Avalon Rebirth (11 page)

“No. We're going to change it. We're taking the top again, and we're going to do it the right way.”

“That'll be a change from the way you seem to be operating lately,” Leslie commented. “And you seem to presume a lot, to think that you're just going to get back to the A-rank just like that. Especially when you don't even have a team in the tournament.”

Leo let out a sigh. “Look, Leah, we don't have any grudges against you. And you have the right to be mad at us. I don't disagree with that. But don't make the same mistakes as last time and drag another team down like that.”

“Yeah.” Leah watched him walk away without another word. His attitude rubbed her the wrong way, but what he said…

“What a jerk,” Leslie commented. “He has a lot of nerve, talking to you like that.”

“Maybe he's right, in some way,” Leah shrugged.

“You can't seriously believe that.”

“Be honest, aren't you getting a bit tired about how things are at the top? I don't agree with the way he said it or the way they just ditched us, but he might have a point. It's not like I haven't thought about it before either.”

Leslie bit her lip. “That's still no reason to just abandon your team in the middle of a fight. Even if you have your reasons, that's still a betrayal when there are other options.

She sighed. “Yeah. It still sucks.”

Leo's words stuck with her, though. He wanted to bring back the game's soul, not to continue on the path they had already traveled and he had come to despise. Leah still had those feelings as well. The top might have seemed glamorous, but it was lonely too. So much of their time had been spent merely maintaining their spot, leaving them little time for their excursions into the wider world of Avalon Online.

And after their challenge in the Cave of Origin, Leo's point seemed even more pronounced. The dungeon had been something different, something exciting and a bit unpredictable. She and Darin had been able to use their knowledge and experience to make things easier, but it was still a change of pace.

It wasn't just the environments either. The enthusiasm of their new teammates had been infectious, and even after all of her hours spent in Avalon Online it had felt like something new.

“I think he's right,” Leah said. “Or at least, I think he's partially right. A change needed to happen at the top. And I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of that with my new team too. And I hope you do too.”

“So bring some of the fun back to the upper ranks,” Leslie nodded. “That's not far off from what we already thought. But some people say that Night Dragon doesn't have the killer instinct we need. And will this really change anything? Other teams will want to keep their spot by any means.”

“Would you really want to abandon everything that makes Night Dragon what it is?” Leah asked. “I can see his point. Silver Star did that, and look at where we are now. I can't deny his point. I'm competitive, and I want to get back up on top. But I want to do it the right way. I want to enjoy the ride up, and I want it to continue while we're up there.”

“Sound like you have your goal.”

“And what about you?”

Leslie shrugged. “Well, we'll probably keep going the way things are. It did take us to third place, at least. And who knows, maybe it'll take us to first.”

Leah nodded. “That's the aim. We'll get to the top. But we'll do it our way.”

D
arin heard
the bell ring as he opened the shop door and stepped inside.

“You there Morri?”

“That who I think it is?” a female voice answered.

“Depends on who you think it is.”

A woman with short black hair and pale skin stepped out of the back. Darin noted she was dressed in a smith's apron as usual, and wore a pair of gloves as well.

“Just who I thought it was,” Morri said. “One of the few people that can actually get the name right.”

Darin smiled. “Sure thing. Morgan.”

She scowled. “Hah hah, so funny. I don't see how it's that difficult to get straight. Morgan has two syllables, Morrigan has three. How do they manage to get that confused?”

“They do sound similar if you say them fast.”

“Huh, not you too. You better not be here asking for a favor if you're going to be like that.”

“What if I was running an errand for Leah?”

“Then she should've send a better errand boy,” Morri replied with an amused smile. “So, what did you want?”

“The D-rank tournament's coming up.”

“Yep, and I've been making good coin selling weapons and armor to the players that air aiming for it. Always do, since they can't always get good item drops out in the wilds. So is that what you're here for? I have a good selection of pretty much anything you could want. All of the highest quality, in fact. And don't you forget it.”

Darin smiled. “Yeah.”

“I mean it. Don't go around spreading nasty rumors about my business.”

“If I thought your craftsmanship sucked would I really have used your A-rank gear?”

“Huh, fine, you win. So what are you really here for?”

Darin pulled out the magic scroll that served as the game menu and opened it up. “Your expertise is needed. We stumbled across some rare loot in the Cave of Origin, but none of us can figure out what it's used for.”

“That's the trouble with you fighters. You all just focus on your combat abilities so much that you can't even tie your own shoes. Whatever happened to being well-rounded?”

