Natalia and Karina

"Level 9?!" Natalia exclaimed, reading the grey prompt hovering over her head, unable to suppress her astonishment. Both Natalia and the other players were aware that NPCs could level up, but seeing a level 9, especially a female, was unprecedented.

"Karina," Natalia thought, attempting to unravel the mystery surrounding her identity.

Karina didn't conceal her face; instead, she stood tall with her shoulders back and a firm stance. In contrast, the other player facing her appeared anything but firm. He seemed worried and was slightly trembling in his boots.

Caspondis and his clan mates once again directed their attention to the zone. "If an NPC is level 9, it means her skills are either higher or at least equal. However, if it were a level 9 player, it could indicate extensive grinding without significant skill improvement. Nonetheless, I've never even encountered a player close to level 8 or 7," Caspondis remarked.

After the battle, Natalia and a few other players dispersed to watch other matches but quickly returned upon hearing the news. The unusual situation caused several ongoing battles to pause as everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of Karina. A crowd of people huddled together, pushing and shoving to get a look at the female level 9 NPC, while even the referees attempted to catch a glimpse.

Julius, the half-angel competitor, composed himself, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. "Are you ready?" the referee asked both contestants.

Julius and Karina nodded in agreement. "Okay... begin!" the referee announced.

Julius focused all his might, and as the referee screamed to begin, he opened his eyes. In that instant, he let out the mightiest battle cry he could muster and rushed in for the first strike. He believed he could catch her off guard or that she lacked the skills befitting a level 9. His ego, however, led him to severely underestimate his opponent, Karina. With his sword sheathed, he charged forward, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Talk about an annoying dude," a player announced while blocking both his ears, visibly annoyed. Several other players copied his actions.

"This is it! This is what all my 4 days of grinding amounted to! At first, I... no, I always didn't believe in myself, but today is the day that I transcend everyone here. I will start by beating this girl and join the ranks of this clan. I've already won my first match; I just need to win this one, and I'm guaranteed a spot. Once I'm in, I will move up in this world and become a player listed in the top 200 players. No one... absolutely no one, including this meager NPC, will get in my way. AHHH... get ready to witness the strength I managed to gather grinding till level 4," Julius thought as he advanced.

Karina stood still and calm, her wooden sword outside of its stance. She had dropped her guard upon hearing the annoying and loud battle cry. Her wooden sword's tip now touched the floor, and she held it within both her palms, resting her hands on the pommel.

Julius vigorously flexed his arms to produce the hardest sword swing he had ever made. The sword moved in slow motion towards Karina, and she closed her eyes and slightly stepped to her left to dodge the sword strike. Julius watched as Karina balled up her right hand and tightened it further until finally pulling it back.

"How did she... how did she dodge so fast?" Julius watched as the world around him moved slowly. He saw Karina's fist slowly make its way closer to his face. He couldn't dodge as he was still swinging the sword.

Karina's fist connected with Julius's nose. Despite the majority of players gathered around spectating, one would think it wouldn't be as quiet as it was, but not a single peep was heard. Only the subtle contact that Karina made with Julius's face was audible. The blow was both effortless and imperfect, but even though it wasn't a perfect form of punching, it was "enough to knock him back to the lobby, dropping all of his loot," as most players would jokingly say.

Julius flew backward, wearing a silly expression and losing a few teeth. Most players thought a character's teeth couldn't be knocked out, but the game's realism surprised players with every login.

"I, uh… I think that's a clean hit. Number 4 is the winner," the referee struggled to piece his sentence together at the sight of such a magnificent battle.

"Bravo," Caspondis's eyes widened, and his smirk betrayed his excitement.

The crowd buzzed in celebration, and the screams now equaled that of a team scoring a goal in a sports game.

"What just happened?" Natalia thought as she witnessed Karina place her hand back on the pommel of her wooden sword.

Caspondis was struck with excitement as he questioned if she could even defeat him. Since he knew her skills were equal to a level 9, but he was a professional sword fighter in real life, maybe his skills could be greater than a level 9.

"This world's levels and play styles are odd, but measuring someone's skill shouldn't be that hard if I see her use her sword," Caspondis plotted within his head. As soon as an imaginary lightbulb flickered within his mind, he signaled the referee to come closer to his stage at the center of all the zones.

"Yes, sir Caspondis?"

"Dude, I told you to call me Cas, it's not like it's my real name... but anyway, come closer, I've got an idea—" Caspondis kneeled down and leaned in, whispering into the ear of the same referee who had been present during both Natalia's and Karina's battles.

"...that's genius! Got it! Right away!" The referee jogged back into the center of the zone where Karina still stood, firmly rooted, surveying the surrounding crowd as she wondered why they'd be so excited to see one of their own kind get thrown around like she did with Julius.

"Okay, gents! Listen up!" The referee announced, attempting to calm the crowd as he made his way through the rowdy players towards the center of the zone.

"Number 4, please stay here; we'll have your next matchup underway!"

