73: Simulation Rooms

Ryker and Electra left the cabin last out of all the students. They meandered downtown before pushing open the double doors to the Hunter’s Association. The doors swung closed behind them with a faint creak, and, like most buildings in the north, a warm, wooden interior greeted them. Beyond the wooden interior though, an anachronistic decor greeted them. Wooden tables had digital screens built into them, rustic check-in booths had modern kiosks, and the windows had flat screen TVs built into the wall right beside them.

“We are registered right?” Ryker murmured as he and Electra took careful steps towards the central open area. “It feels so empty.”

“I’m checking right now... and yeah, we are registered automatically through our school,” Electra answered. She put away her phone and looked up to take in the view. “You’re right, there’s no one around right now.”

“Because most people work during the day,” A voice interrupted them from behind while putting a hand on both Ryker and Electra’s shoulders.

The two students whirled around, while leaping up and outward. Their shoulders relaxed though as they called out ““Angelica?!”” The sparks running down Electra’s hair calmed down as both she and Ryker took a couple of deep breaths.

“I thought you were calling someone,” Ryker put his hand to his chest. As Angelica began walking forward to the main desk, he followed along beside her. “Don’t scare us like that! And why are you here?”

“I was, but she’s now busy with her own work, she’s a hunter too after all. So, I'm here to sort out some paperwork. It’s quite important, especially since I’m bringing a bunch of really young and inexperienced people, you know?” Angelica smiled, patting Ryker and Electra on the back. “It's nice that you two came to take a look around though, that’s quite smart of you two.”

One “thank you” later from the students, Angelica walked off, heading off to the kiosk with a bundle of papers in her hand. Her other hand waved to the students before pointing to the second floor. She winked and nodded towards the area. “You two should check it out, I think it's pretty interesting.”

Taking the hint, Ryker and Electra sped-walked over to the stairs and ascended—taking the steps two at a time. With their movements far more fluid, they greeted a worker with a smile and a “Have a nice day” before walking further into the second floor.

A long hallway with huge windows took them over a chasm into another part of the Hunter’s Association. The hallway overlooked the ocean, a colorful fight with a giant cephalopod, and a pair of small figures far in the distance, sitting on a rock far while sharing a bag of snacks.

“That’s them isn’t it?”

“It’s too far to tell-... no, that person just transformed their hands into tentacles, I bet it’s them.”

“They’re totally dating aren’t they?”

“I’d assume so, but its not really our place to ask.”

“True... and it doesn’t really matter anyway...”

With their conversation coming to a close, the muffled sound of their footsteps against the carpeted floors filled the air once more as they made it to the other building. After walking past a couple rooms bursting at the seams with dusty encyclopedias, they came to the end of the hallway where a pair of double doors blocked their way forward. Before they could test the handle though, the doors eased open with a hiss.

A mechanical voice rang out the moment their feet crossed the entryway. [Two new people detected entering the simulation wing. Current number of occupied rooms, zero. Current number of free rooms, ten.]

Together, Electra and Ryker walked through the now-gleaming metal hallway. Sliding doors with glowing green outlines dotted the hallway. A sign sat on the wall beside each door. Each sign detailed the room’s number, size, recommended occupancy level, and general rules for its use.

After walking a lap down and back up through the entire hall, they settled on a random room in the middle of the hall, clicking the button on the door. Once clicked, the button locked into place and the door slid open.

They entered with hesitant steps. Ryker led the way, taking quick glances to his left and right as he walked forward. The gentle hum of a fan filled his ears as his blonde hair took on a wind-tousled look.

“Oh, there’s a close door button here,” Electra facepalmed after she also stood in place for a couple seconds. Leaning over, she pressed it down for a couple seconds and the door slid shut, its green lights turning to red to signify the room’s occupied status.

“It’s kinda crazy in here though,” Ryker tapped his chin as he walked down the stairs to the open, two-story tall auditorium-like area. A handful of chairs sat off to the side, some folded up and the rest in a small circle, empty remnants of past hunters who used the simulation room. In the center of the room, a holographic ball of light floated and rotated.

[Please select a creature to simulate... Please select a creature to simulate.] A voice filled the room as a screen on the wall fired up. As the voice rang throughout the room, silhouettes of various monsters flashed through the center of the holographic sphere.

Once Ryker selected one from the screen, the sphere collapsed and condensed into a life-like replica of a reptilian-winged tiger. It stalked around the room and the voice changed to a more human tone.

[... hunts primarily at night. Most kills are reported to happen at night. It’s habitat includes both the skies and the ground. However, it prefers the tall mountainous regions... Every year people fall victim to their own carelessness though as it's still known to be awake during the day. Experts theorize that it only sleeps around two hours a day. Thus, although it's most actively stalking around dawn and dusk, wariness and caution should be adopted throughout the entire day... As for its strength...]

---

“I love ice cream so much...” Albion mumbled. A smattering array of ice cream cups sat in front of him, numbering in the twenties. Locked into his own world, he forgot about Titus and Conrad who also sat at the table with him—albeit with far less ice cream for themselves.

“Where to next? We’ve tried three different stores of food now,” Conrad pulled out his phone, “There’s a noodle place near here that we can hit for lunch if you two are down for that.”

“I’m down,” Titus shrugged. “It might not sit well after the ice cream but... I don’t really care, I’m craving something salty right now.”

“Ice cream never sits unwell with anything in my body.” Albion nodded with a rare smile. “Let’s do noodles.”

“That’s a plan then, I’ll make the reservation right now, for... half an hour? You think you’ll be done by then?” Conrad looked over Albion’s array. “Maybe fifteen minutes...”

“I’ll do it in twenty. I’ll go slow,” Albion reached over, grabbing a new cup while adding his empty one to an ever-growing stack.