Chapter 10
My body was floating in a pure white space.
‘Is this the reward area?’
I casually flew through the sky while opening the Swordsmanship Gallery.
-PureAndLovely*) Nooo, my monthly sparring-abduction privilege!!!!
The blue-tag mod who’d failed to abduct me was weeping and complaining about how unfair it was.
└Serves you right for grabbing random people and beating them up all the time lol
└DaggerTechniquePro) Now I can browse the gallery in peace for the next month…
Rather than comforting her, most people were saying she deserved it. She must’ve had quite the reputation.
└But what happened to the newbie? Are they dead?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Nah, I got dragged into someone’s inner world, so the system counted it as escaping the forest and sent me straight back to the Tower.
└PureAndLovely*) …This system is such a piece of shit.
└GreatswordFan) Whoa, so that was why you requested a spar?
└Pretty wild that you figured that out right away.
└DaggerTechniquePro) If you’re gonna be a genius, you should at least be dumb, for fuck’s sake. Give us a break.
While the gallery was busy showering me with praise, a system window appeared in front of me.
[The clear reward for Hidden Stage—‘The Forest Without an Exit’ will be granted.]
[The ‘Sagittarius Stigma’ will be engraved upon your body.]
Then the back of my left hand began to glow.
‘Whoa.’
The Sagittarius constellation appeared on the back of my hand.
I didn’t really know what the constellation looked like, but if the system said it was Sagittarius, then it had to be right.
Anyway.
‘Maybe I should learn how to use this ability.’
[Title: (NSFW) My Stigma got engraved in a weird place…]
Author: WokeUpAsATSGirl
(Photo of the Sagittarius Stigma engraved on the back of my hand)
What did you Swordsmanship Gallery degenerates expect?
-Clickbait title, for fuck’s sake.
-I thought it was going to be a vulva tattoo;;
└Phew. So I’m not the only one who thought that.
└Both of you, hold your breath for just three hours.
└Three hours is easy lol
-GreatswordFan) Mine showed up under my boobs. Why’s hers in a normal place?
└Oof.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) More importantly, can you tell me how to use the Stigma ability?
└GreatswordFan) Oh, sure. I’ll give you a lesson, so accept my spar request.
[‘GreatswordFan’ has requested a spar.]
*If you accept the request, you will be moved to ‘GreatswordFan’s’ inner world.
“Hmm.”
I was a little suspicious, but accepted it anyway.
There was no way she’d kill me too, like the blue-tag mod, right?
***
When I opened my eyes, a vast grassland stretched out before me.
[GreatswordFan: Oh, you really came]
[GreatswordFan: I’m right behind you!]
I turned around and saw a woman walking toward me with a greatsword.
A red ponytail and eyes as blue as the sea.
She had the lively air of an older sister… though there was one unusual thing about her.
[WokeUpAsATSGirl: Why are you shirtless;;]
[GreatswordFan: This is more comfortable for me! Hehe]
She wasn’t wearing a top, and had only loosely wrapped bandages around her private parts.
I was so flustered that I froze in place, but…
[GreatswordFan: What, are you scared I’m gonna hit you or something?]
She approached with a grin and casually draped an arm over my shoulder.
-Squish.
A soft, rounded body part pressed against my cheek.
[WokeUpAsATSGirl: You’re way too close, you psycho]
[GreatswordFan: Just wait a second. There’s something I want to check.]
She grabbed my left wrist and examined the Stigma, then…
[GreatswordFan: Just bear with me!]
She abruptly brought my wrist to the underside of her breasts.
-Fwoosh!
A hot sensation came from the back of my hand, but…
That wasn’t the important thing right now.
[WokeUpAsATSGirl: You psycho. What are you doing?!]
[GreatswordFan: Hmm… This is kind of fascinating.]
She lowered my hand and gave me an intrigued look.
[GreatswordFan: When I pushed my Stigma into yours, they clashed, like they were rejecting each other.]
Had she really rubbed my hand against her chest just to test that?
‘She’s nuts.’
I wanted to say something, but it didn’t seem like there’d be any point.
I’d better just listen to her explanation.
[GreatswordFan: I knew it. Maybe Stigmas are a kind of energy similar to aura.]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl: Huh? Why?]
[GreatswordFan: When one person’s aura clashes with another person’s, they clash as they try to erode each other, right?]
[GreatswordFan: It felt the same when our Stigmas touched just now.]
With a serious expression, she showed me the Stigma engraved beneath her breasts, then…
[GreatswordFan: Don’t look away. Take a good look.]
She began to cover the Stigma with her aura.
As soon as her colorless aura began to seep into the Stigma…
[GreatswordFan: The gallery users don’t know this, but I can actually use my Stigma like this, too.]
