Alex hesitated, "Uh, the competition starts in three days," he said finally, his voice very low.
Micheal's eyes narrowed, he really didn't know if registering for this game was a good step to take.
Well, he had to, the hype given to this game was massive and he might just be lucky.
"And about the cash prize?" Micheal asked.
Alex hesitated again, unsure of how to respond. "Ummm..... I have not really confirmed, but from what I heard, probably rumor as the government haven't said anything official yet, $30k will be shared among the top 10 after 2 weeks," he replied
"Our school sees it as a way to encourage us to delve into the game because it's been proven to really help with the brain's performance, but it's only for 15 years and above."
Micheal's gaze shifted to Maya, who was curled up in a corner, her eyes red from crying.
He took a deep breath and walked over to her, "Hope you weren't injured?" he asked softly, his voice filled with concern.
Maya stood up, cleaning up the tears that welled up in her eyes "Yh, I wasn't," she whispered, trying to sound firm.
Micheal's expression softened, and he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Ok, your bro will look for a way to make ends meet. You don't have to worry about the game; you're not up to 15, so I will try it out with Alex first. Do you understand?"
Maya nodded, her eyes still teary. "Mmmm, I do."
Micheal's voice was firm but gentle. "Ok, go break my saving box and find something nice to eat. I will be back soon. Let me go out with Alex and register this Elyria before it's too late."
Maya opened her mouth to protest, but Micheal cut her off. "Shhhhhh, just do as I say. Find something nice to eat."
Before she could reply, Micheal strode out of the house with Alex, leaving Maya looking worried.
Her brother's saving box was something he treasured and kept with care as he sometimes preferred starving himself and saving the little money he got.
Suddenly telling her to break it so she could find something to eat came as a surprise to her.
************
Outside the old house.
"Well, how do we register this game?" Micheal asked Alex.
Alex shrugged. "You can go to any cyber cafe nearby; it's free, fully sponsored by the government. When you're done, in the next 24 hours, your game cabinet will be brought to your written address." Alex answered.
Micheal nodded slightly and set out with Alex
Micheal and Alex walked pretty fast and the only sound being heard was the crunch of gravel beneath their feet.
Finally, they arrived at the cyber cafe.
"Are you here for Elyria?' A Cyber cafe attendant walked up to them
"Yeah, my friend here wants to register" Alex answered .
Micheal on the other hand wondered how she knew they came for Elyria.
"Ok use the computer at 167" She said pointing at one of the computers in the distance.
As she left Alex said.
"You don't need to be surprised as to how she knew we came here for ELYRIA, the influx of people in Cyber cafes today is almost times 50 on normal days and our age group being the dominant group, it's all because of ELYRIA."
Micheal nodded as he headed towards the computer assigned to him.
He looked at the screen.
The web page was plain and unassuming.
Just a name, age and an address and he was done.
"So easy?" Micheal thought in doubt.
Well he stood up and walked away.
It was free, so after registering Micheal and Alex walked away from the shop.
"Hey, what if you win? What will you do with the prize money?" Alex suddenly asked as they headed home.
Micheal shrugged, "I haven't won yet. I just started, and I don't even know how the game works."
Alex said, "This game was just created two weeks ago and it was formally people above 20 years that were allowed to beta test and not just anybody, they were all of high ranking social status, but after these two weeks they suddenly made it a free for all."
Micheal nodded as he listened.
Alex continued, "Rumors are flying that it's not just a game. They say it's as if they're in another world when they play.'
Micheal's curiosity was piqued, but he pushed it aside. "I'm just playing for the money," he said.
When they arrived at Micheal's apartment, he saw Maya sleeping peacefully on her bed. He covered her well and then motioned to Alex to follow him to the living room.
Micheal laid on the couch and his thoughts traveled.
The mental toll of watching his sis starve and not say anything about it was already eating him up, he really yearned for money he could call his own.
The next morning, Micheal woke up, Scrubbing his eyes as he sat up on the couch in the living room.
He was still feeling a bit sleepy, but as he looked around, he saw Alex sleeping peacefully beside him.
He rubbed his eyes again, trying to shake off the sleep. Getting up, he stretched his arms and made his way to the front door.
He wanted to just look around and breath in fresh air . It was a new day after all.
As He opened the door though,, he saw something in front of his door,- a package sitting in front of the door, like a pizza delivery box.
There were two boxes overlapping on each other, on the top of each box, ELYRIA was written boldly.
Micheal curiously took both boxes inside and closed the door behind him.
He brought out the box that beared the name MICHEAL, he opened it and saw a wrist band inside and a little note by the side.
It said:
Micheal curiously read it.
NOTE: Once worn it bounds to the user and connects his brain and body to Elyria and each wrist band can only be owned by one person.
Micheal didn't think much of the written note.
"How is this thing used." Micheal scrutinized the band curiously.
Micheal wore the band in confusion.
Just then after Micheal wore the band, he heard a voice in his head saying
"Synchronizing."
And then He immediately felt a sharp pain in his head and then everything went blank.
When he re opened his eyes again he was shocked by what he saw.
He appeared in a city which was magnificent beyond words,people walking around, some chattering and some laughing.
He walked to a nearby window and saw that he looked just as he did in real life, no difference.
It felt so lively and real, he couldn't differentiate this from the real world.
Micheal still in disbelief pinched himself and felt a sharp pain."Is this still a game?" He was awe struck.
Just then a mechanical voice sounded in his head.
"Welcome to ELYRIA, as you have been detected to not be from this world you have been transported to Elyria's First terminal."
"Please choose a username for your avatar."
Micheal hesitated.
"Let's go with Ageless" He whispered softly.
Initializing
Name: Ageless
Age: 16
Level: 0
Ability: Unknown
He didn't know how but this informations appeared in his head.
As Micheal wondered what was happening, a loud roar suddenly echoed through the city, causing the ground to shake beneath his feet.
People screamed and ran in all directions, pointing towards the outskirts of the city.
Miicheal followed their gaze and saw a terrifying monster rampaging it's way towards the city.
The creature was enormous, with razor-sharp claws and teeth.
Its body resembled a werewolf, but with two long tails on its back, covered in spikes.
Its eyes glowed with an eerie red light, and its hot breath could be seen in the cool evening air.
Panic set in as the monster charged towards the city, destroying everything in its path.
Buildings crumbled, and debris flew everywhere. Micheal stood frozen in terror.
"This, what the hell is this?" Micheal could swear that he had never felt this terrified before.
Who the hell said this was just a game?
Micheal almost screamed as he turned and ran for his life.
As he ran the monster seemed to draw closer to his direction.
"Log me out! Hey magic band or whatever you are, fucking log me out from this game" Micheal shouted as he ran.
Sorry but you have to be in a teleportation portal before you log out.
"Fuck You!!!!!!!" Micheal felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces.