OP Sister Chapter 553: Lovely Stigmas

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Pink flames enveloped Jack’s entire body as Anna expended the Plot Points required to sponsor him.

One million five hundred thousand points vanished in a single second, causing Anna a fleeting pang of imaginary pain in her heart.

She wasn’t truly greedy, but not long ago, gathering even a bit over a hundred thousand points had been a challenge. Now, spending millions made her feel uneasy, yet it was for her brother and Fenrir, so it was worth it.

A series of nearly incomprehensible messages appeared before her.

[Congratulations, SYSTEM_ERROR $%22####-7 REQUIRED_FIX.EXE [J4ck] has SYSTEM_UPDATE_REQUIRED ##&%#!]

[You have SYSTEM_ERROR ##22%& [J4ck] into your [4p0stl3]!]

[The [$t1gm4] SYSTEM_INPUT has been generated!]

“Huh?!”

Anna squinted at the glitchy messages, straining to decipher what she was reading.

Her brother had successfully received the sponsorship, now engulfed in burning pink flames.

The flames converged in his right hand, forming a strange seal-like tattoo.

“Hey that’s new...”

Anna reread the messages, quickly discerning references to “Apostle” and “Stigma System Input.”

“Uuuhhh, that tattoo, what is it?” she asked.

The tattoo glowed with a mysterious pink flame, shaped like a small heart pierced by an arrow.

She sensed a cosmic connection to this tattoo.

“I believe this is your Stigma, Anna,” Jack said. “I guess you’re really like a Constellation now, wow.”

“I... I am?!” Anna gasped.

Stigmas, powerful rune-like tattoos that Constellations imprint on their Incarnations and Apostles, contain fragments of their Stories, enabling the chosen to develop faster and gain abilities tied to the Stigma and the Constellation’s Story.

Anna possessed two Stigmas: Gilgamesh’s Stigma on her right hand, shaped like a golden throne, and Ares’ Stigma on her left, a red Spartan helmet crossed with spears.

After intense training with these Constellations for a month, she had acquired them only two days ago and was still exploring their powers and development.

Constellations typically limit themselves to granting one Stigma to their sponsored mortals, as they are costly to create and carry immense power that mortals gradually unlock through training and completing quests (custom scenarios) assigned by their sponsors.

“My own Stigma, no way...!” Anna beamed, feeling immense accomplishment. “Um, so what is it? What abilities does it have? Wait! So if it’s a Stigma then it carries a piece of my own Story? That’s so neat!”

“Hm,” Jack murmured, trying to unravel the Stigma’s secrets. “Well, first of all I feel stronger now. My physical strength and stamina definitely increased. I also feel like I have more internal energy... And about the ability, I can’t quite tell yet, can’t you read it?”

“Let me see,” Anna said, touching the tattoo with her hands, opting to decipher its information mentally rather than using her system.

She sensed threads of cosmic energy and fragments of her Story within the Stigma, which also bore traces of her unique powers.

The pink flames clearly stemmed from her Heart of Hope and Love, now a core part of her primary abilities.

“Hmm... Ah, there.”

Using her Cosmic Energy, she materialized a series of words before her.

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{Constellation Stigma: Boundless Love (Tier 1)}

A weak Stigma created by the Small Constellation {Murim’s Spoiled Little Princess}.

This Stigma carries a fragment of the sponsoring Constellation, signifying the bearer as her Apostle.

It embodies the {Murim’s Spoiled Little Princess}’s great love for all she cherishes, the bonds and connections in her life, and those who have aided her.

This Love manifests in the Boundless Love Stigma, enabling the user to unlock unique abilities tied to the Stigma over time.

The Stigma permanently boosts Vitality, Stamina, Physical Strength, and Internal Energy Regeneration Speed by 100% per Tier.

Apostle Abilities:

Tier 1: {Lovesick}: Choose a partner to mark as your beloved. This partner gains the {Beloved} Status, allowing you to always know their location and actions. Communication is possible regardless of distance, provided the love is mutual. You may have up to two {Beloved Partners}. Reversing the {Beloved} Status triggers a {Break Up} Status for 7 days, preventing new bonds, but negative emotions during this period enhance your strength.

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“Murim Spoiled Little Princess? Wait... Lovesick?!” Anna exclaimed, bewildered by the revelations. “That sounds weird...! And that’s also an ability I don’t have, weird.... or do I?”

Anna had assumed Stigmas reflected the Constellation’s existing abilities. Yet, reflecting on her Heart of Love and Hope, she realized its vast potential, which she hadn’t fully explored while focusing on her Radiance and Physical Body training.

“It sounds weird, but it is useful,” Jack nodded. “I wish I could use it on Henrietta right now, but it seems I can only target people within sight...”

“Yeah, use it on me then?” Anna suggested. “And then maybe on Fenrir... Wait, let me sponsor Fenrir too!”

