Snow would have liked to take a few breaks just to catch some breath, but the fights weren’t going to allow her to even if she wanted to. The Hellhounds came in waves. 

At the rate that they were going, Snow knew that they wouldn’t make it to the center. It was frustrating at the amount of monsters that kept coming and impeding their progress. 

“Just keep smacking!” Red was throwing icicles one after another. She raised up her hand and let out a horrible wall of ice that shot up straight towards the ceiling, which pierced hordes of Hellhounds in one go. 

It was enough to allow them to rest up to catch their breath, but a few escaped, weaseling through the tight pass. 

Mike was the first one to make an impact, slashing the oncoming group of Hellhounds. He smashed his sword on the ground, where a hellhound’s body lay twitching. Breathing heavily, he slouched forward. 

“I don’t think I can do this for another hour.” Mike was breathing heavily. “We need another plan.” 

“Like?” Red was reinforcing the ice wall again. There were cracks already forming as the Hellhounds were trying to break through.

“Look for Dairen.” 

“How is that going to help us?”

“His ability.” Mike took another deep breath, allowing him to stand up a bit straighter. He then picked up his sword. “He’s like a one-man army. With him and his hordes, it should lower our chance of having to fight through this crazy amount of waves, which I don’t even know if it will ever end.”

Red clicked her tongue; she realized what he was asking for. The extra amount of minions that could help push even deeper into the dungeon was what they needed, but nobody knew where Dairen and Rodney was. 

“Does anyone know how to find him?” Red asked. She waved her hand again as another block of ice appeared to conceal the hole. 

Snow plopped down onto the floor. She, too, was breathing heavily. The stamina potion that she had drunk was not enough to keep up with this constant battle. There was only so much she could do before she would die of exhaustion. At this rate, she was heading towards her end. 

“I might.” Mr. Rogers said a drip of sweat came down his lovely face. He frowned, reaching up to wipe the sweat off his face. Flicking it away, he was disgusted. “Maybe I should have gone all out, but…” He mumbled the last sentence under his breath. 

“Did you say something?” Snow asked; she thought she heard him say something that made her frown. 

“Nothing, dear.” Mr. Rogers eyes seem to come back to its usual glisten that told her that he was hiding something. 

Snow couldn’t help but be suspicious of his actions, but she couldn’t refute him as she had no evidence. For the past hours that she had been with him, she could tell when his smile had many different meanings, which was one of those times. 

“I’ll take over from here.” Mr. Rogers seems a bit preoccupied with his own thoughts. 

Everyone could tell that staying underground and being always thrown with Hellhounds were irking him. There was a silent blood lust lingering around him, keeping many people at bay. 

Even Snow noticed, observing what Mr. Rogers would do. The amount of blood in the air was pungent, and the cravings for blood were exponentially higher than before.

Mr. Rogers turned around, going towards the direction that they had once come from. 

Snow was curious why he decided to go back, wondering if they had missed a turn that she didn’t know about. 

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They followed closely behind; this time, he stopped and took a sharp right. Stopping in front of a wall covered with plants. His hand reached out, brushing aside the vines. 

If nobody was paying close attention to it, they were bound to miss it.

Mr. Rogers disappeared first. He had to shimmy his way through. 

Snow went in second. She was glad that she wasn’t as big as Mr. Rogers or Mike, who might have much more difficulties with their height or armor. She was able to slip through and came out unscathed. 

Looking forward, Snow couldn’t see anything in the dark. The path was narrow. With her hand placed up in a whisper, she called out a ball of light. In seconds, the light reached every crook and cranny. 

“Keep up, Ms. Snow.” Mr. Rogers, who was a slight bit late from the unexpected brightness, was blinking his eyes and rubbing it a few times. 

“Don’t worry, Mr. Rogers. We will be right behind you.” Snow glanced back; she saw the others had made it out and was in a single file line behind her. The others heard what Mr. Rogers had said and kept a serious expression. 

Red herself brought up magic power to light up behind her. 

With steady steps, they kept ongoing. 

The terrains of the cave slightly changed. At first, there were wooden beams placed up to support the way. 

Eventually, the path widened, allowing for two to three people to walk side-by-side. 

