Chapter 228: A kiss...they kissed!

So soft, so smooth...

That was Shu Li's only thought.

At that moment, he was sprawled on top of Ace, two iron-strong arms wrapped tightly around his waist and back, holding them flush against each other. Even more shocking was the fact that his lips were barely half an inch from Ace's.

Their breaths mingled. They were impossibly close.

Shu Li's eyes nearly popped out of his head. When he raised his gaze, it collided with Ace's.

Like someone caught red-handed doing something wrong, his heart suddenly raced, and his entire face turned scarlet.

Before he could push himself up, however, Ace abruptly tightened his embrace and rolled them both across the ground.

Huh?

As they rolled, their lips brushed against each other.

Shu Li had no time to think about it. The approaching tornado was already spinning furiously over the spot where they had just been, its turbulent winds so strong that they could barely keep their eyes open.

It was a tornado powerful enough to match the magic of an Initiate Mage. Anyone struck by it would undoubtedly be injured.

Fortunately, the tornado advanced no farther. It simply spun in place about two meters away.

Shu Li finally relaxed, but when he came back to his senses, he froze all over again.

They had rolled several times while clinging to each other, and now their positions were reversed.

He was lying on his back, while Ace hovered above him, supporting himself with his hands on either side of Shu Li.

Th-this is... way too intimidating.

Shu Li parted his lips slightly, staring in astonishment at the handsome face so close to his own.

"Are you all right?" Ace seemed completely oblivious to Shu Li's nervousness and surprise. His gaze was gentle, his expression concerned as he lowered his head to ask.

"I'm... I'm fine." Shu Li's eyes drifted involuntarily toward Ace's lips.

"Good." Ace got to his feet and offered Shu Li a hand up.

Shu Li's ears burned. He lowered his head, not daring to look Ace in the face, and whispered, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ace replied in a perfectly ordinary tone.

"Sperien! Are you two okay?" Dixio and Angel dodged the tornado and hurried over.

Shu Li quickly composed himself and looked up at them. "We're not hurt."

Dixio breathed a sigh of relief, then complained, "I don't know what's gotten into Ilio! He's actually made the tornadoes stronger. What are we supposed to do now?"

Shu Li bent down to retrieve his fallen magic staff and said solemnly, "Regroup. It's time to show him what we're really capable of."

If Ilio wasn't going to play fair, there was no reason for them to keep holding back.

Dixio and Angel understood immediately, mischievous smiles spreading across their faces.

"You got it!"

Ace lowered his brows slightly and followed Shu Li in silence.

Shu Li searched for his teammates while dodging the tornadoes.

Although the tornadoes had grown more powerful, they had also slowed noticeably, and there were fewer of them. As long as everyone ran fast enough, they wouldn't be caught.

The Light Squad soon regrouped. Seizing the right moment, Shu Li cast a defensive barrier at the level of an Intermediate Mage, successfully blocking the tornadoes' attacks.

Ilio had been keeping an eye on them the entire time. When he saw the King embrace little Sperien and roll across the ground with him, his brows drew together, and a peculiar expression flashed across his face.

Although he had increased the tornadoes' power, his control remained precise. Whenever one was about to collide with a student, he would stop it abruptly and use only the trailing edge of its winds to knock them over.

Consequently, the students were sent sprawling in every direction, but not a single one was injured.

The King knew perfectly well that the tornadoes wouldn't hurt anyone. So why had he gone out of his way to "save" Sperien?

Ilio stroked his smooth chin, deep in thought.

Suddenly, a blazing fireball shot through the layers of tornadoes and hurtled toward him.

Ilio raised an eyebrow and teleported away from the eye of the storm. The fireball missed him and collided with a tornado behind him, the two attacks canceling each other out.

That certainly wasn't a fireball cast by a Mage Apprentice.

Ilio turned toward the Light Squad.

Five Little Fairies stood in the front row, each gritting his teeth and raising his magic staff high as he chanted spells and unleashed magical attacks.

