The streets of the Village of Vareth were just as lively as ever.
Even after several days had passed since the mountain incident, the village still carried the same warm atmosphere. Wooden stalls lined the roads. NPC merchants shouted for customers while players wandered from place to place carrying materials, weapons, and newly acquired equipment.
Smoke rose from food stands.
Laughter mixed with arguments.
Some players bragged about rare drops.
Others complained about bad luck.
For Akari and Memory, however, this was still exciting.
Everything still felt new.
Everything still felt like an adventure.
Memory walked while happily swinging her arms beside Akari.
Her pink hair bounced lightly with every step while Bubbles sat comfortably on top of her head like a little jelly hat.
"So then I said—"
Memory spread both hands dramatically.
"—there's absolutely no way a tiny slime could eat six breads!"
Bubbles wobbled proudly.
"Pyu!"
Akari stared.
"...It ate six?"
Memory looked away.
"...Seven."
Akari sighed.
"..."
Cynthia laughed beside them.
Leila looked completely speechless.
"How does something that small even fit that much food?"
Memory looked serious.
"It's because love creates space."
"...That isn't how biology works."
"Don't ruin the moment."
Leila sighed.
"I already regret agreeing to this."
They eventually reached one of the larger restaurants near the center of the village.
The building itself was built from dark wood and stone, with warm lanterns hanging near the entrance.
After entering, they sat around a circular table near the windows.
Food arrived not long afterward.
Grilled meat.
Fresh bread.
Soup.
Warm tea.
Memory immediately started eating.
"...Mm!"
Her eyes widened.
"THIS IS AMAZING!"
Leila stared.
"...You just started chewing."
Memory froze.
"..."
"...I could already tell."
Akari looked away pretending not to know her.
Cynthia simply smiled.
After eating and talking for nearly thirty minutes, the conversation slowly shifted back toward Dragon's Peak.
Cynthia crossed her arms.
"So."
She looked toward Akari and Memory.
"If you two are planning to adventure around anyway..."
Her eyes brightened.
"Why don't you join us?"
Memory blinked.
"...Huh?"
"We're heading back toward Dragon's Peak."
Leila groaned immediately.
"Unfortunately."
Cynthia ignored her.
"We need materials."
"We're only going toward the middle areas."
"We aren't climbing all the way to the dangerous zones."
Memory's eyes immediately started sparkling.
"A snowy mountain adventure!?"
Before Akari could even react—
"We'll join!!"
Silence.
Akari slowly turned.
Memory slowly turned.
Their eyes met.
Memory froze.
"...Oops."
Akari stared at her.
"..."
Memory smiled nervously.
"...Hehe?"
Akari put a hand over her face.
"You didn't even ask me."
"But mountain adventure..."
Memory clasped both hands together.
"...Please?"
Akari sighed.
She already knew that expression.
Resistance was meaningless.
"...Fine."
Memory immediately raised both arms.
"YES!"
Cynthia laughed and opened the party invitation.
Both Akari and Memory accepted.
[Party Joined Successfully]
As the notification disappeared, Cynthia looked toward Akari's information window.
Then she blinked.
"...Slayer?"
Leila tilted her head.
"Huh?"
Akari looked up.
"What?"
Leila narrowed her eyes.
"...That's weird."
Akari looked confused.
"Weird?"
Cynthia stared quietly.
Then she spoke slowly.
"...Most slayers have a certain feeling."
Memory tilted her head.
"A feeling?"
Leila nodded.
"Pressure."
"When experienced players meet a slayer, they usually give off some kind of presence."
She looked directly at Akari.
"But yours feels strange."
Akari blinked.
"...Strange?"
Leila frowned.
"It's like..."
She struggled for words.
"...like there's something hiding inside."
Cynthia nodded.
"Yeah."
"It feels like looking at calm water."
Akari looked confused.
"...Water?"
Cynthia continued.
"Looks peaceful."
"But it feels deep."
"Really deep."
Memory looked between them.
Then looked at Akari.
Then dramatically backed away.
"...Akari."
Akari stared.
"What."
Memory pointed.
"ARE YOU SECRETLY A FINAL BOSS!?"
"...No."
Leila laughed.
Even Cynthia laughed a little.
Akari simply looked exhausted.
