Snow felt the sharp, hot breeze hit her momentarily, causing her body to sweat. She felt confused at the sudden increase in temperature, mostly because it was still spring in Atlantis. The weather was a lot cooler.

She squinted, taking a good look at her surroundings. Tall grass covered most of the surrounding, hiding half the view. Only a few speckled dots of trees sprouted out like weeds in the endless plain. She had to tiptoe to look over the tall grass to see what she could find.

When she snapped her head to the right, she saw other small apartments present. A nerve-wracking screams of death and chaos could be heard, followed by a head pounding crash of broken glass. A body was flung out with a chair right behind it.

A sickening thud could be heard on impact as it hit the concrete. Snow stood stupefied in what she had just seen. A large black body, the size of a large dog, was dead on the ground as it bled. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of creature it was until she got a closer look. It was a Hellhound.

Boney body with ribs sticking out, body like a dog with evil red eyes as its large jaws were filled with rows of white teeth painted with blood. An ugly gash was ripped out on the side as half of its jaw was hanging off the bone.

She gazed up, finding a familiar figure peering down from the window.

"Is that-?"

"Ms. Snow!" Mike, the Hero, called out, waving his hand in excitement to see a familiar figure.

"You gotta be shitting me." Snow stared in complete daze, wondering how in the world the Hero had ended up living a block from her. Why did it take her months even to find this out? She wondered. Maybe the extensive workload that she had been doing had caused her not to come home as often as she liked that what she told herself.

Even meeting Dairen was once a day for a few minutes if she ever got home in time. The long hours were exhausting her that she didn't want to talk with anyone most of the time when she got back. She had to force herself to work out every day at her lunch break to help control her stress level, which she did diligently as the amount of work piled upon her was quite a lot. It was one of the activities she never skipped unless she rested her body once a week.

"Mike…." Dairen rolled his eyes, frowning. Not so pleased to see Mike anywhere near them.

"You sound like you don't like him."

"Better word for it is not worth my time."

Snow chuckled, shaking her head in understanding. Mike was a hit or miss. He acted kind to the people he liked and was a dickhead to another he didn't want. Even his cocky attitude that she sees quite often made her roll her eyes at times.

"I'll be right down there!" Mike yelled back in excitedly. "Give me a second!" He disappeared from the window.

Snow could hear the loud sound of crashing and monsters screaming. A few things being thrown around. It took him a good fifteen minutes for him to appear before them winded.

"That took you a while." Dairen crossed his arms while Mike was breathing a bit slowly as he tried to calm his heavy breathing.

Snow stared at him in disbelief.

What stood before her was Mike in a silver suit of armor, which looked quite clunky in her opinion. Gold and blue accents gave it a subtle royal flare, bringing out the shocking blue eyes matching his high cheekbones. Even his golden hair perfectly matched his armor, giving him a more divine feel. A blue cape draped over half of his shoulder with a white and gold sun symbol drawn in the middle.

Snow thought Mike came out straight from a fantasy role-playing novel as it felt bizarre to see him in such attire. But then again, almost all of the Players wore silly costumes. It was quite entertaining to watch, but for instances like these, she wondered if he could even move correctly in all that armor.

"Are you able to even move in that?" Snow blurted out. She couldn't help contain her curiosity as she wanted to know the answer that has been bugging her the moment she laid eyes on him. "Is that not heavy?"

"Not really." Mike proudly showed off his armor as he stood up, straighter, and puffing his chest. "I can move quite well in it. I barely feel any weight."

"Is that normal for you guys?"

"Normal?"

"Yea, not to feel any weight."

"I….don't know?" Micheal didn't understand her question, mostly because he thought it was very reasonable.

Dairen spoke up, clarifying the situation. "We get stronger, Snow. This allows us to carry a heavier weight without any problems."

"But it's that drastic?" It mystified her as she thought over what he had said. Even the armor she was wearing now was a bit heavy, in her opinion though it didn't limit her movement.

"We level up, and each time our status grows: slowly. This could be the reason why we can wear heavier armor without much difficulty."

A bubbling feeling of jealousy steamed from her heart. For a moment, she too wished that she could see her status. If she could, the thought of traveling the world without being afraid would be easy. She didn't have to buy so many items and weapons just to protect herself.

"Well, was there anyone else with you, Mike?" Snow asked, changing the subject to appease her jealous heart. "Like your friends?"

Mike shook his head. "I was supposed to meet Eleanor tonight, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon."

"Will she look for you?"

"Absolutely." Mike vigorously shook her head up and down with a smile on his face. "She is my best friend. We were through thick and thin together as long as I started to walk."

