Magic Farm 107

Chapter 107: The Ice Demon

The old woman, Tessa, told him a story.

Tessa’s family had been icefield hunters, living for generations deep within the Winter Icefield.

Icefield hunters were descendants of the Vela people, born with robust bodies and a bloodline unafraid of wind, snow, and bitter cold.

The climate of the Winter Icefield was unimaginably harsh; aside from the Vela, no other race could survive there for long.

Even the Dawson Trading Company, famed for the saying “as long as there’s gold, a caravan can reach it,” only came here once a year.

Yet, for that very reason, certain magical plants, medicinal herbs, and mutated creatures unique to the Winter Icefield were rare and fetched exorbitant prices elsewhere.

The daily life of an icefield hunter consisted of venturing out to gather and hunt when the weather permitted, storing up their spoils, and, when the annual caravan arrived, trading them for gold and the supplies needed to survive.

Once, Tessa’s household had included both her son and daughter, as well as the little grandson before him.

This child, named Theodore, was not related to her by blood; her children had found him while out hunting, discovered in the snow and ice.

Even for a Vela, even wrapped in the pelts of heat-retaining mutant beasts, it was nothing short of a miracle that he had survived alone in the wild.

They brought him home and named him Theodore, meaning “gift from the gods.”

Qi Yu listened intently to her tale.

It was like a story from some fantastical world, and he loved hearing stories of every kind.

But the story soon turned sorrowful.

Half a year ago, Tessa’s son and daughter met with an accident and never returned.

Only the elderly Tessa and the young child remained in the house.

The aged warrior donned her armor once more and took up her long blade.

“Fortunately, though my body is old, I still have some strength left,” Tessa said, a faint light returning to her dim, clouded eyes as she smiled.

“I wrote to a distant friend, asking her to look after Theodore for me,” Tessa sighed. “But communication is difficult in the Winter Icefield, and with the blizzard season upon us, I don’t know if she ever received my plea for help.”

A week ago, while out hunting, she encountered a monster.

Qi Yu noticed that the child, still quietly nestled at his grandmother’s side under the blanket, now wore an expression of fear.

“It was the Ice Demon,” Tessa said, her tone a mixture of loathing and dread. “I don’t know why a creature said to dwell only in the innermost reaches of the icefield would appear here.”

“I was defeated by it. I thought I would die. Ice Demons love to eat the freshest hearts.”

But she did not die.

She lost a leg.

She thought she had been favored by the goddess of fortune, but in truth, it was only the beginning of a nightmare.

The next day, as Tessa was recuperating at home and night began to fall, the demon came to her door.

It burst into the house before Theodore’s terrified eyes, inflicting another wound on Tessa’s remaining leg.

On the third day… it was the same.

It was a cruel monster, toying with prey that no longer had the strength to resist, savoring their helpless struggle and feeding on their fear.

Tessa’s body trembled violently. She looked at Qi Yu. “Honored Mage, you…”

It was obvious she had seen the badge on Qi Yu’s mage robe.

She seemed to have made up her mind. “Since you were able to come here, it means you have a way to leave. I beg you, please take Theodore away from here.”

She spoke solemnly: “The Vela have the most resilient blood of the Winter Icefield. You need not care for him—just take him to any human settlement. He will survive.”

Qi Yu pondered her words, then suddenly asked, “Is the Ice Demon really that powerful?”

He clearly understood the implication behind Tessa’s words.

She believed a third-tier mage would not be its match.

Tessa said, “It’s an Ice Demon on the verge of reaching the fifth tier. I know mages possess extraordinary means, but…”

The gap in levels was simply too great to bridge.

Qi Yu didn’t believe the drifting bottle would ever give him a commission he could not complete.

At most, he had only ever encountered third-tier mutant creatures; he had never seen such a high-level monster.

If it came to it, he still had a teleportation scroll as his last resort.

He said, “Don’t worry yet. Tell me—what sort of creature is the Ice Demon? How does it attack, what are its strengths, and what are its weaknesses?”

Tessa looked at him in surprise.

Qi Yu said, “I’m actually quite curious about the Ice Demon. The fact that I could hear your call and receive this commission means I might have a way to deal with it.”

Though Tessa felt it was a faint hope, she understood what Qi Yu meant, and she was deeply grateful that this mage, a stranger, was willing to stay for her sake.

She wanted to say more, but suddenly coughed violently.

Qi Yu caught the scent—the blood on her was stronger now.

She spoke softly, “Theodore, go to the bedroom, second shelf of the red cabinet, and bring me the book with the beast hide cover.”

The child bowed his head and left.

Qi Yu looked at her. “Are your injuries severe?”

Tessa gave a bitter smile and, with her exposed right hand, lifted the blanket that had been covering her.

Qi Yu had assumed, as with the child, that the blanket was for warmth.

Only now did he see.

Both of Tessa’s legs, from the knees down, had lost all flesh and muscle, leaving only stark white bone.

