Vivian on His Back

Soren wasn't walking very fast.

It took the group a whole day to travel only thirty or forty kilometers. Their speed decreased significantly after entering the forest, and they estimated it would take two or three days to reach the Elven Realm. Vivian kept her head hidden behind Soren the whole way, but her cheeks were still red from the cold wind. Aladdin was too exhausted to talk and just silently followed behind. The only ones who were relatively relaxed were Soren and Goria; the former had 20 points of Superhuman Constitution, and the latter had the added benefit of Spell.

It was dusk.

They camped in a sheltered valley. Little Vivian stretched her arms and legs after settling down, then helped Soren set up the tent. However, being small and weak, she was basically just doing odd jobs. The Halfling plopped down on a rock and caught his breath for a while before getting to work. They built a fire with the still relatively dry firewood. Some level 0 Spell came in handy at this time, and soon a warm feeling spread around them.

Soren sat by the fire roasting meat, while Goria sat quietly resting.

The Halfling seemed to have regained some strength, but he appeared somewhat silent, frying mushrooms in a pan. Vivian stood behind Soren, massaging his shoulders. The little girl tried her best to massage him, but unfortunately, she lacked the strength and couldn't feel much. When she saw Goria, who was also quite tired, she immediately went over and massaged her as well. The Halfling was initially delighted, thinking that she would also come and massage him, but Vivian completely ignored him.

The temperature dropped rapidly.

It was now close to 0 degrees Celsius. Soren stretched his limbs and then took off his clothes.

The two people beside him showed a hint of shock. Goria, in particular, looked at him as if he were an idiot. Soren simply smiled, waved to Vivian, indicating she was alright. Then he stepped into the snow and covered himself completely with it. In the end, almost his entire body, except for his head, was encased in snow. Goria and the Halfling's mouths formed an "O" shape; they almost blurted out, "Are you insane?"

"This helps build up resistance to the cold," Soren explained, his face slightly pale, mainly from the cold.

20 points of Superhuman Constitution.

They can already actively train some low-level resistance Feat. In the future, when they go to higher-level places, especially some areas in the Abyss, the cold will be much greater than here. This is just a preliminary training. The Superhuman Constitution has adaptability, and it is very likely to master corresponding additional Feat in special environments.

Half an hour passed quickly.

As Soren's lips turned slightly blue, a row of data appeared:

"Training successful."

"You suffered frostbite at 12 o'clock; you've developed a slight resistance to the cold environment!..."

"You have gained information on the [Minor Cold Resistance] Feat."

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Soren pushed through the snow and ran to the fire to warm himself, also taking out a bottle of Healing Potion. He whispered, "Don't 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 professionals train in extreme environments, and I just happened to meet those conditions."

Frostbite at 12 o'clock.

For an ordinary person, they would probably freeze to death; after all, being buried in ice and snow for half an hour is no joke.

"Would you like me to give you a resistance boost?" Goria gave Soren a strange look, clearly disapproving of his self-destructive behavior. However, she had heard of professionals training in extreme environments, mostly Monk, but she had never heard of Rogue needing to fight in extreme conditions naked.

Soren shook his head and said slowly, "No need. That way, the training won't be effective."

After a while...

Soren drank a bowl of hot soup to keep warm, then stripped down to only his underwear and covered himself in the snow again.

The Halfling's lips twitched involuntarily, and he muttered, "What a madman."

Until nightfall.

Soren had already covered his entire body four times, and the accumulated frostbite had made him pale and quite weak. Vivian felt sorry for him and told him to stop, but he waved his hand and said, "It's alright. I can handle it. It won't delay our journey tomorrow."

"What a madman." Goria's expression was complicated. But Soren's self-destructive behavior still shocked her.

This guy is really stubborn and crazy.

Soren once again covered his entire body with ice and snow, and when the accumulated frostbite points approached 60, the indicator finally changed.

"Training successful."

"You suffered frostbite at point 6; you've developed a slight resistance to the cold environment!..."

"You have successfully mastered the [Minor Cold Resistance] Feat."

It was a success.

As the data appeared, Soren immediately felt a warm current surge through his body, and his whole body seemed to have slightly adapted to the cold.

Even though his whole body was covered in ice and snow, he didn't feel the same biting cold as at the beginning.

"Minor Cold Resistance: In the process of fighting the cold, you have gradually adapted to this environment. You will adapt to most cold climates, and your resistance to special cold environments will also increase. From now on, you are immune to any Cold Damage below 1 point. When attacked by Spell or Spell- like attacks, any damage with a cold effect will be reduced by 1 point." [Prerequisite: 16 or more points in Constitution.]

