Avalon Rebirth (5 page)

Taji looked over at them. “Wait, you took out a boss-class monster by yourselves?”

“It was two of us,” Leah explained. “And it took a bunch of improvisation and tricks. It wasn't just us walking up and hitting it a bunch of times till it died.”

“It kind of was,” Erika spoke up.

“Well yeah, everything is, but there was a bunch of stuff in between.”

Taji shook his head. “Kind of puts us to shame, huh?”

“You held your own just fine,” Darin told him. “No shame in that. And that's what we're going out for. To see if we can get everyone to fit together as a team. Does everyone have their builds set?”

Taji and Erika both nodded. Leah made a mental note of their party's composition. They had Taji equipped as a tank, Darin as an all-rounder with support magic, Erika as a quick-strike damage dealer, and herself as their ranged support. At first glance it seemed fairly standard, but it was in the implementation where the differences would become. Leah was eager to see just how they all fit together.

* * *

T
he crystal giant
let out a low, guttural roar and swung its club downward, slamming into Taji's shield and forcing him to stumble back a few paces. He kept his shield up and his balance steady, though. Leah took a quick look at the health bar floating above his head. Using a combination of his shield, Stone Skin, and positioning he had managed to avoid most of the damage. More importantly, the giant had expended its attack.

Right on cue Erika flashed into sight, making several swipes at the giant before disappearing back into the crystal pillars surrounding the battlezone. Darin charged in after her, making swipes at the creature with the back spike of his halberd. Taji joined him after a moment, alternating bashes with his shield and cuts with his sword.

Leah pulled out another arrow from her quiver and began to cast a spell on the tip, silently counting out the time before her other teammates were safely out of range.

Like all NPC enemies, the crystal giant had a specific attack pattern that could be predicted and deciphered. Once they knew it they could move to exploit it. In this case they had a ten second window between strikes, where they could charge in and inflict damage without fear of retaliation.

They needed it too, because the giant was strong enough to flatten everyone but Taji in one or two hits. Leah was relatively safe at this distance, but one wrong more or mistimed step would get Erika or Darin killed.

“Fall back,” Darin ordered, using interparty telepathy to communicate the message to everyone. It could only be used by teams, but it allowed them to talk to each other over long distances without shouting.

Leah watched them go, nocking and drawing back her bow. Once they were clear she'd hit the creature with a force arrow, hopefully staggering it in the process. Her fire blast arrows wouldn't be nearly as effective against the huge creature's tough crystalline skin, so she needed to rely on the others to do damage.

None of them were particularly well equipped for the area, in truth. Impact weapons like warhammers and battle axes were most effective against the crystal creatures here, but that would mean they'd have to switch to unfamiliar weapons. Right now it was better to do less damage with a familiar weapon.

Darin hadn't said anything to her, but Leah imagined this was all planned. It allowed them to explore battle tactics, giving them handicaps without putting themselves in too much trouble. If the enemy became overwhelming they could always run away, but just killing them instantaneously wouldn't help them to develop team skills. Better to take the time to learn their skills now than to rush about and be unprepared later.

That went for both the present and the future. Now, if only she could get Darin to agree with that.

Leah sighted in her arrow and fired.

The shockwave sent the crystal giant stumbling backward, roaring in a low, angry tone. Leah pulled out another arrow and fired off a shot into its body, though she knew it wouldn't do much damage. One of the destruction spells, Crush, could hurt the crystal monster badly, but they were saving that for later. Right now they were just focused on figuring out how to fight it as a team.

“Watch it. It's coming around again,” Darin warned.

Taji stood in front once again and deflected the blow, though this time the attack drove him down to a knee. Leah noticed a significant chunk of his health bar fade away.

But Darin noticed it too. Within a second he was already beside their tank, casting a healing spell to restore the bar and help keep Taji in the fight.

“Do we end it?” Leah asked.

“Hold off and heal for this go around,” Darin ordered. “We'll pick up our normal attacks after the next time it strikes.”

“Got it. I'm going to hit it with a Fire Blast arrow,” Leah said.

“That's not going to do much.”