Her left arm, too, looked as if something had gnawed it away, leaving only half covered in flesh.

Seeing Qi Yu’s shocked expression, Tessa pulled the blanket back over herself, embarrassed. “Did I frighten you?”

Her face was calm. “That monster didn’t want me to die easily. It used some method to keep my wounds from bleeding.” That way, she wouldn’t die from blood loss.

Even with such wounds, she could still smile. “It just so happens that I don’t want to die yet. As long as I live, it won’t lay its claws on Theodore.”

It wasn’t fright—it was shock.

Since entering the survival game, whether in the Forest of Stars or in Gold Cavern City, even with all the conflict and death, Qi Yu had always felt this was a paradise of a world.

Until this moment, when he saw Tessa’s wounds.

So there were demons everywhere.

He shook his head. “I’m not frightened.”

How could he be frightened? He had seen worse.

He himself had once lost a hand in just such a way.

He looked at the calm-faced old woman—if she hadn’t lifted the blanket, he would never have guessed what pain she was enduring.

Truly, as she said, the Vela were the world’s most resilient people.

Qi Yu volunteered, “I have healing potions, and I know a little healing magic. Let me try to see if I can help.”

Tessa was surprised. “Healing magic? You’re actually a noble life-mage as well?”

Qi Yu gave a soft “Mm.” “Something like that. I’ve dabbled in a bit of everything.”

He rummaged in his backpack and took out a bottle of healing potion. “Try drinking one first, see how it works?”

Tessa said, “I don’t have that much gold…”

Qi Yu cut her off. “I do.”

He added, “A lot. I’m not short on money.”

He pressed the healing potion into her hand. “Drink.”

Tears shimmered in Tessa’s eyes. “Thank you, kind sir.”

She knew this was a mage’s goodwill, and her heart was finally at ease: the hero who had accepted the commission was such a generous and kind mage. Even if she were gone, he would not abandon Theodore.

She drank a bottle of basic healing potion.

Qi Yu asked, “How do you feel?”

Tessa nodded, then shook her head. She lifted the blanket from her arm. “Your potion is powerful. I think a little flesh has grown back on my arm, but…”

The effect was limited.

With wounds like hers, it might take a hundred bottles to see real recovery.

It seemed there was a difference between players and natives.

Players’ bodies had specific attribute values—like Qi Yu’s current HP was 615.

A basic healing potion could restore 10 points. Even if he were on the brink of death, he could chug sixty bottles and be back to full.

But the natives were closer to what he understood as “normal people”—they could be wounded, they could bleed.

Honestly, the fact that the potion worked at all, even to the point of regrowing flesh, was already impressive.

Qi Yu took out several more bottles and handed them to her. “Keep drinking.”

Then he opened his survival panel and poked a friend:

[I Love Survival Games: Do you have any spare healing potions? I’d like to buy some.]

Since the potions worked, he wouldn’t waste mana on spells just yet—he still had a monster to deal with.

[Don’t Dare to Open My Eyes: Huh? I do. Did something happen, game master? Just healing potions? Nothing else?]

[Your friend “Don’t Dare to Open My Eyes” has sent you a gift.]

[Received Basic Healing Potion x50, Intermediate Healing Potion x5.]

[Don’t Dare to Open My Eyes: If that’s not enough, let me know. My success rate for basic potions is really high now, I can make more anytime.]

[I Love Survival Games: Thanks. I’m out on some business right now. We’ll settle up later.]

[Don’t Dare to Open My Eyes: No! Don’t say that, game master! I’m still using the little cauldron you gave me for alchemy—it’s amazing!]

[Don’t Dare to Open My Eyes: Plus, I’m still hoping to mooch off your temperature-regulating magic array. Talking money just hurts the friendship!]

[I Love Survival Games: Then, thank you.]

He took out the fifty-odd bottles of potions he’d just received and piled them on the small table nearby.

Theodore, just returning with the book, was startled. Tessa, sitting on the sofa, was even more shocked.

She had never seen so many precious healing potions in her life.

And now, not only had she seen them, but the mage who seemed to radiate golden light was pointing at them, saying offhandedly, “Drink them all.”

Tessa: “…”

Her lips moved. She whispered, “Even if I sold myself into slavery, an old warrior like me would never be worth so much.”

She wanted to say she wasn’t worth it.

Qi Yu waved the child over and took the book from his hands, saying, “You might not know, but I come from the Forest of Stars. That’s tens of thousands of miles from here.”

It was a lie—he had no idea how far the Forest of Stars was from here.

“But since I could receive your commission at home and come here, it means your fate is not yet sealed.”

The drifting bottle had only appeared to him three times.

Once, it brought him the friend God Is Formless.

Once, it unlocked Gold Cavern City and let him join the Mage Association.

He trusted the drifting bottle, and he believed in fate.

This time, it definitely wouldn’t be as simple as it seemed.

He wanted to save Tessa, and if he could, why wouldn’t he?

[Acquired “Winter Icefield Magical Creature Compendium.”]