Chapter 45: Simulation Device

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Simulation Device

"4:59 AM. You came early."

Derrick turned around hearing the familiar voice. Keira stood a few feet away, dressed differently than yesterday. Unlike the two-piece dress from yesterday, she was wearing a full-body outfit that hugged her body from neck to her ankles.

It was the very kind of outfit that makes a man’s eyes wander whether they wanted them to or not.

And Derrick was a man.

"Do you like what you see?" Keira caught it instantly, one eyebrow arching up. "Are you planning to try smacking me again?"

Walked right into that one.

Derrick smirked despite the situation, deciding shame wasn’t going to save him at this point anyway. "Only if you let me."

Keira’s smirk matched his, slow and sharp. "Good answer."

If someone had heard their interaction, they would have said, "Like teacher, like student."

She turned without another word, walking toward the sealed warehouse door.

Then, raising one hand toward a small panel mounted on the wall beside it.

Her fingers snapped once.

A low hum vibrated through the metal walls.

Lights along the door frame blinked from red to green, one after another, and the heavy door groaned open on its own. Even though they could not see it, they heard several heavy gears turning and many locks being unlocked at the same time.

Defense system? Why does a simple warehouse need—Derrick stepped inside behind her, and his thoughts died halfway.

The place stretched on far longer than the outside suggested, rows upon rows of weapon racks disappearing into the distance.

Swords. Spears. Axes. Bows lined up neat against the far wall.

Several of each weapon were nearly arranged on the rack.

An entire section dedicated to guns was hanging on the wall or stuffed in a cabinet. Some of them were sleek and modern, others bulky enough to look like they belonged strapped to a tank.

What the fuck? This is an arsenal. Is this even legal?

His eyes trailed to the farther end of the room.

There it was...

At the very center of the room sat something completely out of place among all the steel and gunmetal. A capsule pod, it had smooth glass that curved around a reclined seat, cables running from its base into a console nearby.

"Strip down to your underwear," Keira said, already walking toward the console like she hadn’t just said something completely insane. "And get in the pod."

Derrick blinked. "...Is it necessary?"

"You heard me."

This woman has zero filter.

He no longer hesitated and started removing his clothes.

Pulling off his shirt and pants, he folded them neatly and placed them on a nearby bench before climbing into the pod.

The glass casing lowered slowly around him, sealing shut with a soft hiss.

"Is this one of those VR pods?" he asked, voice slightly muffled through the glass.

Keira nodded from outside, settling into a chair at the console, pulling on a small headset with a mic curling toward her mouth. Her voice crackled through a speaker somewhere near his ear a second later, clear despite the glass between them.

"This is a military-grade set only government and guilds are allowed to have. It will help us determine your potential."

Come on, don’t say something so shocking so casually and move on.

"Everyone’s got potential to handle any weapon," she said. "But potential isn’t the same as talent. The real question is which weapon you can master fastest. Which one lets you do the most damage with the least wasted effort."

Derrick settled back into the seat, the material pressing slightly around his body. It was far more comfortable than any soft cushioned furniture at his home.

"This simulation’s going to run you through the basics," Keira continued, fingers already moving across the console. "One weapon type at a time. I’ll be watching how you handle each one. Speed, adaptability, and natural instinct. By the end, we’ll know exactly what fits you."

"And if none of them fit?"

"Then we keep looking." A faint smirk colored her voice even through the speaker. "Everyone’s got something. Sometimes it just takes a little digging."

Derrick exhaled slowly, feeling a little excited about the experience itself. Everyone from his old world was waiting for a VR pod like this to become reality, but here it was already a part of it.

"Ready?"

"...Ready."

"Starting simulation."

She pressed a button.

The world dissolved around him.

...

Derrick blinked, and suddenly he was standing in the middle of an endless grassland, the sky stretched wide and gray overhead, and wind was rustling through blades of grass that reached up past his knees.

This feels so real.

He barely had time to take in the scenery before the air in front of him shimmered, tiny points of light gathering together, swirling faster and faster until they solidified into something massive.

A beast towered over him, easily three times his height, thick gray hide stretched over powerful legs built like tree trunks.

Its tusks weren’t made of bone.

They glowed, twin rods of molten orange fire curling out from either side of its trunk, heat radiating off them even from a distance.

Text flickered into existence above the creature’s head.

[Fire Tusk Mammoth]

Derrick’s heart kicked up a notch, instinct screaming at him to run despite knowing none of this was real.

Just a simulation. Just a simulation.

Movement caught his eye from the corner of his vision. Four faint icons hovered there. Each one of them had the image of a weapon.

A spear.

A sword.

A gun.

A shield.

...

Thump!

Rumble!

Derrick stared at the options, mind racing, the mammoth’s molten tusks glowing brighter as it stomped one massive foot against the ground, the impact sending a tremor rippling through the grass beneath him.

Pick one. Just pick one.

His hand twitched instinctively toward the sword icon.

Then he hesitated.

No. Think. What actually fits how I fight?

He thought back to the ring yesterday, the way his body had moved on instinct, weaving and striking from every angle, never settling into one rigid form.

I need range. I need to hit without getting close to those tusks.

His eyes shifted toward the spear icon instead.

The mammoth let out a bellowing roar, the ground shaking beneath its next step, closing the distance faster than he had expected for a beast with its size to move.

Derrick’s hand shot toward the icon.

"Spear," he muttered under his breath, and the world responded instantly, weight materializing in his grip as a long wooden shaft appeared, tipped with a sharp steel point that gleamed even under the gray sky.

The mammoth charged.

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[Random Mission Generated]

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