“I know. But I'm bored. Making a big explosion will liven things up a little bit.”

She heard the others chuckle over the telepathy line. Good. They had a long way to go until they were a proper team, and even longer before they could even think about challenging for the D-rank tournaments. There were still plenty of challenges ahead of them.

Leah drew back her bow and fired off the arrow. As it exploded into a ball of brilliant flame, she watched in satisfaction as the rest of the group pressed their attack. Their journey back to the top had to begin somewhere. And this looked like a good start.

“
I
wondered
if you were going to show up,” the tall figure dressed in black commented as Darin walked up. “Didn't even send a confirmation message back.”

“Sorry Chad,” he replied apologetically. “I was a little occupied and didn't see it until a few minutes ago. And I thought hurrying over here was a better use of my time. I almost thought you would have already left.”

Darin sat down next to his old friend on the lip of the fountain, watching all the other players going about their business. One of the lounges or cafes might be a better place to meet, but for some reason Chad always wanted to meet outside. When pressed he had made some comment about ascetics, which Darin didn't understand. He just thought of it as one of his oddities.

Eccentric or not, though, Chad was no slouch in the world of Avalon Online. He had an A-rank team of his own, not quite top tier, but always hanging around the top ten.

“Always the efficient one,” Chad grinned. “Guess that's how you ended up on top.”

Darin frowned. “Yeah.”

“Sorry if that touched a nerve. I didn't mean-”

“Oh no, it's fine. It is what it is,” Darin said. “No use crying about it, as Leah likes to say.”

“Is that how you really feel?”

“Honestly?” No, that's not how I feel. This sucks. This sucks a lot. We're getting punished fro something we didn't even do. I can understand getting fined for sanctioned, but getting busted down to D-rank? How is that even fair?”

Chad nodded. “So you weren't involved in it. That's what I thought.”

“Wait, so you actually believe me?”

“Is there any reason I shouldn't? You
are
telling the truth, aren't you?”

“Of course I am. Not that it helped us any when we were put in front of the commission,” he said sourly.

“Of course. They have their own reasons for doing things, and they don't always line up with what's fair for the players.”

“Not sure what you're getting at.”

“This isn't a game anymore. It's a business. There's money changing hands, sponsors, prizes, media deals. People in here are celebrities. You know all about it. You know how much betting goes on, right? There's always Vegas lines on the outcome of the tournaments.”

“I've seen quite a few. Usually they were there to show how heavily we were favored.”

Chad laughed. “Oh, going to bring that up, huh? Do you know how many e-mails I got on my fan account from people who bet thousands of dollars on us to beat you guys?”

“You came a lot closer than most of the others.”

“Horseshoes and hand grenades, man. Horseshoes and hand grenades.”

“Yeah. And to think that we went from that all they way back to D-rank, all because of Leo and Jon. I suppose I should be thankful that we weren't completely banned, but still. We just had our reputation completely wrecked. We're pariahs now.”

“Well, yes and no. Depends on who you talk to.”

“How much of a difference is there.”

“The people that believe everything and take all news at face value might hate you, yeah. But most of the A-rank knows better. It's been a point of contention in the waiting rooms, actually. Who was involved, whether there was actually any foul play, or if you guys just slipped up...”

“Well, we did throw the match. But I wasn't the one responsible. Neither was Leah.”

“That's what I was inclined to believe. Anyone with half a brain knows that you would never willingly throw a match. You're way too competitive. I don't think anyone could offer you enough to do it.”

“Thanks. I just wished that the commission would see it that way.”

“Well, like I said, they have their own agenda to push. With so much money flying around they have to make it look like its under control and all the competitions are fair. So when the top team steps out of line, they bring the hammer down. Sorry to say, but you guys are just a victim of the business machine.”

“Yeah, I understand it. Even though it sucks. But it's not really fair, either.”

“So what are you going to do? Try to fight your way back to the top?”

“Yeah. That's what we're aiming for. We're currently trying to get a team together so we can climb back up the ranks.”

“I pity anyone that gets in your way,” Chad said with a smile.

