Chapter 655: Sharing Upgraded Skills, First Transcendent+ Rank Skill
"How are you feeling now?" he asked quietly.
Alice opened her eyes for a moment and met his gaze. She gave a small nod, then pressed her face more firmly into the curve of his neck and shoulder. Within a few breaths her body relaxed completely, and she drifted into a deep sleep.
Isaac frowned at the sudden stillness, but he kept his breathing steady. The dragon maids had already told him she would be fine, and he chose to trust that assessment for the moment. He adjusted his hold so her head rested securely against him and carried her out of the training room.
Celeste was waiting in the corridor. When she saw Alice asleep in his arms, she spoke in a calm voice. "Please do not worry, Master. Lady Alice is only assimilating the legacy she inherited. She should be fine by tomorrow."
Isaac nodded once. He continued toward his bedroom without another word. Once he was certain the dragon maids could no longer see his expression, a bitter smile touched the corners of his mouth. Alice had been unconscious the previous night because of the aftereffects from the Conqueror Trial, and now this. One thing after another seemed to keep happening to his wife.
He entered the bedroom and laid Alice carefully on the bed. Emily was already awake. She must have sensed the disturbances created by Alice and Celia’s breakthroughs. Her eyes moved at once to Alice’s still form, and concern tightened her features.
Emily had always struggled with nightmares whenever she slept alone. Alice, who hated seeing anyone suffer, had made a habit of sleeping in the same room as her on those nights. The other wives knew about the situation as well. Even when it was their turn to share Isaac’s bed, they often made space so Emily could remain nearby. Sometimes Emily simply appeared halfway through the night and settled against his side without a word.
Isaac sat on the edge of the mattress, and spoke, "Emily, can you look after Alice? I’m going to check on Celia. Her breakthrough is still continuing."
He gave a brief explanation of what had happened to both women.
Emily nodded and moved closer to Alice, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Isaac leaned down and pressed a light kiss to Emily’s forehead, thanking her, before he left the room and returned to the training hall where Celia was still in the middle of her breakthrough.
Catherine had remained on watch the entire time. The space inside the room looked far more dangerous than before. Tears in the fabric of space now covered nearly every surface, and dark mana pulsed through the cracks like living veins.
Isaac waited in silence. After several long minutes Celia’s body began to change. Her skin flushed a deep, rich red the color of a rose in full bloom. Her figure grew fuller and more pronounced, as though every curve had ripened under sudden heat. Her hair lengthened and became white. Flames rose across her bare skin and burned away the last of her clothing, yet the fire did not harm her. It moved over her body with a strange gentleness.
Isaac recognized the flames at once. They were hellfire, yet they caressed rather than consumed. A final explosive surge of power erupted from Celia’s core. The force nearly tore the remaining structure of the room apart. Then the cracks began to seal themselves, the dark mana receded, and her appearance slowly returned to normal. She floated downward, still completely bare.
Catherine glanced at Isaac once.
"I’ll be outside," she said, and left without waiting for a reply.
Isaac stepped forward and caught Celia as she drifted down. Her eyes opened slowly. A wave of dense, intoxicating mana rolled off her skin and washed over him.
He did not believe she was doing it on purpose, but the charm ability was extremely strong. For a brief second the pull of it nearly overrode his thoughts. His concern for her, however, remained greater than the sudden heat in his blood.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Uh... good?" Celia answered, her voice soft and a little dazed, as if she had only just woken from a long sleep. Her gaze gradually cleared. A strange, focused look settled in her eyes.
Isaac felt the residual energy in her body still rising, gathering heat and pressure under her skin.
"Celia—"
Before he could finish the sentence she closed the distance and sealed his mouth with hers. The kiss was quick and hungry, yet every movement carried an unexpected sensual grace.
Heat flooded through Isaac’s body far faster than it should have. Something about the residual power of her transformation was feeding the reaction, amplifying every point of contact.
She did not give him time to think. All he could do was swiftly open a Mirror Dimension, knowing what was coming. Her hands pressed against his chest and pushed him down onto the floor. She followed him without breaking the kiss, straddling his hips as her bare skin met the fabric of his clothes. The temperature of her body was higher than normal, almost feverish, and the soft press of her breasts against him sent another wave of that same dense mana rolling through his senses.
Celia shifted her weight and settled more firmly against him. Her hips moved in a slow, deliberate grind that left no room for misunderstanding. Isaac’s hands rose almost of their own accord and settled on the curve of her waist.
The skin under his palms was silk-smooth and almost unnaturally warm. When his fingers tightened, she made a low sound against his mouth and deepened the kiss, her tongue sliding against his with growing urgency.
She broke the kiss only long enough to pull at his shirt. Fabric tore under her impatient fingers. Once his chest was bare she lowered her head and dragged her lips along the line of his collarbone, then lower, leaving a trail of heat that seemed to sink straight into his blood.
