S... S-Rank?
"S... S-rank?"
I was utterly confused. What I'd meant to ask Lisa was whether she'd reached A-rank, not this. Hearing out of the blue that I'd jumped straight to S-rank left me speechless.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and someone rushed into the room.
"Darling!"
I recognized the voice instantly. It was Valentina. I'd wondered how she knew I'd woken up in the dead of night, but then I spotted the sorcery dolls floating on the ceiling. They glowed with a faint blue light, and I quickly realized their purpose: they'd been healing me while I was out cold. She must have sensed their reaction and come running.
"Darling! You okay?"
"Yeah... thanks to you."
I glanced up at the dolls again before answering.
"Whoa~~ Darling!!"
Valentina crushed me in a hug so tight I could barely breathe. Well, after three days unconscious, I could understand her excitement at seeing me awake.
But what I really wanted to know was...
"What do you mean, I've become S-rank?"
"Oh! Right, yeah! You're S-rank now, darling!"
"But why..."
"Sex with Lisa had a bigger effect than expected. I had a hunch, but you absorbed all nineteen souls' worth of mana from her, right? Now you've got mana equivalent to twenty-five people inside you. With all that harmonizing in one body, the synergy must be insane. Of course, it wasn't just Lisa—our passionate romp helped too."
She said it proudly, like she'd orchestrated the whole thing. And yeah, it made sense. Sex with someone of her caliber couldn't have been a small experience boost.
"Why twenty-five, though..."
I counted it out. The original five women, plus the nineteen from Lisa, plus my own—that added up to twenty-five.
"No way..."
I couldn't believe it. When I'd passed out after sex with Lisa, I'd thought something had gone wrong. Turns out it was the exact opposite. It was mind-blowing: just days after the Unreasonable Favor skill properly activated, and I'd shot up to S-rank.
"Darling~~ Congratulations!!"
Valentina wrapped her arms around my neck in celebration.
"Wanna celebrate with some sex? Pound me hard, no holds barred. Now you can go wild without barriers."
"I was unconscious until a minute ago... I'll pass."
"Eeeek~~"
Her rush to get here suddenly felt a bit creepy, but her words cleared things up. Now, I really could have sex with anyone without worry. Sure, doing it with anyone below B-rank might endanger them, but all the women I'd been with were at least A-rank. No risk there.
Grrrrrrowl~~~
Three days out cold, and I was starving.
"Ah! I'll prepare some food!"
Quick on the uptake, Lisa jumped up and scurried out of the room.
Food first... then I'd savor these changes slowly.
The next day.
The women were over the moon when they learned I'd woken up after three days. At breakfast, Valentina declared solemnly,
"Our darling—no, Sung-gi has become an S-rank hunter."
"What?"
"For real?"
"How...?"
Predictably, congratulations weren't immediate. Disbelief was the natural reaction. They all stared at me, but honestly, I was just as clueless. I'd gone to sleep and woken up S-rank. Simple as that.
Of course, I could guess the mechanism. As Valentina had said yesterday, the nineteen souls' mana from Lisa had settled inside me, and our intense sex had spiked my experience in one go.
"Sex with Lisa was the key."
Valentina's words quieted the room. What had she expected? Hopes for "Whoa, really?" or "That's so cool~"?
"Sigh..."
Kang A-jin sighed at her master's tone-deaf comment.
"Truth be told, everyone here helped Sung-gi grow. He gains massive experience through sex. Kim Seol-bi, Eun-bi, A-young, my master Valentina, Lisa—all your contributions let him skyrocket like this."
Now that's how you say it. The women's faces lit up.
"That's incredible. We were so shocked when you collapsed, but it was just growing pains."
"Jumping straight to this level? Unheard of."
"Congrats, oppa!"
"Congratulations, Sung-gi oppa."
As everyone rejoiced, Valentina chimed in with a loaded remark.
"Which means Sung-gi can now enjoy free sex with all of us."
The mood chilled again—but not with disappointment this time.
"Really, now we can..."
"Free sex..."
"Whenever he wants..."
"Ahh..."
Their faces flushed as they murmured to themselves. Valentina sighed dramatically.
"Korean women are still so conservative. An orgy wouldn't be bad at this point. I'm always up for it—orgies welcome."
She licked her lips suggestively. The women paled. They all knew Valentina basically liked women too. In an orgy, she'd target more than just me. And no one here could resist her in strength or skill.
Orgy, huh...
I pictured it. A hell of a scene. But these were all elite hunters and sorceresses in their own right—handling them all at once might be too much...
Still, being able to freely sleep with them was a huge win. This weird commune had leveled up.
Valentina poked Kang A-jin in the side.
"See? Told you. He's really S-rank."
"Yes, he is."
"Puppy~~ You'll forgive me, right?"
"Haaa... Fine. But watch yourself from now on. Especially no sneaking up on Sung-gi without us. Next time, I'm cutting master-disciple ties for real."
"Okay... got it..."
Valentina sounded genuinely disappointed—had she really planned to jump me in secret?
Meanwhile, as night turned to morning, I felt energy surging through me stronger by the minute.
This is S-rank.
All my senses sharpened wide open. And the growth wasn't stopping. Made sense—absorbing nineteen souls' mana wouldn't settle instantly. I'd keep evolving as it integrated.
"Sung-gi, could I see you for a moment?"
After breakfast, Kang A-jin pulled me aside. I followed her to the basement level 2, our usual sorcery lesson spot. We sat across the table, and she pulled out a talisman.
I'd seen it before: the one substituted with Park Hyun-jun's mana. I'd failed to absorb it once. Why bring it out again?
Back then, after the failure, she'd said I might need another medium. That led to mentioning her master, bringing Valentina and Lisa here.
"It might work now. Want to try?"
"Think it'll go okay?"
"Theoretically, yes. Sex with Lisa didn't just give you nineteen souls' mana—it adapted you to handling massive amounts at once. You should manage now."
"Hmm..."
Coming from her, it was convincing. I placed my hand on the talisman. She performed the ritual to release Park Hyun-jun's substituted mana.
Shwoop, shwoop, shwoop. The familiar blue mana streamed out.
It flowed into me one strand at a time, absorbed seamlessly. Nothing like last time's near-explosion. The new mana blended smoothly with the rest.
Feels amazing!
Kang A-jin smiled at my grin.
"Congratulations. That's twenty-six people's mana now."