Chapter 98
Succubi live by feeding on desire.
And naturally, the easiest way to obtain desire is...
- sax
ㄴ You crazy bastard, shut up
ㄴ Don't say it so loudly, you fucking idiot
Direct physical contact.
Absorbing the target's desire and vital energy and making it their staple food.
This was how ordinary succubi ate.
It was highly efficient, too. As befitted succubi who could even beguile members of their own sex, they at least never had to go hungry.
[Title: I'm Hungry ㅠㅅㅠ...jpg]
Author: WholesomeChaste
Of course, there was an exception for the rare—very rare—variant succubi who upheld their chastity.
(A GIF of a face reddened with embarrassment)
(A GIF of someone crouching and looking up at the screen disapprovingly)
ㅠㅠㅠ
[Recommended 9999+] [Not Recommended 0]
- (A cat emote with its mouth open in awe)
- (A human emote giving tearful applause)
- (A goblin emote pressing its fingers to its brow)
- osax
“Wow.”
The moment I saw the GIF, I couldn't even think.
Pure admiration.
Could an NSFW image, if it reached a sufficiently high level, feel like a work of art?
Overwhelmed by the sheer power of the lewd image, I could do nothing but applaud with humble reverence.
- Head Mod*) Wow, thank you.
- This isn't bait!!!!
- Dryer!Dryer!Dryer!Dryer!Dryer!
ㄴ WholesomeChaste) Please call me by my proper name...
In an instant, it received enough recommendations to claim the top spot among the Featured Posts.
After all, who was the beloved user Dryer?
She was the obnoxious succubus who abandoned her day job after alcohol was released in the marketplace, tossing out occasional clickbait posts.
And now it wasn't a bait post.
- Head Mod*) You finally decided to be faithful to your main job, damn it!!!!!
ㄴ WholesomeChaste) ^^;
ㄴ LOL this bastard's the most excited of all
ㄴ This bastard is true to his instincts...
ㄴ Beautiful girl archmage x virgin succubus
ㄴ Oh
I hurriedly put everything else aside and quickly saved the GIF.
The Elrad whale incident?
“Who cares?”
Nothing was more important right now than saving the GIF.
Dryer had a tendency to delete her posts and flee the moment the GIF satisfied her hunger, after all.
[This post has been deleted by the author.]
ㄴ What
ㄴ No, fuck
ㄴ Ah!!! Fuck!!! I haven't saved the GIF yet!!!
Sure enough, Dryer deleted the post before long.
One-third cheered, while another third cursed themselves for missing their chance to save it as they admired it.
- Hey... guys?
- There's still a whale fishman in Elrad, you know?
- Could you help us deal with our problem first...
ㄴ Elves, fuck off
ㄴ Victims, fuck off, goddammit
ㄴ Is someone dying really important right now? What's important is that we missed saving the GIF, right?
ㄴ (A human knight emote looking on with contempt)
And the remaining third of the elves were naturally buried beneath the incident.
“But why is she suddenly uploading GIFs?”
Surely her desire had been satisfied when alcohol was released in the marketplace last time?
Head Mod*: Didn't we solve your food problem last time?
When I sent Dryer a separate message out of curiosity, she replied immediately.
WholesomeChaste: ㅠ3ㅠ I thought it had all been solved, but the marketplace keeps releasing endless supplies...
Head Mod*: What
“Huh. I didn't think of that.”
In the past, everyone was starving, so they had no room to harbor desire.
So I thought opening the marketplace had solved Dryer's hunger...
But the opposite had happened.
The fact that they could buy it cheaply before their desire had any chance to grow had been the key.
WholesomeChaste: More than anything, indirect desire isn't enough to satisfy my hunger... ㅠ3ㅠ
I think I need direct desire...
Head Mod*: Ah, got it.
WholesomeChaste: ! Th-then...
“Still, the reason I haven't been tracked down all this time is thanks to Dryer...”
