Chapter 101: Vivian on the Back
Soren did not walk very fast.
It took the group a whole day to travel only thirty to forty kilometers. Their speed significantly decreased upon entering the forest, and it was estimated they would need two to three more days to reach the Elf Kingdom. Vivian kept her little head hidden behind Soren, but her face was still red from the cold wind. Aladdin had long lost the energy to talk and silently followed behind. The only ones who seemed relatively relaxed were Soren and Gloria; the former had a remarkable physique with 20 points of extraordinary constitution, while the latter benefitted from spell effects.
In the evening.
They camped in a wind-sheltered valley. Little Vivian stretched her limbs after getting down and then helped Soren set up the tent. However, being small in stature and strength, she was mostly just tagging along. The halfling plopped down on a rock and, after catching his breath for a while, finally got to work. They built a fire using relatively dry firewood, and some level 0 spell tricks came in handy at that moment, quickly bringing warmth to their surroundings.
Soren sat by the fire roasting meat, while Gloria quietly rested nearby.
The halfling seemed to have regained a bit of energy, but he appeared somewhat silent, frying mushrooms in a flat pan. Vivian stood behind Soren, giving him a shoulder massage. The little girl diligently tried her best, but unfortunately, her small strength barely made a difference. When she saw Gloria, who also looked tired, she quickly went over to help her as well. The halfling, who was happily expecting more massage from her, was sadly ignored by Vivian.
The temperature dropped rapidly.
It was already close to zero degrees. Soren stretched his muscles and then took off his clothes.
The expressions of the two people nearby showed signs of shock, especially Gloria, who looked at him as if he were an idiot. Soren simply smiled and waved to Vivian, indicating that he was fine. He then walked into the heavy snow and let the ice and snow cover his body directly. Finally, except for his head, he was almost completely wrapped in snow. Gloria and the halfling’s mouths turned into O shapes, nearly exclaiming if he had gone mad.
“This can help train resistance to cold,” Soren explained, his face slightly blue mainly due to freezing.
With 20 points of extraordinary constitution, he could actively train some low-level resistance specialties. In the future, going to higher-level areas, especially in some parts of the Abyss, the degree of cold would be much worse than here, so this was just a way to prepare in advance. The extraordinary constitution had adaptability, and in special environments, it was highly likely to master corresponding extra specialties.
Half an hour quickly passed.
When Soren’s lips turned slightly blue, a row of data appeared:
“Training Successful.”
“You received 12 points of frostbite, you developed a slight resistance to cold environments!…”
“You gained the information for the [Weak Cold Resistance] specialty.”
…………
“Hu hu hu!”
Soren pushed aside the snow and ran back to the fire to warm up, simultaneously pulling out a healing potion. In a low voice, he said, “You don’t need to worry about me; I haven’t gone mad. This is just a special training method, and I just happened to meet the training conditions. Some professionists also train in extreme environments; I just happened to meet that condition.”
12 points of frostbite.
For an ordinary person, that would probably mean freezing to death; after all, being buried in snow for half an hour isn’t a joke.
“Do you want me to cast a resistance enhancement on you?” Gloria looked at Soren with a strange expression, truly disagreeing with his self-abuse. However, she had heard of some professionists training in extreme conditions; most were monks, and she had never heard of wanderers needing to face extreme environments unclothed.
Soren shook his head and slowly said, “No need. That would negate the training effect.”
After a while.
Soren drank a bowl of hot soup to ensure he retained heat, then stripped down to just his shorts and once again covered himself in snow.
The halfling couldn’t help but twitch his lips, mumbling, “What a madman.”
Night fell.
Soren had covered himself in snow four times in a row, and the accumulated frostbite had made his face pale and looked quite weak. Vivian, feeling sorry for him, urged him not to do this, but he waved his hand, saying, “It’s fine. I can still hold on. It won’t delay tomorrow’s journey.”
“What a madman.” Gloria had a complex expression. However, Soren’s self-abuse still shocked her.
He truly was a stubborn and crazy guy.
Soren once again covered himself in snow. When his accumulated frostbite approached 60 points, the prompt finally changed.
“Training Successful.”
“You received 6 points of frostbite, you developed a slight resistance to cold environments!…”
“You successfully mastered the [Weak Cold Resistance] specialty.”
…………
It worked.
As the data displayed, Soren immediately felt a warm current surge within him, and his body seemed to slightly adapt to the cold.
Even though he was covered in snow, it didn’t feel as piercingly cold as it initially had.
