Martin’s Decision

"Do you want to continue playing the game?"

When the question left Stephen's mouth, Martin's mind went into overdrive.

A part of him still couldn't believe the game wasn't more than just a game.

Interacting with the NPCs of the game, Martin could feel the usual human interaction that he felt whenever he talked with other people.

None of the NPCs of the game felt like a pre-programmed artificial intelligence that could only speak a certain set of words.

Even with the chance they were built by a supercomputer, one that made a real virtual reality even possible, it didn't explain how the heck Stephen could produce a flame on his fingertips.

Besides, Stephen was a long-time friend whom Martin had known for years.

They might not have spent a lot of time together after Martin moved to another company, but they still chatted regularly, talking about their hobbies.

Martin didn't believe that Stephen would just spew out nonsense to prank him.

With these few things to consider, Martin didn't find any demerits for him to continue playing the game.

However, several thoughts blared like alarms in his head, forcing him to give his decision more thought.

If Nostravia were a real world, then Loko was a real god in that world.

A being that was worshipped by the people, and one of the creatures who ruled over the whole world.

If such a god, one that just did whatever he wanted, and just hated people for simply being old, then Martin wouldn't want to have anything to do with such a world.

'If such a fucker could become a god, then what kind of cultures and rules that world has? If he was considered an evil god, then I might change my stance about this.

Hell, If that prick counts as a god, I'm founding my own damn church and start a religious crusade against him.'

Other than his hate for a certain god, there's another thing that weighed on Martin's mind.

Players mysteriously 'disappearing' after telling other people about the game was such a huge red flag.

One that would make Martin reject a job offer, even with a 10 million dollar salary if he saw such red flags in a company.

'A boss who could kill his employee just because they saw him secretly watching and enjoying my little pony is not a boss you want to have.'

But on the other hand, he couldn't just ignore the benefit of playing the game.

Martin had seen with his own eyes that Stephen could use magic.

A real, bona fide magic, in the flesh. Not some party tricks.

Setting aside Martin's dream of living a carefree life in a fantasy world, the fact that the game had brought real change to people in the real world was not something to be ignored.

The game might only have a few thousand players right now and they kept the number of players down.

But what if, in the future, the secret organization that Stephen told him about had decided that everyone could play the game.

Then every John and Jane in the world would have access to magical powers.

Some might use it to create a magical technology to erase pollution and solve world hunger. 

But some jackass would use it to rob apartments, maybe one that belonged to a powerless 30-year-old man with knee problems.

In the end, though, other than the fact that Martin needed to absolutely keep the game's existence a secret, there were no real downsides that affected him immediately.

The Loko, or Loco God, might be a problem in the future, but Martin didn't catch even a shadow of that god in the city he was currently in.

He at least knew that Loco might not have such a big influence in Nostravia yet.

Martin then took a final sip of his coffee.

"Just to be clear.

If I decide to continue to play the game, I don't have to start praying to any of the gods, right?"

"Yes. Many people, including players and natives of Nostravia, aren't actually religious. Only a small percentage of people, or an outlier like cults, are zealously religious."

"And other than the fact that I need to keep the game's existence a secret, is there anything else that the players absolutely must do? Like play every day for at least an hour or anything else."

"No. You can play the game however and whenever you like. The absolute rule is to keep the game a secret from people outside the community. 

Oh, and you also need to register as a member of the organization."

Martin wanted to ask, but Stephen answered his question before it even got out.

"And yes, you just need to register, you don't have to do anything for the organization if you don't want to. No bloody rituals or assassination missions."

There were still doubts in Martin's mind, but he had found his answer.

Martin then sat up from his seat, car key in hand.

"Alright then, take me to register for this secret organization thing."

Even with all the downsides that Martin had thought of, the game still felt like a wonderful paradise.

You could earn money by playing the game. You could gain magical powers to use in the real world. And you didn't have to do anything other than keep your mouth shut to keep enjoying these benefits.

Everything just seemed too good to be true.

There's a famous saying, "If you think something is too good to be true, then it IS too good to be true."

It's just a general rule of thumb that people use when they hear an offer for a sale or a general offer from someone they've met in their lives.

But there's another line, one that was constantly screaming from the back of Martin's mind.

The line goes like this, "If something is free, then you are the product."

It was just his instincts smashing hammers to his brain, but with the current available information, Martin couldn't prove anything yet.

'Let's see what kind of organization it is… and see whether psychological trauma and subtle coercion count as part of the unwritten benefits.'