"Pss... Wyliame... wake up..."
I frowned and rolled over on my side.
"Hellooooooooo?" Onas whispered. "It's time to go hunting..."
I gently opened my eyes as the ray of light from the window instantly blinded me. "Ugh... already?"
Onas put a finger on his lips. "Shh... make sure Mya doesn't wake up. She gets real cranky whenever she doesn't get enough sleep,"
He began walking out the door with a bright smile, gesturing for me to follow him. "Come out here whenever you're ready."
I yawned and gently pushed the blanket away from me, making sure that I stood up as slowly as possible to keep Mya asleep. Then, I steadily fixed the blanket around her to keep her nice and cozy, tippy-toed out of the room, and quietly closed the door behind me. Success!
"Let's be sure to not make too much noise- Lorelia's still sleeping too," Onas whispered. He walked toward the dining table and picked up a small fur jacket along with gray pants that seemed to compliment the jacket's dark-white color. "Put these on..."
I walked over and began to suit up. With every movement whilst I was putting on the clothes, I couldn't help but let out a small grunt of struggle.
"I will admit... these are a bit *grunts* too tight."
"Hahaha! These are Mya's clothes after all. I got them for her a while back, but she's not too fond of hunting. Honestly, you could just have them. I know it's a bit tight, but I'd prefer it if I didn't have to carry your frozen body back to the house by the time we finish."
I grunted for the seventh time as I finished putting on the garments. Although it was a tight fit, I felt strangely comforted by the way that the clothes hugged my skin with their warmth.
"Take this too. You'll be using this for today."
He handed me a bow from the backpack he picked up.
<[Appraisal Activated]>
<Object: [Bow]>
<Object Type: [Weapon]>
<Material: [Frostwood]>
<Durability: [27/100]>
<Requirements: [N/A]>
“Thank you.”
He nodded and chuckled as he began walking toward the front door. “Be sure not to hurt yourself with the bow! I’ll teach you everything you’ll need to know to be a master hunter like me, so let’s get going now. Mya's- I mean your boots are sitting outside.”
[12 Minutes Later]
To my surprise, the boots fit rather well. It does make sense though- I'm the same age as Mya after all.
We carefully tread through the snow, thoroughly feeling the frost’s cold embrace on our bodies. The wind, although soft and gentle, was so piercingly cold that it burned my bare face. *Crunch* *Crunch*, the snow beneath us sounded with every step, along with the rattle of the bow strapped behind my back.
I noticed that the hundreds of trees that surrounded us were all unique from one another- some had leaves, while others had none. Some were dark brown, while others were light brown. Some were skinny and lanky, while others were bold and brawny.
I looked up and yet again, the sun had completely disappeared- the only thing that came from the gray sky above were clusters of white.
“H… how long ‘til we’re there?” I asked as the frost hindered my speech.
Onas, who seemed completely unbothered by the conditions, simply smiled at me. “Just a little bit left!”
Ugh… I… I don’t know if I can handle this anymore. I’m starting to get horrible flashbacks right now. Am I really about to faint again?
<Passive skill activated: [Warning]>
<Warning!> <Warning!> <Warning!>
<Body temperature has dropped below a safe level.>
“O-Onas… let's go back....”
Out of nowhere, I felt a sharp, paining sensation on my back as he slapped me with all his might, causing me to stumble a few steps forward. “Hey! What was that for-”
Wait. My body… it’s warm again? How…?
Onas continued to blankly smile at me, keeping his eyes forward as I stood still in confusion. “Aaaaand… we’re here!”
I turned around and unexpectedly, in front of us sat a chunk of ice- one that was so massive that it seemed as though the gods had placed it there themselves. Naturally, my jaw dropped as I admired in awe. “Wow…”
The snow laying around us became rather thin, and our legs no longer had any resistance to restrict our movement. As I looked closer, I realized that the "ice" was actually a massive statue that toppled at an astounding height above the trees and was covered in frosty snow.
Onas walked toward the statue's foot and ushered me to come to sit down next to him. As I strode over, I couldn’t help but be appreciative of the fact that the snow on the ground had cleared up so much. Walking felt so... responsive. My legs were no longer being slowed down. Not only that, but my body wasn’t freezing like it was earlier.
“This will be our origin point, the main area that we will patiently wait at until we notice that some animals have appeared."
"We're not gonna go after them ourselves?"
Onas shook his head and placed his hand on my shoulder. "To be a successful hunter, one must have patience. If we chase after them, then they will simply run away. They'll always be faster than us when moving through the snow- it's what they've evolved to do.”
...
“And when we notice an animal coming our way, then we have to move as slowly as possible when drawing our weapons, understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good! Let's test your patience skills now..."
…
The two of us remained seated down between the legs of the ice statue. Thankfully, the snow coming from above no longer fell on us because of our cover.
I stared off into the distance, noticing every single piece of snowflake that gently fell to the ground, adding to the mass pile of white that was already beneath it. The sound of gentle, frigid winds softly whispered its melody to my ears as my body began to naturally loosen up. My shoulders were down, while the tension on my neck seemed to have been relieved. The stinging, biting air no longer pained my face, but rather became a source of energy that awakened my senses.
Somehow, despite the ruthless horrors that the frost has brought beyond this world, I've still managed to find a sliver of peace within it.
<Passive skill activated: [Warning]>
<Warning!> <Warning!> <Warning!>
<An unknown high-level organism has been detected!>
<0 Meters Away>
!!!
With my eyes wide, I quickly stood up, pulled my bow out from my back, and rapidly turned in all directions.
"Where?! Where is it?! [Appraisal]!"
"Wyliame? What's wrong?"
<[Appraisal Activated]>
<Lvl. 139>
<Species: [Giant]>
<Magic Type: ??? [???]>
<Abilities: [???], [???], [???], [???]>
