Re: Evolution Online

The result was instantaneous. Not only did the biting cold cease its painful invasion, but Liam also felt a surge of power fill him, revitalizing his weary body and calming his restless soul.

The Verdant Heartroot went to work almost immediately, nourishing his body and mind from the inside out. He felt a ball of potent energy gathering in his body and could use it to bear the mind-numbing chill.

He felt better than ever and he quickly began to gather the ice elemental essence that was lying all around him. The ice shard resonated with the essence and began to glow brighter.

Liam continued pulling in as much as he could. At the same time, he started moving deeper into the abyss of the icy pond. 

His dao seed was glowing and pulsating. As he descended further, he felt more in tune with the essence around him, as if he were diving into an extension of his own being.

The sheer purity of the ice elemental essence became overwhelming, and yet his dao seed absorbed it like a sponge soaking up water. 

The resonance was stronger than ever. It was as if his dao seed had become a beacon, drawing the essence toward him.

As he delved deeper into the pond, the environment began to change subtly. The waters grew even darker, more frigid. 

Liam felt as if he was on the cusp of understanding something profound and making a breakthrough but before he could get there, he reached his next limit.

His being truly couldn't handle the cold anymore. Liam paused, wincing in pain. He had gained a bit but he was not satisfied. He did not want to leave just yet.

He stopped diving deeper into the space and stood still, floating in the middle of the icy abyss. Minutes became hours and hours turned into days. Liam silently continued meditating.

Finally, cracks started appearing on the small ice shard. 

With a tremor running through his body, Liam flashed his eyes open. "Tch." He clicked his tongue in disappointment. He had tried so hard and yet something eluded him. He seemed to be missing the final piece of the puzzle.

Even if he spent more time here, he doubted if he would gain anything. So he decided to stop this for now. He quickly opened his status screen and checked the date.

Eldrin had pointed him to this feature earlier, adjusting the settings for date and time according to the world he was currently in. Rather it was better to do all the calculations and gauge the cycles with respect to the universal date and time.

Liam sighed in relief as he noticed that there was still time left for the guardian's blessing. He might not be sure of his success in this endeavor but he wanted to at least try for it.

He began to swim upward from the depths of the icy pond. He once again paused and this time he took out the stone tablet.

Liam had not done this before because he did not want to ruin a natural resource like this by mistake, but now that he was done with it, he wanted to try and take it for himself. He couldn't let such a wondrous opportunity slip by.

As the icy waters caressed the stone tablet, it trembled in his hands as if it were excited. The next second a small vortex formed near the stone tablet.

Liam's eyes widened. This was working. He knew from experience what was going to happen next. Streams of icy essence began to get sucked into the stone tablet.

The swirling vortex became a miniature storm of elemental essence, drawn irresistibly toward the stone tablet as if heeding some ancient call. 

Each mote of essence that entered the tablet seemed to make the inscriptions on its surface glow brighter, humming in harmony. Liam could feel the essence around him slowly beginning to dim.

As the final streams of icy essence were absorbed, the vortex shrank and finally dissipated, leaving the waters around Liam eerily still. The stone tablet ceased its trembling.

Liam placed the stone tablet back inside and headed to the surface. There was nothing lurking around him, so he stepped out. 

"I am already late. I need to catch up with the others." He stretched his limbs as he tried to get a sense of his soul minions. 

Since it had been a few days, he was not optimistic about the number of soul minions still remaining on the field. He had also given them the command to dismiss themselves in the presence of danger. He did not expect many to be still active.

Liam closed his eyes and focused but immediately frowned. The minion whom he had asked to keep moving forward was not to be seen anymore. This was going to cost him time.

He continued trying to sense his minions, only to find that most of them had indeed returned to his soul space.

Coincidentally, there was still one left.

Hmmm? Liam raised a brow. If he was not wrong then this one…

He paused for a moment before he activated his soul swap skill. The next second, the werebarbarian soul shattered and Liam appeared in its place.

The moment he did, immediately several figures materialized around him, breaking their stealth. And this time it was not just one or two squadrons of elves.

Liam found himself surrounded by almost an army of ice elves!

Ice elves, clad in armor that gleamed like polished sapphires, with eyes as cold and unfathomable as the abyss he had just emerged from. 

Longbows were already drawn, arrows notched and aimed squarely at him. Swords glimmered menacingly in the hands of some. 

Their leader, distinguishable from the rest because of his huge frame and eye-catching resplendent armor, stepped forward, eyes locking onto Liam.

"Where is our princess human? Hand her over to us." His voice thundered.

Liam grinned. Just like he had thought, a welcome party was waiting for him.

"Oh, you mean the one with the long hair?" He shrugged. "I am not sure who you are talking about. I have killed so many of you."