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CHAPTER 35

Dakota knelt next to a pit. A tower rose to his left, creating an ideal spot to lure the constructs in. This wasn’t always the case, each time he came in here, the room was configured slightly different. This resulted in some layouts that benefited him better than others.

All three orbs darted into the open, swinging their gazes to track him. He ducked behind the tower as beams sliced through the air. It was the beginning of the session so there was still a considerable time delay between shots. He waited, heart pounding as the soft “clicking” sound of the orbs drew closer. Just as they rounded the corner, he heaved the net capturing all three. His throw was pitch-perfect. Along with grabbing all of the orbs, the momentum of the net dragged the constructs backwards into the pit.

Dakota stood there, almost uncomprehending. Had that actually worked?! He dazedly collected rings, nearly forgetting about the statue beams.

Fourteen. Seventeen. Nineteen. This was it. He was going to complete the room. He almost couldn’t believe it. He just needed the last ring. His brows furrowed, he had swept the room but maybe he had missed it.

Five minutes later, he was starting to worry. There were twenty rings. He had counted every time he had come in here. Twenty was the number he always ended up with.

A creeping sense of dread worked its way into his mind.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.”

Dakota carefully, carefully, peeked into the pit where the three orbs were trapped. They were shaking, sparks of red energy flying off of them. And between them, as he feared, was the last ring. Happily bobbing, unaware of the severe emotional trauma it was inflicting on a certain human only a dozen feet away.

“Do or die.”

If he touched the ring, chances were the simulation would end. If he touched the ring.

He lay on his back, taking deep breaths. No turning back, no turning back.

He rolled onto his feet and leapt into the pit. The orbs swung up, eyes a blazing fury as he descended.

Six feet.

The orbs fired, instead of the short blasts he was used to. The beams they now fired were continuous. They lanced across his arms and legs, severing his limbs. He landed, two feet from the ring but with no arms to touch it. A cruel fate.

He blinked, clutching his arms.

Everything was still there.

“Freak this I’m taking a break.”

Dakota didn’t make the same mistake twice. He collected the ring from whatever pit he used as his ambush spot before trapping the orbs in it. Unfortunately, catching all three orbs in the net was more a fluke than anything. He only caught one orb in each of his next three attempts which wasn’t enough of an edge to complete the room. He caught two on his fourth session and nearly finished.

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He placed his hand on the circle. Hours had passed but he was too close to quit for the night.

This room configuration was decent, placing a low wall close to a pit. The orbs could go over the wall but chose to stay near level ground most of the time.

He snuck into the pit, collected the ring and quickly exited. He still had thirty seconds before the statues shot.

Two orbs clicked into the open in front of him. Shoot, he had hoped for all three but he could handle one orb. He stuck a hand out, getting their attention before hiding behind the wall. The clicking drew closer…except, was it coming from this side of the wall?

The third orb zipped around a corner and locked onto him. Crap.

Dakota leapt over the wall as the orb shot a beam. He avoided it but was now on the side of the wall with the other two orbs. They had been flying towards him but stopped once he came over the wall.

“Bad, bad, bad.”

The orbs shot.

The beams lanced through the air, straight at him. He leaned back, watching the red crackling energy pass inches from his face.

He rebounded as the beams ended. Now was his opportunity. He darted around the side of the wall again. Running into the first orb. It should still be in its cool-down phase. He dropped the rope, grabbed the orb with both hands and heaved it over the pit. Once there, it stayed put, content to watch Dakota until it could shoot again. It would only move if he left its line of sight.

As the first two orbs came around the bend, he bent, seized the net and hurled it over all three orbs.

Did he…do it?

He stood there, adrenaline pumping. He couldn’t believe it. He was finally going to finish this room.

A soft whoosh filled the room.

Nononono.

He watched in slow-motion as a beam of incineration bounced off of a mirror… and whizzed right by him.

Dakota tapped ring twenty. He didn’t know what he was expecting. A celebration? Confetti and cake would be pretty nice.

“ROOM COMPLETED: TIME 5:32. FASTEST TIME 0:43.”

“What?! That’s not possible.”

The room didn’t listen, instead resetting to its basic state as a door formed in the wall. A single blue circle stood in its center.

He tentatively placed his hand on it, unsure whether he was mentally ready to deal with more physical abuse. He was done if this were another “upgraded” obstacle course room.

He “pushed” and appeared in a new room or should he say valley. A gurgling stream ran in the base of a valley which he stood off to the side of. He couldn’t see any walls. Grass swished across the hillside, a hazy sky stretching above. It would have been life-like if not for the muted colours. It was as if something had leached the vibrancy from the valley’s colour palette, turning the grass into a dull green and the sky a pale blue.

The sounds of the outdoors weren’t affected. Birds chirped, the stream gurgled, and…what was that?

A shape was coalescing a hundred yards from Dakota. It slowly took on a vaguely humanoid shape but didn’t retain any of the details that made a human…human. The shape finished forming. It stood the height of a man, with two arms and two legs. It was made of different shades of grey, giving the impression of musculature and had a fuzzy quality around its edges.

“BEGIN.”