Li Fei opened her eyes, feeling a slight weight on her shoulder—and something damp and warm besides,
as though a clingy little puppy had crept onto the bed in the dead of night to nestle in beside its master and sleep.
But a puppy lying on top of her wouldn't have such a soft, warm, fragrantly smooth, springy texture.
Through the mirrored ceiling, Li Fei took in everything on the bed at a single glance.
The black-haired beauty was sprawled across her shoulder, snoozing away, and even clamped onto her legs like an octopus—four legs, lustrous and white as jade, intertwined.
Li Fei quietly lowered her head, admiring her good sister's sleeping face.
Her long lashes trembled faintly with each warm breath; her plump red lips were slightly parted, a thread of saliva drawing out between them; one strap of her nightgown had slipped down onto her arm at some unnoticed moment, baring the fair, graceful line of her shoulder.
And her satin-like tresses, warmed by her body heat, gave off a soothing fragrance.
Docile, adorable, and a touch impish.
Li Fei's eyelids quivered, and after hesitating a moment, she secretly brushed her lips against the girl's forehead, then guiltily turned her face away.
As her spell-like ability activated, the tattoo on her belly surfaced. Li Fei counted them off against the mirror on the ceiling—exactly fifty-four, not one more, not one less.
She let out a breath, half in relief and half in regret.
"What time is it?"
Just then, Bai Mengtian slowly stirred awake, her moist eyes and her hesitant, words-on-the-tip-of-her-tongue manner turning the whole scene rather risqué.
"Six, I think... tsk."
Li Fei sat up, only to tug at their tangled-together strands of hair. She gave Bai Mengtian a disdainful pat, then climbed out of bed on her own and padded barefoot across the soft carpet, soon finding a private kitchen, where Kalida was personally making breakfast to treat her guests.
"Do you want your fried egg fully cooked or runny?"
Kalida used no magic whatsoever, instead handling the tableware with practiced, methodical skill—full of homey warmth, with the air of a virtuous, gentle wife.
"Runny."
Li Fei answered without the slightest hesitation, while inexplicably feeling a twinge of guilt.
Last night I slept with your girlfriend, and this morning you're dutifully making me breakfast...
How weird.
Li Fei pushed the thought down and went in to help. At first she was quite proper, but when she turned around and inadvertently bumped into Kalida chest-first, 'goods' and all, the atmosphere turned ambiguous.
Amid all the flirtatious glances, breakfast was finally ready.
It couldn't be called sumptuous, but the fried eggs alone—crisp and glistening with oil at the edges, still semi-liquid within—were enough to prove how delicious the food was.
Holding a cup of unicorn milk, Li Fei leisurely enjoyed the breakfast she'd helped cook, feeling cozy and relaxed.
She hated housework, with cooking being the sole exception; whipping up a meal now and then was a kind of pleasure for her, and her culinary skills were so-so—at the very least they wouldn't lead to catastrophic results.
And Lady Kalida evidently shared the same hobby.
Crack.
Bai Mengtian popped open a can of iced cola and chugged it down in one go; the cold, fizzy drink swept away her languid drowsiness, and all at once she perked up considerably.
"Sis, who drinks iced cola first thing in the morning?"
Li Fei covered her face.
Although she'd already taken on the form of a witch, she still kept many of her human habits, and generally wouldn't touch anything too stimulating to eat in the morning.
Crack.
Bai Mengtian pulled out another can—orange-flavored soda this time—and said nonchalantly:
"Isn't the whole point of all my hard cultivation precisely so that I can guzzle iced soda the moment I get up, without my stomach acting up?"
"Want one?"
"...Yeah."
"Class, the list of students in the first batch of dual enrollment has been finalized."
As the morning's lessons drew to a close, the mature, radiant blonde onee-san, a smile in her eyes, cradled a silver brooch and walked toward her most favored student: "And our very own classmate Li Fei is one of them."
"If any other students are interested in the transcendent knowledge of the other four schools, you may also submit an application to the academy... but do not make the decision rashly. Think it over carefully—it concerns your future."
Melodia paused, then said encouragingly:
"Li Fei, fifty points added!"
"I hope that when you study at the War Academy, you'll keep up this same positive, striving attitude, and not let down everyone's expectations of you."
