My surroundings were of an ordinary town, I could hear the sound of cars whirring past me and see the people walking up and down the streets.
I quickly patted myself down to determine how real the environment before me was, and how real I was as a person.
To my shock, there were no changes whatsoever.
This 'simulation' felt as real as my own body! Even the sensation of my own skin was perfectly simulated!
That is honestly remarkable, I'd expect less of the ADF at this point but... this is just amazing.
The street ahead of me was shrouded by fog, with only a signpost indicating the direction where I needed to go to continue.
The sounds of the silent wind brushing against my cheeks sent chills through my body.
I didn't know why but my feet were frozen in place, I simply couldn't muster up the courage to take the first step.
My breath became shallow. I tried steadying myself but my palms were covered in sweat that I couldn't feel before.
Was I afraid of taking a step?
Or... perhaps I wasn't ready to face this test just yet?
I shut my eyes tight and used all my willpower to steady my quivering legs, trying desperately not to stumble over them and break my knees.
The first step was taken, albeit with my feet wobbling slightly.
Another one, I had stepped again, though my foot was shaky at first contact with the pavement.
And then another, and another, and another. I made it through this first stretch with relative ease compared to my first steps.
Soon enough, I reached the intersection where the signpost indicated to go left. I wonder, what would happen if I went straight ahead... or right instead? Would I still pass this simulation regardless?
Would it be worth going somewhere else?
I decided it wouldn't matter too much, I had to continue the test as it was designed, I suppose.
Turning left brought me into a narrow alleyway filled with broken glass bottles lying everywhere. The stench of rotten garbage emanated strongly from trash bags stacked atop one another.
Gross!
Walking slowly across the road led me to the entrance of a run-down house, almost fully destroyed except for its walls and roof. There appeared to be a doorframe protruding outward, allowing access inside.
It was as if someone wanted to draw attention to themselves... or lure someone into their dwelling.
It seemed like a trap.
But it could also have been my paranoia.
I had no clue what exactly this simulation was trying to achieve in the first place, it didn't seem dangerous enough to warrant special precautions and I certainly didn't need to use violence unless absolutely necessary.
The floor creaked beneath as I stepped inside.
The damp inside air smelled foul. Upon the left corner of this 'living room' was a table with a television on it, the screen itself showed static with flickering images that I could barely discern as being those of news reporters.
Next to that was a sofa covered in dirt and filth with pieces torn off here and there.
Otherwise, there are no discerning features of this place aside from the fact that it looked as if no human has inhabited it since forever ago.
I began to walk around, looking for clues. What clue was I looking for? No idea.
I opened a drawer below the TV only to see the shattered remains of what might've once been a remote controller for it, some dust and cobwebs.
Maybe I'm thinking too far into it, maybe I'm searching the wrong place? Maybe I'm not even meant to be searching...
Attempting to grab the remote ultimately resulted in it being crushed to powder under my fingers due to it already being in such poor condition.
Nope, nothing here... Perhaps it's upstairs?
Upon reaching the staircase that led upstairs, however, it immediately collapsed upon my entry, causing a cloud of smoke and debris to envelop everything around me.
"Cough... Cough..." It took me several coughs and deep breaths before clearing out most of the smog from my lungs. Once again, I attempted climbing up towards the second level. Although it may have failed me just a second ago, it will surely support my weight now.
Onwards and upwards.
My hands were above me and reaching for the lowest part of the staircase, intending to jump straight to its highest step possible. This action ended up proving futile since all parts collapsed shortly thereafter.
Great, stuck in this stupid ruined building...
Can't get upstairs, no way to turn back now, and even less motivation to try and crawl around in this junk heap until I eventually suffocate myself.
What else is there to do? Try smashing my way through the floorboards I suppose...
While searching for anything useful amidst the rubble, I found an object that caught my eye: it was a broom handle with jagged spikes coming out at odd angles.
Perfect for smashing things. I could easily hack at those boards underfoot and break free from whatever predicament this is supposed to be.
Alright, time to test my strength and resilience!
...
After maybe an hour or two of constant swinging, hitting, striking, tearing, snapping, and smashing, nothing happened.
Fuck, this thing is useless... How am I supposed to smash through that thick wood? It's not working!
I dropped the stick, hoping against all hope that it won't snap underfoot due to overuse. Luckily enough, it was able to withstand my repeated attacks thus far, meaning I should have plenty of hits left to go.
Let's think of something else...
The light in here is surprisingly good despite the fog outside, there was a single corridor-window above that let the light shine through here.
I sat down and perched my arms on my knees. Looking around to do something, anything, so that I don't die of boredom.
The simulation was giving me nothing at the moment, except the dark feeling that lurked around within the dim light around me.
My hand stretched out, as if looking to touch something, then I clenched it, noticing how real it felt, and that this must be how a VR machine works, it's using my brain as a map for the physical objects that my mind is telling me exist. That's the most obvious explanation, right? Even though the headset couldn't possibly do this without an AI or supercomputer doing the calculations beforehand.
Now, if I just...
