The years pass. You learn a lot -- from how to read and write to how to use formations in battle. You learn about the nine elements and magic theory: how souls draw in power from the world and transform it into spells and tekhniques. You witness the awesome power of a Soul Release. You memorise several libraries worth of bestiaries (it feels like, anyway).
Of the elements used by Magic Knights, you choose Fire to start with, in memory of the man who inspired you to seek the Academy. And in time you learn the skills of the Magic Knight yourself. It's very hard at first, especially with your illiteracy hampering your study of magic. You almost give up, but you make a good friend who helps you stick with it.
And now you're glad you did. You're literate, you've mastered magic theory and know tekhniques and basic Fire spells, and you've developed your own Soul Release. You've learned your way around weapons and armour, having settled on the classic longsword as your weapon of choice. You've also -- with Fire as your primary specialization -- gained a bit of resistance to Fire and Ice attacks, and a corresponding weakness to Water.
While not the top of your class, you are considered above average. The school has already reocgnised you as F-10 in the Adventurer League's ranking system. Most do not make F rank until graduation, so this is quite an achievement -- though you still have a long way to go until you reach the top, or anywhere close. Your Master, Sir Rudolph, seems like a god in your eyes still and he is merely B-2. The Headmaster himself is A-3, and he is considered not only one of the greatest heroes in Merria but in all the surrounding countries.
But there is still that rank beyond A: the legendary S-ranks. S-ranks practically are gods, capable of stopping world-destroying threats. You would hardly dare to aspire to that, though it is the dream of every student. And your friend has told you that they think you have the potential. Hopefully though you will never encounter an S-rank threat.
Maybe someday. For now, you have to get through your final exams. These comprise four steps. First, a written exam on your grasp of book-learning, magic and martial theory, and the like. Second, a solo demonstration of stances, strikes and spells before the Master of your job class -- Sir Rudolph in your case. After a break to relax and drink a mana potion, you spar with other fighter-types to demonstrate combat ability, using blunted weapons wrapped in cloth padding.
Finally -- since it will exhaust you -- you show off your Soul Release. Experienced adventurers can develop three of more of these super-abilities and even perform them more than once in a day. But to a neophyte like you, one is all you can manage.
This evening, you will form adventuring parties for a final field mission tomorrow. An instructor will accompany you, but not intervene unless they judge a student's life is at risk. You've done these missions before, but always at G-rank; tomorrow it will be an F-rank mission.
You've finished the written exam and the skill demonstration, and done well so far in the sparring matches. The goal is not to win, just to show what you've learned -- but it always feels good to win!
And so far you've won every match except against Bradley Innsbrook, the top Lancer of his class whose halberd gave him reach which, combined with his skill, you couldn't compensate for. But that was fine too. While you remained somewhat shy in general, when it came to fighting you felt confident and self-assured. A single defeat by a superior opponent can't shake that.
Your last two opponents would be challenging as well. Since this was about testing fighting proficiency, magic was not allowed. However, tekhniques were fair game as Knights and Martial Artists used them as well. And these two had very powerful tekhniques at their disposal, which you knew they'd been saving for difficult opponents -- like you. That was flattering, but also scary.
"Vintz of Clairfield! Brendan Atwater!"
Sir Rudolph calls your name and you step into the ring -- or rather, a square of grassy sward marked off by posts with ribbons running between them. The Magic Knight Master stands just outside of the boundary to your left, the tall Hume leaning a bit on his cane. It's just coincidence that you were assigned to his ring; all the fighting Masters and junior instructors are here, each overseeing their own ring. You can see Lady Gwen and now-Sir Lugh overseeing exams elsewhere on the field. Gwen is only a part-time instructor now, spending most of her time adventuring; but she turned up to help administer the finals.
Now your opponent comes to stand across from you, and you bow to each other. Brendan is another good friend, actually. Like you, he is rather diffident in day-to-day life, but confident once he dons his armour and draws his sword. He belongs to a somewhat new and still rare class: the Lilith Knight, which blends the skills of the Courtesan with those of the Knight. Not unlike your own class, except of course that the element specialised in is Passion.
He is clad in revealingly tight black leather armour with a few steel plates riveted on over his upper chest, thighs, groin and shoulders. It's decorated with red stitching and a pink, calf-length linen skirt. A passive Lilith Knight tekhnique, similar to that used by some Succubi, allows him to move and breath freely in it. You're just fortunate that he's not advanced enough to have it revealing skin -- the Lilith Knight Master can project the protection of full plate over herself while wearing what appears to be mere lingerie.
And also like you, he excels in his class. He has already achieved a Lilith Form, a somewhat advanced tekhnique that channels the user's lust to transform themselves into their ideal sexual fantasy. Which could be a problem -- you've seen Brendan's "true form," as he considers it, and it is... very hard to resist.
"H-hey Vintz," he greets you. He smiles as he draws his sword, and warns you with greater confidence, "I'm going all out!"
"I wouldn't expect anything else," you reply, thinking That confirms it. You brace yourself mentally for the temptation to come, drawing your own sword.