Amid resounding applause, Melodia personally pinned the War Academy's silver brooch onto Li Fei's chest.
Unlike the Magic Academy's soaring white dove, the War Academy's emblem was a clashing saber and sword crossed into an "X" shape; merely seeing the design seemed to set a clangor of clashing metal ringing in one's mind, stirring up one's fighting spirit.
[Type-IV War Apprentice Brooch]
Equipment Grade: Starlight
Attributes: Strength +2
Enchantment Effect: Cleaning Spell (Lv1)...
Li Fei shot a glance at her Wealth Points, which had risen another 100, and her smile turned bright.
As everyone knew, there were two kinds of students in Year One, Class One: one kind was Li Fei, and the other kind was everyone else.
The latter had to pay tuition to attend the Magic Academy; the former, on the other hand, not only didn't pay a single cent of tuition, but even managed to earn a bit of money every time she came to class.
After class, Li Fei didn't go wait for anyone at the door of Class Three as she usually did; instead, she obediently trailed behind the blonde big-sis.
Today Melodia still wore her usual combination of a short mage's robe and long boots, her glittering golden hair tied into a ponytail that swayed left and right with each fall of her boots, her fair nape peeking in and out of view; beneath her swiveling waist, the robe was pushed out into a good-for-childbearing silhouette; and between the boots and the hem of the robe were thighs that were fleshy yet not the least bit bloated, their long, straight lines outlined by taut, semi-transparent flesh-colored stockings.
Melodia soon noticed the good student following behind her, and couldn't help glancing back, a smile in her emerald-green pupils:
"What is it?"
"T-Teacher, I think I'm sick..."
Li Fei put on an it's-hard-to-say expression, blushing, and murmured softly: "On my belly, these inexplicable patterns keep surfacing..."
"Let me have a look."
Melodia was startled, and leaned in with concern to examine her student—but Li Fei's bashful expression made her realize that such a thing shouldn't be done in full public view.
So she took Li Fei by the hand and strode her into the office, shutting the door with a "thud."
And Li Fei, with practiced ease, reached back and locked the door, only then slipping off her robe and, biting her lower lip, lifting her top to reveal the graceful, snowy-tender line of her waist.
Her belly was tender, white, and flawless—as though, were you to land a punch on it, the imprint of your fist would linger for a long while.
Partial Transformation — Succubus Empress · Belly quietly activated, and a beautiful yet sinister tattoo surfaced, like a manjushaka flower in full bloom.
"Tsk..."
At a single glance, Melodia could tell that these patterns did not stem from any curse, nor from some bizarre, freakish ailment.
These were, plainly, the Charm Marks she knew better than anything!
This mature blonde big-sis—brisk and domineering while teaching, yet easygoing and gullible in private—was a top-tier expert in succubus research; even within the talent-packed, luminary-gathered Magic Academy, no one understood succubi better than she did! Nicole included.
In fact, Li Fei was well aware of this. She'd come this time to inquire after the whereabouts of the succubi, to make some preparations for her Sequence 5 Ascension Ritual—after all, if she waited until her Charm Marks numbered in the thousands before coming, the teacher-student relationship might run into some problems, hee hee.
And after Melodia quickly made her judgment, her lips pressed into a tight line, her mood gradually sinking.
The number of Charm Marks sent a wave of sour, bitter melancholy welling up in her heart.
The first time I have a student I adore, and she happens to be my favorite kind—a succubus.... Two joyful things overlapping should have brought me even greater joy; what I gained should have been a dreamlike, blissful stretch of time... but why has it turned out like this...
"Don't worry."
Melodia forced out a smile and, in a low voice, comforted her student: "There shouldn't be any problem."
Though she already had the answer in her heart, out of caution Melodia nonetheless pulled herself together, drew out a sharp silver needle, and said hoarsely:
"This will hurt a little; bear with it."
Clearly, she'd overthought it.
Because one can train up a resistance to pain.
Even before her transmigration, Li Fei could keep chatting and laughing, her tea-tongued quips never ceasing, while her arm was bitten until it bled; and recently, owing to frequently suffering Lady Zhihua's acupoint-jabbing brand of "domestic abuse," she had also built up a considerable resistance to the pain inflicted by needle-type weapons.
