Avalon Rebirth

by Mitchell T. Jacobs

  “Did we make it under the cap?”

  “Yeah, I made sure to register us as soon as possible. We were number two hundred and thirty, so it's getting up there.”

  “But anyhow,” Leah said, “we're going to have to fight a lot of enemies at once, and that means staying alert and keeping our heads on a swivel. We're probably not going to win if we don't do that. And we have to make sure that at least some of us survive to the end.”

  “Isn't it the teams with the most points that move on?” Erika asked. “That sounds simple enough.”

  “It is, so you can't just hide and wait it out until the end. But if your team is completely eliminated your point total is cut in half. So you could kill half the field and still end up losing if your entire team ends up dying in the process.”

  “So stay alive. Got it. Might be hard with all those explosions flying around.”

  Leah had to agree. Most teams would have one player wielding destruction magic, and with so many crammed into one arena there was always the potential for a huge number of destruction spell to go off at the same time. The stages for the qualifiers were large, but it wasn't unusual to see dozens of players killed within the first few minutes of the match.

  “That's always the trick. But better to be cautious to begin with. You can't win the match at the beginning, but you can certainly lose it.”

  “Isn't there a timer on it?”

  “It's two hours,” Darin said. “So a lot of teams will try to score their points early and then wait out the timer, because they'll theoretically be facing the tougher ones at the end.”

  “But everyone knows who's in the top eight, along with their own points total,” Leah added. “So it's not unusual to see teams making a last-minute push to try to make up ground. As long as we stay alive we should be fine, but that's easier said than done. We need to avoid the early rush.”

  “So I need to get in some practice against large hordes,” Erika said. “A really large one, if I want some sort of challenge. Just so I'm thinking about watching my back.”

  “Well, it's also about working as a team. Four pairs of eyes are going to spot threats easier than one.”

  “But you're not going to have your destruction magic with you. That's going to change things up a lot,” Erika pointed out. “Maybe too much. Wouldn't that be good for taking out a lot of enemies?”

  “You can't kill a player with one shot with a destruction spell. You can hurt them badly, but you can't kill them. That would be way too cheap. Besides, it's the person who actually kills them that gets the points, not the ones that did the most damage. So if you or Darin were to sneak in there with flash step...”

  She laughed. “Huh, kill stealing. I'm sure that's going to make everyone happy. Won't we have enough trouble with people trying to gang up on us?”

  “It's already going to be a problem, so what's adding on a little more fuel to the fire? Besides, kill stealing is perfectly legal. I know people don't like it, but we need to make sure we qualify.”

  Using that tactic would anger some people, though. No one liked to inflict a lot of damage on the enemy, only to see another team swoop in and take all of the points. Many teams would probably target them and be out for revenge, though that could also work in their favor as well. Leah could imagine Raven's Call stealing kills to gain points and anger other teams, then leading them into prepared traps.

  She looked over at Darin, who had gone completely silent. Leah noticed he had his menu scroll open and was looking at something.

  “Anything interesting?”

  “Message,” he said, still reading. “A priority one too. From the competition committee, no less.”

  Leah felt her heart skip a beat. Were they in more trouble? Was someone just targeting their team for their own amusement?

  “Is it-”

  “It's a general message,” Darin told her. “Sent to all team leads.”

  She felt a bit of relief. “OK. So nothing too important.”

  “Well, I wouldn't say that either...”

  “What is it?” Erika asked.

  “They're tweaking the format. They're taking out one of the matches.”

  “Which one?” Leah said curiously.

  “The final. Or what used to be the final, at any rate. They're switching it to a four way match, so the teams that would normally be in the semi-finals will fight each other at the same time.”

  “Can they do that? It seems pretty close to the date,” Erika commented.

  “There's probably something in the fine print.”

  “That's a pretty big change to make on short notice too. I wonder why they did it?”

  Leah wondered that too, but her only explanation sounded completely paranoid. Someone wanted to make sure that the old Silver Star members didn't win the tournament, and the best way to ensure that was to pit them against three other teams at the same time. Even though Raven's Call could probably beat any other team in the division, dealing with three at once would be difficult.

  But that was just speculation, and probably baseless at that. The more she thought about it the more it sounded like a conspiracy theory, just sour grapes from a team that had been caught and punished.

  “So that changes things up a bit,” she said, trying to be diplomatic.

  “It changes things up a lot. But that's also one less match we have to win, so there's that,” Darin shrugged.

  “It's pretty much like what we were doing, right?” Erika asked. “Preparing to fight multiple teams. The only difference now is that there's going to be less of them in the final. That works to our advantage, right? And for everyone else in the qualifiers too. Because we were already preparing to fight a large number of teams.”

  Leah had to smile. “Yeah, that would be right. And that's a much simpler way to think of things. Much better, too. We can do this. We just have to make sure that we're prepared.”