Thanks to the horn she had cut off for me herself, I had been able to avoid getting dragged into politics all this time.
Besides, I liked the situation where she wanted it herself, yet pretended to be embarrassed, posted a GIF, and ran away.
I wasn't particularly moved by the idea of forcing myself to post lewd images for survival.
Head Mod*: I'll help you directly. Yeah.
WholesomeChaste: Gasp... really?
Head Mod*: Yeah. It might be a little difficult, but this is a matter of life and death.
More than anything, this was a problem that affected me too.
Several Gallery users died every day.
On the other hand, there were either no new baby Gallery users coming in, or only a tiny handful.
WholesomeChaste: ㅠ3ㅠ Thank you. Of course, I've never done it before either... but I'll do my best!
Head Mod*: Okay. I'll think of a solution too.
WholesomeChaste: Then where should we... Huh?
From the immediate problem of the Elrad whale fishman to WholesomeChaste's survival problem.
It was just as I was wondering how I could solve both at once.
“Ah.”
An idea came to me.
I sent a message to Morone, the only witch among my thin network of connections, whom I had once rescued from a witch hunt.
Head Mod*: Hey, are you busy?
Morone: Gasp, no, no. What is it?
“That reply was fast.”
Morone was living in a cabin in the forest.
As far as I knew, she was still absorbed in researching recovery potions.
I cautiously asked Morone about the thought that had just occurred to me.
Head Mod*: Is it possible to make this with it too?
Head Mod*: (Attached image)
Morone: Hmm... Yes, I think it might be possible.
Head Mod*: Oh.
And I was able to find a solution.
*
[A new item has been added to the marketplace.]
- Ooh.
- Has it finally dropped?!
- So what came out this time?
As the Gallery's attention naturally focused on it, the newly appeared item was...
[Virility-Boosting Supplement (Limited Edition)] - 29 dumplings
Limit of one purchase per person
[Provides substantial health benefits.]
[Helps build the immune system.]
[May have a stamina-enhancing effect.]
It was a virility supplement, of all things.
- What!!!!!
- Wait, you can make this kind of thing too??
- Buy out the whole stock right now!!!
ㄴ What the fuck, there's even a purchase limit.
ㄴ What the hell, they're controlling purchases this much?
Things related to virility were such a major concern that people even said supplies could dry up entirely.
Didn't people commonly say that if an unappetizing creature was rumored to boost virility, it would be hunted to the brink of extinction?
[There are no items remaining.]
ㄴ Ah, fuck
ㄴ For real, I've never managed to buy one even once.
ㄴ Woooo! I managed to buy one!!!
It naturally sold out in less than a minute.
Most reactions were that, since it was cheap, there was no harm in buying it.
Those Gallery users who succeeded in purchasing one naturally left review posts on the Gallery.
[Title: Review of the Limited-Edition Virility Supplement...jpg]
(A GIF of someone posing while holding a jar labeled “Virility Supplement”)
I suddenly managed to buy the virility supplement that's stirring up the discussion lol.
I've already been fucking worried about this for ages...
Head Mod, I fucking love you, mwah, smack!!!
It says to take one pill a day.
After actually taking one, I feel like energy is coursing through my whole body for no reason, and like my blood is running hot...
It's like I've gone back ten years?
- Wow, for real?
ㄴ Holy shit, how old are you?
ㄴ Author) I'm 12.
ㄴ You little shit lol
ㄴ So this Gallery user was raring to go at age two?
ㄴ Fuck, this is just absurd lol
I can't say for sure, but the reviews said it seemed to actually work.
There were especially many posts saying they felt vigorous and full of strength, as if they'd returned to the past.
- Wow, but how do you even make a virility supplement?
ㄴ For real, wasn't that something that only existed in our imagination?
ㄴ Can the Head Mod make something like this too?
As I took in the comments, each one expressing amazement, I smiled and muttered,
“No, I don't know how.”
A virility supplement? What was this, some kind of height-growth pill...
