Chapter 122: The Cold Trail

Amelie then told me everything, from how they had taken a monster extermination job at the forest, how they ended up being surrounded by a pack of snow wolves before they could go back once the blizzard started, and how that led to them being separated from Anne, who had sacrificed herself to attract the attention of the wolves. They would’ve gotten back for her, if not for the blizzard. Anton, like the good leader that he was, decided it was too risky. He was tough enough to go against Amelie’s wish, who would’ve left him if he hadn’t slapped some sense into her. Literally.

He really is the big brother of the party.

When she finished, she naturally begged me to save her. Even Anton did the same, bowing as far as his back allowed him to in the process.

They both knew their only chance was with me, who was much, much stronger than any other adventurers here.

I simply nodded and said, "Point me on the map where you last saw her."

-------

Wow, this weather really is bad…

When I went back outside, the blizzard had gotten worse than before. And the blizzard in the forest should be even worse than this. Even without the monsters, if Anne couldn't find a warm place to take shelter, she would catch hypothermia and die.

I have to go quickly before that happens.

I promptly returned back to my inn to change into my heaviest winter clothes. By the way, I purchased them back at Silheim. I knew winter was coming so it would be prudent of me to get  some proper winter gear, especially after learning how cold the weather could get in this region at that time of the year. They were made from the fur of Frost Bears, keeping your body warmth inside and the cold air outside.

I also took with me another set of clothes for Anne, given to me by those two. I didn’t forget snagging some food and drink. Wine would be really great to warm somebody up. Well, I could just use my fairy’s water for that as well.

Why was I doing this, you might ask? Heh, it’s not like you don’t already know about me and my hero complex.

...No, it’s just not that. I also can’t bear to see them lose someone dear to them.

After all, I know perfectly well how painful that can be.

They died in this weather too, in the cold. And I’d be damned if I’m going to let anyone else die if I can’t help it.

...She’d be fine. She’s too stubborn and vulgar to be dying to a bunch of monsters and the cold. If I had to guess, she’d probably be hiding in a cave somewhere, warming herself up with a fire she had started herself. She was the ranger of the party, after all, possessing the best survival skills compared to the other two. She would know how to keep herself safe in a situation like this.

I darted downstairs and to the outside. After giving my marked map a quick read, comparing it with the compass I had (over the months traveling alone I had gotten really good at combining the two efficiently), I swiftly headed towards the direction the two showed, leaving the town not even a minute later.

I looked towards the skies as I rapidly flew with my Wind Step spell. Hmm, I wonder if I can move those dark clouds away with a tornado spell.

No, I shouldn’t do it here. I might end up making the blizzard even stronger at her place if I end up pushing more snow clouds there.

I never actually thought of manipulating the weather in this manner before. Would my tornado spell even be strong enough to win against the strong wind this blizzard produces? Though thinking scientifically, if I could just tell the clouds to go away, then this nasty weather should stop, unlike a magical blizzard created by another mage’s spell.

---------

I soon arrived near the forest. As I thought, the snowstorm was even worse there. Even with my warm getup, if I hadn’t been casting my warm air spell, I would still feel terribly cold.

Still, it wasn’t the coldest blizzard I had experienced.

“Air Sunder!”

I aimed my wand to the skies, firing off my cyclone spell in an attempt to disperse the clouds in the area.

Only to find that before it could reach that height, the spell had weakened considerably to the point that it had barely any effect on those thick, dark mass.

Crap. It’s not strong enough. And I never bothered to learn a proper Master-level Cyclone spell either. Do I really have to do this while under this strong of a blizzard? The visibility is already bad enough at night. Combine that with the snow and you can basically see nothing except for objects mere centimeters from your face. Those two could only make it back because of Amelie and her fire spell.

Think Hugo. Is there really no way to make your cyclone spell stronger?

…

...Hold on. Think about a tornado. How would you make one, scientifically speaking? You combine a lot of hot and cold air together and then have a strong wind to mix them up. I already have an abundance of cold air right now and I can certainly create a strong wind. All I need is the hot air, and I can create that too, can’t I?

I smirked.

“Warm Breeze!”

I lifted my wand upwards and generated as much warm air as I could around myself. Modifying the temperature to be higher was an easy task. I simply had to make the fire part of the hybrid spell stronger.

Oh right, you can’t store the hot air out in the open without it being cooled off by the blizzard.

I gave myself a slap on the head, before conjuring my earth sprite with the command of creating an enclosure around myself that would protect against the frost winds.

Once she appeared, she promptly did as I told her, creating a large and round mud structure that surrounded us like a dome.

“Master, do you need protection from the cold?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

“Not at all,” I replied with a confident smile. “In fact, I’m going to blast away this cold in just a few moments.”

