Wendigo (IV)

Snow walked over, using her foot, she nudged the monster before her. Even though she knew it was dead, she couldn't help but double-check.

"It's dead." Tommy smugly replied. He squatted down, roughly poking at it to the point where the muscles on the body temporarily spasm. With a fright, he jumped back and threw up his arm in front of him.

"Yea. Dead." Snow laughed at his display, unable to contain her laughter. "You freaked out with a simple jiggle from the Wendigo. Are you sure you're a high-class Hunter?" She jokingly goaded.

Tommy huffed, turning his nose up in the air in a snobby manner. "I am. You just saw a bit of a high-class moment."

"Right~."

Shoulders finally let loose; Snow was relieved that the fight was over. She was almost food for the Wendigo, and now she was free from the terror this Wendigo could have caused. The only thing she now had to pay was the gold from the quest to the Hunters and Players.

"Is there any use to this monster corpse?" Tommy had asked. He flicked out his knife, ready to dismantle it on the spot.

"Yes." Snow instantly replied. "We should take it with us to the village first then dismantle it. The blood is a good deterrent towards other monsters. While the eyes are good herbal medicine for warts and curses, then we got the skin which personally only the hair is useful in my opinion, but you could still make some kind of light shirt or pants with it. Bones, we grind them to a fine powder and could make them into many berserk potions. Quite expensive, but useful."

"The muscles and organs?"

"Trash."

"Really?" Tommy flicked back his knife. "I would assume it would be used for food."

"Nope." Snow walked over; she eyed the body to take a reasonable estimation of what other use it could be used for. "The muscles are too chewy and hard to swallow. Also, it's poisonous."

Tommy pulled back his hand, "well, that's out of the question."

The others came over, taking a good look at the large fallen body. Their curiosity got the better of them as they felt a bit of disgust at the smell that it was giving off. Even Snow's stomach turned a few loops, reminding her of a sewer.

"Though I don't know if I want to wear its skin," Darien spoke, he held his hand in front of his nose. "It's too strong of a smell."

"There is a process to take the smell out." Snow replied, "but the process takes a bit of time. A full week if we get the right crafter."

"That's not too long." said Dairen, "I thought it would be longer."

Snow shook her head; she then brought out a machete from her inventory and a few ropes. Wrapping the foot and the arm's together, she then started to make a makeshift sled. The others understood what she was doing and helped out, quickening the process. They couldn't stay out here for too long because the morning sun was slowly rising.

She could see the speckled red and orange peeking out from behind the mountains. Snow wondered how this dungeon could have such fantastic magic to be able to create such false sunlight. It was as if she was in another world.

Tommy and Mike took one end of the spilled ropes as they pulled the substantial body along. They cursed at the heavy luggage to be brought to the village camp.

Snow didn't have any magic that could just lift it in the air; if she did, she wouldn't have wasted her time to make such a shaggy sled. Reminding herself next time to bring a porter, she assisted as best as she could, clearing bushes and branches out of the way for them to squeeze through.

They finally arrived back at the mountains, where the rest of the team were waiting around noon.

"They're here!" One of the lookouts yelled, turning heads towards the direction that they were coming from.

The Players and Hunters swarmed, looking at the prize with great interest.

"Look at this guy's horn." One of the male players yelled. "It can probably skewer a man in half." He barked out, laughing.

"Oh, god, Ted. What the hell is wrong with you and skewering people? You got some fetish?" One of his friends smacked him by the head.

The group laughed, happy that the Wendigo was dead. They all felt its power, and many knew that they were no match for it. Some were jealous. They looked at the spoils of the hunt, wishing that they were there.

"Who do you think gave the last blow?"

"I don't know, but wouldn't it be great if we joined in?"

The voice quickly became excited at the prospect of what happened.

"It sucks that we couldn't join."

"Yea, only B level Hunters, while Dairen and Mike were chosen again. Lucky bastards."

Even Snow couldn't help but get washed away with the feeling of pride at the hunt. Her chest poke out forward, while she straightened her back and looked into the crowd with her usually glorious receptionist smile. Many were blinded by it as they bashfully looked away.

Mike once again climbed up onto the monster, shouting, "We came. We saw. And Conquered!" Throwing his hand up in the yell.

It was so cheesy that Snow couldn't help but cringe.

Still, the crowd went wild. Some of the people threw their hats in the air, creating a flurry of hats.

"Corny as always." Dairen was trying to hold his laughter because of how silly Mike looked.

Snow was baffled by Mike's reaction, causing her to think that something was wrong with his head. Wait, she knew that something was wrong with him, but she never voiced it.

With the cheering finally dying down, Mike hopped down as the other Players swarmed around him to hear the stories of the hunt.

Dairen came over, bowing his head. "If it wasn't for your plan, we might not have easily succeeded." He smiled, happy to be near her. "I thought we were going to be a goner many times on those monster raids."

"It wasn't just me, you know." Snow replied, wondering what Mike was up too.

"Yeah, but it started with you, and from there it branched out to the others. Anyways, just take this compliment once in a while."

Snow shrugged, "I'm just not used to it, nor do I want to go through that headache again any time soon."

Dairen nodded, understanding what she meant.

Snow recognized that glimmer in Dairen's eyes, telling her that he was still pumped about the fight and probably would have looked forward to another life and death fight.

An adrenaline junkie. That was what Snow dubbed every Player here, and she could see it blossoming in Mike and Dairen. In the fight, they were a lot more aggressive. She was worried about Dairen, but what could she do but hope that he would not be too much into the lifestyle of a Hunter.

"Either way, we won. We are going to get paid, and now food." Dairen shook with excitement at the thought of food. "God, how I want some juicy meat right now." He smacked his lips, telling her that he was hungry.

"The stalls should be opened by the time we get back to the village, but a small snack right now wouldn't be so bad. We do have some leftovers, just no meat."

Dairen excitement deflated. He looked at her in horror at the thought of no meat.

"Later." Snow said again in the hopes of getting through, but it didn't seem like it. "Anyways, we should pack up and leave. Staying out here all day isn't going to be good for us. Plus, I'm tired." A weak chuckle escaped her lips. She didn't realize how tired she was until now.

"Yea." Dairen turned around, shouting at the crowd, twirling his hand up in the air. "Guys, time to pack up. When we get back, let's have a feast!"

All the Players excited yelled once again, this time much louder than before at the thought of food. Even Snow couldn't be helped being pulled in by their enthusiastic energy. Everyone dispersed, quickly packing their belongings to leave.

"Well then, shall we go?" Dairen gave her his arm to hold on.

"Let's." Snow reached over to grab on as she got up.

######

It didn't take long for them to ferry the large body into the village. Once again, as the people entered, the cries of fright, awe, and excitement dawned on everyone who saw it. Many even tried to reach up and touch it but squeak in horror as they ran away.

Snow became busy. The Dragon Express and herself were running around logging parts and paying out all the Hunters and Players that took part in the quest. She did hear some murmuring and gossip about some kind of Major quest that had to do with her, but she paid it no mind.

Honestly, she didn't have time, too, as she was swamped with work.

It didn't take long before the Players and Hunters started up a small festival-like atmosphere. The stalls brought out a large amount of food as everyone hungrily came over to feast. Snow threw a generous amount of budget into this small festival, mostly because she wanted to thank the Players and Hunters for assisting in slaying the Wendigo.

She knew that without them, she would die. Plus, most of the money came from her pockets because she really didn't have much use to use them but to store them away.

The festive air quickly came to pass as the night sounded with celebration. Even Snow snuck out and enjoyed the night, celebrating with the others.