radicalducati Chapter 110 Your XP has a problem!
Chapter 110 Your XP has a problem!
Chapter 110 Your XP has a problem!
The gentle dawn and flowing mist, the mingling of light and fog, make everything hazy and sacred, like a dream one doesn't want to wake from.
That figure etched deep in my memory is slowly emerging from the boundary between light and mist.
A strand of platinum hair drifted out from the edge of the mist, still adorned with dewdrops from the forest. A ray of morning light flowed down her delicate shoulder, across the simple bodice woven from vines and leaves, across her almost transparent, fair skin, across her slender waist, and then rolled back and forth across the horse's lower body covered in platinum hair.
At that moment, Lucas felt as if the whole world had lost its sound and color, and she was the only focus in this hazy picture.
Thea.
Her platinum blonde hair cascaded over the girl's shoulders like a flowing silver waterfall, and her sapphire-like eyes blinked in the damp mist, clearer and brighter than a snow-capped lake.
She was cautiously observing herself, her four hooves treading silently on the soft, decaying leaves. Her ponytail carried a hint of unease...
It swayed gently, creating tiny ripples in the mist.
Lucas felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing his heart; all his words were stuck in his throat, leaving only his gaze fixed straight at her. Thea, blushing, looked away, her clear blue eyes staring nervously at the ground.
Shut up! Say something! Aren't you usually so talkative?!
Lucas's brain was screaming at his mouth, but unfortunately, the opening lines he had rehearsed in his mind many times were completely stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Thea lowered her head, her long eyelashes trembling, her fingers unconsciously twisting the vines on her bra.
The fog flowed among them, and the whole world was still asleep.
Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore.
"Fuck!" Pepper yelled from the branch, "Bro! What kind of melodramatic soap opera are you putting on?! Just shut up already!"
Thea took a step back in alarm, and Lucas glared at Pepper: "Shut up!"
Fortunately, he suddenly realized he could speak and quickly raised the food box in his hand.
"Thea, would you like breakfast?"
Thea was taken aback; she never expected Lucas to pull out a food box. She hesitated and whispered, "I—I've already eaten some blackberries and chestnuts."
"That won't do. You need to eat a bigger breakfast. You're too thin," Lucas said quickly.
"Bro, stop talking nonsense!" Pepper was speechless. "Don't just look at her upper body, her lower body is a horse! A horse, you know? Skinny? She weighs more than five of you combined!"
"Shut up!" Lucas roared.
"Try it, Thea, I made something." Lucas turned to her and said softly, "I'm a little confident in my cooking skills; my classmates and teachers all say it's good..."
""
"I'm a little bit confident in my cooking skills," Pepper said sarcastically. "My classmates and teachers all say it's good~~~ Ugh, Bro, you know what? Right now you're like a peacock in heat, showing off its ass."
It couldn't continue, because Lucas simply pulled out his wand.
Thea stood still, gently pawing the ground with her front hooves, her gaze falling on the food box in his hand before quickly looking away.
"Lucas, you don't need to..." She lowered her head, her voice becoming even softer, "You don't need to make anything especially for me."
.
"I didn't do it on purpose, I just accidentally made too much, and I can't finish it all by myself."
Lucas spouted contradictory nonsense, and Thea looked up at him, her pure blue eyes brimming with tears.
Lucas decided to stop talking. He placed the food box directly on the fallen tree trunk, untied the tea towel, and opened the lid.
In the morning mist, a fresh, sweet and sour aroma wafts out, along with the rich sweetness of butter and mushrooms, and the dry, warm fragrance of nuts.
"These are honey-preserved wild apple slices. The house-elves gave me some wild apples, saying they were just picked and very fresh."
When introducing his dishes, Lucas finally regained his confidence.
He picked up a plate of golden, glistening pastries, the crust made using traditional methods, layered and as thin as cicada wings: "Truffle pastries, they taste very good."
Next came a small dish of pine nuts: "Salted pine nuts. The elves say these are pine nuts picked from the Forbidden Forest."
Finally, there were two porcelain bottles. Opening the stoppers released a cool, sweet aroma. Lucas handed one of the bottles to Thea.
