[Back To Mordred]

"Stigma? What is that?", I asked after plopping on the floor, my body sore from the intense sparring.

Felix and Damien joined me, settling amidst the fallen training dummies, taking a moment to relax on the cool floor.

After a short while, Felix asked, "You don't know about them?"

I shook my head, "Nope."

I don't recall any mention of a stigma in any of the books read by previous Mordred or any books I read in the Necropolis Library.

Yeah, this place does have a library, pretty odd, right?

Felix shrugged, "I guess the concept has not fully entered the books."

He looked at me, "Stigmas were first discovered by Merlin in the Shield. Distinguishing stigmas from codes took some time."

"So what are they?", I asked, not particularly interested in Merlin's accolades.

"In simple terms, a stigma is a unique special ability or skill tied to a person's soul, not their ardor," Felix explained.

"A special ability unique to a person.", I repeated those words and looked at Felix with curiosity, "So everyone has a stigma?"

"Kind of.", Damien chimed in, "According to Merlin, every person in Asteris has a stigma but many never awaken them and live on with their lives without even realizing they have a special ability unique to themselves."

Felix chuckled, "Plus, it's a relatively new concept."

He continued, "Well. Even if people are aware many won't be able to awaken their stigmas as an awakening would usually depend on the strength of a person's soul."

"And you're saying my soul is strong?", I scoffed. The idea sounded like the start of a joke.

I have a strong soul?

Very funny.

Damien shrugged, "Maybe. You are quite the interesting kid, Mordred."

"Regardless of whether you have a strong soul or not, the fact remains that you awakened your stigma today.", he said.

"And that is quite dope."

I was speechless for a moment. I awakened a unique ability in this world.

Wow.

I glanced at Felix, "You arranged the spars for me to see whether I awakened my stigma?"

He nodded, "And also to understand what it might be."

"And what is your inference?", I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Of course, I have a suspicion as to the identity of my newly awakened stigma.

Felix noticed my expression and grinned, "Mordred. Your stigma is the ability to copy an opponent's skill."

Damien whistled in awe and glanced at me, "Now that's what I call a cheat code!"

He then turned to Felix, "That's a powerful stigma. Surely there must be a price."

I frowned, "Price?"

Felix nodded at me, "A stigma is something that defies common logic, Mordred."

He held up two fingers, "There are mainly two types of stigmas."

"The first type provides perks that aren't too powerful and break a particular balance. They have no conditions that should be fulfilled to use them."

"For example. There is a Deathwalker whose stigma is called Perfect Penmanship."

"Perfect... penmanship?" I echoed a hint of skepticism in my tone.

Felix nodded, "His stigma grants perfect and beautiful handwriting no matter the circumstances—shaky hands, unstable surface. It doesn't matter."

"Sounds like a useless stigma.", I remarked.

"On the contrary my friend, he is quite popular in Necropolis.", Damien chimed in, "He's the one to go to if you want a heart-stealing love letter written to your crush or beloved."

"Anyway," Felix continued, "Perfect Penmanship is not powerful and has no conditions for activation."

"Then there's the second type," he explained, "They need certain conditions to activate."

"One great example would be the stigma of Iris Karsus.".

I perked up when the Fairy of Tenebris was mentioned, "She has a stigma?"

Damien nodded, "Yeah. And it is bloody overpowered."

"Emphasis on bloody.", Felix winced, "Her stigma is called Coup de grace where she unleashes one powerful strike that deals a completely fatal blow against her opponent."

"It doesn't matter where the opponent gets hit or how powerful they are, Iris's Coup de grace will kill them on the spot. It's kind of like a one-shot kill."

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I whistled, "What if she misses?"

"That's the thing, Mordred. Coupe de grace doesn't miss at all."

My eyes glittered in wonder, "Amazing! A one-shot kill stigma! That is overpowered! Her stigma can kill anything?", I lowered my voice, "Even an Incarnus?"

Felix nodded, "Theoretically yes. Coup de grace is capable of killing an immortal. She hasn't tested it though for obvious reasons."

I noticed his expression, "But there is a catch?"

"A nasty one.", Damien snorted.

Felix nodded in agreement, "For Iris to use Coup de grace, she must be near death."

My mouth curved into a frown, "Won't she die before using her stigma?"

Damien shook his head, "Nah. Her stigma keeps her alive until she unleashes the strike. After that, she'll be out for a week."

I grimaced, "Wow. That is quite inconvenient. She must not use it that often."

Felix laughed, "Quite the opposite, my friend. She uses it in almost every battle toward the end or when she faces a powerful opponent."

"Is she a bloody masochist?", I shuddered at the thought of being near death in every single battle.

