Magic Farm 126

Chapter 126: The Power of Ice and Snow’s Origin, Unlocking Ice Magic

Qi Yu didn’t ask what the special effect was, because he saw it too.

The mysterious mage, cloaked and staff in hand, hovered in midair, a pair of magnificent azure wings unfurled behind him, and the sea surged and roared in answer to his call.

It lasted for several full seconds before this dazzling scene finally faded away.

Meanwhile, in the 01 Squad chat group, his ID had turned gold, and on either side of his name, a pair of tiny wings shed golden particles without pause.

[Need a Bit of Money to Save the Day: Wow, that super cool cloaked figure is you, isn’t it? I saw people talking about your performance in the arena in the chat channel.]

[Don’t Dare Open My Eyes: That’s what a gaming master looks like. Has Survival Game turned a top player’s moment of glory into an entrance effect? And even added a personal ID effect?]

[Brother Civil Engineer: Could this be the popularity reward that the rabbit host mentioned?]

Qi Yu thought for a moment, left the group chat, and opened his friend page with Shen Ben Wuxiang.

[I Love Survival Game: .]

The dazzling special effect appeared again.

Only after the effect faded did the other side reply.

[Shen Ben Wuxiang: You noticed it too?]

With his message, a dragon’s roar sounded from the survival panel.

A black-clad warrior rode atop a golden dragon, soaring freely through the sky.

His ID, like Qi Yu’s, had turned gold, and bore a pair of tiny wings that shed golden particles.

[Shen Ben Wuxiang: What the hell is this, hahaha. I admit I do show off a bit, but isn’t this a little too high-profile?]

Despite what he said, he had already “accidentally” posted several times in both his friends’ small group and the 88th District’s regional channel.

The more crowded the place, the more eye-catching the glittering gold ID became.

And now, whenever he spoke in the regional channel, his messages came with special effects and were automatically pinned to the top.

It was even better than paying for a highlighted megaphone.

So satisfying.

[I Love Survival Game: This should be the popularity reward from the livestream room.]

[I Love Survival Game: Looks good.]

He opened the 01 District regional channel.

Sure enough, just as Money had said, the entire channel was abuzz with talk of the Speed Carnival event.

And the one mentioned most was him.

Perhaps after a month of grueling survival, the sudden three-day holiday and the launch of this entertainment event had given everyone a shared topic for relaxation.

[I Love Survival Game: .]

The dazzling entrance effect brought the whole regional channel to a standstill for several seconds.

[Roach Tastes Weird: Damn! That’s insanely cool!]

[Be a Good Person: Special effect ID, automatic pinning, entrance message effect—Survival Game, did you really not study the Blue Star streaming platforms?]

[Grumpy Bro: It really is just like those streaming platforms, except the tech is even better, and the effects are genuinely stunning.]

[Grind King: Master! @I Love Survival Game, I’m heartbroken I missed your stream.]

[Jiangnan Mist Guest: Are you a dual-class player, master?]

Most of the familiar leaderboard players in District 01, especially those in combat professions, had managed to cling on until the very end of their respective arenas, regardless of their ranking.

As a result, they had completely missed the chance to observe Qi Yu.

So when they emerged from the event and saw the regional channel in a frenzy, it felt as if the sky was falling.

In Survival Game, players couldn’t record the streams. All they could do was listen to those who had watched, raving about magic, dragons, and impossibly cool flying mounts.

A missed fortune!

With the whole region watching the stream, there was no point in hiding anything.

[I Love Survival Game: Mm.]

[Jiangnan Mist Guest: Impressive, truly impressive.]

[Roach Tastes Weird: What I envy most is something else. Master, you and that top player from District 88 were friends before entering the game, weren’t you? How wonderful—to meet a good friend again after entering Survival Game.]

The two of them had embraced the moment they entered the arena.

Though the match hadn’t started yet and players couldn’t hear what they said, their closeness was obvious to the naked eye—there was no way they were strangers.

Still, no one guessed that Qi Yu would possess a heaven-defying item like the Drifting Bottle, nor that it would bring him a friend from another region during the newbie phase.

At most, they speculated that the two had been friends in real life back on Blue Star.

Seeing that the two seemed about the same age, perhaps they were classmates or childhood friends.

After all, District 01 had its own ready-made example: Desire to Pluck the Moon from the Ninth Heaven and Jiangnan Mist Guest, a brother-sister pair with incredible luck.

Qi Yu’s survival panel popped up with a message.

[Speed Carnival event “Holiday Surprise Blind Box” has been issued. Please check your rewards.]

[Received “Holiday Surprise Blind Box” x2.]

[Open the blind boxes?]

He chose to open them.

[Received “Glynn’s Holiday Gift” and “Ambunel’s Holiday Gift.”]

They were two beautifully wrapped boxes tied with ribbons.

The box from Glynn was blue. Opening it, he found a string of exquisite little conch wind chimes.

Qi Yu liked them instantly.

He looked up, then hung the conch wind chimes by the window.

