Chapter 8: When Pixels Punch Back (and Pay Dividends)

Chapter 8: When Pixels Punch Back (and Pay Dividends)

Jax numbly accepted Elder Rui's quest. 'Gather 5 Sunpetal Herbs'. Seemed simple enough. Standard MMO fare. Except nothing about this felt standard. Following the faint path towards the Whisperwood, every step felt solid, the crunch of leaves under his virtual boots disturbingly authentic.

He found the Sunpetal Herbs easily enough near the edge of the woods – bright yellow flowers pulsing with a faint, warm light. As he plucked the fifth one, a notification chimed: [Quest Updated: Return to Elder Rui]. Okay, normal game mechanics.

But then, rustling came from the undergrowth. A pair of glowing red eyes fixed on him. Out bounded… a squirrel. A rather large, fluffy squirrel, admittedly, but still a squirrel. Except this one had unnaturally sharp-looking claws and bore the floating tag: [Dire Squirrel - Lvl 1].

Right. Dire Squirrel. Low-level starter mob. Jax mentally prepared himself for the usual awkward VR combat – waggling his controllers, triggering pre-set attack animations.

The squirrel hissed, a sound far more menacing than any real rodent had a right to make, and launched itself at him.

Instinct took over. Jax yelped, flailing backward, tripping over a root he hadn't even consciously registered. He threw up his hands defensively.

[Hostile Action Detected! Basic Unarmed Combat Stance Assumed.]

He didn't assume anything. His body in the game just reacted. But the real shock came next. As the squirrel flew towards his face, Jax felt a strange warmth surge from his own chest, flowing down his arm instinctively. His virtual hand lashed out, connecting with the fuzzy menace in a clumsy slap.

POW!

It wasn't just the visual effect of the squirrel flying backward, hitting a tree with a comical thump, and dissolving into faint particles of light. It was the feeling. He'd felt a distinct pulse of energy leave his hand. Not just haptic feedback simulating impact, but an internal sensation, a warmth that echoed the descriptions of 'Qi' he'd read about in fantasy novels and historical texts about Cultivators.

What the...? Did I just... Qi-slap a squirrel?

He stared at his hand, flexing his fingers. He tried to consciously replicate the feeling, the energy flow. Nothing. It had been purely reflexive, triggered by the perceived danger.

[Enemy Defeated! Gained 5 EXP! Loot Dropped: 1 x Squirrel Pelt (Poor Quality)]

Jax ignored the loot notification, his mind reeling. He poked tentatively at his own chest in the real world, feeling nothing unusual under his shirt. But the sensation lingered – a faint, phantom warmth in his arm, a memory of energy flowing where no energy should flow for an Ordinary Person like him.

He stumbled back to Beginner's Rest, handed the herbs to Elder Rui (who thanked him with unnerving sincerity), and promptly logged out, needing reality to reassert itself.

[Session Time Limit Reached: 8 Hours Maximum for Initial Beta Phase. Logging Out...]

He ripped off the OmniVR headset, breathing heavily. His drab P-Hub cubicle swam back into focus. Solid. Real. Boring. Thank goodness.

But the weirdness wasn't over. As the adrenaline faded, he felt… something. A faint, persistent tingling in his limbs. Not painful, not unpleasant, just… there. Like the ghost of that Qi sensation he'd felt in the game. A phantom limb buzz, but with energy.

He spent the next hour frantically searching medical forums and tech support sites. 'VR induced Qi sensation', 'Phantom energy flow after gaming', 'Did my headset turn me into a wizard?'. Nothing. Zero relevant results. He sounded crazy even to himself.

Okay, Jax. Deep breaths. Maybe it was just hyper-realistic feedback combined with adrenaline and wishful thinking. Yeah. That's it. Totally. He tried to convince himself, but the lingering tingle in his arms refused to fade completely. This game wasn't just realistic; it felt like it was physically interacting with him on some impossible level.

Meanwhile, miles away in the Sayfrid Clan compound, Ran was idly trying to coax a slightly larger Qi ball into existence in his room. His concentration was broken by a sudden, distinct warmth spreading through his core. It wasn't explosive like the System's upgrade reward, but a gentle, satisfying influx of pure energy, sinking into his being like water into dry earth.

Simultaneously, the blue System screen flared into life.

[INCOMING TRANSMISSION: Player Dividend Received!]

[Source Player ID: Jax_P-Hub_Reviewer77]

[Activity Type: Quest Completion, Combat (Low Intensity), General Existence]

[Dividend Yield: 0.8 Bio-Energy Units Deposited.]

Ran grinned. It worked! My first Dividend! 0.8 units wasn't much, barely a drop in the ocean he needed, but it was proof. Real, tangible energy harvested from a player's actions. His power-farm was officially operational.

He noticed another flashing notification below the dividend report.

[System Anomaly Logged: Event Code 47B - Unexpected Bio-Feedback Resonance Detected.]

[Player ID: Jax_P-Hub_Reviewer77]

[Details: Low-level Ectoplasmic Resonance recorded between player's bio-signature and game's simulated Qi field during combat event. Possible unintended consequence of Reality Index Calibration v0.1?]

[System Help Query: Result - Undocumented Feature. Potential Risk: Unknown. Recommended Action: Monitor? Ignore? Panic Quietly?]

[Ignore Anomaly? Y/N]

Ran skimmed the anomaly report. 'Ectoplasmic Resonance'? 'Unintended consequence'? Sounded complicated. And potentially problematic. But… he'd just received his first Dividend. Proof of concept. The core mechanic worked. This weird bio-feedback thing was probably just a glitch in the beta, some quirk of the hyper-realism interacting with the player. As long as it didn't stop the Dividends from flowing…

He mentally selected 'Y'.

[Anomaly Log 47B Flagged: User Ignored. System will now proceed to not worry about it. Good luck!]

Exactly, Ran thought, feeling the pleasant warmth of the Dividend settling within him. Let the System worry about the technobabble. I've got power to cultivate. The weird side effects on players like 'Jax_P-Hub_Reviewer77' were irrelevant noise, as long as the signal – the sweet, sweet energy – kept coming through.