Hotel Quintster
This was the five-star hotel that the Kibea corporation had organised for its players who were joining the international tournament.
From the outside, it was yet another skyscraper in the middle of the huge New York City. But the insides spoke for itself. It was moderately yet lavishly designed by one of the best interior designers of America. The hallway was huge, and the elevators and everything else looked in perfect harmony with the overall vibe.
One thing to note was the crowd.
Lively.
That word would be an understatement facing the crowd that I was in front of. I was someone who likes being alone most of the time, so the huge crowd was quite uncomfortable.
"Sir, please pass through this gate."
A security guard with a friendly smile guided me through the security gates.
The technology was high enough that the security gates were alone enough to not buzz on non harmful stuff like Skreener devices, watches and cell phones.
Even after centuries, people still wore watches just out of habit and taste. Watches were something that had evolved a lot in this century, but they were also something to compete for in the upper society.
"Sir, please wear this."
The friendly security guard handed me an earpiece.
"It's a top grade translator device designed by Kibea corporation itself. It'll help you communicate with fellow players."
"Thank you."
I just thanked the guard with a smile and put on the earpiece.
All meta humans were walking translators, if one had to call it out. I was the only exception. I was the only metahuman who supposedly had no supernatural qualities whatsoever. I had higher strength, senses and memory than other folks, but I had no special abilities that other successful meta humans had.
That was also the reason I was called a metahuman failure. A normal child who was injected with a meta compound mostly dies, and some luckier ones survive to become metahumans. I was something in the middle. I survived the compound without turning into a full fledged metahuman.
Of course, there was this incident where…
I shook my head. Now wasn't the best time and place to recall stuff like that.
Fixing the earpiece into a comfortable position, I walked inside with my room card in my hand.
The limousine driver had provided me with the room card and said that the rest of the details of the tournament would be announced later on.
As soon as I walked in, a large african man passed by in front of me. Noticing that he had just cut my way, he politely mouthed a 'my bad' and walked off while scratching the back of his head.
Wherever my eyes ran, all I saw were people from different parts of the world. All had different cultures, different upbringings, different language and skin colours, but the same goal.
And that was the Mayhem International Tournament.
I could see a lot of people chatting amongst themselves. Some of them were even old friends in the game who met each other for the first time in real life.
Well, it had nothing to do with me.
I silently walked towards the food counter and sat down on a stool placed near the table.
"Would you like to order something?"
A robot, almost one meter in height with a rectangular face came to me.
"Ah, no. I'm fine, thank you."
I politely declined.
"Sir, everything in here is free and specially prepared for Kibea's guest."
"Bring me a brownie then."
"Coming right up."
The robot strolled off, and came back within 2 minutes with a brownie neatly placed on a small plate.
He placed it on the table in front of me and brought out a knife and fork.
"Do you need anything else, sir?"
The robot's digital eyes had a downwards C as it asked if I needed anything more.
"A bottle of water and some tissue."
"Here you go."
He took out a bottle of water from inside its abdomen area and a couple of tissues from his neck's compartment.
"Do you need anything else, sir?"
"That'll be all, thank you."
"You're welcome, sir. Do leave me a rating and review if you would like to."
Saying so, the waiter bot strolled off to other players.
[Ahem! Everyone, I welcome you all to this grand occasion on behalf of the whole Kibea corporation. I'm Shaquile Hoodson, the head of the events department at the Kibea corporation.]
A loud voice rang out throughout the hallway, and a large screen appeared above everyone's head, giving view of the person who was speaking. It was a black man who looked to be about 30 years old. He had quite the handsome face, but a bit of immature nervousness could be seen on his face.
[It's a great pleasure to meet all of the heroes of Mayhem. Trust me, when I say that I am a big fan, I literally mean it. I've spent most of my days at Kibea staring at all of your brilliant performances.]
The people who were chit chatting amongst themselves finally focused on the man who was speaking. Of course, everyone would have that reaction. That guy just mentioned that Kibea had been monitoring them, just in nicer words.
[As all of you are aware, this is a big event for both you and the Kibea corporation. Let us work together to make it a big success. You all will be escorted to the tournament's location, which is just beside the Hotel Quintster, the Quintster stadium tomorrow morning.
The events and matchups will be announced as the players progress throughout the tournament. The in-game rewards will immediately be deposited in your game account after you win them. The physical awards will be distributed at the end of the tournament.
All players are asked to get along with each other. Think of this competition as more a friendly rivalry than an actual enmity.
All participants have been handed over a high class Kibea translator to help you communicate with other players, which will also be available to the local people from XX date.
All participants have been handed over a key card to their respective rooms. Considering the size of the event, each room will be occupied by two players, we beg for your understanding. Each room will have two high end VR Capsules designed by the Kibea Corporation itself.
There will be two separate beds. You can call our handy bots if you want your rooms cleaned or need to order something.
As mentioned earlier, the tournament details will be shared tomorrow at the Quintster Stadium. I wish you all a happy stay and good luck.]
The screen glitched and disappeared and the silent hall became lively again.
People started discussing amongst themselves how they'd swap rooms with their roommates to stay with their friends, if they meet someone understanding enough that is.
"Finally found you!"
I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and instinctively turned around.
What greeted me was a handsome face that I seemed to have seen somewhere.
"As expected, you didn't even bother changing your appearance even a bit."
The guy laughed, and lately realised that I couldn't seem to recognise him.
"Dude, it's me! Ferb!"
"Ferb?"
I had his face at the back of my mind, but I still couldn't recall who this handsome fellow was.
"Bruh, it's me! Bowser! Bowser!"
"Ah!"
So that's why I thought I knew him. He's one of my precious guildmates!
"How can you not even recognise me…"
"Well, you have white hair in the game…."
"Yeah, right."
Bowser— Ferb clicked his tongue, having sudden realisation that his in-game character was a bit different than his real life character.
"Where did you run off to— Oh fuck? Is that who I think it is?"
Someone came from behind Ferb and started talking in a complaining voice, surprised after seeing my face.
"Yes, it's Shura!"
"Holy smokes. I had my doubts till the last moment that you won't show up."
The person spoke. Well, I knew this guy very well. He had the same appearance as his in game character after all.
"Hey Lynch!"
I raised a hand and said a simple greeting.
"It's Omar. Call me Omar. This is Fender, his real name is Tommy, you can also call him doggy, he doesn't mind."
"Fuck you bitch!"
"Nah bro, no homo."
Omar and Tommy started bantering amongst themselves.
"Calm down you idiots, you're in front of a fucking legendary class in person."
Ferb said, as both of them indignantly looked at each other before letting the matter drop, giving each other the eyes that said 'we will settle this later'.
"Who are you calling an idiot, why the fuck are you revealing Shura's secret out loud."
Omar reprimanded Ferb, who clicked his tongue realising that he was talking too loud.
"All of you, stop calling me Shura. Everyone knows who Shura is, call me by my real name."
I said in a low voice, looking around to make sure that others weren't noticing me.
"Yeah well, you didn't tell us your real name."
"Sorry for the late introduction. I am Flynn Grey, nice to meet you all."
I said apologetically as I stood up and shook hands with each of them one by one.
"Bro, he has a cool name in real life too."
"I know right? Also, he looks handsome in real life as well. I thought the dude was using the game features to tweak his appearance. Couldn't be more wrong lol."
Tommy and Omar talked amongst themselves. As expected, they were good friends in real life too.
"Well, I'll go rest in my room since the announcement already made clear that there won't be anything else today."
"Oh, alright. Take care. Also, give us your contact."
"Okay."
***
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