“Luca and Michelle, present yourselves,” said Lysander.
Both kids look at the old man as he nods, approving of them sharing information about themselves.
Luca got up from his seat, looking around at everyone before starting. “Hello, everyone. I’m Luca, as you know. I’m 14 years old and have never visited another city or village. My father and Uncle Jonas were responsible for training me for most of my life. I considered myself an all-rounder fighter. I like using two swords and can use earth magic as my main element.” He looked to Lysander before sitting down but got no reaction in return. Michelle pulled his brother down and got up herself.
“Hey! I’m Michelle. My big bro calls me Micky sometimes. I’m good with my bow and like using air and fire elements. I like to think of myself as a hunter, and I dream of beating both father and uncle in a fight!” she concluded, closing her right fist as her eyes gleamed.
“Good, very good. Michelle and Luca, would you tell us your levels?” Asked Daniel.
“Luca’s level is 39, and Michelle's is 25,” said Lysander from behind.
Mixed emotions burned inside the people in the camp; most had at least double, if not triple, the age of the two kids in front of them. Still, they had such a high level.
The jaws of Kwame, Daniel, and Amelia dropped instantly. Kwame never believed Michelle would be even more impressive on paper than her brother. Duel element Mages were rare to see. Usually, elements don’t mix, making it so hard to learn the ones you don’t have an affinity with that people ignore them completely. Having two properties was a gift from the heavens. The most powerful mages from the two continents were all at least two wilding magus.
Daniel ignored their skills, listening only to their level, and remembered the bitter taste he had felt when Jonas won their fight. On the other hand, Amelia was happy that Michelle would never feel what she experienced.
Kwame was the first to speak about their next suggested steps. He asked Thrain and Kaelar to scout the area to check for tracks. His goal was to look for animals for food and magical beasts. While the two went out for a first round of scouting, Kwame asked Luca and Michelle all about the region and the animals on the mountain range.
There were snow leopards. Some had already become Icy Leopards, the magical beast variation of the creature. The magical beast had three variations, one for each element. Bighorn sheep also habited the mountains. Their magical beast variation could be associated with fire, earth, or both. It was rarer to see such animals since they were the food of most regular animals and magical beasts, meaning the surviving ones were more vigorous than usual beasts. Rabbits and foxes also existed, but only the fox had a magical variation. Compared to the Icy Leopard, the fox was not a threat.
“Who can set traps for rabbits?” asked Kwame. Daniel and Michelle volunteered and were tasked with doing it around the camp.
Kwame, Zara, Amelia, and Luca started strategizing which magical beast they would try to target. Lysander ordered them to hunt one magical beast for each member. Unfortunately, the challenge was not so simple.
According to Luca, Wind Foxes were hard to perceive and cath. They were an opportunistic predator in this region, focusing on their sharp teeth and speed improved by their control of wind magic. On the contrary, the Bighorn were confident in their vitality and aggression. They roamed the mountain range alone, challenging all other beasts, including other bighorns. Some even became carnivorous after becoming magical beasts. The last option was the Icy Leopards. Luca told them about his previous encounter with a young one. He was confident that fighting the creature would be easier in a group, even if it were one older than the one he fought against. The problem was that they usually traveled in small packs.
Considering safety, Kwame wished for them to hunt 8 Wind Foxes, but it was unrealistic to think they would repeatedly catch the most elusive beast. Considering that, he asked Luca and Zara to think of a way to deal with a bighorn as he and Amelia started to create plans for Icy Leopards.
The first day went by without any danger. The group came together for a bonfire in their newfound camp to hear the reports and to share their plan for the next 13 days.
After discussions between everyone, their goal would be two bighorns rather than a group of Icy Leopards and then go after any other beast. They could gain levels and experience together by fighting a single opponent, especially a strong one. The Leopards would demand a higher level of integration than usual, and there was the danger of facing a group with a similar number.
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The only person who had an easy night at the mountain range was Lysander, who prepared dinner for everyone on the first night. He decided to be their cook with any materials they brought. Gabriel asked him to train them on hunting, not necessarily surviving in the harshest conditions. Hunting was enough of a challenge for a group that had never faced such dangers.
In the morning, the group followed one of the Bighorn tracks Trhain had located. By the size of the footprints, it should be a magical beast variation. They were almost double the size of a regular one. The snow facilitated the tracking; the group dispatched to scout took a few hours to find the creature.
They didn’t approach it without care. Their goal was to observe and report back. As Luca described, the creature had no care about its presence. It walked constantly, charging its horns with flames as if calling anything in the region for a challenge. Its first instinct was to dash for a headbutt whenever finding other creatures. When the attack connected, small fire explosions happened, burning the target on top of the impact. The speed of the dash wasn’t the most impressive, but the momentum behind it was incredible.
