From Trash to Lord of Thunder: The Rise of the Cursed Extra-Chapter 73: I’m Not Like Him

From Charles’s perspective, Kaira was dead.

Sprawled face-down on the ground, her red tunic a mess, smeared with dirt and green grass, she was the closest thing to a corpse he’d seen in a while.

She’d attempted the one-handed roll for the umpteenth time, and the result was the same:

A spectacular faceplant.

Charles, sitting a few meters away, was sweaty too, his black tunic clinging to his skin.

In his hands, he held the chocolate ice cream container, now half-melted, and though he kept scooping with the plastic spoon, the sugar was starting to hit him with an uncomfortable buzz.

’This stuff’s too good,’ he thought, taking another bite, ’but I’m one spoonful away from a sugar coma...’

He glanced at Kaira, still motionless, propped on her hands with her messy black hair falling over her face.

The sun was dipping, painting the sky a soft orange as night crept in.

Charles grumbled to himself, annoyed at how late it was getting.

’Great, it’s almost dark,’ he thought, scratching the back of his neck. ’And we still gotta trek back. This day’s turning into a nightmare...’

As he watched Kaira, he couldn’t help but notice that, despite the mess, she had a nice figure.

Charles shook his head quickly, scolding himself.

’Focus,’ he thought. ’Not the time for that.’

Meanwhile, Kaira was lost in her own thoughts, forehead pressed to the ground.

’Why can’t I get it?’ she thought, frustrated. ’I followed his instructions to the letter. I nailed it once! Why can’t I do it now? This is stupid. I wanna burn this whole forest down...’

Her drive to learn those acrobatics wasn’t just because they looked cool—her gut told her that mastering those moves could push her to a new level.

Kaira tilted her head slightly and caught Charles watching her silently. She assumed he was thinking up advice, while she...

’I’m making a fool of myself,’ she thought, her cheeks warming. ’He must think I’m a talentless loser. Why can’t I keep up with him?’

Despite Rian seeming scatterbrained, Kaira knew he’d soon outpace her. She wanted to learn from him to keep climbing in this place.

After all, the weak...

Were doomed to die.

With a groan, Kaira tried to stand, but a sharp pain in her wrists stopped her.

She winced, breathing heavily.

"Rian," she said, her voice strained. "Got anything to say?"

Charles, lost in his thoughts, panicked.

’Did she catch me checking her out?’ he thought, his heart racing—th-thump. ’Crap, gotta cover.’

"Uh... well," he said, forcing a smile. "You’ve made a ton of progress today. You’re this close to nailing that move. Took me weeks to do decent rolls, you know."

Kaira looked at him, her expression glum.

"I only got it right once," she muttered, sitting up with effort. "The rest were trainwrecks."

Charles shook his head, keeping his tone upbeat.

"No, no, listen," he said, pointing with his spoon. "A few of those were almost perfect. You were this close a couple times. What you need is confidence."

Kaira blinked, echoing the word.

"Confidence?" she said, frowning.

"Yup," Charles said, leaning forward. "You’re way more talented than me, hands down. Seriously. Believe in yourself, and you’ll nail it."

Kaira eyed him suspiciously, crossing her arms.

"You’re lying," she said, her tone accusing. "You’re just saying that so I don’t feel bad."

Charles raised his hands, laughing.

"Not lying," he said. "Dead serious. You’re good, Kaira. Just stop doubting yourself."

Kaira studied him for a moment, as if weighing whether to believe him.

Then, out of nowhere, she sprang to her feet and lunged at him.

Charles, still balancing the ice cream on his lap, saw disaster coming.

"No, don’t—!" he yelped, trying to dodge.

Too late.

Kaira crashed into him, and the ice cream container flipped, splattering melted chocolate everywhere—splat.

Charles’s tunic was streaked with brown, and Kaira’s, already caked in dirt, now sported dark globs, looking like a modern art canvas.

Charles groaned, gently pushing her off.

"Look at this mess!" he protested, standing. "We’re a total disaster!"

Kaira, still on the ground, let out a tired laugh.

Without thinking, Charles straddled her, pinning her arms to prevent another surprise attack.

But as he looked at her—drenched in sweat, tunic smeared with chocolate, hair a wild mess—he couldn’t help but notice she looked... attractive.

The thought made him blush, and he quickly tried to focus on something else.

"Why’d you do that?" he asked, his tone stern. "You said you weren’t gonna fight me."

Kaira grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Wanted to teach you a lesson," she said, panting. "For laughing at me earlier."

Charles rolled his eyes, still holding her down.

Was her reasoning even remotely logical?

"A lesson?" he said, gesturing at their tunics. "One where you end up covered in ice cream too? Not exactly a master plan."

Kaira scowled, trying to wriggle free.

"Shut up!" she huffed, but she was too worn out to resist.

With a mischievous idea, Charles decided to get even. He started tickling her stomach, and Kaira erupted into uncontrollable laughter, squirming beneath him—giggle-giggle.

"Stop!" she shrieked between laughs. "What’re you doing?!"

"Teaching you what a real lesson looks like," Charles said, grinning. "Think twice before tackling me while I’m eating ice cream, got it?"

Kaira tried to fight back, but she was too exhausted.

"Stop, please!" she pleaded, still laughing. "Okay, I give up!"

Charles kept at it a moment longer, enjoying his revenge, but without realizing, his grip loosened Kaira’s tunic.

The fabric slipped, exposing her stomach and part of her chest, covered only by a black band.

The sight was unexpectedly striking, and Charles froze, his cheeks burning—whoosh.

’Oh, crap,’ he thought, pulling back fast.

Kaira, panting, didn’t seem to notice his reaction. She gulped air, relieved the tickling had stopped, and lay there, unbothered by her disheveled tunic.

Charles opened his mouth to say something, but a raindrop hit his head—plip.

He looked up, and another splashed his face—plop.

"What the hell?" he muttered, as the rain picked up—patter-patter.

Without thinking, Charles stood and scooped Kaira into his arms.

"What’re you doing?" she asked, still catching her breath.

"Know any place we can stay dry?" Charles said, scanning the area. "I don’t wanna catch a cold from this."

Kaira laughed, her voice weak but amused.

"Seriously, you’re worried about a little rain?" she said. "Element wielders like us have tougher bodies than normal people. I doubt we’d get sick from some water."

Charles raised an eyebrow, a sarcastic grin spreading.

"Oh, sure," he said, adjusting her in his arms. "Didn’t know I was with a liquid enthusiast. First ice cream, now rain. What’s next?"

Kaira rolled her eyes, giving him a light smack on the chest—thwap.

"A bit of chocolate on our clothes won’t kill us," she said. "And neither will rain. Chill out."

The rain intensified, soaking them fast—shhhhh.

Charles clicked his tongue, annoyed.

"Perfect," he muttered. "This can’t get any worse."

Kaira, still in his arms, grinned.

"I’ve got an idea," she said, a mischievous spark in her eyes.

Charles eyed her warily.

"What idea?" he asked.

"There’s a lake nearby," Kaira said, smiling. "We can swim and train a bit there."

Charles gaped, blinking through the rain.

"A lake?" he repeated, incredulous. "You wanna train? Are you nuts? You can barely move!"

Kaira laughed, clearly enjoying his reaction.

"I’m not that tired," she lied, her voice quivering slightly. "Come on, it’ll be fun."