Snow didn’t know how long they had walked as the path seemed to go straight endlessly into the dark. There were a few times she thought she heard the whistling and growling of animal grunts. Most of them come through the walls. She had wondered if the monsters were on the other side, but she didn’t know. 

The pathway started to enlarge until they came to a large cavern. Before them was a large open space, where moss and plants grew. Chiseled in the rocks, where dozens of rooms stack on top of each other like a cube. Windows were cut out, draped with an old cloth, and old wooden stairs were placed against the walls. 

“A lost civilization?” Mike asked, wowed by the scene before him. 

“Possibly.” Red had used her magic, spreading tiny balls of light all around the cavern. Snow was shocked to find so many abandoned huts inside the cave. What was surprising was that it was right underneath the city ground. How deep there were, she didn’t know. 

Mr. Rogers stopped. “Let’s rest here for a bit. I need some time to focus.”  He went towards one of the bottom floored rooms, leaving everyone behind outside. 

“Let’s check if any treasures are lying around,” Mike said enthusiastically. “We might find something of use.” 

With a nod, they agreed. Everyone broke away, trying to find something of use as their eyes glittered at the thought of treasures. 

Snow took the door to the right. It was away from the other apartment like cubicles. She entered in. 

There were cut out shelves, square boxes the size of a one-person chair surrounding a stone table, and even stone beds laid across in a single line. A purple rug was laid on the ground, scrunched 

up on its side as if someone had slipped on it. 

Snow started first on her right. She walked over towards the bookshelf, taking a good look at what she had going for her. Old books that were covered in dust laid out neatly in a line. When she touched one of them, the book shattered into dust. 

With a cough, she dropped her hand, letting the dust blow away, which made it much harder to breathe. It took a while to go through the bookshelves, checking from one end to another. When she found nothing, she went to another room. 

This time, the room had a lot fewer things in it. Instead, a large table was placed in the middle that was carved from a rock. Snow noticed a line running across the top.

Walking over, she pulled out a knife. Her hand touched the stone top. 

Snow squatted down, leaning her ears to the table. Her knuckles rapt against it a few times, hearing a hollow sound. 

Curious, she got up. Her knife digging into the cracked line. It took a bit of effort to fish through the stone. Eventually, the stone crumbled. A small opening allowed her to slip her fingers in. With a huff of her breath, she pushed up with her strength. 

A loud clunk followed after as the stone slab crashed to the ground, partially shattering. A burst of dust once again blossomed in Snow's face, making Snow sneeze heavily. 

“What was that sound?” Mike walked in as he was next door when he heard something breaking. When the puff of smoke came towards his direction, he coughed. 

“It’s quite filthy in here.” Mike was coughing. He waved his hand in front of him, trying not to inhale the dust that was lingering in the air. 

Snow didn’t pay any attention to Mike. She was able to get her breath under control and eventually see what was revealed to her. 

In the middle of the carved out table was a skeleton, laying cross-armed. Old armor, weapons, books, and even small vials were present. Hundreds of small gold coins scattered around the skeleton as if it was blessing the dead. 

In seconds, the skeleton crumpled, leaving nothing behind but dust. 

“Did you find something?” Mike came over, excited. When he saw the treasures that Snow found, he was ecstatic. “I swear, you’re like our goddess of good luck.” He excitedly spoke when he saw the large number of items that she had found. 

Mike reached down, reaching towards the sword. When he grabbed it, the sword hummed to life, powering up as it started to devour some of his magic. At first, Mike dropped the sword in startlement, wondering what just happened. 

When the magical sword power died down, he reached over to grab it again. 

It was a long broad sword that had a simple design. Compared to the one Mike had, it paled in comparison. But Snow knew better. The sword had a shine to reflect against the light that couldn’t be seen so easily without sensing magical energy around it. 

“It’s an enchanted weapon…” Mike was astounded by what Snow had found. He then handed it to her for her to look at. 

Snow took it. The weight of the blade shifted, making her uncomfortable. She didn’t like how it felt, swinging it a few times. There was some form of magic that she couldn’t quite tell but knew that Falcon might be able to decipher. 

“Take it.” Snow handed it to Mike. “I won’t be able to use this one well.”