Frostfire Legacy

The group rested for about a full hour before restarting their march onward. By then, even the trailing group managed to catch up and were able to rest for a short while.

However, as expected, they didn't follow the leading group and instead decided to rest for a good while before continuing. After all, they were running low on supplies, so the encounters they were having were getting stretched, leading to even more fatigue.

"That's what little planning does to a mother f—"

"K! Watch your mouth!"

"Who cares about them anyway? They could die in a ditch somewhere for all I care."

"You too, Tinya! Bad!"

"It's nice that you're all less tense, but please stop playing around and pay attention."

The girls were bickering behind Aster, or more like, Cassy acting like a mother of two unruly girls, lecturing them nonstop. Liz, on the other hand, was simply watching over them while also keeping her attention on the surroundings.

After reaching the fourth floor, the monsters started to act more aggressively. The reason was that they could instinctively tell that the adventurers running before them were weaker than they were. Due to that, the number of encounter battles increased.

The pace at which they were going visibly slowed to about 70% of their maximum, which was still fast but not fast enough.

"At this rate, we'll be reaching the boss around midnight if we don't take any more breaks." Aster sighed, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Of course, the lead party realized this too, and as such, they tried to increase their pace even more. This ended up causing them to get tired faster, but with this, they should reach the other end within schedule.

Soon, 6 p.m. arrived, and everyone started to take another hour-long rest. Some even took power naps, just to recoup their stamina even a second faster. Around 7 p.m., the entire group resumed their travel.

Now, however, the Dragon's Roar parties weren't using their guns as haphazardly as before. Even they were running low on their ammunition!

"This is bad," Aster muttered, seeing this change.

After all, now that the lead group wasn't mowing down the enemies ahead and only killing those that got too close to them, more monsters ended up reaching the other parties behind. Especially those at the rear, i.e., Aster's party.

Tina and Liz were running on either side, with Aster at the head and Cassy and Kali in the middle. As such, whenever they encountered stray monsters that the lead groups didn't kill, they could handle them quickly. A series of taunts, with the rest pouring down their attacks, and all monsters would be cleared in about half a minute!

This continued for a few hours, which ended up allowing Liz and Kali to reach level 7. With their levels increasing, the fights became even easier.

"Battle Cry!"

Liz activated her new skill, which released a powerful shockwave from her shout, stunning the enemies for a short moment while also giving a short attack buff to everyone around her. With this new skill, the time they needed to eliminate monsters was effectively halved!

As the battles became easier, Aster's group finally had some leeway and was able to keep pace with the lead group without much trouble.

However, as they proceeded further and further onward, the monsters started to become even tougher. They came in large groups—enough to let the Dragon's Roar team stop in place just to handle the threats! They couldn't simply rush past it, as there's the possibility of being attacked from behind!

The short skirmish ended up getting prolonged as more and more monsters came as reinforcements. As such, the entire team was held in place for over an hour, causing their plans to derail instantly.

"We'll be resting here for now!"

As such, the Dragon's Roar decided to take a break instead.

They, too, suffered quite a bit, despite the high average level of their team. As such, they needed to recuperate and rest. Thankfully, they had already cleared almost all the monsters in the immediate vicinity, so they were safe for a few hours at least.

Aster's team, the same as before, decided to camp a short distance away from the main camp. Of course, they knew that it was risky with how powerful the monsters were, but they already divided the night watch, keeping in mind the balance of defense and offense.

Liz and Kali were on the first watch, while Aster, Tina, and Cassy were on the second. It was a valid division, but the others think that placing Tina and Aster on the same watch was a mistake.

With them resting early, around 10 p.m., each cycle would be able to sleep for 3.5 hours, at least. After eating a hearty meal, Liz and Kali kept watch of the surroundings while Aster, Tina, and Cassy slept.

During that time, of course, monsters attacked the camp. But thankfully, the numbers weren't something that they weren't able to handle. The two fought for almost two hours straight, letting Kali level up to level 7 too.

After their shift ended, it was Aster's turn.

Of course, she didn't leave his side, whispering sweet nothings and chatting away while he kept watch of the surroundings, ignoring Tina's "approach."

Cassy, watching this from the other end, frowned a little.

"... Huh?"

But she quickly tilted her head, wondering why she was feeling irritated while watching the two "flirt."

"... Enemies!"

Fortunately, she didn't have the leeway to think about it. The monsters soon arrived in waves, letting the three fight nonstop until the other two woke up. By then, everyone was already at level 7!

After the two woke up, Aster tapped out and went to do his job: cooking.

And as if attracted by the smell of food, even more monsters started to visit their side, causing the girls to be as busy as ever.

"Today, we will be reaching the fifth floor," Aster muttered as he finished plating the meals.

Now, all they had to do was wipe out the monster wave and take their breakfast before being on their way!