Chapter 33. Overpowered Problem Children

Succubi Chapter 33. Overpowered Problem Children

I stopped. Turned. Slowly.

Elise hadn’t moved from her spot, but her arms were now crossed and her expression was firmly in nope territory.

I pointed my thumb over my shoulder. “Uh, resuming my training with Adrian?”

Her eyebrow twitched. “No.”

I blinked. “No?”

“No.”

I blinked again. “...But why no?”

She tilted her head slightly. “Because you’re an anomaly.”

Okay, I mean—fair.

“You move like a Valor, but cast like an Arcana,” she continued, matter-of-fact. “If you spar with Adrian, you’re either going to vaporize him by accident or redefine his skeleton.”

Adrian, who had been halfway through an excited shuffle over to me, stopped dead. “Wait—vaporize?”

Elise didn't even look at him. “Or break several important bones.”

I winced. “C’mon. I’m not that reckless.”

Elise just gave me the kind of look teachers reserve for kids who say, “I won’t do it again,” and then immediately do it again.

“Okay, I might be a little reckless,” I admitted, holding up two fingers.

“Elven archmage’s beard, you think?” Adrian muttered behind me.

I turned back to Elise with a hopeful shrug. “So, training partners are out?”

She nodded. “Yes. Just use the illusionary monsters like the rest of the overpowered problem children.”

I cringed, my whole face scrunching up like I’d just bitten into a lemon wearing hot sauce cologne.

“Seriously?” I said, voice flat.

Elise’s lips twitched. “Or would you prefer more of my fireballs as your training partner?”

And there it was—the evil smile of someone who absolutely would hurl fifty more fireballs at me for science.

“No, thanks,” I said immediately, holding up my hands like I was being mugged by a librarian. “Illusionary monsters are fine. Very fine. Love ‘em. My favorite.”

She gestured lazily, and a pulse of energy rippled out from her palm. The training field shimmered in front of me, and a handful of glowy red circles began to form in the open space.

“Take your pick,” she said, already writing something new on her clipboard. Probably something like ‘Subject responded positively to monster combat. Shows rapid adaptability under pressure. Clearly motivated by challenge. Potentially unstoppable with proper snacks.’

I sighed and walked up to the summoning zone. The air was warm and humming with mana. The illusion spells were solid—whoever programmed these monsters really put in the effort. I watched as the magic formed shape after shape—three figures rose, glowing slightly from within.

The first was a Shadow Wolf (Lv. 16), fur made of writhing shadow, eyes burning like coals. The second, a Stone Fist Golem (Lv. 18), its hulking body thudding against the arena floor with weight that felt way too real for an illusion. And last, a Void Caller (Lv. 17), a robed figure made of smoke and whispering darkness.

“Okay,” I muttered, cracking my knuckles. “Let’s test this out.”

The Shadow Wolf pounced first, claws extended and mouth open like it was ready to take a chunk out of my face. I waited a second longer than I probably should’ve—then dropped low, rolled beneath its lunging body, and in that same motion, kicked up to my feet mid-spin.

But I didn’t throw a blade this time.

Nope.

This time was… an experiment.

As I stood, I whispered, “Shadow Blade—Bow.”

The darkness surged to life in my hands, but instead of forming into my usual dagger or spear, I focused, shaping it into a longbow, sleek and sharp, made entirely from condensed shadows.

My heart thumped. ‘Holy crap, it worked!’

The Shadow Wolf twisted around, preparing to lunge again.

I conjured an arrow in the same instant—a narrow shaft of dark energy with a glowing black tip.

I loosed it without hesitation.

-THWIP—CRACK!

[CRITICAL HIT!]

The arrow sliced through the wolf’s underbelly mid-leap, and the illusion rippled, glitching with static before recovering its posture. It didn’t vanish yet—but it was wounded.

“Not bad,” I muttered under my breath, already drawing another shadow arrow.

The next opponent, the Stone Fist Golem, stomped forward like a pissed-off concrete tank. It moved with the momentum of a freight train, fists the size of my torso.

It raised both arms and brought them down with the grace of a meteor.

I dove to the side—barely. The impact slammed into the ground, sending up a spray of dust and cracking the tiles.

“Yup! That would’ve been my spine!”

