Night settled over Casakola.
The final traces of twilight disappeared beyond the towering mountain ranges surrounding Floor Three, leaving only the soft glow of the campfire illuminating the elevated campsite.
The crackling flames cast dancing shadows against the stone pillars surrounding them.
Dinner had long since ended.
The group remained seated around the fire, enjoying the rare opportunity to simply rest.
For the first time since entering Floor Three, nobody was fighting.
Nobody was running.
Nobody had to watch every bush for hidden predators.
Even the tense atmosphere that had followed Rio's warning gradually eased as conversation naturally began.
Ramos happily leaned back against one of the tents.
"I never imagined I'd be eating dinner on top of a giant rock inside a cave."
Silla giggled.
"I honestly thought we were going to sleep on the ground."
"So did I."
Ramos scratched his head awkwardly.
"I would've been monster food before morning."
Kiraya chuckled.
"Probably."
Ramos immediately protested.
"You're agreeing too fast!"
"I was joking!"
"You weren't."
Sayanaki answered lazily without even opening her eyes.
Everyone laughed.
Even Ramos.
The mood became considerably lighter.
Hinabi quietly stirred the remaining embers inside the fire.
"I have to admit..."
"I've camped plenty of times."
"But never somewhere like this."
Rio smiled.
"Floor Three doesn't give people many choices."
"It rewards preparation."
"It punishes carelessness."
Ryota nodded.
"...That's become pretty obvious."
The conversations continued naturally.
Ramos asked Silla about her hometown.
Kiraya told embarrassing stories about Hinabi during their group expedition days.
Hinabi immediately denied every single one.
"I did not fall into that river."
Kiraya couldn't stop smiling.
"You absolutely did."
"It was one time."
"You slipped because you were trying to show off."
"It wasn't showing off!"
"It was a tactical demonstration."
Rio quietly laughed.
Ryota watched everyone.
A strange warmth settled in his chest.
Just a few weeks ago...
None of these people knew each other.
Now...
They sat around one campfire.
Sharing food.
Sharing stories.
Trusting one another with their lives.
It felt...
...like a family.
Hours slowly passed.
One by one...
The conversations became quieter.
Yawns gradually replaced laughter.
Sayanaki was already asleep before anyone noticed.
Curled inside her sleeping bag with one hand resting beside her dagger, she somehow still looked alert despite being completely asleep.
"...How does she even do that?"
Ramos whispered.
Kiraya smiled.
"Years of habit probably in her real life."
Hinabi stretched.
"I think I'm calling it a night."
"I'm exhausted."
Rio nodded.
"Get some rest."
"We move early tomorrow."
One after another...
The tents closed.
Soon...
Only two people remained awake.
Rio.
And Ryota.
The cave had become wonderfully quiet.
Only the steady crackling of burning wood echoed softly through the darkness.
Rio crouched beside the fire.
Using a long stick, she carefully pushed several burning logs closer together.
The flames became smaller.
More controlled.
She quietly added another piece of wood before brushing loose ash away from the surrounding stones.
Ryota watched her.
"...You really know what you're doing."
Rio smiled faintly.
"When you spend years playing..."
"...you eventually learn."
Silence returned.
The fire continued dancing between them.
Ryota rested his elbows on his knees.
"...Can I ask something?"
Rio looked toward him.
"What?"
He stared into the flames.
"What were you doing..."
"...when Floor Two and Floor Three first unlocked?"
Rio's hand stopped moving.
For several seconds...
She simply stared at the fire.
The dancing flames reflected within her blue eyes.
Then—
A memory resurfaced.
A battlefield.
Hundreds of players.
Steel clashing.
Monsters roaring.
Guild banners flying high above the battlefield.
Royal Knights.
Rio slowly smiled.
"...I wasn't anywhere near here."
Ryota quietly listened.
Rio continued.
"When these floors first opened..."
"...I was still on Floor One."
Ryota blinked.
"...Really?"
Rio nodded.
"I was leading a large raid."
"Back then..."
"...Floor One hadn't even been fully explored."
Her expression became nostalgic.
"There were hundreds of guilds competing."
"Everyone wanted to be the first."
"The strongest."
"The most famous."
She softly laughed.
"We spent days fighting over raid bosses."
"Resources."
"Dungeons."
"Anything that could give us an advantage."
She looked toward the cave entrance.
"In my previous life..."
"...Floor Three felt impossibly far away."
Ryota remained silent.
Rio continued.
"But now..."
She smiled.
"We're ahead."
"Far ahead."
She drew several lines in the dirt with the stick she had been holding.
"Most players are still on Floor One."
"They're probably exploring beginner dungeons."
"Learning basic mechanics."
She drew another circle.
"The more experienced guilds from other games..."
