World Isekai

On the counter of the bar Brök had lined up several backpacks.

"They're all filled with anything ya might need. They all have the same things, so if any of you get lost, you should be able to bunker down."

The bags looked heavy, but nothing they couldn't handle.

Brök had clearly thought of everything, from sleeping to eating. Anything they needed was in it.

"Alright, any of you adept with fire magic?" asked Brök.

Nobody could, making Brök shake his head.

"Anyone has any experience with this kind of survival?" asked Brök.

Mori had seen videos, some dating from decades back.

Some Alaskan man, who used to be a lawyer, made videos on youtube about winter survival, Mori had seen most of them.

'Outdoor' something, was its name.

Not that it mattered, just mentioning anything from his world caused too much confusion.

"I have experience," simply said Mori.

"Alright, then you're in charge. How do you plan on making shelters?" he asked.

"Depends. If we can find a cave that would be optimal, as long as there's no risk of the entrance being blocked. Otherwise, if we're out there we'll need to either thaw the ground or elevate ourselves, but I think we'll figure it out with what's out there," said Mori.

"Sounds like someone knows a thing or two. For now, you won't need much, it's not that cold here, but it gets worse the further you go so keep that in mind. If you come across a good place to rest, sometimes it's better to end the day early and stay there."

"I'll keep that in mind," replied Mori.

Everyone else was avidly listening.

None of them had any experience with winter survival, their fate truly resided with Mori.

Xannos looked like he'd be the one most out of his comfort zone, as for Lilae, he wondered if she could even be uncomfortable.

"If you waited a few days, I'm sure you could join the next expeditions as they leave," said Brök.

"Humans are on their way, we can lose them in the mountains, out here it puts everyone at risk."

"Ah... Are you criminals?" asked Brök.

"Well, technically, yes," said Xannos.

Brök looked at all of them, but ultimately shook his head.

"You don't look like the typical criminals. I've seen my fair share, people who try to survive out here to escape justice. Most of them don't succeed," he said.

"We're escaping human justice," said Lilae.

"Theirs isn't justice, so you guys are fine here," said Brök.

Everyone seemed to agree on that point.

Their attention diverted to the door that was quickly opened by Griswald. Most of them hadn't even noticed he was missing in the first place, not used to having an extra person in the group.

"Everyone ready?" said Griswald.

"How close are they?" asked Mori.

"How close are who?" asked Brök.

"Some pesky humans on our tails," said Griswald. "They're close, most likely a few hours away, I'd say."

The door behind Griswald started freezing from the ground up.

Blue mist was coming out from under the door, dispersing inside the inn.

Griswald was biting his lips, looking around the room while Mori death-stared at him.

A thin layer of ice soon covered the whole door before it shattered to pieces.

The person on the other side was wearing a white and blue robe, with intricate patterns resembling snowflakes.

Her eyes were of a very pale blue, while her hair was silver white.

Her foot was still in the air as she looked inside.

Xannos, Lilae, Brök and Aura all had a surprised look on their face, barely understanding what just happened.

"What... My door! What the hell?!" said Brök.

The woman took a few steps in; she wore short heels, her demeanor giving a sense of superiority.

She looked at the group in front of her, her eyes stopping on Mori.

"Hey! You hear me?! You better pay for that door!" said Brök.

With a swift gesture, the woman traced a horizontal line with her hand in front of her, an icicle quickly forming and making its way toward Mori.

It happened so fast, nobody could even see or hear her cast the spell.

Griswald's blood whip shattered the icicle as he cracked it in front of Mori, damaging the ceiling and the floor of the inn.

Griswald turned around. "You see what I mean? None of them even reacted..."

Aura's foot had slid forward, while the other two hadn't moved at all.

"Rule number one, kids, if someone hostile is in your reach, you should have your spells or weapons ready," said Griswald.

The woman frowned, with another swift gesture she sent another icicle, which was shattered by Griswald who wasn't even facing it.

He cracked his whip above his shoulder, hitting the projectile he couldn't even see.

"See. There again, I had to do it. You guys need to toughen up," said Griswald.

"Shut up, Griswald," said Mori.

"Sorry," said Griswald, bowing.

Mori also turned around, showing his back.

"Is this her?" he asked Griswald. "I thought you said she was too strong for you?"

"Hey!" she said.

"She probably thought she didn't need her knights. Her second-in-command is quite the warrior, and since I'm also close-range, I thought it'd be a rough matchup if they paired up."

"Hey!"

Mori turned around.

She stared into deep, abyssal eyes. They weren't dark, quite the opposite. Mori's eyes were white as snow, yet deeper than a bottomless well.

His expression, as he looked at her, was quite different.

Disgust, she could tell. Hatred that knew no bounds, it made her blood boil.

"Wha-"

She couldn't finish her sentence.

Griswald sent her flying through the door she had broken.

Everytime he cracked his whip, a loud snap sound would resound, louder than when Mori had met him.

He truly wasn't at his strongest back there.

This time, however, there was no snap, and no whistling sound. While most didn't pay attention to that.

Mori recognized then and there Griswald's experience.

Creating fake sound cues to lead your opponent on was smart, something Mori had never done himself.

"So, what do we do with her?" asked Xannos.

"Take the backpacks," said Mori. "We kill her, then we leave."

"I fear... I can't let you do that," said Brök, raising everyone's eyebrows.