Chapter 696: Secret Arts and Cooperation

Rod patted the black flame on his shoulder.

Instead of being brushed off, it clung to his palm like a plague on the bone, impossible to extinguish.

The +21 Dragon Scale Art, combined with Rod's original fire resistance, could indeed withstand this flame.

Yet it was not merely the power of fire; the bone dragon Megan, whose body was crafted with the assistance of the Cursed Demon Dragon Nolin, possessed the same power of resentment.

That trait, which eroded all resistances, was constantly taking effect.

Rod crushed a ring of 【Water Manipulation】.

Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle—

Aside from erupting violent steam, the flame was hardly affected in the slightest.

Glancing at the panel.

As expected, a message regarding a domain collision had already appeared.

【Triggered Domain Collision Judgment!】

【Defense Domain · Basic (Rod): 58】

【??? Domain · Basic (Megan Yula Richmond): 83】

【Result: Failure!】

Even if the black flame could not harm him temporarily, its unextinguishable nature meant breaking through the defense was only a matter of time.

Only a domain can counter a domain.

"Annoying."

In the brief exchange, Rod realized Megan's spellcraft was not low.

Although he had broken her defense, with just the black flame and the forced expulsion spells, he had no room to resist.

Even if his direct damage exceeded Megan's limit, by then she could likely escape with ease.

Such an elusive opponent was the most troublesome; Emerald City was not far from the Open Maze where Nolin resided. Who knew if she had already realized something?

Rod kicked Tally away as she tried to embrace him.

He rummaged with one hand through his spell satchel.

Not long after.

A black bone appeared in his hand—the contact item from the essence trade earlier.

Without hesitation, Rod was direct.

"Megan, let's talk."

It was still in that casino manager's office.

Now, it was no longer luxurious.

Sword marks cracked the walls; crystal shards mixed with wall fragments and dust littered the floor; documents, alcohol, and ledgers lay in ruins.

The bone dragon Megan sat on the sofa with a cold face, the diamond-patterned glass in her hand still bearing the purple Se De Chun Yin.

Wine clung to the glass walls, sliding down coldly.

"You destroyed all my wine, and now you have the face to return?"

Before her.

Was Rod, bare-chested, with five massive claw marks on his back and chest boiling with black flame.

He shrugged, thick-skinned, swept the crystal shards off another sofa, and sat down heavily.

Speaking of which.

Megan really hadn't done much.

When requesting Nolin's location, she had used a negotiating tone; the first to attack was the protective ranger, and she only retaliated after her force field was broken.

But Rod didn't care about that.

"What is the success rate of your ancient Ning Zhong?"

Megan poured another drink, looking too lazy to answer him.

"So that means it's not high."

Rod smiled, directly pulled out the nearly empty Lord of Thousand Throats Am, and tossed it over openly:

"Don't you just want the Divine Spark? I have one ready. Why gamble on such a negligible probability?"

The parabola of the Thousand Throats Am's writhing sand sphere halted in mid-air.

It slowly floated before Megan.

"The second deity after the Goddess of Magic?"

"No. We dug this out of a tomb. Perhaps Mystra is not the first deity in the real dimension."

"What are you talking about? Whether in the real dimension or across various planes in the alternate space, your Goddess of Magic is a figure who successfully ascended to divinity. Do you have no respect for your goddess, daring to speak her name directly?"

"I am her father. What's there to fear?"

"Hehehe, ignorant."

After smashing her wine cabinet, Megan's attitude toward Rod plummeted.

Too lazy to look at him again, she observed the sand sphere before her.

However, her golden vertical dragon pupils suddenly contracted.

"Wrong! This is a Bone Sand Kin?! But why would it be in the real dimension?"

"What is it?"

"A cosmic creature in the alternate space. They are naturally low in intelligence and are mostly kidnapped by powerful beings to other planes to do hard labor. Meanwhile, Bone Sand Kin share a mental connection; as long as the mother body is controlled, the rest can be easily controlled. If an individual ascended to divinity, they could not ignore the other Bone Sand Kin, and the status of Bone Sand Kin would not be where it is now."

"But It is in the real dimension, and in a tomb buried who knows how long ago. That is why I say Mystra is not the first to ascend."

Megan's Ning Zhong was far more severe than usual.

"You are a lawless fool; I do not blame you for not understanding. The authority and power of the Goddess of Magic upon her ascension to divinity far exceeded the limits of spells, inevitably affecting the plane it inhabited and giving rise to laws. Yet this chaotic, utterly devoid of any divine authority, alien space shows no trace whatsoever of a god ever having been born here."

Rod crossed his arms.

"Then tell me, where did this thing come from?"

"."

Megan frowned and remained silent.

"You spellcasters are so rigorous; I don't blame you, but you cannot ignore objective facts. This living spark of divinity is right before our eyes—how could it be wrong? Not just this one, either; I even know the locations of a host of Evil God seals from the First Era."

Just bragging.

Megan clearly did not take his words to heart.

The sand globe hovered in her hand, which she could not bear to part with; her elegant finger tapped once.

A contract also formed from the gathering of spiritual energy.

"Interesting. I agree to the transaction, young Rod. I will not seek out Naulin for now. If I find a method to strip away the spark of divinity, I will share it with you as well."

"It's settled then. However, I will come regularly to cast spells to suppress Thousand-Throated Am."

Mainly to harvest the fungal core.

"Do as you please; I will remain in this Crown Casino for the time being."

Tally pouted, leaned over, and tugged on Rod's unburnt arm, shaking it.

"Hey—can you please extinguish the flames on Master first? I want to give him a hug."

Night fell.

Wind Wall Forest, Ranger's Hut.

Rod propped up his pillow, gazing at the faintly lit forest beyond the window screen, lost in thought.

Beside him, Tally, her face sweet and satisfied, emitted a faint, sleeping breath, clutching his arm tightly and unwilling to let go.

The silk sheet hung loosely around the succubus's waist, cinching a full curve at the crest of her hips.

The two steep peaks pushed up by her chest trembled slightly with her breathing; below lay the suddenly narrowing curve of her waist, exquisite beyond words.

"Objective facts are objective facts, but one cannot ignore the opinions of professionals."

Regarding the first ascension to divinity.

There is a contradiction here that cannot be jumped over no matter what.

Originally, Rod had never been entirely convinced by the mages' and scholars' view that 'Mystra is the first deity in history,' believing they might have reached their conclusions under the limited conditions of the physical dimension.

But when Megan, a bone dragon who had long roamed alien spaces, held the same view, he had to take it seriously.

If it is true.

Then

the Evil Gods sealed within the clay tablets beneath Shi Ying Town, Thousand-Throated Lord Am, Moon Goddess Miss Lu Ka, and so on...

how exactly did these fellows come to be?

(End of this chapter)