When people began to reach rank 1, they soon realized that they were not alone in the world.

Rifts, incursions, conquests, invasions, or portals.

These ownerless worlds have a lot of names, and even though the reason for their appearance is still a mystery, what is certain is that they are a great source of loot and resources.

Anyone that has reached rank 1 is capable of detecting them as soon as they begin to form, and after a period that varies in function of their rank, they become open for anyone to try and conquer them in the search for energy, add-ons, and subs or even other more precious treasures.

High-rank rifts are managed directly by the Guild, but the lower ones are left open for the different groups of worldbuilders to share or fight for them. As a result, groups attempting to conquer territory and monetize these opportunities sprouted up all over the world, creating different factions with their own politics and power struggles.

—Extract from the Builder’s Magazine #9, "Rank 1 Worlds and the Rifts". -

"What the hell? Since when can your robots fuse themselves? " James asked incredulously.

"Well, you can't expect a great world-builder like me to not get better over time," William replied confidently while looking over his shoulder.

"You will see, next time we fight, I will win. I will create the strongest dinosaur that history has ever witnessed," James said while he began to leave the room.

"Then I will simply use an even bigger and better robot," William said while laughing.

Then both of them said goodbye, and James left the store.

"Did you like the battle?" William asked Axel and Emma.

"It was amazing!" Emma replied, her eyes shining.

"It was pretty amazing indeed. After watching that, I want to reach rank 1 even more. " Axel replied while smiling.

"Well, you are not far from it. So in no time, I bet that you will be fighting like us. " William replied.

After that, Adam arrived at the table.

"I have already finished my battle." He said.

"How has it been?" Aiden asked.

"Easy peasy. The other person also had a fantasy RPG world, but mine was better built, so I crushed him in a few minutes. " Adam replied.

"And now what? What are we going to do? " Axel asked.

"We will probably have a few more fights if there are people available. After that, we can go and have a coffee or something if you want. " William said.

"Works for me," Axel replied.

After that, they spend a few hours watching how other people fight or fighting with them. When they decided that it was late enough, they left the store, but Mark talked with them before that.

"Farewell, guys. See you next week. Especially to you, Axel. Now that you finally decided to start worldbuilding, I want to follow your progress. " Mark said while laughing.

"I will do my best," Axel replied while smiling.

"I'm sure you will." He said.

After that, the three of them left the store and went to a cafe that was near there, and after they sat around a table, they began to talk about various things when Axel remembered something.

"Oh, right. I already know who I'm going to fight first when I reach rank 1." He said.

"Really?" Both of them were surprised.

"Yes, I mean, William was present when I decided, so I don't know why he is surprised. " Axel said while laughing.

"If you talked to someone while I was fighting them, I was not present. I focus so much on the battles that the outside world disappears totally from my consciousness," William said.

"Yes, I did it when you were fighting. I talked with Emma, and she asked me if I wanted to fight, and as I'm not yet a rank 1, I promised her that if I become one, I would fight with her." Axel explained.

When his friends heard that, both of them burst into laughter.

"Why are you laughing? It is because it is a kid?" Axel asked.

"No, it is not because of that. It is because... " William tried to explain.

"Don't tell him anything!" Adam suddenly said. "Let it be a surprise; it would be funnier that way."

"What's happening?" Axel asked, mistrusting.

"It's nothing. Just focus on your world to reach rank 1 as soon as possible. When you fight her, you will understand why no one in the store wants to do it. "

Without understanding much of what they were saying, Axel decided to ignore them, as they were probably trying to play a joke on him.

After that, they spent more or less an hour there until they finally decided to leave the cafe and return home.

When Axel returned home, he decided to spend the time remaining until accumulating the energy required to reach rank 1 researching about energy add-ons, as Mark had suggested, and thinking about all the possibilities that the new rank would bring.