The battlefield faded behind them.
Not slowly—
But completely.
Because neither of them looked back.
The wind carried the distant murmurs of two stunned guilds—Burning Pride and ELEO—left frozen in the aftermath of something they couldn't comprehend.
A massacre.
A warning.
A revelation.
And yet—
The two at the center of it all—
Walked away like it meant nothing.
Gravel crunched softly beneath their feet as they made their way down the slope toward the road leading back to the Town of Beginnings.
Rio walked ahead.
As always.
Her posture calm.
Unbothered.
Like she hadn't just cut through elite players without moving.
Like she hadn't just changed the perception of two entire guilds.
Behind her—
Ryota stretched his arms behind his head.
"…Man."
He glanced up at the sky.
"…That was kinda intense."
Rio didn't respond.
A few steps passed.
Then—
"…What did you buy?"
Her voice was casual.
Too casual.
Like she was asking about groceries.
Ryota blinked.
"…Huh?"
"…At the auction."
A pause.
"…You didn't go there just to look."
He grinned.
"…Oh yeah."
He opened his inventory.
"…I got a few things."
Rio slowed slightly.
Not stopping—
But listening.
"…First—this."
Ryota pulled out a worn-looking book.
The cover was faded.
Edges slightly torn.
Plain.
Completely unremarkable.
"…It looked like a notebook."
He shrugged.
"…Thought I could draw in it or something."
Rio glanced at it.
Then looked away.
"…You spent money on that?"
"…Five copper."
Silence.
A very long silence.
"…You spent five copper…"
A pause.
"…On a notebook."
Ryota tilted his head.
"…Yeah?"
Rio exhaled.
Slowly.
"…I see."
They kept walking.
"…Then I got this."
He pulled out a ring.
Simple.
Dark metal.
No shine.
No glow.
"…It lets me pull aggro."
He smiled.
"…Figured I could help you more."
Rio glanced at it.
This time—
She didn't comment immediately.
"…A taunt ring."
A pause.
"…Seven copper."
Ryota nodded proudly.
"…Yep."
Rio looked forward again.
"…Not efficient."
A beat.
"…But useful."
Ryota grinned.
"…I'll take that as praise."
She didn't deny it.
"…And then—"
He reached into his inventory again.
"…This one."
Rio expected something else stupid.
Another useless item.
Another waste.
But then—
She saw it.
A small object.
Dark.
Cracked.
Barely holding its shape.
Faint energy pulsed from within—
Like something broken—
Trying to stay alive.
Rio stopped walking.
Completely.
"…Ryota."
Her voice changed.
"…Yeah?"
"…Where did you get that."
He blinked.
"…Auction."
A pause.
"…It looked cool."
He scratched his cheek.
"…I was thinking of turning it into a pendant for you."
Silence.
Rio turned slowly.
Her eyes—
Locked onto it.
"…Do you know what that is?"
Ryota shook his head.
"…No."
A long pause.
"…That's a Guardian Core."
The wind stopped.
"…A what?"
Rio stepped closer.
Her gaze didn't leave the object.
"…A Guardian Core."
A pause.
"…A key."
Ryota blinked.
"…To what?"
Rio looked up.
Her eyes—
Sharp.
Focused.
Different.
"…To something that shouldn't be accessible yet."
A beat.
"…Not even for players like me."
Silence.
Ryota looked at the core.
Then back at her.
"…So…"
A small grin.
"…Good purchase?"
Rio didn't smile.
Didn't react.
"…Ryota."
A pause.
"…We need to move."
She turned.
Faster now.
Steps sharper.
Purposeful.
"…Wait—where are we going?"
She didn't slow down.
"…The World Key."
Ryota blinked.
"…That sounds important."
"…It is."
They left the main road.
Cutting through a narrow path between rocky formations.
The terrain shifted—
From open plains—
To jagged stone corridors.
The sky above narrowed.
Light dimmed.
Wind howled through the gaps in the cliffs.
Rio didn't hesitate.
Not once.
"…Listen carefully."
Her voice was calm.
Focused.
"…The dungeon we're heading to—"
A pause.
"…Shouldn't exist for players right now."
Ryota followed closely.
