Chapter 2

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Iris walked alone toward the dormitory, vaguely remembering this route, so she didn’t get lost.

Children without parents in the family lived together until the age of ten, after which they were moved to single rooms in the dormitory, and upon reaching adulthood, they were forced to leave the dormitory altogether.

In the common area on the first floor, there was a mirror, and she finally saw her current appearance.

Short black hair, slightly curled at the ends, tied simply into a small braid, and blue eyes.

She wore a worn linen shirt and a thin brown vest with small frayed holes at the edges—this modest attire looked somewhat shabby compared to the other family members she had seen today.

“Iris?”

Hearing her name, she looked up and saw a slightly plump woman dressed in a brown skirt calling her.

[Ms. Jess, Dormitory Manager]

[Description: She is always kind to others.]

“You’re dressed so lightly,” the kind woman frowned as she noticed Iris’s clothing. “Haven’t they given you your winter clothes yet?”

Iris guessed they hadn’t; otherwise, no normal-minded teenage girl would be dressed so lightly in winter.

Iris replied, “...I was just about to go back and add some layers.”

“Poor child, wait here for a moment.” She turned and went into the second room on the first floor. A few minutes later, she came out with a gray scarf.

Without asking, she wrapped the scarf around Iris’s neck. Ms. Jess’s grip was strong, and Iris, caught off guard, swayed a couple of times.

[You feel your body growing a little warmer.]

[As the chill fades away, you feel lighter and more agile than before.]

The prompt appeared again, and Iris narrowed her eyes slightly.

When she first stopped looking at the runes voluntarily, she had received similar prompts. If this was a game system, these descriptions likely indicated changes in the player’s attributes.

...Physical comfort seems to affect movement—okay, that’s realistic.

Following this logic, might there be other status values affecting the player’s physical condition?

Iris looked away and politely thanked, “Thank you, Ms. Jess, I feel much better.”

“I’ll go nag those people distributing supplies later.” Ms. Jess felt she hadn’t done enough, adjusting the scarf on Iris’s neck as she spoke. “I know you kids attending advanced studies get supplies based on your rankings, but winter clothes aren’t part of those supplies. They have no right to withhold your things.”

Iris knew nothing about the White family’s personnel structure or job assignments, so she asked, “I’m very grateful... but won’t this cause you trouble?”

Ms. Jess blinked. “It’s their negligence if they don’t do their job, child. Besides, neither they nor I are supernatural beings; the stewards in charge won’t interfere much.”

Iris realized this family was straightforward.

Supernaturals come first, and strength rules above all.

Strictly speaking, Iris wasn’t yet a supernatural being, so those unpleasant people dared to make things difficult for her, clearly because they knew they wouldn’t be punished.

Ms. Jess looked satisfied with her handiwork—wrapping Iris like a bundle.

She said, “Before your winter clothes arrive, I hope this helps a bit. The winter wind in Newt is cold and damp; if you go on patrol wearing just that, even a supernatural being would catch a cold or fever.”

Iris noticed a new term: “Patrol?”

Ms. Jess pulled out a rolled-up paper from under the table opposite the door, gave it a shake, and unfurled it for Iris to see. “I just got next week’s list but haven’t put it on the bulletin board yet. You and Jane are going out with the patrol team this time. Luckily, Peony Street’s security has been pretty good recently.”

Seeing Iris didn’t answer, Ms. Jess thought she was nervous and reassured her, “Don’t be too anxious. If anything unexpected happens, adults will handle it. You kids are just tagging along to learn; you won’t be put in the front lines.”

“Thank heavens.” Iris smiled feigning ease.

She remembered the name Jane—another peer attending the same advanced studies.

It sounded like the kids were just following along to gain experience, maybe not even interns. But one thing caught Iris’s attention—was patrolling really the White family’s duty?

Or was this street private property of the White family?

She had forgotten much of the original story but was sure there was no prominent family named White.

A family of ordinary supernaturals already had such a scale; what about those larger supernatural families?

Though she wanted to ask more, she still had a time-limited mission, the system hadn’t been explored yet, and she had a class to attend soon—time was tight.

Reluctantly, she said goodbye to this lively and friendly woman and went upstairs to her room.

Her room was as simple as she had imagined, even a bit crude: a set of table and chairs, an old wardrobe, a small wooden bed near the bedside, and a small storage box in the corner—not even a cabinet.

The wooden floor was aged, and as she walked, some spots creaked lightly.

Iris sat down in the chair, ready to figure out what this “system” she carried actually was.

She stared ahead, focused her mind, and a game-like interface appeared: in the lower left corner, a message window showing a few previously seen prompts.

Character attributes, tasks, map, skills... and some locked, empty panels.

Iris tried to open the unlocked panels, but only the task interface opened; the others failed with a message saying they were not yet available.