“Hey, tournament fighting pays the big bucks.”

“Yeah, it also makes you seem dumber than a box of rocks at times,” Morri said. “Anyhow, now you've got my attention. I should probably charge you for an appraisal, but I'll let it slide.”

“Thanks,” Darin replied, activating the scroll and bringing up the item he wanted to know more about. He sent a message to Morri's scroll and watched as she read it over.

“Huh, so I'm guessing that you had a fun time in the dungeon. This thing only gets dropped by the toughest boss in the cave. Or bosses, more accurately. So you managed to kill the Black Wolves?”

“Yeah, we did. It was a real pain too. The whole dungeon was. I swear that someone had it out for us and gave us all of the worst possible enemies.”

“But you made it through.”

“Only because we knew what we were doing. If we were a bunch of amateurs we probably would have been dead in the first room.”

“Yeah, now it's sounding like you're just pouring on the melodrama,” Morri commented. She looked over at the scroll again. “Well, like you said it's rare loot. As it is it's useless, but it can be refined into an armor augmentation seal.”

“Do you know what it does?” he asked.

“Won't know for sure until I make it, but I've seen them before. Made a few seals with them as well, though like I said, they're pretty rare.”

“Yeah, so what does it actually do?”

“So impatient. Well, it provides a defensive boost to any armor its embedded into without any ill effects. It scales as well, so you can always put it in better armor as you go up the ranks. And it's not permanent, so it can be removed without destroying it.”

“What's the catch, and why isn't everyone trying to get their hands on one?”

“There's three catches, actually. First off, this isn't the only thing I need to make the seal. The other elements are a lot easier to get ahold of, but they aren't cheap. And unless you want to go out hunting for resources...”

I'll pass, thanks,” he said. That time could be better spend training.

“That's the first thing. The second thing is that the Black Wolves are a pretty rare spawn in the first place, and most people end up getting killed going up against them. So these are rare, and a lot of people don't want to give them up. They're trophies, so to speak.”

“What's the third catch?”

“The third catch is the worst one. It has to do with the points system in the tournament. The seals may increase defense, but they also increase the point value of your character build. And the scaling isn't proportional either, which really hurts.”

“I'm not quite understanding what you're getting at...”

“This is just an example, but say that the point value to defense value is a one-to-one ratio. With this seal the ratio for the extra defense is more like two- or three-to-one. So if your defense goes up ten points, your character point value goes up thirty.”

Darin nodded, finally understanding where she was going.

Morri continued. “So you might get a good defense increase, but you're also painting a target on your back. And if you're in a multi-team match then everyone will probably be gunning for you. To score points, of course.”

“Put that way this sounds more like a curse than a reward.”

“Well, it's all what you want to make of it. Weren't you guys famous for coming up with different plans to exploit certain builds?”

“I guess, but I'm not sure that this is worth the trouble. Especially if it makes the other teams come after us.”

“That doesn't sound like the person that was the head of the top team in Avalon Online,” Morri said. “And think about it. Everyone knows who you are. You don't think that they're going to try to gang up on you anyhow?”

“They might be wary of us and keep their distance.”

“Then you need to have some way to draw them out, don't you?” Morri asked with a smile. “What better way to do that than making yourself a nice piece of bait?”

“Oh, so now you're a strategist, huh?”

“Just some suggestions. So are you going to try to get the seals or not?”

“So you're just encouraging me because you want me to pay a lot of money to have them made?” he asked. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Hey, I know how much gold you and Leah have. And that you're willing to pay to get a leg up on the competition. So what'll it be?”

Darin shook his head. “I'll think about it.”

“So ungrateful. And I even gave you a free appraisal.”

“And thank you for that. But if I'm spending a lot of money I want to be sure that I'm not just throwing it away.”

“You call spending your money on my work throwing it away? Get out of my store,” Morri said, though he could see the smile on her face.

“Does that mean you don't actually want my money?”

“Well, if you come back with it then I'm not going to refuse...”

“Maybe I'll go shop around. See if anyone else can give me a better price,” he teased.

“Hah, as if. Don't come crying to me if you lose a tournament match because the seal didn't hold up like mine would have.”

Darin grinned. “Thanks again,” he said, and exited the shop.

* * *

H
e met
up with Leah later that day and heard the news.

“So, finally ran into one of them, huh?” Darin commented after he heard her explanation.

“Yeah. It was completely out of the blue too. I don't think he was expecting it. I certainly wasn't.”

