Horror :The Cautious Titan

Ding—

The sharp ring of a school bell echoed through the still morning air.

Lucas opened his eyes.

The sunlight poured over him, coating his skin in warmth—and sweat—before he even moved a muscle.

He blinked slowly, adjusting to the brightness until the scene before him came into focus.

He stood in an open courtyard, completely unfamiliar. The space was crowded with people, all dressed uniformly in pristine white school uniforms, himself included.

The girls wore either neatly tied ponytails or short cuts ending just above their ears. The boys, on the other hand, had short, near-identical hairstyles, clipped to regulation length.

They were all seventeen or eighteen years old—an age typically full of youth and life.

But there was none of that here.

Lucas scanned their faces and saw only emptiness—blank stares, lifeless expressions.

It was eerie.

Suddenly, a prompt appeared in his vision:

---

[The system is being modeled...]

[Danger assessment has been generated based on the host's current strength...]

[Mark, student in the examination room: No danger]

[Daniel, student in the examination room: No danger]

[Chloe, student in the examination room: No danger]

[Teaching Building No. 1: Low-Level Danger]

[...]

---

Everywhere Lucas looked, the danger levels were well within manageable limits.

Although the students looked like zombies, there didn't seem to be any real threat from them.

"Students under pressure from exams often look like this, right?"

He tried to rationalize it. It helped.

His unease melted into mild sympathy. Maybe they were just nervous.

That's when he noticed a few individuals with more alert expressions, just like himself, scanning their surroundings.

"Those must be the players," he thought.

Ding—

The bell rang again, followed by a mechanical female voice crackling through the loudspeaker:

> "Candidates, please bring your admission tickets and proceed to your assigned examination centers immediately."

Suddenly, the crowd moved.

Like a tide shifting with the moon, the students broke from their stillness and surged toward the nearby buildings—north, south, east, west.

The broadcast repeated like a mantra:

> "Candidates, please bring your admission ticket…"

---

[Main task activated: Achieve a total test score of 60 points]

[Task hint: The total possible score is 100. 60 is the passing mark. Should be simple.]

---

Lucas instinctively reached for his chest pocket.

There it was—an admission ticket tucked neatly in the top-left pocket of his crisp short-sleeved shirt.

The name on the card read: Ethan.

He stared at it.

"This simulation really didn't even try with the names."

He flipped the card over. His exam room: 4102.

With a sigh, Lucas followed the posted signs to Teaching Building No. 4, the one on the left.

Surrounded by pale-faced students who moved like marionettes, Lucas walked in.

Next to him, a short, round boy huffed and puffed as he walked, muttering under his breath and fanning himself with chubby hands.

He noticed Lucas watching and paused.

"You…" he asked hesitantly, "You're a player?"

Lucas nodded and extended a hand.

"Yeah. Name's Ethan."

The boy's eyes lit up as he grasped Lucas's hand enthusiastically with both of his own.

"Brother Ethan! Which room are you in?"

"4102," Lucas replied with a small grin.

The boy's face flushed with delight.

"Oh, that's perfect! I'm in 4102 too!"

He looked relieved—like someone who had just found a lifeboat in the middle of the sea.

"I'm just a butcher in real life," the boy admitted, "I've already forgotten everything from school. A high school exam? That's a death sentence!"

He laughed sheepishly.

"Mind letting me copy off you during the test?"

Lucas—always the helpful type—smiled.

"Sure."

The boy clapped him on the shoulder with admiration.

"You're a good brother! Name's Rex. If anything happens, just holler."

They chatted as they made their way toward room 4102.

---

Room 4102.

It was much larger than Lucas had expected.

Even the podium was oversized, giving the space a commanding presence.

It could easily seat 300 people—but there were only two rows of desks and chairs. The rest of the room was barren, giving it a hollow feel.

Rex sat directly in front of Lucas.

They were the last two to arrive.

Everyone else was already seated.

And silent.

Expressionless.

Emotionless.

As Lucas and Rex walked in, talking and laughing, the weight of the silence became apparent.

Even Rex seemed to notice, lowering his voice.

Once seated, Rex leaned back and whispered, "Let's keep quiet now. I think this exam really means something to the others here. We shouldn't disturb them."

Lucas blinked.

Now that he focused… there wasn't a single sound anywhere in the building.

No whispers. No shuffling. Not even the creak of a chair.

It was unsettling.

"Students from top schools must be really disciplined…" he murmured.

Ding—

The third bell rang.

"The exam is about to begin."

---

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Getting closer.

A woman stepped into the doorway.

She was tall, wearing a fitted uniform and a narrow skirt—clearly the teacher.

Rex perked up, trying to catch a glimpse of her face. But when he did—

his expression twisted into horror.

He almost fell out of his seat.

The teacher's face—

No.

She had no face at all.

It was as if a sheet of pale human skin had been stretched tightly over a blank mask.

Her featureless head turned slightly.

Even without eyes, Lucas could feel her gaze.

And it was fixed directly on Rex.

Cold sweat drenched the back of Rex's uniform.

He trembled.

---

The illusion of a normal test environment shattered in an instant.

This was no ordinary exam.

This was the beginning of something darker, more twisted—something beyond logic.

---

To be continued…

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