Snow felt uncomfortable with the silence between Angie and her until she finally had to ask. She blurted out, "Aren't you worried about the next wave of attack?"

"No." Angie seemed like she was so high on her own excitement that one would have thought that nothing was going wrong around them.

"Why?" Snow curiously asked, compared to the others she found her mood a breath of fresh air. "Everyone else is."

"Because it's stupid and a waste of my time." Angie curtly replied, sticking up her nose in the air. "If I have time to worry about death, I have time for other important things to think about. Like how to get stronger. I'm not going to lie, I get scared, but only when I want too."

Snow was pretty impressed. She understood what Angie was saying, but was it possible to be scared on one's own will? She thought it was all on the circumstance. She didn't know.

"Plus, I got a new quest from you."

The word quest perked up the Players around her, some even came over in the hopes to get one as well, braving through the emotions to pass her intimidating aura, she naturally gave off.

"Could I get one as well?" Ryan, who was listening in on them, spoke. He still had worry in his expression, but it was quickly quelled when the word quest was brought up.

"Um….yes?" said Snow. Unsure what she could give. She randomly threw out a thought, trying to cover up her own feeling of loss.

"Everyone…" Snow thought for a moment, trying to pretend to know what she was doing.

"Keep yourself alive by the end of this dungeon and get...one gold coin?"

Snow lips became a thin line, realizing how stupid that sounded. One gold coin to get out alive? Really? This was the best that she could do? Yep.

"Is this something that we all do?"

"Uh. Yes."

"Great. I'll go tell the others."

It was like an unusual sight to see the turnover of the Players worry quickly disappearing, making the tense air back to the light-hearted chats. Was this normal? No.

Anyone who wasn't part of the group would have thought this whole thing was a charade. Even Snow rubbed her eyes a few times, but she could tell that they were a lot more alert than before.

Ryan had rounded up the four hundred Players as he explained the new quest, which everyone excitedly spoke. Some even shouted some interesting tidbits on how they would get some familiarity points with her, money, and a handful of experience points.

Snow couldn't help but stand amid the crowd, folding her arms. She then saw a shadow dart across her eyes.

"Hello, Ms Snow," a deep voice spoke behind her.

Startled by the sudden deep voice, her hand darted out as it snapped to strike him in the face. Rye caught her fist just in time before she bloodied his nose. It was purely out of reflex as she was a bit jumpy from the sudden appearance. Her eyes widened, wondering how Rye had passed through the thick crowd without getting noticed until now.

Rye was standing in front of her, barely phased by her pitiable attack. His clothes were clean and straight, telling her that he didn't take part in the fight. He frowned at her sudden attack.

Snow had wondered where he had gone, too, as she thought he would have gone with the first group. But to find him here brought her an unexpected bit of relief. It was not that she wasn't able to survive to the end, but keeping as many people alive was her goal. Now that her magic was almost dried up, she had no other tricks up her sleeve.

"I was wondering where you were," Snow said. She pulled her hand, staring at him as she waited for his answer. His grip was a bit strong, and her knuckles stung.

"Quite welcoming, aren't you?" Rye snorted, blowing his hair back. "I was here the whole time."

"You were? I didn't see you through."

"I didn't feel like I needed to assist."

"You know, it would have helped."

Rye shrugged, turning his back on her. He took a good look around for a moment and eventually towards the noise that they heard, before he spoke, once again. "The main party is fighting a powerful monster."

Who was fighting? The main team? It then dawned on her as her slow mind clicked in understanding what he meant. She had wondered how the others were doing.

"Do you know what kind?"

"No. I only can feel its power from off in the distance. I thought you would feel it too with the amount of magic that you have." Rye said to Snow with an intense gaze.

It felt like he was scrutinizing her for every little thing that she was doing and thinking, and she didn't like it. But, she didn't waver or show it in her expression. Snow knew that the vampires were keen on finding out one's weakness if given a chance. She didn't want to provide Rye one anytime soon.

