Chapter 118. Survival Exam (11)
I slowly touched Elise's back with my finger.
The soft skin met my fingertip. Her back, as clean as a blank canvas, had not a single blemish.
She really had a heroine's body. If her back was this beautiful, how stunning must her front be?
I gently caressed her back and then kneaded her side with my hand.
Elise's body flinched from tension. Of course, she seemed flustered by a man's touch for the first time.
I stopped the manual massage and channeled mana to my fingertips.
I began stimulating each mana circuit on her back one by one.
Since it was on bare skin, I had to be more delicate and make it seem more effective.
That's why I injected mana directly into each visible mana circuit to expand them.
"Nngh..."
Elise buried her face in her cadet uniform and suppressed a moan.
Whether it was from embarrassment or pain, I wasn't sure—but it was kind of cute.
Elise had a well-developed body, as expected of someone with top-level swordsmanship skills.
Her figure had curves in all the right places.
I finished with her back. Since I couldn't touch her chest or hips, I worked on her sides.
"Haaah…!"
As I touched her slim waist, I injected more mana.
"How is it? Do you feel anything?"
"...Yeah. It feels... mmmph."
What I realized while injecting mana directly into her body was that Elise had very low mana sensitivity.
Likely due to her congenital mana disorder, she couldn't sense the internal flow of mana very well.
Case in point—I was gradually guiding mana toward her crotch while touching her sides, and she hadn't noticed at all.
"Hnnng…"
Elise buried her face deeper in her cadet uniform, holding back moans.
She must be embarrassed to be feeling good from a man's touch.
★ Heroine Status Window
[Elise]
- [Affection: 40]
- [Lust: 62]
- [Appetite: 20]
- [Fatigue: 51]
Current Status: This feels weird… ugh…!
Okay. She hasn't noticed my trick at all.
But I can't make it too obvious from the start.
This won't be a one-time thing anyway.
After stimulating all the mana circuits on her back once, I injected some more mana.
Roughly twice the amount I used when I touched her shoulder.
'This much should definitely be satisfying.'
From Elise's perspective, her body must feel full of mana.
This mana was on a whole other level from what you'd get from mana stones.
"Elise, I'm done."
"Haa... Hoo... Thanks. It really feels full."
Elise's body was lightly covered in sweat.
Her breathing was slightly heated—definitely a sign she felt pleasure.
Not that she could doubt me even if she looked.
I was sweating buckets too.
Stimulating each mana circuit one by one wasn't easy for me either.
"Whew. That's a relief."
I stepped out of the tent, washed the sweat off my face, and used Clean to freshen up.
The sticky feeling definitely faded.
I heard some rustling inside the tent, and Elise came out.
"Thanks. Really... my body feels lighter."
"Yeah? That's good."
It was probably just a feeling though…
Ding—
My smart watch pinged an alert signaling the start of Day 4 at midnight.
I checked the remaining number of cadets.
"110 people..."
The cadet count was barely going down.
At this rate, we might not even drop below 100 tomorrow.
In the original story, by Day 4 there should be around 70 left.
And fewer than 50 by Day 5.
I checked the point ranking to verify my score.
-----------------------
Current island point rankings:
1. Nam Daeun – 1,210p
2. Lee Hoyeon – 380p
3. Elise – 354p
4. Kim Younghan – 290p
.
.
.
-----------------------
The point rankings hadn't changed.
I had no clue what she was doing to rack up 1,210 points.
At that rate, she'd have to be hunting monsters all day nonstop without holding back... but why?
Sure, she revealed all her hidden strength in the practical test finals in the original—but that's not a reason to go this hard.
'The original story's definitely diverging. What exactly is the issue?'
I was also worried about Kim Younghan rapidly closing in beneath me.
It made sense he was a little behind since Elise and I were splitting points, but his growth rate was faster than mine.
"I don't know... I'll think about it again tomorrow."
It's not like I had to come in first.
But I had to make sure Elise did.
In the original, Elise was first in the written test.
Nam Daeun took first in the practical.
Lee Hoyeon took first in the special test.
That spread the attention around evenly.
But I'd already gotten plenty of attention, and I'm the written test winner this time.
Nam Daeun's clearly the top for the practical test.
So I should make Elise the winner of the special test.
"I'll take first watch."
Elise volunteered to take the first shift with confidence.
"Alright. You gonna wake me in three hours?"
"No, I'll wake you when the mana runs out. I want to test how long it lasts."
"Hmm, it should last a while. Got it."
I injected twice the usual amount, which normally lasted 3–4 hours, so it should go 6–8 hours easy.
