Evermount: I Was Betrayed By My Guild, So I Restarted The Game

Kiraya did not attack.

Her sword remained raised in front of her, the blade still wrapped in the flames produced by [Lionheart Enhancement]. The golden fire danced along the length of Lionheart, casting flickering light across the dark cavern.

Yet Kiraya's attention was no longer on the weapon.

It was on the girl standing directly in front of her.

The purple-haired girl still had one hand raised.

Her armored glove had caught Lionheart's blade.

She hadn't dodged.

She hadn't parried the attack with another weapon.

She had simply reached out and stopped it.

Kiraya slowly pulled her sword backward.

The girl released the blade without resistance.

The moment Lionheart slipped free, the flames surrounding it flickered between them.

Kiraya's eyes remained fixed on her opponent.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

She had expected resistance when she activated [Lionheart Enhancement]. The skill wasn't some ordinary enhancement that simply made her stronger for an extended period of time. It was a specialized Crusader skill designed to strengthen her next attack.

At Level 1, the lowest possible level, its effect was modest.

A three-percent increase.

On paper, three percent didn't sound impressive.

Someone unfamiliar with the mechanics might even dismiss it as insignificant.

Kiraya knew better.

Three percent applied to a powerful attack could be the difference between an enemy surviving a strike and having their health bar completely shattered.

And that wasn't even the important part.

The true value of [Lionheart Enhancement] was its growth.

As the skill leveled up, the percentage increase applied to her next attack would become greater. A three-percent enhancement today could eventually become something far more substantial.

For a Crusader who specialized in powerful attacks, that growth had enormous potential.

Yet Kiraya wasn't thinking about any of that anymore.

Her mind had become completely occupied by the girl in front of her.

She caught it.

Kiraya glanced briefly at Lionheart.

Even with the enhancement active, the girl had stopped the blade with one hand.

Who is she?

Kiraya slowly lowered her sword into a defensive position.

"What's your name?"

The purple-haired girl tilted her head.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she smiled.

"Corvina."

Her voice was calm.

Almost playful.

She raised her free hand and casually brushed a strand of purple hair behind her shoulder.

Then she added,

"The Raven of Dancing Winds."

Kiraya's expression changed.

Corvina.

The name itself meant nothing to her.

But the title did.

Her eyes narrowed.

"You're from Epsilon Dawn."

Corvina's smile widened.

"Very good."

Kiraya's grip tightened around Lionheart.

Of course.

The realization settled into place.

Epsilon Dawn.

That explained where the girl came from, but it didn't explain who she was.

Kiraya's thoughts immediately returned to the battle at the Nendu Express.

The memory was still vivid.

The rushing wind.

The roar of the train.

The enormous distance between the tracks and the ground below.

And the woman who had fought her on top of that moving train.

Sarrow.

The Golden Shredder.

The blonde-haired guild leader with white eyes and an overwhelming presence.

Kiraya had fought Sarrow personally.

She remembered how frighteningly fast the woman was.

Sarrow could transform into light and move across the battlefield at speeds that made ordinary reactions nearly useless. She could appear from impossible angles, attack, and vanish before most players could even understand what had happened.

Kiraya had been forced to adapt just to survive.

Sarrow was undoubtedly powerful.

But Corvina felt different.

Completely different.

Kiraya studied her carefully.

There was no overwhelming aura surrounding the purple-haired girl.

No obvious display of power.

No intimidating posture.

She wasn't radiating the kind of killing intent that would make an inexperienced player panic.

She simply stood there.

Relaxed.

Smiling.

As if she were standing in an ordinary conversation rather than in the middle of a battle.

That bothered Kiraya more than an obvious display of strength would have.

She had never heard the name Corvina before.

Not once.

And that was strange.

Evermount had been running for eight months.

Although only two months had passed in the real world because of the difference between Evermount's internal time and reality, eight months inside the game was more than enough time for reputations to develop.

Famous players were everywhere.

Guilds competed over rankings.

Dungeon raiders became recognizable figures.

Rare skills were discussed on forums.

Players who accomplished something extraordinary quickly became known across entire floors.

A powerful player couldn't remain completely invisible forever.

Or at least, that was what Kiraya had always believed.

She knew that better than most.

Kiraya had never set out to become famous.

Back when Eternity Lions was still a smaller guild, she had spent countless hours running dungeons.

