Chapter 129: Chapter 112 – The Aptitude Test (Part 1)

Hundreds of initiate knights gathered in orderly groups of four at the coliseum this morning, an arena with a flat field and towering statues facing inward from the edges. The stands were empty. The seated area was only made up of a half-circle, because the stadium was built at the back of Aidenhall and along the cliffside. Although there was usually a strong headwind, an invisible magical barrier had enclosed them in their own little world.

"Fuu~ I'm nervous. Holy crap, I'm nervous." Reen hadn't stopped tippy-tapping on her toes and shaking her arms.

"We're going to do fine! Just stick to what we did during training." Kanae placed a hand on Reen's shoulder and offered a reassuring squeeze. 

"Without the whole you and Runald being incompatible like oil and slime, right?" She grinned.

Hopefully.

This was an artificial Rift anyway, and Kanae was brimming with confidence from having successfully tackled several already. It shouldn't be too hard.

"Look at all of them," Runald muttered, eyes flicking to the groups around them. "I bet they came for the prestige and don't even care about serving as a proper knight. Like a certain succubus on our team."

Kanae sighed.

"Are there usually a lot of knights?" she asked.

Joap shook his head. "Nah. Most enlistees will fail and enroll again. For some people here, it's probably their third or fourth time, but for them it's a pride thing. Chances are, the returning enlistees won't make it because Aidenhall's already decided it. Poor chumps. Not us though. We're getting through this in one go!"

That might be true for them, but not so much for a Knight of Color.

The chattering stopped at once, and everyone became tense. Their eyes turned to an elevated spectator's booth elevated from the rest of the stands. Delayn and Vestrid escorted the Grand Eye, Analise Bellevue, and her younger brother, Will to the balcony. When Kanae met his searching gaze, they waved to each other, and then he snapped his hand down before the Grand Eye noticed.

A very tall woman joined them, a high elf, dressed in white and gold robes. She also wore a red and gold miter hat emblazoned with a single eye. Her ears sagged a little because of all the cuffs and jewelry pierced on them. Unlike Arenade's golden locks, this elf's hair was a shining platinum.

"Who's the walking jewelry store?" Kanae whispered.

"Archbishop Gretchen Redbaron," Reen quietly answered. "She's conducted over tens of thousands of crownings. Vied with Analise for Grand Eye a while ago."

When Kanae gazed back at them, she was met by Archbishop Gretchen's piercing eyes. That woman was the one who gave Runald the potion to resist succubus magic. Which meant the archbishop got them from the Rown Company and the Outriders.

"Initiates, look sharp!" Analise began with a booming voice. "For many of you, it must be an incredible honor to stand before us and profess your service to Radevic. I assure you, the honor is all ours to meet such bright and fervent knight-to-bes. Archbishop Gretchen and I bid you good luck."

The initiates erupted into applause and cheers.

"Aww, man. The Grand Eye is so much cooler than the last one," Reen said while also joining in the applause.

"If only people knew she was a brocon who took her little brother's virginity." Kanae rolled her eyes.

"Eh?!" Reen and Joap snapped to Kanae with horrified expressions.

"Dignity!" she added in panic. "Dignity to become a knight! Th-That's why he's an adventurer… yeah…"

Before either could prod Kanae for answers, a line of robed proctors emerged from the arena's four entryways. They were made up of sisters, instructors, and faculty within Aidenhall. Every one of them was holding onto a smooth orb and positioning themselves in front of each group of initiates.

Master Marwin stopped in front of Kanae and her group with an orb of his own.

"Behold, initiates! This is my orb. The orb which I have crafted and pondered over for a week now!" Marwin exclaimed, raising it high above his head for the sun's rays to reflect off the surface.

"You… pondered it?" Joap scratched the side of his head.

"Yes, Joap. I'm a wizard. We ponder orbs— Never mind! This is your aptitude test. From this orb will come a Rift. Your task is to retrieve at least three magic crystals. They will look like pine cones. When they have been collected, bring them together to summon a monster. Defeat said monster, and you will have passed the trial. The time limit is 48 hours, at which point you will be spat out of the Rift."

The wizard dropped the orb to the ground and took a large step back. He zapped it with magic, causing it to shatter. Fragmented pieces of the orb formed the edges of an oval-shaped portal. The same happened to the adjacent groups.

"Whew… I'm ready," Kanae told herself.

As she walked forward, Marwin grabbed her by the wrist.