"Good because we have no reception." Snow replied she wished that she did. The extra help from outside would be great right now as she didn't want to stay in the dungeon any longer than necessary.

"I noticed that as well," said Mike, "though I was able to get in contact with one of my friends."

"Wait. How?" Snow was excited and confused at the same time. The thought of getting in contact from the outside world stumped her. If she could, she would've done it immediately and informed Heather what was going on.

"Eleanor had created a simple two-way magical connection, give me a second." He searched around as he pulled out a small bag. Fishing for an item, he pulled out a conch shell. "This is like our radio, but with magic." He handed it towards Snow, who took a good look at the item.

She flipped it over a few times, realizing how crude and straightforward the magic was. It hit her how stupid she was and wondered why she didn't think of a two-way spell using it like a telephone.

"I talked with her already, telling her about my situation. She told me that she's going to get help."

Snow felt relieved at such information, knowing that help was arriving. "Could you relay a message to her to make me a device and give it to Heather, one of the receptionists in Dragon Express and bring one for me? I'll pay for the service."

"Sure, but I need an hour to recharge the device. It only lasts for like three minutes before it goes out." Mike embarrassedly stated, "It was our first attempt to make something like this."

"That's good enough." She replied, those precious three minutes were special, and it was all she needed to connect directly with the outside world. "Plus, we should get a faster response and an update if I can get in contact with Heather. The Dragon Express should put up a bounty for the Dungeon Exploration."

"That is good to know." Mike replied, "I was worried that no one would believe her, and I would be stuck in this weird place."

"We take our jobs seriously, and something of this caliber would be classified as a top priority mission. So far, it seems like a level C dungeon, but the danger level could rise. There have been cases of dungeon becoming stronger as months went by and even reached the legendary status of an S Level Dungeon. Such cases only happen once in a thousand years, but let's hope that isn't the case. The quicker we clear the source of the dungeon's power, the faster such event will never happen."

"I am glad to hear that."

"With that being said, let's go find our exit."

Mike nodded, but suddenly he exclaimed in disbelief. "I got a quest." He looked up towards Snow as a lopsided grin appeared on his lips. "I knew we were destined to be together." He cheesily stated, which made Snow cringe.

"You got a quest too?" Dairen asked, wondering what he got—popping Mike's self-imaginary bubble of the delusion that he conjured up.

"Yes, to protect the princess and safely take her out of the Dungeon."

"Princess?"

"Yep," Mike gave Snow a wink, smiling his head off as if he was a kid at a candy store.

Snow stared at the two, wondering what they were chattering about. She didn't know how she even gave them a quest in the beginning. Was there a specific condition that she needed to meet, or were the Players all crazy? For her, she wanted to believe the second option was the truth, but she knew that there was more to this than meet the eye. At the rate that she was just accepting things as it is was quite miraculous as most of the magical community found the Players all crazy.

Most wouldn't have been on as friendly of a term if they didn't bring the much-needed workforce to the table. There weren't many Awakened or even Hunters these days compared to the old. The magic was a lot less than before, which she believed was the reason for the less amount of Awaken being born.

The Players appearing helped boomed the business, which resulted in quite a few changes in the magical community.

"Let's go, enough goofing around." Snow replied, starting her journey, turning towards the only large glowing area that she could see off in the distance. Something about it attracted her, and she had the urge to get there.

"I wasn't goofing around, Ms. Snow," Mike said with a feign heart. "I meant it too."

Snow rolled her eyes. "See that?" She pointed towards the only area that had a bright glow off in the distance. "That is our destination."

"Are you sure you want to go there?"

"Yes, why not?"

"Nothing, just making sure the princess wanted to go there." Mike winked.

Snow wanted to hit her head against a tree. The idiot flirting never turned off, and she wanted to smack him.

"Anyways, there is a large influx of magic in that direction. It could be an exit or…." She hoped to God it wasn't something dangerous.

Dairen finished off her words, "dangerous." that she didn't want to say.

"Yes."

They moved forward, a destination in hand, as they trekked through the thick plain. It was challenging to walk through. Snow's hands reached out to push the grass away, allowing her to step through. For a while, they painstakingly made their way until they made it to a more open plain.

Snow felt a sharp pain on her shoulders. She cursed under her breath at the strenuous, repetitive activity that made her wish that she was fighting instead of moving in one motion for hours.

"I'm glad I'm out of that hell hole." Dairen stretched. "How close are we to our destination?"

"Not close enough." Mike frowned, "it would be nice to have some kind of a car or something in

here."

