Chapter 189: The Terrifying Pandora Magic!

"Crack!"

As the cold air seeped out from the thick glass jar, it immediately froze into a layer of thick ice crystals on the outside, even encasing Merlin's fingers.

"Stone Guard!"

Startled, Merlin quickly cast Stone Guard to shield himself. The Hundred-Year Cold Essence was no ordinary item; once released, its chill would freeze anything it touched. Merlin's fingers were barely frozen, yet he already felt numb and almost immobilized.

With the Stone Guard spell enveloping him, the cold continued to spread, gradually freezing the protective shield. This chill was even more potent than Merlin's own Freezing Grip; an ordinary defensive spell alone couldn't resist even a fraction of the Hundred-Year Cold Essence's freezing power.

Realizing this, Merlin hurriedly sealed the glass jar, halting the cold's spread. He then cast Rage Flame, carefully warming his fingers until the ice melted, but not without consequence—his left index finger had suffered frostbite and would need time to heal.

"What terrifying cold. This really is genuine Hundred-Year Cold Essence!"

Merlin murmured to himself, marveling at its power. The mere release of a trace of its chill was so dangerous, making the prospect of using it to practice Extreme Ice Finger both daunting and thrilling.

Before diving into practice, Merlin began preparations. Using a sharp needle, he carefully inscribed intricate symbols onto his right index finger, forming an irregular hexagonal mark. The engraving was deep and resembled a unique tattoo.

Once the symbol was complete, the Extreme Ice Finger training required Merlin to channel his mental energy into it. Skilled in manipulating mental energy, Merlin guided it precisely into the symbol, sensing an indescribable change in his finger. Though subtle, something mysterious had indeed shifted.

Next, Merlin cast Freezing Grip.

"Crack."

The icy spell rapidly froze his finger. Unlike his basic Ice Freeze spell, Freezing Grip carried a cold poison that began spreading through Merlin's body. But to his surprise, the poison seemed blocked by a strange power within his finger—the very symbol he'd just etched.

"Could this symbol possess properties similar to ancient runes?"

Merlin had studied runology in the Shadow Realm, though only briefly, as it was incredibly vast and complex. This mysterious symbol, while resembling a rune, wasn't exactly the same. Still, it carried a unique power essential for practicing Pandora Magic's Extreme Ice Finger.

With Freezing Grip's cold poison halted from invading his body, Merlin proceeded with the next phase. He carefully reopened the jar, letting a sliver of the Hundred-Year Cold Essence's chill seep out.

Merlin guided the frigid air to freeze his finger. The cold from the Hundred-Year Cold Essence rivaled that of Freezing Grip's poison. Balancing these two sources of cold was crucial, as his finger needed to absorb the essence in a precise equilibrium to cultivate the Extreme Ice Finger.

Thus, the training process was painstaking and required repeated sessions of releasing the Hundred-Year Cold Essence's chill, followed by multiple casts of Freezing Grip to maintain the balance.

Under the effect of the engraved symbol, Merlin's finger gradually turned an icy white, almost crystalline in appearance. The training would only be complete when his finger reverted to its original form after this transformation.

This, however, was just the first phase of Extreme Ice Finger. The second phase required auxiliary spells at the fourth level, beyond Merlin's current capacity.

The Pandora Magic training was exhausting. Merlin's mental focus had to remain razor-sharp to avoid over-freezing his finger with Freezing Grip or overexposing it to the Cold Essence's chill, risking severe frostbite. He constantly balanced the process to ensure a delicate equilibrium.

A month later, Merlin's finger had only just started to turn white and hadn't yet fully crystallized. Reverting it to normal would take an estimated one or two more months.

Despite making progress, Merlin stopped the training. While the Cold Essence was plentiful, each session required more energy than his Freezing Grip model could naturally regenerate. He had exhausted almost all his ice-elemental crystals in his ring, forcing him to halt.

"Two months have passed. By now, the alkali potions I gave to Flade Mage should have sold well. I could get a decent amount of elemental crystals."

Merlin stored the Hundred-Year Cold Essence, flexing his slightly stiffened finger. He pointed toward a broken piece of pinewood on the ground.

"Pandora Magic: Extreme Ice Finger!"

With a soft command, a translucent chill enveloped the pinewood, instantly freezing it solid.

"Crack."

Merlin lightly tapped the frozen wood, and it shattered into countless pieces, scattering like snow.

He took a deep breath, awe flashing in his eyes. If that had been a person, their fate would likely have been just as grim as the pinewood's.

"What a powerful skill… Extreme Ice Finger is leagues beyond Freezing Grip. And this is only its incomplete form. Just how terrifying will it become once fully mastered?"

Merlin whispered, astonished by his finger's transformation. He had anticipated that the Extreme Ice Finger might be powerful, but experiencing it firsthand left him thoroughly shaken.

"Let's test it on Stone Wall."

Casting the Stone Wall spell, he summoned a sturdy earth barrier. Merlin extended his finger toward it.

"Crack."

As expected, the wall instantly froze under the biting cold and shattered into fragments.

"Stone Guard!"

He cast his level-one Stone Guard spell, only to see it suffer the same fate as the wall—completely frozen and shattered.

"Extreme Ice Finger seems to be consuming the spell energy from Ice Freeze and Freezing Grip?"

Merlin quickly noted that each cast of Extreme Ice Finger drained a significant amount of spell energy, specifically from his ice-elemental spells. This indicated that Extreme Ice Finger required exclusively ice-elemental energy to function.

With the ordinary Stone Guard failing to withstand its power, Merlin enhanced his defenses, casting an augmented version of Stone Guard.

Instantly, six massive stone tablets radiating energy appeared in midair—a strengthened version of Stone Guard, nearly at the level of a second-tier spell.

"Pandora Magic: Extreme Ice Finger!"

Merlin extended his finger once more, and within moments, the enchanted stone tablets began freezing over before shattering into fragments.

Even the strengthened version of Stone Guard couldn't withstand Extreme Ice Finger. Realizing this, Merlin's expression turned serious.

"Stone Guard!"

This time, Merlin used his amplification tool to cast an enhanced version of Stone Guard, his most potent defensive spell.

With the tool's amplification, the Stone Guard now had a defense level comparable to certain third-tier spells.

"Pandora Magic: Extreme Ice Finger!"

Merlin unleashed Extreme Ice Finger with full force, feeling his Freezing Grip and Ice Freeze models rapidly depleting.

"Crack."

The defense spell, comparable to a third-tier spell, froze over, taking slightly longer to shatter, but ultimately crumbling into dust.

"Even third-tier defenses can't withstand it?"

Merlin's face darkened as shock gripped his heart. The amplified Stone Guard had previously withstood Samir's attacks, yet it was no match for Extreme Ice Finger.

And this was only the incomplete version of Extreme Ice Finger. Once fully mastered, its power would be unimaginable.

"Pandora Magic… truly a devil's power, not meant for ordinary people. Even most mages lack the means to wield such strength."

Merlin murmured to himself, finally grasping the horrifying potential of Extreme Ice Finger.