Avalon Rebirth Read Online Free PDF Page A

that matter. Darin just wanted a way to blow off steam.
    He knew they needed to keep moving forward if they wanted to get back into the A ranks, but Darin felt like the motivation had been sapped from him. Continuing on seemed like a slog, a chore, but he knew there was no choice. Not if he wanted to regain their status.
    Leah seemed no worse for wear, even though she showed a few signs of frustration as well. At least she had a prospective recruit for the new team, which was more than he could say. Darin had reached out to some friends and contacts, putting out feelers to try and hook a new member, but so far no one had bit. Either everyone was already taken, or their name had been so tainted by the scandal that no one wanted to associate with them.
    That last possibility bothered him the most. Darin had sent out another inquiry, wondering what exactly their former teammates were up to. So far he hadn't heard anything concrete, but it still bothered him. What were they up to? Had this all been planned from the beginning?
    And why had they abandoned Silver Star in the first place? They had said they were sick of it, but did they mean the tournament scene, or just the team? Was he responsible for the breakup somehow? Darin didn't think so, but the thoughts wouldn't leave his head. Everything before seemed fine, with nothing out of the ordinary. They had just prepared for the tournament as usual, aiming to win first like they always did. If there was-
    A screech put a halt to his thoughts. Darin dodged the axe that came whipping around a corner and brought his halberd up into a defensive position, trying to see how many enemies he faced. A trio of skeletons shambled around the corner, axes and maces gripped in their bony hands. They were grunts, at least, nothing to be concerned about. He sprang forward and took them out with a single sweep of his weapon.
    More shrieks filled the air as a host of skeletons charged out of the surrounding ruins. How many were there? A dozen? A hundred? It made for an intimidating sight, but Darin had no fear for his safety. They might look scary, but grunts were little more than ants, only threatening in huge groups. And even then, a skilled player could make short work of them.
    He waded into the midst of the fight, swinging his weapon around in wide arcs. Bones shattered into dust and clattered to the ground, smashed to pieces by his wild, vicious strikes. With almost six feet of reach at his disposal none of the skeletons could close the distance to even strike at him, let alone land a good blow.
    An arrow zipped past him, but Darin had prepared for that. Since he was traveling alone his normal support magic would do him little good, so he had switched it out for destruction magic back at the hub. He sent a fireball searing through the air toward the offending skeleton, destroying it and several others in the process. The rest continued to press toward him, but they meant nothing. Darin hacked them all down within a few seconds.
    He leaned on his halberd for a moment, surveying the damage. That was at least twenty enemies he had taken out without any trouble. And yet, that didn't mean anything. They were just fodder, a way for the game to make players feel powerful. Grunts might look intimidating, but they were little more than flies.
    He wanted some sort of challenge, something that tested his skill and posed a threat to him. At this point he wouldn't mind taking on a boss-class enemy, even if that was highly dangerous if he tried it alone. Darin was still looking for some way to vent all the frustration, and fighting was the way to do it. If he had to focus on staying alive and dealing with a tough foe then he wouldn't have time to think about anything else.
    If-
    Darin spun around as he heard a noise behind him. More skeletons? It didn't sound like it. They would screech before they attacked, and there weren't very many things in the Lost City that attempted stealth. Normally they'd just try