Above the mage

Chapter 210 Ellaheim

The Naga River is the largest river in the Xin Province of the Xin Duchy, with the largest flow and the widest drainage basin.

It runs through the Principality of Xinen and has dozens of tributaries; it is the mother river of the people of Xinen.

Saint Sien was built on the banks of the Naga River.

The source of the Naga River is Dandong Snow Mountain, the main peak of the Erwin Laya Mountains.

The Erwinray Mountains are the highest mountain range on the continent of Nolan, single-handedly isolating the northern icy storms.

On the calm river surface, the first light of dawn breaks, and a thin mist, like a veil, slowly swirls around.

A Coke carrying grain is struggling to move forward.

Kirk boats are constructed with overlapping planks, and the hull is made of sturdy and durable wood. They are typically equipped with a single mast, a square sail, and a rudder at the stern for course control.

Due to their large cargo capacity, Cokes are suitable for long-distance trade.

Kirk ships are broadly classified into two types: the Nordic type and the Essamel type.

The former is suitable for sailing in open sea areas.

The latter combines a flat-joint structure with a superior performance in shallow and complex waters, making it more suitable for navigation in inland waterways and coastal areas.

The Kirk ship in front of us is a typical Essamel-type Kirk.

Judging from its appearance, this transport ship is quite old, with the marks of time etched on its hull.

The hull below the waterline had been soaked and lost its original bright paint color, revealing a primitive and simple wooden color.

Time waits for no one, nor does it spare a ship.

The old ship, already nearing the end of its life, was still carrying a full load of grain, and was finding it somewhat unable to keep up.

On the deck of the old ship.

"Boss, the Herring is too old. It's been running for over twenty years and it can't go any further. It's time to get a new ship," a crew member complained to the captain, who was smoking a pipe.

"Change, change, change!" The boat captain was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, his body weathered by the river wind and sunshine.

Hearing the crew's complaints, he slapped one of them on the head with his thick hand and said disapprovingly, "The Aissa Melkirk can serve for more than thirty years, while the Herring has only been running for twenty-one years and seventy-one days. How come it can't run anymore!"

For people who make a living by boat, they may not remember their birth date or wedding day, but they will definitely remember the day their boat was launched.

"Boss, that's not how it works. Although we take good care of the Herring, we're still in the Ellaheim grain business. That place is like an ice cave, with strong undercurrents. In another year or two, the Herring won't be able to hold on."

The crew members were still discussing the matter earnestly.

The captain took a deep drag on his pipe, his gaze fixed on the peeling paint on the stern, yet in his eyes appeared a brand new, beautiful new Kirk.

How could he not want to get a new ship?

I wanted to change it last year, but my father got seriously ill and we had to use up the money we had saved to buy a new boat.

However, the market is doing well this year. It's only been a short month, and the money I've already earned is comparable to the entire previous year.

Moreover, business improved even more after the Holy Empire arrived.

Although the ship captain didn't know the specific reason, after the Principality of Sien became the Province of Sien, the merchants inexplicably became much more active and bolder.

From this perspective, being reclaimed by the Holy Empire is truly a great thing.

Next month... Next month I should be able to save up enough money again, and then I'll order a new boat.

"Boss, the rats stole some of the food in the hold last night," another crew member complained. "The Herring is just too old; it's full of rats, and we just can't find them."

"You're just being resentful. Even if you launched a brand new ship, let alone the Herring, it wouldn't be able to stop those cunning rats," the captain spat.

"Anyway, it's time to change ships," the crew member muttered, adding, "But these rats are especially cunning this time. They managed to find all the good stuff I hid in the cupboard. It's unbelievable."

Amidst the clamor of the crew and captain, the Herring, fully loaded with grain, sailed north.

Night fell.

Life on a ship with little entertainment usually quiets down quickly after dinner in the evening.

The same is true today.

The only sound was the occasional lapping of the river against the boats.

It was in this quiet that...

The sound of water splashing out was fleeting and wouldn't attract much attention.

A dark figure emerged silently from the water.

He reached out and grabbed the stern, and like a nimble cat, he climbed upwards in a counterintuitive way, without any external support, until he finally flipped onto the deck.

Then, the figure walked into the cargo ship's kitchen and dining room with practiced ease. After a moment of exploration, a large meal followed.

Then, the figure left the kitchen and restaurant and skillfully headed towards the warehouse where the grain was stored.

There was very little light on the ship; without a light at night, it was no different from walking in the dark.

But for Gao De, who has already adapted to seeing in the dark, the night has become his best cover.

He entered the grain warehouse, found the most comfortable and secluded spot, lay down, and prepared to rest.

