For the next hour, Snow was busy. She ran around the building, looking for the people that she wanted in her team. She first stopped by Mr. Everrett on the third floor, who was reading a book. He was on the bench out on the balcony. Knocking on the door, she entered in a bit of a hurry.

"Mr. Everrett." Snow's breath was a bit heavy from running up five flights of stairs. "Would you mind escorting me around the dungeon? I got a mission that the Dragon Express has given me, and I need some assistance."

Mr. Everrett slowly dropped his book. He then looked over towards her with a stoic expression that he wasn't too pleased that he was disturbed. "A mission from the higher-ups?" He thought over what she had said. "Your training is still lacking, so we will do it while traveling."

Snow eyes and cheek twitches, realizing what this meant, but she didn't complain. Mr. Everrett was strong, and she would rather have his company with her.

"Thanks, Mr. Everrett." She was about to turn around and leave when he spoke out. "Take Mike and Dairen with you."

Snow stopped, turning towards him as if he doused a splash of cold water. "Why? They aren't strong enough."

"They will be."

"But they are already in their little party. I need a strong group that could assist me in scouting the dungeon for possible safe zones."

"Yes, which is why they will be useful. Out of all the Players I have seen, those two have had the highest potential in growth. This trip should help assist them in their growth as well as potentially help us as they know the ins and outs of the dungeon better than we do."

Snow thought over what he said, but she didn't agree. "We have the digital map, you know. I can score out the planes with that."

"No. You are thinking too illogically when it comes to the terrain. The people who have already explored the area could show us the best spots and dangers that a map can not show."

"I am going to ask Tamaki and Tommy to come join us." She replied to counter his statement.

"Which isn't a bad thought as well, but once again take those two and the young miss Red. I'm quite sure that the party is small and balanced in moving quickly through the terrains without being too much noticed."

Snow wanted to retort, but she knew that she was no expert in fighting. Taking the advice from Mr. Everrett was the right decision, it was just that she felt a bit reluctant to take them because of the possible headache Mike might bring. It wasn't that she didn't want Dairen to come; she just felt a bit uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed around him these days after Snow felt like she spilled a bit too much about herself to Dairen.

Brushing off the feeling, she steeled her resolve. If Mr. Everrett was suggesting such thoughts, she took his advice seriously.

"Okay. We'll leave tomorrow at 6 a.m."

Mr. Everrett didn't say anything but nodded, picking up his book again as he read.

She left, searching for the others that she had in mind. Tommy and Tamaki were in the training area, working out with the other Players and Hunters as they spared. They quickly said yes without much trouble. Even Red was indifferent as she too agreed without much complaint. For a moment, Snow thought she would deny her request, but that wasn't the case.

Eventually, Mike and Dairen were with a party of seven, wrapping up whatever they were doing.

Snow called out to them. "Dairen! Mike!" She waved them down. They glanced over, wondering what she wanted.

"Ms. Snow." Mike was the first one to happily shouted out in excitement when he saw her. "I'm glad to see you, but what brings you here?"

The other Players glanced over curiously, wondering what was going on. Mike's loud voice attracted unwanted attention, making Snow feel a bit nervous.

"Hello, Snow," Dairen replied.

"Hi, I was wondering if you guys could help me with something. It's a mission, per se, and you will be compensated for it."

"A mission?" Dairen ears perked at the thought of another mission. These days pulling tasks inside the dungeon wasn't often; it was all simple things that required not so much effort.

"Yes, I need you guys to escort me around the dungeon to look for another shop location deeper in the dungeon to set up."

Everyone gawked at what she had said, realizing what this meant. The Players knew that traveling through the dungeon took time and effort, especially the deeper they dive, the more items were needed. A Healer was an essential must when entering into the dungeon. So it was also important to save up on such precious items in times of dire needs when the Healer was out of magic.

Whispers began among the excited Players at the thought of a new shop.

"It's not fair," one of the Players responded. "Why do they get it and not us?"

Jealousy was apparent in many of the Players as they stared with daggers at Darien and Mike. Mike seemed to glow with pride at the thought of Snow, giving him a mission, while Dairen didn't even blink an eye or care about the other's opinion.

"It's because it's Mike and Dairen. Mike is the Hero, haven't you seen him accomplish those amazing feats the past week where he slew the boss monster?"

A male player snorted, "he just had the last hit. He wasn't the only one assisting in taking down the Boss. Over fifty players were doing a dungeon raid during that time with a handful of strong Hunters like Tommy and Tamaki. If both Tommy and Tamaki weren't with us again on the seventh dungeon raid, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to do the last hit."

The Players argued among themselves, shaking their heads at each other's opinion.

"Well, I heard Dairen had a previous connection with Ms. Snow. Probably even dating is what I heard. He used to live in Ms. Snow's apartment."

"What?!"

The Players gasped, getting excited about the news.

Snow couldn't help but turn a bit red, trying hard not to let these Players get to her.

