Horn awoke from his unconsciousness, finding himself lying on the ice surface, his left cheek pressed against it as the warm breath from his frostbitten lips formed a thin layer of frost.
A broken ice spike lay awkwardly beside him, with its tip stained by blood that had frozen to a dark red.
It took him about three seconds to remember who he was, a Level 3 High Stage mage specializing in Ice Rules, the leader of the Frost Plane exploration team hired by the Giant Rock Commerce Association.
Then it took him another three seconds to recall that his right hand was tightly gripping a Constant Temperature Sealing Box.
The sealing box was still there.
He felt his fingers had turned purple from the cold, knuckles so stiff from gripping for so long they could hardly straighten, but the box had been wrapped with three rounds of bandages and tied in his palm, the bandage knot soaked with blood and frozen solid, keeping the box in place.
