My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

When he woke up, he decided not to enter the system training space. He was currently inside Nyxara’s mansion, and both she and Velena would likely notice if he suddenly disappeared from the room.

Instead, he headed downstairs to check out the training ground Nyxara had mentioned earlier.

Upon coming downstairs, Nova saw Velena calmly cleaning a flower vase while humming softly in a beautiful voice. The moment she noticed him, she spoke politely.

”I hope you liked the food, Lord Nova.”

Nova smiled. ”Yes... I liked it very much. You weren’t kidding when you said you were a great cook.”

Although Velena’s expression remained unchanged, a faint light appeared in her purple eyes, clearly showing that she appreciated the compliment.

”So... what are you planning to do now?” she asked.

”I’m not sure,” Nova replied. ”I was thinking of training, but I can do that later. Right now, I wanted to look around the Third Level of the Abyss... though Nyxara specifically warned me not to leave without your supervision.”

Velena looked at him calmly.

”It would be better not to roam around the city. A few of the Demon Lord’s generals are still present here. I would strongly suggest you avoid that unless you are with the Princess. And as much as I dislike admitting it... I am not strong enough to handle them yet.”

She paused for a moment before continuing.

”However, I can take you to an area where you can fight demonic beasts. That would be more useful than simply training by yourself.”

Nova considered her words carefully.

Hunting high-level demonic beasts here would be beneficial. He could kill some and store a few for later, converting them into Deadborns when the time was right.

Since this was the Third Level of the Abyss, the beasts here would naturally be of a much higher quality.

He could also keep some half-dead ones to provide experience points for Rieka, Asia, Theodore, and his parents — helping them level up and at least reach the King Realm. Rieka and his parents, who still hadn’t become Grandmasters, especially needed the help.

He also still needed to find a way to awaken Rieka’s bloodline. Perhaps he could obtain something useful inside the secret realm... or he might even bring both Rieka and Asia there later after letting them participate in the tournament.

Of course, that idea carried its own problems, since he currently had no reliable method to manipulate their visible stats and levels.

In any case, those were matters for the future. For now, he decided to focus on what was in front of him.

He looked at Velena and smiled.

”Sure. Let’s go.”

To Velena, Nova was the most handsome male demon she had ever seen in her long life. The enchanting smile on his face was truly captivating.

For a brief moment, her half-succubus bloodline urged her to act on instinct... but she firmly shook her head and suppressed the thought. ”Alright. Give me a minute. I’ll change my outfit and come back.”

After about a minute, Velena returned. Her new outfit didn’t look drastically different — she was still wearing a maid uniform — but it had clearly been modified for combat. It could best be described as a battle maid outfit.

{ She really likes the maid outfit, doesn’t she? }

Yeah... it seems that way, Nova thought with a light chuckle, choosing not to comment out loud.

”Let’s go, Lord Nova,” Velena said.

Nova followed her out of the mansion. The two of them soared into the air and flew in a specific direction. According to Velena, it led toward a forest.

”That place is called the Abyssal Beast Forest,” she explained while flying. ”Citizens who are not royals — and even some weaker royals who are not strong enough to enter the Fourth Level — often go there to level up and hunt beasts.”

Nova asked, ”How far is it?”

”It’s quite far. At this speed, it would take at least two hours. I don’t want to increase our pace, or you won’t be able to keep up.”

She was clearly underestimating him.

Nova smiled slightly. It made sense for her to think that a normal King Realm expert wouldn’t be able to match the speed of a Level 3 Emperor.

”Don’t worry,” he said. ”As you can already tell, I’m not an ordinary King Realm warrior. I can at least keep up with the speed of a Level 1 Emperor.”

Velena didn’t fully believe him, but he didn’t seem to be lying either. She increased her speed to match that of a Level 1 Emperor and glanced back to check whether he had fallen behind.

Her eyes widened slightly when she saw that he was still flying right beside her.

She sighed softly. ”You really are an odd fellow, Lord Nova.”

Look who’s talking, Nova thought inwardly.

”How long will it take now?” he asked.

”About twenty minutes,” Velena replied.

Nova nodded. They had already crossed several hundred kilometers, and he could see many smaller cities passing beneath them.

After a moment, he decided to ask something to see whether she would answer.

”If you don’t mind me asking, Miss Velena... what kind of demon are you? I can tell you are not a pure member of the Zarok Clan.”

Velena turned her head slightly to look at him.

”Just call me Velena. And I don’t mind telling you.”

”You’re correct. I’m not a pure member of the Zarok Clan. Only my father belonged to it. He married into the Lust Clan — specifically, he married a succubus. So I am a half-succubus.”

Nova hadn’t expected her to reveal it so openly, even though he already knew from the appraisal. He had mainly wanted to see whether she would admit it.

He then asked another question.

”Doesn’t Nyxara hate the Lust Clan and succubi?”

He still remembered how strongly she had spoken about them and how she had warned him to stay away. Yet her own personal maid was a half-succubus.

Velena nodded. She seemed slightly surprised that the Princess had told him that much, but she still answered.

”She does hate them. However, she does not hate the entire species, nor half-bloods like me. I do not behave like those degenerates. I can control my impulses.”

She paused briefly before adding in the same calm tone, ”And just so you know... even after all this time, I am still a virgin.”

”What the fuck?!”

The words slipped out of Nova’s mouth before he could stop them. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. A half-succubus remaining a virgin? Weren’t they the type of demons known for constant intimate relationships?

Velena turned her head slightly.

”What? Is it that unbelievable that I am still a virgin?”

There was a faint trace of disappointment in her voice at his reaction.

”No, no — I didn’t mean it like that,” Nova quickly corrected himself. ”I was just thinking... you’re so beautiful, and you have such a breathtaking figure. I simply didn’t expect that you still haven’t had any relationships.”

Velena turned her face away slightly. A faint redness appeared on her cheeks that she clearly did not want him to notice.

”Lord Nova... if you are trying to court me, please refrain from doing so. The Princess might kill you... and I would not be able to stop her.”

{ Heh. That was smooth. I still can’t believe you stayed single your entire previous life. }

I was just stating the truth, Nova thought back. Although she’s right. Fortunately Nyxara isn’t here, or she really might kill me for flirting with her maid... or should I say her ’mother like maid’?

Clearing his throat, he decided to change the subject slightly. ”Anyway... why are you still single? Don’t succubi need to drain men in order to grow stronger?”

Velena turned back toward him. By now, she had already regained her usual calm and collected demeanor.

”It’s understandable that you don’t have proper knowledge about the Lust Clan... or succubi in particular.”

”I’ll make it simple for you. Not all succubi need to drain men in order to grow stronger. To be more precise, their physical strength and overall power grow normally, just like any other race in this world.”

”The real difference lies in the growth of their demonic power. For that, they have two choices.”

”The first is the one most people know about — draining a man’s essence to increase their demonic power. The majority of succubi follow this path.”

”The second choice is to form a pact with someone they truly love and wish to spend their entire life with. Once that pact is formed, they can never betray that person or make love with anyone else.”

”In the end, it is a choice between love and lust. The current head of the Lust Clan has clearly chosen the path of lust. That is why the Princess hates those who follow that path... but not those who choose love.”

**

Thanks for reading...