Chapter 496: Tenderness and Despair — Mycelium's Perspective

"There's such a thing too? I see now — I was wondering why she insisted on going so far."

"This is your one flaw — when it comes to girls, you only look at the surface."

Miss Xiao Ke seemed to be getting angry on Lady Kali's behalf too, her round, cute eyes giving him a reproachful glance.

"Lady Kali's expression may be a bit sour, but that's just how elves are — it's in their bloodline. In truth, she's very kind-hearted. The construction of the Willow-Wisp District, the forest's advancement, all those wounded in the forest before — she put in tremendous effort. She's done no small amount for the forest!"

"But you? You lecherous human! Just because she didn't give you a pleasant look, you keep your distance. You didn't even visit her those two times her magic ran dry. Every day you only know how to fool around with that succubus, and you even brought Vivian to that farm villa — so many people together. Ptooey, disgusting!"

Rod spread his hands.

"No, it's that Kali wouldn't let me near her magic cabin."

"She said you couldn't go, so you didn't? She's part of the forest, and she's always busy with things. Wouldn't it have been nice to bring a little gift and visit? Relationships need regular contact to stay good! Idiot!"

Saying so,

she cleaned another roasted scorpion and set it on Rod's plate.

A smile kept tugging at her lips — she seemed to quite enjoy looking after Rod.

"Some little deer is a scaredy-cat who doesn't dare go anywhere with too many people, and yet she has the nerve to lecture me on relationships."

Rod said with a laugh.

"Hmph! I can't be bothered with you! I'm just afraid Lady Kali will lose heart and leave the forest. You think everyone treats this place as home the way Vivian and I do?"

"Relax, she won't leave. You've been pushing me to interact with her more — aren't you afraid we might—"

"Heh, elves are extremely clannish. Marrying a human is a grave sin. Besides, an elf girl as perfect and powerful as Kali would never look at someone like you."

Mm.

Though, to be fair, Kali had actually tangled with Rod several times already.

Several times, she had even come to him on her own initiative for a night raid.

And besides—

At most you'd want me to spank you, pinch the base of your tail, that sort of thing — Kali goes in for whipping and choking.

Her kinks are way more thrilling than yours, Miss Xiao Ke.

Watching the girl place another cleaned roasted scorpion over.

Rod simply picked up his plate and scooted a little closer to her, who was sitting properly.

The half-deer girl immediately panicked and said in a lowered voice:

"Get back, get back! Why are you sitting so close? Little Little Bangde and Vivian are right here!"

"It's not convenient for me here, honestly. It's been ages since we, you know. How about you come to my ranger cabin in the latter half of the night?"

"Get lost! I-I don't want to be with you and that succubus!"

Her voice grew smaller and smaller, and the deer ears on her head flustered about in panic.

"No Tally, just you and me. In the first half of the night I'll get the others settled at the farm villa."

"…You're insane, fooling around with so many women every day… I'm afraid you'll drop dead!"

Hearing it would be just the two of them, she was clearly already wavering.

"Exactly, so come help me out tonight, and use your light spirit to heal me while you're at it?"

"Just healing, nothing else! I'm not doing it for you — I'm just worried you'll die and make Little Little Bangde and Vivian sad!"

Miss Xiao Ke's face was scarlet, but she still refused verbally.

Yet the moment she agreed to come to the ranger cabin in the latter half of the night, it meant she had agreed to everything.

The other women, thinking it was because of the spider-silk stockings, were happy along with her.

Even the spider-elven Watching Yuna was no exception.

She fell into a drowsy sleep on the spot.

New buffs gained:

【Radiant Glow】, Charisma increased.

【Brave Heart's Inspiration】, when resisting Fear effects, gain Advantage on the saving throw.

【Spirit Anchor】, when resisting mental control, a failed save may consume this buff to automatically succeed.

【Shared Holy Grail】, when a vessel receives 【Charm Fluid】, all who drink gain 15% damage reduction for half an hour.

The rest were just increases to existing buffs.

By the latter half of the night.

Rod couldn't even be bothered to put on clothes and wandered lazily back to the ranger cabin.

The half-deer girl, Miss Xiao Ke, was already inside waiting for him. The moment she heard the door open, she was about to warn him that tonight was healing only, nothing else — but when she turned and saw Rod wasn't wearing a single stitch of clothing, she was so startled she nearly bolted.

But running wasn't an option.

At first she was still cursing and grumbling, but later she began to half-refuse, half-yield.

And so—

just as dawn was breaking and this round had just ended,

Rod had timed her right.

Who would have thought — after so long without a taste, her stamina had actually improved.

He immediately looked at her with a strange glint in his eye.

Miss Xiao Ke's face flushed. She couldn't exactly say it had been too long since they'd been intimate and she was a little reluctant to let go, could she?

So she said disdainfully: "Hmph, that's it? I didn't even feel anything!"

A ranger can't stand that kind of provocation.

He immediately set to disciplining her again, not stopping even when Miss Xiao Ke went limp on the bed and lost consciousness.

