Chapter 34: Todos

A blizzard raged as two Travelers made their way to a remote dungeon on the outskirts of Todos. They were wrapped in fur cloaks that made it hard to determine their professions. The snow reached their knees, and the wind chill had them leaning against each other as they walked. It wasn’t a good day for them.

“Dude! You're so heavy! Lean the other way!”

“But I’m cold! Hold me..”

“Don’t even try it!”

“Nooo! Don’t leave me!”

The two laughed and horsed around as they made their way. It's not like they had anything else to do, and it passed the time they as they walked. They could've rode horses, but they couldn't afford it. So the journey to the dungeon was always a hassle. Yet, they relied on each other to make the best out of a bad situation, trudging along on the plains surrounding the capital with white as far as the eye can see.

“J--j-j-jeez, we’re gonna die out here!”

“D-d-d---don’t j-jinx it!”

They huddled with their heads down to save their faces from the freezing gusts.

“W-who’s bright idea was it to come out in a blizzard!”

“Y--y--you’ll t-t-thank me l-later. I b-bet you anything that the d-dungeon is empty. No one in their right m-minds would come out in this...”

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“....then w-who the hell is that!?”

They both looked into the distance as two silhouettes moved closer to them. The shadows solidified as the figures drew closer.

It was a man and a woman walking towards them. The man was dressed in a pure white robe that blended perfectly with the background. There were iron bands on each of his shoulders that hinted at the harness holding the shield on his back. Then as the wind blew, a sword belt and a shirt of chainmail was revealed beneath the folds of his robe.

The woman beside the man was dressed appropriately for the weather. She wore a thick fur coat and padded leather leggings which was the standard this time of year. She was quite the beauty, and the soft glow of her blue eyes captivated the pair of sniffling Travelers.

“Bro, do you see her?”

“I’m standing right here aren’t I? And look at that guy, he doesn’t even seem cold.” Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“Right!? That’s got to be some sort of ability or resistance.”

“Probably...Let’s get a closer look. They don’t look like bad players.”

The two walked closer to the pair as they whispered amongst themselves. The man looked to be a part of the Good alignment, so they didn’t need to be too wary. Not to mention the fact that he was walking beside such a beauty. A woman like that wouldn’t be with an evil guy.

“You see his gear, right? Iron. Must be a lower level cause he doesn’t look too str- WHAT THE HELL!?”

“Dude, there’s no need to-whoa. Is that his Fighting Spirit? That dude’s hella strong.”

“Even you can feel it!? Just how high is it!?”

“It’s gotta be in the high 900’s. People without Fighting Spirit can’t sense anything lower than that. He might be a boss NPC.”

“Maybe…”

The pair of strangers walked up to them as they finished their conversation. The warrior, who had felt the full force of the man’s fighting spirit, sucked in a breath when he got a good look at his face. Then the air around them warmed as the strangers stopped in front to them.

“Good afternoon gentlemen. My companions and I are headed for Todos. Are we going in the right direction?”

The mage spoke up first as his friend was still gawking at the man. “Yeah, it’s just a couple of hours in that direction. You couldn’t miss it even if you tried.”

“Thank you. I was worried we may have made a wrong turn somewhere.”

“Where did you come from? If you don’t mind me asking.” the mage continued.

“We came from Yune.”

“That’s a good couple of days from here. Did you guys walk all the way? It’s...not very nice weather for traveling.”

“I think it’s quite nice outside.” the man turned to his female companion. “What do you think?”

“The snow is pretty when you don’t have to worry about the cold.” she said as she smiled knowingly.

The warrior finally snapped out of it. “Hey! Aren’t you-”

“Yes. Yes I am.” the man interrupted him. He seemed to know why the warrior had been speechless.

The mage looked in confusion as his friend happily shook the man’s hand. What just transpired between them?

“Well, I hope you two have a safe trip. My companions are weary, and I’d like to get to the capital as soon as possible.” the man said as he started to walk off.

“Wait a minute. You said companions, right? Then where’s the other one?”

The man smiled while his female companion narrowed her eyes. She seemed annoyed that he had brought it up.

“If you can’t see her, then don’t worry about it. She’s quite good at hide and seek.” the man replied.

The two Travelers looked at each other quizzically as the strange pair, or trio, disappeared into the blizzard. The warrior watched them go with a satisfied look on his face. The mage couldn’t help but feel like he’d missed something.

“So what was that all about? You know that guy? I feel like I’ve seen him before. Maybe on campus?”

“Bro, that was Brandon Welding.”

“...yeah right. No, wait. Now that you mention it, I saw Eva Mendes at the market this morning…”

“Dude, you literally drank out of a cup with his face on it this morning…”

“You can look like anyone is this game by changing your features in the character creator. So what?”

“The game doesn’t do complete facial reconstruction.”

“........”

“Yeah, that’s the face you should have made. Now come on. Whatever he did to stop the cold is wearing off.”

---

Thadius smiled as he made his way through the blizzard. Just like Christina had said, the view from inside the storm was quite majestic once you ignored the cold. Not only that, one of the first players he had met recognized him from his NFL days. It had him feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Yuna, who was fully enjoying his shield as a back rest, leaned forward to look at him. Her ‘hero-long-sword’ was slung over her shoulder like a bowman’s quiver

“Thadius, did you know that man?”

“Nope.”

“But he seemed like he knew you.”

“Many Travelers will know my face. I’m well known in my world.”

“Your world?” Christina looked at Thadius with a concerned expression. She hadn’t heard anything about this.

Thadius stopped in his tracks and looked down at her. “I’m a Traveler Christina.” he declared as he watched her react to the revelation. It had completely slipped his mind that she didn't know. Now that she knew, what would she think?

Her brow furrowed a bit and she blushed under his gaze, nodding after a brief moment. It wasn’t that big of a deal to her. In fact, it just meant that Thadius was even more special than she realized. “What did you do in your world that earned you such a reputation?” she asked quickly. She wanted him to realize that she wanted to know more about him. His past wouldn't change how she felt about him.

“I played a sport called football.” Thadius started as he recounted his rise to fame. Yuna had heard the story many times, so she kept watch on the horizon.

They’d encountered a few monsters out on the plains during the past couple of days, but they weren’t attacked. The monsters stopped before they could get into Thadius’ Fighting Spirit range. When they all started stopping at the same distance of 20ft(6m), Thadius came to the conclusion that beings with Fighting Spirit could sense each other's strength when their areas of effect touched. Which meant that he and Yuna would have even more trouble with first impressions, or at least Thadius would. With Yuna on his shoulders all the time, the strength of her Fighting Spirit was masked by his.

After Thadius finished his story, Christina pummeled him with questions about his world. Before for long, the conversation had degraded into Thadius doing impersonations of famous people and animals from his world. Yuna jumped at the chance to watch Thadius make a fool of himself.

“Thadius! Play me next!” she shouted over the gale.

Thadius cleared his throat. High pitched voices were nearly out of his vocal range. “‘What do you mean there’s no more beef! Heroes need meat! How can I grow into a hero without meat!'”

“That’s not what I sound like!” she protested, pulling on his collar.

“Hey, hey! Don’t pull on the robe! This is Corbae!” he laughed.

“Then do Christina next!”

Christina’s eyes went wide. “Wait, why me!”