Volume 3 Chapter 157: The Guild’s Newest Members

The final bell of the school day rang through the building.

For the first few seconds, the classroom remained strangely quiet, as though everyone needed a moment to process the fact that the school day was actually over.

Then the room erupted.

Chairs scraped against the floor as students stood. Bags were zipped shut, notebooks disappeared into backpacks, and conversations broke out from nearly every corner of the classroom. Some students immediately began discussing which clubs they wanted to visit during the afternoon orientation, while others were already making plans to meet friends in town.

After an entire day of classes, everyone seemed to have suddenly regained their energy.

Rio calmly closed her notebook and slipped it into her schoolbag.

Beside her, Ryota stretched both arms above his head before letting out a long sigh.

"Finally."

Rio glanced at him.

"You say that every time the bell rings."

"Because every bell is a victory."

Sayanaki laughed from the desk behind them.

"You've survived one day."

Ryota looked genuinely proud of himself.

"Exactly."

Rio shook her head.

"You're impossible."

Sayanaki stood and adjusted the strap of her schoolbag over her shoulder.

"So, are you two going home?"

Rio nodded.

"Yeah."

She glanced toward the clock.

"We should log in as soon as possible."

Ryota immediately understood what she meant.

"The update."

Rio nodded.

Evermount's scheduled update had been running throughout the school day. That meant none of them had been able to log in since morning.

For Rio, the wait had already been long enough.

She had spent much of the afternoon thinking about the changes that had been announced.

A new system update.

New mechanics.

The eight-skill limit.

Skill Synchronization.

Skill Union.

And, hidden beneath all of it, the possibility of changes that the developers hadn't properly explained.

There were always unforeseen consequences whenever Evermount changed its systems.

"I want to see what changed before everyone starts experimenting with it," Rio said.

Ryota slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Knowing Evermount, something probably broke."

Sayanaki smiled.

"Or something became ridiculously overpowered."

Rio sighed.

"That's what I'm worried about."

The three of them left the classroom together.

The corridors were still crowded, filled with students making their way toward the school entrance, club rooms, and gymnasium. Rio walked beside Ryota while Sayanaki followed alongside them, occasionally glancing toward the other students.

For once, however, Rio wasn't thinking about raids.

She wasn't thinking about guild politics.

She wasn't thinking about Floor Three.

She simply walked home with her friends.

It was an ordinary afternoon.

And somehow, Rio was beginning to appreciate ordinary afternoons more than she ever had in her previous life.

There had been a time when she would have considered an afternoon like this wasted time.

Every minute she wasn't playing Evermount had once felt like time she could have spent grinding.

Now, simply walking beneath the afternoon sky while listening to Ryota and Sayanaki talk about school felt strangely precious.

It was a small thing.

But it was a memory she intended to keep.

By the time Rio and Ryota returned home, the sun had already begun descending toward the horizon.

They changed out of their school uniforms, ate a quick meal, and prepared to log in.

Rio finished first.

She headed toward her room, carrying her Evermount headset in both hands.

Ryota was already waiting outside.

"You ready?"

Rio nodded.

"Yeah."

Sayanaki had already logged out earlier and had messaged them that she would join them once they entered Evermount.

Rio sat down and placed the headset over her head.

The familiar system interface appeared in front of her.

[Evermount]

[Welcome Back, Player.]

Rio stared at the words for a moment.

Then another notification appeared.

[System Update Complete.]

Her expression immediately became serious.

"So it finally finished."

Ryota activated his own headset.

"Let's see what they broke."

Rio sighed.

"Don't say that."

"Why?"

"Because you'll probably be right."

Ryota laughed.

The world around them disappeared.

For an instant, Rio felt the familiar sensation of being reconstructed from countless particles of light. Her body dissolved into glowing fragments before the virtual world formed around her again.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing inside Crowned Era's guild headquarters.

The enormous stone hall looked almost exactly as it had before the maintenance began.

Crystal lights illuminated the walls. Crowned Era's banners hung from the upper balconies, and the reception area remained busy with the quiet movements of the guild's NPC staff.

