Story of a Rhythm Game Couple

Chapter 15. The qualifier round

Asahi and Sana maneuvered through the dense crowd to read the sign on the wall near the rhythm game zone. It was about a MaiDan tournament called the Glorious Crown Cup. Had Sana not pointed at the poster, Asahi might have missed it altogether.

The Glorious Crown Cup, or GCC for short, was a grand annual tournament series including many different games around this arcade. The poster hinted at the impending third iteration of the MaiDan category, with the Megami RG Team serving as the host group. In addition to the three task tracks required for the qualifier round, the poster featured a small QR code in the corner, which everyone could scan to access additional information about the rules, guidelines, prizes, and other related details.

"Hmm... why do they even choose the name Megami?"

"How clueless must you be, Asahi-kun? This arcade is literally named Megami."

"Oh!..."

He initially thought the host team's name was rather random, but when he instinctively turned around and saw the pulsating "MEGAMI" neon board over the entrance, his curiosity was immediately satiated.

"Really, what were you even doing?"

Sana reached for her phone to scan the QR code on the poster. She was directed straight to the tournament section on Megami's main website.

"Are you thinking of joining GCC?"

"Hmm... depends..." Asahi scratched his forehead. "Let's read the rules and stuff first."

They both sat down on a couch in the rhythm game zone and read the tournament's rules.

First of all, there was a slight change in team format in the third iteration of the GCC (hereafter referred to as GCC3). In previous years, the MaiDan category was a 1v1 tournament due to the fact that the cabinet was designed with a two-player intention. However, with the recent update to the game, by connecting to the neighboring cabinet through the cab-to-cab feature, up to four people could play the same song at the same time. GCC3 took advantage of this feature and decided to change this year's team format to 2v2, moving away from 1v1.

"This is a provincial tournament, right? Are we even eligible to join at all?"

Asahi's concern was understandable given that none of them were born in this town. They grew up in separate parts of the country, and the only reason they were here was to attend university.

"I'm not sure. Let me see... Here!"

Participants in the whole GCC tournament series had to be residents of the province, as proof of residency was required during registration, either through the online portal or in person at Megami. However, due to the arcade's location in a popular "student town," participation was also open to anyone with a valid student ID from any of the listed institutions.

As far as the list went, Kourin University was considered eligible. Both of them exhaled in relief.

The remainder of the rules and guidelines section was basically common sense: no cheating, no imposture engagement, or no equipment allowed except for gloves and earphones, which were the essential peripherals to play the game.

The next section discussed the tournament format. All registered teams would first compete in the preliminary qualifier rounds, where they would play the three designated charts to the best of their skills. Players were not restricted to playing the qualifier stage on Megami's MaiDan cabinets, and any team could play the assigned charts at any arcade as long as they played in the play-by-two mode determined by the web's score submission system. Team members must not submit their scores individually, as they wouldn't be accepted. Players may attempt qualifier rounds as many times as they desired until they were satisfied with their final scores.