"I'm going to ask you one last time," Lucy said, her voice low but sharp as a blade. "What did you do?"
Caelen's heart jumped. A cold wave crawled up his spine. He hadn't expected this—being cornered, not like this. A flicker of instinct almost made him call Emma through the link, but pride held him still. He wasn't about to come off as desperate.
"I don't understand what you mean," he said, his voice steady, but the tension behind his eyes betrayed him. The confusion was real—just not in the way Lucy thought. How was I caught? he wondered. Did the charisma skill trigger magic? Wait... do I even have magic?
Lucy stared at him hard, like she was peeling back his skin with her eyes. For a moment, she said nothing—just analyzed his face, her green irises flickering faintly under the room's dull light. Then she asked something that threw him completely.
"Have you ever used a spell? Anything magic-related?"
Caelen blinked and quickly shook his head. "No. Never."
That wasn't a lie. Not consciously, anyway.
A crease formed between Lucy's brows. Her lips pressed into a line, and before he could react, she reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"Hold still. Don't fight it. I want you to focus—and you better tell me exactly what you feel," she said sharply, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Panic scratched at his chest, but Caelen stayed still. Then—a strange sensation. It crept up his arm from her touch, like a small spark winding through his veins, stopping just below his shoulder. It didn't hurt. It was... familiar, somehow, yet entirely unknown.
She let go.
"What was that?" he asked, breath shallow.
But before she could answer, a soft ding echoed in his head.
[System Notification]
Congratulations. You have awakened your latent magic veins.
His vision flickered. A familiar system interface appeared in front of him—only this time, it had new information.
PLAYER INTERFACE
[Personal Info]
Name: Caelen
Race: Demon-Human
Age: 19
Affiliation: None
Title: Unbound Initiate
Servant(s): Emma
Status: Stable (Evolving)
Primordial Type: Lust Demon
Role: Warrior
Affinity Unlocked: Lightning
He stared at it, stunned. His fingers twitched slightly.
"I've... got magic?"
Lucy crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly. "So… it was dormant."
"Huh?"
She narrowed her eyes. "That feeling I sensed earlier—it came from you. Something flared, like magic being pulled—but you hadn't awakened. That's not supposed to be possible."
Caelen stayed quiet.
She stepped back, her face unreadable. "That kind of reaction only happens when someone channels mana. But your core was silent until now. You somehow... tapped into magic without accessing it."
"…Guess I was overdue," he joked weakly.
"I still don't trust you," she muttered, stepping forward again. "Stand up."
Her tone changed—commanding, colder than before. Caelen hesitated for half a second, then slowly stood. Lucy got up as well and walked toward him without warning. She began patting him down—jacket, pockets, shirt, even his sides and waist.
It wasn't flirtatious. It was clinical. Efficient. Like she was searching for a weapon—or a secret.
He flinched slightly when her hand passed a little too close for comfort, but she didn't react. After three minutes of silent inspection, she stopped and stepped back.
No words. No eye contact.
She sat down again, expression unreadable, and quietly powered down the game console.
Caelen remained still for a few seconds. The air was thick with things left unsaid.
"…Sorry," he murmured.
He stepped out quietly and made his way back to the room where Emma waited, mind racing, heart heavy, and a thousand questions rising like static in the back of his skull.
The room was quiet, save for the soft hum of the city just beyond the window. Caelen stepped inside, the door clicking gently behind him.
Emma sat up on the bed, her back against the wall. She looked over, clearly still awake, though the way her eyes met his said she'd been lost in thought.
"You're still up?" he asked.
Emma gave a tired smile. "Yeah… couldn't sleep."
Caelen walked in and sat beside her on the edge of the bed. He didn't speak right away. Instead, he opened the link between them, the warm hum of shared thoughts blooming quietly in his chest.
'Something happened. Not exactly what I planned.'
Emma glanced at him, waiting.
'Lucy… there's something different about her. I felt it the moment I saw her. She hasn't awakened yet, but she's got it—magic, potential. I want to turn her.'
Emma blinked. 'You mean, like you did with me?'
'Yeah. I know it's selfish. I don't even know how she'll take it. But I feel like… she could be important. For what we're trying to build.'
Emma was quiet. Then, in the link, her voice came through again—soft but teasing:
'So, are you planning to marry her too?'
Caelen nearly choked. "What?"
Emma raised a brow, trying to hide a smile. "Isn't that what happens after all this 'turning' stuff?"
He stared at her, half-laughing, half-exasperated. "Where did that come from?"
"You married me," she said simply.
"That's… different."
Emma leaned her head back, letting it rest against the wall. "Is it?"
Caelen shook his head with a small laugh. "Emma, marriage isn't something people just decide on overnight. It takes time. Most people think about it for months—years, even."
She gave a soft shrug. "So you're saying you won't marry me?"
