The mature mandrake had turned blue, perhaps from absorbing the Snowfrost Flower. Its remarkably human appearance made it all the more frightening. With its eyes wide open and its mouth gaping like a goldfish, it really looked on the verge of freezing to death.

After wondering what to do with it, I decided to leave a comment first. Starlight Lady would know at least something about this phenomenon.

└Wild Grylls (Video of the mandrake turned blue) This happened. What's wrong with it?

└Starlight Lady Huh? What happened to it? Why did it turn blue?

└Wild Grylls Uh, hello...?

└Whoa. Why's that thing blue?

└Did it get a blue moderator badge too?

└Moderator, my ass. It just looks dead;;

Even Starlight Lady seemed baffled. That meant I was screwed.

But they say there's a way out even when the sky falls. Before long, she left a comment explaining the cause.

└Starlight Lady It looks as though the mature mandrake absorbed the Snowfrost Flower... We should check whether it's alive first. Could you press it with a chopstick or a twig?

└Wild Grylls I pressed it, but it just opened and closed its mouth. That's all.

└Starlight Lady Does it scream?

└Wild Grylls It does. But not continuously. It keeps stopping and starting.

└Starlight Lady It really does seem to have absorbed the Snowfrost Flower. I wasn't expecting this at all.

└Wild Grylls What should I do now?

└Starlight Lady Surprisingly, this isn't a bad situation. It means their energies have mingled. Eating it raw would be dangerous, so I'll explain how to extract the essence.

└Wild Grylls Can't I send it to you as is, my lady? You could extract it right away.

└Starlight Lady That isn't a bad option either, but I'm concerned that the Snowfrost Flower's effects might disappear if something goes wrong.

└Passing Dwarf Can't you just steep it in liquor? That sounds like a better idea.

└Wild Grylls Be honest. You just want it for yourself, don't you?

└Passing Dwarf Was it that obvious? If you have any more, give me one.

└Wild Grylls Jeez lol. You're so damn predictable.

└He's trying to steep everything in the Forest of Four Seasons in booze lmao

└Next he'll be making snake liquor lol

I paid the alcoholic dwarf no mind and waited for Starlight Lady's instructions.

Combining a Snowfrost Flower and a mature mandrake was virtually uncharted territory even for her. Neither herb could be bought with money, yet I'd put them together. It was an idea and a method only someone living in the Forest of Four Seasons could pull off.

'A mature mandrake is one thing, but Snowfrost Flowers must be hard to find.'

In fact, if this experiment failed, even I had no idea when I'd get another Snowfrost Flower. Unlike mature mandrakes, they didn't grow in colonies. I prayed this wouldn't fail. This might be my first and last chance.

└Starlight Lady (Image of mandrake anatomy) As you can see, mandrakes resemble humans, and their vital points are similar too. First, you have a syringe, right?

└Wild Grylls The one I got before?

└Starlight Lady Yes. Fill it with Elixir, then stick it straight into the mandrake's mouth.

└Wild Grylls This feels like torture.

└Starlight Lady Exactly. Force-feed it until its belly is bulging, as though you're torturing it.

└Wild Grylls Understood.

└Poor mandrake...

└Sorry our species is such a bunch of assholes...

└Just shove it in so it can't even scream lmao

└Can't you just crush it and squeeze the juice out? Poor thing lol

└Starlight Lady Then put it in a mortar and pound it finely. That should extract a concentrated essence.

└Wild Grylls That's a really primitive method.

└Starlight Lady There's no other way. Do you need a mortar?

└Wild Grylls No. I can buy one at the auction house.

Since I knew nothing about this, I had no choice but to follow her instructions. I filled the syringe with Elixir as she said, then stuck it into the blue mature mandrake's mouth.

SHUNK!

"Gurk?! Guk! Guuurk!"

The instant I stuck the syringe in, the mandrake struggled to scream. But it was futile, since I was forcibly holding its mouth shut. True to its human appearance, it even flailed its arms and legs. It actually grabbed the needle, trying to pull the syringe from its mouth.

THWACK! THUD!

"Gurk?! Gump!"

So I hit it a few times to make it behave. Annoying as it was, this was part of extracting the essence, so I persevered.

I injected all the Elixir in the syringe into the mature mandrake. Its body was still blue, but it was gradually beginning to glow. Apparently, that was from absorbing the Elixir's energy.

"Keee...!"

THWACK!

"Gwek! Keeeeeee...!"

WHACK! WHACK!

"Gweeek! Keeeeee...!"

"..."

"KEEEEEEE! KEEEEEE!!"

"Oh, come on."

Had this thing taken drugs instead of the Snowfrost Flower?

The moment I took the syringe out of its mouth, it started letting out bizarre screams. They weren't the characteristic mandrake screams. Instead, it sounded high out of its mind. Even punching it wouldn't calm it down.

Apparently, the Elixir I'd injected was healing it in real time. Even its face looked completely spaced out. It was acting like an actual drug addict. Elixir was technically a "drug," after all, and it seemed to have a strange effect on mandrakes.

THWACK! THUD! WHACK!

"Gwek! Kek! Gweeek!"

So I hit it a few more times. That left the mandrake hanging limp as a corpse.

Having used half a bottle of Elixir, I got the mortar ready. I didn't forget to wash both the mortar and mandrake with water for hygiene.

'She said to pound it finely and collect the juice, right?'

According to Starlight Lady, that juice was the essence.

Incidentally, though I hadn't mentioned it until now, safety was her priority. She said there was a more reliable method, but it would put my survival at risk, so she was prioritizing safety. I had absolutely no intention of gambling my life for power either, so I readily followed her advice.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

I pounded the mature mandrake finely in the mortar. This wasn't a little bowl, but a full-sized mortar of the sort normally used for pounding grain. I'd bought it to extract as much essence as possible.

