Frozen Hell (Part 1)

"Alright everybody," Alex spoke to his team in shining silver armor. "Let's make sure we've got everything we need."

Over the past days, thanks to the reward, Alex managed to successfully purchase the custom-built armor which Madelin was able to create in record time.

There had originally been worry that the enigmatic blacksmith with an erratic temper might have secretly tampered with the armor for whatever reason, but through some careful testing and Leo's inspection, they were able to discover that there weren't any problems whatsoever. On the contrary, the armor itself was incredibly well-crafted, despite being built in a relatively short period.

The quality of the enchantments particularly impressed Leo, who felt curious enough to want to see if he could receive tips from Madelin. However, this plan was put to a stop by the excessive protests of both Alex and Judy.

"Our provisions are all ready!" Judy announced.

Currently, the group was preparing to head north to visit a beastmen village near the Frozen Plains.

For their first official quest, Alex recommended for the newest member to decide on the type of quest they wanted to undertake. Under some coaxing, Leo ultimately revealed that he wanted to go on another exploration-esque type mission. But rather than a dark ruin, he instead desired to visit a known location that was already documented in history. After all, part of the reason he became an adventurer was to explore and visit different parts of the magical world.

Unfortunately there weren't too many quests that could fulfill his preference, so the group had very limited options they could choose from. Nevertheless, thanks to the support of Linda's guidance, the group was able to unanimously decide on visiting the Frozen Plains, where a quest provider had sent an urgent search mission to scout an area.

"Has everyone packed their coats?" Leo asked the team.

"We've got'em!" everyone said, holding up their bags.

Just the day before, the team purchased coats of specially processed fur. Since Leo himself wasn't capable of casting enchantments on clothing, these coats had been enchanted by other mages to help the wearers withstand freezing temperatures and regulate their body heat at all times.

While a little expensive, they were seen as a necessity for where they were going.

During the early arrival of the Great Change, certain landscapes of the world witnessed drastic transformations that continue to remain unsolvable to this day. One of the most notable, and infamous, is the Frozen Plains. The region there is considered to be a mix of harsh tundra and icy glaciers, and lies the northmost out of all the known nations.

Due to Leo's studies of geography, he was able to share information to his teammates that the Frozen Plains was a country under heavy control by the beastmen, and was disconnected by land to every other known continent. While most beastmen tended to live in areas where they will inevitably face interactions with different species, such as the elves and humans, the Frozen Plains happened to be solely dominated by beastmen thanks to its topography.

The harsh environment, coupled with lack of fertility, would repulse many of the most stubborn sentient creatures from even daring to establish a settlement there. But while its average temperature is easily capable of freezing water in an instant, the real horror of the Frozen Plains was a certain region marked by its residents as the 'Frozen Hell'.

In the heart of the entire landmass, there was a center that was forbidden to be entered by any creature, unless they wished for a grueling death. Uncovered more than 400 years ago, the Frozen Hell was a place so terrifyingly cold that even magic itself was stated to be incapable of withstanding the brutal climate. Considered extremely hellish, the location possessed a mysterious characteristic that can interfere with the flow of mana, to the point that it can negate the use of both skills and spells. This meant that both knights and mages would be nearly helpless once they entered there (provided they could withstand the harsh temperatures first).

Only individuals who have reached Divine-rank could enter and exit the Frozen Hell safely, but none of them exceeded beyond an hour.

Thankfully, the notice sent to the guild repeatedly emphasized that the search mission would only be limited to environments that humans could withstand, otherwise no one would even be willing to look at this quest. Moreover, accommodations would also be given to help make the team's visiting trip as smooth as possible.

"Okay then, let's head off," Alex announced. "We should be right on time."

The rest of the team responded with a nod as they marched out from their guild to a street where a carriage was waiting for them.

When they arrived, a beastmen with a wolf-like head in butler attire was already standing beside a horseless carriage to greet them. Before the team marched out, the beastmen had stood for half an hour attracting stares from people all around.

"We thank you adventurers for visiting our lands," the wolf-man butler said while giving a curt bow. The beastman managed to address them in their own language without a hint of an accent.

Based on the elegant way the butler carried himself, the group suspected that an extremely important noble was likely in charge of this quest.

"The teleportation spell is ready," the wolf-man butler stated after raising his head and seating himself on the front end of the horseless carriage; the carriage itself was enchanted to be driven by magic. "Please, step in."

Because the Frozen Plains was both extremely far and separated by land from Bavalon, arrangements had been made to use teleportation magic in the city to allow a faster transportation.

Since magic became more of a common practice throughout the world, spells that involved mischief were heavily monitored by the Bavalon Kingdom. Beyond places where it could be seen, every city possessed a task force assigned to deter and capture any offenders. As for more elusive spells involving spatial magic, one would often have to speak to an important official before being allowed permission to utilize them in a public area.

While ignorant people would think that teleportation could be the most easily abused to avoid punishment, kingdoms like Bavalon possessed multiple methods to track and divine the use of this spell.

In the starting era of the Dawn of Magic, one of the first few objectives countries focused on was the maintenance of order.

Of course, there would always be ways for miscreants to find a loophole around a country's surveillance. In those rare cases where a single task force would not be enough, the nation would send more powerful individuals to handle the situation.

Leo and his friends stepped into the compartment and put their belongings down as they sat and waited for the teleportation to begin.

A few seconds later, a flash of light could be seen and the carriage disappeared from the street.

----------

On a snowy field with a clear sky hanging overhead, a carriage could be seen travelling across a white road.

Sitting inside, Leo's friends were currently taking special care of the magic items they've obtained from the ruin quest. After killing the goblins and retrieving their valuables, the team members were now better equipped to take on more dire adventures.

Underneath the silver gauntlet of Alex's armor, there was a healing bracelet that had once belonged to the Goblin King. Although it was still inferior to Sarah's healing spells, its presence can help lower the strenuous pressure for their healer during an arduous team battle. Of the magic items which they've acquired, this bracelet is easily one of the most valuable.

Around Judy's neck hung a necklace glowing with fiery colors. It had been appraised by both Leo and the guild to be capable of boosting the powers of a wearer's fire magic. Once tested, an ordinary Intermediate fire spell was capable of nearly matching the power of an Advanced version. Naturally it was given to Judy due to her own elemental affinity with fire.

In Sarah's pocket, there was a gem imbued with spatial magic specifically made to store healing potions. The guild provided a description that stated the maximum number the gem could contain only reached up to a dozen. Currently, the group only decided to bring five potions with them for this quest.

Lastly, held in Leo's hands was a magic orb made of milky glass. Under the guild's appraisal, the orb was revealed to be capable of aiding the use of divination magic. Apparently, its material was rare for mages, and would sell for quite a sum of gold on the market.

Even with that information, however, Leo still chose to keep it as the orb possessed an additional function: whether or not a mage could wield divination spells, this magic item was still able to allow a mage the power to observe their surroundings through the milky glass, provided that the mage continuously supplies it with mana.

Although each person received a handful of magic items, not all of them were proven to be very effective for adventuring. Thus, the group only brought a few for this occasion.