Chapter 185: It Stood Up

“You understand what I mean, right?”

Hearing Nolan speak with such confidence, Ailindel was startled as well. “Distance?” she repeated instinctively. She had already prepared herself mentally for failure and had even tried comforting Nolan instead. Yet he actually had a solution?

She understood now. It wasn’t that he couldn’t find a method—he simply didn’t dare get too close!

Once she realized this, she recalled the awkward way the man before her had been scratching his head and agonizing over the issue. Unconsciously, her mind drifted back to the scene in the “Gap of Ages,” where he had seized her hand without hesitation and sprinted through the collapsing world with her.

Back then, he had been forceful and decisive. But now, over nothing more than this little issue of distance, he was fumbling about like a helpless young boy. Was that really still the same person?

How… adorable.

Ailindel could not help laughing softly. “If that is your only concern, then you needn’t worry so much. I’m hardly going to get angry over something like this.”

The moment Nolan heard that, he looked as though he had been granted a royal pardon. “Ah, you should’ve said so earlier! Then excuse me.”

He let out a long sigh of relief. Without hesitating further, he stepped forward, reached out, and gently placed a hand on Ailindel’s shoulder armor of holy white.

This should work now, right?

Ailindel had sounded relaxed moments ago, but when Nolan truly drew close and she felt that distinctly masculine aura unique to him, she realized she was nowhere near as calm as she had pretended. Unconsciously, she lowered her gaze, and the delicate tips of her ears quietly flushed a lovely shade of pink.

Meanwhile, Nolan was praying frantically inside his head.

We’re this close already. There’s no way this still won’t—

【Unable to select. Target out of range.】

Nolan raised his head and stared upward.

Of course, there was no sky to see—only the redwood ceiling overhead.

Unbelievable. I’m completely out of ideas.

A chaotic flood of thoughts rushed through Nolan’s mind. But things had already reached this point. He had spoken so confidently earlier—whether it worked or not, he had to make it work.

At critical moments, a man absolutely could not admit defeat!

With great difficulty, he cleared his throat. “Cough… Ailin, listen… uh, it seems like… direct physical contact is required…”

Ailindel lifted her head and looked straight at him with those clear eyes. If she had not trusted Nolan’s character so completely, at this moment she truly might have started suspecting ulterior motives. But the instant she saw the mortified expression on his face, any trace of doubt instantly vanished. He was even more embarrassed than she was.

“Physical contact…” Ailindel silently repeated the words in her heart, and her cheeks immediately burned with heat.

Still, if it meant recovering her strength… if it meant helping him more effectively…

She took a deep breath, as though making up her mind about something, then gently nodded toward Nolan.

As she moved, Nolan heard a faint humming sound. The next second, the gorgeous and sacred suit of pure white armor covering Ailindel’s body began to fade into translucence. Particles of light drifted from its edges before the armor scattered like mist blown away by the wind, vanishing completely into the air.

Now it was Nolan’s turn to nearly have his eyeballs pop straight out of their sockets.

Wait… I told you to remove the armor, not strip naked?!

The sight before him was simply lethal. Ailindel had already been an unparalleled beauty even among Moon Elves. Now, with every trace of armor gone, that nearly perfect figure was revealed before him without reservation. Her skin was whiter than snow, glowing with a warm ivory sheen beneath the fireplace light. Below her elegant collarbones were full, rounded curves, while her slender waist looked delicate enough to grasp with one hand. Further down were breathtaking lines and long, flawless legs—every inch of her seeming like the masterpiece of a god.

Nolan took only a single glance before feeling utterly incapable of looking away. Do not look at indecency! Do not look at indecency! He abruptly squeezed his eyes shut and began chanting inwardly like mad.

But that fleeting glimpse of sacred white beauty had already burned itself into his mind like a brand, impossible to erase. Even worse, the hand he had originally placed upon cold armor now rested directly against Ailindel’s smooth, delicate shoulder. That warm softness, carrying a faint elasticity, felt like an electric current magnifying the image he had just seen countless times over.

Nolan felt his head buzzing violently. It took everything he had to suppress the wicked urge to open his eyes for another look—as well as the increasingly obvious physical reaction trying to rise on its own.

And while he was waging a desperate internal war against his desires, he suddenly realized another problem.

With his eyes closed, he couldn’t operate the system panel.

Mother Goddess above, is this some ultimate trial for me? Nolan wailed inwardly.

