The word "reward" silenced the room.

The players retreated to their own shouts. Thinking about whether the reward was going to be worthy of the risk.

But then.

They thought that the reward must be immense since the risk was so great. Especially considering the consequences if they failed.

The second floor would be pretty much doomed if they failed, so the reward must be much greater than any ordinary raid.

Greed...

"...What’s the reward?"

The male player with his girlfriend hugging him asked.

"I can’t tell you. Everyone who will participate will receive different rewards. Just trust me, it will be worth it."

Fang Raon said.

’Everyone who will participate will receive different rewards... So, it’s like that.’

The male player thought.

However, there were still some players that weren’t convinced just yet, as the risk was still really high.

"This is not some ordinary quest. It’s a quest that changes everything. The reward must be something that makes it all worth it in the end.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, guys. You might never come across something like this ever again.

"Most of you are new players. Some of you are older players in new characters. But now, you all are in the same position.

"It’ll take you guys years and years to catch up to the players ahead of you. Maybe some of you will never catch up.

"This is your opportunity to catch up. It is up to you whether you want to be an ordinary player or a star player."

Fang Raon said.

When he said "ordinary players," he looked at the players that seemed hesitant to join in the mission, and when he said "star players," he looked at the players that have pretty much decided already.

The "ordinary players" frowned and looked at each other. None of them looked awe-inspiring. They were all very ordinary-looking.

If you walked past them in the street, you wouldn’t give them a second glance.

"...I don’t want to be ordinary."

One of them whispered under his breath, and he gritted his teeth and then jumped to his feet in a hurry.

"I’ll join you!"

He shouted.

"ME TOO!"

"SAME!"

In that moment.

Every player stood up on their feet, faces determined. Serious faces full of determination and focus.

They knew it was going to be dangerous. Some of them were going to die. But all of them thought, "But it won’t be me!"

"...Good."

Fang Raon whispered, the hint of a smirk on his lips.

’This is wrong, I know it. I am manipulating all of them. Their deaths will be on me. I am willing to live with that guilt.

’This has to be done.’

He thought.

"Brother, a word."

In that moment, Anna walked over with a smile on her face. The smile felt off. It felt forced and very much fake.

"Prepare for departure. We’ll be heading off in thirty!"

Fang Raon shouted.

The players nodded. They quickly stuffed the rest of the food into their mouths and drank their drinks. Then they headed to their rooms to prepare.

In all their minds, Fang Raon was already the leader of the group. Nobody else wanted to take on that responsibility.

Anna then grabbed Raon by his arm and dragged him outside. The snowstorm still hadn’t lessened.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She asked angrily.

"The necessary thing."

Fang Raon said with a smile.

But then, Anna grabbed him by his face, squeezing his face so that his mouth couldn’t open, and then she angrily said:

"Necessary? Bullshit. Why’re you acting like some hero? Why are you the one that has to do all of this?

"You don’t owe anything to anybody. You gain nothing from doing this. You’re just getting yourself killed, like an idiot."

Fang Raon grabbed her by the wrist and removed her hand from his face. He didn’t do it forcefully, but gently.

"You still don’t get it, Anna?"

He said.

"...Get what?"

She asked.

"It’s not always about you or me. I do this solely because I want to. I am not looking for anything in return."

Fang Raon said.

"...Hmph."

Anna pulled her hand out of his grasp and turned around to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

He asked.

"I am logging off!"

She angrily shouted, and then while walking through the snowstorm, she brought out her interface and pressed the Log Out button.

With that, she suddenly disappeared.

"...Sigh."

Fang Raon shook his head, and he then walked back inside the inn and saw the innkeeper talking with the rest of his workers.

They looked very serious.

It became a huge shock to them that there was an Ice Goblin colony so close to the Winter Village.

If the rest of the village found out, there would definitely be panic, and some of them would definitely flee in fear.

However.

There was nowhere to go on the 2nd floor. There were no other villages. It was just the Winter Village.

Therefore.

They would have to abandon the 2nd floor entirely and go to the 3rd floor. There was no other choice.

It was a difficult choice, as they would have to abandon their homes, and they really didn’t want to do that.

"Don’t leave just yet."

Fang Raon approached them and said.

The innkeeper looked at him and then bowed respectfully before saying.

"I appreciate you and the other players doing this. We all have families here. We still need to prepare in case you all..."

"Die."

Fang Raon finished his sentence.

The innkeeper nodded his head awkwardly, as he didn’t want to say it out loud, but they all were thinking that.

There were only fifty players, and they were going against thousands of Ice Goblins. It was obvious that the odds weren’t exactly in their favor.

"If we aren’t back by tomorrow morning, well, you know what happened. Just wait till then before you decide to leave."

Fang Raon said.

"...Alright, we’ll wait till then. Good luck, young man."

The innkeeper said.

...

2nd floor, Winter Village, the Guard Shack.

"...We need to increase the defenses around the walls. Barricading the gate is a must. We need bowyers to make more bows for our guards. We can rain arrows down on them from above."

The Chief Guard said.

Other guards nodded, but there was another problem, and there was the fact that some of the guards didn’t know how to use a bow.

So, they would have to learn how to use a bow in a very short timeframe.

In that moment.

The door of the shack opened, and the guard ran inside. A shocked-looking guard. It looked like he had been running just now.

"Come look. There is something going on outside!"

The guard shouted.

"Is it the Ice Goblins?!"

The Chief Guard said in fear, and they all pulled out their weapons and ran out of the shack into the snowstorm.

But then.

They saw players, shivering in the snow and cold, walking down the snowy streets of the village, heading to the gate.

"...Where are they going?"

The Chief Guard asked in shock.

"You’re the Chief Guard?"

In that moment, Fang Raon walked over and thought that the Chief Guard must be the highest-ranked because of his ornate armor.

"Y-Yes, and you are?"

The Chief Guard asked.

"I am Fang Raon. We heard about the Ice Goblin problem. We’re heading over there to take care of the problem.

"Can you tell me the exact location? It would help greatly."

Fang Raon said.

"...W-What?"

The Chief Guard could barely believe his ears, and every other guard was also surprised to their very core.

They couldn’t believe that the players were actually willing to help without being paid to do so. It was a total surprise!

They started thinking that maybe they might’ve misunderstood the players all along and that they were actually good people at heart, willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

"Ah yes... I have a map!"

The Chief Guard took out a folded map from his back pocket and opened it and drew a circle around a specific location.

"It’s right there, inside the cave. The cave is massive. It goes deep underground, so be careful. We expect them to have increased their security as well."

He said, and handed Raon the map, and he took a quick look at it before he nodded and stored it inside his inventory.

"Thank you."

Fang Raon nodded and then walked after the players, who were all waiting for him by the gate, and once they saw him, they let him go to the front, and then they all followed after him.

"No... thank you."

The Chief Guard whispered under his breath.

They all had pretty much already given up, as they couldn’t possibly defeat thousands of the Ice Goblins, but now... they were finally feeling hope.

Sure, it still looked very hopeless as there weren’t all that many players. Most players had already gone offline.

But still.

They were players. People with magnificent powers that some locals could only dream of having. If somebody could do it, it would be them!