The teleportation crystal released Rio and Ryota onto the second floor with a soft burst of blue-white light.
For a brief moment, neither of them moved. The familiar sensation of teleportation lingered in their bodies as the crystalline chamber slowly faded from their immediate attention. Then the dry heat of Floor Two settled over them.
Rio took a slow breath.
The atmosphere here was completely different from Floor One. The air was dry, carrying the scent of sand and dust, while a faint metallic smell drifted from the distant Sandshipyard. Machinery rumbled somewhere beyond the nearby settlement, and the occasional clang of metal echoed across the desert as players and NPC workers continued repairing sandships and preparing equipment for expeditions across the dunes.
Rio adjusted the strap of her musket and glanced toward the road leading away from the teleportation crystal.
"Looks like they haven't gone far."
Ryota looked around.
"You can tell?"
Rio pointed toward the road.
"There."
A narrow trail of footprints crossed the sand before disappearing behind a rocky formation farther ahead.
Ryota followed her gaze.
"Akari and Memory?"
Rio nodded.
"Probably."
The two of them started walking.
They left the teleportation area behind and followed the road toward the outskirts of the village. The noise of civilization gradually faded as they moved away from the busier market district. Soon, the only sounds accompanying them were the wind sweeping over the dunes and the distant mechanical groaning of the Sandshipyard.
After several minutes, they reached a rocky area overlooking a small portion of the shipyard.
Large rocks were scattered throughout the area, their surfaces worn smooth by years of desert winds. Some of them provided enough shade for players to rest between farming sessions, making the location a convenient place for adventurers who wanted to take a break without returning all the way to town.
Rio's eyes immediately found what she was looking for.
Two girls were sitting on one of the larger rocks.
Akari was leaning against the stone with her legs stretched out in front of her. Her silver-white hair moved gently in the desert breeze, occasionally brushing against her shoulders.
Beside her sat Memory.
The pink-haired tamer looked exhausted.
Bubbles was lying across her lap, bouncing weakly every few seconds as though even the slime had finally reached its limit.
Several monster materials were scattered around them.
Fangs.
Hides.
Small mineral fragments.
A few monster cores.
Judging by the amount of loot surrounding them, the two girls had clearly spent several hours farming.
Rio's expression brightened.
"There they are."
Ryota smiled.
"Looks like we found the rookies."
Rio didn't answer.
She simply started walking faster.
Ryota noticed.
His expression immediately changed.
"Oh no."
Rio reached the rocks.
Akari looked up.
Her eyes widened.
"...Rio?"
Rio's face immediately lit up.
"Akari!"
Before Akari could even react, Rio rushed forward and wrapped both arms around her younger sister.
Akari's eyes widened.
"W-Wait!"
Rio pulled her into an even tighter hug.
"I finally found you!"
"Rio!"
Akari immediately pushed against Rio's shoulders.
"Let go!"
"No."
"Rio!"
"I haven't seen you in forever!"
"We saw each other before!"
"That was different."
"It was literally a few hours ago!"
"Still different."
Akari struggled desperately against her sister's embrace, but Rio refused to release her.
The entire scene was so ridiculous that Memory simply sat there staring.
Ryota stood beside her.
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them spoke.
Memory slowly turned toward Ryota.
Ryota looked at Memory.
They silently reached the same conclusion.
Don't interfere.
So they didn't.
They simply watched as Akari desperately attempted to escape while Rio continued hugging her as though she had just found a family member who had been missing for years.
Eventually, Rio's excitement settled enough for her to loosen her arms.
Akari immediately stepped away and began fixing her clothes.
Her face was bright red.
"You're unbelievable."
Rio smiled.
"You've gotten taller."
"I haven't."
"You look healthier."
"I always looked healthy."
"And your hair is longer."
Akari stared at her.
"...Were you planning on inspecting me like a parent?"
Rio tilted her head.
"Maybe."
Memory covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
Ryota quietly looked away.
Rio finally noticed the materials scattered around the rocks.
"You two have been farming?"
Memory nodded.
"For a few hours."
She pointed toward the pile of loot.
"We were trying to level up and earn some money."
Rio nodded approvingly.
"Good."
Akari picked up one of the monster cores.
"We've been trying to figure out what to do next."
Rio looked at both girls.
"That's actually why I came."
Memory blinked.
"Why?"
"I wanted to help you."
