Vermillion Forest

[Quest Completed: Travel Alone With Lucian]

[Reward: +180 C-Point // +200 XP]

[Reward Gold Coins: 50]

[New Romance Quest: Hugged by Lucian]

What the hell was that!

How did the quest go from finding information about him and walking together to a hug?!

More important thing was Lucian had to be the one who hugged her first!

Nonsense. Ridiculous. Stupid system.

Since she met him, Lucian had never shown any tendency of a predator.

They were in the middle of the apocalypse, right? Women were rare in that kind of situation, so the men would usually treat the women as sex toys if they encountered one.

Especially a beautiful woman like Medeia.

The villagers were like family to her so they didn't count, but Lucian was a complete stranger with a strong ability. If he wanted it, he could force her to become his sex slave.

However, Lucian had never touched her, even once!

Even after they traveled together for two days and two nights, he had always commanded the wolf to sleep between them.

"I think we can stay here for tonight." Lucian's voice pulled her out of her reverie.

Medeia looked at the old diner in front of her. The old diner stood at the edge of the crumbling town. Dust coated the cracked windows, and the paint on the walls had peeled away.

Despite its decay, the diner could be their temporary shelter for one night. Medeia explored the interior of the diner and found the kitchen to be badly damaged as most people would try to find food there.

"Don't you think this place is too dusty?" Medeia couldn't help but cough over and over again because of it. "Maybe we can stay outside like we always do."

"We can't sleep outside tonight." Lucian said, "As we get close to Vermillion Forest, the temperature will drop at night, so you may get sick if we sleep outside."

Medeia lowered her head, looking at the dirt and dust on the floor. "Maybe we should clean up a bit."

Lucian smiled. "Close your eyes for three seconds."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Medeia didn't ask again and did what he said. She heard the furniture in the diner moving around, but she could feel Lucian hadn't moved from his place since the beginning.

"Okay, open your eyes."

Medeia stood in awe as she saw the room suddenly clean. There was not a speck of dust, and the furniture was back in place. 

Aside from the damaged paint, the diner looked like it was alive again.

"How did you do this?" Medeia spun around to see the detail of the room.

Lucian answered her jokingly. "With magic."

'System, can't you detect it? Is it his other ability?'

[Negative. He's only released a drop of his ability. The system can't detect it]

But, he cleaned the entire building, so how could the system assume he only used a drop of his ability earlier?

It didn't make sense, but Medeia decided to not think about that too much.

When the sun went down, Lucian build a temporary furnace and boiled potatoes, tomatoes, and the last ration of meat. They had no spices, so the food always tasted bland. But Medeia had never protest, because the food in hell was worse.

"We'll probably reach Vermillion Forest tomorrow." Lucian handed the bowl of hot soup to Medeia, then gave the raw meat to Bear. "You have to wear more jackets tomorrow."

Before they left the village, Lucian had reminded her every day to bring at least three jackets because the land in the Vermillion Forest had been contaminated by radiation, so the soil in the forest had become permafrost.

 Normally, no plants could grow in such soil, but even the plants in Vermillion Forest had mutated and adapted to their current habitat. 

But what was so bad about the cold? Medeia had gone to the coldest hell and back, so she didn't think a little cold in the human realm would bother her.

She took it lightly, but once she stepped into the Vermillion Forest, she couldn't stop shivering and hugging herself. Fortunately, she brought three jackets with her because Lucian had to constantly check her belongings before they left.

Still, the jackets weren't enough for her.

'You're torturing me with this body!' Medeia exclaimed in her heart, accusing the system of abusing her.

[It's a normal reaction, Host! Every human will shiver in cold when the temperature is 0° celsius]

Medeia turned her eyes to Lucian, who looked perfectly fine. He wasn't even wearing as much clothing as she was. "Lucian, aren't you cold?"

"I'm used to coming to places like this, so my body has adapted to the extreme temperatures." Lucian then realized Medeia hadn't stopped shivering. "Is the cold too much for you?"

"It's definitely too much."

But wasn't this the perfect condition for Lucian to embrace her?

A fragile beauty shivering from the cold, did Lucian have no desire to share their bodies heat?

Medeia walked closer to Lucian, giving him a hint to hug her. But instead of hugging her, he grabbed a blue mushroom from under the tree.

"Do you know what this is?" asked Lucian excitedly.

Medeia forced herself to smile. "What is that?"

"This is called 'Heatspore', a mushroom that can warm your body. Even if we don't cook it, it's safe to eat right away." Lucian sliced the mushroom into tiny pieces. "Here, eat this one."

Medeia grunted in her heart because she ended up eating a mushroom instead of hugging a hot man. However, as soon as she swallowed it the burst of warmth immediately spread across her body.

Lucian asked, "Warmer?" 

Medeia nodded quickly. "You're really awesome." She said, "How can you know a lot about plants and mushrooms?"

"My mother taught me a lot about them." Lucian smiled, but his eyes seemed down. 

Medeia didn't want to touch his sore spot, so she diverted the topic. "And now you have to teach me everything you know." She pulled his hands, "First, tell me how to differentiate edible and poisonous plants."

Lucian followed her deeper into the forest. Towering crimson trees surround the forest, their skeletal branches dusted with frost. The ground beneath them was hard, each step crunching faintly against the permafrost.

The forest was quiet, but silence could be deadly as the monsters could suddenly attack them without making a sound. 

Medeia held Lucian's hand and acted like a scared cat, although she was actually excited to meet one of the monsters in the forest.

"Because of the mutation, it's hard to distinguish edible or poisonous plants by color or texture." Lucian explained, "The only way to recognize them is by memorizing them."

He crouched down and touched a plant that resembled aloe vera, but the leaf was blue and it was thicker than normal aloe vera.

"My mother used to call this 'waterheart' because it contains water that is safe to drink." He said, "Rare, but incredibly useful. Waterheart can also be stored for over two months without spoilage.

Medeia raised an eyebrow. "Sounds convenient."

Lucian pulled out a small knife, carefully slicing one of the thick leaves. He held it up, the liquid inside sloshing gently. "Taste it."

Medeia brought her face closer to it. She widened her eyes slightly as she took a sip. "It's sweet."

He smiled when Medeia liked it. "Yes, it tastes like sugar cane." Lucian let Medeia drink the rest of the liquid, then pulled out some waterheart to save for later. "Let's find other things."

Medeia nodded, but before she could take a step, she suddenly heard a loud noise in the distance. It sounded strange, like a bunch of cars and motorcycles moving toward the forest, but how was it possible?

After the apocalypse, it was hard to find fuels, so modern vehicles were useless. Could it be military? Didn't Lucian say there were military bases somewhere?

But before Medeia had a chance to think about it further, Lucian suddenly grabbed her body and carried her to hide between the large trees. Bear also ran to the bushes and didn't dare to make a sound.

Lucian covered her mouth. He held her tightly, almost suffocating her. "Don't talk, don't move, and don't make a sound." His voice was low and serious. "And cover your face. Don't let them know you are a woman."