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The Stormrider brothers can't afford to remain stagnant for long. They can rest, but they can't stop.

Their first Hell Dive experience sure was traumatic. Experiencing a horrible death from the maws of the endless undead horde was harrowing, so nobody could blame them for being scared. However, their petulant pride and the fact that Hell Dives will be a constant part of their lives now prevented them from retreating. And so, despite their fear, they have to keep moving forward. Especially since this will happen again next month.

Gerald was at a loss...

It's not that he's running out of ideas; it's simply because none of them were going right as he intended them to.

He wanted to become much stronger, and there were a lot of ways to do that. But out of all of them, leveling up right away wasn't something he considered for now, because according to his father, the stronger he was, the Hell Dive became too. His father advised them to excavate the potential of their talents and skills first before increasing their levels or tiers.

Cedric wouldn't lie to them on this topic, so they have to believe him. After all, he's the only one so far who survived this ridiculous Hell Dive challenge, so he's the most knowledgeable person they could rely on.

But like what was mentioned, Gerald was hitting a sturdy wall in his growth. He had many ideas in mind, but none of them were turning out the way he expected them to be, and it's turning him irate.

Your next chapter is on empire

Soon, he found himself puzzled on how to move forward, and that is bad news because the clock was ticking. It was then that he suddenly had an idea...

"Mom," he whispered to himself.

Gerald stood up and walked out of his room to find his mother. He had a vague feeling that she could help him with his problems.

He made his way where she usually was and found her there. She's tending on the frozen pond, where they usually get some food and other ingredients for supplements.

"Hm? You're here? What's up?" Isabella smiled with a brow raised.

Inwardly, she already had a clue why her son came to her. After all, he doesn't come to this place unless she calls him here or if he needs something from her.

"Can you teach me Ice Magic, Mom?" Gerald asked hopefully, "I...I've hit a wall. And I don't want last time to happen again."

Yep, it's just as she expected. He came to her for this.

Isabella's expression softened as she stared at her son. Her husband was right. The kids will indeed come to them instead. There was no need to offer anything. And this act of initiative is way better than freely offering them help.

Smiling to herself, Isabella waved her hand, and a spatial wormhole appeared behind her. She then began walking towards it, but before she entered, she looked back at her son and said,

"Come, follow me."

Gerald was stunned. Although the concept completely eludes him, he knows that creating or opening a wormhole like that shouldn't be as casual as his mother did so just now. But he didn't have the time to think too much of this because his mother already entered the wormhole expecting him to follow her, and so he did.

Upon arriving on the other side, he was stunned.

He felt it before he even saw it—the bone chilling cold of his surroundings. Once again, Gerald found himself surrounded with an endless blanket of snow and ice, snow-capped mountain peaks, and gigantic glaciers. But unlike last time, where the cold didn't bother him, this time, it certainly did, and it bothered him a lot.

It was bearable though; he had some level of immunity against the cold thanks to his class template.

Isabella was waiting for him on the other side. And looking at her, he could immediately tell that she's in her element. Like she belonged here and was even the queen of this place. If there's anybody who will not be bothered by the coldness of this world, it could only be and will always be her—at least, that's the impression she gave him.

"Come, walk with me."

Gerald nodded to her and began walking beside her. They trekked through the deep snow. The boy was obviously struggling while the woman was gliding through it like she's skating. That said, Isabella didn't leave him behind. She adjusted her speed to him, making sure that she's within his sight during the walk.

None of them spoke, but the longer they walked, the colder it got for Gerald.

It was shocking to him because he expected his cold-temperature immunity to be stronger than this. His mother doesn't even look bothered at all, yet here he was, shivering like a leaf in a storm.

"M-Mom? I-It's...really...c-cold!"

"Well, duh..."

If only Gerald wasn't shivering from the cold, he would've rolled his eyes at her. But he couldn't blame her for responding this way either since he's basically asking for it.

Obviously, it will be cold. They're surrounded with all of the expressions of cold, after all! It would be surprising if a place blanketed by snow and ice were hot like a dessert!

Unable to endure the cold, Gerald used his magic to warm himself up. Thanks to the ironic polarity of his class template, he's able to create a heat source that should be able to help him out.

However, to his surprise, the heat he was expecting didn't come at all. He initially thought that he just didn't do it the right way, but once he tried it again, he discovered that it's really not working despite him doing it properly this time.

"What's going on?"

Gerald looked around him and felt suspicious. He then looked at his mother and thought to himself,

'Is she testing me? '

"Hmm? What's the matter? You look as if I stole your candies again, which I didn't, by the way. You don't eat the candies I make anymore, after all."

Gerald blushed in shame at the memory. But he quickly tossed the idea at the back of his mind and asked:

"I...can't...use my f-fire," Gerald replied with his teeth clattering from the cold.

Hearing this, his mother paused in her steps. She turned to him, and he was shocked when he saw her stern expression. Gerald felt his heart sinking because his mother only wears this expression when he did or said something wrong.

"I thought you wanted me to teach you Ice Magic."

"Y-yeah, b-but..."

Gerald didn't know how to continue. He felt as if no matter what he says next would be taken the wrong way, and he absolutely didn't want to upset his mother now or else she just might leave him behind here.

Isabella turned around, and with a sigh, she said, "You're usually smarter and wittier than this."

"..."

"Gerald. The cold is the opposite of heat. Whether it's ice, snow, or frost, none of them would exist without the cold."

After saying this, Isabella continued walking forward, completely expecting Gerald to follow her.

Gerald didn't get it. What does Cold have anything to do with his fire? He just wanted to warm himself up so that he could think and function more easily. Was it really that bad?

Yes, he did ask her to teach him Ice Magic, but it doesn't mean that he had to experience the true grip of coldness to take him in order to learn, right?

That line of thought made Gerald pause in his steps.

"...or maybe I do," he whispered to himself.

Looking at the back of his mother, who's still walking forward without any care in the world, Gerald sighed.

Having made a decision, Gerald surrendered himself to the cold.

He got rid of any ideas of resisting the cold. He stilled his heart and lowered his defenses, allowing the coldness to permeate as deep as it could get to his being.

It was scary. The idea of surrendering to the will of nature was such a frightening concept to him, yet he did it anyway.

Gerald found his thoughts slowing down to crawl. His bodily functions were failing, and the brittle touch of the cold gripped his heart tightly. His mind repeatedly warned him that whatever he's doing was harmful to him, but he stayed absolutely still. He dropped all ideas of resisting and accepted the cold in his body.

A layer of frost immediately appeared on his skin. Gerald felt his body turning into a block of ice, and every single movement of his body turned still.

At some point, the fear of death silently emerged once more. Flashbacks of his death at the jaws of the undead resurfaced in his memory. But it was doused by the coldness of his surroundings as soon as it appeared, giving him some semblance of peace and clarity.

It is when he achieved this mental state that Gerald finally understood why his mother said those words to him.

"The cold is not my enemy," his whisper echoed throughout the vast field of pure white snow.

The words flowed into Isabella's ears, making her smile as she continued walking forward.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com