As Alex headed toward the southern gate of cynaris, the silence felt heavy, like the city itself was watching him. His footsteps echoed softly off the tall walls and empty streets, and with every step, his unease grew. The city looked untouched, but the emptiness gave him a bad feeling, like something was about to go wrong. There was no sign of life, almost like everyone had just disappeared once they went to the shelters.
A cold breeze hit his face as he got closer to the group of hunters gathered at the gate. Their faces were tight, eyes darting around like they were waiting for something to happen. The tension was thick—everyone knew the monsters were getting closer.
"I'm Kassia," said a red-haired girl confidently as she walked toward him. She was dressed in tight leather armor that hugged her lean figure, and every move she made seemed purposeful. "I'll be setting the traps. Nothing's getting through this gate." She spoke with total confidence, like she had everything under control.
Alex gave her a nod, but his eyes kept scanning the area. This felt like more than just a physical test—it was also a challenge for his mind. With the tense quiet hanging over them, every move seemed dangerous.
In the background, Serene moved quietly but with purpose. Her sharp blue eyes stayed locked on the horizon, scanning for threats. "I'll cover you from a distance," she said softly, but her voice carried the same certainty as Kassia's.
Then a huge guy approached, his heavy steps making the ground seem to shake. As Alex got closer, he could almost feel the air shift around him. "Ryan," he said, his deep voice booming. His words were as solid as his muscular frame. He had a giant axe slung over his shoulder, and every move he made sent a small jingle of metal and leather from his armor. "I'll be on the front line. Anything that gets through won't last long."
Alex took in Ryan's stone-cold expression. The guy was clearly strong, but Alex couldn't help but wonder if he'd be able to keep it together when things got tough. "Will he crack under pressure?" Alex thought.
Then Lucas strolled in with a big smile, his voice cheerful. "Hey, someone's gotta keep the mood up!" he said with a loud laugh, trying to break the tension. But Alex wasn't in the mood for jokes—his attention stayed glued to the gate, waiting for any sign of trouble.
Finally, Tessa joined the group. Her magical robe shimmered softly as she moved her hands, prepping spells. "I'll make sure you're all boosted," she said calmly, her words bringing an odd sense of reassurance in the midst of all the tension.
They all stood together at the gate, bracing for whatever was coming. The air felt heavy with tension and anticipation. A strange sound carried on the wind through the empty streets, like the city itself was whispering secrets.
"Alright, here's the plan. We need to cover all angles," Kassia said, her tone sharp as she laid out the strategy. Her voice matched the intensity of the moment, but her gaze stayed steady. The cold wind swept past them like a warning. "One surprise could end everything."
Alex hung back, watching the group as they discussed their tactics. The wind tugged at his dark red hair, but his mind was elsewhere, focused on one burning question: "What if they knew?" His eyes flickered over the hunters' faces. *"What would happen if they realized they're just NPCs in a virtual test?"*
Serene, still scanning the horizon, gripped her bow tighter with every small movement. "Would she still be this careful?" Alex wondered, watching her intense focus. "Would she still be tracking every little thing if she knew she wasn't real?"
…
But suddenly,out of nowhere, a chilling noise broke the silence—terrifying screams and low whispers echoed from the distance. "The monsters are coming." The heavy thuds of the ghouls' footsteps added to the fear, making the ground beneath them shake. "They're coming…" Lucas muttered, his voice shaky as he stared into the darkness.
Ryan suddenly shouted, his voice trembling: "It's the ghouls! It's starting!" His eyes were wide with fear, almost bulging out of his head. His hands shook as he struggled to lift his axe, cold sweat dripping down his pale face. "We're not gonna make it! We have to fight like our lives depend on it, or we're dead meat!"
Kassia tried to stay calm, but the pressure was getting to her. "Set the traps, now! We have to stop them, whatever it takes!" Panic was clear in her voice, and her hands trembled as she tried to come up with a quick defense. The fear running through her made it hard to think straight.
Serene, who had been the most cautious earlier, was now visibly shaken. She fumbled with an arrow, her hands shaking, her eyes wide as she listened to the ghouls getting closer. "They're going to break through… we're going to die here," she whispered to herself, bracing for the worst.
Even Lucas, who'd tried to keep things light earlier, was too scared to joke anymore. He walked over to Alex and handed him a dagger with trembling hands. "Take this, we're gonna need everything we've got." His voice was filled with real fear, like the dagger was their last chance.
