novelnext Chapter 78: Sweet Talk
Chapter 78: Sweet Talk
It wasn’t until one time that this great figure was invited to a gathering place of Demi-Human Races—“Thousand-Color Bay” Amalga—where he delivered a speech in the city’s highly distinctive central plaza.
No one had expected that when he advanced into the Legendary Rank, his talent would mutate.
And he himself was completely unaware.
As a result, at the climax of his speech, the rationality of hundreds and thousands of feline Demi-Humans in the audience evaporated instantly.
They began emitting continuous purring sounds on the spot, even rolling around on the ground in a coquettish manner without regard for their image.
Even worse, several heavily armored cat-eared female knights rushed onto the stage, clinging to that legendary figure’s legs and rubbing against him frantically.
That scene—was nothing short of a disaster.
In the end, that legendary adventurer suffered complete social ruin and was labeled an “Extremely Dangerous Individual” by Amalga, permanently banned from entering.
Besides that, the book also recorded abilities such as 【Armor-Breaking Resonance】—known as the nemesis of female professionals—and 【Truthful Utterance】, which would result in having absolutely no friends…
With these precedents as groundwork, Lance felt that the excuse he had fabricated was simply flawless.“So, if you felt any discomfort just now—like heat or dizziness—that was probably my talent taking effect.”
Lance looked into the girl’s eyes, his tone sincere.
“I swear, I absolutely did not intentionally use any strange spells on you.”
“If it troubles you, or if you really can’t tolerate it, I can try to speak less from now on and switch to hand gestures.”
Right now, Lance only wanted to shift all responsibility onto that nonexistent talent.
As long as he wasn’t mistaken for some kind of pervert who used indecent methods on young girls, that was enough.
“Ah! So that’s how it is!”
After hearing this explanation, Cecilia suddenly understood.
A trace of realization flashed in her eyes.
No wonder!
No wonder whenever her senior touched her wrist, her skin felt hot.
No wonder whenever he spoke, her ears turned red and soft, and even her legs felt weak.
So it wasn’t because she had some strange illness, nor because her senior had ill intentions.
It was actually the effect of a talent!
She had indeed seen the story of that “catnip physique” adventurer in the miscellaneous section of the academy library before, though she had thought it was just a joke made up by bards.
Who would have thought reality would be even more outrageous than fiction?
It seemed her senior’s talent was some strange trait specifically effective against Half-Elves.
Looking at Lance’s apologetic and even somewhat cautious expression, something soft in Cecilia’s heart was suddenly touched.
Her senior was clearly such a gentle and powerful person.
Yet because of such an uncontrollable talent, he had to be constantly cautious when interacting with others, even feeling inferiority and guilt because of it.
How unfair was that to him?
How could she blame him? How could she let him feel upset over something he couldn’t choose?
A strange sense of mission rose within the girl.
“Senior, you don’t need to apologize!”
Cecilia suddenly lifted her head, her tone exceptionally firm, even taking a small step forward.
“Talent is bestowed by the Gods, and it is also the arrangement of fate. This was never your fault.”
She looked at Lance with eyes as serious as if she were making an oath.
“And please don’t underestimate me.”
“I’m a top student of Violet Academy. We undergo specialized training to resist negative mental effects.”
“This is true!”
Afraid that Lance wouldn’t believe her, she hurriedly added details.
“The academy has dedicated courses on resistance to curse-type effects. Every year during final assessments, instructors require students to endure curses of different levels for a certain duration to earn credits.”
This part wasn’t entirely a lie.
“So, Senior, just speak normally like you always do. Don’t feel burdened because of this.”
To prove herself, Cecilia even told a small, well-intentioned lie.
“Actually… the effect just now wasn’t that strong for me. It was really just a tiny bit.”
“I was just not used to it since it’s my first time encountering this. After adapting a few times, it’ll definitely be fine!”
Hearing such understanding words from the girl, Lance finally relaxed his tense nerves.
He let out a long breath.
It seemed the system’s description was fairly reliable. That so-called “mild hallucination and relaxation” really was only mild.
Since she said it was “just a tiny bit,” it should be easy to overcome.
It couldn’t possibly be like those exaggerated scenes in anime from his previous life, where a few words would make someone’s legs go weak and collapse, right?
“That’s good.”
Lance nodded, forcefully pushing away the strange and inappropriate mental images that surfaced in his mind.
Since the misunderstanding was resolved, it was time to continue working.
After all, today’s monster-hunting quota hadn’t been completed yet.
“Let’s move on.”
Lance adjusted the pack on his back.
“Mm!”
Cecilia nodded firmly and followed behind him.
Although the misunderstanding had been resolved, the pointed ears hidden within her silver hair were still flushed an unnatural red, and waves of tingling, electric sensations continued to spread.
It felt like ants crawling along the rim of her ears, making her want to reach up and rub them, yet she didn’t dare show it in front of her senior.
Just as the two began moving again, a line of blue text once more appeared on Lance’s retina.
【Through sweet talk, you caused the Half-Elf to mistakenly accept your viewpoint. You have gained insight into the thought patterns of Demi-Human Race · Half-Elves. Half-Elf Research Progress +2】
Seeing this notification, the corner of Lance’s mouth twitched slightly.
What did it mean by “sweet talk”?
This was clearly a well-intentioned lie.
He casually glanced at the detailed panel of Biological Research.
The Half-Elf Codex was currently stuck at LV2. To reach the next level, the progress bar required a full 30 points.
Seeing this number, Lance instead let out a sigh of relief internally.
Good, good.
If it were like before—leveling up just by touching a bit or saying a few words—who knew what kind of socially disastrous trait would unlock next?
This higher threshold instead gave him enough buffer time to adapt.
The two passed through a sparse patch of bushes and arrived at the second task location for the day.
This was a chaotic rocky shoal located downstream of the river.
Compared to yesterday’s open riverbank, the terrain here was clearly much more complex.
Standing on higher ground, Lance scanned the environment below with sharp eyes.
Within his line of sight, Stone-Shell River Crabs disguised as rocks were scattered along the riverbank.
He roughly counted them—there were about twenty-eight or twenty-nine in total, three or four more than yesterday’s area.
The terrain was even more troublesome.
There was no perfect V-shaped natural rock crevice like yesterday to use as a choke point.
Instead, more than a dozen massive rocks—ranging from half a person’s height to several people tall—were scattered chaotically across the river shoal, forming an open battlefield that resembled a maze.