"A succubus's tail is a magical organ, just like an angel's halo or a slime's body."
Melodia coaxed her along. "As long as you use mana flexibly, you can make flesh grow rapidly and change the shape of the tissue..."
"Look. Once you've built a spell circuit like this, you can use mana to extend the length of your tail within a certain range."
As she spoke, she casually sketched an intricately constructed pattern in the air. Its mana pathways and symbols were tangled together and kept flowing according to some profound law.
The blonde teacher glanced at the female student beside her. Her mood was curious and expectant, even a little excited.
Who was Li Fei?
The rising star, Spell Encyclopedia Lady!
She hadn't been famous for long, but her dazzling, peerless performance was enough to leave a deep and unforgettable impression. Quite a few teachers and students even speculated that her aptitude surpassed the Twin Stars, calling her a little Bai Mengtian!
The spell circuit Melodia had just demonstrated might be difficult for ordinary students, but for Li Fei, it would be no problem at all.
Five minutes? One minute? Ten seconds? Would she get it at a glance?
The blonde teacher silently wondered how long Li Fei would need to master the technique. When she saw no reaction, she couldn't resist prompting her.
"See, I told you it wasn't hard. Try it quickly, spend a bit more time getting the hang of it, then get to bed early tonight."
"It really isn't hard," Li Fei said calmly. "But my soul damage aftereffects flared up. It'll affect my ability to learn."
Melodia instinctively straightened up, her face full of concern.
"Is it serious? Black Demon Deadly Isle is still pretty dangerous. Killing blows are forbidden, but there's still a certain death rate."
"I've already gotten used to fighting in this state, so it's no problem."
Li Fei laughed breezily. "I just can't learn any new spells or skills for the moment."
"In that case..."
The thought of talking her out of this trial flashed through her mind. The blonde teacher considered for a moment, then said hesitantly, "Actually, if you don't use a spell circuit, there's another way to change the tail's attack range."
"Tell me more."
Li Fei quietly let out a breath of relief.
"Through your Charm Marks."
Melodia continued, "Remember the secret art Charm Mark Reconfiguration I gave you last time? There should be a note at the end of that volume. Unless you have royal blood, once an occult Rune has formed, it's very hard to change."
"But in truth, that scroll is already very old. Over the long years, those with succubus blood, and succubus enthusiasts, have never stopped researching Charm Marks. They're the most representative totem of the succubus race, after all..."
Oh, right. There was that, too.
Li Fei came back to herself.
When she first obtained Charm Mark Reconfiguration, she had only grasped its knack thanks to Lady Annie's wholehearted help. She still remembered the sweat-drenched blonde wife, utterly spent, resting against her shoulder yet stubbornly searching her snow-white belly for her own Charm Mark. She remembered, too, the sorrowful, tender sword light she had glimpsed in the unseen after pointing at a random mark.
And once she'd gotten the hang of Charm Mark Reconfiguration, Li Fei could change the position and shape of her Charm Marks with ease. She used it so fluently that she'd forgotten ordinary succubi couldn't change their Charm Mark forms so easily.
"As it happens, my research on Charm Marks made some progress these past few days."
Melodia paused, her expression complicated. "I can alter the original Charm Mark framework in less time and at less cost, transfer the marks to the tail, and assemble them into a new symbol, changing the tail's length that way."
Hiss. The esteemed Vice Dean spent her days researching things like this?
Li Fei's lips curled. She concealed the fact that she could control her Charm Marks freely and waited for the rest.
"I remember you have 54 Charm Marks, right? It won't extend the distance by much, but it's better than nothing..."
"Um, actually..."
Li Fei fidgeted as she cut her off, holding her index finger and thumb about a centimeter apart. "I've gotten a teeny bit more Charm Marks lately."
"..."
The blonde teacher's smile turned noticeably bitter, but she feigned composure. "For a succubus, the more Charm Marks, the better."
"Th-then won't Teacher think I'm a frivolous, easy girl?"
Li Fei's voice was soft and weak.
"Of course not. Your body is yours to command."
Melodia comforted her in return, her voice gentle. "Besides, you told me you had reasons you couldn't avoid... Anyway, what I mean is, you needn't feel burdened. Whether it's to complete the Ascension Ritual or because you long for romance, there's nothing to blame yourself for. On the extraordinary path, what matters most is seizing the present and keeping a clear conscience."
"I asked whether you minded, and you give me a big lecture on principles."