-Gwooom!
Blue aura poured out and enveloped the area.
[WokeUpAsATSGirl: What? I thought you said you didn’t have a color.]
[GreatswordFan: I don’t. But when I infuse my aura with the power of my Stigma, something kind of like a color appears.]
A moment later, she withdrew the blue aura and winked at me.
[GreatswordFan: Keep it a secret that I can do this, okay?]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl: Why hide it? If you showed it during spars, people probably wouldn’t tease you for being colorless.]
[GreatswordFan: Well…]
She smiled brightly and thrust a V sign forward.
[GreatswordFan: That’s not greatsword-like at all!]
…What exactly did a greatsword mean to her?
***
After that, she taught me how to use my Stigma.
[GreatswordFan: Use it just like you use aura.]
[GreatswordFan: But imagine the Stigma is your heart, and draw the power out from inside it!]
Following her instructions, the Stigma began to shine brightly.
‘Oh…’
Blue light flowed out of the Stigma, gathering into the shape of an arrow.
And then…
-KABOOM!
The arrow shot off like an explosion and plunged into some part of the grassland.
‘Not bad.’
There was definitely a limit to fighting with a sword alone.
Especially since my unique ability only gave aura mass.
Being able to attack from a distance was a huge step forward, but…
[WokeUpAsATSGirl: But if that’s all it takes, wasn’t there any need to invite me to your inner world?]
That question occurred to me.
I could’ve learned it from a few messages in the gallery. Was there really any need to spar?
[GreatswordFan: I wanted to test how Stigmas clash, and I wanted to see your face, too.]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl: Oh, I see.]
So there wasn’t much of a reason.
[GreatswordFan: Anyway, you’ve learned how to use your Stigma, so wanna head out?]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl: Yep]
[GreatswordFan: Okay. I’ll kill you painlessly.]
‘Ah, shit, wait—’
-Puhbuk!
My head was completely pulverized before I had a chance to feel any pain.
***
“Hmm.”
When I came to, I found myself back in front of the Tower.
The Stigma was still on the back of my hand, and there was nothing wrong with my body.
It was good that I’d gotten out without any trouble, but…
‘Something feels a little anticlimactic.’
For a Hidden Stage, it hadn’t been exciting enough.
Just as I was wondering if a powerful monster might show up…
-Eeeeeee!
Sirens blared throughout the city.
[Emergency alert. An A-Rank monster, a Lesser Griffin, has been spotted in the skies above Hwaseong City.]
[Citizens are urged to move to a shelter immediately for their safety…]
With the alert, the area descended into chaos in an instant.
“Move!”
“Wait, someone’s down here! Stop stepping on them!”
Everyone was frantic to get into a shelter.
‘Why’s everyone making such a fuss?’
Monsters never came near the Tower anyway.
They’d be beaten to death by Kwon Dohwa, the Hwasan Guild Master, before they could get here.
I leisurely made my way through the crowd, but…
‘…Wait a minute.’
I was an illegal immigrant right now.
Well, I could sneak into a shelter without any trouble, but…
‘They’d definitely catch me.’
I had a Mithril Sword at my waist.
To get into a shelter, I’d have to turn in my sword. A middle schooler carrying an expensive Mithril Sword?
They’d definitely get suspicious.
And then they’d find out I was the Sword Maiden.
‘…I’d better go home.’
Having made up my mind, I immediately ran toward home.
I’d stayed home even when the alarm went off before.
As long as the monsters didn’t notice me, I’d be fine.
“What’s with her?”
“There’s a middle school girl going the opposite way from the shelter…?”
“Hey, student! It’s dangerous that way!”
As I ran against the flow of people heading to the shelter, I felt countless eyes on me.
‘Good thing I wore a hood again today.’
I pulled the hood low to hide my face and kept running.
After a few minutes, I was leaving the city center when…
-Fwoosh…
My aura twitched as if reacting to something.
‘What was that?’
I looked around at the strangely creepy sensation—
-KABOOM!
Something huge plunged down from the sky and pierced through my left shoulder.
“Ugh…!”
Clutching my shoulder, I looked around.
“Kieeeek!”
The bizarre creature, part lion and part eagle—the Lesser Griffin.
It was flying through the sky with a chunk of my flesh in its beak.
‘Why was it here of all places?’
It was an A-Rank monster.
If I fought it head-on like this, I’d be dead before I could do anything.
“…Phew.”
It was despairingly hopeless, but I couldn’t give up hope.
I’d made it through the threat of death more times than I could count.
‘Let’s do what I can.’
I drew my sword and checked my shoulder.
