Frozen Hell (Part 9)

"What is the probability of survival?" Leo asked.

"If I were to remain for only a second, I may have around a seventy percent of living. Ah, but this doesn't account for any additional support. Considering you have a healer on your team, if you can recover my vitality immediately after I come back, then the probability will increase."

"Then..." Leo hesitated.

"Do not fret about me," Walter said, reaching his hand out. "Just hand me that feather. Trust me when I say that you will only be doing me a favor; this is not meant to be a reassurance."

When the adventurer still seemed unsure, the beastman butler immediately took a firm step forward.

He continued, "Although I do deeply appreciate you adventurers for everything you've done, I do not intend to leave here or drive you adventurers back without attempting this."

Walter's words carried double meanings.

Aware of the other person's seriousness, Leo looked towards his close companions, wanting to obtain their opinions.

"Although I'd like to say otherwise," Alex made a small shrug, "if you really insist, then I don't really have the authority to stop you. In the end, I can only respect your devotion."

"Sigh." Judy shook her head in resignation. "So this will still be done, huh? I guess it's not really up to us to decide this time. If you seriously intend to do this, then have at it."

Sarah sent her own regards, "If you only fail at the periphery then there is a good chance for us to recover you. At least this way, your body can still be prepared for a rite."

Her words sounded both sincere and scarily ominous.

Walter took no heed and patiently received the feather from Leo. The latter shivered slightly once he transferred possession again, but Leo's adaptability showed more improvement compared to yesterday. During the transference, the words "Good luck" were all that were said between the two individuals.

"Then I will head out now." Walter turned to face the blizzard that encompassed the Frozen Hell.

"Don't you think we should attach a rope of some sort to your waist?" Judy asked.

Walter shook his head.

"There is no need. Anything, including objects, will merely freeze and shatter upon touching this location."

"Ah, right..."

With nothing else that needed to be said, the butler took firm steps away from the group, prompting the others to follow.

Meanwhile, as the adventurers watched Walter's every movement while maintaining a certain distance away, Leo decided to talk to his team.

"I'm sorry for forcing all of you to come here," he said quietly.

Alex glanced at him from the side before sighing, "Haahhh... Although I don't completely blame you, it would've been better if you had consulted with us first, Leo. Next time, don't disregard how we feel when making up decisions."

"That's right," Judy added. "Don't forget that your life is also important to us. Even if we've only known each other for a short while, you shouldn't drag us around to risk your life without asking."

"I- I'll be more considerate next time," Leo promised.

"Good, that's all we needed to hear." Sarah smiled towards him serenely.

Standing a couple feet away from them, Walter had reached the edge of the blizzard with the phoenix feather tightly grasped in his right hand. He first started testing the temperatures by thrusting his left hand into the blizzard before swiftly taking it out a second later. The adventurers held their breath as they witnessed Walter examining the hand for any changes. Then suddenly, without giving the adventurers any warning, the butler immediately pressed his entire body in.

Time slowed down for Leo and his friends as they waited in anticipation for him to emerge back out.

One second...

Two seconds...

Three seconds...

Four seconds...

When ten seconds passed and the group were beginning to assume the worst, they saw a silhouette appearing through the edge of the blizzard. The instant Walter reemerged, the group heaved a huge sigh of relief.

The butler returned with a noticeable expression of surprise on his wolf-like face. His exquisite clothes and the small bits of fur sticking out of his body were nearly half-covered in snow, yet there did not appear to be any serious signs of injury on him. When Leo and his friends cautiously approached him, Walter barely took notice of his surroundings as he carefully lifted the feather up to his gaze.

"Amazing," Walter exclaimed once they were all near him. He carefully examined the phoenix feather. "Just what is this object?"

"So, were there no side-effects?" Judy asked hesitantly. "You were gone longer than you said you would."

"None. I am perfectly fine." Walter shook his head. "Oh, and I apologize for my extended absence. I suppose I was simply entranced by my experience. You must understand that this is quite a historical achievement in these lands."

"What about your items?" Leo suddenly interjected.

"My items..." a look of shock passed the butler's face before he started patting down on his pockets. A moment later, he took out the magical communicator he had been carrying. "It appears I forgot to take them out before going in. But there doesn't seem to be any damage either."

"Really?" Alex turned to Leo. "Do you see anything wrong?"

Leo shook his head after observing for a few moments.

"No, the enchantments are fine... Hmmm..." Leo held his chin in deep thought. "Seems like this feather does more than regulate a person's body heat."

"Does this really mean that one of us can safely go in?" Judy still looked a little hesitant.

"I guess so." Leo reached his hand to take back the feather.

The butler reluctantly returned its possession while staring inquiringly at Leo.

"I can go in there myself," Walter suggested. "You adventurers don't need to concern yourselves now that we have confirmed its effects."

"Who's to say that we aren't better suited for this?" Leo replied. "Don't forget, the terrain in the Frozen Hell may be very difficult to navigate. Such a thing should be best left for us adventurers."

"... I suppose that is a fair assessment."

When it was decided that Walter had already played his part, the team turned to each other to make a final decision.

"Uh, I know that I just recently made a selfish decision not too long ago," Leo awkwardly said. "But I would still like to nominate myself for this."

"Haah, is that so? Well I guess I should have expected it." Judy made a disgruntled face.

"Ahem," Alex coughed once before speaking to Leo, "While I do share a little sentiment with Judy, it doesn't stop me from acknowledging your skills. However, I would nevertheless like to hear an honest-to-good reason for why you think it has to be you."

