章 59: The Seventh Floor
The group had arrived on the seventh floor as they stepped out from the gate, Snow was shocked to see a large fort wall. She had heard about the Great Divide but didn't think it was such a big deal until she saw it in person.
It wasn't just one area, but a large circumference of the gate was protected high by the wall itself. Snow wondered why there was such a massive wall around the portal itself. What was more surprising was the number of Players and Hunters active inside the wall. She had thought at least a few hundred Players were present going in and out, but from the looks of it, she would guess at least a thousand were present.
There were hundreds of colorful tents pitched up as the boisterous crowds of Players and Hunters got up to do their regular activity. Some curiously looked over to see who had arrived.
"How is this possible?" Snow asked Mike, who was closest to her. "Did you guys create the wall?"
"No." Mike shook his head, "it was here when we entered."
"But what is it for?"
Snow followed as they walked down the numerous stairs, passing by a group of Players who were pointing and whispering towards Snow. She ignored them.
"It is a safety measure against the monsters. Is all I could think of, other than that how it got here, I have no clue."
They finally came to the top, looking out into the desert-like landscape that glowed hot from the heat becoming distorted by the heat waves. Snow could already feel herself burning from the scorching sun, wishing that she had air conditioning right now. What was worse was that she was wearing all black, soaking in the sunlight. Even though her armor was heat resistant, any exposed skin still had direct contact with the heat, making her face sweat a bit.
"Protecting what specifically?"
"The gate." Mr. Everrett spoke up first before Mike could answer. "Ms. Snow, the gate is a priority, and any high-level monsters crossing into the lower dungeons is catastrophic to the weaker Players and Hunters. This wall keeps most of the monsters at bay."
Mr. Everrett was intently scanning the area as he started to wander around a little bit. One couldn't help but want to ask what was in his mind, but just as quickly as he spoke, he secluded himself into his thoughts.
"Have there been incidents where the gate walls have been bypassed?"
"Yes." Mike spoke, "I was here that day, but luckily we were able to send out a team to subdue it on the sixth floor. If they had gate hopped to the lower floors, I wouldn't be surprised if they made it out of the dungeon itself."
Snow gasped, hearing what Mike had said. Mostly because she never thought about the monsters escaping out in the real world. She had seen the amount of terror these monsters could cause, and the people who would get caught up in it wouldn't be spared.
"Are all dungeon monsters on this floor trying to escape?" Snow asked, wearily, hoping that they would tell her a different answer.
"Yes," Mike replied, his gaze was cast off into the distance. "We can neither go forward or go backward for a week now since we entered."
Snow asked, her mind whirling into action, thinking up of why this was the case. Then it hit her. "I'm guessing it's because this wall needs to be defended, and the monsters of this level aren't letting you guys take any rest."
"You're quite spot on." Mike's eyes became wide from her speculation. "Most would have guessed it's because we have some powerful hidden relic or something."
"Do we?" Snow couldn't help but ask if that was the case; it would make a lot more sense.
"No." Mike shook his head, "I wish that were the case, but it doesn't seem like that. It's just weird that these monsters are trying to get to the lower floors. It wasn't like this a few days ago. I'm a bit worried about this strange occurrence."
"We should go down and set up camp." Tommy cut in; he was already going towards the camp with Tamaki and Dairen. "I'm hungry."
Tamaki snorted, shaking his head. "You're always hungry. We just ate not even a few hours ago."
"Well, yea. Moving too much gets me hungry." Tommy smacked his stomach with a grunt.
Snow nodded, understanding instantly that if this wall holds, it was the best place to set up shop. She quickly followed behind, finding an open space where she could set up and get ready for the prospect of the Dragon Express store.
Looking around, she saw Dairen pitching his tent a bit further away from her with Tommy and Tamaki. When her gaze caught Dairen's eyes, he looked away.
Snow frowned, annoyed as she kicked the ground a few times, mumbling as she cursed him. Taking a deep breath, she calmed down. She wasn't going to let her mood be ruined by Dairen, and instead, she began to search for a spot.
The place where she decided to pitch up her tent wasn't far from the gates; it was the center of everything else, making it a very convenient spot. Most of the Hunters and Players had posted themselves not too far away from the walls, so they could quickly retaliate if they needed to spring into action.