I put my palm on the ground and closed my eyes, focusing. Concentrate.
Would this really work? I mean, what if I just end up looking like an idiot as Tiette and others watch me attempt to pull myself together by digging deeper inside my thoughts in search for answers?
Inhale... Exhale.
Everything went quiet aside from the soft winds of my breathing.
Calm... Calm...
Slowly but surely I sensed something beneath my hand...
My senses were getting stronger, sharper...
It felt... Exhilarating.
Hahaha! The sensation felt so amazing! Amazing!
Wait... How was I able to sense such things?! Could this actually be some kind trick that the VR device is pulling on me?
A hallucination brought on by this simulation?
No way, no chance that this isn't real, I could replicate this outside of the simulation!
I opened my eyes and looked down to see my hands were glowing blue, and a thin veil surrounded my fingers.
The room now didn't seem as bad as before, everything was illuminated brighter. As if I was the light.
This is Incredible!
I smiled widely, seeing that it worked out in my favor, somehow. My mind was clearer, my thoughts crisper than ever before. It felt like heaven, and I loved every second of it.
I jumped up again and hung off the edge of the stairs above.
What is this Blue that courses through my body? How am I generating it?
With both my hands grasping onto the stairs, I felt my muscle break out of the shell that is my skin.
But I could not afford to even be worried, I was simply too happy about being alive, about having more power and control.
The muscle that protruded out of my arm quickly grew larger and clung onto the two doorways at the end of the staircase, essentially sling-shotting myself across the distance at a ridiculous speed.
And the best thing? I did not feel tired. I did not even feel hurt.
I smashed into the wall onto a radiator. There, I saw the heat steaming off from it. Then, it melted and twisted and turned and moved around like rubber bands.
Whatever this substance was, it was moving by my command!
This simulation is insane! My mind and body are going crazy! How is any of this happening?!
I focused my gaze on the red molten liquid, and with an unexplainable sense of curiosity, I touched it and felt no burns occur. Somehow, I instinctively knew how to control this stuff.
No doubts, I'm in total control of my body and fibers of steel that coursed through me. If I looked at myself from another view—I wouldn't doubt that my mouth and eyes would be glowing blue!
Hm?
I heard a sound... Fleshy, chunky... Disgusting.
I snapped back to reality, noticing a huge blob crawling around in the room to the left.
A blob of black, green and weird mucus-like fluids was twisting and slithering across the entire living space, oozing through gaps between the furniture, coating and consuming everything in its path.
The Amalgamates... Those creatures were supposed to be these beings called Amalgamates. Though this one looks... completely different to the one that killed Alice...
Alice... My love.
As if the universe was listening, the slimy blob started morphing into a recognizable shape, becoming somewhat humanoid.
Its head rose up. "Alice..."
That voice, that face.
"No..." The creature spoke, or was it Alice that was in front of me? "Save me... Dofro..." A soft smile crept on her pale face, while the viscous liquid surrounding her kept squirming about, a mass of pulsating goo.
It was surreal to witness such horror with your own two eyes, but... If I can... Could I just stay here, with my wife?
No! Absolutely not! This was just an illusion made by this simulation, and worst of all, this is an Amalgamate!
That terribly exhilirating feeling seems to have given me a rush of emotions...
"Doffyyyyyy!" The disgusting mess of slime that took the form of my beloved wife screamed and launched itself at me, splitting its face apart vertically to reveal hundreds of rows upon rows of needle-sharp teeth lining up inside, drooling uncontrollably over them.
If the circumstances were any different, I would have given up and cried, begging for mercy. But I am not afraid anymore. Not when faced with this vile beast. I refuse to lose, nor do I plan on surrendering easily.
As the blob approached and fell towards me with a large gaping mouth, it spread tendrils outward that attempted to grab my head.
I leaped forwards, dodging the tentacles by the skin of my neck, as if it didn't know how to plan ahead...
How do I damage a blob in the first place? Wouldn't this thing mold itself back to normality anyway? Is that not its signature style? Its core? I mean it's probably impossible to even harm it in any way-
But it's not the time for doubts... Though, despite me pushing them away, they continued to relentlessly attack my actions.
I attempted to uppercut it with my left fist—That was still covered in blue. As my fist connected with its terribly hot mass, the bone at my knuckles extended, as if they were several blades and the muscles from my wrist wrapped themselves around it, holding my hand together.
I smirked, seeing how effective it was.
This should be easy...
"DOOOOFROOOOO!!!" This disgusting piece of shit called out again while lashing at me, using Alice's voice... That bastard...
My other arm came flying upwards in a similar manner as the previous punch. Yet the momentum behind this blow alone shattered half of its head upon contact, sending chunks flying backwards. As they hit the wall, I could hear the disgusting squishy noises they made as they slid down the wall.
My steel-like bones are powerful, they'll cut this thing down.
The monster was seemingly trying to grow back into its original size, so I continued my assault on it.
I grabbed its body with both the wrist tendrils and smashed it onto the wall.
Keeping it pinned, I slashed and slashed, slashing until there was no tomorrow for this thing.
