“Who's there?!” Snow snapped around. Her magical armor quickly formed around her body as her claws were extended. Her eyes glared at the sound, ready to pounce at whoever was out there.

Nobody should be out here as she was by herself away from the campsite. She was on a quick inspection around, checking on the biological plant structure as Red gave her a brief assignment to look for the small red flowers that like to grow on the side of the vines.

“Calm down, Saintess,” Mr. Rogers's voice chuckled as he stepped out from the darkness.

“Mr. Rogers?” Snow was shocked to see Mr. Rogers here of all places. She did not see them get on the ship. Mr. Rogers was in his usual suit-like appearance that completely contradicted what everyone was wearing. Even Snow, who was in her golden armor.

Another two more came walking out from behind Mr. Rogers. It was Falcona and Mr. Jay.

Even Falcon, with his messy beard, appeared with a large war hammer on his shoulder. He wore head to toe covered in brown, red, and gold armor that gave off a powerful hum of magical power. Tuffs of horsehair came off his helmet tied with multiple small feathers at its end.

“Falcon? Wait, is that….Mr. Jay?!”

Mr. Jay looked completely different than she last remembered him as. He was in a humanoid dragon form with thick plates of armor worn on his body. His green scales glittered underneath the sun, giving him a mesmerizing look. Whiskers were present on his snout as elegant three-pronged horns jutted out of his head. Mane, like golden hair, ran up and down his back all the way to his tail. A fierce gaze stared back, watching Snow’s every movement.

“Yes, I am Jay,” Jay said with a nonchalant voice that sounded close to a rumble. “It’s good to see that you are doing okay, Snow. Is everything at the Dragon Express doing well?”

Snow nodded her ahead a bit too vigorously. She was enthralled to see Mr. Jay’s true form. The human side of him was completely gone.

“You seem shocked.” Jay crossed his arm in front of him.

“Yes.”

“It shouldn’t be that big of a change.”

“You’re a dragon.”

“So?” Mr. Jay said, crossing his arms.

“I don’t see dragons just walking around the streets even to this day.”

“But we are still there. Though there aren't many of us left.”

“Which we still can’t tell. You all look human.”

“Exactly. Makes blending easier.”

“Then I wouldn’t know you guys exist.”

Jay shrugged his shoulder. “It wouldn’t make a difference.”

Snow didn’t think so. She was a bit more relieved that such a powerful group of people was standing before her.

Not only that, Snow could tell that Falcon had an array of armors and weapons personally made and tailored to all their bodies. Falcon was known for his blacksmithing skills and his high-quality weapons. Everyone knew and came to him specifically in the hopes of at least gaining one of his weapons.

“I am assuming you are the new head for the Dragon Express branch that I have left?”

“Yes, though I have also joined forces with the Gold Phoenix guild.”

“I heard.” Jay didn’t sound too pleased, but he understood why she took such action. “It seems that everything is going in good order, and I don’t have to worry about it as much as I thought.”

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“Things have been a bit rough, but that did not mean I didn't work on it and get it to

work. There are a few things that still need some looking after, but what can we do but chug through them.”

“For sure,” said Snow. It wasn’t easy to run Dragon Express, go to the necessary dungeons, and even talk with the people. She was just one person.

“Good to see that you are the one leading the group.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that I was the one leading it. I’m just a field operator.”

“It doesn’t matter. As far as I can tell, you are the glue that sticks everything together.”

Snow didn’t think that was so, but she didn’t say anything back.

“What brought you all out here?” Snow asked. “I thought you guys were on the hunt for more Black Box series.”

“We are,” said Mr. Rogers. “It led us to this dungeon.”

Snow was curious about how they were able to find the Black Box. Before she could ask, Mr. Rogers took out a small pocket watch from his pocket and showed it to her.

“This is one of the Black Box series called Item Finder. It leads us to find Black Boxes that are hidden around different dungeons, and so far, it has led us to this one specifically.” Mr. Rogers moved his watch. It suddenly glowed when Mr. Rogers turned toward Snow.

“I’m guessing it's me,” said Snow, realizing why it was blinking red.

“Exactly.” Mr. Rogers winked at her.

