Chapter 18: Aptitude

Touno wasn't pleased but had no choice. Not only was Tsubaki the vice president, but her strength far surpassed Touno's. As a minor succubus, Touno lacked the confidence and power to challenge a high-ranking demon's primary retainer.

Their agreement was indefinitely postponed. Watching Touno's reluctant expression, Qingqiu shrugged, helpless.

He was just as confused. Qingqiu recognized the black-haired beauty before him but knew little about her. Shinra Tsubaki, Sona Shitori's retainer, held the rank of Queen.

That was it; he knew nothing more. With so many female characters in High School DxD, Tsubaki was a supporting character among supporting characters. Remembering this much was impressive.

After Touno left, the atmosphere shifted from flirty to awkward between Qingqiu and Tsubaki.

"Vice President, what brings you to me?" Qingqiu asked with a polite smile, jokingly adding, "The academy doesn't prohibit dating, right?"

Tsubaki glanced at Qingqiu. Was that dating? Saying he was messing around would be an understatement. With her task in mind, she got straight to the point. "No one cares what you do with that succubus, but first, we need to confirm a few things."

Qingqiu replied, "Please, ask away, Vice President. I'll answer truthfully."

In other words, if he kept quiet, it meant he didn't know.

"Uesugi Qingqiu, sixteen years old, 170cm tall, weighing 55kg, entered Kuoh Academy's high school in April, lives with the Takamine family, parents work overseas..."

After listing Qingqiu's basic information, Tsubaki moved to the main topic. "Three weeks ago, after relations with Hamazaki Reina, Sasaki Yukina, and Kurumizaka Ruri, you awakened your succubus bloodline..."

Tsubaki set down the documents and looked at Qingqiu. "Is everything here correct?"

Piecing together Touno and Tsubaki's conversation, Qingqiu felt more at ease. "Yes, but I should clarify—I only suspect I might have succubus blood. I'm not sure."

Just in case, Qingqiu added a caveat.

Tsubaki nodded, "It doesn't matter. Whether or not you have succubus blood, as long as you have powers ordinary people don't, that's enough."

Qingqiu nodded, "Do I need to demonstrate?"

"Please."

Qingqiu gathered his strength and stomped his right foot hard. The ground cracked, and his foot sank into the soil, with only his ankle visible. The recoil made Qingqiu wince; his foot felt swollen.

Attacking Mother Earth with full force was overkill. Without using his muscles to absorb the recoil, his foot might have fractured instead of just swelling.

"Not bad," Tsubaki remarked. To her, Qingqiu's full force was unimpressive; she could easily outdo it with a spell.

Raising her fair hand, a small magic circle formed instantly. A flash of earthen light restored the cracked ground, leaving no trace of damage.

Only Qingqiu's wounded pride remained.

Qingqiu: "..."

"Vice President, could you heal me too?"

"Sorry, I don't know healing magic," Tsubaki admitted. "I didn't expect you to be so reckless. I planned to test your strength myself..."

Qingqiu glanced at his swollen foot, feeling helpless. He realized he needed a healing talent urgently. Regenerating health and becoming more resilient was a form of increasing combat power.

"This is a guide on magic extraction. If you successfully extract magic, you can join the academy, regardless of your bloodline," Tsubaki said, handing him a booklet on Basic Mana Extraction.

Qingqiu hobbled over and skimmed the pages. The book's quality was good, but he couldn't understand a word.

"Though it's basic, it's challenging without guidance," Tsubaki noted, seeing Qingqiu's clueless look. "I'll explain it to you. Listen carefully."

Qingqiu thought, not understanding doesn't mean he can't do it. He'd managed Basic Mana Extraction without the book.

Unaware of Qingqiu's inner confidence, Tsubaki carefully explained the book's terminology and tips. Mana perception, mental strength, meditation time, energy flow routes—all became clear with her explanations.

Her words aligned with Qingqiu's previous mana extraction experience, easing his mind. It matched his prior experiments with the Basic Mana Extraction skill.

After Tsubaki finished, Qingqiu said, "Vice President, I've got it."

"Hm?" Tsubaki was momentarily surprised. "Got it?"

"Yes, I understand now," Qingqiu grinned. "Vice President explained it so well, I grasped it immediately."

Tsubaki: She liked hearing that and welcomed more of it.

"Understanding is one thing, but successfully extracting mana marks true entry," Tsubaki stated.

Qingqiu nodded, appearing like an eager student discovering a new world.

"Shall I try now?"

"Meditation requires a quiet place. For a first attempt, it's best in an element-rich..."

Before Tsubaki finished, she sensed mana elements converging around Qingqiu.

A successful attempt? Standing meditation?

Though meditation didn't require sitting cross-legged, Qingqiu's casual approach was surprising.

Qingqiu had just stood there, speaking one second and successfully extracting mana the next. Aside from those born with powerful bloodlines and innate magic, Qingqiu was the fastest beginner Shinra Tsubaki had ever seen.

Tsubaki felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint it. Perhaps Qingqiu was just naturally talented, she thought.

Qingqiu hadn't intended to meditate standing up; his foot was swollen, and sitting cross-legged was unappealing. He tried his luck and succeeded immediately.

Having acquired the Basic Mana Extraction skill, Qingqiu had only experimented once, but once mastered, it became instinctual—like eating or drinking.

His high aptitude disrupted Tsubaki's plans. She had intended to inquire about Qingqiu's ability to enhance women's strength, and after confirming his successful mana extraction and enrollment in the inner academy, proceed with verification.

"Ahem... Since you've extracted mana, report to the student council tomorrow," Tsubaki instructed.

"What for?" Qingqiu asked.

"The inner academy is under the student council's jurisdiction. You'll need to register to officially become a member," Tsubaki explained.

Qingqiu scratched his face, cautiously asking, "What's the benefit of joining?"

"First, regardless of whether you join, we'll register you, and you'll need to follow the inner academy's rules," Tsubaki replied coolly.

[•———•——•———•]

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

🌟 • 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗿í𝗮 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟭𝟬]

🌟 • 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗡𝗴𝗼 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟭𝟬]

⭐ • 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟱]

⭐ • 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟱]

⭐ • 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲 [𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝗼𝗻 $𝟱]

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