13 It's Winter!
[A week later]
In just a week, the temperature got really low, it was winter. There weren't any easy quest because many monsters went in hibernation, and it was cold as fuck.
Alex didn't want to fight now, he would like a peaceful time. Alex was with his party in the guild, since they wanted to make a quest, he went with everyone else to search one.
A "One-Hit bear" has woken from hibernation. 2'000'000 to kill it, 500'000 for chasing it away.
Hunt down the White Wolf pack attacking the farm, 1'000'000 Eris.
Mobile Fortress Destroyer is approaching, recruiting scouts for reconnaissance regarding its route of advancement, 3'000'000 Eris.
The first two could be done, but he didn't know about the third one, however, fighting in winter was tiring, so he went for this other one.
Hunt Snow Sprites, each one had a bounty of 100'000 Eris.
Alex: Hey, what are Snow Sprites?
Megumin: Snow Sprites are weak monsters. They can be found in places with lots of snow, and will shatter when hit with a sword. But…
Aqua: Hunting Snow Sprites? Snow Sprites aren't dangerous monsters, but defeating one will allow spring to arrive half a day earlier. If we're taking this quest, I'll need to prepare. Wait for a while.
Then she went off somewhere, meanwhile Alex took that request down.
Darkness: Snow Sprites…
She didn't seem to refuse, making Alex suspicious about this…
[Later]
It wasn't snowing in the town, but the plains were dyed white with shiny snow. Alex saw palm-sized white balls floating all around the place, they seemed harmless, making Alex more suspicious about the bounty.
Aqua had an insect net and many small bottles, and was dressed like a kid catching crickets in the winter.
Meanwhile, Darkness was wearing a coat with pieces of armor over it. Megumin and Alex were the only ones with proper winter clothings.
Then Alex started to use his 4 Champion Blades of Nulgath to hunt as many of them as possible, however they were pretty fast, so hunting them was a bit too hard.
Aqua: I caught a fourth one! Look, Alex! What a harvest!
It seems that Aqua wanted to collect them instead of killing them.
Megumin: They're too fast, Alex. Darkness and I can't get them… Can I use Explosion to blow up an area?
Megumin said that while panting, and she finally got one with her staff.
Alex: Alright, I'm counting on you, Megumin. Get them all.
Megumin started to chant her spell, and uninterrupted, she finished it.
Megumin: Explosion!!!
The cold dry air trembled, and with a roar, the earth and snow exploded, forming a crater. Megumin laid on the snow, displaying her adventurer's card proudly.
Megumin: 8! I took out 8. And I raised a level!
Alex killed 7. Megumin got 9, Darkness 0 and Aqua 4, making a total of 20.
It would be 500'000 Eris each. Alex was shocked from the gains, how can it be that easy?! Where is the trap?!
Darkness: ...Ah, it appeared!
Darkness looked at something and took a stance with the sword of hers. Alex and Aqua turned around while Megumin played dead.
Aqua: ...Alex. Let me tell you why the adventurers don't take on quests in the winter. You stayed in America in the past. So you could not know about it...
Alex, Aqua and Darkness looked at the thing that she was talking about. That thing was pure white and heavily armored, releasing boundless killing intent at them.
Aqua: The master of the Snow Sprites, and the symbol of winter itself… This is the Winter Shogun.
The Shogun attacked Darkness, who tried to block the attack with her greatsword, but…
Darkness: Ahhh!? My sword is…!?
It was split in two…
Aqua: Winter Shogun; one of the special monsters with a high national bounty. The Winter Shogun is the Fairy of Winter… Fairies don't have a material body. It manifests itself according to the unconscious descriptions and images of the people it meets.
The Fairy of Fire would turn into a violent salamander according to 'the desire to engulf everything in flames'. The Fairy of Water reminds people of the young, beautiful and sensible goddess of water, so they would manifest themselves as a young girl…
But the Fairy of Winter is a bit special, all right? In the winter with dangerous monsters all around, even adventurers won't leave their homes, so few people have met the Fairy of Winter… That's right, except for the bunch of cheaters who were transported here from Japan.
Alex: Then… What about me?
Aqua: A fairy doesn't have a material body, but everything here has a soul… Wait, are you thinki-
Alex nodded and activated a skill.
Alex: [Highlord's Gaze]!
The illusion of a terrifying figure appeared behind Alex, and the Winter Shogun was momentarily stunned, when suddenly a slash passed around its neck, from behind.
The head and the body detached from each other, and vanished in a cold mist, revealing a Combat Soulreaper of Nulgath floating behind where it was once.
In that exact moment, every remaining Snow Sprite flinched and flew away as fast as possible.
Meanwhile everyone else looked at Alex in shock.
Aqua: Y-You…
Darkness: You killed it…
Alex: Yeah, I got more points…
He checked his adventurer's card…
Level 39
Skill Points: 46
Alex: Hehe… Let's see what I can buy now…
He checked his adventurer's card while the others looked at Alex with shock as they followed him, carrying Megumin. He used 30 for a passive skill.
[Relentless Onslaught]
>Level 1/3
>Cost: 30 Skill Points
>For each level, speed, agility and bloodlust increases.
Now he has only 16 skill points, which he decided to save them for the second level of Shackle.
And so they turned back to the guild, they got 1'200'000 Eris for the Snow Sprites because they needed to kill them, not capture them, so Aqua's ones don't count, and the bounty of 200 million of Eris from the Winter Shogun. Right now his level was even higher than Mitsurugi.
And hearing the others, it seems that with each level up, the stats he gained is higher than others, it was due to the nature of his class. For example a level 50 warrior is weaker than a level 50 crusader. It wasn't only for the skills, but their stats too.
[1 week later]
It was a week since that mess with the Winter Shogun, they went to search for something Alex was in the mood for fighting, and suggested.
Alex: Let's go to a dungeon tomorrow.
Megumin: Don't wanna.
Alex: You have to.
Alex used a summoned spear to stop her from running away.
Megumin: Don't wanna, don't wanna, I'll lose my reason for existence if I go to a dungeon! If Explosion magic that might cause the dungeon to collapse can't be used, I'll become a normal person!
Alex: You just need to carry the luggage that you can carry until the entrance of the dungeon, if we see something dangerous then we will use your help to scare them off.
Megumin: Hmm? Just the entrance? Will that really be fine?
Aqua: By the way, why did you suddenly want to go to a dungeon? If you want to explore dungeons, the party needs a thief, all right? How about Chris?
Alex: Chris?
Aqua: Oh right, you didn't see her yet. She is Darkness' friend, and also a Thief. She is useful for traveling in a dungeon.
Alex: Oh… Then where is she now?
Darkness: I'll ask her about it.
Then Darkness left and tried to search around for Chris, meanwhile the others waited for her to arrive.