I raised my wand again and chanted, “Warm Breeze!”

“Master, you’re warming up the air?”

“Yes I am! And now, your next job is to destroy the dome the moment I gave my signal, alright?”

“Alright…”

It was clear by her expression that she had no idea in the slightest about my plan. But as a good summon, she obeyed anyways, waiting patiently until I finished filling the dome with hot air.

And then, it’s showtime.

“Okay, here’s how it goes. The moment I cast my next spell, you take down the dome, alright?”

She nodded.

“In three, two, one, Air Sunder!”

The dome cracked and fell, freeing the hot air to meet head-on with the cold air outside.

With my Air Sunder mixing them in an instant.

Immediately the effect was clear. My cyclone, no, tornado expanded and grew rapidly, piercing through the blizzard like it was nothing. It reached up to the clouds, and sure enough, it moved and dispersed the clouds away like a rubber erasing a pencil. The hot air I created fed the tornado, as hot air wanted to go up and up over the cold air, aiding the vortex of wind I had created.

Ha! I did it! I knew it would work!

Gently, I turned my wand, nudging the tornado to move and erase the other dark clouds in the sky.

...Oh shit, this is actually stronger than I thought.

I had anticipated that my spell would be boosted in strength, but not to this point. Since I created the tornado not purely with magic, I had less control over it. I had to be really, really careful to not let it go rampant, or else I would only end up making things worse.

Oh crap, it’s sucking me in!

I could feel it—the pull of the tornado at my body. I immediately ordered my sprite to hold my feet in place with her mud. I now held my wand with both of my hands. If I let it slip out of my hands, then I would naturally lose control over the tornado. And I would have to buy a new wand. I don’t want that hassle.

To my surprise, however, the tornado soon grew weaker. And weaker. Until it returned back to its original size.

Oh right, it must have run out of hot air.

With a relieved sigh, I put my wand back in my pocket.

And the blizzard? It had disappeared completely.

“Wow, that was amazing, Master…”

I turned behind me to see my earth sprite, all starry-eyed.

I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“Pretty cool, isn’t it? That’s my combination spell right there. Strong enough to dispel a blizzard like that.”

And cool enough to melt her usual expressionless face.

Suddenly, her smile vanished. She looked away, downwards towards the snow.

“...You really are getting stronger and stronger, Master…” She mumbled under her breath. If the blizzard hadn’t stopped, I would’ve not been able to hear her for sure.

My grin disappeared as well. “Uhh, is something wrong?”

“N-nothing. Nothing is wrong, Master,” she quickly answered, shaking her head.

Now, I would’ve interrogated further, if not for the fact that I was on a timer now. Even with the blizzard gone, that didn’t mean Anne was safe. The monsters could still be an issue, especially if she had sustained some wounds beforehand that would hinder her mobility. I couldn’t relax just yet.

“Alright then,” I replied, patting her on the head. “Good job. Here’s a hug. A real long one.”

She didn’t say anything else before vanishing.

--------

The area where she was lost was not that far from the logger encampment where the lumberjacks had made their home. I visited them for a bit, asking if any of them had seen a girl matching Anne’s description. They said no, meaning she never made it out on her own.

I heard some of them expressing their confusion on how the blizzard had just disappeared. Usually, it would last all night. But this wasn’t even midnight yet.

I tried to hide my smile. They didn’t need to know it was me who did it, do they?

I made my way to the forest proper afterward. The night was dark, with only a tiny crescent moon lightening up the sky. I generated fire with my wand to act as my torch as I climbed tree to tree, yelling for her name while eyeing my surroundings for her presence. Even with my flame, the place was still a veritable canvas of darkness  The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, punctuated by the occasional whiff of something sweet and fermented, like the heady aroma of overripe fruit. It was the scent of the wineshrooms, a peculiar fungi that grew only in the forests around this region. Like the name suggested, they contained alcohol inside them. Eating too much at one sitting would make you drunk.

Damn, the trees are too close together for me to get a clear line of sight. Should I just burn them to the ground? No, that's probably too dangerous for her. If not the heat, then the smoke can kill her. Not to mention it would no doubt agitate the monsters.

Naturally, thanks to my yelling, I was attracting quite a number of monsters to my direction, especially as I got deeper and deeper into the forest. Nothing that I couldn’t handle, however.

Eventually, I reached the spot where they were separated. And then, I saw it—a corpse of a Tyrant Deer barely sticking out of the snow. I melted the snow before looking at it closely

Arrow wounds! This must be her work!

One of the arrows was still intact. I took it out and examined it further. This is it! This is the arrow she always uses!

