Who made him a paladin?

Chapter 24 First Use of Lust

Xia Nan leaned back against the bar, feeling much more relaxed.

"My promise not to kill you still stands. So what are your plans now?"

The succubus clearly hadn't expected Xia Nan to ask this question.

He suddenly stood up, put his hands together in front of his chest, and looked as if he were praying to a god.

"May I stay by your side?"

In fact, once a succubus becomes obsessed with a creature, she enters a state similar to "imprinting," where instinct drives her to approach, obey, and bind herself to the energy source for a long period of time.

Most importantly, the fact that she can call a creature "master" proves that she has completely accepted it as her master.

Since that's the case, it's better to keep her by my side as a tool.

After all, a succubus's transformation skills and ability to conceal her presence are essential intelligence-gathering tools.

Thinking of this, Xia Nan pretended to be deep in thought and said:

"What are the conditions?"

The succubus smiled and extended one finger.

"You just need to... give me a little energy boost every now and then. Like just now, or in some other way."

Xia Nan's lips twitched slightly.

When a succubus says the word "occasionally," it's practically equivalent to "every day."

Xia Nan understood that there are only oxen that die from exhaustion, not fields that are ruined by plowing.

If she continued to do this at such an irregular frequency, I'm afraid I'd die young.

However, Xia Nan remembered that he had never used [Lust] yet.

The original plan was to use it on a strong female teammate after having a fixed team.

But since the succubus insists on following us, we might as well use her as a test subject first.

Thinking of this, Xia Nan's mind stirred slightly, and he activated [Lust] on the succubus.

A moment later, an information box appeared on the left side of the field of vision.

Type: Charm

Favorability: (10/100)

Succubus exclusive passive: Active contractors will be permanently immune to all common germs, toxins, and physiological infections except for magical viruses.

Xia Nan's pupils dilated slightly.

Doesn't this mean that as long as one isn't afflicted by soul corruption, bloodline curses, or magical viruses manually created by mages, one can obtain a body immune to all poisons?

However, Xia Nan also noticed that the information bar read "Exclusive to Succubus".

So, when using [Lust] on women of other races, will the pop-up effect be completely different?

This question can only be verified in the future.

Right now...

Xia Nan stepped forward and put his arm around the succubus's waist, saying in a calm tone:

"As long as you listen to me, none of this will be a problem."

"So... what do we need to do now?"

Xia Nan pressed down on the succubus's head.

"I'm very angry right now."

……

early morning.

Sunlight streamed through the dome of the Holy Crown Hall, casting dappled patterns on the gray-white stone floor.

The hall is semi-circular, with a platform raised by six steps directly in front. Bronze griffin statues stand on either side of the steps, their feathers gleaming with a cold, dark gold light in the morning glow.

Below the stage, more than thirty newly recruited elite paladins were talking among themselves and waiting for their respective mentors to arrive.

Xia Nan walked through the entrance of the hall.

His legs were weak and he was walking while holding onto the wall.

Beside him, a red-haired little girl who was only 155 cm tall was following along with a radiant smile, skipping and hopping around, making no attempt to help him up.

This is "Talia," who was transformed from a succubus.

It is worth mentioning that upon Xia Nan's arrival, the paladins who had met him immediately split into two factions.

One group consisted of a dozen or so people who had previously witnessed Xia Nan chopping down Linus. Now, seeing Xia Nan, they treated him like a plague, not daring to even raise their heads.

The other group consisted of the people who had seen Xia Nan interrogate the succubus earlier.

A brown-haired young man approached and said in a rather concerned tone:

"Mr. Xia Nan, your complexion...would you like to go to the Holy Healing Hospital for a checkup?"

"No need," Xia Nan waved her hand. "I just had an upset stomach last night."

The brown-haired youth tactfully stepped back, but his gaze towards Xia Nan clearly held a hint of sympathy.

Xia Nan walked straight to the corner of the hall, plopped down on the ground, and leaned against a stone pillar.

That's what young virgins are like; once they taste the sweetness, they can't stop.

Suddenly, a continuous murmur arose from the crowd.

"You! That's Her Highness the Princess!"

"My God! Really! What would a princess do in a place like the Holy Crown Division?"

"Could she be thinking of joining us?"

The crowd spontaneously made way for them.

Xia Nan looked up and saw Sylvie dressed in a neat blue belted battle robe, her light pink hair tied into a single braid hanging down in front of her chest. Gone was her usual princess demeanor; instead, she looked like a mage about to go to the battlefield.

Sylvia ignored the surrounding chatter, simply waving for Lisa to catch up, and walked towards Xia Nan.

"You had diarrhea last night, didn't you?" She frowned and looked Xia Nan up and down for a while, her tone both concerned and disgusted.

Then the gaze shifted to the red-haired little girl.

"who is she?"

"My sister," Xia Nan said without changing his expression, "Talia."

Sylvie did not question the legitimacy of the blood relationship as Xia Nan had expected.

Instead, the haughty princess widened her eyes as if she were seeing her own child, and picked up Talia and embraced her.

"Your red hair and little face are so cute! Can I call you Tata?"

Talia's nose twitched, clearly flattered.

Her emerald green eyes glanced at Xia Nan, and only after receiving a nod of agreement did she speak in a soft, childlike voice:

"Of course... You're so beautiful, like a goddess from legend."

