Isabella blushed slightly as she said: "Ted, let's not mention boring things. Let's go over the contract."
"Yes, Miss…." Ted chuckled as he pushed the folder Isabella had on the table over to Ayden. "Please read this. This has been amended with the new team name."
Ayden nodded and picked up the folder. He opened it to see a formal contract. He was not used to such things as it all had a bunch of legal jargon in it that he did not really understand. After staring at it for a few minutes he looked up at Ted and asked: "Is there a way to get this in english?"
"Pffttt! Hahaha! I said the same thing!" Isabella held her stomach. She was kicking her feet in the air. She really found Ayden's question to be truly amusing.
"Ahem…. Young Miss, it is very impolite to laugh like this." Ted adjusted his glasses as he sat down on the other couch in front of the table across from Ayden and pointed to the first page. "This first page explains that you are signing a contract for team Mega Overkill. It says that you must be present for all team matchups unless you have a medical reason. As you are living with Isabella, I am sure this is perfectly fine. This is the first half of the page. The second half talks about your position on the team. You will be the vice captain which entitles you to some extra perks. Such as higher pay and more say in the planning of fights against your opponents. It also has a chance to switch positions with the Young Miss and become the team captain if she decides on it.
"The next page talks about privileges and remuneration. You will be paid not only a monthly salary of 50,000 credits to start but will also have a part of the winnings, which will range from ten thousand to in the millions based on the tournament prize pool. You will get a higher payout on this due to your position as well. You will get free team merch to wear at your leisure, as well as basic necessities for training. When it comes to sponsors, you will get paid 100% of all income from sponsors. This is a special entitlement to you and you only. Are there any questions?" Ted hoped his explanation was clear enough. He himself, as a lawyer, hated how he had to write things in a roundabout way when creating a contract. It never made sense to the person reading it.
"What are the penalties for losing a match?" Ayden asked.
"None," Isabella answered. "I refuse to penalize my team members because of a bad game. I do not see a reason for it. It only lowers morale more after a loss. We can only take what we learned and try to fix what we did wrong, nothing more, nothing less."
"Then where do I sign?" Ayden asked as he looked at the papers. Ted pointed to the bottom of the first and second pages, where Ayden signed both.
When he finished signing things, Ayden let out a small sigh of relief. He now had a proper job once again. Just much different from what he is used to. Isabella looked at the signed contract and smiled happily. "Great! Now we can get started with training later tonight."
"Mmm… Although I am in the middle of the forest east of the city at the moment. I need to get two more levels." Ayden wanted to hit level 20 secretly and then jump into the dungeon before Isabella found out, but it seemed it might not be possible.
"Alright, we will wait to do training tomorrow afternoon. For now, you need to work out. I will also be calling you a martial arts instructor. One that knows many different styles of fighting. If we are going to do this, we will be doing it right. Maybe a set of cybernetic limbs as well…. Wait, didn't you have a set you were working on?" Isabella did not want to get him anything new just yet if he already had ones he could use. Because the ones Madi tore off Greg were top of the line.
"I have not finished them yet. I am currently in the process of seeing if I can improve them more. If possible, I want to get as much power out of them as I can without overstressing the motors." Ayden had been learning a lot after slowly taking the limbs apart and labeling everything, and writing down how things go together. Although they no longer had any skin on them, that was something he could easily buy and planned to buy to fight his current skin tone anyway.
"Alright, we will look into some temporary ones. I won't spend too much money, but it should help you adjust a bit better when fighting in game and out of game. We need to make sure you are fully ready for what is to come." While what she could get Ayden with her current budget was not the best of the best, they would still be halfway decent.
"Wait! Isn't that too much? I mean, I can just make some money to get a cheaper set. It is fine." Ayden did not want to make Isabella pay for a cheap set of cybernetics for him when he could buy them now.
"Nope! This is for the team, which is part of the expenses since you will not be able to train properly without them. Don't worry. The thing I am lacking the least right now is not money, it's people." Isabella answered. "Plus, you just signed a contract that states that I have to supply you with these things."
Ayden could only agree. He felt bad, but it was the case that he would need them for training, and was not a daily necessity for him. "Alright, I will be in your care then."
"Great! Let's go arm and leg shopping before your sister gets back. We can actually pick her up at school on the way back. But you have to follow the workout routine I gave you as well when we get back."