw. In fact, you drew the shortest straw possible. You got me.”

There was something strange about the whole thing. Bolzar and his pipe were part of the act, I knew. He was pretending he shouldn’t be smoking, and then trying to forge a bond between us by having me help him and keep quiet about it. It was some kind of script the devs had made so that I’d like him.

I was basically talking to a customer survey. As long as I treated it that way, there was no problem. If the devs wanted me to answer a few survey questions in exchange for items or skills, maybe it was worth it.

“How often will I come back?” I said.

“Every few levels,” was his answer. “But not all the time. I don’t want to see your mug any more than you do mine.” He leaned in his chair and put his feet on the table.

“Fine,” I said. “We’ll do it. I’ll answer your questions, give you feedback on the game and stuff. But you better reward me for it.”

He nodded. “You’ll get some skills that otherwise might not have been available to your class. And later down the line, assuming you cooperate, there will be something good.”

This could be worth it. If I got a rare skill for the shadow walker, I could ask for more GD when I sold it.

“Okay,” I said. “But I need to get back now.”

Bolzar leaned forward. “Are you going back to Ikiele?” he said.

“Maybe later if I find any loot to sell.”

“If you go there, will you…” he looked at me for second, not saying anything. It was as though he knew what he wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out.  “There’s a woman. Lynna. She works in the apothecary. Could you go in there and tell her…”

“Tell her what?”

He pounded the table with his fist, then stood up. “Forget it. See you in a couple of levels, Mr. Charisma.”

With that, the white walls disappeared, and I found myself in the forest again.