Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

The next morning, before dawn, Ian quietly left the gathering point.

He traveled north for about half an hour and found a small clearing deep in the dense forest, far from all known paths.

The open space wasn't large, but it was enough for him to use.

Ian set up simple warning runes around him, released the [Eye of Vigilance] above his head, and lit a calming incense stick beside him before sitting down cross-legged.

[Secondary Frost Ray: Break Limit Once (798/800) (Break Limit Effect: 1. Twin)]

It's just two points away from breaking the limit a second time, at which point its power will surely reach another level, even approaching the [Burning Ray].

He took a deep breath, and in his mental sea, the frost rune representing the [Secondary Frost Ray] slowly emerged.

After breaking through the limit once, this rune is much more complex than it was originally, looking like two intertwined ice-blue vortexes with fine frost patterns extending from the edges.

However, in Ian's perception, the structure of the runes was still quite ambiguous, and the path of energy flow was not entirely smooth.

Let's begin!

Ian closed his eyes and began to activate the magic model.

Instead of releasing the ray directly, he meticulously sketched, refined, and optimized every detail of the rune within his mental sea.

Starting with the energy extraction nodes, then moving to the ice-attribute magic conversion structure, and finally to the rune array of compression and activation...

He broke down the entire model into dozens of parts and refined them one by one.

[Secondary Frost Ray Proficiency +1]

Proficiency is not solely gained through spellcasting; it can also be acquired by continuously analyzing and refining the sorcery model.

Time slips away when you're focused.

Sunlight streamed into the cave through the gaps in the vines, its intensity shifting from the midday heat to the afternoon slant.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Ian's forehead; the intense concentration he was under was taking a toll, but his eyes remained clear.

Finally, when he completely reconstructed the rune model once again...

In the sea of ​​consciousness, the twin runes suddenly lit up!

The icy blue light spread like a tide, illuminating the entire mental sea.

The structure of the runes began to change drastically, and the two vortexes spun faster and faster, becoming more and more intertwined.

The frost-like patterns on the edges grew wildly and intertwined, forming even more intricate and mysterious designs.

Countless insights into the essence of "frost" flooded my mind.

Extreme cold is not a state of stillness, but rather another active form of energy after it has reached its lowest point.

Frost is not just a drop in temperature, but also the disintegration and reorganization of the internal energy structure of matter.

Penetrating power stems from the high concentration and frequency resonance of energy...

"Click—"

It was as if some invisible barrier had been broken.

The frost runes completed their final transformation amidst the light!

The previously somewhat blurry structure is now crystal clear, its complexity increased several times over.

At the center of each of the two vortexes, a tiny, constantly rotating hexagonal ice crystal pattern emerges, emanating a chilling aura of extreme cold.

Even more remarkably, Ian sensed that the connection between these two runes and his mental sea had become even closer, and that a subtle balance and resonance had formed between them and the other [Burning Ray] limit-breaking rune.

[Secondary Frost Ray: Break Limit 2 (0/1600) (Break Limit Effects: 1. Twin 2. Deep Freeze)]

"Deeply knotted..."

Ian opened his eyes, a fleeting glint of icy blue light flashing within them.

He raised his right hand, a thought flashing through his mind.

Without incantations or gestures, two ice-blue rays, each only as thick as a finger, burst forth instantly!

"laugh--"

Wherever the ray passed, the air made a faint freezing sound, leaving a faint trail of frost.

A rock about a person's height, a hundred meters away, was hit by the radiation, but it did not explode or shatter.

Instead, a thick layer of frost spread out from the point of impact in an instant, freezing the entire rock into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye!

The ice layer is crystal clear, and the texture of the rocks inside is clearly visible. Fine hexagonal frost flowers are constantly condensing on the surface.

Ian stepped forward and tapped gently.

"Splash—"

The entire rock shattered like glass, its cross-section as smooth as a mirror, as if its structure had been disintegrated from the inside by extreme cold.

"The extreme cold has been greatly enhanced, with a powerful freezing effect... and its penetrating power..."

Ian's gaze swept over the trajectory of the ray. "The range has indeed reached a hundred meters, on par with the [Burning Ray]."

He raised his hand again, this time activating two runes simultaneously.

Two icy blue rays shot from the tip of his left finger, as chilling as the breath of winter; from the tip of his right finger, a bright white ray scorched like flowing lava.

Two ice beams and one fire beam spiraled and intertwined in the air, but instead of canceling each other out, they struck another rock simultaneously from twenty meters away under Ian's exquisite control.

"boom!"

The interplay of ice and fire caused the rocks to first freeze over with thick ice on their surface, then explode from the intense heat inside, shattering into countless frost-covered fragments that fell to the ground.

"The twin runes complement each other, greatly enhancing both clarity and complexity... Now, these two ray spells can truly be called our trump card."

Ian dispelled the witchcraft and felt his mental energy being depleted.

After breaking the limit a second time, the power of the [Secondary Frost Ray] increased dramatically, but its consumption also increased by about 10%.

Fortunately, he could control the power level at will and had complete control over the consumption of mental energy.

Moreover, given his current reserves and recovery speed of atomized spiritual energy, even if he were to unleash it at full power, it would still be well within his tolerance range.

"It's time to go back."

Ian cleaned up the surrounding traces, removed the warning runes, and quietly returned to the gathering point under the afterglow of the setting sun.

Inside the tent, he took out a [Mind-Concentrating Potion] and swallowed it.

A cool energy surged into my mind, soothing the fatigue from the day's practice.

He didn't try to get too much; he only meditated on the amount of one dose before lying down to rest.

Conserve your energy and build up your strength.

Tomorrow, he will travel alone to that perilous place known as the "Whispering Forest".

The next day, early in the morning.

Ian left the tent quietly, without alerting anyone.

He changed into a dark gray outdoor outfit, covered by his old gray robe.

The old wooden crate was left inside the tent, along with only the dimensional ring and some essential items: a few potions, warning rune materials, and the map Mira had given him.

According to the map, Whispering Woods is located deeper in the Dead Silence Mountains, about sixty miles northwest of Darkwood.

The first thirty miles are relatively easy to travel, as it is an area where adventurers often operate, and you can occasionally encounter hunting teams.

Ian avoided potential crowds and moved quickly through the woods.

As dawn broke, the fog in the forest grew thicker and thicker.

This was not the hazy glow of the Gloomwood, but a solid, grayish-white mist, carrying a damp, cold, and decaying aura.

Visibility in the surrounding area dropped rapidly, to less than twenty meters.

The shapes of the trees also began to become strange.

The trunk is twisted and gnarled, the bark is dark purple or grayish-black, and the surface is covered with nodular protrusions, resembling some kind of diseased tissue.

The branches and leaves are sparse, and the leaves are not the usual green, but dark red, dark brown or strange grayish-white, with serrated or fuzzy edges.

The concentration of free magic in the air was increasing, but its nature was becoming chaotic and cold, mixed with a fishy, ​​sweet, and putrid smell.

"We're almost deep into the 'Deadly Mountains'..."

Ian slowed his pace, maintaining his [Eye of Vigilance] at its maximum range, his mental energy extending outwards like a spider web.

Apart from the sound of the wind and the occasional rustling of branches and leaves, the surroundings were deathly silent; not even the chirping of insects or the calls of birds could be heard.

This silence, however, is unsettling.

After traveling another ten miles, the fog became so thick that it was almost impossible to disperse, and the visibility was less than ten meters.

Ian had to use more of his mental energy to perceive his environment, and he took each step with extreme caution.

The first danger zone marked on the map is approaching.

A wetland known as the "Bleeding Swamp"!