Above the mage!

Chapter 470 Dual Evolution
On the vast and boundless sea.

A standard two-masted sailboat is sailing against the wind and waves.

The sea breeze, carrying icy mist, rushed towards us, making the sails bulge like the chest of a giant beast.

The seawater in the far north has an almost eerie, deep blue color.

The color looked as if it were made by crushing and mixing thousands of layers of sapphire, and it shimmered with a cold, eerie glow under the midday sun.

When obscured by dark clouds, it transforms into solidified, dark silk.

When the waves surge, you can clearly see schools of silvery-scaled fish swimming several meters underwater.

Their figures are like shooting stars streaking through blue glass, fleeting in an instant.

At that moment, following the direction of the ocean current, a huge gray-white ice floe was slowly drifting towards the two-masted sailing ship from not far away.

The surface of the ice floes is covered with crisscrossing cracks, and the blue and white patterns resemble the dried-up veins of the earth. Dozens of tired petrels perch on the top, occasionally emitting sharp cries.

Just as the ice floe slowly approached the sailboat, a flaming arrow suddenly shot out from the deck of the sailboat, leaving a long trail of light. After drawing a beautiful arc in the air, it landed precisely on the ice floe.

There was a bang.

The moment it struck the ice floe, the flaming arrow exploded violently, and the immense impact shattered the ice floe into countless ice shards.

Ice shards poured into the sea like a torrential downpour, splashing up countless tiny droplets.

Looking at his "masterpiece," Gao De, standing on the deck, nodded and a relaxed smile appeared on his lips.

Since the Columbus sailed out of Vallar Bay and headed south towards the Plantagenet dynasty, such encounters with ice floes have been a frequent occurrence.

These ice floes, originating from the waters further north of the Vallar Bay, may have originally been magnificent icebergs.

They set off from the far north, and during their long drift, they were exposed to wind and sun, gradually melting or colliding and breaking with other objects.

When they reached the Vallar Bay and further south, they became the ice floes of various sizes that we see today.

Most of the time, these ice floes simply float quietly on the sea surface, and even if they collide with a ship, the ship's sturdiness does not pose a substantial threat to the vessel.

But there are always times when luck is bad and accidents happen.

In fact, breaking through the ice floes became a rare source of enjoyment during this monotonous and long sea voyage.

Whenever someone on deck spotted a large piece of floating ice, they would rush to help.

As for Gao De, the person with the highest "status" on the Columbus, as long as he was present, naturally no one would compete with him for anything.

A day later, the Columbus was completely away from land.

The icicles along the ship's side had been completely melted by the sea breeze, and the surrounding ice floes were gradually becoming scarce.

At the horizon where the sea meets the sky, a dark gray shadow pierces the azure surface of the ocean.

At first, they were just faint ink dots, but as the ship cut through the waves, their outlines became clearer and clearer.

It was an isolated island.

The island is not large, and its surface is covered with glacial remnants accumulated over the years. The gray-blue ice rocks are exposed, exhibiting the honeycomb structure characteristic of volcanic rocks.

The island looks very desolate, as if there is no trace of any life, but in fact, you can still see a few clumps of dark green moss in the crevices of the rocks in the sheltered areas.

The leaves are only millimeters in size, yet they can survive in such harsh environments.

Dense red dots can be seen in the waters surrounding the island.

Those are krill, their bodies are transparent, only their digestive tract is red, and they swim in the seawater like flowing blood.

In the rock crevices at the highest point of the island, you can still see bird nests built with seaweed and ice, with broken eggshells remaining inside, and the surface of the eggshells covered with a layer of fine ice beads.

Although no birds were visible, the scattered feathers around the nest suggested that this was a breeding ground for some kind of cold-resistant seabird.

Of course, the so-called "seeing" is limited to Gaode alone.

Standing on the deck, gazing at the deserted island, Gao De quietly closed the Mandora's Eye, ceasing his observation of the island's situation.

In the northern seas, there are actually many such nameless islets, most of which are barren and no more than a few thousand square meters in size.

Although it's described as a deserted island, according to the crew, a deserted island isn't necessarily deserted.

Many ships that fail to reach their destination at sea are sunk by leyline creatures that inhabit deserted islands.

—In most cases, sea monsters do not easily attack ships sailing on the sea.

Just as people don't easily provoke sea monsters, for sea monsters, ships are the "territory" of humans, and recklessly invading human territory could very well bring them devastating consequences.

