Chapter 77: Single player
The announcement struck them like a thunderbolt in a single island. But this time, it’s to their classroom.
"Single player," Nolan repeated, casually typing into the console. "Same scenario. No help."
The room froze.
The four students looked at one another with wide eyes, the kind of look shared between soldiers who’d just heard they’d be going into a battlefield alone. A hollow silence lingered for several seconds, only broken by the faint hum of the simulator systems powering down and resetting behind Nolan.
"...Single player?" Selin said, her voice barely above a whisper, uncertain if she’d heard him right.
"You can’t be serious," Ruvin added quickly, his voice rising, eyes flicking between the others for confirmation. "That—no, that’s just not possible. We barely survived together."
Erik crossed his arms tightly and took a slow breath. "Sir, that’s the mode that got us killed. Repeatedly. That’s the same game we spent the entire week failing in."
Nolan didn’t respond immediately. He just leaned against the desk again and watched them with the calm patience of someone waiting for his students to process their own panic.
"I mean," Ruvin continued, "that thing literally outpaced us. It’s like it had a sixth sense. One misstep and it charges. We died—what? Thirty, forty times?"
"Forty-six," Selin muttered, eyes still wide. "And it wasn’t even close. Every run ended with us in pieces. Literally."
"We’re not ready for that," Erik said, gesturing sharply. "We just started figuring it out as a team. You want us to go back to that nightmare solo? What’s the point? It’s suicide."