Fate Online: Shadow

"Can we even do this? I haven’t even seen a single edible monster since I got here" Miya complained as both she and Michael are covered in a furred cloak to prevent them from getting cold as the two of them traversed this cold "desert" looking for something that looks edible.

Michael shrugged his shoulders and said, "What can we do? The others are still making their way here. We can only rely on the two of us to finish the Quests given to us, besides, we’re practically monopolizing all the available quests here"

"I know, but this quest is only labeled as a C Grade difficulty quest when it should have been a B Grade one. Like I mean, where the heck would we find something edible in this godforsaken cold place?" Miya said in annoyance as she spread her arms, gesturing on the snow-white surroundings around them.

"You really like to complain about things, don’t you?"

The more Michael is spending time with Miya, the more that he’s finding out what her personality is.

She loves to complain a lot, especially regarding things that don’t go the way she wanted to, and she’s not good around with kids!

But the most problematic of all is that she’s a chatterbox!

And someone like Michael, who loves peace and quiet especially when he’s concentrating on a task is freaking hard to do so because someone is constantly talking beside him!

Miya was about to open her mouth and say something when she quickly noticed that Michael put his finger over his lips, and she knew that it was a gesture for her to shut up for the time being when she saw his serious expression.

Michael gestured her with his eyes to get down on the ground, and the woman quickly followed after him.

Miya laid down on the ground and sent a private message through the system, "What happened?"

Michael received it, but didn’t reply to her and instead gestured with his head towards the direction in front of them.

Miya adjusted her position and squinted her eyes as she looked over towards the direction that Michael is gesturing at and tried to see what he’s seeing.

"I can’t see anything weird in front, so what is it?" Miya slowly crawled beside Michael and asked in a low voice.

"There’s a group of monsters that looks like polar bears just over a hundred meters in front of us" Michael looked at her then whispered.

"Polar bears? I can’t see anything of that sort, are you messing with me?" Miya raised an eyebrow as she squinted her eyes, and tried to see those polar bears that Michael said.

Michael rolled his eyes and said, "Just keep your voice low and let’s crawl towards them"

Miya quickly turned towards him when she heard what he said, "Crawl? The ground is freaking cold, and you want us to crawl?"

"Then do you want to die then? We need to see if their levels are higher than the two of us, and we need to get closer to see it" Michael replied, and started crawling forward as he doesn’t want to argue with her anymore.

Miya sighed and followed soon after while thinking, ’Polar Bears? I can’t see even a silhouette of a monster in front of us! He better not be messing with me!’

A couple of minutes later.

’Holy shit, there are really polar bears and they are freaking big! How come I didn’t even notice them!?’

Miya laid on the ground and stared wide-eyed at the three monsters with at least over a foot long horn on their foreheads as they laid there peacefully on the snowy ground, fifty meters away from the two of them.

’How did he even managed to spot them? Their furs are practically snow white and it’s hard to differentiate them from the snow if you are looking at them from over a far’ Miya looked at Michael with curiosity.

’But they are big though, at least two times bigger than a regular polar bear’

Michael turned his head behind him and whispered, "See? I wasn’t lying, right?"

"How did you know?" Miya whispered back.

Michael smiled and scratched his cheek and said, "I saw one of them raising his or her head earlier, that’s why I managed to spot them from our positions earlier, or else I wouldn’t have even noticed them"

Miya looked at him doubtfully, thinking that he must have used some kind of skill of some sort.

But Michael wasn’t lying, he did saw one of them lifting its head earlier, or he truly wouldn’t have even spotted them with how white their furs are.

But the good thing for the two of them is that the three monsters are just around both of their levels.

Level 39 Winter Horned Bear

Level 40 Winter Horned Bear

Level 42 Winter Horned Bear

"Are you planning on taking them on?" Miya asked in a low voice, and the good thing for both of them is that they are downwind from the group of monsters, or else the monsters would have long noticed the two humans sneaking around them.

