The field boss, the Dire Wolf.
It was supposedly a monster with a low encounter rate, but Cassy was in shock after seeing it for the second time within just a few days. Right, the Dire Wolf wasn't something you could see every day—a rare monster through and through!
Well, its appearance at the scene wasn't due to Cassy's presence in any way, but more because it noticed the commotion and came out of curiosity. It smelled all the blood and gore that was spread around the place, and was lured by it!
"...!"
Cassy was unable to move, both from fatigue and fear. She merely stared ahead, watching as the big wolf maimed the running kidnappers, killing them one after another.
"We're running...!"
Fortunately, she wasn't alone. Kali stood up first, pulled Cassy to her feet, and dragged her away. The pair run in the opposite direction, heading to where Aster was, planning to regroup first before moving toward the entrance of the dungeon.
"...!"
But right the next moment, they realized that they were in bigger danger now than when they were on the ground.
*AWOOOOO!*
A howl echoed, imprinting fear into their minds. Kali managed to force her body to move, but Cassy ended up frozen in fear. She couldn't even take a step and tag along!
"Kuh! Stupid... Rabbit...!" Kali cursed as she lifted Cassy on her back before running at full speed.
However, a large presence was chasing after the two, telling them that the Dire Wolf had already wiped out the few kidnappers and now moved on to targeting them.
"Shit!"
Kali was nearly panicking. She knew that she couldn't outrun the Dire Wolf while carrying someone on her back. However, she could never leave Cassy behind, which would basically mean her death.
As such, she forced herself to move beyond her limit, increasing her speed even more, until she entered the forest.
"...! Aster!"
Her eyes quickly picked up on the man's visage, and she walked toward them with staggering steps. He looked tired and out of sorts, but mostly uninjured.
Although Aster managed to freeze the Dire Wolf, it wasn't a complete one since he was afraid that Kali and Cassy would get caught in the range. As such, the most he froze were its legs, which it could escape from with just a little pain and effort or break past instantly with grim determination.
Cracks were already showing on the ice covering the wolf's leg, telling him that it would only take a few seconds at most before it could escape.
"Wait, let me cast a heal first, at least!" Cassy suggested. "Star, come here, quick!"
With her leg, with a frozen branch still stuck inside it, and Kali's stomach bleeding, they would be unable to run for long.
They were already about twenty meters away from each other, so Aster could rush to their side before her chant finished. He plopped down, pulled Kali to her feet, and stood up with her just as Cassy finished her chant.
"Priodis Sirreo fen Cura! Minor Area Heal!"
White light covered the three, fixing their wounds... slowly.
Unlike before, the speed at which they healed was less than half of what it should be! Cassy should have four uses of heal, but she didn't take into consideration how the Area Heal is stronger, using up her mana completely.
Aster could tell that their wounds were healing slowly, and he began to think. Fortunately, he recalled how he was carrying a few first-aid items in his pockets.
He pulled out a compressed bandage as he roughly extracted the ice stuck on Cassy's injury and smacked it over her wound.
*SLAP!*
"Ugh!"
She groaned in pain as the bandage started to wrap around her thigh automatically. The white strips of cloth quickly turned red from her blood and spread gradually, however, showing that her injury was healing too slowly.
Kali realized they wouldn't make it in time if they waited for their wounds to fully heal. As soon as Cassy's wound closed up, she nodded to the two and resumed their escape.
"... This much is fine. Let's go!"
She led from the front, with Aster in the middle and Cassy guarding the back. It was their typical formation, but for some reason, Aster felt more like he was being escorted.
*GROOOOOWL!* *CRASH!*
A moment later, a powerful roar echoed, along with the sharp sound of ice crystals breaking. The Dire Wolf managed to free itself and, with burning anger, chased behind the three!