Soren's face quickly regained its color, and he used a Spell trick to dry himself off, then put his clothes on.

The change happened in an instant, leaving the two people beside him dumbfounded. At first, Soren was frozen stiff and pale, but now he seemed perfectly fine. The Halfling's fingers trembled slightly as he muttered, "Is this even possible?"

Aladdin's face lit up with a look of eager anticipation, but he ultimately gave up.

He was afraid he would freeze to death.

Previously, Soren swam in glaciers for several days to master [Minor Cold Resistance]. Now, with his Superhuman Constitution and Regeneration Feat, he can tackle more challenging training methods. This Feat becomes increasingly difficult to improve; to reach [Lesser Cold Resistance], he needs to enter specific geographical environments. Conservatively speaking, achieving [Lesser Cold Resistance] requires accumulating several hundred points of frostbite damage, which is unlikely to be successful quickly without a priest's help.

Immunity to 1 point of Cold Damage may not seem like much, but it can be life-saving in crucial moments. At higher levels, it becomes extremely effective against various Spell. Many North Warrior possess a slight Cold Resistance due to their natural environment, which is why Goria is relatively cold-resistant.

The most difficult thing to train is Fire Resistance, because you can't train it by directly sitting by a fire.

Slow, gradual damage is necessary for training and allows the body to adapt and develop resistance. Soren trained his Fire Resistance by spending a long time in a volcanic environment, eventually advancing only after falling into lava. Poison Resistance is the easiest to train, but the process is painful and time-consuming, Soren hasn't had time to develop yet.

The next day...

Soren was clearly much more relaxed; the biting cold wind had completely eliminated its effects on him.

The Halfling, perhaps having seen a role model, also tried to combat the cold, though he didn't dare to be as reckless as Soren. He simply wore his clothes and waded through the snowdrifts, emerging with his lips trembling from the cold. However, there were some results; at least his Constitution gradually adapted to the cold climate, and it wasn't as difficult as it had been at the beginning. If he needed to master the [Minor Cold Resistance] Feat, it would take at least a long time, but the short period of training had already allowed him to adapt to the colder weather like North.

The group trekked for three days.

Soren carried Vivian for over a hundred kilometers. As the surrounding trees became noticeably neater and the trails became clearer, they knew they were nearing the Elf territory. This was a place protected by the Deity, much like the snow in Falling Leaf City was thinner than outside. Where the Deity paid attention, there was always a trace of power. Otherwise, Deity who controlled other realms could arbitrarily unleash calamities, like the Goddess of Plague and the Goddess of Disease.

When they spread Plague and diseases, the fear of mortals also strengthens their power.

The world is not lacking in believers who pray out of reverence.

The snow and ice on the roads were thinning, and more and more animals were appearing. Soren noticed some markings, marks carved into the trees. These were left by the Elf Guard. The Elf were somewhat averse to other creatures, but there was no obvious hostility. Entering their territory wasn't easy, but it wasn't too difficult either. That afternoon, they reached the Elf village, which wasn't as beautiful as they had imagined; it consisted mainly of rather exquisite treehouses. They also felled trees to build their houses.

The glory of the High Elf has faded; they Destruction along with the Arcane Empire, and the remaining Elf merely live a slightly more refined life than other creatures.

Elf are more beautiful and handsome, but not stunningly so; they are simply a level above humans in terms of overall appearance.

Vivian looked around curiously. The village's Elf Guard warned them not to cause trouble before letting them in. Elf villages outside the village had close ties with other creatures, and the deeper they went into the forest, the stricter the checks became, especially near the Elf capital, where ordinary people were not allowed to enter. There were also humans and Half-Elf living here, but their numbers were relatively small. The Elf also cultivated food, and they couldn't support such a large population entirely by relying on nature.

The village was surrounded by a clear River Goddess, and there were cultivated farmlands nearby. The ordinary Elf were not much more elegant or noble; they were not born professionals.

Skills also need to be improved through training.

The most eye-catching thing is a towering tree. Every Elf village has such a tree, which is the legendary Treant Guard (Challenge Rating 12).

However, it is still asleep.

(P. S.: It's too cold to type at night in winter, so I only just finished writing this morning's update. I didn't get up as early as usual. I'll post this three times today, before 5 AM.) (To be continued~-~)