Registration
"This boy is trouble!" Jason's voice sounded like thunder ripping through the sky and Devin shrugged in fear.
Caloryne looked at her son and frowned.
"I'm sure someone did something to him. Devin is a good boy."
Jason laughed and scorned.
"Sure." He said and when Carolyne passed by him, to sit, he slapped her from behind. He looked her up and down and Devin wanted to throw up. Jason had no respect whatsoever for his mother, in front of her son!
"I'm done. May I go to my room?" Devin asked in an annoyed tone. "I'll wash the dishes in an hour."
Jason squinted his icy blue eyes at David, and passed his hand through his dark short hair. He clicked his tongue.
"Fine." Jason said and got back to eating. Carolyne remained silent while getting back to the table.
Devin got to the stairs and started to climb it. He opened his door and went to the restroom to brush his teeth and, later, turn on the computer. He needed to register for the tournament. Life changing!
A few minutes later, he was waiting for the page to load.
'Oh, please..', he complained, since the internet was a bit low and as he expected, the website was heavy. 'Or maybe it is too much access at the same time…'.
Good thing he had his phones connected to the computer, but not on his ears. The moment the page was ready, a big pop-up appeared, with a loud song, to announce the event.
"That was close…" he muttered to himself before closing the pop-up window and clicking on the rules of the event.
Devin would always, always, read all rules. He didn't like surprises. He didn't like to risk losing everything for a small but, yet, a mistake. He read the whole thing and, as he predicted, it was full of little tricks. If he didn't pay attention, he would be out of the competition and his efforts, thrown directly into the trash can.
But, in general, here are the rules he thought were worth having in mind:
-Every participant must be sixteen years old, at least (if you're underage, parents/guardian permission is needed). No maximum age;
-No need to have a computer: the company would provide specific places for the players. That way, it would ensure nobody had advantage because of their internet connection or the device they were using. Fair conditions to everyone;
-The company would provide transportation for those living far from the capital. One may wonder the reason why, but that was simply answered by: The tournament would be broadcast to several countries. It would gather tons of money. The more participants, the better;
-You had to get to level 100 to win first place; level 95 for second place and 90 for third place.
-There will be four game phases.
First phase: 10 missions. Add a minimum of 10 levels and a maximum of 20 levels;
Second phase: 20 missions. Add a minimum of 20 levels and a maximum of 60 levels;
Third phase: 10 missions.Add a minimum of 10 levels and a maximum of 20 levels;
Fourth Phase: 1 mission. Complete the levels to achieve level 100.
Inside each phase, a different number of points for each level. Later on, he would take a look closely at that, but the point was that phases two and three had a little observation: even though you pass with a minimum, you won't be able to keep playing. To pass to phase three, you need to be level 40; to pass to phase four, you need to be level 55.
A prize of two thousand dollars for those who couldn't achieve the minimum requirement.
-Who got level 80 in phase 2, doesn't have to play phase 3.
-In the end, if there is a tie, there are two options: either the players will see who had more points in each phase or they could go to a new mission and, whoever wins, wins; who loses, gets nothing.
-They would have three winners: 250.000 dollars, 50.000 dollars and 10.000 dollars. Those were the prizes.
It seemed fair, but Devin had a feeling about the 'minimum level' thing. When he saw the price to enter… his eyes bulged out. Fifty dollars! Like, he was not rich, or received big cash for his monthly needs. But it was worth trying. Even if he didn't get the minimum level, at least 2k bucks were there for him.
Before he paid, for he had his monthly income from other games he used to play and win here and there, Devin had to ask permission from his mother. He was thankful that Jason never put his name on his birth certificate, or he would be damned for sure.
He got up and went downstairs. He had to wash the dishes before Jason decided to inspect his work and it could cost him the opportunity to have his permission signed. Jason could be very persuasive with Carolyn.
But when he was getting to the kitchen entrance, he heard voices. Murmurs, really. His mother.. Was his mother crying? He wanted to go inside and see what was happening, but he heard footsteps and saw Jason leaving the kitchen.
Soon, his mother came out ,her eyes a bit red.
"Ah, Devin! How long…?" She looked back at the kitchen. She seemed ashamed for some reason and Devin didn't want her to feel bad for anything, whatever it was.
"Just got here." He answered. He knew his mother liked Jason, no matter how annoying the man was. He never really gave a beating to David. He was just creepy and used to show how much he didn't like the boy. But Carolyne used to say he was just rough around the edges and, indeed, he liked them both very much. "I love you, mommy. Don't forget that."
He said it and hugged her, receiving another hug in return.
"I love you, too."
The boy passed by his mother and started to do his chore. Dinner dishes were always his, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Not so bad, in fact. According to Jason, that was to teach Devin order, discipline and how to deal with a house on his own.
'You ain't live with us forever, boy', he used to tell Devin. They meant in different ways, but Devin had to agree and hope for that. He really didn't want to live forever with the guy.
When he was finished, Devin got back to his room, finished his homework and went to sleep. No games tonight. He didn't sleep the night before and he would not risk getting problems because of sleeping during classes. He had to keep good grades, good behavior and, then, ask for permission to participate, for real, in the tournament. He still had two weeks for that.
Already in bed, he looked up and sighed. Things had to be different, right? High School was almost over, since he was one year ahead. He just had to endure a little bit more. Just a little bit more!
With this in mind and thinking about the tournament, David dreamed of winning and how cool that would be. He knew he could win. At least third place or get his consolation prize.