Chapter 1: Lilia Sifris

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Lilia Sifris

"Lilia Sifris.

"Your Magic Talent is E-level. Congratulations, you now have the qualifications to become a Mage."

The Priest’s words still echoed in her ears.

The Sifris couple held Lilia’s hands, completely unable to hide the bright smiles on their faces.

"Lilia, we never expected you to have a talent for learning Magic!

"That’s our Lilia. We will definitely send you to the best Magic School!"

In a small border town like Ernst, a child with Magic Talent was one in a million. It was no wonder the Sifris couple were so overjoyed.

Six-year-old Lilia, however, wore an incredibly calm expression.

[Congratulations, player. Talent awakening is complete!]

The system’s voice chimed in her ears.

[The player’s current information is as follows—]

[Elemental Affinity: Fire Element (low-level), Water Element (low-level).]

[Magic Talent: E-]

[Being a Magic Apprentice for the rest of your life might just be your destiny.]

This evaluation was too low.

The best Magic School in the Lien Kingdom was the Lien Royal Magic Academy, located in the Capital. With her talent, she wouldn’t even be able to touch its gates.

[Your parents ask where you would like to study Magic.]

[A. Gloster Magic Academy.]

[B. Ernst Public School.]

As expected, going to the Capital wasn’t even an option.

Lilia gave a small smile and pulled her hands away from the Sifris couple. As an adult who had transmigrated into a game, she wanted none of it. She only wanted to return to her own world and reunite with her real parents.

SPLASH!

Water sprayed into the air as Lilia jumped into the river.

[Your parents are frantic seeing you fall into the water. They don’t know how to swim, but their worry for you conquers all fear.]

[They jump in to save you, but before they can reach you, your head smashes against the bridge pier.]

[You are dead.]

[This game is over!]

...

Inside the System Space, Lilia rubbed her head.

Thinking of the Sifris couple who had jumped into the river to save her without a moment’s hesitation, a trace of guilt flashed in her heart. However, it only lasted for a fleeting second. Even if she had to do it again—no, no matter how many times she had to restart, she would make the exact same choice.

The character’s consciousness was linked to her own. The character’s death meant that she died once as well. It hurt a bit, but it was bearable. After all, she had died many times already and was quite used to it.

This was Lilia’s... well, she didn’t even know how many starting rolls this was. Probably around one or two hundred.

Because it was the first save file, most of the rolled attributes were absolute garbage. If she continued the game with those stats, the outcome would either be a bad end or a lifetime of mediocrity. Lilia simply didn’t have the time for trial and error; her starting attributes had to be the best.

Just like that, she could only awaken her Magic Talent at the age of six, and whenever the stats were unsatisfactory, she would commit suicide to restart. After enduring countless six-year cycles, Lilia gradually became numb. Rerolling the start was undoubtedly a mechanical, repetitive action requiring zero skill, and it was suffocatingly dull. But Lilia had no other choice.

This game, called "Holy Sanctuary," was a text-based idle game boasting ultra-high freedom as its main selling point. It took the entire internet by storm the moment it was released.

Lilia had learned about it during her university days and even played it for a while. The game featured many endings, but most were side story routes that didn’t count toward the collection rate, such as the "death endings" she had just achieved.

Only the Normal Endings, Bad Endings, and Happy Endings involving the main storyline were officially recorded.

Achieving these special endings was no easy feat, as participating in the main storyline was mandatory.

"Holy Sanctuary" was a standard Western fantasy game, with most of its content revolving around powerful Mages. Without Magic Talent, there was no way to enter the Lien Royal Magic Academy, the main stage of the game, which meant she would be entirely disconnected from the main plot. For ordinary players, they could rely on the game’s high freedom to pursue other routes, such as experiencing life as a merchant, craftsman, or tailor. Lilia, however, was completely different from them.

She wasn’t playing a game. She was saving her own life.

When she first entered this world, a voice had told her that she could only wake up in the real world if she controlled her character to clear all the endings and achieve a 100% collection rate.

Naturally, her name in reality wasn’t Lilia; she was just an ordinary girl living in Hua Country. Not long ago, she had just graduated from school and received an exciting job offer. Just as she was about to call her parents to share the joyful news, a truck hit her head-on, sending her straight to the hospital.

In the final second before her consciousness faded, she heard the conversation between the doctor and her parents.

"Please, doctor! We only have this one child. No matter how much it costs, we beg you to cure her!"

It sounded as though they had deep pockets. In reality, her family background was strictly ordinary; her father was nearing retirement, and her mother was unemployed. With her consciousness trapped in the System Space, no amount of medical treatment in the real world would ever wake her up. She couldn’t let her parents throw their hard-earned pension money into such a bottomless pit. Thus, she had to clear all the endings. She had a reason she absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.

...

After rerolling the start so many times, Lilia became increasingly proficient. Right after her talent awakened, she would simply say, "Commit suicide."

[Amidst the blessings of the church staff, you smash your head into a load-bearing pillar. You are dead. This game is over!]

"Commit suicide."

[The neighbors bring gifts to congratulate the Sifris family for producing a reserve Mage. In front of everyone, you pick up a fruit knife and stab yourself in the chest. You are dead. This game is over!]

"Commit suicide."

...

...

After rerolling for an unknown amount of time, Lilia finally secured a somewhat satisfactory set of attributes—

[Name: Lilia]

[Level: Level 0]

[Constitution: 25/100]

[Intelligence: 70/100]

[Charm: 90/100]

[Luck: 75/100]

[Morality: 0/100]

[Elemental Affinity: Fire Element (low-level); Water Element (low-level); Wind Element (low-level); Earth Element (low-level).]

[Magic Talent: C+]

[Although the Elemental Affinity part is somewhat terrible, a Mage who can sense all elements simultaneously is incredibly rare. You are destined never to become a master of practice, but perhaps you can grow into a giant of theory.]

[Current Game Talent: Pitifully Charming.]

[Note: A talent automatically awakens at the start of every game. Talents are randomized, and their content and level correlate with the skills the player mastered in previous games.]

[Talent Effect: Regardless of who the other party is, they will feel pity and tenderness upon seeing you. The longer you interact, the more pronounced the Talent Effect becomes.]

Her Constitution in this run was a bit weak, but the incredibly high Charm and fairly decent Luck made up for it. Perhaps due to her Level restriction, out of nearly a thousand starts, she hadn’t seen a medium Elemental Affinity even once. Having a low-level affinity for all elements was already the best set of stats she could currently roll.

Furthermore, the Talent Effect perfectly complemented the character’s high Charm. A major feature of "Holy Sanctuary" was its massive cast of romanceable characters, each possessing breathtaking beauty or handsome looks. In the beginning, the game relied precisely on this feature to attract a horde of lustful players and build its initial customer base. Romancing these characters was an indispensable step toward achieving the special endings.

"This will do... Continue the game," Lilia said.

[Your formidable Magic Talent shocks everyone. The Priest in the church never imagined that an uncut gem could emerge from a remote town like theirs.]

[The Priest informs you that you have met the minimum enrollment qualifications for the Lien Royal Magic Academy.]

[As long as you obtain a recommendation from a Noble, you will be able to step foot into that sacred hall.]

[One day, you hear a piece of news from Mrs. Julian.]

[A special family has just moved into this remote town.]