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."