Up to that moment, no magical beast had appeared for the challenge, but from the impact on the environment, they could tell getting hit would be a problem for anyone in the group. Thankfully, the path in which the creature was strolling didn’t put it that far from camp. The scouts decided to report back, and one stayed behind to monitor while the group moved.
Arriving at the camp, Kaelar and Luca updated everyone on their target. The report made them confident about the attack plan.
“My friends, it is time to decide. Shall we go for our first attack on a magical beast? Those in favor, raise your hand.” Asked Kwame.
Most had never fought a magical beast before, so they felt a knot in their stomach as Kwame waited for a reply. Eyes searched the answer between those present, but for some time, no one moved.
Luca was the first one to raise his arm. “We’ll have to try; might as well be now,” he said.
Michelle instantly raised her arm, following her brother as all the others were just a bit delayed.
Kwame’s eyes squinted a bit, his tone still serious. “Good, we shall go and meet with Thrain than engage… Today, we shall take our first kill. Get ready. We leave as soon you are ready.” he concluded, his left fist closing before himself.
While the group decided to take action, Thrain followed the beast into the mountains. As another daring move, the animal strolled as if it wanted to be praised by all things. After another hour of movement, it started going up one of the closest peaks. Thrain had to increase the distance between them because of the lack of vegetation, but it was still easy to follow since the snow was deeper than before.
As the creature reached a point where it could cross to the back side of the mountain, Thrain tried to keep up. The bighorn started to descend into a magnificent valley. Snow-covered mountains and a raging river with frozen vegetation at the bottom are on both sides. The animal and the dwarf were too far for him to see if there was life down there, but he kept tracking toward the river.
Where is this thing going? Any more, and we should be arriving at the second layer Lysander told us about. I shall not enter it. Thought Thrain, without realizing the valley had already made part of it.
The more he traveled, the more a sense of unease grew inside him. His hands sweated even in the freezing temperatures of the valley. On the other hand, the bighorn kept strolling until it found a purple flower at the river bed. It grew in packs, breaking the background with its vivid color.
Oh my. Is that… Is that Blazing Star Flower?! It only grows in mana-dense environments. I should… His mind stopped as the atmosphere around him changed. He wasn’t the only one feeling the change; the bighorn instantly let out a deep growl, using one of its hooves to call out opponents.
Thrain couldn’t believe his eyes. Across the river was the most giant Arcane Bear he had ever heard of. It had a few differences from the book descriptions. The most relevant one was the fur color. Usually, Arcane bears had brow fur, but the one across the river was grey. Its eyes pitch black, scared Thrain to bits.
COME ON, MOVE IDIOT LEGS! MOVE!! He screamed to himself, hitting both legs with his hands. Nothing happened. He couldn’t move. His knees started trembling as his lungs gasped for air.
Another loud growl echoed, making the arcane bear tilted its head sideways, looking at the direction of the noise. The bear’s attention was entirely diverted toward the bighorn’s position, allowing Thrain to activate his best stealth skill and run.
The deep snow slowed his movements, and his skill could only block his sounds and personal visibility. It wasn’t a perfect skill; it also blocked noises from him and couldn’t hide the snow tracks left as he moved. Still, at that moment, he didn’t care. His legs used every point on agi he had, striding toward the peak he had previously crossed, earning for safety.
As the top neared, he saw the snow at the peak change its color briefly. Without thinking, his curiosity got the best of him. He deactivated his skill and looked back.
A big area surrounding where the bighorn had changed completely, no snow could be seen. Ashes and rocks remained. The sound of the river was the first noise he could hear. His eyes looked for both animals but couldn’t find any. Anxiety accumulated with each fraction of a second that passed and any eye movement.
Suddenly, he heard a loud explosion downward and to his right. Turning his head, he saw the bighorn backstepping away from the bear. The snow around them melted from the raging fire from one of the beasts' horns. With the environment constantly changing, Thrain realized that the creatures had difficulty adapting to the rocky terrain beneath the snow. The attacks from the bighorn allowed it to escape the bears' grip both times, but not unscathed. A nasty claw on his front legs, drooling in blood, could be seen from far away. From perspective, the beast he was following in fear now tried to run away with every movement. When both creatures arrived near the same height in the mountain, Thrain realized he had been drawn by the fight too much, activating his skill once again and running in the camp’s direction.
He heard another bang as he ran down the steep slope aside from the mountain. Looking back, I see that snow, bear, and bighorn stumbled down from the top, rushing down in an avalanche.
With the group, Lysander suddenly pulled his sword out of his ring. “Everyone, speed up, I’ll go ahead of you.”