Snow blinked a few times, confused about where she was. She tried to get up, but her muscles wouldn't listen to her. Actually, she felt like she didn't even have a body, but was trapped in her shell. Even her eyes weren't working as everything was a blur.

She tried to listen to whatever was going on. At first, it was just a mumble, until finally, she was able to hear someone talking.

"We need to get out of here." Heather's voice spoke out in a hurry. "I got everything in the truck and item storage."

The pitter-patter of people running back and forth, rushing in a hurry as they were getting things ready.

Heather ran over towards the large number of trucks. She motioned her hand above, yelling at the others to hurry up and pack up. Quickly, the Players and Hunters moved with vigor, putting away the large number of carcasses and herbs.

The ground rumbled, causing everyone to freeze as they tried to balance without falling. Boxes tumbled, people fell over, and buildings shook with vigor. Everyone was scared of the possibility of being stuck in the earthquake. They did not want their end to be at such a place. Just when they have slain the dungeon lord and grabbed its carcass as a prize.

A lot of players were dreaming about what they would do when they exit out from the dungeon itself, for many haven't seen the outside world for months. The dungeon life had become their way during the past months, and the completion of it was their goal.

"Come on!" Heather yelled again; she was quickly putting away the last few boxes that were on the ground. "The dungeon is about to collapse!"

Snow was a bit taken aback that the dungeon was collapsing. How long had she been out since the last boss fight? The last thing she remembered was her chest getting pierced by the BullRoc's energy. She was finally able to feel her hands and arms moving. It took a bit of time to get it to listen, but her upper extremities were finally free from the muscle lock that she was having a moment ago.

With a bit of moaning, she bites her lips, pushing herself up to sit. Her eyes started to focus, letting her see the chaos before her. She realized she was in the back of a jeep, wrapped in a cozy blanket. She shivered; she pulled up the sheets, wrapping herself in its warmth.

Snow didn't realize that her hair and a bit of her skin was still wet, wondering why. She didn't remember jumping in a pool of water.

Looking around to ask for someone's help, she opened her mouth to speak. Instead, a small grunt escaped her lips, unable to form words.

"The Players from the lower floors have all finally evacuated," Dairen called out to Heather, who was busily putting the last few boxes of stuff into the truck. "They'll be here in a moment."

"Good. We need to get out of here fast. I don't know how long before everything collapses in on us." Heather said worriedly. She gazed up to where she saw cracks starting to form above.

"The cracks got bigger," Dairen replied as he could to see the worry on Heather's face.

"And it's going to get worse. Are you sure the other Players will be here on time to exit?"

"Yes," Dairen replied confidently. "I've been talking with Mike for the past few days; they are bringing with it the BullRoc's corpse, so it was taking a bit longer than they expected."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Snow felt a warm excitement that the BullRoc was dead, but was saddened that she couldn't end its life. Leaving a hole in her heart was something that she wanted to get revenge on, but that wasn't going to happen. Feeling a bit dissatisfied, she tried her best to let such feelings go.

"Well, they need to get here fast," said Heather.

"I know." Dairen was getting annoyed at Heather's constant badgering.

It didn't take long for a burst of commotion to be heard from behind.

Snow saw a large band of Players and Heroes, bringing over a trail of large trucks. They were excitedly speaking with enthusiasm as they sang in unison. Mike and Audrey were taking the lead, with Rodney leisurely sitting on top of a truck. He wasn't so pleased about the boisterous singing, but he tolerated their songs.

"Mike!" Dairen waved, happy to see him well.

"Dairen!" Mike came over with a jolly laughter. He slapped Dairen on the back, "You should have seen how we killed that beast. It was epic!"

"That's good to hear." Dairen brushed Mike's hand off his shoulder. "How did it go?"

"We slew it, took a bit of time and effort with the conjoined guilds. I thought we wouldn't make it honestly." Mike's confidence dimmed, he brushed back his hair, looking a lot more humble than he used too.

Dairen wondered what was the reason for the change in temper. "Did something else happen?"

"Yes, we lost a lot of people."

"How many?"