In the middle of the chaos, Alex just stood there, watching everything unfold like it was some bad play. "Ghouls? Seriously!?" he thought, watching the hunters scramble around in a panic. To him, these ghouls seemed like a joke, more funny than scary.
As the ghouls' footsteps got closer, the hunters slowly backed away, their faces pale, eyes wide in fear. "If only they knew the truth…" Alex thought, a smirk forming in his mind. "What would they do if I told them they're just NPCs in a virtual test? I mean, it's not their fault—they're programmed to act this way. But man, imagine their faces if I took them to the 'Punishment land'." He let the thought play in his head but decided to let them keep panicking for now.
With a sigh, Alex got ready for what was coming. He lifted the dagger like he was preparing for a fight, but inside, he didn't really care. "Alright, let's see how this little show goes."
As soon as the fight kicked off, the whole place erupted into chaos, but it all felt so scripted, like it was controlled by some algorithm. The smaller ghouls moved fast, darting at the hunters with crazy speed and precision. But Alex? ,He just stood there, not really worried. He knew the whole thing was fake—just a virtual test. The ghouls, the hunters, everything.
But, Even though the danger wasn't real, the intensity of the situation was starting to weigh on him a bit.
Ryan was shouting like a madman, swinging his axe at a ghoul. "These things are way faster than I thought!" he yelled as one of them lunged at him, trying to tear his arm off. He barely blocked it at the last second. But Alex? He didn't care. Ryan was just an NPC, programmed to scream and act like he was in danger. Alex watched him, detached, studying the moves. Everything around him was set up to test him, but all it did was remind him how alone he was. None of these people were real—just him.
Kassia was off to the side, setting traps and yelling too, her face twisted in fake panic. "We're losing! We can't keep this up!" she cried, but Alex knew it was just part of the game. Her actions, her fear—it was all pre-programmed to push him, make him feel like he had to act under pressure. But he knew she didn't feel anything. No real fear, no real pain—just lines of code doing their job. And yet, a thought nagged at him: Is this just a test, or is there something else going on here?
Serene was firing arrows, but her hands were shaking for no real reason. "I can't focus!" she shouted. But to Alex, it was just another cliché. More NPCs acting out some scripted weakness in the middle of a crisis. He understood that the whole point was to push him, test his patience and control.
But deep down, he felt a weird tension growing, like there was more to this simulation than just what he saw on the surface. "Is something else running this show?" he wondered.
Lucas, who usually cracked jokes to lighten the mood, was losing it. "We're all gonna die here!" he screamed, but Alex didn't even flinch. Lucas wasn't real, just another character in this virtual world. But then, something weird happened—Lucas turned to Alex and gave him this strange look. It didn't feel like it was part of the program. a glitch? Alex started feeling uneasy. Something was off.
Amid all the chaos, Alex stayed calm, moving confidently. The smaller ghouls rushed at him, but he treated them like they were nothing more than practice dummies. One of them came at him, and he dramatically fell back, yelling, "Oh man, these things are tougher than I thought!" It was all for show—he needed to make it look like he was really into the fight for whoever was watching. But inside, he was just observing everything. The ghouls, the hunters, the whole scene—it all ran so smoothly that it felt fake, like a perfectly controlled simulation.
He grabbed Lucas's dagger and stabbed one of the ghouls, but it was more for show than anything serious. "This is getting ridiculous," he thought, pretending to struggle. But something about the way the ghouls were moving started to bother him. It was like they were learning, adapting. Is this really just a simulation? Or is there something more going on here?
Virtual blood splattered everywhere as the ghouls ripped through fake flesh, turning the battlefield into chaos. Ryan was screaming, "Come on, you bastards! You'll regret this!" but even his shouts were starting to lose their punch. Alex noticed something weird—Ryan's face didn't quite match the intensity of his voice. is the programming glitching? That doubt started creeping in more and more.
As the battle went on, Alex stayed alert, watching everything closely. His moves were precise, but something felt off about the simulation. "Is this just another part of the test? Or is there something bigger going on?" He didn't have any solid proof, but with each passing minute, he got the sense that the outcome wasn't going to be what he thought. "Am I stuck here until the game's over? Or is there something more behind these ghouls?"
While Alex fought alongside his NPCs teammates, he couldn't shake the feeling that this whole simulation, no matter how well-designed, was hiding something much bigger. The mystery only deepened with each moment, and Alex started to realize that whatever the test seemed to be, it might have a deeper purpose—one that could change him in ways he hadn't expected.