When the wind stirred them, he could hear the sound of the sea breeze moving the waves.

So beautiful.

The box from Ambunel was pale yellow.

Inside were all kinds of food: a small box of flower-shaped pastries, each the size of a palm, four in total; a glistening, braised rabbit, carefully wrapped in double-layered paper bags and tied tightly with twine; and a bottle of beautiful amber-colored drink.

Qi Yu had no concept of “local specialties,” but at that moment, he inexplicably realized: these must be the signature items of Glynn and Ambunel.

He opened the regional channel:

[Grind King: Did you all receive your Holiday Surprise Blind Box? I got a gift from a place called Reindeer Town.]

[Need a Bit of Money to Save the Day: Mine’s from Kyra Royal City—a very finely crafted dagger. There’s a note in the box saying the Kyra Empire has the continent’s most advanced forging techniques.]

[Jiangnan Mist Guest: My blind box gift is from a place called Desolate City—a bottle of wine.]

[Tranquility: It seems everyone’s Holiday Surprise Blind Box contains a specialty from a certain region. Can I take it to mean this world is welcoming us?]

That message slowed the flood of posts in the regional channel.

[Be a Good Person: Actually, watching the stream, during that final travel balloon segment, I started wondering about the purpose behind this Survival Game event. At first, I thought the game’s goal was to drag us in for endless slaughter until only one survived. But with the sudden appearance of the reputation leaderboard, and now this holiday event, I’m no longer sure.]

[Grumpy Bro: You know, when I opened this little holiday gift, I actually felt a strange pang of sadness. What is this damned game trying to do?]

[Grind King: No idea. Anyway, it’s called Survival Game, so I’ll just treat it like a game! If it’s pure survival, my goal is to grind to the end and see what lies at the finish line. Now that the open world is available, it feels like there’s an even bigger map to grind, and even more things to do. Awesome!]

[Jiangnan Mist Guest: I feel the same. This event showed me so many new things. Somehow, Survival Game feels more hopeful now.]

[Desire to Pluck the Moon from the Ninth Heaven: Magic, dragons, summoners, sea sirens… Everyone, doesn’t this all make your blood race?]

[Sakura Grass: On the contrary, the bigger and more real this world feels, the more pessimistic I become. Because I want to go home, and I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to.]

Qi Yu watched for a while, then quietly exited the chat channel.

He was different from the Blue Star people.

He would never want to go back. He wished he could stay in Survival Game forever. In his heart, his refuge, this territory—perhaps even the entire Forest of Stars—was home.

This was where he belonged.

Night fell.

It was the first night of the Safe Day.

Because it was Safe Day, the rain had stopped, the temperature had returned to its most comfortable, and even the mental pollution that always lingered after dark had vanished.

On such a peaceful night, the players found themselves unable to sleep, their emotions stirred by the holiday gifts, each pouring out their feelings in the regional channel.

Qi Yu had nothing to pour out.

Taking advantage of the safety, he could finally get some things done.

He took out the drop of “Power of Ice and Snow’s Origin” he’d obtained from the Winter Tundra.

The survival panel’s information said it was edible, with unknown effects that varied from person to person.

An ordinary ice demon, after swallowing it, had gained “wisdom” and learned to speak the human tongue.

So what would happen if he swallowed it?

He’d find out soon enough.

Qi Yu deliberately sat beneath the Tree of Life, looked up, and swallowed the drop of power that radiated a mighty energy.

In an instant, endless ice and snow enveloped him.

If there had been outsiders in the territory at that moment, they would have witnessed a shocking sight: ice spreading from within, sealing the cross-legged mage beneath the tree in a block of ice, transforming him into a statue.

And the tranquil Tree of Life began to rustle, its powerful life force pouring ceaselessly into Qi Yu beneath its boughs.

Qi Yu felt as if he had become a drifting wind, perhaps a wandering soul.

He drifted into the Winter Tundra, swept along by blizzards, roaming far and wide. He saw many things mentioned in Survival Game: snow sprites, ice demons, ice crystals… and even a caravan drawn by snow beasts.

At a certain moment, a wild wind lifted him, carried him through thick layers of ice, and plunged him into the waters of a lake.

His consciousness slipped into slumber.

.

Eight o’clock in the morning.

Daylight replaced darkness in an instant, and the whole territory brightened.

The Tree of Life, silent through the night, began to rustle again. Dew, perhaps left from the night before, fell from its branches.

Drip.

It struck the head of the ice-bound mage.

That single drop awakened the sleeper.

The ice melted away as abruptly as it had appeared, not even dampening the hem of his robe.

Qi Yu slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of icy air.

He looked up at the Tree of Life above him. “Tree of Life, thank you for waking me.”

If not for that drop of dew, he didn’t know how much longer he would have slept.

He raised his hand, and with a touch of his fingertip, ice crystals spread and grew, slowly forming a bloom of ice lily-of-the-valley in his palm.

[Congratulations, player “I Love Survival Game,” for comprehending the power of ice and snow.]

[Unlocked variant form of water magic: Ice Magic.]