Chapter 1.7 Testing

Melinda, like the other girls, began to select the capsules for herself. When she chose a free pod for herself, she went to the locker. Placing her bag, she quickly took off her dress and shoes, leaving her in just a sports bra and shorts. They were a little smaller than she expected, and after wearing them all day, they were already uncomfortably constricting in several places.

Melinda waited for the corporate staff to help the girls in the group launch their capsules. Several times she caught glances from the girls, who devoured her muscular body and figure with envy. Melinda smiled friendly at them.

Finally, it was her turn. A middle-aged woman quickly showed her how to open and close the capsule. Melinda climbed into it. Inside it was relatively comfortable. Its interior was made of a soft rubberized material. A special headrest was adjusted under the head, depending on the height of the user. Special foot rests were adjusted for the feet. Melinda lowered the retractable helmet over her head. Then the lid of the capsule closes automatically. A buzzing sound was heard and something moved. As the staff member explained, it was the body scanner that worked, creating an accurate three-dimensional image of Melinda. This image would then be used as a base image from which The Game Character's body would be built.

As the big scanner finished its work, a smaller scanner in the helmet went to work. This one, Melinda learned, scanned her brain and was responsible for synchronizing it with… Melinda did not have time to finish her thought, as there was a flash with a click, and she fell into oblivion.

Melinda opened her eyes. There was a gray haze all around. Yet there was a solid surface under her feet. When she looked down, she was sure of it. Beneath her feet was a gray, slightly warm surface, resembling plastic.

"Melinda, we're here," Simone's voice came from behind her.

She turned around and saw a group of girls standing nearby. Simone was standing in front of them. She was the one who called out. Melinda took a couple of steps forward when another girl appeared nearby. Out of surprise, she had to take a step to the side, so abruptly that one appeared.

"It's all right, don't be afraid. We are here. Come join us."

Melinda stopped and waited until the newcomer could get comfortable, and together they headed toward the others.

Soon the whole group gathered around Simone.

"What's next?" Asked one.

"Why are we still in our swimsuits?" Asked another.

"Aren't we in the game?"

"Calm down," Simone stopped the barrage of questions, "I'll answer the questions in order. First of all, we're not in the game, not even connected to it. This space is more like a personal subspace in the game. You're in swimsuits because this is the first scan of your body, which will be a basic configuration. You can change it later in the personal subspace. I'll show you how. In the meantime…," Simone snapped her fingers, and everyone started wearing ample shirts and shorts. The girls greeted this innovation approvingly, "I think that'll do. Why is there only gray mist all around? So as not to frighten you at the first appearance here. Again, it can be changed in the settings. Next, I'm going to ask you to do a couple of things. I hope you've noticed that the surface of the ground is a little warm? Has everyone noticed?"

The girls nodded.

"Then let's begin," Simone continued, "First you cover your eyes with your palms. You shouldn't see anything. There should be solid darkness in front of you. If not, you have to tell me loudly."

The girls followed Simone's example and closed their eyes with their palms. No one loudly announced the problem.

"Next exercise," Simone continued, "Now open your eyes. The image should recover and return to normal. Next, you need to blow on your palm first slowly and then quickly."

Melinda followed the example, as did everyone else. She blew into her palm first slowly, feeling the hot breath, and then quickly, feeling the cool breeze.

"Well done. As far as I can see there's no problem," Simone said, "pinch yourself on the cheek. You should feel the pain and the natural sensation in your fingers."

As she pinched her cheek, Melinda felt a faint pain, and her fingers felt a pleasant warmth and smoothness of the skin on her face. So far, the sensation was no different from Earth life, and it was a little frightening.

"Now jump in place to feel the weight of your body."

As she jumped in place, Melinda immediately winced. She felt the full beauty of her body, or rather the part of her that was tightly crammed into the sports bra. The weight of more than two kilos was making itself felt. And the chafing from wearing a sports bra didn't contribute to a positive sensation. The only pleasant thing was the absence of a limp. Her leg behaved as if it were healthy, without any hint of a previous fracture.

"Will it feel the same in the game?" Melinda couldn't resist asking the question.

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"Yes, of course. What surprises you?" Surprised Simone. Then she looked at her breasts, "Oh, that...," she guessed what Melinda had asked, "you'll have to live with it. You can't go against nature."

Simone looked around at the girls present.

"Now remember the key phrases that are used in the game. You don't need to say them out loud now, to avoid premature triggering. The first phrase is "Open my player status". The next one is "Abort Test". Another is "Open my subspace". And the last double is "Stop Game" plus "Quit Game". These phrases work everywhere, all the time."