Karina looked at the referee, confused as to why he was excited and wearing such a big smile.

"Can I please get number 67 in the zone?"

Natalia looked at the slip she had in her hand and saw the number 67 on it. Of course, she knew her number, but she checked again to make sure it hadn't magically changed to something else so she could somehow avoid facing Karina.

Natalia wasn't thrilled to face someone as fast as Karina, especially considering that when Karina dodged the first swing from her opponent, she moved just as fast, if not faster, than Natalia could ever move. Natalia walked slowly, feeling the heavy presence of strength she was about to face with each step. Regardless of whether aura was a feature in the game or not, a player could sense it mentally. She walked until she was out of the crowd of people staring at her, at the center of the throng gathered around, the immense pressure of their gazes weighing slightly heavy, changing the atmosphere more than it already had been. Everyone in the plaza center within the city of Farris had stopped to watch, not that they could all see, but they indulged in the chatter that filled the entire area.

"Who would've thought this many people would stop what they're doing just to see two women battle it out, interesting!" Caspondis smirked and crossed his arms as he and his clan mates prepared themselves for a worthy show.

Karina cut the air's intensity by kicking her sword up from where it was resting on her palms and bringing it upright. The position she had it in before was a sign of disrespect in her eyes, and in the previous battle, her opponent completely lost it. Natalia knew this, as she figured the position was in response to disappointment, but what surprised her even more was that even outside of a stance, Karina managed to embarrass her last opponent. This time, however, since it was a new match, Karina would assume her usual stance. Natalia nervously assumed her stance as well.

"Alright, both fighters are here!" The referee shouted.

"You are Karina, right?"

"Me?" Karina gave a confused look at Natalia's comment.

Natalia nodded in response.

"How do you know my name?" Karina asked.

"Wait, do you know mine?" Natalia added.

"Um, no, why would I?" From Karina's point of view, she looked Natalia up and down and couldn't see anything that would make her guess her name. Karina knew she didn't let anyone know her name, other than when she filled out the paperwork required for getting a number. She tightened her grip and stance, surveying every person in her line of sight, from Natalia to the referee and the players gathered around the circle. She still knew they weren't people, but rather heroes. Karina grew visibly distressed at this revelation.

"Can you see this?" Natalia asked as she pointed up above her head at the blue prompt that visibly hovered over every player. Perhaps Natalia thought she could see the prompts.

"What are you pointing at? If this is a tactic to break my concentration, it's not working!" Karina boldly replied, puffing up her chest.

"Ahem… you didn't know NPCs couldn't see our names? They only see a prompt when they level up." The referee couldn't help but overhear the conversation and stepped in, whispering, to fill a gap in Natalia's information.

"That makes sense… Hey, Karina, you know that above your head there's a floating sign. It says your name 'Karina' and then your level," Natalia explained.

The referee sweated slightly and stepped back at the comment Natalia made. Most players within Three Realms knew all too well that explaining to NPCs that they were inside a game was rather scary. How would they take it? Would they believe you? Natalia's comment provided taboo information for the NPCs. Every player steered clear of such interference with NPCs in the game, but Natalia did the unthinkable. Although taboo, it wasn't an enforced law or anything, but players wanted to avoid it.

"Um, yes! Yes! It's a magic skill that allows us to view your name and rank! Nothing special, don't be alarmed!" The referee jumped in, worried.

"Magic? I thought you said there was no magic allowed within this zone?" Karina questioned.

"Ah, yes, yes, I did, but in this case, it's something we can't turn off or uncast, should I say!" He nervously replied.

"Ahem, ahem, okay, with that aside, ladies, are you both ready?" He added, steering clear of any further discussion on the matter.

Karina nodded in response, but Natalia merely gave the referee a blank stare, which he took as a yes indicator.

"Okay! Ready…" The people around had already grown anxious enough and couldn't wait any longer.

"Supposedly one of us is fighting a hero."

"Really? No way? Let's go get a look before they start!"

"Good luck getting through that crowd," two NPCs commented, outside the giant mass of people.

Natalia took a defensive stance, and Karina replied with an attack stance.

"BEGIN!!!!!" The referee shouted.

Natalia stayed put and peeled her eyes to make sure not to lose sight of Karina. Karina jumped off of one of her feet and quickly closed the gap between them. The speed at which she advanced through the air was enough to put Natalia on edge.

"She's moving so fast… I can't keep up!" Natalia thought.

Karina effortlessly swung a strike from her right side, swinging it flawlessly towards up then downward. Natalia managed to predict this and placed the wooden sword to block. The two swords smacked together, and the sound it made echoed through the plaza. Every player and NPC gathered around stood quietly and heard as the echoes reached their ears, resulting in slight goosebumps of excitement.

Karina found herself up in the air as her sword made contact with Natalia's sword. They both held the contact, but Natalia looked visibly to be struggling. Natalia stood on the ground, attempting to push her back, but Karina's strike carried heavy power.