Arad and Gojo walked through the snow.
They soon saw a forest of endless great oak and pine trees, expansive and limitless, stubbornly clinging to life in the unforgiving cold. At its heart, a thin and loneso jagged mountain rested, towering over the ancient trees like a stake hamred by the gods; its snow-clad peak licking the soft clouds.
Gojo pointed at the mountain, his breath frigid and cold. His eyes, though, were locked into the one hope that he knew hid there.
"There should be a magic stone mine at the mountain’s base. With it, we could quickly build fortifications to withstand monster attacks with a bit more ease."
Mana stones were crystallized mana that hardened over thousands of years. Mines were extrely rare, so Gojo knew of all the mines that existed in his kingdom, and he had even been looking for more mines deep underground to power the rapid growth of the land.
A mana crystal works like a battery, allowing casters to use the mana stored inside them to cast spells they usually don’t have the mana to cast, power large magical contraptions, and set traps and barriers that require little to no wizard attendance. The most common use for them was to power a light spell and to be used as lamps.
Reaching the mine would be a blessing, only if it wasn’t in the middle of the hungry forest, protected by countless wild beasts and monsters, each one stronger than the last. Before even taking a single step in, Arad could already see the first monster aiming for them.
Far behind them, trying to hide between the pale snow and the blinding radiance of the sun, a massive lump of white fur rolled into a ball, staying still as Arad glanced in its direction.
"We’re being followed by a large arctic bear. It might be a monster. It’s too big to be just a normal animal." Arad started kicking the snow aside with his feet, causing a small disturbance.
Gojo shifted and looked up the hill. He could barely see through the blinding light, but he did spot sothing in there, albeit he couldn’t tell what it was. Unlike his younger brother, he was less tuned to fighting on instinct.
"I see sothing, but can’t tell what it is. Are you sure it’s a bear?" Gojo lifted his hand and started getting ready to cast spells. But Arad lifted his massive arm and stopped him.
"Just make a rope. We don’t need to waste mana on that thing. I’d rather keep you charged in case we face sothing stronger." Arad then bent down and picked a stone.
Gojo’s hands moved, and his fingers danced, weaving strands of mana together to form a tight rope. He didn’t know how long Arad wanted it to be, so he just made it three ters long, around ten elvish feet.
Arad grabbed the rope between his fingers and inspected it. It was long, silver in color, and as hard as steel, woven from pure mana by his brother, a piece of art as small spells go. Even if he were to try to make a rope, he would never make one as beautiful as this one.
He bent the rope in two and put the stone on it, then started spinning it.
The polar bear saw Arad move, and it stood, glaring down with hungry eyes. It didn’t understand what Arad was doing, but it could feel that nothing good would co from it. The bear expected that movent to an that Arad and Gojo were about to move again, so it got ready to chase them, only to be surprised by what happened next.
Arad released the stone, and it flew toward the bear with a loud whistle, cutting through the air with ease. He missed the first shot, and the stone splattered the snow just a few feet beside the bear, spooking it out.
Arad looked at the bear with an aloof, stern face, as if he expected that result. "Missed, as expected. I never used a sling before; only low-rank adventurers use it." As he spoke, he was already loading the next stone.
The bear finally understood what was happening. He was chasing them for an easy al, but had unknowingly walked into their range and was getting attacked. As an animal, it only had two options now: attack or run away. If it were a prey, it would’ve run away, but since it was a predator, it charged forward as fast as it could, hurling through the snow like a bulldozer with a maw dripping with saliva.
Arad released the second stone a second after the bear started charging, and this ti, the stone sped through the air, whistling as it barely scratched the bear’s back and took a bit of its fur away. Arad frowned, "What a waste." lanting the damage he had done to such a nice and warm coat.
The bear was almost upon them, just a few dozen ters away. Once it reaches them, Arad and Gojo would have to waste mana to fight it or risk deadly wounds. Arad can probably wrestle the bear down using his massive size, but he wasn’t a fan of getting a gaping, since he can’t heal with blood.
So this last shot, he lined it well, and the bear was closer, which made it far easier than his first two shots. The rope spun, glowing beneath the sunlight, reflecting back in Gojo’s blue eyes, as Yog was on his shoulders, smirking at the poor bear.
Arad released the third stone, and this ti, he hit his mark. The stone didn’t even have ti to whistle through the air; it smacked into the bear’s nose like a hamr, splattering blood and splinters of bone everywhere. The bear roared in pain and rolled on the snow, painting it red. The hit had broken its nose and upper maw, making it barely able to breathe and causing great pain.
But to a bear, such a wound wasn’t going to stop it; it would only get angrier and maul them harder. The bear tried to stand, but it then saw Arad glaring at it, swinging the rope with a somber face.
He wasn’t going to stop until the bear was dead. And just like that, Arad threw the fourth stone, hitting the bear’s forehead with so much force that its skull cracked and blood oozed out. But Arad wasn’t a fool, so he loaded another stone and hit the bear again, again, and again, making sure it was fully dead before getting a step closer to it.
He feels it, death’s cold grip waiting around them. They aren’t powerful dragons anymore; one serious wound is all it would take for them to die.
Gojo looked at the bear’s dead body with a somber face. "Shall we go? More might get attracted to the sll of blood."
Arad knelt down and waved his hand. "Give a knife. We aren’t leaving away such a nice coat. You need one, don’t you?" He looked at him. "Brother, you look like you’re wearing purple lipstick."
All that Gojo had to wear was Arad’s expensive shirt, and unlike his massive younger brother, he was relatively small in size and vulnerable to the piercing cold. In this harsh climate, large creatures thrive. Arad’s huge muscles and fra didn’t just give him a bit of strength and size advantage, it also generated enough heat to keep him warm.
Gojo smiled, lifting his hand and conjuring a small fla. "I can heat myself with magic." Then, he created a knife for Arad. "But, I do understand what you an. The only problem is, do you know how to skin it?"
Arad’s hand moved with trained precision, cutting through the tough skin starting from the bear’s lower parts.
"A maid once taught how to skin deer and elk, this is just like them, but bigger, and with a lot more fur. Useful, warm fur."
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