It is finally my turn to have the spotlight. All of a sudden, my heart beats in nervousness. This was really it. I am finally getting my Inheritance.

Yet, when I looked at Tattoo on my hand, I cannot help but feel like my life is going to change for the worse.

"What are you waiting for? Give me your Stigma."

"Wait a minute. I am thinking about my future."

"Huh? Oh, Welcome Senior Kaz."

While I was hesitating to give my Stigma, the old geezer who was assigned with us a while ago came here for some reason.

"What has interest Senior Kaz to grace us with your presence."

"Nah, I'm just here to observe this guy."

I knew he has no good reason for being here. That nasty smile of his ticks me off every time. He is probably here again to laugh at my Inheritance.

Nonetheless, I gave my Stigma Tattoo to Senior supervisor for the next step.

"Don't tell me, Senior Kaz being here finally mean we have an S-tier Inheritance coming! After 200 years, we finally have one again! Is this guy that person?!"

"Hahaha, yes we got something special here. You'll see later."

"Woah. That makes me excited."

"You didn't tell me you've got something there, Arthur."

This old geezer is hyping me for his entertainment. He is the only other person who knows my Inheritance for the moment that is why he is doing that.

It seems to be working since everyone in this Shrine, including Maria, was excited for me to come up the stage. I can even see Miss Faye's eyes dazzle far away from here.

I appreciate the spotlight, but I hope these people do not expect too much. It will be troublesome if I fall short of their expectations.

No choice but to believe in this oddly named Inheritance. I hope it's only the Title that is weird. So I did not wait any longer and instead lied down on the white slab on top of the set of stairs.

"This is making me excited, kid. I never thought I would live the day to engrave an S tier Inheritance."

"My Inheritance is not that strong."

"You're too humble, kid. If Senior Kaz is here, it means you're special.

'Damn that old geezer!'

I want to curse loudly at him, but I know it will end up badly if I did so. He might be an annoying old geezer, but he is also a part of the Three Great Sages. That is why he is respected by everyone here in this country.

*Sizzle*

The sound of the apparatus being taken from the burning liquid echoed near me. I was able to take a closer look at the apparatus used to engrave the Stigma on my back and I must say, it really looks painful.

After fusing it with the tattoo I gave, the black metallic tool turned shiny gold radiating slight divine power from it.

I feel like I am in heaven just lying down near it. However, I know that I will really feel like I am going to heaven after it starts piercing my back.

"Ready, Kid!"

Clenching every part of my body I can clench, I prepared myself for the pain. I can already feel the piercing heat emitting from the apparatus even if it is still centimeters away from my back.

When it finally touches my skin, a pain that was beyond human comprehension, started to challenge my consciousness. I cannot help but scream at the top of my lungs to relieve some of the pain which was pointless because it did not do anything except show how painful it was.

"AAAAARGHHHH!"

What is worse is that this pain would last a minute before he will finally remove the apparatus of torture from my back.

'Five, Six, Seven, Eight...'

I counted in my head to force myself to be awake for the whole process to show everyone here that I am the sure deal. This seems to be effective because when my count was in the thirties, I felt almost nothing.

"Thirty-Three~ Thirty-Four~ Thirty-Five~..."

It was almost finished. There was no pain already and I am still conscious. Success.

Although instead of pain, I felt my back was being caressed softly by a beautiful woman who knows how to handle a man's body. A pleasure I never experience but somehow know about it.

'Does the engraving process feels this relaxing? I feel like I can sleep anytime... No! I should be conscious the whole time.'

That was a dangerous train of thought. I almost lost myself because of the pleasure.

"Sixty~"

"Ok, We're done, Kid."

Finally, the process was done. I can now show off how I was able to withstand every second of the engraving without getting unconscious.

'How about that, amazing isn't it.'

I flex my back after getting up from my position. This well-trained body is a perfect accompaniment for this feat of mine.

"..."

'Ara? There's no reaction.'

Maybe I expected too much. Senior supervisor did tell us that this is nothing but a strange obsession. I guess being unconscious or not really does not mean anything.

I cannot say I am not disappointed, but it is too soon to be sad because the Inheritance test is coming next.

"Let's move, kid. It's time to show this 'Inheritance' of yours."

"What's my test?"

"Wait... I need to think this for a while."

We moved to the arena part of the Shrine while he was pondering carefully about my test. This is my first time to hear him having difficulty choosing a test although I think I know the reason why.

He should probably have read my Inheritance and its description already when he was engraving my Stigma at my back.

'What test will he give me?'

My unusual Inheritance has given him problems of choosing the right test for me. I want to suggest what kind of test it would be, but I have no power in here.

