Succubus World - Start with Incubus System

”You’re lucky.”

Carmilla lifted her head to look at Meira, and tension immediately rose in her heart.

Elowen was, after all, Meira’s only daughter. Just now, Carmilla had not only grabbed the corner of Erik’s coat in front of everyone but had also had him take the initiative to hold her hand and gently reassure her.

If Meira viewed that action as a provocation, the whole matter could become more troublesome than she imagined.

But Meira wasn’t angry.

She only looked at the hand Carmilla was still holding in front of her chest, a very faint trace of jealousy flickering through her green eyes.

”Erik accepted the apology, and even stopped the bodyguard for your sake.” Meira gently patted Carmilla’s shoulder, her voice calm but carrying a hard-to-conceal bit of dissatisfaction. ”Not everyone gets the chance to be treated so gently by him.”

Carmilla pressed her lips together and quietly explained:

”I didn’t mean to grab his coat.”

”I know.”

Meira had observed the entire process. She could tell Carmilla had truly lost control when Erik was preparing to leave, not deliberately taken advantage of the opportunity to get close to him.

Meira’s gaze rested on the red mark that hadn’t completely faded on Carmilla’s forehead, then shifted to her extremely unstable Silver-grade aura.

As a high-level Healer, Meira only needed a glance to guess just how bad Carmilla’s condition was.

”How long have you been enduring it?”

Carmilla was silent for a while before answering:

”Since after I gave birth to Nathan.”

Meira knitted her brows.

”Nathan is twenty-five years old.”

”That’s right.” Carmilla looked down at the hand Erik had just held, her voice growing even smaller. ”Nearly twenty-five years.”

Even Meira didn’t know what to say for a moment.

For a Succubus who had signed a formal Contract yet had to endure the hunger for nearly twenty-five years, being able to keep her sanity until now was already something almost unimaginable.

Carmilla had had to burn away her level from Diamond down to Silver. That price was enough to destroy the entire future of an Awakened.

Meira sighed.

”You should leave Naron.”

”A formal Contract isn’t easy for a Succubus to break.”

”Not easy doesn’t mean impossible.”

”I still have Nathan.”

At the mention of her son, exhaustion immediately appeared in Carmilla’s eyes.

Even though Nathan had become the kind of person even she could no longer keep covering for, he was still the only child she had given birth to.

Meira didn’t offer any further advice. This was Carmilla’s life, not something she could decide on her behalf.

She only gently squeezed Carmilla’s shoulder one more time, then turned and walked away.

But when she recalled the scene of Erik holding Carmilla’s hand and using his other hand to gently pat the back of hers, Meira’s heartbeat quickened without her realizing.

The full chest beneath the white dress rose gently. She placed one hand on her chest and drew in a few deep breaths before reluctantly suppressing the heat rising in her body.

Carmilla really was very lucky.

Meira had watched Erik in the video many times, but even now she still hadn’t been treated so gently by him of his own accord.

”After he returns...”

Meira muttered in a low voice.

She absolutely had to have Elowen persuade Erik to move to the estate.

By then, the chances of coming into contact with him would be greater.

The moment Meira sat down in the magic car waiting outside the Teleportation Center, her phone immediately vibrated.

A new message appeared in the secret group chat of the powerful, noble madams.

The sender had no name, and the profile picture was just a black screen.

[Anonymous user: Trial Room number 07.]

Below was a link.

Meira knitted her brows.

Trial Room number 07 was exactly where Erik and Elowen had just entered.

All of the Trial Spaces managed by the Teleportation Center were fitted with observation crystals. Those devices were used to record the trial process, evaluate the results, and provide rescue information in the event of an accident.

However, only high-ranking staff of the Center were authorized to access the image feed.

The link before her clearly wasn’t an official channel.

Meira hesitated for a few seconds but still tapped it.

A live-streaming screen immediately appeared.

Inside, Erik and Elowen were standing in a gloomy stone room. The angle was so clear that every tiny change on the two of their faces could be seen.

The corner of Meira’s mouth slowly curled up.

At the same time, the other powerful madams who had just left the Center also received the link.

The one sitting in a car immediately told the driver to slow down.

The one who had meant to go to her trading guild to handle business suddenly changed her schedule and returned to her estate.

One madam even directly closed the door of her lounge and drew the curtains before opening the livestream.

No one asked where the anonymous account had gotten the link from.

Nor did anyone actively exit.

...

Somewhere else in the city.

A room with no windows was steeped in darkness.

Dozens of computer monitors along with magic crystals were packed across the walls. Lines of characters rapidly scrolled past, reflecting a blue light onto the figure sitting before the control console.

That woman’s face couldn’t be seen clearly.

All that could be seen were her long, slender fingers ceaselessly tapping on the keyboard.

One screen displayed the image of Erik and Elowen inside the Trial Space.

Another screen displayed the list of madams accessing the secret link.

