Snow was quickly brought to the center of the makeshift village. Hundreds of Players, Hunters, and other people associated with different companies were present. They bustled and spoke in loud voices as everyone was tensed in the news at hand as rumors spread like wildfire. Red was current, standing upon a raised block of broken stone with Dairen and Mike standing next to her. She waited for everyone to arrive calmly.

Eventually, with magic, she spoke. "Attention, please." Her voice brought a clear, ringing sound that quieted everyone.

"As everyone knows, there is a strong-named monster. A Wendigo named Forlean, coming towards this area in the next twelve hours."

The people let out a burst of disbelief and outrage.

"Why is there a sudden monster attack? This has never happened before."

"Yea. Was the breaking of the curse the cause of it?"

Voices started to overlap, creating a mess of sound.

With a loud clap, Red silences everyone once again.

"The curse-breaking was a success. It was not the cause of the named monster from appearing. Honestly, it was a traitor that set off the dungeon guardian."

"A traitor?"

Everyone was silent, waiting for the answer that Red had spoken. Mostly because they wanted to know who.

"Yes, when the gate appeared, someone rushed in to push Margaret into the blue fire. In turn, it causes the gate to react negatively. It has been told to me that the sacrifice of a human body would cause the gate to bring out a strong monster. We tried to stop him, but he threw himself into the flames as well."

A gasp could be heard, realizing what this meant.

"If we kill the Wendigo, we would be able to move on to the next level. We have to throw the dead carcass into the fire to open up the gate. This is one way to move on."

The others went silent, realizing what this meant.

"Does this mean that every gate we come into we have to throw someone in?" One of the Players spoke out with concern. "Isn't this a bit inhumane?"

Red quickly spoke, trying to damper the restlessness. "I will find a way where we can bypass this horrible sacrifice. This will not be the way to win against the dungeon master. We must stick together to fend off this challenge."

Snow agreed with Red that sacrifice in such a manner would divide the people. She, too, knew this. Plus, it wasn't definite that the gate would spew out a named monster every time a person was thrown in.

"Right now, reinforcement might take two days. We must lure the monster closer to the exit, allowing our reinforcements to arrive in a shorter amount of time."

Snow wondered as well, how they were going to drag the monsters that way when it was heading straight towards here.

"I am asking all of you to help. We will reward you."

Her statement excited the Players, who were easily swayed by it.

"Is there a plan to deal with the Wendigo?"

Red was deep in thought, her eyes swept through the crowd as it rested on Snow. Her eyes lit up when they made contact. She smiled.

Snow quickly averted her eyes, hoping to God that she wasn't looking at her.

"Snow knows this level the best. I have heard that the Dragon Express keeps track of all the maps and possibly has some ideas of what could be used to our advantage. They also slew the last-named Dungeon Monster that opened up the gates to let us in."

Frozen on the spot, she couldn't believe that Red just threw her with work that she was not ready for. What made it worse was that all eyes were on her, making her nervous as hell.

"Come on up." Red motioned her forward.

She didn't want to go up, she felt small in the presence of everyone.

"Snow?" Red asked again.

Fighting against her own mind, she knew that she couldn't keep staying in place like an idiot. With great effort, she silenced her raging doubts as she took her first step. It quickly became another and another, her confidence slowly growing.

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Heather saw her coming by, she slipped into her hand a small device. For a split moment, they looked at each other, and then kept walking towards where Red was. When she arrived, she glared at Red for bringing up her name.

Red flinched, bashfully smiling as if nothing was wrong.

Taking a deep breath, she coughed a few times to clear her throats. Her mind blazed through different scenarios, knowing full well that there were a lot of things she didn't know, but the lives of the people were in her hand.

With a flick of the device that Heather gave her, she threw it up into the air. With a whirl, the device floated. A holographic view of the dungeon level was brought up, bringing an unobstructed aerial view of where they stood.

"The dungeon is split into four distinct areas." Snow's voice was soft at first, eventually turning louder as her confidence boosted up. "On the east, we got large open plains that are easier to see, but the grasses are annoying to fight in. Still, the direction towards the exit is through this way to the mountains that circle around the whole map. You could say we are in a valley, and the only way out is that way for the reinforcements that would be coming in that direction. Now the other three are north is the cursed forest, south is the mountains, and west is the rocky desert-like plain."

