Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

{Melisa}

Melisa stood at the front of the classroom.

Next to her, Jaylin looked like she'd just stepped out of a shampoo commercial, not a hair out of place.

[... Okay.]

The rest of the class watched with varying degrees of interest. Some leaned forward, eager to see the fireworks. Others looked like they'd rather be anywhere else, possibly getting a root canal or wrestling a bear.

The professor cleared his throat.

"Miss Blackflame, Miss Folden, you may begin your presentation on magical parries."

Jaylin stepped forward, her chin held high.

"Thank you, Professor. We hope our presentation will prove... informative."

Melisa just nodded, forcing a smile that probably looked more like a grimace.

"Yes, what she said."

Jaylin shot her a look that could curdle milk. Melisa responded with her sweetest smile, one that said, "I hope you trip and fall face-first into a pile of dragon dung."

They took their positions, facing each other across the classroom. The air crackled with tension.

[Alright, you stuck-up harpy,] Melisa thought. [Let's dance.]

Melisa focused, drawing on her magical reserves.

"Illumi, nerca, var fal!" she shouted, sending a blue fireball hurtling towards Jaylin.

The class gasped as the fireball streaked across the room. But Jaylin just smirked.

"Ventus, spirare, defendere!" she called out.

A gust of wind swirled around her, forming a shimmering barrier of air.

The fireball hit the barrier and dissipated harmlessly.

[Show-off,] Melisa thought. But she had to admit, it was impressive how fast she did it.

"An excellent demonstration of a basic wind parry," the professor noted. "Miss Blackflame, your turn to defend."

Melisa nodded, her mind racing.

[Okay. Probably shouldn't use the same exact spell, I imagine that'll lower my grade. Hence why I made this one...] She smirked.

Jaylin shot out a fireball, so fast Melisa hadn't even heard the incantation.

Melisa responded:

"Aqua, solida, defendere!"

Water coalesced around her, forming a rippling shield.

The fireball hit the shield of water and dissipated harmlessly.

Jaylin's eyes narrowed. She clearly hadn't expected that.

[Ha! Didn't think I'd get creative, huh? It's one of my charm points~]

From there, a sort of magical shit-flinging competition began.

They continued trading spells and parries, each trying to outdo the other. Jaylin's wind parries were crisp and precise, deflecting Melisa's attacks with ease. Melisa's defenses were slower, but more creative. As much as she wanted to focus on perfecting spells instead of just making more, she couldn't help it. She enjoyed the spell creation process.

As they fought, Melisa couldn't help but notice the difference in their styles. Jaylin's magic was textbook perfect, each movement precisely as it should be. Melisa's was more intuitive, raw power shaped by instinct rather than rigid training.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes, the professor called for them to stop.

"Excellent work, both of you," he said. "You've demonstrated a wide range of parrying techniques. Class, take note of the different approaches. Miss Folden's traditional style versus Miss Blackflame's... unconventional methods." Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

Melisa and Jaylin locked eyes across the classroom. For a moment, something passed between them. A grudging respect, perhaps?

And then, it was gone, just as quickly as it came, as Jaylin went to sit down at her usual space in the classroom, as far from Melisa as she could.

---

{Isabella}

Isabella sauntered out of the classroom, her tail swishing behind her with an air of satisfaction. She'd nailed that presentation, if she did say so herself. And Armia? Well, the big lug hadn't completely fucked it up, which was a pleasant surprise.

She turned to the darian, a teasing grin playing on her lips.

"Not bad, scales. You almost looked like you knew what you were doing up there."

Armia's golden eyes narrowed. Naturally, she looked annoyed, but there was something else there too. A flicker of... what?

Amusement?

Desire?

Whatever it was, Isabella found it amusing.

"I held my own," Armia growled, her voice low and rumbling. "Unlike some, I didn't win the genetic lottery to have magic gifted to me so cheaply."

Isabella's grin widened.

"Oh honey, there's nothing cheap about me."

For a moment, they just stared at each other, the air between them crackling with unspoken tension. Isabella felt her breath catch in her throat, her body humming with a familiar heat.

[Fuck,] she thought. [What is it about this overgrown lizard that gets me so worked up? Ugh, come on! I mean, it was... it was just one time. Move on!]

But before either of them could say anything else, the spell was broken by the arrival of Melisa and Raven.

"Hey, you two," Melisa chirped. "Ready to head out?"

Isabella blinked, shaking off the lingering effects of... whatever that was with Armia.

"Yeah, sure thing," she said, as Raven silently joined them.

The four of them fell into step, making their way through the crowded hallways of the academy. Students milled about, chattering and laughing, the air filled with the buzz of post-class excitement.

As they walked, Isabella couldn't help but steal a couple of glances at Armia.