Darin frowned. “And Leo said they had their reasons for ditching us, is that right.”

“Don't get the wrong idea, but they were a lot more… reasonable than I was expecting them to be,” Leah said. “I don't agree with they way they did it, but...”

“But nothing. They still ran out on us and cost us everything. And they have no room to talk about trying to win the right way, or whatever. They contributed to how we kept our spot. It was as much Jon's idea as mind.”

“That might be true, but like it or not both of them thought there was a problem, and they were convinced enough to act on it,” Leah insisted. “Maybe it's better to give it some consideration rather than dismissing it outright.”

Darin scowled. “Yeah, I'm not exactly enthusiastic about doing that. Especially when it's coming from the two people who couldn't even break up the team face-to-face. They had to stab us in the back.”

She sighed. “OK, then consider something from the person that stuck around. When I say we need to take some time to get to the top I mean it. I want to get back there, but I don't want to do it if it means sacrificing our soul to get there. What's the point if we're just following along with what we're supposed to?”

“The goal is to become champion.”

“And after that?”

“To stay champion.”

“And how long will you do that? How long do you think you can manage that without trading away parts of your soul? The things that made the team strong when we were on the way up?”

That question took him aback, and Darin struggled to come up with an answer. Winning had been Silver Star's sole goal, to take and hold the top spot in the A-rank division and reap the rewards. They had done it, maybe far beyond anyone's wildest dreams including their own, but…

“Is there really a soul, or is that just people trying to ascribe some higher importance to this all? It's a competition.”

Leah leaned back against the wall. “Did you ever play sports in school? Or did some other kind of team activity?”

“I ran track.”

“OK, that's not the greatest sport for my analogy. Let's go with mine. I played volleyball in high school. We were pretty good, actually. Made the state championships twice, won once. We were pretty focused on winning. But there were other parts to it.”

“Such as?”

“Playing together as a team. Pushing ourselves to be better. And just enjoying it all when we we went out there and played. I think that was the biggest thing that made us successful. We wanted to win, we wanted to be better, but we also wanted to keep doing it as a team. We enjoyed it, and that seemed to feed our enthusiasm. It's a lot easier to push yourself when you're doing something that you enjoy.”

“And you think that needs to happen now?”

“I do,” Leah said. “Like it or not, the top of the A-rank division is stagnant. Everyone is locked into one way of doing things, one way to win. No one wants to take any risks for fear of losing their spot and falling down the ranks.”

“I can't really blame them. There's millions of dollars at stake there, and everyone needs to be able to compete at a high level. Who knows if a new method is going to change anything.”

“But that's the problem,” Leah argued. “No one is willing to take the risk. No one wants to put their neck out because they're too afraid. It's like they're all trapped in a cage with no way to spread their wings and try something new.”

“So what are you saying, that we should try something new?”

“Yeah. I think we can change the tournament divisions for the better. Everything is too set into one pattern, one way of thinking. Why not go outside the box and create a new way of doing things?”

“That's a lot easier said than done,” Darin commented. “And the enemy will adapt. Then the new way becomes the old way soon enough.”

“That's true, if we stick to one way of doing things. But if there's multiple ways of doing things then they can't do that, can they? Teams will have to constantly change, constantly adapt. If we're always in the running at the end of tournaments and we're unpredictable, that forces everyone else to change their tactics and be on their toes.”

“So change ourselves to change the rest of the division,” Darin mused.

“That sums it up.”

He shook his head. “That might sound fine, but that's not going to help us now. Is this really the time to try to change things when we're trying to get Erika and Taji far enough into the ranks to get decent earnings? If we don't take the top of the D rank division our team is dead in the water.”

“Which is why we need to change things up. There's so many other teams aiming for the top of the division as well. Do you really think that none of them are going to be a challenge?”

“OK, then what are you proposing? Something radical?”

“No, something a little different. But the effects will probably be radical. I want to change my character build.”

That wasn't quite what Darin would call a little different. Changing a character build could have far-reaching effects on both the player and the team. Even switching the weapons they wielded could fundamentally alter the way they fought in combat.

“What are you planning?”

“I'm switching magic. Going from destruction to support.”

“Any reason why?”

“You remember the archer the Black Wolves had in the Cave of Origin, right?”

Darin nodded. “Yeah. So that's where you got your idea from?”

“Yeah. Normally I might discount it, but after thinking about it for a while I realized that it might be an even stronger build on an archer than destruction magic. It might not be as obvious, but...”

“So what's your plan?”