"…And we can enter because of this thing?"
He lifted the core slightly.
Rio nodded.
"…Yes."
A beat.
"…Without that—"
"…The entrance won't even appear."
They moved deeper.
The path grew tighter.
More hidden.
More forgotten.
"…This place…"
Rio muttered.
"…Was discovered years later."
A pause.
"…By accident."
Ryota tilted his head.
"…And now we're just walking into it."
"…Because of you."
Silence.
"…Huh."
The wind stopped.
Completely.
Rio halted.
"…We're here."
Ryota looked around.
Nothing.
Just a cliff wall.
Rough stone.
No entrance.
No markings.
No dungeon.
"…Uh…"
He blinked.
"…Where?"
Rio turned.
Her eyes on the core.
"…Take it out."
He did.
The moment it left his inventory—
The world reacted.
The core pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
Light spread.
Cracks formed along the cliff wall.
Not breaking—
But shifting.
Revealing.
A low hum echoed.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Alive.
The stone split.
Slowly.
Revealing a hidden entrance.
Dark.
Massive.
Unnatural.
A dungeon.
Ryota stared.
"…No way…"
Rio stepped forward.
Stopping just before the entrance.
Her expression—
Serious.
Focused.
But beneath it—
Something else.
Excitement.
"…The World Key."
She whispered.
A pause.
"…This is where everything changes."
She stepped inside.
Without hesitation.
Ryota followed.
Behind them—
The entrance closed.
And the world outside—
Lost sight of them.
Because what they had just entered—
Was never meant to be found this early.
And inside—
Something was waiting.
Something that would decide—
Just how broken this new timeline truly was.
The moment they crossed the threshold—
The world changed.
The air inside the dungeon wasn't just cold.
It was ancient.
Each breath felt heavier, like inhaling something that had existed long before players, before systems… before Evermount itself.
The faint glow from the entrance behind them flickered—
Then vanished completely.
Darkness closed in.
Not suffocating—
But watching.
Their footsteps echoed.
Too clearly.
Too loudly.
As if the dungeon was amplifying their presence.
Tracking them.
Ryota rubbed the back of his neck.
"…Yeah… this is definitely not normal."
Rio didn't slow.
Didn't hesitate.
Her pace was steady, controlled.
Like she had walked this path before—
Even though she hadn't.
"…It isn't."
A long silence followed.
Then—
She stopped.
Not abruptly.
But deliberately.
"…We need to talk."
Ryota blinked.
"…That serious?"
She turned.
Her expression—
Completely different from before.
No sarcasm.
No teasing.
No irritation.
Just focus.
"…What we're about to face…"
A pause.
"…Isn't something you can improvise through."
Ryota straightened slightly.
"…Got it."
Rio held his gaze.
Making sure he understood.
"…The World Key."
She said it again.
Slower this time.
"…Is not just a dungeon."
A step closer.
"…It's a system override."
Silence.
"…What?"
"…It breaks the rules of progression."
Her voice was calm.
But the weight behind it—
Heavy.
"…Players are meant to grow gradually."
"…Unlock power step by step."
A pause.
"…This skips all of that."
Ryota frowned.
"…So basically… cheat code?"
Rio didn't smile.
"…No."
A beat.
"…Because it comes with a price."
Silence.
"…What kind of price?"
Rio looked past him.
Into the darkness behind.
"…Risk."
Another pause.
"…In my previous life…"
Her voice lowered slightly.
"…this place didn't get discovered until much later."
Ryota listened carefully.
"…And when it did…"
She exhaled quietly.
"…everything changed."
The air felt heavier.
"…Guilds fought for it."
"…Not just once."
"…Not just twice."
Her eyes hardened.
"…Entire wars."
Ryota swallowed.
"…Over a skill?"
"…Not just a skill."
She corrected.
"…A World Skill."
A faint flicker of blue light appeared briefly in her interface—
As if the system itself acknowledged the term.
"…There are only a handful in the entire game."
"…Out of forty-five thousand skills…"
She looked at him.
"…Only a few can rewrite how the game is played."
A pause.
"…This is one of them."
Silence.
"…So what does it do exactly?"
Rio turned fully now.
