Aster started a fire, before placing a pan over it. He was quite bold to try cooking outside, where the sll of food could spread far and wide, but he trusted Argus's strength, as the little pup could sweep any monster they encountered along the way.
'Since I can't help him in a fight, I'll at least give him a good al!'
He avoided all ingredients that shouldn't be edible for dogs and ended up doing plain pan-grilled at instead.
"Here you go, Argus. Eat up as much as you want!" Aster smiled, passing a plate of a large T-bone pan-grilled steak to him.
Although he wasn't sure what kind of at it was, it tasted closer to beef than pork.
*Arf!*
Argus didn't delay and took a bite, enjoying the al with his tail wagging wildly. Aster smiled while watching it wolf down the at as if competing with soone. Seeing the husky so focused on eating, he just left a bowl of water by the side, before eating his portion of the at.
"Hm... As expected, just grilling it wouldn't give it an exaggerated boost." He sighed.
He was slightly hoping that his level 99 Cooking Skill would make the steak taste several levels higher, but it seed that his wish wasn't granted. Although it tasted better than usual, it wasn't to the point that the girls would have their mouths water over.
"I wonder how they're doing right now..."
Since they were still alive, as the Adventurer's Card indicates, they must be struggling to survive just as Aster was. "I just hope none of them were teleported to an extrely high floor."
He guessed that the pharaoh's skill, the Random Teleport, had limitations. Otherwise, they had the possibility of getting transported to the top floor in one go.
Aster guessed that she wouldn't be able to send them too far from her designated floor. He was even hypothesizing that he alone got thrown the farthest among everyone. But, of course, he first needs to return to be able to prove his guesses.
*GRRRRR!*
"Huh?"
And just as he finished eating, preparing to clean up the utensils, Argus started to release a wary, low growl. Aster realized that it wasn't the sa reaction he had when encountering monsters, so he quickly dumped everything in his Spatial Fanny Pack and even removed his fire by covering it with soil.
Right after, he moved to a spot near the forest, opposite the direction where Argus was growling. The two stayed there, killing their breaths, and waiting for whatever it was that he "detected."
"...!"
And soon enough, figures started to approach, lit by nothing but starlight. There were at least twenty of them, and they were moving in formation, making them extrely suspicious.
'Adventurers?'
From the shadows he could see, it was humanoid. And on the 30th floor, there's no humanoid monster, at least. So the best guess was that the group ahead of them was a group of adventurers, an alliance party, or a clan.
"Captain."
Soon, voices echoed, reaching Aster's ears. A man with a gruff voice, sounding like he was nearing his 40s, echoed lightly.
"We found the source of light earlier. It was a campfire but was already put out. It's still warm, so it wasn't that long when it was done."
"Good. That ans they're still nearby..." This ti, another voice echoed.
Unlike the first one, he sounded young, probably around the sa age, if not slightly older, than Aster was. However, his next words made Aster have goosebumps.
"Search for them! If there are won in them, they could be sold for quite a high price! If they're n, I don't mind if you kill them as a display!"
'These guys...! Kidnappers?!'
Aster realized their identities quite quickly, but still, couldn't help but worry.
He was weak at the mont—weaker than the average level of adventurers on the 30th floor. The kidnappers, usually, stay at a higher level than average for the floor they're on and dominate their targets with strength and numbers.
As such, fighting them as he currently is would be tantamount to suicide!
'Why do I always bump into kidnappers?' Aster cursed, slowly turning around and backing away.
With the distance from his hiding spot and his previous camp, it would be hard to detect him unless he used light or raised his voice. Simple rustling sounds against leaves would blend with the surrounding noise, erasing his presence even further.
After he gained enough distance, Aster began running, with Argus right behind him. Although it was hard to move at night, and dangerous to boot, he had no choice.
*ARF!*
"...!"
As soon as the little pup barked, Aster stopped and lowered his posture, preparing to counter anything that ca. "Argus, don't use flashy skills for now. We might get found." He warned the pup just in case.
If he used the pillar-like red lightning again, then, without a doubt, they would be discovered!
*Arf!* *Whine!*
Although he wasn't sure if his ssage went through, the little husky rushed forward with his claws at the ready. Argus, as instructed, held back on using lightning-based attacks and chose to engage in lee!
But still, as expected, he was owning the fight against the attackers—more Spike-back Hyenas. In just monts, the group of four hyenas was decimated, leaving nothing but their bloody corpses behind.
"Good job, buddy!"
Aster smiled, patting the dog's head—though if there was light, he would be taken aback by its blood-covered face for sure.
"Let's continue."
They had to move nonstop, or else, they could end up tracked by the kidnappers sowhere behind them. As such, Aster had no ti to rest.
With Argus in tow, the two continued heading roughly north. How did Aster maintain his bearing in the darkness? He couldn't. Though the little pup could. Argus was the one who led the way after Aster started to veer off course.
About an hour after they started their blind journey, and with Argus killing the 20th monster, finally, Aster leveled up.
"Level 30!"
It was the level that was assud to be the current level of the Frostfire Legacy. However, he still can't undo the seal, as he didn't focus his stat on Wis, but instead focused on increasing his physical capabilities for survival.
"I'll just add all of it to strength for now, and... Huh?"
While staring at his Adventurer's Card, however, he found a curious design.
A blinking star appeared beside his na.
"What does this an?"
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