Above the mage

Chapter 223 Reunion

Gaode's actions were swift and decisive.

The visuals in this scene are just too familiar.

It reminded him of the scene of him "walking the dog" in his previous life.

As the "lotus" entered his stomach, a refreshing sensation instantly erupted within him, causing Gao De to lose all interest in complaining and instead focus on experiencing what this magical plant was giving him.

The coolness brings with it a gentle yet immense energy.

After circulating through Gao De's body, this energy surged upwards at an astonishing speed.

Finally, they all rushed to Gaode's left eye, quickly merging into the eyeball and surrounding blood vessels, muscles, and even the orbital skeleton.

The eyes are one of the more sensitive parts of the body.

Upon being suddenly exposed to the cold, Gaode instinctively covered his left eye.

Fortunately, the process did not last long.

About ten seconds later.

The coolness dissipated.

Gao De slightly raised his head.

At this moment, in the darkness, only a ring of deep blue fluorescence could be seen around the pupil of his left eye.

Its appearance was exactly the same as the light emitted by the demonic plant itself, making it seem incredibly mystical.

这 是

Gao De was surprised by the strange sensation coming from his left eye, but he couldn't figure out exactly what changes had occurred to him.

He subconsciously looked around.

The next moment, Gaode discovered the change.

His vision suddenly became twofold!

The right eye still sees only the surface of the world.

However, in the field of vision of the left eye, one can vaguely see some extremely tiny things, as if one has macro vision.

For example, with the ability to see in the dark combined with the vision of his left eye, Gaode discovered some things that he had not noticed before.

In a corner of the cave, probably where the snow leopard used to "dining," there were some skeletons.

Gao De noticed it as soon as he entered the cave, but didn't look at it closely.

But now, he discovered that among those withered bones, there was actually a single black barley seed.

At such extreme temperatures of minus fifty or sixty degrees Celsius, an ordinary barley seed should have long since lost its vitality and then dried up and turned into dust.

But for some reason, beneath the pitch-black husk, this barley seed had a barely perceptible hint of green.

This indicates that it is still alive and has a chance to sprout and grow.

Subconsciously, Gao De used his magic hand to pick up the barley seed and put it into his pocket.

I don't know why, I just felt that such a miracle of life was worth taking away and letting it come into being.

Then, after doing all this, Gao De belatedly realized:

How could my left eye vision have become so drastic?

Of course, this has both advantages and disadvantages.

Because of the incoordination between his left and right eyes, Gao De began to feel slightly dizzy after looking at it for a while.

We can't keep doing this, can we? Wouldn't we have to learn from the pirates and cover up one eye?

Gaode doesn't want to be a one-eyed dragon.

He tried to control the strange sensation coming from his left eye.

Sure enough, it was controllable.

Under his conscious control, the strange sensation vanished instantly, and his left eye's vision returned to normal.

With a thought, a strange feeling surged forth again, and the macro vision reappeared.

After trying it two or three times and confirming that it was a permanent ability, Gao De couldn't help but feel a little excited.

For most people, macro vision is just a decent skill.

But for him, there is another extremely important role: rune crafting technology!

"Thank you for your guidance, Lady Flora." He expressed his gratitude to Flora.

If it weren't for Flora's suggestion, he wouldn't have dared to swallow a magical plant of unknown origin, much less acquire this ability that was extremely helpful in creating rune constructs.

"Lady Flora is wise."

"That's right," Gao De confirmed.

Who can say she's not smart?

"However, we need to get out of here as soon as possible," Gao De added.

One can imagine how furious the snow leopard would be when it returned from its hunt and saw its "big treasure" reduced to nothing but stalks.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to flee.

Gaode was also very decisive.

Before running away, he first threw out several small acid balls with the effect of "Acid Splash+" in the cave.

These acids will remain for a day at his discretion.

Of course, this was not a trap set for the returning snow leopard.

Such an ugly trap, yet no one would fall for it.

The reason he did this was because Gao De knew that these predator-type leyline creatures mostly had an extremely strong sense of smell and were very likely to track him down by the faint scent he left in the cave.

The strong sulfur smell produced by the acid can dispel the odor he left behind.

After doing all this, Gaode left the cave.

He did not choose to return the way he came.