"...have probably reached Floor Two."
"They're still mapping the desert."
"Learning where resources are."
She looked back toward Ryota.
"And us?"
Rio smiled confidently.
"We're standing on Floor Three."
She pointed beyond the cave entrance.
"The player population here..."
"...is almost nonexistent."
"There might be a handful of solo players."
"A few guild scouts."
"Perhaps one or two elite exploration parties."
Her smile slowly disappeared.
"But..."
"I doubt many of them are surviving tonight."
Ryota followed her gaze toward the darkness outside.
"...Because of the creatures."
Rio nodded.
"The night belongs to them."
"They know this land."
"We don't."
The camp fell silent once more.
Then—
Far away...
A scream pierced the night.
"Aaaaahhhhhh!"
The cry echoed through the jungle before suddenly cutting off.
Immediately afterward—
Several distant howls answered.
"Awooooo..."
"Awooooo..."
The mournful cries of the Lynxario drifted across the forest.
Neither Rio nor Ryota moved.
Neither looked surprised.
They simply listened.
Eventually...
The forest returned to silence.
Ryota slowly spoke.
"...Rio."
"Hm?"
"What happens..."
"...if we run into the Royal Knights?"
The fire crackled softly.
Rio stared into the dancing flames.
The question lingered in the air.
Royal Knights.
The guild she had devoted fifteen years of her life to.
The guild she had helped build from almost nothing.
The guild she had fought for.
Bled for.
Protected.
Only to be cast aside.
She closed her eyes.
For a brief moment...
Faces from her previous life appeared within her memories.
Comrades.
Friends.
People she had once trusted with everything.
Then...
Those memories disappeared.
Rio opened her eyes.
The hesitation was gone.
"If we cross paths with them..."
Her voice remained calm.
"...they won't be meeting the Rio from my previous life."
Ryota quietly listened.
Rio stood.
The firelight illuminated her face.
"The Rio that worked herself to exhaustion."
"The Rio that sacrificed everything for them."
"The Rio that believed loyalty alone would be enough..."
"She's gone."
A gentle breeze drifted through the cave entrance.
Rio looked toward the tents where everyone else peacefully slept.
Kiraya.
Hinabi.
Sayanaki.
Ramos.
Silla.
Ryota.
A faint smile appeared.
"I've already built something new."
She looked back toward Ryota.
"This time..."
"...I'm protecting something I don't ever want to lose."
Her silver eyes reflected the campfire.
"They won't be facing the Silver War Goddess who fought for Royal Knights."
Her smile slowly grew.
"They'll be facing..."
"Rio...the Guild Master of Crowned Era."
Ryota smiled.
"...I like that answer."
Rio looked back toward the silent jungle.
"So do I."
Beyond the cave...
The darkness of Casakola continued to watch.
But high above the cave floor...
Surrounded by companions she had chosen herself...
Rio no longer felt alone.
The campfire had nearly burned itself into glowing embers.
Only an occasional crackle disturbed the stillness inside the cave as the orange light slowly faded into a soft crimson glow. Outside, beyond the cave entrance, the endless jungle of Casakola remained hidden beneath an ocean of darkness.
Rio stood from the fire.
She brushed the ash from her hands before stretching her shoulders.
"I think that's enough for tonight."
Ryota nodded.
"Yeah."
He glanced toward the sleeping tents scattered across the stone platform.
Everyone had already fallen asleep.
Kiraya's tent remained perfectly still.
Hinabi's staff leaned against the entrance to hers.
Sayanaki, unsurprisingly, had ignored the tent entirely. She remained inside her sleeping bag beside the large stone pillar, one hand resting on the hilt of her dagger.
She looked completely asleep.
Yet somehow...
Ryota had the strange feeling she could wake in an instant.
Rio noticed him looking.
"Don't worry."
"If something approaches..."
"Sayanaki will probably wake before any of us."
Ryota chuckled.
"I don't even know if she actually sleeps."
Rio smiled.
"I'm beginning to wonder the same thing."
The two walked toward their own tent.
Rio stopped just before entering.
She looked over her shoulder.
"Close the entrance once you're inside."
Ryota nodded.
"Got it."
She disappeared inside first.
Ryota ducked through the entrance a second later before tying the tent flap shut behind him.
The cool night air was immediately blocked out.
Only the muffled sounds of the wind remained outside.
Rio had already settled inside her sleeping bag.
"Good night."
Ryota smiled.
"Good night."
The cave gradually fell silent.
Hours passed.
The moon slowly climbed higher into the sky.
Outside...
The jungle had become eerily quiet.
Ramos suddenly opened his eyes.
"...Mm..."
He blinked several times.
The campsite was silent.
Everyone was asleep.
He sighed quietly.
"...Seriously?"
