The Genius Newbie Descends!

Every single day had been nothing but pitch-black darkness.

For Luise, who had been denied even light from the moment she was born, darkness was as natural as the air itself.

The parents who had given her life cursed her misfortune and walked away without looking back.

She had resented the world. Why did she alone have to be born this way?

She asked the elderly priest of the Holy Radiance Church, the one who had taken in and raised a child even her own parents had abandoned—asked him whether she was truly being punished by divine wrath.

The old priest had gently stroked her head and denied it.

What the eyes see is not all there is, he told her. Someday, when the eyes of her heart opened, she would perceive the principles and currents flowing through all creation. She possessed that power, he said.

The eyes of her heart had not yet opened.

Even so, her other senses had awakened with an almost abnormal sharpness. The faint currents and scent of the wind, the sound of insects crawling along the ground, even the energies radiating from the bodies of people around her.

Luise's world was a vast, churning sea of sound and scent and energy—countless signals blended into one overwhelming wave.

On the day the monsters attacked Remshaite, the old priest barely managed to get Luise to safety. His last words to her were to keep her faith—that one day, she too would see the light.

The "light" he always spoke of had always been an agonizingly vague concept to Luise. Darkness was all she had ever known.

But now.

Luise stood face to face with the most alien, the most overwhelming, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the most dazzling presence she had ever sensed in her life.

The first time she met her was in a fetid alley of the eastern slums. Cornered by beast-like men, she had given up on everything and was drowning in despair when—suddenly—the girl appeared.

A clear, elegant child's voice. The soft patter of small footsteps told Luise she was petite.

Yet the presence hidden behind that frail silhouette was anything but trivial. Amid the murky, filthy stench of bloodlust, it rose noble and magnificent, like a sun bursting through the darkness.

The moment that warm emanation touched Luise's skin, someone whispered to her in starlight.

Let there be light.

And so, at last, Luise understood light.

She would learn later that the girl was a holy spirit of the Polestar, distilled within the All Saints Palace itself. Even the Saintess—the very summit of the Holy Radiance Church—followed her, calling her "Angel."

She had traveled from the holy capital of the Holy Radiance Empire, so very far away, just to find her.

Luise had never once imagined she could be of use to another soul. And yet the girl had reached out her hand, saying Luise was needed.

'A burden? Of course not. I need your strength, Luise. I truly do.'

That single sentence had set her heart pounding.

"The raising route... hmm..."

Her voice. Her presence was always benevolent—but at times it ran as deep as a pitch-black abyss. So deep that its depths could not be fathomable.

And even that strangeness only made her sanctity shine brighter.

When Luise took up a sword instead of a staff, guided by her hand, something long dormant in the depths of her soul ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠erupted awake. Her body moved on its own, as if she had trained for decades.

She couldn't see. But in the instant she swung the blade, the currents of all things began to come into focus. Her presence, her radiance, her sanctity—crystal clear.

'Ah...'

The blindness she'd been dealt was no curse at all. It was simply the arrangement that let her truly feel that noble, dazzling presence.

Luise still knew nothing of the sky, the stars, or the sun.

But.

She thought she knew what light was now.

If anyone ever asked her about light, she would answer like this: light exists.

And it takes the form of a young girl.

Ahh. There it is.

Votive power accumulates in proportion to how strong Luise grows. Fitting, for a Luise blessed with a legendary trait: Sword Saint.

The girl grew stronger just by breathing.

Why was Luise leveling at breakneck speed while charging full speed ahead? Simple—Chapter 1 had forced her into a solo acrobatics show.

In eroge, the protagonist is basically a stud horse; the heroines usually handle all the fighting.

Of course, I had zero intention of being satisfied at this level. To become the god of this new world, I would smash the story apart with overwhelming force. Change the genre entirely—from a cosmic-horror eroge to a full-blown otherworld rampage starring beautiful girls.

The key was raising Luise at hyperspeed and turning her into my bus driver.

Strap the twin strategic warheads of a well-raised Luise and Alicia to either side and barrel through the story. Add in the heroines who show up later, and all I'd have to do is flip on auto-hunt, hop on the bus, and munch desserts in the backseat. Just imagining it put my heart at ease.

