Chapter 98: Tired

Alex stood up and looked around, "I guess I'm not so powerful after all. Not being able to take on a B rank Gate on my own." Alex said as he scratched his head awkwardly. Imani replied to Alex's words by laughing, "You're a lower B rank awakened. The awakened are classified into simple Letters starting from F rank but each rank can be divided into three. You already know about that from the way we've been describing you and ourselves. That being, High B, Lower B, and Mid B rank. That kind of gate is doable for only a High B ranked Awakened. Maybe two B ranked awakened. I did lower the difficulty for you by a small bit considering that you might have lost some of your stamina and we're tired from the first one. So don't worry, there is still a lot of training that you need to do before you can be a top B ranked Awakened. So, on that note, Why don't we stop this simulation?" She asked.

Alex nodded and spoke, "I understand. Let's stop the simulation, I've already had a lot of things happen today, all I'd like to do right now is just relax and maybe dose off." Alex said in a tired voice. Imani looked at Alex through the screen and nodded, She started the sequence to get Alex out of the simulation. The scientist behind her stood up and walked into the room where Alex was sitting. He smiled and spoke, "Well have a special one now don't we?" He laughed to himself. 

Alex slowly woke up and saw his body, hooked up to various wires. He waited as the scientist slowly detached Alex from the chair. He looked at Alex with a small smile and nodded before walking off into his own office. Alex watched in confusion as the man walked away before getting up and walked to where Imani was. He felt very tired and his body was asleep. Every Step Alex took felt like pins and needles were pricking him all over. 

Alex gritted his teeth and walked to Imani, who made a chair Ready for Alex to Rest in. "You don't look so positive, now do you?" She smiled. Alex smiled back and shook his head, "It just feels like my mind wants to sleep more than anything. Doing anything just makes me want to sleep now." He said in a tired voice. 

Imani nodded and spoke, "It's nothing unusual, so don't worry about that. I'd say just relax for a bit and then We'll go to the hotel. I'll take you to your room and after that, You can go to sleep." She smiled in a friendly manner. Alex looked at Imani and asked, "Why isn't it unusual? Does going into a simulation make everyone very tired?" Alex asked. 

Imani nodded as she sat down on his chair and turned to Alex, "Indeed, Rest up as I explain how this works. We'll only in simple terms as I'm not an expert on this. I also only know the simple explanation for this entire thing." She slowly spoke. Alex nodded and waited for Imani's explanation. 

Imani smiled, "Simulation is just a world that was created on the computer where every person has their own 'Thoughts'. It's not super in depth but at least to the point of everyone in a huge crowd having their own reactions to a certain thing. They react to fear differently, they reach excitement differently, and just, in short, they all look and act like different people. It's like a game but more in depth with the characters. " 

Imani looked at Alex, "Because they have their own personalities, the storage unit for everything in a simulation is huge. It's as big as a room and the size will get even bigger as the size of the simulation expands. Now, How would this relate to you feeling so tired?" Imani smiled.

"Essentially, That entire thing will be uploaded to your mind by electric pulses. While someone is asleep, their brain is the most relaxed. It's almost like a lucid dream where you can free control over everything that you do and think but this time, You can't break the rules created for the simulation and you can feel everything. From pleasure to pain. Feeling pain, meaning getting attacked on the simulation will make your brain send pain impulses to your body so You feel it physically as well, that's why after getting very hurt, you start to feel very tired. Top it up with the entire simulation being uploaded to your brain, It's obvious why you're feeling so tired. Now, I can't explain everything as I'm not qualified but that was a simple explanation for how this entire thing works and why you're feeling very tired." Imani explained. She looked at Alex who seemed to absorb all that information up.

'He did surprise me by everything that he did today… I guess sending a recording of this fight to Master Ryan is the only way that he can understand how scary this man can be once he gets more powerful.' Imani thought. 

Alex looked at Imani and smiled, "I think I understand the basics of it all but my brain doesn't seem to want to absorb this information so I can't do anything about that. However, It was like how I imagined it. An entire world being played in the computer, you can interact with people like real life and not even suspect that you're in a simulation. It's all really interesting." Alex looked at Imani who seemed to be in deep thought. 

Imani shook her head and looked at Alex, "It's been a few minutes now, I'm sure that you just want to go to your room and sleep. So why don't you stand up? I'll ask the overseer to close all this while we're gone." Imani said as she typed something into the keyboard. After a few seconds, the scientist walked into the room and started to work on the computer. Alex and Imani got up and walked out of the room, to head back to the hotel. 

"Stupid kids who don't even say goodbye. Well, it doesn't matter much now, does it? I'm in the best possible mood now that I've seen how powerful dimension crosser can get. Truly impressive people they are." The scientist spoke to himself as he closed the computer. He then walked into his room and started to laugh, "This will be really rewarding." He mumbled to himself. 

Alex and Imani walked to the trains and headed back to the hotel. Imani looked at Alex and spoke, "It seems like you probably don't want to do this tomorrow, am I correct?" She smiled. 

Hearing Imani's words, Alex quickly nodded, "I don't want to feel like this everyday… That was one hell of an experience but still, It was something that I couldn't do every day. The toll on my brain right now is just immense that I can fall asleep in an instant." He explained slowly. 

Imani nodded and smiled, "At least be happy that I stopped you from getting killed… Getting killed in the simulation means possible brain damage. Although it's a rare case, it's possible that your brain might actually believe that you can no longer function physically and act in a 'Dead State' Where you just can't do anything. It's just you being in a coma essentially. So keep this in mind for the next time you enter the simulation, act like it's real life, and don't even try to push yourself when you're at your limits. If it was real life, you only had two choices, Fight or die but here, You have three, Fight, Die or just stop the simulation so nothing could happen to you." Imani explained slowly. 

Alex looked shocked by Imani's words, 'To think that you'd be in a coma for dying in a simulation… She said that it's a very low chance but still, that is a very scary thought.' Alex thought to himself. Imani looked at Alex and spoke, "Tomorrow, You'll have a battle with me or the bots… I need to decide later on but I'm thinking about creating different situations that you can only finish by making proper plans. Today was more of a get used to the simulation day so I didn't force you to think too much. But from tomorrow onward, You need to plan more for battles." Alex nodded when he heard Imani. 

The two exited the train and entered the elevator. They entered the reception where Imani bid farewell to Alex and headed out. Alex nodded and walked back in the elevator and headed to his apartment. Alex jumped straight to the couch and spoke, "I'm so tired that I don't even want to walk to the room… This just sucks." Alex liked on the couch. He looked at the time, "5 pm, I must have to spend a few hours in the simulation… It didn't feel like anything though."