The blade sank slowly into her chest.
Amane did not scream.
No sound. No tears. Only a deep breath slipped past her lips, like a sigh of release. The sword pierced flesh and bone, and an unnatural heat spread through her body. Then, almost instantly, came the cold. The cold of an ending foretold.
But the end… never came.
A shiver, faint at first, then stronger, crawled down her spine. Her heart had stopped—she knew it—yet she could hear another rhythm. A dull, distant beat, echoing as if from behind the walls of another world.
Around her, a black aura swirled, heavy and merciless. The sword lodged in her chest vibrated, its steel twisting under an otherworldly glow. It wasn't light—it was a burn. White flames devoured the blade, clashing against the darkness that sought to swallow it whole. Two forces—one divine, the other demonic—tore at each other. And she… she was the center of it.
For a moment, she thought her body would explode.
Then, everything turned inside out.
The darkness sank into her flesh. The light wrapped around her soul. The explosion inside her was silent, but she felt it in every fiber of her being. Her knees struck the ground, her breath caught, but she did not collapse.
Her eyes snapped open.
Red. Gleaming. Streaked with gold.
The silence around her was total, unreal. Only the clatter of the sword falling at her side echoed against the stone floor.
And then… the air tore open before her.
An interface.
Lines of text floated like hesitant fireflies, flickering as though unsure of what they revealed.
---
[Status]
Name: Amane Seiren
Race: Demi-Goddess
Class: Unassigned
Level: ??
HP: 100/100
MP: 5/5
Strength: 6
Agility: 7
Endurance: 4
Magic: 0
Luck: 1
Unique Skill: [Divine Scribe – Lv. 1]
Effect: Ability to write and rewrite any skill into the status board, and alter their levels.
State: Abnormal
Potential: Infinite
---
Her breath hitched.
"…An interface? Like… a game?"
But it didn't stop there.
Beneath the display, a keyboard appeared. Floating in the air, its keys glowed softly. Yet their arrangement startled her. Not modern letters—but Japanese characters, aligned like on an old flip-phone keypad. Each symbol pulsed faintly, as if carved into a star.
A notification rang—not in her ears, but inside her mind.
> [Manual Writing Mode – Activated]
[Access restricted to Divine Core]
[No skills detected – User input required]
Amane blinked rapidly, breath shallow. Her hands trembled. She pressed her palm to her chest—the wound was gone, leaving only a burning mark.
"…Why am I still alive? Where… am I?" Her voice echoed into the emptiness. "I remember… the teleportation… and then…"
Her gaze froze on the interface.
"I can… write my own skills? Even… change my level?"
Her fingers hovered over the glowing keys, shaking. The instant she touched one, warmth surged into her fingertips, as though each character acknowledged her existence. Fear and excitement twisted in her stomach.
"What should I write? If this is like a game… then—"
Memories of manga and anime came rushing back. Heroes summoning blazing spells. Overwhelming numbers. Ultimate techniques. She inhaled sharply.
Her trembling hands typed out her first word.
→ [Fireball – Added]
A crystalline chime echoed. The text blinked green and anchored itself into her status window. Her heart pounded harder than ever.
Then, switching the keyboard into numeric mode, she slowly typed:
→ [Level 100]
A notification flared immediately.
→ [Fireball – Lv. 100]
A chill ran down her spine.
"…It worked?"
Almost instinctively, her arm rose. She whispered:
→ [Fireball – Activate]
A crimson magic circle unfurled before her palm. A massive sphere of fire roared to life—so large she could barely believe it.
The next second, the explosion hurled her forward.
The fireball shot through the air like a meteor. The ground quaked, the walls screamed beneath the shockwave. Stone shattered in an earsplitting blast. When the dust cleared, a gaping hole yawned in the wall, scorched black for meters around. The air still burned.
Amane stared at her trembling hands, eyes wide, breath ragged. Both fear and exhilaration coursed through her veins.
"…This is insane…" she whispered. "This is… the ultimate cheat."
A grin spread across her lips despite herself. Her mind raced.
"But then… why is my level still '??'? Why don't my stats increase? Even after a spell like that?"
Her golden-streaked eyes narrowed dangerously.
"…Doesn't matter. If this is the power I've been given… then I'll use it. I'll find the limits of this system. And I'll break them if I have to."
