"Those hypocrites," he muttered under his breath as he ventured deeper into the forest. His steps were swift, and anxiety etched across his face.
Lucy, not one to hold back, exclaimed, "Lucas, let go of me! Are you insane?"
Growing tired of her relentless outbursts, Lucas retrieved a towel from his pouch and firmly silenced her, stuffing it into her mouth. "Shut up! You're going to get us into trouble."
He had never realized how aggravating she could be when she was not in her right mind. All he could do now was to conceal their location as he pressed deeper into the forest.
As they neared the edge of the woods, Lucas finally dared to slow down, believing they had eluded their pursuers. However, just as he began to relax, the butler materialized before him, causing Lucas to freeze in his tracks. The butler shooed him away once more, leaving Lucas and Lucy both exasperated.
Lucy stood at his side, her hand still held by his, and her eyes were bloodshot as she attempted to remove the gagged towel.
"Mm! Mm!" she mumbled, trying to convey something urgent.
"What are you saying?" Lucas asked, perplexed.
She looked rather foolish, struggling to free herself. With her free hand, she slapped his shoulder and repeatedly pointed at him.
"Alright, alright," Lucas relented.
With no other options left, he decided to go up.
"Hurricane leap!" he incanted. The wind swirled from a ring on his finger and lifted him gracefully into the air, taking Lucy along with him. However, the ascent wasn't so graceful for Lucy, who clung to him like a person hanging onto a railing on a nine-story building.
"Mmm! Mmm!" her face displayed a mix of fear and confusion, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Lucas couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her as he grabbed hold of one of the largest branches in the tallest part of the tree that he could reach. He settled onto the branch, pulling Lucy up with him. Fortunately, his newfound strength allowed him to support her weight, or they would surely have been captured by now.
Finally, he managed to get her onto the branch, and she stared at him in shock, attempting to escape.
"If you move and fall to your death, no one will save you in time," he warned.
Upon hearing this, Lucy's incessant struggling suddenly ceased, and she looked at him with wide eyes, struggling to form words as she used both hands to tightly grip the branch.
Lucas couldn't help but laugh, knowing that if he fell, he could rely on his wind-related abilities to save himself. However, Lucy had no such advantage, and the only skill she had, tiny immortal, could negate effects but couldn't save her from such a height. He understood her fear.
"Listen to me, Lucy," he began, trying to make her understand. "You've been charmed; you were targeted, which is why your class can no longer hold back the influence," he explained.
Lucy regarded him as if he were crazy and used her hand to hit his chest, one hand still gripping the branch.
"Ouch," he exclaimed, conceding defeat. "Okay, I give up. I guess it's up to this now." He reached into his pouch and pulled out a gold bracelet.
"I never thought I'd ever find this useful," he remarked.
The item, a Holy Bracelet, had been obtained as an achievement for discovering the black building. It was an item he had considered useless until now.
---
Name: Holy Bracelet (0/3)
Rank: Rare
Description: Restores the wearer's mental well-being by eliminating any abnormalities.
---
Lucas placed the appraisal magnifier back inside his pouch and sighed in relief after confirming the item. "Okay, this is the one. Thank goodness I never gave this away."
With the knowledge that they needed to act quickly before anyone found them, Lucas took Lucy's hand, which had been constantly hitting his chest, and forced the bracelet onto her wrist. She struggled to resist.
'Meri's unique skills would be so useful right now,' he thought, recognizing the value of her natural ability to erase her presence. In a world where people's minds are easily influenced, her skills could be indispensable. However, she wasn't here at the moment, so he had to rely on the bracelet.
He waited patiently, and soon enough, the bracelet began to shine. Lucas reached into his pouch again and grabbed another towel to wrap around the bracelet, dimming its light to prevent it from being noticed. The bracelet shone three times, and its golden light gradually transformed into a muddy color.
Lucas sighed with relief as he took out the magnifier once more.
---
Name: Holy Bracelet (3/3)
Rank: Rare
Description: Restores the wearer's mental well-being by eliminating any abnormalities.
