Transmutation is a wonderful thing, it's such a versatile spell that I genuinely can't believe that it's just given to something as simple as a [Trapper] class. Or maybe this isn't the case and I got it because I have [Brutal Trapper] instead? I haven't encountered any other trappers so I'm not sure on the specifics yet.

  With my will alone, I'm able to turn this otherwise simple iron blade into something that can rival steel in toughness while also being as hard as a diamond. This is mostly thanks to my understanding of the world and my knowledge of molecules.

  Turning the iron's mass into something denser isn't hard, and changing its properties is even easier, for the latter, I don't even need scientific knowledge since giving an object different "properties" is pseudo scientific and borderline magic.

  With this method, I can even change the food that I am eating and make them much healthier, doing this every time I had to eat has caused me to get a new class:

  *Alchemical Chef

  +10 Resistance

  +5 Magic

  +Corrosion Resistance

  +Stomach Strength

  +Digestion

  Alchemical Chef. A pretty neat class in my opinion, and also one that didn't exist in Firelight Chronicles, beyond those two traits, it's also the only chef class that doesn't have anything cooking related to its perks, I guess I can argue that the digestion one is related to cooking but is it really? No, it isn't. It's eating related.

  Coincidentally, everything about the other two perks is related to eating, and corrosion resistance feels like it's there specifically to counter the boosted digestion the sub class is giving me.

  Anyway, with this new class, I can now get two Resistance stats per level up, which isn't a lot compared to my magic stat but it is compared to every other level 20 out there. Wait... No, that also isn't true, if someone reaches level 20 in this world, chances are, they're super old and possess several sub classes already.

  I'm an exception to this because I power leveled, and that is now working against me. Kind of. Truth is, I can safely reach level 25 without getting many stats, in the long run, 5 levels isn't a lot and my next class upgrade will make me stronger anyway.

  And my lack of stats technically works well with what I'm planning, upgrading my [Physical Recovery] passive with several hundred stats in my system will be hard, I'm lucky to only have 133 PHYS at my current level.

  That doesn't really change the fact that the system is designed to be taken slowly, with the most preferable way of leveling up taking years instead of weeks.

  Not that it matters, leveling up is hard anyway, and I have a feeling that I'll only get two extra levels by the end of winter. Which is still a lot mind you, just not enough.

  The true growth I will be experiencing this season is going to be my passives, and the next thing I am working on is my [Mental Resistance].

  Placing the now transmuted blade alongside the rest of the parts for my next wand, I get up and leave my igloo.

  Technically speaking, the current tier of my [Mental Resistance] is good enough for what I'm doing. The problem is though, I'm not gonna take that risk.

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  Now, there are multiple ways I can go about upgrading it, like not sleeping or maybe even constantly reading, I'm already learning anyway so it's not a bad idea. The only issue I have with it is that it's too slow, and that begs the question, how can I upgrade it faster?

  Humus Dungeon looms ahead of me, the broken tower grinning tauntingly, there's no ferret this time around, I'm too far to get noticed by it. This distance allows me to set up my teleportation trap, with my wand, I place [Ice Wall]s all over the place, and then I push them down.

  Once they're on the ground, I wait for them to cool and meld with each other before grabbing my spare dagger and then picking away at them to create a magic circle. Drawing large runes often means that I don't make them perfectly the first time and would have to wait for the ice to regrow before I do another attempt.

  Currently I'm at my seventh, I think? I'm not sure. Too many things happening means I lose count of what I'm doing, and remembering how many times I fail to engrave a teleportation rune on a floor of ice is just depressing so I don't bother.

  This process takes hours, and I have to take constant breaks or else I freeze to death. Sitting in my igloo, warming up, and doing nothing makes me feel impatient. I want to do things, to make more progress.

  But I can't. Not yet. I need to finish the runes and then move on with the prison, after that, I can finally work on my wand. The only thing left to do is assemble the parts together after I enchant them individually, and I am still practicing the enchantments.

  The wand needs to be perfect, efficient, I can't have it be any less than that. If my second wand is good, then I will be able to use it until I'm level 45, allowing me to focus on other things.

  Like making my spear, which would be a project taking several years given how complex I want it to be.

  "Stop." I shake my head, my voice cracking from the lack of talking these last few days. "Don't think about anything else."

  My arms reach forward and I spread my palms in front of the hearth, it's so warm... But doing this so many times whenever I carve the teleportation circle must be detrimental to my efforts right?

  Warming up is sometimes painful, sometimes nice, most of the time though, it just makes my bones ache. Not in the cripplingly painful kind of way, at least not all the time, the feeling is more so closer to the numbness you feel when in your teeth.

  The tips of my fingers do burn though, that always happens. They're actually what I use to determine whether or not I can move again, if I can stretch my entire hand and move it around without hurting, that's when I know I can go back to chipping away at the ice.

  Determination filled me as I left my igloo, I wouldn't rest until I finished the magic circle, until each rune that I'm carving is on the surface, fully realized with magic flowing through the lines.

  Wasting more time is not going to help me, I need to do this.

  Braving the cold has everything to do when working in this particular season, the ringing in my hands, the numbness I'm feeling from the cold, and the constant winter bite, all of it adds up.

  Yet I keep going anyway, I keep hitting the ice with the tip of my dagger, breaking it bit by bit and carving a line across its transparent surface. My head feels numb, my body starts to hurt, I don't stop.

  Over. And over. The repetition dulls my senses and a part of me realizes that this may be the reason why I always fail by the end of each attempt, I can think properly, I don't know what changed now for me to realize this and I don't care, I'm just thankful that I did.

  Every fiber of my being is now telling me to stop, my instincts screaming that if I didn't do this much, I would fail again. And that's what I did, I stopped, because my gut is forcing me to do so.

  Straightening my back caused it to pop, the crack of my spine audible even through my thick coat. The relief that followed made me groan and the strength in my knees disappeared, making my legs wobble, shuffling over to the side of a tree and bracing myself against it helped keep me from falling.

  Whenever I breathed, thick mist escaped my mouth, I noticed it becoming thinner every time. Am I losing body heat? I definitely am, aren't I? How long have I been here?

  My eyes barely catch anything as I make my way back to the igloo, I silently sit in front of the fire, waiting for my body to warm up was hell and my head kept throbbing throughout. A racing heartbeat made itself known, it's mine, I tell myself through the haze.

  With each pulse, warmth ran through my veins, then it spread across my body. I breathe out, the heat is a welcome change, even if it's incredibly painful.

  The ache has now reached my bones, it is incredibly painful, moving my limbs feel like I'm lifting a thousand ton boulder and I can't even stand up. How was I moving earlier? It didn't make sense no matter how much I thought about it...

  Was it my stats? No, definitely not. Then there's only one real answer is there?

  I checked my passives and sure enough, there's a new one casually sitting with the rest of them.

  [Minor Cold Resistance]