Mistaken for a Geniu Chapter 143 : Chapter 143

Chapter 143: Blessings and Pride

“It really shows.”

On a newly greeted Monday morning, I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my dorm room.

A familiar yet subtly different version of myself stared back.

I had cleared the Second Trial and used the scale on the altar.

The thirty points of magic power contained in the White Deer’s imprint—all of that massive energy had been converted entirely into physical stats.

As a result, my body had changed noticeably.

“Hm.”

I clenched and unclenched my hand. A solid sense of grip ca through.

My entire body felt firm yet light.

Muscle density had increased, so my weight had gone up, but my movents felt lighter instead.

It was like impurities had been flushed out of my body and my muscles rewoven with steel wire.

‘Did my face change too?’

I examined my reflection from every angle.

My features were the sa, but the overall lines had subtly grown bolder.

Deeper eyes, a sharper jawline.

The kind of change you would only notice if you were paying close attention.

More than anything, my field of vision felt different.

Strangely higher. Had I grown taller too?

As I continued observing, I went ahead and pulled off the shirt I was wearing.

I had never been the gym type to begin with.

The kind of person who would go for three days and then quit.

“Wow. This is insane.”

Now I understood why so-called gym rats could not tear themselves away from mirrors.

Muscles stacked on muscles—it was satisfying just to look at.

I spent a while striking poses and flexing, squeezing every muscle—

[Utterly frivolous.]

A cold voice drilling into my mind froze

in place.

“……Sigh.”

Letting out a deep breath, I looked down at my chest.

It was clean.

The blue imprint that had watched

twenty-four hours a day was gone.

Not even a trace remained.

Yet the White Deer’s voice still echoed.

If anything, it felt even clearer, more firmly embedded in my mind.

Why?

The reason traced back to the mont the scale devoured the magic power of the Blue Moon Imprint.

***

Woooong—!

The pattern on my chest lted down and transford into deep blue magic power.

That blue magic rose onto one pan of the scale.

At the sa ti, on the opposite pan, energies of various colors surged.

Red symbolizing strength, green for agility, and other hues besides.

Kreeek—

The violently shaking scale slowly found its balance and leveled out.

Then the radiant energies on the opposite pan poured into .

‘Oh.’

Unlike before, when magic power had only skimd over my skin, this vitality-filled energy flowed unobstructed into my veins.

Power forced its way inside , coursing through my blood vessels and tearing through my insides.

Crack! Pop!

Pain like bones being reforged mixed with the sensation of muscles loosening and then tightening again.

Sweat poured down like rain.

At the sa ti, a strange coolness spread.

There was even a hint of pleasure to it.

Like soaking my entire body in a scalding hot bath.

[Scales of Fate]

[Strength: 19 -> 30]

[Agility: 20 -> 30]

[Dexterity: 16 -> 20]

[Will: 11 -> 16]

Cheerful chis rang out as ssages flooded my vision.

The four core physical stats skyrocketed.

Strength and Agility, in particular, had reached 30.

Numbers you might barely reach after grinding relentlessly for an entire year at the academy.

I had gained them in a single minute, just standing still.

‘It is boiling.’

Was this what it ant when people said power was hard to contain?

My body felt restless.

Strength welled up from the soles of my feet.

It felt like I had to do sothing—anything.

My instincts were blatantly urging

on.

‘Test it.’

As if tempting

to fully experience every bit of this dramatic change.

Instinct overtook reason.

As if possessed, I reached for my waist and drew my sword.

Shing—

There was no target.

I had not drawn it to cut anything.

I swung the blade at empty air.

Whooong—!

A violent roar of displaced air erupted, followed by a crunch as the floor split apart.

With a crude, unrefined swing, the solid floor shattered as if a trench had been dug.

‘This is insane.’

I stared at the ruined scene, lingering in the afterglow—

[I knew you were shaless, but to think you would be this brazen.]

A chill ran down my spine.

The White Deer was glaring at .

[You dare use the noble power I bestowed rely to reinforce that base shell of flesh?]

A divine beast’s blessing, its authoritative imprint, used for nothing more than physical enhancent?

The White Deer approached, her displeasure undisguised.

But there was no reason for

to be cowed.

Sheathing my sword, I t her head-on.

“Why? Is that not allowed?”

She claid it was a noble power, but who had asked her to engrave it in the first place?

She had forcibly attached it for surveillance, and now she was dressing it up as a blessing. It did not convince .

“The tower’s system judged it valid and processed it properly. So what exactly is the problem?”

If it had failed, I would have accepted it and looked for another path.

But it worked.

The system approved cleanly and accepted the White Deer’s Blue Moon Imprint as paynt.

In exchange, I received physical stats.

That should have been the end of it. Nitpicking now would only make things ugly.

“If you think it is wrong, take it up with the administrator. With the one who left the system loophole open.”

For reference, that administrator was the White Deer herself.

[Are you claiming that I committed an error?]

“No. I do not think it was a mistake at all. Not even a little. It is a good thing. I am grateful. I am overflowing with strength thanks to you. I do not think anything about this is wrong.”

At my imdiate response, the White Deer fell silent.

She had no ground to stand on.

She was the one who engraved the imprint on my chest without permission, and she was also the one who left it classified as part of my body, allowing it to be placed on the scale.

“Anyway, I followed the rules. As long as the rules are not broken, even an administrator cannot impose personal sanctions on a challenger. Is that not so?”

If administrators could harm challengers or strip them of rewards just because they felt offended, the Tower of Transcendence would not function as a system.

