Above the mage

Chapter 225 Evolution and Ascension

Just as Gaode had predicted, the later the climb of the snow-capped mountain was when he exerted the most effort.

As the altitude continued to rise, the temperature on Dandong Snow Peak gradually began to drop slower than his body could adapt.

Therefore, the journey to the summit, which should have become increasingly difficult, was actually "the hardest part was the beginning" for Gaode Maps, and it became easier and easier as it went on.

On this day, Gao De caught up with Du Wei, who had just set up his tent, and then discovered that the guy got up even earlier the next day. Only then did Gao De consciously slow down a little.

Otherwise, if things continue like this, this stubborn and arrogant guy might have to set off before dawn.

The improvement in cold resistance that the body brings through the "adaptive" mechanism is ongoing.

This continuous positive feedback from the body fueled Gaode's unprecedented enthusiasm for mountain climbing.

They even felt that taking the extra distance to climb to the summit in order to "compete" with Du Wei seemed like the right choice.

After all, the higher the altitude, the lower the temperature, and the more obvious the promotion of [adaptive] capabilities.

[Adaptive]: Cold resistance increased by 94%, oxygen uptake increased by 61%, and resistance to strong light increased by 23%.

As the cold resistance value approached 100%, Gao De began to feel a mysterious energy brewing within his body, filling him with a sense of lightness and comfort.

Although no one told him, Gao De could vaguely sense that this inexplicable energy would begin to erupt when his cold resistance reached 100%.

Then, it brought about some amazing changes in his body.

This made Gaode even more excited.

However, the speed at which "adaptive" functions change depends on the environment, not on Gaode's mood.

Therefore, no matter how eager he is, his cold resistance will not improve faster.

It even started to slow down.

Because its cold resistance has improved to this extent, Dandong Xuefeng is no longer considered a harsh environment by Gaode Maps.

In other words, he has almost adapted to the environment here.

This couldn't go on. With a "treasure mountain" right in front of them but unable to be excavated, Gaode decided to take initiative and actively stimulate the improvement of his body's cold resistance.

As usual, Flora flapped her small wings and floated in the low air, flying ahead to scout the way for Gaode.

She seemed tireless; after flying ahead for a while, she would flap her wings and run back to report the situation to Gaode.

There's a small hill ahead.

There is a stone.

There's a worthless blade of grass.

There's a hole in it.

"have"

Flora's reports were always meticulous, covering every detail, useful or not, and she poured it all out to Gaode.

Gaode Maps patiently responded to each and every one of them.

"If it's just a small hill, there's no need to take a detour."

"Stone, what kind of stone?"

"Just ignore the worthless weeds."

"Be careful of the pit, don't fall in."

"Lady Flora can fly, so she won't fall in."

"Master, you should be careful not to fall in."

"Master, how did you fall in?"

"Master, are you planting your own seed?"

While listening to Flora's soft, rambling voice, Gaode manipulated his mage hand to brush away the snowflakes and cover himself with his outer garment.

Even with such improved cold resistance, Gao De still couldn't help but shiver after removing his warm clothes and exposing his skin to the ice and snow.

However, the already slowed-down adaptation and improvement suddenly accelerated again.

Cold resistance increased by 94.1%...94.2%...94.5%.

As Gao De felt his cold resistance approaching 100%, his mood became excited as his cold resistance increased.

The cold resistance increased to 97.3% on the second day.

On the third day, the rate of increase slowed slightly compared to the previous day, but still reached 98.6%.

On the fourth day, the improvement of [Adaptive] approached stagnation again after the cold resistance reached 99%.

On the fifth day, the improvement in cold resistance still stopped at 99%.

Gaode understood that it had reached a so-called "bottleneck period," and to break through it, it would need to take drastic measures.

We need more extreme weather, such as the strong winds or heavy snow that we experienced before.

And Gaode was also very lucky.

On the third day after he was stuck at a bottleneck and had the idea of ​​"taking drastic measures," the "weather forecast" of the [Druid Tricks] no longer showed a golden ball that was a sign of clear skies, but a tornado.

This means that tomorrow's weather will be the windy weather that climbers least want to see.

The higher the altitude, the greater the impact of strong winds.

Because the higher the altitude, the greater the wind speed, and the more pronounced the feeling of cold.

Faced with strong winds, Du Wei wisely chose to take a break and wait for the bad weather to pass.

Then, amidst Du Wei's astonished gaze, which gradually turned into one of "looking at a madman," Gao De voluntarily left the sheltered temporary camp and rushed into the swirling snow dust stirred up by the fierce cold wind.

His figure quickly disappeared into the wind and snow.

