The thugs ended up purchasing a whopping 10 stimpaks, taking the two 5-bundle stimpak deals for $1,000 each, which Zeref could use to purchase 40 more stimpaks at $50 per Stimpak, it was a great profit!
So, by purchasing one lone stimpack to keep as a display item, Zeref now had $1,950 US Dollars, to do as he pleased.
And the first thing he did, was go scouring through the system's shop, which had many different types of categories.
Including System Upgrades, Cafe Upgrades, Personal Upgrades, and so much more.
The system upgrades included things like an expanded merchandise store from which Zeref could buy a wider variety of goods, to even an expensive option to lower the price of set items, such as stimpaks, but he would have to pay a big price to get them cheaper than what he pays already.
As for Cafe upgrades, these interested Zeref the most.
They included expanding the cafe itself, from adding more PCs and expanding the interior of the Cafe to even being able to purchase something else called New Cafe Location for $50,000, which, based on the description, would allow me to set down a 'Cafe front' somewhere else that would act as a portal for those in the location to enter my cafe once they entered.
It would give people access to the Cafe wherever an entrance was, meaning, if he earned enough money, he could have an entrance into his cafe in every city across the planet.
He even spotted some options for furniture among other things that would help make his cafe more desirable and appealing.
...
Over the next couple of days, while Zeref was working on Fallout New Vegas after completing Fallout 3, the group of thugs continued to revisit his cafe every day, buying the same amount of stimpaks every time, and even a few battle brews.
The group of thugs apparently were causing such a problem in the area, that a specific individual cleaning up the neighborhood just so happened to watch the thugs enter and exit with the stimpaks in hand, finding the source of his late problems.
This individual?
"So, what can I do for the one and only Punisher?" Zeref asked, looking at a man wearing body armor with a skull painted onto its surface, a rifle in hand, pointed straight at Zeref's 'face,' and a full atire ready for combat.
"...What are you?" The Punisher asked with confusion.
"Me? Who knows, I am just your average cafe manager who sells unusual merchandise and experiences," Zeref stated with a shrug and gestured to his display case, "Would you like to have a look at my merchandise and hear about the unique Virtual Reality experience this cafe offers?"
"You...you are the one supplying the local gang with the medicine?" Seeing the stimpaks inside the case, the punisher questioned.
"You mean the rude thuggish people that stop by every day? Then yes. They do purchase stimpaks from me," Zeref informed the Punisher, not caring in the slightest about the thugs at the potential customer before him that was much more interesting.
"And before you try to threaten me in some way to stop selling my merchandise to criminals, I will continue to do so for however long they are willing to pay for it. My cafe is neutral territory, meaning anyone can purchase my goods so long as they have the money. As for if you try threatening me, I have to ask, how keen are you on meeting my hungry friends?" I asked, opening a small portal to the void with 'The Gaze of the Void' spell, but limiting the range of effect to just himself, so the Punisher wouldn't go mad from the unending whispers that would assault the mind.
It didn't take long for the dwellers of the void to rush towards the light and swarm around the dimensional membrane keeping them in.
Although Frank, the Punisher, tensed up and was seemingly about to start a fight, he loosened up and lowered his weapon.
"You say that you will continue to sell your goods to the criminals and that anyone can buy them, does that mean I can purchase them as well? And how far does this 'Neutrality' of yours go?" Frank asked.
'Hmmm, perhaps I should set up that greeting sign soon, and a rule board while I am at it. This will get annoying fast if I have to do this every time a customer visits my cafe,' Zeref thought to himself before speaking, "Yes, you can also purchase the goods as well, as for my neutrality, I have a few rules. I won't tolerate violence inside my store, anyone present inside will be under my protection until they leave, I of course, will change my rules however I see fit, seeing as they are not set in stone or written down as of yet."
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Closing the tear, Zeref could see that Frank was a little shaken and almost immediately stopped himself from showing it.
It would seem this Frank Castle hasn't witnessed magic yet, which Zeref guessed would cross him off from the Cosmic Ghost Rider, at least for now.
Unfortunately, Zeref knew very little about Marvel and DC Comics, so his knowledge about this world mainly was based on trivia he learned from the movies or from social media.
Even then, If Zeref remembered correctly, many of the Marvel and DC cinematic characters were underplayed, with them either being much weaker than their Comic counterparts or too dumb that they never used the full potential of their powers.
For example, The Flash from CW's The Flash.
In the show, it was shown plenty of times that the Flash, with superspeed, had the capability of saving quite a few of the casualties around him and capture the villains without them being able to do anything or react, let alone be capable of retaliating.
[A/N: Highly recommend you watch Madvocate's The Flash is Insufferably Inconsistent Part 1-3. Really shows that the character could have been much MUCH better, also, it gave me a good laugh]
Focusing back on Frank, Zeref gestured for him to come closer.
