A Spider in the Simulation

After introductions, Haneul and her team head to the simulation training room. Despite the reports that the Captains had already received regarding the rookies, they still needed to see them in action to assess how to further train them. In addition to how they would fit in with the rest of the team.

The four rookies each went inside of a cubicle and wore the head gear to enter the simulation. They have done something similar during their trainee days, so they are familiar with it. Haneul explains that after they enter the simulation, they would be into pairs. “This will help you slowly get used to your team members fighting style. It’s also not unusual for us to split up depending on the plan and the conditions. Hence, I highly advise you to try and become flexible and adapt accordingly.”

The rookies, feeling anxious and excited at the same time, closed their eyes as the device was being activated…3…2…1!

Sami woke up to find himself in a city, that is very similar to Harmony. His eyes wandered around, scanning the area. People, cars and other vehicles were passing by as usual. He observed that some people were talking to each other, some were on their phones and parents with their kids. He spots Rain standing a few meters ahead on the pavement. As he gets closer to her he comments, “Isn’t it eerie… how ordinary this all seems?” She jumps and looks at him. “Oh…didn’t mean to scare you. Sorry.” She shakes her head and says, “it’s okay…” she looks around and continues, “But you are right. It is eerie.” They walk together, scouting the area. Sami eventually breaks the silence by asking, “Until this Outsider decides to show up, how about a little conversation? You know, to get to know each other since we are in a team now.”

“Hmm, sure but I don’t think I have anything interesting to talk about.”

He was quiet for a bit as he was looking ahead, pondering. “What do you enjoy Rain?”

“I’m not sure I understand…” she responds with a confused expression.

“What brings you joy in life?”

She pondered for a bit then finally said, “Living...I guess.”

Sami eyes widened slightly, but before he could say anything they were interrupted by a loud sudden crash on the road next to ream. A number of cars crashed into each other. People that were close by panicked and ran away. In the center was a sphere, floating in midair. An Eye appeared in the middle. “Its here, at last,” said Sami as he unsheathed his sword. Rain also prepared herself by holding her dual handguns.

Astrid wakes up to find herself in a quiet area between tall buildings. There were two narrow pathways, one straight ahead and one to her right. Really…did it have to be in some tight isolated area of all places. She went to the path straight ahead. It was unusually quiet. Very different from the city she was used to. Despite its name, Harmony, the metropolis of Lapis, was a large bustling city. The sound of the metro, people talking, and all sorts of vehicles passing by filled the air. 

The quietness took her back to when she was 8, back in her hometown where it was much more quiet and slow paced than Harmony. On one particular day, she was playing hide and seek with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood. She found a large pot behind one of the houses and hid inside. She waited there for a while but no one from the kids got even close to where she was. All of a sudden she heard footsteps. Someone was walking-no, running. She heard a smash on the wall nearby. Two men were having a fight next to where she was hiding. They seemed to be having a heated argument but she could not hear them clearly. Yet, she was still able to recognize that one of them was her father from his voice. Astrid covered her ears and closed her eyes. Please…stop…She felt terrified. A few seconds later, she heard footsteps coming from behind this time. Her heart starting beating faster…did they notice me…? She held her breathe and tried to calm herself down. Silence…no one came. Was I imagining it…or did they leave? She looked up and saw Emir eyes peeking through. “There you are!” he said in a low voice. She jumped. “Emir! You scared me!” He laughed. “Not funny!” Tears began flowing down her cheeks. He was both confused and slightly worried “…what’s wrong? Were you really that scared?”

The pathway was rather long, Astrid couldn’t see the main road ahead. Is there a glitch? She thought to herself. She reached another opening. Still trapped between buildings. As she stood there thinking of where next to go, a strange noise suddenly appeared. She felt a chill down her spine all of a sudden. Something feels strange. Behind her… there was something there. But she was too scared to look. She held her axe tightly and gulped. No. I can do this now. And anyways- she turned around. A large spider-like Outsider was on the wall behind her. “This isn’t real!” she said to herself. 

The Outsider released sharp threads towards her. She expands the shield attached on her right arm and uses it for cover against the threads. Then she quickly runs towards it and jumps. Once she got closer she swings her axe against its face. However she fails to strike as it quickly covers its face and pushes her away. Astrid positions herself to land safely on the ground. She attempts the same attack but fails again. The Outsider seems to be able to create a tough shield around its face as soon as she comes close to it. As she tries to think of how she can attack, the Outsider runs towards her. “What now? no- don’t get closer, stay there!” She shouts as she tries to keep a distance. Due to the lack of space, she quickly finds herself cornered. Calm down Astrid…this is not real. What’s the worst that could happen? Despite that, the situation still terrified her. The Outsider was so close to her now. Move Astrid…do something. Anything! It lifted one of its limbs, and as it was about to thrust it onto the ground, Astrid throws herself forward and manages to escape from below. She then immediately turns around, jumps forward and swings her axe to attack it from behind. The Outsider releases sharp threads to retaliate. Oh come on. Arrows came shooting at the Outsider all of a sudden. While it was distracted she quickly swings her Axe and deals some damage. As she fell back she looks around and finds Jay there.

“There you were! Sorry for being late,” he said.

“Took you long enough.” Astrid said in a cold tone. As he got closer he asks, “What’s the plan? Did you figure out its weak point?” She disregards his question as she was too focused on the Outsider. The spider like creature rushes towards them with high speed, preparing to slash them with its sharp limbs. They both try dodge from opposite directions. It released its threads again only this time against Jay. Meanwhile, Astrid noticed that there are 6 small circles around its face; which was were the threads were coming from. While Jay was busy dodging its attacks. Astrid says to him in a loud voice, “Hit those small circles on its face simultaneously on the count of three. I’ll aim for the face.” Jay nods, though he did not seem very confident at first.

Jay eventually finds a spot and prepares his posture, “I’m ready now!…3-“ Astrid runs towards the building opposite to where the outsider was and jumps onto the wall to give herself a push as she then jumps towards the Outsider. “2…” The Outsider notices her and prepares to launch its threads. Astrid raises her Axe and looks straight into the outsiders face. Its wide smile was disturbing to look at. “…1!” She quickly swings her Axe at the Outsider’s face. She could see the threads coming towards her as she swung her weapon, but before they were able to reach the arrows destroyed the circles. But did they? One of the threads pierces through her arm. Astrid screams in pain. It hurts this much even in a simulation…what about the real world? The thought frightened her. Jay quickly helps her as she fell back. “Hey! Are you alright?” She pushes him away and takes a few seconds to catch her breath. They both watched as the Outsider disappeared. The simulation ended.