Chapter 324 - Cultivating
Before Theo could say anything else, Owen suddenly pulled off his shirt.
He tossed it aside and sprinted towards the lake.
’’Wait—’’
Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he jumped in.
SPLASH!
Water shot several feet into the air as he disappeared beneath the surface.
Theo stared at the lake with a completely deadpan expression.
A second later, Owen’s head emerged again.
’’Holy shit!’’ he shouted excitedly. ’’Get in here!’’
Theo continued staring at him before letting out a sigh.
’Of course you’d do that,’ he thought.
Beside him, Jim suddenly moved.
’’He’s got the right idea,’’ he said, rushing forward.
SPLASH!
Jim jumped in right beside Owen, submerging himself completely.
’’HAHA!’’ Owen laughed loudly. ’’See?!’’
Only a moment later, Jim broke through the water’s surface again.
’’Fuck!’’ he shouted, his expression changing. ’’It’s cold!’’
Owen immediately splashed some water into his face.
’’Stop being such a bitch!’’
Jim flipped him off right away.
’’Fuck you!’’
Theo watched them for a moment, desperately fighting the urge to pinch his nose.
Slowly turning around, he was met by five mildly annoyed stares.
Unlike Owen and Jim, none of them appeared particularly eager to strip down and jump into the lake.
Theo let out a sigh before scratching his head.
’’So how do you all want to do this?’’ he asked.
He’d barely finished his sentence when Lyra walked up to him.
She patted him lightly on the shoulder before opening her mouth.
’’Don’t make such a big deal of it,’’ she said casually. ’’Just hand us some swimwear and we’ll go change.’’
Theo glanced at her in surprise.
But that only lasted for a second as his mind spun.
’Did I even bring that?’
His brows furrowed for a moment.
Swimwear was one of the very last things he’d thought about while heading for a desert.
’Ah, some of the survival kits are bound to have them, right?’
After a couple of minutes of pulling random bags out of his spatial ring, Theo finally tossed several small packages towards them.
Within seconds, tall metal boxes rose around each of the ladies.
Theo didn’t bother waiting around.
He quickly changed himself before walking towards the lake.
As he stepped in, a strange cold sensation began spreading through his entire body.
It wasn’t painful in the slightest, yet it still sent chills down his spine.
’Damn,’ he thought, walking in further.
The water had barely reached his waist when a familiar voice rang out beside him.
’’Hey!’’ Jim said, swimming over.
Theo raised an eyebrow as his gaze flicked towards him.
Just from his face, he could already tell that Jim wasn’t very happy.
’’Why the hell did you give them swimsuits?’’ Jim asked furiously. ’’I don’t even care about the others, but couldn’t you have at least pretended you had one too little for Isabelle?’’
Theo just stared at him for a moment.
’’Are you serious right now?’’
’’Dead serious!’’
Before Jim could continue, Owen suddenly appeared behind him.
His hands grabbed Jim’s shoulders.
’’Wait, what are you—’’
Owen shoved him straight underwater.
SPLASH!
Jim immediately began struggling.
A few seconds later, Owen finally released him.
SPLASH!
Jim burst through the surface, coughing loudly.
’’YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!’’
Owen folded his arms and completely ignored him.
’’I told you,’’ he said seriously. ’’You can’t force this stuff. You need to find a partner on the battlefield!’’
Jim cursed immediately.
’’Like hell! You know how much danger your stupid advice got me in last time!’’
Owen shrugged casually.
’’You need to make sacrifices. That’s what it’s all about.’’
Disbelief filled Jim’s face instantly.
’’You almost got me killed!’’ he shouted. ’’Y—’’
’’And yet you’re still alive,’’ Owen interrupted casually.
Jim opened and closed his mouth.
His face immediately began turning red as he processed his words.
’’THAT DOESN’T MAKE IT GOOD ADVICE!’’
Meanwhile, Theo just stared at the two with a completely deadpan expression.
He truly didn’t even want to know.
Rolling his eyes, he turned around and began swimming towards the other side of the lake.
Behind him, Jim and Owen continued arguing.
’’Besides,’’ Owen started firmly. ’’Isabelle isn’t a good choice anyway!’’
’’What now?’’ Jim said, annoyed.
’’She’s way too old,’’ Owen continued. ’’You’re eighteen while she’s twenty-seven or something!’’
Theo’s brows twitched just hearing them.
Luckily, it didn’t take long before he reached a much quieter spot in the lake.
After relaxing for a minute or two, Theo closed his eyes and began cultivating.
Almost immediately, he noticed the difference.
Mana continuously entered his body through the surrounding water, slowly gathering around his Gold Core.
’I can feel it strengthening my core,’ he thought. ’And it isn’t slow either.’
A small smile appeared on his face.
Feng really hadn’t exaggerated.
If they stayed here for several days, everyone could make an enormous amount of progress.
’’I wouldn’t suggest you stay in too long.’’
Feng’s voice suddenly echoed through his mind.
Theo opened his eyes, finding the little unicorn floating near the edge of the lake.
’’You’ve only recently broken through,’’ Feng continued. ’’Stimulating your core too much right now wouldn’t be good for you.’’
Theo nodded quietly.
It wasn’t something that’d been outside his expectations.
’’Instead, I’d focus on training your new affinity,’’ the little unicorn added. ’’Not to mention the Gold Core stage spells you have yet to master.’’
Letting out a quiet sigh, Theo nodded.
Though he knew Feng was absolutely right, it felt like such a waste to not use the lake.
’Something like this won’t show up much,’ he thought. ’Is there no way to, like, store a little?’
’’Of course you can,’’ Feng replied. ’’It’s not going to lose its effect if you stash it in your spatial ring.’’
Theo’s eyes lit up.
’That’s what I wanted to hear.’
He immediately made a mental note to store as much as possible before they left.
With that settled, he looked across the lake.
By now, the others had begun cultivating as well.
But as he looked closely, one person seemed to be missing.
Only a second later, two hands suddenly covered his eyes.
’’Guess who?’’ a sweet, female voice rang out behind him.