"…It allows the user to summon special-tier NPCs."
A beat.
"…Not like the NPCs you see in the town."
Ryota blinked.
"…But those are already strong—"
"…They're nothing but prototypes."
That shut him up.
"…What you get from here…"
She continued.
"…Are entities designed to operate outside normal player limitations."
A pause.
"…They can scale independently."
"…Develop skills."
"…Adapt."
Her voice dropped slightly.
"…And in the right hands…"
A beat.
"…They can carry an entire war."
Silence.
Ryota looked ahead again.
This time—
More serious.
"…So we're basically stealing endgame power… at level one."
"…Yes."
"…That's insane."
"…That's why we're here."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
They walked again.
Deeper.
The dungeon began to shift.
The walls—
No longer just stone.
Symbols appeared.
Carved deep.
Ancient text glowing faintly.
Ryota squinted.
"…Can you read that?"
Rio nodded slightly.
"…Old system language."
"…Of course you can."
She ignored that.
"…It's describing trials."
A pause.
"…Judgment."
The word lingered.
"…Yeah I don't like that."
They continued forward.
Until—
The path split.
Not gradually.
Not naturally.
But perfectly.
Two corridors.
Carved as if by design.
One—
Bathed in a soft golden light.
Warm.
Inviting.
Almost… reassuring.
The other—
Dark.
The light barely reached inside.
The air there—
Felt heavier.
Denser.
Like stepping into it meant something.
Above each path—
Text.
Rio stepped forward.
Reading carefully.
"…The Crusade of the World's Legacy."
Her eyes shifted.
"…The Knight's Oath to Unyielding Knightmares."
Ryota immediately pointed.
"…Yeah nope."
"…That second one sounds like death."
Rio didn't disagree.
But she also didn't hesitate.
"…We split here."
Ryota blinked.
"…Wait seriously?"
She nodded.
"…This dungeon is designed for separation."
"…Each path is a trial."
A pause.
"…You can't complete both."
"…So we each take one?"
"…Yes."
Silence.
Ryota looked between the two again.
Light.
Dark.
Safe.
Dangerous.
"…Which one are you taking?"
Rio stepped toward the darker path.
"…The Knightmares."
"…Of course you are."
A faint pause.
"…You?"
Ryota pointed left.
"…Crusade."
"…Reason?"
He shrugged.
"…Feels like I'll survive longer."
For a brief moment—
Rio almost smiled.
"…Fair."
Silence settled between them.
Then—
She turned.
"…Once you enter…"
A pause.
"…You can't come back."
Ryota blinked.
"…Wait what—?"
"…No retreat."
A beat.
"…No help."
Another.
"…No second attempts."
Silence.
"…Oh."
Rio stepped closer.
"…So don't die."
Ryota laughed nervously.
"…Yeah no pressure."
She turned away.
"…We meet at the end."
A pause.
"…If we both make it."
And with that—
She walked.
Into the darkness.
Gone.
Just like that.
"…Man…"
Ryota scratched his head.
"…She really just says stuff like that and leaves, huh…"
He looked at the golden path.
"…Alright."
A deep breath.
"…Let's not mess this up."
He stepped forward.
The moment his foot crossed—
The world reacted.
The light behind him—
Collapsed.
The path—
Gone.
"…Huh?"
He spun around.
Nothing.
No Rio.
No entrance.
No exit.
Just endless corridor.
"…Okay."
A pause.
"…Now I'm definitely committed."
The golden light ahead pulsed softly.
Almost guiding him.
But something about it—
Felt off.
Not dangerous.
But deliberate.
Like it was waiting.
Testing.
Watching.
Ryota tightened his grip on his sword.
"…Crusade of the World's Legacy…"
He muttered.
"…Let's see what you've got."
And he walked forward.
Unaware—
That every step he took—
Was being judged.
Meanwhile—
In the other path—
Darkness swallowed Rio whole.
No light.
No warmth.
Only silence.
And the faint echo of something moving—
Far deeper within.
Her hand rested on her saber.
Her eyes steady.
"…Knightmares."
She whispered.
A pause.
"…Let's see if you're worth it."
And she stepped forward—
Into something far more dangerous—
Than even she remembered.