Of course, that didn't stop her, upon watching the silver needle pierce the pattern on her belly, from letting out a little nasal whimper and giving a shiver, fixing Melodia with a tearful, pitifully endearing little gaze, like a delicate white blossom that stirred one's tenderness.
The needle's tip touched and withdrew in an instant; after pulling the needle out, Melodia brought it to her mouth, tasting the faint traces of blood staining it.
"It's the taste of a succubus.... Hm? It actually isn't?"
Melodia arched a brow, looking somewhat taken aback.
Pure or chaotic, so long as there was succubus blood within the body—unless it was faint to the point of less than one part in a million—she could accurately discern it.
"I get the feeling that every time this pattern appears, the mana inside my body is slowly being drained away..."
Maintaining her pitiful expression, Li Fei prompted softly: "Teacher, am I sick, or have I been struck by some curse?"
"One moment."
Melodia waved her staff, and amid a surge of bizarre, kaleidoscopic spell-light, she cast a whole batch of diagnostic spells onto Li Fei.
—Apart from a certain depletion of vital energy caused by prolonged, rapid, and copious loss of fluids, she was perfectly healthy.
The constitution-check results matched the number of tattoos on Li Fei's belly all too well, which made Melodia's expression look even more crestfallen and bitter.
She patted Li Fei's head, her voice dispirited:
"You're... fairly healthy. Nothing major."
Li Fei: ?
Meaning there were minor problems, then?
Ah, right—it must be a side effect caused by the aftereffects of soul damage.
Li Fei quickly tossed the minor problems to the back of her mind, and as if relieved, said: "Ah, that's good then."
"As for the ones on your belly... they're Charm Marks."
Melodia stated the answer she'd diagnosed: "You must have awakened some kind of spell-like ability that, at the cost of continuously consuming mana, can turn part of your body's tissue into that of a succubus.... Though it's unclear where this ability came from, it does you good and no harm."
"Ah, uh... I, actually, well, I..."
Now that the truth had been revealed, Li Fei covered her mouth, sounding utterly incoherent, as though she'd only just connected the dots about what the Charm Marks meant.
She was like a PR hostess moonlighting at an "orange"-district adult establishment behind her girlfriend's back—caught red-handed, while perched on a rich madam's lap in a bold, skimpy swimsuit cooing sweet nothings, by the very girlfriend who'd spent ten years in a Platonic relationship that had never gone past hand-holding, day and night yearning for the happy married life to come—flusteredly pulling her clothes back down and putting on a faltering, wanting-to-explain expression.
"There's no need to mind it."
Suppressing the sour ache in her heart, Melodia soothed her: "However you live your life... that's your own freedom, and I'll keep your secret."
"I'm doing it to complete the Ascension Ritual."
Li Fei, seemingly not hearing Melodia's words, mumbled: "My class is rather special, which is why... It's not as if I want to, either."
She gazed at Melodia with expectant, pitiful eyes, her watery pupils seeming to condense a thousand unspoken words.
—She clearly had no need to explain herself to me.
—Could, could it be that she...
Melodia's heart trembled, the bitterness in it instantly dispelled by more than half by a fragrant tea-scent; a flicker of tender pity crossed her emerald-green pupils, and as if possessed by some spirit, she said something a teacher ought never to say to a student:
"Actually, I don't mind certain... experiences..."
—You're the one who said it, hee hee.
Touched, Li Fei leaned over and pulled her into an embrace, putting heart to heart.
Putting heart to heart.
Melodia's body stiffened, then she lowered her eyelids and, somewhat clumsily, hugged Li Fei back, gently stroking her hair.
"Teacher, how do you know so much about succubi?"
Li Fei was getting down to the real point now, her divinely masterful Art of Tea pushed to its utmost, her voice sweet yet carrying a hint of nervousness and a thread of petulant reproach—just like when she'd once asked Lady Annie, "How are you so good at this?"
Faced with this killer question, the tables turned in an instant, the guest becoming the host.
Melodia hesitated a moment, then slowly spoke: "I have two mothers... one is human, and one is a succubus."
"When I was very young, my succubus mother left without a word of farewell... I want to find her."
"Any leads yet?"
Li Fei stared at her intently and asked with concern: "I can help you, too."
