Glitched Goddess: My Skills are maxed out

Seraphine's breaths came ragged and uneven, her lungs burning with every step.

The pounding of her boots against the cracked pavement echoed in her ears, but it wasn't the sound that unsettled her — it was the chaos in her mind.

'Where did my life go wrong?'

She had always known danger, yes, but never like this. Her world had been filled with shadows, power, and ambition… but it had never been about survival.

Now, she was running for her life, heart hammering wildly, fear coiling in her chest like a tightening rope.

The streets blurred around her. Kana's grip on her wrist was the only thing anchoring her to reality.

Yet even as they ran, Seraphine could feel it — the oppressive weight of eyes on them, predators lurking just beyond sight. Her instincts screamed that someone was targeting them.

And then she saw it.

A faint glint of metal. A raised arm hidden in the distance. A heartbeat later, she realized the truth — someone was aiming for Kana.

Her body moved before her mind could process the thought.

"Kana!"

Seraphine shoved her companion aside, twisting into the bullet's path. Pain exploded through her side as the shot tore into her, hot and sharp.

Her breath caught, and for an instant, the world seemed to tilt violently beneath her feet.

She staggered. Her strength slipped like sand through her fingers.

She wanted to let go of Kana's hand, to avoid becoming dead weight, but instead, her trembling fingers tugged instinctively on Kana's arm.

Her vision dimmed at the edges, her senses dulling, but one thought burned brightly through the haze—

'Keep Kana safe.'

And then the darkness crept in.

"Y-YOU-!"

Kana's voice cracked as she caught Seraphine, lowering her trembling body onto the cold pavement. Blood. Too much blood.

Her stomach lurched violently at the sight, but there was no time to panic — yet panic clawed at her throat anyway.

"Seraphine, stay with me! Please, don't close your eyes!"

The system's chime echoed in her ears, sharp and relentless.

[Multiple medical skills detected. Please select one to proceed.]

Kana's hands shook as she yelled into the void only she could hear.

"System! I don't care which one — just pick something that'll save her!"

[Insufficient parameters. Please choose a skill manually.]

"What?! Are you kidding me?!"

Her vision blurred with tears. She scrolled through the endless list of medical techniques, fingers trembling, heart hammering so hard it hurt.

Each second felt like an eternity, but Seraphine's breaths were growing shallower by the moment.

"No, no, no, no—come on, don't you dare die on me…"

Her mind raced, chaos drowning reason. She tried one skill — failed. Tried another — nothing.

The bleeding wouldn't stop, the wound wouldn't close, and her panic only deepened.

Then footsteps. Heavy. Purposeful. Getting closer.

Kana's head snapped up just as Dorian emerged from the shadows, his expression dark, his eyes locked on Seraphine's limp form.

For the first time since Kana had met him, he didn't look composed. He looked… furious.

"You-! What did you do?"

His voice was low, shaking with something sharp and dangerous.

Kana froze, blinking at him through tear-blurred vision.

"I—I didn't—"

Dorian dropped to his knees beside Seraphine, his gloved hands hovering uselessly over her wound, his jaw clenched tight enough to crack.

His gaze flicked back to Kana, and the storm in his eyes made her breath hitch.

"This…This is your fault."

He gestured at Seraphine's bleeding side, his voice trembling between rage and desperation.

Kana's chest constricted.

"What—no! She saved me! I didn't—"

"Shut up!" His shout cut through the air like a whip, his composure finally shattering. His expression twisted into something wild, his obsession laid bare.

"You—"

He jabbed a finger toward her, trembling with fury

—"you're the reason she's like this! You dragged her into this, and now… now my Lady is dying!"

Kana flinched at the venom in his voice but didn't back down.

"Then help me save her!"

She yelled back, her voice cracking under the weight of fear and frustration.

Dorian's breathing was ragged, his hand fisting in the fabric over Seraphine's wound. He looked at her pale face, her bloodied lips, and something in him broke.

His voice dropped low, almost a whisper, trembling from the strain of holding himself together.

"If she dies…I swear… I'll never forgive you."

He said, his words cutting like shards of ice,

Kana's heart pounded wildly, but she shoved down the panic clawing at her. She didn't have time for guilt, for fear, for anything else.

She clenched her fists, meeting Dorian's trembling gaze with one of her own, voice raw and desperate.

"Then help me… or move."

Dorian's jaw tightened, his expression unreadable as his breath came in ragged bursts. He didn't reply.

Instead, his hand pressed harder against Seraphine's wound, trying to slow the bleeding, his movements quick and sharp.

Kana scrambled to refocus on the list of medical skills, her trembling hands swiping frantically as the seconds slipped away.

And then, finally, the system chimed again.

[Recommended Skill: Celestial Vein Stabilization]

[High-risk. Extreme mana consumption. Probability of success — 42%. Proceed?]

Kana's breath hitched. Forty-two percent. That wasn't good enough. It wasn't nearly enough.

But as she looked at Seraphine's pale face, her thoughts quieted. There was no hesitation.

"Yes. Do it."

She whispered.

Dorian's head snapped toward her.

"What are you—"

"Just trust me!"

Kana's voice cracked, but her hands glowed faintly as her mana surged into Seraphine's body. The energy burned, sharp and overwhelming, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop.

Not when Seraphine's breaths were already slowing.

Not when her heartbeat was slipping further and further away.

Kana's vision blurred, the world narrowing to just this moment — Seraphine beneath her hands, Dorian's ragged breathing, the coppery tang of blood in the air.

She poured everything she had into the skill, every last fragment of her strength, until the world spun violently around her.

And still… the bleeding wouldn't stop.

Dorian's voice was rough when he finally spoke, barely more than a growl.

"Kana… this isn't working."

Kana's throat tightened, her chest aching as she shook her head violently.

"No. No, I can't… I won't let her die!"

Dorian's trembling hand covered hers, his grip iron-hard despite his panic. His voice dropped into a hoarse whisper, cracking under the weight of his desperation.

"Then you'd better find a way to save her."

His gaze burned into hers, wild and unyielding, filled with both threat and plea.

"Because if you don't… Kana, this will be on you."