The battle emulations begins and the virtual battlefield comes to life around Ares. "The VR systems can be slightly disorienting that first time in. But you might want to get used to it quickly because you're not the only with a gun in there." Zarina's voice buzzed in his ear. Alright, time to test this cannon out. Ares starts to walk around and quickly recognizes the layout. It was his favorite arena to watch and so he knew every vantage point and deadly corridor in the place. He immediately went towards one of the best vantage points to see where the enemies were. He immediately notices that there is only one other combatant in the arena with him Unfortunately, the A.I. he was facing notices also and fires a rocket towards Ares. Ares immediately took cover behind a small wall and was peppered with rubble when the rocket hit it. Wow...Rocket launcher, that means I'm going to have to move closer as fast as I can to use my weapon effectively. All while dodging rockets. The A.I. is getting closer when Zarina buzzes in again on the comm in Ares' ear. "Hey pal, I don't know if you realize this, but you're supposed to use the thing you're holding to fire back at. So get your head out of your ass and do something." After checking around the wall he's hiding behind Ares tarts to run towards the last position he saw his enemy in and hear the beeping of the rocket launcher's lock on feature kicking in. Oh shit. He's got me locked! Now what the hell am I supposed to do? The noise of the rocket leaving the launcher alerts Ares of the location of his enemy but it isn't much help if he doesn't find a way to avoid being blown to bits. At the last second Ares ducks under the rocket's trajectory and then bolts towards where he saw the rocket came and starts lobbing grenade shots and hoping the shrapnel hits something moving. He turns the corner and sees some blood running down his enemy's arm and that both of their legs are completely gone. "Wow you really know how to use that cannon in a heated situation. Now finish of your opponent so we can get you out of their." Zarina says over the comm, but there is something strange in her voice, almost like she lost her typical arrogance. Ares simply walks up to the wounded individual in front of him and puts the flak cannon against their head and pulls the trigger, sending shards through them before the VR system shuts down. Zarina walks in and looks at Ares for a moment before saying "Holy shit. I have never seen someone so ruthless in the arena and execute with so little emotion. And that's impressive since I've literally got my ass kicked by a giant robot." Ares steps towards her and shrugs "Hey, you told me to do something. I'm joining this tournament to win, not make friends. Emotions are useless against a rocket launcher. Can I go now?" Zarina scoffs and waves towards the door, "Sure go ahead and leave. You'll get word if you got in or not within a couple days. Ares headed home and as soon as he walked in the door to his house he heard his phone ringing. He walked over and picked it up, expecting it to be his friend asking how the whole thing went. "Hello? This is Ares." The voice that responded was familiar but for reasons Ares couldn't explain. "Yes this is a representative for Liandri Corporation calling to let you know that you've been selected as a participant for the amateur circuit of Unreal Tournament. Congratulations!" "What? Are you serious? I was selected that quickly?" Ares started walking towards his bedroom to pack a bag just in case it was real. "Yes sir, we have a recruitment officer watching each of the entries VR battles and whoever was watching yours was extremely impressed. So much so that they told us we had to skip the rest of the process to make sure we can get you on board as soon as we could. We are forwarding a small signing bonus to your account now. Use that to find a way to the location I will be sending you after this call ends." Ares starts heading out the door and simply replies "Yes ma'am, I will be there as quickly as I can." I'm in to tournament. I can't believe this is happening.