Rio lowered the miniature musket and slid it back into its holster, feeling a sense of satisfaction she hadn't expected.
The Chronos Eye and musket combination had worked far better than she imagined.
Every fight since purchasing the flintlock had become smoother, more controlled, and significantly more efficient.
Yet despite her success, something continued bothering her.
As she replayed the previous battles in her mind, one weakness became increasingly obvious.
The problem wasn't Chronos Eye.
It wasn't the musket either.
It was her sword.
More specifically, the recovery time after each swing.
Rio glanced down at the heavy iron blade in her hand.
Whenever she used Chronos Eye to slow an enemy and followed up with a sword strike, the attack itself landed perfectly. The issue came immediately afterward.
The weight of the weapon dragged down her movements.
Each slash required a noticeable recovery period before she could attack again.
For ordinary combat, that wasn't a major issue.
For a combat style built entirely around precise timing and temporal manipulation, it was a serious flaw.
Chronos Eye created brief openings.
She needed a weapon that could fully capitalize on those openings.
A heavy sword wasn't ideal.
Rio sighed.
As much as she liked the weapon, she already knew what she had to do.
"I need a different sword."
Ryota looked over.
"Hm?"
Rio had already opened the in-game marketplace.
Rows upon rows of weapons appeared before her.
Swords.
Axes.
Spears.
Daggers.
Countless options filled the interface.
She carefully scrolled through them, examining every detail.
Weight.
Attack speed.
Reach.
Handling.
Durability.
She wasn't looking for raw power.
She needed something fast.
Something light.
Something capable of chaining attacks with minimal delay.
Several minutes passed before she finally found it.
At the very bottom of the list sat a weapon she had completely forgotten about.
A one-handed curved saber.
Rio's eyes widened.
The blade was beautiful.
Lightweight.
Perfectly balanced.
Quick.
Elegant.
Every statistic was exactly what she wanted.
It was practically designed for the Chronos Eye fighting style she was developing.
Then she noticed the price.
Her excitement instantly died.
Five copper coins.
Rio froze.
"...What?"
She stared at the number.
Then checked again.
Five copper.
Not one.
Not two.
Five.
She immediately opened her currency tab.
Three copper coins.
That was all she had left.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
The pain hit her immediately.
Every new player started with three copper coins.
She had already spent one purchasing the musket.
The fact that this saber cost five entire copper pieces was absurd.
Rio rubbed her forehead.
"The Day One rush..."
The realization came quickly.
Millions of players had entered Evermount simultaneously.
Everyone wanted better equipment.
Everyone wanted faster progression.
Demand had skyrocketed.
Prices had followed.
Rio groaned.
"Of course."
She looked toward Ryota.
The boy was casually cleaning her musket as if nothing in the world could possibly be wrong.
"Hey."
Ryota looked up.
"Yeah?"
Rio pointed at him.
"Lend me two copper."
He blinked.
"That's it?"
"I'll pay you back later."
Ryota immediately opened the trading interface.
"No problem."
A moment later, two copper coins transferred into her inventory.
His balance dropped from three copper to one.
Rio didn't waste a second.
She immediately purchased the saber.
Purchase Successful.
The weapon materialized inside her inventory.
Rio equipped it.
The moment she held it, she could feel the difference.
The balance was perfect.
The blade felt almost weightless compared to her old sword.
A smile appeared on her face.
"Now this..."
She gave the saber a few test swings.
The weapon sliced effortlessly through the air.
Fast.
Responsive.
Precise.
Everything she wanted.
Ryota grinned.
"Looks like you found your soulmate."
Rio ignored him.
The two returned to the nearby clearing to continue testing.
Rio activated Chronos Eye.
Silver-blue energy shimmered around her eyes.
She raised the musket.
A nearby slime bounced toward her.
BANG.
The shot connected.
Temporal energy rippled outward.
The slime slowed dramatically.
Before it could react, Rio surged forward.
The curved saber flashed.
One clean strike.
The slime exploded into particles.
Rio immediately moved toward a goblin scout.
Another shot.
Another slowdown.
Another precise slash.
The goblin never had a chance.
The difference was night and day.
The saber's recovery time was dramatically shorter.
Every movement flowed naturally into the next.
Instead of fighting against the weapon, she was dancing with it.
A wolf charged.
Musket.
Chronos Eye.
Dash.
Slash.
Kill.
Another goblin.
Repeat.
Another slime.
Repeat.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The combo became smoother with every execution.
Ryota watched from nearby.
His expression grew increasingly impressed.
"This is ridiculous."
Rio smiled.
Without looking away from her target, she fired another musket shot.
The creature slowed instantly.
A moment later, her saber removed it from existence.
"This feels much better."
The rhythm finally made sense.
Musket.
Chronos Eye.
Approach.
Strike.
Retreat.
Repeat.
It was simple.
Efficient.
Deadly.
Most importantly—
It fit her.
For nearly thirty minutes they continued experimenting.
Rio tested different angles.
Different approaches.
Different timing windows.
She monitored mana consumption.
Measured cooldown efficiency.
Experimented with movement patterns.
Meanwhile, Ryota occasionally assisted by drawing aggro from monsters or distracting enemies so she could focus entirely on testing.
His support proved surprisingly useful.
Before long, several groups of beginner monsters had been completely wiped out.
Slimes.
Goblins.
Wolves.
Spiders.
