Beyond the Hut

Inside the hut, Reiji's face contorted in a mixture of frustration and embarrassment as he flopped onto the wooden plank floor. 

He let out a deep sigh, his mind racing with the implications and yet a profound realization struck him, "The plate she used to eat was real…" He trailed off, the words hanging in the air as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

Before his dramatic collapse, Reiji had been methodically tapping on every surface of the hut, his skepticism driving him to test the reality of his surroundings. 

He rapped his knuckles on the wooden beams, the stone hearth, and even the plates, searching for any hint of artificiality, any glitch that would reveal the truth: that he was trapped in a simulated world, an unwitting participant in some grand experiment.

But as the solidity of the wooden planks and the roughness of the stone hearth registered in his mind, Reiji's skepticism began to crumble. 

The world he had walked around, touched, and experienced was undeniably real.

And that realization led to an even more profound conclusion: the idea that someone could create a simulated reality of this scope and complexity was too fantastical to be feasible on Earth. The implications were staggering – He was no longer on Earth.

Reiji let out a weary sigh, his mental exhaustion finally catching up with him.

"I'm beat," he complained, his voice laced with fatigue. 

He looked around, noticing that the hut had grown dark, the only light coming from the faint moonlight seeping through the windows.

"What time is it, anyway?" he asked, his eyes scanning the darkness, realizing he had lost all sense of time in his obsessive questioning of reality.

Reiji slowly got to his feet, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten in his hunger.

He spotted the leftover meat Tatiana had prepared and devoured it in a few ravenous bites.

With a satisfied grunt, he stumbled towards the bed, collapsing onto the soft fabrics of the bed without even bothering to wash the grease from his hands. In an instant, he was fast asleep, his weariness consuming him.

Tatiana and Bobbin arrived at the hut early, just as they had the day before. But this time, they were met with silence.

Reiji was nowhere to be seen, and the hut was still.

Tatiana smiled knowingly and whispered to Bobbin, "I think he's still reeling from our conversation yesterday. Let's give him a day to himself.' She nodded, looking towards the bed, where Reiji lay fast asleep, oblivious to their presence."

With a gentle smile, Tatiana and Bobbin quietly left the hut, leaving behind the day's ration of food for Reiji. 

The familiar bundle of provisions sat on the table, a silent reminder of their daily visits, waiting for Reiji to awaken and start his day.

As the sun's rays began to fade, casting a warm orange glow over the hut, Reiji slowly stirred from his slumber.

He sat up, rubbing the haze from his eyes, still looking a bit dazed from the mental upheaval of the previous day.

He stood up, stretching his limbs, and muttered to himself in a quiet, resigned tone, "Yep, still here... same place."

Reiji stepped outside the hut, taking a deep breath of the evening air, and shouted out his gratitude, "Thank you, little kid! Thanks for the food!"

His voice echoed through the surrounding trees, a loud but sincere attempt to express his appreciation to Tatiana, wherever she might be.

Reiji stood outside the hut, savoring the taste of the meat in his hand, and mused aloud to himself, "You know, this is actually the first time I've stepped out of this hut."

He chewed slowly, taking in the unfamiliar sights and sounds of the surrounding environment, a sense of curiosity and wonder slowly replacing his earlier confusion and disorientation.

With a newfound sense of determination, Reiji declared to himself, "Why don't I start figuring out this world for myself?" He took a final bite of the meat, and with a sense of purpose, he walked away from the hut.

Reiji's eyes scanned the surrounding area, his brow furrowed in curiosity. "I could've sworn I saw some fierce monsters lurking around here the last time I peeked outside," he muttered to himself. 

"Where did they all go? Did I just imagine it?" He took a cautious step forward, his senses on high alert, as if expecting a beast to emerge from the underbrush at any moment.

As Reiji continued on his way, he glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes fixing on the hut he had been calling home. 

What caught his attention, however, was the hut's peculiar location. It sat at the end of a narrow path, with dense foliage closing in on either side.

The only way out, aside from pushing through the trees, was the very path he was currently on.

A hint of a smile played on Reiji's lips as he nodded to himself in approval. "That little girl is confident, but also very cautious," he thought, impressed by Tatiana's strategic placement of the hut, ensuring his safety and limiting his ability to wander off.

"Freakishly genius in every aspect," Reiji exclaimed.

As Reiji continued on the winding path, he didn't have to walk for long before he caught sight of a warm, golden glow in the distance.

The soft light seemed to emanate from the heart of a village, its gentle radiance beckoning him closer. Reiji's curiosity was piqued, and he felt an overwhelming urge to explore the village.

Reiji's feet seemed to move of their own accord, drawn to the village like a magnet. As he walked, a strange, tingling sensation built up inside him." Why do I feel so excited?" he wondered, taken aback by his own emotions. 

"I've never felt this way about meeting people before. It's... weird," he thought, a mixture of curiosity and self-awareness flashing across his face.

As Reiji entered the village, he was immediately struck by the townspeople's unusual appearance. 

A low, amused chuckle escaped his lips, and he shook his head, saying, "Why am I not surprised? These aren't your regular humans."

His eyes scanned the crowd, taking in their peculiar features, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of validation, as if he had been expecting something out of the ordinary all along.