"Take off your clothes."
"Mom, do we really have to?"
In the freezing world of ice and snow, Tike had bundled himself up like a little dumpling. His arms were wrapped tightly around his body, and his fingers trembled slightly from the cold.
Even wearing so many layers, he could still feel the biting chill penetrating to his very marrow.
(Taking off clothes in a place like this? I'll freeze to death!)
Yet, in front of Tike, Ur, Gray, and Lyon had already stripped off their heavy outer garments, leaving only thin, form-fitting underwear to cover their private parts.
Ever since he had accidentally witnessed Ur teaching Gray and Lyon magic that day, Tike had been filled with interest in learning this wondrous art.
Ultear was also eager to try and wanted to learn magic alongside them.
Ur had naturally agreed to the children's request with pleasure.
But what neither of them expected was that the first step to learning magic involved stripping down in this bone-chilling weather!
Wouldn't training like this lead to some weird habits?
Ur's explanation for this was—
"To control the cold, you must first become one with the cold. If you want to learn Ice-Make Magic from me, this is a threshold you must cross."
"Then... Mom, do I have to strip too?" Ultear asked, her small face flushing red. Her slender fingers unconsciously fiddled with the hem of her clothes, her voice tinged with shyness.
Ur looked at her daughter, who was already dressed thinly, and gently shook her head. "Tear, your clothes are already thin enough. That will do."
Hearing her mother's words, Ultear clearly breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the small hand that had been prepared to lift her shirt.
Then, Ur looked at Tike again, waiting for his response.
Tike took a deep breath of the freezing air and finally made up his mind. He slowly began to remove his clothes. With every button he undid, the cold wind ruthlessly assaulted his skin, almost freezing the scars left by the experiments.
Finally, like the other two boys, he was left in just his underwear.
(I survived those experiments; a little cold air is nothing!)
Tike chanted this silently in his mind, trying to psych himself up. However, the reality was that he was shivering so hard he could barely speak properly.
"D-don't worry, you'll g-get used to it soon!" Lyon comforted him, trying to act calm, but his own teeth were chattering non-stop, and his voice was shaking.
Although Gray didn't say a word, his tense facial muscles and trembling body showed that he was in the same boat.
"Tike..."
Ultear looked at Tike's pale face with concern. Meanwhile, Ur extended a finger and pointed toward a distant mountain peak gently covered in pristine white snow. "First, run two or three laps around the mountain to warm up!"
Hearing this, a flash of unease crossed Ultear's eyes. She wanted to tell Tike to stop right there. "If... if you think it's too hard, you can..."
Before she could finish, Tike suddenly straightened his thin, small body. In the cold wind, his lips, purple from the cold, trembled slightly, but they stubbornly curved into a defiant smile.
"I... I'm going to... run!"
"Alright."
Seeing Tike's determination, Ultear still felt a bit worried, but she didn't try to stop him again. She just secretly decided to keep a close eye on his condition throughout the process.
And so, the five of them embarked on their journey around the mountain.
Along the way, snow-clad trees stood tall, their branches heavy with crystal-clear icicles that glittered in the light. Occasionally, a mischievous mountain breeze would sweep by, kicking up snow from the ground into little white whirlwinds, adding a sense of liveliness and vitality to the quiet winter day.
As they ran, they also encountered the magical inhabitants of this snowy region.
Light-footed snow spirits danced across the snow, their crystalline bodies emitting a soft glow as they cast curious and friendly glances at the group. In the distance, several burly ice bears lay lazily on the snow, watching the intruders with a charmingly clumsy air, their eyes revealing a sense of languid gentleness.
Finally, after an arduous run, they successfully completed three laps around the mountain.
The three boys were already panting heavily and collapsed onto the soft snow in unison. Only Ur and Ultear remained standing, with barely a trace of fatigue on their faces.
Tike took a deep breath of the icy air and suddenly realized his body was no longer trembling like before. He shouted in surprise, "It's not cold anymore! It's just like Lyon said!"
"I told you so," Lyon said, unable to resist a smug grin despite his exhaustion.
Gray remained silent, but his tense facial muscles had relaxed, and his body had stopped shaking.
Clearly, the warm-up exercise had achieved the desired effect.
Ur was surprised by how quickly Tike had adapted to the cold, and a pleased smile appeared on her face.
"It seems you've completely adapted to the climate here. Rest for thirty minutes, then we'll proceed to the next stage of magic training!"
Hearing that magic training was next, Lyon, who had been lying on the snow, sat up immediately.
"Later, I'm definitely going to show Master how much I've improved!"
Beside him, Gray curled his lip and grumbled somewhat reluctantly, "I only need ten minutes of rest; there's no need to wait that long!"
"Stop acting tough," Ur said, reaching out to gently knock Gray on the head. "Rest properly!"
"Ouch!"
Gray grunted, covering the spot on his head with both hands, and nodded obediently.
Meanwhile, Ultear crouched beside Tike, gently brushing the snowflakes off his shoulders.
"Tike, are you really not cold anymore?"
If Tike's complexion hadn't looked much rosier than before, Ultear would have genuinely worried that he had gone numb from the cold.
Facing Ultear's concern, Tike straightened his back and nodded firmly. "Of course!"
Ultear frowned slightly, puzzled. "But you were so afraid of the cold before. How did you adapt so quickly today?"
Not to mention during their journey, even after arriving at her mom's house, Tike had been so cold he insisted on being held by her and her mom just to fall asleep.
Could someone like that really adapt to the cold completely after just a few laps?
Tike lowered his head slightly, scratching his somewhat messy hair, and answered hesitantly, "Maybe it's because I lacked exercise before?"
"Could that be the reason?" Ultear was still wondering when her gaze was suddenly drawn to Tike's arm. The skin there was fair and new, smooth and flawless, as pure as a newborn baby's.
Wait a minute...?
A strange feeling spread through Ultear's heart. She gently extended a finger, carefully tracing the skin on Tike's arm, a strange expression appearing on her delicate face.
"Tike, your injuries... they're gone?"
The scars left by all those experiments had completely vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.
Tike didn't seem surprised at all and said casually, "Stuff like that heals on its own, right? This time was actually slow. Last time, when my arm got broken, it healed in just a few days."
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