Frostfire Legacy

Chapter 156: Survival Challenge! (2)

Monsters wouldn't revive when there's someone present within their zone. This feature is taken advantage of by adventurers exploring the dungeon and setting up several "safe zones" on certain floors, easing the exploration of subsequent adventurers.

If the floor he was on was the 25th floor, then there should be at least three safe zones he could visit. Those points were his primary target.

"I have three health potions, two stamina potions, and five mana potions. Five Monster Repellant bombs, seven magazines for my pistol, and food and water for a week."

He organized his items carefully, planning how to use them.

"It was good that we split up the bare minimum of consumables in case we got separated." He chuckled, finding his paranoia to be helpful in his current plight.

After checking his inventory, he then pulled out his Adventurers Card and pondered how to distribute his newly gained stats.

"... Right now, my priority is survival. For that, CON and DEX are essential."

Increasing CON would make him tougher, and able to last a few more hits. DEX indirectly increases his speed, making it possible to better outrun enemies. After thinking for a while, he decided on a ratio and dumped the stats he earned.

[

Name: Aster Mistral

Age: 2518

Race: Human

Purity: 100%

Level: 19

Party Members: Cassandra Bright, Kali Norma, Celestinya Zirroth, Lizandrea Von Dragonseal, Lorelai (Empty) (Empty)

]

[

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 14

Constitution: 15

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 24

Charisma: 12

Luck: 0

]

After distributing the stats equally to DEX and CON, he glanced at his party member list and smiled. "Since all their names are still there, that means everyone's safe for now."

If any party member died, then their Adventurer's Card would automatically be deactivated. At the same time, their names would be grayed out for 24 hours before disappearing completely.

"Hup!"

After having a good night's rest, and eating a few more ingredients for breakfast, Aster was ready to begin his day once more. "The target is to reach level 20, and split the stats on CON and DEX equally!"

He looked up at the artificial sky, which was turning brighter by the moment, wishing that he wouldn't encounter any other monsters other than slimes.

---

Several hours passed, and Aster had already traveled about twenty kilometers based on his senses. Along the way, he hunted over a hundred Ruby Slimes, giving him juicy EXP and bumping his level to 22.

The higher his DEX got, he could tell that the damage from Mana Slash was also getting stronger!

However, a problem appeared.

*GRRRR!*

"..."

Right now, before him, was a pack of Spike-back Hyenas. Such monsters would start appearing around floor 20, so it wouldn't be weird for them to be present on the 25th floor. However, the bigger one behind them—the Razor-Edge Alpha Hyena—was a monster that was supposedly coming out only on floor 30 as a Rogue Boss.

'Am I not on the 25th floor?!' Confusion consumed him as he raised his sword while slowly backing away.

Unlike the slimes, it would be hard for him to kill these mutts with a single strike. Rather, he was wondering if he could even injure them in the first place!

*GROWL!*

With the Alpha's command, the six hyenas around him moved, surrounding Aster and preventing his escape. They were too fast for him to overtake, even though his DEX was only one point away from reaching 20.

"Physical Enchant!"

Seeing that there was no way to escape, Aster had no choice. He activated his trump card immediately, while also throwing a Monster Repellant bomb forward, between him and the Razor-Edge Alpha Hyena. Read latest stories on m_v-l'e|-NovelBin.net

A cloud of green smoke exploded, along with a stomach-churning smell that not only monsters but even adventurers would find repulsive. The two hyenas that got swallowed by the smoke cried in pain, rolling on the ground while smashing their noses.

'Chance!'

Aster didn't miss this golden opportunity and dashed forward, filling his sword with Mana, and slamming it down against the neck of one of the two.

However, the skin of the enemy was tougher than he thought. The sword barely reached an inch deep, inflicting a barely lethal injury.

*GRAA!*

*RAWR!*

Furthermore, the other Hyenas jumped at him, who was busy with one, attacking at the same time. There was no space to dodge, so by reflex, he lifted the hyena in his hand and threw it toward the ones pouncing at him.

The hyena was as big as a large dog, probably weighing over 80 kilograms despite its bony appearance. As such, he couldn't believe himself either, throwing something as heavy as that like it was just a large piece of rock.

"Kuh!"

But still, he didn't come out of it unscathed. As their name implied, the enemies had spikes on their backs, almost like an oversized hedgehog, making it dangerous to touch them directly. Aster's arms, which he used to grab its body, were covered with spikes and were bleeding profusely.

Thankfully, he was prepared. While the Hyena he threw injured and blocked the three others jumping at him, he grabbed a health potion and chugged its contents. While feeling the healing effect, similar to Cassy's Minor Heal, he swept his hands and removed the remaining spikes sticking to him.

He couldn't remove all of it, of course, and some were too deep to even remove, so he just let them be. What's important was to recover control of his arms!

'I can swing my sword. I can still fight!'

Knowing that his sword could barely damage them, he changed his strategy. His target was only a single part of their body, the softest one with the fewest defenses—their eyes.

Aster kicked the ground, dashing toward the four who got tangled together, bleeding from the injuries they got from bumping into their ally. As they struggled to get up, Aster arrived by their side and stabbed their eyes, deep enough just to reach their brains, before pulling his sword out.

*STAB!* *STAB!* *STAB!*

Four stabs in a row! In just a moment, all four hyenas that got tangled died!

Aster turned around, preparing his sword while watching the Alpha behind the smoke. The alpha's red eyes gazed directly at him, with what seemed to be confidence, despite four of its underlings dying.

"...!"

Right then, Aster noticed the problem. There were four hyenas caught in his rush, and one was still rolling in the middle of the Monster Repellant. Then, where's the sixth?

*BITE!*

"Argh!"

And as if to answer him, the last Spike-back Hyena pounced at him from behind, trying to bite his neck. By reflex, Aster tilted his body, dodging a fatal blow, but still, the monster bit deep into his right shoulder, causing heavy damage.

"F... UCK!"

While braving the pain, he stabbed the Hyena's eyes too, just like the rest. Although it died instantly, its bite didn't loosen at all, as if its jaws were locked in place.