Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Arthur, followed by the four men, walked in the snow-covered forest. Their footsteps caused ever-lasting crunching noises as they heavily stepped on the snowbeds.
The night was dark and cold.
The mountains loomed in the distance, looking like it was right in front of them. However, there was still several kilometers of distance before they reached the first mountain, the Mountain of Winter.
''I hope our discussions didn't bore you.'' Amour whispered in Isaac's ear while walking next to him, ''We didn't mean to exclude you from the talk.''
Isaac shook his head as he dodged a branch by slanting his head to the left, ''Nah, I am curious about your experiences. I just thought about what if I was part of Beta Testing. Maybe my life wouldn't have been so dull.''
''Right, Arthur. Why wasn't Isaac included in Beta Testing? He filled all the criteria.'' Xerxus overheard the conversation and decided to ask from the Mister Chairman, the person responsible for deciding the people who may enter the testing.
Arthur scratched his chin and said, ''Because of Maxwell.''
''My father?'' Isaac frowned and moved slightly closer to Arthur. Enough to hear his voice without having to perk his ears.
''Yes, I once tried to get him to invest in my company.'' Arthur slightly chuckled, reminiscing about his early life, ''However, he refused and thought I was crazy. Then, a month before the Beta test, I asked him if he wanted one of his sons or daughters to join.''
Isaac silently listened.
Kalzer, Amour, and Xerxus continued breathing calmly while listening.
Arthur sighed, ''Again, he refused. Then, the year before, servers opened. I gathered everyone who refused to do anything with White Online. Most of them thought I should be in a mental institute.
''But then, I showed all the samples of White Online. While the game itself impressed them all, it still didn't change their minds. Then, Gaia appeared on the large screen that was in my meeting room.''
Arthur spread his arms wide, showing how enormous the screen was.
''It covered the whole wall, and once Gaia appeared, everyone turned silent. Of course, her immense beauty made everyone speechless.
''They didn't treat her as human because they thought no one could be as beautiful as she. Once I introduced her as Gaia, they thought she was the famous A.I.
''However, then something out of the ordinary happened, which even caught me off-guard. Gaia appeared in the meeting room in the flesh, surprising me. Then, she showed what she could do, and everyone's opinion turned.
''After that day, they all invested hefty sums in my company, which made my preparations complete. Now, I only had to wait till that destined date.''
Arthur turned towards Isaac, sadly smiling, ''If I showed more proofs to your father earlier, maybe you would have entered Beta Testing. So, I am sorry about that.''
''It's fine…'' Isaac waved his hand and looked thoughtful.
''If she can appear here… Why didn't she help you?'' Xerxus asked.
''She has far more important things to attend to, and I didn't allow her,'' Arthur said while crossing his arms.
The four men turned silent.
The cold wind breeze sailed over them, and the sound of wolfs howling echoed from the direction of the mountains.
''We should arrive in the mountains shortly.'' Arthur said and slightly accelerated his pace, ''Luckily, they won't enter these mountains.''
''Why not?'' Amour asked.
''Honestly, I am not sure.'' Arthur said with a slight shrug of his shoulders, ''The mountains are like sacred land. They won't enter it, but they will be waiting for us at the end of the mountainside.
''So, the plan is to rest there and finalize the phases of our plan. After we leave the mountain, we have to fight it out.
''If we manage to break through their blockage, we should arrive in City called White Harbor a few days later. There, I have my ship, and the captain is a good friend of mine. He will take me to the tropical island.
''Then, he will take you four to Summerland, where you will split and find your own way home.''
''Sounds good.'' Kalzer nodded and felt slightly heavy in his heart. The reason for his silence was his father. He couldn't stop thinking about what kind of reaction he had to his letter.
There was a chance that he didn't care. But the higher possibility was that he felt an incredible amount of anger.
The tips of his fingers trembled as he thought about the time when he would return to his home. So far, he enjoyed the company of these three young men who shared his interests.
Even though this trip was deadly, and any of them could die. He still felt more alive here than back home.
'This place is indeed beautiful.' He thought while looking at the endless sea of stars. The moonlight bathed them while illuminating their path.
…
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
''Here!'' One of the hunters shouted and stopped next to a tree with more blood fingerprints. They followed the trail of footprints and bloody marks on the trees. So far, their hunting trip had gone smoothly.
Another hunter stopped next to the tree, took a few sniffs of the blood, and said, ''These are a few hours old. They aren't far!''
''Hah, these fools. They can't even cover their tracks well!'' Lunatic shouted manically, ''Let's move. Maybe we will catch them before morning!''
He passed the tree and dragged his feet through the soft snow. He continued panting as he tried to move quicker, which wasn't the best solution. He could, of course, teleport, but he would never find them in this vast forest.
Also, he most likely would get lost, and finding the hunters would be way too hard.
The hunters wryly smiled while a few returned to their leader and began whispering with displeasing voices.
''He will be the death of us!'' One of the hunters whispered while making sure Lunatic didn't hear.
''That's right!''
''There have been few instances when he ruined our good tracks and even continued moving unnecessarily quick. He will tire himself out, and us!''
''At this rate, we might not be at fighting condition if we find them!''
''Enough!'' Their leader shouted and silenced them, ''What do you want me to do? Tell him to leave? No thanks, I like to keep my head!''
