Colin exhaled a breath of turbid air and took a slight step forward, bending over again to look toward the bottom of the cave.
The light blue diamond-shaped ice crystals shone dazzlingly, as if polished by a master, each facet perfectly crafted like a piece of art.
Colin observed carefully; he could feel a faint aura of power emanating from the ice crystals.
The pale blue light emitted by the ice crystal was not constant but pulsed stronger and weaker like breathing.
'What exactly is this thing? Could it be that the Ice and Snow Monster was born from it?' Colin wondered with confusion.
He stood in place for a moment, then decided to first cast a Detection Magic spell.
If the ice crystals below really were the cocoon forming the Ice and Snow Monster, then since he was there, he figured he should take the opportunity to eliminate it.
Swoosh!
The Detecting Three Abilities spell was cast towards the diamond-shaped ice crystal.
However, this spell seemed to have triggered something like a switch.
Crack—
Crack, crack, crack!
The diamond-shaped ice crystal suddenly shattered.
A petite vague White Shadow burst forth from it, heading straight for Colin.
Colin's gaze sharpened, and he quickly summoned a Second Rank Fire Element!
Whoosh!
A nearly three-meter tall blazing white Fire Element charged towards the petite White Shadow.
Boom!!
Both moved very quickly, colliding almost in the blink of an eye!
The violent explosion resonated, its shockwave shattering the ice on the dome above, which fell to the ground and smashed into pieces.
'Not good!'
Just as Colin was about to cast Fireball Technique to support his summoned Fire Element, he suddenly realized that the Fire Element he had just summoned had already lost connection with him.
This meant that the Fire Element might have lost its life at that moment!
Colin gave up casting Fireball Technique and instead summoned Black Fog Armor, while also strengthening the Steel Temperature Resistance Field defense on his body!
His choice proved to be correct.
Bang!
The next moment, Colin only saw a blur before him, and a tremendous force hit him in the chest, sending him flying backward.
Even with the triple defense of Black Fog Armor, Steel Temperature Resistance Field, and Fighting Aura Armor, he felt a tightness in his chest.
As he flew backward, Colin finally got a clear view of the true face of the White Shadow in front of him.
Dazzlingly fiery short white hair, semi-transparent light blue skin, and enveloped in a white frosty aura... This White Shadow attacking him had the appearance of a human.
Moreover, it was the appearance of a young girl, and more importantly, Colin felt like he vaguely recognized the facial features of this White Shadow monster!
"Shelley?" Colin frowned, calling out almost instinctively.
However, the only response was a direct punch.
With the White Shadow swinging her fist, countless light blue ice flowers appeared out of nowhere, converging on her petite fist into a spinning cone, striking towards Colin.
This process might sound long, but it all happened in an instant.
Even less than an instant!
The speed of the White Shadow monster was terrifying; even Colin, a First Rank Knight, couldn't compare, and capturing her movement with his eyes was also very difficult.
But this didn't mean Colin could only take hits.
Superbrain operating rapidly, Colin decisively abandoned defense and summoned a new Fire Element.
Bang!
The White Shadow's cone struck Colin's chest directly; the outermost Black Fog dispersed, the Steel Temperature Resistance Field flickered erratically, barely holding before being relentlessly penetrated; the innermost layer of cyan-gold Fighting Aura Armor was the same, managing to hold only briefly before being pierced by the cone as well.
The White Shadow's combat experience or perhaps instinct seemed extremely strong. Realizing Colin's strong defense after the initial attack was ineffective, she switched to an obviously armor-piercing direct cone punch for her second attack!
At the very moment the cone continued forward, about to pierce Colin's chest skin, Colin abruptly recoiled backward from the impact, dissipating the attack.
At the same time, another spell flew out of Colin's hands; he enhanced the Elemental Life of the Fire Element beside him.
"Roar!"
The Fire Element stepped forward.
Colin subconsciously touched his chest; under the influence of Strong Life Talent, the wound that had just been pierced by the cone had now vanished without a trace as if it were only an illusion.
Swoosh!
The White Shadow continued her attack.
But now with the help of the Fire Element restraining her, Colin suddenly found himself much more at ease.
It was then that he finally had the chance to closely observe the White Shadow monster in front of him, who bore a striking resemblance to Shelley.
Under that glowing white bob of hair was a face similar to Shelley's that Colin knew.
The only difference was that the azure eyes were now pure white and somewhat lifeless; looking closely, it seemed that endless snowstorms were swirling within them.
"Shelley," Colin called again, tentatively, "Shelley of the True Knowledge Society, a Third-Level Researcher."
This face was just too similar to Shelley's; even if the White Shadow in front of him wasn't Shelley, there was likely a connection between the two.
Moreover, Colin had an intuition that this White Shadow was indeed the Wizard he knew—Shelley.
... But he didn't know why she had become like this.
The White Shadow continued to attack.
However, this did not mean Colin's words had no effect.
On the contrary, each time she heard them, there would be a slight pause in the snowstorm in her eyes, struggling to show a trace of clarity.
Boom!
The strength of the White Shadow was terrifyingly powerful. Although Colin thought that summoning the Fire Element and joining forces with it would suppress the White Shadow.