Silla was already sitting behind the guild reception desk, organizing a stack of documents.

The moment she noticed Rio and Ryota, she looked up.

"Welcome back, Lady Rio."

Rio nodded.

"How was everything while we were gone?"

"Quiet."

Silla smiled.

"There were no incidents."

"Good."

Rio glanced around the hall.

"Sayanaki?"

"Already logged in."

Silla pointed toward the meeting room.

"She said she was waiting for you."

Rio nodded.

"Thanks."

Ryota walked beside her.

"So..."

He looked toward Rio.

"Akari and Memory?"

Rio's expression softened.

"They should be here soon."

The plan had already been decided before school.

Akari and Memory had finally reached Floor Two.

They were no longer beginners trapped on the first floor.

They had crossed into the next stage of Evermount through their own efforts, without Rio handing them every answer.

Now they were ready to take the next step.

They were going to join Crowned Era.

A few minutes later, Rio received a notification.

[Friend Request Accepted.]

Then another.

[Party Member Detected: Akari.]

Rio's eyes immediately brightened.

"They're here."

Ryota smiled.

"Finally."

Rio opened the map.

Their location appeared inside one of Floor Two's major transportation areas.

She immediately started toward the nearest teleportation point.

Ryota followed.

The Floor Two teleportation plaza was crowded.

The enormous stone structure was filled with players arriving from different areas, while glowing teleportation crystals continuously transported adventurers between cities and regions.

Rio scanned the crowd.

Then she saw them.

Two familiar figures stood near the edge of the plaza.

Akari's silver-white hair reflected beneath the crystal lights as she looked around the plaza, her violet eyes moving curiously from one player to another.

Beside her stood Memory.

Her pink hair stood out among the crowd, and Bubbles was bouncing happily beside her.

The tiny blue slime noticed Rio before Memory did.

"Pyu!"

Memory immediately looked up.

Her face brightened.

"Rio!"

Akari turned at the sound of her friend's voice.

The moment she saw her sister, her expression changed.

"Rio!"

Rio didn't hesitate.

She immediately walked toward her sister and wrapped both arms around her.

"Akari!"

Akari froze.

Her entire face immediately turned bright red.

"R-Rio!"

She tried to pull herself free.

"Wait!"

Rio only hugged her tighter.

"I haven't seen you in so long!"

"We've been gone for like—"

Akari struggled against the embrace.

"—a few hours!"

"That's still too long."

"Rio!"

Akari finally managed to pull herself halfway free.

She looked around in embarrassment.

"Everyone is staring."

Rio glanced around.

Several players were, in fact, watching them.

Rio didn't care.

She smiled.

"Let them."

Akari covered her face.

"I can't believe you're doing this."

A few steps away, Memory simply stood there holding Bubbles in her arms.

She watched the sisters silently.

Ryota stood beside her.

He was also watching.

Neither of them said anything.

Eventually, Memory leaned slightly toward Ryota.

"...Should we say something?"

Ryota looked at the two sisters.

Then at Bubbles.

Then back at Rio and Akari.

"...No."

Memory nodded.

"Probably safer."

Bubbles bounced in Memory's arms.

"Pyu."

Ryota looked down at the slime.

"...You agree?"

Bubbles bounced again.

Memory smiled.

"See?"

"Even Bubbles understands."

Akari finally escaped Rio's embrace.

She adjusted her clothes and tried to restore some dignity.

"You haven't changed."

Rio smiled.

"Neither have you."

Memory walked closer.

"Can we get started?"

Rio turned toward her.

"Of course."

She opened the guild menu.

Two invitations appeared.

Glowing system windows materialized in front of Akari and Memory.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Guild Invitation]

Crowned Era

Guild Leader: Rio

Would you like to join Crowned Era?

[ACCEPT]

[DECLINE]

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Akari stared at the window.

Memory stared at hers.

For a moment, neither clicked anything.

Akari looked toward Rio.

"This means we're actually joining?"

