2nd Floor, Winter Village, the Guard Shack.

Several hardy-built men were standing around a round table. The round table had a fur rug draped over it.

And there was a map spread out on top of it.

"...That’s where we found the Ice Goblins."

Chief Guard said, pointing to a spot on the map with his walking crutch.

He looked to be severely injured with bandages wrapping around him as if he were a mummy, which was a shocking sight.

The other guards were used to seeing their Chief Guard wearing tough-looking armor and looking almost invincible.

They never thought that he would be injured this badly.

While Ice Goblins were a threat to ordinary locals, the Chief Guard was still the strongest among them and should’ve been able to handle them with rather ease.

"They’re quite close!"

One of the guards exclaimed as he looked at the spot on the map and quickly calculated that the distance between the Ice Goblins’ lair and the Winter Village was about a one-hour trip!

The other guards looked very serious.

It seemed like a battle was inevitable.

BANG~! At that moment, the door of the shack was slammed open with a loud crash.

"Wait up!"

Donald shouted as he ran to catch Opal, who just stormed into the Guard Shack, with tears still streaming down her face.

"...Lady Opal."

Chief Guard’s expression turned heavy, and his hand gripped the walking crutch hard, and he painfully straightened his back.

"W-Where is my husband?"

Opal asked through trembling lips.

The guards turned deadly silent. It had been a tough night for everyone. Many of their friends didn’t make back home.

And several of them had to take visits to their families to tell them that their husbands, sons, and brothers would not be returning.

"Why don’t you sit down?"

The Chief Guard said.

"WHERE IS HE?!"

Opal screamed.

With a deep sigh, the Chief Guard quickly reminisced about what had just happened, and then he opened his mouth:

"We found the Ice Goblins lair. We saw them go in and out of a cave. It didn’t seem like there were too many of them. Maybe a dozen.

"However, for the safety of the Winter Village, we had to make sure of the exact number to know the threat that they posed to the village.

"Therefore...

"Under my orders, we entered the Ice Goblins lair, and we fought through them no problem. Killed several of them.

"And eventually, we reached the heart of their cave and discovered that their numbers were far greater than we had anticipated.

"Thousands.

"There are many different Ice Goblin tribes on the 2nd floor, so we thought initially that it was just one tribe.

"We were wrong. It was all the tribes. All the tribes had left the mountains to come here together. It was unprecedented.

"Ice Goblin tribes always fought each other and never worked together, which is why their threat level was always considered low.

"For some reason, they decided to unite."

The Chief Guard said with a deadly serious expression on his face.

With several gulps, the other guards listened. They had already found out about the United Ice Goblins. It was the biggest threat that their community had ever encountered.

"At that moment, one of the Ice Goblins groups returned to the cave. It seemed like they were out in the woods in search of food.

"They came behind us and then alerted the whole Ice Goblin community of our presence. We immediately started fighting our way out.

"Unfortunately... Most of us received serious injuries, and few of us... did not make it out. It was chaos. Everybody was just caring for themselves.

"Myself included."

The Chief Guard said.

"...Did you see my husband die?"

Opal asked with a tearful expression.

"...I did not. The last thing I remember about your husband is him being dragged away by the Ice Goblins." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The Chief Guard said.

"Wait, dragged away? Doesn’t that mean he could still be alive?!"

Opal screamed.

"..."

The Chief Guard stayed quiet, as there was something that he was hesitant to share with Opal.

In that moment, Donald put his hand on her shoulder and said with a serious look on his face.

"Ice Goblins left the mountains because of the harsh weather and lack of food. We believe that they’re holding your husband and other guards captive until it is time to eat them."

"...W-What?"

Opal turned to him in shock, and then she looked around the shack and saw that everyone was just trying to avoid eye contact with her.

"W-Why aren’t you guys doing anything? We have to go help him!"

"Opal, there are thousands of Ice Goblins. We have only about 25 guards. It’s a suicide mission. They’ve also most likely increased their security as well."

The Chief Guard said.

While Ice Goblins weren’t the most intelligent race, they weren’t idiotic either, and they knew how to defend themselves effectively.

Since they had found them, the Ice Goblins knew that their location was exposed, and had to increase their security.

"We can ask the players for help!"

Opal said.