“How is the A-rank tournament going? I haven't been paying much attention to it.”

“It's weird, truth be told. No one seems to know what to do now that Silver Star is out of the running. It's been so long since you guys weren't the obvious team to beat.”

“That really doesn't tell me anything.”

“No, I guess not. Well, there's a power vacuum in the middle of the A-rank division. Anyone still in the tournament has the ability to stake their claim to the top now. And that feels really odd to a lot of people. Scary, even.”

“What about you?”

“Us? Well, I'm not one to celebrate a friend's misfortune, but you'll forgive me for thinking that this might be our chance to get over the hump and take the top.”

“Can't blame you for that, no. But that just means you couldn't beat us the old-fashioned way,” Darin replied with a smile.

“Sure, go ahead and rub it in,” Chad laughed. “But that's the general mood around the A-ranks. It sucks for you guys, but this is our chance. And if Night Dragon has the opportunity, we'll take it.”

“Of course,” Darin nodded. He'd do the same thing in their position.

“But we're also not delusional,” Chad added. “We know that you'll be coming back to take your spot. Some of the others think this will be the end of you. Not us. We know you'll be back.”

“That's a long way off.”

“What, aren't you supposed to come out with a bunch of bluster? How you guys are going to stomp all over anyone who gets in your way?”

“Are you really going to believe it if I say it?” Darin asked. “I'm not even sure if I'd believe it. Leah doesn't. She thinks it's going to be a while.”

“I'd go with her instincts. She knows what it's all about. Of course, this is just my opinion. But...”

“Nah, it's mine too. I know better than to just ignore what she's feeling,” he replied. Leah tended to be spot-on wit her feelings, or at least in the ballpark.

“Nothing wrong with it taking some time.”

“Well of course you'd say that. It gives you more time to enjoy all the perks at the top.”

Chad laughed again. “Hey, you guys held onto them for long enough. Let someone else have a turn.”

“Fine. We will. Not exactly by choice, but...”

“Yeah. And I get what she's thinking. Nothing guaranteed, though. They might have taken away your skill points, but they didn't take away your brains. At least I think they didn't.”

“Yeah, still inside my head as far as I know. But enough about that. What did you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Oh, right. Well, I heard a bit of news through the grapevine about your old partners. I'm not sure if you already know about it or what, but I thought I should ask, at least.”

“What about them?”

“Well, apparently they have the same thoughts you do. I don't have things completely confirmed, but Leslie heard some rumblings though her friends and contacts. They're recruiting, at the very least.”

“Finding two new members to join is hard,” Darin said.

“It's not for two, though. It's one. Apparently the other spot is already filled. That's the part I though would really interest you.”

Darin frowned as he considered that tidbit of information. It might mean something, or it might just be chance. Jon and Leo could have planned their exit from Silver Star far in advance and took the opportunity to prepare for a new team. On the other hand, the whole thing could just be a coincidence.

At this point he didn't know what to think. And did it matter anyhow? As much as he loathed his former teammates for betraying them, he had too much in front of him already. As he had heard once, it was better to care for one's own household first than to look at the households of others.

Still, he wanted to know more, if possible.

“Do you know who the third member is?”

“That's the other thing. No one seems to know who she is. She's never shown up in any of the tournaments. She's not a part of any of the raid groups. There's nothing notable about her,” Chad explained.

“Can't say that's any different that what we're going through,” Darin said. “Our two recruits are unknowns too. You pretty much have to be looking for those types at the D-rank.”

“Yeah, but some people might be willing to jump ship to fight alongside two former members of Silver Star.”

Darin sighed. “You know what, I don't think I'd want anyone who's willing to ditch their teammates like that. Hits way too close to home, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, point taken. I'd say it wouldn't matter for your counterparts, but evidently that's not the case here. If she was someone who jumped ship from another team there'd at least be some information floating around about her.”

“How long ago did this happen?”

“The day after you guys lost your match. I just wanted to take some time to confirm it before I went and started spouting off about it all,” Chad explained. “And I don't know how you feel about it, but it just seemed suspicious to me. Like, if they were as surprised about the sanctions as you wouldn't it take a while for them to move on?”