He sighed and leaned back too, side by side with her now. "No, I'm saying we already did things completely out of order, and I'm still catching up."
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I don't regret anything. You know that, right?"
Caelen smiled. "Yeah. I know."
A pause passed between them. Then Emma asked quietly, "So… what now?"
Caelen turned to her. "Now? I keep doing what I can. Lucy might be another step. And you…"
He reached out, pulling her gently by the waist until she was close, her warmth against his side.
"You're not just part of this with me—you're the reason I keep moving."
Emma smiled. "I could say the same."
A few minutes later…(Slight Adult content incoming.)
The room was dimly lit, the only sound Emma's pleasured moans echoing off the walls. Caelen's body covered hers, sweat-slicked skin slapping together as they moved in a frenzied rhythm.
He drove into her relentlessly, each thrust hitting that spot deep inside that made her cry out. Her nails dug into his back, marking him as hers.
Emma wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him deeper, faster.
Caelen captured her lips in a brutal kiss, swallowing her screams as he pounded into her willing body.
His thrusts grew harder, more insistent, driving them both closer to the edge and lost in the intensity of their joining till as early morning light crept through the curtains, and the first thing Caelen noticed when he woke up… was that he was alone.
The space beside him was cold, the sheets pushed aside neatly. He blinked against the soft morning light slipping through the curtains and sat up, rubbing the back of his neck with a groggy sigh.
"Damn, she really left me here," he mumbled, swinging his legs off the bed.
He stood and stretched, joints cracking. Then the small but immediate problem hit him—he had no clue where anything was in this place. No bathroom signs. No directions. Just vague memories of the layout from last night.
He wandered the hall until he found what looked like the bathroom and pushed the door open. Bingo. He stepped in, reached for a toothbrush… and found absolutely nothing.
"Right. Of course," he muttered.
He cupped his hands under the faucet and rinsed his mouth a few times, then tested his breath with a hand in front of his face. "Not bad," he said, somewhat relieved. "Could be worse."
Still, he made a mental note to pick up some toiletries—soap, toothbrush, probably some new clothes too. Couldn't go around living like some demon-hobo hybrid.
Once fresh enough to be presentable, he padded down the hallway toward the kitchen, where the scent of something warm drifted through the air.
He found Emma and Rebecca at the stove—Rebecca busy at the counter chopping vegetables, and Emma holding a pan with both hands, her tongue slightly out in focus.
Caelen leaned against the doorframe. "Morning. What's going on in here?"
Emma turned her head and smiled. "I'm learning to cook."
Rebecca chuckled as she sliced through an onion. "Didn't expect you to be the last one up. Especially not after all that energy you had last night." She shot Emma a glance that made the girl's face flush instantly.
Caelen, scratching his cheek, gave a half-laugh. "Yeah… sorry about that."
Rebecca waved it off. "No worries. Just surprised, is all."
Just then, the front door opened.
Lucy walked in, sweat-damp hair tied back, tank top slightly dusty like she'd been running. She didn't say anything—just walked right past them with her usual aloof aura, heading toward the back of the house.
Caelen watched her pass. "Wait, what time did she even wake up?"
Rebecca snorted. "About three hours ago. Said she was going to the Artgen Spire."
"Artgen Spire?" Caelen tilted his head.
"It's an artificial dungeon in the center of the city. Real monsters, real danger—but once you're near death, it kicks you out. Some kind of old-world fail-safe tech. No one knows who built it, but it's been around for decades. Probably centuries."
"That's… insane."
Rebecca shrugged. "It's not profitable unless you're really desperate. The monsters in there are weak, so you won't find many top-tier adventurers using it. But it's popular with beginners."
"Sounds like a perfect place for me to check out."
While talking, Caelen opened his interface just to review his own status—and on instinct, brought up Emma's as well. She wasn't linked like Lucy was planned to be, but she was still a servant. A proper one.
What he saw made his eyes widen.
[Emma - Status Overview]
Intelligence: 25
Strength: 29
Agility: 27
Endurance: 27
Resistance: 30
DDM (Divine/Demonic/Magic Count): 2000
"Woah…" he whispered before catching himself.
Both women turned to him.
"What is it?" Emma asked.
"Nothing," Caelen said quickly, brushing it off. "Just… forgot something."
His thoughts were spinning. She's that strong already? She'd gained so much power since the transformation, and with the control she still had over light magic, she might be even more versatile than he was.
He couldn't fall behind.
"I think I'm gonna head out later," he said. "Check out that Spire place."
Emma nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Want me to come?"
He looked at her and smiled. "Maybe next time. I want to get a feel for it on my own first."
He turned back toward the hall, the decision already made in his mind.
If I'm going to protect her—and the others—I need to get stronger. Fast.
If you're enjoying the story so far, don't forget to drop a Power Stone! It helps a lot and tells me you're loving the journey too.
(More chapters coming soon!)