Shlick!
Squelch!
Slash!!
For what seemed like forever, I mutilated its body into a thousand different pieces. And yet...
"Do...fro... W...hy...?"
Why? Why are you talking to me?
Hey.
I didn't mean to do this, I- I was just...
You were an Amalgamate, right?
Alice, this isn't you that I'm talking to, right?
Why?
Because you're not Alice, you're an Amalgamate...
You're the exact same as the one who killed her!
Don't try to fucking trick me into leaving you ALIVE!!!
I threw one last heavy swing into its torso area.
Its remains splattered around like paint. The entire room was dimly lit, and the smell was foul as ever.
I was sweating profusely, breathing heavily, panting for air... But I didn't care, not even the slightest bit.
Alice is gone. Alice was never here in the first place, she cannot be here and I just-
I-I...
I was shaking. Uncontrollably. Fuck...
All this for what? What am I training for? Did I not complete my objective here!?
"LET ME OUTTT!!!" I bashed the windows open and I swung myself outside onto the ground, landing in a puddle of water and rolling along the street.
This wasn't fair... What is the purpose of putting me through torture? Does everyone else get to be tortured like this?
I stood up and marched towards... somewhere, the fog wouldn't let me see what direction was north.
But I needed to calm down somehow... I tried taking deep breaths... To inhale... And then.
...
"Ah... Welcome back... Do... Dofro? Was that... it?" I heard a familiar gruff voice call out.
"..." I stared at the man before me, this was Tiette, the guy who showed us where to go and told me the basic procedures.
"You have... Done well... Dofro... However... Do... You realize that... Your session lasted five hours longer than expected?"
"Huh? Seriously?" I looked left and right and... Nobody else was there.
"They went to their dorms, Dofro... They finished long ago... You got stuck in your simulation, huh? Had trouble... Seeing reality..."
Tiette was giving off a creepy aura, his presence was hard to detect, he was like a ghost standing in front of me.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Tiette asked, tilting his head to the side. "Anyway, we need to take your... Measurements for further analysis... Then, follow me..."
Tiette stood up and started walking out of the room, gesturing to me to come along.
His figure is skinny, almost bone-like. His skin complexion seems grey, but it doesn't look unhealthy. In fact, everything about him just feels abnormal. Almost ethereal, if that word could properly describe him...
Following along, we entered a lab full of computers and various machines hooked together in ways I couldn't begin to understand.
As I scanned around the place, I found one computer showing my statistics. Height, Weight, BMI, Pulse Rate, Body Temperature, etc... Just all sorts of info about me displayed on the screen.
"Well... Let's see if... It is functioning correctly..." Tiette said quietly as he pressed a button on a keypad. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through me, as though someone stabbed me from the inside out. It felt worse than anything else imaginable, it even managed to make my blood curdle, to turn my guts upside down. A sickening sensation...
Then, just like that...
The pain disappeared.
Tiette pulled out a chart that likely contained information about me. He gave me a short look and back to the screen he went, examining closely every detail of whatever it displayed.
"...Ah... Good aptitude... Terrible mental stability... And an exceptional body." With his tired eyes scanning every detail on the screen, he then stood up and gave me a thumbs-up. "You're good to go... Welcome, officially... To the hunting division... Yawn." He sighed after finishing his sentence and pointed at the doorway leading outside.
"I'm in... just like that?" I asked, confused.
"Yes," Tiette nodded slightly at me with a crooked smile. "... Now leave me be, rookie... Tomorrow, after waking up early... Eat and come straight here."
With that, I was sent back to my dorm and all I could hear as soon as I opened the door was... Yelling?
Playful yelling, I guess. Je, Ge and Ootaea were all pillow-fighting... ON MY BED!?
"HEY! GET OFF OF THERE!" I shouted, running towards them. Everyone stopped dead still.
"Oh... Sorry Greenhorn! We thought you'd be out for a day or two! I promise we were gonna... Oh, you're really mad, aren't you?" Ootaea stated loudly with her usual obnoxious voice.
"Yeah. Now stop playing and clean this mess up before I kick your asses!"
"Calm down, bro. It's just playfighting." Je said.
"Calm down, dude. It's just funnies." Ge said.
"I don't know if you're trying to get on my nerves or what but, kindly leave my bed alone, thank you?"
Everyone remained silent.
After a few seconds, I sighed. "Fine, but please keep the noise level low."
They all started moving around and gathering their pillows and blankets, cleaning up afterward.
As for me, I changed my clothes in the bathroom and then sat on my bed.
5 Hours huh? It didn't even feel like 30 minutes there... Perceiving time differently inside simulations must be another feature they added in recently.
Lying down on my bed and looking at the ceiling, I outstretched my hand again and tried to grasp that same ecstasy I experienced earlier. I couldn't. Why couldn't I do it? Do I need that environment? It was very dark inside and only a dim light shined... Do I need to be in danger? Do I need that emotional instability to use it?
Questions popped up in my head faster than I could answer. So in the end, I gave up thinking about it and went to sleep, because tomorrow is always another day.