I smoothed down the grin that had been crawling up toward the sky and turned to Alicia at my side.

"Saintess. I have a favor to ask."

"Anything at all, my Angel."

Alicia gazed at me with eyes dripping honey.

"Well... Luise's talent is off the charts, but as you can see, she's never had real combat experience or formal sword training. Her fundamentals are lacking too. Would you take charge of her education?"

Luise was the one who, on nothing but the crude mercenary swordplay taught by the original protagonist, clawed her way to the top of the setting on her own.

Train her from the start under the strongest of the Holy Radiance Church? Her growth curve would be in a different league entirely.

"The sword isn't exactly my specialty, though..."

Alicia said, twisting a lock of hair around her finger.

"There are only a handful of people on the continent who out-fence you, aren't there?"

Alicia considered for a moment before answering.

"About ten?"

"...Ten?"

"Yes. Roughly that many, I'd say."

She was serious?

Swordsmanship on the level of the continent's Ten Great Swordmasters. Yeah, she's legitimately impressive.

"More than enough. You'll take her on, then?"

"On one condition."

Alicia's smile deepened.

"You'll be attending the lessons too, Angel."

"Wha—?"

Why is the arrow suddenly pointing at me?

"Me?"

"Yes. You, Angel."

"As I am now, training would be rather pointless, wouldn't it?"

"This isn't about mastering the sword. Just enough basic self-defense to get by."

"Hmmm?"

"Acting cute won't save you."

"Tch."

"If you'd simply stay in the back where you belong, I wouldn't mind—but you keep stepping forward, don't you?"

"Because it was the most appropriate action for the moment?"

"And what makes you think a 'most appropriate moment' won't come again?"

Hmm.

My whole plan was to AFK farm and lick honey in the back, but I seem to be badly misunderstood.

"Ra...diant Master, will you be learning alongside us as well?"

Luise suddenly asked.

"Radiant... Master?"

When I tilted my head, Luise beamed radiantly.

"Yes, Master."

"Luise, if anyone overhears, they're going to get the wrong idea. It sounds like I'm running some kind of slave operation."

"Master is Master. Let them misunderstand."

Luise's answer was impressively resolute.

Angel this, Master that. What a naming-convention circus.

"Come, come—let's go train!"

Alicia grinned and seized my hand tight.

And so I was led by Alicia to the rear of the Georg Cathedral. There, we found ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a small training yard used by the paladins—wooden dummies, practice straw men, and rows of training swords neatly arranged.

"To train alongside my Master... am I truly worthy of such an honor?"

Luise's voice trembled with emotion.

If my being nearby accelerated Luise's growth, then well. That might actually work out better for me. Present pain for future glory, as they say.

Alicia took her place before a blackboard at the edge of the yard. Chalk in hand—when had she even prepared this?

"The fundamentals of the martial arts come down to these three things."

Tap, tap.

Neat, precise handwriting appeared across the board.

"Whether you wield a sword, throw a punch, or even cast holy arts, these matter. In sword terms: breathing is the mind method, stance is the swordplay, and interval is distance."

"Professor, I don't understand 'interval.'"

I shot my hand straight up with a question.

"Interval is the distance between your opponent and you—and not merely spatial distance, but time as well. We train footwork and movement techniques precisely to control this interval and slip into each other's openings."

"Ahh."

"Even your devastating punches, Angel, can never land if you can't close the distance, yes?"

"...Right."

"That is why interval matters. However powerful an attack, it means nothing if it never connects."

"Ahh."

"Luise, come over here first, please."

"Luise is fine, Saintess."

"Very well—Luise, then. Angel, you rest a while."

Ohh. I don't know why, but a break has been granted.

I lounged back and observed the two of them at my leisure.

'Impressive.'

Alicia was strong, yes, but she had a real knack for teaching too. Alicia, drilling lessons home one after another like a star private tutor, and Luise, who learned one thing and extrapolated ten. The ideal master-disciple relationship, honestly.

The votive power was stacking up nicely too. At this rate, I might soon be able to attempt an enhancement transfer on Luise.