"Come, let me show you what I offer in my humble cafe."
Hesitantly, the punisher stepped forward, hands still clenched onto his rifle and an eye focused on Zeref as if in case Zeref was going to attack at any moment.
Gesturing towards the stimpaks and other medical items, Zeref continued speaking, "What I have that you would be interested in are Stimpaks, Super Stimpaks, Stimpak Diffusers, Stimpak Dispensers, and Battle Brew.
The basic Stimpaks are what the Thugs have been purchasing from me by the day, and the stimpak's function is quite simple really, all you would need to do is inject the syringe into your body near an injured area, and the stimulants inside the syringe will rapidly heal injuries. However, while the normal Stimpaks will help a bit with broken bones, only Super Stimpaks will mend the bones and restore them back to shape, Super Stimpaks are also much more potent than normal Stimpaks, with Super Stimpaks healing injuries much faster with them even being able to help with severe damage done to the body."
Zeref continued to explain each item's effects and uses, and Frank's interest grew.
Frank witnessed firsthand the use of the normal stimpaks when the local gang started a war with another and as a veteran, knew that these 'Stimulants' would have been a godsend on the battlefield, but he had one question, "What are the drawbacks to using such medicine?"
"If you are using just a basic stimpak? You will a bit hungry and thirsty. As for a Super Stimpak? You will feel even hungrier and thirstier, but will also feel a bit weaker for a while. The only drawback to the Battle Brew would be Alcohol addiction if you drink too much I guess. That and a little bit of loss in the intelligent apartment after drinking the battle brew, much like drinking other alcohols."
Quiet and thinking, Frank eventually asked, "Fine, I'll buy five of these 'Stimpaks' and a 'Super Stimpak,' and you inform me whenever criminals come here to buy something?"
"Hmmm...pass. It won't do me any good revealing anything about my customers, which is about to include you. However, if you see them enter the shop and buy something, then there's nothing I can do about that," Zeref spoke with a calm tone in his voice.
[A/N: Anyone thinking this is unrealistic, think for a second. Frank Castle is human, he hasn't encountered the Supernatural. It's not realistic if he thinks he can kill something that's not even a physical being. Sure, he can and 'would' have tried, but with the MC revealing hundreds of hungry beasts with a wave of his hand, he decided to not attack]
Knowing that Frank would now try to kill all of the gang members to keep the knowledge of stimpaks from spreading, Zeref was happy.
Why?
It's because while he will lose a few customers, he will gain one that will pay much more than the ones he will lose.
The Punisher is notorious for being well, human. One that has no special abilities or powers, he's just human.
And that means he often gets hurt in his war against crime, which means, he will end up relying on the usefulness of Stimpaks, and therefore, rely on the Cafe and the goods that Zeref sells.
So, sure, while losing a few customers will hurt him, he will gain a customer that is willing to pay more and also protect the Cafe in return.
And as an added bonus, Frank will easily be able to pay such prices for Stimpaks because of his fights with criminals, who will typically have a lot of money.
While it may be unfortunate if Frank dies or attacks Zeref, Zeref is willing to show that he can't be pushed around and will remain neutral regardless of his customers and respect their privacy, which would help Frank, who doesn't wear a mask when he fights crime and isn't exactly on the side of the law, it also shows that if Frank is in trouble, he can use the obvious loophole and hide inside Zeref's cafe and be safe.
Handing Frank his five normal stimpacks and super stimpak and getting paid $1,500 US Dollars, Zeref added, "In case you may not have noticed, the cafe also have a VR experience that we offer which will allow you to earn credits through completing in-game achievements that can be used to purchase items, entities, and more that we do not offer over the counter. I personally believe you will find many things that will help you on your journey through our Credit Store!"
Giving Zeref a look of confusion Zeref explains, "Our VR games set you, the player, inside virtual worlds. In these worlds, you will interact with the NPCs, the people, of these worlds, and feel everything. From pain, the dirt beneath your boots, the breeze of fresh air, or the pleasures of the flesh. It will be real. Now, I know you may not be interested in any of that, so let me tell you some of the more practical aspects of the VR experience. You can learn many new things inside the games, and time moves much faster, allowing you to get your mental relaxation without much time passing in the real world, and as an added bonus, you can get more combat experience. Are you interested?"
Although Zeref explained a bit about how the VR games would work, it seems that Frank still did not understand or care.
"Not interested. I'll be watching, do anything to break my 'trust,' and I will be back to take you down, alien or not," Frank warned Zeref, leaving the cafe.
"Hmmm, wonder if he will ever try to keep that promise? Meh, that's a problem for future me, and I certainly doubt he will be able to kill me anytime soon," Zeref hummed as he spoke out loud in wonder.