"A madman." Du Wei was stunned, and finally uttered these two words as his evaluation.

The biting cold brought by the strong winds caused Gaode Maps' cold resistance, which had been stagnant for three days, to begin to change and improve once again.

99.1% 99.2%

Gaode is certain that, with the help of strong winds, it will be able to break the 100% mark today.

Gaode is also full of anticipation about what will happen after this.

From the moment he entered the snowstorm until now, he began to feel the energy that had been accumulating within him, like spring water flowing from a spring, constantly gushing out from his body and flowing to every part of his body, bringing a warm feeling.

The outside of the body is a constant, biting cold, while the inside of the body is a continuous source of warmth.

The alternation between hot and cold creates a rather unpleasant sensation.

In this strange state, the increase in cold resistance silently reached 99.9%, and after a period of stagnation, it silently surpassed that number again.

Your cold resistance has increased by 100.1%.

A wondrous and indescribable experience occurred in Gaode's perception.

In an instant, Gao De felt as if the world had become much brighter.

Within his body, a warm current surged forth like a volcanic eruption, wave after wave, violently washing over his flesh and blood.

This feeling lasted for a good ten seconds before some inexplicable information surfaced in Gaode's mind:

[Your body's cold resistance has reached the maximum limit under normal conditions, and you are adapting to evolve into a primary Ice-Blessed Body.]

[After evolving into a basic Ice-Blessed Body, your resistance to ice elemental damage increases by 11%.]

[No longer affected by the negative effects of Ice Element spells of level 3 and below].

Natural selection, survival of the fittest.

What is the next stage of adaptation?

It is evolution.

Now, with its rapid adaptation capabilities, Gaode has completed its first physical evolution.

The initial Ice Body obtained from this evolution has two abilities, both of which are evolutionary abilities related to cold resistance.

The former is equivalent to an increase in ice elemental resistance, while the latter can greatly improve his combat ability.

At least at the third ring level and below, the power of ice elemental spells is generally not comparable to that of other types of spells, mainly due to their numerous negative effects.

For example, the freezing damage caused by cryotherapy can further lead to slowed movement in the patient.

After evolving into the rudimentary Ice Body, the already low power of the [Freezing Ray] will be reduced by a portion, and the "Slow Down" effect will also be lost.

More importantly, there is the word "Beginner" before Ice Blessed Body.

Obviously, after the beginner level, there must be intermediate and advanced levels.

This means that this is not the limit of cold resistance evolution.

The thought of the intermediate and advanced Ice Body that would follow filled Gao De with even more motivation.

Perhaps once he truly possesses a high-level Ice Body, low-level ice elemental spells will be no different from mosquito bites to him?

Amidst the raging snowstorm, Gao De let out a long, triumphant roar.

When Gaode emerged from the snowstorm, covered in snowflakes, and returned to his lodgings, it was already noon.

Outside his lodgings, he casually and naturally took off his outer clothes, shook off the snow, and sat down by the campfire as if he were in his own living room, without any change in expression.

The current low temperature feels almost the same as room temperature to Gaode Maps users.

If it weren't for the need to avoid being too unconventional and causing too much distress to someone, Gaode would even have preferred to throw away its cumbersome outer shell altogether.

Du Wei watched as Gao De completed the entire sequence of actions, unsure how to describe his feelings.

In fact, at the beginning, he never thought that he would have so many ties with Gaode.

Because of the sensitivity of his own status, when Gao De knocked on his door, Du Wei's first reaction was whether Gao De had ulterior motives and was coming for him.

Even after it was confirmed that Gaode was really just a passerby—after all, no one would send such a weak mage to approach him—he never thought he would have any other interaction with Gaode.

After all, Gaode's level is really too low compared to his.

If it weren't for family tradition, a nobody like Gao De would never have the chance to speak to him, let alone meet him in his entire life, let alone even observe him from afar.

I don't know if it's because the environment in the snow-capped mountains is too harsh and monotonous, or because I haven't let go of my burdens and interacted with people my own age for a long time, or perhaps it's because...

In short, without Du Wei's understanding, he inexplicably came into contact with Gao De in various ways.

At first, it was just his competitive spirit, but later it became somewhat out of control.

Even though the other party "saved" his life, given his status, there were many ways he could have expressed his gratitude. However, what he did in the end was to propose a competition with the other party to reach the top.

This guy is obviously a newbie, but I can't shake him off. There's nothing wrong with comparing ourselves. That's how Du Wei convinced himself.

After that, it became a matter of chance, so it wasn't a big deal to let the other person stay and have some food. After all, they had saved my life.

We've been eating and sleeping together, so it doesn't seem wrong for him to say we're friends.