None of them survived for more than a few seconds.
Eventually both players stopped beside a large tree to rest.
Ryota opened his status window.
Then froze.
"Huh?"
Rio looked over.
"What?"
Ryota's eyes widened.
"I leveled up."
Rio blinked.
Then smiled.
"Level two?"
Ryota nodded enthusiastically.
"Level two."
A moment later, another notification appeared.
His expression changed again.
"Wait."
Rio immediately noticed.
"What is it?"
Ryota stared at the screen.
"...I got a skill."
Rio straightened.
Now she was interested.
Every player's first skill mattered.
Some skills were common.
Some were rare.
Some completely altered a player's future.
Rio walked over.
"Let's see it."
Ryota opened the skill window.
Then frowned.
"...Uh."
Rio waited.
"...What?"
Ryota scratched his head.
"It says..."
He squinted.
"Scalular Impact."
The moment those words left his mouth—
CLANG.
Rio's saber slipped from her hand and hit the ground.
The forest fell silent.
Ryota blinked.
Rio stared at him.
Her face was completely blank.
"...You're joking."
Ryota looked confused.
"What?"
Rio slowly pointed at him.
"Say that again."
"Scalular Impact?"
Rio covered her face with both hands.
"Oh my god."
Ryota looked concerned.
"Is that bad?"
Rio lowered her hands.
Her eyes were wide with disbelief.
"...Bad?"
She looked at him as if he had just announced he found a dragon egg inside a beginner chest.
"That skill is one of the strongest defensive abilities in the entire game."
Ryota froze.
"Seriously?"
Rio nodded.
"Scalular Impact allows you to manipulate the force of incoming impacts."
She crossed her arms.
"If someone punches you, you can reduce the force."
"If someone shoots you, you can reduce the force."
"If a giant monster slams into you, you can reduce the force."
Realization slowly appeared on Ryota's face.
"Wait..."
He looked down at his skill.
"That's insane."
Rio laughed bitterly.
"You have no idea."
A memory surfaced.
An old name.
A famous name.
Rio immediately remembered.
"Strong Jones."
Ryota tilted his head.
"Who?"
Rio leaned against a tree.
"One of the strongest tanks in Evermount."
"He possessed Scalular Impact."
Ryota became curious.
"What happened?"
Rio looked skyward.
"He became a nightmare."
She held up four fingers.
"It took forty-one days of nonstop attacks from an entire guild to finally damage his armor."
Ryota stared.
"...Forty-one days?"
Rio nodded.
"Raids."
"Sieges."
"Magic."
"Explosives."
"Everything."
She looked back at him.
"And he still survived."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Rio stared at Ryota.
Then sighed.
"Seriously."
She shook her head.
"What is your luck?"
First she received Chronos Eye.
Now Ryota received Scalular Impact.
Both were absurdly powerful.
Ryota scratched his cheek.
"So how do I use it?"
Rio immediately switched into teacher mode.
She spent several minutes explaining the mechanics.
How force reduction worked.
How impact manipulation functioned.
What situations it excelled in.
Its strengths.
Its weaknesses.
By the time she finished, Ryota nodded.
"Okay."
Then his eyes suddenly lit up.
Rio immediately became suspicious.
"...What?"
Ryota raised his sword.
"I know it's supposed to be defensive."
Rio narrowed her eyes.
"Yes."
"But what if I use it offensively?"
Rio blinked.
"What?"
Ryota smiled.
"What if I increase the force of my attacks?"
Rio immediately shook her head.
"That's not how it works."
Ryota shrugged.
"My sword is touching me."
Rio pointed at him.
"No."
"But technically—"
"No."
"It might—"
"No."
Ryota looked toward a large boulder near the path.
Rio immediately noticed.
And instantly became concerned.
"Ryota."
He walked toward the rock.
"Ryota."
He clenched his fist.
"Ryota."
He focused on the skill.
"Ryota."
He pulled his arm back.
Rio pointed aggressively.
"DO NOT PUNCH THE—"
Too late.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The impact detonated like artillery.
The entire boulder launched into the sky.
Not cracked.
Not shattered.
Launched.
It shot through the air at horrifying speed.
Both players watched it disappear above the forest canopy.
The world became silent.
Rio stared.
"...No."
Several seconds passed.
Then—
CRASH.
A distant impact echoed from somewhere far away.
Moments later came faint screams.
Rio slowly turned.
Her face drained of color.
"...That direction."
She pointed toward the horizon.
"The Town of Beginnings."
Ryota followed her finger.
His expression slowly changed.
"...Oops."
Rio grabbed him by the collar.
"RUN."
The two immediately took off through the forest.
Branches whipped past them.
Leaves flew everywhere.
Rio was screaming the entire time.
"YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT!"
Ryota stumbled while trying to keep up.
"I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD WORK!"
"YOU LAUNCHED A BOULDER INTO A CITY!"
"I'M SORRY!"
"THAT'S NOT GOING TO HELP IF WE KILLED SOMEONE!"
Ryota's face turned pale.
"...We're getting a penalty, aren't we?"
Rio accelerated.
"WE'RE GETTING ALL THE PENALTIES!"
The two disappeared deeper into the forest, sprinting toward the Town of Beginnings as fast as they could.
Behind them, birds exploded from the trees.
Ahead of them—
A very unfortunate city was probably trying to figure out why a giant flying boulder had suddenly fallen out of the sky.