Jessie, seeing his mocking laugh, lost her temper.

An inferno burned in her palm that Ash felt through his own. His hand felt the intense heat of the flames that were holding both her hands.

He retreated his hand in pain, losing his only support that held his body up. As his hand withdrew, his body fell onto Jessie.

She punched his face just as it was about to touch hers.

"Don't mess with me. Next time, something else will be burning," she said, looking down at his pants.

Ash contorted in fear, placing his hands around his precious jewels.

"Cough, cough." Ash picked up the C-rank core that had fallen from his hands at some point.

[Acquire a Class Trait: Corrosion]

He accepted the exchange, and the crystal broke down into small pieces, seeping through his body.

He felt as if a crucial part of himself had awakened — not exactly; it was more like something important had been added.

[Corrosion Class Trait Acquired]

Corrosion: Infuses your venom with degenerative properties capable of eroding flesh, armor, and mana defenses alike.

[Class Traits: (Poison Master) (Walking Antidote) (Withering Kiss) (Corrosion)]

Another trait was added alongside the other three Class Traits. He was aware that there were many types of poisons, each with different effects — paralysis, killing, corrosive, and many more.

If his guess was right, then he could acquire all those traits and combine them with his class. This Scorpion Lord had a corrosive nature in its poison, which triggered his class to react and absorb its trait.

If he succeeded in obtaining other types of cores, then he would be able to possess all different kinds of poison traits. He would become a walking arsenal of poison — capable of making someone sleep, paralyzing them, or even intoxicating them to extract information.

There were endless possibilities in using different poison types.

Finally, he checked the Scorpion Lord's Territory Token. It manifested in reality, falling onto the ground in front of the duo.

Jessie picked it up, looking at it with bright eyes.

Ash checked the description of the token; he had an inkling of what it could be.

[Type: Territorial Core]

[Rank: C]

[Ownership: Unclaimed]

[Description: The crystallized heart of the Scorpion Lord's dominion. Whoever possesses it gains administrative control over the Desert Burrow Territory. The land itself recognizes the holder as its sovereign.]

[Territory Claim: You may establish ownership over the Scorpion Lord's Domain (Desert Burrow). Monsters within will no longer attack you unless provoked.

Bird Eyes: You can keep watch over the entire territory after becoming its owner.

Lord's Domain: Temporarily reduces enemy stats to 50%]

Jessie and Ash looked at each other with raised brows. This was too alluring to leave behind — having a personal territory where enemy strength would be reduced by half.

And they would know about every movement within the territory, eliminating the chance of being ambushed.

It was a crucial moment for their journey. There were many things to consider, They would gain a safe place to live, and the other scorpions wouldn't attack them unless provoked. But their judgment was clouded by the single overwhelming opportunity before them.

It was like a drop of water in the desert — and they were chasing it.

Ash shook his head, clearing his thoughts. There was no food, no water, no shelter — just an open expanse of endless desert.

Even if they hunted beasts and ate them, other essential resources were still missing.

Ash explained his reasoning to Jessie, who had already thought it through. She was the most knowledgeable person in the trial plane among all the people in the trial — well, there were only two.

She knew about these Territory Claims. If they had been in a productive location, claiming it would have been the best choice. But claiming this barren wasteland was like having more liabilities than assets.

And there was always the risk that another Lord-class beast would challenge them for the territory — something they couldn't afford until they reached above level twenty.

"We can always come back to claim the territory if we don't find other biomes," Jessie said, agreeing with him.

It was time for them to continue their journey. They prayed not to stumble upon another horrifying beast.

The day passed with them walking non-stop, small scorpions attacking every few hundred meters. But after facing the C-rank Scorpion, these beasts were dealt with easily.

Though they didn't pose much threat individually, their constant attacks gradually drained their stamina. At some point, Jessie had stopped taking part in the fights, and only Ash shot with his pistol, killing the beasts with single bullets.

The sun was setting, its orange hue casting over the sand dunes, creating a magnificent view — one that contrasted sharply with the duo's condition.

Their shoulders were slumped, their skin burnt from the sunlight. Ash managed to keep their direction straight despite the sun's movement, but he feared what was to come.

The day cycle felt longer than normal — almost three times that of an ordinary day. Which meant the night would be just as long.

The desert had two opposing extremes: during the day, the heat rose to its limit, while at night, the temperature dropped drastically.

Because as fast as the sand got hot, it also cooled just as quickly.

"Jessie, we need to prepare for the night. We could resist the extreme cold for an hour or two, but if I'm right, the night would be three times longer than normal — around twenty to twenty-five hours."

Ash had different plans to survive the night — like killing a large scorpion and stuffing himself inside its hide for warmth, or digging a hole in the sand, filling it with carapaces, and snuggling among them to absorb residual heat from the beasts' bodies.

But he knew — he had a mage with him. There was no need to go through all that trouble.

"Let's rest for two-three hours. After that, we'll continue the journey in the dark," Ash said, sitting beside a dune.

Jessie nodded, sitting down. "Let's take turns. First, I'll go to sleep — you watch over," Jessie said, already closing her eyes.

Ash just pressed his lips. "As always, sly."

He looked at the screen, confused between skill choices.

[Level: 12]

[Skill Choice Available]

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.