Beside it were also a great many folders labeled with strange names.

[The moment a powerful woman blushes.]

[A cold madam loses her composure.]

[A lie betrayed by an expression.]

[A noble person when they don’t know they’re being watched.]

The woman in the darkness had an extremely strange hobby.

The higher a person’s status, the more cold and noble they usually were, the more excited she felt at seeing them lose their image.

Right now, just one man had made dozens of powerful madams sit before their screens, none willing to look away.

The lips hidden in the darkness slowly curled up.

”Scenery this beautiful, it’d be too much of a waste for me to enjoy it alone.”

...

At the same time, the blue-silver light in the Trial Space slowly dissipated.

Erik’s feet touched down on the stone floor.

He immediately steadied himself while gripping Elowen’s hand tight.

”Are you alright?”

The moment Elowen stabilized her body, she turned to inspect him from head to toe.

”I’m fine. What about you?”

”I’m fine too.”

Elowen still wasn’t at ease. She felt his shoulders, checked both his arms, then bent down to look at his legs, as if worried the teleportation process might have made some part of Erik’s body go missing.

He helplessly took hold of her wrist.

”I’m still in one piece.”

”This is your first time entering a Trial Space.” Elowen said seriously. ”Being careful is always better.”

Erik didn’t stop her any further.

He began to observe the surroundings.

The two of them were standing in a stone room about twenty square meters in size. On the walls were magic lamps giving off a faint blue light, and the air carried a smell of mildew along with dust accumulated over a long time.

Ahead there was only a dark corridor.

A blue notification panel slowly appeared.

[Welcome to the Trial Space.]

[Name: Dungeon of Echoes.]

[Starting difficulty: Normal.]

[Number of floors: 10.]

[The level of danger will gradually increase with each floor.]

[Main mission: Advance to the tenth floor and receive a complete Awakening Fruit.]

[Special rule: After each floor is conquered, the Awakening Fruit will absorb the Dungeon’s energy and continue to grow.]

[Participants may actively end the trial at the end of each floor and receive the Awakening Fruit in its current state.]

[The higher the number of floors cleared, the more complete the Awakening Fruit. The Heaven Gate that is opened will be all the stronger.]

[Reminder: Death in the Trial Space is real death.]

Erik read through all the information and slowly nodded.

Just by clearing the first floor, he would already be able to receive an Awakening Fruit and open the Heaven Gate.

But the Heaven Gate formed that way would surely be very weak.

To have a better foundation, he had to keep going down to deeper floors.

At that very moment, Erik’s own System panel appeared.

[Connected Succubus detected: Elowen.]

[Primordial Bestowal can now be activated.]

[Do you wish to use it?]

[Yes/No.]

Erik looked at the notification for a few seconds, then chose:

[No.]

He still hadn’t opened the Heaven Gate.

If Elowen suddenly awakened a high-rank power right now, it would be very hard to explain.

Erik intended to wait until the Heaven Gate was opened. By then, the first resonance between an Awakened and a Succubus who had signed a formal Contract could completely serve as the reason for the transformation on Elowen’s body.

That way it would be both natural and reduce unnecessary suspicion.

[Primordial Bestowal remains reserved.]

Erik closed the notification panel.

When he turned back, he saw that Elowen had taken the long silvery-white bow down from her back.

The body of the bow was almost as tall as she was, made from a kind of white wood with faint blue magic runes slowly circulating along it.

Elowen gave the bowstring a test pull. An arrow of wind immediately condensed between her fingers.

”You go behind me.”

Erik knitted his brows slightly.

”I can protect myself.”

”You still haven’t opened the Heaven Gate.”

”But my physique isn’t weak.”

”You have no real combat experience.”

”I have equipment.”

”Equipment can’t replace experience.”

Erik was about to argue further, but Elowen had already stepped in front of him and earnestly grabbed both his arms.

”Do you know how I’d feel if you got hurt? I’ve waited far too long for someone who could sign a formal Contract with me. I don’t want to have just found you only to watch you fall into danger.”

Her voice was gentle, but her attitude was so firm that Erik understood arguing any further would be of no use.

He sighed.

”Alright. You go first.”

Elowen’s eyes immediately lit up.

”You can’t move more than two meters away from me, can’t rush at monsters on your own, and if anything happens you have to call me immediately.”

”Elowen.”

”What is it?”

”I only agreed to let you go in front.”

”That’s enough.”

Elowen happily turned around and stepped into the corridor with bow in hand.

The first floor had Black-Armored Rats of the Black Iron grade.

At first Elowen still wanted to test her own skill. Arrows of wind continuously pierced through the monsters’ eyes and necks, and nearly every time the bowstring twanged, a body would fall.

But by the time they reached the room at the end of the floor, the number of monsters had exceeded fifty.

Elowen didn’t keep wasting mana.

