Aaron steeled his resolve as the battle was about to commence. He clutched his weapon, glowing a streak of gleaming golden. The sword was weighted perfectly, and as the timer started counting down, he grew more and more excited. Taking a glance at Yoona, she shared the same sentiments. She nodded in agreement as snapped her fingers and her lyre floated around with a soft glow.

"Wait, you idiots!" Someone yelled out, stopping the countdown timer, "What the fuck are you doing?"

It was Kuro, who forcefully paused the timer by manually stepping in and aborting the battle. Aaron widened his eyes, as he didn't even know that was possible. He learned something new. Kuro sighed and kicked Yoona lightly in the leg. Yoona wasn't having it, as she bonked her head in response in a fair manner. Aaron chuckled.

"What?" Yoona replied, "Why did you stop us?"

"Why are you fighting a 3v3 for the land rights?" She exclaimed, "Can't you tell they're bluffing?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Their group is a decoy," Kuro shook her head, "They have a strong core group, but the rest are just dog water."

Yoona frowned, "How do you know this?"

"What do you mean?" Kuro spread out her arms, "I'm an assassin. Hello?"

"You checked out the area?"

"No, I happen to sit by and do absolutely nothi-" She kicked her foot again, "Of course, I checked the area! Who do you think I am?"

Yoona looked at Aaron, and he could only give a shrug in response. Kuro was one of their best members, and it didn't occur to him to actually check the strength of the enemy players. He just assumed they would've brought their best, as previously done before. However, Yoona would've anticipated such a thing, so it was odd that she did not confirm herself. Aaron could only think that was due to her being preoccupied with other things. Maybe it didn't cross her mind?

"You should've known about this," Kuro spoke aloud, confirming his thoughts, "Is it because of the rivalry?"

Yoona frowned, "No."

"Then, are you telling me you forgot to check the power of their players?"

"It is because there was a high probability that we won the bout."

"Even though it's better to fight a full-on battle?" Kuro grumbled.

"I'm trying to minimize our losses."

"Well, we know for a fact these guys are not going to go on the offensive with their forces. We would trade five of our guys for twenty of theirs! They're bluffing, for sure!" Kuro exclaimed, "You've essentially given the best scenario for them."

Yoona pondered for a moment, but then looked at the enemy team straight in the eyes, "Is this true?"

Grimmar was the first one to laugh, "I suppose it is."

"How would you like to handle this, then?"

"You might've caught our bluff, but we won't go down without a fight," He scoffed, "Even if we get wiped."

"Are you really sure you want to test that?" Yoona asked, lowering her gaze.

A few moments of silence passed, but Aaron could feel the tension building up. Looking around, his party members were already on edge, clutching their weapons and standing in a defensive position. He licked his lips, also ready to attack. There was a long wait before something happened, but it wasn't his expected response.

"No," Grimmar shook his head, "It is best not to reveal our abilities this early on. The strength of your individual is commendable, but we will overpower you later down the line."

"Wise choice."

"I will propose an offer, however."

"Hm?" Yoona raised her eyebrows, "What might that be?"

"Wait!" Iyana frowned, "Are we really going to retreat against them?"

"Wait until you hear the offer," Grimmar replied, "I suggest a ceasefire act on the first floor. There will be no fighting between our respective guilds until the clear condition for the first floor has been reached and the second floor has been opened."

"I will think about this offer," Yoona replied, pondering in thought, "I cannot give you an answer now, though."

"Tch," Iyana growled.

"You got a problem?" Kuro interjected.

"So tough," She glared with intensity, "I cannot wait to see the day you beg on your knees."

"Dream on, you ape," Kuro replied.

"Alright, alright," Aaron raised his hands to stop the conversation from escalating any further, "Let's have this conversation at another time."

Grimmar snapped his hands and signalled to his other members. They turned and nodded, leaving by warping away one by one. Grimmar was the last one to leave, but he stared at Aaron with deep eyes. Aaron returned his gaze, not backing down. Aaron knew that the second floor was going to be a battleground, and he had just declared war against their guild with his gaze alone.

He turned to Yoona, which was already preparing to help out Kuro and the other members, "What do you think?"

"About?" She questioned.

"The war that's going to set upon us."

She took a glance, but smiled, "We'll be prepared."

"You think?"

"I know," She nodded firmly, "Besides, one must focus on the now, rather than worry about things that have not happened."

"I agree with that," Aaron nodded.

"Speaking of now, our other group should've finished the dungeon." 

"Let's congratulate them on their clear," Aaron agreed.

Seungwoo was exhausted once he exited the dungeon. Fatigue was much more present in this game, as it mimicked real sensations. The team was in a bad shape, but they were overly excited for the dungeon clear. Even though they were veterans, the thrill of dungeon completion was always fresh in their minds. They sat down on the hard floor, and he did the same.

"Pretty smooth, considering the difficulty," Zhang replied, opening his mouth slowly to speak, "Everything still hurts."