Today's sandstorm was considerably smaller than usual.

Rod leaned against the headboard, watching the sun stream in through the window, carrying with it a warm scent.

"After all, it's already February, the sandstorms in the Death Desert are almost over."

Miss Xiao Ke's deer body lay on the bed beside him, while her petite girl's form sprawled lazily across Rod, breathing slowly, gradually calming down.

Her body was soft and squishy, giving off the scent of grass and trees in a forest after rain.

Cute deer ears perked up right in front of him.

Rod couldn't help himself, taking one into his mouth and gently nibbling.

Miss Xiao Ke trembled at that, her deer ears flattening back against her head, a low whimper-like sound rising from her throat:

"Not now... that spot's a little... ticklish."

"Alright, alright, alright."

Rod's palm settled against her back.

Warmth passed through the short fur; the pelt's texture was softer than he'd imagined, like a sun-warmed tundra.

The deer's muscles tensed slightly under his palm, then gradually relaxed with the steady stroking.

Rod's thoughts drifted loose.

He thought of the Infernal Passage currently in Coral Bay.

It was a teleportation-gate spell spanning ultra-long distances, created by the Infernal Archduke Asmontirs after he obtained divine blood.

Before this, the longest range a mage on the continent could achieve with teleportation was around fifty li.

The only thing that could truly ignore distance was the Mage Council's 【Long-Distance Teleportation】.

The appearance of this kind of teleportation-gate spell now had, to a certain extent, pried open the Mage Council's monopoly.

Naturally, there was no shortage of mages studying it.

The elf Lady Kali was indeed a spell prodigy, but completing this research in a short time was bound to be rather difficult.

Rod would have to gather more intelligence for her from the side.

For instance, the channel through which he'd originally learned of the Infernal Passage.

—A dark elf within 【Despair Mycelium】: Pamela Yemù.

【Despair Mycelium】 had four additional skill effects in total: 【Despair Mind】, 【Life Drain】, 【Summon Evil God】, and 【Despair Domain】.

After Rod finished spying on Pamela Yemù, he casually applied the 【Despair Mind】 effect to her and then left her be.

Now was the perfect time to quietly—

He thought.

He opened the Despair Mycelium panel.

Successfully seeing Pamela Yemù's image again.

Oh wow.

This dark elf's current state could only be described as wretched.

At this moment, she was curled up in some corner.

Her once healthy, full figure was gone; she looked like a wind-dried puppet, her sunken eye sockets holding bloodshot eyes that stared blankly at the ground.

Gaunt shoulder blades, hollow cheeks, twig-like arms, withered blue-purple veins.

Even her skin was no longer the night-purple common to dark elves, but covered in a dull, leaden pallor.

"Wow, that's rough..."

Pamela Yemù suddenly trembled.

A fierce panic and despair exploded in her eyes.

Somehow, she was still clutching a dagger far brighter than herself.

She aimed it at her own heart, drew it back, and stabbed down!

The motion was crisp and practiced—she didn't look like it was her first time doing this.

Perhaps she'd succeeded many times before.

But this time, clearly, she had failed.

A large hand gripped her wrist, forcibly stopping the sharp dagger just short of her chest by a hair's breadth.

As Pamela Yemù turned her head to look.

The camera slowly pulled back.

—It was a sturdy, imposing male dark elf.

Even more interesting—

Behind this powerfully built male dark elf followed a half-deer-man far taller than the average of his kind.

Rod had known this before.

Besides Miss Xiao Ke's friend Rachel, there was another 【Hero Giver】 in Coral Bay.

And this half-deer-man had, in one go, selected one of the dark elves' leaders, as well as the druid from the Balance Association who had voluntarily entered the city to mediate the war, as 【Hero Candidates】.

Although not every half-deer-man was a 【Hero Giver】.

But any appearing in Coral Bay at this time could basically be assumed to be one.

Then this imposing dark elf must be that 【Hero Candidate】.

However—

"So dark elves have male leaders too, huh."

Rod was a little surprised.

Miss Xiao Ke in his arms seemed to have heard his muttering; she shifted her head, pressing her cheek more snugly against the man's chest.

"There are, you know."

"Oh?"

"The dark elves' matriarchal society is because of the Spider Queen Lolth—she was originally a being who worshipped female supremacy. The dark elves of Coral Bay have broken away from the worship of Lolth, so certain powerful male individuals could develop into male leaders."

"You actually know this too."

Rod said with a smile.

No matter how you looked at her, Miss Xiao Ke didn't seem like someone well-read and full of knowledge.

Miss Xiao Ke caught the mocking tone and bumped her forehead against him in displeasure.

"I haven't cast few divinations to learn about the situation over in Coral Bay. Although there are concealing spells over there, I still know more than you!"

"Remember not to use your lifespan for divination."

"Got it, got it! You say that every time you see me—so annoying."

She didn't know if it was intentional or not, but as soon as she finished speaking, she buried her face against Rod's chest, and from time to time the sensation of kisses came through.

6k challenge successful!

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(End of this chapter)