She got up and looked around, thinking she could only start by searching the dormitory.

“...Though I’m supposed to check the dorm, there’s hardly anything in the room.”

Iris began inspecting one by one, starting with the wardrobe. Besides everyday clothes, there were a few old, yellowed books with worn pages at the bottom.

She flipped through one and found it wasn’t a textbook but a novel titled The Throne of Revelation.

She skimmed it briefly—a passionate story about an ordinary protagonist mastering magic and turning their life around. The book fabricated some gods, and inside the front page was a small pocket containing some character cards of those gods.

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“It’s normal for teenagers to read youth novels for leisure.”

Iris understood well, especially since the original owner was under immense pressure, seeking spiritual comfort was understandable.

Then she muttered, “...But in a world with gods, can such a novel really be published?”

From what she knew, although this world had gods, they were few.

Most people worshipped the Almighty Lord of the Holy Church. Besides the Almighty, there were a few “functional” gods like Contract Deities, who had no churches or followers. Then there were some local gods recognized by the church as the Lord’s subordinate deities, all detailed in church documents.

In short, only the Almighty Lord and His subordinate deities were sanctioned; all others were branded as evil gods.

So it surprised Iris that this novel circulated at all.

To check if anything else was hidden, she opened the pocket and poured out the cards.

The names were written in fancy script: “Mysterious Mother, Fallen Morning Star, Pale Messenger...”

Quite dramatic, indeed.

She stacked the beautifully illustrated cards aside, recalling the card blind bags popular among young people on Earth.

Unfortunately, there were no other clues, so she put these trinkets back in the wardrobe.

On the desk were two books: one titled The Universal Book: Introduction to Supernatural Arts, and the other Basics of Ritual Studies.

Both were heavily annotated, with well-worn pages, showing the original owner frequently consulted them.

There was also a notebook containing Iris’s study notes and some ramblings.

[My magic mirror is finally repaired, thank heavens. No more running to Claire’s dorm every time I want to contact her. Unfortunately, my magic mirror is the cheapest model and can only hold five contact channels. Luckily, I only have Claire as a friend.]

[I still haven’t gotten the fourth volume of The Throne of Revelation, but I joined a book exchange hoping someone will give me the last volume. I heard no new volumes will be published, which is a pity.]

This was typical daily rambling.

She skimmed through the less useful information and quickly reached the last few pages.

[My meditation is fine, my mana is abundant, so why can’t I smoothly release supernatural arts when I try?]

[Mr. Ebony said I might have some strange illness; he saw others like me when he came from the south.]

[I gave my saved money to Mr. Ebony hoping he’d bring a cure, but it’s been two months; hasn’t he returned from the south yet?]

[Thank heavens! This potion seems effective...! My mana flows more smoothly now; I guess I’ll soon be able to use supernatural arts!]

[I feel my stomach is unwell; was last night’s pumpkin soup the problem?]

From here, the handwriting became messy, with some typos.

[I still can’t use spells, and recently I often have headaches. Is the potion faulty? I can’t find Mr. Ebony; what should I do next?]

[Find new methods, Iris. You’ve tried a lot; it’s just a minor failure.]

[My headaches are worsening...]

Many lines were crossed out here.

[...I’m barely holding on. The door to the supernatural world never seems to open for me. Maybe having mana itself is just a dream...]

[Iris, fantasizing about being the invincible protagonist in a novel is only suitable in dreams. You’re no longer a child; you must wake up and accept the cold reality.]

The notes abruptly ended here.

Iris’s expression grew heavy; this content was rather bleak.

The original owner was probably deceived by Mr. Ebony; the potion she took might have caused irreversible damage.

She even suspected the original owner died because of this potion, and that’s why she ended up inhabiting her body.

The original owner had thought she’d grasped the last straw leading to a mysterious world, but it was a trap woven by a shameless fraud. The price was too steep, not even giving her a second chance.

Iris put away the notebook and mentally noted the name Ebony.

She also looked through the other two books, and as she flipped through them, the original owner’s knowledge and memories slowly entered her mind.

Iris tried casting the simplest illumination spell. She could feel mana flowing inside, but as the notes said, it couldn’t condense into an external supernatural art.

“Well... it’s unreasonable to expect me to solve a problem that has troubled her for so many years immediately,” she murmured.

Iris White was a very diligent child. Even without being able to use supernatural arts, she never slackened in her studies.

Countless practice sessions had etched skills and knowledge deeply into her body, like a reservoir long filled, waiting for the valve to open and release, so everyone would know she was not stagnant.

Iris couldn’t help but wonder: what kind of feelings had carried her all this way?

Feeling a bit wistful, she put down the two books and checked the bed and box, but found nothing special.