Still in a low crouch, I conjured another arrow—no, this time, I charged it.

Shadows curled around my fingers and coiled into the bowstring like living ink, pulsing as I pulled back.

The moment the bowstring hit full draw, I let it go.

-FWOOM—BOOM!

The charged shadow arrow slammed into the back of the Golem’s exposed joint and detonated with a violent ripple. The golem exploded into motes of light, and the illusion shattered.

The crowd behind the barrier gasped.

Yeah, I heard that. I felt that. The way the ambient noise shifted as more students looked my way.

I barely had a second to catch my breath when the last illusion stepped forward— The Void Caller.

It raised its hands slowly, the air thickening with smoke-like tendrils that slithered across the ground toward me like oily snakes. Its robes fluttered as it whispered in a language I didn’t understand, but I knew bad things were coming.

“Oh no you don’t—”

I dug deep into the mana swirling around me. Shadow coiled tighter around the bow, reacting to my thoughts. I pulled the string again—this time, harder, until the limbs of the bow started bending unnaturally, stretching past what should’ve been its limit.

[Shadow Blade] (Charged Form): Enhanced Arrow Created.

The system pinged in my head just as I let go.

The arrow shrieked through the air like a banshee. The Void Caller tried to unleash a pulse of mana—some kind of shockwave spell—but I was already mid-air.

I’d jumped high, spinning mid-flight, conjuring two more shadow arrows mid-spin and sending them down like darts.

CRACK—SHATTER—BOOM.

The first arrow drilled through its hooded face. The second ripped into its chest. The third struck the floating runes it had conjured mid-cast—and exploded.

The illusion shattered like glass hit by a brick, and the Void Caller was gone.

Smoke curled around me as I landed, shadow bow still in hand, eyes burning from the mana strain. My coat was scorched at the edge, and I was definitely sweating now.

And yeah—the crowd gasped again.

Even louder this time.

A few Valor students whistled lowly. One even clapped before looking around awkwardly and pretending they hadn’t.

I stood in the haze of mana smoke, the dark bow dissolving into flickers around my fingers.

Hair messy. Breathing hard. Shadow magic still thrumming in my chest like a bassline.

“Evan!” Leon yelled from the Valor side. “Wanna switch Houses?”

I waved him off. “No thanks! I like mine! They give me free smoothies and existential crises!”

Adrian watched from the sidelines, eyes wide, his mouth slightly open like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to applaud or run for cover. “Dude, I don’t know whether to be impressed or scared.”

“Why not both?” I said in a joking tone, flashing him a crooked grin as I wiped sweat off my brow.

But even as I joked, I caught movement from the corner of my eye—Instructor Elise, pen already in motion over her clipboard like she was writing a war report on my existence.

I tilted my head just slightly, trying to sneak a peek without looking obvious.

Yeah. No dice. She wasn’t even trying to hide what she was jotting down.

Her handwriting was clean. Sharp. I could just barely make out the words under the sunlight filtering in through the academy’s glass-panel roof.

‘Subject conjured a bow from Shadow Blade. Weapon not preset in known spellforms. Indicates creative application and adaptive combat thinking.’

She paused, her pen tapping once against the edge of the board before continuing.

‘Able to create ranged shadow weaponry on instinct. Capable of multi-type weapon conjuration—throwing blades, spears, bow. Potential to master full shadow arsenal if allowed to evolve.’

She underlined something twice.

‘High compatibility with dynamic combat environments. Combat versatility = high-risk in partner sparring.’

I stared for a moment longer before glancing back at my own hand—where just seconds ago I held a shadow-crafted bow like it was part of me.

The energy still lingered faintly around my fingers. A hum beneath my skin. The shadow obeyed now, more willingly than ever before. It moved with me. Not like a summoned pet, not like a tool—but like a limb. An extension of my will.

I was getting stronger. I could feel it—not just in the stats or the skills or the system pings. Every movement felt sharper, more natural. Every summon came faster. Cleaner. The power didn’t buck against me anymore. It flowed with me.

The system wasn’t just a passive set of powers handed down like a gift bag.

It was reacting to me. Learning from me. Changing for me.

It wanted me to adapt.

And that? That was both thrilling and a little terrifying.

Because if this was what I could do on day one...

What the hell was I going to become by the end of the semester?

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