Balls of light, fireballs, water arrows, earth spikes, vines, and wind blades came one after another, converging on Ilio in the eye of the storm.

Oh? Are the little cuties angry now?

A shameless grin spread across Ilio's face.

Any attack below the level of a Saint Mage was useless against him.

Twenty minutes later, the tornadoes finally disappeared.

The training ground was devastated. The students were covered in dust and dirt, looking even more miserable than they had that morning. Some lay flat on their backs, others sprawled facedown, all of them barely breathing.

Shu Li and his companions sat slumped on the ground, panting for breath.

Damn it!

We still lost in the end!

Even with the Little Fairies and the young dragon unleashing their true magical abilities together, they were no match for Ilio, a Saint Mage.

Still, there was one consolation.

They had lasted an entire hour.

That meant each of them earned an additional point.

As for the other students in their class, two-thirds had collapsed long before the end, while the remaining third had managed to hold out.

For the sake of earning points, Lu Weixi had somehow forced himself to endure until the very end.

Ilio beckoned to Shu Li.

"Can you cast light-element healing magic?"

Shu Li puffed out his cheeks and answered irritably, "Yes."

Ilio smiled brightly. "Come on, then. Heal your classmates."

What else could Shu Li do?

He could only drag his exhausted body to its feet, raise his magic staff, and chant a light-element spell to relieve fatigue.

Pure light descended, transforming into countless sparkling motes that seeped into the students' bodies and swept away their exhaustion.

The dispirited students gradually recovered their energy.

After recording which students had gained or lost points, Ilio generously dismissed them to rest.

Naturally, he also assigned homework.

"Remember, everyone. Meditate for an hour when you get back, then write a summary and hand it in tomorrow."

"Awooooo!"

The students howled in misery and fled the training ground as though escaping a disaster.

A minute later, Ilio was the only person left.

He shrugged and sauntered away at an unhurried pace.

As he passed a member of the cleaning staff, he cheerfully reminded him to tidy up Training Ground No. 1.

The worker nodded obediently and entered the training ground with his broom, only to be stunned by the "mess" covering the floor.

The ground was riddled with pits and holes. Broken stones and mounds of earth were scattered everywhere, along with an enormous patch of green vegetation.

If defensive magical formations hadn't been installed on the walls and ceiling, the entire training ground would probably have been destroyed.

After a single day of classes, the students of Class One had gained a profound understanding of one thing.

Their Saint Mage instructor was an absolutely terrifying eccentric.

While the Mage Apprentices in other classes sat comfortably in their classrooms studying theory, they were being put through absolute hell.

Their confidence might have taken a serious blow, but a fierce, stubborn determination had ignited within them.

The more setbacks they suffered, the harder they wanted to fight. They had no intention of admitting defeat.

The one thing that made them happy was that classes had ended early that afternoon.

On the way back to the dormitory building, Shu Li and his companions chatted and laughed, occasionally throwing in a few complaints about Ilio.

Of course, the Little Fairies were all well-mannered children. Their insults never ventured beyond endlessly repeating words like "bad guy," "sneaky," and "awful."

Amanda was a dragon, but even he didn't dare insult the strongest warrior of the Elves.

As for Sidi, Nasha, and Hector, the three humans were even less willing to say anything bad about a Saint Mage.

Ace remained silent throughout the journey.

His gaze rested on Shu Li. When he noticed that the Little Fairy was deliberately maintaining a distance of two meters between them, amusement flickered in his eyes.

After waving goodbye to their companions, Shu Li and Ace entered the dormitory room they shared.

The moment the door closed, an awkward silence descended.

Shu Li's nervousness instantly returned. His gaze darted about, and he couldn't bring himself to look Ace in the face.

Yet there was no escaping the "accident" that had happened on the training ground.

Biting his lip, he finally summoned his courage and stammered out an apology.

"Ace! I-I'm sorry!"

Ace, who had already walked into the living room, turned around and asked with an air of puzzlement, "Why are you apologizing?"

Shu Li looked at his handsome face, and his breath caught.