'Will that do?'

After all that pounding, the mature mandrake was completely crushed. It was still blue. I tilted the mortar slightly and poured the essence into an empty Elixir bottle I'd washed clean. Only a few drops came out, but I wasn't finished.

I squeezed the finely pounded mandrake hard with my hands. I used every bit of grip strength I had, making the tendons stand out on the backs of my hands.

DRIP! DRIP!

Juice dripped down. After repeating this several times, I managed to fill the bottle about halfway. Elixir bottles were tiny, so it wasn't much, but it was enough.

It shimmered.

Perhaps because the essence contained Elixir as well, it wasn't an ordinary blue. It was an exquisite blend of icy white and blue. Glowing just like Elixir, it looked like a precious medicine at first glance.

└Wild Grylls (Photo of the blue, glowing essence) I've extracted it all. I just drink it now, right?

└Starlight Lady Yes. But I'll give you another Elixir just in case. It's packed with yang essence, so it should be enough for an emergency.

└Wild Grylls Thank you.

Now that I'd received an emergency Elixir from Starlight Lady, all that remained was drinking this stuff. I gazed at the glittering blue essence and took a deep breath.

Essence was a liquid containing powerful energy. The easiest way to think of it was as a liquefied inner core. So all I had to do was calmly manage its energy while reciting the second formula Heavenly Demon had taught me.

'I even mixed in Elixir to make it safe. I'll be fine.'

The first time was always the hardest. I swallowed nervously, then downed all the essence in one gulp.

From my mouth to my throat, the cold was so intense it stung. On top of that, it was incredibly bitter. Bitter enough to contort my entire face. The bitterness was even more overwhelming than the cold, and nearly made me fail to practice the cultivation method.

'Th-the heavens become me... Wait, that's not it?'

On top of everything, my head throbbed as though I'd eaten ice cream too fast. The one-two punch of bitterness and brain freeze left me dazed, but I somehow managed to recite the formula.

It wasn't pain, exactly, but the sensations flooding through me were comparable, making this far from easy. Still, I did my best to accept the energy rather than lose focus and be overwhelmed by it. As Heavenly Demon had taught me, I had to understand the energy of the heavens to control it. I strove to fully feel every strand of the essence's energy.

Energy surged through me.

The combination of a safety-focused preparation method and my own efforts slowly began to bear fruit. The essence started flowing along the routes my mana traveled when I practiced the cultivation method. If I kept this up, I would absorb all of it before long. Though it felt as if there were a solid block of ice inside my body, the cold was bearable.

Another surge washed through me.

How much time had passed? I managed to absorb the essence completely. After practicing the cultivation method a little longer, I slowly opened my eyes. The speed-sloth was staring blankly at me.

"Whew..."

"..."

Seeing the speed-sloth meant I was still alive. I let out a long sigh, my breath misting in the air.

'Did it... work?'

With all the essence absorbed, I inspected my body. Nothing had changed noticeably. The same went for the cold. I was still freezing. It seemed I hadn't gained the cold resistance I'd been after. What a shame.

'It's disappointing, but what can you do? Even Starlight Lady wasn't certain.'

That didn't mean I could have disregarded safety. I posted on the forum to let everyone know the result.

Results of the First Batch

Wild Grylls

Nothing seems to have changed. Looks like it was completely neutralized.

└Starlight Lady That's a shame. I'm so sorry I wasn't capable enough.

└Wild Grylls No, you didn't do anything wrong. It would be strange to succeed on the first try, wouldn't it?

└Starlight Lady I don't know about Snowfrost Flowers, but I think I need to research mature mandrakes further. Could you give me one later?

└Wild Grylls Sure. You gave me an Elixir, after all.

└Passing Dwarf Told you steeping it in liquor would be better.

└Wild Grylls Cut the crap.

└Starlight Lady It isn't entirely nonsense. Drinking snake liquor or ginseng liquor is essentially drinking essence.

└Passing Dwarf See? lol

└Wild Grylls Still, booze is a bit...

└Passing Dwarf Just humor me and try making it. I'll give you some amazing stuff.

└Wild Grylls If I can make it lol

I'd need another Snowfrost Flower before I could even consider making it again.

Putting my disappointment aside, I checked the time. I still had a little left. Building the icehouse would take too long, but I figured I had enough time to chop some wood to get through tonight.

Aura flared up.

"Huh?"

I noticed something odd when I ignited aura around my axe to make chopping easier.

My aura had originally been nearly colorless. Not anymore. It was a vivid blue, an achingly cold blue at that.

'Wait. It actually is cold?'

It was a strange sight, still flickering like a flame but giving off cold. Curious, I put my hand against the aura, but my hand was perfectly fine.

'Did it just get cooler?'

What was this, all show and no substance? I chuckled. Chopping wood was what mattered right now. A different color didn't make it any less aura.

I swung the axe, putting my hips into it.

THUNK!

The instant the axe blade struck squarely into the middle of the trunk...

CRRRACK!!!

The entire tree froze solid, starting from the point of impact.

"..."

I could only gape at the unbelievable sight.

'What the hell did I just drink?'

I couldn't quite decide whether to be happy about this or not. Still, one thing was certain.

'Th-that's awesome...!'

I'd unintentionally gained an incredible ability.

A Snowfrost Flower, a mature mandrake, and finally Elixir. Every one of them was rare, and I'd mixed all three. Perhaps this was only to be expected.

'... What would happen if I combined that with the sword?'

That idle thought suddenly crossed my mind.