"What if my mouth is shut?"

"There will be an algorithm involved, in which repeating the phrase mentally will work," Simone replied without hesitation. "Now open your player status and familiarize yourself with it. It is visible only to you and no one else."

Everyone present mouthed the key phrase and opened their status. Melinda followed this advice as well.

‘Open my player status,’ she said mentally, and a window with her status opened before her eyes:

Name: Melinda Banhart

Age: 27

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Ethics: Neutral

Moral: Neutral

Body →

Soul →

Job →

Class →

Titles →

Traits →

Body fatigue: 1%

???: 0% х1

Some of the elements were inactive, and some like "body" and "work" were available. Melinda chose the "body" submenu:

Name: Melinda Banhart

Age: 27

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Height: 2.06m

Weight: 106kg

Detailed measurements →

Health: Rank?

Speed: Rank?

Strength: Rank?

Dexterity: Rank?

Endurance: Rank?

Resistance: Rank? →

Physical Status: Slight Fatigue

Only the detailed body measurements were available here, and the rest of the submenus were inactive. Basically, there was nothing to see yet.

"Have you examined the menus? The inactive submenus will be available later in the game. Now, let's get to your testing. I will open the door to a special subspace for each of you. Your task is to endure as long as possible, no matter what happens to you. If you can't stand it any longer, say, "Abort Testing", and it will be over."

Simone snapped her finger and an open door of blood-red carved wood appeared beside her, with pitch black darkness behind it. She smiled and asked:

"Who's first? Any volunteers?" Surprisingly there were none, "then you go first," Simone said, and grabbed the woman standing next to her.

She tried to resist, but it was useless. In a second, she disappeared into the darkness, and the door disappeared. Simone created a new door next to her.

"Who's next?"

This time, those who wanted to come showed up, and the process went faster. After a short time, it was Melinda's turn. She boldly stepped through the open door.

She found herself in total darkness. There was not a single source of light in sight. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her feet, either. A dozen seconds passed. Nothing happened. Then, abruptly, there was light all around, and she began to fall slowly downward as if floating in jelly. After a dozen seconds, her feet touched the surface. Again, nothing happened. Then her body became heavier. A glowing ball of light appeared in front of her five meters away and headed toward her. As it approached, she touched it. It was a mistake. A bolt of lightning pierced her entire body. Melinda squirmed in pain. At that moment, someone decided to change the direction of gravity, and she flew somewhere sideways. The ambient light changed. Everything turned gray. A dozen seconds later she hit the surface with her shoulder. It was lucky the impact was light. She hurried to her feet and looked around.

She could see no balloons flying toward her, but she could hear something moving around in the gray mist. It sounded alive, perhaps beasts. The sound changed direction and strength slowly as if the beast was playing with her. After ten seconds gravity changed again. Now she was soaring upward. Or was she falling upward? She quickly regrouped and soon touched a new surface. The ambient light didn't change, but there were visible waves through the surrounding gray mist, and hot air washed over her. Then gravity changed again. And after a short time, she touched a new surface? No. This time she was underwater with no surface under her feet, and it was so bright that it hurt her eyes. Ten seconds later gravity changed again. But this time she stayed where she was, only flipped right over. Even the water remained. Although the temperature of the water had changed and the light around her was not as bright. But now her eyes noticed a movement on the side. A shark-like silhouette.

Then gravity changed again. And after a short time, she touched a new surface. This time it was solid and divided into squares. In front, one square glowed, flipped over, and a stone spike soared upward from it. A second later it was gone, and a new square lit up next to it. This time, however, it disappeared, melting away, leaving a void beneath it. Soon she was in total darkness and the whole process repeated, speeding up and changing the rules again.

Melinda didn't know how much time passed. It seemed like an eternity to her. The time of the fall as gravity changed had changed too. Now it was only a couple of seconds. But surprisingly, there was no damage from the fall, as if time was accelerating rather than gravity. It didn't matter, though. Melinda's right leg was broken in the same place it had been years before. Her right arm was missing a wrist. In its place were bloody lumps. Her left hand was bruised and her pinky finger was broken. One eye was blind and bleeding. A side of her hair was burned. Her whole body ached. She vomited a couple of times, which almost cost her a life. She wanted to quit the test several times, but each time an irrational fear of failure held her back.

Now a grayish cloud was rushing toward her. She didn't have time to do anything. The cloud passed through her throat, separating her head from the rest of her body. The last thing she saw was her naked, headless body, scarred with teeth, and claw marks. Then darkness fell. This time for good.