Of course, there were many reviews claiming it worked, and the products varied widely, but it was still unclear for now.
But there was a simple reason I had confidently sold it in the marketplace as a virility supplement.
I'mGoingToBeAPotionMaster!: Is this really okay?
Head Mod*: Yeah?
I'mGoingToBeAPotionMaster!: It's just a supplement...
Because what I had uploaded in the first place was a vitamin.
[Provides substantial health benefits.]
[Helps build the immune system.]
[May have a stamina-enhancing effect.]
Taking vitamins obviously made the body better off than not taking them.
Compared to when one's body was in poor condition, wouldn't that naturally count as an enhancement?
In fact, none of the claims in the product description was false.
Besides, I hadn't asked Morone to make a virility supplement in the first place.
Head Mod*: I heard potion research requires a lot of animal meat.
Is it possible to make it with this too?
(A GIF of a whale fishman)
Morone: Hmm... Yes, I think it might be possible.
Head Mod*: Oh.
Animal meat was practically an essential ingredient in potion-making.
And as an investment, I bought animal meat from Morone every month and delivered it to her.
All I had asked Morone was whether whale fishman flesh could substitute for animal meat.
“If whale meat can be used too, then we can use whale meat instead.”
In exchange, I bought vitamins from the marketplace with the equivalent points and put them up for sale.
That had caused the current sellout.
In any case, I felt sorry for having deceived the Gallery...
“I can't lose Dryer.”
I couldn't lose the Gallery's only succubus, Dryer.
Besides, since the vitamins also provided nutritional support, it was a win-win, wasn't it?
I waited for the stock to sell out, then posted a new announcement at the right moment.
[Announcement: Announcement Regarding the Limited-Edition Energy Drink]
Author: Head Mod*
I know you want me to put up more, but I don't have enough stock.
Instead, whale fishman flesh is needed to make this, so if you bring me some, I'll trade it to you.
- Oh, for real?
- You'll trade it if we just bring you some?
ㄴ Head Mod*) Yeah.
- Fuck, I'm going right now.
- Can't pass up a virility supplement, ahaha.
- Let's drive whale fishmen to extinction~
Soon, I received whale fishman flesh from the Gallery and delivered it to Morone.
I saved the points I would have spent buying the animal meat I supported Morone with and released zinc to the Gallery instead.
- There's still some youth left in me... I still have it...@!!
- 11-year-old charismatic guy seeking a girlfriend.
- My... heart... is always burning like fire,,... ladies of the rabbit tribe... please accept my heart,,,@!!
In reality, it was just Wonhyo's skull water—a placebo.
The Gallery began to burn in every sense, whether for good or ill.
“This should be enough, right?”
At any rate, the Gallery was now burning with desire.
Head Mod*: How is it? Is it a little better now?
I contacted Dryer again.
WholesomeChaste: ...
Yeah, well... it helped. ^^
Head Mod*: ? Are you sure you're okay?
But her reaction seemed strange.
It was the reaction of someone who had received something entirely different from what she wanted.
Thinking it odd, I sent another message, and a GIF flew back.
WholesomeChaste: (A GIF of someone sticking out their tongue and saying “Bleh”)
Stupid, moronic Head Mod, die.
[“WholesomeChaste” has left the chat.]
Head Mod*: ???
“Hmm.”
I was bewildered by the sudden change in her reaction, but in any case, it seemed to have worked out.
I got up from the bed, stretched lightly, and checked the time.
“Hmm, it's about time Penny woke up.”
Focusing on the Gallery had brought me to nearly breakfast time.
I was just about to rise from my seat to heat up the meal kit I had prepared in the refrigerator when
“Huh?”
Penny was sitting at the kitchen table with a serious expression.
What was going on? She should have been asleep at this hour.
When I approached, Penny looked up at me with a grave expression and abruptly said,
“My tooth hurts.”
“What.”
Penny had spent the several months since moving into my house eating nothing but sweets.
A crisis had come to Penny.