Free Avalon Rebirth by Mitchell T. Jacobs

reality, players could be sent to what essentially amounted to a pocket dimension and tasked with conquering the dungeon laid out before them. And while they had a general idea of what would happen inside, it was different enough so she couldn't quite be sure.
    What Leah did know was that the cave would be a tough test for their team. It needed to be, since it weeded out serious contenders from those who were too unskilled to make the cut. The Cave of Origin contained all manner of enemies, ranging from mobs of grunts, to elites, to bosses that would give even experienced players paused. They would need to use all the skill and teamwork at their disposal.
    And then there was the end of the cave. That was the one common element that everyone knew about. Once a team conquered the dungeon they faced one final test: a fight against another four person team, modeled on the fighting styles of a player unit. They might be NPCs, but they were a far greater threat than anything the standard enemies could muster.
    That was the final hurdle they needed to clear before they could be considered for the D-rank tournaments, and it wasn't easy. Silver Star had failed twice before finally defeating the challenge, and even then it had been no sure thing. The team they faced at the end was also randomized, and fought with different techniques. They could prepare for them, of course, since their composition was public knowledge. But there was no way to know for sure what they were facing, and no team combination that would be strong against all possibilities. Either they had to bank on being lucky enough to get a favorable matchup, or they had to run a generalist team and rely on their skills to pull them through.
    And in some ways, fighting skilled human-sized enemies was more challenging than trying to deal with a huge monster. At least in the second case their opponent had predictable attack patterns. Fighting an equally strong team meant dealing with smaller, quicker foes that could deploy a variety of abilities. What they lacked in sheer power they made up for in versatility.
    It would be difficult. Leah just hoped the others wouldn't become discouraged if they ran into a wall. They'd always have more chances, but that wouldn't happen if the team just gave up. How would they react when faced with a real challenge? That was the question that made or broke a team.

    * * *
    “ S o that's what we're up against,” Leah said as she finished explaining the next steps to Erika and Taji. “We have to clear a raid dungeon geared toward challenging players aiming for the D-rank tournaments. If we get past, we can enter. If not, then we have to start over and keep trying until we do.”
    “Will our normal builds work?” Erika asked.
    “They should, as long as we're built to work as a team. Remember that. We have to be able to play off everyone's strengths and weaknesses. The Cave of Origin is specifically built to test it.”
    “And it's not easy,” Darin added. “We failed the first time around.”
    “We failed twice, actually,” Leah corrected him. “But the point stands. If we're not ready then we're going to get chewed up and spat back out.”
    “Can't we just go back in and try it again?” Taji asked.
    “We can, but it's not just a matter of going back there,” Darin explained. “You're only allowed to challenge once every seven days, so you can't just keep charging in. You have to be prepared.”
    “And with the randomization just going back might not be good anyhow,” Leah said. “There's no guarantee that you'll do any better the second timed around. It might end up worse for you, in fact.”
    “And the next D-rank tournament is coming up in less than three weeks. Ideally I want to be able to enter that, if that's alright with you.”
    “It's fine with me.”
    Taji frowned. “Yeah. There's just one thing about it...”
    “What?”
    “I'm not sure how much time I'm going to be able to devote to this until we get rolling.