Seeing the two of them hit it off immediately, Xia Nan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't know where he got the audacity to bring a succubus into the most central department of the Vatican.

At the same time, one has to admire the succubus's transformation skills and her ability to conceal her presence.

I wish I could learn those two spells myself.

Just then, a dull thud came from above the hall as a door opened.

Boom-!

Xia Nan looked up as the large wooden door was slowly pushed open, and white light emanating from behind it gradually spread across the threshold.

Five figures emerged from the white light one after another and walked down the steps.

The first one on the left is a burly orc. A black cloth is tied over his eyes, completely covering the upper half of his face.

Daniel, said to be one of the Seven Swords' Silent Stars, is a warrior and a first-tier transcendent being.

The second one is a male elf.

Her silver hair reached her waist, and she walked along reading a book, her pace unhurried, exuding an aura that gave people a sense of inexplicable peace.

Wall of Oath - Galerhausen, Priest, First-Order Transcendent.

The third one was none other than yesterday's white-haired, scarred man.

End of White Frost – Boris, Paladin, First Rank.

The fourth one is Kyle, the man who spent a whole day running errands for Xia Nan.

Known as the Undying Grip, a paladin, and a first-tier transcendent.

Suddenly, Xia Nan noticed a furry squirrel jump onto Boris's shoulder.

The squirrel wore a mage's robe the size of a fingernail and pushed up its round-framed glasses on the bridge of its nose with its front paws.

The Shuttle of Time – Lady Adele, a sorcerer, at the first level of the Transcendent Realm, and it is said that she is about to break through to the third level of the Legendary Realm.

The last one to appear is our extraordinary second-tier king of cool.

Four maids emerged from around the corner and began to scatter bright red rose petals from the basket with a single hand.

Charlotte walked down the steps amidst the petals, tossing her signature blonde hair as she did so.

After she stopped, Xia Nan noticed that she was looking at him with a playful smile.

Xia Nan swallowed.

Whatever you do, don't be assigned to her group, whatever you do.

The following process is simple and straightforward.

The six mentors took turns reading out the list of members for their respective teams on stage.

After Adele finished reading, Xia Nan knew it was over.

If I follow this woman under her wing, my future looks very promising.

As expected, Charlotte unfolded the roster, her smile growing even wider.

"Rose Guardians, Group F members: Xia Nan, Sylvie, and Lisa."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the hall looked at Xia Nan.

"What's going on? Her Highness is in the same group as Xia Nan?"

"It was already outrageous for the princess to come here, but now she's even joined the Holy Crown Division—it's utterly absurd!"

"Right, I remember the princess still has an assassination case against her, right? Could it be because of Xia Nan?"

"I'm so jealous, man, I'm practically dying of jealousy."

"That's Charlotte's group... Are you sure you're still jealous?"

This last sentence silenced everyone who was discussing the matter.

Interestingly, Xia Nan also noticed that several gazes in the crowd were filled with a "take care, brother" kind of sympathy.

Clearly, Charlotte's reputation was already well-known within the Papacy.

Half an hour later, Xia Nan arrived at the office door with the words "Rose Guardian" written on it.

As Xia Nan stepped inside, the sweet scent of roses mingled with the aroma of alcohol wafted towards her.

The office is about 30 square meters and contains several wooden tables and chairs.

Strangely, even though it was working hours, all the dozen or so people in the office were slumped over their desks with vacant stares, as if their bodies were completely exhausted.

Shanan suddenly felt uneasy.

He walked to the innermost desk and spoke somewhat cautiously:

"Uh... Good morning, Lady Charlotte."

Charlotte coldly raised her eyes, her gaze falling on Talia.

"Who is that red-haired brat?"

"It's my sister, but don't worry, she doesn't need a salary."

Charlotte didn't ask any further questions, but instead slammed the yellowed paper onto the table with a "thud".

"Let me explain the rules. Missions are divided into six levels: C, B, A, S, SS, and SS+. Your team's mission this time is to go to the sewers of Rose Street to eliminate the A-level rat infestation."

"Before you set off, remember to collect your supplies from the armory and then register with the mission hall. Understand?"

Xia Nan was no stranger to this level.

According to the Vatican's custom, A-level missions usually require a Master-level 1 leader to carry out.

Their new team, which had been established for less than half a day, had a maximum combat strength of only Lisa, a Master Tier 2.

This woman is clearly settling a personal score.

Moreover, the reason why the rat infestation is classified as Grade A is because being bitten by a rat can lead to viral infection, and even if it is cured with divine magic, it will leave a lingering illness.

However, Xia Nan had heard that there was an S-level hidden mission related to the rat infestation: to eliminate the source of the infestation—the Demonic Rat King.

If we can complete it, it seems we can get a huge amount of team points.

Seeing Xia Nan lost in thought, Charlotte snorted and banged heavily on the table, instantly rousing many of the listless people present.

"I'm warning you, Xia Nan. Our team has been at the bottom of the mission completion targets for six consecutive months. If you fail to complete the mission, or if someone dies..."

She raised her head slightly, her brown eyes showing no hint of a joke.

"I will not hesitate to kick you out of the Vatican."

Xia Nan met her gaze and smiled.

"We guarantee the mission will be completed."