With a freshly sharpened sword we continued on.
Everyone still looked a bit exhausted, but with the Boreagard injured, we had to press on.
We left the ravine and followed more than obvious monster tracks.
The others must’ve gotten it pretty good, as there was blood among the claw and tail marks.
I lifted my oil lamp to check out some mushrooms that grew in the smaller cave.
‘Hopefully it won’t come back, fighting here would suck,’ I thought and took a few sips out of my water skin.
The cave walls were maybe 4 meters apart and wouldn’t allow a Boreagard to turn around easily, but it would definitely and without alternatives force us, ‘rather me I guess,’ to fight it head on.
The thought alone, standing in front of its maw, not in-game but in real life, gave me goose bumps.
Irelia slowed a little and fell in step with me, “if we continue up this cave, we’ll exit near the mountain top~.” she said and pulled out an insulated flask, “do you need another hot drink?
It’ll get cold soon~.” ‘At least it helps against the cold and doesn’t make you drunk,’ I thought.
I still hated the strong alcoholic burn, but the cold outside was worse.
We reached the cave’s exit, a brutal storm pelting our faces.
It was even worse now and even Irelia lending me, her lovers or whatever they actually were, handkerchief hadn’t helped much.
All I could think about was how much I wanted to soak in a guild onsen now.
‘I have to get myself warmer armor,’ my mind churned.
The cold was suffocating.
‘How could they behave like this is nothing special?!’ My eyes turned to Stonard in front of me.
That guy wore his open chest bone armor in this snow!
I felt like I’d die just thinking about being this exposed right now!
At least Irelia’s armored skirt and fluffy chest piece were visibly more stuffed and her petticoat looked as if it had fur too.
Even Silvia had a fur overcoat, as I realized I hadn’t even looked at her armor before.
She didn’t wear some tailor made armor, but a simple guild made one, without anything remarkable at all.
Why a gold rank huntress would wear a guild issued armor, even if it was a higher quality one, was beyond me.
At least walking was easier, since we all walked in the monster’s tracks to avoid the now hip high snow.
Visibility was bad, the pelting gusts of wind blowing around too much snow.
Still, we all felt we got closer to our target.
I could make out multiple Borearade and between them the injured and feeding Boreagard.
“Okay that’s bad,” Silvia stated.
“Tis jus’ a pack,” Stonard commented to her, “Rookie will do.” “If it gets too much, I can pitfall the big one~,” Irelia pulled out a small cylinder.
I had no idea who they worked, but you just put it on the ground and pull the security pin.
The game mechanics were very simplistic back then, but here it was.
“Irelia?
How do they work?” I asked.
My parent’s explanation back then ended with them simply shoving something called a trap device into a metal cylinder.
Sure, they taught me how to use them and I knew the in-game recipe, but it just was a weird small cylinder and didn’t make any sense.
She cocked her head, “they’re simple, haven’t your parents taught you?
You just buy a metal cylinder off the smithy’s and put it in a trap device you get at the guild~.” Silvia coughed, “are you two done chatting?” Her face was soured, she then told Irelia, “only if the wind’s not too strong for your jumps.
Let’s go.” Our formation began to move, Silvia giving orders, “Stonard you and I pull the big one away.” She paused, as if regretting it already and still, her tone wasn’t allowing any arguments, “Rookie, you’ll take the small pack.
Irelia’s support for both of us.” Visibility was poor, especially through the beginning snowstorm, but I could make out their rough silhouettes.
I immediately lost sight of the others, but Stonard’s booming battle cry echoed.
With my sword drawn, I charged at the nearby pack as the other big battle started.
I jumped at the first Borearade with a jumping slash, killing it immediately as my sword severed its head.
Claws slammed into my back and I burst around, bashing my shield at the next one and it cried out.
The small feathered raptor alerted the rest of the pack as I slashed into it with a forward step.
My back hurt after the attack, but it didn’t feel like it had given me more than a bruise.
Another Borearade came from the left.
I back stepped, sword flashing in a vertical strike and missing.
My freezing and stiff muscles are not helping.
As followed up I spun into a round slash, finally managing to hit all three of the oncoming monsters and followed up by chopping the next beast’s head off, splitting it almost diagonally.
I moved my gaze around, barely seeing anything through the white.
The wind’s howls blasted into my face and I moved towards Silvia’s and Stonard’s shouts.
The last two came from both sides.
I let the right one slam into my shield and spun once more, killing what I hoped were the last small monsters.
Another shadow came down.
I broke into a slide and dove under claws trying to behead me.
My sword sliced right through the Borearade’s underside and got up.
“Shield up!” Irelia’s shout came out of the storm and I raised it, hoping it was the right direction and a shadow tumbled down.
I was relieved to be in a defensive stance and had expected a monster attacking.