My mouth was already watering. 108 points meant I could spin four enhancements and still have eight left over. Surely it wouldn't hand me junk for something like that.

...It had better not. Otherwise I'd go insane from the unfairness of it all.

Scratch, scratch.

I sketched a diagram in the sand with a twig. Next stop: the royal capital of the Bern Kingdom. The story there began with catching a princess's eye and receiving a request.

She wouldn't be too wary of me, right?

"Hmm."

Being too famous and too strong was apparently also a problem. Even sticking to the canonical story route, judgment calls were getting tricky.

While I was busily plotting my next move alone, Alicia—who had left Luise to independent practice—wandered over.

"Angel?"

"Mm-hm?"

"I plan to have Luise learn Sacred Sword Arts. If it's just the sword, I expect she'll surpass me within a few years. However did you spot such talent? Truly remarkable."

"Well, the Saintess comes first for me, obviously."

"Naturally. When it comes to the sword, perhaps—but in every other respect, I have no intention of losing."

Jealous, are we?

Not that I mind.

"Anyway, shall we head inside and—"

"No? Your lessons start now, Angel."

"..."

Tap, tap.

Alicia wrote on the blackboard once more.

"Since we don't yet know what your talent is, we'll begin with Sacred Radiance Arts. Ideally you'd build your foundation there and move on to Polestar Arts, which draws on the Polestar itself—but Polestar Arts haven't even been put into practical use within the Holy Radiance Empire, so..."

"Aren't those holy arts?"

"They are. The holy arts system of the Holy Radiance Empire. For your body, Angel, I think empowerment through holy arts would suit you better than sacred martial arts."

"Ahh."

Polestar Arts were new to me, but I knew the rest. Radiance Arts was the general-purpose discipline that handled pure starlight. Star Palace Arts manifested the authority of the twelve zodiac mansions. Constellation Arts borrowed the power of stars outside the twelve. And finally, Ecliptic Arts—the high-order discipline that integrated part or all of the twelve mansions, or manipulated their cycles. Essential knowledge if you ever wanted to go up against the Holy Radiance Empire.

Tap, tap.

"Holy arts are divided into ranks like this. Radiance Arts works the same way. We'll start with Radiance Arts."

Alicia drew a small star in the center of the board.

"The first step of Radiance Arts is to feel starlight. Nighttime is better for it—but the stars are in the sky even during the day."

"They're just hidden by the sun's glare, right?"

I'm a modern man, after all. That much is common knowledge.

"Yes, exactly. A Radiance caster senses the stars, receives their light, and refines it. This is the foundation even for learning sacred martial arts."

But my modern common sense violently objected. Stars are just distant balls of fusion burning in the sky. How exactly is a human body supposed to "receive" and "refine" that?

Sure, if we were talking about synthesizing vitamin D from sunlight, fine. But asking a body that can't even manage photosynthesis to suddenly run a solar power plant? Same thing, isn't it?

"Most people need a month just to sense a single point of starlight. With talent, a few days."

"How long did it take you, Saintess?"

"One day. Unlike sorcery, holy arts are rather more particular about natural affinity."

"Hm."

So it wasn't going to be easy. Got it.

"Now, sit down like this."

Alicia's posture was familiar to me. That's a full lotus, isn't it?

I folded into the lotus position alongside her, palms stacked and turned toward the sky.

'Feel the starlight, huh.'

Discard the modern man's common sense. Just think of this world's stars as transcendent gods. Easy enough.

"Close your eyes, and picture the sky above your head."

I obediently closed my eyes.

"Breathe in."

Hooo.

"And slowly out."

Fuuu.

"Feel the starlight glimmering from the farthest reaches. Don't try to seize it—simply wait, and let the light come to rest in your hands."

Following Alicia's words, I summoned the stars behind my eyelids.

Photographs of deep space from my past life. The night sky over the Holy Radiance Empire. The constellations carved into the ceiling of the All Saints Palace. The twelve mansions of the zodiac. The Southern Cross.

And above them all, at the very heart of every constellation—the Polestar, said to anchor them all.

Click.

Something locked into place. I heard it.

FWOOOOOSH—!

It punched straight through the broad blue midday sky—a pillar of silver-white light slamming down into my palms.