Fate Online: Shadow

"Did you really travel all the way here from Sharval Kingdom, young man?"

Old Buck looked at Michael with expectations while drinking some hot water.

"Haha, yes I did"

Michael laughed as he also took a sip of the hot water that Old Buck offered him.

"Please do forgive me if I can only offer you water," Old Buck said with a laugh, not even the least bit embarrassed about it.

"It's fine, it's not like I came all the way here for something like this" Michael said.

"Ohh, tell me then. Why did someone like you, who lives in Sharval Kingdom come all the way into this barren and dangerous place?" Old Buck's eyes suddenly became sharp.

Michael placed the cup of water down on the table and looked back at him, and said, "For a group of people who had never really left this land, isn't it unusual for you to know the land beyond this place?"

Michael was suspicious about why this old man sounds like he knows something about the lands outside of Everwinter when they just told him earlier that no one can get in and out of this place easily, even that Carter earlier had a confused looked on his face when Michael mentioned about Sharval Kingdom earlier.

Old Buck just laughed and slowly stood up from his chair and walked towards an old drawer and pulled out something.

'A book? It looks really old' Michael thought when he saw the thing that Old Buck took out from the drawer.

"This is the reason why I know that there are lands beyond Everwinter that are rich in resources, unlike this place" Old Buck sat down and placed the book before Michael.

[History of Nevareth Continent]

"Ohhh" Michael uttered when he read the familiar name of the book, as it was in fact the most common book in the continent, where you can almost find it everywhere.

"Is this also a relic?" Michael said as he carefully picked the booked up and opened it.

"It's not, it was something given to my father by someone like you," Old Buck said.

Michael placed the book down when he saw that it was similar to the other books circulating around the continent.

"Someone like me? Are you telling me that someone came into this place before me?"

"Oh wait, you said the book was given to your father, so it must have been a long time ago"

"Yes, I think he was an adventurer that goes by the name of...Hiccup? Yes, Hiccup, his name was Hiccup if I remember it correctly" Old Buck had a thoughtful look on his face while stroking his beard.

"Cough! Cough! Cough! What?" Michael suddenly started coughing on the water that he had just drank.

"His name was Hiccup" Old Buck looked weirdly at Michael.

'The Dragon Master? He came here before, but why?' Michael thought, and only this time does he realized how convenient if there were phones in this game world, where he could have immediately contacted his teacher about this.

Michael didn't say anything as he just placed his hand before his mouth while thinking of something, while Old Buck just kept drinking his water as he waited for Michael to open his mouth.

'Wait…' Michael suddenly thought of something, 'If the Dragon Master came here over fifty years ago or more, that must mean…'

"Old man, are there Dragons living around here?" Michael quickly turned towards Old Buck.

"A dragon, you say? Hmm..."

Old Buck once again started stroking his beard as he started thinking.

'He really loves stroking his beard while thinking of something huh?' Michael thought, amused.

Then the old man suddenly sighed with a complicated look on his face, which was weird to Michael, considering the fact that his question wasn't all that complicated, to begin with.

"According to a story passed down by my great-great-grandfather to my great grandfather, then to my grandfather, then to my father, then to me"

'Why is this old man suddenly started talking about his family?' Michael thought, but in the end, he had no choice but to listen to him.

"The reason for this never-ending winter on this land was because of a Frost Dragon"

"A Frost Dragon!?"

'I knew it!' Michael thought with a smile, as he could feel that he is about to find out a very important event that happened on this continent a few hundred years ago.

"Yes, a Frost Dragon, and according to my ancestors, the reason behind this weather that had never changed for hundreds of years was because of the Royal Family of Artem Kingdom"

"They stole the egg of the Frost Dragon, which made the dragon so angry that it destroyed the people who had been living under her protection, and so, she destroyed everything, the entire kingdom of Artem"

"Then she took her egg back and caused this never-ending winter in this land, causing thousands of deaths due to cold"

"Of course, that was just a story that was told by my ancestors, so I'm not really sure if there really was a Frost Dragon living here," Old Buck said while shrugging his shoulders.

*****

Half an hour later.

After talking with the old man about many things that had been happening around the continent. Michael came out of the house with a thoughtful look on his face.

'A Frost Dragon'

"There should be one. After all, the Dragon Master came here and then left, but there was never a change in the weather. Meaning, that the Dragon Master failed to subdue the Dragon, and it's still here, continuing to inflict punishment to the people who had betrayed her trust" Michael mumbled to himself while standing just outside of Old Buck's home.

"A mother's wrath is seriously scary as f*ck"

Rumble~

Michael's thoughts were broken when he heard his stomach rumbling in hunger.

'The old man didn't even offer me food'

Michael wasn't really angry as he could also understand their situation. Then he went to look for a vacant plot of land and started preparing to make a meal for his dinner tonight.