"S-Stop it, hey~!"
After a while of furious licking, Aster finally managed to pull the little dog away from him, lifting it on its front paws.
"But still, I can't believe it..." He muttered as he inspected the little husky from head to tail. "You... died already, in the past. How come you're still alive?"
As he could touch it, and the dog could touch him too, it was definitely not a ghost or apparition.
"..."
However, despite it holding back its power, there were still small traces of electricity from its fur tickling Aster. Normal dogs might be able to produce static electricity with their fur, but not one strong enough that it would feel like electric therapy.
"You're not a normal dog right now, are you?" Aster asked, but quickly smiled, dismissing it. "Well, never mind it. I'm happy to see you again after a long time, buddy."
Argus was his pet dog from when he was four, up until he turned sixteen. It was unfortunate, but nobody can fight against their lifespan—the little dog died of old age.
Aster could still remember how brokenhearted he was after losing his only pet, who had been with him longer than his parents were. His mother offered to buy another dog for him, but he refused, saying that he didn't want it to feel the same thing he did, knowing that he didn't have long to live.
'But here I am now, 2500 years into the future, and reuniting with my best buddy.'
He smiled, thinking that nobody could really predict such a thing to happen.
"Hup!" He exerted himself, standing to his feet. "Anyway, I should keep moving. I need to increase my level to survive, and find the exit as soon as possible!"
At first, he was following the east direction, as the entrance of the 25th floor was the east-most edge of the map. However, now, he has discovered that he wasn't on the 25th floor but on the 30th floor instead.
"On this floor, the entrance is at the northmost edge, so I need to change directions."
Thankfully, the afternoon sun was still up, so he quickly turned around until his shadow was to his right, meaning that he was facing north.
After placing the little dog down, he smiled once more, seeing how energetic it was.
"Let's go, Argus!"
*ARF!*
With renewed vigor, the pair started walking straight to the north. As they were walking, Aster took out his Adventurer's card and checked his level.
"What the f...!"
Aster considered using his trump card with a long cooldown against a single enemy, but before he could even act, his pet had already finished its move.
*ARF!*
With a casual bark, a thick bolt of red lightning fell from the heavens, striking the stiffened rabbit. The powerful bolt, the same one that decimated the hyena's alpha earlier, gradually turned the Herculean Horned Rabbit into charred ashes.
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The same instant as the monster died, Aster's body glowed twice.
"No way..." He checked the card that was still in his hand and was shocked. "I really leveled up twice!" He cheered.
Despite the fact that the little dog, Argus, was the one who killed it, EXP still flowed to Aster!
"So this is that EXP Share thing..." He mused in amazement. "It's pretty useful! Come here, little champ!"
Of course, he didn't forget to praise the cute pup, patting its head as its tail wagged faster than the blades of a turbine. As he did, he checked his stats and pondered.
"Right now, I lack the strength to even injure the monsters. I should increase it a bit more, or else, I'd end up relying on Argus Bus to the end."
*ARF!*
The pup barked as if to say, "Leave it to me!" but Aster was sure that using such powerful attacks would be taxing. If Argus got tired while enemies were still around, and with him unable to properly inflict damage, then they're doomed!
After a bit more rationalizing, he dumped both free stats into STR. It wasn't much, but an increase is an increase!
"Alright, let's continue ahead!"
After making sure that he spent all his free points, and that all the girls' names were still in white, indicating their safety, Aster resumed walking forward.
Along the way, they encountered a dozen more Arnold—no, Herculean Horned Rabbits—which pushed him to level 29. The higher his level got, the harder it got to increase it again!
By then, the artificial sun was already about to set, meaning that darkness was about to arrive. Staying in the middle of the forest at night sounds like a recipe for trouble, so the pair rushed to leave, reaching an open area where they could camp.
"Though I don't have a tent with me..."
They only had three tents, after all. Not everyone would be able to carry their own tent. Aster, since he was already in charge of cooking utensils, was relieved from carrying a tent that would take up much of his Fanny Pack's space.
"Anyway, having food is still better than having a roof." He nodded, trying to convince himself.
Since Argus was with him, Aster tried to risk it and started a fire. He was already sick of eating raw vegetables, after all. It was finally time to cook!