"The dangers within are very real, but I believe in you. All of you."

Kanae nodded, and Marwin let her go. She looked at Reen and Joap, who returned gazes full of conviction. Runald was the only one not to regard her. Or any of them for that matter.

The four took a deep breath and walked into the portal— and emerged on the very top of a stone tower.

"Whoa!" Reen exclaimed, shielding her eyes from the beaming sun above. "It feels so real! Look at— aah!"

Kanae snatched the eager dark elven girl by the scruff of her tabard. She had one foot dangling off the sharp drop. Thick clouds shrouded what laid below, if there was anything even down there. Before them were towers just like the one they were on, varying in different shapes, sizes, and height. They shared one thing in common. It was all interconnected by a stone bridge and more were hidden behind the clouds.

Swarms of flying monsters soared through the skies, weaving between the towers and…

"Uhh, guys. I think that swarm is coming right for us!" Joap warned. He cast a volley of fire spells, but the creatures dodged them easily.

Kanae searched the other towers. The only bridge on this one connected to the side of another with a door.

"We can fight them!" Runald drew his sword.

"Not when we're sitting ducks out there! This way!" Kanae pointed to the tower ahead.

They made a run for it across the bridge. The monsters were gaining on them. Large, sharp talons were poised to snatch and toss them off.

"Heightened Haste!"

As soon as Kanae cast the buff spell, everyone picked up speed. One monster barely swiped at Reen's back. They burst through the door and slammed it shut. Reen, Runald, and Kanae pressed their backs to keep it closed until Joap found a wooden plank to slide it locked.

"And this is why we're going to fail!" Runald stormed into the middle of the room and threw his hands in the air. "You fly, too! We should have fought them!"

"I'm supposed to catch you guys if you get thrown off, right? While fending off those monsters?" Kanae fired back.

"We got more important things to worry about, so can the old married couple stop bickering?" Reen asked.

"Don't call us an old married couple!" Kanae and Runald shouted in her face.

Joap squeezed in between and pushed them away. "Everyone, stop! Escaping was the right choice. We don't know anything about this Rift, and we also don't have to needlessly expend resources fighting random monsters. Can we at least agree to work together until the end of the aptitude test?"

Both of them faced away from each other.

"Fine." Runald sighed. "Well, where do we get started? There must be a hundred towers out there. We're supposed to search them all for three pine cones in just two days' worth of time?"

"Guys, there's more to this tower!" Reen shouted from a staircase leading further down.

The stairs ran along the side of the tower. Joap lit up torches on the walls as they passed them. Reen reached the bottom first, went wide-eyed in terror, and shoved the rest of them back.

"What is it now?" Runald asked.

Reen shushed him and put a finger up to her lips. She ushered them over to an archway opening that led into the bottom floor chamber. A giant blue slime with a top hat was mucking around the room. Behind it was a wooden treasure box. The party of four looked one another in the eyes and knew it had to contain a pine cone.

"That's a gentleman slime if I've ever seen one," Joap said.

"What's a gentleman slime?" Kanae asked.

"Slimes with high physical and magical resistance. The real part of the slime is the thing on its head that looks like a top hat."

"Okay, but why is it called a gentleman?"

"Apparently they make noises that sound like they're politely saying g'day. I don't know what to tell you. Ask the people who first discovered and named it."

Gentleman slime or whatever, we need to kill that to get to the chest. Any ideas?" Reen asked.

"Simple. We go and kill it. Not chicken out like before." Runald showed himself to the gentleman slime with his sword drawn. "Quick Slash!"

The high elven boy performed a diagonal cut across the monster. Its gelatinous body absorbed the blow. A ripple like dropping a rock into still water spread across the surface, seemingly unharmed.

Kanae and the other two sighed into their hands, exasperated that Runald blew their cover.

"G'day. G'day. G'day," the slime repeated as it slowly enveloped Runald's weapon.

"Wow, you weren't kidding. It really does say g'day," Reen said.

Joap drew his staff and shrugged. "It only sounds like that. It's probably more like 'gludoo' or something." 

"Some help from the peanut gallery would be nice!" Runald yelled, trying in vain to pull his sword from the slime body.

"Alright, you two. Don't get too drunk on this like someone I know. Bond!" Kanae slapped her companions on the shoulders, empowering them with stronger attack and defenses.

