"My mana… seems like it's about to run dry~"
Ivsha asked Kurose Akira for help, her voice carrying a trace of helplessness and fragility.
During the process just now, she had exhausted her mana to guide the moonlight, drawing the lunar energy down and sealing it into the small jade bottle.
However, when the collection reached roughly halfway, Ivsha realized that her mana was already nearing complete depletion.
"No mana left…"
Akira frowned deeply, sinking into thought.Such an enormous mana requirement—how was this quest supposed to be completed smoothly?
Considering that Ivsha's mana pool exceeded 200 and even that was only enough to collect half the moonlight, letting Alice try would hardly change the outcome. The rest would be impossible to finish.
Unless there was some way to restore Ivsha's mana…
Suddenly, a possible solution flashed through Akira's mind—
The succubus's unique method of mana recovery.
Then…
What would the cost be?
Gulp.
His Adam's apple bobbed as his gaze swept across the surroundings.
They were standing atop Moonlight Peak, five to six thousand meters above ground. Cold winds swept past intermittently, stealing away body heat.
There was nothing here but moonlight—below them, a bottomless darkness; above them, the bright, mirrorlike moon.
Recharging a succubus's mana in a place like this felt… somewhat—
Damn it!
There was nothing to hesitate over!
If they waited for Ivsha to recover naturally and came back later, it would definitely waste time.
After all, such brilliant moonlight didn't appear every night. Tomorrow could easily be shrouded in clouds. Once this opportunity was lost, it might never come again.
"Alice, stay here and behave yourself."
"Okay~ Master~"
After giving Alice instructions, Akira stepped toward Ivsha.
Seeing him approach, Ivsha's lips curved into a bewitching smile.
She knew it.
The succubus's "power bank" had arrived.
[Moonlight Bottle is collecting Moonlight Essence: Progress 46%]
"Still this much left?"Akira glanced at the jade bottle and muttered.
The remaining 54% of Moonlight Essence meant Ivsha's mana would need to be fully restored at least once to finish the task.
Mm…
Akira's gaze shifted to Ivsha, who was kneeling on the ground. She tilted her head up slightly, looking at him with eyes full of anticipation.
"Mr. Akira~ are you going to help me recover my mana?" Ivsha asked curiously.
Her instincts told her she had already caught the scent of food. Under the witness of the moonlight, she desperately wanted to savor this feast~
"..."
Akira was speechless.
This was all for the sake of completing the quest.
Praise the moon.
(What follows is a detailed depiction of pure moonlight. Ten thousand words omitted…)
When the moonlight gradually dimmed, Ivsha gently sealed the Moonlight Bottle.
[Moonlight Bottle is collecting Moonlight Essence: Progress 100%]
"Phew~ thankfully, the quest was completed successfully~"
Akira let out a long breath of relief. Thankfully, Ivsha managed to finish it—otherwise, this quest would've had to be put on hold.
That said…
Succubi really were useful. Their mana could be replenished through special means—just not exactly friendly to his physical health.
"M–Master!"
Suddenly, Alice's voice rang out behind Akira.
"What is it?"He turned back in confusion, only to see Alice surrounded by a halo woven entirely of moonlight.
"What's going on?"
Akira frowned slightly, unable to understand what had just happened to Alice.
With a thought, he immediately checked Alice's status panel.
[Moonlight Overflow: A blessing from the Moonlight Witch. While bathed in moonlight, the combat power of the Spirit Doll increases by 50%.]
"Oh?"
Seeing Alice's status, Akira showed a hint of surprise. He hadn't expected the moonlight to activate the Witch's Blessing hidden within the Spirit Doll.
But when he remembered that Spirit Dolls were creations of the Moonlight Witch, it no longer seemed strange.
And…
Combined with the thoughts he'd heard earlier from Alice's heart, Akira began to suspect that the Moonlight Witch had likely been forced to leave Alice behind—rather than abandoning her coldly.
Otherwise, this Witch's Blessing wouldn't have persisted until now.
"Don't worry, Alice. This is the blessing she left for you."
Akira smiled gently as he stroked Alice's hair, calming her down.
"Moonlight Witch… my lady…"
Memories flickered in Alice's eyes, as if she were recalling fragments of the past.
The Moonlight Witch—creator of the Spirit Doll—was like a mother to Alice, someone she held deep affection for.
Even though she had once been left behind, Alice had never harbored resentment.
Now she finally understood—the Moonlight Witch's blessing had never disappeared. It had merely slept deep within her soul.
Warmth like sunlight spread through her heart, filling her with gratitude and joy.
"Thank you, Master~"
Deeply moved, Alice hugged Akira tightly, burying her head in his chest and rubbing against him like a happy child.
"Now that we've collected the Moonlight Essence, let's head back."
"Mmm~"
...
In a flash of white light, Akira returned to the guild via the teleportation array. He casually submitted the Moonlight Essence he had just collected to the system.
[Quest Complete!][Silver Coins +10, EXP +1000][Item Reward Obtained: Moonlight Secret Brew]
"Moonlight Secret Brew?"
His interest was piqued. He opened the system description to take a look.
[Moonlight Secret Brew (Common): A fine wine brewed from Moonlight Essence. After drinking, restores 100 mana. (1% chance to enter a Drunk state.)]
"A consumable item? Not bad."
Akira nodded in satisfaction, then handed a bag of silver coins to Ivsha.
"Master~ Master~ m-me! Do I get something too?"
Seeing Ivsha receive a reward for completing the quest made Alice feel envious and expectant.
"You?"
Akira paused for a moment, then handed Alice a single copper coin.
"Here."
"That's great! Thank you, Master~"
Alice happily tucked the copper coin into the pocket of her maid outfit, her pure, lovely face glowing with joy.
She didn't really care how much the pay was—so long as it was a gift from her master, she felt happy and fulfilled.
Even if it was just one copper coin!
Akira smiled faintly at the sight.
Two free sources of labor in the guild—how wonderful~
Still smiling, Akira raised Alice's level to 5, consuming 1000 EXP. That amount of experience wasn't even enough for Ivsha and the others to gain half a level.
After finishing everything, he logged out of the game.
Glancing at the time, he saw it was already midnight.
He still had class tomorrow.
Sleep!
The next day, after finishing class, Akira rushed home and prepared to log back into the game. Before logging in, he glanced at WeChat—Liu Xue had sent him several photos.
They appeared to be scenery shots from the Elven Kingdom. In the photos were dozens of fair-skinned, beautiful elves with graceful figures.
But none of that was the main point!
What truly caught Akira's attention was a massive tree towering into the clouds in the background of the images.
Even though Liu Xue was some distance away from it, the tree's presence dominated the entire scene.
Akira roughly estimated that the tree was at least a thousand meters tall!
Below the photos, Liu Xue had added a message with more information.
Cute Bunny Kenei:"Akira, see that thousand-meter-tall tree behind me? That's the elves' sacred relic—the World Tree, the Elven Mother Tree! It's also the reproductive unit of the elven race."