Chapter 22: Entering Windor
Widow Sin Dorm, fourth floor, classroom three.
Class four is by far the largest in the entire dorm. Taking up the size of two classrooms put together. Yet, it was by far the most mysterious.
The window walls that let others peek inside were covered in thick black curtains so no one could see. The poster was the only hint informing you of what was happening inside.
VR Horror Only! If you have any heart problems or a family history of heart conditions, do not enter! The reward for the best game is 10,000 dollars.
Unlike the other classrooms, with people coming in and out with fresh faces and sparkling smiles, those who came out of this room had pale faces and eyes that nervously shifted toward any sudden sounds.
So, of course, Sarah, Betty, and Gloria entered inside with anticipation.
As soon as they stepped inside, they were brushed by a cold breeze that made their bodies shiver. But surprisingly, it was super bright inside.
The corners of the room were slightly raised metal platforms. Students armored with VR gear stood with nervous expressions on their faces.
Some of the larger VR platforms had multiple people standing together. From their movements, you could tell that they were crouching inside a bush or hiding behind something.
Luckily, you didn't have to guess since besides each VR platform was a large monitor that displayed everything happening in the game.
"Oh my God, they use VTech's latest VR motion capture platform. It just came out a month ago. I didn't think I could see one in person." Sarah squealed with sparkling ruby eyes.
She looked like a kid in a candy store, nearly drooling at the tech inside this one room.
"Wow, I didn't think the VR Horror section would use the latest and greatest. From the other rooms, they are still using old tech." Betty said with amazement.
Before Betty could get too excited, she felt her hair tie slide completely off, causing her luscious blonde hair to fall gently on her shoulders. Seeing this, Betty's lips twitched before she picked up her hair tie and put it on her wrist in defeat.
Seeing this, Gloria chuckled before suddenly turning pale when her eyes glanced at one of the monitors. Playing on the monitor was a massive fat demon with razor-sharp teeth impaling a character in the game.
The screams were guttural and instantly made Gloria want to run.
"Maybe this was a bad idea," Gloria muttered to herself.
She stepped closer to Betty as if to use her as a shield and moral support.
"It's okay. It's all going to be worth it." Betty said with a reassuring smile.
A young man dressed in goth-style makeup walked over to them with a smile. His tall, lean, and all-black clothing made him look like a ghost.
"Hello, ladies. How can I help you?" He said in a wispy tone.
"If you're looking to play a horror game, we currently have three solo players and one multiplayer. That one is a bit of a wait, but it's worth it, I swear. It really gets your blood pressure high and your heart thumping." The goth man said as he smiled, exposing his pearly white teeth.
"Nah, we are here to register a game," Sarah replied quickly.
"Huh?" The goth man's eyes opened up with surprise.
"Um, sorry, did you say you want to register a game?"
Sarah nodded her head.
The goth man blinked before smiling as if he understood. He elegantly waved his hand to point at the sign near the door.
VR Horror Games Only!
"Ladies, I think you might be mistaken. We only allow VR Horror games here. Other rooms cover other categories." The goth man said smoothly.
Sarah rolled her eyes as she put her hands on her hip.
"Hold on to their pal. Do you think we can't make a good Horror game just because we're elegant women?" Sarah asked, narrowing her eyes.
The goth man quickly shot his hands up and hastily replied, "No, no, no, that's not it, I swear."
"It's just…" He turned to Gloria.
"She looks like she is about to faint already."
Sarah blinked and turned around to see that Gloria was huddled behind Betty and looked as pale as a ghost or the goth man. She didn't even dare to look at any of the monitors.
She just stared straight forward.
Sarah's lips twitched as she didn't know what to say. She softly coughed before speaking.
"She always looks this pale, and she sprained her neck."
"So, where do we register?" Sarah asked with haste.
Seeing her eagerness, the goth man shrugged and pulled out a tablet.
"Enter your school email, your name or team name, and the link to your game. After that, you will get a confirmation email which station your game will be available."
Sarah didn't hesitate to grab the tablet and enter all the information. After finishing the process, she stared at the goth man with bright eyes.
"How long must we wait before it's our turn?" Sarah asked with burning curiosity.
The goth man smiled, "Every game will be put up for at least twenty minutes. After that, we will vote on which games can stay for another twenty minutes and which will be removed."
"The winner will be the game that stays up the longest because that's the most popular."
Just then, a soft ding played on the goth man's tablet. He looked at his tablet and looked at them.
"Ladies, you three are fortunate. A spot just opened up. It's at station one. Follow me." The goth man swirled on his heels and guided Sarah, Betty, and Gloria toward one of the corners.
As they reached the corner, they watched the game being played by a tall young man dressed in a spiked leather robe, who kicked him out mid-game. The man lifted his VR goggles and shook his head as he cursed under his breath.
He looked disappointed.
"That wasn't scary at all. That monster was so slow it was comical." He muttered with evident boredom.
"Still not enough for you, Cedrea?" The goth man said smoothly.
The spiky young man shook his head and sighed.
"Not even close. Nothing feels real in these games. Nothing compares to seeing these monsters in real life." Cedrea played with his deep purple hair as he looked at Sarah, Betty, and Gloria with boredom.
Noticing his look, the goth man smiled and did a quick introduction.
"Cedrea, these ladies are the developers of the next game. Maybe they can help you get that frightful spirit of yours back."
The goth man turned to Sarah and them, "Ladies, this young man is the leader of Supernatural Detective Clue on campus. He is famous for having nerves of steel since his parents are detectives and exposed to all sorts of terrifying incidents."
"If you can scare him, you will win this competition."
"Really? You have nerves of steel. My game is so scary that I'll give you your money back if you don't puke from fright." Sarah said confidently, slapping her chest as if she was making a promise.
Cedrea and the goth man's lips twitched uncontrollably.
What money back? He wasn't paying to play.
Betty chuckled, seeing this, and gave her approval.
"She is exaggerating, but our game is terrifying. It uses hyper-realistic Zombies straight from Digital Factory. Unless you have seen Zombies up close and personal before, you will feel the urge to puke your lunch."
Gloria nodded her head vigorously in agreement.
"I agree with them. It's sickening even in 2D, much less in virtual reality."
"Ladies, I don't know if puking is necessarily a sign of being scared. But whatever, as long as it's horror, it counts." The goth man said and tapped on his tablet.
Almost instantly, the monitor booted back up as the VR platform began softly lighting up, signaling it was ready.
"That's quick. Hopefully, that's a good sign." Cedrea said with some anticipation after listening to all that hype.
He stepped on the VR platform and put his VR goggles back on. After a few milliseconds of darkness, Cerdrea felt his pupils dilate as he stared at an enormous city from above.
The cars, trains, buses, and people were like little ants. Everything felt so small and insignificant, yet it gave off the sensation that everything was connected.
His vision showed the vast expanses of land that could only be described as apocalyptic. The charred earth, overgrown plants, and broken roads told a story of loss and disaster.
"Such a nice introduction," Cedrea muttered as he felt his heart racing.
He thought he could see wandering Zombies, mutated beasts, and vicious insects everywhere.
"Is this a monster hunter game? I wonder how they add in the horror element." Cedrea thought to himself as he entered the body of his character.
Immediately, he was greeted by his base, his new home, an abandoned building covered in weeds. The walls were covered in spider webs, and the spider's last victims' corpses remained in their web coffins. Just staring at this building instantly filled Cedrea with a feeling of insecurity. Yet this also invigorated him.
Since he only had limited time, he quickly glanced at the introduction material before him and froze.
"What the hell isn't this just Plants vs Zombies?"