Li Fei's voice sounded aggrieved, and her eyes even misted over. She looked wronged enough to melt anyone's heart.
In the steaming tea fragrance, Melodia felt her heart clench and her blood grow hot. She took a deep breath before answering earnestly.
"I don't mind."
"I can rest easy now that Teacher says so."
Li Fei exhaled and rose onto her knees, her slender, graceful belly pulled taut.
"In fact, you don't need to worry about any of that, because to me, some things in the past don't matter. Come to think of it, I once saw a succubus with more than eight hundred Charm Marks..."
Melodia had sensed the atmosphere turning ambiguous, so she deliberately used a light tone to ease the mood while quietly reaffirming her attitude and feelings.
But when more than two thousand Charm Marks formed a bewitching, alluring flower tattoo across Li Fei's belly like velvet, the blonde teacher's words broke off.
Her expression froze for a moment, tinged with sorrow and desolation, and she stared ahead with wounded eyes. Then her lips twitched a few times as if to force out a smile, but the corners kept dragging downward, and in the end it became a twisted, anguished smile.
"I knew it..."
Seeing Melodia's expression, Li Fei sighed softly and lowered her eyelids, looking dejected and forlorn.
Then she forced a smile. "I'll just sleep by myself tonight."
Li Fei's toes had already touched the carpet when Melodia woke as if from a dream. She leaned over and caught the pale wrist, her voice a little hoarse, yet more sincere and tender than ever before.
"Didn't we agree you'd sleep here? The Charm Mark Reconfiguration isn't finished yet."
"But... but..."
Li Fei's eyes sparkled. She was a little touched, a little timid.
"No matter when, no matter what happens, you can always come to me."
The blonde teacher made her promise, radiating the warmth and security only a mature woman can give.
"Mm!"
Li Fei nodded hard and quickly wiped the corners of her eyes. Then, like a cat clinging to its owner's warmth, she curled up in Melodia's arms, breathing in the scent at her shoulder as their heartbeats passed back and forth.
Sadly, her Morality Value didn't drop in the slightest. That left Li Fei a little wistful. Could her Charm stat be hitting a bottleneck too?
After a few minutes of shared, tacit quiet, their black and golden hair, knotted together at the tips, reluctantly parted.
"There are two things I have to remind you of."
Melodia looked into Li Fei's eyes. She was trying hard to stay calm, even using mana to control her expression, heartbeat and body temperature so her face wouldn't flush. Still, Li Fei caught a shy, evasive flicker in the depths of those bright emerald pupils.
"First, once your Charm Marks are reconfigured again, you'll gain a longer tail reach, but the price is losing the original occult symbols."
No problem at all. I'm the Succubus Empress, after all. I can switch between different Charm Mark forms back and forth. That's way handier than swapping out a prosthetic leg.
"Second..."
Melodia's voice stalled. She took another deep breath before she could finish. "With the results I have so far, if I want to move the Charm Marks from your abdomen to your tail, I'll have to... guide them at close range."
"No problem."
Li Fei answered at once, the arms wrapped around her tightening a little, as if to say, "Aren't we close enough already?"
"Close-range guidance means... touching the core. The black outer layer of the tail exists to protect the core. It has strong defenses against piercing, concussive and slashing damage, and its spell resistance is outstanding, nearly rivaling a black dragon of the same Sequence."
"So if there's a layer in between, mana can't seep in..."
After that long explanation, the blonde teacher didn't wait for Li Fei to speak. She added in a flustered rush, "Think of me as a doctor and you as the patient. I'll perform an absolutely safe operation on you, so don't think too much..."
Clearly, she was talking too fast. It only sounded like protesting too much, a far cry from her serious, composed manner in class.
Seeing the tall, full-figured, mature and radiant older teacher turn so tongue-tied, the student chuckled. Then she brazenly reached up to cup Melodia's cheek, brought her alluring lips to her ear, and breathed out, her breath like tea:
"Be gentle, Doctor Mei."
Li Fei's words and conduct were disrespectful and outrageously bold, yet Melodia could no longer hold on to the commanding presence she had at work. She spoke in a small, soft voice.
"Then lie on your stomach."
The student did as told, only a bit slowly, her eyes bewitching. The smooth, graceful lines of her waist and back looked soft, her skin lustrous like white jade porcelain. Her black lace cutout outfit and her wide-hipped, childbearing figure held a heart-stopping magic.
Melodia turned her head, restless. Only after Li Fei buried her face in the pillow did she breathe out and softly warn her.