If she's willing to stay up that long, I'm all for it.
I crawled into the tent and lay down to sleep.
I used so much mana that I quickly drifted off.
*
"...Yes. 10,000 won donation. Thank you!"
- Sis, why do you sound so tired?
- Unnie, I love you. You're so pretty. You're a third-year, right? I saw someone with the same body as you today. LOL
- Your reactions aren't the same lately and your streams are shorter. What's up?
"I'm not feeling well. Sorry."
Liliana ended her stream quickly again today.
Even though there was nothing to do after ending it, her mood just wouldn't lift.
Of course, she knew exactly why.
"Huuu..."
On the bed lay Lee Hoyeon's underwear and clothes, scattered about.
Four days had passed, and the scent was beginning to fade.
Liliana hugged the clothes tightly to preserve the smell.
"Master... haa."
She put one of Lee Hoyeon's garments in her mouth and brought her fingers to her pussy.
She never thought being alone would be this hard.
Her mom had always said succubi can't live alone—and now those words struck deep.
If she had never known it, fine. But once she experienced a man's warmth, there was no going back.
Liliana's tail slipped into her pussy while her fingers teased her clit.
"Hnnngh... it's not enough... aah..."
But it couldn't fill her up like Lee Hoyeon's dick, nor was it as hard.
And using sex toys like a dildo felt like betraying her master, so she didn't want to buy one.
"Why aren't you coming back... you crazy master..."
Liliana clung to his clothes and buried her face in them.
*
Chirp chirp. Chirp chirp.
The sound of birds outside stirred me awake.
"Haaah... What time is it?"
I didn't remember taking watch, but the sun was already up.
My smart watch showed it was 7 AM.
Since I checked the remaining cadet count around midnight and went to bed, Elise had stood watch for nearly 7 hours alone.
'She didn't fall asleep, did she?'
I got dressed and stepped outside.
Elise was moving her body in front of the river.
Swoosh—
She slashed her mana-filled sword downward and then stepped back to cast a spell.
Boom!
The mana sphere from her hand burst in the river, sending up a huge splash.
"Haa... Haa...!"
Elise's expression, panting heavily, looked radiant.
★ Heroine Status Window
[Elise]
- [Affection: 42]
- [Lust: 51]
- [Appetite: 40]
- [Fatigue: 68]
Current Status: Feels amazing...! My body feels like it's flying!
'Uh...'
Why does she look so energetic?
Only then did Elise notice my gaze and trot over.
"Lee Hoyeon... thanks. I can definitely feel my body moving faster."
"You felt the effect?"
"Yeah. Totally."
Elise smiled with conviction—she looked truly beautiful.
But...
"R-right? That's great."
'That's probably just placebo...'
Since I knew the truth, I kept quiet.
"By the way, didn't you skip sleep? You should get some now."
Elise's fatigue level was quite high. Staying up all night and still only that fatigued was impressive.
"I'm fine. I feel so good right now I don't even want to sleep."
"Ah..."
She must still be hyped from a sensation she's never felt before.
'Wait, what if it's not placebo?'
Maybe stimulating her mana circuits did have a short-term effect.
My mana massage forcibly expands Elise's mana circuits, even if just briefly.
Mana circuits don't permanently expand just by forcing them.
So they shrink back quickly—but for a short time, they do expand.
For someone with a congenital mana disorder like Elise, even a momentary expansion would feel like her body's refreshed.
"So... could you massage me again? My mana's all gone."
In the end, if she wants to feel that sensation again, she has to come to me.
'This is so damn good.'
The effect was unexpectedly strong, creating a virtuous cycle I hadn't imagined.
Of course, that cycle was my goal—but I didn't expect it to happen this fast.
If Elise keeps coming to me like this, I might be able to get something big out of it later.
"Then, want to head into the tent?"
"Yeah."
Elise, eager for another massage, stripped off her cadet uniform and stepped into the tent.
I followed right after her.
"Nngh..."
Seeing Elise's snowy-white back, I began the massage the same way as yesterday.
Since I'd just woken up in top condition, it was easier than yesterday—and I'd gotten used to it too.
"Mmmh..."
Elise again buried her face in her cadet uniform and held back her moans.
'So cute...'
This time, I worked even more skillfully.
I stimulated only the mana circuits on her back, carefully avoiding those in her arms, legs, chest, and stomach.
That way, she'd crave a massage on those areas too.
Of course, I didn't forget to stimulate around her crotch. Planting pleasure was important too.
Watching Elise's back twitch, I figured it wouldn't be long before she'd be asking for a full-body, naked massage.