The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!

Kanae Toyomi was about to close up the convenience store when a clearly inebriated man in disheveled clothing banged on the door.

”Sorry, we’re closed!” he said.

”Come on, I just want to buy one thing! I’m begging ya!” the man groaned from the other side.

If it weren’t for the fact that Kanae had to go around front to grab his bike, he could have just ignored him. The last thing he wanted was to encounter an irate man outside after refusing to give him service.

”Okay, fine…” Kanae sighed, unlocking the front doors.

”Oh, thank you!” He stumbled his way to the back to grab a pack of beer.

Kanae waited impatiently for him to stagger his way to the front. Instead of bringing a wallet out to pay for his stuff, he stared hard across the counter.

”Hehe… Ain’t you kinda cute? It’s dangerous for a girl like you to be working this late, isn’t it?” the drunkard asked.

”I’m… I’m not a girl,” Kanae glanced off to the side.

”O-Oh, you’re not? You… never mind. Here, keep the change.” He tossed a couple of crumpled bills and hightailed it out of the convenience store.

Kanae went to lock the doors a second time and stared at his reflection from the glass. His shoulder-length, black hair, round eyes, and soft features really did make him effeminate. He sometimes wondered if being born a girl would have been easier.

These looks couldn’t land him a girlfriend throughout high school. The only girl friends he made thought of him like a sister. Worse than being friend-zoned, he was sister-zoned as a boy.

It had all given him a complex that he hid from friends and family, too.

Well, not that they mattered. After moving to a new prefecture and city, he had become an afterthought to them. At least it made pursuing his hobby safer.

Biking through the suburbs to get home, Kanae breathed deeply of the warm summer air. He had to hurry, otherwise his pay might get docked again.

As soon as he entered his sparse apartment a loud and rhythmic banging from the room above drew his attention to the ceiling. The neighbors were at it again.

”It’s midnight, go to sleep already…” Kanae muttered, blushing up to his ears.

The place was nice and tidy just as he left it, though he didn’t own much to clean to begin with. He threw open the closet and was welcomed by the sight of women’s dresses and costumes. This was what he had been waiting all day for, what leftover cash from his full time job after paying rent and bills went into.

Kanae picked out a high school girl’s uniform and stuffed it into his backpack, then went right out again. He rode to a nearby park that was deserted at this time of the night. A loud snore sent a jolt up his spine. It sounded like someone had passed out inside the men’s restroom. Drunks were everywhere this time of the night.

After glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, he darted into the women’s side and changed into the girl’s school uniform. He paraded himself in front of the mirror and marveled at how cute he looked. No one could mistake him for being a boy. With a mask on, even less of a chance to be discovered.

Without wasting any more time, Kanae rode back into the city— but to a much shadier location. The redlight district was buzzing this late. Women were being solicited left and right by men of all ages. He went directly to an adult video and merchandise store, which had women beckoning to potential customers to come inside.

”Hi, Kanae! Back again for another shift?” A young woman in a red dress and caked in make-up waved to him.

Kanae didn’t say a thing. He simply bowed to her and the others before heading in.

”Isn’t it rude that she didn’t greet you back?” a new girl asked.

”Oh, not at all! Kanae’s one of those… you know, a mute. She’s really the cutest thing though, I’d gobble her up if she was a boy,” the woman replied with a giggle.

The manager sat up the moment Kanae entered. There was a surprising amount of people browsing the store. New stock must have come in.

”Ahh! Kanae, thank goodness you’re here. Same place as always please.” The store manager pulled him aside and handed over a stack of yen, then whipped around to a customer fiddling with something in the corner. ”HEY! NO JERKING OFF IN THE STORE!”

Kanae bowed twice even after the manager left to deal with the situation, put on the lanyard and employee tag given to him, and made his way to the hentai section of the store. A few people were already in the aisle, pretending to peruse the massive collection of DVDs. One of them, a regular customer, hollered to him for help.

”K-Kanae, what a surprise, right? I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks. C-Could you help me find something similar to this?” he asked, showing him a hentai that featured molestation on a train.

This was one of the several reasons why Kanae worked here. He got to dress up like a girl and was paid a lot under the table. No one had to know.

The last reason…

As Kanae was looking for similar DVDs for the man, he felt a hand rubbing his back that sent shivers through his body.