Her thighs tightened around him as she rocked forward again, the soft heat between her legs pressing clearly against the hard length of him through the remaining barrier of clothing.
Isaac’s breathing had grown rough. He had been feeling pent up due to what happened with Celia in amusement part, then with Catherine on the Qlippoth, and Celia was certainly not helping at the moment.
He slid one hand up her spine and into her hair, guiding her mouth back to his. The second kiss was slower but no less intense. Celia’s body responded with a full-body shiver, and the mana around her thickened again, wrapping both of them in a heavy, sweet pressure that made every touch feel magnified.
She reached between them and worked the last of his clothing free. When nothing remained between them she lowered herself onto him in one smooth motion. The sudden tight heat of her drew a sharp breath from Isaac’s lungs.
"Engh~"
Celia’s head tipped back, her lips parting on a soft, broken sound as she took him fully. For a moment she simply stayed there, adjusting, her inner walls fluttering around him while the residual power of her breakthrough continued to pulse through her core.
Then she began to move. The rhythm she set was unhurried at first, rising and falling with controlled strength. Each downward slide brought her flush against him, her breasts brushing his chest, her breath warm against his neck. Isaac’s hands gripped her hips and helped guide the motion, matching the pace she chose. The heat between them built steadily, fed by both physical friction and the lingering charm that still clung to her skin.
Celia’s movements gradually grew more insistent. Soft gasps escaped her with every deeper stroke. She leaned forward, bracing her hands on either side of his head, and increased the tempo until the wet sound of their joining filled the quiet room.
Isaac thrust up to meet her, and the dual pressure sent a visible tremor through her body. Her red-flushed skin glowed faintly under the remaining ambient light, and small sparks of residual hellfire flickered along her shoulders before fading.
She climaxed first, her body locking tight around him as a low cry left her throat. The sudden clench pulled Isaac over the edge with her. He held her firmly against him while the release rolled through both of them, the dense mana in the air pulsing once more before it finally began to settle.
Celia leaned forward, panting. But the look in her eyes was still there.
"Isaac, more. Please," she kissed, kissing him even more hungrily.
...
Isaac massaged his brows and looked down at his own body. Lovebites, and sweat covered him from neck to chest, and even his shaft carried clear kiss marks left by Celia’s lipstick. He shifted his head and glanced at the girl now sleeping peacefully on the ground where she had torn his clothes open earlier.
He sighed. Celia had been completely out of her mind. All she had said was that she wanted his energy, and she had wrung him dry like a wet towel. Despite every breakthrough he had made, she had nearly emptied his entire life force in the process.
Chuckling bitterly, he picked her up and carried her toward the bathroom. He had opened the Mirror Dimension the moment she pushed him down earlier. Without that precaution the dragon maids would have sensed everything that happened between them.
Inside the bathroom he helped her clean up with careful movements. Once she was free of sweat and residual mana he dried her off and brought her back to the bed.
He tried to slip some clothes onto her, but even in sleep she refused. She mumbled that she was feeling hot and pushed the fabric away with restless hands.
Isaac sighed again and simply looked at her for a moment. Her figure had changed by only a few millimeters in several places, yet the difference was enough to push her already perfect form into something even more alluring. Thanks to his photographic memory he could measure the exact shifts without effort.
For some reason, the more he looked at her, the more heat rose in his body again. But he controlled his urges. This wasn’t the time for it. He needed to check Celia first, and understand why she did what she did.
He checked her body more carefully and sensed the "Golden seed of nourishment" he had given her being absorbed steadily. The process seemed tied directly to her recent soul evolution. Celia had mentioned needing his "seeds" after that change, and her body was now putting them to use without delay.
He rubbed his forehead and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. While he kept regular watch on Celia, his clone remained hidden near Alice and continued monitoring her condition as well. After confirming that both of his wives were stable, Isaac finally heaved a quiet sigh of relief.
A small smile slowly appeared on his face. Now that everything had settled, it was time to collect his reward.
’System, share the Call skill that Alice has!’ Isaac said.
Call skill (Transcendent rank) gained.
Isaac grinned. The skill was overpowered in every practical sense. He still had one more Call skill available to share, but he held off for now. Upgrading it to Transcendent+ rank required three additional copies of the same skill, so a single extra one would not move the needle yet.
Still, the reward was more than enough for the moment. In truth it was only the appetizer.
’System, share the upgraded skill of Alice!’ Isaac said.
Domain of War (Transcendent rank) → Domain of War (Transcendent+ rank)
Isaac grinned wider. Under normal conditions fusing skills was nearly impossible. His system, however, handled the process without resistance. Reaching Transcendent+ usually demanded three additional matching skills. Alice’s skill was upgraded to Transcendent+ rank thanks to the Transcendent rank skill upgrade card.
This meant, he finally had his first Transcendent+ rank skill
He swiftly opened the upgraded skill’s description and was stunned by what he found.