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Chapter 43: Stigma
The pool water did nothing to lift the heavy mood that had taken over his mind. In fact, it seemed to make it worse. The Etherion in the pool clung to his body and forced its way into his body, his heart, his mind, his bones—every part of his body.
It was as if his body had been starving, and the Mucus of the Wiser was the gateway that allowed energy to enter.
Different scenes flashed in his mind, most of them from his time back in his world.
A particular one surfaced where his mother was pointing out, during a sporting event at school, "Why are you not like the other guys? See them, so talented. See how everyone cheers them on.
"Look how popular they are."
It was the first time that Severin noticed he was actually the random guy. The one described by a weird habit instead of his name.
And he tried. Severin tried so hard to be more than that, but nothing showed for it.
And so he accepted it like that. He was the random guy. Even in the world he came from, there were lots of extras, and he was just one of them.
Is that why he was trying so hard, more than survival, to be more than he could ever dream?
Scenes and thoughts like that flew across his mind, so fast and so numerous for him to settle on a single one. By force, his mind was getting expanded.
But then came the pain.
Countless needles stabbed into his body, into his bone marrow. His blood turned to liquid fire, and his eyes seemed to have been replaced by coals. His heart went cold, the bitter coldness that made his skin numb.
But then everything stopped.
Severin was now on the other side.
Everything he had been feeling or seeing all lifted from his mind.
But one thing remained.
He could feel Etherion, not just the one in his body but the one floating in the air as well.
He turned around, and when he saw the pool, it was lit up like the sun to his eyes.
"This is what I've been missing?"
His Talent Ability Rank was now E.
The weakest student in the whole academy was now an E-ranked student. And not just that, he was filled to the brim, so his Talent Ability was solidly the strongest of Rank E.
He grabbed the sword and then he slashed.
Woosh!
The sword came down at a speed he'd never achieved before. The sword seemed to bend as it came down.
Severin couldn't help it. A small laugh came out of his mouth.
He'd done that. Made an F-rank ability into an E.
A single step, but it took him a mountain to take.
"So, it is possible. To grow stronger." Severin clenched his fist, but then he groaned.
His Talent Ability Rank might be the strongest in terms of Rank E, but power? He was lacking. Far more lacking.
"At least I'll be able to hold my own now a little with months of sword training."
"But there must be more. I'm sure Eric didn't make a Sword Saint rank with just all this."
He turned towards the door and then went inside.
The new room was filled with stone statues. Hundreds of them lined the way to the next door—giant stone statues that held weapons high above their heads.
"I have to pass between them?"
Severin watched them. A single step and he was sure their weapons would come crashing down on his head.
But what other choice did he have?
He took a step, and then another, ready to jump back if need be. He was about to take the third step, thinking about how he would fight when one of the statues groaned to life and its sword came crashing down on his head.
He had become fast, but not fast enough to make that type of difference, because the giant sword slammed into his head and crushed him right there on the spot.
It had started again. The repetitive process. The cycle.
Death and rebirth.
The Timeless Immortal Saint Domain had taken effect again.
"They don't move, but suddenly one of them moved?"
It didn't take him long to figure it out. It took him less than months of death, but in the end, he got what he needed.
He needed to walk through between them without showing even a single killing intent. He must not show his bloodlust. In fact, he must find ways to completely erase his presence. Only then could he walk unharmed between the statues.
When Severin reached the next door, he needed to remind himself again and again that time was flowing differently for him. In the dungeon, it wasn't the same for others outside.
"Now, then. What is this?"
The last room was bare, except for the stone throne and the statue sitting on it. A robe with a hood covered the statue's head, but it held a book and a sword in its hand.
"Timeless Immortal Saint?" Severin muttered as he walked closer.
In the world, there are beings that are considered as gods—Divine. And even with the system closing the world, their powers still come through.
Like the Divine Continent that's mostly known for their worship of different gods and Gods.
"Is this Timeless Immortal Saint a god?" Severin wouldn't be surprised, but the author never mentioned it.
He moved closer to the statue.
The sword and the book lit up, dissolved into light, and before Severin could do anything, they entered into him.
He gasped. He felt as if an intense heat entered his body, and he fell to his knees.
A system notification came.
"Congratulations! You have received the Stigma of the Timeless Immortal Saint. You have twenty seconds to reject it."
Severin stiffened.
Stigma is the type of power that those in the Divine Continent use. It's a specific ability given directly from a higher being. Unlike Talent Ability, it's mostly straight to the point and not evolvable, so the power a person gets is relative to the being giving it.
There's no limit to the amount of Stigma that could be used by a single person.
And in some rare occasions, some dungeons contain artifacts that can give Stigma.
Severin had no need to reject it.
The statue of the Timeless Immortal Saint crumbled away.
"Congratulations! You have received the Stigma, Acceleration. You can now give speed to inanimate objects for a few seconds."
Severin's right hand burned, and a tattoo of an hourglass appeared briefly before fading away.
But that wasn't all, because suddenly, in his head, he could understand a technique that wasn't there before. Something he didn't know previously.
"The evasion technique?"