”You look really cute today…” the touchy man said, his hot breath tickling the back of Kanae’s neck.

It thrilled him to be lusted after.

Kanae managed to convince the entire store that he was a girl and mute. They asked little questions out of respect. The reason it paid so much was precisely because men were allowed to feel up the female employees here. To an extent at least.

The hand groping him traveled down to his butt, where it gently squeezed a cheek. Other customers in the aisle made it exceedingly obvious they wanted to do the same. He had become somewhat of a celebrity here due to the mute act. To them, he was a quiet beauty to be toyed with.

Sometimes things did get a little too far. The same hand began to move towards his crotch.

”Excuse me, Kanae!” the manager shouted from the counter, spooking the man to stop and move to a different aisle.

Kanae let out a relieved breath. He went over to the manager, who had a strange woman standing next to him.

”This lady here apparently wants a word with you. She seems to be looking for something specific, but is having a hard time describing it. Do your best to help her, okay?” he said.

The woman held up a DVD about otokonokos. Kanae froze up and gasped.

”I would like to find more of this,” she said.

Kanae swallowed his hesitation and guided her to a section of the store that was particularly empty. However, instead of browsing she pulled out what looked like a business card instead.

”If your life is ever in great danger, keep this on you and it may save your life. Say for example, a big semi-truck is about to hit you… or something,” she said.

Written in bold on the top was ’Looking for Heroes!’

When Kanae looked up, the woman was gone. She was just here a moment ago, but vanished the next.

Weird, he thought.

A few hours later, Kanae had finished his short shift and earned three times more in one night than what he earned a week at the convenience store. With all this cash, he could buy new costumes. He rode home on that high, but stopped at the same park’s restroom to change again.

However, as he approached the women’s restroom, someone stumbled out of the men’s and locked eyes with him.

”Hm? Ain’t you the guy from the convenience store? You are, aren’t you! So you really were a girl, you lying minx.” The drunk man from earlier pounced on Kanae, pinning him against the wall.

”Wait! Stop! I’m really not a girl!” he cried.

”As if I can believe that… Hehe… You even changed and came to find me. That interested in some action?”

A thick hand traveled down from his abdomen towards his crotch. The touch set his skin on fire. It felt so good to be touched like that, lusted after. Kanae was even getting an erection from it.

Maybe this was what he wanted all along. Maybe it was finally time to take this to the next step…

”I’m… I’m on my period, so… please, don’t touch down there…” Kanae pleaded.

The man snorted. ”You’re a real kinky one, ain’t ya? Good thing there are other ways to have fun.”

A sound of a zipper pulling down reached Kanae’s ears. Something hard pressed against the space between his buttcheeks. It was the man’s penis, fully erect and rubbing on him.

Kanae pushed back, dry humping it and enjoying the hot sensation.

Suddenly, the sensation left him. He glanced over his shoulder to see the drunk taking a step back and waving the thick penis. The bulbous tip which glistened with precum somehow made his mouth water.

”Get on your knees and use your mouth for me,” the man demanded.

Being commanded turned Kanae on more than he expected. Compelled to obey by both word and temptation, he got down with his mouth open, lips less than an inch away…

The card from earlier slipped out and fell to the ground. Kanae instinctively picked it up, only for the written words to glow to a blinding pitch. The drunk panicked, quickly stuffed his dick away, and made a run for it.

Kanae, however, was swallowed up by a portal beneath his feet.

”Wha— help!”

He landed on his ass in a brightly-lit, gold and ivory room, slightly disoriented. A woman in a sheer white gown sat across the office desk, her porcelain skin and golden hair were glistening under the light. Two pointed ears suggested she was an elf.

”Let’s see… Kanae Toyomi… age 18… sex is male? Not female?” The elf glanced up and nearly fell out of her seat. ”What the— It’s you! Remember me? The one from the porno?”

”You’re…? That’s not important! Where the hell am I?” Kanae asked, glancing around the room in confusion.

He remembered being at a park, then the light cockblocked him….

”Well… I suppose the Supreme One works in mysterious ways. It seems your card activated and sent you here. I’ll be quick: I’m offering you a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to another world. What do you say? You were a nothing in your world, now you have a chance to be someone incredible in the next!” she explained like a snake oil salesman.

”What’s the catch…?” He raised a brow. ”And hold on— isn’t it kind of harsh to call me a nothing?”

