Why hadn't she evolved and upgraded it to the maximum level?
Mainly because she did not want to waste those materials. Or perhaps the next time she rewarded Makomo, she could evolve the Stigmata on her once more. That way... a set of four-star Stigmata could be used as rewards several times over.
Wasn't that clever?
Every upgrade and evolution brought an increase in attributes, and the user could feel their strength rising. It was practically another form of blessing.
"Is this the Stigmata?"
Makomo looked at the Stigmata patterns in Keqing's hand. They depicted three identical beautiful girls, dressed like princesses.
This thing could instantly raise her strength? It felt utterly unbelievable. She had never heard of anything that could immediately boost someone's power. People had always needed to undergo arduous training.
Something from another world?
Makomo was beginning to suspect that Keqing might be a deity.
Keqing explained how to equip the Stigmata. Makomo became a little embarrassed when she heard that she needed to take off her clothes. At thirteen or fourteen, she already understood those things.
But since Keqing was also a girl, her reaction was not too strong. They found a secluded place, and Makomo let Keqing equip the Stigmata for her.
Once the Stigmata attached themselves to her back, Makomo immediately felt different. After taking quite a while to adjust... she barely managed to grasp her current strength.
Compared to before, her strength had increased severalfold. Even without adapting to the Breathing Style, she felt she could cut off a demon's head.
"So amazing! I got so much stronger all at once. If I ran into that demon from before again, I feel like I could easily kill him." Makomo kept testing her current strength, finding it incredibly wondrous... her power had multiplied so