Chapter 177: Building a Harem (4)
I wasn't even that hungry to begin with, but after polishing off that massive sandwich too, my stomach felt like it was about to burst.
Still, leaving any behind just wasn't an option.
Anyway, after stuffing myself to the brim like that, there were the desserts left over... Calling them desserts felt kinda ridiculous, though.
Whatever. Downing those bizarre inner cores from the turtles and eels as "dessert" made my body feel insanely heavy.
No, it wasn't just a feeling—it was real.
I could sense unrefined energies churning wildly inside me.
Like enraged bulls, slamming into every corner of my body, desperate to break free.
Unlike the mandragora or Wearhoneybee honey I enjoyed regularly, or Ariadd's sap or the Wearhoneybee royal jelly, this was the real deal. Spiritual medicine, huh.
So that's why even the richest folks couldn't just chug this stuff to get stronger.
If you didn't have some baseline ability, blindly scarfing it down thinking it was good for you would just get you crushed by the raw power, wrecking your body in the process. Perfect recipe for disaster.
But whatever.
Groooowwwwl...
I seized the rampaging energies from the inner cores and crushed them down.
They rebelled, thrashing even harder in response.
Still.
I pressed. Pressed. Pressed.
Pinning them so they couldn't budge an inch.
Then, in one go, I sucked them in.
Level Drain.
In this world, it outstripped any martial arts heart method, any mana refinement technique, or any other fancy-named bullshit. The ultimate power for absorbing raw force itself—the succubus racial ability, and I had it.
Not just any succubus version, either. This was the Level Drain I'd gotten straight from the Succubus Queen, Lilith.
No matter how wildly it thrashed, there was no way it could withstand being pinned and sucked dry like that.
How long did I drain it? Eventually, the energies lost all form, starting to scatter chaotically.
So this was it.
The reason even the best heart methods couldn't fully absorb the power from inner cores or spiritual medicines.
The energies shrank smaller and smaller until they were too tiny to contain anymore, dissipating right there in my body.
But that didn't matter to me one bit.
"Huuuuh..."
If a succubus's Level Drain was unparalleled at absorbing energy compared to any other ability...
Then when it came to handling energy, no one beat a fox yokai.
The kumiho's specialty: storing energies separately in fox orbs and tails, then pulling them out whenever needed.
And among fox yokai, the strongest of the strong—the celestial fox, one of the twenty-two heroes, Hoaran. I'd gotten her abilities.
I grabbed every last wisp of scattering energy, yanked it back, and drained it with Level Drain again.
Grab. Gather. Suck.
Not a drop left behind. All of it.
These were inner cores Hoaran had bought for me out of thoughtfulness, after all.
I absorbed every last bit, without waste.
"...Shit, maybe I should hunt down some martial art for you?"
Hoaran muttered that as she watched me absorb the inner cores' energies completely, using both succubus and kumiho abilities.
"Half-assed crap's worse than nothing."
"Yeah, exactly."
With all these worlds merged, this place was lousy with martial arts.
Lots of so-called divine or demonic arts, but to me, they all looked the same. Meh.
No matter how advanced or "divine" they claimed to be...
Nothing caught my eye.
Most worlds where martial arts developed were human-dominated anyway.
Sure, some had monsters or yokai coexisting, or the occasional other race, but that was rare.
For the most part, they were just humans making stuff to fight other humans.
To races born with innate strength...
To those with claws that could split rocks or steel, or monstrous power, martial arts held zero appeal.
They only flourished in worlds full of plain humans who couldn't even crush a pebble without training, let alone bend steel.
The old me might've found them useful, but now? With me freely wielding abilities from multiple races, tacking on some amateur martial art would just be poison.
"Hanjo feels the same way I do."
He was still way behind me, but...
Hanj o fought mostly on instinct too.
The innate talent type.
Born in a mana-less world, yet his body was so mana-affine he could've awakened a Gift naturally. Malnourished and untrained until recently, but his whole frame was packed with muscle. If he'd been born in a mana-rich world, no way he'd have ended up an orphan.
Even if abandoned, someone would've spotted that potential quick. He'd have risen fast, become a "hero" in that world for sure.
He didn't see it himself, though.
Couldn't be helped—he'd spent his whole life in a mana-barren dump.
But the talent was real.
Sure, freakish luck and his mutated Gift helped, but compressing three years of growth into months? You couldn't call that talentless.
