Combination (4)
Frost Flowers were herbs found only in frigid regions—and even then, extremely rarely. The slightest rise in temperature would melt them away, and the days they bloomed were fleeting. A single restrictive season called winter, a short lifespan, vitality like a pufferfish. Above all, they required soil brimming with mana, which made them extraordinarily rare.
But as always, the Four Seasons Forest was the exception. Mana didn't even need explaining. With seasons shifting every week, their brief lifespans weren't an issue. A quick search around the shelter turned them up easily. So to me, Frost Flowers were nothing more than seasonal blooms. Ones that came once every four weeks.
Found more Frost Flowers.
YasaengGrill (Frost Flower photo) (Frost Flower photo 2) (Frost Flower photo 3)
Is this like seasonal greens or something? There's a ton?
└Cheonma No one else would call a rare medicinal herb "seasonal greens" but you, sir.
└SwordTasteStar All these so-called rare herbs are gathering around you. These are truly precious ones.
└So we can find Frost Flowers every winter from now on?
└Seems like it. Same for other herbs, right? Different ones per season.
└What herbs grow in spring? All sorts from spring to summer.
└?? Anyway, anything we pick seems like it'd pass for a herb lol
└StarlightPrincess You found not just one, but several! Are you planning to make something with them?
└YasaengGrill Figured it'd be good for cold resistance. Got plenty of materials right now, so why not.
└StarlightPrincess Got it. But like you mentioned yesterday, could you provide an Adult Mandrake in exchange?
└YasaengGrill I'll throw in an Adult Mandrake plus one of those blue-tinted ones from yesterday's batch. Easier for research that way.
└StarlightPrincess I'll repay your trust without fail!
└YasaengGrill Thanks.
└PassingDwarf Hey. What about me? Gimme one too.
└YasaengGrill You reek of booze, so beat it. No spare time to pickle 'em in liquor yet. Might consider it once I get what I want.
└PassingDwarf ok
└YasaengGrill If push comes to shove, I'll make booze out of 'em lol
└PassingDwarf This bastard?
└Don't worry. There'll be other herbs besides these anyway lol
└Aren't you hunting Sun Herbs in summer?
└Nah, Sun Herbs only grow in deserts. Same as Snow Ginseng only in snowy mountains.
└By that logic, shouldn't Frost Flowers be in snowy mountains too?
└It'll figure itself out. We just watch lol
With Frost Flowers secured, I grabbed a light breakfast and got to brewing. First up: harvesting mandrakes. This time, not just one, but several. One went to StarlightPrincess, and another followed yesterday's recipe. Starting with boiling an Adult Mandrake together with Frost Flowers to dye it blue.
"Gwehk?! Gwehk!!"
Round two of force-feeding elixir down its throat. It reminded me of foie gras for a second. That dish where they fatten goose livers by jamming a funnel in the bird's beak and pumping food straight in. Mandrakes were plants, so it wasn't that bad, but their reactions sure didn't help my mood. Even if I was feeding it medicine—elixir—rather than food.
"Kkiyooooot!!"
Thwack! Pow! The moment the elixir hit, its effects kicked in. I beat the mandrake down until it calmed.
'This should do it, right?'
I shipped off three mandrakes total. One plain, one fused with Frost Flower, and the last fed elixir on top of that. Studying them one by one should give StarlightPrincess a solid lead.
I'd have loved to send some to Olfather for research too, but I didn't have enough.
StarlightPrincess Thank you. I'll have results by lunchtime.
Got it. The Frost Flower-fused mandrake holding up okay?
StarlightPrincess It's still blue. Seems absorbed into the mandrake. Should've taken it yesterday.
Neither of us knew. We'll wait and see.
With research handed off to StarlightPrincess, it was time for my own tasks. First: ability control. I'd stressed it plenty, but without control, it was a headache in every way. I used aura not just in fights, but for all sorts of labor too. Logging, mining, digging, processing—you name it. Super useful across the board. But if biting cold turned everything to ice, that was a whole other problem.
'Let's check why the chill is lingering. Has the mana itself changed?'
I closed my eyes and circulated my internal power method. I could vividly feel mana flowing through every corner of my body. Along with an icy sting. The mana itself carried a chill. But unlike StarlightPrincess's fears of blocked meridians freezing solid, nothing was locked up. My body had fully adapted; mana circulated smoothly without issue.
