"Ladies, your game has gotten quite a lot of attention. Do you want to tell everyone the name of the game?" The goth man asked with a smooth smile.
"Don't mind if I do," Sarah chirped. She spun on her heels and looked at the crowd of people staring at her with astonishment and anticipation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the game I present in front of you is called Windor's Siege. The goal is simple. Survive."
"Survive as long as you can. Survive so that you can help humanity step into a new age."
"For those who plan, have hearts of courage, and those with nerves tougher than diamonds, you will find that you are the safest person in the world by taking your destiny into your own hands. But…" Sarah paused.
"Faltar, and you will find yourself in the depths of hell as the apocalypse makes its way into your home."
"So, who wants to play?" Sarah said with a bright smile.
"And read the introduction properly unless you plan on fainting." Sarah quickly added, which made Cedrea's lips twitch.
"Let me give it another shot," Cedrea said with determination.
He stepped forward but was stopped by the goth man.
"Sorry, Cedrea, but you can't go again. Others have to get a turn, too. After it cools down, you can hop in again." the goth man said reassuringly.
"So be it. I want to see how you're supposed to play it then." Cedrea muttered and took off the VR gear, returning it to the goth man.
Without hesitation, the goth man swept across the excited crowd, eyeing who should go up next. His sooth eyes locked onto a short lady with long bangs and poofy red hair that reached her hips.
"Miss, would you like a go?" he asked but already handed her the equipment.
"Don't mind if I do? By the way, Damian, I have to say you look quite dapper today." The woman said with a cheeky smile.
The goth man threw back a cheeky smile.
"Thanks, babe, you're looking quite fine yourself," the goth man replied, clearly hinting that he and she were in a relationship.
Seeing this, the crowd of people's faces twitched. Some even complained about it.
"Bro, this is nepotism at its finest. The organizer is letting his girlfriend go first."
"Tsk, lucky."
"Are we sure about that? He might be sending his girlfriend to a death trap."
"...Good point."
Sarah saw this and felt her lips tighten with some envy. Seeing romance happening right in front of her was painful.
And it was because Hester's game was even worse. She was part owner since she was an investor—the best one.
"So adorable," Betty muttered softly. She couldn't help but smile.
"Hopefully, they don't break up after this," Gloria said after recovering a little.
"She should be fine. The zombies are scary, but the plants will protect her." Sarah said with a strange fire in her eyes.
Noticing that look in her eyes, Betty and Gloria silently glanced at each other. Their faces nearly twitched.
They couldn't survive this disgusting horror even when they had played dozens if not hundreds of times. It was technically correct that the red-haired girl would be fine when she had the plants protecting her.
But…when her defenses crumbled. That was a whole other story.
Unfortunately, no one was going to warn the red-haired girl, who clearly was a horror enthusiast. She probably wasn't going to listen anyway.
At this point, the entire room of horror lovers turned their focus on their station. The red-haired girl stepped on the VR platform after putting on the gear. Although her eyes were hidden, they couldn't hide the sheer excitement coming from her.
As a new game was booted up, everyone turned their attention to the monitor. The same scenario that Cedrea went through was played.
Like Cedrea, the red-haired girl marveled at the level of detail and felt her immersion in the game deepen. But where things differed was when the red-haired girl carefully read the introduction materials properly.
"So I have to use XXXFertilizer to speed up the development time. Simple enough." The red-haired girl muttered as she walked to the trunk of the aging truck.
With ease, she found a tightly sealed metal container with an image of a muscular sunflower inside a pile of dirt beside the green-furred Venus Fly Trap and the Dandelion Fruit Tree plant cards.
Watching the green-furred Venus Fly Trap plant card's timer nearly instantly reach completion, Cedrea's jaw dropped. Immediately, he felt gazes lock onto him, and his face flushed red like a tomato.
He coughed into his hand and felt like he should say something.
"What a good plan?" Cedrea softly sighed, drawing everyone's attention.