Instead Irelia landed on my lifted shield and hopped down, landing gracefully in front of me.
My arm throbbed, the earlier numbness back again after taking the brunt of a falling huntress right on.
“Phew, thanks~,” she panted and shot me a smile.
“If you hadn’t caught me, I’d have fallen off.
Thanks~.” Her armored skirt was wet with monster blood and one look at her showed how cold she must have felt.
Irelia’s lips were blue and parts of her hair so heavily frozen they seemed they could break off at any second.
“Did you get all the small ones?~” She asked and I could hear her teeth begin to clatter the moment she stopped moving.
Her hand moved into her side pocket and she pulled out her insulated flask.
She emptied it and took a breath to complain, “why does it have to be a fucking snowstorm?~” And readied her glaive again to disappear into the white.
I followed the trajectory she went, ready to block at any second.
The shouts and roars grew louder.
Boom Silvia’s hammer resounded, dampened by the storm, followed by another.
I must’ve gotten close to the Boreagard fight, even if I internally hoped it would be over already.
The beast roared, followed by a scream, “Fuuuuuuuck!
Tis damn beaaast.” Stonard crashed into the ground right next to me.
The brawler had been hit by the Boreagard’s sleeping poison and fell asleep the second his body hit the snow.
I kicked his side almost gently, my boot maybe hitting him harder than planned.
He jolted up, shooting me a glare that looked like the angry ones he threw Irelia often and grunted.
His chest was bleeding as he burst into a sprint, me trailing behind.
Out of the snow came down a massive tail and I threw everything I had into blocking it.
My body sank deep into the snow.
It felt like my whole arm was shattering, the numbness I felt replaced by a deep agony.
My fist opened and closed.
Still working.
I charged towards the noise.
A maw snapped down next to my face, appearing right out of the white hellscape, barely missing me.
I continued to build momentum, my sword back handed.
I sped past the Boreagard’s belly.
My blade arced and cut into the tail.
I must’ve hit a spot Irelia had before, as the edge slid into the monster’s flesh.
Still having too much energy, my body followed the forward movement with the blade as its pivot point.
My sword dislodged out of the monster’s flesh and I tumbled into the snow.
Before I could even get on my feet, Irelia’s shadow came down, her glaive finally severing the monster’s tail.
I rolled out of the falling tail’s way.
Everything hurts now and the freezing snow sucked my last energy out of me.
My breathing ragged, I struggled to get back onto my feet.
Silvia slid past me, leaving a wide trail in the snow.
Her fur overcoat was in tatters, despite her being gold rank.
She lifted her war hammer into an offensive stance and swiped at the Boreagard’s clawed feet.
It roared as it lost its balance and slammed into something I couldn’t see through the snow.
The storm was still pretty strong, but I could see Silvia’s silhouette as she fired a green flare.
I had no idea how long we sat in the snow near our kill.
After what felt like ages in the cold, we could hear a carriage slowly arrive.
Shortly after, Dana lifted her oil lamp, the flame turned fully up to at least increase visibility a little even if it didn’t really work and I stumbled towards the carriage.
I shouldered two of the Borearade I killed, Irelia the other two.
Irelia and I were the only ones who took a seat on the edge of the carriage.
We both slung some fur overcoats around us, both more than glad Dana brought them with her.
Out of the storm Silvia ordered Dana and Stonard, “the tail should be near the edge over there, Dana you’ll get it and we pull the carcass onto the carriage.” They made quick work of the task and a few minutes later the cut off tail was already stowed onto the carriage.
The weather barely cleared, while Stonard and Silvia pulled the massive body, only their silhouette visible.
Irelia and I stood simultaneously, fur overcoats around our shoulders.
We walked over to the others, they had tied rope’s around the massive monster carcass and were pulling it closer and closer to the carriage.
After the bone breaking move to force this way too heavy body onto the carriage, we were finally done.
I only slumped down on the carriage, exhausted beyond anything.
Dana drove us back into Marx and the warm elevator alone was heaven already.
“Good job today!” Silvia greeted us and everyone fist bumped, while I stood there awkwardly.
“You too, Rookiee~,” Irelia invited and my fist joined.
“It doesn’t feel like I did much though,” I told the others, my voice nervous and I scratched my cheek.
“Nonsense,” Silvia replied in a strict tone.
“You did way better than any other bronze rank could ever hope for.” Irelia slung herself around my neck from behind, “she”s right.
Most fresh hunters could never take on a pack of Borearade alone.
Lots of them end up being eaten~.” Dana glared openly at me, or rather at Irelia’s face on my shoulder and I felt my heart beat faster.
My ears turned a soft red and I quickly stood aside.
Irelia almost fell over and stumbled a few steps, Dana’s sharp and icy glare following her, Danaaaa, the Rookie’s rude to me~.” But she only got another cold glance.
I really how you like the story so far!