The fact that she was arguing instead of acting said enough.

[Ordinarily, lesser beings would treasure even the faint trace I leave behind more than their own flesh, honoring it as glory for a lifeti.]

The White Deer did not hide her displeasure.

[Yet you fastened it to the scale without a shred of hesitation, as if you had been waiting for this.]

‘……Is she sulking?’

She was rambling, but in the end it boiled down to wounded pride.

Most people would never discard a blessing directly bestowed by a higher being.

But I saw it differently.

If sothing could be used more effectively, then it should be used.

“There are all kinds of people. Either way, I am grateful.”

While half-listening to her continued scolding, I checked the scale again.

If not now, I would not be able to use it again.

This was my only chance to test things.

‘What if.’

I tried bringing the Pain flowing inside

toward the scale.

Nothing happened.

The scale did not react at all.

It seed Pain did not count as a valid offering.

After that, I adjusted my stats and checked my condition.

In the end, I decided to keep Strength and Agility at 30.

At so point, the White Deer simply watched in silence.

Perhaps even she had accepted it.

That I had rely used the situation given to , and that I had done nothing wrong.

“Whew. I will stop here.”

As soon as I stepped down from the altar after finishing with the scale, the surroundings shifted.

I was back in the Hall of White Deer, shaped from jade and ice.

[Are you satisfied?]

The White Deer spoke quietly.

There was no emotion in her voice, yet it sohow sounded resigned.

She approached

as the moonlight stone illuminating the hall slowly dimd behind her.

A great deal of ti had passed since entering the tower.

The permitted ti was ending.

“To an extent.”

Next ti, I would probably be able to stay longer.

I could not unlock magic power, but it could not be helped.

Instead, I had secured a solid gain on the physical side.

For , it was a profitable trade.

[I am not satisfied.]

The White Deer said sothing unexpected.

“……I see.”

So you are not satisfied.

And what exactly do you expect

to do about that?

A faint sense of unease crept in.

[Have you forgotten? The imprint I engraved upon you was originally a punishnt for destroying my sanctuary.]

“Right. That was the story.”

True enough.

She had slapped a surveillance CCTV on

as punishnt for smashing the sanctuary altar.

Whether there had been other motives aside, that was the official justification.

[If I let you go as you are, my divine authority will not stand.]

“…….”

A chill ran down my spine.

So what was she planning to do?

An administrator could not harm a challenger over personal matters.

That was a basic rule even the White Deer herself had declared.

But that alone did not put

at ease.

Just as I had exploited a loophole, she might find one as well.

As I waited tensely for her reaction—

Swoosh—

The White Deer closed the distance in an instant.

A suffocating silence followed.

Before I could even think, “What is she doing?”—

A cold hand grabbed my face.

“Wait—!”

A frigid touch brushed my skin.

The White Deer’s lips pressed gently against my forehead.

‘Ghk.’

Icy cold spread down my spine and through my entire body.

“W-What are you doing?”

When I shouted, the White Deer opened her mouth with a faint smile.

[I have bestowed a new blessing. This one is more special.]

“Special?”

There was no explanation.

That was simply how the White Deer was.

In the uneasy silence, she spoke again.

[I am now certain. You are the kind who cannot be left unwatched even for a mont.]

“…….”

[From now on, I will observe you even more closely. You may remove an imprint from the flesh, but one etched into the soul will not be so easily cast aside.]

I did not fully understand what she ant, but one thing was clear.

A stalker who had already latched on had now sunk her teeth in even deeper.

Paaaat—!

There was no ti to protest.

As the moonlight stone’s energy ran out, my form began to scatter into particles of light.

As my vision blurred, the last thing I saw was the White Deer’s lofty smile.

“W-Wait! At least explain more—”

Leaving my final question unanswered, I was ejected from the Tower of Transcendence back into reality.

Ti passed.

Monday morning.

My dorm room.

Standing shirtless before the mirror, I looked at myself.

Where the imprint on my chest had once been, a faint blue mark briefly appeared at the center of my forehead before fading away.

[If you wish to make the power gained from the scale truly your own, ceaseless training will be required. Rather than indulging in shallow appearances, diligently shed sweat.]

The White Deer’s lecturing kicked in.

I had no idea what had co over her.

Before entering the tower, she would toss out the occasional remark.

Now she was fully installed as a constant voice in my head.

It felt disturbingly like an elder’s nagging at ho.

Helpful advice, yes—but the kind you really did not want to hear.

And that imprint she called special.

Before I could even inspect my body with the Eye of Deception, it was already displayed prominently in the system window.

[Blue Moon Stigma]

[A mark directly engraved upon the soul by the divine beast White Deer. The White Deer is watching you.]

That was it.

Special, if you wanted to call it that. Engraved on the soul.

Wow. Amazing.

And that was all.

There were no other effects whatsoever.

A new blessing, my ass.

She had forcibly embedded it just to salvage her wounded pride.

And buried it even deeper so I could not exploit it again.

[Take this chance to properly learn how to control the energy within you. You have talent.]

[I will personally guide you. Steady your breathing and unify your mind.]

[That is wrong. Can you not even breathe properly?]

The voice did not stop.

‘She talks way too much.’

Every word made my brain vibrate.

[Kihehehe! Bang bang! Bbaang bbaang!]

Between the flood of the White Deer’s nagging and the Mimic’s usual nonsense layered on top,

I felt like I was going to lose my mind.

Damn it.