Aeternum

In the days following the investigation from the Towns and the Church, the central area has started to look like a livable place thanks to the help from the players. While Astur calls it a city, it's currently closer to being a small village. Most of the Oulvgar have their own preferred areas of living and have little need for the various living spaces they've been constructing. But for the players, with the construction of a living space, they've gained the ability to respawn in the central area of the Sea of Trees if they die.

The players following Astur have been considered by the others, both players who haven't been able to get into the forest and those who can't play in the beta but are watching, to be further ahead than most of the other players currently in the beta. As far as the players are concerned, this is because Astur is an NPC that gives out high reward quests with many speculating her to be an important character that's involved with the Main Story Quest. This theory the players had was further pushed once they received the Main Story Quest, War of the Land, the same quest that Astur received when she first arrived. The players that had been following Astur however, were already assigned a faction, but not under the HInterlands or the Prosperous Lands, rather, these players had been assigned to the Oulvgar Faction. This was something that Astur had set up with the creation of her shop which would also serve as a faction shop.

The players had also found out about the shop in the past few days. While most of them didn't have the resources to splurge, but everyone who saw the listed items took note of the Enhanced Basic EXP Potion. There were of course other strong items, such as the Exploding Swords and Big Blast Balls, but these were only relevant to Alchemist who can make use of their item affinity. Many of the players following Astur had already gained a Main Class in either Dawn or Hadrow, but there was still a small handful that had chosen Alchemist as their Main Class. But regardless of Class, the EXP Potion is an incredibly attractive item to everyone. Upon seeing the potion from Blaze's stream, many soon to be players decide that they would choose Planet Vopal as their starting planet and try to enter the Sea of Trees. At the same time, the many Esports teams that had chosen other Planets as their starting base of operations had quickly begun to regret their decisions, as their pro players have already made their characters on other planets.

While Planet Vopal has had the most attention since the start of the closed beta, the other starting planets have had their fair share of interest. Like Vopal the conversations around the other five starting planets are often related to Glacia, Sömskar, Ryuuko, Klaros, and Zrathno. Some of the players that were interested in the lore, like Blaze is, had asked them about each other and Astur since they all shared the same surname. Most of them only commented with a few simple words of acknowledgement and indifference, since they all knew each other but besides Glacia, they never really made an effort to speak with one another. Glacia called them all her friends while Astur only said something remotely similar for Glacia. But the other four's opinion towards Astur was definitely not positive.

When asked about Astur, Klaros said, "She may be a Princess, but that doesn't mean she should be as spoiled as she is."

Sömskar said, "The Princess really does need a good smack on the head."

Ryuuko said, "From what I know, Princess Astur has had everything in her life handed to her without working hard in the slightest."

Between the four of them, Zrathno was a little softer on her, "Although I do want to slug her, I don't think she is inherently a bad person, just a little spoiled. And her abilities are quite useful for assisting me with the development of the greatest design I've ever thought of."

These loremaster players tried to get some more information out of the six Kojuuins but they weren't able to get anything else. They speculated that their Intimacy Points with them weren't high enough so they became more determined to trigger and complete more quests from them. Blaze had a slightly easier time getting information from Astur regarding her background due to her status as Astur's disciple, but it was mostly useless information like how much Astur slept in the past couple of days, and even when Astur did tell Blaze something from before her arrival in Eternal Universe Online, it was still useless information like how many games she finished to completion within a single day.

The reason for Astur being under the spotlight of the players more than the others is just a matter of availability. Glacia and Ryuuko's position on their respective planets is high and they aren't people that can be easily met despite knowing where they are. On the other hand, Klaros and Sömskar are considered criminals on their respective planets making them difficult to find, forcing the players to rely on luck to encounter them. Zrathno actually gets nearly as much player interaction as Astur, being a public face that doesn't turn people away. If not for the combat showcase and strong items in her shop, Zrathno would probably be just as if not more popular than Astur among the players. At his current rate, once Zrathno finishes his first pilotable mech there is a good chance of him eclipsing Astur in popularity. But despite the relative peace the Sea of Trees has had over the past few days, Astur is about to shake not just the forest, but the entirety of Vopal.

With the third in-game day of the beta concluding, Astur gathers up the few dozen players that she had put to work. Inside a large wooden hall constructed as a joint effort between the players and the Oulvgar, the players are all standing around having been told to wait here.

"Blaze, you should be the player closest to Astur, do you know why we've been told to gather here?" Woden asks.

"I wasn't told any specific details, but I do remember Astur saying something about an announcement and celebration," Blaze says.

"Well, that explains all the food. Where did they even get this stuff anyways?" says Nero. He is one of the players that arrived recently, Nero being the online ID for Claudius, the brother of Claudia, more commonly known as Blaze.

"I'm pretty sure Elizabeth got it from one of the nearby towns earlier yesterday. You know, it feels weird saying that. Three days have passed in the game, but in real life, the first day of the beta is just coming to a close," Blaze says.

"Yeah, it does feel a bit weird, but that's just something we'll have to get used to. After all, this is our job now," Nero says.

After a couple of minutes, with the exception of the Great Tree, all of the Forest Guardians enter the hall. Sir Bearington the Gigas Ursus, Birdie the Terror Hawk, Woody the Steel Toothed Beaver, and Deery the White Stag. In the centre of their group are Astur and Elizabeth, with the Forest Guardians forming a square around them. Making their way to the back of the hall where an elevated platform stands.

Standing before all the players, Astur says, "I want to thank you all for your efforts over the past few days. I've gathered you all here to celebrate the first step in developing the Holy Oulvgar State, feel free to enjoy the feast that's been prepared for all of you. Additionally, the name of the city has been decided. Henceforth the Capital of the Holy Oulvgar State will be known as Aeternum, the Eternal City," Astur then marks the quest, Rise of the Oulvgar - 2 as complete, causing some excitement among the players as she issues another quest.

[Quest: Rise of the Oulvgar - 3 (Rank B)]

[Description]: Aeternum has officially been established as the Capital of the Holy Oulvgar State, but is still far from a completed state. Continue to assist development when needed. Spread the name of the Holy Oulvgar State, let it be known to the world that we are here. Defend the Forest from invaders. Gather allies and others who would be willing to work in Aeternum.

[Rewards]: +10,000 EXP

[Bonus]: The player with the highest contribution will receive a Grand Evolution Elixir. The players with the second and third highest contribution will receive a full set of Enhanced Basic EXP Potions.

[Failure Penalty]: -60 Intimacy Points with Astur Kojuuin. Removal from the Oulvgar Faction. (Applied upon quest rejection as well).

Continuing, Astur says, "It is time for the Holy Oulvgar State to remain a hidden existence no more and the whole planet will know of our presence. Other powers will inevitably take advantage of our infancy and try to attack us, and I will need your help in defending our land. But others might join us, seek out skilled people willing to move and work here. While Aeternum has become a truly livable place for humanoids such as yourselves, there is still much work to be done. But for now, enjoy the feast!"