Rio nodded.

"Yes."

Memory looked between the invitation and Rio.

"And we're still allowed to explore on our own?"

"Of course."

"No hidden quests?"

"No."

"No secret equipment?"

"No."

"No ridiculous shortcuts?"

Rio smiled.

"No."

Memory looked satisfied.

Akari nodded.

"Then I'm in."

She raised her hand and touched the glowing [ACCEPT] button.

Memory immediately did the same.

The two windows disappeared.

A moment later, the system responded.

[Congratulations!]

[Akari has joined Crowned Era.]

[Memory has joined Crowned Era.]

[Crowned Era Player Count Increased.]

Rio smiled.

Ryota raised one hand.

"Welcome."

Memory immediately grinned.

"So we're officially guild members now."

Rio nodded.

"Yep."

Akari looked through the guild interface.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"There's a Guild Home button."

Rio nodded.

"Click it."

Akari hesitated.

"What does it do?"

"It links you directly to the guild headquarters."

Memory immediately clicked hers.

Akari followed.

Two pillars of light appeared around them.

A moment later, both girls disappeared from the plaza.

Rio and Ryota followed a second later.

The guild headquarters appeared around them.

The enormous crystal chamber inside Crowned Era's hidden Floor Three headquarters illuminated around the two girls.

Akari's eyes widened.

Memory's mouth opened slightly.

For several seconds, neither girl said anything.

The headquarters was enormous.

Massive stone walls stretched toward the high ceiling, with large banners bearing Crowned Era's insignia hanging between the pillars. Training areas occupied one side of the hall, while storage rooms and administrative offices extended deeper into the headquarters.

Teleportation chambers had been constructed along another section.

Beyond the central hall, enormous windows provided a breathtaking view of the distant landscape of Floor Three.

Akari slowly turned in place.

"...This is your guild headquarters?"

Rio nodded.

"Yep."

Memory stared at the enormous chamber.

"You built this on Floor Three?"

"Yeah."

Memory looked toward Akari.

Akari looked toward Memory.

Then both turned toward Rio.

"...You're insane," Memory said.

Rio smiled.

"I've heard that before."

A familiar voice came from behind them.

"She is."

Sayanaki stepped into the hall.

Kiraya followed behind her, wearing her usual equipment, while Hinabi walked alongside them.

Sayanaki smiled.

"Welcome to Crowned Era."

Akari immediately straightened.

Rio gestured toward Sayanaki.

"Akari, Memory. You already know Sayanaki."

Sayanaki waved.

"Hey."

Akari smiled politely.

"Hello."

Rio then gestured toward the other two.

"This is Kiraya."

"And this is Hinabi."

Kiraya smiled.

The moment she looked at Akari, her expression changed slightly.

"I knew you reminded me of Rio."

Akari blinked.

Kiraya laughed.

"Never thought you guys were actually sisters."

Akari bowed politely.

"Nice to see you again."

Hinabi stepped forward with a smile.

"We met briefly on Floor One too."

Memory looked between them.

"You've met Akari before?"

Kiraya nodded.

"We saw her practicing"

Akari immediately looked embarrassed.

Memory covered her mouth.

"Oh."

Kiraya laughed.

"Don't worry."

"We won't mention the birds."

Akari's face turned red.

"Please don't."

Ryota immediately laughed.

Sayanaki looked confused.

"...Birds?"

Memory smiled.

"It's a long story."

Sayanaki stared at Akari.

Then at Narukami.

Then back at Akari.

"...I feel like I need to hear this."

Rio sighed.

"Later."

Akari quietly wished the floor would open and swallow her.

A few minutes later, Rio gathered everyone inside the guild meeting room.

The large table at the center of the chamber quickly filled with familiar faces.

Rio sat at the head of the table.

Ryota sat beside her.

Sayanaki leaned casually against the back of her chair.

Kiraya and Hinabi sat across from them.

Akari and Memory sat together.

Silla remained near the side of the room with a notebook, prepared to record anything important.

Rio looked around the table.