"Master, are we thieves now?" A clear but questioning voice rang out.

"Shh," Gao De first gestured for the little ancestor to be quiet, then explained softly, "This should be called a transaction, because we will pay in the end."

"But we didn't contact them beforehand, so maybe they're not interested in doing this business?"

"Lady Flora is so clever," God praised.

"So I'm right, aren't I?"

"Lady Flora, there's one more thing you need to know," Gao De thought for a moment and then said to Flora, "When you're in the world of martial arts, you're not always in control of your own destiny."

"When you're in the world of martial arts, you're not always in control of your own destiny," Lady Flora thought for a moment, then nodded seriously. "Remember, we're on the river now, so we can do this, but we can't do it once we're on land, right?"

"Lady Flora can understand it that way," Gao De said nonchalantly.

Fifteen days ago, after retrieving the "Breath of the Wild" rune construct from the St. Sein City branch in Okenly, Goddard left St. Sein City immediately.

Wherever people walk, there are traces.

So how can we ensure that we are absolutely safe and can never be tracked down?

After thinking for a long time, Gaode finally chose a very special method.

He did not use any means of transportation, nor did he take the main road.

Instead, he chose a northbound cargo ship at the port of Saint Sein and swam under the ship while the crew wasn't looking.

Gao De first used the "Cat Claw Technique" to carve a dent in the bottom of the ship, then tied a rope to it, and finally used the "Repair Technique" to restore the dent, thus fixing the rope to the bottom of the ship.

The other end of the rope is tied to oneself.

In this way, he could travel silently alongside the ship.

It can be considered another way to travel by boat.

Of course, this is something only Gaode Maps can do.

At least among first-level mages, only a high-ranking mage should be able to do this.

The undercurrents in the river, the thin oxygen, and the possible presence of marine mammals are secondary concerns.

Learning to navigate with the current created by the boat to avoid injury is also a skill.

The most unbearable part is that as the boats travel north, the river water only gets colder and colder until it eventually reaches below freezing.

At that temperature, let alone soaking in it for a day, even falling into it for half an hour would likely result in freezing to death.

However, Gaode Maps has an adaptive feature.

This kind of environment, where the temperature gradually decreases and there is a clear process of change, is precisely the environment that [adaptive] can adapt to best.

[Cold resistance increased by 53%, sensitivity to water flow increased by 36%, and oxygen uptake in water increased by 34%].

[Increases vision in the dark by 36%].

This is the current adaptation progress shown by Gaode Maps.

The reason why the adaptation progress of cold resistance is far ahead of the other two is that Gaode successfully constructed the spell model of [Environmental Tolerance] on the third day after entering the water.

[Environmental Tolerance] (Protection System, 1 Ring):

Subjects protected by the tolerance environment will not be harmed by cold or hot environments and can stay comfortably in environments ranging from -50 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (-45.6 to 60 degrees Celsius), and their equipment is also protected.

After adding the "Environmental Tolerance" attribute to himself, he would often voluntarily dive into deeper waters to rapidly improve his cold tolerance through more extreme environments.

During the day, they follow the ship underwater while making progress in the "Adaptive" mode. At night, when it's quiet, they go aboard to eat and rest.

For Gaode, this special journey is both a journey and a period of self-cultivation.

No one will know where he went.

Even Gaode itself doesn't know its exact destination.

He only had a general direction:

north.

Yes, it's the isolated North that Professor Mosen mentioned in geography class.

What Gaode Maps values ​​is precisely this "isolation from the world".

Firstly, due to its isolation and environment, the Northern Territory possesses many high-level magical plants and leyline resources that are rarely seen outside the region.

In Gaode's view, this was simply the best hunting ground for him to obtain the source.

With enough Origin Points, and by allocating skill points to his spells through Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, Gao De is confident that he can create a significant gap between himself and other mages of the same level.

Another point is that he and Flora both need to find a perfect spot to plant trees.

According to Flora, Yogg-Sarah's growth is not dependent on the environment.

Not only is it not picky about the external environment, it can also transform the nearby land into a magical spiritual land to plant more trees.

This means that the more desolate and extreme the environment, the more suitable it is for planting trees.

Planting trees in a bustling area carries the risk of enemies coming after you with the motto "capture the king first, kill the man first."

The spiritual land itself, after being transformed by Yugathira, is enough to attract countless covetous eyes from the outside world.

Besides, in a truly prosperous place, where would there be room for him to plant trees?

Gao De did not hold a title, let alone a fiefdom.

Even if there were trees, he wouldn't dare plant them on his fiefdom lightly.

If a country can change hands in an hour, what about a mere fiefdom?

