When that warm and somewhat heavy male body sat without any barrier upon those petite hips...
Inaba Tsukuyo's exquisite face, buried deep in the pillow, instantly turned as red as a cooked shrimp.
A short, stifled whimper couldn't help but spill from her throat.
Even though she had long since steeled her resolve.
Even though she knew this was a necessary ritual to obtain power.
However.
That sensation of skin-to-skin contact with the opposite sex, and that posture of being completely under another's control... For a young girl who had lived a sheltered life in deep seclusion and had barely even interacted with boys her age, the impact was simply too great.
"Don't move around."
"This isn't a game. If you shift even a little, your Ability Status might end up drawn on your butt."
Haimer felt the tension in the girl beneath him and teased her softly.
Subsequently.
His expression restrained itself, becoming solemn.
Since they were forming a contract, as a God, he naturally had to show corresponding sincerity.
Haimer raised his hand, taking a specially made fine needle from his pocket.
The needle tip pricked lightly.
"Hss..."
A drop of blood, vibrant and ready to drip, slowly oozed from Haimer's fingertip.
That was not the blood of a mortal.
That was—'Divine Power'—which sealed the might of a god and connected the rules of the Heavens and the Lower World.
Haimer leaned down.
He let the 'Divine Blood' hover over Inaba Tsukuyo's back, which was as smooth and clean as jade.
Drip.
The bead of blood fell.
It merged into her body.
"Eep!"
Inaba Tsukuyo's body trembled violently, her hands gripping the bedsheets beneath her in a death grip.
In an instant.
Hum—
Fluorescent light burst forth.
One could see that a deep crimson light had risen upon Inaba Tsukuyo's originally pristine back.
These lights were not chaotic or disorderly.
Guided by Haimer's Divine Power, they ultimately transformed into rows of complex and sacred script, as well as a unique crest symbolizing the [Haimer Familia].
—It was deeply engraved upon the young girl's spine.
This scene left the surrounding girls dumbstruck.
The so-called Grace, in essence, is a back door opened within a mortal's body using a God's blood.
Through this door, the possibilities that mortals originally could not see, touch, or which were even locked away by the shackles of the flesh, are materialized in the form of intuitive data.
Just as before humans invented writing, memory was merely chaotic fragments. Only with writing could human civilization be inherited.
With Grace, a mortal's growth follows the same logic; it is no longer an ethereal feeling, but transforms into a string of visible data.
Living beings are always fanatically obsessed with quantifying everything.
From measuring wealth with seashells, to cutting time with hourglasses, to judging intelligence with scores.
It is as if things possess recognized value only when they become numbers.
The Gods of the Lower World are the ultimate culminators of this bad taste.
They stuff the weight of the soul, the limits of the flesh, and even the trajectory of fate all into this small engraving on the back, turning it into a game of climbing numbers.
...
"Done."
Haimer climbed down from Inaba Tsukuyo's back.
He casually picked up a sheet of parchment, transferring the data that had appeared on her back onto it, and simultaneously displayed it to the others.
"This is Tsukuyo's current status."
[Name]: Inaba Tsukuyo
[Race]: Human
[Level]: Lv.1
[Abilities]: Strength: I 0 | Endurance: I 0 | Dexterity: I 0 | Agility: I 0 | Magic: I 0
[Development Abilities]: None
[Magic]: None
[Skills]: [Child of Calamity], [Momentary Splendor], [Ill-Fated Sword Demon]
Seeing this string of zeros, Amou Kirukiru couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"Aside from the Skills, everything else is zero and none?"
"This is the so-called Grace?"
"Don't be hasty."
Haimer pointed to the letters on the parchment.
"In Orario, after any Familia member receives God's Grace for the first time—whether they were a fierce general unmatched by ten thousand or a scholar without the strength to truss a chicken beforehand—in the God's measurement, their Ability values are all zero."
"Everyone's initial Status panel starts with Ability values at I0. The order of Ability values is divided into I, H, G... up to S..."
"I represents 0-99, H represents 100-199... and so on, while S is 900-999."
"This is the high mountain you will have to climb in the future."
"The growth of every single value represents you surpassing your past self."
"And when one of your values reaches D Rank, which is above 500, and you complete a 'Great Feat' that makes even the Gods look sideways, you can break the limits of the human body and level up to Lv.2."
"However..."
Speaking to this point, Haimer changed the subject.
"Although you can level up at D Rank, I still suggest you hone your Ability values to A (800), or even S (900) or above, before considering a level up."
"After all, in this world, potential has a volume."
"These Ability values are the foundation."
"The deeper the foundation is laid, the higher the building can be built."
"A Lv.2 who leveled up with all S attributes can easily crush a Lv.2 who leveled up with all D attributes. This gap will be infinitely magnified as the Level gets higher."
"Therefore, adventurers who rush to level up for the sake of speed are destined to only become the base of this massive pyramid."
...
The girls nodded, seeming to understand yet not fully understanding.
Although a 'Great Feat' sounded very distant, the logic of 'not losing at the starting line' was the easiest language for this group of highly competitive young girls to understand.
"Furthermore."
"Aside from these basic values."
"The most critical part is this."
Haimer's finger landed on the very bottom of the parchment.
—[Skills].
There.
The few lines of text beneath Inaba Tsukuyo's three skills were emitting a biting aura.
Skills are things that can materialize the body's traits, experiences, and even the soul's desires into special effects.
As for Inaba Tsukuyo's three skills...
Even Haimer, who knew her background, was quite shocked.
...
Skills:
[Child of Calamity]
As the price for permanently losing [Vision], obtain the ultimate sublimation of [Hearing] and [Perception]. The ability to perceive killing intent, presences, and pre-motion telegraphs is drastically increased. Grants the guaranteed qualification to awaken the rare Development Ability [Mind's Eye].
In combat, there is an extremely high probability of seeing through enemy flaws, granting an [Initiative] effect.
In dark environments, all Ability values gain an additional bonus.
[Momentary Splendor]
When drawing the blade to attack, [Agility] and [Strength] instantly gain a volatile bonus. The magnitude of the bonus is directly proportional to the charging time.
As a price, the body will fall into a brief state of stiffness after the burst.
[Ill-Fated Sword Demon]
[Endurance] growth rate is drastically lowered; it is extremely difficult to increase.
In exchange, the proficiency acquisition speed for [Agility] and [Dexterity] is doubled.
Looking at these three skills.
Even Haimer, who was mentally prepared, couldn't help but let his pupils contract slightly.
"What a..."
"Truly extreme Status."
Haimer sighed softly, his fingers gently brushing over those words.
Inaba Tsukuyo's background was no secret to Haimer.
A child born from the intergenerational incestuous reproduction of the siblings Narukami Tadakatsu and Inaba Kougetsu.
Fate stole her vision and stole her healthy physique, making her like a sickly flower that could wither at any moment.
But.
When God closes a door...
To survive, life will always strive with all its might to smash a hole through the wall.
Inaba Tsukuyo was the truest portrayal of life itself.
These three skills perfectly interpreted her entire life.
Especially that [Child of Calamity] and [Ill-Fated Sword Demon].
It was simply carving her fate into her soul.
Endurance growth rate drastically lowered?
It doesn't matter.
Since the body is fragile and cannot withstand a single hit...
Then just sever the enemy's throat before they can make a move!
____
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