Frostfire Legacy

As soon as the boss monster was defeated, Aster's team, with the help of a couple of good-hearted parties, carried Dragon's Roar to the Fifth Floor before turning around and exiting the dungeon.

When they reached the real world, Aster quickly raised his voice, calling for medical help. "Medic! We have patients over here!"

Although Cassy had already healed them, the members of the Dragon's Roar weren't regaining consciousness. Nobody was sure if that was normal or not, so they needed a more expert view on the matter.

Soon, a group of medics came and quickly carried the two teams to the tent. After that, it was discovered that they were suffering from mana deficiency, causing no mana to return to their system. It was a dangerous situation that could lead to death if not treated immediately.

Fortunately, for them, Cassy's use of second-level area healing was able to give them enough mana to survive for long enough. If not, then they would be either dead or on the brink of death right then.

As for the other teams, they quickly returned without even saying anything—other than the two parties who helped Aster and the rest, of course.

Leaving the care of the Dragon's Roar parties to the experts, Aster and the girls started walking back to the Adventurer's Guild to report. It was high noon, but everyone was walking like they were undead, tired, and listless from the two days of running.

When they arrived, Cassy ended up being the one to tell Zena about what happened. After listening with a serious expression, a rare one per se, she quickly moved to the back after excusing herself. It didn't take her long—only a minute or so—but when she returned, she faced everyone with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, everyone, but the Vice Guild Master said she wanted to hear the story in person. Please come with me."

Aster wanted to refuse, as he simply wanted to rest already, but they had no choice.

'An irregular boss appears, immune to all three kinds of attack other than compounded magic and physical attack...'

Even in Aster's eyes, that was practically a cheat-level enemy, especially with its attack reflection skill!

'Furthermore, I didn't gain experience after defeating it.'

That was the biggest mystery.

Killing monsters should give experience points, or rather, radiant mana leaving the monster's dead body. The cases where he didn't gain experience before were not because the Dire Wolves he killed didn't give EXP, but rather because it was absorbed by the Frostfire Legacy marked on his right hand.

But this time, it was he who delivered the finishing blow himself; he was sure of that. Despite that, no experience was gained at all, adding to the irregularity of the situation.

Albeit reluctant, the entire party followed Zena deeper into the guild building. Behind the counter was a pathway with myriads of doors lined up on either side. Each room was protected by soundproofing magic and technology, ensuring the privacy of whatever was to be discussed inside them.

They didn't enter one of the rooms, of course, but instead went to a higher floor through the stairs on the other end of the path. After climbing two floors in succession and reaching the third floor, they again started walking down the hallway.

After a few steps, they stopped before an intricately designed door made of red oak, looking solid, heavy... and expensive.

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*

"Miss Elly, I've brought them," Zena said after she knocked on the door.

After a short pause, a young-sounding voice echoed from beyond the doors. "Enter!"

Aster raised a brow but decided to keep his poker face on for the moment. When Zena opened the door, an intricately decorated office welcomed everyone. It was the template office for a busy official, with bookshelves overflowing with documents and even the coffee table for guests being buried in mountains of unhandled paperwork.

Behind an office table, similarly buried in papers, the voice echoed once more.

"Sorry about the clutter. Make yourselves comfortable."

Zena nodded too, ushering everyone to sit on the sofa before the coffee table. Aster sat to the right, with Tina sitting down to his right side immediately, as if it were the most natural thing to do.

Kali sat to Aster's left, as if to compete, but was actually just trying to get closer to Aster to do her guarding job more effectively. Cassy and Liz sat side by side opposite Aster's group, not raising a single fuss.

*Tap*

Following the sound of a pen hitting the table, a set of light footsteps echoed, going around the table and coming toward the visitors.

"...?"

But when Aster saw the figure of the "Vice Guild Master," he couldn't help but raise a brow.

The person looked like a little girl who barely reached two digits of age. Her height was around 1.3 meters, and her auburn hair, the same color as her eyes, was tied in an intricate half-crown braid.

She had sharp ears, like elves, and had several piercings on them, made of a shiny, beautiful combination of metals and gems.

"An elf?" He muttered reflexively.

The girl raised her brows, glaring at Aster. "No, I'm a proud dwarf. Remember that, kid."

"..."

The way she spoke made her impression feel old, but her appearance was as young as could be, making the contrast too big to fathom. Aster decided to keep his mouth shut instead, to not worsen the situation further.

"Hah... Well, I don't blame you for mistaking me for an elf. You're not too familiar with us yet, after all." She shrugged lightly, hinting that she knew about Aster's situation.

"... I see." Aster nodded, smiling lightly. "Thank you for your understanding."

"But there's no next time."

"...!"

Feeling the thick killing intent that brushed his neck, Aster almost felt his blood drain from his face.

"Miss Elly? Please stop idle chatter; you still have a lot of paperwork to do!" Thankfully, Zena stepped in, scolding her.

"Ugh... It can't be helped, right? The appearance of the Crypt on the fifth floor caused attention to flood from all directions. This isn't something that one person can handle!"

"Then, all the more so, you need to be prompt! Go on, Cassy, recount what you told me earlier. I'll be going back to my post."

"Y-Yes, alright."

After smoothing things out, Zena turned around and left the Vice Guild Master's room, leaving the teary-eyed little girl saying, "You're heartless for not helping me!" and the others looking back and forth between the two with curious eyes.

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