Contrary to her delicate appearance, the blue-haired Milf (Mature and attractive woman) was unhesitatingly fierce in her attacks. Her sharp offense earned Caleb's praise. She chanted a spell, and with a wave of her pale hand, a chill immediately spread, quickly covering the testing ground.
Caleb knew he couldn't give a long-range mage too much time to prepare. He unhesitatingly closed the distance, his sharp, focused fist aimed directly at her ample chest. The beautiful-figured Milf's face showed a mix of shame and annoyance. She stopped the attack magic she was casting, retreated to evade, and at the same time, ice and snow flew out from her slender fingers, weaving a resilient ice shield in front of her. To make it all the way to the final, her strength is indeed considerable, Caleb mentally praised, launching an even more violent offensive.
The blue-haired Milf's magic was repeatedly interrupted. She had no chance to use powerful spells and could only use instantly cast ice blades and ice cones to attack Caleb from the side. The ice, shimmering with blue magic light, howled towards Caleb. His eyes narrowed, and a Lightning Spear gathered in his hand. Just because he liked being a fighter didn't mean he couldn't use magic.
The ice blades were intercepted by the Lightning Spear in mid-air. The blue-haired Milf was not discouraged. She continued to use ice walls and ice shields for defense while looking for opportunities to land a surprise attack on Caleb. Caleb held the upper hand but couldn't quickly take down his opponent. In the continuous back-and-forth battle, he slowly entered a mysterious state. Magic Power, Spirit, and Body gradually unified. He relinquished control of the fight to instinct, focusing his attention on enlightenment.
For the first time, Caleb clearly sensed that 'membrane.' As long as he broke through that membrane, he could reach a new realm. However, even when the blue-haired Milf's magic power was depleted and she voluntarily surrendered, he still hadn't taken that step. His mind was consumed with the thought of the breakthrough. Caleb didn't even go to claim his reward and quickly rushed to the Occult Research Club, amidst the stares of everyone who looked at him like a monster.
After Caleb left, the discussions about him lingered. Cultivating to B-rank Peak in four months was a prodigious level of talent, no matter where it was placed. If Caleb could break through to A-rank, an A-rank in four months, that would make him one of the most exceptional talents in the entire history of the human race.
"Buchou!" Pushing open the clubroom door, Caleb frantically looked for Rias, wanting to ask what that state he had just experienced was. "Koneko, where are Buchou and the others?"
The white-haired loli, eating Tiramisu, slowly said, "Buchou and Akeno-senpai went out on a subjugation mission."
"..." Looking at the Emotionless Koneko Toujou, Caleb took a deep breath, gradually regaining his composure. It seems being stuck at the bottleneck for too long has made me a bit impatient. This is not good... not good....
Adjusting his mindset, Caleb sat down next to the white-haired loli. Ignoring her murderous glare, he picked up a piece of Tiramisu and threw it into his mouth. "Koneko, I just ran into a situation in the ranking battle..." He recounted the events while eating the sweet and soft Tiramisu, focusing on describing the unique sensation of sensing the bottleneck.
"Mhm, I see. I didn't realize you were a Martial Arts Faction type." Koneko Toujou swallowed the food in her mouth and said without emotion, "You don't need to feel bad. An opponent of that caliber wouldn't be able to make you break through during a fight."
Caleb froze for a moment. A flash of realization struck him, and he seemed to understand something. "Koneko, is breaking through during combat common?"
The white-haired loli glanced at him and said mercilessly, "It's not common. How could such a dangerous and uncertain method be common?"
"Then why did you just say..."
"Because some people can only break through during combat, which is what I call the Martial Arts Faction." Koneko Toujou took a sip of black tea, once again acting as Caleb's teacher after many days. "The Martial Arts Faction doesn't require dangerous combat to break through. Whether it's sparring with someone of similar strength or guided practical training, as long as the opponent provides pressure, these people can break through. The greater the pressure, the higher the chance of a breakthrough."
She paused before continuing, "Moreover, once these people encounter a life-or-death crisis, the probability of breaking through during combat exceeds 90%."
"Then why didn't I ever feel this way when I trained with you guys before?"
The white-haired loli stared at Caleb for a while and said faintly, "Because you didn't see that as a fight."