But unconsciously—
her hand moved toward the white scarf wrapped around Narukami's handle.
The blade remained sealed inside its scabbard.
Quiet.
Sleeping.
But Akari could still feel it.
That power.
That overwhelming lightning.
The memory of that dungeon flashed through her head.
Memory screaming.
Burned skin.
Her own fear.
Her grip tightened slightly.
Cynthia noticed it.
"...You okay?"
Akari looked up.
For a moment—
she forced a small smile.
"...Yeah."
But Cynthia wasn't convinced.
Not completely.
There was something hidden there.
Something Akari herself was trying to suppress.
Leila suddenly stood up.
"Anyway."
"We should go shopping."
"We still need winter supplies."
Memory immediately stood.
"WINTER CLOTHES!"
She practically launched herself toward the exit.
Bubbles bounced after her.
"Pyu!"
Akari stared at her disappearing figure.
"...How does she still have energy?"
Cynthia smiled.
"I was wondering the same thing."
They eventually entered one of the larger equipment shops nearby.
Warm coats and winter gear filled entire shelves.
Memory had already vanished into the clothing section.
"WAAAH!"
"LOOK AT THIS ONE!"
"AKARI LOOK!"
Akari looked.
"..."
Memory was holding a fluffy white coat with rabbit ears.
"...No."
"What about this one!?"
Another coat.
Pink.
With little snowflake patterns.
"...No."
"What about this—"
"No."
Meanwhile—
Akari slowly wandered away.
Toward another section.
A familiar one.
Sword Skills
Rows of books lined the shelves.
Different weapon categories.
Spears.
Greatswords.
Axes.
Daggers.
Then—
Katana Skills.
Akari quietly stared.
Her eyes moved across titles.
Vacuum Edge
Moon Draw
Swift Flash
She slowly reached toward one.
Cynthia noticed and walked over.
"You use katanas?"
Akari nodded.
"...A little."
Leila raised an eyebrow.
"A little?"
Akari looked away.
"..."
"...Maybe."
The two exchanged glances.
Something about her answer felt very suspicious.
Far away—
Memory's voice suddenly echoed throughout the shop.
"AKARIIIIII!!"
Everyone looked.
Memory had somehow gotten stuck between two shelves again.
Clothes covered her completely.
Only her arms were visible.
"...Help."
Akari closed her eyes and sighed.
"...Again?"
She helps Memory and they all walk towards the skill shelf once again with Memory following alongside them
Akari stared silently at the skill book in her hands.
The cover was small and simple compared to the other books on the shelf.
No glowing effects.
No cool artwork.
No dramatic title written with flames or lightning.
Just plain text.
Butterfly Dance
Around her, shelves filled with far more impressive skills stretched endlessly.
Sword techniques with names that sounded powerful.
Vacuum Slash.
Moon Edge Draw.
Phantom Step.
Execution Strike.
Skills that immediately made people think:
"Yeah, that sounds strong."
Meanwhile—
Butterfly Dance sounded like something made for decorations.
Leila looked at the book.
Then looked at Akari.
Then looked back at the book.
"...You're serious?"
Akari nodded.
Leila immediately pointed at it.
"That thing?"
Akari blinked.
"...Yes."
Leila looked like she had just witnessed a crime.
"No."
"No no no no."
She grabbed Akari by both shoulders dramatically.
"Listen."
"This skill is trash."
Akari blinked.
Leila continued.
"I'm serious."
"It literally creates tiny energy butterflies that slowly float toward the target."
"They barely hurt anything."
"Some players tested it."
"The damage was pathetic."
She crossed her arms.
"Most people only buy it as a joke."
"Or to troll friends."
Akari looked down at the skill again.
"...Really?"
Leila nodded repeatedly.
"It costs one copper coin."
"ONE."
She held up a finger dramatically.
"One copper coin basically means even the system thinks it's garbage."
Cynthia quietly watched beside them.
She wasn't saying anything.
She simply observed Akari.
Akari looked at the skill book again.
Her fingers slowly brushed against the cover.
One copper coin.
Almost free.
A weak skill.
Minimal damage.
Not useful.
Not recommended.
Not practical.
By every logical standard—
Leila was right.
But...
Akari's eyes narrowed slightly.
Ever since entering Evermount...
People had kept saying similar things.
"Don't go there."
