Chapter 108:

Ace and Edward checked in at the hotel, once they got there, a few people were there already, and by their ages and the amount of luggage they were carrying, they seemed to also be participating in the tournament.

Ace was slightly hidden, he had realised that he was a celebrity now, and with the way he looked, he could not exactly pass by unnoticed. This meant that he had to hide himself lightly, at least at first. He was wearing a black hoodie with a snapback cap and some tinted sunglasses which mostly hid his visage. Anyone that took a good look at him would be apple to recognise him, but that was fine, he was not planning on hiding anyway - not too much at least.

They raced through check-in, the receptionist quite professional, and she deduced that they would be quite tired after such a long trip. Therefore, after informing them about eating arrangements, she let them go up to their rooms.

It was a lavish suite, they each had their own rooms, with their own toilets and even lounge area. The hotel was the best of the best, and while Edward was supposed to be Ace's chaperone, Ace was pretty confident in sneaking away if necessary. He would be followed by security anyway, it was almost expected.

"Ok, Ace, I am pretty tired, so I will be going to bed now. You can go downstairs, just make sure to get to bed early, since we will have to go early. Tomorrow, they will explain how it will all work, and then they will give you your first puzzle. I will warn you, however, that I have given you all the information that I can, they make variations of the tournament every year, so you can never fully prepare for it. Just make sure to pay attention to all the details, and get there with a clear head, you have a brilliant brain, I am sure you will do just fine.", he said with a parting smile, and Ace nodded, thanking him for the kind words, to which he just waved off.

Ace first unpacked, he had packed himself, and everything seemed to almost be compressed in place. It was all neatly folded, and he placed it properly on the various drawers and cupboards in his room. Then, he took one of the keycards, and went inside the elevator, pressing the button to go to the lounge floor.

It was a lavish place, full of couches and comfortable chairs. People were already there, partaking in a variety of activities, an older woman was reading a book with a glass of wine in her hand, and a few youngsters were playing cards, while a small group was crowded around a chessboard.

Ace sat down in one of the seats, and took out his tablet, intent on drawing the scene of the group crowded around the chessboard. He stared at them for about half a minute, memorising every hair and speck of dust. He got to drawing, beginning with a light sketch, and slowly getting more and more detailed, until he finished with incredible detail. He decided to not add colour, and simply shade it instead. He found it more interesting, even if colour could help create a more vivid image in someone's head.

He also noticed a few looks from people around the room, he had removed the cap and the glasses, and now simply had the hood of his hoodie up, and was listening to music on his earbuds. He had drawn some attention, particularly from the younger members in the lounge, who had noticed his calm expression while drawing. It was an interesting thing, he looked to be totally at peace, an expression that seemed to just fit his face, and while part of it was covered by the hood, it was still clear to them that he was not unattractive.

Ace had eaten in the plane, so he was not very hungry, but soon, people began to leave the room to eat. Funnily enough, as people left, more came in. Ace had finished drawing, and was now just messing around, creating numerical patterns and problems and cracking them. He attempted to up the complexity as much as he could, and it got to a point, where they just looked like well-written scribbles on a page. By that point, he stopped and instead went to the piano that was in the lounge.

It was a grand piano, but it seemed to have been modified, some would say in a cruel manner, by adding an input so that one could connect some earphones and stop any sound from coming out.

He sat down in front of it, and connected the headset that was neatly placed next to it, he lightly pressed the keys, and as expected, it was tuned to perfection.

'This should be enough right? Hopefully, they will leave me alone after this, they will have most likely realised that I am not like the others.', he let out a sigh, and looked around the room. As expected, they were still looking at him, attempting to judge him and see whether he would be useful.

As Edward had said: "You can never be fully prepared.", and this showed. When talking with his grandmother, she had explained that the day before, teams would be formed loosely, and so it was tradition that people would showcase their skills in public areas. This was because it was not the first time that the tournament had a team portion. Therefore, if it was to happen, people would at least want to ensure that they were forming a group with the best of the best. Usually, you would only showcase your skill on the first Tournament you attended, but if you had picked up something new, you could go right ahead.

This was exactly what Ace was ensuring, the fact that if a teams portion was created, he would be able to be part of the best team. 'Hopefully, I can just take part on my own, and no team portion is made, that would be perfect.'

He played some songs, his fingers waltzing through the keys, he was playing for himself, like he had not done in a while, but he was also playing for the secret audience that was judging his every move, him using the headset was just him being a pain in the *ss, but they deserved it. They had been staring at him non-stop for hours, and it was more than a bit annoying.

He played for about two hours, before he called it quits, and went to sit in one of the lounge chairs, intent on finishing the book on theory he had begun on the plane. He found more than a bit interesting, particularly the extensive metaphors he used to relate to real life.

He finished the book after a few hours, and he decided to call it a day. He went up to his room, and when he got there, he ordered room service, and put on a movie on the massive TV he had in his room.

***

"Good morning to all, I hope you have had a restful sleep, and are ready to begin the challenge. I will first explain how exactly this will work. Throughout the week, you will be given a set of puzzles every day, and you will have 24 hours to complete them. If you are unable to complete all of them, you will be eliminated. There are 400 of you here, and by the end of the week, you can expect there to only be about 10 or so. If you make it that far, you will be able to create a puzzle of your own, and trade with someone else. The rules of this will be explained more extensively once we get to that point. Of course, there could be fewer people by then, in which case this will be still down, but with fewer people. You will now be handed your first challenges, a box will be brought up to your room. The box will unlock in two hours.", the screen went blank, and everyone walked towards their rooms, chattering away with people they already knew or had met before.

'Thank God, I can just play on my own.'