Trial and Error (I)

For Snow, being surrounded by thousands of Hellhounds wasn't something to freak over. Mostly because Mr. Rogers was someone she could count on. Everyone knew that the Vampire Lords were nothing to be trifled with, and these Hellhounds were just small prey, but the problem was there were too many.

Snow's back was against his. With a loud clunk, the box of weapons opened. She reached out to grab her first blade: Black Widow.

The black box whirled with life; red lines appeared on the side of the box as words started to scribble on the side: Black Box Series No. 78 Slaughter Mode Activating. Suddenly, the box's mechanical springs spat out the blades into the air, scattering them all around. Some were shot further away from the other, but they all were directed in a close vicinity around her. The Hellhounds spread from being impaled as the swords landed into the ground, waiting for her to take it.

Snow was ecstatic at the interesting feature her container that Falcon gave her. She didn't realize it was from the Black Box series until now. She didn't understand why Falcon would give her so many rare items. From the rings to creating powerful swords, and finally, a Black Box series that would hold these swords. Who was Falcon, really? She didn't have much time to mull over this thought.

She scanned around, making sure where she threw all her swords. Patterns quickly formed in her mind, understanding what moves to do next.

"We are going to need to clear our way to get back." Mr. Rogers pulled out a white glove from his pocket. He pulled it on, enjoying the fight that was about to happen. "Let's play a game." He peered over towards Snow. "Who can kill the most monsters."

"Now?" Snow was listening in, the Hellhounds were growling as they prowled around them.

"Yes, if you lose, you do me a quick favor."

Snow frowned. "A favor again?"

"Of course. We need to have some fun, don't we? Plus, with all those new trinkets and toys you have on yourself, you should be able to keep up." Mr. Rogers said leisurely, not phased by the situation that they were in.

"And if I win?"

"I give you a favor in return."

"I don't think that's enough of a motivation for me." Snow replied. She didn't want to get pulled in too quickly by Mr. Roger's schemes.

"You don't think so?" Mr. Rogers pulled the end of his gloves and patted his hand together as if he was dusting dirt off. "What else would you like?"

"All your kills will be mine as well as the items." Snow bluntly threw out, hoping that he would be turned off with the idea of this game.

Mr. Rogers was thinking for a moment before he replied. "Sure, but I get at least one S-class item if there is more than one when we defeat this dungeon."

Snow was baffled by Mr. Rogers' sudden agreement. She didn't understand why he would easily fork over so many monster corpses or even powerful items so easily. Many Hunters would covet these items and fight over who got them. Especially if there were S-Class items. Nations would go to war, depending on how powerful these artifacts were.

Snow couldn't refute his words. There was too much profit at stake. The lull of money and the thought of getting a favor from Mr. Rogers was too tasty to back out. She usually didn't mind about the money, but the favor was something not easily obtained. It was a rarity as it was mostly the other way around.

Eventually, she conceded. "Fine." She knew Mr. Rogers was good with his words.

"Let the game begin." Mr. Rogers and Snow both disappeared from their spot.

Snow flew down, striking the first Hellhound with an overhead swing of her sword. She sliced the Hellhound in half and twirled quickly into another combo. In a short duration of time, she killed over ten Hellhounds. She didn't have time to think about what Mr. Rogers was doing, so she jumped in a large swarm surrounding her with hungry eyes.

With a vicious spin, green poison spat out simultaneously, cleaving or slicing some of them in half. The others who touched the very green poison stumbled, unable to stand. They tottered onto their feet, falling down and died.

Snow was impressed at the extra feature on the magical blade. She didn't need to use as much magical energy to fuel the sword as it had its own magical core storage. Instead, she connects with it, allowing her to direct the poison to her will.

Mr. Rogers's laughing voice could be heard behind her. His true nature was coming out as he slaughtered countless of Hellhounds effortlessly.