"Not yet, for now."
Melodia shook her head gently: "Succubi keep their movements far too well hidden; even I find it hard to track them down."
"? I'd love to meet succubi and make friends with them, too."
Li Fei said eagerly: "Could you introduce me, Teacher?"
"That's difficult. I have an agreement with them not to disclose any information about them without their leave."
Melodia said with a touch of apology: "You understand."
"It's all right."
Inwardly a little disappointed, but with her smile undimmed, Li Fei promised in all sincerity: "In any case, I'll keep an eye out for news about succubi from now on—I hope I can be of help to you, Teacher."
"...Thank you."
Warmth bloomed in Melodia's heart, and a smile surfaced at the corner of her mouth.
"You're so good to me, Teacher—I want to repay you, too."
Li Fei gave a sweet smile, quickly warming up the somewhat downcast mood from before.
"Oh, right."
Li Fei smiled a little slyly: "So, Teacher, you have succubus blood too, then?"
"Mm, what about it?"
Melodia nodded.
"Then..."
Li Fei pointed at Melodia's lower belly, her meaning obvious: Let me have a peek!
"N-no, I don't..."
Melodia instantly flushed red, covering her belly and shaking her head over and over.
"? No way."
Li Fei was a bit skeptical—she could hardly imagine that such a mature blonde onee-san with such a voluptuous, alluring figure had never even dated anyone.
Let alone that she was a succubus expert.
Under Li Fei's relentless questioning, Melodia, blushing, told the truth.
As is well known, Summoning Magic and summoning spells are fundamentally different things.
The former can create true life that cannot be dispelled—for instance, Li Fei's fairy daughters; what the latter summons, however, are merely "tools" possessing transcendent combat power and a certain degree of intelligence—they have no thoughts, no emotions, feel no pain, and fear no death; they are countered by spells like [Dispel] and [Cleanse], and once the summon's duration runs out, they crumble into fragments of mana and vanish like smoke.
And since they were tools, their uses were hardly limited to combat.
Though Melodia was busy with academics and the search for her kin, and had yet to encounter a good match, she was hardly devoid of desire; in fact, having mastered the [Summon Succubus] spell, she could create beautiful, bewitching tools anytime, anywhere.
And these tools, though 100% lifelike and absolutely obedient, could not leave behind Charm Marks.
Such an off-the-beaten-path approach to applying summoning spells truly opened Li Fei's eyes.
—Teacher, I want to learn Summon Succubus!
Amid this silent outcry, Miss Spell Encyclopedia's motivation to train her spells grew all the more abundant and ample.
After some playful teasing and whispered secrets, Melodia suddenly remembered something, dug out a booklet and handed it to Li Fei, her flushed, oval face making her look all the more gorgeous and enchanting:
"Charm Marks, besides being able to strengthen spell abilities, can also be developed for other uses—they can even evolve into an independent spell-like ability."
"This is a secret art of the succubus race—[Charm Mark Reconfiguration]..."
Li Fei curiously took the booklet, and after flipping through it briefly, quickly grasped the not-very-complicated principle.
Charm Marks inherently contained mana and occult significance, and the secret art of [Charm Mark Reconfiguration] worked by altering the positions and shapes of the patterns on the belly, combining the disorderly Charm Marks into a complete occult symbol, making the mana—which had originally been confined to scattered corners—resonate, thereby granting the succubus some special ability.
Although Melodia had used summoned tools and her body was quite thoroughly developed, on the spiritual level she was still a maiden with zero romantic experience, without a single Charm Mark on her belly—so clearly she had no use for this secret art.
But Li Fei did.
She opened the booklet—every page had an accompanying illustration, depicting ravishingly charming succubus models displaying to the reader the fully formed occult symbols on their bellies, composed of great numbers of Charm Marks: exquisite and uncanny, vivid and seductive.
[Vessel], [Sensitivity], [Slave], [Deep Melt], [Luminescence], [Pheromone]...
Some of these occult symbols, by their names alone, let one sense the beauty of sin, the decadent and bewitching allure.
After leaving the office, Li Fei solemnly put away the secret-art illustrated manual and hurried off, her eyes glinting with the firm light of a seeker of the Dao.
She couldn't wait to begin her next round of cultivation.
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