Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Unexpected Fact (2)
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Kalt's offered price went unchallenged—no one added extra coin to claim the demon's essence.
This was a stroke of luck for Kalt.
It wasn't some top-tier gear or ancient relic; demon essence was notoriously useless anyway.
No eccentric collectors or nobles with a fetish for demon essences were present, and no one with pointless competitive spirit to overbid. Kalt snagged it right away.
Once the auction wrapped, Kalt took the essence from the staff and pondered.
'Why did I buy this?'
Objectively speaking, why the hell did he?
He'd even gone up to 15 million molds to seal the deal.
Yet holding the demon's essence brought real satisfaction.
Did he secretly have a hobby for collecting essences?
He even thought that far.
'No, that's not it.'
This wasn't Kalt's first time seeing a demon's essence.
Back in the Mabel Party days, he'd slain demons too.
Of course, he'd harvested their essences.
But he'd never felt the urge to keep one—demon essence just creeped him out, so he'd rushed it to the guild for cash.
This one, though? Just owning it felt fulfilling.
'What's really going on?'
"Um... Kalt."
Nellis asked cautiously as they timed their exit from the auction house.
"Why'd you buy a demon's essence? Isn't it pretty much worthless?"
A fair question.
Even rookie hero Nellis knew demon essences had no real use.
Scarlet and Aria shot him puzzled looks too.
Under their gazes, Kalt answered honestly.
"Uh... just felt like it?"
"Just like that?"
"My gut screamed I had to have it. So I went for it."
"I-instinct?"
"Yeah. First time for everything, but 15 million molds was a steal. Figured I'd trust the vibe."
"F-fifteen million was a steal? K-Kalt, you're loaded..."
"Haha, you'll rake in that much too, Nellis. Anyway, demon essences aren't totally useless. Might as well grab another magic tool and put it to work."
"Magic tool?"
"Yeah. You know cooking needs steady flame control. Campfire's fine, but a magic tool's more convenient and stable. Was gonna skip it 'cause it's bulky, but a portable campfire tool sounds perfect now."
Portable campfire.
It resembled a portable burner from Kalt's past life.
Of course, it ran on mana—infuse it directly or slot in a mana stone to ignite.
"Buying a magic tool just to use the demon essence?"
"Better than letting it sit as a paperweight, right?"
"Fair point, but..."
"Kalt, if another demon essence pops up, you gonna bid again?"
Aria's wary question made Kalt shake his head.
"Nah, it was just this one. No urge for more. Don't worry about extra spending."
"Got it."
By the time they left the auction house, it was lunchtime. Nellis's party grabbed a bite nearby, then split for free time.
Kalt had nowhere to go, so he headed back to his inn room, sat on the bed, and blankly stared at his purchase.
"Why did I really buy this?"
He was tilting his head in confusion when—
Thump! His heart suddenly raced, and mana rippled faintly from the formerly inert demon essence.
And then.
Aa, such familiar mana!
"...!"
A voice echoed in Kalt's mind.
No way he could ignore this. He lightly tossed the essence upward and swung his sword to cleave it.
But—
To think I'd meet kin after such long ages.
The follow-up stopped Kalt's swing a hair's breadth before it struck.
'Kin?'
He couldn't brush that off.
W-what? Were you about to slice me?! Whew, that was close. Nearly vanished just after waking up.
The essence belatedly noticed Kalt's near-slash, panicking.
"What the hell are you? Speak."
Good, you're open to talk, kin.
"Who's kin? I'm human, not a demon."
Hahaha! Fair enough! Anyway, don't just dump me on the floor—prop me up somewhere?
"..."
Vigilant, Kalt picked up the essence and set it on the small bedside drawer.
He kept one hand on his sword hilt, ready to strike anytime.
"So why call me kin? Both my parents are human."
Sure, sure. But to me, you're kin. Proof? You hear me. And... you felt it too, right? That possessiveness and thrill when you saw the essence.
Spot on—that matched what Kalt felt.
But he wouldn't accept being demon kin.
Still, ignoring and slashing felt off.
"So what?"
Not buying it easy, huh? Fine, I'll explain myself.
The voice from the essence chuckled warmly at Kalt.
Demon blood flows in you. Precisely, an ancestor bedded one of my kind—a succubus—and you're their descendant!
"My ancestor had demon blood?"
Yes! That's why I awoke. The succubus blood in you—its mana stirred me.
"Succubus?"
Succubus.
Among demons, they were outliers.
While most demons focused on slaughtering humans, succubi specialized in drowning them in lust, corrupting and controlling them.
In a way, more reviled than killers, since they twisted kin against kin.
That was the succubus.
"Me, a succubus? No way..."
Kalt wanted to deny it, but pieces fit.
His hypnosis ability.
Mana total slightly rising after sex.
If succubus blood caused that?
He didn't outright reject—instead, he probed the essence to verify.
"Any other proof I have demon blood? Could just be you reacting to random mana, fooling me."
Hahaha! Still resisting? Fine! I'll make you admit it!
The essence laughed confidently at Kalt.
From what I sense... you're no virgin.
"Yeah."
Ever heard you're way more virile than most? That's succubus blood at work.
"Nah, that's a stretch for proof. I've got stamina—virility comes with it."
Sure! But... hasn't your mana grown after bedding women? That's succubus privilege! Absorbing their essence-spurting pleasure, converting it to mana.
"..."
Silence means I nailed it!
It pinpointed the exact mystery behind Kalt's recent mana gains.
But wait, there's more!
The voice listed succubus descendant traits:
Innate massive endowment; instinctive grasp of pleasure zones during sex; aura drawing out lust; body growing healthier and stronger with absorbed essence—not just mana.
It reeled them off confidently, undeniable.
But.
'Why no mention of hypnosis?'
His strongest trait, arguably.
The voice skipped hypnosis entirely.
Well? Still denying it?
"Can't deny it anymore."
So Kalt tested the voice.
Thought so! Hahaha!
"One question."
Shoot.
"Rumor has it succubi controlled people like minions... Do they have hypnosis or something?"
Huh? Oh, humans think that? Hahaha! Hypnosis? Hilarious!
The voice cackled.
No such thing! We just enslaved them with pleasure and commanded. Humans are a riot—betraying their own for our bliss!
'As I thought.'
Kalt confirmed via the voice: hypnosis was his innate ability, bloodline aside.