Caleb's mind raced, searching for a plausible explanation.
He deliberately put on a sheepish, stuttering smile. "Actually… I think I have a Succubus Bloodline."
The three girls exchanged surprised glances, then motioned for Caleb to continue.
As expected, he thought. They were all not only virgins but also aware of the supernatural 'underworld' and were students of its hidden faction. This explained why the blond devil was their subordinate.
Caleb put his Eye of Insight to practical use, discreetly activating it to observe his surroundings while formulating a more believable story.
Hmm? What are those blue things?
Using the Eye of Insight at full power, Caleb unexpectedly noticed a blue energy constantly flowing within the bodies of the three girls.
This wasn't the time for curiosity. After a slight pause, he spoke with a serious expression. "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to control myself and might accidentally drain a girl dry… That's why I've consistently refused everyone's confessions."
Caleb then lowered his head, acting shy.
"After you forced me yesterday, I realized that didn't happen, so... Hehehe."
"So, when faced with three pretty, cute, and well-endowed classmates, you exposed your true nature, huh?" Ruri Kurumizaka teased, giving "little Caleb" a mischievous squeeze.
Reina Hamada added, "Not only did nothing bad happen, but because of the Succubus bloodline, you got stronger with every round, and your body became much more robust."
"That makes sense. Succubi can increase their power through intercourse. Also, sex is like food to a Succubus; constantly abstaining is like starving, which would definitely leave you frail."
"Even a Half-Devil's physical constitution is much stronger than a human's," Yukina Sasakimused thoughtfully. "You've probably just eaten your fill and restored your original physical potential."
Caleb hadn't said much, but Reina and the girls had filled in the blanks themselves, creating a perfectly logical explanation. They became even more convinced that Caleb's sudden change was due to the activation of a Succubus bloodline.
This was exactly Caleb's goal. Compared to an explanation given by someone else, most people tend to favor the "truth" they deduce themselves.
Having successfully misled them, Caleb quickly found an excuse to leave alone.
"I'm home."
Returning to the Takamine family residence, Caleb habitually called out, but no one answered. Today was Wednesday. The Takamine mother and daughter were at work and school, respectively. As for himself… he was definitely skipping class today.
It was the perfect time to test his newly acquired talents and skills while the house was empty.
Going into the yard, Caleb first activated his Eye of Insight to confirm he was alone, then picked up an iron pipe he found in the storage room.
One-third strength, half-strength, three-quarters strength…
Before he even used his full strength, the three-centimeter-thick solid steel pipe began to bend and deform.
Next, he tested his speed and recovery rate. At full speed, he ran 100 meters in under seven seconds.
As for his recovery rate… Caleb wasn't into self-mutilation, so he kept the test simple. A mere scratch healed instantly, leaving no mark behind.
The talent was powerful but had a drawback: it consumed a lot of energy. After a few tests, Caleb's recently full stomach was empty again.
After replenishing his energy, Caleb tried to explore his Mental Resistance talent. However, after extensive effort, he couldn't find anything special.
[Mental Resistance: Immunizes against or reduces the influence of mental-based abilities.]
"Is this just a purely passive ability?"
Talents always had shades of passive abilities. Physical Vitality permanently enhanced his physical constitution. Eye of Insight permanently improved his vision, not only curing his nearsightedness but ensuring he'd never worry about it again.
If Mental Resistance was truly as he suspected, it was a permanent boost to his mental defense. Enhanced defense is still enhancement! In any world, mental-type talents are rare and precious. And a purely passive talent meant he didn't have to waste time figuring out how to use it.
Caleb looked at the talent description, his emotions mixed. He hadn't expected Ruri Kurumizaka to contribute a minor divine skill.
With the talent tests complete, Caleb calmed himself and tried to utilize his single skill: Basic Mana Extraction.
The moment the Basic Mana Extraction skill activated, Caleb had an intuitive understanding of what to do.
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused on meditation. His spirit sensed the floating elemental particles in the air, and he guided these pale-blue specks of light into his body.
The specks slowly surrounded Caleb, merging into his body from all directions. When the small lights converged into a stream inside him, the first trace of magic power was successfully born.
Afterward, he used his mental focus to guide the magic power to circulate within his body. With every small cycle, the magic power grew slightly stronger.
After diligently cultivating for over an hour, his legs were numb, and the magic power inside Caleb was finally about the thickness of his pinky finger.
He stopped and stood up.
"…"
Caleb: (Ponders with hand on chin).
Feeling the weak magic power inside him, Caleb decided to stick to 'cultivating' with girls.
Sitting in meditation for so long hadn't increased his power as much as a single round of sex.
So, the blue energy flowing inside Yukina and the others was Magic Power... It doesn't look like they have much more than I do. Caleb was puzzled for a moment but quickly realized why. The three girls were freshmen at Kuoh Academy. They had probably only been practicing Mana Extraction for about a month themselves.
"The Eye of Insight can detect magic power—that's a bit troublesome."
Caleb frowned. "I wonder if I can use the 'Bloodline Awakening' story to explain the natural creation of magic power."
In the end, for the sake of safety, he dissipated the magic power that had just formed in his body. His efforts over the past hour had been wasted.
Before dissipating it, he tried using it and found that magic power amplified both his Physical Vitality and Eye of Insight talents. No wonder Yukina and Reina seemed stronger and more relaxed when using their abilities than he did.
Although he lacked the amplification, he figured he had enough power to deal with the blond devil. Caleb thought to himself, the blond, as a subordinate, couldn't possibly be much stronger than their "boss," Reina Hamada.
On the other side, the three girls were currently overjoyed.
Reina's eyebrow twitched with excitement. "Yukina, how was it? I told you so."
"Our strength definitely increased after being with Uesugi," Yukina said, playing with a strand of her rosy-colored hair, a frown creasing her brow. "Not only did my magic power rise, but my control over my abilities also improved."
"But to pass the test mid-month…" Ruri's face was flushed. "We need at least five more rounds."
"Only five rounds." Reina smiled seductively. "Given Uesugi's performance this morning, do you think that's going to be a problem?"
"Besides… increasing strength this way is so much more comfortable than meditating."
More than comfortable, it's heavenly.