Free Avalon Rebirth by Mitchell T. Jacobs Page B

a lower division. That meant both a financial loss and a diminishing of their status.
    They could recover from that setback. Some renewed their determination and made another push, while others fell further back down the ranks and eventually disappeared. Innumerable teams started to free-fall and never recovered. Maybe it was because they had been passed by other teams, or maybe their psyche had been broken and they couldn't regain their ability to fight.
    But there was the other side of the coin as well. Many teams used the situation as motivation, as a way to push themselves forward. Instead of looking over their shoulders they looked ahead, trying to put as much distance between them and the bottom as possible. If they were in the top ranks there was no danger of them being sent down to a lower division. On the contrary, it meant being able to push for higher divisions, or once they reached the A- and B-ranks, to attract sponsors.
    “It's the nature of things,” Darin said. “Everyone knows that when they get into the tournaments. We just need to be able to stake our claim. And if we can do that, then we have a real path open to you both turning into professionals. If we can get to C-rank, would you be willing to devote more time to this?”
    Taji thought for a moment. “I think I would. But I have to be sure. I can't just quit a good job over maybes.”
    “Then we have our goal in front of us. Conquer the Cave of Origin, win the D-rank seeding qualifiers and then move up to C-rank.”
    It sounded so straightforward. If only it were the simple, Leah thought, but then saying and doing things were always on different levels. They couldn't think too far into the future either. The first challenge would prove hard enough.

7
    I t had been so long since he had been here. Darin looked at the pair of pillars stretching into the sky, covered in an alien language and lit up with a green, eldritch light. There were so many theories about what they meant. Some players believed that there was a secret contained within the cave related to the pillars, something that would change the entire complexion of the game, or give them secret powers if they discovered it. Others just believed it was decoration and nothing more.
    Darin hadn't thought about it much. It was all just a wild rumor, in his mind, something that the designers had added in for flavor. Not everything had to be a conspiracy of a big secret. Besides, the Cave of Origin was intimidating enough on its own.
    He looked back at the rest of the party: Erika with her light armor and rapier, Taji wearing plate mail and carrying a battle axe and shield, and Leah with her bow. Darin himself had a halberd and medium armor as usual, along with support magic. He'd be directing traffic for the duration of the raid, attacking, defending and healing whenever it was needed.
    “Deja vu,” Leah commented as they approached the archway leaving to the cage. “Want to take bets about what kind of monsters we're going to have to deal with this time?”
    “Hopefully not the ice ones. Those were annoying.”
    “What about them?” Taji asked curiously.
    Darin shrugged. “The standard stuff, actually. They hit you with freezing attacks that slow you down. It's not like they're extremely dangerous, but even the grunts are annoying. You feel like you're trying to fight with your feet stuck in quicksand.”
    “Have you ever actually had your feet stuck in quicksand?” Leah asked.
    “Well no. But...”
    “I kind of get the picture anyhow,” Erika said with a smile. “So hopefully there aren't any enemies like that. I can't say that'd be good for me using Flash Step.”
    Darin turned his attention forward again and took a deep breath as the passed through the archway. Despite his experience, he gripped the haft of his weapon a little tighter. This was it. Now that they were inside the Cave of Origin they had to complete it or come back a week later if they failed. They'd only get one