“They were the ones that threw the match. They had a two on one advantage guarding the pillar, and the other guy somehow got through. There's no way that could happen, unless they allowed it.”

“So it's planned. That's not exactly comforting. And then there's a bunch of other suspicious stuff about the whole situation...”

Darin glanced over at him. “What kind of stuff?”

“This is all just speculation,” Chad said. “Probably just me spitballing and making a big deal about nothing, but here it goes. There's something funny going on. Almost everyone thinks the commission came down way too hard on you, even if you actually cheated. But still, it happened. And there's some speculation as to why.”

“What is it?”

“You guys were way too good,” Chad said. “I hate to admit it, but there weren't very many of us that could think of challenging you. That doesn't make for good drama or viewing, either. There's no suspense.”

“I've never heard any complaints.”

“Well no, it was fine for a while. People watched because it was fun to see you guys go to work, you know? How dominant you were. Of course, it's not so fun when you're the one being dominated, but hey, it is what it is.”

“Yeah.”

“But eventually that becomes boring. People just don't want to repeatedly watch something where the outcome's never in doubt. And it was getting to that point with you guys, sorry to say. A lot of people wanted things to change.”

“So you're saying that the commission decided to punish us so harshly so they could get us out of the way and shake up the A-rank division,” he frowned. “That's...”

“I know it's pretty outlandish, yeah. I might be making things up inside my head. Who knows.”

“But if that actually is the case...”

“You're never going to be able to prove it. This is their world with their rules, and they're not dumb enough to do something so obvious. They'll always be able to hide behind something to justify their actions.”

“Yeah, I know. It's hard when the people in charge are your judge, jury and executioner.”

“I think you just ended up on the wrong end of things. They wanted a way to shake up Avalon Online and breath some excitement back into the tournament scene, and your incident gave them a perfect excuse to do that.”

“Nice to know that we're so highly regarded. Or that we were so much of a pain that they had to invent a way to get us out of the picture.”

“Hah, you would say that, wouldn't you? Thankfully you've never announced it in public. I know that you're being tongue-in-cheek, but people who don't know you might not take it that way. They'd probably hate you, actually.”

“Yeah. So we're stuck at the bottom of the D-ranks right now because someone wanted to switch things up and get the A division moving. Joy. And our former comrades planned for it and are getting ready to make a push back up to the top.”

“That about sums it up,” Chad agreed. “But you said that you were going to form up another team, right?”

“That's right. It's getting there.”

“Then that's your ticket back. You want to make the commission pay for what they did to you? Climb your way back to the top and win. Of course, if you want to stay on the bottom that's fine with me.”

Darin smiled. “Right. Well, sorry to disappoint you...”

“No, it's fine,” Chad grinned back. “I'll take being on top, but if we make it there I'll always know that there's an asterisk next to it. We didn't beat the top players. So if you fight your way back up, that's fine with me too.”

“Thanks.”

“Plus, that'll be pretty entertaining anyhow. Truth be told, the B- and C-ranks are where the best action is, in my opinion. And it'll be fun watching you guys come up again. And if you make it back to the top, then the commissioner has to present you with your winnings..”

“Oh, so this is cringe comedy for you, is that right?”

“Hey, you have to admit it'll be pretty funny if it happens. Can you imagine the look on their faces if that happens? Or what kind of speech you could give? I'd pay to watch that, honestly.”

Darin was glad that someone else had confidence in them, especially a friend from outside his team. Nagging doubts had started to creep in ever since Silver Star had disbanded. Had he done something to upset the other two? Was Leah right, that he was too focused on winning, to the exclusion of all else?

“I have one question for you,” he said. “Might be an odd one.”

“Hey, I've heard plenty of those. So shoot.”

“Why do you participate in the tournaments?”

Chad made a thoughtful face. “Why? I guess there's a lot of reasons. First I wanted to see what the fuss was all about, then we found out that our team was good at it, and then we just kept fighting up the ranks. Plus there's the money.”

“So it's because you found out you were good at it, and want to keep getting the money from it?”