It was the eighteenth day of our search.
¡Saaaaaaaaa!
A medium-sized warship with thirty passengers crossed the stream. For reference, this was a warship supplied by the palace, and the owner's seal had been temporarily transferred to me, the leader of this expedition. As all of our team members headed to their assigned cabins to unpack, Amelia approached the sailor-navigator at the helm.
«Disculpe.»
«Oh... Miss Raines. How can I help her?»
«How long does it take to get to Ice Rock?»
«I anticipate it will take about twelve days.»
«Ice Rock is closer than the Dark Continent, then? It took us fifteen days to arrive on the warship we took».
«The distance itself is similar, but the ship is different. This Class Seven warship we are on may be a medium-sized ship, but it has excellent speed.»
«I don't understand how it can be so superior if there are only three days apart».
«The eastern coastline is not a normal sea».
«Hmm, I see.» Amelia, who had recently shown a great interest in sailing, nodded in understanding. «You seem to know a lot about warships, don't you?».
«Haha, I have to know. I have sailed warships half my life». The only sailor on our expedition was a member of Team Five who originally belonged to the royal army.
Hmm, if we keep that in mind, it makes sense that Kaislan's team would arrive last on the sixth floor. You just did a speedrun with a browser.
«Can you tell me more about how warships work?»
«Sorry, information about warships cannot be leaked».
«Ya veo... »
«...But since we're in the same boat, I can't stop you from taking a look at what I do».
«I won't stand in your way». While Amelia expressed her gratitude to the navigator for his kindness, I headed inside the ship, to a room located deep in the center.
«Oh, everyone is here».
«It was an order from our commander, after all. He told us to meet here as soon as we finished settling in».
Inside the room, designed to host leadership meetings, the leader of each team was already waiting for me. «Has anyone been to Ice Rock?» I asked, getting into the matter immediately. The only ones who raised their hands were Akurava and James Calla. «No one except the two of them?».
«It is not a region that people visit often».
«Yeah. Aside from a few clan achievement expeditions, we rarely went to Frozen Rock».
True, it was not a favorable environment for hunting. He was sure that not even half of the star adventurers on this ship had experienced the Ice Rock firsthand.
«I see». I nodded and then launched into a brief explanation of the tasks I had for them. «James Calla, you will be in charge of exercising the crew while we sail».
«What kind of exercises?»
«Formations and things like that. We only spent a few days together in the city. Since everyone has experience, they should be able to measure themselves in real combat, even with a little practice.»
«Very good.»
First of all, it was essential to increase the number of commandos he could employ as the leader of this squad. Otherwise, we could end up encountering unexpected problems in unforeseen situations. We still did not have adequate training for flights or withdrawals.
«Since our destination is Ice Rock, I will prioritize the things that will be useful there».
«I'm glad you saved me the trouble of explaining it». Since he belonged to a large clan familiar with all kinds of formations, he would be able to take care of it. «Titana Akurava, you will be in charge of managing supplies as soon as the move is complete».
«Does that mean you give me full jurisdiction over the process?»
«Yeah. I'll leave it all to you from now on».
I entrusted the management of consumables and equipment related to the expedition to Akurava. If Jun, a member of a religious faction, or Kaislan, an inflexible soldier, took on that position, there would surely be backlash. On the other hand, Akurava was a legendary adventurer, older and with years of experience, so she should be able to soften the crew's occasional complaints.
«Melend Kaislan». Next was the gentleman. Perhaps because the previous two had been given missions, he swallowed in anticipation.
Sometimes it can be a little cute...
«You are in charge of the cohesion of our unit. I need you to be the first to rush and mediate disputes between team members, and if something goes wrong, you have to resolve it.»
«So you want it to be your right hand. Okay. I will».
Uh, how did you get a right hand out of that? I guess soldiers have a different way of thinking.
«I guess I'm the last one up». Once Kaislan received his role, Paladin Jun smiled at me. «How can I help you?»
After our fight that day, he had become strangely friendly with me. Sometimes I asked myself: «This guy...?», but I didn't express my suspicions out loud.
«I have heard that adventurers often go to priests during and after expeditions».
«Yes, I have heard something similar. People accumulate mental fatigue in the maze, after all».
«Listen to the group and keep your ears as open as possible. And if there's anything I need to know, tell me. That's your goal».
«The other races will not come to me».
Yes, I imagined it. The Three Churches were human religions.
«That's enough». But humans made up more than half of our squad and were even distributed fairly evenly across each team. Just listening to them would be of great help to understand public opinion.
«So, are those all your instructions?». When I nodded Akurava cautiously asked me if he could ask me a question.
«A question? Forward».
«Why do you give so much power to us? We're not even your helpers».
I couldn't help but laugh.
I thought you were going to ask something big.
There was no reason to think so, so I responded immediately. «Because it's more efficient that way». After all, we were already in the same boat.
***
Crossing windless waters, we crossed Grand Rock, the reef-filled region at the eastern end, and finally reached our destination. In total, the journey lasted twelve days and seven hours. We were able to follow the program outlined by the navigator to the letter thanks to the fact that we took the shortest route possible without stopping on any island along the way.
A warship is certainly nice.
