"Uhm..."
Joshua was taken aback.
He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, as it looked like the two of them had become the main attraction.
"You’ve arrived. Good."
At that moment, in front of the classroom, the teacher said and nudged his glasses up his nose bridge.
"Take a seat anywhere."
Thomas said.
Joshua and Devon just took the empty seats at the highest row—the classroom was shaped like a theater, with rows of seats gradually ascending towards the back.
"233 were invited. 233 has arrived. That is very good. Not a single soul regretted their choice, and you all arrived without a hitch."
Thomas nodded his head with approval.
"My name is Thomas McCall. I will be the head teacher with your time in here. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you."
He said.
At the front seats, the students shifted in their seats.
"The president of the America’s Esports Federation would like to have a couple of words. So, let’s hear what he has to say."
Thomas said, and he took a remote and pressed the "start button," and behind him, a large screen came to life.
It really felt like they were inside a cinema.
In that moment, at the large screen, Ronald Graves appeared—it was a pre-recorded message—he was smiling.
"Welcome to the Box."
He said.
It was the name of this place—the Box—which was pretty fitting since the whole building looked like a box.
"You all left your families to come here for a single purpose—to bring the New America back to the top.
"It’s a mission of utmost opportunity, and from now on, every single day is spent trying to shape all of you into the best players possible.
"We are not here to look for the fourth-best player. Third best player. Or even the second-best player.
"We want the best, and I hope—the President of the New America—hopes that that someone is currently sitting in this very room!"
Ronald pointed forward—and since the screen was huge, his finger looked huge as well—and the students felt pressure.
But also excitement.
"I wish you all the best of luck. Listen to your teachers. You need their guidance, and they are here to help you succeed.
Ronald Graves said, and then the screen flickered back to black, and lights came back on the ceiling.
Thomas walked back to the center of the stage—the students all looked at him—and then he looked back at them.
"Since all of you have only arrived, there will be no classes today. They will officially begin tomorrow. Enjoy your free day and get to know each other."
Thomas said.
In that moment, a student at the third row raised his arm—he looked like he was dying to ask a question.
"Yes, what is it?"
Thomas asked.
"Are we not going to play Innerworld tomorrow?"
The student asked.
They all thought that they just came here to play Innerworld all day and every day, which honestly sounded great.
Because of school and other stuff, none of them had that much time to play Innerworld—even though they wanted to.
Most of them, while at school, were always just thinking about Innerworld and what they were planning to do once they logged back in.
That disinterest towards school brought their grades down.
"You will play Innerworld. Once you are ready. There will be classes to prepare you for the game and help you in there.
"You might be thinking that those classes are a waste of time—that you’d rather play Innerworld all day—but trust me, they will be worth it."
Thomas said with a serious look on his face.
The students were feeling mixed—some of them hated studying with passion, while others really didn’t care.
They knew that being here wasn’t going to be fun all the time—if they just played Innerworld all the time, what would they learn?
Nothing!
"The teachers in this facility consist of the best players in the country. They were chosen for their skills, knowledge, and dedication to teaching the next generation of gamers.
"You’re lucky to have them as your teachers."
Thomas said, and at that moment, he signaled towards the back, and from there, a short-haired woman walked over.
She was Annie—another member of the America’s Esports Federation—and she came here to assist Thomas with the project.
She brought a tray over. She put it down on the table in front of Thomas. The tray had watches, hundreds of them.
In total, 233 watches.
Some were gold watches, some silver watches, and some bronze watches.
They weren’t ordinary watches but looked like they were smart watches instead, and instead of showing the clock, they showed a number.
A number that was currently at 0 points.
"During your time in here, we will keep an eye on everything you do—from your classes to your time in Innerworld—we will always be watching.
"And you will accumulate points while playing and doing tests. The points are everything and will determine your rank in here."
Thomas said.
Everyone looked at the watches and gulped. They knew that this was a competition, but this brought a whole new level of intensity.
"And... in a week’s time, five players with the lowest amount of points will be kicked out of the Box—and they will not be eligible to return."
Thomas said with a cold smile.
When everyone heard that, they turned pale, as they had never heard about the possibility of being kicked out!
"..."
Devon’s eyes narrowed.
He only thought about his mother, and not wanting to disappoint her—if he was kicked out after the first week, he didn’t know what he would do.
"And as you can see, these watches have different colors. There are only three gold watches. There is a reason for that.
"Among all of you, there are three special students—they will be the Gold Rank—the color is according to one’s talent level.
"Those three Gold Ranks will also be the Student Leaders for this year.
"It doesn’t mean that they are immediately better than all of you, but we have picked them based on their potential."
Thomas said.
All the students looked around themselves—thinking, "Who are the Gold Ranks?"—as they were immediately the ones to chase after.
"I will give all of your watches now."
Thomas said and took the three gold watches from the tray and put them on the table next to him.