[Plant one picture, reap millions upon millions of pictures...]
[The early part of this story may follow the original plot. Once it reaches the middle and later stages, it will gradually develop its own plotlines, but overall, it still won't stray from the original main plot.]
[Brain storage. Reading without your brain doubles the fun.]
Magic.
This product of fairy tales materialized as a real technology in the early 21st century.
Around 2030, temperatures dropped sharply, food shortages grew increasingly severe, and conflicts over energy resources broke out repeatedly.
In 2045, the Third World War broke out and lasted twenty years, with the population rapidly falling below three billion.
The reason that war did not become a thermonuclear war was the united efforts of magician teams around the world.
Then, at the end of the 21st century, amid the unstable situation, countries began racing to train magicians.
From then on, a new era began across the nation, and so did the age of magicians.
During the Third World War, countries also discovered that the mysterious nation in the East, which had always been steeped in myth, had suddenly and inexplicably vanished in its entirety after the war ended.
Thus, countries sent their most powerful teams to the mysterious nation in the East to investigate.
The Kunlun Mountains...
At the summit, amid raging wind and snow, a team dressed in snow gear arrived.
"Come take a look! What is this?"
Atsuko Mutsuzuka couldn't help crying out at the sight before her.
At Atsuko Mutsuzuka's cry, every member of the team gathered there.
This was an exploration team made up of the next heads of the Ten Master Clans of Dongjing.
When the team members gathered before Atsuko Mutsuzuka and saw the sight before them, they all drew sharp breaths.
Beneath the glacier, an infant was frozen in the ice.
"This... Quick, bring the instruments over and check for signs of life."
Koichi Saegusa spoke hurriedly.
"Yes," a Saegusa Family attendant accompanying the team hurriedly replied.
"How amazing. As expected of a mysterious country. Everything we've seen and heard here has been so incredible."
Maya Yotsuba gazed at the frozen infant before her and sighed.
"Young Master Koichi, I've brought the instruments," the attendant said, holding them out.
"Prepare to run a check," Koichi Saegusa ordered.
"Yes."
The attendant acknowledged the order and got to work.
"This..." Koichi Saegusa was utterly shocked when he saw the results.
"This is unbelievable. Even like this, there are still signs of life," Maya Yotsuba said in surprise.
The other future heirs of the Ten Master Clans were all too shocked to speak.
Koichi Saegusa was the first to recover. He hurriedly said,
"Quick, dig the baby out."
At his words, the others began digging with their magic, and the attendants joined in.
After two hours of careful digging, they finally extracted the frozen infant from beneath the glacier.
Koichi Saegusa and Maya Yotsuba held the still-frozen infant together, examining the baby closely.
Their attention was entirely focused on the frozen infant before them, and neither noticed that the ice had cut their hands.
Blood had already stained the ice around the infant red.
"Koichi, Maya, your hands are bleeding. You've stained the ice red," Atsuko Mutsuzuka said, the first to notice.
"Ah, I didn't even notice when I got cut. Atsuko, take over for me while I tend to my wound," Maya Yotsuba said, looking at Atsuko Mutsuzuka.
"All right."
Just as Atsuko Mutsuzuka stepped forward to take the ice, several sharp gusts of freezing wind suddenly assailed her.
"This... What's going on?" Atsuko Mutsuzuka asked in disbelief.
"I don't know. Why don't you go over to Koichi's side and see if you can take over for him?" Maya Yotsuba said.
"All right."
When Atsuko Mutsuzuka went over to Koichi Saegusa's side, the same thing happened.
"Maybe the infant in there is very resistant to Atsuko. Someone else should try," Koichi Saegusa said upon seeing this.
"All right." Atsuko Mutsuzuka nodded and stepped back.
Then, just as Mai Futatsugi stepped forward to take Maya Yotsuba's place and was about to touch the ice, several icicles suddenly appeared and drove her back.
"Looks like I can't either."
Mai Futatsugi shook her head as she spoke, clutching the cut on her arm.
"The rest of you, come and try," Koichi Saegusa said, looking at the others.
Half an hour later...
The other eight people and all the attendants who had come with them had tried, but none of them could get close to the frozen infant.
"I... I don't think I can hold on much longer," Maya Yotsuba said through gritted teeth.
Her wound kept bleeding, and combined with the extremely low temperature, even she, a magician, was beginning to reach her limit.
"Let's slowly put the ice on the ground first," Koichi Saegusa said upon seeing this.
"All right."
Together, they gently placed the frozen infant on the ground.
"Phew."
As soon as they put the baby down, they hurried to treat their injured hands, which had turned blue from the cold.
While the two tended to their wounds, Atsuko Mutsuzuka cried out.
"Look, the ice seems to be melting."
Everyone turned their attention to the ice. The ice on the outside was slowly melting.
Before, they could see only the blurry outline of an infant, but now they could make it out a little more clearly than before.
"Could the ice have started melting because of Koichi and Maya's blood?" Makoto Kudou wondered.
"I've read in books that, according to this country's ancient legends, powerful people would often seal away treasures. Could the ice on the outside be a seal?"
"Very possibly. It looks like only blood can break the seal. Let's all try."
The head of the Jumonji family spoke.
"All right."
The others nodded, but just as they stepped forward to drip their blood onto the ice, an invisible shock wave sent them all stumbling back for some unknown reason.
"This again. We can't even get close. How are we supposed to get our blood onto the ice?"
Atsuko Mutsuzuka spoke with some annoyance.
"Could it be that only Koichi and Maya can get close?" Futatsugi asked in confusion.
"Let me try." Koichi Saegusa, who had already bandaged his wound, stepped forward as he spoke.
"All right." The head of the Jumonji family nodded and stepped aside.
Everyone watched Koichi Saegusa with sighs. He slowly approached the ice, then cut his other, uninjured hand and pressed the wound against it.
"Looks like only Koichi and Maya can get close to this ice."
After seeing Koichi Saegusa approach safely, the head of the Jumonji family spoke with certainty.
"But with just Koichi and Maya, when will the seal ever be broken? Besides, there's something strange about this place. I just tried to heal my wound with magic, but it barely worked."
Mai Futatsugi spoke.
"Let's take the ice back for now."
The head of the Jumonji family spoke after some thought.
"All right."
After reaching an agreement, they decided to take the ice back first.
After all, theirs was not the only team here. There were teams from other countries as well, and if another country's team discovered it, a struggle would be unavoidable.
On their way here, they had already seen quite a few teams locked in fierce battles over treasures.
"I've made contact. Someone will meet us at the foot of the mountain. Let's head down first," the head of the Jumonji family said after putting down the satellite phone.
"All right."
Because the others couldn't touch the ice, the task of carrying it ultimately fell to Koichi Saegusa and Maya Yotsuba.