“Well, it seems like it's working.” Snow replied back.

“It is, though I assumed it was odd to see a Black Box series so close. My thought was it you.” Mr. Roger stated. “With that being said, the other one is inside that dungeon.” He pointed toward the direction of the dungeon that they were supposed to head to later with the group.

“That’s why you guys came here.”

All three of them nodded their heads.

“We all felt the unusual pull of the SSS class dungeon. Something dangerous is living inside that dungeon. I don’t know what it is, but I suggest that we enter into this dungeon with care.” Mr. Rogers said with a serious tone. His whole demeanor changed and was much colder than before. The cheerful attitude that he usually had was gone.

“I have been feeling the same.” Snow was serious about what she felt. The closer they got to the dungeon gate, the more she felt her heart thumping in her throat, making her stomach twirl tightly into ugly knots. “I thought it was only me.”

Mr. Rogers patted her shoulder. “I have had those ugly feelings as well. We shall see how things play out in the next days to come. Let’s head back to camp.”

Snow shook her head. “Give me a moment. I still got to harvest a few red flowers that Red asked. You guys go on ahead.”

“I’ll stay with you. Don’t want any trouble creeping out to disturb you.”

“I’m quite sure I can handle myself, but your presence is appreciated.”

“I know you can.” Mr. Rogers chuckled. “But this is an SSS class dungeon. We have to be extra careful.”

Snow understood what he meant. She didn’t disagree and quickly went into motion, picking the vines' red flowers and storing them away.

“Are we ready to go?” Mr. Rogers asked.

Snow nodded at them that she was completed, but before they started back on their journey, she stopped them. “Wait, I got something for you that I just remembered.”

“That is?”

Snow handed Mr. Rogers and Falcon the note that Red had given her to give to them. They both took it, wondering what it was.

“It’s from Red.”

“Ah, that delicious little morsel.” Mr. Rogers said with amusement. He took the note from her, scanning it quickly, he furrowed. Next, he burned it away, leaving nothing behind.

“Is everything alright?” Snow asked.

“Yes, just some hiccups from the other organizations.” Mr. Rogers waved it away as if it wasn’t a big deal.

Snow thought over what he had said but didn’t push for any other answer. She turned around, leaving the area as they headed back toward their camp.

The vines and plants rustled, healing where Snow had cut off the red flowers. Another flower started to bloom in its place, but there was a slight difference from its red color. Instead, the flowers turned green as a seed sprouted out from the green flower. It spat out from its leaves and onto the ground.

From the seed, it burst open. Quickly, vines formed into shapes, turning into a snake-like creature. It kept growing bigger to the point where it was two times taller than a regular man, but it started to shrink in size to a common snake. Its green emerald eyes glimmered with intelligence as it slithered and followed behind silently.

Everyone made it safely to the camp. She headed straight toward Red, who was busy concocting a strange potion in her large pot of oddities. The smell in the cauldron was horrendous that even she couldn’t help but scrunch her eyes and nose.

“Red.” Snow called out. She didn’t want to get close.

Red stopped stirring and looked up.

“Your Red flowers.” Snow pulled out the stack of red flowers in her hand but didn’t get close.

“Thanks!” Red jubilantly bounded over, swiping it out of her hands. “I have been looking forward to this.” She went back to her cauldron, throwing it in.

Suddenly, a mushroom of stinky clouds blossomed outwards, lingering in the air. Anyone who was caught up in it coughed heavily as tears formed in their eyes.

Snow was unlucky to be caught up in such a horrendous smell. She couldn’t see as she cursed silently at the horrible smell.

“Red, what in the world are you making?!” Snow shouted, waving her hand in front of her, which did nothing barely. The thick clouds didn’t seem to want to go away but stuck to her even more.

“Creating a deterrent.” Red coughed hard a few times. “I think it's working!”

“If you are trying to kill our nose at the same time, then I believe you have succeeded.” Levian, who arrived a day ago, appeared next to Snow.

“Levian?” Snow eyes were watering, having a hard time to see. “I thought you were helping Mike.”

“I’m done with it.” Levian shrugged his shoulder. He started to pull the large magical power of the wind around him and expelled it outward to push the small as far away from them as possible.