Enter VR

Mark gradually opens his eyes as he stands in a totally blank white room with a glowing ball of light across from him almost like many people would picture the afterlife to be perceived as. The glowing blue ball introduces itself as the intermediate level AI who is in control of the VR capsules and the VR interface between the capsules and the server AIs. The ball then explains some of the key rules to the VR instance Mark will be entering.

The time will be different from the real world with a 1 to 10 dilation effect.

To complete the instance one must be certified as a Master level doctor or be apprenticed to a Grandmaster level doctor for 2 months' time.

If neither of the conditions above are met, at a Journeyman level status or equivalent a doctor may quit the instance and become a resident doctor in the virtual world with no repercussions and a decrease on contracted benefits.

Before Mark could even begin to finish processing the instructions given to him, the room flashed with a bright light as Mark began to yet again lose consciousness. Mark then magically wakes up in a pristine meadow of grass with a bright spring breeze blowing gently against himself and the nature around him. Mark sits up from where he was apparently laying on the grass. After looking around himself and checking to make sure he is okay, Mark notices a change to his rank card which is normally around his neck. The card is a dull gray now and says different things from what Mark is used to. The card reads…

Name: Marcus Radiation Hamilton

Rank: N/A

Occupation: N/A

Skills: Radiation Control, All seeing Vision

Mark is rightly shocked when he reads his new information. Mark then thinks that maybe this is going to be his new status in the hospital's instance, which is a welcome change. This way Mark can actually make something of himself through his hard work and determination. In the VR world, the sky is the limit instead of being regulated and put down by a given rank that tells him and everyone around him what he is worth and how much he can possibly grow before he dies. As these thoughts go through Mark's head he does some simple calculations based on what he has been told which shocks him even further. The time dilation rate means that my "1 and a half months" in the VR world is actually 15 months inside the VR world which is more than a year of training!

Mark then thinks of Carl's greasy smile and sigh to himself in regret. 'Carl must have known about the time dilation effect as well which just shows how naïve I am and how he played me once again.' thinks Mark. After having second thoughts about the whole process while enjoying the scenery from the meadow, Mark asks himself a seemingly straight forward question, 'What am I trying to accomplish here?'. Mark thinks about his parents' destitute lives and his family's hardships, how even if he does have kids down the line they will also be trapped in this cycle of poverty unless by a random stroke of luck they are ranked higher than he is. Mark after realizing this in anger then decides, I will get richer, stronger, more powerful until I am at the point where I no longer have any higher to reach! And I can stare down at the world and everyone in it in contempt!

Mark then shakes his head at his delusions of grandeur that only have a grain of truth buried in his subconscious and starts walking from the meadow in the direction of the setting sun in the hope of finding a to the Doctor's city. After walking for more than 15 minutes by his AI's HUD, he finally sees a dirt path which looks only one step above a animal trail which he hope is the case and not the path to some predator's den considering with his current abilities he will only make a nice snack to a bear or a group of wolves. After walking on this path for another hour of time the sun starts to set which prompts Mark to set up camp under a oak tree. Mark then wraps himself in leaves as he tries to practice his powers out of habit more than anything else.

The next thing Mark knows is that it has been two hours and using his powers does not seem to make him tired as it normally does when he practices at every night before he goes to bed. Mark realizes this and thinks back to the status card he was give, specifically the skills on it.

Skills: Radiation Control, All seeing Vision

This is much different from what the rank card tells Mark when he is in real life which only shows Mark having the ability to control and see infrared, gamma and ultraviolet radiations. Mark wonders about this and questions the AI through his status card to which the AI replies "Any and all skills shown are what the user possesses in reality, only through training and learning does new skills form while in the VR world. This statement perplexes Mark and without any other information to go on after asking the AI more questions he continues his practice for one more hour before going to bed.