The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 11: Changes (Part 1)

*

I woke up in the hospital bed. It had been two days since the incident and I was set to be discharged along with Aria. The Doctor had been amazed at my luck. Despite being shot three times, one in each arm and one in the leg, they had all been minor flesh wounds. Though there was some luck involved, it had been my incredibly effort to take as minimal damage as I could. I wasn't about to tell anyone that however.

The healing process was slated to take several weeks before I would be back to normal. I however was no longer normal myself. I could feel it in my chest and body. Though it had been dangerous, by forcing myself to utilise mana, I had forged the pathways that were now slowly filling. I had broken through human limits and connected to my Aura. It was still small and without the aid of more abundant mana would take a long to time cultivate, but it was a significant leap ahead of where I had expected to be. Even as I was now, small bullet wounds would fade by the end of the week, albeit leave a scar.

"Hey you awake?" Aria asked from beside me.

"Yep," I answered.

"Ardy... about your tournament. I'm sorry. I know we were really excited yesterday but, I guess for you it's not great."

"It's fine," I spoke sincerely. "You being safe is all I could ask for. They'll be other tournaments and while the Lab crew will be disappointed, we'll have another chance to show off our prototype. Besides, we got a pretty big payday. I won't have to deal with your snoring anymore."

"I don't snore!" she eyed me indignantly.

"Are you sure?"

"W-well, I-. Stop messing around. I don't snore... do I?"

"No, I'm just messing with you," I smirked. "But if we do get separate rooms, you can always visit when you get scared."

"I," she began annoyed but quietened, "I'd appreciate that."

I reached for my phone and began to check the messages I had missed. When I went looking for Aria I had messaged a lot of people for help, including my friends and the Lab. Thankfully Dad had already covered for me and explained. The reworked story was that Aria had been accosted by a drunk man and messaged me but her phone died shortly after. I managed to find her but the man became violent and pulled a gun, injuring me. The Agents at the Oceania Allied Alliance didn't slack off and had given us all the details including the fake arrest of the supposed drunken man.

As such my messages were filled with get well wishes and the like. Though just before them were messages of clear concern. Finally, I checked my email and close to the top was a new correspondence from the Areithia Online management team, most likely congratulating me for my participation but not my success. As I opened it however, I immediately choked on the water I had begun to sip at.

"Jeez learn to drink water properly," Aria joked as she threw me a tissue.

"I got in!" I faced her with a huge grin of surprise.

"What?"

"I got in the actual tournament!" It was right there on the screen. Congratulations Ardent Friend. Your character A.Friend has been selected to participate in the Oceania Regional Tournament. To accept, follow the link below. There wasn't much more detail of how I was selected but I couldn't fathom it. The only way I would have been selected is if Ori who I had faced in the third round somehow suddenly combusted giving me the win before I was officially logged out. The more logical reason was that they forfeited. While possible, I couldn't think of a reason she would. I was confident I would have won, but Ori would have had her own confidence.

"No way!" Aria who had been stunned trying to read the email I showed her suddenly jumped out of her bed and hugged me. "That's amazing. You worked super hard too!"

"Yeah," I also couldn't hold back my relief. With this my plans would be mostly back on track. I missed a few days of training but I still had a chance. "I'll be busy when we get home so I'll leave it to you to find a new place for us."

"I won't let you down!"

*

The regional tournaments would all take place one after the other with Oceania being the first. The whole world would be watching what would happen and I had already seen ads for it to be streamed on live TV. I only had five days left to prepare and a good part of that would be working in the lab to get the final adjustments ready for the prototype. With the rest of my time I needed to be ready for the tournament itself. I was currently only level 35 and would be up against players close to 50. While my actual combat skills would help close the gap, there were plenty of talented individuals in the higher rankings.

"Hey it's Crozen here, coming at you from Areithia Online," the flashy man had vibrant blue hair and a tattooed red star on his face. His game character looked quite similar to his actual self, though more stylised. "Happy to tell you that I've been accepted into the Oceania Regional Tournament. We'll be fighting first up so make sure to follow me for the journey!"

I watched his stream from the menu in Areithia Online. Because I was in game the stream came out at the correct speed but for those watching in the real world it was 50% faster.

"I know some of you said it was crazy to head to Australia just to join the tournament, but you know we just had to get in there for the first ever tournament," Crozen continued. "Now usually I'd be going over my build, but this time I'll be keeping it a secret. Who knows, we probably have spies in chat."

He was right of course. Aside from myself, there would have been plenty spying on him even if they were part of other tournaments. Crozen was the current number 1 streamer of Areithia Online. It was his full time job and he was backed by a multi person team. His guides and gameplay were top notch even if you couldn't stand his rather energetic personality. I knew for a fact as well we'd face off. Crozen was the winner in my original timeline.

"Today will only be a short stream and I'm sad to announce I won't be streaming till after the tournament. I've got some secret training to do. You can still expect the usual guide and highlight videos, but we'll save what'll I'll be doing now till later. It's going to be a big one."

"Tch," I flicked off the stream. I hadn't expected much to begin with. Crozen was smart enough that he wouldn't spill his secrets. I had my own training to do as well after all.