Snow was flustered at the amount of wealth that she was seeing before her. The room was filled to the brim with gold that sparkled all around her with a blinding glory. If she didn’t know any better, her greed would have taken her over.

Stifling her feelings, she stepped forward with her mouth gaping.

Dairen was the first to enter, he gasped out loud in disbelief.  The others followed after, amazed at what they were seeing.

“Let’s split it fairly when we get out of here,” Snow said with a firm voice, waking up anybody who was having a greedy thought.

The others nodded, knowing full well what Snow was asking for.

“We should also figure out any other amount for the people who died on this expedition. Send something to them.” Dairen said, picking up a gold coin in hand.

“I can’t believe that there was such a wealth hidden in this castle.” Mike's eyes were glimmering with excitement at the luck that had befallen on them. “We could even buy our own building ten times over.”

Dairen nodded. “We are going to need to at the end of all this raid. We are going to need a new headquarters, and this should give us an upgrade.”

Snow, Dairen, and Mike were already rounding up the gold into their item storage. Even Snow was helping out with the vast amount of treasures before them. They haven’t found any rare items that they could use as most of the things were gold, jewels, and even historical paintings that had some form of value.

It didn’t take long for them to sweep away all the treasures into their storage item, which all three of them filled. They were large antiques and items that Snow wasn’t even sure of that they couldn’t quite fit in their item storage.

When the treasures were swept away, a large red crystal was present. Snow walked over to it, realizing what it was. Pulling up her sword, she smashed it into the crystal, breaking it in half.

A powerful force of energy shook the very dungeon, causing them all to falter.

A powerful surge of energy entered through her hand and straight into her body. Her eyes glowed gold as the power of the dungeon core seemed to absorb into her.

Sharp pain of energy swirled downwards towards her right arm. The invisible golden chains appeared, breaking its confinement around her. She remembered this feeling, this power that she had.

A surge of bubbling words burst out from her lips.”Purge.”

It wasn’t like the past magical spell that she had remembered. The information of the ability poured into her mind. She could feel it growing more durable and stronger to the point where the energy blanketed even Arachne herself.

Arachne’s poison ailment that she wasn’t able to heal was quickly dispersed away from her body, while everyone else had some form of weapon of light that appeared on their hand.

“Woah...what just happened?” Mike was dazzled by the sword of light. He whooshed it around to feel the weight of the sword, and he realized that it was light.

Even Dairen got a beautiful bow. The light energy didn’t even sting his finger. Instead, it wrapped entirely around the dark energy that he injected, creating a powerful force of light and darkness combination.

“I don’t know, but it seems Snow got a new skill,” said Dairen. He let go of the arrow, allowing it to fly and hit the wall. A blinding flash, thunder, and a hissing sound combined into one, leaving behind an ugly gaping hole. “And it’s powerful,” he gaped.

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Even Arachne was confused at the light that wrapped around her claws. She was back into her human form. Nobody expected that Snow’s ability could also be used alongside with a monster. This new finding made them surprised at such new power.

“Snow?” Mike asked. His light sword glowed more powerfully than the sword that he had used for the boss. “What is this?”

Snow felt tired at the new skill that she was endowed. It was always the first time using the magical energy that she felt a bit exhausted. This was the third time she got a new skill that was more powerful than the ones that she already knew, from Resurrection, Holy Redemption, and now Purge. 

“New ability,” Snow bluntly said. “All your ailments will be cleared, and you are endowed with holy weapons for a duration of time. I can use this three times a day.”

Mike was impressed by the ability that she was given. “It’s like a high-level magic that combines more than three magic at once.” He chuckled. “Next time, I wouldn’t be surprised if it's something even scarier.”

The thought of something much scarier and stronger did make her a bit excited, but at the same time, she felt a bit overwhelmed by the power that she was given. A small hint of worry endowed in her mind at the thought of drawing in energy and becoming a tyrant; it was a worrisome thought. But she pushed such thoughts to the back of her mind, reminding herself that it was all in her choices of how she would handle her newfound powers.     

“Let’s go, guys.” Snow sheathed her sword, turning around pleased that the second dungeon had fallen. The long dreary raid finally was over, and now she felt a sense of calmness wash over her. Even though they weren’t completely safe until they left the space, she knew that another powerful monster was unlikely for a short period.

