SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System
Chapter 105: Mixed Feelings!

Chapter 105: Mixed Feelings!

The surface of Yang Lake shattered as Daniel and Ayra burst upwards, gasping for the warm, humid air of the Yang region.

The sudden shift from the cold, crushing pressure of the depths to the open atmosphere was a dizzying, painful shock.

Their lungs burned, their muscles screamed in protest, but they clung desperately to the strange, black metal chest, their legs kicking weakly as they paddled towards the devastated shoreline.

Lia, who had been watching the water with tense focus, rushed to the water’s edge, her A-Grade Staff of the World Ash glowing with a soft, welcoming light that cut through the gloom.

Nyx, yipping with pure relief, darted back and forth along the sand, her shadowy form a blur of frantic energy, her tail wagging wildly.

"You’re back!" Lia exclaimed, her voice filled with a profound relief that momentarily cracked her usual serene composure.

"We were getting so worried! The water... it’s so dark. And you found... oh my..."

Her calm grey eyes widened as she saw the massive, ancient-looking chest they were wrestling towards the shore.

It radiated a faint, dormant power she could feel even from a distance.

Ayra was the first one to scramble onto the bank, collapsing onto her hands and knees and coughing up a lungful of tainted lake water.

She fell sideways onto the soft, warm sand, the heavy crystal gauntlets clutched tightly to her chest as if for protection.

She was shivering, but not just from the exertion or the lingering cold of the lake’s abyss.

A deep, smoldering embarrassment radiated from her in visible waves.

Her face, usually pale or flushed with battle rage, was now a furious shade of crimson that was clearly visible even in the dim light of the twin moons.

Daniel followed a moment later, hauling the immensely heavy black chest onto the shore with a loud grunt.

"Boom!"

The chest landed with a heavy, final thud, sinking several inches into the soft ground.

He stood up, shaking water from his dark hair like a great dog, droplets flying in shimmering arcs.

He glanced over at Ayra, a small, infuriatingly teasing smile playing on his lips.

Lia, ever observant, noticed Ayra’s strange demeanor immediately.

The berserker, the indomitable Rock Pugilist who had faced down a horde of thugs and an S-Grade beast without flinching, was now pointedly avoiding everyone’s gaze.

"What happened down there, Ayra?" Lia asked, her voice laced with an innocent curiosity that was anything but.

She knelt beside the fuming Pugilist, her grey eyes sparkling with amusement.

"You seem a bit... flustered. And you’re blushing."

The question was the key that unlocked the mortifying memory.

Down in the lightless abyss, the pressure was immense, the darkness absolute save for the fading light from Daniel’s attacks.

He’d found the chest, but the suction from the dying beast was pulling them apart.

Ayra had lost her footing on the slick, rocky bottom, her body tumbling uncontrollably in the turbulent water.

Just as she was about to be dragged into the crushing darkness, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly against a steady presence.

It was Daniel. In the chaos and disorientation, he had anchored her, his body a shield against the underwater tempest.

For a breathless, terrifying second, her cheek was pressed firmly against his chest, her ear filled with the steady, powerful thump-thump-thump of his heart, a stark contrast to the silent, cold void around them.

She had felt the warmth of his core even through their soaked gear, a startling, intimate heat in the frigid depths.

He’d held her there, one arm securing her, the other gripping the chest, until the vortex subsided.

The entire incident couldn’t have lasted more than five seconds, but for Ayra, it felt like an eternity of helplessness and unwanted proximity.

She also remembered the initial one, when she felt something slimy on her feet and Daniel pressed her breasts, mistakenly at first, then intentionally later on.

"Nothing! Nothing happened!" Ayra sputtered now, the memory making her blush deepen to a near-purple hue.

She scrambled to her feet and began furiously wringing out her wet hair, her back turned to both Daniel and Lia.

"It was just... some very grabby seaweed, that’s all! And the water pressure was weird!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get warm before my muscles seize up."

Her denial was so forceful, so immediate, that it was practically a signed confession that something had, in fact, very much happened.

Lia’s knowing smile widened. As a healer, she was attuned to the flow of life and emotion, and she could sense the chaotic, embarrassed energy rolling off Ayra in waves.

She then turned her curious gaze to Daniel, who was calmly examining the intricate carvings on the black chest.

"Daniel?" she prompted gently. "Did you perhaps encounter some particularly aggressive seaweed as well?"

Daniel looked up, feigning an expression of profound innocence that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"Not that I noticed. Ayra seemed to handle it just fine, though. She’s surprisingly... clingy... when startled."

He winked at Lia, who had to stifle a giggle behind her hand.

That was the last straw.

Clingy? Clingy? With a roar of pure, frustrated embarrassment, she spun around.

"That’s it, Vance! You and I are gonna have to talk about this right now!"

She started to march towards him, her fists clenched, the faint, rocky aura of her Rock Pugilist arts beginning to flare around her knuckles.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on," Daniel said, raising his hands in a gesture of peace, though the teasing glint in his eyes remained.

"You’re freezing. Arguing is much less effective when your teeth are chattering. Let’s get you warmed up first, then you can threaten me with grievous bodily harm."

He held out his hand, and with a soft surge of contained power, a gentle, hovering ball of fire ignited in his palm.

It wasn’t a weapon; it was a miniature sun, a small, perfectly controlled piece of his S-Grade [Solar Flare Fist Art].

The fire cast a warm, flickering orange light across their faces, instantly chasing away the chill of the lake water and the cool night breeze.

The soft crackle of the flame was a comforting sound in the sudden quiet.

Ayra stopped mid-stride, her anger momentarily short-circuited by the sheer unexpectedness of the gesture.

The comforting heat washed over her skin, a blissful wave that eased the violent shivering in her limbs.

She stared at the flame, then at Daniel, her furious expression softening almost imperceptibly.

The gesture was simple, practical, and surprisingly thoughtful.

She was still incandescently furious with him, but it was hard to stay completely mad at someone who was essentially offering you a personal, portable bonfire after you’d nearly frozen to death.

"Hmph," she grunted, a sound that was far less threatening than she likely intended.

She took a hesitant step closer to the fire, allowing the warmth to soak into her chilled bones.

Her shivering subsided, replaced by the lingering heat of her blush.

"Fine. But you’re still on thin ice, Vance. Very thin one."

"Wouldn’t have it any other way," Daniel replied with a grin, the teasing edge finally softening into genuine warmth.

He then turned his attention back to the mysterious black treasure chest.

The metal it was forged from was unfamiliar, absorbing the firelight instead of reflecting.

The patterns on its surface were very strange.

There was no visible lock, no hinges, only a single, seamless line around its middle.

"Now," he said, the excitement returning to his voice, "shall we see what treasures our giant, scaly friend was so keen on protecting?"

Lia moved to kneel on one side of the chest, her staff’s light adding a cool, white counterpoint to Daniel’s fire.

Ayra, her pride forcing her to act as if she were merely humouring them, knelt on the other side.

Their earlier conflict was momentarily forgotten, their gazes now fixed on the ancient, silent box.

The promise of legendary loot, it seemed, was a powerful peacemaker.