Frostfire Legacy

The Adventurer's Guild Vice Guild Master of the Orinfeld branch, Eldrinia Bronzeblood, a.k.a. Elly, was a dwarf just like Dr. Zellbrook. However, due to the difference in their blood concentration, she exhibited only the stunted growth of dwarves, without the excess facial hairs or the stout figure.

As such, it wasn't weird that Aster would mistake her for a young elf, given her figure and appearance—despite her being 144 years old already. Despite how young she looked, she was way older than Dr. Zell!

"I see... So such a thing happened."

At that moment, Cassy just finished recounting the story she told Zena, with Aster pitching in a few more details as the one who directly fought the monster and defeated it.

"Immune to all attacks, has a reflection skill, and doesn't give experience when defeated..." She muttered with a complicated expression. "This... sounds like a ghost-type monster."

"Ghost?" Liz couldn't help but comment. "But it was wearing armor. There's no way it was a ghost."

"Well, listen, young ones..." The Vice Guild Master, Elly, waved her hand as if calming down excited young kids. "Around the 900th floor, ethereal monsters start to appear. One of them is called the Spectral Warden, a monster that is no different than an animated armor, immune to all physical attacks, both melee and ranged."

"That... sounds similar." Aster mused.

"Right. Other than the magic immunity, it was almost the same as the boss monster from before!" Cassy added.

Elly nodded her head as if she understood their concerns too.

"As you all know, monsters usually get extra immunity after becoming boss monsters, right? I suspect that it was something like a Spectral Warden that gained magic immunity from getting summoned as a boss monster."

"... Then how are those guys still alive?" Kali commented offhandedly. "Spectral Wardens are powerful monsters that can claim one's soul with a single swing of their scythe. The one we fought used a sword, and the members of Dragon's Roar were still alive (barely) right now."

"That's what I'm saying." Elly continued. "Spectral Wardens are a monster among monsters, and defeating them isn't easy... But since it was summoned to a lower floor, the rules of the dungeon must've applied to it too, changing its abilities and armament."

"Rules? There are rules in the dungeon?" Aster asked, confused.

After all, to his knowledge, the dungeon was a ruleless place where even kidnapping or murder could be done without repercussions.

"I'm not talking about laws, but the rules of the dungeon itself." Elly sighed, as if tired of getting interrupted. "You know, like how one can't revisit floors you've already conquered. One of the rules is the level limit. Nothing exceeds more than 10 levels above the highest-level monster on the floor."

"..."

Aster recalled the Rogue Boss, the Red Cave Spider Mother, whose level was estimated to be around 15. Around that floor, the strongest monster was around level 5, which fits perfectly within this logic.

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'It's as if a game mechanic was placed to avoid players overfarming on certain levels,' he thought.

Without this limit, it would be possible to hunt on the first floor endlessly, raising your level infinitely! Of course, it would be the epitome of inefficiency, but safety was guaranteed after you reach level 10 or so. With just that level, you'd be untouchable on the first floor!

With this new knowledge, Aster realized what the Vice Guild Master was saying. The Spectral Warden also got its level restricted, lowering its strength and limiting its skills. However, one last detail was bugging him.

"... But that boss monster was speaking words."

Right, if it was a normal ghost-type monster, then it wasn't possible. However, the robot-like voice was heard clearly by everyone and couldn't be dismissed as a simple hallucination.

Elly raised her hands, explaining.

"I'm only trying to explain it within my knowledge. For that part, even I have no idea. In the first place, monsters are incapable of human speech, supposedly."

That part was without a doubt an anomaly!

"Anyway, I'll be buying off the armor from you. It should fetch quite a bit, even if it's a lower-level Spectral Warden."

"..."

Aster turned to the girls and turned back to look at the loli dwarf vice master.

"We... left the armor back on the fourth floor." He explained with a wry smile.

The armor was three meters tall, after all. And it was made of metal, so it was heavy. Each of the two halves was at least a hundred kilos on average! Adding to the fact that they had to carry the Dragon's Roar outside too, they had no choice but to leave it behind.

"Is that so? Then other parties might bring it here for appraisal." She commented. "Stealing loot is against Adventurer's Codes, but since you leave it behind willingly, it's a bit... I guess I can still cut a portion of the amount and give it to you if you want?"

"No, it's fine." Aster shook his head. "Let them have it."

He might be almost out of cash, but the girls weren't troubled when it came to money. Kali and Cassy were the only ones who might have problems with it, but neither of them raised a complaint either. As such, it was decided that they would relinquish their claim on the boss's materials.

After their talk, Elly returned to her job while Aster's party split up, returning to where they stayed. Aster returned to the Twister Hotel and jumped into his bed, entering a deep sleep almost instantly.

The fatigue of running almost nonstop and the short sleep for a few days took a toll on his body.

He didn't wake up at all until it was the morning of the next day, letting him sleep for almost 16 hours straight. As expected, sleeping for so long made his body stiff and lethargic. After calling room service for breakfast, he took a shower and changed into casual clothes.

Today was a rest day for everyone since they'd been inside the dungeon for too long. They weren't some black company that made everyone work nonstop without a break.

After changing into casual black pants, a plain white shirt, and a gray polo, he wrapped his usual scarf around his neck before leaving his room.

Of course, he already had his day planned out. "Today, I shall check out the library!"

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