She had joined beginner parties when nobody else wanted to.

She had helped inexperienced players survive areas they were completely unprepared for.

She had led raids.

She had cleared difficult dungeons.

She had repeatedly appeared in dungeon reports and player discussions simply because she was always there.

Eventually, people began giving her a name.

The Lionheart Knight.

The vice captain who never seemed to stop raiding.

The woman who would drag inexperienced adventurers through dungeons they had no business entering.

She hadn't pursued that reputation.

It had simply followed her.

That was how fame worked in Evermount.

You became visible.

You fought in major raids.

You participated in public battles.

You defeated something impressive.

You performed some ridiculous feat that players couldn't stop talking about.

Eventually, people learned your name.

Yet there were other players who remained almost completely unknown.

Rio.

Ryota.

Sayanaki.

People knew nothing about them.

Strong and capable players but barely anyone truly know them.

Rio had rumors surrounding her.

The White Swordswoman of Dragon's Peak.

A mysterious silver-haired player who had apparently defeated monsters far above her expected level.

But very few people had actually seen Rio fight.

Even fewer knew who she really was.

The rumors had created a legend without revealing the person behind it.

Ryota was similar.

People had heard strange stories about him.

A white-haired player with ridiculous strength.

A swordsman capable of surviving attacks that should have killed him.

A player with bizarre luck.

But very few had witnessed his strongest abilities firsthand.

And Sayanaki?

Even less was known about her.

Or should we say, those who survived refused to speak.

An assassin who appeared and disappeared leaving nothing but blood and corpses.

A player who preferred to remain in the shadows.

Someone who didn't care about fame.

Their strength existed largely outside public knowledge.

Kiraya understood why.

Yet Corvina had none of that.

At least, none that Kiraya knew about.

That was what made the situation unsettling.

There were certainly thousands of players Kiraya didn't know.

Most players would never become famous.

Most names disappeared into the enormous population of Evermount.

But the girl standing in front of her wasn't ordinary.

Someone capable of stopping Lionheart with a single armored hand shouldn't have been completely unknown.

Unless she wanted to be unknown.

Kiraya's eyes narrowed.

Perhaps Corvina had deliberately avoided attention.

Perhaps she had hidden her strength.

Or perhaps she had simply never had a reason to reveal it.

Either possibility was dangerous.

There was another name that came to Kiraya's mind.

Falco.

He had appeared during the Epsilon Dawn operation.

Kiraya hadn't paid much attention to him at the time. There had been too much happening during the incident, and her attention had been focused elsewhere.

But there had been something strange about him.

Something difficult to describe.

The same feeling was returning now.

The feeling that she was looking at someone who didn't belong on the list of people she knew.

Someone whose strength existed outside the public eye.

Kiraya's instincts gave her a simple warning.

Caution.

She shifted her stance.

Her shield rose slightly.

Corvina noticed.

A faint smile appeared on her face.

"Oh?"

Kiraya didn't respond.

She simply watched her.

Corvina's posture remained relaxed.

Too relaxed.

Her shoulders weren't tense.

Her breathing was steady.

Her eyes weren't wandering around the battlefield.

She wasn't checking for an escape route.

She wasn't looking toward the entrance.

She wasn't concerned about the other players surrounding them.

Her entire attention remained focused on Kiraya.

That told Kiraya something important.

Corvina wasn't nervous.

She was confident.

Very confident.

Kiraya's gaze hardened.

She isn't even worried about being surrounded.

That realization made her stomach tighten.

There were several players behind Corvina.

More enemies were still arriving from deeper within the cave.

Kiraya had already fought several of them, yet Corvina didn't seem concerned.

It was almost as if the others weren't important.

As if she knew that Kiraya couldn't get past her.

Kiraya slowly exhaled.

There was something else bothering her.

Epsilon Dawn's members might be far more dangerous than she had originally assumed.

Sarrow was certainly powerful.

Kiraya had experienced that firsthand.

But Sarrow was understandable.

Her fighting style was extremely difficult, but it had rules.

Kiraya had eventually discovered the timing behind Sarrow's transformation into light.

Once she understood that weakness, she could adapt.

Corvina was different.

Kiraya couldn't read her.

She couldn't predict what the girl would do next.

And an opponent you couldn't understand was often more dangerous than an opponent who was obviously stronger.

