Chapter 639: Stargazer Trial

"Rod!"

Someone shouted loudly from the distant sky, mingled with the heavy thump-thump-thump of wings.

Rod, returning from Shepherd Village, had been curiously eyeing the support squads for the great star Leila Starchant that were streaming along the road one after another.

Once the reinforcements from Coral Bay and the halfling Lily had arrived, the matter of sealing off the village left nothing for him to do.

Our Ranger, a starving ghost among beauties, found the outsiders a bit too numerous to shamelessly get handsy with Lady Kali and Lily, so naturally he had to slip away to find some other girls.

He faced the faintly salty great wind blowing in from the Monste Sea, and looked up.

There he saw the stargazer Hailey riding a gargantuan gargoyle, soaring through the sky from the direction of Coral Bay.

The gargoyle landed with a boom, causing a wave of panic among the passersby on the road.

But seeing a mage standing atop it, they paid it no further mind.

"Hailey, long time no see."

Rod's hair was tousled by the sea wind, his hem flapping loudly.

He left Hailey staring blankly for a moment.

Is this guy actually kind of handsome?

She glanced left and right, then leapt down toward the side away from the street, letting the gargoyle block her from view.

Her skirt hem fluttered upward under the force of the wind; one hand pressed down her mage's hat, the other pressed flat against the skirt at her hip.

Dangerously, a pair of plump, slender, deep-blue, semi-transparent thighs were fully revealed.

"."

The exhibitionist streak really hasn't changed, this one.

Rod was speechless.

"Rod! The Star Spirit Association's trial has been moved up — you absolutely have to help me this time!"

Hailey looked at him hopefully; even on her semi-transparent face, anxiety and unease were visible.

Her arms reached forward, lightly squeezing her towering chest.

And that mage's robe just happened to have a rather loose neckline — pressed like that, a tantalizing sliver of scenery was nearly pressed right against Rod's face.

But after all, the flesh was deep-blue and semi-transparent, and faintly visible, so one couldn't really see it all that clearly.

"Of course."

The stargazer Hailey had been willing to come fight in the Battle of Coral Bay.

Even when facing the Archduke of the Inferno, she held the rear with our side rather than choosing to flee — enough to prove the friendship between them.

Friends, after all.

Isn't it just a matter of you helping me, me helping you?

Hailey was overjoyed, and excitedly seized his hand.

Rod said with a smile, "How many people do you need me to bring? I'll guarantee you pass."

But the stargazer young lady shook her head: "This Star Spirit Association trial is in one week, and it uses a contest format. All candidates will be placed inside a maze built for the trial; everyone may only bring one vanguard, and the goal is to find and contest for the token hidden deep within the maze."

One vanguard, huh?

Rod nodded — then it would be best for him to go himself.

Hailey had given him face, had helped him out, so he had to go all out to repay her.

"I've learned that the prize for taking first place includes five scales from an Ancient Force Dragon. I know you have a particular fondness for dragon scales, so when the time comes I'll give them to you as a reward."

"Oh? How thoughtful."

Ancient Force Dragon.

Rod actually did have some recollection of it.

Ever since learning that 【Dragon Scale Art】 could absorb dragon scales, he had been keeping a close eye on dragon-kind.

Compared to common true dragons like chromatic dragons and metallic dragons—

Dragon breeds that could manipulate spiritual energy, like prismatic dragons, force dragons, and time dragons, were far more powerful and rare, and were called Legendary Dragon Breeds; their strength was on an entirely different level.

And besides—

Before 【Greater Teleport】 had gone down, Rod had once gone to the Mageweave Concordat to purchase relatively common true dragon scales.

The progress after absorbing them had been utterly negligible.

To push Dragon Scale Art from +18 to +19, one would have to spend at least a hundred-plus thousand Jin Along buying dragon scales in bulk — it could hardly be called cost-effective.

Moreover—

When the dwarven rebellion released a large number of spell-disaster creatures from the Containment Division, half of the Mageweave Concordat's territory was reportedly smashed to pieces, and recovery was nowhere in sight — let alone going there to purchase anything.

"But here's a small problem — you may have to overcome it, Rod."

The hope on Hailey's face did not immediately fade.

Rod looked at her lovely face and the cleavage being squeezed ever deeper, and suddenly had a bad premonition.

"... Just say it straight, we're old friends."

"Mm, it's like this — this trial is actually testing a stargazer's personal strength and their control and understanding of their vanguard, so... the vanguard needs to be branded with my Nu Yi Ke Yin before being brought into the maze."

"."

"I know this is asking a lot! But please, Rod! This is really important to me! I found out that among my competitors, someone has enslaved a blue dragon, a Reaper Archfiend, a Corpse-Tomb Demon! I was injured at Coral Bay recently and simply haven't had time to find a better vanguard — please, I'm begging you!!!"

Her hands were soft and smooth.

She gripped Rod's hand tightly and wouldn't let go, squeezing his palm and the back of his hand every now and then.

"I'm already a person of standing — what would it look like if people found out I'd been enslaved by you."

"We can establish a magical contract! To prove that this enslavement is only a temporary cooperative relationship, and the moment the trial ends it will be dissolved immediately!"