"Don't mind them," Dairen replied, annoyed as well. "I was just a tenant. Nothing more." He spoke out loud for all of them to hear, which instantly silenced everyone.

Dairen stepped forward, "I'll gladly assist, Snow. Plus, I know you are a lot stronger than me, but I will repay your kindness and get stronger to protect you one day."

A whistle like cheer went out, making Dairen realize what and he said as he blushed.

Confused, unsure why they were all screaming, she spoke. "I'll look forward to it." Not minding his honest words. She felt a bit warm.

"Hey!" Mike butt in, "What about me?"

"What about you?" Dairen spoke up.

"I want to date you, Ms. Snow!" Mike bluntly stated.

A crowd of girls squealed in painful anguish at the thought of Mike being taken.

"No." Snow gave him a sharp reply. "As I was saying, I'll meet both of you guys in the morning at 6 a.m."

Mike was crestfallen by her sharp denial, which one would have thought that he was the victim. A group of girls came over to cheer him up, leaving Snow flabbergasted at the amount of harem that he had collected. It was a bit mind-boggling.

Snow turned around to leave. Mike was struggling to get out of the swarm of girls that he had created. He called out to her as if he was some kind of lost soul that was damned and thrown away.

Without further problem, the rest of the day was uneventful as she spent the time with Heather goofing off in their own little world before she had to leave.

#####

Snow woke up in the middle of the night as she felt a heavy breath looming over her. Darkness swallowed her whole. Her instinct was on overdrive; she lashed out at whoever it was. She hit the air.

A low chuckle rang out from her room.

"Who's there?" She called out, her grogginess washing away.

Nobody answered, leaving her more on edge.

"I know you are in here. What do you want?" Her other hand was already reaching under her pillow, where she kept a dagger sheath underneath.

"Ay-yah~ What a pretty lady." A snickering male voice spoke with a hint of amusement of Snow's bravado. "I thought I could get away watching one of the two beauties."

"Come out, so I can stab you." Snow spoke out in a loud to try to scare away the intruder. She wasn't going to let a pervert take advantage of her.

Slowly getting out of bed, she felt around, trying not to stumble around in the dark.

"You still have such a wonderful body to gaze at even from afar." He smacked his lips a couple of times.

Snow got a creepy chill as she felt his prickling gaze. Better yet, she felt like his gaze was unraveling her on the spot, making her want to cover up and hide.

"You disgusting pervert."

"No. No." The voice spoke, "what I enjoy is art, and you and Heather at the Dragon Express have the variety of figures I like. You see, I just came here to admire it once more, maybe even steal a kiss or a caress of her soft skin before I go back on a hunt."

Snow froze when he heard her friend's name. "Heather? You touched Heather?!" Her voice went up an octave to the point where her vision was turning a bit red from pure anger. She was afraid for her friend at the same time furious that this pervert would dare to try to touch her.

"I looked for now. Probably Heather is my favorite to visit while she is sleeping. It keeps the eternal beauty in place without the excessive chatter." The man was genuinely amused by Snow's theatrics and anger. "Don't worry, she would be the perfect wife material."

"Don't you dare."

"Oh, and if I do?"

"I'll kill you."

With a faked out gasp, the man let out a howl of anguish. "But the love between her and I. How could you?"

She yelled, "If I ever find you, I'll make sure you are dead before you touch a single hair on my friend!"

The man laughed at her statement. "I would love to see you try."

Stepping out from the darkness, Snow rushed in a mad frenzy to slice the man apart. He stepped out of harm's way, grabbed her wrist as he locked her arm's behind her.

"Now. Now." He goaded her. "Right now, you interest me more. Let's not get to fiesty over a few words. I'll revisit her when the time comes, but for now. I'll take a moment of your time." The knife was proud of her fingers as it fell into the floor.

Instantly her body froze up, realizing that he had cast a magical spell on her. Alarms bells flew in her mind, realizing how stupid she was to lose her mind and get caught. He caught her in a full embrace, hugging her as if they were lovers.

Lowering his voice down to her ears, it tickled her for a moment before he spoke in excitement. "You see that last kiss we had was delightful at the club. I wouldn't mind another."

Last kiss? Snow mind raced, wondering what he meant until it hit her. Cantonsoa club, the possession, and illusion that she saw.

He twirled her around, dropping down onto her bed. Placing her on his lap, he turned her towards him.

What stared back at her was two reptilian golden eyes, glowing in the dark, staring at her with interest. Half of his lower face was covered in a black and white bone mask, while his gold hair swayed underneath the moonlight that came through her window. He wore loose black clothing with red snake-like designs up and down his sleeves and pants. She couldn't tell if this man or monster. He was powerful.

She remembered those fiery gazes, even if she didn't want to. It bothered her and made her afraid. Something inhumane was swirling in this man's eyes, and she knew that he could just snap her neck if he wanted too right now.

"Don't worry." The man leaned in. "I won't kill you and use you as a sacrifice like the others."

Snow's mind went blank, realizing what he meant.