So far, they were able to free the rest of the trapped players, who joined under the banner of the Gold Phoenix, swelling the size to a thousand. Most of the Players waited outside until there was no more.

Snow had learned that a good half of each player was killed off by the King and used as an energy source, while only a handful were eaten by Arachne herself.

Snow even took down the intricate tapestry and many of the web silks from Arachne’s nest, which Arachne didn’t mind. Instead, she allowed them to take everything, stating that she was in no need of her old things.

The trackback outside the castle was quick. The magical energy around the castle quickly deteriorated, allowing them to pass through traps and arrive at the front gates without much of a problem.

Even still, the ship that they had come from was still docked, unmoving. Quickly, they headed towards the direction of the airship, ultimately taking it over without much resistance as Snow forced her way in.

Many of the people who didn’t come by were awed by how quickly Snow had taken over as part of the Gold Phoenix guild grew in their heart, realizing that they made the best choice.

Snow had a few words with the captain and even went straight towards the room in which she was trapped. Taking a whole bucket full of selenites, she charged each and every single one. They took off when she finished.

The journey was quicker than before. This time, Snow didn’t hold back on fueling the ship and went full throttle to quickly head out towards the exit. Time wasn’t in their favor, and she didn’t know when the portal to their world would collapse. Usually, a few weeks at most, when the slayer of the dungeon core passed the portal it was bound to be closed, giving them time to get out without too much of a worry. But she didn’t believe it would last for a long time as a dungeon core was needed to keep the dungeon stable.

Finally, the ship arrived at the port, where they first entered. The guildsmen streamed towards the portal, excited to see the familiar gates. They had missed the welcoming of safety, and the thought of finally leaving gave them a short burst of energy.

Arachne stepped out of the airship in her human form. She stopped and called Snow’s name.

Snow turned around, a bit forgetful that Arachne was still present with them. She had secretly hoped that Arachne would come with them through the portal.

“Snow, I wanted to thank you for freeing me.” Arachne reached out to shake Snow’s hand.

Snow gratefully shook it, even though she was disappointed. She had a hunch that Arachne wasn’t going to come. “I’m glad.”

“I can finally restart my life and find a way to free me from this curse,” Arachne said with longing. “Our path might cross again, I don’t know, but know this. I won’t ever forget what you have done.”

Waving it off as if it was nothing, she reached over with her other hand and patted Arachne’s shoulder. “Just stay out of trouble, okay?”

Arachne chuckled, “I would assume you would have asked me to come along with you.”

Snow opened and closed her mouth, wanting to ask her. “Nah, we’ll be fine. I would rather not get tempted like the King,” she replied. Such thoughts had crossed her mind numerous times. “Plus, you're a giant spider. Most of the people in our world don’t see giant spiders as a good thing. Just try not to eat humans, okay?”

With a serious debate, Arachne broke into a wide smile.

“I’ll try my best not to eat humans, but doesn’t mean I won’t eat the ones who piss me off.”

Arachne said with seriousness that gave Snow a chill. She remembered Arachne’s nest of people wrapped around in the web, hanging from the ceiling as she saved them later for food.

“I know you will.” Snow shook her head. She couldn’t stop her. Honestly, they had no obligation amongst each other anymore.

“Good, because I don’t want to explain why later down the line.”

Snow barked out, laughing, shaking at her head. She scanned Arachne’s face one last time, and she could see a hint of amusement in Arachne's gaze.

The tattoo that sealed their contract started to fade away, leaving behind a clear skin.

 Arachne pulled her in, giving Snow a big hug that made Snow feel warm. They broke apart, leaving behind a lingering feeling of sadness. Arachne headed straight back into the airship.

The engines roared to life, pushing the air all around them in a frenzy. Snow took a step back, holding up her arm in front of her as she leaned a bit forward to not get thrown off balance. It lifted up into the air, zooming out back into the sky. They watched as it left, turning into a dot in the blue sky.

She turned around, heading straight towards the exit with a rare, genuine smile on her face.

Stepping out the portal, many players with the same emblem, the Gold Phoenix guild, appeared right behind her. Their energy vastly differed from when they had entered, and anyone who was watching the portal shivered in fear.

“The Gold Phoenix came out,” one of the viewers who was hiding near a building with a few others gaped with amazement.