I took in the cold air and felt the chill spread through my body like liquid nitrogen. The sensation was immediate and unforgiving—we couldn't stay here for too long without proper preparation.
Looking around, I saw nothing but endless expanses of snow and ice stretching to the horizon. The landscape was beautiful in its desolation, but beauty wouldn't keep us alive in these temperatures.
"Ahh... Why the hell are we here?!" Anna's voice cracked behind me, frustration written across her face in bold letters.
Not that I particularly cared about her comfort. She could actually die here if we weren't careful, but not before helping me secure that book. Her survival was purely utilitarian at this point.
I examined the emergency escape relic I was holding. She'd gotten it from the clerk at the counter, though I wasn't entirely sure why he'd given it to her. Maybe seeing the name on her ID had made him fear for his life. If that was true, then there was probably a tracking enchantment on it. He'd definitely informed the Estellia family by now—perhaps he thought I was holding her hostage.
Which wasn't entirely false.
I infused ether into the device and threw it at a frozen tree. The explosion echoed across the wasteland, sending ice shards flying in all directions. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained but charred bark and scattered debris.
Turning back, I found Anna staring at me with wide eyes that held a mixture of disbelief and growing horror.
"You just destroyed an escape relic? Are you an idiot?!" she roared, her voice carrying across the frozen landscape.
"Get down, break some ice, and eat it," I said without concern and began walking deeper into the wilderness.
Instantly, she began screaming as her body forced her into obedience. The slave seal was working exactly as intended, compelling her to follow my commands regardless of how degrading or dangerous they might be.
I walked away, my mind already moving to other concerns. She'd most definitely already guessed what the relic contained but had acted ignorant, perhaps thinking I would hold onto it given its escape potential. The girl was smarter than she let on.
"Hm." I stopped and looked up at the rocky outcropping ahead. A cave entrance was visible among the ice formations. That was what I should be looking for, though finding the right one would take considerable time.
Boom! The ground vibrated beneath my feet.
I looked back instantly to check on Anna's condition. She was still following my command, though the sight was disturbing even by my standards.
"Stop eating," I said, and she looked at me with blood covering her face and body. Her white dress was already destroyed from the harsh ice, and she looked absolutely horrible—snot, tears, and blood everywhere painting a picture of complete misery.
"Here," I threw her a healing potion. It was the second one I'd given her—the first had been back in the forest to fix her broken bones, and now this.
She rushed for it desperately, caught it, uncorked it, and drank the entire contents. Instantly, her wounds began to heal, though the blood stains remained on her torn clothing.
"I hate you," she said, tearing a piece of fabric from her dress to wipe her face. She threw the bloodied cloth away with disgust.
"Are you by chance trying to seduce me? You'd have better luck talking to a rock," I said, noticing where she'd torn the fabric from. The rent revealed her undergarments, though I wasn't sure where she'd gotten those from. With a disinterested sigh, I began walking away.
"HA HAHA! SEDUCE YOU?! Why would I, Annabelle Estellia, try to seduce you? There are literally better people in the world—more good looking, better built. Take Auston for example. He's everything you aren't, you stupid son of a bitch!"
She kept talking, but my mind was already elsewhere. I was trying to pinpoint where I'd heard that sound from earlier. Something was coming, and in a place like this, that something was unlikely to be friendly.
I looked around, assessing our tactical situation. The frozen trees looked scalable, which might give us an advantage depending on what we were dealing with.
"You are to remain where you stand until you spot a beast," I said, instantly activating my ether. I was getting better at this—with the ether flowing through me, I was able to run up the nearest tree trunk. It didn't have the extended branches of normal forest trees, but it was manageable.
"WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING?!" she screamed, looking at me with pure rage. I could tell she wanted to strangle me in my sleep if she could, but the slave seal prevented any such actions.
She repeatedly tried to move from her position, but any attempt to do so made her bite her lips in pain before stopping and returning to her glaring stance. The magical binding was working perfectly.
We waited for several minutes, me scanning the horizon from my elevated position. Then, suddenly, movement caught my eye.
"An ice orc?" I muttered. They usually attacked in groups, but I only saw one. Maybe the others were hiding nearby, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"An orc?" Anna's voice held a note of fascination, as if this was the first time she was seeing an ice orc. Well, it technically was my first time seeing one too, but I didn't see what there was to be excited about.
"Kill it," I said simply.
"You don't have to tell me twice." She stretched her hand forward, and ice coalesced into a lance before shooting toward the creature with deadly precision.
"Hey!" I called out and threw her one of the wands from my spatial ring. It seemed to help her concentrate her ether more effectively.
The orc was holding a massive shard of ice as a weapon, and it used this to deflect her lance. The shard suffered some damage from the impact, but the creature remained standing.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!" It bellowed and lunged directly at her.
Wait. I'd said she couldn't move, right? I sighed. Whatever.
I watched as she seemed to panic, realizing her immobile state. Sensing how severe the situation was, her ether flared dramatically, and in an instant, a wall of ice was erected between her and the charging orc.
"Huh?" I muttered in surprise. Her casting speed seemed to be improving under pressure.
But the orc was relentless. It smashed through the wall and was upon her immediately. However, she had endured the pain from the slave seal and moved slightly from her original position. I could see blood trailing down her nose—it seemed the more resistant she became, the harsher the punishment from the magical binding.
I drew the sleeve covering my right arm up. I could see the tattoo again, glowing fiercely against my skin. The magical connection was strong here.
Wait a minute. I raised my hand toward the battle below.
"Ice," I said, imagining a huge spear of frozen water.
I opened my eyes and immediately felt the consequences.
"Damn," I gritted my teeth. My ether was literally sucked dry in an instant, but before me materialized a massive spear of ice, perfectly formed and deadly sharp.
I looked at it, tilted my head slightly. "Interesting."
"Damn it!" Anna screamed as the orc's ice weapon slammed against her shoulder. She gritted her teeth, her eyes glowing a fierce blue as she prepared what looked like a devastating counterattack.
A huge spear of fire began to form, but suddenly—
BOOM!
My ice spear tore through the chest of the orc, ending the battle in one decisive strike. The creature fell backward, dark blood steaming in the cold air.
Anna looked up in shock, her fire spell dissipating unused.
I sighed from my perch in the tree. "Stop staring like an idiot. Come get me down from here."
With my ether completely drained, I was weak as a newborn. I should always account for this limitation, or I'd get myself killed through carelessness. The power was useful, but the cost was significant.