Joap and Reen shuddered like someone brushed a cold finger down their spine. Meanwhile, Kanae sensed their aspirations and eagerness to become upstanding knights.

Reen flung a dagger to the ceiling and severed the chandelier. It came crashing down. The slime moved away just in time, dragging Runald with it.

"Titanic Blow!" Kanae flew behind it and punched the monster.

The rippling force traveled across the slime body and knocked Runald out of it. 

"Kanae, get out of the way— Prison of Ice!" Joap summoned a hail of icicles that plunged into the slime.

Unfortunately, the projectiles all missed the top hat. As the slime slithered past the pins of ice, Reen and Kanae converged for the final blow. Reen stabbed two daggers into the top hat, and Kanae pierced through it with her tail.

The gentleman slime swelled up and exploded, showering them in gooey blue sludge.

"We did it!" Reen high-fived Kanae, then slipped into her embrace. "Ahh… My legs are suddenly all shakey… am I supposed to feel good like this?"

"I'm feeling weird, too…" Joap said, clutching his chest and breathing heavily.

"What in the three hells was that? Are you telling me… the three of you…?" Runald hesitated to finish his sentence.

Reen and Joap went beet red.

"We did." Kanae nodded with a smile, stroking Reen's cheek with the back of her knuckles. "We made sure to do it before the test, that way I can cast Bond to make them stronger."

"You should do it, too! It's a crazy adrenaline rush, and… uh… well… the side effects aren't too bad," Reen said.

Kanae tilted Reen's chin upwards and planted a tender kiss on her lips as a reward. The dark elven girl swooned, turning into mush like the slime that covered them.

"I can't believe you two! That's so gross! If you're going to… do it… I'm moving onto the next tower without you!" Runald huffed in dismay.

"Okay, calm down." Kanae switched off Bond on Reen and Joap, rendering them no longer aching for sex.

"L-Let's check the chest!" Joap insisted now that he was freed from the whims of baser instincts.

The tension dispelled the second Joap unlocked the chest. A magic crystal in the shape of a pine cone shined so brightly it hurt their eyes. There were also potions inside. A little pick-me-up, it seemed. They popped one each, and as the cool liquid slid down their parched throats, they felt their mana restoring and injuries vanishing.

"Two more to go," Kanae said, pocketing the crystal into a satchel. "It hasn't even been an hour. We're doing pretty good on time. I say we take a breather before moving on."

"I'm game! There's a cauldron here. We can collect some slime to make soup out of!" Reen exclaimed.

Kanae stared at her funny.

"Is that a thing you can do?"

"Yeah! It makes for good broth because it's already thick. Would be a waste to let all this spoil," Reen said.

You are reading story The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?! at novel35.com

Kanae bit back the urge to tell them what she had used slimes for in the past. Best not to ruin their appetites.

"If we're taking a break, I'm taking mine upstairs. I feel yucky being around you guys after learning that you had sex with the succubus," Runald said, picking up his sword to head up the tower.

"Oh, come on! We should stick together!" Joap shouted to his back.

The trio collected pieces of wood from broken bookshelves and chairs in the chamber. They piled it together, ignited it with magical fire, and placed the cauldron on top of the flames. Reen scooped globules of blue slime into the cauldron and foraged edible mushrooms growing out of the cracks in the tower.

"Gimme your staff, Joap." Reen extended a grasping hand toward him.

"You're not using my staff as a stirring rod," Joap said, but Reen continued to make the hand gesture until he gave it up.

"Hmm… It would be better if we had some meat, but…" Her gaze wandered to the window, beyond which a swarm of monsters were circling the tower from the distance.

They hatched an idea.

Thankfully, there was also a door on their floor. Kanae and Joap pushed it open while Reen stood at the doorway as bait.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? If we screw up, we're losing lunch and our lives," Kanae said.

"It'll be fine as long as Joap times it right!" Reen assured them.

"Why does it have to fall on me?!" Joap cried.

A high-pitched screech made the hair on their skin stand. The swarm was coming this way. Reen planted both feet firmly to the ground, then—

A flying pterodactyl-like monster flew in and kicked up a storm.

"Now!" Reen shouted and jumped out of the way.

Joap threw up a wall of ice, and Kanae shut the door. The other flying monsters smashed into the barrier. Now they had another problem. The monster trapped inside with them dive-bombed for Reen, so Kanae tackled it out of the way. They crashed into a bookshelf, knocking the entire thing over and the books on top of them. Reen flung two daggers that plunged deep into the monster's, silencing it for good.

