Incubus Ascension-Chapter 43

Liam stood outside Beatrix’s office, staring at the glowing system screen floating in front of him.

He blinked a couple of times, trying to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

One thousand SP. A whole thousand skill points.

He let out a low whistle and couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face.

Man, this is huge, he thought. Time to check the skills shop and finally grab something useful.

He swiped open the menu right there in the hallway. The list popped up, scrolling past all kinds of abilities.

But then Elena’s task popped into his head, the one about tracking down demons.

He needed something that would actually help him locate them, not just some random power boost.

So he kept scrolling, eyes flicking over the names until one caught his attention.

Demon Expansion.

The description was simple: it let the user pinpoint the exact location of any demon within a hundred meters.

Price was only twenty SP.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "That’s cheap as hell," he muttered to himself, and tapped the buy button without a second thought.

The points deducted instantly, and he felt a small buzz in his head as the skill settled in.

Before he could even close the menu, Pyra and Beatrix grabbed his arms from both sides and started pulling him down the corridor.

"Come on, let’s go to the cafeteria," Beatrix said, already steering him along.

They didn’t give him much choice, so Liam just laughed and let them drag him.

A few minutes later they were sitting at one of the long tables, trays of food in front of them.

The cafeteria was noisy with students chatting and forks clinking.

Liam took a bite of his rice, chewing slowly, when his eyes landed on Teacher Simon walking past their table.

The man gave a quick nod and kept going.

Liam paused mid-chew. Why not test the new skill right now? he thought.

Might as well see if it actually works.

He focused on Simon and activated Demon Expansion.

A small radar overlay appeared in his vision, locking onto the teacher’s face in bright red.

A notification flashed across the screen.

Alert: Mid-class demon. Type: Mimicker.

Liam’s heart slammed against his ribs so hard he almost dropped his spoon.

Teacher Simon? The one who taught combat basics? He was a demon the whole time?

Then he shook his head, No. He must never attended ark academy in first place.

And just sent a demon as his replacement. Beatrix was right, that guy is really a smart manipulator.

Liam glanced sideways at Pyra and Beatrix, both of them happily eating and laughing about something from class.

Should I tell them? he wondered. Right here, right now?

He shook his head once, sharp. No. Way too dangerous.

If he blurted it out, who knew what could happen? Especially with Beatrix reaction.

He forced himself to keep eating, acting normal, but the thought kept circling in his head like a fly he couldn’t swat.

The rest of the day dragged on. They headed to class together, sat through the lecture.

And Liam didn’t say a word about Simon to anyone.

When the bell rang and class finally ended, he still hadn’t told a soul.

He walked out of the academy gates with that same thought looping over and over: Simon is a demon. Simon is a demon.

Beatrix suddenly tugged his arm, yanking him out of the spiral.

She held up the small red jewel between her fingers and dangled it in front of his face.

"Don’t you remember?" she said. "You told me you’d show me how to absorb it."

Liam blinked, then gave a quick nod. "Oh right! Let’s go."

They headed straight to her house. Once they stepped into her bedroom, Liam picked up the red stone again and held it out.

"Okay, the way to absorb the mana inside this thing depends on this key position,"

he explained. "You need to put your hands on your knees and bend your back forward."

Beatrix stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," he said, keeping his face straight.

She let out a long sigh but dropped into the pose anyway, hands on her knees, back curved.

"Bend more," Liam told her. "Until your back is fully bent."

Another sigh, but she did it, leaning farther forward.

Liam stepped around behind her and placed his hands gently on her waist to keep her steady.

As he got into position, his eyes flicked down for a split second and landed on the curve of her huge.

A perking ass right in front of him. He swallowed hard, heat rushing to his face.

Beatrix’s voice broke the moment. "Did you finish?"

Liam snapped back to focus. "Oh, yeah, sorry."

He lifted the red jewel and pressed it carefully against the middle of her back.

Keeping one hand on her waist, he started pulling the mana out of the stone and into himself first.

Then slowly guiding it down his arms and out through his palms into her.

The spot where his hands touched her skin began to glow with a warm red light.

Beatrix straightened up a little. "I feel something hot inside me," she said, surprised.

"This is it!" Liam said quickly. "Don’t move at all or the mana could go wild and hurt you."

She gave a small nod and stayed perfectly still.

Liam kept going, using his own body as the bridge.

Bit by bit the stone shrank, getting smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared completely.

Beatrix’s skin was hot and slick with sweat by the time it was over.

She straightened up slowly, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

"I feel kind of weak," she said. Then she looked at him. "Why did it have to be in that position?"

"It’s the best way so you don’t get hurt," Liam answered.

She sighed again, but this time she smiled a little. "Thanks, Liam."

She lifted her arm and sniffed near her armpit, wrinkling her nose. "Ugh, I’m smelly. I need to take a shower."

Liam nodded. "I’ll head out then."

He stepped out of her house and started walking toward Olivia’s place.

The whole way there, one thought kept nagging at him:

Olivia was his official girlfriend, and he had been neglecting her a lot lately. It didn’t feel right.

When he reached her front door he knocked twice.

Olivia pulled it open and stood in the doorway, one hand planted on her hip, glaring at him.

"Just now you remembered I existed?" she said.

Liam rubbed the back of his neck, feeling guilty. "I’m sorry."

She sighed, but her glare softened a bit. "Don’t give me those puppy eyes of yours."

Liam smiled sheepishly. "Then how about we go on a date alone? There’s a festival downtown."

Olivia paused. She thought for a second about the new dress she had seen online and figured this would be the perfect chance to wear it.

"Alright," she said. "We can go tomorrow."

Liam grinned and pulled her into a hug. "This is a promise."

She wrapped her arm around his and held on tight.

"You can’t leave now. You need to stay with me and have dinner."

Liam nodded. "Yeah, okay."

They spent the rest of the evening together, sitting on the couch watching anime.