"I thought that was never going to end!"

The boy named Liam complained as he dropped to the ground, breathing heavily.

As the last of the lizards vanished, Han walked around to see the various items dropped. Shaking his head, seeing items left behind after the enemy was defeated wasn't something he was used to, still thinking of the world he was in as a game.

"We managed to get a lot of coins, there's a couple of silvers left behind!" Ruby happily began putting the coins inside of the containers around her waist.

Ivy nodded her head, a grin on her face. "We're probably going to need to leave this simulation to drop off what we've gathered at the shop. Maybe we can get some higher tiered stones for our weapons?"

The people they helped were also gathering the items, replenishing items used, or damaged during the fight. This was especially the case with the girl named Michelle, who fought using a bow. A quiver filled with arrows was placed on her back, the prior one having its bolts removed and placed into the new one.

Han was impressed by the girl's use of the weapon, how she was quickly able to fight off the monsters with her accuracy.

"It's a reason why this world still feels like a game with how it's able to strengthen the players as they defeat the monsters. Fighting in the Arena and diving into the dungeons is likely the best way humanity will survive the rise of the modified humans out in the world." Han thought to himself, nudging a sword with a foot.

"Do you mind passing that sword to me?" Helen spoke up when she noticed the weapon.

Turning his head towards the girl and looking back down at the weapon, Han bent over and picked it up. As he grabbed the hilt, he felt it had a decent amount of heft. Gripping it, Han turned it about before slicing the air and hearing a satisfying whistle. "It's a good blade," Han said to the girl before he tossed the weapon over.

With practiced skill, Helen snatched the hilt of the sword and spun it.

"Testing the balance?" Jennifer asked.

Helen nodded, eyeing his sister before she removed her old sword from the scabbard and used it for the new one. Han could see the old weapon had chips in several areas. It looked ready to shatter.

Grinning, "I'm lucky to have found a new one before running into more monsters. I'd have likely been screwed." Helen sighed at the thought.

One of the guys that fought off the monsters next to Liam walked up to Helen. "We should hurry up and find out if Bella and the others are okay."

Clenching her teeth before relaxing, Helen looked at Han and the others. "Will you all be coming along?" Looking at the woman who still had some kind of suit similar to what Han and his group were wearing, "Katya, what do you think?"

The woman named Katya was leaning against the wall, as though trying to conserve her energy. "We're going to have to see whether that woman is okay. Though I don't care for her that much, I don't like the taste from abandoning them." She closed her eyes.

"Honey, I think we should go help the others," His mother added in her thoughts to the conversation.

"Yeah. We still need to figure out how in the world they were able to get in here. I'm sure Becky will want to talk to them when we get out of this place." Jackie said.

Ji-Min nodded. "The Captain and the others will need to know about this information. Though we've been using this technology for a while, I feel as though it wasn't until recently we've been learning about the buried secrets left behind by Star and Moon."

"I still can't believe this place was created by that company," Jae-Hwa breathed in slowly.

"It reminds me of something I heard from the family head," Hina placed a hand to her chin, muttering quietly. When she noticed Jae-Hwa looking at her, Hina gently placed a hand on Jae-Hwa's arm as though signaling it wasn't the proper time to talk about it.

Hearing Hina's words, he was curious about what she was talking about. Though he never got close to the girl, Han suspected she had some kind of background. The way Jae-Hwa and Hina were always together was something he had noticed. Brushing the thought aside, "Do any of you need to do anything more, or are we ready?"

The woman, Catharina, who was injured, rubbed the wound she had, though it had long disappeared from the red substance drunk. "Let's head out now. I can only imagine what else this place has hidden."

Taking a look towards the members of his group, each of them nodded in agreement with Catharina's words. Those who were a part of Catharina's group also looked prepared to deal with anything hiding inside of the dark.

"Han, you should have your family and friends be in the back. I'll have Jackie's comrades in addition to Venessa, Liz, and myself be in the front. Abigail's group will be in the middle." Ji-Min began strategizing once it was decided they would be taking off.

Catharina looked about to say something but appeared to have changed her mind.

Noticing Catharina's body language, "We have more experience fighting these creatures. It'll be better for us to be the vanguard and protecting the rear." Ji-Min spoke in a no-nonsense tone, not appearing sympathetic towards Catharina's and everyone else's feelings.

Sighing, "No. You're right. We were overconfident about the situation." Catharina's face was distraught, as she clenched her teeth in frustration.

Han empathized with the woman. He knew how it felt to be powerless, back before he had the powers he was blessed with from some unknown being. Before memories of his past had time to bubble, he pushed them back down into his subconscious.

Seeing there weren't going to be any more comments about the plan she had created, Ji-Min motioned to Venessa and Liz. The three of them activated their helmets and began rushing ahead.

Jackie looked at Han before her, and the others chased after Ji-Min.

Katya, with her suit, had some kind of helmet similar to Han's group's suit activated. She chased after Ji-Min, maintaining the designated formation.

There was only a half-second delay before Helen and her friends, including Abigail, followed after Katya.

Han waited a bit before looking at everyone else remaining.

"Let's go. Remember to look out for anything. This floor feels different from the others, and there's still that unknown threat Abigail's group ran during the night. We don't know if it has any friends and what their attack pattern is like." Han said to everyone.

His mother and sister didn't look happy about the unknown.

Checking up on Grace and Harmony, Grace had placed a hand on Harmony's shoulder as though lending strength. The secretary from that police station had grown as a person, a lot stronger than before.

Ivy and Ruby didn't look eager, but at the same time, they weren't going to hide from the danger.

"We can do this, Han," Ruby eyes spoke volumes, her determination shining through her words.

"As long as we're together, we can do anything." Ivy nodded, backing up her friend's words.

Han grinned before activating his helmet. "Let's go. Remember not to die and stay alert. We can't afford losing anyone. The key is to bring Abigail and her friends out of his place so we can figure out what's happening."