The skill shop's interior had grown quieter after Kiraya's arrival.
Not empty—never empty in the Town of Beginnings—but quieter in the way a room changes when someone who carries authority steps inside. NPC attendants paused slightly longer when speaking. Nearby players lowered their voices.
Kiraya stood near the entrance with her arms crossed, eyes moving between Rio and Cynthia.
Her gaze eventually settled on the skill crystal in Rio's hand.
"Butterfly Dance," she repeated flatly.
Cynthia, still processing Kiraya's sudden appearance, tilted her head slightly.
Rio didn't react much.
She simply held the crystal interface open.
"Yes," Rio replied.
Kiraya's brow lifted a fraction.
"That's a beginner-tier ranged sword skill."
"I know."
"…You bought that on purpose."
"I did."
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
Even the NPC behind the counter seemed to hesitate, as if unsure whether to continue the transaction or pretend they hadn't heard anything.
Kiraya exhaled through her nose.
"You're full of surprises."
Rio closed the skill interface.
"I get that a lot."
The transaction completed quickly.
Butterfly Dance acquired — 1 Copper Coin deducted
Cynthia blinked.
"…One?"
Kiraya glanced at the receipt floating in the air.
"Of course it's one."
She sounded almost amused.
"No one in higher-level routes buys beginner sword arts unless they're experimenting or trolling."
Rio tucked the skill confirmation away.
"I'm not trolling."
"Debatable," Kiraya muttered.
Cynthia, now fully invested in the conversation, looked between them.
"…So you really plan to use that in combat?"
Rio nodded once.
"Yeah."
That single word ended the argument before it could even form.
Because Kiraya noticed something.
Rio didn't justify it.
Didn't defend it.
Didn't hesitate.
She just… accepted it as part of her build.
That alone made it harder to dismiss.
As they stepped outside the shop, Kiraya finally spoke again.
"So," she said, "what are you doing here?"
Rio glanced at her.
Kiraya continued walking beside them without waiting.
"Eleo received a local commission. Farmers near Dragon's Peak reported frost wyverns attacking livestock. We were asked to thin them out and secure the migration path."
She shrugged slightly.
"Easy work for a scouting squad."
Cynthia raised a brow.
"Frost wyverns already this early in progression?"
"Border spawn," Kiraya replied. "Unstable ecosystem around the peak since recent dungeon activity."
Rio's expression shifted slightly at that.
"Unstable… huh."
Kiraya looked at her.
"And you?"
A pause.
"What are you doing here, Rio?"
Then, as if remembering something—
"And where is your companion? Ryota, right?"
Kiraya's eyes scanned the street behind them briefly, as if expecting him to appear.
Rio sighed.
That small sound carried more weight than it should have.
"He's at the lake."
Kiraya blinked.
"…Fishing?"
"Yeah."
Another pause.
Rio continued, quieter now.
"I'm here to get his sword fixed."
Kiraya tilted her head slightly.
"And he's not with you because…?"
"I hurt his feelings."
That stopped both Kiraya and Cynthia.
Rio didn't elaborate immediately.
Instead, she glanced away slightly.
"Accidentally."
A beat.
"So now I'm… trying to make it up."
Cynthia's expression softened just a fraction.
Kiraya, however, simply observed her.
"…You're bad at this," she said bluntly.
Rio didn't deny it.
"I know."
That honesty made Kiraya pause.
Just slightly.
As they walked, Kiraya's gaze shifted down.
That was when she noticed it.
A small skill crystal in Rio's hand.
Still active.
Still unclaimed.
"Wait," Kiraya said. "Is that—"
Rio lifted it slightly.
"Yeah."
Kiraya narrowed her eyes.
"Butterfly Dance again?"
Rio nodded.
"I plan to use it."
Kiraya stared at her for a long moment.
"…You're either insane or planning something none of us understand yet."
"Both are possible," Cynthia muttered.
Kiraya ignored her.
Instead, she let out a short sigh.
"Fine. Do what you want. Just don't drag Eleo into your experiments."
Rio didn't respond.
Because she already wasn't planning to.
Kiraya exhaled.
"Well. Since we're all heading to Dragon's Peak anyway…"
She glanced at Rio.
"Let's move together for now."
Cynthia raised a brow.
Rio nodded once.
"Works for me."
Their paths aligned.
At least until the frost wyverns.
And Dragon's Peak ahead of them loomed like a silent warning.
The wind grew sharper the higher they climbed.
Dragon's Peak wasn't just a mountain—it was a boundary.
A place where the world's warmth thinned into something distant and indifferent. Snow fell in slow, drifting sheets, clinging to the edges of jagged stone like frozen dust refusing to settle.
Rio walked at the front.
Unbothered.
Her steps were steady despite the incline, boots pressing into packed snow with quiet certainty. Her breath didn't shake. Her posture didn't waver. It almost looked like she was simply walking through a familiar street rather than ascending a frozen death route.
Behind her, Cynthia followed more carefully, adjusting her footing with measured precision.
