Blizzards, chasms, and bottomless crevasses are just common sights.
What is truly deadly are the ice creatures twisted by the cold and magic.
The cunning ice shadow leopard lurks behind the snow hills, the giant ice armor worms crawl under the frozen soil, and groups of frost hyenas with fangs dripping with saliva follow them closely.
Every encounter is a fight of life and death.
However, it was this deliberately chosen desperate situation that became a melting pot for tempering.
There is no way out, we can only fight.
Mark and his companions realized that if they wanted to be as powerful and sharp as the sergeants of the Holy Knights, they could not rely too much on Mark's mutation passive ability.
At least they don't need to do that when their opponents don't have a level advantage over them.
So during this month, except for Xiao Mu who took a bottle of abnormal holy water every day, no one else entered the abnormal state during the battle.
Every time he exhausted his magic power and knocked down the monster with wounds all over his body, his body's limits were stretched.
Perhaps it was the nourishment of the ancient magic of this ice field, or the "special care" of a mysterious existence, but miracles seemed to be happening among the team.
After working together to kill a seventh-level peak ice crystal giant lizard, when the last trace of magic fluctuation subsided, the four members of the team looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's tired but burning eyes.
They all felt the shock of the invisible barrier between the middle and high levels being broken through.
They didn't even offer their faith to the main god of their profession.
After a month of hard work and trials, they had actually crossed the threshold that countless professionals would never reach in their lifetime, and officially entered the advanced realm!
The higher level brings not only a qualitative change in strength, but also an improvement in survival confidence.
Monica's shadow shuttled more erratically and unpredictably, Anna's arrows were attached with a faint vortex of wind that automatically tracked, Enzo's hammer was swung with the sound of wind and thunder, and Mark's disguise of the colorful black light became more and more refined.
Even Xiao Mu seems to be looking more handsome.
Well...anyway, it looks like this gives people the feeling that this is not an ordinary Mu.
At this moment, the snowstorm that had been raging all day finally stopped.
As night falls, a few stars penetrate the thin clouds in the deep dark blue sky, looking down at the earth coldly.
In a huge ice rock depression in the leeward area, a bonfire crackled. The orange-red flames greedily licked the iron pot on top, dispelling the biting cold and casting flickering light and shadows on the surrounding rugged ice walls.
The air was filled with a mouth-watering blend of exotic aromas.
The sound of greasy fat scorching mixed with the sweet starchy aroma of some root vegetable being stewed.
By the campfire, Mark was concentrating on preparing today's spoils.
A thick, skinned icefield blind lizard thigh with pale blue flesh, and several starchy tubers that Xiao Mu had painstakingly dug out from the frozen soil.
He was very skilled. He first used a sharp dagger to cut several deep grooves in the thick part of the lizard's flesh, and then poured some mixed spice powder from a sealed small leather bag.
These precious spices were not bought by Mark in Osborne Town, but were taken by Monica from the Eighth Knights' Logistics Camp.
Carefully rub the spices into the cut slits.
Then, he moved his fingertips slightly, and a tiny strand of extremely condensed magic power that almost did not carry any sacred aura gathered in his palm.
Like an invisible thermal film, it evenly wraps around the meat and tubers, performing a strange internal heating and flavor enhancement.
This is a brand new 'Soul Harmonizer' cooking technique that he has figured out through countless survival experiences in the wild.
It can maximize the magical activity of ingredients and speed up the user's magic and energy recovery.
It’s a pity that Mark can’t make food that can permanently increase personal attributes.
I don’t know if it’s because his professional level is not high enough or the level of the ingredients is not high enough.
Monica sat silently on a flat piece of ice by the campfire, whittling a hardwood branch into several smooth sticks with her sharp dagger.
She moved efficiently, and the dagger left a trail of afterimage.
Occasionally, she would raise her eyes, and her eyes, which seemed unusually bright in the firelight, would vigilantly scan the deep darkness beyond the ice and rocks. The perception of a high-level assassin was like an invisible spider web, covering every inch of snow around the camp.
A month of high-intensity combat and promotions had made her uniquely arrogant aura as a shadow queen more restrained and more dangerous.
Anna was not far away, leaning against the ice wall, carefully maintaining her elven longbow.
Her fingertips were shrouded in a faint green natural magic as she gently brushed across the bow, examining every tiny rune mark.
The bowstring gleamed with a tough luster in the dim light.
Her face showed the fatigue of a long journey, but the elegance and concentration unique to elves were not diminished.
After being promoted to a higher level, her perception of wind and frost seemed to have become a little sharper, and she could almost hide her shadow magic in natural magic like Mark.
"Ah... I'm freezing to death!" Enzo complained harshly and threw a large bundle of relatively dry branches of boreal shrubs he had picked up heavily next to the campfire, splashing a few sparks.
He rubbed his big hands, which were almost numb from the cold and covered with thick frost, and moved closer to the fire, greedily absorbing the warmth.
The thick leather coat he was wearing was torn in many places, revealing the strong muscles underneath.
There were still fresh claw marks on it from a recent fight with a glacier bear, but those marks had already begun to scab over due to the dwarf's powerful self-healing ability.
In order to become stronger, he even abused himself and refused to let Mark use the healing scroll on him.
But judging from his current recovery, the improvement in vitality brought about by his promotion is visible to the naked eye.
"Brother Mark, is the meat not ready yet? My stomach is rumbling!"
He stared at the thick broth boiling in the iron pot and the lizard leg meat sizzling on the fire, its aroma becoming increasingly rich.
“…”
"Almost there, Enzo." Mark didn't even look up, concentrating on controlling the penetration of the colorful black light's heat. His voice was soothing, "If it's a little less cooked, the meat won't be tender enough. Wait a little longer, I guarantee it'll be worth it."
He turned it carefully to allow the aroma to be released more evenly.
Xiao Mu lay quietly at his feet, his gelatinous body undulating slightly, and his tentacles occasionally mimicked the shape of a small fork to help Mark fix the piece of meat, and then returned to its original shape.
The pink eyes reflected the dancing flames, as if silently learning the art of cooking.
Beyond the ice and rocks lies endless cold and darkness.
Although the wind and snow have stopped temporarily, the low temperature in the polar regions is enough to freeze the blood.
Only this small bonfire, the focused figures beside the flames, the aroma of food and whispers in the air, constitute a fragile but extremely real oasis of warmth.
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