"Alright."

"Before we start talking about individual skills, we need to discuss the update."

Everyone became attentive.

Rio opened the system announcement window and projected the information above the table.

"The update changed several important parts of Evermount."

She moved to the next section.

"Most importantly, the skill system."

Kiraya frowned.

"How bad is it?"

Rio sighed.

"That depends on the player."

She continued.

"Skill slots are now limited."

"Every player can only maintain eight active skill slots."

The room became quiet.

Memory's expression slowly changed.

"Eight?"

Rio nodded.

"Eight."

"That includes the skills you actively use and the skills that define your combat style."

Hinabi frowned.

"So players have to choose carefully."

"Exactly."

Rio continued.

"Unused skills still exist. You don't lose them."

"But you can't simply equip dozens of combat abilities anymore."

She tapped the projected interface.

"Every slot matters."

Ryota leaned back in his chair.

"That's going to cause chaos."

"Especially for players who built their characters around having huge skill libraries."

Rio nodded.

"Exactly."

She continued explaining the changes.

Skill acquisition had become more important.

Skill selection mattered more.

Build specialization had become significantly stronger.

Players could no longer simply collect every useful skill they found and equip whatever they wanted for every situation.

They would have to decide which abilities actually belonged in their combat style.

Memory's shoulders slowly dropped.

Then she raised her hand.

Rio looked at her.

"Yes?"

Memory looked genuinely miserable.

"I think I've suffered the most."

Everyone stared.

Memory placed both hands on the table.

"I'm a Sage Tamer!"

Her voice became increasingly dramatic.

"My entire class is built around having different abilities!"

She looked toward Bubbles.

"How am I supposed to survive with only eight?!"

Bubbles bounced nervously.

"Pyu..."

Memory looked toward Rio again.

"I've been personally attacked by this update."

Akari patted her shoulder.

"Calm down."

"I can't!"

Memory looked genuinely distressed.

"This update hates me."

Rio couldn't help smiling.

"You're exaggerating."

"I'm not!"

"You'll adapt."

"That's easy for you to say."

Rio leaned back in her chair.

Then smiled.

"Which is why..."

She looked around the room.

"If any of you want help reorganizing your skills, I'll help."

The room became quiet.

Rio continued before anyone could misunderstand.

"But only if you want it."

"You don't have to."

"If you already like your build, keep it."

"If you want to experiment yourself, that's fine too."

Her gaze settled on Akari and Memory.

"Especially you two."

"You've only just started building your characters."

"I don't want to decide everything for you."

Akari nodded.

Memory nodded too.

They had made their wishes clear before joining Crowned Era.

They wanted to experience Evermount themselves.

Rio intended to respect that.

She wasn't going to turn them into copies of the builds she remembered from the future.

She could give advice.

She could warn them about obvious mistakes.

She could explain mechanics they didn't understand.

But their characters belonged to them.

That mattered.

Rio looked around the table.

"Who wants to go first?"

Kiraya immediately raised her hand.

"I do."

Rio smiled.

"I figured."

Kiraya stood and sent her skill information to Rio.

A system window appeared.

Rio studied it carefully.

She went through Kiraya's active skills first.

Then her passive skills.

Finally, she checked the abilities Kiraya had purchased but rarely used.

She considered the combinations for several seconds.

"Your core skills are obvious."

Kiraya nodded.

"Lionheart Enhancement."

"Lionheart Requiem."

Rio pointed toward the first two abilities.

"Those stay."

Kiraya smiled.

"I wasn't planning to remove them."

"They're part of your identity as a Crusader."

Rio continued.

"Freeze Point stays too."

Kiraya nodded.

"That gives you three slots."

She paused.

"That leaves five."

Rio opened her inventory.

Then selected a skill book.

A system window appeared above the table.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Skill Book

Stockpile

Class: Crusader

Type: Passive

Effect:

For every 1% HP lost, increase Defense by 0.1%.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Kiraya's eyes widened slightly.

"...That's interesting."

Rio nodded.

