Pioneer Wizard's Notebook

Ground squirrels are different from regular squirrels.

Despite having large, fluffy tails, they are not good climbers.

They prefer to live in burrows underground in the forest and have an amazing burrowing ability that even squirrels can't help but admire.

And that's why these lucky little guys survived the first wave of the ice storm and made it to the outskirts of the Ice Mist Forest.

However, the harsh environment shows no signs of improvement.

In order to survive, the ground squirrels chose to flee the Ice Mist Forest and come to the vicinity of Sunflower Manor.

And soon, they were drawn to the warm glow of the higher sunflowers.

"Since you've eaten my flowers, then you belong to me."

Linde smiled and reached out a finger to touch the six little guys in the cage.

The ground squirrels huddled together, covering themselves with their tails, and made pleading squeaks.

"Don't be so afraid of me. You don't have much chance of completing the evolution on your own. I'll give you a hand."

Linde picked a few higher sunflowers, picked up the cage, and went to the laboratory on the second floor.

After putting down the experimental materials, he tidied up the stacks of frost rune manuscripts on the table and stored them in the cabinet next to him.

He then took out the sealed manuscript of the solar runes and a large stack of blank papers, preparing to continue the research that had been previously suspended.

The Advanced Sunflower has two effects: Magic Storage and Solar Wind.

The former refers to the power of the petals, while the latter refers to the rune effects derived from the petals.

Linde has been studying the runes of the Solar Wind for some time now, trying to master this power that releases warmth.

This not only allows him to restrain himself in fighting the monsters of the Ice Mist Forest.

It can also provide solutions to ice storms and extreme cold.

Unfortunately, the Solar Wind rune is more complex than I imagined.

Linde also lacked research material that could condense and materialize runes, like ice-blue crystals.

More importantly, he had many other things to do and could not devote all his time to it, which caused the research to stagnate.

But now, he sees a glimmer of success.

Linde's gaze fell on the ground squirrel in the cage.

Ground squirrels have grayish-white fur, an adaptation they have developed to avoid detection by predators in icy and snowy environments.

But now, several long, bright red hairs have grown on their bodies, making them particularly eye-catching.

Linde picked up a ground squirrel and gently stroked its head with his fingers to soothe it.

At the same time, he used his Insightful Eye to observe the internal condition of its body inch by inch.

"By swallowing a superior sunflower, stimulated by the sun's magic, will it evolve the power to resist the extreme cold?"

Linde discovered a faint, active fire magic within its body, releasing heat through its crimson fur.

Races that can survive on the icy plains of the North all possess, to varying degrees, some means of resisting the cold.

The most direct benefit is the thick fur, which is why Northern furs are so popular in the kingdom.

It goes a step further by absorbing the magic of frost and becoming one with the environment.

Just like the Winter Wolf King and Frostfang Wolf, they evolved under the baptism of ice and snow, and mastered the wind and snow.

Besides that, there is another way.

As the saying goes, things reach their extremes and then reverse; extreme cold can also give rise to raging fires that melt everything.

The icy volcano occupied by the Dwarven Royal Court is an example of this.

The raging ley lines of fire boil and burn endlessly, within which live powerful, extraordinary monsters—the Molten Lizards.

The ground squirrels in front of us are showing a similar trend.

Living in the northern region year-round, these ground squirrels have adapted to their environment generation after generation, and their bodies have developed a magical fire power to resist the cold.

The higher sunflower became the catalyst for igniting the flames, allowing the ground squirrel to officially embark on its evolutionary journey.

But extraordinary evolution is not such a simple matter.

Under Linde's observation, these ground squirrels absorbed the solar magic of the higher sunflowers, and chaotic magical energy patterns grew within their bodies.

It is far from reaching the point where stable runes can be formed.

If this continues, they will either stop eating the superior sunflower, interrupt their evolution, and become a scruffy ground squirrel, unable to adapt to the snowy environment.

Either continue consuming, causing the magic power within your body to expand and turn you into a giant fireball.

"It's not entirely hopeless. If these scruffy ground squirrels can survive, they can continue their species generation after generation, thus managing the magical energy within them."

"With the great power of nature's inheritance, perhaps one generation will complete the process and embark on the correct path of evolution."

But that would take thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Lind shook his head; he couldn't wait that long.

Praying to nature is not as good as human intervention.

Using the method of [Bloodline Modification], Linde transformed magic into threads, which seeped into the earth squirrel's body, guiding its magical energy along its path.

Previous research on solar winds came to mind, and he used it in conjunction with his work.

In the laboratory on the second floor, the painful squirming of a squirrel mingled with the rustling of paper being written.

The ground squirrel was freed amidst a burning fireball.

"No, the evolution of ground squirrels is too chaotic. We can't let evolution be the main driver. I should guide the overall direction, and let evolution fill in the gaps."

Another failure.

Linde compared the recorded experimental reports and decided to change his approach.

He stopped reaching for the cage and instead picked up the superior sunflower.

The focus then shifted to studying the runes on the petals and refining the construction of the sun runes.

Blank sheets of paper were consumed in stacks, with intricate runes drawn on them like a sky full of constellations.

During this process, Linde picked up the ground squirrel's experimental report again.

By utilizing the clearly effective magical trajectories observed during the evolutionary process, the core components of the Sun Rune were selected.

Thanks to the current stability of the manor, Linde is able to immerse himself in his research.

The sun outside the window rises and sets again and again.

Ground squirrels, as important living experimental subjects, have been unknowingly exhausted.

Lind sent Frostfang Wolves to the outskirts of the forest to help with the search.

This day, in the laboratory.

The runes were outlined by threads formed from magic.

The ground squirrel's fur is crimson red, and its bushy tail shoots up intense flames, releasing rolling heat waves.

In the blink of an eye, the little guy was ignited by his own power and turned into ashes.

Linde was not disappointed; instead, he smiled with excitement.

His research is currently divided into two parts.

First, using ground squirrels as experimental subjects, the sun runes on the advanced sunflowers were materialized to form stable and usable runes.

Secondly, by using the rune as a guide, the evolution of the ground squirrel can be successfully completed.

Although the ground squirrel failed to evolve in this experiment, it successfully expressed the sun runes!

Linde spread out sheets of carefully selected manuscript paper across the lab table.

The magical traces outlined above together form a golden rune, exquisite and perfect.

Just looking at it makes you feel as if you are on a sunny beach, feeling comfortable and warm.