The task hadn’t updated as completed, so she hadn’t found the mission item yet. She reread the prompt.

“Opportunities often hide in every corner of life...” she muttered, crouching down. “Does this mean I should take this literally?”

With some effort, Iris moved the wardrobe away from the wall, searching behind it for hidden objects, but found nothing.

She pinned her last hope on the bed. With anticipation, she shifted it and heard a "thud"—something had fallen.

Iris bent down and felt a smooth, oval object under the dusty bed.

It was a mirror case.

[Task completed.]

[Task reward has been added to your inventory.]

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[Inventory unlocked. Current capacity: 5]

[Attribute panel unlocked.]

Iris’s mood fluctuated wildly with the system’s notifications. The good news was she now had an inventory; the bad news was its capacity was embarrassingly small.

Is this system copied from some pay-to-win game?

[Item name: Magic Mirror] [Item quality: Inferior (prone to damage)]

[The mirror surface is made of a special material. Infused with mana, it can transmit information to a relay zone, then deliver messages to others.]

[Heimdall Corporation developed magic mirrors using mana storage technology, allowing ordinary people to use them. However, once the mana stored is depleted, the mirror becomes unusable. Its high price makes it popular only among the upper-middle class. Some worry about privacy since the mana isn’t their own.]

Why was her first system mission to find a magic mirror?

Was some key information hidden inside this little thing?

Her curiosity sparked, she decided to postpone viewing the attribute panel.

Iris opened the mirror. Its visible range was limited, showing the original owner had only two contacts.

One was Claire, who had just sent a message minutes ago, asking when she would attend class.

The other contact’s name was blank. She tapped in and found multiple people chatting, with more than one ID.

...This magic mirror even had group chat functionality?

[Pale Messenger: After Winter Grandmother’s hibernation, all the prayers she should have handled came to me. I have to do double work all winter, which is really unfair.]

[Mysterious Mother: My child, you should see this as training. But why not tell your Lord God and ask for a reassignment?]

[Fallen Morning Star: The answer is simple: more prayers mean more chances to meet his Lord God.]

[Crimson Despair: Are you the master’s little pet? Or mommy’s little baby? Oh wait... you really are her pet, hahaha! Hahahahahahaha!!]

[Fallen Morning Star: Obviously, he enjoys it, right, little crow?]

[Pale Messenger: Enough! You shouldn’t speculate about me like that!]

[Silver Scales: Because he is the same kind of person.]

[Pure Gold Key: Because he is the same kind of person.]

[Notice: Silver Scales and Pure Gold Key were muted in the magic mirror chat.]

[Crimson Despair: Hahaha! Shut them all up! Shut them all up!]

[Notice: Crimson Despair was muted and cannot speak.]

Iris: ?

But really, how were these people any different from the silly netizens in her old world?

Is this the key item for the mission? Just this? Just this???

She twirled the mirror in her hand, wondering if there were any secrets she hadn’t discovered yet. After wasting a few meaningless minutes, she found no new secrets. The mirror then notified her of a new message.

[Fallen Morning Star: A newcomer?]

[Fallen Morning Star: Wow... The Codex of All Things can’t identify your identity. Are you a reborn ancient god? Or an immortal who ascended with authority?]

[Fallen Morning Star: Anyway, I have to remember you first. Newcomer, what is your invocation word?]

Invocation word? What’s that?

She looked up, and as she stared at this group member’s name, a line of text appeared beneath it.

[Heaven’s Gatekeeper, Last White Wing, The Herald Angel of the End.]

After reading this, Iris’s gaze wavered. She clearly underestimated the level of melodrama here.

Hmm... maybe this style of writing was normal in this world?

She noticed these IDs matched the characters from the novel the original owner had read. Were these “titles” just the original settings from The Throne of Revelation?

She looked at other members’ descriptions—goodness, each was more exaggerated than the last: “Master of all mysteries, observer of multiverses, witness to all contracts, grandmother who grants deathly silence and peace, loyal servant of winter...”

Compared to these, “Fallen Morning Star” seemed relatively mild.

[Fallen Morning Star: If I can’t record your invocation word, I’m sorry, but I have to remove you from here.]

Iris saw this message and guessed Fallen Morning Star was the administrator—he was probably the one who muted the other two members.

Iris herself thought this was just a book club chat group; being kicked out wasn’t a big deal.

But considering the original owner’s wish to collect the last volume of her favorite book, and that the system made finding the magic mirror a separate task, there might be some hidden mystery. Taking all this into account, she decided to stay.

...Alright, it’s all just made-up.

She was a world-class setting creator during classes, and as a seasoned internet user, these melodramatic lines were a breeze.

Not to be outdone, Iris immediately sent the group admin a message—

“I am the incarnation of eternal night, the master of miracles, the oldest witch, the saint of darkness!”