Sigma didn't have to hold any arrows while they crossed the area because he could summon one instantly as soon as the monsters arrived. Just as he had expected, one of those piles of snow suddenly exploded, and then a giant penguin dashed at them while sliding in the snow with its chest on the ground.
The beast was a bit different from what he recalled since it had a thick fur on its back and side, but it was white and black, while it also had a barrel-like body and really short legs and arms.
Sabrina fired several fireballs at the face of the beast, but it blocked with its beak. The face suffered some damage, but it had been minimal… in the end, Sigma decided to test the charge and endurance of the beast with that beak of theirs, so he aimed right at it when he fired the arrow.
The projectile landed and then broke into pieces, but at least the beast slowed down, and its face was pushed to the side, giving him a chance to use Double Shot on its left side. The arrows pierced the flesh of the beast, but enough to kill it. The monster shrieked in pain and then glared at Sigma, who just ignored and kept firing the arrows that he had saved for the previous battle.
The monster tried to defend itself with its claws and beak, but it eventually died with ten arrows on its face… that hadn't been efficient at all.
[You got 100 experience points.]
"It is a lot tougher than I expected…" Ed said and then jumped from his horse to get the magic stone from the monster's body.
Sigma kept their guard up while Ed was working since those things were way too tough, and they might find problems if more than one came at them at the same time. They didn't hear anything about an evolved monster increasing their numbers in the area. Still, it was hard to feel safe there since the news didn't arrive in Cielia.
"Those guys must be pretty strong if they can face those things directly and even stop their charges…" Sabrina added.
Sigma also thought the same thing, and maybe he should try to fight them with his fists and see if he could get the technique that he wanted… Come to think of it, there was something that he could learn, but he didn't try yet.
"Say something!" Sabrina protested.
"Are you talking with me alone?" Sigma asked and then sighed. "Yeah, yeah… I agree with all you say. Wait a minute, Ed. I want to test something."
Ed frowned and then waited until Sigma dropped from his horse. He frowned even more when he asked to spar with him using his fists alone. It took a while to convince Ed, and Sigma had to tell him that they didn't have to punch each other seriously. In the end, Sigma got what he wanted after just a few seconds.
[You learned the skill Martial Arts.]
[Martial Arts: passively Increases the attack power of punches and kicks by one point per level.]
Sigma nodded to himself in satisfaction, and then he tried to concentrate his stamina in his fist. Still, it didn't work when he punched the air or punched Ed slowly.
"Well, never mind, then," Sigma said and then shrugged.
Everyone wanted to hear an explanation of what the hell was going on, but Sigma just jumped onto his horse and then waited for Ed to lead the way again.
"I will stay in the front, but you should take the reins now. I will try to kill the monsters faster," Sigma declared.
"... All right, have you ever heard the notion of teamwork?" Sabrina asked once she got the reins. "Teamwork is when a group of people works toward the same goal doing all kinds of things together like communicating."
"I see. I will keep that in mind," Sigma said while nocking an arrow and then trying to learn if he could cancel Power Shot."
In the end, Sabrina couldn't say anything else since they also had their own goals that they were keeping a secret from Sigma. Besides, they only knew each other for a few weeks, and Sigma was the type who wouldn't open up that easily.
As the group moved, Sigma kept practicing that, and after a few failures, he learned the trick behind it… he just had to drop the arrow since the skill could be activated once the arrow touched the string. That will give him some extra time to get more piercing power.
It didn't take long for that to be useful… another pile of snow suddenly exploded, and then one giant penguin slid toward them… However, Sigma and the power of his ten seconds concentrated Power Shot exploded the beak of the beast and completely stopped the charge. Sabrina only had to fire two Fireballs to finish the monster off.
"I guess this is for the best, but it sure is boring for us…" Ed said and then sighed. "Also, those impacts are quite loud."
It couldn't be helped since they had a lot of energy infused with them. Fighting using that kind of strategy was really useful since Sigma was also using Stamina Manipulation, so it was leveling up even faster than before when he kept active just to consume his stamina.
Regardless, while Ed was working on the magic stone of the body, Sigma had an idea and asked him to bring a piece of the monster's fur. Again, everyone had no idea what Sigma's goal was, and they frowned even more when he tried to mess with it to craft a bracelet using a piece of his own shirt as a basis.
[Rough Winter Bracelet - Lv 0 (0/10)
Endurance: 01
Resistance: 01
Effects: Cold Resistance + Lv 05
Durability: 10/10]