"Uh..." Caleb instinctively wanted to refute but didn't know how. Thinking about it carefully, Koneko Toujou is right. I didn't see that as a fight. There was no concept of victory or defeat in my mind at the time. Let alone pressure...
Come to think of it, breaking through during a fight is just 'powering up,' isn't it?! Isn't that an exclusive perk for protagonists?! Right, the Cuckold is also a protagonist... so it's not entirely wrong for me to have this trait.
Without Rias, Koneko Toujou had helped Caleb resolve the confusion in his heart and find a way to break through the bottleneck. Now, all he had to do was constantly fight, or what is commonly known as seeking a fight, and he should be able to break through quickly.
"Thanks, Koneko." Caleb picked up a piece of Tiramisu and held it to the white-haired loli's mouth. "Here, open wide. This is my thanks to you."
"What are you talking about... Buchou bought this for me. I haven't even called you out for eating a piece of mine earlier..." Despite the complaint, Koneko Toujou's small face flushed. She opened her pink, cherry lips and accepted Caleb's feeding. Her tiny lips touched Caleb's finger, making the girl's small pink face appear even redder. Her small, soft tongue skillfully swept away the Tiramisu from Caleb's hand, leaving a trace of clear liquid.
Caleb didn't mind the wetness on his finger. Having Dual Cultivation sessions with beautiful girls every day, he was long used to such ambiguous gestures. Right now, he was more concerned with where to find opponents with enough strength to make him feel like he was truly fighting.
Caleb had a premonition that once he broke through to A-rank and his life essence evolved, a massive change would definitely occur within him. Just sensing the bottleneck made it feel as though something was about to burst forth from inside his body.
Koneko Toujou chewed the Tiramisu in her small mouth, her face flushed as she looked at Caleb. "If you want to fight, just apply to Buchou for a subjugation mission when she returns." The white-haired loli seemed to guess what Caleb was thinking. She said, "I don't know why, but recently the number of Stray Devils has increased. Your subjugation efforts can help relieve our burden."
Caleb's eyes lit up. This was indeed a good idea, but it wouldn't be very useful if the opponents were too weak. "How strong are the Stray Devils?"
"Generally between C and B-rank. There are A-ranks too, but very few." The white-haired loli thought for a moment and continued, "If you want to break through, it's best to undertake subjugation missions alone. With your strength, even if you can't beat an A-rank, running away shouldn't be a problem."
As the two were talking, a bright red magic circle rapidly formed in the center of the clubroom, and two voluptuous, tall figures appeared before Caleb.
"Ara ara, Akira is here too. Is your test over?" Akeno Himejima's face was still flushed from battle, indicating she had quite an enjoyable time this round.
"Buchou, Akeno-senpai." Caleb greeted them and said, "The test is over, and I won first place in the ranking battle."
Rias looked at Caleb approvingly. "Not bad. Is there a reward you want?"
"No..." Caleb shook his head. "But I would like to go on a subjugation mission alone."
"Oh? With your strength, you certainly can execute a subjugation mission alone." Rias said curiously, "But you suddenly saying this must be for a reason."
"Mhm, there is a reason." Caleb recounted his experience of sensing the bottleneck again. Rias and Akeno Himejima reacted similarly to Koneko Toujou. Compared to ordinary cultivators, the number of pure Martial Arts Faction members was extremely small, but not to the extent of being once in a generation. Breaking through in combat wasn't exclusive to the Martial Arts Faction. In contrast, pure Martial Arts Faction members were actually at a disadvantage compared to others. These people could only break through through combat, but it wasn't as dangerous as for others. Others often faced life-or-death crises to break through in battle; the Martial Arts Faction did not. However, this didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. Opponents who could provide pressure without threatening one's life were not easy to find.
Caleb's situation was not uncommon. The people around him were strong and willing to help, but his own mind subconsciously didn't perceive it as a fight, which prevented him from meeting the requirement for a breakthrough.
"So, even if I learn Mid-Tier Magic Power Extraction, I still might not be able to reach A-rank?"
"No, it should be said that if you learn Mid-Tier Magic Power Extraction and still can't break through to A-rank, then we can confirm you can only break through through combat." Rias explained, "This is like martial arts enlightenment; it's quite subjective. No one can say you are a pure Martial Arts Faction member until the result is clear."