Unconsciously, he licked his lips, remembering that soft, smooth sensation.

Ace is human, but his skin is so nice! It's every bit as good as a Fairy's...

Wait a second! What am I thinking?!

The little figure inside Shu Li's head frantically shook itself, trying to fling those strange thoughts away.

Seeing that Ace was still waiting for an answer, Shu Li felt his cheeks grow scorching hot. His ears were so red they looked ready to bleed.

Still, some things had to be explained properly. He couldn't risk creating a misunderstanding.

"It's just... I... I accidentally kissed your face..." Shu Li's voice grew quieter and quieter, his head gradually sinking toward his chest. "I didn't mean to! The circumstances were... unusual... Please don't mind!"

Ace looked at the boy, who was practically turning into a boiled lobster, and smiled.

"What if I do mind?"

"Squawk?"

Shu Li had never imagined he would receive that answer. He raised his head in astonishment.

He minds?

Ace says he minds!

AAAAAAAH!

Shu Li was screaming internally. He had absolutely no idea what to do.

"If... if you mind... then..." He swallowed and ventured a tentative suggestion. "You could kiss me back?"

The instant the words left his mouth, he nearly bit his tongue.

When Ace took a step toward him, Shu Li frantically waved both hands.

"No, no, no! I was just talking nonsense! Don't take it seriously!"

The Little Fairy's brain had completely overloaded. He was so nervous he could barely function.

Although the ages of his two lives added up to thirty-six years, he had lived a sheltered, uncomplicated life both during his first eighteen years and during the eighteen years of his second life.

Especially after becoming a Little Fairy, spending so much time among the other cubs had slowed his psychological development considerably.

As for matters of romance, he was a complete blank slate.

Previously, when he had dreamed about kissing the Elven King, he could at least convince himself that it was only a dream, something imaginary that he absolutely mustn't take seriously.

Besides, he was the only one who knew about that dream.

He could simply bury it deep in his memory and pretend nothing had happened.

Today was different.

He and Ace had actually "touched" each other.

Even if it had been an accident, he couldn't ignore how the other person might feel about it.

After all, the two of them had a perfectly innocent relationship. They couldn't let one tiny accident create some strange misunderstanding...

...Right?!

Shu Li blinked his innocent eyes and looked anxiously at the blond, green-eyed boy.

Ace watched him squirm with uncertainty, the corners of his mouth lifting.

"What if I take it seriously?"

"Take it seriously? Take... take what seriously?" Shu Li asked blankly. "What did I just say?"

Ace replied, "You said I could kiss you back."

Shu Li immediately clapped both hands over his cheeks.

He struggled with himself for half a minute before realizing that if they didn't settle this now, every future meeting between them would be unbearably awkward.

Taking a deep breath, he lowered his hands, closed his eyes, and assumed the expression of someone bravely facing certain death.

"Y-you can kiss me!"

After all, it was only a kiss on the cheek. That wasn't a big deal.

When they were cubs, the Little Fairies had loved giving one another kisses.

Ace slowly approached Shu Li and stopped directly in front of him. His deep green eyes rested intently on the boy's delicate face.

Shu Li couldn't help holding his breath.

His heart was pounding wildly, and he felt as though steam might start pouring out of his entire body.

Ace chuckled.

Then he curled a finger and gently flicked the boy's forehead.

Shu Li heard the laugh, felt the light flick against his forehead, and immediately opened his eyes in bewilderment.

"There," Ace said. "I forgive you."

"Huh?"

Shu Li touched his forehead, utterly confused.

Ace patted him on the shoulder.

"Go meditate."

"...Oh."

Shu Li walked into the magic research room with his arms and legs moving stiffly out of sync.

His dazed appearance was so comical it was almost impossible to watch with a straight face.

Ace watched until the door to the magic research room closed.

Then he returned to his own bedroom, dropped his disguise, and resumed his true appearance as the Elven King.

He raised his pale fingers to his cheek and gently caressed it.

A soft sigh escaped his lips.