Guy was a genius.
Types like him grew faster if you just let 'em figure it out solo.
And he had, so far.
"...What about the Heavenly Demon? Her martial arts might suit Hanjo."
"Hell no. Not her. Ever."
I shot down Hoaran's suggestion flat.
"Yeah, the Heavenly Demon's a no-go, huh."
Hoaran nodded, like she'd only tossed it out casually anyway.
"Who's the Heavenly Demon? What an arrogant name."
Karmine tilted her head at us, curious.
"Uh..."
She'd only been in this world a short time, so of course she wouldn't know the name.
One of the twenty-two heroes, and the only "human woman" among them. How to even explain her?
I mulled it over, then opened my mouth.
"...Just a bitch who rubs me the wrong way."
That was the perfect way to put it for her.
A manufactured genius. A manufactured divinity.
That's why she pissed me off.
Maybe because I was a transcendence born with innate divinity from the dimension itself, it hit extra hard.
Manufactured gods were repulsive to types like me—beings who qualified for divinity from birth.
But that wasn't the only reason the Heavenly Demon was a no.
There was more.
Probably...
If she found out about Hanjo, it wouldn't end well.
Chasing some "perfection of nothingness" that might not even exist—a path she didn't choose, but was molded into, blindly following it. In some ways, she was worse than zealots.
"...Martial arts are off the table."
She had that realm locked down tight. Even if I snagged something secretly, it'd reach her ears eventually.
Hanjo getting stronger was good long-term, but it wasn't urgent now. We'd watch and wait.
"More importantly, this settles it for everyone, right?"
I glanced at the group, all nodding, while Hanjo finished reining in the energies. I eyed the notes I'd jotted down in the meantime.
"It's a bit skimpy still, but can't be helped."
He's still weak. Gotta cut him some slack.
I opened my eyes after fully containing the energy, and Lilith said she had something important to discuss, so I straightened up.
Important talk, huh. Wonder what.
I had some guesses.
There were a few things she might wanna hit me with.
But why was everyone gathered to hear it?
A bit odd, but since my stuff was her stuff too, I shrugged it off and looked at her. Lilith spoke up.
"First off, Hanjo. In a week, meet with me and the branch managers."
"A week? What's special about then?"
"Nothing particular. Just... that's the only time everyone can swing it. They've got other gigs besides branch duties. Closest slot where we can all meet is in a week."
Branch managers.
Meeting the folks managing dispensers worldwide? Kinda surreal.
Not long ago, I was pondering whether to dive into the Han River based on water temp. Now this? Wild.
"So, what do I do there? Take some test to become branch manager?"
Way too early to succeed Lilith, honestly.
I wasn't aiming that high anyway.
I'd asked thinking maybe start at branch level, but she tilted her head.
"What test? They just wanna see your face."
Why the hell do they wanna see my face?
What's there to look at?
Then it hit me—something Lilith mentioned before.
Right, most branch managers were her loyal succubi.
A few exceptions, but mostly high-rank succubi.
And Lilith was their top dog, the Succubus Queen.
I eyed her suspiciously, and she scratched her cheek.
"Tried to turn 'em down, but they kept nagging... Say no if you hate it."
"Nah, I'm good."
No big deal that day, and if she couldn't flat-out refuse, they must matter to her. I could show my mug.
Might see them often anyway.
Could score some old Lilith stories if I played nice.
Her childhood tales? Priceless ammo for teasing.
No way I'd miss a chance to snag blackmail material.
Oblivious to my scheming, Lilith nodded.
"Cool, noted. Now, the main topic."
"Wait, that wasn't the important part?"
"What, this ain't important?"
Wasn't it...?
Anyway, curious about the real deal, I watched as Lilith handed me something.
I scanned it, then froze.
"We hashed this out among ourselves. What do you think?"
The paper she offered... crammed with schedules.
I stared.
And stared.
This was...
The "important" talk?
Okay, it was important, but...
So when the fuck do I get a break...?
At least now I got why everyone was here for it.
"So you all put this together?"
I glanced around at the circle surrounding me and asked.
Lilith nodded.
"Took some wrangling, but everyone's on board-ish."
On board with this...?
"...Got it."
I got their opinions loud and clear.
Crystal.
So I crumpled the damn schedule—the obvious attempt to work me to death—and shoved it in my mouth.