"That isn't worth it."
"Use stronger skills."
"Take the better option."
Slowly—
Akari reached toward the shelf.
Then picked up Butterfly Dance.
Leila stared.
"...Eh?"
Akari walked toward the counter.
"...Eh?"
Leila's eyes widened.
"...EH?!"
Memory suddenly appeared beside them carrying what looked like six winter coats in both arms.
"What happened?!"
Leila pointed dramatically.
"SHE'S BUYING IT!"
Memory looked shocked.
"...THE TRASH SKILL?!"
Akari stopped walking.
Very slowly—
she turned around.
"...Can you stop calling it that?"
Memory immediately covered her mouth.
"...Sorry."
Akari looked at Butterfly Dance again.
Then quietly spoke.
"I'm still a beginner."
"I don't really know much."
Leila sighed in relief.
"Exactly."
"So let's buy something else."
Akari shook her head.
"But..."
She looked at them.
"A skill shouldn't only be valuable because of damage."
Silence.
Leila blinked.
Akari lowered her eyes toward the book.
"What matters is how it's used."
"If something has utility..."
"If it can create opportunities..."
"...then isn't that enough?"
The shop suddenly became oddly quiet.
Cynthia stared.
Leila stared.
Memory stared.
Even Bubbles tilted slightly.
"...Pyu?"
Cynthia slowly smiled.
Because—
for some reason—
that sentence felt strangely familiar.
Very familiar.
A memory surfaced.
Snow.
Cold winds.
Dragon's Peak.
A white-haired girl standing near another shelf.
"This… barely qualifies as combat-effective."
"I know"
"…Then why buy it?"
"It fits my skill set."
At that time—
Cynthia had looked at Rio exactly the same way Leila was looking at Akari now.
Confused.
Suspicious.
Completely unconvinced.
Yet somehow—
unable to argue back.
"A skill becomes strong because of how you use it."
Cynthia's smile slowly widened.
"...I see."
Leila looked toward her.
"...You see what?"
Cynthia looked toward Akari.
For a few moments—
she didn't answer.
Instead she watched Akari pay for the skill book.
[Butterfly Dance Acquired]
Akari quietly placed the book into her inventory.
Leila still looked traumatized.
"...You actually bought it..."
Akari tilted her head.
"...Is it really that shocking?"
Leila grabbed both sides of her head.
"I feel like I just watched someone willingly buy a wooden sword in front of legendary weapons."
Memory nodded seriously.
"...I understand."
Akari looked at her.
Memory pointed at Akari dramatically.
"But I support your bad decisions!"
"...Thank you?"
"...Wait."
Akari narrowed her eyes.
"Why bad decisions?"
Memory immediately looked away.
"...No reason."
Cynthia stared at Akari quietly.
Then whispered under her breath—
so quietly that no one else heard.
"...Guess this is what it felt like."
Her eyes softened.
"...Rio."
She remembered their first meeting.
The same strange feeling.
The same calm confidence.
The same refusal to follow what everyone else believed.
She slowly looked at Akari.
White hair.
Calm purple eyes.
Quiet personality.
Different person.
Different path.
Yet—
something felt strangely similar.
Almost like fate had decided to repeat itself.
Cynthia smiled softly.
"...Something tells me..."
"...there's a lot more to you than I realized."
Akari blinked.
"Hm?"
Cynthia immediately waved both hands.
"Nothing."
"Let's go."
"We still need winter supplies."
Memory immediately raised her arms.
"WINTER CLOTHES ROUND TWO!"
Akari's face immediately changed.
"...Round two?"
Memory suddenly froze.
"..."
Very slowly—
Akari looked down.
Memory was hiding something behind her back.
Akari narrowed her eyes.
"...Memory."
Memory laughed nervously.
"...Hehe."
"...Memory."
"...Hehehe..."
"...How many did you buy?"
Silence.
Then—
Memory slowly raised both hands.
Ten fingers.
Akari stared.
"..."
"...You bought ten more?!"
"RUN BUBBLES!"
"Pyuuuuu!"
And the chase inside the shop began once again.
While Cynthia simply watched the scene unfold—
smiling.
Because for some reason—
this felt like the beginning of something important.
Something that would eventually connect back...
to a certain silver-haired monster walking somewhere far away on Floor Three.