Chapter 301: Gap Moe, Yandere, Snowflake

Chapter 301: Chapter 301: Gap Moe, Yandere, Snowflake

「Three hours later.」

The clamor before the Bronze Gate had finally quieted down.

Lance sat cross-legged on the ground.

And Nieve, who had just been trying to go on a rampage, was now curled up in his arms like a docile kitten.

They had both used the Water Creation Skill from their rings to replenish some lost fluids.

Lance had also used the Repair Skill to mend the torn edges of their clothes from the battle.

Now, Lance was patiently casting the Cleaning Skill, meticulously removing the dust from Nieve’s body.

’These Tricks from the ring are just so useful.’

Lance mused, looking at their refreshed clothing.

’It’s just that every time I use these Spells, the circumstances are always a little... improper.’

Nieve, as docile as a doll, suddenly raised her head.

Her eyes locked directly with Lance’s.

"Lance."

She asked in a negotiating tone, "Can Nieve have some frosting today?"

Hearing this, Lance didn’t hesitate to lift his hand and give Nieve a sharp flick on her smooth forehead.

"Ow."

Nieve expressionlessly covered her forehead where she’d been flicked. Though her tone held a hint of grievance, her face remained a perfect deadpan.

For a moment, the stark contrast made Lance find the Snow Lady in his arms to be somewhat cute.

"How much have you had today?"

Lance said, exasperated. Then he added.

"And in the future, use your teeth less when you eat."

It wasn’t until today that Lance truly understood how terrifying the Effect of the [Delicious] tag granted to him by the system was.

Anyone who’s been to a buffet can probably understand the feeling.

No matter how delicious a dish is, if you eat it without restraint in a short period, you’ll inevitably get sick of it by the end.

But.

The terrifying thing about this special tag, which targeted the Snow Lady race, was this: it guaranteed that every bite of "food" she came into contact with would be judged as delicious, and every bite would maintain the peak sensation of the very first taste!

And it was an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Wouldn’t that just empty the entire stock?

If he hadn’t decisively used the Sensory Overload Trait in the middle of it all to forcibly create an even higher level of stimulation and divert some of Nieve’s attention...

...he really would have become a buffet for the first two hours.

Hearing Lance’s warning, Nieve slowly lowered the small hand covering her forehead.

She raised her face again, stared at Lance intently for a moment, and then suddenly stuck out her tongue.

Then, she lowered her head and muttered softly.

"Nieve will study hard in the future."

’That’s playing dirty...’

Seeing the usually cold and aloof Snow Lady make such a gesture, Lance couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle her soft, ice-blue hair.

However, compared to her gluttony...

...what truly gave Lance a headache right now were the first signs of possessiveness Nieve was starting to show.

The Snow Lady’s self-awareness had successfully hatched and begun to sprout.

But because Lance was her only medium for perceiving the world, she had now hung her entire heart, even her whole reason for being, solely on him.

In this situation, if she wasn’t guided correctly...

...especially since her emotional cognition was just beginning to develop and she had no idea how to handle complex negative emotions.

Once she encountered external stimuli, she would very likely develop aggressive tendencies and truly go down the path of a yandere.

Especially when Lance considered Nieve’s behavior over the past few days, he could see she was already showing very clear signs of separation anxiety.

This was definitely a dangerous sign.

’I have to find a way to correct this twisted mentality of hers.’

Lance planned to take Nieve to experience different things in the coming days.

He wanted to slowly generalize her current dependence on him, eventually transforming it into a love for life itself.

Right now, she was only loving him with the most primitive and clumsy of instincts.

And Lance’s way of responding to this affection was to patiently guide her, helping her eventually grow into a truly healthy human being with an independent personality.

"So... how often can Nieve eat?"

The girl in his arms didn’t stay silent for long. She couldn’t stop herself from asking the question she cared about most right now.

Lance fell silent for a moment, before he could think of an answer.

Nieve had already impatiently held up three fair fingers, asking in a tentative tone.

"Three times a day?"

"No!"

Lance’s reply was firm and decisive, flatly rejecting the proposal.

Nieve aggrievedly retracted one finger, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"No." Lance remained unmoved.

Finally, only a single, lonely finger remained.

She stared stubbornly at Lance, then suddenly reached out with that finger and gently poked it against his chin.

"Fine."

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Lance could only agree helplessly in the end.

"Then how often can we fight?"

After getting his permission, Nieve grabbed one of Lance’s hands.

She lowered her head, prying open his fingers one by one to examine them carefully, as if studying something.

After the three-hour ordeal just now, all her muscles were limp, and she felt a little weak.

Hearing the word "fight," Lance’s pupils dilated sharply.

He quickly lowered his head, leaned close to Nieve’s ear, and explained in a voice only they could hear that what they did wasn’t fighting.

After listening to the explanation, Nieve nodded seriously, indicating she understood the difference.

Then, she proudly raised her palm high.

Her five slender, fair fingers looked beautiful in the dim light.

’What? Could fighting be even more fun than eating frosting?’

Lance was momentarily stunned by her reaction.

But he quickly figured out the reason.

’It’s the influence of Sensory Overload.’

The signs were already there during the three-hour battle earlier.

If a normal human were continuously affected by this Trait...

...their nervous system would be under constant, intense sensory assault, and their brain simply wouldn’t be able to handle it. They might even go into protective shock and pass out.

The reason Nieve was able to stay conscious the entire time, and was now only showing a slight sign of having acquired a taste for it...

...was entirely due to her being a Level 3 Frost Knight, with a Constitution of 34 and a Spirit Attribute of 37!

The strong can better enjoy their pleasures, while ordinary people are easily overwhelmed by the upper limits of ecstasy.

Lance reached out, firmly grasped her five mischievous fingers, and forcefully pulled her hand back.

"No."

"Why not?"

Rejected, Nieve suddenly began to struggle restlessly.

She tried to use her Power to break free from Lance’s hold, even wanting to pin him to the ground in turn.

But.

At this moment, Lance’s two-hour Weakness Stage was completely over.

Not only had he recovered all his Attributes to their peak, but he was also in a prime state, full of energy.

So, no matter how hard Nieve struggled, she was held firmly in Lance’s arms, unable to move.

It really wasn’t that Lance couldn’t handle it.

Rather, he considered that this was her first time experiencing stimulation of this intensity. She was clearly getting carried away and needed to calm down.

Otherwise, if this trend continued...

...a Snow Lady getting a fever would become a hell of a joke.

After realizing she couldn’t break free no matter what...

Nieve finally gave up her pointless struggle, turned her head, and muttered under her breath.

"I hate Lance."

Hearing this classic bit of girlish petulance, Lance couldn’t help but smile.

He planned to let Nieve rest quietly in his arms for a while longer. He could use this opportunity to check the final reward from the "Tribulation Flower".

He could now clearly feel that the Tribulation Flower buried within his body had absorbed enough nutrients and had fully blossomed.

He closed his eyes and, through the pull of his will, retrieved it from the depths of the Melting Furnace.

A flash of light.

The fabled Tribulation Flower landed quietly in the palm of his hand.

Lance opened his eyes, and a trace of surprise flashed through them.

It wasn’t a flower in plant form at all, but an ice crystal shimmering with a faint, ghostly blue light!