Frostfire Legacy

The registration of the new party member ended in just a few minutes. Aster checked his card, and after seeing the new name under the Party Members Column, he showed a thin smile.

'With this, we're slowly becoming a balanced party.'

Before, the party only had a healer/scout/melee, Cassy, and then Kali joined as a DPS/scout. Adding Aster, who was currently working as support/melee, they were already quite balanced in a way. But now that they had a real tank to keep enemies at bay, the strategies they could employ expanded greatly.

"But first..." Aster turned to look at Celestinya again, scanning her attire from head to toe.

She was wearing what looked like a blue and black corset, with the chest area having a wide open slit, prioritizing "breathability" more than defense. She was also wearing short pants paired with a wide belt, along with a pair of black, glossy, mid-calf boots.

It looks amazing, but it lacks practicality. It was as if she chose to wear it as a fashion statement rather than for defense.

"You'll be our tank, so we should optimize your gears first." He suggested.

His pockets were still warm with the roughly 300 thousand Tels they just got after hunting that day, so he could afford to spend a bit for her equipment, at least. Of course, that was if she was cooperative.

"No need," Celestinya replied with a grumpy voice. "I don't like restrictive clothes. This is best for me."

"..."

Aster turned to look at Kali, who was geared up from head to toe, then to Celestinya, who was practically in her underwear with the amount of cloth covering her body. 'I guess there's individual differences even when they're from the same race.'

"Hey, where are you looking and comparing just now?!"

Aster's constant looking back and forth between them irritated Kali, who was still sensitive about the subject. Of course, he wasn't doing what she thought he was doing, like comparing their sizes. In the first place, there's nothing to compare, as the difference between them was like heaven and earth—a gap of 4 letters, at least.

"Alright. If you say you're okay with that attire as a tank, then I won't force you." He shrugged. "But you can ask us whenever you change your mind, alright? We'll help you fund your armor, at least."

"Got it."

"Good. Then, let's head back to the dungeon!"

---

One hour later, in the forest zone of the second floor, the four of them were walking in silence. They were planning to test their teamwork as a new member was added, so to make it more effective, they changed their target to hunting goblins for now.

They had encountered a few small groups already, but they were taken down in a flash. Their party wasn't able to check if their new formation was effective or not.

"At this rate, we would need to actively find a goblin settlement just to test out our new formation." Aster sighed.

They were already wandering for 20 minutes, so they should be deep enough into the forest by now. Finding a village or two shouldn't be weird... And his wish was answered a moment later, but not in the way he expected.

"What's this...?!" Cassy exclaimed in surprise. "M-Multiple enemies are approaching! Critters! I can't give an exact number; there's too many of them!"

"What?!"

Cassy should be able to count up to a hundred or two, at most, with her senses. However, saying that she couldn't even give an estimate of their number, Aster felt pressured. After all, it meant they were about to meet a swarm of over 200 monsters!

After deliberating for a full second, Aster cursed.

"Damn it... It's too risky to face an unknown number of enemies. Let's retreat for now!"

"No, we can't!" But before they could run, Kali exclaimed in panic. "Goblins are approaching from the back. Their numbers are... about 40!"

"A small settlement?!"

They were trapped, unable to retreat or proceed! Just as Aster was thinking of a way to break past this dilemma, an idea came to him. "Then leave the critters to me! The three of you, handle the goblins!"

"Aster?!"

"Star!"

"You...!"

The three raised their voices in shock. After all, Aster was too weak to face hundreds of enemies alone—if he was going to fight them head-on, that is.

"The goblins are here!" Cassy shouted, alerting the two distracted cats and forcing them to focus on their task.

Although Kali was still worried about Aster, she had no choice but to fight while paying attention to his state. If he got into even the slightest danger, she was planning on saving him without delay!

The first to move of the three girls was actually Celestinya. She rushed forward as if planning on throwing herself against forty goblins without a hint of fear. When she reached them, she then showed her fangs while raising a powerful, manly shout.

"TAUNT!"

*K-KIEEEK!*

The goblins, affected by her Monk Skill, Taunt, ended up forcefully moving toward her, attacking without delay.

"METAL BODY!"

She had already activated a second skill, enhancing her defenses to their maximum capacity, before their weapons could even touch her. The crude weapons of the goblins bounced back after touching her skin before they were met with a straight punch to the face, smashing their skulls in a single hit.

*Slash!* *Stab!* *Slash!* *Bam!*

With the goblins all focusing on Celestinya, swarming around her like ants to a cube of sugar, Cassy and Kali were left free to attack. Given that they didn't need to mind the goblins fighting back, they were able to let loose, killing as many as they could in seconds, felling them like reaping wheat with a sickle.

In just under ten seconds, they were able to wipe out all of the forty goblins!

"Aster!"

When Kali turned to him, planning to back him up, she noticed that the scenery had a small change.

*SKRR!* *SKRR!*

Small spiders, about as big as a person's head, were swarming before Aster. However, he didn't look panicked, but rather refreshed. After all, he succeeded with what he wanted to do.

The entire field before him turned into a wintry scene! All the spiders had half of their bodies frozen, keeping them immobile! Not a single one of them died, but they were all unable to take a single step anymore!

"What is this...?"

Celestinya, who didn't know about Aster's ability, was shocked beyond words. She didn't realize he was this powerful!

"So, he was holding back when I..."

Imagining what would've happened when Aster used this ability against her during the two times she jumped him, she couldn't help but feel shivers run down her spine. She would be powerless against such a powerful freezing ability!

At that moment, something in the way Celestinya looked at Aster had changed. Permanently.