"You did great," Woo-jin laughed wholeheartedly. Zhang must've been in immense pain for the ability he had just used, but he knew that it wouldn't last longer than an hour. Usually, debuffs such as fatigue or muscle shock mimicked the sensation, but not the duration.

"Hey, guys!" Seungwoo could hear Yoona shouting in the background. She was approaching the fortress with Aaron and some of the other members he couldn't remember the name of, "Congrats on the clear!"

"Thanks!" He shouted back, giving her a thumbs up. 

As she got closer, he felt he needed to stand up. Her presence was enough to make his hairs stand on edge. If anyone had heard the stories about her skills in the past, they would've said they were overexaggerated. She was a dragon in sheep's clothing, to say the least. He respectfully bowed. 

"How was the dungeon?" Yoona asked as she shook his hand, "Anything we have to worry about?"

"Not particularly, but the boss has three phases."

"What do you mean?" She tilted her head, "There are just three phases?"

"I mean, three forms," He forgot to elaborate, "The boss is a lich, so he has three lives. Each of his lives has a higher health bar pool."

"I see," Yoona nodded, "Anything we should worry about leading up to the boss?"

"The dungeon itself is pretty normal."

"Woah, wait, wait," Aaron called out, "Don't spoil it for us!"

Yoona turned to Aaron, "Really?"

"What happened to blind progression?" Aaron crossed his arms, "We're here to enjoy the game at its full potential, right?"

"But, we're willingly handicapping ourselves, then."

"It's about the fun!" Aaron chuckled, "Where's your sense of adventure?"

Yoona closed her eyes and scratched her head, "Fine, but if we wipe, then it's on you."

"We won't wipe," Aaron replied.

"Remember the last time you said that?" Yoon glared, "We ended up getting second in that progression race."

"Hey, that was different!" He replied.

"Fine, fine," She sighed, acknowledging his words.

"So, I shouldn't tell you?" Seungwoo raised his eyebrows, jutting in.

"You're good," Yoona nodded, "Just make sure to defend while we clear the dungeon. I got a notification that our funds have almost arrived."

"We'll keep it guarded," Seungwoo nodded.

Yoona went towards the other members to check up on them, whilst Aaron and the rest of their group decided to set up their items and consumables before heading in. Seungwoo hadn't come prepared with any insane potions or crazy items to help them on their clear, but it seemed like they weren't holding back at all.

"How are you holding up?" Yoona asked Zhang, which was laying flat on the ground.

"Good," He mustered out, garbled at best, "Watch out for the boss."

Yoona turned towards Woo-jin, "Can I trust you to finish the land acquisition?"

He nodded, "I heard there was some competition over this spot through guild chat."

"It's been handled."

"What guild, if you don't mind me asking?" Woo-jin pressed.

"Oblivion guild," She nodded her head, "It's the PK guild with some notable players."

Woo-jin frowned, "There are many."

"Iyana, to name one," Yoona replied, "Grimmar."

"That guild?" Woo-jin clicked his tongue, "Quite interesting since they retired a while ago."

"I think some of the bad blood we've accumulated over the years is seeping back into the fold."

Woo-jin shrugged, "Just another day, isn't it?"

"Speaking of today, the money will be sent to you when it arrives. Make sure everything is handled, " She replied. She signalled towards Ace and Kuro to come closer, which were now fully recovered, "We'll be clearing a dungeon, in the meantime. Wish us luck." 

Woo-jin nodded, "You won't need it."

"Perhaps not," Yoona smiled.

Seungwoo looked at the team as they approached the main entrance of the dungeon. After grouping up, they disappeared in a flash of light. He looked around, and the commotion circling the area finally died down. He took a deep breath, but he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of satisfaction. 

Woo-jin stood up and stretched. He was the first to rally up their remaining members. Once the leader of each of the parties was grouped up, he would direct them to come closer and just pause. At first, Seungwoo was confused about why they weren't taking their old positions, which seemed to work just fine, but he understood once the countdown of the land acquisition conditions was met.

"Do you think they might ambush us?"

"The PK guild?"

"No, they should be grabbing their own territory by now."

"How are you so sure?" Seungwoo raised his eyebrows.

"I heard through the guild chat they were bluffing their members, which means that they were being needlessly greedy," He replied, "One would only do that to scout their opposition potentially."

"So that means their main group has control of an area already." 

"Most likely," Woo-jin nodded, "But we also know that it's nearby since they wouldn't be insane enough to pick a fight with us unless they had a closer area they could control."

"I see," Seungwoo replied, "I didn't think of that."

"You'll catch up," Woo-jin replied.

"Should we send scouts of our own?" Seungwoo asked,

"No need to take risks," He replied, "Unlike them, we have many people who can scout for us that are allianced with us. For them, it's going to be a bit harder to convince others to trust a PK guild."

"What's the difference between a PK guild and a normal one?"

"Player killer guild," He replied, "Guilds that focus on contracts. They will sabotage dungeon clears, complete hit orders, or ensure certain zones are highly contested. Basically, they can do anything that requires killing another player for money."

"I see."

"Don't worry about it too much," Woo-jin replied, "You did good today, so let me worry about those things."

"Thanks."