"That would be ideal, but I highly doubt dungeon exploring would allow something so convenient like that to exist. We barely even saw a clear path from the…." Dairen turned around and squinted as he looked for the apartment. It was quite a bit away, sticking out like weeds in the sea of grass.

"Apartment. Honestly, I feel like we barely moved."

Snow couldn't help but agree.

They kept walking.

"You know, it feels like we are on a hike." Compared to the other two, Mike seems vibrant with energy. "I used to go on long hikes through the forest for hours. It was quite fun."

"We could see it like that," said Dairen. "Better than doom and gloom, right, Snow?" He looked over towards her to check on her.

Snow was breathing a bit slowly. Her feet were aching, she was tired, and her muscles felt sore. Their constant chattering made her wonder where they had all that energy.

"Yea." She let out a bit of a wheeze, letting her chest take in some much-needed air. Stopping, she walked over to a clearing and sat down. "Let me catch some breath."

"That's fine. I am a bit hungry." Dairen spoke, he started to take out some canned and instant food. "What do you want? I have….ramen, spam, fruit cups…."

"Fruit cups and some water, please."

"Okay." Dairen fished out the things that she asked for and handed it to her.

Snow gratefully took it and drank half the bottle. She didn't realize that she was so thirsty until now. She then next peeled the plastic off the fruit cup and devoured it.

"Do you have another?"

"Here." Dairen handed her another fruit cup. "It isn't much, but eating light, for now, is better until we find a place to settle. It's 5 o'clock right now."

"Good point." She ate the second fruit cup. The others ate a few, storing the trash away. "How much further do we have?"

"Pretty far to be honest with you." Dairen got up as he scanned the surrounding. "I wouldn't be surprised if we get there for another three-hour hike. From the apartment to here, it took about four, and I'm just realistic."

Snow thought it over. "At least we made it halfway." She replied, trying to cheer up. "I should be good for now."

Getting up, she brushed off the dirt. The others followed after her as they headed towards the destination.

Both Dairen and Mike conversed with each other, walking in the open plains as if it was some kind of picnic. While Snow diligently watched for any dangers ahead. Hot sticky air caused her to sweat under her armor. She wished dearly to be able to cool down.

The silence around them was unnatural, almost spooky. Barely any wind drifted through the air, which rustled the grass and leaves. Still, it wasn't enough. Snow couldn't hear the usual cries of the bird or the songs of the insect. For the other two to not sense this strange atmosphere, she knew that they were still beginners.

Eventually, they came across a small stream, where the sudden sound of water brought a pleasant excitement and relief. The only drowning voices were both Dairen and Mike, which they didn't seem to notice.

Her eyes darted, her body tensed as her right hand quickly rested on top of her hilt. She stopped, waiting for the possible ambush. The others stood in place, just watching her as they felt that she was overreacting. Even Dairen couldn't help but frown when she had stopped more times than once.

Eventually, the sound would disappear, bringing back the chattering noise of both Dairen and Mike.

Her fingers gripped tightly onto her hilt, while she chewed her lower lips to the point of tasting blood. How she hated this silence as it wrecked on her nerves. Was it an enemy or not? She didn't know but knew that she needed to calm down.

Taking a deep breath a few times, she was able to calm down as time went by.

Though what she noticed during her hike was that her magical energy was a lot higher. She could feel it in the air; she felt intoxicatingly powerful.

Though what had worried her was the nagging feeling of wanting more. Was it just her, or did the other two feel it as well?

"Guys," She called out, hoping that they had the same answer as her. The two looked towards her. "Do you guys feel the change in magical boost in energy?"

"Magical boost in energy?" Dairen cocked his head, unsure what she meant. "Like a buff?"

"A buff?" Snow was thrown off by his words.

"Yea, something like a status increase that stays with you a duration of time."

"I guess?"

"Not that I know of." Darien shrugged, even Mike shook his head.

"It must be me then." Snow whispered under her breath.

"Did you say something?"

"No, never mind."

Snow was deep in thought about the situation, but put it aside as the continuous cycle of questions would drive her insane. Instead, she focused on her task. To reach the bright glowing area with a high mana density.

As the day progressed, the dungeon quickly turned to night. Snow was amazed at the day and night setting. She wondered if it was like this on the other floors.

"Look, we are right around the corner," Dairen called out excitedly as he pointed towards the only bright light source.

They finally arrived at their destination. Snow ran forward energetically with the other two as they climbed the hill. Upon reaching the top, they abruptly stopped.

What welcomed them was a crystal clear lake surrounded by monsters: drinking.