The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

The Oracle was a dream born in a dorm room 53 years ago when Joon, Logan, and Ryan were denied access to a game party. The three had been friends for many years, having attended the same high school and reconnecting in college. Back then, technology was thriving.

Games were played in a hundred percent immersive mode, meaning that when players entered the game, it felt as real as the outside world.

All three friends were computer science majors specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. One day, after being denied access to a college party where their favorite video game was being played, the frustrated trio decided to create something even bigger than the best games available.

Thus, after a night of frustration, Oracle was born. Initially, it was just an idea that was later transformed into algorithms and then code.

However, they underestimated what it takes to create something as grand as a virtual world powered by AI and neural networks. It was a complex process that required deep thinking. They struggled at first; however, things changed three years later.

Everything came to fruition 50 years ago when the apocalypse descended, ushering humanity into a new phase of evolution. With the ability to improve one's intelligence by simply adding points, their plan to create an entire virtual world began to take shape.

Their vision was to create a world where, in addition to training and fighting monsters, people could meet and interact, buy and sell, and even engage in romantic activities. It was a plan to establish a completely different realm, and they succeeded.

They created Oracle, a next-generation AI that has been trained for over 50 years to remodel the world they envisioned. They have been diligently building the system all these years.

However, they didn't dive into developing everything without first ensuring the needs of the people were met. So before creating new worlds and planets in Oracle, they established training grounds and trials where warriors could train without the risk of injury or death.

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Everything was functioning according to their requirements until Klaus appeared. After just two trials, they realized their creations weren't quite what they had envisioned.

Being nerds, they craved perfection. So, with a recommendation from the one they called their big brother, an overlord, they set out to approach Klaus, believing he could help them solve their issues.

Now, looking at Klaus, who was also looking back at them, they didn't know if their dream could finally be realized. If he rejected their offer, they would have to move on with their flaws, knowing that the perfection they craved couldn't be achieved.

"Well, what do you think? Want to join us in making Oracle a better world for warriors and everyone?" Joon asked.

"I would be glad to help see it come to fruition. However, you should know that I don't know anything about computers, so I might get annoying sometimes when the conversation isn't flowing as you three might expect," Klaus replied with a smile.

He knew for a fact that the three men before him were nerds, while he was a school dropout who did not speak their language. The conversation would likely be strange, especially when they started speaking in their nerdy tongue.

"Don't worry about that; I have a feeling you will fit right in," Logan said.

"So, what is it going to be like?" Klaus asked. He knew that although he would be abandoning his training for a while, he would benefit somehow. After all, he would be testing a combat-ready environment inside the Oracle.

If he played his cards right, he would gain greatly, beyond just the money and fame he would receive in the end.

"We will be going to the Oracle headquarters, where we will spend the next month working on fixing the issues. Of course, it will depend on how quickly you can help us identify the problems and how long it will take to fix them.

However, since you have preparations to make for the next Trial in three months, we wouldn't want to take up too much of your time—one month at most," Ryan answered.

"Don't worry about that; let's just make Oracle better," Klaus said with a smile. Who were they kidding by polishing their words? He was ready for the Trial any day. The only thing he would have to put on pause now was his Spirit Master training.

"Good. Then you can get your affairs in order. A week from today, a jet will come to pick you up," Joon added with a smile.

"But before we leave, we need to meet your mom and make her aware of this arrangement. It's only polite and the right thing to do," Logan stated.

They left the meeting room and headed to the living room, where Klaus's mom and Miriam were spending some quality time together as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Klaus knew his mom was very pleased with his choice, so he wasn't surprised to see them spending time together. His mom was working on Miriam's hair, which was a very normal sight for him.

However, for the three Nerds who knew what kind of person Miriam was, this was a shock. But when they saw that she held no unfriendly expression upon seeing them, they relaxed a bit. The war goddess of the Eastern Region's reputation was well known.

"Mom, these are our guests. They are the creators of Oracle, and they want me to come to work for them for a couple of weeks. This is Joon, Ryan, and Logan," Klaus said, making his mom raise an eyebrow. Clearly, she was thinking the same thing he had when he first met them.

Knowing that his mom had a tendency to work on everyone's hair, Klaus quickly moved forward with his next words to prevent her from catching them off guard and giving them an unexpected haircut.

"This is my mother, and you've already met the war goddess of the Eastern Region, who has now moved into my home as if the place belongs to her," Klaus said with a smile. Miriam cast him a sidelong glance upon hearing what he said.

Klaus's mom looked at the three nerds with a warm smile, her eyes sparkling with unknown thoughts. "It's a pleasure to meet you all! I've heard so much about Oracle, but I didn't expect to see its creators in my living room."

Joon chuckled; he seemed to be the lively one. It was no wonder he was the only one among the three who had a girlfriend. "We're just ordinary people trying to make a difference, but we appreciate the warm welcome."

Klaus's mom nodded, but her eyes were clearly scanning their hair. It was evident that she was not okay with their haircuts. Knowing that things were about to get out of hand again, Klaus quickly intervened.

"I will be leaving a week from today, so I just brought them to make you aware before they leave," Klaus said, prompting his mom to nod. Since Klaus had accepted their offer, she wouldn't deny him this chance to go out and have fun.

"I will leave him in your care for all the weeks he will be there," she said with a smile.

The three nerds nodded back, smiling. They were happy to have secured what they came for, and now all that was left was to make arrangements for when Klaus arrived. They were indeed very pleased, but their joy was cut short when Miriam suddenly spoke.

"It will be a long flight back to the headquarters, so why don't you all have dinner before leaving?" she offered with a small, wicked smile. Klaus knew what she was up to, but it was too late for him to stop it.

That day, the three nerds—his new employers—sat down and received a nice haircut. Klaus could only stand and watch as his mom worked on them, smiling like an accomplished Barber.