A chunk of flesh had been torn away, and blood was pouring out.
‘I need to stop the bleeding.’
Just as I tried to staunch the bleeding while keeping an eye on the Lesser Griffin…
“Kiiiik!”
It readied itself to charge again.
From its movements, it was aiming for my head.
‘Aura.’
I poured as much aura as I could into my sword, preparing to meet its attack.
The moment the distance between us closed—
“-Kieeek!”
It veered to the side and scraped my leg with its claws as it flew past.
“Ugh!”
Blood poured from my leg, and my strength began to drain away.
‘…This is ridiculous.’
Its speed, destructive power, and intelligence…
It was on a whole different level from any monster I’d fought before.
‘I can’t fight it head-on.’
At the very least, I needed something to hide behind.
-Thud!
I smashed through the door of a nearby commercial building and rushed inside.
The Lesser Griffin was too big to fit inside.
‘I hope it gives up and leaves.’
It had a habit of never running away before it was injured.
‘…Can I even hurt it?’
Just as I was wondering how on earth I could survive…
-KABOOOOM!
A shock like an earthquake shook the building.
“Cough, cough!”
Concrete dust billowed into the air and obscured my vision.
Was it trying to bring down the building I was in?
‘I have to hurry.’
My sword couldn’t hurt it.
I needed a way to keep it at bay from a distance, but…
‘…I just got one.’
I looked down at the Sagittarius Stigma engraved on the back of my left hand.
Maybe this could work.
-Gwooom…!
When I focused on the Stigma, blue light flowed out of it.
The light soon took the shape of an arrow, and…
I aimed it at the Lesser Griffin through the window.
‘Fire.’
-KABOOM!
The arrow shot out like an explosion and hit the monster square in the head.
But…
“Kiiiiik!”
Instead, the attack provoked it, and it began charging at the building I was in.
It didn’t even have a scratch on its head.
‘What the hell…!’
There was no way I could stop it. All I could do was wait for it to crash into the building, and…
-Kuuuuung!
The tremendous impact shook the building.
“Ugh…!”
I checked the outer wall and saw huge cracks spreading all over it.
One more hit like that, and the whole building looked ready to collapse.
There was no time to ask the gallery for advice.
‘I have to drive it away somehow.’
To do that, I had no choice but to draw out more power from the Stigma.
‘…She said she’d strengthened her aura with her Stigma, right?’
I remembered what GreatswordFan had shown me.
How she’d overlaid the Stigma’s properties onto her aura to give it color.
I already had a color, so I hadn’t paid much attention to it.
‘What if it works the other way around?’
If I infused the Stigma with aura, maybe I could strengthen its power.
‘I’m not sure this will work.’
But I had to try something.
-Brrk, brrrrk!
I hurriedly pushed aura into the Stigma.
But contrary to my expectations, the two energies began to repel each other and threaten to explode.
“Hngh…!”
I barely managed to suppress the explosion and calm the energies.
If I’d made one small mistake, my blood vessels might’ve burst.
‘…Doesn’t work?’
Rather than enveloping the Stigma, it felt like my aura was being swallowed up.
The Stigma seemed to be stronger in terms of raw power.
‘For aura to imbue the Stigma, it has to be stronger than the Stigma.’
And I knew how to make my aura stronger.
The phenomenon in my inner world—the ‘formless mist.’
As I recalled the ability that gave my aura an immense amount of mass…
-Fwoosh…
I rapidly infused the mist into my aura.
The moment the ability manifested…
“Kieeeek!”
The monster, which had finished preparing to charge, let out a scream.
‘Hurry.’
In a panic, I moved the aura imbued with mass.
-Slither!
The formless mist wrapped around the back of my hand, then seeped into the Sagittarius Stigma.
-Crack, crackle!
The two energies pushed against each other, violently repelling…
‘It worked.’
The powers that had been clashing endlessly condensed and took the shape of a small arrow.
A blue-green arrow filled with dazzling light.
I fired it at the Lesser Griffin, and—
-KRAKAKABOOM!
A powerful explosion erupted in the sky, and black mist spread outward.
‘I can’t see.’
I couldn’t hear the griffin anymore.
Had it fled from the impact of the arrow?
“…”
As soon as the mist cleared, I looked outside through the window.
While I anxiously scanned the area…
I spotted something on the street in front of the building I was in.
“…”
The Lesser Griffin lay sprawled on the street, its head blown apart.
“…Huh?”
Even seeing it with my own eyes, I could barely believe it.
Had I killed an A-Rank monster?
And blown its head apart in one shot?
‘Holy shit!’
I did a happy somersault in my mind and opened the Swordsmanship Gallery.
This is totally going to be a top post!