Kiraya tightened her grip on Lionheart.

What exactly are you?

She didn't get the chance to finish the thought.

Corvina disappeared.

Kiraya's eyes widened.

"What—?"

A blur of purple flashed across her vision.

Corvina was suddenly directly in front of her.

Far too close.

Kiraya's instincts screamed.

She immediately raised her shield.

But Corvina had already attacked.

Her armored hand shot toward Kiraya's face.

Kiraya twisted her head at the last possible moment.

The attack missed her eye.

Barely.

Something sharp still grazed across her cheek.

A sudden sting spread across her skin.

Kiraya stepped backward.

Her fingers instinctively touched the wound.

She felt something warm.

When she looked at her fingertips, they were stained red.

Blood.

Her blood.

A thin cut ran across her cheek.

Kiraya froze for half a second.

She scratched me.

That was all.

A simple scratch.

Yet Kiraya knew how close it had been.

If she hadn't moved her head at that exact moment, that attack would have struck her eye.

And if Corvina's attack had been aimed anywhere else—

Kiraya didn't want to finish the thought.

She took another step backward.

Then another.

Her boots scraped against the stone floor.

Corvina didn't pursue her.

She simply remained where she was.

Her purple twin ponytails swayed gently behind her.

The armored glove remained raised.

Her expression was still relaxed.

Still amused.

Kiraya slowly lowered her hand from her cheek.

The cut wasn't particularly deep.

Her health bar had barely moved.

But that wasn't what mattered.

The message had been delivered.

I can reach you.

Kiraya stared at Corvina.

The playful expression she had worn earlier was gone.

She finally understood.

This wasn't some obscure Epsilon Dawn member who had gotten lucky.

This girl was dangerous.

Extremely dangerous.

And Kiraya had nearly paid the price for treating her like an ordinary player.

Corvina smiled.

"You're pretty good."

Kiraya's eyes narrowed.

"So are you."

Neither woman moved.

The cavern seemed to become quieter around them.

The other players had stopped advancing.

Even they appeared to understand that something had changed.

This was no longer a simple group battle.

It was a confrontation between two players who had both realized that the other was dangerous.

Kiraya slowly raised Lionheart again.

The flames along the blade burned brighter.

Her shield moved into position.

Her feet shifted.

Her center of gravity lowered.

Her entire posture changed.

There would be no more teasing.

No more casual confidence.

No more testing her opponent.

Kiraya had finally stopped treating Corvina as an ordinary player.

She was facing her as an enemy.

A serious enemy.

Corvina's smile widened.

Then—

she vanished again.

Kiraya's eyes snapped toward the empty space in front of her.

Her heart lurched.

Again?!

She couldn't see her.

Not yet.

A faint gust of wind suddenly brushed against Kiraya's hair.

Her eyes widened.

She immediately turned.

The sound of something slicing through the air reached her ears.

Kiraya raised her shield.

CLANG!

A powerful impact struck the shield.

The force drove Kiraya's boots backward across the stone.

She gritted her teeth.

Corvina was there.

Again.

The purple-haired girl stood beside her, one hand pressed against Kiraya's shield.

The air around her seemed to move.

A faint current of wind spiraled around her body.

Kiraya's eyes sharpened.

Wind manipulation?

The answer wasn't certain.

But the title made more sense now.

The Raven of Dancing Winds.

Corvina suddenly pulled her hand away.

Kiraya expected another attack.

Instead, Corvina stepped backward.

She smiled.

"You really are interesting."

Kiraya didn't lower her shield.

"Can't say I feel the same."

Corvina laughed softly.

"You will."

Kiraya's expression hardened.

Behind them, another group of footsteps echoed through the cavern.

More enemies.

More reinforcements.

And somewhere beyond the darkness, Ryota, Fayzan, and Ayame were still searching for Ramos.

Kiraya couldn't let this battle drag on forever.

She needed to finish this.

But before she could move, Corvina's body suddenly leaned forward.

The air around her compressed.

The stone beneath her foot cracked.

Kiraya's eyes widened.

She recognized the movement immediately.

Another charge.

Another burst of speed.

Kiraya raised her shield.

Lionheart burned in her hand.

Her muscles tensed.

This time, she wouldn't underestimate her.

Corvina smiled.

Kiraya's expression became fierce.

And then the two of them collided once again.