The Town of Beginnings had fully awakened by the time Rio and Ryota entered the central district.
Morning sunlight spilled across the stone roads, bathing the town in warm gold while merchants opened their stalls one after another.
Players filled the streets.
Some hurried toward hunting grounds.
Others argued over item prices.
A few sat near fountains completely exhausted after overnight grinding sessions.
And above all of it—
The massive floating tower of Evermount pierced the sky like a divine monument watching over the world.
Three weeks.
Only three weeks since the game began.
And already—
Everything felt different.
Rio quietly walked beside Ryota through the crowded streets, her hood lowered slightly while players passed by without recognizing her.
For once—
No boss battles.
No world-ending monsters.
No betrayals.
Just morning.
"…Smells good."
Ryota suddenly muttered.
Rio glanced toward him.
He was staring directly at a nearby restaurant.
The sign hanging above the entrance read:
Wyvern's Hearth
The smell drifting from inside was enough to make even Rio pause slightly.
"…Okay."
She admitted quietly.
"…I'm hungry."
Ryota immediately grinned.
"Victory."
The restaurant interior was warm and lively.
Wooden tables lined the room while NPC workers carried plates of food between customers at incredible speed.
The scent of grilled meat and spices filled the air.
It felt…
Normal.
Strangely normal.
Rio and Ryota sat near the window while an NPC waitress approached them cheerfully.
"Welcome to Wyvern's Hearth!"
She handed them menus.
"Today's special is fried wyvern strips with smoked wyvern egg toast!"
Ryota blinked.
"…That's literally fantasy bacon and eggs."
Rio nodded calmly.
"Pretty much."
After a few moments—
Rio closed her menu first.
"I'll take fried wyvern eggs with fried wyvern meat."
The waitress smiled.
"Excellent choice!"
Ryota looked down at his own menu.
"…Then I'll get fried wyvern wings and legs."
"Coming right up!"
The waitress walked away.
Ryota leaned back slightly.
"…We really just spent three weeks fighting monsters just to end up ordering fantasy chicken."
Rio rested her chin against her hand.
"…Worth it."
"…Fair."
A few moments later—
The total appeared on the table interface.
Total:
5 Copper Coins
Ryota stared at it.
"…Honestly not bad."
Rio nodded while transferring the payment.
The system confirmed the purchase immediately.
And finally—
For the first time in what felt like forever—
The two relaxed.
Not completely.
Not fully.
But enough.
Their food arrived shortly after.
Rio's plate held perfectly fried wyvern eggs beside strips of sizzling wyvern meat that smelled heavily spiced and slightly smoky.
Meanwhile Ryota's order looked almost unfairly good.
Massive fried wyvern wings and legs stacked neatly beside roasted potatoes.
"…Okay."
Ryota muttered.
"…This game is dangerous."
Rio picked up her fork.
"You say that after fighting Allure?"
"I mean dangerous for my wallet."
Rio snorted quietly.
A small laugh escaped her before she started eating.
And for several minutes—
The only sound between them was the quiet clinking of utensils and satisfied silence.
Then—
Ryota suddenly looked up.
"…It's been three weeks."
Rio paused slightly.
"…Yeah."
"Feels longer."
"…A lot longer."
Ryota stared out the restaurant window toward the bustling streets.
"…A lot happened in just three weeks."
Hidden dungeons.
World Legacies.
Guild wars.
Bosses.
Betrayal.
Death.
And people powerful enough to change the entire future of the game.
Rio slowly nodded.
"There were a lot of ups and downs…"
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"…But I don't regret it one bit."
Ryota looked back toward her.
And froze slightly.
Because she was smiling.
Not her usual confident smirk.
Not her teasing expression.
Not the cold battle-focused face she wore during combat.
A genuine smile.
Small.
Warm.
Real.
"…I'm glad you were here with me."
Ryota's chest tightened slightly.
Because he knew that smile.
Or rather—
He knew the difference.
