"What's taking them so long?" Aaron asked.

He was sitting comfortably on the open plains. The day was going by pretty quickly, and over the span of thirty minutes, he had farmed enough to hit level twenty one. Their group had decided to stand watch as other members of Avalon had arrived and were taking the zone. Since the first incident, not much had happened, so he enjoyed the breeze.

"They've only been there for like forty minutes," Yoona sat by his side, legs crossed, "I'm sure they're fine."

"Want me to message them?"

"No need," She shook her head, "Best not disturb them while in a dungeon."

"Fair enough," Aaron replied, "Some people are moving around."

Aaron pointed at the several people he saw gather around the area. As seen on their name tag, they were NPCs, but they mimicked a natural person quite well. Almost too well, if he was being honest. Supposedly, their computational power would mimic that of transient AI. That meant that they would genuinely believe that they were human. It was peculiar but exciting nonetheless.

"They're just seeing what's going on." Yoona replied, "We've made a lot of noise."

"They can move from their original zone?"

"Their technology regarding NPC's are better than ever," She laid back, "I heard of a story about a person marrying one in Conviction. Supposedly, one was as lifelike as a human could get, and we're on the next generation of those models."

"So, treat them as real humans, basically, right?"

"Yeah," She shrugged, "Without the tag, you really couldn't tell they were NPC's, to begin with."

"Hey!" Aaron signalled towards a nearby farmer, "Come over here."

The plains they were in were more of a farmland countryside, containing several farmers and infrequent farmsteads. The land wasn't refined as he would hope, but the fortresses overlooked the long hills and rough patches of land. It appeared that monsters such as slimes and wild boars roamed the ground, but he didn't know how historically accurate it was. However, it was a game, so everything didn't have to make sense logistically, per se.

The farmer saw him and approached.

"Yes, sir?" He replied, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead, "Whatcha need me for?"

"What're you doing over here in a place like this?" He questioned.

"Well," He pondered the question, "I was farming just out yonder, but I had heard some commotion. You fair folk have been appearing like wild animals recently. Just been taking some time off to see what that's about."

"So, what's your opinion?"

"About you, Otherworlders?" He shrugged, "Been told in the prophecy for quite some time."

"Prophecy?"

"Yes," He nodded, like that was a normal occurrence to him, "I'm just a farmer at the bottom of the World Tree, but many Otherworlders come to climb the tree of their own volition. There are vast riches at the top and tremendous power. The gods of the tree reside there, and to become one, you must climb to their level."

"What about you?" Aaron tilted his head, curious, "Do you plan on climbing?"

"Oh no," He smiled, shaking his head, "I have a family to care for. I'm just a mere farmer. Only people imbued with magical power or god's blessing can usually climb. Plus, I need to take care of business here. This floor is the safest for people like us."

"You've been on other floors?"

"I've heard of many adventures our people have gone on, but I haven't traversed through the Gates."

"I see..." Aaron replied, "Well, we will be your new lords soon."

The farmer looked surprised but recollected, "Yes, I heard our old one had been cooped up in his manor for quite some time now. I am surprised that you could acquire land in this place."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, with this place being so close to Trost, I'm sure they were looking to expand their reaches. They certainly had talked about it."

"I see." Aaron replied, "What are your thoughts? Don't you own a farm?"

"I readily pay mercenaries to defend my land since our current lord doesn't do much." He nodded in disapproval, "I'm sure my new lords would provide more security around my lands, so that is all I ask."

"Oh, don't worry," Yoona stuck her head in, "We're gonna make sure that we have grand walls; that's certainly true enough."

Those words increased the farmer's enthusiasm as a smile spread across his face. The farmer nodded, giving many thanks and shaking Yoona's hand. She readily accepted it, smirking in amusement. Aaron knew her thoughts as clear as day. She was surprised, just as much as he was about the realism the game provided. The NPC was about to leave and return to his other duties until a question appeared in his mind that he needed to ask.

"Have any Otherworlders told you that you were an AI?" Aaron asked.

"What is that?"

"You're not real," Aaron replied, "You're just information that mimics a human. What if I told you that there is someone that rules over the gods that reside here, that decides everything that happens in this reality. Would you believe me if I said it was true?"