And Kiraya—
Kiraya walked last, scanning the terrain with the eyes of someone used to expecting ambushes even in empty silence.
The only sound was wind and crunching snow.
Until—
"…So," Cynthia whispered, leaning slightly toward Kiraya, careful not to let Rio hear, "is she really capable of all that?"
Kiraya didn't look at her immediately.
Her eyes stayed forward.
"Watch your tone," Kiraya said calmly.
Cynthia blinked. "What?"
Kiraya exhaled through her nose.
"If I were you, I'd do everything possible to stay on her good side."
That made Cynthia frown slightly.
"…Why?"
Only then did Kiraya glance at her.
And the expression she wore wasn't warning.
It was remembrance.
"She may look fragile," Kiraya said, voice lower now, "like someone who doesn't understand the game's deeper systems…"
A pause.
"…But she's the exact opposite."
Cynthia's steps slowed slightly.
Kiraya continued.
"The reason I'm cautious around her isn't because she's dangerous in the way most players are."
She tilted her head slightly toward Rio's back.
"It's because she's unintentionally dangerous."
Cynthia frowned deeper. "Unintentionally?"
Kiraya nodded once.
"Her actions look harmless. Even random sometimes."
A faint pause.
"But they change everything they touch."
The wind howled briefly across the ridge, as if emphasizing her words.
Kiraya's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Rio isn't weak."
A beat.
"She could wipe out my entire guild alone if she wanted to."
Cynthia froze mid-step.
For a moment, she thought she misheard.
"…Your guild?" she repeated slowly.
Kiraya didn't correct her.
She didn't soften it either.
"Eternity Lions."
The name carried weight even outside Eleo's territory.
Cynthia turned her gaze forward again—toward Rio's back.
Still walking.
Still calm.
Still… small compared to the overwhelming presence Kiraya was describing.
That contradiction made Cynthia uneasy.
Kiraya's voice dropped slightly.
"And that's not even the most concerning part."
Cynthia hesitated. "…There's more?"
Kiraya nodded.
"I saw her during the hidden dungeon raid."
A silence followed that statement.
Even the wind felt like it paused slightly between gusts.
Kiraya's expression tightened just a fraction.
"I don't have words for it."
That alone was enough.
Because Kiraya always had words.
Even in combat.
Even under pressure.
Even when facing bosses that erased raid parties.
But for Rio—
She had none.
Cynthia swallowed slightly, eyes still fixed on Rio's silhouette.
"…So she's that strong?"
Kiraya didn't answer immediately.
Then—
"She's worse than strong."
Cynthia turned her head slightly.
Kiraya continued, eyes forward again.
"She's a monster."
A faint pause.
"Players like that don't just win fights."
"They change the game around them."
A few steps ahead, Rio suddenly stopped to adjust her footing near a ridge.
Cynthia instinctively paused too.
Kiraya stopped a fraction later.
Rio glanced back briefly.
"We're close to the first frost wyvern nesting zone."
Her voice was calm.
Like she was stating a weather update.
Kiraya nodded once.
"Good."
Cynthia, still processing everything she had just heard, finally asked quietly:
"…Then why is she leading?"
Kiraya looked at her.
And for the first time, there was a faint curve in her expression.
A smirk.
"Because she always does."
Cynthia frowned.
Kiraya shifted her gaze forward again.
"Have you heard about the Apex Guild?"
That question shifted the air again.
Cynthia nodded slowly.
"Rumors. Two unknown players formed it recently. No confirmed identities yet."
Kiraya let out a short breath.
"Yeah."
She raised her hand slightly.
And pointed forward.
At Rio.
"…You're looking at the leader."
Cynthia's mind went blank for a moment.
The words didn't immediately connect.
Leader.
Apex Guild.
Rio.
Then everything collided at once.
"…Wait," Cynthia said slowly, voice lower than before, "she's the Apex Guild leader?"
Kiraya nodded casually.
"As of now, yes."
Cynthia stared forward.
At Rio's back.
At the girl walking through snow like it had no right to resist her.
At the same girl who casually bought a beginner skill.
At the same girl who stood at the center of raids that should have wiped entire groups.
Cynthia's thoughts finally caught up—
And then stalled again.
"…That doesn't make sense," she muttered.
Kiraya shrugged lightly.
"That's what most people say."
A pause.
Then Kiraya added:
"Until they see her fight."
Ahead, Rio stopped again.
She looked up toward the narrowing path where the snow thickened into a near-white veil.
"Wind's getting worse," she said.
Then she glanced back at them.
"Stay close. Frost wyverns nest above the ridge line."
Her tone was unchanged.
Controlled.
Calm.
Like everything she had done so far was simply preparation.
Cynthia slowly exhaled.
"…This is insane."
Kiraya stepped forward, passing her slightly.
"Welcome to Rio's world."
Rio turned forward again and continued walking.
And the mountain swallowed them deeper into white silence—
as if Dragon's Peak itself was waiting to see what kind of player would reach its summit first.