"I'm going to touch your belly."
Li Fei obediently lifted her lower belly ten centimeters off the sheet, her slightly bent knees bearing her weight. With her body arched so low, Melodia only dared let her gaze rest on the tailbone, not daring to stray a hair beyond it.
This is just a simple operation, a purely hands-on lesson. Stay calm...
Melodia comforted herself in silence, though emerald ripples swayed in her scalding eyes, reflecting the bewitching, seductive, vividly alive view before her.
She quickly took out a few materials and, in the blink of an eye, set up a self-devised ritual in the bedroom.
The ritual took effect a few seconds later. Li Fei felt her lower belly burn, her delicate Charm Marks like an ink painting soaked in a pond, the ink spreading across white xuan paper.
Beside her, the blonde teacher held her breath and focused. Her outstretched fingertips lightly touched Li Fei's lower belly, then mana seeped into the skin and formed an unstable link with the Charm Marks. As her fingers moved along the tender skin, one Charm Mark was drawn along with them like a fish chasing bait, around the waist, until it stopped at the tailbone.
"Your tail."
Melodia reminded her in a small voice, blushing.
"Mm?"
A lazy, nasal sound came from beneath the pillow.
"Your tail..."
Melodia repeated.
"What about my tail?"
Smack!
The teased teacher couldn't stop herself from raising a hand and lightly slapping the mischievous student with her palm. The crisp sound seemed especially springy, its echo lingering, her palm tingling afterward.
And Li Fei's skin was so tender that, though the force was light, it still left a faintly reddened handprint.
After being disciplined, Li Fei chuckled, her body trembling with it. Teacherly ethics made Melodia turn her face away, but the scene she glimpsed from the corner of her eye in that one fleeting moment was enough to soak the collar of her nightgown with sweat.
At last, Li Fei was ready for the Charm Mark Reconfiguration and released the black protective layer on the outside of her tail.
The blonde teacher bit her lip and said nothing. Her fingertip lifted upward, and the Charm Mark was moved onto the pink, dripping-wet tail.
"Mmh..."
Li Fei twisted the sheet with her right hand while her left arm stretched backward, gripping Melodia's free hand tightly.
After a moment's hesitation, the flushed blonde teacher bit her lip too and quietly squeezed the hand Li Fei had offered.
Their hot, reddened palms interlocked through the sticky sweat, easing the strange sensations of this "Charm Mark surgery."
...
The long, pitch-black tail whipped around the room like a Siberian husky tearing the house apart, full of boundless energy.
With a sharp crack, a shattered cup lay scattered on the carpet. Beside it lay the corpses of a lamp, a kettle and other furniture. The mage servants could handle the cleanup, and the furniture had been issued free by the Main Academy and could be replaced at any time, so there was no heartache over the damage.
Li Fei lay on her side on the bed, propping her cheek on her hand. Her face was a little haggard, but she couldn't hide her delight.
Each Charm Mark made Miss Tail one centimeter longer.
That meant Miss Tail's attack range was now a good twenty-odd meters, enough to ambush or strangle enemies without getting close.
Her base attributes hadn't changed, but just as mages always feel their mana is never enough, no warrior ever turns down a longer reach.
Besides, if Li Fei remembered correctly, the total length of a human intestine generally didn't exceed ten meters... As the saying goes, practice yields true knowledge. As a diligent, inquisitive student, Li Fei planned to conduct a fun little science experiment with Teacher Annie when she got back.
Anyway, in combat and out of it, Miss Tail had become much more useful!
Even losing three liters of fluid was worth it!
The haggard Li Fei thought this with deep satisfaction.
Although the teacher-student relationship hadn't completely changed, "a pink tail being touched means losing fluids" was an iron law, just like "if a person is killed, they die."
Here, special praise must go to the excellent teacher Ms. Melodia. Even drenched like a drowned rat in a downpour, she insisted on finishing her teaching duty. Such dedication is truly moving.
As for why Li Fei kept quiet about the fact that she could easily move her Charm Marks to her tail herself, and insisted on having the teacher do it for her... all she could say was that her soul damage aftereffects had flared up, giving her a very convenient case of amnesia.
"Go to sleep. There are still two hours until dawn, and with your Moon Pillow you should recover your energy just fine."
Melodia stepped out of the bathroom in a bathrobe, about to say good night, when she spotted the sheet, still dripping drop by drop.
She paused, then added, "Of course, we'll need to change the sheets first."
____
________________________________________
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 10 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