The farmer frowned, pondering it over for a second.

"I suppose that might be true," He chuckled, taking off his farmer's hat, "I have not heard that, but I doubt I could do anything to change this. The gods that exist in this world rule over us regardless. The comfort that someone else rules over the gods is somewhat freeing."

"I guess that's fair enough." Aaron shrugged, "Reality is what you make it, I guess."

"I agree with that," He said, "I hope to meet you again, new lords. I can show you around the farm."

Aaron looked surprised at the notification he had received. It was interesting since he didn't know he could gain Rapport by just talking to NPCs. Usually, Rapport in other games depends on giving gifts or doing certain quests for an NPC. The level of immersion in the game somewhat surprised him, and he was interested in the Farmer Gibson Card. 

"What's the card do?" Aaron turned towards Yoona, "Did you get a rapport notification?"

"They're collectables." She replied, nodding in agreement, "They give bonuses based on your set. There are a lot of cards, and they don't disappear after your death, so they're Soulbound. It's a good system to get to know the NPC's because some Rapport missions might give good loot or personal items that are normally unobtainable."

Aaron stood up and started stretching, "That's cool." 

Before he could move and regroup at the dungeon's entrance, Ace and Kuro warped to him without any prior notice. At first glance, Aaron thought they came to give them news about the gold farming situation, but upon further inspection, it was something else entirely. They weren't full health. They were sitting at about half health, with several scorch marks and burnt clothing.

"You good bro?" Aaron asked, "Monster's too tough to handle or something?"

"No," Ace panted, lightly coughing, "Oblivion guild, they're on their way."

Aaron frowned, "Are you sure?"

Yoona was much more reactive than he was, standing up hastily, "Are you absolutely positive it's the same one?"

"Yeah," Kuro nodded, cracking her back into place. She looked worse for wear, "They've got Iyana and Cypher. Same name, too. Cypher is a bad matchup for me so I couldn't do any real damage to him. Sorry about that."

Ace raised his hand, "Iyana range and spacing too good. Can't commit with my slow speed."

Yoona cursed, pacing around before catching her breath. "Shit. What direction are they coming from?"

"Northwest," Ace replied, pointing in the direction just above a hill, "Some of our Grind Company members died. We got ganked, hard."

"Those rats," She gritted her teeth, "Tell the Guild to prepare for their advance."

Yoona snapped her fingers, and her floating lyre played a soothing melody. The air around them turned ripples of green, like the sound waves emanating from the lyre had their very own visible colour. A circular mark was drawn around the lyre, and anything inside the radius of the weapon started gaining health over time. Aaron saw Ace and Kuro's health tick up readily, much faster than the normal base regeneration.

"You guys stay here for now and rest up," Yoona replied, "But prepare for a battle. We're going to have to defend our lands against an opponent that won't retreat without a fight."

Three players stood on top of Farseer Hill, overlooking the fortress from below. A group of twenty-four members stood behind them, watchful and waiting for orders. The ground was elevated enough to see the multitude of people defending the area, but Iyana was not intimidated in the slightest. She did not shirk away from any battle.

"We've found it," She stated plainly, "Are we going to brute force it?"

She had a black mage's robe, a darkened wizard's hat, and thick sorceress attire which accentuated her tall body. Her specialization, Black Mage, dealt with Black lightning and Oblivion fire abilities. A mix of dark attributed fire and lightning effects was the greatest asset at high range, but it would spell her doom if she had gotten closer to the onslaught.

"We might," Cypher spoke, contemplating her question, "This is Avalon guild. They aren't going to roll over so easily."

"We have dealt with them in the past."

"Yes, however, our battle tactics are unrefined compared to theirs," He scoffed lightly, pointing at a person in the distance, "That witch, Yoona, is too good at controlling the battlefield."

"Do not remind me," Iyana scoffed.

Iyana agreed with Cypher's assessment. Although the area was open and without any obstacles, a full-on fight with them would decimate the land. The land would also take time to heal, and if they wanted to acquire the land from them, they would have to meet the repair costs if they had wanted to create buildings.

