Pioneer Wizard's Notebook

Linde did not rush to make a choice.

Before choosing his first spell, he needed to understand the current situation.

It is essential to understand the true nature of the crisis and what resources are currently available in order to maximize the effectiveness of the chosen sorcery.

First, where am I?

Looking down from the outer corridor, Lind saw that outside his Sunflower Manor was an old-fashioned medieval village.

The sloping thatched roof, the turning windmill, and the constant bleating of chicken coops and cattle pens surrounding the house.

The village roads, which were originally muddy, were covered with a layer of frost, with frozen animal dung and residents' urine underneath. The surrounding fields were covered with thick frost and snow, a white expanse.

This is the northernmost territory of the Kingdom of Rosa, located in the Flowery Territory on the outskirts of the Northern Ice Plains.

Now that winter has arrived, the weather is cold and the flowers have withered.

The bitter cold was not enough to break the territory; the real reason that made Baron Jefferson of the Blossom Territory flee was the magical ice storm that had swept through the depths of the Ice Mist Forest not long ago.

Centuries ago, the celestial bodies converged, bringing unimaginable changes to this ancient world.

The influx of magically twisted creatures gave birth to powerful professionals, but also spawned countless terrifying monsters.

In the past, during winter, the only thing to guard against in Blossoming Territory was the winter wolves and polar bears on the outskirts of the Ice Mist Forest.

But when the magical ice storm rises, the animals in the forest will be twisted into terrifying ice demons.

Even corpses buried beneath the ice and snow for countless years will be awakened by magic and transformed into Ice Demons to devour living beings.

"Icefield Demon, an effect of the celestial convergence, a branch of the undead?"

Linde seemed to be deep in thought. Unlike ordinary skeletons and undead, the Icefield Ghosts in the records often had complete flesh and blood bodies.

Their bodies are soaked in frost magic, making them as thick as leather armor, and difficult for swords and blades to cut through.

Furthermore, the Ice Demon possesses superhuman agility, allowing it to move swiftly and undetected in the snow.

Its only weakness is its fear of fire; it can only be killed by igniting it with kerosene.

It's easy to understand that the Ice Demon's power originates from the frost magic within its body, and the high-temperature flames will clash with it, causing it to disintegrate from within.

Unfortunately, there was no kerosene stored in the Flowery Territory.

After all, the last time a magical ice storm struck was fifty years ago.

From the lord to the soldiers, everyone had been replaced, and people were complacent. The meager tax revenue of the territory could hardly support the high price of oil, so they took a chance and were unwilling to spend this money unnecessarily.

Until a week ago, when the storm broke out, the manor's rangers discovered traces of the Icefield Ghosts on the outskirts of the Ice Mist Forest.

His father, Baron Jefferson, then regretted his decision and left his second son in the territory, fleeing hastily with his family.

To expect Baron Jefferson to lead troops back to reinforce is wishful thinking.

Lind knew he had to find a way to fend off the hordes of Ice Demons that could attack at any moment.

[Retrospective Witchcraft: Trait Mutation/Spiritual Contract/Fossils Turned into Mud]

[Typical Mutation (Crop Branching Magic): Using a magical blade, mutation runes are inscribed on plant genes to permanently alter their trait expression.]

[Spiritual Contract (Animalistic Branch of Witchcraft): A contract is formed with animals through spiritual ties, allowing them to share a power.]

[Fossil to Mud (Alchemy Branch of Witchcraft): Utilizing the penetrability of magic, construct mud-melting runes within rocks to temporarily alter their physical properties.]

These are the three spells on the first page of the Wizard's Journal.

Each of these basic spells, prepared by Linde for himself, has a unique function and an extremely high potential.

Linde pondered, and if he had to choose one of the three, he would first rule out the spiritual contract.

Currently, Sunflower Manor only houses wolfhounds and maned horses, which are not capable of fighting the Icefield Demons.

Furthermore, since they are raised from a young age, they are loyal enough on their own, so there is no need to enter into a contract.

As for the Ice Demon, the spirituality of undead creatures is often severely damaged, and with his current abilities, he cannot repair it, making it difficult to form a contract with them.

Linde looked at the fossil, which had turned into mud.

If he were to survive alone, this witchcraft would be quite effective, allowing him to quickly build a complete small shelter.

However, he was not alone; there were other people outside who needed his protection.

Whether it was building walls or setting traps, his newly awakened magical power was insufficient to withstand the Icefield Demon's attack.

In fact, he has already made his choice.

Linde arrived at the manor hall on the first floor.

This is where the Baron of the Flourishing Blossoms Domain discusses political affairs and holds banquets.

The hall's ceiling is supported by six stone pillars entwined with carved vines and adorned with blooming flowers, with a huge coat of arms representing the family hanging above.

The family crest is a golden sunflower in full bloom on a white shield, just like their surname "Seinwright," which symbolizes the light of the sun.

"Blooming Spring"

Linde softly recited the family's ancient proverbs, then went to the garden outside the hall and slowly bent down.

Even though the flowers have faded in winter, the garden is not desolate. Dozens of yellow flowers, resembling sunflowers, bloom and sway in the cold wind.

This is the symbol of the family, a magical plant called the sunflower.

Although the flowers are not as golden as the coat of arms, they are still magnificent and beautiful.

Sunflowers are extremely cold-resistant, and their petals can be used to make tea, which is an excellent warming medicine for the North.

In Linde's eyes, this was an unformed magical plant that had only evolved halfway.

"Did the rampant frost magic of the northern ice plains, under prolonged stimulation, evolve a trait that allows it to absorb the magic of the sun? The allure of life is always so captivating."

Linde stroked the petals. "It seems you're stuck at the last step. The instability of natural evolution—let me help you take that step."

The pages of the wizard's journal turned, and the page recording the "phenotype mutation" shone with spiritual light.

A deluge of knowledge flooded into Linde's mind in an instant, and his spirituality creaked as it was squeezed.

After some time, he exhaled a breath of white air, relaxed, and successfully digested and absorbed the witchcraft.

At that moment, the world in my eyes became clear and bright.

This is a basic wizarding ability, the effect of the Eye of Insight, a little trick to focus magic into the eyes.

As Linde came to understand the concept of trait mutation, he mastered this little trick.

He looked at the sunflower again, observing the flow of magic within its petals.

Its extraordinary ability to absorb the sun's magic has already become apparent.

What Linde had to do was eliminate other useless traits and inscribe the "vitality runes" from the trait mutations into the extraordinary traits, strengthening their expression in the petals.

Compared to cultivating magical plants from scratch, these experimental subjects that have already evolved halfway are much easier to handle.

Two sunflowers withered and died because the runes were engraved incorrectly, and three others caught fire due to an imbalance in their expression.

After only five failures, Lind completed the plant before him at the last moment when his magic was exhausted.

Despite the cold wind, the flowers stood tall and unyielding.

The petals, cast like gold, are noble and elegant, shimmering with a captivating brilliance under the sunlight.