"This is mint syrup. If you find the shortbread and pine nuts too dry, you can have a sip of this."
Thea stared intently at the bowls, plates, dishes, and bottles taken from the food box, feeling a warm glow spreading through her heart. She took a small step forward, then stopped. She avoided Lucas's gaze, unsure how to react.
"Don't you like it?" But Lucas misunderstood. "I read in a book that you like vegetarian food, never overcook, only process the ingredients in the simplest way, and often don't even like to use fire... so I prepared these."
If not, could you tell me your preferences?
Pepper hid at the top of the tree, biting a branch and pounding her chest, sighing and lamenting.
"Ugh, it's unbearable to look at! Look at you, acting like a bootlicker. Are you still the heartthrob Bro?"
"That golden retriever used to lick you all the time, now it's your turn to lick someone else. How the tables have turned!"
Lucas was too tired to pay attention to it and was about to put the food box away in disappointment when he suddenly heard Thea's soft voice: "No, I...I want to eat."
A pristine white tablecloth was laid out, upon which the fragrant food was neatly arranged. For the centaurs, this was a strange, novel experience, unlike anything they had ever done in the forest.
Lucas sat on a fallen tree trunk, while Thea took two steps forward, bent her front leg and knelt down, curling up her hind legs and lying down next to Lucas.
Lucas's keen senses immediately detected the heat emanating from Thea. It was the unique body temperature of a centaur, significantly higher than that of a human.
She also exuded the unique fragrance of soil, trees, and flowers from the forest.
Lucas felt his heart beating a little strangely, so he quickly picked up the honey-soaked wild apple slices and the small silver fork.
"Try it, Thea."
Under Lucas's eager gaze, Thea blushed, lowered her eyes, carefully picked up a slice of apple with her fork, and took a small bite.
Then, she opened her eyes wide.
Wild apples, originally sour and astringent, are peeled, cored, and seeded, then cut into evenly sized thick slices. Under precise control of honey marinating, the astringency is completely removed, and the fresh flavor is perfectly brought out, resulting in a sweet and sour, refreshing taste that whets the appetite.
This is a level that natural fruits in the forest can never achieve.
When Thea came to her senses, most of the wild apple slices in front of her had disappeared, and Lucas was holding another silver fork, smiling at her.
"Waaah..."
'
Thea quickly turned her head away, but Lucas had already handed her the plate of truffle pastries.
That was a dish the centaur tribe would never have encountered. The rich, sweet aroma overwhelmed Thea's reserve, causing her to blush as she picked up a piece and took a bite with a crunch.
Mmm, this is so delicious!
Thea didn't know what butter or shortbread was, let alone that Lucas had added black truffle shavings to make it taste richer.
All she knew was that this round, golden pastry was fragrant and sweet, with layers of rich flavor that brought boundless warmth and satisfaction to her heart.
It felt like... returning to my mother's side...
Thea opened her eyes and met Lucas's sincere, pure hazel eyes, like the earth moistened by the melting snow in spring, warm and full of life.
The moment their eyes met, Lucas froze.
A hazy ray of light surged from Thea's body, passing through the thin morning mist, bathed in the bright morning sun, and flowed into her body!
He looked down in surprise, and then, just as it had happened before on the Black Lake, the light disappeared.
"Thea," Lucas said quickly, "What just happened?"
"What?"
"A ray of light shone from your body and entered mine," Lucas asked urgently. "Didn't you feel it? Did you feel anything unusual?"
Thea looked blank and shook her head.
"Light? I didn't see anything... I didn't feel anything either." She lowered her head. "I just thought your breakfast was delicious..."
'
Nothing again? I don't feel anything, and neither does Thea. What is this?
"I know, I know!" Pepper said dismissively, "That must be Cupid's arrow, biubiubiu..."
"Bullshit! Bro, your way of pursuing girls is so outdated. Are you going to have her read your palm next?"
"Oh no, Bro, your eyes are practically glued to her! Are you serious? There's something wrong with your XP!"
""
Lucas angrily raised his wand, only to find the dead bird already hiding behind a big tree, not even a feather showing.
"What is Cupid's Arrow?" Thea opened her pure blue eyes wide. "And what is Bullshit? What is XP?"
