When Heimer took the ritual position, Inaba Tsukuyo’s delicate face, half-buried in the pillow, instantly turned as red as a boiled shrimp.
A short, helpless sound escaped from her throat before she could suppress it.
Even though she had already prepared herself…
Even though she knew this was a necessary ceremony for obtaining power…
The feeling of being so completely vulnerable before another person still struck the sheltered girl with overwhelming force.
“Don’t move.”
“This isn’t a game. If I’m even slightly off, your Status panel might end up drawn somewhere very awkward.”
Heimer felt the tension in the girl beneath him and lightly teased her.
After that, his expression settled and became solemn.
Since this was the forging of a contract, he, as a god, naturally had to show the corresponding sincerity.
Heimer raised his hand and took a specially made fine needle from his pocket.
The tip pricked his finger lightly.
“Hiss…”
A drop of vivid red blood slowly seeped from Heimer’s fingertip.
It was not the blood of a mortal.
It was divine blood, sealed with godly power and connected to the rules of heaven and the Lower World.
Heimer lowered himself slightly.
The drop of divine blood hovered above Inaba Tsukuyo’s clean, pale back.
“Drip.”
The bead of blood fell.
It merged into her body.
“Ah!”
Inaba Tsukuyo’s body trembled sharply, and her hands gripped the bedsheet beneath her.
In the next instant…
“Buzz—”
A fluorescent glow suddenly appeared.
Inaba Tsukuyo’s previously unmarked back began to shine with a deep crimson light.
That light was not chaotic.
Under the guidance of Heimer’s divine power, it gathered and flowed.
Finally…
It transformed into rows of complex and sacred letters, as well as a unique Familia emblem symbolizing the Heimer Familia.
The mark was engraved deeply upon the girl’s back.
This scene left the surrounding girls staring in stunned silence.
In essence, Falna was a back door opened by a god on the body of a mortal using their own blood.
Through this door, the potential that mortals could not originally see, touch, or even access because it was locked away by the shackles of the body was manifested in the form of clear data.
Just as before humans invented writing, memory was only scattered fragments lost in chaos.
Only after writing appeared could human civilization be passed down.
In the same way, after obtaining Falna, mortal growth was no longer some vague and uncertain feeling.
It became a string of visible data.
Living beings were always fanatically obsessed with quantifying everything.
From measuring wealth with shells, to cutting time with hourglasses, to judging intelligence with scores…
It was as if only once something became a number did it gain value that could be recognized.
The gods of the Lower World were the ultimate embodiment of this strange hobby.
They stuffed the weight of the soul, the limits of the body, and even the trajectory of fate into this small inscription on the back, turning it all into a game of rising numbers.
…
“All right.”
Heimer moved away from Inaba Tsukuyo’s back.
He casually took a piece of parchment and copied the data that had appeared, then showed it to the others as well.
“This is Tsukuyo’s current Status.”
[Name]: Inaba Tsukuyo
[Race]: Human
[Level]: Lv.1
[Ability Values]: Strength: I 0 | Endurance: I 0 | Dexterity: I 0 | Agility: I 0 | Magic: I 0
[Development Abilities]: None
[Magic]: None
[Skills]: 『Magatsu Child』 『Ephemeral Bloom』 『Short-Lived Sword Demon』
Seeing that long string of zeros, Amou Kirukiru could not help raising an eyebrow.
“Except for the Skills, everything else is either zero or none?”
“This is the so-called Falna?”
“Don’t rush.”
Heimer pointed at the letters on the parchment.
“In Orario, when all Familia members first receive divine Falna, no matter whether they were mighty warriors capable of fighting ten thousand enemies before, or scholars who could not even beat a chicken, their ability values are zero by the gods’ system of measurement.”
“Everyone’s initial Status begins at I 0.”
“The ability value ranks are divided into I, H, G… all the way up to S.”
“I represents 0 to 99, H represents 100 to 199, and so on.”
“S represents 900 to 999.”
“This is the mountain you will have to climb in the future.”
“Every increase in value represents you surpassing your past self.”
“And when one of your ability values reaches D-rank, meaning 500 or above, and you complete a great feat that makes even the gods take notice, you can break through the limits of the human body and level up to Lv.2.”
“However…”
At this point, Heimer changed the direction of his explanation.
“Although D-rank is enough to level up, I still suggest that you train your ability values to A-rank, meaning 800 or above, or even S-rank, meaning 900 or above, before considering a level-up.”
“After all, in this world, potential has capacity.”
“These ability values are your foundation.”
“The deeper the foundation, the taller the building can rise.”
“A Lv.2 who leveled up with all attributes at S can easily crush a Lv.2 who leveled up with all attributes at D.”
“And the higher the level, the more that difference will be magnified.”
“Therefore, adventurers who rush to level up merely for speed are destined to become nothing more than the base of this massive pyramid.”
…
The girls nodded, half-understanding.
Great feats and the like still sounded very distant to them.
However, the principle of not losing at the starting line was something these fiercely competitive girls could understand very easily.
“Moreover…”
“Aside from these basic values…”
“The most important part is this.”
Heimer’s finger landed on the bottom of the parchment.
Skills.
There, the lines describing Inaba Tsukuyo’s three Skills released a sharp, chilling aura.
A Skill was something that could materialize a person’s physical traits, experiences, and even the desires of their soul into special effects.
As for Inaba Tsukuyo’s three Skills…
Even Heimer, who already knew her background, was greatly shocked.
…
[Skill: 『Magatsu Child』]
At the permanent cost of losing [Vision], the user gains an extreme sublimation of [Hearing] and [Perception].
The user’s ability to sense killing intent, presence, and the preparatory movements before an action is greatly increased.
The user will inevitably obtain the qualification to awaken the rare Development Ability [Mind’s Eye].
During combat, there is an extremely high probability of seeing through flaws in an enemy’s movements, granting an [Initiative] effect.
In dark environments, all ability values receive an additional bonus.
[Skill: 『Ephemeral Bloom』]
When performing an iaijutsu attack, [Agility] and [Strength] receive an explosive instant boost.
The degree of the boost is proportional to the time spent charging the attack.
As a cost, the body will briefly enter a state of stiffness after the burst.
[Skill: 『Short-Lived Sword Demon』]
The growth rate of [Endurance] is greatly reduced, making it extremely difficult to improve.
In exchange, the rate at which [Agility] and [Dexterity] gain proficiency is doubled.
Looking at these three Skills, even Heimer, who had already prepared himself mentally, could not help his pupils shrinking slightly.
“Truly…”
“An extreme Status.”
Heimer sighed softly, his fingers gently brushing over the words.
Inaba Tsukuyo’s origins were not a secret to him.
She was the child born from the close-blood union of Narukami Tadakatsu and Inaba Kogetsu.
Fate had taken away her sight.
It had taken away her healthy body, making her like a sickly flower that could wither at any moment.
However…
When God closed a door…
In order to survive, life would always do everything it could to smash a hole through the wall.
Inaba Tsukuyo was the truest portrayal of life itself.
These three Skills perfectly explained her entire life.
Especially [Magatsu Child] and [Short-Lived Sword Demon].
They were practically her fate carved directly into her soul.
Endurance growth rate greatly reduced?
It did not matter.
Since her body was fragile and could not withstand a single strike…
Then before the enemy could make a move, she only had to cut their throat first.
Short-Lived Sword Demon — Inaba Tsukuyo.