Mission Complete, Awakening the Female Within

"What?"

"Scared now?"

"Then let go of me."

Looking up at Prince Ganlongdao, Ibuki Mio met his gaze with open defiance.

Dragon Garden seemed to have little fear of anything, while Ibuki Mio seemed to have no fear of violence.

At her words,

Prince Ganlongdao's lips curled into a smile. He gripped her ankle and pushed her backward.

Forced to hop backward on one foot, Ibuki Mio bounced along until he had her pinned against the wall.

She kept her leg raised in a perfect 180-degree split, her brows furrowed but her expression fearless.

"What are you going to do? Whatever you've got, bring it on. I'm not scared of you."

"Ibuki..."

Prince Ganlongdao had just started to move closer when Ibuki Mio began pounding his chest with her little fists. It was all in vain. He leaned in and whispered in her ear,

"You're really cute, you know..."

"..."

Silence fell over the room.

Ibuki Mio's mind briefly went blank. She wondered if she'd heard him wrong.

She had grown up in a dojo.

Those two words might as well have been meant for someone else. No one had ever called her cute.

The boys at the dojo

would spend all day hanging around her, teasing her for being a tomboy.

So

Ibuki Mio beat them all up,

until none of them dared show their faces in front of her again.

When she was little,

the physical differences between boys and girls weren't that great yet, so it had been easy for Ibuki Mio to win.

Besides,

she had trained in taekwondo since childhood,

which made it hard for her to fit in with the girls, too.

In the end, she became a loner who handled everything by herself.

That had also led her to a mistaken belief.

Ibuki Mio had always thought she was ugly, and that nobody liked tomboys like her.

When people teased her for being a tomboy all the time, it was only natural she'd think that way.

Ibuki Mio had accepted it without complaint,

choosing to be alone and refusing to interact with them.

The more she did that,

the deeper she fell into a vicious cycle, unable to get an honest opinion of herself.

Still,

as a girl,

she naturally wanted to be praised.

Once she came back to her senses,

she felt Prince Ganlongdao's admiring gaze on her. Her pretty face flushed all the way from her neck to her ears, and she stammered,

"Y-y-y-you... what are you saying?"

"Didn't hear me? I said..."

Prince Ganlongdao licked her delicate earlobe. "You're really cute. Be my girl."

"Mm..."

At his words,

she felt the damp touch on her earlobe.

Ibuki Mio's body shuddered as if she'd been struck by lightning. It was as though he'd licked away her soul, and her once-steady posture began to wobble.

Prince Ganlongdao let go.

Ibuki Mio fell to the floor. Clutching her right ear, she stared at him and scooted backward, her face burning with shame and anger.

"Y-y-you... Aren't you dating Manabe? What the hell are you trying to do?"

"So what?"

Prince Ganlongdao crouched in front of her and smiled. "Nobody says I can only have one girlfriend. So, what do you think? Want to be my girl?"

"Ha? In your dreams! Who'd want to be your girl? You scumbag, you womanizer. I'm going back."

With that,

Ibuki Mio turned and ran for the door, but Prince Ganlongdao quickly stepped in front of her.

"What do you want from me?"

Ibuki Mio's pretty face was bright red as she glared at him in shame and anger.

If Prince Ganlongdao had wanted to fight, Ibuki Mio would have known what to do.

She'd dealt with that kind of thing countless times growing up!

But

she'd never dealt with someone showing her kindness, let alone affection. Like a child who hadn't grown up yet, Ibuki Mio was at a loss.

She didn't know how to respond to someone being kind to her.

And on top of that,

Prince Ganlongdao had confessed to her,

asking her to be the other woman?

For a moment,

Ibuki Mio's brain nearly overheated. All she wanted was to get out of there and calm down.

"Just come with me."

Prince Ganlongdao shrugged.

"I might have to make some moves in the future, and I'll need someone to back me up. That person should be someone capable, and you're the best choice. Do whatever you want the rest of the time, but when I need you, you'll follow my lead and acknowledge me as the class leader."

