Hvisland: A VR Colony Sim Game

"There's something in the water!" According to my orders, Leva rushed out of the water and drew her large machete from behind her waist.

Eric tossed his shovel, then pulled his katana from his back, preparing to face whatever came out of the water.

"Wait." Miro gestured for the two colonists to lower their respective weapons. "I think I know what it is."

What came out of the water was not a giant fish, as I had previously thought, but a mermaid-like creature. The upper body is shaped like a man, while the lower body looks like a fish. However, what really set him apart from ordinary humans was his body full of shiny bluish-colored scales, a pair of large and completely black eyes, a mouth without lips, long straight hair of transparent whitish color, and the most striking thing was the absence of a nose on his face.

"A lake merman…." Miro hissed with an amazed expression. "It turns out that they do exist and are not just legends."

Leva and Eric just looked at Miro with furrowed brows, a sign that they both didn't know what Miro was talking about. Even though Eric has lived in this land for quite a while, and Leva has been here since birth.

The creature – or Miro calls the Merman – slithered to the ground and looked at my colonists. Eric and Leva tightened their grip on their respective weapons, but Miro remained calm.

The Merman moved his mouth, showing his tiny sharp teeth, but not a single line of sound could be heard from him. He seemed to be trying to speak again, and it was no avail. So, he chose to signal with both hands. The creature showed a downward waving gesture on both sides of its head.

"That …. Wavy hair?" Miro pointed at Leva while continuing to stare at the creature.

The Merman shook his head, mimicking the movement of a swimming human, then pointed at the lake.

"Ah, looks like he's referring to Gwen. She did swim here before." Eric took a few steps forward, gestured by pointing down, and waved his arms left and right.

That means Gwen isn't here.

The mermaid looked down with a sad face, then crept towards the water again.

"Wait!" Miro started to catch up with the creature.

"Looks like he can't hear you. Maybe he can only communicate well underwater." Eric responded.

Miro stopped, looking at the Merman, who started to swim nimbly in the lake, getting further and further away.

"What exactly did we just see?" Leva approached Miro. "In all my life, I've never even heard a story about such a creature."

"My grandmother in my mother's lineage was not a native of Acornhull. She came from a very distant land. One of the legends in that land is about the Merman race. They live in seas and lakes." Miro held his breath as the creature finally disappeared in the middle of the lake. "They really avoid contact with humans. No one knows why. Few humans have ever met them…. Ah, I can't wait to tell my mom and my little sister about this."

"And he wants to meet Gwen." Eric also looked at the lake, but his gaze was more serious. "What does he want?"

Miro took a deep breath. "If there's a psychic among us, maybe they can use telepathy with that Merman."

"Well, it just so happens that Gwen is Psychic herself," Leva said.

Miro immediately turned his head to the red-haired woman. "Then, we should return to the house now."

The big tall man rushed to take the container full of clay, carried it on his shoulders, then ran as fast as he could.

Seeing that, Leva and Eric could only exchange glances.

***

"What did you say?" Gwen, who was resting after molding the bricks, raised her eyebrows. "You want me to talk to a merman using my psychic powers? I don't even know what a merman is."

"Well, it's like a mermaid, but a bit…. They are a bit different from the mermaids you usually see in storybooks and movies on earth." Eric chimed in.

Gwen stood up and looked the other way. "Well, I can't do it."

"Why?" Miro asked in a disappointed tone.

"In theory, it is possible to communicate telepathically to any creature that has a mind." Smiling, Gwen looked up at Miro's face. This time my female colonist sounded so serious, there was no hint of seductiveness at all. "But doing telepathy is very taxing. Doing it with a fellow human is already very difficult. How about a creature that I never knew about? I don't know what will happen next."

Miro spread his arms and already opened his mouth, probably wanting to protest. However, I hastily whispered into his ear. "Don't force her, Miro. Let her be my business later."

And this time, Miro obeyed my orders. He chose silence, though with a sigh, looking uninspired.

"Now it's time for me to sleep." Gwen yawned, then walked to the shelter. "See you tomorrow."

Miro shook his head, then turned to Kat, who was training Rex for various commands.

"Hey, Eric. Because of the merman problem earlier, I forgot to ask." Miro's eyes were fixed on the amber-eyed woman. "That Kat really likes pets, right?"

Eric shrugged. "Well, you can see for yourself."

Displaying a smile, Miro came to Kat, who was now on her knees, and gave Rex a treat of a small jerky.

"You trained your dog very well, Kat. I saw you train him with an unusual command." Miro stopped right by Kat. "I've never seen someone train their dog to pretend to be friendly, but then attack…."

"What about the horse." Kat suddenly cut him off.

"Huh?" Miro raised an eyebrow. "What's with the horse?"

"When do you think I can ride it?"

Miro turned his head to the stable. "Well, I think the horse is quite tame and manageable..."

When the man looked at Kat again, he saw no one. The amber-eyed girl and the dog had disappeared, leaving that man speechless.

I ordered the girl to run away.