Frostfire Legacy

The three of them made their way back to chase after Argus and Liz. Aster carried Cassy on his back to maintain the same pace they had earlier, given that she was the slowest of the three.

In about fifteen minutes, they should be able to return to their previous spot. No, maybe even faster.

"It's like a bulldozer passed through here. No obstacles are remaining..." Kali commented, finally noticing the aftermath of Aster's forceful march.

The person himself could only laugh wryly. After all, even though he had high stats, his control was far from reaching Kali's level. You wouldn't think that she was having a difficult time attuning her senses to her heightened abilities!

It would take time before they could return to the previous camp. On the other hand, Liz and Argus were still on the chase.

Tina, unlike Cassy, also had good night vision, allowing her to move faster than Cassy did. In short, she traveled an even greater distance!

"Argus, wait!"

To add to that, Liz wasn't focused on DEX, but on her CON stat; as a result, her speed was way slower than the little dog. Consequently, their search was significantly slowed down. She knew this, but she also couldn't let Argus go ahead of her. Her tracking abilities weren't as good as Kali's, so she would definitely get lost without a guide.

*Arf!*

Argus barked, waiting for Liz to catch up from about a hundred meters ahead. To not be a burden, Liz ran at her top speed. After all, stamina was all she had going for herself.

*CRACKLE!* *BOOM!*

Furthermore, Argus was handling the monsters that were around them, ensuring their safe passage. There's no need for her to save her breath!

It had been 25 minutes since they left camp, but they still hadn't found signs of Tina anywhere. Her steps were light, and extremely cautious, leaving almost no signs behind. Fortunately, Argus' sense of smell was almighty, allowing him to track her scent even though it was hours ago.

"At this rate, we would reach the next desert biome soon..." Liz worried.

Although she was currently wearing thick clothes, the cold still affected her greatly. If they relocated to the desert, where the temperature was even lower than in the forest, the cold would trap her, preventing her from moving.

She let out a worried sigh while whispering her wish. "If only Aster was here..."

*Rustle!*

"...!"

Without warning, the bush between Argus and Liz started to buzz. The two quickly turned toward it, wary. Liz quickly pulled out her mace and shield, something she bought later to increase her value as the main tank, and prepared to fight.

*SLASH!*

But without even a prewarning, a slash flew forward, heading straight for Liz's face.

"Don't underestimate me!" Liz growled as she swung her mace, intercepting the invisible blade. "Dargonkins are sensitive to mana! Even if it's invisible, I can sense it!"

She hoped Tina was hiding behind the bush, but the windblade's attack quickly dashed her hopes. Tina couldn't use such an attack, after all.

*GRRRR!*

Argus moved fast, standing before Liz as if to protect her. Liz, seeing his reaction, got worried. This was the first time she saw Argus bare his fangs like that, with an extremely cautious air around him.

Soon enough, however, Liz discovered the reason. The enemy, hidden behind the bush, started to move. Its small figure was the complete opposite of the word "scary," but the aura it released was several times heavier than any of the bosses it faced.

"T-This is...!"

Even Liz, who was brave, had her entire body break out in cold sweat just from seeing the little enemy. Her instincts as a dragonkin—no, as an adventurer—were shouting for her to run.

The fur on its small, elongated body was as dark as the deepest night. It had glowing red eyes, emanating a mix of madness and cold rationality, a sign of high intelligence.

Liz recalled this monster, even if she didn't want to. It was quite famous one time, after all, for massacring literally everyone on the 16th floor—the floor it was on. "S-Shadow Weasel!" she said, referring to the infamous monster's name.

A Rogue Boss that had no records of ever being defeated. The entity, suspected to be irregular, was a Boss monster that exceeded the level limit. It was estimated to be a Boss class at level 50 on the 16th floor, with a level limit of 40.

Even Argus wasn't sure if he could land a hit, given that it's a monster that depends on its high DEX and, consequently, high agility. If he could speak, he would've asked for Liz to retreat, but it was too late anyway.

*SWOOSH!*

The Shadow Weasel moved, disappearing from Liz's vision in an instant. She quickly tried to find it, only to realize that Argus was also missing.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

Small explosions erupted all around Liz, the only indication that a battle beyond her perception was underway. She couldn't even catch their shadows because the two were so fast!

*WHINE!*

But there was one problem.

Argus' lightning attacks might be powerful enough to one-shot almost all his enemies, but his stats were no different than Aster's. Since he lacked Aster's passive, his stats were only comparable to those of a level 45 player. His stats trailed slightly behind those of the Rogue Boss Shadow Weasel, who was suspected to be at level 50!

"Argus!" Liz shouted in worry, seeing the puppy smash against a tree, with a bloody wound near its stomach.

Although it was hard to admit, it was obvious at a glance which side got the upper hand in their short exchange! Liz gnashed her teeth, thinking. If things just proceed as is, then Argus' life would be in danger. And if that happened, then her life would surely be snuffed out right after.

Her expression turned firm as she shook her head, raising her shield and mace.

"No, that can't happen!"

She turned toward the Shadow Weasel, who was watching over the two of them calmly from a distance. Then, without warning, she activated one of her skills.

"Knight's Challenge!" A taunt!

Liz, despite knowing that the monster was too powerful for her to handle, decided to use a taunt skill, attracting the Rogue Boss' attention!