Those creatures that inhabit deserted islands often consider the islands their territory.

If human ships approach deserted islands, it is tantamount to actively invading their territory, which will also attract their attacks.

Therefore, one of the rules of navigation is to avoid these "deserted islands" as much as possible during navigation unless absolutely necessary.

Gao De stood on the deck, with a sturdy, thick hemp rope tied to the side of the ship beside him.

One end of the rope was tied to a heavy stone, its surface covered with frost.

That's a mineral unique to the North. Besides its magical properties and outstanding ice attributes, its density is comparable to lead. Just holding it in your arms can make your collarbone ache.

In the biting cold wind, Gao De took off his outer clothes and trousers, leaving only his inner garment.

Then he tied the rope around himself, picked up the ore, and without any hesitation, jumped off the ship.

Seeing this "bizarre" scene, everyone on the ship remained indifferent, and no one tried to stop or "rescue" them.

However, the confusion and shock that flashed in their eyes clearly showed that they were not used to Gaode's actions.

"How did this man do it? The seawater is below zero, how could he just jump in like that?" A crew member couldn't help but ask, mouth agape.

“This must be the power of the mage,” another crew member murmured in reply.

"This is not the power of a mage. Our king did not cast any spells. This must be the power of the king." Another ice-blooded mage from Phoenix on the deck muttered to himself upon hearing what the two crew members said.

Iceborn mages are exceptionally resistant to cold compared to ordinary people.

However, it's absolutely impossible for someone like Gaode to jump into the sea and stay there for several hours based solely on their physical condition.

Try and die.

In the eyes of the crew, Gao De's actions were due to the power of the sorcerer.

To the fellow Iceborn mages, Gao De's actions were simply a power that the king already possessed, and there was nothing strange about it.

Therefore, Gao De's unusual behavior and actions became perfectly reasonable in the eyes of everyone on the ship. "Splash!"

The moment it entered the water, the icy blue seawater burst open like a solid.

As the seawater poured into his chest through his collar, Gao De could even hear his own heartbeat skip a beat in the sudden chill.

Iron Stone dragged him down rapidly, and the sound of the rough hemp rope rubbing against the ship's side gradually disappeared, replaced by the hum of the seawater pressure.

He watched as the spots of light on the water rapidly shrank, and the bubbles rising from his hair condensed into tiny ice crystals, leaving silvery trails in the deep blue sea.

As it sank to a depth of several meters, the sunlight was filtered into a dark blue curtain by the seawater. A transparent krill floated past, its antennae covered in fluorescent blue mucus.

The moment the rope taut, he had already sunk dozens of meters to the bottom of the sea.

The seawater turned pitch black, with only some strange rocks or fish emitting a faint blue light that illuminated the surrounding scenery.

In the trench's fissure, snow-white blind crabs waved their phosphorescent claws, leaving flowing streaks of light in the darkness.

Gao De loosened his grip on the iron stone, letting the rope suspend him in mid-air before the ship carried him forward.

He closed his eyes, began to adjust his breathing rhythm, and carefully sensed the changes in the surrounding water flow, constantly moving his body and changing his form in accordance with the changes in the water flow.

Not everyone can follow the ship like Gaode, who can simply tie a rope to it.

Beneath the sea surface, the currents are ever-changing, some flowing in the exact opposite direction and with tremendous force.

If you don't notice it in time and take evasive action, the scene will be similar to a car accident, and the water flow will cause huge impact damage to your body.

Therefore, this process actually requires a high degree of concentration and various reactions, just like playing Temple Run, which is tense and exciting.

Only when he felt a burning pain in his lungs and his consciousness began to blur did Gao De suddenly pull the rope.

On the sea, the people who had been waiting by the ship's side noticed the movement of the rope and immediately began to pull on it.

Gaode and Tieshi then began to rise.

As I ascended, the water pressure suddenly decreased, causing a sharp, stabbing pain in my eardrums, while the light spots on the water surface grew brighter and brighter.

As his head broke through the surface of the sea, Gao De began to breathe rapidly.

The exhaled white breath mingled with the water vapor from the seawater, forming a brief icy halo.

After pausing for a moment, Gaode gestured to the people on the boat.

Upon seeing this, they immediately released their grip on the rope.

Under the weight of the iron stone, Gao De's body immediately began to sink rapidly again.

"Has our king been underwater for more than twenty minutes now?" The two Iceborn mages who were pulling the rope were dumbfounded as they watched God's figure disappear into the water once again.