When the Players saw Snow starting to pitch her tent, they surrounded her with excitement. It wasn't often that the people from the Dragon Express would come to the front personally.
"Ms. Snow!" The Players all called out one after another with excitement to see her.
"What are you doing here?"
"Are you opening a shop?"
"Wait, is she giving out new missions?"
"Holy shit," One of the young males with a gruff voice spoke out, "What if she is doing the main mission? That would make sense. She is here."
The Players all spoke out in excitement, chattering amongst each other, trying to see if they could get a mission out from her.
"Guys. Guys. Guys." Mike stepped in. He was halfway done in pitching up his tent next to Snow's. "Give the lady some break."
"Why are you trying to stop us." One of the Players replied with a bicker, stepping forward to confront Mike. "You're not her lover. We got just as much time to ask for missions or even quests."
"Yea, but being a jackass about it and scaring he-"
Snow rested her hand on Mike's shoulder. Her usual receptionist smile plastered on her face while wearing her black dragon armor. Everyone felt a cold shiver run down their spine.
"Please wait until my camp is set up." Snow words cut through the air; her magical power rose around her. It suppressed everyone who was in the vicinity and quite a bit off in the distance as they looked over to see what was going on.
Many squealed in fright as they thought they saw a black dragon appear in front of them, baring its fangs near their face, breathing heavily as smoke erupted from its mouth.
Just as quickly as it appeared, the overbearing pressure disappeared. A few people fell onto their butt, unable to stand up. The rest took a few steps back, giving her space. Even Mike gulped, sweating even more just from standing next to her. He felt the full pressure that she was carrying that made him want to run.
Snow turned around and started to set up. Mike and a few other Players quickly came over to assist her in setting up as they didn't want to get run over by her aura again. The tent was set up, Snow put away a few essential boxes into her tent, while she then set up a table and a chair. One of the Players ran over with a parasol, in which Snow wondered where he had gotten it, but she didn't ask.
When she was ready, she neatly sat down on her chair and looked out quietly at the crowds, who were all waiting patiently in a line. Mike seems to stand behind her as some kind of bodyguard to keep the Players in line.
With a graceful smile, she spoke, "First customer, please come to the table." Waving her hand in front of her in a gentle, inviting manner.
With a quick step, the first Player came over a bit bashfully. He was quite tall for someone to becoming over as if he was a pubescent teen girl blushing from every time he looked at her. She couldn't help but look at him funny from his strange action.
Eventually, after a few silence and eye contacts, which Snow wanted to shake him to hurry up, he brought out a slip of paper that seemed to be crumpled up. With a bit of effort, he was able to straighten it out.
Snow gazed at the paper in confusion, wondering what the Player had picked up.
"I found this," The Player spoke with a hint of pride. "I didn't have anything to take pictures of the runes, so I jot it down as quickly as possible. I left my phone in the tent at that time."
"Do you mind if I look?" Snow asked.
"Sure." He pushed it towards her.
Snow picked up the paper, looking at it with interest. The symbols weren't like anything she has ever studied before. It was all squiggly lines that she wondered if he had personally made up by himself, but when she saw the shapes become more defined, she knew it wasn't so.
The last line she could read what it had said.
"Where did you get this?" She asked, looking up at him for an answer.
"On the wall."
"Wall?" Snow was getting even more curious.
"Yes, if you head outside, go a good counter-clockwise, you will see inscriptions embedded into the walls. You wouldn't be able to see it unless the sun hits the light against the bricks at sunset."
Snow was curious at the whole inscription. Her instinct to find out more historical facts that she liked to learn, reared its ugly head. "Do you think you can show me later?" It was afternoon, and they had a bit of time before the sunset.
"Yes." The Player replied in excitement. "I would be happy too."
"And your name is?"
"Javeon."
"Thanks, Javeon." Snow pulled out a silver coin and slid it to him. "I'll see you at the gates when the sun starts to set."
"Yes!" Javeon stood up straight, delighted that he was given a coin for his accomplishment. Many of them looked at him with envy, but he didn't even mind.
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