The two girls exchanged a glance.
Rio noticed Ryota was already giving them some space. He understood what she wanted without needing to be told and stepped a short distance away, leaving the sisters and Memory room to talk while still keeping an eye on the surrounding area.
Rio sat down on one of the rocks.
"So," she said, turning toward the two girls, "tell me what you've learned about your builds."
Memory scratched her cheek.
"Well..."
She opened her status menu.
"I've mostly been experimenting."
Rio nodded.
"That's fine."
Her gaze settled on Memory.
"Especially for you."
Memory blinked.
Rio continued.
"You're a Tamer. Your class is much more complicated than a normal combat class. Tamer skills can vary enormously depending on what monsters you encounter, what you manage to tame, and how compatible you are with them."
Memory nodded.
"That's what I've been trying to figure out."
She opened her skill window.
"Show me."
Memory hesitated for a moment before finally displaying the information.
A large system window appeared before them.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Class: Sage Tamer]
Unique Skill: Monster Dominion
Allows the user to tame monsters they defeat.
Higher compatibility increases the success rate.
Grants partial synchronization with monster abilities.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Rio stared.
She didn't move.
She didn't blink.
For several seconds, her eyes remained fixed on the skill description.
Ryota noticed her reaction and slowly stepped closer.
"...Is something wrong?"
Rio didn't answer immediately.
Memory tilted her head.
"Rio?"
Still nothing.
Ryota lowered his voice.
"Rio."
This time, Rio finally looked toward him.
Her expression was unusually serious.
Then she leaned slightly closer and whispered so quietly that Memory couldn't hear.
"She has one."
Ryota frowned.
"One what?"
Rio's eyes returned to Memory.
"A Lost Skill."
Ryota's eyebrows rose.
"Seriously?"
Rio nodded once.
"Monster Dominion."
She swallowed slightly.
"It's a Lost Skill."
Ryota looked at Memory.
Then back at Rio.
"Like your Chronos Eye?"
Rio nodded.
"Exactly."
For a moment, Rio couldn't explain the strange feeling developing in her chest.
Chronos Eye had been one of the rarest abilities she had ever encountered during her previous life. It was an ability that had completely changed the way she approached combat, allowing her to manipulate the flow of battle in ways ordinary players couldn't comprehend.
And now Memory had something of comparable rarity.
A Lost Skill.
Not simply a rare class skill.
Not an uncommon passive.
A Lost Skill.
Something that should have been almost impossible for a beginner to obtain.
Rio slowly exhaled.
What is happening?
First Ryota had awakened Scalar Impact, a defensive ability that had once been considered among the strongest defensive skills in the entire game.
Now Memory possessed Monster Dominion.
A Lost Skill with potentially limitless growth depending on what kinds of monsters she encountered and how far her synchronization could develop.
And Rio hadn't even looked at Akari's skill yet.
Memory noticed the strange expression on Rio's face.
"Is something wrong?"
Rio immediately smiled.
"No."
She closed the skill window.
"I was just surprised."
She gave Memory an approving look.
"Your skill is much more interesting than I expected."
Memory's face brightened.
"Really?"
"Really."
Rio nodded.
"You're going to have to experiment carefully with it."
"Because the stronger the monsters you tame..."
She paused.
"...the stronger your potential becomes."
Memory's eyes widened with excitement.
Bubbles suddenly bounced on her lap.
"Pyu!"
Rio smiled.
Then she turned toward Akari.
"And you?"
Akari froze.
Rio immediately noticed the change.
"What about your Unique Skill?"
Akari's fingers tightened slightly.
Her gaze shifted toward the weapon hanging at her side.
Rio followed her eyes.
The white scarf wrapped around the scabbard immediately caught her attention.
It wasn't decorative.
The fabric had been wrapped around the weapon deliberately, with several layers securing the scabbard and handle together.
The blade could not be drawn normally.
Rio's eyes narrowed.
Why is she sealing her weapon?
Akari slowly opened her skill window.
She hesitated.
For several seconds, her fingers hovered over the interface.
Then she finally displayed it.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Unique Skill: Narukami Tenri]
A unique skill belonging to the Thunder God.
Converts sword attacks into lightning-based strikes.
Grants enhanced speed, precision, and thunder resonance during combat.
Grants access to the exclusive weapon:
[Narukami Tenrai]
The user becomes permanently synchronized with the weapon class.
