NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: MY BOUND
Selene lay sprawled across the bed, her thighs still parted, wetness glistening shamelessly under the lantern's glow. Every twitch of her body betrayed the storm she'd endured, her chest rising fast, sweat sliding over her flushed skin, the faint quiver of her core still breathing with every aftershock.
Her lips trembled open, voice raw yet tender.
"...My beloved."
Eran froze for a heartbeat. Beloved?
Ding!!
Desire: 100%
Lust rate: 100%
[Selene fully Bound.Potential Harem]
The system's cold words cut through him, but the weight of them sent a shiver of satisfaction racing down his spine. Totally bound. Her pride, her icy mask, everything she was to the academy broken and offered to him.
His lips quirked into a smirk as he traced a finger lazily along her trembling thigh. Her hips jolted faintly, heat still soft and wet beneath his touch.
"No…" he murmured, leaning closer, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. "Don't call me that. Just call me by my name."
Her glassy eyes softened, glimmering with submission. "Anything you say… E. Eran."
The sound of it, fragile and earnest, twisted deeper into him than the cries she had made minutes ago. And then, like a coil tightening, a thought bloomed. If Selene, the untouchable Ice-Serpent, could fall this low, then Miyu… Miyu could be pulled in through her.
His system pulsed again, as if aware of his intent.
Eran chuckled low, His thumb brushed over Selene's nipple, making her gasp, her chest arching as if her body already craved more.
"You'll help me, won't you?" he whispered, lips grazing her ear.
Her voice broke, soft and breathless, but certain. "Yes… anything… for you."
"Good." His smirk widened. He dragged his thumb across her damp skin again, savoring the little twitch of her hips...
Selene's body twitched when his thumb grazed higher, lingering at the edge of her heat without entering, teasing her nerve endings raw. Her breath hitched, her lips parting around a faint, unguarded moan.
Eran's smirk lingered as he tilted his head, voice low.
"Today… you helped me. Out there, without anyone noticing. You gave me a pass."
Selene's glassy eyes fluttered open. A faint chuckle slipped from her throat, broken and husky.
"I didn't expect you to notice…"
"Oh, I noticed," he murmured, his finger tracing idle circles along the top of her thigh. Just close enough to her swollen slit that every twitch of his hand made her body quiver. "You covered for me. The others didn't catch it. But I did."
Her lips curled faintly, the ghost of her usual sharpness, though softened now.
"You were… reckless. You held too much, with no mana to steady yourself. That is why it triggered, If anyone else had noticed, they might have questioned it. But I…" Her words shivered into another breath as his touch slid a little higher. "…I couldn't let them."
Eran leaned close, his lips grazing her cheek.
"And I couldn't let you go without thanking you."
Her breath broke into another whimper, but she nodded, surrendering to both his touch and his words.
Then, quieter, his tone shifted. "Tell me, Selene… when will the sparring duels begin? Professor Girzar said final pairs will be tested. Those who pass move forward. And I heard…" His thumb pressed a little deeper, just enough to make her hips flinch. "…that Miyu will be my opponent."
At the name, Selene's eyes flickered just slightly. But she didn't pull away.
"Yes…" she breathed out. "Girzar finalized it today. In just a few weeks… you'll face her."
Eran's smirk faded into a thoughtful line. His hand stilled against her thigh, though his warmth lingered.
"A few weeks, hm…?" His gaze narrowed slightly, shadows shifting across his expression. "That's… troublesome."
Selene tilted her head faintly, catching the change in him.
"Why?"
Eran leaned back, exhaling slowly. His eyes flicked down at her body, spread open for him yet already fading into the background of his calculation. "Because, Selene… I have no mana. Not compared to her. Miyu's a noble. Her crest alone… could crush me."
For the first time since the word 'beloved' left her lips, something steadier slipped back into Selene's voice. She reached for his wrist, fingers trembling but firm.
"You're not weak. You've already proven that to me."
Eran smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in it only calculation beneath the softness. "Still. Facing Miyu…" He trailed off, voice dipping low, deliberate. "I need more than luck."
Selene's breath shivered, her body caught between the heat of his touch and the weight of his intent.
"Then you'll have to prepare. I'll tell you what I know of her style… when the time comes."
His smirk returned slowly. He bent down, brushing her lips with a whisper more than a kiss.
"That's why you're mine, Selene."
""I... need to know her style myself. If I rely only on what you tell me, I'll miss the truth of it. To face Miyu in a duel that would decide more than pride alone. I have to see her, feel her, read her in real power."
Selene studied him for a long moment, sweat still gleaming on her flushed skin. Then, unexpectedly, she gave a faint laugh low, husky, tinged with admiration.
"Then you're more dangerous than I thought."
He tilted his head, curiosity flickering.
"Oh?"
"You barely have a single drop of mana compared to her," Selene murmured, brushing damp strands of hair from her cheek. "
Eran leaned closer, thumb stroking lazily along her thigh again.
"Perhaps it is."
She exhaled slowly, her lashes lowering. For a moment, she was silent, and then a small, knowing smile touched her lips.
"Then… from tomorrow, I'll call on the class for a training session. Not in these weak Grade D chambers." Her eyes glinted with something sharper, something only Eran could see. "We'll move to the Grade C Resonance Field. The mana flow there is stronger so much denser. It forces the body to draw it in whether you're ready or not. Slowly it will expand your state.
Eran stilled, interest flickering in his gaze.
"Grade C?"
"Yes." Selene's voice softened, but it carried weight. "Each student will be paired with another. Two against the pressure of the field—sharing its weight, learning to endure it. That will be the first format. Tomorrow, you'll stand with the rest… and we'll see if your body can begin to adapt."
Her words settled heavy between them, half challenge, half promise.
Eran's lips curved into a faint smirk. "So even the Ice-Serpent herself will throw me into the storm?"
Selene chuckled low, her chest rising with a soft tremor. ""If you wish to stand out, then build your mana core slowly, step by step. Consider it a trial of patience." Survive the pressure of Grade C mana flow, and you'll have taken your first step."
The system hummed faintly in his mind...
New Event Unlocked: Resonance Mana Training [Grade C' VENUX (Rank lV & lll)]
Pairing System Activated. Chance of hidden encounters: High.
Eran leaned back slowly, the smirk never leaving his lips. A storm was coming, and this time, he knows how to play.