Chapter 268

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 268

Xerath answered seriously, "We will be camping by Lake Titicaca, which is a very beautiful lake. If we’re lucky, we’ll see it in the evening."

"Why do we camp by the lake?"

Xerath had already sat on Hyectra. Barefoot, she couldn’t stand on the ice for too long, it was too cold. She sat cross-legged and looked at Sylas, explaining, "It’s warmer by the water."

Sylas looked at her feet, which were freezing red, and laughed, asking, "Don’t you feel the cold?"

Xerath laughed and said, "It’s very cold, but it’s also really fun. Since we’re all here to play, why not have some real fun?"

"Are you planning to come down and run?"

Xerath shook her head.

Sylas glanced into the distance and then looked at the shoes placed nearby. She reached out and picked up a shoe, slowly knelt down on one knee. Now she was shorter than Xerath, but this action clearly startled the old wizard.

"I sincerely ask you to put on your shoes and depart."

"But… " Xerath’s eyes widened and she said, stunned, "My feet aren’t dry yet."

Sylas held her ankle and let her step on her leg, saying earnestly, "This way it will become dry."

She unfolded a pair of socks and put it on Xerath’s sole, smiling shyly. "You also… remember helping me put on socks like this, don’t you?"

"Of course."

Sylas smiled and lowered her head, saying, "It’s quite fun."

Xerath had no idea what to do next. Her scalp tingled, even more nervous than when she had her first kiss or when they last slept together. She couldn’t figure out if Sylas really thought it was "fun" or if there was another motive. The tingling sensation continued to crawl up her feet, causing a sharp pain in her chest.

At that time, she didn’t think there was anything wrong with helping her apprentice wear socks that she herself didn’t know how to wear. It was only after Virgil’s reminder that she realized something was off. So she couldn’t judge if Sylas also thought there was nothing wrong with her helping her put on socks.

But at that moment, Sylas had already grabbed her ankle, and the socks slid along her burning skin. The sensation on her skin was momentarily confused. It was supposed to be cool, but it felt hot and Sylas’s fingertips felt even hotter.

The touched area swelled and burned, as if it was going to burst open any moment.

Sylas’s actions were gentle, with a force that would never hurt her. But beneath the gentle physical touch was a fierce magical attack. An unknown fire roasted her soul, making her restless. The areas she wanted to be touched were not just the ankles, but also her calves, thighs, and more…

Sylas put her foot into the shoe, then put on the other one. Finally, she took a step back, stood up, and reached out a hand to pull her up. Xerath mechanically placed her hand in Sylas’s palm and let herself be pulled up to stand straight.

She turned around and walked away, almost as if she was fleeing. However, in order to maintain the legitimacy of her actions, she said to Sylas, "Since you’ve seen enough, let’s hurry and leave."

She heard Sylas take a few quick steps to catch up with her, but she didn’t dare to look. She left a comment, "If you still want to see the scenery on the way, sit outside," and then climbed back into the car. It was dark inside the car, giving her a false sense of security.

Sylas didn’t come in. Xerath watched her through the car window as she walked to the passenger seat that had never been occupied before. The car started moving. Xerath leaned back against the seat, crossed her legs, and hugged a pillow for a while. It suddenly dawned on her that she was now sitting back to back with Sylas.

There was a thin wooden board between them… She didn’t know yet what it felt like to lean against Sylas’s back, but it definitely felt warm.

The car started going downhill, but strangely enough, she kept hearing a rustling sound instead of the expected sound of brakes or the wheels hitting stones. She couldn’t help but look outside and suddenly exclaimed, "The scenery outside went from a dense forest to a wide blue expanse! The lake water was incredibly clear, almost see-through. The shadows of fish were cast on the white sandy shore, trailing behind them."

"Sylas!" she couldn’t help but stick her head out to look ahead, and her mischievous apprentice also smiled at her, sticking their head out.

"What have you done!" she didn’t even need to ask, she knew that they had used a spell to slow their descent, causing the Earth Child to accelerate and launch them into the air, letting the carriage float. Now they were being carried by the wind blowing out of the valley towards the center of the lake.

"Don’t you think going downhill like this is much faster?"

Xerath couldn’t say anything, only someone who had never seen a downhill before would think of such a method! After everyone had become accustomed to walking on foot or using wheels, this idea of floating downhill was rarely thought of, especially with all these things they were carrying.

This was all her fault, she had kept her locked up for too long. The archmage sincerely repented, watching as the lake grew closer and closer.