"See? Easy!" Reen beamed.

They worked together, skinning the beast and carving pieces of meat to toss into the bubbling cauldron. Not an hour later, their chef declared the concoction finished.

"This doesn't look appetizing at all, Reen… In fact, I feel sick looking at it," Joap said.

Mushrooms and blocks of stringy meat bobbed within the light blue soup. An eyeball floated to the top and stared right at them.

"I call it, Mystery Dungeon Soup! Try it, guys! Please? I worked really hard!" Reen pleaded with them.

Kanae used a ladle to scoop the contents into a wooden bowl. She held her breath, lifted the bowl to her lips, and gulped down a mouthful.

"Huh. It's not bad," Kanae said, taking another gulp to be sure.

"You're joking." Joap eyed her dubiously.

"The balance in flavor is definitely all over the place, but I'd totally eat this again. The monster meat is soft and chewy, and there's an earthy aftertaste from the mushrooms. The slime gives it a hearty volume like porridge. I like it."

The initiate mage breathed deeply and took a chance. He filled his own bowl, stared at the contents like looking into hell, and drank it.

"It is good…" Joap gasped.

"Yay!" Reen jumped for joy. "I'm so glad you guys like it!"

"How did you even come up with this?" Kanae asked.

"Hehe. I may be training to become a knight, but I'm also training to become a chef! I know how knights of the order eat like trash when they travel out of Radevic. No one knows how to cook! My dream is to create a recipe book that all adventurers and soldiers can easily follow. Teach 'em to live off the land, too!"

Kanae thought back to when she adventured with Edina and Arenade. Complaints about food were plenty. Mostly from Arenade though. Speaking of a high elf…

"One of us should probably bring a bowl up to Runald. Otherwise, he'll come down and complain later," Kanae said.

"Wait!" Reen grabbed Kanae's hand and fidgeted anxiously. "Before that… since Runald's not here, do you think we can… maybe… since we didn't get to earlier?"

"Me, too! Just for a little bit?" Joap suddenly embraced Kanae from behind, pressing the bulge in his pants against her butt.

"Awww, you two are so cute. Why not? Let your succubus big sister take care of your urges for you," she said.

Something shuffling in the room stirred Kanae awake. She opened her eyes, thinking a monster had entered. Nothing was there, so she passed it off as her imagination. Reen and Joap were both naked, curled up and snuggled on either side of Kanae. They had fallen asleep in each other's arms after their threesome. Her adorable teammates were brimming with vigor, but that was youth for them. It served to give Kanae a much needed boost of energy, too.

If only Runald would just set aside his pride.

Kanae got up and covered her teammates with their tabards. They slept soundly. This was a good chance to check up on Runald, so she got dressed, filled up a bowl of Reen's mystery soup, and picked up her satchel to head up—

Wait.

The satchel was lighter than normal. Kanae pulled open the cover. It was empty. The pine cone magic crystal was missing.

"Kanae…?" Reen sat up with her eyes still shut.

"The crystal is gone!" Kanae shouted.

"What?!" the dark elf exclaimed and started shaking Joap's shoulders. "Wake up! Wake up, you dolt!"

The door of the chamber was wide open. Kanae ran to it and saw Runald racing across the bridge to the next tower. He glanced over his shoulder and quickened his pace.

"It's Runald! I think he has it. I'm going after him," Kanae said, spreading her wings to take flight.

"Watch out behind you, Kanae!" 

Flying monsters perched at the top of the tower unfurled their wings to fly, too. Half the swarm dove for Reen and Joap.

"Stay inside and meet up with me after you lose them!" Kanae shouted.

They nodded and shut the door before being swarmed.

The other half continued after Kanae. Up ahead, Runald entered the next tower and shut the door. Kanae got there half a second too late.

"Runald, open up! What are you trying to do with the crystal? Don't tell me you're going off alone!" Kanae yelled, pounding at the door.

The handle wouldn't turn. Kanae backed up and used Titanic Blow. Her fists struck the door, but it didn't so much as budge.

"Ow…" She shook her hands and blew on her knuckles.

For some reason, the other half of the flying monster swarm gave up the chase. They were nowhere to be seen. Maybe the other two had done something to lure them away.

Kanae flew around the tower and didn't find a bridge, but there were two at the very top that forked to different towers. She soared up to the top just as Runald emerged from a hatch.

