Monster College Version 0.8.6 · Simple & Trusted

In the distance, a new quest marker appeared: “Hollow’s Lab – Upper Atrium.”

“That’s a Resonator ,” Morgan hissed. “Someone’s been feeding it fragments of my past echoes. Every fight I lost. Every student who walked through me and laughed. Every time I felt nothing.”

Morgan phased through first, then pulled a trick they’d learned only last week: materializing just enough to turn the rusted handle from the inside. “Progress,” they said dryly. “Next update, maybe I’ll get fingers that don’t phase through doorknobs.” Monster College Version 0.8.6

You recall a line from Thornheart’s lecture: Sentient hexes adapt to intent . You shout, “Hollow, your machine feeds on negative emotion—but you’re just as lonely as Morgan.” Hollow falters. The Resonator flickers, detecting his suppressed guilt. It turns on its creator. Outcome: Hollow is trapped in a loop of his own worst memories. You and Morgan escape. Morgan’s trust increases, but they note: “You’re scarier than me, human.”

“The Old Infirmary,” you whispered. “Where they used to ‘treat’ incorporeal students before the Accords.” In the distance, a new quest marker appeared:

You glanced around the hall. Other monster students—werewolves, vampires, a drowsy gorgon—showed no reaction. Only you and Morgan.

A figure stepped from the shadows. Professor Hollow, the quiet alchemy instructor with too-long fingers and eyes like empty birdcages. Every student who walked through me and laughed

A low, rhythmic hum had started during Professor Thornheart’s lecture on Sentient Hexes, 3rd Edition . It wasn’t coming from the speakers. It was coming from inside your own scar —the faint, silvery mark you’d received last semester when you accidentally bonded with Morgan, the grumpy poltergeist who haunted the library’s sub-levels.

Hollow pressed a button. The Resonator screamed. The game paused. Three options glowed in the static:

Inside, the infirmary was a museum of broken magic. Iron-framed beds with leather straps. Cages lined with silver for “volatile phantoms.” And at the center, a glass cylinder filled with swirling, black-static energy—the same texture as Morgan’s bad days.

“Version 0.8.6,” they said, almost smiling. “Patch notes: fixed eternal loneliness bug. Added ‘hand-holding’ feature. Still crashes during emotional vulnerability.”