Back in their old life—
Before Evermount became everything—
Ryota had seen Rio everywhere.
Massive digital billboards across the city.
Advertisements.
Tournament posters.
Streams.
Articles.
Titles like:
Evermount's Silver War Goddess
The strongest female player.
The undefeated prodigy.
The future of competitive Evermount.
And every single image—
Showed Rio smiling.
Perfectly.
Beautifully.
Professionally.
But Ryota always noticed something others didn't.
Those smiles never reached her eyes.
They felt practiced.
Expected.
Manufactured.
But this—
Right now—
Sitting inside a small restaurant while eating fantasy breakfast after surviving hell—
This smile was real.
Ryota smiled softly.
"…Yeah."
A quiet pause followed.
Comfortable.
Natural.
Then Ryota blinked.
"…So what's the plan now?"
Rio's expression immediately changed.
Ryota narrowed his eyes.
"…That reaction worries me."
Rio slowly opened her system interface.
Multiple market windows floated beside her.
Selling logs.
Monster materials.
Dungeon scraps.
Unused loot.
Drops collected over countless hours of grinding.
Ryota looked closer.
"…Wait."
"You were selling all our materials?"
"Mm."
Rio continued scrolling.
"Thirty-two hours worth of grinding materials."
Then—
A system notification appeared.
Market Sales Completed:
68 Copper Coins Earned
Rio stared at the number.
Silence.
Then—
She slowly slammed her face onto the table.
"…This game's economy is corrupted."
Ryota nearly laughed.
"…Only sixty-eight?"
Rio lifted her head slightly.
Her expression looked genuinely offended.
"All that work."
A pause.
"Killing monsters for hours."
Another pause.
"Even the useless drops from Allure only added twelve copper."
She narrowed her eyes at the floating market screen like it personally betrayed her.
"This world is a scam."
Ryota finally laughed.
"You sound like someone who lost money in stocks."
Rio pointed at the market screen dramatically.
"Do you know how many wolves I had to kill for this?"
"…Probably too many."
"Exactly."
Ryota leaned slightly closer.
"…Okay."
"…So you're definitely planning something."
Rio slowly nodded.
Then—
She opened another window.
A list.
Equipment.
Materials.
Crafting requests.
Location permits.
Guild licenses.
Ryota's eyes slowly widened as he read the total.
Estimated Total Required:
452 Copper Coins
"…WHAT?!"
Several nearby players turned toward him.
Ryota immediately lowered his voice.
"…Four hundred and fifty-two?!"
Rio nodded calmly while sipping water.
"Estimated."
"ESTIMATED?!"
Rio sighed dramatically.
"We need resources."
Ryota stared blankly.
"For what exactly?!"
Rio looked at him.
Then smiled.
Not mischievously.
Not jokingly.
Seriously.
"…Preparation."
Ryota immediately knew that expression.
And that terrified him more than any boss.
Because whenever Rio started preparing—
Something insane always followed.
The waitress suddenly returned carrying extra plates.
"Here you go!"
The food was placed neatly on the table.
Ryota stared silently at the meal.
Still mentally processing the number.
452 copper.
Meanwhile Rio calmly picked up another piece of fried wyvern meat like nothing happened.
"…Eat first."
She said casually.
"…Then I'll explain why we're about to become broke."
The restaurant was quiet compared to the chaos they had left behind only hours ago.
Warm sunlight poured through the wooden windows, bathing the small dining hall in soft gold. Outside, the Town of Beginnings was slowly waking up. Players walked through the streets carrying weapons and beginner gear, merchants shouted prices from stalls, and the distant ringing of a blacksmith's hammer echoed across the plaza.
Inside the restaurant, however—
Rio looked completely exhausted.
She sat slumped against the chair with her cheek resting on one hand while lazily poking at the last piece of fried wyvern meat on her plate.
Ryota stared at her.
"…You look dead."
"I fought a nightmare blood monster with eight arms," Rio muttered. "I think I'm allowed to look dead."
Ryota laughed quietly.