At the moment, his hand rested on the shoulder of a completely naked, breathtakingly beautiful elf while his own expression was twisted beyond belief. No matter how anyone looked at it, he absolutely resembled a suspicious creep. If someone walked into the room right now, he truly would never be able to clear his name no matter what river he jumped into.

He even began worrying whether continuing like this might get him judged as a “pervert,” causing his inner corruption to downgrade his Paladin class into an “Oathbreaker.”

Just one glance. One tiny glance! With twenty years of player experience and skill, I can confirm it instantly!

Grinding his teeth, Nolan steeled himself with the determination of a martyr and abruptly cracked open one eye.

He rapidly glanced at the panel and selected the “Upgrade” option.

This time, the infuriating red error message finally failed to appear.

Meanwhile, Ailindel had clearly misunderstood what Nolan meant by “physical contact.” The moment she “disarmed” herself, she felt her face burn all the way down to her neck. All she could do was close her eyes tightly and wait for Nolan’s next action.

But after waiting for some time, the anticipated “strength recovery” never came. The only thing she felt was the hand on her shoulder trembling slightly. Beyond that, there was no movement at all.

Unable to resist, Ailindel slowly peeked her eyes open.

And at that exact moment, she saw Nolan peeking with one eye open as well.

Since Ailindel knew nothing about the system panel, the object of his “sneaking a look” could only be herself. An overwhelming wave of embarrassment instantly surged straight to the top of her head.

Moon Elves might generally be emotionally detached compared to humans, but that did not mean they lacked feelings. Being seen naked by a man—especially a man she liked—how could she possibly not feel shy?

Yet alongside the embarrassment, she realized another emotion rising within her.

Joy.

Didn’t Nolan’s “sneaking a look” simply prove her own charm?

And when it came from someone she liked, that was naturally a good thing.

Before she could fully process the complicated emotions swirling inside her, a vast and warm torrent of power suddenly surged from Nolan’s palm into her body.

That energy was immense yet gentle, nourishing every corner of her war spirit body. The supreme sensation was unlike anything she had experienced in thousands of years, so comfortable that a soft moan escaped her lips before she could suppress it.

Unfortunately, Nolan’s experience was nowhere near as pleasant.

The instant he confirmed the upgrade, an overwhelming tearing sensation exploded from the depths of his mind.

The experience points on the system panel drained away at a terrifying speed while, at the same time, his spiritual power was forcibly extracted and transformed into a bridge transmitting that “power” into Ailindel’s war spirit body.

Waves of intense pain and dizziness struck him continuously, darkening his vision.

Finally, after all three hundred thousand experience points had been consumed, the horrifying sensation threatening to tear apart his soul at last stopped.

He was drenched in sweat, his entire body limp with exhaustion. His spiritual power had nearly been forcibly drained dry, leaving him unable to even stand steadily.

【War Spirit Armament · Strength Recovery Progress: 10%】

Three hundred thousand experience points for a mere 3% increase… Though he had expected this bottomless pit long ago, it still left him speechless.

After all, Ailindel at her peak had stood at the summit of the Origin realm. Recovering such strength was never going to be easy.

Nolan laughed bitterly inwardly. So having experience points drained away was this painful? Or was it because of the unique nature of war spirits, requiring his spiritual power as the medium…

Meanwhile, Ailindel felt the tangible increase in strength within her body and was overjoyed. Though the increase was small, it had truly worked. What mattered was not how much she had recovered, but the fact that the method itself was effective.

She really could restore her power.

And that meant she could help him!

Moon Elves were usually reserved and elegant, but once their emotions truly stirred, they burned even more intensely than humans.

Looking at Nolan—eyes tightly shut, drenched in sweat, swaying as though he might collapse at any second—Ailindel felt both gratitude and heartache. Unable to suppress her excitement any longer, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck before rising onto her toes and lightly pressing a kiss against his lips.

Then, leaning close to his ear, she whispered softly, “Thank you… my partner.”

A hug itself was one thing, but she was still completely naked!

And Nolan himself wore only a tight inner combat layer. With his eyes already shut, every sensation became amplified countless times over. He instantly felt two smooth, delicate arms wrap around his neck, the trembling sweetness upon his lips, and against his chest, that suffocating softness and fullness…

Under the combined assault of overwhelming sensory stimulation and severe spiritual exhaustion, Nolan could no longer hold on.

His vision went black, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot. In the final instant before losing awareness, only a single thought remained in his mind.

It really… stood up.