She took an Elite-grade Detonation Bead from Erik’s space bracelet, threw it into the middle of the monster pack, then pulled him back behind a stone wall.

A Defensive Talisman was activated.

The moment the pale yellow light enveloped the two of them, the explosion erupted.

BOOM!

The entire room shook violently.

The Dungeon’s reinforcement barrier lit up on the walls and ceiling, keeping the structure from collapsing. But the monsters inside weren’t so fortunate.

When the light dissipated, all that remained were black scorch marks on the stone floor.

Erik looked at the scene before him, silent for a few seconds.

”One bead was already enough?”

Elowen nodded gently.

”This is only the first floor.”

[Congratulations on clearing the first floor.]

[Awakening Fruit completeness: 10%.]

The second floor had more powerful monsters, but the result wasn’t too different.

Elowen used the bow to eliminate the ones that came alone, then gathered the monster pack into the spacious room at the end of the floor and threw another Detonation Bead.

Another explosion rang out.

[Congratulations on clearing the second floor.]

[Awakening Fruit completeness: 20%.]

From the third floor, Elowen no longer intended to let Erik stand outside the protective zone.

She activated a Defensive Talisman for both of them, then again used a Detonation Bead to deal with most of the monsters.

Erik was in charge of finding a suitable position, using the glasses to observe the passages and helping Elowen confirm that the monster pack had gathered fully before detonating.

The third floor took two beads.

The fourth floor took three, because an additional Bronze-grade boss monster appeared.

But before the power of the Elite-grade Detonation Beads, the gap between Black Iron, Bronze, or Iron didn’t hold too much meaning.

By the time the Awakening Fruit reached forty percent completeness, Erik finally truly understood what Elowen had said the day before.

These items didn’t just make him safer.

They were turning a low-level Trial Space into a sightseeing tour with slightly large explosions.

However, continuously luring the monsters, checking the terrain, and moving to avoid the blast radius still consumed no small amount of the two of their stamina.

After clearing the fourth floor, Erik stood before the stone door leading down to the next floor, one hand holding his sword, his gaze still warily observing the corridor behind them.

A thin layer of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

His black hair was slightly damp, a few strands hanging down over his forehead. The combat shirt underneath clung to his firm chest along with his broad shoulders, making the balanced muscle lines even more defined.

Elowen stepped over and gently wiped the sweat off him with a cloth.

”Are you tired?”

”Just a little hot.”

Erik took the cloth, but instead of wiping himself, he reached out and wiped a streak of black dust off her cheek.

”You’re dirty too.”

Elowen was slightly stunned. A faint flush of red quickly appeared on her face.

”It’s just a little dust.”

”I know.”

Erik still carefully wiped her clean.

Afterward, he handed the water to Elowen first, and only took it back after she had finished drinking.

Outside the Trial Space, the secret group chat immediately grew lively.

[Madam Lilith: I’m starting to understand why Elowen doesn’t want to leave him.]

[Madam Ravia: You’re only just starting to understand?]

[The Sleepless Madam: Did anyone notice the sweat on his neck?]

[Madam Ysera: Yes. I zoomed in on the image.]

[Madam Lilith: That shirt is clinging far too tightly.]

[Madam Ravia: Do those shoulders really belong to a man?]

Meira looked at the image of Erik tilting his head back slightly to drink water.

A bead of sweat slid down from his temple to his jawline, then slowly disappeared behind the black collar.

The hand holding her phone unconsciously gripped tighter.

But what made Meira unable to look away wasn’t only his body.

After drinking, Erik didn’t immediately sit down to rest. He checked all the passages around them, and only after confirming there were no surviving monsters left did he return to Elowen’s side.

A man sweating in battle was already rare enough to see.

A man who was tired yet still stood watch so his Succubus could rest made those madams even less able to keep their composure.

[The Sleepless Madam: He’s standing guard for her.]

[Madam Ravia: He’s that tired himself, yet still lets Elowen drink water first.]

[Madam Ysera: I want that man.]

[Meira: It’s not your turn.]

[Madam Lilith: It’s not your turn either.]

Meira looked at that last message, her face immediately going cold.

In the live feed, Erik had already put away the water bottle, then reached his hand toward Elowen.

”Let’s go.”

Elowen placed her hand in his and let Erik pull her to her feet.

The two of them looked together at the door leading down to the fifth floor.

The moment the door opened, the glasses over Erik’s eyes continuously issued warnings.

[Large number of heat sources detected.]

[Terrain ahead: Narrow corridors, many branching paths.]

[Total targets detected: 126.]

Elowen looked at the corridors ahead that were only about three meters wide, her expression gradually turning serious.

”It seems this floor can no longer be dealt with using a few simple explosions.”

Erik drew his short sword.

”So I’m finally allowed to fight?”

Elowen immediately turned to look at him.

”Don’t get happy too soon.”

At the end of the corridor, dozens of red eyes opened at the same time.