"Fine, fine. I'll do it, okay? Now move."

With that,

Ibuki Mio, her face red as a hot iron, dashed past Prince Ganlongdao.

Even after she vanished from the rooftop,

he could still hear her hurried footsteps.

He hadn't expected that

Ibuki Mio, who refused to back down no matter what, would be so flustered by being told she was cute.

Prince Ganlongdao found it genuinely amusing.

At the same time,

the system notification finally rang in his mind.

[Ding~ Congratulations, Host, on successfully completing the main quest: conquering Class 1-C and becoming its class leader. Reward: one S-rank draw. Would you like to use it now?]

[The Host has become the leader of Class C. Main Quest 2 unlocked!]

[Main Quest: Become the leader of the first-year students! Reward: one Longevity Potion, one draw.]

With Ibuki Mio's acknowledgment,

the main quest was finally complete.

As expected,

all he had to do was become the class leader in name.

He'd deal with the rest of the quest later.

[No!]

[Ding~ The draw has been saved. When you need it, silently call out to the system in your mind.]

Prince Ganlongdao suppressed his excitement

and hurried back to his dorm room.

[System, draw.]

As soon as he finished speaking,

a roulette wheel appeared in Prince Ganlongdao's mind. It was filled with all sorts of abilities, and the pointer spun around before stopping on a small section.

[Ding~ Congratulations, Host. You've received a physical enhancement and awakened the power of the Demon Back.]

As the system's voice faded,

Prince Ganlongdao felt his body convulse. His muscles writhed and grew denser, until the muscles on his back formed a demonic face.

In no time,

Prince Ganlongdao was drenched in sweat. He panted heavily, staring at his hands in excitement.

He was already strong, but who wouldn't want to be stronger?

He could feel

that his strength had more than doubled.

Before, he would have needed some skill to deal with Albert. Now Prince Ganlongdao was confident he could beat him one-handed.

Most importantly,

Prince Ganlongdao felt as if his limits had been unlocked.

After all,

human beings had their limits.

Once you trained to a certain point, it was hard for your muscles to grow any further.

But now,

Prince Ganlongdao felt as if his body were a vast plain, with enormous room to grow. It was as though he had endless energy.

After thinking it over,

Prince Ganlongdao decided to test it out.

He picked up a dumbbell beside him.

The dumbbell that used to feel just right now seemed weightless.

After getting used to it,

Prince Ganlongdao looked down at the pressure building inside him, with nowhere to go.

For some reason,

after gaining the Demon Back,

his energy and desire seemed to have become endless.

He wanted to throw punches, to work out, to let off steam.

"I'd better call Shiho over."

Prince Ganlongdao took out his phone and frowned.

He was confused, too.

Normally, he'd always had a strong sex drive. He could go months without touching a woman, and Prince Ganlongdao considered himself one of the most self-controlled men around.

But now,

for some reason,

he had all this energy with nowhere to put it.

He felt he could barely keep his lust in check.

It was as if a beast inside him was greedily and ravenously devouring everything around it. To do all that, he needed to become stronger.

A moment later,

Shiho Manabe arrived at the dorm and wrapped herself around Prince Ganlongdao's neck.

She happily leaned close to his ear and breathed softly,

"Prince Brother, I thought you had something going on and wouldn't call me today. I did what you asked and made sure I was free!"

"Perfect."

Two hours later,

Shiho Manabe huddled in the corner, clutching the bedsheet.

She looked at Prince Ganlongdao with mixed feelings.

There was fear, but also a hint of longing; beneath her impatient yearning, there was a trace of greed.

For some reason,

Prince Ganlongdao had already been impressive before, but today he seemed as if he'd taken something.

Shiho Manabe both loved and feared him.

"Wait, Prince Brother. Let me rest for a bit. I really can't go on."

"..."

Prince Ganlongdao's lips curled slightly upward.

He was naturally quite pleased with the scene before him.

If he had to point out a difference,

it was that Shiho Manabe had awakened the feminine side within her.