Jose stuck close to Snow. Scurrying around, picking up items that he could get his hands on while assisting wherever he could. Even though he wasn’t a great fighter, there were many times where he would personally pop in and out, drawing the raptors' attention away, allowing Snow to strike.
This lure and bait tactic allowed her to take advantage of most of the fight, changing the direction of the flow. There were quite a few dangerous times, where Jose was close to death, scurrying away at a moment's notice from their sharp claws and teeth inches away.
Snow warned Jose to stay out of trouble, especially from harm's way, but she couldn’t stop him in the middle of the fight. He knew what he wanted to do, and that was to help her. So, after that, she didn’t say anything else.
The swarms of people bustled, fighting side-by-side to get the camp under control.
Everywhere Snow moved in to wrestle with the raptors or lure them to a more manageable group, they quickly and efficiently started to put down the monsters at hand. It didn’t take long for the raptors to be cleared, leaving behind hundreds of bodies of both people and monsters alike.
There was no time to weep as sorrow hit them hard. Everyone was still on edge, wondering when the next wave of Raptors would come swarming in. Their own bodies were quickly moved to one location as they tried to figure out who had passed away. When they were done and recorded, the bodies were burnt.
When she tried to use her resurrection spell, all she got in response was a tangled up magic that made her curl up in pain. After that, she didn’t attempt to try it again. Such news of her inability to use her power made everyone afraid, realizing that they couldn’t wholly count on her when they died.
On the other hand, the raptor was cut into pieces as they flushed out the skin and took the bones and crystals. The rest were burnt away as they would only attract unwanted animals and monsters.
For the next few days, the camp smelled of burning flesh and death. Snow and a large group of people rummaged through the broken down fields in search of any survivors, which wasn’t many. Most of them died on the spot.
Snow strength and magic was slowly coming back as the days passed. She was still unable to use a good half of her magic, but her physical strength was back to her normal.
Picking up the scattered dog tags, Snow had collected over a hundred in the past days. Her burrow furrowed, realizing that each of these tags were under Zack’s army. She knew that the people who came here were too weak, and she was frustrated that she couldn’t do more than to pick up the tags that were scattered on the ground, covered in blood.
Her hand gripped the tags tightly as a growing anger simmered in her heart at herself and the army that Zack brought. Snow turned around, heading straight back to the new makeshift tent that housed the new leaders that overlooked the camp.
They were all mid-level players and hunters that weathered through the rough raid. Their whispers echoed in the tent, and when they heard Snow entered, they looked towards her. Silence followed, and they waited for her to speak.
Snow took in a steady breath. She stopped in front of her new teammates, mostly young adults and a few handful older than her. Never in her life did she ever dreamed of commanding a large group of people over time. Mostly because she did not believe she was adequate enough at times.
Her mind would sometimes become rampant with the thoughts of negative emotions, but even still, she continually pushed on. Knowing that the future was never set, steadily moving with the actions that she had done.
Every breath brought back her confidence, and her mind honed in much more clearly than before. She gazed at the people in front of her, leaving behind a chill that would make anyone silent. Some looked away, unable to hold her gaze.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Any news of the main force?” Snow's voice softly spoke, but everyone still heard it clearly as if they were standing next to her.
“None. Our scout that had been sent out since yesterday hasn’t come back,” A young man in his twenties named Ralf said with a worried voice. He had curly brown hair that came up to his chin. Even his slender body with tan skin had on light armor for speed. “They should have come back today at least by afternoon.”
But that wasn’t the case. It was already past noon and getting closer to night. The longer the time went, Snow had a nagging feeling that there was something more going on.
“Our position here at the camp isn’t in our favor,” a young woman with red hair spoke with concern. Her name was Abby. From head to toe, she wore thick armor that looked like she would be tipped over with a push, but she didn’t. Instead, she carried herself lightly without any fault. “Another raid like the last three days, we would be completely wiped out.”