Michael raised an eyebrow and playful smile at her. After all, isn’t it already obvious? If the two of them manages to take down those three bears and bring them back to the village, then their current quest would be at least be almost completed!

Miya saw his face that was literally saying that they, of course, are gonna do it, and couldn’t help but curse in a low voice.

"God, this isn’t the undead where my skills are effective to them! If we take them head-on, then I can only provide you with healing and buffs, and let’s not even forget the fact that your class isn’t something that could tank these three huge monsters at the same time!"

Michael smiled at her and said, "Relax, I have a plan"

"That’s your plan?" Miya looked doubtfully at Michael when she saw him loading a small arrow on the hidden crossbow on his left arm.

"Come on, let’s move back for a bit," Michael said.

"Why?" Miya asked, but she still did what she was told to do.

"Because there might be a chance that we’d aggro the other two if I attack the other guy, and I don’t want to take that chance, so I want us to move back just in case we are in their aggro range when the inevitable happens" Michael replied while crawling backward

"Ready?" Michael said as he turned to Miya.

"Uhmm.." Miya nodded with a serious expression as she looked towards the group of Winter Horned-Bear.

Thwack!

The small arrow from Michael’s hidden crossbow flew and struck the body of the nearest Winter Horned-Bear.

ROAR!

The attacked Winter Horned-Bear quickly raised its head when it felt a stung of pain from its side and issued a roar of anger towards the skies!

The Winter Horned Bear that Michael attacked quickly stood up and looked around angrily, while its companions were also startled by its sudden roar of anger that they also quickly stood up and looked around thinking that there are enemies around them, but when they saw nothing, they angrily flopped down on the ground and resumed napping, except for that monster that Michael attacked as it has already spotted the two of them and rushing towards their direction!

"Shit! Move back!" Michael quickly stood up and turned around, and quickly made a run for it, while Miya quickly followed after him, as a huge white bear angrily followed behind them, slowly catching up to them!

"This is your plan!?"

"Yes! Now, stop and prepare for battle!"

Michael yelled back in reply to Miya’s question, and he halted in his tracks and turned around and pulled out his dagger on his thigh, while Miya ran past him, and stopped as she stood just a few meters behind Michael, ready to provide him with support!

"ROAR!"

The Winter Horned Bear madly rushed towards Michael as it raised one of its paws, and slammed it towards Michael with its humungous claws glistening from the light!

Michael hurriedly rolled to the side as the huge paw slammed from his previous spot, sending snow flying everywhere!

Boom!

"Bless thy servant, Blessing of the Sun God!" Miya yelled and cast a spell that enveloped her and Michael in an orange or yellow hue.

Michael felt his attack power rising when he received Miya’s buffs, and he quickly rushed towards the huge white bear that towers over three meters over them!

"Shadow Blur!"

Michael appeared above the Winter Horned Bear, and descended rapidly towards the bear’s back with his dagger plunging towards the back of the monster’s neck!

"Backstab!"

Puchi!

"ROAR!"

The Winter Horned Bear angrily roared as it started jumping around like a mad bull, trying to throw off the pesky human from his back.

"What the heck are you doing!?" Miya yelled at Michael who is trying so hard to hold onto his dagger that’s plunged deep inside the monster’s back, as he swayed around on the back of the Winter Bear like he was riding some kind of an oversized bull!

"Trying...not to die!" Michael replied, trying to hold on as much as possible as he knew that the best way to attack a monster three times bigger than a human is by attacking their blind spot which would generate a bigger attack damage than attacking them head-on where the monster could shield their vulnerable parts.

"Goddammit! I can’t hold on any...more!"

Michael was thrown off from the back of the monster when his hand slowly slipped off from the handle of his dagger, and he landed and rolled on the ground.

But Michael quickly jumped up and crossed his arms before him because the Winter Bear was already rushing towards him and rammed against him, throwing Michael ten of meters away!

"Arggh!" Michael issued a yelped of pain as he felt his arms burning in pain, and he hurriedly adjusted his pain setting to zero from a hundred.

"Heal!"