After careful consideration, Gaode concluded that there were actually only two optimal locations for planting trees:

Terra, a continent dominated by deserts;

The North, a land isolated from the world, with a harsh environment and a land of cruel and unforgiving ice storms.

The former, needless to say, is not much different from the desert of my previous life:

In the desert, apart from oases near water sources, most other places are uninhabited, with vast stretches of useless sand.

The latter is similar, with vast, sparsely populated, and extremely cold lands that no one has ever set foot on.

Both share the characteristic of having extreme and harsh environments, which are enough to isolate most people with good intentions.

Moreover, if Gaode doesn't actively expose the locations where he planted trees, how many people would be able to find them?

As for which one to choose, the answer is simple: choose whichever is closer.

Part of the territory of the province of Cien borders the Irwinaya Mountains, which isolate the northern snow and wind.

However, traveling from the Principality of Cien to the continent of Terra would require traversing most of the Nolan continent, which is impractical.

Therefore, Gaode's only option was to find a suitable place to plant trees in the North.

The usual way to enter the northern territory is by sea.

However, there is no coastline in the territory of Xinen. To reach the sea, one needs to cross westward into the Plantagenet Dynasty. This process is not only extremely time-consuming, but also too easy to leave traces.

Furthermore, even in the Plantagenet dynasty, finding a ship to enter the North was not an easy task.

Therefore, this method was directly rejected by Gaode Maps.

That leaves only one option: hike across the Irvine Mountains into the North.

For others, the Irwinayas are an absolute barrier.

Extremely cold, high altitude, and thin air.

In short, a host of negative factors.

However, for Gaode, the extreme factors that isolate outsiders, such as the Irwin Laya Mountains, can be gradually adapted to through [Adaptive], and then the insurmountable barrier can be turned into a smooth road.

There was no map, and no one to ask.

Therefore, Gaode Maps does not know its exact location.

He could only use the "Northward Pointing Technique" occasionally to confirm that the cargo ship was heading north.

However, Gaode Maps can determine that the destination is almost reached.

Because after crossing a certain dividing line, both the temperature in the river water and the temperature on the river surface begin to drop sharply in a precipitous manner.

Moreover, underwater currents are becoming more frequent, and even floating ice is appearing.

We are clearly approaching the Irwinayas.

Fortunately, he had mastered the "Tolerance" skill beforehand; otherwise, even with the "Adaptability" skill, he wouldn't have been able to adapt to such a sudden drop in water temperature.

However, it is visible to the naked eye that the cold resistance, which had almost stopped improving, has started to increase at an extremely rapid rate.

On the fourth day after the water temperature plummeted, the 21-year-old Kirk finally sailed into a small dock lined with fishing boats.

Upon arriving safely at their destination, the crew on Old Kirk breathed a sigh of relief and then began unloading the cargo.

After several hours of work and unloading, the ship docked at the pier and the crew disembarked.

They were going to a pub in town for a few glasses of dark beer and then get some rest for the night.

The days are very short here.

Not long after the crew left, it became completely dark.

The number of people on the dock gradually decreased, and it soon became quiet.

At this moment, Gao De emerged from the water again and arrived at the empty old Kirk boat.

He first went to the crew cabin, found a set of warm clothes, quickly changed into them, and then left five shiny Sean gold coins on the table, which included the cost of the clothes and the food expenses for the past few days on the ship.

Flora blinked her "big" eyes the whole time as Gao De changed his clothes.

"Isn't Lady Flora cold?" Gao De asked curiously as he changed his clothes.

"No, Yugathira isn't afraid of the cold, so Lady Flora isn't afraid of the cold either."

"However, I like the new clothes."

Gaode remained outwardly calm and did not dare to respond.

Don't let Flora's small size fool you; she doesn't need much fabric to make a new outfit.

But those in the know understand that the clothing on "figures" is often much more expensive than regular clothes.

The main question is, where can I find artisans who make clothes for figurines?

"snort!"

With his ability to see in the dark, God could clearly see that Flora had produced another small green leaf in her hand and was gesturing rapidly with it.

"What is Lady Flora humming?" Gao De asked somewhat guiltily.

"Hmph, mage, you're playing dumb. Lady Flora will remember this grudge."

After changing clothes, Gaode disembarked and entered the city to which the dock belongs.

This is a small city with an environment similar to Iceland in my previous life. The streets are dimly lit, there are very few people, and for most of the year, the daytime lasts only 4-6 hours.

The buildings in this city are relatively low, made of the most primitive stone, with almost no decoration, and are heavy, rugged and wind-resistant.

This is a city located at the foot of Dandong Snow Mountain in the Irvine Range.

here it is:

Ellaheim.

(End of this chapter)