“Rotation…
it costs 16 points this time.” Luo Han looked over the data.
Although he had known that every rotation cost the square of the previous one, the thought of the future costs still made him want to abandon the idea.
…
Another Demon identity.
No, that won’t do.
I’ll just have to pick something decent next time.
I hope it’s not a Demon; if it is, I won’t be able to finish the mission at all.
Another rotation would cost 256 points, which was already the price of a piece of Purple-grade equipment.
The one after that would require the square of 256—a cost no player could possibly bear.
“One last time.”
the interface blurred again.
When the final selection settled, Luo Han’s expression shifted to one of relative satisfaction.
[Newborn Elf of the Secluded Lands.
Identity Abilities: Sword Magic, Mana Cultivation (Cosmic Grade)]
A Cosmic-grade loadout could actually produce an Elf?
He was now of the same race as Frieren and Serie.
Although it looked like he barely knew any spells, the racial identity of an Elf meant this loadout possessed excellent mana sedimentation.
Even a newborn would have far more mana than a human.
Furthermore, Elfs had a natural talent for mana control.
This had been mentioned back when Frieren was learning mana control techniques from Flamme.
As for magic, his own memories were still intact.
He could re-cultivate based on the magic he remembered knowing.
He had read in the information regarding the Colliding Worlds that returning via a quest item provided an advantage because most people could only enter once.
More importantly, the next rotation would cost the square of 256—65,536 points.
That was simply impossible.
“Confirm selection.”
[Identity Confirmed] [Special Status: The Spirit of Flamme descending in synchronization]
As his consciousness spun, a white light swallowed everything.
Cold.
That was the first sensation Luo Han felt upon regaining consciousness.
He opened his eyes and found himself sitting in a simple wooden hut.
The furnishings were sparse: a bed, a table, a fireplace, and a small pile of dried rations and firewood stacked in the corner.
Outside the window was a vast expanse of white snow.
Raging winds whipped snow grains against the glass.
The hut was situated on a wind-sheltered plateau halfway up a mountain, offering a wide view of the winding mountain paths below.
Luo Han looked down at his hands—slender, fair, with a faint luster of life at the fingertips.
Pointed ears, silver-white hair falling to his waist, and a body that felt light and full of vitality.
This was the body of an Elf.
He walked over to a blurred mirror on the wall.
The reflection showed a stranger’s face.
The features were exquisite but carried a sense of detachment brought by long-term isolation.
Silver hair, blue eyes, and skin as white as snow.
A summary of this identity’s memories flooded his mind.
A thousand years ago, the Demons had rampaged, and his hometown had been destroyed.
His parents had fled into the snowy mountains.
To evade pursuit, his mother, a priest, had maintained survival magic while his father used fire magic to provide warmth.
Somehow, they had survived.
As the days turned into years and the years into centuries, the two lived together.
Despite the low reproductive drive of Elfs, feelings had eventually blossomed between them.
It wasn’t until over a hundred years ago that the Elf of Luo Han’s current identity was born.
As he grew, he gradually became dissatisfied with the unchanging world of snow.
Influenced by storybooks brought back during trade trips, the original owner of this body held a deep longing for the Hero who was said to have used a sword to defeat the Demon King.
However, neither of his parents knew swordsmanship.
He could only study “Sword Magic” from his parents’ grimoires.
His mana had accumulated naturally over time, but he had never learned any other magic.
His parents felt he had a long life ahead of him and didn’t force him, only hoping he would avoid the Demons as much as possible.
Seizing an opportunity, he had come to this small hut—a place they usually used for rest during trade trips down the mountain—to prepare for his own adventure.
After accepting the memories, Luo Han took a deep breath, suppressing the sense of strangeness from memories that weren’t his.
With a thought, he brought up his current status panel:
[Luo Han (Elf)] [Strength: 9] [Agility: 9] [Intelligence: 18] [Skills: Swordsmanship (Beginner), Sword Magic]
This panel was actually quite good.
Not only were his Strength and Agility decent, but his Intelligence was remarkably high.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but you shouldn’t just ignore me like this.”
A gentle female voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Luo Han spun around to find a woman in white floating in the air.
He realized immediately: this was the Spirit of Flamme mentioned in the quest.
She was currently drifting in mid-air, observing him with interest.
She looked almost exactly as she did in the original work, wearing simple white robes, her eyes filled with wisdom and a hint of playfulness.
“You are…
Flamme?”
“So you know me.” Flamme drifted to the table, her ethereal fingers tapping the surface.
“It’s quite miraculous.
A voice in my head told me that you would take me to witness the prosperity of the human world, and that you would take me to see my apprentice and my teacher.”
She looked out the window, her gaze distant.
“How wonderful.
I didn’t expect to be able to see for myself what the era of human prosperity looks like.”
Luo Han didn’t quite know what to say, so he began packing his bags, preparing to head to the human town where the original owner traded goods.
“Why aren’t you answering me?
Do you think this old woman is too annoying?” Flamme turned and drifted over, her face leaning in close.
“This cold personality paired with that face…
if I were younger, I might have liked you too.”
Her gaze wavered slightly.
“You really are similar.