"...With what money, Opal? The winter is coming, and the village is already running out of money as it is. Players won’t do anything if they don’t get paid.

"And this would be a big raid. We would need hundreds of players. We couldn’t possibly afford all of them. Nowhere close!"

The Chief Guard said.

"...So you are just going to stay still and let my husband get eaten?"

Opal asked angrily with tears streaming down her face.

"...Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice. We need to prioritize the safety of the village now more than ever.

"We might need to consider evacuating as well. If those Ice Goblins decide to attack us, we don’t have enough manpower to keep everyone safe."

The Chief Guard said.

"...Cowards."

Opal spat under her breath, and she then stormed out of the shack and angrily stomped through the snowstorm.

She was trembling, like a leaf in a hurricane, and she then wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

A short while later, she arrived back at her home, and once she stepped inside, she saw her baby sleeping in the crib.

"...How was it?"

Onion, the old man, asked with a dark look on his face. He was sitting on the couch with Fang Raon.

Anna was sitting at the table, absentmindedly stirring her coffee, as she was bored out of her mind.

"They believe that he is still alive, held captive in the Ice Goblins’ lair."

Opal said.

"What?! Are they planning to do something about it?"

Onion asked with a look of hope, but then he saw his daughter’s face and realized that he might have been hopeful far too soon.

Opal then recounted everything that was said in the shack, and everyone just listened with silent expressions.

"Thousands of Ice Goblins... An entire Ice Goblin colony."

Onion let out a cold breath, and he wasn’t sure how their community was going to survive that threat.

’Will this village really be destroyed? That would be bad for every new player. How can they keep climbing in the tower if this village is taken by the Ice Goblins?

’The entrance to the tower is right in the middle of the village, and if the Ice Goblins take over this place, it’ll be bad for everyone.’

Fang Raon thought with a frown.

Ding~! Ding~!

In that moment, he suddenly received a message, and he pulled open his chat window.

And since he only had one friend—his sister Anna—it was quite obvious from who the message came from.

[Anna: Can we go already? I am bored]

"..."

Fang Raon frowned, looked at his bored sister over at the table, and then quickly wrote a response back.

[Raon: Aren’t you even a little curious about all of this?]

Ding~!

[Anna: No]

’This girl...’

Fang Raon sighed and typed again.

[Raon: If these Ice Goblins take over the village, it’ll be bad for everyone. I don’t want that to happen]

Ding~!

[Anna: What’re you going to do about that? Did you not hear? There is an entire Ice Goblin colony nearby. We should just leave the floor before it is too late]

While Anna liked the beauty of the floor and would’ve wanted to stay longer under normal circumstances, she knew that it was dangerous to stay now.

They couldn’t delay their departure much longer.

By tomorrow, the Ice Goblins could’ve already attacked, and it would be too late, and they would be stuck on this floor.

[Raon: You’re bored, aren’t you? This can be a fight of a lifetime]

Ding~!

[Anna: Bah, a fight? It will be slaughter]

[Raon: If you don’t want to participate in this with me, that’s fine. I’ll just do it by myself]

Over at the table, Anna looked angry, and she started angrily typing on the holographic keyboard in front of her.

She was basically slamming the buttons.

Ding~!

[Anna: We still have the deal. If you foolishly die, I’ll just purchase a new game card for you, and you’ll have to do the 1st floor again. Don’t think just because you die you’ll get to weasel your way out of this deal!]

Fang Raon rolled his eyes, and he then swiped his hand across the air, making the chat window disappear.

He then stood up.

"I am not sure what I can do, but I can go talk to the players to see whether they’re willing to join me in the fight against the Ice Goblin colony."

His words shocked Onion and Opal, who had never considered that he might be willing to help.

"R-Really?"

Opal said with a look of shock.

"Are you sure, kid? There are thousands of Ice Goblins there. We appreciate your willingness to help, but... Dying won’t help anyone."

Onion said with a worry.

"I am not giving any promises. I don’t want to give you any false hope."

Fang Raon said, and then he put on the winter clothes that Onion gifted him moments prior and walked to the door.

BANG~! At that moment, Anna slammed her fist on the table, and she angrily stomped after her brother.

"This stupid brother of mine... Argh... Stupid... Stupid..."