“Alright,” Jack agreed, watching Anna sponsor the dog.

FLUOSH!

Pink flames enveloped Fenrir’s body, and the Stigma appeared on his right leg, concealed beneath his black fur.

“Woof! Arf!”

Fenrir barked like a dog despite being a wolf, wagging his tail happily, feeling stronger and revitalized.

Fenrir developed a distinct ability, however.

“Oh interesting, he got a different ability... so they’re random?”

Anna examined the ability.

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Tier 1: {Romantic Obsession}: Choose a partner as the vessel of your Romantic Obsession, enhancing their Stats and growth speed while chosen. You may break this Obsession, reclaiming all power the partner gained from the Stigma. You can freely teleport behind the target of your Romantic Obsession.

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“What the hell, this is like an ability for stalkers...!” Anna said, staring at the information. “T-There’s no way I could even develop this! I swear!”

Anna began to realize the element of “Love” was complex, one she had only scratched the surface of. Its potential, revealed through these Stigmas, was vast.

The worst part was that the names and descriptions sparked a small epiphany, making her confident she could replicate the Stigma as a Martial Spell.

Martial/Spiritual Spells, Murim’s equivalent of “Magic,” used Ki and Spiritual Energy instead of Mana. Ritualistic and tied to curses, Dragon Veins, and Feng Shui, they differed from flashy magical attacks.

“Does it actually make Fenrir fall in love with someone?” Jack asked.

“Ah, no, but it is still ‘love,’” Anna clarified. “So if he doesn’t feel attachment or love for someone, as a friend or family, it might not work.”

“Interesting, how about putting it on Anna, Fenrir? That way when she grows strong enough you can steal her that power and your growth will skyrocket,” Jack laughed.

“Awuuh?” Fenrir tilted his head, asking Anna if that was okay.

“The ability won’t really steal my power, it will simply take what I gained from that ability, so what I earned on my own won’t disappear... it’s honestly good,” Anna explained. “It’s like giving someone a small weapon to sharpen and develop, and once they’re done, they return it, making you stronger... I like it.”

Although some might call it parasitic, it didn’t harm the recipient unless they relied solely on the ability’s power and lacked personal effort.

Anna knew that wasn’t her case.

“Well sure,” Anna nodded. “I’ll help you get strong faster, Fenrir.”

It would also give her a temporary buff to better navigate this world, a win-win for both.

“Woof!”

Fenrir used his Stigma on Anna, and Jack applied his own on Anna and Fenrir simultaneously.

Anna briefly worried it might not work since she was the Constellation granting the power, but it functioned perfectly.

“Woah.”

A surge of spiritual energies and Ki coursed through her as two Stigmas engraved themselves on her chest and back.

She felt a profound connection with Jack and Fenrir, stronger than ever.

This connection enabled feats like this.

“Hey!”

“Ah!”

Jack heard Anna’s voice in his head.

“What?! We can talk telepathically now! Did you forget? It’s not mind reading though, so don’t worry.”

“Oh that’s amazing!”

Jack responded telepathically, and Anna nodded.

“And no matter how far we are, you’ll know where I am! Ah right, maybe I should use it myself too?”

Anna gathered Love Ki and Spiritual Energy in her palms.

She touched Fenrir and Jack, closing her eyes to focus on the two Stigmas and their powers.

As naturally as breathing, their abilities manifested from her hands, pink flames of love forming a special formula.

These were the Spells “Lovesick” and “Romantic Obsession.”

Anna was stunned at how easily she learned them. Within her mind, the information about her Heart of Love and Hope updated, adding these Spells to its arsenal.

She conjured their power, releasing pink, heart-shaped flames that reached Jack and Fenrir, granting them a temporary boost from Romantic Obsession and the connection of Lovesick.

Now she could track their locations no matter what.

“Nice! I was able to reproduce them just fine!” Anna celebrated. “I had no idea I could learn new techniques like that. It feels kind of weird how the Stigmas are teaching me these things.”

“Well I am fairly sure that weird power was supposed to be yours from the beginning, no?” Jack asked. “Maybe with enough training you would have learned these techniques eventually...”

“Yeah, I mean... I should but I haven’t had the time to do so,” Anna admitted. “My master... the Heavenly Empress, had thousands of years to master her Heart of Hope and all its techniques... but the Heart of Love is unique to me, and I’m still figuring it out. The Flames of Love are strong, though, and they burn even stronger when I fight for those I love. They also can drain energy.”

“That’s rad,” Jack said. “Anyway, we’re connected now, so it’s like we got permanent walkie talkies or something, right?”

“Hahah, yeah,” Anna giggled. “How do you feel? Stronger?”

“Yeah the boost is noticeable,” he nodded. “How about you, Fenrir?”

“Woof!” Fenrir grew playful, darting around and running from place to place.

“Alright, were you going to rest now? I should leave you alone... you just woke up after all,” Anna said.

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