The room fell silent.
Cen Yao blinked.
The orb blinked too.
Human and System fell silent at the same time.
The next second, the orb suddenly shot up three feet.
“Holy crap!”
Its voice cracked on the spot, squeaking like a boiling kettle.
Cen Yao shivered in fright. “W-What's wrong? Is this bad?”
The orb spun frantically around those two characters, so excited that its entire body began to flash with light.
“It's not bad! It's too good!”
“A fantasy-oriented module! The fantasy-oriented module with the lowest probability! And it's a Witch! A maximum-grade limited one at that!”
Its voice went up an octave.
“Congratulations, Host, on drawing the Witch module. From now on, please make it your goal to strive toward—becoming the greatest Witch in the entire universe!”
Cen Yao: “...”
She slowly raised her hand and pointed to herself.
“Me?”
The orb nodded heavily. “You.”
“The entire universe?”
“The entire universe.”
“The greatest Witch?”
“Exactly!”
Cen Yao fell silent.
As an unlucky soul who had never won a prize in her life and was always accurately targeted even when the teacher called on students at random, this was the first time she had hit the jackpot.
It was so big it was a bit absurd.
So absurd that her brain completely short-circuited.
When humans suffer a massive shock, their minds truly do go blank.
Staring at the three hidden qualifiers of “the entire universe,” the orb was completely dumbfounded.
Within the System's network, they all knew that the module prefix represented the upper limit of cultivation: national, global, galactic, and universal.
This meant that her Host had incredible talent in magic—talent so strong that the System granted her the qualifier of the entire universe.
To draw a fantasy-oriented Host of this caliber, one could count them on one's fingers even looking back tens of thousands of years!
Those who could make it to the end were, without exception, mighty figures who shook the heavens.
It even had a boss's boss whose Host had once been a maximum-grade limited fantasy-oriented Host.
Back then, that System's starting point was just like its own.
They were both ordinary learning assistance systems.
Later, relying on its Host to soar, it promoted God knows how many levels. Now, it sat at the main table during meetings and its speeches came with an echo.
The orb silently looked at Cen Yao.
The young girl sat in her chair, her gaze vacant, her hand still suspended in mid-air.
She didn't look at all like a future majestic, universe-striding, plane-tearing greatest Witch of the entire universe.
She looked more like a little hamster who had just found out she won five million dollars, but whose first reaction was to suspect a scam text.
The orb: “...”
Whatever.
Who could say for sure what the future held?
Maybe one day, it too would get promoted, receive a raise, and reach the peak of its System life by relying on its Host.
Cen Yao finally came to her senses slowly.
She looked up at those two characters, her voice so soft as if she were afraid of scaring away a dream.
“Sys.”
“Hmm?”
“Can I really learn magic now?”
The orb said solemnly, “Theoretically, yes.”
Cen Yao's eyes lit up bit by bit.
Fear had weighed on her for an entire year.
Watching livestreams every day, taking notes every day, practicing until her limbs trembled every day, and worrying every second that she would be dragged into a dungeon the next.
She knew she was ordinary, she knew she was weak, and she knew the Horror Game wouldn't let her off just because she was afraid.
So she could only desperately grab onto every rope that could save her life.
Now, a rope had fallen in front of her.
It wasn't an ordinary hemp rope.
It was a golden, shining lifeline with “Greatest Witch in the Universe Candidate” written on it.
Cen Yao slowly clenched her fingers.
She didn't know if she had talent.
Nor did she know how far she could go.
But she knew one thing.
This time, she would never let go.
The orb cleared its throat, regaining the majesty of the System.
“Host, since you have successfully drawn the Witch module, the Starter Pack is about to be distributed.”
Cen Yao sat up straight instantly.
“There's a Starter Pack too?”
“Of course.” The orb proudly puffed out its belly. “I told you, this System is highly official.”
It swiped forward with a speck of light that looked like a tiny paw.
The next second, lines of golden text materialized in front of Cen Yao.
【Distributing Starter Pack—】
【Reward 1: Access to Elementary Witch Courses.】
【Reward 2: One month of access to the Learning Space.】
【Space Time Dilated Flow: One day in the outside world equals three days in the space.】
【Course tracks include: Elementary Magic, Elementary Potions, Elementary Alchemy, Elementary Healing, Elementary Dark Magic, etc.】
【Host, please complete the basic learning as soon as possible.】
Cen Yao read it word by word.
Then, she abruptly stood up from her chair.
“One month?”
The orb nodded. “One month in the outside world is three months in the space.”
Cen Yao took a deep breath.
Three months.
She had three months of study time.
She didn't know when the Horror Game would select her, but at least before then, she could finally make some truly useful preparations.
Not by guessing.
Not by gambling.
And not by praying that the Horror Game wouldn't select her, like praying that the teacher wouldn't call on her.
But by learning.
Training.
And mastering power.
Cen Yao's eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if she had suddenly been set ablaze.
Looking at her, the orb suddenly felt that this Host wasn't actually that much of a coward.
Though praying to a dog was a bit ridiculous.
But fearing death was nothing to be ashamed of.
Fearing death yet still having the courage to seize an opportunity and crawl forward was what was truly rare.
Cen Yao looked up, her voice trembling slightly but exceptionally firm.
“Sys, open the Learning Space.”
The orb flew a circle around her.
“Are you sure? Once you enter the Learning Space, the beginner training officially begins. This System will formulate high-intensity courses based on the Witch module, and we will not lower the standards just because the Host cries, screams, acts cute, or plays dead.”
Cen Yao fell silent for a second.
“Can I faint?”
“Not recommended. You will have make-up classes once you wake up.”
“...”
Great.
Very hellish.
Perfect for a person like her who was terrified of dying.
Cen Yao closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the last trace of hesitation in her gaze had vanished.
“Open it.”
She was afraid of ghosts, afraid of death, afraid of dungeons, and afraid of dying a tragic death while being watched by everyone in the livestream room.
But she was even more afraid of letting an opportunity slip away now that it was right in front of her.
The orb's eyes curved slightly, its voice clear and bright.
“Learning Space, open.”
White light instantly rose from the floor, wrapping around Cen Yao entirely.
The room, the desk, the notebook, and the key survival points of dungeons pasted on the wall all gradually receded within the radiance.
Cen Yao heard the System announce in her ear—
“Welcome, Host, to the Witch Beginner Courses.”
“From now on, please work hard to become the greatest Witch in the entire universe.”
The white light instantly rose from the floor, wrapping Cen Yao entirely, and then vanished from the room along with her figure.
Cen Yao thought silently in her heart.
There was no rush to become the greatest in the entire universe or whatever.
Her current life goal was very simple.
When the Horror Game selected her in the future, she just hoped she could come back alive.
Preferably, in one piece.
If possible, she'd also like to beat up the ghosts that tried to scare her.
Having departed, Cen Yao didn't notice that on the quiet desk, her phone—which had originally been a black screen—suddenly lit up with a faint glow.
The bloody livestream interface of the Horror Game popped up uncontrollably, displaying several lines of piercing, blood-red words:
【Countdown to the next batch of player selections: 30 days.】
【Candidate player information updating.】
【Target: Cen Yao. Selection weight rapidly rising.】
【Locked in.】
Rate on N.U.