It was already difficult enough to get Rye to help. She knew that he wasn't so pleased to come in on this dungeon raid. Especially helping out humans for whom they saw them as livestock than anything else.

"I am still learning," Snow sharply replied. "Either way, I believe the others will get over this hurdle."

"That is quite a dedication to your statement. I thought you humans would lose Hope by now," Rye said.

She said in a more severe but relaxed tone, "We don't lose hope so easily. Humans are known to push forward in the hint of despair when there is Hope."

"Hope is a fickle thing. Such a feeling should be thrown away."

Snow chuckled, shaking her head. "To each their own. It is one thing that spurs the soul and empowers us to find another way."

Rye clicked his tongue, disagreeing with her, but he didn't say anymore.

Hundreds of men and women were busy, moving around. They were all anxious as the 10th wave had not started. The unearthly screeches didn't help and put everyone on edge. Time ticked by from thirty minutes to a few hours. Everyone was trying to find something to do as rest didn't come easily.

Some even started to hammer out their armors and weapons, strengthening it on their portable stoves. Others used a bit of magic to clean their faces and hands, while some cooked fresh food as the chatter amongst themselves in hushed tones. They all wanted to make sure that they heard whatever it was.

As the night was long, the screeches came and went. It was unnerving at first, but eventually, everyone got used to it as it became less and less.

The sun started to peek out, bringing with it much needed light. Many had even silently rejoiced at the sunlight that welcomed them with warmth.

Snow felt a bit more rejuvenated as her magical energy seemed to flow back into her a lot quicker than before. She did not expect such an increase in her energy flow that it surprised her.

Even sitting down, meditating, her magic seems to have a life of its own. It filled her up and calmed her down. No longer were her emotions in a chaotic mess, but more at peace with herself.

Rye was stationed not too far away from her. He was wiping his whip with a handkerchief or cleaning his blade as he leisurely sat back. Even Ryan and the others were affected by Snow's nonchalant mood that they started to follow her habit - even getting a few hours of much-needed rest.

Snow didn't know if this was the beginning of a blessing or a curse. The longer the time ticked by, the thought of the past fight seemed like an illusion that brought unwanted nightmares.

Until finally, the Gnome appeared again. He was cursing up a storm, shouting and stomping on the giant man's shoulder.

"How could they just kill it so easily?!" The Gnome was furious, throwing his fist around as it landed on the muscle man's cheek. The punch was barely effective, leaving only a handprint behind.

"I had perfectly raised that child from birth. It shouldn't have died like that." The Gnome paced back and forth, then stopped. He felt a large number of eyes, staring at him.

"What?" The Gnome spoke out with a slight lisp. When he saw the others leisurely sitting around and the population of Players back to its original number, he stopped short. Flabbergasted and unsure of what or how everything has happened.

Snow opened her eyes, taking a quick look. When she saw the Gnome appear, she got up and dusted herself without a hurry.

The Gnome felt slighted by her casual stance that it was hard for him to form words.

"How?" The Gnome said, a bit listlessly.

The Players started to quickly get up, putting away their things as if it was any other day.

"What's going on?" The Gnome blurted out his thoughts. He couldn't understand how this was possible. The last time he appeared, he was sure that there were less than three hundred Players. He made sure to bring more monsters that would overwhelm them, cutting the numbers even further.

"You're back," Snow said and crossed her arms. She wasn't too thrilled with his entrance or his unwelcoming words.

"You should all be dead." The Gnome was trying to put heads or tails on the situation. His mind was spiraling out of control with thoughts. This had never happened before, and it bothered him.

"We aren't. Don't you see us all here?"

"Impossible."

The Gnome reached up to the man's hair that he was standing on, pulling it back and forth furiously. He pulled a chunk out, causing his partner to yelp in pain. A patch of bald spot was present, making it a comical sight to see.