"Succubus Feed?"
When Kurose Akira saw the new guild badge, he fell into thought.
Engraved on the front of the badge was an image of a succubus holding out both hands as if reverently receiving the Holy Light. The entire badge was a deep violet color, its material unusual and faintly lustrous.
In addition, a subtle fragrance lingered around it—something resembling the scent of lavender.
[Succubus Feed: Grants the consumer +5% Magic Penetration, +5% All Damage, and +5% Mana Recovery. (Stacks up to 10 layers.)]
"…?"
The moment Akira noticed the effect of Succubus Feed, he immediately equipped it.
Compared to other guild badges, the buffs provided by this one were extremely impressive. The stacking mechanic, in particular, dramatically increased its potential ceiling.
Now that all three guild badges were equipped, there were only two ways left to further increase his combat power: purchase higher-tier Epic equipment, or raise his Adventurer Level.
Unfortunately, his current experience reserves were painfully limited.
The only EXP left in his pool came from six daily commissions—about 180,000 EXP in total.
In contrast, his gold reserves were looking rather comfortable.
Akira glanced at the market price for gold and saw that nothing had changed. The exchange rate remained the same: 10 copper coins for 1 gold.
That meant his 300+ gold coins could be converted into 300,000 units of cash value…
"…Looks like my rent problem is already solved."
Akira suddenly realized that if he converted his guild assets into real-world money, he'd already have over 300,000. For a university student's living expenses, that was more than enough.
As for who to sell the gold to…
He could simply contact Xu Feiyan. She had always been actively buying gold.
"But first… I should pick up an Epic-grade item."
After some careful consideration, Akira decided to purchase an Epic item to strengthen the guild's combat capabilities.
As for his daily living expenses, he only needed to keep a small portion of the money anyway.
With that decision made, Akira opened the shop interface and began browsing through the available Epic equipment.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, one item caught his attention.
It was a pair of bracers, each set with a brilliant, fiery-red crystal that gleamed intensely.
[Crimson Flame Bracers (Epic): Bracers embedded with a Crimson Flame Crystal. Increases Fire-element power by 100%! Absorbs 50% Fire-element damage! (When a second crystal is embedded, the amplification effect increases by 20%.)]
"Perfect. I happen to have an Epic-grade Thunder Crystal."
Akira suddenly remembered the crystal he had obtained after defeating the Lightning Knight.
Originally, he had planned to embed it into the Thunderfire Staff, but now that he thought about it, these bracers might be a much better fit.
Of course, embedding the crystal into the equipment would still require a blacksmith's craftsmanship.
Which meant he would have to trouble that person again.
Without hesitation, Akira spent 100 gold coins to purchase the Epic bracers. Then he quickly sent a message to the player known as "Hong", asking if they could help embed the crystal.
It didn't take long for a reply to arrive.
[Hong: 5 gold.]
Seeing the response, Akira smiled knowingly and immediately sent the item through a trade request.
[Hong: 2 hours.]
"Alright."
After finishing his errands, Akira was just about to close the chat interface.
At that moment—
Ivsha suddenly wrapped her arms around him from behind.
Her seductive voice drifted gently into his ear.
"Mr. Kurose Akira… are you finished with your work? I was hoping…"
Hearing Ivsha issue another challenge, Akira couldn't help but curl his lips into a confident smile.
His Holy Light had just received a major buff.
There was no way he would lose again this time… right?
—
Two hours later…
Akira felt somewhat exhausted.
Turning his head toward Ivsha, he said with a tired sigh,
"Ivsha… how about we call it a day here?"
Ivsha, however, looked slightly dissatisfied.
Pouting playfully, she said,
"But~ Mr. Kurose Akira… I'm still not full yet~ Shall we go one more round?"
The moment Akira heard that, his expression immediately turned serious.
"Ivsha, being eighty percent full is the optimal state. If you eat too much, it'll only affect your combat performance."
Hearing this, Ivsha mischievously leaned down and planted a light kiss on the Holy Light before giggling softly.
"In that case… I'll spare you today, Mr. Kurose Akira~"
Afterward, she carefully stored away her food.
"…?"
Although Akira felt a little unwilling to concede, he ultimately chose to surrender.
Deep inside, he couldn't help but sigh.
Even after being strengthened, the Holy Light still couldn't defeat Ivsha?
The effect of [Death Coil] was simply too overpowered.
What was I thinking back then, adding that trait to Ivsha in the first place…?
If he wanted to defeat Ivsha while she possessed [Death Coil], he would probably have to fight magic with magic.
He needed to find a player trait capable of countering [Death Coil].
Still, despite Ivsha defeating the Holy Light yet again, Akira did discover something important—
The stacking condition for Succubus Feed.
Apparently, the energy released from a single burst of Holy Light was enough to instantly stack the feed effect to the maximum ten layers, and the buff would last for 48 hours.
However…
A new problem quickly emerged.
Ivsha had completely drained the Holy Light.
Sigh…
Akira let out a helpless sigh as he slowly stepped out of the bedroom.
Right at that moment—
A teleportation circle lit up nearby.
Lucia stepped out of the portal.
The instant her gaze landed on Akira, a cold glint flashed across her beautiful eyes.
The humiliating memories deeply etched in her mind ignited her anger instantly.
Without hesitation, she strode toward him and shouted coldly,
"You must take responsibility for this!"
"…?"
Akira blinked in confusion.
Wait… has the Saintess already…?
But that didn't seem right.
Lucia continued,
"Because of your reckless behavior yesterday, I failed to properly handle the Church's affairs. As a result, I missed the weekly Holy Water purification ritual!"
"Oh?"
Akira raised an eyebrow.
He had assumed it was something serious. Turns out it was just that…
"Alright," he replied calmly. "My fault. I'll compensate you right now."
"Right now? Compensate me?"
Lucia froze for a moment after hearing his answer.
Her intention had only been to use this incident as a warning, making sure Akira never attempted something so disrespectful again.
After all—
She was the Pope, revered above tens of thousands.
How could she possibly be pinned beneath someone inside a guild?!
She should be the one on top.
Cough.
But now Akira's response had caught her completely off guard.
"That's right," Akira said casually. "Isn't it just some Holy Water?"
He grabbed Lucia's wrist and pulled her toward the hot spring room.
"I can compensate you right now. I'll help you with your purification."
"???"
"Wait!"
Lucia quickly interrupted him.
"The Holy Water purification ritual is not the kind of simple bath you're imagining!"
Akira chuckled softly and reassured her,
"Don't worry, Lucia. Our guild also happens to have a very precious specialty—Holy Water. I guarantee you won't be disappointed."
"…?"
Before Lucia could even process what he meant—
Akira had already shut the door to the hot spring room at lightning speed.
A greedy glint flashed in his eyes as he stared directly at her.
The corners of his mouth curled upward into a meaningful smile.
"Please remove your clothes, Lucia."
"Hurry and accept my apology."
Sure, he couldn't defeat Ivsha while she possessed [Death Coil]…
But surely he could handle Lucia, right?
Even if the Saintess possessed one of the highest combat strengths in the guild—second only to Mare Rhine—
When it came to that sort of battle…
She was simply far too weak.
Now then—
Time for her to properly enjoy some Succubus Feed.