The user cannot use any other weapon and switching restrictions will apply.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Rio's expression froze.
Her eyes widened.
For several seconds, she simply stared at the system window.
"Narukami..."
The word escaped her mouth quietly.
Akari blinked.
"What?"
Rio didn't answer.
Her mind had already returned to her previous life.
She remembered the upper floors.
The terrifying bosses.
The players whose names had become legends.
And one weapon.
One skill.
Narukami.
It had belonged to one of the higher-floor bosses.
A skill so overwhelmingly offensive that countless players had considered it one of the strongest offensive abilities in Evermount.
Its lightning-based sword attacks were devastating.
Its speed enhancement was absurd.
Its precision was almost impossible to match.
And its exclusive weapon, Narukami Tenrai, had become legendary.
Rio had seen players spend entire seasons trying to obtain abilities even remotely comparable to it.
And now...
her younger sister had awakened it.
Rio slowly turned toward Ryota.
He was already staring at her.
He had seen the change in her expression.
"What is it?"
Rio lowered her voice.
"Narukami."
Ryota frowned.
"That's bad?"
Rio shook her head.
"No."
Her expression became more complicated.
"It's terrifying."
She glanced toward Akari.
Then back toward Ryota.
"Narukami was considered the strongest offensive skill in the game."
Ryota's eyebrows rose.
"Seriously?"
Rio nodded.
"Very seriously."
She looked down at her hands.
"And you have Scalar Impact."
Ryota immediately understood.
He slowly looked toward Akari.
"So..."
He paused.
"She has the strongest offensive skill."
Rio nodded.
"And I have one of the strongest defensive skills."
Then Rio looked toward Memory.
"And now Memory has a Lost Skill that can potentially tame and synchronize with countless monsters."
Ryota stared at the three girls.
"...What exactly is happening?"
Rio didn't have an answer.
She had spent her entire previous life studying Evermount.
She knew its strongest players.
She knew its rarest skills.
She knew which abilities were supposed to appear later.
Which bosses dropped them.
Which players discovered them.
Which events triggered them.
But this was different.
These skills were appearing far too early.
And they were appearing in the hands of people who shouldn't have possessed them yet.
Rio looked toward Akari again.
Something else bothered her.
Akari wasn't excited.
She wasn't proud.
She wasn't even curious about her own ability.
She looked uncomfortable.
And then Rio noticed the weapon again.
Narukami Tenrai remained sealed.
The white scarf was still wrapped tightly around the scabbard.
Akari hadn't even attempted to draw it.
Rio's eyes softened.
Something happened.
She didn't know what.
But she could tell.
Every time Narukami was mentioned, Akari's body became slightly tense. Her gaze shifted away, and her voice became quieter.
Rio had seen that reaction before.
Not in a game.
In people.
It was the reaction of someone who didn't want to talk about something painful.
Rio could have asked.
She could have pressed her sister for an explanation.
She could have demanded to know why the weapon was sealed.
But she didn't.
Akari was her sister.
And if Akari wanted to tell her, she would.
Rio wouldn't force her.
Instead, she simply smiled.
"We'll figure out how to work with your skill later."
Akari looked up.
"...Okay."
Memory noticed the tension as well.
She immediately decided to redirect the conversation.
"So..."
She looked toward Rio.
"What are we doing now?"
Rio smiled.
"That's a good question."
Memory blinked.
Rio slowly stood from the rock.
Then she looked at both girls.
"I want to test something."
Akari frowned.
"Test what?"
Rio turned toward Ryota.
"Move back."
Ryota blinked.
"Me?"
"Yes."
He stepped away.
Rio then turned back toward Akari and Memory.
"I want to fight both of you."
Silence fell over the rocky outcrop.
Memory stared at her.
Akari stared at her.
Even Ryota looked surprised.
"...Both of us?" Memory finally asked.
Rio nodded.
"At the same time."
Akari's expression became confused.
"Why?"
"I want to see how strong you are."
Memory immediately raised both hands.
"Wait. You want to fight us?"
Rio smiled.
"Yes."
"But we're beginners."
"I know."
Memory looked between Rio and Akari.
"But being new to something doesn't mean you don't have potential." Rio had said
Memory hesitated.
"Still, won't it be unfair if you fight both of us at the same time?"
Rio smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine."
Memory stared at her.