"Stay back!" Runald raced over to the edge and dangled the pine cone crystal over.

"What are you thinking? That's our ticket to knighthood. Your ticket, too!" Kanae reasoned.

"No, it isn't. I never had a ticket to knighthood, and it's all your fault!" he cried.

"Me? What did I do to you? Just because I exist as a succubus?"

"That's exactly it! My parents and the archbishop… they're counting on me to make sure you don't become Knight of Amethyst!"

They were going that far? Archbishop Gretchen, the next highest in power after the Grand Eye and King, didn't want a succubus to succeed?

Kanae clicked her tongue. They needed that crystal to succeed in the trial. She focused her succubus magic on Runald and quietly cast Charm. But nothing happened. The spell didn't connect.

"Hah! You tried to charm me just now, didn't you? That potion really works. I got more last night. Goes to show how badly they want you to fail," Runald taunted.

"What about you? Do you want to fail? Because it certainly doesn't look like it from here. You had all the chances to throw it away since the moment you got your hands on it, but you didn't. Did you even know your hands are shaking?" Kanae asked, taking a step forward.

"S-Shut up! Don't pretend to know what I want… Stay back, or I'll do it!"

"Runald, I'm not going to apologize for being a succubus. But I am sorry that your own parents are jeopardizing your knighthood just to get to me. Family can really suck sometimes, but you're your own person. Don't you want to become Knight of Gold one day?" 

"How did you… know that?" he asked.

"Reen told me. We might end up as colleagues again one day as fellow Knights of Colors. You don't have to like me, but don't ruin your own chances for someone else's selfishness," Kanae said.

Runald swallowed hard. As sucked in a quivering breath, wiped the tears from his eyes, and stepped away from the edge. Kanae moved to meet him half-way until a red dragon snatched him up. The pine cone slipped from his hand and rolled off the tower.

"Kanae—!"

"No!" Kanae jumped off the edge when a shock of realization hit. She paused and glanced down. The crystal plunged farther away, consumed by the clouds. So was Runald, being carried away in the dragon's talons. "Ughhh… Fuck me for thinking with my dick— I mean, pussy! Clit? Gah! Whatever!"

Instead of flying to catch the pine cone, Kanae chased after the dragon. Runald was hacking away at the underbelly, but the blade wasn't strong enough to penetrate. Kanae flew close enough between the dragon's legs and balled up a fist.

"Nut checking isn't a skill but it might as well be— Titanic Blow!" Kanae buried her fist into the dragon's thick ballsack. The beast roared in pain and let Runald go. She swooped down to catch him before he plummeted too far, and now the pissed-off dragon was chasing after her for revenge.

Sharp teeth snapped at their ankles. Kanae singled out a tower with an open window and beelined for it. They barreled through, crash-landing in a corridor. The dragon crashed against the tower, too, and opened its jaws wide.

"Run!" Kanae shouted.

They dashed down the corridor as the dragon unleashed a breath of flames.

"In here!" Runald threw open a door and pulled Kanae in, just barely escaping the inferno.

Both of them laid flat on a carpet inside what looked like the master bedroom of a wizard's tower. Sweat ran down their faces.

"You left… the crystal… just to save me?" Runald panted.

"I had to make a snap decision… I chose you. We should stay here until it leaves. A dragon is too dangerous— nngh!" Kanae doubled over in pain. She reached behind herself and came back with a hand soaked in blood.

"Kanae!" He helped Kanae up and brought her to a chair. "Damn it… I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I-I drank my potion from the other tower. Maybe there's another chest below? But if there's a monster…"

"There's another way… I can heal if I drain from you. My spells won't affect you, but drain is a passive racial skill that might," Kanae explained.

Runald gasped and backed away. His face contorted with frustration.

"Okay…" He relented. "I'll do it. It's the least I can do— mmrphh!"

Kanae didn't wait for another word. She kissed him deeply, shoving her tongue into his inexperienced mouth. Stunned by the sudden act, Runald froze up and let her do as she pleased, so she slowly led him to the bed while they made out.

By the time they got there, Kanae had already ripped his pants off. She pushed Runald onto the bed, where he laid there on his back with a bashful and reserved demeanor. The stiff erection throbbed for release.

"It… It's my first time, so… please be gentle." Runald gulped.

"I'll be gentle," Kanae said, letting slip her tabard and clothes to stand bare naked in front of him. "For the first round."

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