When I heard Wind volunteer to leave, my eyes widened in horror. Sure, I knew he won't go that far since straying too far from him is against the [Guardian Player] rules, but this is the very first monster I felt scared of for a while now.

I’m completely nervous. Not because of the [Wild Bear] right in front of me, but because the fact Wind is leaving me for a while had made me lonely and panicked. Sure, this is part of the plan to distract it and somehow avoid one of their attacks, but I can't do this without him by my side. And with a high-leveled monster right in front of me, I’m not sure if I can do this.

"Kazu..."

I gasped as I turn around and see Mari staring at me. "Don't worry, your brother isn't going to ditch us. Besides, he's your [Guardian Player] and I doubt he can do that. Remember, this is part of the plan and if we can’t divert the bear’s attention away from Wind, we won't be able to finish this quest on time."

I don't know for sure if I could take her word for it, but she does have a point. This is Wind's choice and he’s the only one out of the bear's line of sight. If this works, then we might be able to turn the tables against this beast.

"Y-You're right. We promised to play together and explore together and I can’t always rely on him." I gripped my staff as I stand up from our hiding spot and glaring at the [Wild Bear]. "To tell you the truth, I didn't want to become a strong mage like you. But now I want to be a great mage by mastering some spells just like one of my favorite wizards from my favorite novel!"

Once I said this, I aim my staff towards the large bear, preparing myself for the worst. As I did, I see Arthur is still fighting against the beast as he swung his sword at it while screaming as you see in those war movies. I can do this. I take a few deep breaths and prepare my spell.

"I call the thunderous spirit of my aura. Let my small spirit dashed through my staff with this power!" I chanted as electricity begins to dance around my staff's glowing gem. "[Lightning Bolt]!"

I swing my staff like a baseball bat once the blue bolt of electricity was released through it. As I expected, it was a clean hit to the bear's back. But to my shock, it isn't enough to slow the bear down as it was somehow unaffected from the spell's electricity. In fact, it just made it angrier as it turns its attention and slowly came towards me. That isn't supposed to happen, but I couldn't give up. So I tried another spell.

"Energy waving around the elements around me. Gather to me and create the force against my enemies!" I shouted as I aim my staff towards the bear once more. "[Mana Blast]!"

With that, I quickly released a ball of purple energy at the [Wild Bear]. But like before, it was unfazed by my spell. I continue to panic as it slowly getting closer. Oh man, if Wind is here right now, he would know what we should do next. But with him gone, I’m practically a sitting duck. So I tried another spell...

"Spirit of Slyph, I call the gale to my growing au-"

"Stop!" Mari shouted as I notice that she grabs my wrist and forced me to put down my staff. "The more damage you inflict to the [Wild Bear], the more aggressive you’ll make it!"

Oh man, she’s right. Arthur is supposed to be the one being the "Tank" of the group and I ended up ruining his role in the process. As I look behind the monster, I can see Arthur charging towards it, swinging his sword towards its back. However, it just swatted him away like a fly, causing him to fly into a tree, dropping his sword in the process.

I call out his name as I tried to run up to him. But Mari stops me just as the bear swings its claw at me. It barely grazed my face a bit, but I can feel like I’m about to have a heart attack after that close call. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to escape our current predicament. Just before we can recover, the bear roared very loudly again and just as I try to move my legs, I can feel the numbness coming back to them. And then, that same warning appeared right in front of me once more. I knew this would be a sign of my first death, so all I could do is to close my eyes and brace myself as I can feel Mari still hugging me.

"Hey, you big loaf! Get away from my little brother!"

I gasp as I heard a familiar voice and before I can look up, I see the bear's neck starts to bleed just as a shadowy figure jumped down right in front of me. He then turns his head and I smiled as I realize who he is.

"Wind, you're back!"

Yep, he’s back. I can't stop smiling as I see him turned his head around and cracks a grin just for me.

"Where do you think I was? The bathroom? You know I would just turn tail just by coming up with this crazy plan."

He does have a point. He came up with escaping the forest to avoid the monster's paralysis attack and I’m surprised that it worked. Even if we’re paralyzed, Wind can still move due to being out of the monster's attack range by that time.

"Okay, I think you guys had your fun. Just leave the rest for me."

"Are you sure? Can you really handle it all by yourself." I spoke up as I look at the [Wild Bear's] current HP, which shows that we only made half of our intended progress.

[HP: 239/580]

"Don't worry about it, Kaz. You've done your part, now it's my turn to take the stage."

Wow... Just hearing those words come from my brother's mouth is so surreal to me, yet I can't help but stare at him in awe to the point that I have to back away despite my paralysis just so he could take the spotlight.

"Just be careful, Wind," I muttered as I crawl back towards Mari with some of my remaining strength.

Once I did, I see him draw his bow and arrow from his quiver and aim at the bear's head. When he released it, it flew at the bear and landed a clean hit on its left eye causing it to roar in pain.

CRITICAL HIT!

[HP: 218/580]

"No way! Wind got a [Critical Hit] on the [Wild Bear]?!"

