The days following the system's update consisted of Mika making kinnai take him out to complete the first few missions he was given by the system, which for some reason had to have the bear in accompaniment.
It almost felt as if Mahlia was doing it on purpose but she always denied it saying she has no authority over the mission or it's requirements, which Mika didn't believe.
He had done mostly mapping missions ranging from mapping out the area of the forest he was in with the cave as a center, to looking to eventually mapping out other parts of forest, which was not easy. The rest being the collection of plants and other things the system is probably using for research and analysis.
In hindsight he did need the bear, there was no way he could walk that far in the snow while being on the lookout and also fighting the wild beasts that live in the forest regardless of how low class the system ranks them with most being of common bloodline and at most mid bronze rank.
Mika had seen the ugly creatures from afar since the won't dare come close to the bear. They had rough scales with tuffs of fur sticking out, acid fluids dripping from their heavily teeth filled mouths and poisoning all it touches. They mostly moved in packs and came all shapes and sizes as if not of the same race.
The forest at first seemed very big and safe before he started mapping the place. But meeting those things that eat almost everything was a heavy wake up slap and he told kinnai as such.
He had laughed and told him that the forest was his domain and was considered small as there were no real powerful wild beasts or other powerful types of beasts that lived in this forest which was why he could make this place his home and assured Mika he would protect him.
The northern dark forest was feared only by the weak who had not met stronger opponents and therefore thought the common wild beasts that filled it as strong beasts.
Today Mika had a mission to find winter fruits, he had thought it as kinnai had always made a point to find him fruits when he went hunting but today proved to him not easy it was.
They had traveled so far from the cave and had been walking for hours. If the system didn't specify that he had to go get the mission items himself, kinnai had wanted to do it alone and he now knew why.
He would probably have been able to move faster alone but Mika was now on his back and he had to be careful.
"Are we there yet?"
Mika asked kinnai who couldn't speak in his beast form but shoke his head to say no.
"How much further must we go? I really can't believe you go this far to get what I eat. Thank you, I should probably say it more times from now on."
He played down on the bears back, tried from sitting and stroked the fur. It looked soft but was actually rough to the touch.
' It's probably because he eats only meat and won't eat anything else. Hump, what a picky bear. '
Kinnai froze for a second when he felt Mika stroking his fur but quickly claimed down when he remembered that the small male had initiated a courtship with him.
They arrived by a rapid stream with its banks filled with plants and shrubs. There was also a variety of fruit plants, some of them a part of winter and others now awakening for spring which was about to begin.
Kinnai put Mikael down and let him pick the plants whiles he checked around for threats to there safety.
Mika walked to a plant with a short slender build with smooth bark and white leaves. He studied the tree to make sure there were no small wild beasts on it and also the position of the fruits.
This tree was called 'Lumi '. It got it's name from the color of the leaves and fruits, also the fact that it bore fruit only in winter.
It's fruits were like large barriers and were red on the inside despite the white outer layer.
[ DING! Lumi barriers picked. Please pick basket worth to get points. ]
'A basket worth? Sure, more work for me. ' Mika thought in desper. He was already tired and was expected to gather 13 different fruits. Thankfully he had found four on the way here and there were more here, it shouldn't be too hard to get the rest.
[ DING! Icenut picked. Please pick 3 basket worth to get points. ]
[ DING! Purple gave picked. Please pick 1 basket worth to get points . ]
[ DING! Flame fruits picked. Please pick 1 and a half baskets to get points. ]
Mika was about to pick a fruit with bumps on it when he heard a loud roar and turned to look from were the sound came from but was hit hard by a tail when he turned around. A wild beast, the biggest one he'd seen yet.
Mika was flange backwards and in that moment he saw kinnai running towards the wild beast that had attacked him, preventing it from biting him mid air but unable to stop him from falling into the still cold waters of the river.
Mika could hear the roaring of both kinnai and the wild beast as they fought on the river bank.
His bear was in danger. Mika was filled with anxiety as his eyes closed and the rapids carried him downriver, the anguished roars of kinnai in his ears as he lost consciousness.