"It's not an overwhelming skill."

"But your fighting style makes it useful."

She looked directly at Kiraya.

"The more damaged you become, the harder you are to kill."

Kiraya immediately smiled.

"And that's exactly how Lionheart Requiem works too."

"Exactly."

Rio handed her the skill book.

"Learn it."

Kiraya accepted it immediately.

A system notification appeared.

[Stockpile Learned.]

Kiraya smiled.

"Thank you, Rio."

Rio nodded.

"Don't thank me yet."

She produced another skill book.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Skill Book

Block

Class: Crusader

Type: Active

Effect:

For one incoming attack, increase Defense by 50%.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Kiraya's eyes lit up.

"Block?"

Rio nodded.

"It's common."

"But common doesn't mean useless."

"It's simple, reliable, and gives you another defensive option without interfering with your signature abilities."

Kiraya immediately accepted the second book.

[Block Learned.]

"I'll take it."

Rio smiled.

"Test it first."

Kiraya laughed.

"I will."

Hinabi was next.

She stood and sent her skill information to Rio.

Rio studied the list carefully.

Unlike Kiraya's build, Hinabi's skills were already surprisingly stable.

Her existing abilities complemented one another naturally, and Rio couldn't find any major weakness that needed to be fixed immediately.

"You actually don't have many problems."

Hinabi smiled.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"But there's one thing missing."

Rio opened her inventory.

Then produced another skill book.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Skill Book

Magic Mania

Class: Mage

Type: Passive

Effect:

A portion of mana spent on skills is returned to the user.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Hinabi stared at the skill book.

Then her eyes widened.

"...You're giving me that?"

Rio nodded.

"Your biggest limitation is mana efficiency."

"You're already good at controlling your spells."

"But the more powerful your magic becomes, the more mana you'll burn through."

"This helps compensate."

Hinabi immediately accepted the book.

[Magic Mania Learned.]

She smiled brightly.

"Thank you."

Rio nodded.

"You're welcome."

Hinabi returned to her seat looking noticeably happier.

Then Sayanaki stood.

The atmosphere changed slightly.

Rio looked at her.

Sayanaki's build was different from both Kiraya and Hinabi.

Her combat style relied heavily on specialized equipment, assassination skills, movement, and the unusual abilities granted by her items.

Fenrir's Fang.

The Pendant of Imitation.

Her clones.

Her burst damage.

Her mobility.

Rio immediately understood the problem.

"Fenrir's Fang stays."

Sayanaki nodded.

"Obviously."

"The Pendant of Imitation stays too."

"Obviously."

Rio continued.

"Backlash."

"That's another."

"Then Twin Strike."

Sayanaki nodded.

"Four."

Rio slowly counted the skills on her fingers.

"Fenrir's Fang."

"Pendant of Imitation."

"Backlash."

"Twin Strike."

She continued.

"Then you need movement."

"Quick Dash."

"Blink."

Sayanaki nodded.

"Six."

Rio sighed.

"That's already six of your eight slots."

Sayanaki smiled.

"That's what I was worried about."

"And half of those are mandatory."

Rio leaned back.

"Your problem is worse than Kiraya's."

Kiraya looked over.

"Thanks."

Sayanaki laughed.

Rio continued.

"You need additional skills to properly support your unique ability."

"Which means we'd have to remove something."

Sayanaki's expression became slightly more serious.

Rio looked through her information window again.

Then paused.

"...Wait."

She looked toward Sayanaki.

"I just realized something."

Sayanaki raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Rio narrowed her eyes.

"You've never revealed your Unique Skill."

The entire room went silent.

Kiraya blinked.

Hinabi looked toward Sayanaki.

Even Ryota turned in his chair.

Sayanaki smiled.

"I never needed to."

Rio stared at her.

Sayanaki continued.

"No one ever pushed me hard enough to use it."

Her smile became slightly mischievous.

"But..."

She slowly stood.

"Since you're the guild leader..."

Sayanaki walked around the table before stopping beside Rio.