Her fingers danced across the floating keyboard again. She tried countless ideas—skills drawn from half-forgotten stories, anime battles, and manga panels. Some flashed green, others stayed red, rejected as impossible or incoherent.
"I can rename skills… adjust their levels… but not beyond three digits," she muttered. "And some things—like rewinding time—just… refuse to exist."
Her expression hardened.
"…Fine. Then I'll find another way."
Dust from the shattered wall swirled around her, glittering in the strange light that now filled the room. Slowly, her breathing steadied.
She raised her hand, watching the faint glow on her fingertips.
"…A demi-goddess, huh?" Her voice was a low promise. "Then I'll show this world what that means."
Her hands flew across the keyboard once more, glowing words carving themselves into her status. Each one turned into reality. Each line, a vow of power.
→ [Physical Reinforcement – Added]
→ [Physical Reinforcement – Lv. 999]
Effect: Strength, Agility, Endurance increased.
Her muscles burned with invisible flames, her body suddenly lighter, stronger.
→ [Danger Sense – Lv. 999]
Effect: Her perception expanded outward, brushing against every corner of the chamber like an unseen pulse. Every shadow whispered a warning.
→ [Will to Survive – Lv. 999]
Effect: Her once-fragile heart solidified. A cold fire filled her mind: the certainty that no pain would ever bring her down again.
→ [Poison Resistance – Lv. 999]
Effect: A bitter taste rose in her throat, instantly fading to nothing. Her body rejected venom before it could exist.
→ [Analysis – Lv. 999]
Effect: Her vision sharpened, the world dripping with hidden data waiting to be revealed.
→ [Storage – Lv. 999]
Effect: A glowing rift opened briefly, swallowing a fragment of stone, then vanished soundlessly.
Successive notifications flashed before her eyes.
> [Unique Skill: Divine Scribe – Level Up → Lv. 2]
[New Ability Unlocked: "Divine Eyes"]
Amane blinked. Immediately, an annotation appeared beneath the message:
Divine Eyes: By looking into the eyes of any individual, the user may witness their past. The information is displayed within the status screen. (Evolvable).
She froze.
"…So the more I write, the more my main power grows." Her lips twitched into a nervous smile. "That means I can… force its evolution."
---
[Status Updated]
Name: Amane Seiren
Race: Demi-Goddess
Class: Unassigned
Level: ??
HP: 100/100
MP: 5/5
Strength: 6
Agility: 7
Endurance: 4
Magic: 0
Luck: 1
Unique Skill: [Divine Scribe – Lv. 2]
Effect: Write and rewrite any skill; modify its level.
Bonus: [Divine Eyes] – See another's past.
State: Abnormal
Potential: Infinite
Mana: 200/200
Skills:
Fireball – Lv. 100
Ice Spear – Lv. 200
Teleportation – Lv. 999
Physical Reinforcement – Lv. 999
Danger Sense – Lv. 999
Will to Survive – Lv. 999
Poison Resistance – Lv. 999
Analysis – Lv. 999
Storage – Lv. 999
---
Her fists clenched, knuckles white with contained force. Her gaze shone with a new kind of light.
"These 'Divine Eyes'… they're dangerous. If anyone finds out, I'll be hunted. But… it also means I can rip secrets out of someone with a single look."
A feverish thrill crawled through her. She inhaled slowly, trying to steady herself.
She had to stay clear-headed. If she set her offensive spells to Lv. 999, she could wipe everything out. She didn't control this power yet.
She let her hands fall to her sides, breathing deliberately. A thousand ideas swirled in her head.
"I could write 'Immortality'… but would the system accept that? Or 'Resurrection'? Or 'Create Item'… no. If it were that easy, I'd already be a full god."
She bit her lower lip.
"Each skill must cost something. But what? Not my stats — they don't change. Not my level — it stays '??'. So… what?"
Her throat tightened.
"Does this system… feed on something else?"
She shook the thought away and clenched her fists again.
"Doesn't matter. As long as it works, I'll use it."
Her eyes softened with a sad, distant shadow.
"Yukihira… I'll keep our promise. Thank you… for being my childhood friend. Thank you for loving me, just me, an ordinary girl." Her voice trembled. "I'll always keep a place in my heart for you."
