Acheron hadn't even suspected Sylvia might be using a fake photo to trick her.
After noticing the abnormality on Sylvia's body, she immediately suggested rushing to her side.
[Sylvia: Don't rush just yet. I'm at the Herta Space Station. Let's wait and see what Herta says first.]
[Acheron: Madam Herta, huh… Alright then. If anything seems off, tell me right away.]
[Sylvia: Mmhm! You still haven't told me what you think of this tail—isn't it pretty?]
[Acheron: …]
On the other end of the phone, Acheron was utterly speechless.
She felt both exasperated and amused by Sylvia.
Seriously? Something this major happens to you, and all you care about is whether it looks good?
Since when was "looking pretty" the solution to a problem like this?
Sometimes Acheron couldn't tell if this girl was just careless or ridiculously optimistic.
Whenever she started thinking Sylvia was strong enough not to need so much worrying over, Sylvia would turn around and prove that no matter how much her combat power grew, she'd still find a way to make Acheron fret.
"Hmm… But wasn't Sylvia just testing the Simulated Universe? Why would she develop features of a dragon?"
She'd never heard of any Aeon reshaping the appearance of a Pathstrider in their own image.
Well, actually… the Aeon of Permanence did resemble a dragon, now that she thought about it.
After pondering a moment, Acheron suddenly remembered that powerful members of the Vidyadhara often displayed draconic traits.
Some Vidyadhara High Elders could even transform into a dragon's form for battle.
Maybe this was simply one of the inherent features of the Path of Permanence?
Worry blended with curiosity within Acheron.
Knowledge about the Path of Permanence was genuinely scarce across the factions of the cosmos.
Perhaps it'd be better to seek some information from the Xianzhou Luofu.
But the Luofu's High Elder hadn't been seen for years, and who knew what the internal situation of the Vidyadhara was like.
Maybe next time they went to the Luofu, she should accompany Sylvia after all.
Acheron turned the thought over in her mind.
--+--
Meanwhile.
At the Herta Space Station.
The anomaly with Sylvia's body was quickly reported to Herta by Asta.
Soon after, a Herta puppet hurried into the medical bay.
She found Sylvia still there, waiting for the sample analysis results.
"You…"
Herta considered herself well-traveled and widely experienced.
But someone turning into a Vidyadhara just from testing the Simulated Universe? That was definitely a first.
Things were already bizarre enough before, but she never imagined they could get even stranger.
Herta was certain her Simulated Universe wasn't powerful enough to alter someone's species.
The real issue had to lie either with Sylvia herself, the Path of Permanence, or…
It could be one of Aha's pranks.
Of course, she herself wasn't entirely blameless—after all, she was the one who'd asked Sylvia to test the Simulated Universe.
"Well, preliminary checks show you're still human. But without a before-and-after comparison, I can't be sure if your genes have mutated."
"And biology isn't my main field. If you want to dig deeper, you might need to consult one of my partners. This issue falls on me, and I'll take responsibility to give you a proper explanation."
Even as Herta apologized to Sylvia, she found her own interest in Sylvia growing stronger.
The Path of Permanence was a subject few had the chance to study properly.
And now, a perfect research sample was right in front of her.
The thought made it hard for Herta to suppress her instincts.
"Sylvia, set aside some time for me to study this. If we can uncover the secrets of the Path of Permanence, we might truly be able to reach the level of the Aeons!"
Herta's eyes practically glowed as she stared at Sylvia's tail.
In that short span, countless conjectures flashed through Herta's mind.
If it could be proven that advancing along the Path of Permanence gradually altered a Pathstrider's appearance, bringing them closer to the Aeon of Permanence…
Then many of the academic world's current theories about Permanence would be overturned.
And even…
What if the ultimate end for a Pathstrider of Permanence was to replace the Aeon itself?
Given the Vidyadhara's trait of reincarnation, what if this cycle was precisely the form of immortality the Aeon of Permanence sought? It wasn't entirely impossible.
And if the entire process—gradually growing horns and a tail, even transforming into a dragon—wasn't exclusive to the dragon-kin…
Now that would be truly fascinating.
Sylvia herself wasn't thinking as deeply as Herta. Before she could even respond…
A system notification lit up:
--+--
[Target: Herta]
[Favorability: 66 (Temporarily Interested)]
--+--
Just like that, favorability had risen from 64 to 66.
That was honestly a bit absurd.
So raising Herta's favorability just meant making her more and more interested in studying you?
"...I don't mind, I guess."
Sylvia had no real objections. It wasn't like she was completely thoughtless.
With such a major change happening to her body, Sylvia naturally wanted to understand it clearly.
If it was just an effect of her Path, that was one thing. But if it was Aha's mischief…
Then she'd need to start preparing early.
"Straight to the point!"
Herta nodded in satisfaction. She liked people like Sylvia who didn't beat around the bush.
--+--
[Target: Herta]
[Favorability: 68 (Highly Intrigued)]
--+--
"…"
Good grief.
Sylvia inwardly exclaimed in disbelief.
Another two points just like that?
It was almost at seventy already. Just how interested was Herta in studying her?
If she raised Herta's favorability past eighty-five…
Would this woman send an army of puppets to capture and dissect her?
Sylvia couldn't help complaining internally about Herta's favorability meter.
Clearly, Herta's way of measuring favorability was different from an ordinary person's.
"Alright, do as you like. I'll contact you if the research yields any results."
With that, the Herta puppet walked to the corner and fell silent—clearly, Herta had gone offline.
Only then…
Did Sylvia finally have a moment to turn and look at Stelle.
Ever since earlier, this girl had been squatting on the floor, cradling Sylvia's tail and stroking it.
She'd even been rubbing her face against it.
It made Sylvia start to wonder…
Was this girl's interest a little… off?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, she saw Stelle press her face against the tail, even opening her mouth as if about to stick her tongue out.
Sylvia couldn't take it anymore—she yanked her tail back and gave Stelle a solid whack on the head!
Thwack—
The long, flexible, pale tail struck squarely on Stelle's forehead.
The impact sent her tumbling back onto her rear.
"Ow—oww, that hurts…"
Sitting on the floor, Stelle rubbed her head pitifully, then looked up at Sylvia.
As if she hadn't just been about to lick the tail like some kind of weirdo.
"Where on earth did you learn to act like that…"
Then she saw Stelle pull out her phone, raise it to show a company social media platform, and declare matter-of-factly:
"Learned it online!"
"I'm going to tell Miss Himeko to cut your signal later… Learn something decent, will you?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.