He shrugged, "Maybe."

"Anyway. Coupe de grace is a stigma that is capable of killing immortals. So it has harsh conditions. The more powerful a stigma, the tougher its activation conditions."

"I see.", I nodded.

A feeling of uncertainty crept in me, "My stigma. Does it have conditions?"

Felix went in thought for a moment before answering.

"Well. From what I have gathered over your spar, you need to observe your opponent's moves and wish for them."

"There is also the rather nasty headache you experience when you first copy the skills."

I pondered his words. Everything he said is correct but there is something else. Copying skills is a powerful ability so there must be another condition.

A small idea popped up in my head. I turned to Damien.

"Hey. Can we have another sword spar?"

Damien raised an eyebrow. "You planning to use my skills against me?"

Shaking my head, I clarified, "No, I want to test something."

"Oh?", Felix looked curious, "You seem to be onto something."

He turned to Damien, "Dude. He may have your skills but you are stronger than him."

Damien sighed, "Fine.", he picked up his sword and got up.

The next minute, we faced each other, swords ready to clash.

Felix gave the signal and we rushed at each other.

The fight was a short one.

After five minutes my butt was plopped on the floor and Damien's sword was pointed at my throat.

Not only could I no longer access his skills, but I couldn't even use the swordsmanship from my past life.

I struggled hard against Damien's attacks and quickly succumbed.

Damien was very puzzled, "What the heck? This was way different from what I imagined."

I looked at a confused Felix, "I think I discovered another condition for my stigma."

"I can no longer use Damien's skills. Heck, I cannot even use the basic swordsmanship I received from my training in the palace."

Felix's eyes widened in realization, "I see! So the only thing you can use is my set of archery skills?

I probed through my mind and nodded, "Yep. That is the case."

I gave him a worried look, "How do I cancel it?"

He shrugged, "Try wishing to have your skills removed? Or there could be a timer?"

"But hey! At least you have a stigma. It's way cooler than mine.", he patted me on the shoulder and tried to cheer me up.

I blinked and stared at him, "You have a stigma as well?"

Felix nodded with a smirk, "Yep. It is very handy for an archer."

He closed his right eye and the sclera of his left eye turned black and his iris glowed. I suddenly got the feeling of someone watching me from behind.

I turned around but found no one. I got the eerie feeling again, this time from my right and so I looked in that direction.

Again. Nothing.

"What the heck?", I voiced.

I looked at Felix and saw him grinning at me, his blackened eye looking like he was seeing something other than what was before him.

"Alternate Gaze. This is my stigma.", he said.

"My stigma allows one of my eyes to see things from a different angle or perspective than what my other eye perceives."

"This allows me to have a different and unique vantage point that will offer different insights, details, or information compared to my regular vision.", he explained.

"Essentially, I can have a different perspective through this eye.", he said, pointing at his black and green eyes.

"That is quite useful. As an archer, you will gain a huge advantage.", I noted, "Honestly I am jealous."

"Says the guy who can copy skills," Felix retorted with a smirk.

I cocked my head and stared at him, "So what are the conditions?"

Damien snickered, "Oh you are going to love this, Mordred."

I gave him a puzzled look and then turned to Felix and was taken aback by what I saw next.

Felix sighed, looking embarrassed. "Please don't laugh."

His left eye returned to normal and he immediately broke into an exaggerated wiggle dance that looked so ridiculous it took me a minute to process what was happening.

I turned to see Damien barely holding back laughter. He saw my face and chuckled, "The condition of Alternate Gaze is to do a wiggle dance after using the stigma."

"The duration of the dance depends on how long the stigma remained active. For example, Felix activated his stigma for about a minute."

"So I have to dance for a full minute.", Felix finished Damien's sentence and his wiggle dance. He gave me a sheepish smile, "So yeah. This is my stigma."

I gave him a look of pity, "Your stigma has the worst condition I have ever heard."

He nodded wholeheartedly, "Yeah. I don't even like dancing."

"Anyway. Enough about my stigma.", Felix shook his head and redirected, "What are you going to name your stigma?"

Ah, the name of my stigma. I contemplated long and hard, running several cool names in my mind.

Grand Mimicry?

Doppelganger?

Shadow Mimic?

Many names like these swirled in my mind. Some were even straight-up embarrassing. After a few minutes of intense brainstorming, I found a good name.

Well, I hope it is.

"Talent Echo."

"Talent Echo? You sure?" Felix asked, surprised.

"Is it bad?" I inquired, concerned.

"Bad? It's cool!", Felix beamed and Damien nodded his head furiously in agreement. Their enthusiasm brought a smile to my face.

"Talent Echo it is!"