No matter what she did, Ran couldn't catch Akashi. Instead, she kept getting smacked around—each slap making her body tingle and shudder involuntarily.
She was exhausted. Too tired to even keep swimming.
Flushed with frustration, Ran bit her lip.
She had never expected Akashi to be so skilled in the water.
Back on land, her mischievous little brother always let her win. He'd act silly, play dumb—harmless and obedient. But here in the ocean? The roles had reversed. Despite all her attempts to go on the offensive, it was Akashi who led the pace and dominated the game.
And no matter what she did, she just couldn't catch him.
Then, an idea sparked in Ran's mind.
She stopped swimming.
Her arms flailed weakly, and her legs kicked aimlessly beneath the surface. The movement was awkward, exaggerated—just like Kiwako Toda's act from before.
She was pretending to drown.
Akashi never imagined that the kind, honest Ran he knew would resort to deception.
Hook, line, and sinker—he panicked.
Lv1's swimming skill: Activated!
Without hesitation, he darted toward her.
But the moment he got close, Ran sprang her trap. She wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly.
The two of them clung to each other, slowly sinking deeper into the water.
At that moment, Akashi's polarizing ability was triggered, unbeknownst to him.
He channeled the light, condensing it into a brilliant glow that pierced through the sea.
Golden rays refracted beautifully through the water, scattering like divine spears of sunlight.
The light filtered through Ran's black hair, casting her little face in a radiant, dreamlike glow.
All around them, coral reefs and colorful fish shimmered like living jewels.
The whole scene felt strangely… romantic.
Akashi's heart skipped a beat. His eyes couldn't help but fall on Ran's slightly parted, pink lips.
But the moment was short-lived.
"Gotcha!"
Flushed with triumph, Ran tightened her grip, her hands pinching Akashi playfully.
This bratty little brother needed to be taught a lesson!
Akashi realized too late—Ran wasn't drowning at all!
He struggled to break free, but Ran moved quickly. She seized his arm and pinned it in front of her chest.
Then—bam!—two long, pale legs wrapped around his neck in a tight scissor hold.
A cross-lock!
Wait—didn't Ran only study karate?
Since when did she learn submission holds from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?!
How the hell was he supposed to break out of a move like this?
Panicking, Akashi rapidly cycled through the combat techniques inherited from Desire Fighting.
[Desire Fighting Lv1: The host gains mastery over various fighting techniques. When using this skill, the host's strikes will carry an inexplicable force. Landing a hit on a woman of the opposite sex can easily render her incapacitated. With accumulated desire energy, a critical strike can lead to a total knockout!]
Wait—he knew!
With a swift strike from his right hand, he activated his trump card:
Grasp of Immortality!
As long as he could seize the opponent's weak point, he could escape any hold!
[Ding! Grasp of Immortality successfully triggered. Congratulations, host! Physique increased by 1 point!]
"!!"
Ran's heartbeat suddenly raced, as if her chest were being compressed.
The next moment—Critical Hit Triggered!
Gulu gulu!
Ran's mouth opened, releasing a flurry of bubbles as her legs lost all strength.
Akashi slipped out of the lock with ease.
But the Grasp of Immortality didn't let go—it retaliated with a few more "Wolf Wolf" attacks before Akashi finally released his hold and swam off like a startled fish.
By the time he surfaced again, Akashi had unknowingly swum past the floating buoy line into the deeper sea.
He was already far from shore.
Unbeknownst to either of them, they had swum far beyond the crowded swimming area. There was no one else in sight.
Off in the distance, a small reef jutted out like a secret sanctuary revealed by the tide, its white sands shimmering faintly.
Ran eventually surfaced as well, her face still red as she weakly clung to the floating buoy line.
Her eyes were misty as she gazed at Akashi's distant figure.
She didn't have the strength to swim anymore and could only rest, hands trembling as they grasped the rope.
Akashi turned to admire the horizon—the sea and sky meeting in a gentle, endless embrace. The image reminded him…
Wait—I haven't checked in with the system here yet!
Lying back on the water, he stared at the sky.
"System, time to work—check-in!"
Click!
The system interface shimmered to life, displaying a snapshot of the sun above the sea. Then the image shattered into fragments of purple light, forming ten treasure chests.
When the Noble Purple Rhythm treasure chest opened, a radiant stream of energy flowed into Akashi's body.
[Ding! Check-in complete. Congratulations! You've obtained:
– Surfing Lv1!
– Retractable Bandage Lv1!]
[Congratulations! Your Retractable Bandage skill has been upgraded to Lv2!]
[Lv2 – Retractable Bandage: Consumes mental power to summon a tough, controllable bandage with a 10-meter range!]
[Lv1 – Surfing: You are now the world's top surfing master. No wave can stop you!]
[You may even summon a wave by consuming mental power! When encountering tide events, special effects will trigger: double your basic speed!]
"This…"
Akashi's expression twisted in complex emotion.
The bandage skill upgrade? Excellent. Super practical.
In combat, escape, even bedroom scenarios—this skill was invaluable.
Now with increased range and toughness? Amazing.
But the Surfing skill?
That one threw him off.
Surfing Master?
He didn't even come to the beach that often! What good was a surfing buff?
And that wave-riding boost—double the speed?
His full-power mode already gave him a 4.2x attack speed bonus. Even Vermouth rolled her eyes at that.
Now with this new boost? He'd be at 5.2x speed!
Terrifying!
Still… why did it feel like this speed buff wasn't going to stop anytime soon?
Akashi rubbed his chin and nodded thoughtfully, completely lost in calculations.
Then—
"Akashi! Akashi!"
Ran's voice cut through the sea breeze.
She splashed at the water, her tiny hand gripping the floating rope with visible effort.
Her head kept dipping below the surface, coughing and choking on mouthfuls of seawater.
Again?!
Her acting was so bad this time.
The rope was right next to her—how could she possibly be drowning?
The same trick won't work twice, Miss Succubus!
But suddenly—
Ran's small hand slipped off the rope.
Her delicate figure sank instantly.
"!!"
Akashi's eyes widened.
His mental attributes were sharp—this time, something really was wrong!
Lv1 Swimming Skill: Activated!
Little Succubus Shota darted toward her like an arrow.
Ran continued sinking, her eyes fluttering shut.
Akashi dove deeper and saw it—under the rope where it was twisted—
A black-and-white sea snake was tangled tightly within.
On its head… were strips of tape shaped like wings.
It was the same snake Harumi Matsuzaki had released earlier.
But now it was trapped here—and Ran had stumbled right into its coil...