Lucas was stunned. Pepper was stunned too: "Fuck, this little mare is too innocent!"
"What is Fuck?" Thea asked again.
"Pepper!" Lucas roared, "How dare you teach Thea to say such things! I'll pluck all your feathers!"
Pepper shrieked, "No, how should I know! Okay, okay, little horseman, 'Fuck' means very good, great!"
Thea understood. She nodded, blushing, and whispered, "Thank you, Lucas. I've never eaten anything so delicious. Your breakfast was fucking, and you were fucking too."
Lucas's wand trembled, and his roar echoed through the forest: "Pepper!!!"
After the initial commotion, the atmosphere became lively again. Lucas and Thea sat side by side, savoring the pale golden, crisp, and savory salted pine nuts, and taking a few sips of cool, sweet mint syrup.
The sun had fully risen, dispelling the forest mist, and the two began to chat about their lives. Thea held the porcelain bottle of peppermint syrup, sipping it slowly, and asked, "How's Ellie? Why didn't she come today?"
"She's recovering," Lucas sighed. "She was scratched by a Cerberus and is currently at the school hospital, but she'll be discharged tomorrow."
He began to recount his adventure on the first day of school. The incident was over; Lucas and Ellie had both escaped unscathed, but Thea listened with trepidation, clutching the porcelain bottle tightly.
"Next time, Ellie and I will come to see you."
Lucas laughed: "Thea, I was able to escape danger this time thanks to the good luck brought by your bracelet."
He raised his hand, and the bracelet made of ancient oak seeds had been rubbed smooth and was shimmering with golden light in the sunlight.
"You see, I carry it with me every day, and it really brings me good luck."
Thea's gaze fell on the bracelet. She bit her lip, her eyes suddenly reddening, and her sapphire-like eyes quickly filled with tears. The glistening tears slid down her cheeks and dripped onto her platinum-blonde hair.
"Thea! What's wrong?" Lucas hurriedly stood up.
"The light you gave me...
97
Thea choked back tears as she carefully took out something from her pouch, something meticulously wrapped in plant fibers and her own platinum hair.
It's that flashlight.
"I...I broke it." She clutched the flashlight, her voice filled with guilt and a sob. "I've always been very careful with it, but a few days ago, it suddenly stopped working—I'm sorry, Lucas, I broke it."
""
Lucas breathed a huge sigh of relief and quickly said, "It's okay, Thea, can I take a look?"
Lucas took the flashlight and found its casing intact, even cleaner than he remembered, clearly having been carefully cared for by Thea. He tried pressing the switch, but there was no response. He then unscrewed the tail cap and emptied out two batteries.
"It's alright, Thea, it's all my fault." Lucas couldn't help but laugh. He took out a handkerchief, raised his hand, paused for a moment, and then handed the handkerchief to Thea.
"It's my fault for not explaining it clearly to you. The flashlight needs batteries to light up. It's not broken, the batteries are just dead."
"What is... a battery?" Thea sobbed.
"Hmm...you can think of it as food for the flashlight." Lucas shook the flashlight. "Basically, when the battery runs out, the flashlight gets hungry and stops working. As soon as you get a new battery, it will light up again."
Thea looked at him, seemingly understanding but not quite, and seeing the gentle yet confident smile on Lucas's face, she finally stopped crying and started smiling.
In the forbidden forest bathed in the morning light, a pure and flawless flower sways.
Lucas's heart skipped a beat. He quickly looked away, pretending to examine the flashlight in his hand. "Next time, I'll bring you the new batteries. Next weekend, okay?"
However, Thea's smile vanished. She lowered her head, her long hair falling down and obscuring her expression.
"Lucas," her voice was soft, carrying a heartbreaking despair, "you shouldn't come to see me anymore."
"Why?" Lucas was taken aback.
Thea remained silent for a long time, then her eyes reddened again.
"Because... I'm a jinx," she said, choking back tears.
"On the day I was born, a celestial phenomenon appeared in the sky that foretold disaster. The elders of the tribe said that the fate of the stars was already predetermined, and that I would bring a great calamity to the entire tribe."