And so, two people who would never have crossed paths became each other's only "friends" in the moment, one unaware and the other tacitly agreeing in self-deception.

Now, Du Wei discovers once again that his new friend is not as simple as he seems.

Although he realized that God was not as simple as he thought when he saw Flora.

"You're a madman," Du Wei said, looking at Gao De.

Gao De smiled shyly, "Actually, it's really fun. You should try it if you don't believe me."

"My brain isn't broken yet," Du Wei said calmly, glancing at Gao De.

"In about three more days, we'll reach the summit," he said after a while.

Reaching the summit signifies the end of this journey.

At that time, one of them continued north towards the northern border, while the other headed south to return along the same route.

"It's good that I ran into you," Gao De said gratefully.

In the days that followed, food and fuel were almost impossible to find. If it weren't for Du Wei being able to "hitch a ride" with, the climbing journey would have been much more difficult.

More importantly, Du Wei's early departure each time was equivalent to checking out the road ahead for him and eliminating many potential dangers.

Otherwise, encountering ley line creatures in such a difficult terrain would be extremely dangerous.

Du Wei did not speak.

This strong wind lasted for two full days before gradually subsiding.

Once the weather returned to normal, Gaode and Duwei set off again.

The rest of the journey proceeded without any further incidents or setbacks.

Winter solstice 21st.

The sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

The cold air at high altitudes makes it almost impossible to breathe.

On the rugged, almost vertical ice wall, two figures, one in front of the other, climbed upwards like spiders, their speed slow but steady.

"Good luck, mage!" Flora cautiously peeked her head out from the pocket of God's chest pocket.

Although she could fly, the mountaintop was steep and cold, and a strong gust of wind could easily blow her away, so Flora stayed obediently in God's pocket.

Gao De pulled his fingers, transformed by the [Cat Claw Technique], out of the ice wall, took a slight breath, and then steadily inserted them into another gap.

Du Wei maintained a safe distance of two body lengths above him.

At this altitude, each breath they took was accompanied by a thick, almost icy white mist that surrounded them.

Looking down, all that could be seen was a vast expanse of clouds obscuring everything below, like an endless ocean.

Looking up, all you could see was a thick fog.

The mountaintop is right in front of us.

With renewed vigor, the two climbed over the last section of ice and finally reached the summit.

The long journey is finally coming to a temporary end.

At that moment, the sun was rising above the horizon.

Golden light bathed the entire snow-capped mountain, turning the summit and surrounding scenery into a magnificent spectacle.

Looking out into the distance, the mountains of the Irwinlaya range appear and disappear in the morning light, and the sea of ​​clouds surges at your feet, making you feel as if you are above the clouds in the sky.

"Mage~~"

"Um?"

"So beautiful~~~"

"I will climb to the summit and look down upon all the mountains below."

"Can't understand."

"Then you're not smart."

"?"

Two adults and one child, three people in total, gazed into the distance from the mountaintop for a long time, until they had seen enough of the scenery.

As far as the eye could see, there was no mountain higher than where they were now.

It's like being on the roof of the world.

A broadened perspective naturally leads to a broader mind.

The hardships of the journey, including wind, frost, rain, and snow, became the spice for appreciating the scenery.

"It's time to go down the mountain." After a long while, Du Wei suddenly spoke up.

"Yes," Gao De nodded, and casually said, "If you meet him again in the future, don't forget who he is."

"Of course, we are friends." Du Wei looked at Gao De quietly and solemnly assured him.

He spoke sincerely, but what he was really thinking was that once they left this mountain, they would probably never meet again in this lifetime.

"Then we'll take our leave here for now," Gao De said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"Farewell." Flora mimicked God's gesture of clasping her hands in greeting.

"Here, take these." Du Wei thought for a moment and then stuffed all the remaining food he had into Gao De's hands.

"And you?"

Du Wei casually replied, "There's a way."

"See you again someday."

After saying his last words, Du Wei gently stroked the ring on his right index finger.

It was a ring with interwoven silver lines, and it looked unusual at first glance.

At that moment, the ring suddenly shone brightly.

A powerful force condensed in the air.

Those silver lines instantly detached from the ring, transforming into streaks of silver light that swiftly outlined and combined in the air.

In an instant, these silver lines transformed into a complex magic circle, enveloping Du Wei's body.

The next moment, the space around Du Wei began to distort, forming a rotating vortex.

A moment later, Du Wei's figure became blurry, until after one last distortion, it disappeared completely.

As Du Wei's figure disappeared, the light from the magic array also quickly dissipated.

The snow-capped peaks have returned to tranquility.

(End of this chapter)