All I can do is wait and wait until he decided what to give me.

"Senior Kaz, can you help me decide what test to give him?"

"Isn't a normal Minotaur good enough?"

Seems like Senior supervisor gave up thinking by himself and asked the old geezer for some help. Although his idea sounds extremely boring and far away from what I was thinking.

This might be better considering it is him we are talking about. Having his opinion made me scared for a moment that he would be making me do the impossible like forcing me to sit on a wooden horse just for laughs.

With that being said, Senior supervisor agreed to bring a Minotaur for the test. Since my Inheritance description sounds like it was battle-oriented (in bed), a simple fight against a monster might do the trick.

"Faye, can you summon another Minotaur?"

"No problem, Senior."

A purple pentagram began to show on the ground of the arena. Summoning monsters must be Miss Faye's Inheritance or magic she learned. Simple yet practical.

It did not take long for the whole body of the Minotaur to come out of the floor and thrash around. Good thing the purple pentagram has an invisible barrier that was stopping the Minotaur from rampaging in the arena.

"All right, kid. Go in there and kill the beast using any methods you can think of using your Inheritance. We're only going to stop the battle if either party lost the capability to fight."

"Ok, Senior."

I dropped down the stairs and walked in front of the Minotaur who was caged. Now looking it up close, this beast is quite tall.

"Make sure you make my trip here worth it, Arthur."

"You're boyfriend?"

"Ew, no! I just decided to accept his invitation since he was so desperate."

"Hmm~ Don't worry. This would be entertaining."

'Oi! I can hear you both here.'

The old geezer and Maria were chatting on the sideline like the person they are bad mouthing about is not in front of them.

'I'll make you shut up after I'll show you how I kill this beast.'

However, I cannot lie and say I have fought this kind of beast. A Minotaur is a Mid Rank level monster and every monster I have fought so far has been unranked, which is the weakest among the ranks.

They specifically choose Minotaur for normal battles because this beast is famous for its high vitality. This thing can last a thousand strikes from a normal steel sword and it will barely be damaged.

That is why the person who cast magic on this thing and was able to kill it in one hit is considered to be blessed with an A tier Inheritance.

Nonetheless, I cannot think of anyways I can kill this thing using my own Inheritance. All I can do is survive and wait for a strange feeling that may result in my Inheritance activating.

I believe they do not mess up on the type of test they give, so I will not worry that much about my safety during this battle.

"GAAAARH!!!"

Its loud roar signal the start of the battle and I took my dagger for a stance.

'Wait... I don't have any weapons!'

Big mistake on my part. I did it in sheer habit and now it just clicks me that any type of equipment is forbidden unless given during the Ceremony which then forces the participants to use only their Inheritance.

Now all I had is my fist to repel the charging Minotaur in front of me.

'Think carefully... My Inheritance said that pain makes me stronger. So I need to get hit first before I become more powerful.'

That came out of mind during the millisecond before the Minotaur was a meter away from me. Bracing for impact, I prayed to the God of Life that I would not die in this ceremony.

"Come at me, you stupid beast. You're nothing but a stepping stone for me."

When I said that, it began to change its course of action. Instead of smashing me with its shoulder, the Minotaur slightly bowed and aim two of its horns right at me.

'Do Minatours understand human language?'

I thought of that as the horns pierced me without any gimmicks. I have been stabbed rather than the usual shoulder charged which was said to be their go-to attack.

"Oof"

Blood came out of my mouth and I now have two new sets of holes.

At this point, I cannot feel myself getting stronger or any strange phenomenon except pain in my abdomen part. The horns have cleanly passed through my body which was a sight I do not want to remember.

The Minotaur shook me off for a few seconds before being satisfied and throwing me off its horns grasp.

My suffering did not end after that. When the Minotaur was done doing strange poses, it marches towards me.

"Hey, old geezer! Isn't this the time where you guys come in and rescue me?"

I shouted at the old geezer who was conveniently above me because I was thrown off to this part of the arena.

"Huh? Don't worry, we know our jobs."

'This piece of shit!'

Having Maria beside her does not help the fact that I look totally beat up right now. No matter how you look at it, this is the right time to be involved.

I can barely stand and everyone somehow thinks this is normal. Only Miss Faye was worrying about me on the sideline.

'Fuck, I can't depend on anyone here. I'll need to escape on my own. But how?'

I got my eyes working double-time, but my body will not help me. I have never felt this kind of pain before that I just want to give up already.

All I can do is watch the Minotaur looking down on me. I am helpless as it growls lowly one last time before stepping me with all its weight.