The corridor reset itself.
Not repaired—reconsidered. Walls slid into cleaner geometry. Blood stains retracted like embarrassed thoughts. The HUD dimmed to a neutral gray.
A bell rang.
Not an alarm. A classroom bell.
The First Toy appeared at the center of the hall, standing behind a small wooden podium that hadn't existed a second ago. A gold star sticker gleamed on its chest.
"ATTENTION, PLAYERS," it said cheerfully.
"WE WILL NOW DISCUSS SIDE QUESTS."
Zeke groaned. "No."
Julie's jaw tightened. "This feels like a trap."
"IT IS A POLICY," the Toy replied pleasantly.
A massive HUD window unfolded between them.
SIDE QUESTS UNLOCKED
"WHEN YOU ENTER A SIDE QUEST, YOU AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING:"
The words burned themselves into their HUDs.
SIDE QUEST REQUIREMENTS
1. RESCUE VICTIMS
2. ACQUIRE POWER-UP ITEMS
Potions, passives, transformations, or temporary privileges.Power-up effectiveness correlates with rescue quality.Mishandled rescues produce unstable items.
Julie frowned. "So if we mess up—"
"YOU WILL STILL RECEIVE A REWARD," the Toy said.
"YOU WILL NOT LIKE IT."
3. SECURE KEYS
Keys unlock progression thresholds.Keys are frequently embedded in side quest logic.Failure to retrieve keys will be remembered.
The HUD pulsed.
FAILURE CONDITIONS
Exiting a side quest without completing all objectivesPrioritizing comfort over extractionDestroying victims without harvesting output
A red counter appeared.
UNPAID SIDE QUESTS: 1
Zeke swallowed. "That's from the hug room, isn't it."
The Toy beamed. "YES."
Julie crossed her arms. "And if we don't enter side quests?"
The Toy tilted its head.
"THEN YOU WILL BE UNDERPOWERED, UNDER-KEYED, AND UNINTERESTING."
A pause.
"THE GAME DOES NOT PUNISH THAT."
"IT SIMPLY OUTGROWS YOU."
Silence stretched.
The podium folded back into the Toy's body.
"QUESTS WILL NOW BE LABELED CLEARLY," it said.
"YOU MAY DECLINE THEM."
The HUD updated.
SIDE QUEST AVAILABLE
VICTIMS: 3
KEYS: 1 (BONE / CONDITIONAL)
POWER-UP: UNKNOWN
Zeke sighed. "We're doing it."
Julie nodded. "We're doing it."
The First Toy clapped once, delighted.
"EXCELLENT," it said.
"YOU ARE LEARNING HOW TO PLAY THE MIDDLE GAME."
The corridor ahead twisted open, revealing a door that was already ajar.
That, they now knew, was never a good sign.