Dungeon Life (I)

Snow watched as one of the Dragon Express personnel came in with a large group of Hunters all carrying boxes. She even saw carts and horses being pulled in through the gate, which she wondered why such primitive ways were used, especially when they were technologically advanced. Then she saw a few more vehicles that weren't pulled by horses following close behind, answering her question.

They stopped to place the boxes and equipment down, getting ready to set up a temporary camp. There were many Hunters from different nationalities, most were Players themselves. She could tell that they weren't as strong as the Hunters, but were kind enough to be considered a C class Hunter. She saw a few familiar B Class Hunters in the mix, which brought a bit of relief to see strong Hunters joining in clearing this dungeon.

Working with the Dragon Express, she was able to identify the levels of the Hunters strength without the use of the magical device, but even still, there were times when such weren't the case. Anything higher than an A class was difficult to even pinpoint, and there weren't many. While all S class, Hunters were a rarity that only a handful rose up to such levels.

Snow realized in a group of Players and Hunter, she saw a familiar figure. It was Heather, who was busily scanning the area for her. She was wearing a low cut V shirt with tight blue jeans, wearing jogging shoes as her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She swayed side-to-side, accentuating her hips, catching a lot of male onlookers. Even still, she didn't care as she pulled down her sunglasses when she caught sight of Snow.

"Snow?" Heather called out towards her. "Snow!"

In excitement, Snow rushed over. "Heather!" She waved her hands, running up to her in delight. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you that you will be stuck here for a long time."

Heather waved her hand at her, not really minding about it. "It's vacation time. This allows me to get away from the stuck up Lily."

"I don't know. Mr. Jay is not going to just allow you to come here scott-free. From all those boxes and unpacking behind you, I'm guessing he wants you to set up a shop or something."

Heather gave her a look, she then smiled. "You know him too well."

Snow groaned. "What does he want us to do?" She was already forming an idea what Mr. Jay wanted, but she still wanted to hear from Heather.

"Set up shop on this floor. It's why I brought all those stuff with me. I also got some Players to help us with some moving expenses back and forth between the dungeon and the outside world. He said this is the best business opportunity."

"He would say that." Snow should have known better. Mr. Jay was the type to use any advantage to make more money, and he was always right there at the worst places. If she could punch him right now, she would.

"Yep."

"We should set up near my apartment." Snow suggested. Having a comfortable place to live, and having a decent shelter was optimal. "We just need to clear some paths to get there. I believe we will run into a few monsters on the way, though."

"That is fine. I brought some high-level Hunters with us. They will be our bodyguard for the duration of the stay here. Don't get too comfortable though, depending on how things are going to go, we might get more Hunters excited to come in to make a killing off the monster hunts here."

"Yea, but they won't be able to leave yet."

Heather shook her head, "It's why the Red Flower Nation is here. They are going to try to break the gateway or something like that so we can go back and forth. If that's the case, we will be able to leave with most of the goods with us when it happens. Plus, other people are waiting on the other side of the gate as we speak for twenty-four seven transportation the moment the Players come out to exchange the goods. Luckily for you, the dungeon is near one of the Dragon Express stores, so we don't have to worry about theft."

Relieved to hear that Snow felt reassured that their products and money weren't going to get stolen easily.

"Ah, before I forget, Mr. Jay left you in charge of the Dragon Express branch here."

"Wait, what?" Snow was stupefied by the promotion.

"You deserve it, you know." Heather chuckled. "I saw your work and lead the employees back at the store. Even though you don't speak much and have a scaredy-cat tendency, they respect you."

"How? I just help out and give out some pointers."

Heather snorted, shaking her head. "You go way beyond that, plus you have been changing for the better. Mr. Jay noticed it and gave you a raise. He said that your salary will double now if you take on this job."

"I highly doubt that is the reason." Snow rolled her eyes. "He just wants us to deal with the problem inside here."

"Possibly, but we will have more coming in to manage. You are now the Director of the field operation for the Dragon Express. This place will become very active, and we need a field agent like you to manage these unscrupulous players and Hunters."

"Yea, well. I know you do a better job at that."

Heather laughed. "My innocent friend. Do you think that is the only reason?" She shook her head. "You'll see. I know you can do a good job." Handing her ring back that Dairen had given her when Snow had sent with him. She noticed that the ring had changed into a Director status equivalent to Mr. Jay's.

