CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36: PERFECT ICE RESISTANCE

This is already the fourth day.

Wang Wu’s Life Value finally returned to full, and the fur that had fallen off his body grew back. Perhaps it was an illusion, but the new fur was much denser and quite soft and warm.

Most importantly, his Ice Resistance had significantly increased, going up by two points at once.

Currently, it is (9/10)

Compared to this tremendous gain, all the previous hardships seemed insignificant.

Of course, thinking back, he still felt quite apprehensive.

Especially when he noticed that a third of his food reserves had vanished, Wang Wu didn’t dare to risk confronting the snowstorm again.

Winter was far from over, and he could either freeze to death or, for sure, starve to death.

But some tasks had to be carried out.

For instance, he had to pass through the tunnel to the dark entrance and bring the accumulated snow back to his hideout, which could restore his Satiety. He planned to start conserving food from then on.

Another purpose of clearing the snow was to provide fresh air for the tunnel and hideout.

This was a tough job. The snowstorm outside was too fierce. Those so-called cold gales were as ferocious as a demon’s sharp teeth, easily penetrating his defenses.

Even if he didn’t poke his head out, just being at the dark entrance, it was extremely cold, with temperatures dropping to minus sixty degrees.

Fortunately, as long as he wasn’t directly hit by the wind, it wasn’t too troublesome.

And so, a few more days passed, and Wang Wu felt more active with renewed hope. His Ice Resistance was just one point away from being perfect, and if he didn’t push himself now, he’d likely have to wait until next winter.

Yes, Wang Wu was very certain.

Because he analyzed and judged for himself that with his current 9 points of Ice Resistance, he could ignore the Ice Magic attacks from those White-Browed Rat Kings.

Moreover, would new Little Demons mastering Ice Magic appear in the valley next year?

That was an unknown.

So, he had to refine his Ice Resistance to perfection this winter.

No other choice.

Thus, on the tenth day, Wang Wu climbed to the tunnel exit once again.

The cold wind outside howled fiercely, still echoing like the wailing of ghosts, never ceasing.

The sky was dim, indistinguishable between day and night, dawn and dusk.

Such a winter was excessively brutal.

"Those Little Demons skilled at burrowing might be able to evade it, but what about the winged ones or the Beast Type Little Demons? How do they endure?"

Wang Wu couldn’t help but wonder. Moreover, in such a horrifying environment, the Demons still able to move probably had to be at the Great Demon Level, right?

The valley he found himself in was like this, so wouldn’t the Great Snow Mountain to the east, towering into the clouds with its perpetual snow, be even more terrifying?

While lost in such thoughts, Wang Wu still felt a chill in his heart, as the ordeal he experienced was truly traumatizing.

"This time, I’ll only stay for five seconds, try little by little."

He encouraged himself, gritting his teeth, inching through the snow, but just as he was about to break through the snow surface and face the cold gale, he suddenly heard a piercing whistle that did not match the cold wind, getting closer from afar.

His heart skipped a beat, but it was too late to retreat, so he tried his best to stay still.

However, the shrilling sound grew more intense, more terrifying, increasingly near, like a collapsing Great Snow Mountain, like a frenzied snow tide racing at the speed of sound.

"Is it an avalanche?"

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Wang Wu activated his Level 5 Passive Concealment.

"Rumble!"

The colossal roar even overwhelmed the howling cold wind, causing the whole ground to tremble slightly. Following it was an even more violent, unrestrained roar, thunderous, shaking the world.

At that moment, even though the roar was at least hundreds of miles away, Wang Wu felt as if his heart was going to leap out of his mouth.

He could no longer care about Level 5 Passive Concealment and turned to flee deep into his hideout. But in the instant he turned, he saw the sky suddenly become bright.

Why did it suddenly brighten?

He didn’t know, nor did he have time to ponder. He ran all the way back to the depths of his hideout, curling into a ball. At this moment, he felt so small.

The terrifying howls continued multiple times, then went silent; he had no idea what had happened.

The courage that Wang Wu had managed to muster vanished entirely.

He remained obediently hiding in the underground hideout for a few more days before attempting to climb out again.