"Ready! Fight!"
You both lift your swords, planning to begin with a tekhnique to buff yourselves. Yours is fairly simple, channeling your spirit and Fire energy up your arm, and unleashing it through your weapon with a shouted "Flametongue!" Yellow-orange flames kindle at the tip and run down the length of the blade -- fortunately not actually burning the cloth wrapped around it. Such magical fire seldom leaves actual burns, just adding the bite of magic and the Fire element to your attacks.
This however pales in comparison to Brendan's tekhnique. You tense, as he intones the invocation, feeling your loins stir and the echo of anticipation from the dozen or so on-lookers.
"In desire is hidden truth unleashed! Reveal Lilith Form!"
A bright red-pink glow surrounds him, and his body begins to shift. His chest and hips expand, his waist pulls in; his back arches and shoulders narrow. His black hair grows out from beneath his helmet, long and silky. His face narrows and grows more delicate; deep red gloss appears on plumping lips, and traces of acne vanish under a wash of smooth, tanned skin.
A moan escapes her as Brendan becomes Brandy, the name she adopts when channeling her inner self. Her breastplate rounds with her swelling bust until it looks like a dark steel bra, seeming to barely contain the heavy titflesh hidden within. The leather molds to her skin, becoming slick and shiny as if freshly oiled. The skirt draws tight, emphasising the thick, juicy roundness of her butt and thighs.
You are almost mesmerised, watching as she runs her free hand over her voluptuous curves, down toward her codpiece, bulging obscenely over her expanding package. While Brandy identifies as female, her girl-cock is longer and thicker, her balls heavier than Brendan's. Behind them you know she has a more traditional feminine opening -- and you never know if it's in your head or an actual part of the tekhnique, but you can smell the commingled musk of her dual sexes radiating off of her, warming your blood like the heat thrown from a bonfire.
Wait! Now's my chance! You shake your head to clear away the lust, realising that in the pleasure of her transformation Brandy's guard is down. You rush forward and bear her to the ground before the reddish aura of the tekhnique has fully died away. She gasps out her breath as you land atop her, her luminous green eyes opening in shock.
But she's quick to recover herself. Suddenly you're keenly aware of her warm curvy body squirming beneath you, the layers of your armour and hers seeming to evaporate as her two mounds press firmly into your chest. She half-lids her eyes, looking at you through her lashes as her lips draw into a smile.
"Ohh, you're so forceful... I like that." Her voice is low, a sweet throaty purr dripping with carnal need. She dropped her sword in the fall, but that doesn't matter as she wraps her arms around you, her hand on your head as she pulls it towards hers. "Kiss me, Vintz," she whispers. "Claim your prize."
You try to resist, having seen her use this tekhnique before too -- Lilith's Kiss, which Charms its victims. But between surprise, panic and lust you can't pull away, and your lips meet hers. Spirits it feels so good, you almost don't care about the rush of magic into you, trying to bring you literally under her spell.
"No!" you sputter, shaking your head again, but a little too late. You feel the world spin, and suddenly Brandy is atop you, straddling your hips as you lay on your back. The Lilith Knight is moaning and rubbing her codpiece against your own, pressing the padded insides against your own throbbing dick. But she's also unsheathing her back-up dagger. As she bends forward to kiss you again, seeing you resist her first attempt, you barely see her right hand slip forward to bring the cloth-wrapped knife to your neck and "finish" you.
You try to catch her wrist, but grab the dagger blade inside. That works, though, and she cries out in aggravation, ripping it out of your leather gauntlet. But with her seductive advance broken, you have the sense to smash the pommel of your sword into the side of her helmet, dazing her and knocking her off you. You quickly roll up atop her in a kneeling position, pressing your knee into her back (and her tits into the soft sward, you can't help but think). You lay your sparring sword alongside her neck, and hear Sir Rudolph thump his cane on the grass.
"Enough! Vintz is the victor. Good match, both of you."
Panting, you get up, and offer Brandy your hand to help her to her feet. She takes it, and pulls herself up and you into her. Her lips meet yours hungrily for a more normal kiss. You return it for a second, too surprised to do anything else; then break off with a blush as you hear your old instructor laughing.
"Break it up, you two! You'll have time for that after the exams."
"Good fight, Vintz," she compliments you, her husky voice still alluring; her smile sincere now but just as sexual. "Let's have a 'rematch' later, please?"
"M-maybe." You've been with Brandy a couple times before, but it still feels a bit awkward. She's so different from the Brendan you usually know, and her hermaphroditism -- you don't mind, but you are maybe a little jealous that a girl has a bigger cock than you. But there's no denying that she's as hot as a Succubus casting Inferno, and this match has gotten you very worked up.
She laughs, pecks your cheek, and struts out of the ring, apparently feeling no need to cancel her tekhnique just yet, though she will have to if she has another match -- you can't start with a buff already active. You annul your Flametongue tekhnique and sheathe your sword. You try to recall your next opponent while you catch your breath and try to calm the erection straining inside your sweaty codpiece.