My eyes widen when Mari said this as I see the pop-up window on the top of the [Wild Bear]. But I began to wonder what that really meant as I stared at her in confusion. Then I watch my brother once more as he put away his bow and drew his sword, and he charged in and swings it at the monster five times in rapid succession. I’ve never see Wind in a real battle before but just seeing this makes me realized how hard he’d worked in this game.

However, I didn't stare at him for long as I notice the bear is about to swing its claws at my brother. But before it can make contact, I see it roaring in pain once more. When I looked behind the beat, I see Arthur behind it with his sword in hand. Judging by how he’d somehow managed to move his arms as well, I can feel my legs and arms once more. I realize the paralysis effect must have disappeared.

"Hey, Wind! Don't go hogging all the glory by yourself! Just save some bear whooping to me, you know!" Arthur said as I saw him raised his sword and aim it at the [Wild Bear].

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We're a team and I doubt I can beat it all by myself. Just don't go all Reckless Nelly too much. We don't want to lose you in our first [Quest]."

Wow... The more I stare at my big brother fighting against a large bear, the more I can see him as like the heroes and leaders you’d see in some fantasy novels. It’s even cooler as I watch him fight alongside with Arthur, who is a knight-in-training himself. Just seeing this makes me want to jump in and help them out even more as I grip my staff very tightly. But so far, all I can do was to throw my spells in a random order without coming up with my own strategy. I just wish I could help my brother in the fight.

"Kaz, look out!"

My eyes widen when I heard Mari's voice behind me. But before I can turn around, I see a shadow envelop mine as I hear a familiar roar behind me. However, by the time I noticed this, I see Wind using his sword to block the bear's claw from me. I didn't get up from the ground even though the paralysis is gone from my virtual body, as just nearly being attacked has caused me to freeze in shock. Instead, I can hear my brother muttered, "I told you, you big bully. Get. Away. From. My. Brother!!!"

Usually, in situations like this, Wind would have pushed the claw away and followed it up with several slashes. But to my surprise, he starts muttering a familiar incantation.

"Spirit of Slyph, I call the gale to my growing aura and allow me to manipulate the air all around me!"

As I look closer, I see that his free left hand began to gather the wind around his palm, which creates a small sphere of energy enveloping around it. He then aims it towards the [Wild Bear] and shouted, "[Wind Sickle]!"

Once it is released from his hand, the sphere then quickly morphs itself into a sickle-shaped blade, which it slices into both the bear’s fur and skin, which was blurred out due to the game’s protection settings courtesy of Wind. I’m a bit disappointed, but I’m nonetheless amazed that he managed to use a [Wind] spell for the first time in a real battle.

"You've got to be kidding me?! You never tell me you learned a magic skill as well!" Arthur shouted, which I can tell that he’s shocked at this revelation.

"Well, you didn't ask."

"Still, I never met a Hunter-type player who also uses magic at the same time," Mari said as she slowly approaches me. "Are you okay with that skill set?"

"It doesn't matter. My brother will win. I just know he will!" To be honest, I don't know what she meant by that, but I have to trust my brother to finish the job. I chose his skills for him and I knew he will able to master all of them. Besides, there is one more battle skill I had given him. A skill that would help him with his physical strength. But will he able to remember it in time? All I could do was to watch as Wind pulled out his sword and began running towards the monster.

From my eyes, I can see how fast he was running and swinging his sword. Compared to Arthur, he’s a lot faster than he is. Not only that, but the [Wild Bear's] HP is also dropping faster until the green bar turned red.

[HP: 149/580]

"I can't believe it. They managed to weaken it even further. But Wind's speed... He wasn't very fast before, so how did he-? Unless..." Mari muttered before she turns her eyes to me. "[Physical Enhancement]. A skill that enhances your leg and arm strength to increase your speed and power with physical attacks. I never expect your brother picked such a perfect skill along with a magic skill."

"I know. That's why I helped picked them out for him." I smiled when I said this. But for some reason, Mari gasps as a response. Weird...

"Kaz!"

My ears perk up as I heard my name. Before I could turn around, Wind lands near me and said, "How about we finish it off together? I can't leave you hanging forever."

When he said this, I smiled when he suggested this. He’s right. We play this game together and we’re going to complete this [Quest] together! I grip my staff tightly once more as Wind said to Mari, "You two keep the bear at bay. We'll handle the rest!"

With that, I left the bush and follow my brother onto the battlefield. I’m a bit nervous, but to be honest, I’m ready to beat this beast with Wind on my side!

Current Quest: Subjugate a Wild Bear **

Status: In Progress

Party Members:

[Wind]

[Kaz]

[Arthur]

[Mari]

Wind's Masteries

[Archery] Level 6

[Woodcrafting] Level 1

[Swordsmanship] Level 6

[Cooking] Level 1

[Wind] Level 5

[Physical Enhancement] Level 1

[Hunting] Level 4

Kazu's Masteries

[Arcana] Level 6

[Thunder] Level 6

[Wind] Level 5

[Alchemy] Level 7

[Magecrafting] Level 1

[Magical Affinity] Level 5

[Scribe] Level 1