  That was the trick. They could spend all their time complaining about the changes being implemented, or they could buckle down and make sure they were prepared to compete at the highest level possible. Even if someone was conspiring against them, it wouldn't matter if Raven's Call was so well prepared that they were capable of mowing through every team that stood in their path.

  “I think we're going to have to make some changes,” Darin said. “Specifically with our equipment.”

  Leah glanced over at him. “Does that mean we're doing what I think?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, there's no use trying to mess around with the points total, not with four possible teams in the final. We can't prepared for every contingency, and they're probably going to gang up on us anyhow. So we might as well make sure our team is carrying the strongest equipment.”

  That was the other thing. It wasn't just about skill points or knowledge, it was about attitude as well. Someone who she couldn't remember had explained it to her years ago. Between two evenly matched teams, the team with confidence and swagger in their step would usually win, because they expected to. That expectation drove their actions, made them fight harder and in a more confident fashion.

  Their team might as well embrace it. Everyone knew who they were, everyone was intimidated by what they were capable of doing. Raven's Call would be going into the tournament with a target on their back, and everyone would be lining up to take their shot.

  Let them come, though. Leah had full confidence in her teammates. They needed to win, and they were going to take the championship. Everyone else was just in their way.

  “And here you are. Four prepared defense seals made from the Black Wolf Soul,” Morri said, handing over a box. “Made of the best materials and of the highest quality, of course.”

  “Wouldn't expect anything else from you,” Leah replied with a smile.

  “Well of course you wouldn't, but your partner in crime was complaining about how much money he had to spend on these. Getting the resources for them wasn't cheap, though. And then there's not many smiths with my skill level t
o make them the right way.”

  “Oh, ignore him. I'm not going to complain. I still have the D-rank bow you made for me kicking around, and I'm going to use that in the tournament. There aren't many better things I can get.”

  “There aren't any,” Morri corrected her with a grin. “I'm the best there is.”

  Leah opened up the box and took a peek. Inside sat four seals, made of a hard black material, almost like obsidian but without any imperfections or markings. A symbol made of silver had been imbedded in the seal, forming a series of interlocking circles and triangles.

  “So is there anything particular about these? Do we need a smith to attach them to our armor?”

  “No, you're fine without me,” Morri told her. “All you have to do is push it on to the chest of the armor and it'll embed itself. You will need a smith to take it off, if you want, but I'll do it for free. Provided you're not doing it every day.”

  “Nah, we'll be fine.”

  “Alright. So that's it then. Silver Star is back in the tournament scene a little more than a month or so after their last incident. Everyone too.”

  Leah looked at her, confused. “Everyone?”

  “Yeah, Leo and Jon have been in here purchasing equipment for their team. They didn't have any Black Wolf Souls, but they were trying to get some stuff for two people I didn't recognize.” She paused for a moment. “Something up?”

  Leah frowned. “Yeah. Leo said something about not going into the tournaments until they were ready. Something about waiting for the right time and people. I guess he changed his mind...”

  “Or maybe he was just saying something to throw you off your game,” Morri suggested. “Whatever you tournament fighters do. Maybe he just wanted an extra edge.”

  That was possible too, but that meant that Leo had lied to her during their last conversation. Leah didn't think he was the type to do that, but…

  But that was what he had been doing over the past few months, hadn't it? He and Jon had gone along with the flow, deceiving their teammates and pretending everything was alright. Why should she be surprised that he was willing to lie to her again?

  And yet, that thought still hurt her. They had been teammates for so long, and even after the betrayal, on some level she still had a bit of trust in him. Leo seemed to feel the same way, or at least she thought after their last conversation. But now? Now she wasn't sure, or rather, she didn't know what she could believe.

  “Thank you for that. And thank you for the information,” she told Morri.

  “Your welcome. Good luck in the tournament.”

  She left the shop, her mind churning all the while. That news changed a lot. At first she thought that the tournament would be relatively simple. Even though there would be good teams in the D-rank, the combination of Raven's Call's experience and skill would trump them all.

  But now they had another element to deal with, a team that had strong members as well. And both sides knew each other fairly well. If push came to shove the former Silver Star members would probably end up neutralizing each other.

  It would be up to their newer members to tip the scales. If things worked out the way she thought, Leah and Darin couldn't just act as the crutches for their team.

  Taji and Erika would have to prove that they belonged on the big stage.

  Darin listened intently as Leah explained the situation to him.

  “Well that's unfortunate,” he said. “But not unexpected. We can prepare for it, at the very least. Let's just hope we don't run into them before the final.”

  “Wish there was something else we could do,” Leah said. “They have the advantage. They've probably started preparing for us. We don't have that luxury.”

  Not with the tournament two days away. Their character builds and skill levels were already locked in. Right now the only thing left to do was to add on the seals, which were already accounted for in their character profiles. After that the only thing they could do was sit and wait for the competition to arrive.

  “But it's only two members, right?” Taji asked. “That means there's two new ones.”

  “That we know nothing about.”