Hailey saw that Rod was still rather unwilling, and her cool blue eyes rolled around in a circle.

He also said: "I know you're also skilled in enslavement magic, so how about this — you enslave me, and I enslave you. Once it's all over, we release each other together! How about it?"

Rod's expression turned strange:

"Won't this kind of mutual enslavement cause problems?"

"No problem, I have a way to bypass that restriction. Rod, you don't know — some nobles enjoy playing this kind of game, having their slaves enslave them in turn, waving whips, dripping candle wax, that sort of thing. I heard about it when I was working as a guard at some nobles' houses."

"Oh, alright then, since you put it that way."

Haili, while maintaining her elegance, revealed the brightest smile she could muster.

Her legs couldn't help but bounce with excitement, just like a little girl.

Then she released Rod's hands, stood up straight with her chest out, and posed as if awaiting his pleasure.

"After you, Rod."

Rod didn't stand on ceremony either.

【Nu Yi Cheng Gong】

【Enslavement Target 17: Haili Strauss】

【Race: Star Spirit】

【Age: 39】

【Obedience: 57】

【Evaluation: A Star Spirit — another one of those races that people either love dearly or can't stand at all.

"…"

Rod continued to ignore the contents of the evaluation, and promptly halted the extraction of shared skills.

Once a shared skill is extracted, it cannot be undone — he couldn't exactly spend a lifetime tied to her just for completing one mission.

Haili gently tugged at her collar and discovered that right in the center of her chest, between the twin peaks, a pink-glowing Nu Yi Ke Yin had appeared.

She didn't seem to mind at all.

She took out a blue bracelet from her spell pouch, slipped it onto Rod's wrist, and silently recited an incantation.

A noticeably smaller Nu Yi Ke Yin appeared on the inner side of Rod's arm.

【Unknown enslavement spell detected. Remove?】

Rod first dismissed the prompt.

"There, the first step of our deal is done."

Haili revealed a proper smile.

Inside, however, her inner self was already laughing wildly at the heavens.

He took the bait!

He took the bait!!

Hahahahahahaha—

This is a treasure for taming that I spent two whole months tracking down! Although it only carries a simple enslavement spell, its special property is what truly caught my eye!

The treasure has been nourished with my blood — once worn, after a period of time, the wearer will be unable to resist wanting to get close to me.

Otherwise, they'll suffer splitting headaches and unbearable itching, only relieved by my kisses, embraces, and caresses!

Even if I release the enslavement spell later, the effect won't wear off!

Then Rod will simply think he fell for me during the trial, leave those girls in the forest, and from time to time throw himself into my embrace — to be played right in the palm of my hand!

Hahaha—

She forcibly suppressed her inner ecstasy.

Calm down, Haili.

Remember, at the start, when showing Rod affection, I must properly express some disgust and exasperation! Can't be too happy!

"Why are you smiling so happily?"

Rod asked curiously, and laughed along with her.

Haili quickly straightened up and wiped the drool from her lips: "Nothing much. Earlier I took a stroll around Coral Bay and saw fans of the big star Leila getting into a fight with your fans — found it funny, that's all."

"They got into a fight?"

"Yeah, it was fierce — they were hitting each other with glow sticks."

"Why?"

"I listened for a while. Seems the big star's fans said you're a lecherous starving ghost, so they spontaneously formed a defense squad to keep you away. Your fans weren't happy about it, so they fought."

"…"

"Every time Leila Xingyu holds a concert, she causes quite a bit of trouble locally — all sorts of messy affairs. You'll have to be careful."

"Trouble is trouble, but we started preparing tickets, support banners, glow sticks, and the like half a month ago. As long as there's money to be made, it's fine. You know Leila Xingyu too?"

Haili gave a cold laugh and proudly puffed out her chest: "A big star, I've heard of her at least. Just a prettier face, that's all."

Rod smiled.

Cloud Sprites are flat-chested across the board, ranking first on the continent's flat-chested race index — indeed, they couldn't compare to Haili's domineering figure.

After bidding farewell to the Star Spirit Young Lady.

Rod headed straight for Coral Bay.

He had the Dog-People Suffering Five lead the way to separate the fighting fans.

He called over the Tiefling Sehiel and the Banshee Chris to help manage the crowd, directing things and such.

The Arachne Watching Yuna really had too much on her plate already — couldn't keep calling on her.

The Vampire Vanessa had just finished her substitute teaching, and she was fairly obedient, so he called her over to help as well.

He had originally wanted to call over the Ghoul Pan Ni too, but her appearance was a bit too scary, so he decided against it.

Rod could not possibly show his face.

After all, the fight happened because of him.

Whether it was Rod or the girls, they all lacked some experience with such matters.

Fortunately, they were all clever; in no time, they handled everything properly, dividing and soothing the parties involved.

Making money, that's all.

That is how it is.

Looking at the still-bustling streets.

Watching commerce, shipping, and investment in Coral Bay gradually get on track.

Everything indicated that his power was rising day by day.

But whether it was the Yige Sect or the shadow of the Beast Transformation Plague that had recently reappeared, both intensified the unease in his heart.

(End of this chapter)