"I must max out my Ice Resistance. With a human soul, how can I retreat at such a crucial moment."

"Opportunities must not be missed. If I wish to further enhance my Ice Resistance, I’ll have to wait until next year."

"One last time!"

Encouraging himself in this way, and facing the unknown fear, he tentatively crawled to the tunnel entrance, first listening carefully to confirm that only the ghostly howling of the Cold Gale existed this time. Only then did he dig through the snow and step out to face the wash of the Cold Gale.

This was the most critical step.

Now possessing 9 points of Ice Resistance, lying directly in the snow wouldn’t even bother him. Without the Cold Gale, just the white-out winds on Earth, Wang Wu believed he could joyfully play in the Arctic and the Antarctic.

What are penguins? What are polar bears?

"Bring it on!"

Wang Wu roared inwardly; he understood well there was no room for compromise or cowardice. The last point of Ice Resistance required facing it head-on!

"Woosh!"

The moment he stepped out of the snow pit and into the Cold Gale, Wang Wu realized that 9 points of Ice Resistance weren’t of much use after all.

The bone-chilling, soul-piercing Cold Gale instantly breached his fur, seeping through his fat and flesh within two seconds.

In three seconds, it reached his bones.

In five seconds, it invaded his organs.

By the sixth second, as he turned to retreat, he felt his brain had turned into ice cream.

Damn, has the Cold Gale intensified?

"Thud!"

Wang Wu’s limbs wouldn’t respond, but luckily, he was right above the tunnel, so he fell straight in, buried in the thick snow.

He took a dozen seconds to wiggle free from the snow.

Only then did the cowardly information prompt slowly appear.

"You are in an adverse and immeasurable environment. You have suffered heavy Cold Gale intrusion; the current environment has caused you 32 points of frostbite damage. Due to your 9 points of Ice Resistance, you have resisted 27 points of frostbite damage. Your Satiety is depleting at double speed. You are receiving 6 points of continuous frostbite damage per second."

"Your Level 5 Healing Talent has been activated..."

——

"Damn! When did it become heavy Cold Gale!"

Wang Wu felt on the verge of panic, crawling back frantically.

He knew the consequences too well; he lasted 15 seconds last time, only lasted 6 seconds this time, and the situation was indeed more severe. If not for his 9 points of Ice Resistance, it might have been fatal!

Fortunately, with last time’s experience, although internally flustered like a Dog Bear jumbled inside him, he managed things quite steadily. After returning to the depths of his hideout, he immediately started eating those grasshopper jerky.

That was also an experience he gained last time.

While all food increased Satiety, the food’s quality and nature could still slightly influence the effects.

For instance, eating Yellow Ginger that was already rock hard, or dried mushrooms, grass seeds, etc., in a frozen state would waste time.

Only grasshopper jerky, which almost lacked moisture, could quickly replenish Satiety while offering some pain relief and anti-inflammatory effects.

After a busy while, Wang Wu replenished 1000 points of Satiety, passing the most dangerous stage — a small mishap and his Life Value could plummet to single digits.

The Level 5 Healing Talent didn’t have a cooldown, at least none identified yet, but having Satiety below 200 points was totally unacceptable.

As long as Satiety was above 200 points and Life Value below half, it would trigger an emergency Self-Healing state anytime.

However, after surviving the most treacherous phase, the upcoming agony phase awaited him.

The pains endured last time didn’t diminish at all.

Intense pain, numbness, soreness, chilblains, festered wounds, all appeared without exception, torturing him for nearly two days before recovery began on the third day.

Indeed, this time, the recovery from frostbite was faster.

Then, not even waiting for the fourth day, his Life Value topped off yet again, health restored to peak condition.

At that moment, awaited information appeared successfully.

"Your chilblains and frostbite injuries have healed. Due to your Level 5 Healing Talent, your body’s resistance to cold has seen immense improvement, and you have gained a point in Ice Resistance."

"Your Ice Resistance has reached perfection, currently (10/10), allowing you to exempt from 35 points of cold burn damage and gain a 50% additional frostbite recovery rate."

"You have gained 10% Growth, 10% Special Growth."

"Current total Growth 90%, current total Special Growth 30%."