"I guess I can tell you."

Rio watched her carefully.

Sayanaki leaned down.

Then whispered directly into Rio's ear.

The words were too quiet for anyone else to hear.

Rio's eyes widened.

Her entire expression froze.

"...No way."

Sayanaki slowly straightened.

A small smile appeared across her face.

"Yep."

Rio stared at her.

"You've been hiding that?"

"Of course."

Sayanaki shrugged.

"I'm an assassin."

"The less information people have about me, the better."

Rio slowly exhaled.

"...You're unbelievable."

Sayanaki smiled.

"That's why you keep me around."

Rio sighed.

"Keep it secret."

Sayanaki nodded.

"Obviously."

Rio looked back toward Sayanaki's skill window.

Now everything made sense.

If Sayanaki's clones could inherit passive abilities, then passive skills weren't merely improvements to Sayanaki herself.

They could potentially become part of her entire combat arsenal.

That made the right passive skills incredibly valuable.

Rio opened her inventory.

She selected two skill books.

Then placed them in front of Sayanaki.

The first appeared.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Skill Book

Sharpness

Class: Assassin

Type: Passive

Effects:

Critical Damage +40%

Critical Chance +20%

10% chance to inflict Bleeding.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Sayanaki's eyes widened slightly.

Then Rio placed the second book beside it.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Skill Book

Lethal Strike

Class: Assassin

Type: Passive

Effect:

Increase damage dealt to the current target by 0.1% for each successful consecutive hit.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Sayanaki stared at both books.

Then she looked toward Rio.

A slow smile appeared.

"You really do know me."

Rio smiled faintly.

"That's the idea."

Sayanaki picked up both books.

"These are perfect."

"I thought so."

Sayanaki immediately learned them.

[Sharpness Learned.]

[Lethal Strike Learned.]

She closed her menu.

Then smiled.

"Thanks."

Rio nodded.

"Just remember."

She pointed toward Sayanaki.

"Don't reveal your Unique Skill."

"I won't."

"And don't reveal how your clones inherit passive effects."

Sayanaki's smile became sharper.

"I definitely won't."

Ryota leaned back.

"Now I'm curious."

Sayanaki looked at him.

"That's unfortunate."

With Sayanaki finished, Rio closed the meeting interface.

"That's enough for today."

She stood.

"The update will take some time for everyone to adjust to."

"Don't rush your builds."

"Test everything."

"Figure out what feels natural."

Kiraya nodded.

Hinabi nodded.

Sayanaki smiled.

Rio then looked toward Kiraya and Hinabi.

"You two should get back to your raids."

She opened the dungeon list.

"I assigned a Floor Three dungeon to your party."

Kiraya's eyes immediately lit up.

"Already?"

Rio nodded.

"It's a good place to test the new builds."

Hinabi smiled.

"Sounds good."

The two quickly prepared their equipment before heading toward the teleportation chamber.

Memory looked toward Akari.

"What about us?"

Rio smiled.

"You two can head back to Floor Two."

"Explore."

"Test your skills."

"Get comfortable with the new system."

She looked toward both of them.

"I'll meet you later."

"Then I'll help you organize your skills."

Akari nodded.

"Okay."

Memory suddenly lifted Bubbles into her arms.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Bubbles, let go! Floor Two, here we come!"

Bubbles bounced enthusiastically in her arms.

"Pyu!"

Akari sighed.

"I'll keep her under control."

Rio laughed.

"You say that now."

Memory was already running toward the teleportation chamber.

Akari hurried after her.

"Wait for me!"

Rio watched the two disappear down the corridor.

A small smile remained on her face.

She was glad.

They were doing exactly what they had asked to do.

They weren't waiting for Rio to tell them what adventure to have.

They were making their own.

The meeting room gradually emptied.

Kiraya and Hinabi disappeared toward their dungeon.

Akari and Memory headed back toward the Floor Two teleportation chamber.

Sayanaki remained near the exit.

She looked toward Rio.

"I'm heading to Floor One."

Rio nodded.