I looked around. Now, where could she have escaped to? Looking for her footprints would be impossible. Not after that blizzard.

I searched the area further. To my relief, I found more and more arrows stuck inside multiple trees, all forming a trail that I could follow. She was being chased. Or at the very least, she thought she was. But thanks to the blizzard, her aim became poor and some of her arrows didn't hit their mark.

I hurried onward, following the trail as quickly as I could. The trees soon thin once more, while the snow thickened. It got so bad that it reached up to my waist. Luckily, melting it with my fire spell was an easy matter.

Huh, this is...

It seemed I had ended up on another clearing, with a cliff overlooking a frozen lake.

Immediately my mind thought of the possibility of her falling down from said cliff right into said lake.

Shit, if that were true, then she would be—

I rushed to the edge and looked downwards. There wasn’t any human corpse down there. Just what looked like the corpse of another Treant Deer.

I slid down at once, as the cliff was only around 60 degrees or so on its steepness.

Sure enough, it was dead. And there were more marks of arrow wounds on its body.

This was the one that chased her. To think that she could fight off two A-rank monsters on her own, she really is a skilled adventurer.

I looked around once more. The lake was still, with no other monsters or humans around. There were no signs of the ice breaking as well either, meaning, she couldn’t have fallen down inside. And after a little testing with a fire spell, I confirmed the ice’s thickness. It wasn’t the type that would just break easily.

But then, once I cleared over some of the snow covering the ice, I saw them—footsteps etched onto the ice. A deer’s footsteps.

There was another Tyrant Deer chasing after her.

Tyrant Deers could walk and run on ice quite easily, as long as said ice was thick enough to support their weight. Their hooves were able to make small dents on the ice that gave them friction, similar to how our spiked boots worked.

Speaking of spiked boots, sure enough, interlaced with those footsteps, I could see the signs of boot spikes etching their way across the ice as well.

Without waiting, I flew through the ice using my Wind Step, following the trail until it ended at the other side.

“Anne!” I yelled. “Can you hear me?”

No response. I thought I should be close to her but apparently not.

Once back at land, I looked around for any stray arrows once more. To my relief, I could still find them. Ironic, how the fact that the Tyrant Deer chased her this far made it far easier for me to follow her tracks. I knew the monster was the aggressive type, but to think that it could be this aggressive.

As I followed the trail, more and more trees lined up to my left and right. It seemed I was going straight towards the head of the forest. I could see a lot of broken branches, courtesy of the deer, I imagine. If not for Father teaching me all this stuff back then, I wouldn’t have noticed them most likely.

Thanks, Dad. I’ll make you proud by saving her. You always said that saving a girl is something all boys should aspire to do one day, right? Though I don’t intend on making said girl my girlfriend or anything...

Suddenly, I stopped.

I hear it—rustling in the bushes and leaves around me. And no, it wasn’t made by the wind. In fact, there hadn’t been any wind blowing for a while.

I wasn’t sure why, but dread was slowly creeping into me.

Father had talked about this then as well. It’s what you would call an adventurer’s instinct. A seasoned adventurer would be able to tell if they’re in danger without actually knowing what kind of danger they were in. It’s not something one could explain through logic and reason. It’s simply what you would call a gut feeling.

Now, I wouldn’t call myself seasoned by any means, but this sensation was unmistakable. Something is coming.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I remembered Fiora’s words. “All living things have their own aura. Even monsters. And you can sense that aura to sense their intentions.” She even demonstrated by emanating a killing aura that immediately made me flinch.

Another rustle. Now it’s flanking me. No monsters in this region were ever this stealthy, so this could be a new monster entirely—a creature not even the Guild had information for.

I can sense it. It’s faint but it’s definitely the aura of something hostile. It’s looking at me as its food.

Slowly, my hand went towards the handle of my sword.

Woosh! Something big and heavy went flying towards me at high speed. Without hesitation, I cut it into two with a slash of my sword.

A giant vine?!

It wasn’t over. I sensed tremor shaking the ground where I stood. Immediately, I strafed to the side using Graceful Step, just in time before another vine broke through. I cut it as well.

Now I have a pretty good idea of what kind of monster is currently attacking me. It’s either a massively sized monster plant or a creature that could control plants like a dryad. Or it could even be a mage manipulating the vines using their magic.

My mind was reminded of Marina’s Ygdrassil spell. She could use something similar to it back then, though her vines were nowhere near as big as these ones.

Shit! This is bad! If this is where Anne has run off to, then this monster could’ve gotten her! And thanks to all these trees, I don’t even know where the main body of this plant creature is!

Tch, guess I would just have to burn them all then!

“Flame Strike!”

My spell flew and exploded, burning a number of trees in its radius.

And they responded with a roar.