"Now?"
He carefully climbed out of his sleeping bag, trying not to wake Silla sleeping peacefully beside him.
"Just for a minute..."
"I'll be right back."
He quietly stepped outside the tent.
The cool mountain air immediately greeted him.
The campfire had almost completely died.
Only faint red embers remained.
Ramos carefully walked toward the far edge of the stone platform where several large boulders offered privacy.
"...Shouldn't take long."
He quietly relieved himself while trying not to think about Rio's earlier warnings.
Everything seemed peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Then—
"...Hm?"
He heard something.
Very soft.
Almost like...
"...crying?"
Ramos slowly turned his head.
His eyes widened.
Down below the elevated stone platform...
Near the cave entrance...
A tiny creature stood trembling.
It resembled a young deer.
Soft green moss covered portions of its body while tiny leaves sprouted from the fur around its neck.
Its large frightened eyes shimmered beneath the moonlight.
"...A Phanphis..."
Ramos whispered.
The little creature backed away nervously.
Not because of him.
Because it wasn't alone.
Eight figures slowly emerged from the surrounding darkness.
Lynxario.
Their lean beast-like bodies moved silently over the cave floor.
Each carried primitive weapons crafted from sharpened bone and stone.
None of them attacked.
Not yet.
Instead...
They slowly circled the terrified baby Phanphis.
One stepped forward.
The frightened animal tried to flee.
Another Lynxario casually blocked its path.
The hunters weren't killing it.
They were...
Playing with it.
The tiny creature let out another frightened cry.
"Meeeh..."
Ramos instinctively reached toward the ground.
His fingers wrapped around a loose stone.
"...If I throw this..."
"...maybe I can scare them away..."
He raised his arm.
Then froze.
Rio's voice echoed inside his mind.
No matter what you hear.
No matter what you see.
Do not leave the campsite.
Do not interfere.
Ramos slowly lowered the stone.
His entire body trembled.
"But..."
The little Phanphis cried again.
Its frightened voice echoed through the cave.
One of the Lynxario slowly approached.
Another intentionally blocked every escape route.
Ramos clenched his fists.
"This isn't right..."
"I..."
His breathing became heavier.
Every instinct told him to help.
But Rio's warning refused to leave his thoughts.
He remained completely still.
Then...
The atmosphere changed.
Every single Lynxario stopped moving.
At once.
The playful expressions disappeared from their faces.
Their ears twitched.
They all looked toward the cave entrance.
A deep...
Thunderous roar rolled through the darkness.
ROOOOOOOO...
The sound wasn't especially loud.
Yet it carried an overwhelming weight that seemed to shake the air itself.
Ramos immediately covered his mouth.
A foul odor drifted into the cave.
It resembled damp earth...
Rotting wood...
And the overwhelming stench of a skunk.
His stomach instantly turned.
"...!"
Rio...
Rio said...
His eyes slowly widened.
"If you smell a horrible skunk smell..."
"...it's closer."
"...it has its eyes on you."
His entire body froze.
The Lynxario reacted before he could.
The fearless hunters that had surrounded the helpless Phanphis suddenly took several cautious steps backward.
Low growls escaped their throats.
Not toward the little deer.
Toward the darkness beyond the cave.
Heavy footsteps echoed from outside.
One.
After another.
Each step sounded impossibly heavy.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The cave itself seemed to vibrate.
A massive silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness beyond the entrance.
At first...
Ramos could only make out two enormous crimson eyes.
They floated within the darkness.
Watching.
Patiently.
Silently.
His breathing completely stopped.
"...The..."
"...Old Hunter..."
The words barely escaped his lips.
The towering figure stepped beneath the moonlight.
Its enormous body was covered in coarse black fur.
Its arms hung unnaturally long, nearly reaching the cave floor.
Every movement carried an unsettling calm.
It wasn't rushing.
It wasn't roaring.
It simply...
Walked.
As though it already knew nothing inside the cave could escape.
The Lynxario immediately abandoned the frightened Phanphis.
Their confidence vanished.
Without making a sound, the beastmen began retreating deeper into the surrounding darkness.
Not one of them challenged the newcomer.
Not one remained.
Ramos stared in absolute horror.
The strongest predators he had seen on Floor Three...
Were retreating.
The Old Hunter never looked at them.
Its crimson eyes remained fixed elsewhere.
The creature slowly lifted its head.
Its nostrils flared once.
As though taking in the scent carried through the night air.
High above...
Hidden on the elevated campsite...
Ramos felt every hair on his body stand on end.
His heartbeat pounded so loudly he was certain the monster could hear it.
The Old Hunter remained perfectly still.
Watching.
Listening.
Smelling.
Ramos didn't dare move.
He didn't even dare breathe.