---
In the blink of an eye, the once-pristine bracelet now appeared battle-worn, and Lucas couldn't fathom how many of Lucy's skills it had to counteract. He could only hope it had only been three.
Then, as if on cue, he heard the faint sound of footsteps below. Peering downward, Lucas spotted a group of people, both men and women, dressed in elegant attire. Their clothing billowed in the wind, and their well-coiffed hair and expensive shoes marked them as individuals who had likely spent thousands of dollars on their appearance. They stood below, scanning the area for any sign of Lucas and Lucy.
By now, Lucas felt Lucy's struggling hand cease, and he dared not make a sound, fearing that Lucy's mental state might betray their presence. He glanced back, meeting Lucy's gaze silently. She raised her arm to inspect the bracelet, a small teardrop still visible in her eye, and she nodded in acknowledgment.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Lucas finally relaxed, knowing that Lucy had regained her composure. The sound of approaching footsteps ceased, and Lucas noticed that the group had moved away.
Recognizing this, Lucas nodded back at Lucy in quiet gratitude and reached for the towel in her mouth. Lucy obediently opened her mouth as wide as possible, allowing Lucas to remove it. However, as he did so, she suddenly spotted a man out of the corner of her eye. The man hurled a knife at Lucas from behind.
Lucy immediately lowered her head, her arm inadvertently yanking the towel along with it as she ducked for cover. Lucas, now aware of the situation, turned his head to see the man's face. Amidst the shadows of the still-dark forest, Lucas muttered, "The rude man?"
Lucy was stunned to hear this revelation, unaware that Lucas had encountered the same man. She, too, caught sight of his distinctive features – a man she had conversed with only an hour ago, the lunatic who had labeled her friend as evil.
"The Winter King! Step away from the lady. I knew it. You were always an evil guy," the man exclaimed as he jumped onto their branch and approached Lucas.
For Lucas, who lacked any nature-related abilities, this situation was utterly surreal. Attempting to explain their predicament felt like a futile endeavor; the man's face was consumed by an intense hatred, surpassing any anger Lucas had ever encountered. Even the hero who had been tracking them appeared somewhat relaxed compared to this man's visage marked by profound disgust and madness.
"I tried to warn her, and yet she fell for your despicable tricks. Even while the hero tried to protect her, you still kidnapped her!" The man's words poured forth nonsensically as Lucas swiftly grabbed Lucy and, once again, employed his hurricane leap to float away.
"You can't escape from me, Winter King. It's really you! I remember this skill very well." The man's voice held a strange mix of amazement and madness.
Lucas couldn't help but think, Yeah, this rude guy is definitely insane. All I did was bump into him, and he's hell-bent on killing me. With Lucy still gagged and her eyes wide open, Lucas carried her in a princess carry, attempting to reach the farthest branch he could.
As the duration of his skill once again came to an end, the man managed to catch up with him. He continued talking incessantly, "Hah! I was right, you really are the Winter King! You're young now, but I'm not mistaken. The first well-known incident involving the Winter King was the kidnapping of a minor in distress from the hero."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Lucas couldn't contain himself any longer and retorted.
The man suddenly produced a longsword seemingly out of thin air and held it menacingly at Lucas. "I will judge you, you evil bastard," he declared as he charged at Lucas.
Lucas had no choice but to duck and kick the man while hastily retrieving his jian from his pouch. "I'm not kidnapping her; you could have just asked her! My god, you're insane," Lucas exclaimed as he used his jian to block the man's sword strikes.
"You gagged her, and you expect me to believe she consented to run away with you? If you didn't kidnap her, why did you gag the lady behind you?" the man challenged.
Lucy, finally managing to remove the gag, shook her head frantically and interjected, "Mister, Lucas didn't do anything to me, really!"
Relieved that Lucy was able to clear up the misunderstanding, Lucas let out a sigh. The man's expression softened slightly, and he sighed as well. Then, he abruptly pulled Lucy to his side and rushed toward Lucas.
"The Winter King, you dare to brainwash a young lady?" the man accused vehemently.
"This lunatic!" Lucas couldn't help but mutter, leaving both Lucy and himself stunned by the absurdity of the situation.