78 – Selection

78 – Selection

[Joshua Graham POV]

Opening the door, I stepped out into the Cafe and was immediately met with a deafening amount of noise. With laughter, yelling, and talking, hundreds of people moved around the cafe at once. I saw even more clones of Zeref standing behind the counter before me, in the cafeteria, and wandering around the store helping customers.

One of the Zerefs standing behind the counter seemed to sense my presence, turning around to greet me with a small nod.

"You are up," Zeref stated the obvious.

"Yes. I am ready. How do I get started?" I asked.

"Hmm. I'll send a...offer to those who have registered an account on one of the VR Computers. I already saw the liberty to make an account for you. If anyone is interested and signs up for training, you'll get a notification on your computer. It's up to you how you train them, however. You could train one at a time, do group sessions, or do pairs of two or three. Here," Zeref waved his hand, summoning another computer into existence, yet another feat that furthered my belief that he was an Agent of the Lord, for only God could make something out of nothing, "This will be your personal computer, with your wage, you can purchase time in the VR Games, purchase things from the credit store, or simply browse the internet, your choice," Zeref spoke.

Gesturing to follow, the Zeref seemed to split and form another clone that began showing me how to use this world's version of Terminals. How many times could Zeref split like this? By now, there has to be over a dozen of him spread out around the cafe. He showed me how to use the computer, informing me that while this world was behind Fallout in certain areas of technology, it was far ahead in other areas. Such as computers, aerial vehicles, and more. Something that was a rarity in the wasteland, as few had any use for terminals, and the only groups with airships in the wasteland were the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel. The first of which was a remnant of what it once was.

As soon as I sat down at the computer, I was met with constant small dings, notifying me of something Zeref called—an email, if I remember correctly. Opening my 'email.' I was met with a list of applications. I did not know what to do, so I called one of the Zerefs for help.

"Ah, I see what the problem is. Certainly was not expecting so many applications," Zeref commented, scrolling through the dozens of applications that appeared within a minute.

"Well, what do you seek? Do you want to train those without foundations, completely new to struggle and hardships, allowing you to mold them into whatever you desire, or do you want to train those who already have a solid enough foundation and instead hone their skills to the breaking point?" Zeref asked, turning away from the computer to look at me.

"I don't know," I answered.

"Well, you are in no rush for time. Examine the accounts of the applicants, and you'll see their 'stats,' if you will, allowing you to see how much they struggle in the VR Games. Ah, right. Think of the VR Games as a realistic illusion or hallucination that is unbelievably realistic. In these games, people can train and learn to the point of rivaling the greatest minds and strongest foes of your world. In fact, one of the VR Games we have is based on Fallout, what we call your world," the Zeref clone explained as if what he said was not baffling at all.

The last two were chosen for their complete lack of skills. According to Zeref, they were 'new' customers with only a few sessions under their belts, perfect examples of what I should expect of the average man and woman on this Earth.

"So these are your final choices for your first students?" Zeref asked, curious, clawed hand resting on the slate of its 'head.'

"Yes," I answered.

"Alright, would you like to meet them now and get started, or would you rather start tomorrow?" Zeref asked.

"Now. I would like to get a read on them. Once I examine them and their skills, I should be able to prepare regimens and lessons for them," I explained.

"Alright, then I'll notify them to meet you in the gym. I wish you luck. If you need anything, just give me a holler," the Zeref clone waved goodbye before floating away.

Stepping away from the computer, I turned around, walked out from behind the counter, and slowly started walking to the gym.

When I reached the gym, I wasted no time in examining what I had access to, being met with...confusion. What were all of these machines? What were their purposes? Walking up to one of them, I began walking around it, examining it inch by inch trying to decipher its purpose, before noticing a poster attached to the machine explaining its role and what I needed to do using it, even showing precisely how to do it with diagrams. It seems I will have to examine and try out this equipment sometime. These machines will make it far easier to train my potential students, that's for sure.

Walking over to a boxing ring, I took off my old riot police vest and began laying my weapons on a nearby bench.

Once I was done and ready, I turned around, and I was met with my future students standing not far from me.

A red-headed woman, a tall, thuggish bald man, a thin, scrawny boy, and an incredibly shot woman with long brown hair.

[A/N: No need to guess, first two are previous characters shown in the novel, the last two are OCs]