“So, they had me spar with Dena at low Tier 3 strength.” At the sound of three intakes of air, Matt paused. He reminisced over the fight. “It wasn't even close. She was so much faster and stronger, I was barely able to eke out a tiny little scratch. But it was enough.
“They said hitting a Tier 3 at Tier 1 was special enough that they'd sponsor me. Though I didn't know what that really entailed. A few hours later, I was on a train headed here. s**t, that was only last week.”
“Wow. If we didn't have a rule against sleeping with friends, I'd drag you to my room right now.” Tara's words made Matt blush a bit before everyone laughed. She’d even bounced her eyebrows, cutting the tension of the story with a joke.
“What about you guys?”
Sam piped up, “We were all friends in school when the rif