For a moment, things felt strangely normal.
No bosses.
No betrayals.
No near-death battles.
Just breakfast.
Rio finally sat up slightly and opened her menu screen again. The transparent blue interface reflected in her eyes.
Ryota leaned forward.
"So…"
He hesitated.
"What exactly do you need four hundred fifty-two copper coins for?"
Rio immediately looked away.
"That's classified."
"You literally just told me the amount."
"That doesn't mean I'm revealing the plan."
Ryota narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"You're plotting something."
"I'm always plotting something."
"That's somehow worse."
Rio smirked faintly before closing her menu.
Then—
Her expression changed.
Not playful.
Not teasing.
Serious.
Ryota noticed immediately.
"…Rio?"
She rested both elbows on the table and intertwined her fingers together.
"Floor Two is coming soon."
Ryota blinked.
"…Right."
Even after three weeks inside Evermount, hearing those words still felt surreal.
A new floor.
A new world.
New monsters.
New cities.
New players fighting for territory.
He leaned back slightly.
"What's Floor Two actually like?"
Rio's eyes brightened slightly.
"A desert world."
"A desert?"
"Mhm."
She nodded.
"Massive sand oceans. Ancient ruins buried underneath dunes. Sunken cities. Mirage fields. Sandstorms strong enough to wipe entire parties."
Ryota stared.
"…That sounds horrible."
"It is."
Rio grinned.
"And it's amazing."
She leaned back in her chair.
"But that's not the important part."
Ryota tilted his head.
"What is?"
Rio pointed a finger at him.
"What players don't know yet…"
Her voice lowered slightly.
"…is that Floor Three will release alongside Floor Two."
Ryota froze.
"…Wait."
His brows furrowed.
"They're releasing two floors at once?"
"Yep."
"Why would they do that?"
Rio smiled.
"Because Floor One isn't actually a standalone area."
Ryota looked even more confused now.
"…What?"
Rio laughed softly after seeing his expression.
"Okay, let me explain this properly."
She grabbed one of the unused forks from the table and placed it upright.
"Think of Evermount like a universe."
Then she pointed at the table beneath it.
"Each floor is basically a continent."
She tapped the wood lightly several times.
"But every ten floors…"
Tap.
"…forms one complete world."
Ryota blinked.
Rio continued.
"Floor One to Floor Ten?"
She raised one finger.
"That's World One."
"Floor Eleven to Twenty?"
A second finger.
"World Two."
"Twenty-One to Thirty?"
A third finger.
"World Three."
Ryota slowly began processing it.
Rio continued calmly.
"At first, players thought every floor was just random progression."
"But later…"
Her eyes sharpened slightly.
"…people realized there was a pattern."
"The gear naming systems."
"The enhancement structures."
"The dungeon scaling."
"The boss classifications."
"Everything repeated in cycles."
Ryota listened carefully.
Rio continued.
"The developers intentionally structured the game in world phases."
"At launch…"
She raised one finger again.
"…they only released Floor One."
"To give players time to adapt."
"To level."
"To understand the game."
"Then comes the first expansion phase."
She raised two fingers.
"Floor Two and Floor Three release together."
Ryota frowned slightly.
"…Why two at once?"
"Because by then," Rio replied, "the stronger players start running out of things to do."
"So Floor Two becomes the exploration biome…"
"And Floor Three becomes the competitive progression zone."
Ryota slowly nodded.
That actually made sense.
Rio continued.
"Then Floors Four, Five, and Six come afterward."
"We used to call those…"
A faint nostalgic smile appeared on her face.
"…the Grind Chambers."
"Those floors are designed around optimized leveling routes."
"Monster density."
"Efficient EXP."
"Resource gathering."
"Dungeon loops."
"They're basically the backbone of every major guild economy."
Ryota stared.
"…You really lived inside this game."
Rio shrugged.
"Pretty much."
Then her expression softened slightly.
"After that comes Floors Seven and Eight."
Ryota waited.
