Frostfire Legacy

After having their meal, everyone decided on their watch cycle immediately. It was a little different this time, with Cassy and Kali taking the first watch and Tina and Liz the second. Aster, of course, was allowed to sleep through the "night."

This time, he didn't force the matter and claimed that he wanted to join the watch. After all, the six-hour marathon took a toll on his body. As soon as he entered the tent, he fell asleep almost instantly.

Tina did try to invade his tent, but thankfully, Kali and Cassy noticed it and thwarted her attempt, so Aster got a peaceful sleep throughout the sunny nighttime.

With the number of camps spread around, the girls didn't have to fight a lot of monsters. They only had to be wary of one side, making their watch simpler than usual. It was a breeze to them, even though the monsters on the third floor were higher-level!

Around five in the morning, Aster was woken up. This was because the group would resume its movement at six sharp. After he got up, he quickly started preparing breakfast for the girls and also set meals for their lunchboxes for later.

Before the clock even hit 5:45 a.m., they were already done with their meal and were ready to move.

"Oh, did the trailing group catch up to us?" Aster wondered, seeing the number of camps increase compared to what he remembered.

Cassy nodded to his question, smiling while holding back a light yawn. "Yes, they did. They arrived around 1 a.m., so they must still be tired."

Of course, they also had the choice of resting wherever they were by midnight. But since doing so would only mean they would get left further behind, everyone decided to push themselves and meet up with the leading group.

Aster watched the faint figures that could be seen in the distance and noticed that almost everyone was moving like zombies. They were lacking sleep and a good meal, making them more tired than ever!

Of course, although he felt pity for them, he didn't bother lending them a hand. After all, they too were adventurers, so they must have been prepared for this much, at least, before they even decided to enter the dungeon.

"Let's go," Aster called, seeing that their packing was done. "We should regroup with the others now."

The five of them walked onward and stopped at the edge of the camp, right at the border between the leading group and the trailing group—their previous position, per se.

"Alright, everyone! We'll be running in one go, reaching the other end, and defeating the boss!" The Captain of the Dragon's Roar raised his voice, announcing it to everyone.

"After that, we will continue running through the fourth floor after reaching it and only rest around noon!"

A shadow fell over the faces of everyone in the trailing group.

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If they wanted to keep up with the others, then they would simply be too tired by the time they reached the fourth floor. As such, it was obvious that they were thinking of going at their own pace instead, celebrating if they made it in time before the boss respawned, or defeating it with everyone's strength if not.

As promised, right as the clock struck 6 a.m., the leading group started running.

Aster and the rest also continued to follow them, matching their pace while glancing at the trailing group, which was visibly running at a much slower speed than before.

'Well, they're a large group, so even in the worst case, nothing too bad will happen to them.' Aster shrugged, deciding to ignore them from then on.

The entire group ran at almost the same pace as before, allowing them to cover the rest of the distance in just four hours. Right then, the two parties of the Dragon's Roar clan summoned the boss, which was a Dire Wolf, and literally smashed it in one go.

The agile boss couldn't even do anything against the rain of bullets that fell on top of it before the finishing attack, a slash from the team's captain, ended the fight.

As soon as the boss was defeated, they quickly stored the entire body of the boss inside their Spatial Packs, before heading to the next floor. Then, one after another, the rest of the parties headed in too, moving to the next floor without much trouble.

Aster's team was last as usual. As they entered and their visions recovered from the bright flash of teleportation, they saw the next floor's terrain... which practically remained the same as all the previous floors.

"I'm starting to get tired of this scenery," Aster muttered to himself before seeing that the lead team had already continued ahead.

Having no choice, they continued running for two more hours before finally stopping to rest.

With the strength of the enemies they faced, particularly the goblins and the wolves, everyone started to feel pressure. It was no longer as leisurely as before, as some goblins were even able to parry attacks or the wolves to dodge.

That was added to the fact that those they faced were merely the dregs of what slipped through the onslaught of bullets raining down at the monster groups. The fourth-floor monsters were starting to pose a challenge to them!

"Should we continue to the fifth floor like this? Or should we stay on the fourth floor for now and only climb after gaining more levels?"

As everyone finished eating their lunch, Aster decided to ask.

"What now, weakling? Getting scared?" Kali scoffed. "Fourth and fifth-floor monsters don't differ by much. And since we've come all the way here, it would be a waste to turn around and return."

"Me too. I think we should just continue like this." Even Cassy agreed.

"Of course, I think we should continue too. Although the monsters here are more powerful than those below, it still feels a bit lacking for me." Liz added while scratching her cheeks lightly, as if embarrassed.

"There's no need to ask me, Darling~! I'll go wherever you go!" And of course, Tina was still acting as usual.

As such, with three in favor and two abstaining, it was decided that they would continue rushing to the fifth floor.