“That is of concern, but that isn’t the only problem,” a man named Hubert over his fifties spoke. He was considered the most powerful in the group, second to Snow. Compared to the others, Hubert wore a more knightly armor with silver streaks and gold paints decorating his attire. His neatly kept beard and glasses were kept pristine.
“Zack had disappeared and took a third of the people with him. Taking most of the tanks, vehicles, and weapons that we have been using.”
Snow eyebrows slightly raised, realizing what this meant.
“That's crazy?” Abby spoke up in alarm. “I thought we had him wrapped up and thrown in with the other nutcases?”
Hubert shook his head. “He escaped during the invasion, and somehow he persuaded his men to come back and join him. Some crazy reason for the government that I didn’t quite catch.” He gripped his hand into a fist, shifting in place. “We should go back and grab that equipment back. Our life depends on it.”
The others started to voice their own thoughts and opinions on what was going on—the best plan of action and what other problems swamped the camp. There were too many uncertainties that their unrest and voice started to shout out with combative suggestions against one another.
Snow at first let them blow off some steam, she thought of the solutions that they had spoken, but the unruly voices started to get on her nerves. With a slam of her hand onto the very table, it broke in half, causing her to stand in place a bit stupefied.
But before she could, everyone went silent, leaving behind an awkward atmosphere.
“It’s too much trouble staying here,” Snow replied, causing everyone to start to burst out their own opinion once again. She raised up her hand, silencing them.
“We are going to look for the main force.”
“But, what about reinforcement from the outside?!” Abby asked. She was gripping her sword on her side tightly. “We should be waiting for more people to help fortify this place. What if more people come and we miss them? What then?”
“We’ll leave them a note. Right now, staying in one place and being a target for the next overflow isn’t how to go. Instead, we will let the outside world take care of it while we move forward in destroying this dungeon.”
“That’s ridiculous. We will be losing a lot of lives if we let the overflow reach the outside world.”
“A chance we have to take,” Snow bluntly said. “We can not protect the front and the back and break the dungeon core with the limited number of people we have. This will become an impossible mission and unnecessary loss of life. The longer this dungeon stays open, the more people will die. Don’t you trust the guilds outside in our world? They have the necessary items, weapons, and resources while we are disconnected with everyone else. Our priority right now is to live to see another day and destroy this dungeon. By regrouping with the main forces, our chances of survival will increase.”
“But what if they are all dead,” said Ralf. “what then?”
“Look,” Snow was getting tired of their negative views. It was already enough with her own. “We see if they are alive or not, I am quite sure my Gold Phoenix guild did not just kneel over and let the monsters stomp them out. Even the Heavenly Guild isn't the type to give up. For now, one thing at a time. We go search for the main force, and we will decide from there. Any questions?”
The others didn’t say anything. They were too busy contemplating the course of action that Snow wanted to do.
Hubert finally raised his hand, bringing his attention to himself. “Is your magical power back to normal?”
Snow didn’t hide the facts, she said, “No, but in three days all my magical power will be back in full.”
Hubert nodded. He didn’t say anything else.
“Now then, let’s get everyone moving and ready to head out. We’ll go in the same direction that they went.”
The meeting was dismissed. The others left the tent. When everyone was gone, Snow fell onto the chair a bit exhausted. Getting people to agree on one thing was difficult, especially in a crisis.
She hoped that Dairen would be alright. She didn’t know where Mike was at this time or heard that he entered into the dungeon, but she had a feeling that he was with Dairen as they led their forces.
There were times when she wished she was a Player to check on her guild's status, but she couldn’t. Such features weren’t endowed to her but the Players. Throwing away her negative emotions, she got back up to face the difficult days to come. There was no way she was stopping, especially when lives were on the line.
Slowly at first, she walked towards the closed flap. When she reached towards the exit, she pushed out with a change of atmosphere and gazed out into the world with determination.