"What is your proposal, then?" She asked, "Do we give this land up?"

"No, of course not," Cypher replied, "I have an idea that might be beneficial for us."

He waved his hand blank in the air several times. Iyana did not initially get the intention, but she had a good framework as she realized he was trying to make contact through the means of private chat. They wanted to solve this problem diplomatically. Perhaps they were going to request a duel or a standard PvP match? Or perhaps they were going to trade land rights or buy them outright from them at a higher percentage? Iyana had many questions, but Cypher started walking down the hill before she could ask.

Iyana looked at her other teammates, then back at Cypher, "We're not gonna stop him?"

"It's fine," A rough voice said next to her. It was Grimmar, their leader, "We will see how he handles it."

After Cypher walked down the hill, he was met with Yoona. She was always cautious, so she immediately cast a barrier on herself with her lyre. Even in this game, she was playing extra conservative. Iyana couldn't blame her, as their fights over territory and zones were also extreme in the past. She had remembered a time when they decimated a surrounding zone for at least several days. The devs had to fix up the landscape by resetting the parameters, which meant that dungeon's inside the area also reset. They unintentionally had to reclear the dungeons, giving them extra first-time clear rewards.

After some movements, Cypher signalled to them to move down, only holding up two fingers. Iyana looked towards Grimmar, but he seemed to get the idea. Just the both of them were allowed. As Grimmar moved down, Iyana followed suit but made sure to hold a Rime Potion in her hand, just in case she would get ambushed.

"What's going on?" Grimmar spoke, his voice was harsh and gravelly. He was in his mid-thirties, with a bald head and muscular body. He always had everything under control, as he was a veteran in the landscape.

"I asked them for a formal duel," Cypher replied, "The conditions are simple."

"I'm surprised a PK guild like yours is willing to accept such conditions," Yoona replied with harsh words, "Usually you're more discrete, like rats scurrying around the battlefield and picking up the scraps of war."

"I'm sure your decision to consider this bout would be the same as ours," Grimmar grumbled, "Besides, it is too early for me to be picking on the big fish so nonchalantly. It's only the first day of release, that's all."

"Very well," Yoona replied, "I will entertain this idea."

Grimmar stroked his beard but chose to trust in Cypher. Iyana did not care about the outcome, as long as she could fight and prove her prowess. She realized that a full-on battle this early in the game was not ideal upon further thought. The levels they had obtained over the past hour or so would all be for nought, and dying on the first floor was considered the worst way to go out. It was the equivalent of dying in a low-level zone in other games.

"Very well," Yoona replied, her voice as melodic as always. Iyana always admired her beauty, as she was the perfect type of person to represent the face of Avalon. Her tactics were also to be feared, but her raw skill did not reach hers. She had a big advantage in that regard, "Would we like a three on three?"

"Indeed," Cypher nodded, "Best two out of three. The winner obtains the land rights of the Fortress of Farseer, whilst the loser cannot battle the winning Guild's members for twenty-four hours. I hope you will honour the formal tradition of Aquistional Combat, otherwise, we will cry wolf to the Darksword Alliance."

Battle through formal combat was often the tradition in games of this nature. Formal combat PvP equalized all gear and effects, making the fight fair and square. Permanent death is also removed since it was a standard bout, as the defeated team only has to pay for their armour repair costs, making it much more favourable than open-world PvP.

"Sounds fair to me." 

Iyana looked at her teammates. Aaron and Ace. Good team composition for them. Aaron was one of the best players known in the MMO genre. His class could slot into any composition, and his playstyle was very adaptive. She had remembered when they partnered in the past, and with him as a damage dealer, it was one of the easiest times she had spacing her abilities and keeping her range in her entire life.

Ace was more of a defensive player. He played tanks and often peeled for support. Their synergy was very well known, and since Ace was a real estate mogul with more cash than he could ever spend, he was most likely the providing potions and consumables throughout the battle. The only items that were allowed in team PvP.

As they already knew the answer, they moved inside the formed rectangular battlefield markings and positioned a fair distance away. Iyana nodded with Cypher and Grimmar that she was in position, and with a click, they had accepted the duel.