5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
The System opened within her mind.
However, it was completely different from the flashy, domineering interface Celia had imagined.
The System in her head could only be described as crude.
There were no welcome messages, no quest guides, and no unnecessary explanations.
On the System panel, there were only a few lines of faintly glowing text.
[Status Window]
Name: Celia
Race: Dark Elf
Age: 60
Status: Healthy (but your kin are worried about your mental health)
Title: Shame of the Dark Elves (Unique Achievement; can be hidden, but there is no need)
“Congratulations! In a race known for being passionate and uninhibited, you successfully guarded your… uh — stay calm. Such perseverance would make even the Ascetics in the Temple fall silent.”
Core Attributes:
Constitution: 120 (Dark Elf Baseline: 100)
“Surprisingly sturdy! It seems that long-term avoidance of tribal mixers has given you more time to exercise. So… does this count as a different kind of building up strength through accumulation?”
Spirit: 140 (Dark Elf Baseline: 100)
“Ah, can someone really go sixty years without even a little self-comfort?! Your willpower is unprecedented and unparalleled.”
Mana Affinity: 120 (Dark Elf Baseline: 100)
“Genius-level mana perception! If an ordinary Dark Elf’s mana is a river, yours is likely… a flood that hasn’t burst the banks yet? Hopefully, you can maintain this level of control when you release your talents in other areas.”
Charisma: 120 (Dark Elf Baseline: 100)
“A perfect face and a voluptuous body! Anyone would fall in love with you at first sight.”
Sensitivity Value: 110 (Dark Elf Baseline: 50)
“Long-term suppression has given you an excessively high Sensitivity Value. Hopefully, you won’t faint the first time.”
This was the System she had suppressed herself for sixty years to get?
Sixty years!
In a race like hers, she had endured the endless temptations of instinct, every invitation or hint from her kin, the distant sounds of pleasure during every festival, and every strange restlessness rising from her own body…
She had gritted her teeth and powered through it all, fueled only by her belief in a vague Goldfinger.
She thought she would receive a magnificent gift, a reward sufficient to compensate for all that endurance.
And the result?
This was it?
A crude panel that looked like it had been slapped together at the last minute, a few lines of mocking and teasing commentary, a title that was practically an insult, and…
A “kind” reminder about how she might embarrass herself in the future?
If she had known it would be like this…
Celia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
To hell with this System.
To hell with this Goldfinger.
If she had known that sixty years of suppression would only exchange for this kind of junk, she would have been better off following her instincts from the very beginning and joining the others happily.
Why bother living like a joke, someone whose mental health even her own kin worried about, officially branded by the System as the Shame of the Dark Elves?
Anger made her fingertips tingle slightly, and her breathing grew heavier.
She stared fixedly at the crude light screen in her consciousness, specifically at that glaring title, as if she could burn a hole through it with her gaze.
As she glared at the Shame of the Dark Elves title, the System suddenly changed.
Almost subconsciously, she whispered the words that appeared:
“Achievement System activated… Rules: For every ten unique titles collected, one lottery draw is granted. Newcomer Benefit: Detected that the host has obtained their first title; granting one free Talent Selection opportunity.”
‘I knew it…’
“I knew it… This System isn’t that useless!”
She forced the last few words out through gritted teeth, an uncontrollable joy spreading across her face.
Without a moment of hesitation, she focused her entire consciousness on the newly emerged **[Talent Selection]** option.
“Open.”
The moment the command was issued, the entire crude System panel rippled like water.
What appeared next reminded her of a game she had played in her previous life.
Celia froze.
Her chest full of joy and anticipation felt as if it had been doused with a bucket of ice water.
She stared at the three glowing orbs — or rather, the three extremely familiar selection panels — as a sense of absurdity and of being toyed with, even deeper than before, washed over her.
What on earth was this?!
Late-game Expert: Maintain purity until 2,000 years of age to obtain the strength of a Great Sage.
Setting aside how terrifying a number two thousand was for someone who had just finished her “sentence,” the “maintain purity” prerequisite alone made her vision go dark.
It meant her sixty years of endurance were for nothing, and she had to do a “super double” or nothing?
Did this System have some kind of misunderstanding regarding rewards?!
Glass Cannon: Constitution increases by 300 points, but Sensitivity Value also increases by 200 points.
The Constitution boost looked decent, but what did a 200-point spike in Sensitivity Value mean?!
Her current Sensitivity Value was already high enough for the System to “kindly” warn her not to faint; if she added another 200 points, would her legs give out every time someone touched her?
Patience is a Virtue: Sensitivity Value increases by 200; for every title obtained, gain 2 attribute points for free.
“Virtue” my foot — this was another option that caused the Sensitivity Value to skyrocket, but at least it had a growth-oriented function.
Each of these three options was worse than the last.
They felt like someone stepping on her newly ignited flame of hope and spitting on it for good measure.
‘I take back what I said about this System being useful!’
Celia gnashed her teeth inwardly.
‘This System is simply inhuman!’
She irritably tried to find more information in her consciousness.
There was nothing.
Nothing at all.
Only those three glowing orbs, those three cursed options, suspended quietly in the darkness.
“Where is the damn refresh button? If you’re going to copy something, at least copy the whole thing!”
She was almost laughing from the sheer absurdity.
Just when she thought things were looking up, she found she had fallen into an even more ridiculous pit.
“Fine, I’ll pick!”
She roared in her mind, near despair.
Her gaze locked onto the “Patience is a Virtue” orb.
“I choose you! You’re the only one with growth potential!”
The moment her will touched the orb, the faint light suddenly expanded, turning into countless tiny specks of light that surged into her body.
An indescribable sensation instantly swept through her.
First, the numbers in the Sensitivity Value column jumped wildly, going from 110 to 310 in the blink of an eye.
A sharp torrent of perception crashed through her mental defenses.
“Ugh…”
She let out a muffled groan.
Her legs weakened, and she nearly lost her footing, forced to reach out and steady herself against the wooden wall.
At the same time, she saw the number representing her Spirit on the attribute panel change from 140 to 142.
**[Title “The First Time” obtained]**
**[Spirit: 142 (The powerful shock has increased your Spirit.)]**
**[Current Sensitivity Value: 310 (Your perception has exceeded conventional limits; please handle external stimuli with caution.)]**
**[Talent effect triggered: Obtained first title, Free Attribute Points +2]**
Perhaps the only good news was that this sensitivity would likely only manifest during *that* kind of activity; otherwise, Celia wouldn’t even be able to keep her clothes on right now.