"Anyways, where is Darien? Didn't he meet with you?" Snow looked over her shoulder, hoping to find a clue.

"Yea, but he was sent immediately to do a few missions by the boss. Mostly because you weren't there, so he asked him to do it."

"Mr. Jay asked him?" Snow couldn't believe he trusted Dairen, mostly because he wasn't the type too.

"I'm assuming it's because you trusted him with the ring. If it wasn't for that, he would have probably looked another way or shoved the task on me." Heather pouted, "I rather he did not. I'm already up to my neck, trying to get these things in order. Anyways, where is your apartment?"

Chuckling, she smiled at her friend. "We are going to need to leave something here for all future Hunters and Players. Do you have anything like that that can stay here to guide them?"

"Yes. Give me a moment." Heather walked over towards one of the carriages. She shuffled around, pulling out a metallic looking bar. Picking it up, Heather walked over towards the gate. Swinging the pole over her head, she slammed it into the ground as it stood in place.

The pole whirled into action, a large post sign appeared as digital screens flickered on. It was a partial map, showing only their location.

"I got this baby in storage. Useful in tracking out all the explored areas and updates frequently if we hand them these beads to the hunters to look around." Heather pulled out a large bag of small silver beads. "This way, we don't have to explore the same area again. I got a few more poles we can set up to give the other's an idea where we are when we find a decent place to use them. For sure, we are going to need one for ourselves."

Heather smiled, she snapped her fingers as words and icons popped up on the screen.

Snow was impressed, mostly because this would tremendously help out the exploration of the dungeon and get through without too much trouble. There were other useful uses to it for tracking, which she gladly would use for search and rescues if done right.

"Let's go, I'll show you how to get there. Plus, Mr. Everrett and Tamaki might know some areas that could be useful."

"Great."

Heather motioned her hand overhead, telling them to wrap up. "Show us the way." She giggled.

Snow chewed her lips. "It's going to be awhile to get there, but it shouldn't be so bad."

Heather went over towards one of the carriage. She motioned Snow and the other's to take a seat in the small rovers.

They started their journey towards the apartments. Snow took a rest, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the ride. The chatter of the Hunters and Players kept her more at ease as it filled the air with rough jokes that drowned out the silence of the dungeon.

Snow mind whirled with ideas of what to do at the apartment, especially on how to set up for the arrival of future Hunters. She knew that there would be hundreds, possibly thousands of Hunters and Players coming and going to destroy the dungeon to free them. Mostly because the dungeon was expanding, meaning trouble.

"Snow, what do you think of this dungeon?" Heather asked.

"It needs to be destroyed." She bluntly replied without opening up her eyes.

"But the profit from this dungeon could be exponential."

Snow flipped over towards her. "You think I want to live here my whole life?"

"No, just saying." Heather shrugged. "We could profit out of this dungeon as well, you know. Maybe even hit something big if we find something." She excitedly said. Her eyes twinkled at the thought of money.

"True. If I wasn't tied to this dungeon, I wouldn't' mind being able to go a bit exploring and earn some good money."

Heather looked around. She scooted over, leaning down for only Snow to hear. "We should go explore a bit and grab yourself some money." She winked.

"I don't know…" Snow got up.

"Come on, Snow. This is like a once in a lifetime thing. The dungeon could be closed in less than a month, and after that, it would probably disappear in the next few days from its destruction."

Snow thought it over. "Maybe just this floor."

Heather squealed in delight, happy that she agreed.

"I won't go any deeper, though. Unless you have an idea on how to stop from going into a Mana Overflow."

"I actually do," Heather smirked. Which made Snow excited and worried at the same time.

"That would be?"

Heather winked, telling her that there was something more.

"Do you really know what it is?"

"Yes, and you will like it."

"Heather." Snow crossed her arms. "I hope it's not something stupid."

"Absolutely not." Heather dramatically stated. "Do you think I'm like that, Snow?"

"Yep," Snow bluntly replied, enjoying the horrified expression that Heather was giving her.

Heather stuck out her tongue, folding her arms in front of her. "Well, when we get settled in. I'll show you."

Snow felt a bit worried but knew that there was no use in hoping she would spill. Instead, she just enjoyed the ride as they made their way to the apartment.