“Weak Cold Resistance [Personal Specialty]: In the process of resisting the cold, you gradually adapted to this environment. You will adapt to most cold climates, and your resistance to special cold environments has also increased. From now on, you are immune to any cold damage below 1 point; any cold damage from spells or spell-like attacks will be reduced by 1 point.” [Prerequisites: Constitution above 16 points.]
Soren’s face quickly regained some color, and he used a spell trick to dry himself entirely before putting his clothes back on.
The change happened in an instant, leaving the other two staring in awe; initially, Soren was so frozen that he was stiff and pale, but now he looked completely fine. The halfling’s fingers twitched, muttering, “Is that really possible?”
Aladdin’s expression also revealed excitement, but he ultimately chose to give up.
He feared he would freeze to death.
Previously, Soren had swum in an ice river for several days to master the [Weak Cold Resistance]. Now with his extraordinary physique and regeneration specialty, he could challenge higher difficulty training methods. This specialty becomes harder to improve as one progresses; to enhance it to [Weak Cold Resistance], one would need to enter some special geographical environments. Conservatively estimating, over several hundred points of frostbite damage would be required to train it up, and without a priest to help with healing, it would be challenging to succeed in a short time.
Being immune to 1 point of cold damage may not seem like much, but it could save one’s life in a critical moment. At higher levels, it becomes particularly effective against various spells. Many northern warriors have weak cold resistance due to their natural living environment, which is also why Gloria is more resilient to the cold.
The hardest resistance to train is fire resistance because one cannot directly roast fire to train.
Slow damage is required to produce a training effect, which allows the body to gradually adapt and develop corresponding resistance abilities. Soren once trained fire resistance in volcanic environments for a long time. He only advanced after falling into the lava. The easiest resistance to train is toxin resistance, but the training process is painful and takes longer, and Soren hasn’t found time to train.
…………
By the next day.
Soren was clearly much more relaxed, and the biting cold wind had no effect on him anymore.
The halfling, possibly inspired by Soren’s example, attempted to resist the cold, but he didn’t dare to be as crazy as Soren. He only wore clothes while digging through the snow and came out with shivering lips. However, it did have some effect; at least he gradually adapted to the cold climate, no longer finding it as difficult as at the beginning. If he wanted to comprehend the [Weak Cold Resistance] specialty, he would still require a long time, but the short-term training effect had already allowed him to adapt to colder weather like the northern people.
The group trekked for three days.
Soren carried Vivian for over a hundred kilometers. When the nearby trees began to appear more orderly, and the road became increasingly obvious, they knew they were nearing the territory of the elves. This was a place protected by deities, just as the snow in Leaffall City was thinner than outside. Places watched over by deities always possess some force. Otherwise, gods mastering other domains could easily bring down disasters, such as the plague goddess and the goddess of disease.
When they spread pestilence and illness, the fear of mortals can also strengthen their power.
This world is not lacking in believers who pray out of reverence.
The ice and snow on the road became less and less, and the activities of animals grew more frequent. Soren saw some markings, scars carved into trees by the elven patrol guards. Elves tend to be resistant to other beings, but they do not show blatant hostility. Entering their domain is not particularly easy, yet not overly difficult either. In the afternoon, they encountered an elven village, which didn’t appear as beautiful as expected; it was merely a series of more exquisite tree houses. They also cut down wood to build houses.
The glory of the high elves had long since faded. They were destroyed along with the Arcane Empire, leaving behind elves who lived with more refinement than other creatures.
Elves are indeed slightly more beautiful and handsome, but not overwhelmingly stunning; overall, their appearance is simply a step above that of humans.
Vivian curiously looked around as the elven guards in the village warned them not to cause trouble and then let them in. The outer elven villages are closely linked with other creatures, but the deeper into the forest one goes, the stricter the inspections become, especially near elven capital cities, which ordinary people cannot enter. There were still a few humans and half-elves living here, but their numbers were quite small. Elves also farmed food, and nature alone could not sustain such a large population.
The village was surrounded by a clear river, with nearby cleared farmland. Ordinary elves were not much nobler or graceful; they were not born professionals.
Strength must also be enhanced through training.
The most eye-catching was a great ancient tree; every elven village has such a grand tree, which is the legendary Ancient Tree Guardian (Challenge Level 12).
However, it was still asleep.
………………
(PS: It’s too cold to write on winter nights; I only finished writing the morning update now, and I haven’t been getting up as early as before. Three updates today, posting before five.) (To Be Continued)