Silence pressed around her for a moment, then a scraping sound cut through it.
Clack.
Claws raking stone.
Her breath stopped. Slowly, she turned.
Three humanoid figures stepped out of the gloom. Their skin oozed black like tar, their limbs twisted like broken puppets. Their eyes—yellow and glassy—stared at Amane with ravenous hunger.
A chill ran up her spine. But her heart remained steady. Her breathing was measured.
So this is a real-world test.
Her fingers danced over the glowing keyboard.
"Should I write 'Sacred Sword'? Or 'Light Wall'? No… not yet. I need to learn to fight with my hands, with ordinary weapons. Test my limits."
Her glance swept the chamber. A glint of metal caught her eye: a dagger, fallen from a shattered chest. She picked it up with a steady hand. The blade quivered slightly—but not her resolve.
"If I can write my survival… then I'll do it. Over and over."
Her eyes gleamed with ruthless focus.
Silence weighed heavily. Only the distant drip of water set a rhythm in the dungeon's stifling air. Dust from the wall she'd burned still drifted down, fine as the ashes of war.
The three creatures advanced, slow but threatening. Their claws scraped the stone with a shriek. Their faces were malformed, featureless except for those glossy sockets where blind hunger burned.
> [Danger Sense – Activated]
[Threat Confirmed – Hostility 100% (Danger Class F)]
A shiver climbed Amane's neck. Yet her heart did not race. Her [Will to Survive] flattened panic, leaving a cold clarity.
They're weak—Class F… but that's no reason to underestimate them.
She tightened her grip on the dagger. Her arm trembled only because her body still remembered being a frail high-schooler, not a fighter.
So… what to write? Her eyes fell on the floating keyboard nearby.
"'Increased Speed'? 'Night Vision'? No… I must be cautious. Too much power and I might destroy myself."
She drew breath.
→ [Physical Reinforcement – Activate]
Her muscles coiled like drawn bows. Her breathing smoothed and sharpened. The blade in her hand felt suddenly feather-light.
The first creature lunged.
Amane sidestepped—faster than she expected. Her body moved with a new, fluid obedience. She swung the dagger and sliced cleanly. The enemy's blackened arm was severed in a spray of dark ichor that hissed as it hit the floor.
"…I hit it."
No time to savor. The other two attacked from left and right.
> [Analysis – Posterior Joint: Weakness Detected.]
Amane pivoted, sliding across the stone. Her dagger pierced the twisted leg of one monster; it collapsed with a guttural howl.
But the second leaped at her. Its claws grazed her arm, leaving a streak of burning pain.
Amane recoiled, breath quickening. "I can't hold like this… I need to write something more."
Her fingers flew over the floating keys in haste.
→ [Cutting Strike – Lv. 50] – Added
→ [Cutting Strike – Activate]
The dagger glowed with a pale light. When it struck, the blade thrummed as if borne by an unseen force. The creature's torso split in one clean blow, dissolving into a plume of black ash.
Her breath sounded raw in the chamber. Her arms still shook, but now from pure adrenaline.
"…It works." Her voice trembled and shone with exhilaration. "I can really… write anything."
The last monster tried to flee.
Amane raised her hand, hesitated. Test a spell? No… not a Lv. 999. If she used too strong an attack she might collapse.
She typed rapidly.
→ [Ice Spear – Lv. 20] – Activate
A jag of frozen crystal formed and shot through the air, pinning the creature to the wall with a scream before it disintegrated into dust.
Silence reclaimed the room.
Amane stood panting, staring at the vanishing remains. Her hands trembled, but her heart beat with a newfound certainty.
She sank to her knees, laid the dagger on the floor, and murmured,
"…That was me. I won."
A bitter smile touched her lips.
"Before, I would have fled. I would have screamed. But now… I am not the same."
She looked up at the interface, still hovering and softly glowing.
So… what will my next skill be? "Heal"? "Shield"? Or… "Time Control"?
A flash crossed her eyes.
"No… I already tried that. The system refuses. So I must be clever… bypass it. Find the loopholes. If this is like a game, there are always loopholes."
Her fingers curled.
"…And when I find them, nothing will be able to stop me."
The floor trembled faintly, as if the dungeon itself had heard her declaration.