"Well, in our guild, a good five," said Mike. "I'm just glad we made it out alive through that hell hole. Even if Snow had damaged its core, it wasn't going to go down without a fight."

Dairen could see that there was more, but he didn't push for an answer. "We'll talk about it later once we get out of here."

"Though, I brought their bodies with us. Just in case."

"What? Why-" Dairen halted, realizing what Mike was getting at. Even he knew that there could be a chance of revival.

"Is Snow alright?" Mike asked, he looked around to find Snow, but didn't see her.

"Yea, she's sleeping in the jeep." Dairen motioned towards it.

Mike looked over, and when he saw Snow wide awake, he exclaimed in happiness. "Snow!" He waved, jogging over to her. He grabbed her hand, squeezing it a bit too hard, making her hand feel a sharp pain.

"That hurts." Snow pulled back, a bit happy that she could feel pain but at the same time she wasn't too thrilled by his sudden closeness. "Give me some space, will you?"

"Sorry. Sorry. I am just happy to see that you are alive." Mike boisterously replied, "I knew that Dairen could save you." He looks over towards Dairen, giving him a thumbs up.

Darien rolled his eyes.

Both Dairen and Heather came over. Heather ran, jumping on Snow with tears on her eyes.

"You are awake." Tears of droplets of water ran down her face. She squeezed Snow a bit furiously. Her head snuggled in her shoulder, wetting the whole shoulder to the point where Snow thought her back and shoulder would be drenched with tears. "I thought you were going to be gone forever."

Snow patted her friend's head a few times. She understood her friend's anguish as she too knew that she would never see her friend again. "I'm back, aren't I?"

"Yes," Heather replied, her sobbing stopping. She pushed her apart, allowing her to get a good look at Snow.

A weak smile appeared on Snow's lip, unsure what to say to her friend. She just sat there, patting her on the shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"I'm not going to go away anytime soon, stupid. I got to watch over your fishy tail, you know." Snow gave her a weak laugh. She knew that she had to keep living for her friends and family. There was no way that she was going to throw her life away so easily any time soon.

"Yea." Heather laughed, wiping away her tears.

Snow then looked upon the rest. Her gaze dropped in on Mike, who she could see a change in demeanor. Something told her that Mike had mentally grown, whatever had happened in the boss fight had changed him. Without a second thought, she spoke. "Good job," to Mike, startling him.

"Well, you know." Mike bashfully spoke, pulling his collar. "I had some help."

Then she turned towards Dairen, who uncomfortably stared at her. He shifted from leg-to-leg, trying to stand still but couldn't. Snow felt a well of warmth, grateful at the people in front of her. Each and every one of them saved her in some way.

Mike destroyed the dungeon core, allowing her to finally escape out of the dungeon. Heather gave her a stable mind and a lifeline. A purpose to keep fighting for. While Dairen, he brought her back from her sleeping mind to live a life once again.

"Thank you," said Snow. "I couldn't have done this without you guys."

The three didn't say anything but instead smiled.

"Well then, enough with this gooey stuff. Let's get out of here and grab ourselves a drink when we get out of here." Mike coughed a few times, trying to hide his embarrassment. Especially, because he wasn't comfortable with such moments. "The drinks on me."

"Well, obviously." Heather smugly grinned, "I'm going to drink myself silly the moment I get out of here."

"How about we bet on who can drink the most." Mike retorted back, he was enjoying Heather's banter.

"You're on, boy." Heather placed her hand on her hips. "Let's get out of here." She then turned around to round up the rest of the gang.

Dairen hopped in the front with Mike. The engine turned out, roaring with life. Snow sat back, enjoying the cool breeze as the car moved. She was relieved at the end of this long, arduous journey.

The trucks followed behind, pushing towards the portal, leading them out towards the outside world. It didn't take long for them to reach towards the flaming gate.

Snow's chest squeezed, holding her breath. She was worried that the gate would still keep her here. Closing her eyes, she felt the jeep move. A cold wash of feeling splashed around her body, telling her that whatever happened happened. When she opened her eyes, what stared back at her was a destroyed city.