'It's like...'
Like Arctic or Antarctic seas that don't fully freeze. Not that my mana had salt in it—maybe the essence I took yesterday did that. Not a bad sign, but barely dodging the worst didn't solve the headaches.
'If only I had a simple on/off switch.'
How to separate aura from the chill? That's when it hit me.
'Wait. Mana all gathers in the dantian, right?'
The internal power method built mana in the dantian through breathing. Meaning even if it spread through the body, it always returned there. So if I separated the chill each time it gathered and stored it apart...?
'The dantian won't freeze solid, will it?'
That was scary too. I paused the method. Time for an expert opinion.
Cheonma. Mind if I ask something?
Cheonma What troubles you? Speak.
Well... I gave Cheonma the rundown. I want to separate the chill from mana and store it in my dantian. But I'm worried it'll harm the dantian.
Tell me if it's just paranoia or a real risk.
Cheonma I see. Your concern is understandable. Dangerous?
Cheonma Mishandled, yes. Your dantian could freeze solid, as you fear. But done right, separation is possible.
Could you tell me how?
Cheonma Of course. Create a dantian within your dantian—a secondary origin.
Sounds insanely hard just hearing it.
Cheonma It's not. A normal dantian holds pure qi. Yours will hold only chill. Wait a moment.
Cheonma vanished briefly. I tilted my head at "dantian within a dantian"—couldn't wrap my head around it. No doubt from the expert, but still baffling.
'Might have to labor without aura for a while.'
Body suffering from some weird power. I could only chuckle wryly.
How long did I wait? Soon, Cheonma messaged back.
Cheonma (Photo of human anatomy and inner core diagram) Visible? See the small circle inside this inner core? Compress essence like so to form another.
Ah. Like sets in math.
Cheonma Sets? Isn't that for gathering? Math term?
Not used often.
Cheonma Fine. As long as you get it. Now practice, knowing the principle.
Any other advice?
Cheonma The second incantation this lady taught will help greatly. I'd share the third, but best to hold off—lest you grow strong in odd ways again. Especially with chill in your qi.
Understood. Thanks for the advice.
Cheonma This lady awaits always. Call when needed.
No matter how I thought about it, Cheonma was a precious connection. Handing out pro tips without hesitation. She added the third incantation should wait until chill and aura control eased. Ideally, after maxing out to sword aura—Aura Blade.
I agreed.
'No way I'm letting myself get freakishly strong again. My loss.'
Aura might pierce the heavens, as someone said. Praying it wouldn't, I dove back into the internal power method. Recited Cheonma's second incantation, visualized, and separated mana from chill.
Shaaaa—
Like a chemical reaction, the chill slowly peeled away. Per instructions, I placed it at the inner core's center. Like a circle within a circle, I crammed it together.
Fsssh—
Maybe like Aura Blade, it wasn't easy. It'd barely clump before crumbling. Circulating mana surged like waves, hard to even split.
'Can't give up.'
Aura Blade manifested outside; this was internal. Easier, relatively. No despair—I steadily separated the energies.
How much time passed? Effort paid off. Just before lunch, I formed a millet-sized essence.
'To use the chill...'
Like popping a balloon, it burst at a touch. Reforming was simple—path already blazed. Scale it up, and I'd wield normal aura daily. Until then, no aura for work.
'Think of it as exercise.'
Time check: lunch already. Right on cue, StarlightPrincess messaged.
Perfect timing.
She'd promised results before lunch—spot on.
What's the verdict?
StarlightPrincess Good news and bad. Which first?
Bad first.
StarlightPrincess Cold resistance via Frost Flower seems impossible. Safety aside, every combo I tried carried risks.
To gain it, you'd need to risk ingesting raw Frost Flower.
I inwardly sighed at that, but a question arose.
'Then how'd anyone ever get cold resistance? Lucky survivors?'
Shot it out.
What about the old tales? People died eating them, but some gained resistance.
StarlightPrincess Remember pufferfish? Totally different case.
Different how?
StarlightPrincess Yeah. Normal pufferfish? They found non-toxic parts after tons of tries. Frost Flower? They just ate it raw.
Just ate it?
How'd they survive?
StarlightPrincess Pufferfish analogy: like chewing live pufferfish raw and walking away fine. Means they were just that tough. ;;;
Only the innately strong could eat it.