The image of each place was shown to the people.

"Not too far away from here, we have the mana pool. Which we must keep the Wendigo away. We don't want it to go and replenish its energy every time it becomes weak. So, we will have to move it closer down south near the mountains, where we could use the terrain to our advantage from a high vantage point. If we could lure them towards those directions, we could use the area to damage it with the mages."

The people listened to her reasoning closely, understanding what she wanted to do.

"There are a few Player and Hunter groups who have scouted this area. They are Mr. Everrett and the White Lotus, Black Lightning, and even the Hand of Force team that had gone in and out to hunt the Black Lizards that occupy the terrain. Not too far from there is a cave, which was founded by the Silver Lining team. All of these groups know the terrain somewhat and might understand it better. Could the group step forward?"

People were surprised at how Snow remembered such information.

The group of four Players of five stepped forward, but it was the leader of each group that looked at Snow impressed. Mr. Everrett walked over with his hand folded, not much participating in standing out as he stood next to Snow in indifference.

"Do any of you guys have something you guys know that could help us with the terrain?"

They all took a moment to think through.

"Yes." One of the young girls with a full set of armor stepped forward. "I remember that a particular area is known for its landslide. If we could push the rocks or cause some form of explosion, it could be useful. Even if it doesn't kill it, it could possibly wound it."

The others realized what the girl was talking about.

"Your Ashma, correct?" Snow cast her gaze at her, who shook her head with a startled smile.

"Yes."

"Could you lead a group of Players to set up the landslide with the Mages? Red, do you mind assisting?" Snow asked.

"On it." Red eyes seem to sparkle at Snow's commanding air. Snow couldn't help but feel pressure from their high expectation. She hoped that whatever she was doing now would be the right choice.

"Tamaki," She turned towards him. "If you don't mind, I would like your guidance on some matters concerning the layout and traps of the field."

Tamaki nodded without replying, stating yes.

"Thank you." She bowed, elated that he was still on her side. Then she turned towards Tommy, Mike, and personally walked over towards the other group of Players.

Quickly, but efficiently the people divided into their own respective groups as the leaders all lead a small faction. In total, Snow had counted over one hundred fifty Players, seventy-seven Hunters, and over thirty mages and priests that were present. The rest of the noncombat people were told to stay hidden in the protection zone that the mage was going to make.

Everyone packed and got ready to move out.

A group of six people stood around her. Mike, Tommy, Red, Tamaki, Mr. Everrett, and Dairen. They were heated in the plans that were to come but quickly agreed on the best course of action.

"I can take care of the Player side." Mike quickly stated. "Dairen and I have a good reputation with the other's so they will surely listen to us. Plus, Ms. Snow, your reputation in the Dragon Express, brings awe and respect." He chuckled, smiling at her.

Confused, Snow wasn't sure what he was talking about.

"Tamaki and I will help in organizing the Hunters side as quickly as possible." Mr. Everrett spoke, understanding what she might want him to do. Snow knew that she wasn't good at everything, and giving the task to the person who was better than her would get the job done much faster than relearning something that would take years to gain.

Red nodded excitedly, enjoying how things were coming together. "I'll lead the mages."

"How many B class Hunters do we have? I know we only have seven B, some bordering on an A, class Hunters here with us." She looked at Tamaki, Tommy, and Mr. Everrett. Tommy didn't really care about leading the Hunters and just lazily lazed around listening to the plans. Only Tamaki was the only one who diligently spoke his thoughts.

"Ten here, but only in total thirty," Tamaki replied. "The others are not here. They are scattered around the map. A message has been sent out, but it's going to take time for them to arrive. We can not count on them to assist us. So they aren't in the equation."

"Do you think this named monster is stronger than the Dullahan?" Snow asked their opinion. She turned towards Mike and Dairen, who fought against the two.

"Eh, I'm not sure," Mike spoke. "But it's dangerous for sure.

"How so?" Snow had an inkling of the power from the video that she had seen.

"The mobs."

"Mobs? You mean the Hellhounds?"

"Yes. It's able to summon up a large army."

Concerned by what he had said, she wondered if now there was enough. She could only hope it was.

"I guess it can hold up to a thousand by the endless sea of hellhounds that could easily overrun us if we are in the open plains. We must pack them in one area, taking them away at once."

Snow nodded, "Then let's go now and set up for the fight."