"Twenty-four!" Mr. Rogers shouted, announcing to Snow that she needed to speed up. "Twenty-Seven!"

Snow tried her best to block out Mr. Rogers yells. Her body dancing in between the Hellhounds constant attacks. Weaving in and out as she struck every chance she could get. Poison flew around, taking many down without her touching them.

She slipped up because of her misstep. At that moment, her wrist was suddenly attacked from behind by a HellHound. It's large jaw clamped down upon it, her hand squeezed tightly, causing her to loosen the hold of her sword. She changed the rotation of her body, flipping the monster over her shoulder.

With a heavy thud, the Hellhound landed on the ground with a squeal of pain. Snow punched the Hellhound in the face with her other hand, taking out its teeth along with it. A vicious yank followed after, tearing away at the remaining teeth that tried to pierce her armor. She was glad that Flacon made such a sturdy armor as the Hellhounds bite would have broken her wrist completely and severed it clean.

Her sword twirled in action, she slammed into the Hellhound chest.

More and more Hellhounds snapped at the end of her feet, trying to push her in their own direction. She kicked one from behind, cutting a large bloody scar. With a yelp, they reared back. Dangerous poison sizzled and popped, melting their face in the process.

Her hand reached back, taking a jumping Hellhound from above. With a thud, it became embedded into a stone, leaving its feet dangling.

Snow rushed straight towards the next blade: White Gryphon. It's glistening white blade called for her to wield it. She reached down below, grabbing it effortlessly in a sliding run.

Joy spilled through her body. Holy magic swirled around her with excitement at the acceptance of its new owner. Even Snow could feel the amplification of her white magic. Glowing white swords appeared around her in the dozens, following her closely like a pack of wolves.

Each swing she swung, the blades around her went wild. The flying white swords were amplified in speed and power, cutting down any that stood in her path, while she had to chase down the other Hellhounds that were trying to run away.

"I'm impressed." Mr. Rogers, who had a Hellhound in his bloodied hand, spoke, crushing it in one blow. "One hundred and eighty-eight. She might actually pull this off." An interesting look was present. He grabbed another one and smashed it into the ground that came flying from behind.

"One hundred and eighty-nine." Mr. Rogers got up. He frowned at his bloodied white gloves. His eyes glowed even more red, becoming a halo of power. Red energy spiked all around him. Blood seeped out of his body, turning into blood whips. With just a wave of his hand, the bloody whips went into action.

The body count of monsters dying doubled in speed, matching Snow's own kills; Snow could hear the increasing sound of yelps, pains, and even barks being silenced, telling her that she needed to go faster.

Magic drained quicker than before. She could tell that she couldn't keep up with this constant flurry of swords flying all around. In the next ten seconds, the swords would disappear, leaving her alone with just the White Gryphon in hand. Already, the duration of the Holy Sword spell was twice as long than she could keep up herself. Without the extra help from the Gryphon Blade, she wouldn't have lasted so long.

Even the flashing speckled attacks that blinded the monsters temporarily gave her many chances to squeeze in hits of her own. Monster body parts were flying everywhere as the two tycoons were dealing with the crowd effortlessly.

Snow was excited at how much her power has grown. The extra boost she had gotten from the rings to the armor that Falcon made to protect her. Even her magic was controlled more efficiently. The addiction to such a wealth of items made her want to push her limits even further. The thought of fighting against the creature inside the middle of the city seems less daunting than before.

Kicking off the ground, she zigzagged through the swarm of Hellhounds. She headed towards the next sword that was sticking out of the ground. Curious at the prospect of what other abilities the swords had. Still, she was only able to tap into half of its ability.

But the curiosity of what new things would come out of each sword was similar to the feeling of going to a toy store and buying something new. Snow was pumped to try them all out.

Snow sliced down another with the White Gryphon blade, this time, she let the sword fall down with the body. Her hand grabbed onto the next large sword: Eye of the Horus, which was just as tall and heavy as it looked.