"Clearly without the aid of any magic, how could someone hold their breath for so long in the deep sea?" another person murmured, seemingly puzzled.

The two looked at each other, unable to come up with a reasonable explanation, and could only conclude that this was the special feature of "Our King".

【对水流的感应提高89.3%89.6%89.8%摄氧量提高96.1%96.3%】

Gao De once again entered the deep sea, continuing his previous actions while silently sensing the subtle changes that [Adaptive Force] brought to his body.

What might seem like an extremely tedious and boring sea voyage to others was, in his eyes, an excellent opportunity for "seclusion and self-cultivation," a chance to develop his expertise.

Time passes slowly.

The temperature is gradually rising.

Gao De sensed the temperature changes much faster than the other members of the crew.

Both adaptive progress plans are progressing steadily.

On the fourth day at sea, his oxygen intake broke through the 100% barrier.

Your oxygen uptake has increased by 100%.

With the familiar feeling of shackles being broken, Gao De felt as if he were on the edge of a suffocating abyss, and every breath became more greedy and efficient than ever before.

Even while still underwater, I could feel the familiar exhilaration of air rushing into my lungs and the familiar feeling of my blood being filled with oxygen.

The heart and lungs become as strong and powerful as bellows, able to extract amazing amounts of oxygen even in the extremely thin seawater, and utilize this oxygen efficiently.

Your breathing capacity is continuously subjected to high-intensity oxygen metabolism, gradually improving your ability to take in and utilize oxygen. With each breath, you can draw in more oxygen, significantly enhancing your adaptability to various hypoxic environments, thus evolving into a body capable of breathing freely.

[Your lung efficiency and blood oxygen-carrying capacity are greatly enhanced, enabling you to maintain normal physiological activities in low-oxygen environments (high altitudes, deep seas, enclosed spaces, etc.).]

[Through continuous optimization of oxygen metabolism, your bodily functions are deeply optimized, resulting in oxygen-rich organs, significantly enhanced cardiopulmonary function, increased thoracic cavity volume, significantly reduced fatigue after strenuous physical exertion, significantly faster recovery speed, enhanced endurance limits, and improved recovery potential after serious injury.]

Your senses will become exceptionally acute regarding the oxygen levels in your environment, even allowing you to detect changes in oxygen concentration as a sign of life.

Your life force field has been strengthened, and your resistance to negative energy spells such as Life Drain and the Curse of Aging has been slightly increased.

On the third day after evolving the [Empty Breath Body], Gao De's ability to sense water flow also reached 100%.

[Your ability to sense water flow has increased by 100%, and the movement trajectory of water molecules becomes clearly discernible in your perception.]

The ripples in the water were magnified in Gaode's perception. The water around him was no longer an obstacle, but rather seemed to have transformed into the nerve endings of his body, making every subtle change clearly perceptible.

[Your senses are constantly refined by the information from the water flow, gradually enhancing your ability to perceive and resonate with liquid substances, thus adapting and evolving into a body of water.]

After evolving into a water-like body, you will have an extremely strong sense of water flow. You can clearly "see" changes in water pressure and flow trajectory (undercurrents in rivers, water flow in pipes, etc.). You can distinguish undercurrents, whirlpools, and abnormal water pressure points. You can even sense the weak elemental energy contained in the water (such as ice, poison, life, etc.).

The underwater environment is as clear as the lines on your palm; you can ignore the darkness and murky conditions.

At the same time, it greatly enhances the sensitivity to water elemental energy (water elemental spells, natural water veins, etc.), and can even predict changes in water conditions in a short period of time through water flow fluctuations.

[Your nervous system processes information about liquids more efficiently, enabling it to detect abnormal fluctuations or hidden objects in water more quickly.]

Because of your extensive experience with water flow, your body's control over water becomes exceptionally coordinated. When moving in water, resistance is greatly reduced, and you can even use the power of the water flow to increase your speed and make more agile movements on or in the water.

Oxygen uptake capacity and sensitivity to water flow should both be considered relatively minor branches of adaptability.

Therefore, the bodies that they ultimately evolve into are the final form, like the [Ninja Body], and cannot be improved further.

The dual evolution of [Empty Body] and [Water Body], while not directly enhancing Gaode's immediate combat power, instantly elevates his adaptability and combat capabilities in water to a historical level among sea sentinel mages.

Even compared to sea monsters, it is not weaker in the slightest.

The water area will also become Gaode's home ground in the future.

(End of this chapter)