Previously, the snow leopard had come down the mountain to hunt, and if it returned by the same route, it was very likely to encounter it.

Gao De chose to use the [Cat Claw Technique] to first cross the cliff, and then cast the [Water Creation Technique] at the very top of the cliff.

Clear, pure water flowed out, and at the extreme low temperature, it quickly froze into ice, covering and burying the ice cracks he had created on the cliff face.

After confirming that no traces had been left, Gao De cast [Ice Skating] and moved away from the cave at an extremely fast speed.

Under the effect of [Ice Skating], his movements will not leave obvious footprints on the ground.

Under the cold winds of Dandong's snow-capped peaks, even the faint footprints would soon be buried and disappear.

The duration of the [ice skating] technique is a full hour.

Gaode never dared to stop for a moment.

What was a difficult terrain for him was not too difficult for the "Snow Leopard," though it was not exactly flat ground.

This means that its area of ​​operation and reconnaissance will be extremely vast.

Using the snow leopard's den as the center, only by making the radius large enough can the chances of being found by the snow leopard be minimized.

The boldness during the raid does not affect Gaode's caution after the raid.

He didn't even consider the dangers of traveling at night.

Once the duration of the "Ice Skating" skill expired, Gaode reapplied the "Ice Skating" skill to himself.

Two hours later, Gao De finally stopped, panting heavily.

Traveling in such harsh conditions, while carrying a considerable load, would still consume a great deal of his stamina, even with the buffs of [Ice Skating] and [Environmental Tolerance+].

By now, Gaode's physical strength has been nearly exhausted.

"If it's a second-ring mage, once they master the [Enhancement Attribute], the weight problem won't be so troublesome," Gao De couldn't help but think.

One of the spell effects of [Enhancement Attributes] is to greatly increase a person's carrying capacity.

However, [Enhance Attributes] is a second-level spell, and there are no first-level spells that can enhance carrying capacity.

Having not slept all night and rushing around, Gaode needs a rest now, no matter what.

He found a small, recessed slope and ate some beef jerky he had brought with him.

To be honest, at this temperature, beef jerky can no longer be called beef jerky; the texture is not much different from ice cubes.

However, unable to find fuel to start a fire, Gao De had no choice but to grit his teeth and force the food into his mouth.

He tried to bite it twice, but found it too tough to chew, so he gave up.

At this point, the various inconveniences caused by the extreme low temperatures finally began to appear.

The first issue is food.

Even water created by the [Water Creation Technique] will freeze instantly, making it undrinkable.

It must be heated before it can be made into potable water.

Needless to say, food that isn't cooked is no different from ice.

Starting a fire became the most important task.

Fortunately, the [Spark Technique] can solve the problem of ignition.

Even in temperatures below -60 degrees Celsius, the [Spark Technique] can still ensure successful ignition of fuel.

However, Gaode currently has no magic to solve the fuel problem.

Therefore, he could only search for and collect the dry branches scattered along the road as fuel.

The problem is that at this altitude, vegetation becomes almost invisible.

Without trees, there are no dead branches to collect.

At this point, Gaode could only use the charcoal it had purchased in Ellaheim before setting off as fuel.

However, there wasn't much charcoal.

Because he can't handle too much traffic, he now uses it sparingly, and generally doesn't want to use Gaode Maps much.

In addition to that, there's the issue of rest.

After passing the halfway point of Dandong Snow Peak, it becomes increasingly difficult to find a suitable place to stay, and as the temperature drops, it becomes increasingly difficult to fall asleep.

Fortunately, the latter problem is easily solved with adaptive design.

Similarly, altitude sickness caused by the sharp decrease in oxygen content in the air as altitude increases also disappears under the dual effects of [environmental tolerance+] and [adaptation].

Otherwise, let alone strenuous exercise like mountain climbing, even lying still would be difficult.

After taking out his sleeping bag and unfolding it, Gaode crawled inside, ready to take a short nap.

To be honest, at this temperature, sleeping bags are almost useless.

But at least it can still block the wind and provide some psychological comfort, so Gaode Maps didn't say it was being discarded.

"Lady Flora."

"Um?"

"I have to ask you for help again."

"Hmm"

Flora flapped her little wings and took flight.

