"Tch, boring. I thought it was going to be dinner, but it's a large private room at a bar. All they have are snacks, liquor, and soda."
Alistair sat on the couch, running his finger over the Demonic Eye Ring on his middle finger. The veins extending from this ring were growing, but the progress was incredibly slow.
Alistair didn't know what this thing did. On the way here, he had casually called his grandpa to ask, and his grandpa said this situation had only occurred once in history. The speculation was that Alistair was unexpectedly compatible with the item, so it had essentially recognized him as its master. If it fully merged, Alistair's grandpa didn't know what would happen.
According to the skill description, this thing absorbs special energy and desire. Since it uses the material of a Desire Demon's body, what would happen if Alistair completely merged with it? Alistair was suddenly very excited about the complete fusion. Will it turn me into a demon race? Or a human with demonic power?
Absorbing desire was easy enough; his sessions with the girls should absorb those emotions and convert them into nutrients. As for "energy," Alistair couldn't understand it. Could it be the evil aura mentioned by Hikaru Hyakkiya (from the previous chapters)?
If so, Alistair would have to venture into the demi-human district to search, but Alistair hadn't acquired any ability to resist those monster-like beings. He couldn't rely on the newly drawn Membership Restaurant Invitation Voucher to deal with them, could he? Even if it worked, Alistair would likely face more terrifying retribution, like various tortures.
Although the ring itself could absorb the monsters' energy, if they instantly killed Alistair, there would be no way to escape.
In short, to speed up the fusion, he could only rely on absorbing desire for now. But how exactly does this thing define "desire"? Does only lewd desire count? Or do other types of desire count too?
He would use the skill again tomorrow to gather more information. The effect of obtaining information increases with usage, and then he would know exactly what this "desire" referred to.
By the way, can the Demonic Eye Ring be used now? It was initially said to only work on demi-humans, but now it was merging. Did it have other abilities? Alistair focused his mind on it, staring at the "demonic eye" gemstone.
"Hello there, classmate. That's a nice ring. Where did you buy it?"
An unfamiliar female student saw Alistair looking at his hand and, curious, leaned in for a closer look. Seeing the ring, and finding the eye-like stone beautiful, she asked.
"It's an heirloom."
Alistair was startled by her words, realizing he had been too engrossed. Damn, the immersion was real. He casually brushed off the female student's question.
"There's no such thing as an heirloom. If you don't want to say, then don't say. You don't need to make up excuses."
The female student tsked dismissively, giving Alistair's ring a longing glance before turning back to whisper with her friends.
Alistair listened in. They were basically calling him stingy, unwilling to say where he bought a toy ring. Alistair had no interest in explaining. He glanced at the girls, memorized their faces, and planned to avoid them later, but as he looked, he saw something else.
Black gas... Am I hallucinating?
Alistair frowned and scanned the room, finding that almost everyone was shrouded in a black gas, with only differences in color intensity.
Alistair turned to look at the ring. Could this be the cause? He then saw part of the gas rushing toward him. While Alistair was stunned, the gas poured into his body.
Perhaps because of the sheer volume of gas, Alistair felt a slight physical enhancement. Under the influence of the Twelve Labors Partial Properties, Alistair could sensitively perceive and control changes in his body. This was why he could fill the girls and control the duration when fucking them. Alistair could erupt instantly or hold back indefinitely.
Could the effect of this thing be physical enhancement?
Alistair looked at the ring and suddenly felt the few extending veins squirm. If that was the case, these black gases were a manifestation of "desire"?
That made things simple. He just needed to frequent crowded places. But why wasn't it completely absorbed?
Alistair fell into contemplation, looking at the large amount of black gas still surrounding everyone.
Clap, clap—
"Everyone, now that everyone is here, the party is about to begin. Now, let's raise our glasses in a toast. Come on, a toast to the addition of our new members, Cheers!" Kazuhiro Kimura was the first to raise his glass, salute everyone, and then drank it all in one gulp.
Everyone present also raised their glasses in a toast. Alistair followed suit, saluted, and finished his drink. As for minors not being allowed to drink, he just ignored it. Plus, Alistair had the Horse Talisman; drunkenness was considered an abnormal status and would be "healed," so Alistair wasn't afraid.
Putting down his glass, many people's faces started to flush red. Alistair didn't quite understand. This champagne tasted like fruit wine diluted with soda. It was sweet and sour, and the alcohol content didn't seem high. He didn't understand how they got flushed so easily.
"Now, let me introduce the senior members in key positions in the club. This is... this is..."
Kazuhiro Kimura pulled out one senior after another for introductions, but Alistair wasn't interested and didn't listen. Instead, he observed the concentration of the black gas on people. If Alistair wasn't mistaken, the darker the black gas, the stronger the "desire." And this thing seemed to have a broad definition, so the black gas on many people was quite dark.
Holy shit! Why is there a N-word? Wait, no, that's a Blond Guy. The black gas was so dark that Alistair thought he was looking at an actual black person.
Who is that? Alistair stared at him, but the black gas obscured his vision, making it difficult to see clearly. As he thought this, the black gas in Alistair's vision began to fade, revealing the original appearance of the Blond Guy.
It's the Blond Guy who filmed the H-scene!
What a coincidence! We're truly destined! How many times have we met now? And with such a strong desire, he must be a good omen! I'm truly sorry for cursing him before. Now, Alistair could leverage the Blond Guy ruthlessly. Besides him, Alistair could also test the efficiency on the girls at home. It seemed the day of complete fusion was fast approaching.
Alistair rubbed the ring on his finger, a pleased smile spreading across his face.