As far as I was concerned, the Tournament had nothing to do with me. I didn't know the first thing about fighting against other players. I snaked through the crowd and entered the 4D arena, heading for the main desk. There were nearly a dozen people standing in line. Most of them were only in line to register for the Tournament while the rest wanted a chance to log in to update their rendering scans prior to their first battle.
When my turn came, I asked, "How much for an update scan?"
The staff member smiled and shook his head. "Like I've told everyone else, your scan will update automatically when you log in for the Tournament. Just wait for your name to be called. You'll have five minutes in the system waiting room to adjust to your new scan before your battle starts."
I shook my head back at him. "I'm not here for the Tournament."
My statement startled the man as if he couldn't imagine a normal customer was part of the crowd, and he grew flustered. "Oh, um, well—all our capsules are currently being prepped for the Tournament. If you don't want to take part, you'll have to come back once it's over. Are you sure you wouldn't like to join? Normally, the update scans cost twenty dollars, but the Tournament only costs ten to register. And you'll receive participation prizes even if you lose."
A scan at half price gave me no reason to refuse. "How do I sign up?"
"I'll need some form of ID or Driver's License and your Aetherscape account name."
I provided both, then paid the ten-dollar entry fee. He walked me through the Tournament rules and verified I wanted to compete in Singles, then he said, "Please wait outside with the other entrants until we call your name. The Tournament will be starting in about ten minutes."
Going outside was awkward. There were no free tables where I could sit down and it felt weird to just roam in circles until it was time to log in. I eventually found an open spot next to one of the television monitors where I could just stand and watch the playing videos.
People gave me strange looks. Some of them stared at me like they were trying to decide if I was about to explode somehow, while others would glance toward me and quickly look away like they were scared of meeting my gaze.
I didn't get their reactions and their attention made me uncomfortable, so I crossed my arms over my chest defensively and kept my focus on the screen.
A few minutes passed before I understood what I was watching. It was an ongoing feed of Tournament battles happening in other time zones. The reason I couldn't initially identify it was because all the contestants wore the same wushu fantasy robes and their fighting was incredibly sloppy. Most of them looked more like children fighting on a playground rather than heroes on some epic battlefield. Even in the instances where players were throwing spells around, they missed their target more often than not.
I had to wonder if I'd been playing the same game as everyone else. Sure, I only had a few days of experience, but was it really that hard to fight?
"Attention, everyone!" The Tournament promoter walked out of the 4D Arena with a tablet in his hand. The background hum of the crowd slowly died away. "Sorry for the wait and welcome to the First Annual Aetherscape Martial Tournament Qualifiers."
Several players cheered, but the rest remained silent as statues.
"Because of the overwhelming response of the Aetherscape community as a whole—not just locally—I have a few, last-minute rule changes to announce. First off, double participation has been banned. Pick one event or the other, not both. Next, the gold remuneration has been removed from the participation prizes because of the high number of gold farmers attending in other areas. Don't complain to me. Complain to Aetherscape directly, because they're the ones who decided not to payout. And the last change is armor standardization. This is a Martial Tournament, not a 'who has the better gear' Tournament. All players will fight in a racially modified version of the same armor and use standardized weapons. If anyone wants to back out of the tournament because of these changes, speak up now and you'll receive a full refund of your entry fee. We'll also be giving everyone an official game poster as an apology."
No one said a word and the promoter nodded in satisfaction. "Great! We'll start with the Singles Tournament. Players, when I call your name, you can choose to fight or surrender. If you want to fight, head inside and a staff member will show you to a capsule. Log in to the Tournament sandbox and just follow the cues."
The promoter started calling out names.
"Surrender!"
"Surrender!"
"Surrender!"
"Surrender!"
The responses came quick and fast, leaving me completely bewildered. When my name was called, I broke the chain by responding, "Fight." After all, it didn't seem like the people who surrendered would be logging in and the entire reason I came to the arena was to update my rendering scan.
I felt eyes on the back of my head as I walked inside to meet the waiting staff member—the same man who'd talked me into joining the tournament. However, the guy didn't immediately take me to a capsule. "Let's wait a moment," he said.
A few seconds later, another player entered. This one was a well-muscled, bearded adult who offered me a strangely welcoming smile. He arranged himself to stand next to me and muttered, "People out there are f'ing stupid. If you're going to pay money to enter a contest, you should at least try to win a better prize."
Another minute passed. A young girl walked in with a hesitant expression. The staff member waved her over as the promoter followed her inside.
"It's just you three," the promoter said. "Do you want to fight it out or—?"
"Can I exchange the capsule for a cash prize?" the bearded man asked quickly.
"Not this time. The capsules they're using for prizes are units with the limited edition aquatic skins. Since the update wasn't as popular as they were hoping, they're trying to clear out their inventory to make room for something players will actually buy."
"Then I'm okay with second place," the bearded man said.
"I'm okay with third," the girl offered shyly. "Even if I won, I wouldn't be able to use the capsule. I can only play on a headset when I visit my Aunt's."
I choked when I realized what they were saying. "Wait, does that mean—"
The staff member patted me on the back. "Congratulations, kid. You just won first place in the local Singles Qualifier. Just let us know when you want your new capsule delivered."
"I don't understand," I blurted. "Why did everyone else surrender?"
The promoter sighed. "I'm guessing this is your first Tournament? That's how it goes at these local events. Basically, most people are only here to buy the participation prizes with their entry fee. The people aiming for the next round prefer to fight in the team battle because team fights are flashier and more interesting to watch. It makes it easier to build a fan base."
"But the first prize is a capsule!" I exclaimed. "Shouldn't there be a fierce competition or something?"
The staff member next to me snickered. "Maybe if this was a free tournament you'd have more competition. Since it's a paid tournament, all the experienced players want to improve their chances by fighting in a team so there's someone to cover them if they make a mistake. I'm actually surprised we had three solo players willing to try their luck. As for the rest of the people who signed up for Singles, they gave up before they ever paid their entry fee. They just want the door prizes."
The promoter clapped his hands together to break the mood, threw on a bright smile, and said, "But let's put all that aside for now. Regardless of how it was done, congratulations to the three of you for winning the qualifiers. We'll still need you to log in to take some pictures for the website, then Jacob will get your information in the system for the regional tournament. You can come back here next Saturday if you want to participate."
I perked up. I could finally update my rendering scan.