"Because of this." Leo reached into his pouch and took out his orb. "I'm currently the only one in our team who has experience in using this item to search my surroundings. In regards to the present task, having this ability is quite essential. Plus, Walter has already confirmed that my feather can protect a person's magic items."

"Guess I can't argue with that," Alex spoke with a resigned expression. "Then it's decided."

"You better make it back," Judy said with determination. "I still have a few words I want to say to you."

Sarah stared perplexedly at her friend.

"Are you secretly trying to influence him so he never returns?" she asked in genuine concern.

Judy stared speechlessly at Sarah.

"Ahem," Leo awkwardly coughed in a similar manner to Alex. "Then I'll be on my way now."

"Ah! Make sure to take this before leaving." Sarah made a hurried gesture while handing over her gem that can store healing potions.

When Leo looked at her in surprise, Sarah happily explained, "It's better to be as safe as you can. And since none of us are going in there with you, this is the least I can do."

"Then, thank you very much." Leo nodded to show his appreciation.

Waving to his friends as he stepped away, Leo carefully checked his belongings before preparing himself to bracingly trespass through the boundary of the Frozen Hell.

He walked by Walter, who gave a brief nod of respect to him.

"Please take this as well." the butler handed over a similar-looking communication device to the one he recently used. "Let me know of anything that happens."

Faced with the fact that Leo was making a serious effort to help find the chieftain's daughter, it seemed that the two individuals' previous enmity at the manor has been completely settled.

"Um, not to sound disconcerting," Leo responded in a considerate tone, "but I hope you understand that there is a chance your lord's daughter may already be gone... And any trace of her might also have disappeared.'

"I have long prepared myself for the worst," Walter reassured him. "To be honest, I would like to believe that the equipment she wore and the physical constitution she possesses would have somehow miraculously kept her alive, but that is simply wishful thinking. However, if there is the tiniest fraction of a chance you could even find a fragment of something related to her, then I will pray to all the deities for you to retrieve it. Promise me that you will do your best."

"I will. You can count on it."

A moment later, Leo finally found himself directly face-to-face with the Frozen Hell. Standing so close to the periphery, all he could hear were the fierce gales that blew across the land in front of him. The sight and sounds seemed to be threatening to invite an eternal winter on the entire world.

Taking consecutive calming breaths to relax his nerves, Leo courageously pushed himself through the blizzard like Walter did before him.

----------

Stepping through the boundary that appeared to separate the Frozen Hell from the rest of the world, Leo found himself feeling completely isolated.

Although he knew that he was only a few centimeters away from going back to his friends, at the current moment, Leo had the sensation he was utterly alone.

'This is it, then; no turning back now. Time to do what no person has done before.'

With these thoughts of encouragement, the lone adventurer braced himself onwards.

All around him, the icy winds were continuously swirling through the air, constantly battering Leo's body as he held onto his pouch and made his way through the blizzard. Despite the pelting winds, however, the adventurer could not help but find the environment to not be as harsh as he had originally expected. Particularly the blizzard itself, which did not seem to give such a ferocious impression compared to when he had been staring at it from outside. Although the push and pull of the currents were a bit annoying, they didn't feel as strong as they appeared.

'Could it just be my mind playing tricks on me because I can't feel any cold?' Leo made a hypothesis. 'Or is it because of this place's strange magical effect that remains to be uncovered?'

The Frozen Hell's most dangerous feature was its otherworldly climate that could even freeze magic itself. Considering this fact, there was really no need to possess fierce winds that could thrash against an individual. Of course, it may really be that the winds are indeed strong, and that perhaps Leo's feather may possess another ability that can slightly offset the conditions of a location's weather.

Regardless, there were a few things Leo needed to do.

'First I got to see if I can use my spells.'

Using Walter's experience as an example, if magic items near the user could be protected from the frigid temperatures, then what about magic spells? Would they also be unaffected or would they be instantly swallowed up by the cold?

[Immolation]!

Drawing his short sword, he shot a trail of fire into the air that arced onto the ground a couple feet away from him. During its relatively short instance of travel, Leo observed the spell very carefully.

'My magic sword is able to function without any problems in this area, not to mention that the flames it produced actually didn't get snuffed out the moment they were summoned. However...'

Once the spell reached its end, the fire that was spewed in front of him quickly disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Interesting," Leo muttered, his voice sounding smothered by the blizzard.

He cast the spell three more times on the same spot till he eventually confirmed the same results as before. Then, he went on to test other experiments.

[Earth Creation - Metal]

[Light Orb]

[Mage Shield]

[Freeze]

One by one, Leo cast a different spell at individual intervals, attempting to assess the effects that the Frozen Hell will have on them.

He first created a simple shard of metal in his hand and threw it away from him. Before that metal even touched the snow on the ground, it instantly froze and shattered almost simultaneously as it sailed through the air, and quickly scattered into hundreds of pieces until every trace of it rapidly dissipated into nothing.

Afterwards, he then summoned a sphere of light in close proximity to him. Leo tried moving the sphere slowly forward to see at which distance it would dissipate like the piece of metal. When it initially moved only an inch away, it was already showing signs of disappearing. When it ended up roughly ten feet away, the sphere of light vanished entirely.

Following the example of the [Light Orb], the [Mage Shield] also faced a similar result.

For the last test, Leo attempted to cast a freezing spell to create a thin trail of ice in front of him. Leo originally speculated that the traces of [Freeze] would have lasted longer than the previous ones, but the trail of ice dissipated at pretty much the same amount of time as the rest.

Thanks to these experiments, Leo was able to draw a rough idea on how the state of the Frozen Hell worked for him in relation to his phoenix feather.