Chapter 174: I Can’t Breathe Anymore…

Within the girl’s crimson-red eyes were reflected the tiny candle flame, as well as the man before her filling them completely.

Even though she was so nervous that even her eyelashes trembled slightly—

She still stubbornly raised her head without retreating even half a step.

Lance looked at the face so close before him, its cheeks dyed scarlet from shyness.

Of course, he knew that on Earth, there was absolutely no outrageous birthday custom that required people to kiss.

But he did not expose this clumsy little test.

The girl had already revealed her feelings to him without holding anything back.

Lance stood up, walked around the small round table, and arrived before Cecilia.

“That’s not a custom, Cecilia.”

When Lance gently cupped her palm-sized face—

The girl uncontrollably let out an extremely soft trembling sound through her nose.

What had originally been only a tentative gentle touch instantly became like tossing a spark into a pile of dry firewood.

The Touch Starvation suppressed within the Half-Elf’s body completely erupted like a collapsing flood the instant it came into contact with Lance’s body temperature.

The girl wrapped both arms around Lance’s neck and obediently closed her eyes.

Lance’s face slowly approached hers, his movements restrained and gentle.

The instant they touched—

“Mmph…”

An unbearably sweet sound escaped uncontrollably from Cecilia’s throat.

【System Notification: You have engaged in a second Spiritual Desire Contact with the Half-Elf. The mana within the Half-Elf has undergone intense fluctuations! Half-Elf Research Progress +13, Current LV3 (55/100)】

The progress beyond forty earlier had purely been gained from the previous mana restoration.

The notification popping out from the panel failed to distract Lance’s attention.

Because the reaction of the girl in his arms was simply far too inexperienced and adorable.

Cecilia resembled a little fish deprived of oxygen as she helplessly clung tightly to Lance’s neck.

After merely pressing and rubbing against each other for around ten seconds, Lance slightly pulled back a bit of distance.

“Now then…”

Lance’s breathing brushed against the tip of her nose.

“Did your feelings get conveyed?”

Cecilia dazedly opened a slight slit between her eyes, which were already covered in a layer of misty moisture.

“Uu…”

The corners of the girl’s eyes had turned slightly red. Not only did she not loosen her grip around Lance’s neck, she instead forcefully tugged downward.

Raising her slender swan-like neck, she actively chased after Lance’s slightly withdrawn lips. Her voice was muffled, soft, and sweet, carrying an adorably unreasonable tone:

“No… it’s not enough…”

Hearing those defenseless words of longing, a flash passed through Lance’s dark golden eyes, while the desires belonging to his Dragon-blooded lineage seemed to begin boiling.

One of his hands moved upward along her back to support the back of her neck.

His other hand directly wrapped around her soft waist that could barely be grasped with one hand, lifting her entire body from the chair and placing her atop the table before kissing her again.

【System Notification: Detected the Half-Elf entering a ‘Flowering Period’ dependency state! Your aura is currently imprinting upon the other party’s soul mark. Research Progress surging +25, Current LV3 (80/100)】

Cecilia felt as though she were about to melt.

Breathing became extremely difficult.

Because of that damned 【Source of Pleasure】 trait, the scorching breath Lance exhaled, and even the tiny beads of sweat seeping from his skin, were poison to the current Half-Elf girl.

“La… Lance…”

Her voice broke apart in fragments, carrying a sweet tearful tone.

“Breathing… I can’t breathe anymore…”

But whenever Lance withdrew slightly to give her room—

The girl would quickly tighten her arms again and chase after him, offering up her lips once more.

At that moment, the short birthday candle atop the table finally burned to its end.

With a soft “tss,” the flame extinguished completely after leaving behind a thin wisp of smoke, plunging the two of them into darkness.

Yet within the darkness at this moment—

Only the “Moonlight Moss Amber” on Cecilia’s wrist emitted a faint silver-blue fluorescent glow.

Along with her hurried breathing, that glow swayed ambiguous shadows upon the walls.

A long lingering kiss finally separated reluctantly.

【Research Progress +20! Current LV3 (100/100) has exceeded the maximum threshold!】

【Biological Research Level Increased: LV3 → LV4】

【Rapidly completing Half-Elf Codex information…】

【Detected that this research target possesses extremely high Weight of Fate and unique talents: Cecilia · Rosenthal】

【Adapting according to the target’s talent compatibility traits… Congratulations, you have obtained Research Trait: Spiritual Desire Symbiosis · Source Essence Synchronization (Cecilia · Rosenthal)】

Cecilia panted heavily, the temperature at the tips of her ears astonishingly hot, while the tear marks at the corners of her eyes had yet to dry.

Watching Cecilia gasp for breath like this, Lance felt he needed to let her properly calm down.

That intimate contact just now had consumed too much of the girl’s strength.

Lance lowered his head and gently brushed the scattered silver strands of hair from her forehead behind her ear.

His voice carried a slightly suppressed hoarseness.

“The first floor’s a little cold. I’ll bring you upstairs to my room so you can rest for a while.”

His original intention had merely been to let Cecilia calm her heartbeat within the quiet bedroom.

However, judging from the girl’s current weak-kneed state, she probably could not even walk to the staircase herself.

So Lance extended his sturdy arms, preparing to directly carry her upstairs.

However—

At the very instant the words “upstairs to rest” spread through the air—

A sudden mutation occurred!

“BOOM!!!”

A deafening explosion erupted throughout the living room.

A dazzling purple radiance suddenly burst forth from Lance’s body.

He felt as though an enormous invisible hand had instantly wrapped him tightly within its grasp.

Then came an overwhelming and irresistible force.

BOOM!

The furnishings inside the house were swept up by the violent airflow. Pots, bowls, and wooden fragments crashed noisily across the floor.

“Senior!”

Cecilia did not even have time to let out a proper cry before feeling the warm arm around her waist suddenly disappear.

Wrapped within that tremendous force, Lance’s body violently smashed against the thick stone wall outside the courtyard.

The terrifying impact instantly blasted spiderweb-like cracks across the hard wall surface.

Stone fragments scattered everywhere.

“This spell structure…”

Upon seeing that semi-transparent purple force field, Cecilia immediately recognized who the caster outside was.

Ignoring her weakened legs, she stumbled toward the damaged window and shouted anxiously:

“Auntie! Don’t hurt him! He’s my partner!”

This was a modified Second-Ring Spell.

Its name was 【Grasp of Restraint】.

This was the move her aunt liked using most during the academy’s practical combat classes to discipline troublesome students.

This spell could forcibly distort localized space, forming a physically suppressive force field composed of high-density mana.

Moreover, depending on the amount of Aether Mana input by the caster, its destructive power could fluctuate across an enormous range.