[SHRINE MAIDEN]

[Rank]: Elite

[Star Level]: 1

[Ability]:

- Shrine Construction: You may choose a building and turn it into a Shrine. In this Shrine, you may construct a maximum of three Divine Statues. These statues must be of real supernatural beings. People that worshiped these statues may ask for their aid and received a portion of their power. The beings in question must agree to lend their power for this effect to activate. (Unchanged)

- Guardians of the Maiden: You may establish a link with non-humanoid supernatural beings and ask it to be your Guardian. If it agrees, you can summon it to your side at any time. Your power and its power are shared. You can have a maximum of your Guardians equal to twice your Rank (current: 4). (Unchanged)

- Half Formation: You may conjure and control Fire, Water, Wind, Plant, and Rock. (Degraded from Thought Formation)

- True Eyes (Rank: Unknown): You shall see the true. (New)

- Transcendent Aura (Rank: Unknown): You are enlightened. You can use this power to manipulate the objects and beings around you. (Mutated Adrenaline)

- Transcendent Circulation (Rank: Unknown): Your body is whole. No amount of internal energy and external energy may imbalance you. (Mutated from Evaporative Decompression)

[Skill]:

- Unknown: Level 10 Transcension (Fusion from Abstraction + Belief + Conceptualization + Divine Knowledge + Intelligence + Magical Knowledge + Manifestation + Mental Fortitude + Otherworldly Intervention + Prophecy Foresight + Spiritual Knowledge + Volition + Visualization)

- Elite: Level 4 Charisma; Level 3, Metabolism Manipulation, Reflexes; Level 2 Athleticism, Perception, Physical Fortitude; Level 1 Holy Study, Demonology.

[Item]:

- Maiden Hakama: This Hakama places good-luck to the wearer.

- Destiny Deck: Reveals the complicated structures of Fate and Prophecy

[WARNING]

[True Eyes, Transcendent Aura, Transcendent Circulation are above the skin’s current rank and level]

[Transcendent Aura and Transcendent Circulation will only have a portion of their powers matching the skin’s current rank and level]

[True Eyes are SEALED]

[Shrine Maiden is blind unless Host remove the seal]

[Unsealing True Eyes may result in unimaginable consequences. Use with care]

A bunch or warning popped up. Even without vision, Carter could still feel their contents. A neat features of the Skin System.

’I was playing blind with this girl and now I’m actually blind.’

Carter finally calmed down from his metamorphosis. The Maiden changed somehow. Her literal skin was clearer, glowing like a piece of jewel. There was a certain aura around the Maiden that made even Tenmaru want to kneel.

It was different from The Unnamed. The Unnamed was pure ruthless power. Shinto Mikoto was clean, heightened authority. It felt like she was a saint looking down at him.

The bright azure eyes dimmed down and turned gray. The True Eyes were sealed. Carter had truly turned blind.

If he switched skin, he would gain his vision back, obviously.

"What happened?" Tenmaru’s lips trembled.

Carter sat up and shook his head. Even a tiny movement of him felt different somehow. More graceful. More enlightened.

The Hakama was sticking onto his skin because of the overall sweat. Carter tried to use Transcendent Circulation to make himself dry like he did with Evaporative Decompression.

He succeeded. The sweat disappeared and the Hakama became dry. His sweat wasn’t even smelly now. It had a certain aroma to him that even Tenmaru couldn’t resist.

It wasn’t a sensual aroma or the smell of women, but something different. It made his mind clearer than ever.

"You?! What really are you?" Tenmaru said.

Shinto Mikoto suddenly felt like a treasure herself. Being near her made Tenmaru’s mind sharper.

"I am a messenger of the gods. I already told you that."

Carter reached out to grab the black mask. His eyes weren’t focused at anything at all.

Tenmaru grabbed the mask for him and gave it to Carter.

"You really are blind? I thought the mask was just a costume or something. How can you even see?"

"I am blind. But I can see by other ways. Gods gave me the power to see the future. But they took away my sight."

Tenmaru suddenly felt pity for her. Everything in this world really had a price.

"You should get some rest. I will take over." Tenmaru said.

Carter nodded and didn’t argue. He lay down on his sleeping bag and went to sleep.

He really wasn’t faking it this time. His body was exhausted after what happened.

But he didn’t sleep. Instead, he dreamed. He found himself in a different world.

This world had a clear blue sky and an endless ocean with no end. The water surface stayed still, acting like a mirror to the sky.

’What is this place?’

Carter flew down from above and touched his toe on the water surface. A small wave spread across the calm ocean.

’Huh? I feel something... It’s coming to me.’

The white-haired girl sat down. The mirror world stayed calm.

[Synchronization +0.1%]

[Synchronization +0.1%]

[Synchron...]

Carter fell into a deep meditation. He thought of nothing and felt nothing, only a void in his mind and heart.

He could still feel the world around him, sensing Tenmaru watching near the fire, the wind blowing, the flickering of the fire, the breathing of the trees.

He was transcended.

And he had found a new way to raise both the Shrine Maiden’s Synchronization and Invoker’s Synchronization.

It wasn’t just meditation. It wasn’t just emptying your thought. This was the act of refining the power of your mind.

Carter named this Transcendent Art of the Mirror World, or Mirror World Art for short, after the scenery the user would fall into if they use it.

Carter didn’t sleep all night. But he didn’t feel tire either. The more he practiced this art, the better he felt, both for his body and his mind.

When the morning came, Carter had gained an unholy amount of Synchronization.

[Total Synchronization Gain]: 268.3%

[Current Synchronization]: 321.6%

[Host gain 21 Skin Star Level]

[Host is now a 9 Star (0/10) Awaken]

[Host can choose to retain one aspect from Shrine Maiden]

[Gain x2 Shrine Maiden Token]

Carter sat up. He counted the amount it took to gain 0.1% of Synchronization. 100 seconds allow him to gain 0.1% Synchronization.

It was not as much as when the Eldritch Knight massacre the Terrors. But that was a rare scenario to come across.

As for Mirror World Art, Shrine Maiden could literally gain Synchronization at any time without any restriction. This Art was simply busted.

"Sleep well?" Tenmaru said.

"Never better." Carter answered.