"Using this to help the players understand how to play is brilliant, but even using it to lower the guard for the horrors about to descend upon them is even more brilliant. As expected from horror experts." Cedrea said and turned to Sarah, Betty, and Gloria with respect.
Hearing his explanation, the looks in the crowd shifted as they looked impressed. Some even pulled out a bingo board and circled the section of games that disguised their hidden aspects.
"Thanks for noticing. Cedrea, I'll send you a copy of Windor's Siege for being our number one fan." Sarah said as her face blushed from the unexpected compliment.
"It's an honor," Cedrea said gratefully.
Secretly feeling proud about his analysis.
As everyone continued to watch the red-haired girl's gameplay. They saw her easily get past round one, but even then, the sheer disgust on her face, when the Slow Walker Zombies were melted by the green-furred Venus Fly Trap plant's acid made it apparent that this was far from easy.
Round two came and went, and the red-haired girl no longer dared to stay outside during the night. She had come to the terrifying realization that the Zombies reacted to her.
Staring through the broken window, she cursed under her breath.
"What the hell!? Shit, shit, shit!" Her voice was laden with panic as she watched with horror, her defenses crumbling right in front of her.
She was frozen and felt her mind blank as the last plant was ripped apart.
Nothing was standing before her and the ten Pale Zombies outside. Their murky white bloated skin and thick black teeth were filled with plant flesh and acid that was melting them.
"Oh God,"
"Oh God,"
"I'm going to puck!" She gagged from the sheer sight of the disgusting sight.
Everything was hyper-realistic, and nothing was blurred or censored. It was raw. A rawness that she couldn't comprehend from her life, always living in the city's safety.
Feeling her stomach acid mixed with earlier lunch begins to rise from her stomach. She knew she was going to vomit. But when she glanced at the Pake Zombies that rushed towards her like leopards, she forcefully held it back.
Instinctively, she picked up a broken wooden board and tried using it to protect herself. But she was instantly greeted by dozens of black teeth to the face.
She couldn't even scream in time before it was game over.
Game over!
Do you want to play again?
"Damn," the goth man muttered under his breath while gritting his teeth. His legs were trembling clearly, fearful of what he had just seen.
Then, after a second, he finally reacted, walked over to the red-haired girl, and pitted his biggest and most handsome smile.
"Babe, you did great. You even beat Cedrea." He said smoothly.
Cedrea, who was about to say a compliment, swallowed what he was about to say. He couldn't help but feel that his reputation might have been ruined.
"..."
"Babe?" The goth man asked with concern after not getting a response.
He touched the red-haired girl's shoulder and felt her body go limp and fall into his arms. She had fainted.
The crowd of students fell silent.
A second person fainted. And to the same game.
If it were earlier, others would joke around, but having watched the hyper-realistic zombies, they all caught on to what made this game so terrifying.
The high quality, the hyper-realistic monsters, and the apologetic environment all lead to sucking you into the world and making you feel as if you were really getting attacked.
"Thank God, this isn't a military-grade game." Someone whispered.
Others quickly agreed.
"If this game was military-grade, forget about fainting. The fact I will feel the pain of being eaten alive would traumatize me for life."
"Having a pain setting would be too cruel."
"I can't imagine what our troops actually have to fight."
Sarah, Betty, and Gloria all had pale faces as they looked sick to their stomachs. Watching others' experiences instantly made them decide never to play the VR version of Windor's Siege.
Others could suffer, but not them. They hated this kind of stuff in the first place.
Cedrea silently gulped as he felt his blood run cold.
"Reality is the most terrifying game," Cedrea muttered as he felt this saying hid even more truth than he had thought.
He silently stared at the monitor and silently clenched his fists.
After making sure the red-haired girl was okay and woke up. The goth man helped her remove the VR gear and handed it to the next eager person.
Although everyone had seen the horror that was VR Windsor's Siege, the number of people interested in playing skyrocketed.
What could they say? They loved horror.