You give off the same feeling as Frieren.”
Luo Han found her a bit hard to handle and quickly stepped back.
“Fine, you could say I’m half a disciple of Frieren.”
“Oh?
Is that so?
Then that makes you my grand-disciple.
How did you two meet?” Flamme tapped her lip, looking very curious.
“Just like that voice in your head, I came to this world because of that same voice.
There were many complications when I met her last time.
I’ll tell you about it on the road.” Luo Han looked out the window toward the north, as if searching for something.
He quickly packed a rucksack with some dried rations, a waterskin, and a few pieces of warm clothing.
He pushed open the door, and the cold wind, mixed with grains of snow, lashed against him.
Luo Han tightened his cloak and stepped forward into the blizzard.
The snow continued to fall, but in Luo Han’s eyes, a hot flame had been lit.
Frieren, you actually forced me to leave last time…
Hmph, I’m the type to hold a grudge!
The cold outside the door was even more extreme than Luo Han had imagined.
The iron sword on his back felt like it was radiating a bone-chilling frost.
Although the elven constitution was more cold-resistant than a human’s, the howling winds of the snowy mountain still pierced through his clothes, making him subconsciously shiver.
His white breath condensed into ice crystals the moment it left his mouth, clinging to his long silver hair.
“It’s cold, isn’t it?
Though I’m in soul form now, so I can’t feel it,” Flamme said, drifting beside him and tilting her head to observe.
“Do you want me to teach you a spell to resist the cold?
Even Frieren hasn’t learned it.
Back then, I only taught her combat magic.
I wonder if that was a good thing for her or not…”
“Don’t worry, Frieren has already become an outstanding mage.
It’s just that she’s a bit prone to depending on others in her daily life.” Luo Han smiled as he recalled his memories of traveling with Frieren.
“But if you have that kind of cold-resistance magic, hurry up and teach it to me.
It’s too cold.” Luo Han wrapped his coat tighter.
As he spoke, another puff of white breath escaped him.
Alright, listen closely.” As the two moved through the snow, Flamme finished explaining the principles of the magic.
Suddenly, a notification from the Colliding Worlds rang in Luo Han’s mind.
[Ding!
Detected Spirit Flamme teaching you Constant Temperature Magic.
Learn?
Yes/No]
Luo Han’s heart stirred.
*Constant Temperature.* Sounds good.
It seemed it could not only ward off the cold but also dispel heat.
A very convenient spell.
“Yes.”
In the next second, a vast amount of knowledge on how to manipulate mana to form an “Idealistic Constant Temperature Field” flooded his mind.
The principle wasn’t to change body temperature, but to use mana to form a “Temperature Concept Negation Layer” on the surface of the body, directly blocking environmental temperature.
Almost instantly, a faint blue light appeared around Luo Han.
The cold wind continued to blow, and snowflakes still fell on his shoulders, but the sensation of cold vanished.
“Magic really is wonderful.” In this moment, Luo Han suddenly understood Frieren’s obsession with collecting all sorts of strange spells.
“You learned it?” Flamme was somewhat surprised.
“That fast?
I only just finished explaining it to you.”
“You could say it’s an ability granted to me by that voice in your head,” Luo Han explained simply.
Flamme looked thoughtful.
“No wonder that voice said I wasn’t allowed to teach you anymore.”
She paused.
“Don’t count on me teaching you any more magic after this.
That voice warned me clearly—if I teach you anything else, I’ll revert back to a mindless spiritual entity.”
“I figured as much, but they really are stingy.
It’s fine, this is enough.” Luo Han flexed his warmed fingers.
“Let’s head to the human settlement first.”
As they descended the snowy mountain path, the temperature gradually rose.
After walking for about two hours, the outline of a village appeared ahead.
It was a small town built against the mountain, with scattered wooden houses and columns of smoke rising from chimneys.
At the entrance of the town stood a wooden sign.
Luo Han could read it now; compared to his previous Mimic template, this one was infinitely better.
“Swordwind Town.”
As he entered the town, pedestrians glanced at Luo Han’s pointed ears with looks of familiarity rather than shock.
After all, he had come here with his parents before; he was a regular.
Luo Han went to a general store and used the money he started with to buy more food.
He also inquired about their current location and how to get to the Magic City.
“The Magic City, eh?” The shopkeeper thought for a moment.
“Head north for five days and you’ll hit the main road.
Just keep following that north.
However, if you go through the northwest, there’s the Village of the Sword.
You can take a shortcut to the main road from there, which only takes three days.
But there are quite a few wolf-type monsters in that area.”
“The Village of the Sword?
The one that enshrines the Hero’s Sword?”
“You actually know about it?
Aye, that’s the one.”
“I see.
Thank you.
I’ll take a map as well.”
Luo Han bought a map.
The mention of the “Village of the Sword” sparked his memory.
That was the place enshrining the legendary Hero’s Sword.
In the original story, Frieren mentioned that Himmel had tried to pull the sword but failed.
Because of that, he became even more determined to defeat the Demon King and shatter the legend of the Hero’s Sword.
With the “Sword Magic” he possessed, perhaps it might be of some use.
Since it was on the shortcut anyway, he might as well go take a look.