[Down, girl,] Isabella corrected herself. [Since when do you get all hot and bothered over some muscle-bound walking tree trunk like her?]

Pushing those thoughts aside, she turned her attention to Melisa.

"So, my purple princess, how about we ditch these losers and find ourselves a nice, private bathroom stall? I've got some tension I need to work out, if you catch my drift."

Melisa rolled her eyes, but Isabella didn't miss the slight flush that colored her purple cheeks.

"Sorry, Izzy, no can do. I've got training with Zephyra."

"Booooo!" Isabella pouted. "Picking magical lessons over my cock? I'm hurt."

They reached the academy's main entrance, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the courtyard.

"Well, this is where we part ways, I suppose," Raven said, her quiet voice barely audible over the general hubbub.

They all mumbled their goodbyes, each heading off in different directions. As Isabella watched her...

... Her friends go, she felt a strange twinge in her chest.

[Ugh, oh gods, they're my friends. I mean, I'm not complaining about Melisa, of course, but, scales and Miss Murder? Wow.]

Shaking off the unfamiliar feeling, Isabella set off towards home, her mind already racing with plans for the evening.

[Let's see,] she thought. [I could work on my wands, but that's starting to feel like actual work. I don't want to get burnt out. Maybe I'll hit up that cute bartender at the Drunken Dragon.]

As she walked, the streets of Syux bustled around her. Vendors hawked their wares, the smell of street food filling the air. A group of children ran past, laughing and shouting as they played some game involving a lot of running and even more shrieking.

Isabella breathed it all in, feeling the familiar rush of excitement that came with endless possibilities. This was her city, her playground, and she was going to make the most of it.

Lost in her fantasies of fame, fortune, and a lot of very satisfied customers, Isabella almost didn't notice when she reached her street.

But as she approached her house, something made her pause.

The front door was open.

[That's... not right,] she thought, her earlier good mood evaporating instantly.

Isabella's ears twitched, straining to pick up any sound from inside the house. But all she heard was an eerie silence.

"Mom?" she called out, her voice sounding unnaturally loud in the quiet street. "You home?"

No answer.

Heart pounding, Isabella crept towards the open door. As she got closer, she noticed something that made her blood run cold.

Scratches on the doorframe. Deep gouges in the wood, like something – or someone – had been desperately trying to get in. Or out.

[Fuck, fuck, fuck,] Isabella's mind raced. [This is bad. This is very, very bad.]

She stepped inside, her eyes adjusting to the dimness of the entryway. And that's when she saw it.

Blood.

A dark smear on the floor, leading further into the house. And next to it, a body.

A man in a black robe. A Shadow Mage, no doubt. Here, in her house.

"Oh shit," Isabella whispered, her voice trembling. "Oh fuck."

She wanted to run. Every instinct screamed at her to turn tail and get the hell out of there. But she couldn't. Not without knowing...

"Mom!?" she called again, louder this time. "Mom, where are you?"

Isabella moved deeper into the house, her feet feeling like lead. The living room was a disaster zone. Furniture was overturned, paintings were ripped from the walls. Ice and burn marks decorated everything.

And more bodies. Then more, then more. One over to the left, three Shadow Mages sprawled across the expensive carpet her mother had imported from some far-off village to the right, a few more in the kitchen. There had to be over ten in total, with the entire house looking like it had been the stage of a massive fight.

[What is happening? What is happening? What is...]

The metallic smell of blood, the oppressive silence – it was all too real.

And then, as she rounded the corner into the dining room, she saw her.

"..." Isabella's jaw hung open.

Her legs nearly gave out. For a moment, all she could hear was her heart beating in her ears.

There she was. Kimiko. Her mother. Slumped against the wall, her once-vibrant eyes now dull and lifeless.

"No," Isabella whispered, her voice breaking. "No, no, no."

She rushed to her mother's side, falling to her knees beside her. Kimiko's body was still warm, but there was no pulse, no breath.

[How long ago was this?] Isabella wondered. [D-Did I get here a second too late?]

"Mom," Isabella sobbed, gathering her mother's limp form into her arms. "Mommy, please. Please wake up."

But Kimiko didn't move. Didn't breathe. Didn't do anything but grow colder in Isabella's desperate embrace.

Isabella saw a pair of knives buried in Kimiko's abdomen, alongside two open wounds. The knives probably belonged to the two other dead Shadow Mages lying nearby.

Isabella panted. Her eyes remained fixed on Kimiko.

Any moment now, surely, Kimiko would smile, that usual, confident smile of hers. She'd tilt her head up and recognize Isabella kneeling before her.

But, as Isabella realized that wouldn't happen, she screamed.

Her eyes remained fixed on Kimiko.

What could she do?