It was because of her watching over him that Gaode could sleep so peacefully.

It's Flora who has had a tough time.

How did things turn out this way?

Flora thought about it, and it seemed that it all started the day she first discovered that "bad guy".

When I woke up again, it was already broad daylight.

Gaode's stomach was rumbling.

In fact, he was awakened by hunger.

He urgently needs to obtain calories and energy through food.

Without any further thought of "saving money," Gao De immediately took out some more charcoal from the remaining amount, lit it, set up a small pot, and cooked himself a bowl of "beef soup" with beef jerky.

After a sip of hot soup, I felt completely refreshed, and my physical condition and spirit were greatly restored.

Gao De then took out a map from his pocket, carefully checked the location, and confirmed the direction using the [Northward Path] technique. He couldn't help but sigh.

"Master, you seem very annoying."

"yes."

"What's wrong?"

"I was in such a hurry to escape last night that I didn't have time to check my location, which is why I don't know exactly where I am now."

Gao De gazed into the distance, where the endless expanse of white snow seemed to look the same. He pointed ahead and said, "I can only confirm that we are heading in this direction, but if we are unlucky, we may have to take a long detour and waste a lot of time."

"Can't understand."

"I'm lost."

"Isn't there a map?"

"A map is only useful if you know where you are."

"You're not smart."

"Lady Flora is wise. Lady Flora, please tell me how to get there."

"Lady Flora is not Old Ma."

"Neither do I."

An old horse knows the way, but neither the man nor Flora is an old horse.

So neither of them knew the way.

Fortunately, with the help of the "Northward Guidance Technique," at least we can ensure that the general direction is not wrong.

After the two continued their arduous journey in the predetermined direction for several hours, Gao De's eyes suddenly lit up.

At the intersection of two massive ice blocks ahead, Gao De spotted some scattered traces of human activity:

It was clearly a man-made fire pit, along with some slightly black snow dust.

Upon seeing those marks, Gao De was overjoyed.

He never imagined that one day he would be so happy to discover traces of human activity.

The dark snowflakes have not yet been buried.

This means that someone stayed here not long ago.

As for who it is, it is most likely Du Wei, who went ahead of time.

Even if it isn't, it doesn't matter.

Since traces of human activity can be seen, it means that his "frantic escape" last night did not cause him to stray too far from the North Mountain route, and he is now back on track.

The unknown is the most terrifying thing.

Now that it was basically confirmed that they were back on the right track, Gao De's tense mind immediately relaxed.

The fact that Xue Chen was still alive meant that the other party hadn't been gone for too long. A thought struck him, and he decided to catch up with Du Wei in one fell swoop.

Just thinking about the tone and confidence with which the other party proposed the competition to reach the top, Gao De really wanted to see if Du Wei could still maintain his usual "cold" expression when he realized that he had caught up with him.

Half a day later, as expected, Gao De saw Du Wei lighting a campfire in a small cave formed by ice.

He had already set up the pot, and the broth was bubbling inside, with some spices even floating on the surface.

Such "arrogant" behavior made Gaode feel envious.

With the help of magic, Du Wei doesn't need to worry about fuel.

Therefore, he did not need to carry charcoal, and could allocate more of his load to other necessities such as food.

Meanwhile, Du Wei, who was preparing food, also noticed Gao De slowly approaching at the same time.

His previously expressionless face suddenly changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure under his control.

Du Wei forcibly suppressed his shock and looked at Gao De, "calmly" commenting, "You're pretty fast; you can barely keep up with me."

How did this guy do that?!

He clearly hadn't even mastered ice skating at the beginning, yet he was able to keep up with him in climbing the Dandong Snow Mountain, even though he was well-prepared.

Du Wei still felt he couldn't accept this fact.

Gao De was about to say something.

Awooo!

Amidst the howling, cold wind, a ferocious and brutal roar suddenly rang out.

Gao De was startled and turned around to look in the direction from which the sound came.

The snow piled up not far away suddenly burst open.

A lithe figure was leaping towards them.

It has flawless white fur, a slender body, and lightning-fast movement.

It was that "snow leopard".

At this moment, Gaode reunited with his only two "acquaintances" on the snow-capped peak in Dandong!

(End of this chapter)