Aside from being able to traverse the Windless Zone in an instant, the way the ship sailed forward on the eastern coast - the way we could rely on its durability as we drove it directly across the reef - was very impressive. The icebreaker device attached to the front also seemed very sturdy.
¡Kakak! ¡Kakak!
Although this place was not classified as a special area like the Sea of Ice, the ship moved forward at full speed, crushing chunks of floating ice along the way.
«We really are here...»
The crew gathered on the deck and exhaled as they watched the continent slowly approach. Whether it was leather, sheet metal or fabric, everyone wore thick clothes over their equipment. They were also supplies that the palace had given us.
Hmm, I'm someone who does better in the heat than the cold...
Like the other crew members, I also finished preparing myself mentally.
«Hold on tight! The ship is entering the portal», the navigator shouted at the top of his lungs just as the blue light from the portal enveloped our ship.
[You have entered the Ice Rock through the seventh floor].
Well, even without the light from the portal making it clear that we were moving somewhere else, it was immediately and physically obvious to everyone when we arrived at Ice Rock.
[You have entered a special area. Field effect – Ice Rock activated. Your Cold Resistance decreases by -100].
As our stamina stats dropped dramatically, the cold began to wash over us. For now, that was the only change we could feel, but those damn status effects would surely have already been applied to us as well. They were what really made adventurers avoid Frozen Rock.
[The Frozen World state effect is active. All space type objects have been disabled].
Subspace included, this status effect made even expandable backpacks useless. This short code snippet put everyone who came here on the ropes.
«Yes, now! Don't just stand there, let's unload our provisions first!». Akurava, who was in charge of supply management, oversaw the grounding of supply boxes enchanted with preservation magic. From now on, we would have to drag these things. No, that wasn't all. There was even a ridiculous added effect that we would have to deal with.
[The Hunger status effect is now active. The effects of any resource you consume are reduced by 3 times].
Here, even if you ate the same old thing, your stomach emptied three times faster. That's why you needed so many supplies. This was the main reason why most adventurers did not consider this place as a hunting ground. Even if you could stand the cold, you couldn't stand the hunger. Since food was limited, the time you could be active here was also limited.
With our provisions, we have one month. Of course, that's assuming nothing goes wrong.
«Lord! They told me to tell him we're ready to go.»
Anyway, with our crew members moving for one purpose, it didn't take us long to unload all of the ship's supplies. The five sleds we had placed on the frozen ground were soon loaded with boxes.
«Then let's go back quickly».
Once the provisions were unloaded, the navigator and I separated from the group and took the ship back to the sixth floor. Transferring to a small boat, we summon the warship.
[You have entered Ice Rock on the seventh floor].
After that, we took the smaller boat back to our previous location. The process was a bit cumbersome, but ultimately necessary. After all, we couldn't leave the warship here, could we?
«What are you going to do with this boat?»
What do you think? Of course we're going to leave it here.
Just in case, we hid it in an isolated area so it wouldn't drift. And with that, all preparations for our mission were complete.
«Each team in formation!» Our squad members, who now seemed well trained, moved in perfect formation. «Get out!»
At my command, the first march of our expedition began.
***
The squadron traveled in a large, flat formation, and its layout was simple: us, Team One, in front; Teams Three and Five to our left and right; Team Four in the rear; and Team Two, which was in charge of supplies, following us in the center.
¡Bum, bum, bum!
Strong blows followed us.
«Sir, those are Ice Trolls, right?»
Dragging five sleds stacked with supply boxes, three Ice Trolls continued on the march. They were the work of the summoner of Akurava's team. Without them, we would have had to pull the sleds ourselves.
«¡High!»
Just as we were marching east and were about to leave the initial part of Ice Rock, Team One stopped. There was no need to explain why.
Dddddd.
What appeared to be a cliff made of ice split in half and a giant monster emerged from the huge hole.
«It's a Stone Winter!» The rank three Stone Winter monster was rated super large, and there were a whopping three of them in our path.
¡Boom!
Huh, this may be Ice Rock, but... Rank three monsters coming out of nowhere right at the beginning?
«All troops prepare for battle!» I screamed.
The squadron quickly mobilized and took up battle formation. Fortunately, no one was paralyzed with fear. With this many men, rank three should be a piece of cake, right? I led the battle with that thought in mind, but it didn't take long for my expectations to shatter.
[You have defeated a Stone Winter. EXP +7]
Even after the first battle ended, there was no cheering from the team, just a funeral silence.
«...Damage report», I asked the leaders of each team, trying to swallow the unfortunate sensation I felt in the pit of my stomach. They responded cautiously.
«Four slightly injured and three seriously injured. We are treating the seriously injured first».
People getting hurt was fine. Yes, that happened. After all, it was the first time we fought together. It was understandable that there were some growing pains considering that we had faced three rank three monsters at once. All they needed to do was be treated by a priest and they would be fine.
«¿Y?»
«... One of the sleds is destroyed, and the supplies loaded on it were lost.»
That was the biggest problem. A super-large monster had managed to reach our supplies and, unfortunately, the ground under the sled collapsed, unable to support the load. In an instant, a fifth of our supplies were gone.
«What percentage of the load was food?»
«…All.»
The moment the words I least wanted to hear came out of Akurava's mouth, a curse jumped from my throat. «Damn». This was just our first day at Ice Rock. «Let's accelerate from here».
A tiring march began.