Chapter 487: Request

"Lady Hera, your tail has gone limp."

Rod was just as direct, pointing it out the moment he opened his mouth.

Scorpion Lady Hera was an old acquaintance; everyone was on good terms and visited each other during holidays, so there was no need to be too formal.

Besides, she wasn't the sort who liked excessive ceremony.

He took another big gulp of mushroom tea to soothe his throat, which felt like it was about to smoke from shouting. The taste was faintly sweet.

"In the cultural traditions of the Scorpionfolk, saying someone's tail has gone limp is no different from cursing them to die."

Her huge, now-dull scorpion tail slowly curled up and hung limply on the branch beside her.

Her words carried a certain gravity.

But the corners of Hera's dark-purple lips curved into a faintly roguish arc.

Of course she wasn't being serious—she was only joking—but Rod couldn't afford to be too casual in front of her.

"Uh, sorry."

"Forest-keeper lad, it's been so long and you're already mid-seventh-tier, yet you still haven't grown a backbone in front of me."

"Mainly respect, and secondly admiration."

"Respect? Admiration? Then why do you keep staring at my chest?"

"Did I?"

"Yes, you sneaked another peek just now while you were speaking."

"Mm, I can't see Lady Hera's eyes, so I just looked at some random spot."

Scorpion Lady Hera burst out laughing.

Her sense of humor had always been low—and strange.

Back when she hadn't yet entered seclusion, Rod would often tell jokes and bad puns from his previous life on Earth; even when they were corny and terrible, Hera could always imagine something funny on her own and laugh until she shook.

Rod laughed along on the side.

Suddenly he saw Hera cough violently, eerie blue-gray demonic patterns lighting up on her neck.

He couldn't help but ask on his own initiative.

"Lady Hera, are you all right?"

At the same time, he activated 【Insight Demon Eye】.

He saw that within the eerie blue-gray demonic patterns on her neck, black-purple spirituality was flowing backward; this spirituality shared the same origin as the spirituality within her body, but because the circuit was reversed, it was constantly eroding her body.

"It's nothing. The quality of that big chunk of demon-eye meat you sent over last time was quite good, so I used it to attempt a breakthrough to ninth-tier—didn't expect to fail."

Hera waved a hand.

As if she were relating something that had nothing to do with her.

She drifted down to the ground, then leaned languidly against the tree trunk, watching Rod from afar.

Her bare, snow-white jade-like feet stepped on the earth carpeted with fallen leaves, not picking up a speck of dust.

Demon-eye meat.

It was something Rod had once received as a gift after conducting an essence trade with Bone Dragon Megan.

Besides that, there were quite a few materials from magical beasts or cosmic creatures.

Rod himself couldn't use them, and selling cosmic creatures required review—the procedures were a real hassle—so he generously gave them all to Scorpion Lady Hera.

If she's attempting a breakthrough to ninth-tier,

that means Scorpion Lady is at the peak of eighth-tier.

A failed advancement causing reversed spiritual flow—that makes sense.

"Let me try."

Seeing her land, Rod stepped forward on his own initiative.

This forest-keeper officer has two domain skills that serve a healing purpose—【Rot-Born Unity】 and 【Green Vine Mutual Healing】—so they ought to be of some use.

"You're not allowed to touch me~"

But Scorpion Lady drifted nimbly away from him, a smile playing on her lips.

"You naughty forest-keeper lad, spending every night fooling around with girls, and all different races too. Heh, don't tell me you're trying to collect me, a Scorpionfolk, as well?"

Rod's expression turned solemn.

Righteously, he said: "I've only ever felt admiration and respect for Lady Hera."

"Respect is respect, so why say it while staring at my chest? Hehehe. You're a remarkable seventh-tier, and I'm a weakened eighth-tier who failed my advancement—if you insist on coming over, I probably couldn't resist either."

"Really? No—ahem. I mean, cut it out, Lady Hera. I might be able to soothe your injuries."

Hera saw that he was speaking in earnest.

She stopped her rare bout of teasing too; she always liked to tease this good-looking and pleasant forest-keeper officer.

Her scorpion tail rose and hung on the branch.

Making her whole body flip upside down like Spider-Man, she extended her left hand toward Rod.

"I must warn you—because of this reversed spiritual flow, I can't control my venom well for now; you might be poisoned when you touch me."

As the black hair that had covered her eyes fell under gravity, Rod finally saw Scorpion Lady Hera's face clearly for the first time—

A dark-purple exoskeleton covering her eyes and forehead.

It looked like an oversized black eye mask.

Tch.

There's no difference from when her hair wasn't pushed aside anyway.

Rod walked over and took her outstretched left hand.

Only then did he notice that Hera had a tiny beauty mark on the left side of her chin.

"No need, I'm immune to poison."

"Hehehe, you little brat really know how to talk big."

He smiled and said nothing.

Silently, he began to exert the effects of his two domain skills.

Hera visibly froze for a moment, then turned to him in surprise: "A domain? And two of them?"

"Don't worry, my lord Hera, I'll definitely cure you. From now on, whatever materials you need to advance to ninth rank, just come to me."

Rod said, raising an eyebrow.

Investing in an eighth-rank peak advancing to ninth rank — absolutely a sure profit, no loss.

This one was the high-ranking individual who had shown him goodwill from the very start, and had even saved his life once later on. Their acquaintance was purely built on personal affection, with basically no profit motive mixed in.

Most importantly, Hera had a tall, fiery figure and was beautiful to look at — easy on the eyes!

Most most importantly, she was a Scorpion-kin Rod had never touched before!

Hahahaha—

The treatment of the hidden wounds from her failed attempt to break through to ninth rank continued until late at night.

It wasn't fully cured.

It was Hera who, worried the domain's drain was too much for him, had called a halt herself.

But it should be about there now. This kind of reverse-flow injury would heal after a period of nurturing; Rod had simply shortened that time extremely quickly.

"The little fifth-rank who was once scared out of his wits by a seventh-rank magic ring, crying out 'my lord Hera, save me' — he's gone forever."

Hera's face full of gratified smiles, she leapt down from the tree trunk and affectionately ruffled Rod's head.

"I wasn't crying out"

"Strength rises, and the little thing's wings have gotten hard too. During the day you actually dared to call me 'little Hera'."

She laughed lightly, flicked her scorpion tail, and the terrifying venomous stinger rubbed against Rod's chest.

Saying so, she suddenly looked toward the eastern woods and smiled:

"You've stayed here too long; a little deer is worried and has come looking for you."

Rod turned his head and saw a panicked half-deer figure leaping in the distance, fleeing rapidly.

Miss Xiao Ke?

The two looked in the same direction.

The night wind blew; after the forest's rank advancement, the yellow sand had not spread further, and the air carried a fresh scent of earth.

Both paused for a moment.

Hera looked at Rod first, her expression growing more serious.

"You said you'd help me advance — were you serious?"

"Mm."

"Good. Then I'll also lay my cards out with you. I have a natural-born spiritual technique that can sense the opportunities and things I desire. From the contact just now, I perceived that you possess a domain of flame, and extended from it a furnace for smelting."

Before Rod could even be shocked that Hera actually possessed such a spiritual technique, he was stunned again by her next words.

"I need to enter that furnace and use the power of the flame domain to advance."

(End of chapter)