Rio's smile didn't disappear.
Memory narrowed her eyes.
"Then why are you smiling?"
Rio's smile widened.
"Because I'm not weak."
Ryota immediately laughed.
"That's one way to put it."
Rio ignored him.
She stepped away from the rocks and moved toward an open stretch of sand near the edge of the Sandshipyard.
The terrain there was wide enough for them to fight without damaging the nearby village or accidentally hitting any other players.
Rio turned around.
"Don't worry about hurting me."
Her expression became serious.
"I want you to go all out."
Memory looked nervous.
Akari remained silent.
Rio's eyes sharpened.
"Show me everything."
She pointed toward the two girls.
"Your skills. Your instincts. Your strength."
Her voice remained calm.
"I don't care if you make mistakes. You're beginners, so mistakes are expected."
She lowered her hand.
"What I care about is seeing what you're capable of."
Memory slowly stood.
Bubbles bounced from her lap and landed on the sand beside her.
"Pyu!"
Akari rose as well.
Her fingers tightened around Narukami Tenrai's sealed scabbard.
She looked toward Rio.
For several seconds, she hesitated.
Then something changed in her expression.
Her eyes hardened.
"...Okay."
Rio smiled.
"Good."
Ryota stepped farther away from the battlefield and crossed his arms.
"This should be interesting."
Rio drew her Imperial Saber.
The familiar blade emerged with a metallic sound, its polished surface reflecting the harsh sunlight of Floor Two.
She lowered her stance.
Across from her, Akari immediately followed.
Her hand closed around Narukami Tenrai.
The white scarf remained wrapped around the scabbard.
She didn't remove it.
She didn't draw the blade.
Yet Rio could already sense something changing around her.
A faint crackle echoed through the air.
Tiny sparks of electricity crawled along the sealed weapon.
The sand beneath Akari's feet trembled slightly.
Memory raised her hands.
A faint blue glow surrounded her fingers as she prepared her magic.
Bubbles bounced excitedly beside her.
Rio's eyes narrowed.
The atmosphere had changed completely.
Only moments ago, these had been two exhausted beginners resting after a few hours of farming.
Now they stood before Rio as opponents.
Rio had spent countless years fighting powerful players.
She knew what beginners looked like.
She knew the hesitation.
The poor stance.
The uncertainty.
The fear of making a mistake.
But the two girls standing before her were already showing something different.
Memory's eyes were nervous, but she was still preparing herself.
Akari's posture was tense, but she wasn't backing away.
They were inexperienced.
But neither of them was helpless.
Rio's smile widened.
"Come."
Akari moved.
She didn't hesitate.
Her body vanished from where she stood.
BOOM!
The sand exploded beneath her feet.
Rio's eyes widened.
Fast!
Akari crossed the distance between them in an instant.
Narukami Tenrai remained sealed, yet she swung the entire sheathed weapon forward with tremendous force.
Rio immediately raised her Imperial Saber.
CLANG!
The two weapons collided.
The impact was enormous.
A shockwave exploded outward across the sand.
Dust erupted around them, forming a rapidly expanding cloud.
Several loose rocks were thrown from the ground.
The force of the collision sent cracks spreading through the sand beneath their feet.
Rio's boots dug several centimeters into the desert floor.
She felt the impact travel through her arms.
Akari slid backward several meters before finally stopping.
Neither girl looked away.
Rio slowly straightened.
Her eyes were shining.
A grin appeared across her face.
"Not bad."
Akari's expression sharpened.
Lightning crackled around her sealed weapon.
For the first time since arriving on Floor Two, Rio stopped looking at Akari as merely her younger sister.
She was looking at her as a fighter.
And what she had just seen had confirmed something.
Akari wasn't simply a beginner who had happened to receive an absurdly powerful skill.
She had talent.
Natural talent.
The kind of talent that couldn't be taught simply by reading a guide or copying another player's build.
If Akari learned how to properly control Narukami Tenrai, refined her movements, and overcame whatever fear was keeping the weapon sealed...
Rio didn't know how far she could go.
But she knew one thing.
Evermount might never be the same.
Then Memory moved.
Water suddenly exploded from beneath her feet.
Bubbles bounced forward with a cheerful cry.
"Pyu!"
Rio's eyes shifted toward her.
The battle had only just begun.
And now she would finally get to see what both of them could really do.