Rio's voice became quieter.
"The Kingdom Floors."
Her eyes reflected something distant.
"They're different."
"No monster zones."
"No wild areas."
"No danger inside city regions."
"Just massive player civilizations."
Ryota blinked.
"…Wait."
"Entire floors are safe zones?"
"Mostly."
Rio nodded.
"They become political territories."
"Guild capitals."
"Trade empires."
"Alliance headquarters."
"Wars."
"Economies."
"Control."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's where the real game begins."
Ryota slowly exhaled.
Evermount really was bigger than he imagined.
Way bigger.
Rio then continued.
"And then…"
Her tone lowered again.
"Floors Nine and Ten."
Ryota immediately sensed the difference.
Rio looked directly at him.
"The Boss Floors."
A chill quietly settled in the air.
"From the moment you enter those floors…"
"There are no safe routes."
"No peaceful zones."
"Only monsters."
"Raids."
"Sieges."
"Massive dungeon territories."
"And Floor Ten…"
She paused briefly.
"…contains the World Boss."
Ryota swallowed unconsciously.
Rio smiled faintly.
"The boss that requires entire guild alliances to defeat."
"The pattern repeats after that."
"Floor Eleven mirrors Floor One."
"Twenty-One mirrors One again."
"Thirty-One too."
"Same structure."
"Different themes."
"Different scaling."
"Different worlds."
Ryota leaned back slowly.
"…That's insane."
Rio grinned proudly.
"Evermount is insane."
Then—
Her smile slowly faded.
"But it never gets boring."
The restaurant became quiet for a moment.
Ryota looked at her.
"…So."
"You said Floor Three is important."
Rio immediately nodded.
"It is."
Her eyes sharpened.
"In my previous life…"
"…players discovered something there."
"A hidden area."
"A special zone."
"One capable of changing an entire guild's future."
Ryota froze slightly.
Rio leaned forward.
"And this time…"
A confident smile appeared on her face.
"…I'm taking it before anyone else."
Ryota stared at her.
Then realization slowly hit him.
"…That's why you need money."
Rio pointed at him dramatically.
"Correct."
Ryota sighed.
"You're terrifying."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
Rio ignored him completely.
Her eyes turned serious again.
"Ryota."
He blinked.
"There's something we need before Floor Two opens."
Ryota tilted his head.
"What?"
Rio looked directly at him.
"A guild."
Silence.
The noise of the restaurant faded into the background.
Ryota stared at her.
"…A guild?"
Rio nodded slowly.
"If we're going after Floor Three's hidden zone…"
"We can't stay independent forever."
"We need influence."
"Storage."
"Guild permissions."
"Shared progression."
"Territory rights."
"And eventually…"
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…people."
Ryota stayed quiet.
Rio continued.
"I don't want another future where powerful guilds monopolize everything."
"I don't want another future where players become tools."
"I don't want another future where people like Magumo rise because nobody stands against them."
Her voice became firmer.
"So this time…"
She placed a hand against her chest.
"…I'm building something different."
Ryota stared at her quietly.
Then smiled.
"You already have a name, don't you?"
Rio froze.
"…Maybe."
"You definitely do."
She looked away.
Ryota laughed.
"Rio."
"…Fine."
She sighed dramatically before finally speaking.
"The guild name is—"
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"Crowned Era."
The moment those words left her mouth—
Something about them felt heavy.
Important.
Like the beginning of something much bigger than either of them.
Ryota repeated it quietly.
"…Crowned Era."
Rio nodded.
"A guild that reaches the top."
"But doesn't abandon people on the way there."
Ryota smiled softly.
"…Sounds like you."
Rio immediately pointed at him accusingly.
"That was dangerously emotional."
"You made it emotional."
"You're emotional."
"You almost cried fighting Allure."
"That was tactical crying."
Rio burst into laughter.
A real one.
Bright.
Genuine.
And for the first time since entering Evermount—
The future no longer felt like survival.
It felt like possibility.