She couldn’t help but stick her head out again and ask loudly, "How are we going to land?"

Sylas giggled and began incanting a lengthy spell. Suddenly, the water in the lake rose, quickly freezing underneath the wheels, immobilizing the carriage. It slowly formed into a massive ice disc, only freezing the carriage within it.

"Please hold on tight! We are going to land!" Suddenly, a deep blue tentacle reached out and secured her in her seat.

"Thump!" All of a sudden, she felt herself bounce up and realized she had been used as a skipping stone! Floating in the final stage, the ice block pressed into the water.

"Thump!" They bounced again as the huge pressure pushed apart the lake water, creating a wall-like wave that kept spreading out. When the water flowed back, it washed over the ice block, but before it reached the carriage, it froze into a new sculpture. Leunen’s face, mixed with impurities, emerged from it and proudly said, "Surprised?"

Xerath felt both amused and frustrated.

Because of the water lord’s presence, their carriage easily thawed from the ice. The young apprentice laid down an icy path along the way, and the carriage wheels rolled forward over the crushed ice. The slope on the north shore of the lake was very gentle, mostly sandy terrain, so their carriage easily drove onto the water’s edge, covered in pine forests.

Lake Tethys was surrounded by pine forests, which prevented anything else from growing nearby. Since hardly anyone reached this place, the pine trees’ branches were also very low. Sylas chopped off a few dead branches to make enough space for the carriage.

"Are you sure everything is okay? I feel like I might have disturbed something."

Xerath smiled and said, "Living in the tower for so long, I sometimes forget that I am also part of humanity. This is how humans live in the forest—cutting trees, moving stones, gathering the materials they need, without disturbing anything."

She pointed at the withered trunk and said, "Trees gradually grow taller, and the lower leaves that can’t receive sunlight will eventually wither. Even if you don’t cut them, they will fall on their own."

Under her guidance, the branches floated by themselves and formed a cone-shaped pile in the open space. The carriage stopped on the outskirts of the bonfire, and she took out several boundary stones from the carriage and placed them near the bonfire. The boundary stones were triggered by her magical power, causing strange ripples in an instant.

"What is this?… A trap?" This feeling was like the magical trap that Xerath would set at her door every time Virgil came to Aimekotes, but it had never been triggered before.

"Yes, you are perceptive. Tonight, we will take turns keeping watch. However, to prevent falling asleep during watch, a trap is necessary."

After the sun set, the temperature started to drop. The archmage felt around in the carriage and took out two thick cloaks, giving one to Sylas and keeping one for herself. The fire lord chef walked out of the freshly lit bonfire and used fish that dared to swim through Leunen’s body and collide with Flamestrom to make dinner for the day.

It was almost time to sleep, and Xerath asked Sylas to go to bed first. However, Sylas refused, saying that the scenery here made her excited, so she couldn’t possibly fall asleep so early.

Countless stars descended, casting their shadows on the calm lake surface. The bonfire made her face blush, emitting an excited glow.

This was very convincing, so Xerath agreed and lay down in the carriage, unfolding a mattress.

But she left a small gap, claiming that it was for Sylas to quickly find her if there was anything, but in reality, she could see Sylas’s silhouette through that gap.

She hugged her blanket tightly, and her toes trembled unconsciously. Behind the young girl was a quiet lake, and above their heads were cracks in the forest, letting the starlight extravagantly shine and gently illuminate everything around.

Her anxiousness had persisted since the attack from Aimekotes to now. Following Sylas’s usual diligent and inquisitive attitude, she should have asked about that strange command long ago.

Previously, she would explain everything to Sylas, and even if she didn’t, Sylas would ask herself. But this time, she… didn’t. Her attitude remained as it always was, with the students’ admiration for their teacher and considering everything between them as ordinary. Although there had been some rebellious behavior due to her cold attitude towards Sylas in the past, now it seemed that the little girl only wanted… just this level of intimacy.

Perhaps it is normal for ordinary girls, but for herself, it seemed a bit too much, and maybe Sylas only wanted this level.

Why not give it to her? Xerath struggled to think, no, no, this is already the limit. I can’t resist the intimate physical contact. As long as she gets close to me, I can’t help but want to hug her.

The lake stretched into the distance, with a gemstone blue sky and translucent light radiating from the lake casting a halo around Sylas’s silhouette. Xerath touched her own lips and thought, "I already know what her lips taste like."

Yes, this is my biggest wish before I die.

And she doesn’t mind.