"The hidden area?"

"Yeah."

Sayanaki smiled.

"I still need to prepare for the upcoming event."

"And make some money for my mother."

Rio nodded.

"Good luck."

Sayanaki started walking away.

Then Rio suddenly called her.

"Sayanaki."

The assassin stopped.

She looked back.

Rio approached.

"After the event..."

Sayanaki tilted her head.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind looking for someone?"

Sayanaki smiled.

"Sure."

"Just give me the name."

Rio paused.

For a moment, her expression became more serious.

Then she said quietly,

"Sarrow."

Sayanaki's expression changed slightly.

"The leader of Epsilon Dawn?"

Rio nodded.

"If you can find her after the event..."

"I want to talk to her."

Sayanaki considered the request for a moment.

She knew that Rio wouldn't ask something like this without a reason.

Whatever Rio wanted to discuss with Sarrow, it clearly mattered.

Sayanaki eventually smiled.

"Got it."

She raised one hand in farewell.

"Leave it to me."

Then she stepped into the teleportation crystal.

Blue light surrounded her body.

A moment later, she vanished.

Rio watched the crystal's glow fade.

Then she looked toward Ryota.

Ryota was already looking at her.

They exchanged a glance.

No words were necessary.

The school day was over.

The update was complete.

Akari and Memory had joined the guild.

Their companions had new skills.

Sayanaki had revealed another piece of her hidden strength.

And another major event was approaching.

Ryota smiled.

"So..."

Rio nodded.

"Yeah."

She smiled back.

"Time for another adventure."

Before leaving, Rio returned to the reception hall.

Silla was still organizing paperwork behind the desk.

Rio stopped beside her.

"We're heading out."

Silla looked up.

"Already?"

"Yeah."

Rio smiled.

"If you need anything, call me."

Ryota nodded beside her.

"Seriously."

"Anything."

Silla smiled warmly.

"I will."

Rio gave her a small wave.

"Take care."

"You too, Lady Rio."

The two then walked toward the main teleportation chamber.

The enormous crystal stood at the center of the room, its surface shimmering with pale blue light. Ancient runes glowed beneath its base, forming a circular pattern across the stone floor.

Rio stepped forward.

Ryota followed.

For a moment, they stood together beneath the crystal's light.

Rio glanced back toward the headquarters.

Crowned Era had changed considerably since its creation.

It had started with only a handful of people.

Now it had grown into something larger.

Akari and Memory had joined.

Kiraya and Hinabi were becoming increasingly important members.

Sayanaki had become someone Rio trusted with the secret of the reset.

Silla and the other NPCs had made the headquarters feel less like a simple guild facility and more like a home.

And beyond the walls of the headquarters waited an entire world they had yet to explore.

Rio smiled.

Then she looked at Ryota.

"Ready?"

Ryota nodded.

"Always."

The crystal activated.

Blue light swallowed them both.

The headquarters disappeared.

The sensation of teleportation washed over Rio for a brief moment before the world shifted around her.

When her vision returned, the atmosphere had completely changed.

The dry heat of Floor Two greeted them immediately.

Sand stretched toward the horizon beneath an enormous sky, and the distant silhouettes of rocky formations rose from the desert like ancient monuments.

Rio adjusted her weapon.

Ryota looked toward the distant horizon.

Somewhere on this floor, Akari and Memory were already beginning their next adventure.

They had chosen to explore without shortcuts.

They would make mistakes.

They would discover things Rio already knew.

They would probably stumble into trouble.

And Rio would have to resist the overwhelming urge to interfere every time they did.

She smiled at the thought.

"Let's go."

Ryota nodded.

"Yeah."

Together, they stepped forward into the endless desert of Floor Two.

The update had changed Evermount.

Eight skills.

New builds.

New strategies.

New possibilities.

But for Rio, the most important change wasn't something written in the patch notes.

It was the people standing beside her.

This time, she wasn't walking through Evermount alone.

And somewhere ahead, beyond the desert horizon, the next chapter of their story was already waiting.