  “Doesn't the same thing go for them? They don't know anything about us, and we don't know anything about them.”

  Erika looked up from reading something in her menu scroll. “Are they really that tough?”

  “Yeah. They're good. Leo was our rogue, and Jon was an all-rounder with some tank tendencies. Both were really, really good. We wouldn't have been champions without them,” Darin said.

  “Mmm. But doesn't that mean everyone's going to try to go after them as well? At least that splits up the attention,” she said optimistically.

  Leah inhaled. “OK, we're thinking about this too much. We just had to fight the way we normally do and everything will be fine.”

  “We'll pull through as a team,” Taji said.

  If only she could have that kind of confidence at this point, but things had radically changed. Now they had an opponent that could clearly match them.

  Confidence, though. Confidence and swagger. It didn't matter who they were facing. Raven's Call was strong enough to take on all comers and come out on top. Leah tried to keep that in mind, tried to push the doubt away. They'd win. They'd push through all obstacles, and they'd win.

  They had thought about it more than enough. The time to act and execute was upon them.

  13

  Darin stood in the tunnel, hearing the sound of the crowd out in the main arena and the low buzz of conversation among all the other teams gathered here. Once the ceremonies began they would file out for the audience to see.

  There was talk between the various teams, though they all seemed to keep their distance from Raven's Call. Maybe it was respect, maybe it was fear or maybe it was just plain disdain. After the punishment that had been inflicted upon them many teams considered the former Silver Star members to be tainted. After all, if the commission had doled out such a harsh sentence then it had to be deserved.

  He tried to ignore it all, tried to focus on the task ahead of them. They had to get through the qualifiers and all the chaos and havoc that came with it. There were so many teams there, though, so many things that could go wrong. Most of them weren't very experienced, but that could also make them very dangerous. At the very least they were unpredictable, and that could be much harder to deal with than a team which was stronger but more set in their ways.

  “This is pretty exciting,” Erika said, not quite able to hide the enthusiasm in her face. She stood out from the others, many of which looked like they wanted to hide or vomit.

  Darin appreciated the enthusiasm. She needed to keep it controlled, but it was better than being frozen with nerves.

  “This is your first tournament, isn't it,” Leah said.

  “Yeah. Can't wait to see what it's like.”

  “Don't go too overboard,” Taji cautioned. “It's fun at first, but then the magic fades away if you don't win. Or at least if you don't perform well.”

  “You'll do fine,” Leah told him.

  “Thanks. I hope I can do a lot better than the other times. The best I've finished isn't even in the top fifty.”

  Darin glanced at him. “We'll do better than that. Focus on getting the top rank so we can have the nine seed. I know that doesn't mean anything for choosing stages, but it looks good.”

  “Doesn't that mean that just getting eighth is fine?” Erika asked.

  “Well yeah, but don't just focus on that. I want to make sure that we qualify. I don't want to just squeak by into the tournament, if we can help it.”

  He had no more time to talk. The signal went up, and teams started to file out into the arena. Darin heard the roar go up from the crowd, though it was much quieter than usual. That was to be expected, though. D-rank didn't have nearly as much popularity as B- or A-rank. In fact, there probably wouldn't be a lot of people watching in the outside world through live streams. The players sitting in the stands mig
ht be it.

  That was perfectly fine with him. The payouts for winning remained the same whether one or one million people watched the D-rank tournaments, and it meant less people seeing how Raven's Call was capable of performing. The more surprise they had as they rose up the ranks the better.

  But the teams standing above them weren't the only threat. There were also the rivals that would come up beside them, and they might be the greater threat…

  Darin looked around for any sight of Leo or Jon, but he couldn't see them amongst the huge throngs of players. That was to be expected. There were a thousand of them here, so the odds of ending up beside them were very low.

  But that also mean they had to deal with their old partners inside the battle arena, and that was where things started to get dicey. Darin knew very well that both Jon and Leo were plenty capable, cagey and skilled. Even with their skill rank demotions they'd be hard to handle.

  At least they'd have a few surprises to spring. Since both he and Leah had switched their magic classes they would be fighting in an entirely different fashion. The others were plenty capable of adjusting on the fly, of course, but during the initial confrontations they might have the element of surprise.

  And that was what mattered right now. Rivalries and grudges had to take a back seat. The qualifying match was going to be chaos, and the only way to pull through to the tournament was to stay alert and be focused.

  He felt someone nudge him.

  “We're starting,” Leah said to him in a low voice. “You looked like you were zoning out.”

  “Got it. Remember to find each other,” he said to the rest of his team.

  The announcer's volume suddenly went up.

  “Contestants, prepare to enter the battle stage. Fight hard, play fair and good luck!”

  The virtual world around him suddenly disappeared into a black void. Darin took a breath and exhaled to steady his nerves. Their path back to the top started now.

  Snow crunched underneath his feet as he walked. Darin looked around the polar forest warily, wondering how close he had been dropped to the rest of his teammates.