”I am Arenade, a demigoddess tasked to find heroes willing to defeat the demon lord in our place. What I can give you is a new appearance, a powerful weapon, and ten free levels right at the start! Now tell me everything you want in detail, and I’ll put this into your character sheet,” Arenade said.

”This feels like a cheap mobile game’s freebies. First of all, I wasn’t that unhappy in my world to want to go to a new one anyway!” He frowned.

”Y-You weren’t? Oh. This is kind of a one-way ticket, so… awkward. You’re here anyway, so how about it? I need to sort this out to answer a crowning later.” She tapped her wrist impatiently even though there was no watch.

”Okay, I’ve had enough. I’m just going to—”

As Kanae got to his feet, a black portal opened up behind Arenade. A small gust sent her papers flying all over the place.

”Ahahaha! I had a feeling the Supreme One started sending his lackeys to hire prospective heroes. Not if I have a say about this, my dear sister!” a haughty voice declared.

A tall man dressed in heavy black robes and feathery mantle, his skin as black as night, and horns protruding from his head, stepped out of the portal.

”Charron! How in the three hells did you even get here! This place is off-limits to demons!” Arenade growled.

”As if I care for your silly corporate-style policies. Restraining orders are such primitive human things.” He waved a dismissive hand.

”W-Who’s that?” Kanae asked, crawling backwards on the floor.

”The current demon lord…” She sighed.

”The demon lord is your brother?!”

”Ahem. I am the older brother,” the demon corrected him.

The two of them bickered back and forth until Arenade had enough and summoned a golden trident to brandish at him.

”Oh, please. I’m not here to fight,” Charron said.

”Then what are you here for?” his sister asked, keeping the weapon trained on him.

”To sabotage your plans of sending a hero against me, of course!” The demon lord pointed at Kanae and smiled. He snapped his fingers, causing obsidian chains to immobilize Arenade, then seized the opportunity to write into the papers on her desk himself. ”Let’s see… Ah. Let’s start you off at level 1. You’ll have no skills, no weapons, and no starting wealth because that’s cheating. Your race? I know just the thing.”

Charron used Arenade’s own hand to sign off the papers, causing them to combust with golden fire.

”Oh… Oh, no…” Arenade uttered.

”What happened? Hold on— I never wanted to do this hero business from the start!” Kanae yelled as another portal opened up at his feet.

The demon lord’s bellowing laughter was the last thing Kanae heard as another portal swallowed them all in darkness.

”Ow… My head…”

Kanae awakened in a dark and damp cavern, his face pressed to the cold ground. The only light around was from dim glowing moss and crystals clinging to the ceiling. Strange noises from unknown creatures darted from stalactite to stalactite. This was definitely not the Japan he knew.

As he got to his feet, something about his body felt heavier. That was when he realized— he couldn’t see his feet. Two mounds of fat were blocking his view. Upon grabbing them, he winced as a strange pleasure crept up his spine.

”B-Boobs? Oh, no… That whole meeting actually happened…” Kanae recalled what the demon lord was muttering about when filling in his character sheet.

A pink, heart-shaped tattoo formed on his wrist, like it was etched into his skin. Brushing a hand over it made the ink light up and a game interface pop up.

Kanae Toyomi Lvl. 1

Race:

Demon

STR

D

Subrace:

Succubus

DEX

B

Class:

Seductress

INT

A

Skills

Equipment

Drain

”You’ve got to be kidding me! Was I really turned into a succubus?!” Kanae shouted in disbelief, his echo returning as if to answer the question.

When he hovered over his only skill, a tooltip came up.

[Drain: Passively gain experience, health, and stamina by engaging in sexual encounters.]

”This… This has to be a joke… I have to be able to level up by killing things, too, right…?”

Glancing into a shallow pool of water nearby revealed the reflection of a very pretty woman. Although the features appeared much softer, it was clearly his face. The horns on his head, wings on his back, and tail swinging between his legs were further proof of his physical transformation.

The school girl uniform had been replaced by a black outfit that looked like lingerie that showed so much skin. Even the leggings were almost see-through.

Then the moment of truth. Kanae peeled back the fabric covering his crotch. A pink nub and slit greeted him instead of his penis.

”Guh… This is the worst…”

It was official.

Kanae had turned into a succubus.